Today’s educational success story were shouting about is our “I Have a Dream” project in Burkina Faso. Burkina Faso, a landlocked desert state in West Africa, is one of the worlds poorest countries. However, vast amounts of gold are hidden beneath the ground in its mines. For locals, forraging below the ground for this gold is one of the only ways to make a living. Child labour, although illegal, is widespread. Thousands of children risk their lives everyday in the mines, to extract gold and wash it with toxic mercury. This is internationally recognised as one of the worst forms of child labour. Children, as young as 5, work in unregulated mine sites up to 40 metres deep. They have few opportunities to play and no access to basic education and health care. Miners see little money for the gold they extract. Pit collapses are common. We believes that these children should have the childhood they deserve, instead of one dictated by the whims of the international gold industry. Our 3 year I Have a Dream project started in 2013. It focuses on getting children out of the mines and back into education. We help them shape a brighter future, where an alternative to working in the mines becomes a real possibility. Find out more about this crucial project here: bit.ly/1xetXgZ #InternationalEducationWeek
Posted on: Tue, 18 Nov 2014 16:01:47 +0000
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