Child labour in China

Leaders Today International Volunteer Trip participants help build a school in China

Lately, when we hear about China in the news it’s usually in reference to the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. Usually, however, the international media’s focus is on China’s increasing economic growth.

As the nation seemingly gets wealthier and wealthier, what many people outside of China don’t realize is that the wealth is concentrated in a few areas, barely reaching beyond the mainland’s coastal regions and big cities, like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. China’s wealth and economic strength is barely a whisper in the western regions and rural provinces, having important implications for the children in these areas.

If you were to visit a primary school in a rural Chinese community, many of the children you’d meet would be too old for their grade level by North American standards. In these communities, where families earn their income through farming and selling crops, children often have to work with their parents in order to help the family afford the school uniforms and supplies they will need to attend school. Because of this, many children start school at a much older age than normal. Children working in the agriculture and farming industries are the most common forms of child labour in the country.

Free The Children is making a difference in the lives of child labourers in China through the Adopt a Village campaign. With Adopt a Village’s Brick By Brick enhancing education program, students in China are provided with school supplies and textbooks, in addition to newer, more durable classrooms and schools.

Alternative Income campaigns work to empower women in China, by providing them with alternative sources of revenue to support their families. Families are provided with pigs and piglets, which are valuable income generators in China. Pigs not only reproduce often, but when they do, many piglets are born. Families keep two or more to mate to produce more piglets later on, and sell the rest for money. With the additional income, it is easier for families to buy the school supplies and uniforms needed for their children to attend school.

In addition to the schoolbuilding, education and alternative income projects, there are other Adopt a Village programs underway in China, such as water and sanitation programs and health services. To find out more about these programs and how you can get involved to support your peers in China, check out www.freethechildren.com/we/.

Sunny standing in the ruins of an old school in Wujiazhuang

Read Ma Xiahong’s story of hope in China.

Learn more about Free The Children’s projects in China.

Free The Children is the largest network of children helping children through education in the world, with more than one million youth involved in our innovative education and development programs in 45 countries. Founded by international child rights activist Craig Kielburger, Free The Children has an established track-record of success, with three nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize and partnerships with the United Nations and Oprah’s Angel Network.