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Preventing Peruvian child labour

Summary

13 July 2012

The government in Peru has unveiled a programme aimed at preventing and reducing child labour. According to the International Labour Organisation, one in ten children and adolescents works in Latin America, but in Peru the rate is much higher.

Reporter:

Mattia Cabitza

Report

Some two million children and adolescents work in Peru; 400,000 of them do so almost full-time, putting at risk their education. For the government, this is a serious problem and one of its main priorities. 

At an event in Lima, it launched a pilot project that aims to benefit thousands of children and their families in three of Peru's poorest regions. Costing 13 million dollars, which were donated by the US government, the project wants to improve access to education in rural areas, as well as the income of farmers so that they no longer need their children to work in the fields. 

But Maro Guerrero, the director of the programme, said that some forms of work would be acceptable, as long as they didn't interfere with school work: 

"We believe that we need to look at the conditions under which adolescents work, making sure they do so with proper training, without exceeding working hours, and never in dangerous activities. If adolescents do go to work, it's important that they do it in the right conditions."

Poverty is the main reason that drives children and adolescents to work. One in three Peruvians is poor, and most live in rural areas. The government knows that eradicating child labour won't be easy without boosting income and employment opportunities.