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The Story Workshop, an educational and creative centre for community sensitisation, has joined forces with the Malawi Government and donors to step-up the fight against child labour through a new 18-episode soap, Tilitonse Tisazunze Ana.
The new soap, to be launched on Friday at 6:30 PM on MBC Radio 1, will follow the story of the popular Tilitonse character Jere as it takes the listener into the world of Malawi’s working children who have been forced into adult labour for a variety of reasons, including poverty and effects of HIV/Aids on family life.
The programme is funded by the Norwegian Agency for Development and Unicef, who are working hand-in-hand with government to ensure that laws protecting children from working long hours and neglecting their education are followed to the letter.
A prelaunch statement from the Story Workshop quotes Labour and Vocational Training Minister Alice Sumani as saying that keeping children out of school to work is promoting and sustaining poverty in the country.
“There is no better job for a child in this world than going to school. Parents must appreciate this fact,” said Sumani.
On the other hand, the statement also quotes Asbjorn Eidhammaer, Norwegian Ambassador to Malawi, as saying that child labour is a problem that is very clearly linked to poverty. He said there is nothing cultural about children working full-time in other people’s shops for a meagre salary. He said this is exploitation.
Unicef resident representative in Malawi Catherine Mbengue said economic exploitation of children must be stopped now while Story Workshop executive director Marvin Hanke said the Malawian tradition is for children to be valued as an important part of the family, “not as a commodity to be bought and sold”.
Said Hanke: “Child labour is a form of abuse and must be challenged. This is not a private matter, we must all take responsibility for all our children to protect and keep them in school.”
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