Big families linked to child labour
What you need to know:
Project coordinator Maximilian Kitigwa told The Citizen recently, that preparations for the project were in full swing.
Geita. Plans are on for Plan International Tanzania to introduce reproductive health education in its second phase of the child labour project next year in Geita Region.
Project coordinator Maximilian Kitigwa told The Citizen recently, that preparations for the project were in full swing.
The move, he said comes after realising that lack of awareness on family planning in the region was one of major causes of child labour in goldmines.
The first phase of the project which started in 2012 and ends next month, does not focus on providing education on family planning, but rather deals with rescuing children from worst forms of child labour.
In order to attain this objective, the organisation has been educating parents and children on the effects of child labour and empowering authorities on how to deal with the problem.
The project also builds the capacity of parents on engaging in income-generating activities. Geita District Commissioner Mr Manzie Mangochie, acknowledged that lack of family planning in the area was a major challenge.
“You may find that a family has 10 children...this renders parents unable to afford school needs for their children,” he said.
“One day, I met a 22-year-old girl and at that tenderage, she already had four children,” he said. Jonathan Leonard (12), a Standard Six pupil and the last born in a family of six children, has abandoned school.
