Child Labour Poverty

Child labor is a problem worldwide, and poverty is the most common factor contributing to the use of child labor. There is an estimated 215 million children laborers worldwide, about 60% of children are child laborers. These child laborers produces around 150 billion each year of illegal profits. Child labor is considered employment that deprives a child of their childhood, or interferes with school. Also it’s considered something that is mentally, physically, socially, or morally dangerous and harmful. The highest number of child laborers are in the agriculture industry. They work in the fields under harsh conditions. About 114 (53%) million child laborers are in Asia and the Pacific area, 14 million (7%) in Latin America, and 65 million

(30%) in sub-Saharan Africa. The places where child labor is most prevalent are in Eritrea, Somalia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Zimbabwe, and Yemen. Also in China, India, Russia, and Brazil there are high risks because child labor laws are poorly enforced. Child labor is happening because there is poverty, and employment rates, parts of Africa, Asia and Latin America are extremely high. Also there is limited free education, in 2006 there were approximately 75 million children not in school. Child labor in the use of agriculture is often harsh and cruel and found in Asian and Pacific regions, and in many coastal islands and regions. Child labor is a serious and terrible problem that could be solved by having stricter laws or codes conduct in countries that use child labor, companies using child labor to produce their products should be harshly punished and people worldwide should boycott the products that have been made with the use of child labor.
Child labor in the cocoa bean production usually happens along the coast, for example Ghana produces 21% of the world's cocoa beans.

On average a cocoa farmer will make about $2 per day. Most of the children laboring on cocoa farms are between the ages of 12 and 16, but there have been reports of children as young as 5 working on the farms. 40% of the child laborers in cocoa farms are girls. They will begin work at 6 in the morning and end in the evening, which results as 10% of children working on cocoa farms not attending school in

Ghana.
Children working on farms did harmful and dangerous jobs. Some children would use a chainsaw to clear a part of the forest, other children would climb into the trees with cocoa pods with machete, a large knife. Once, a laborer packed the pods into a bag, which could weight up to 100 pounds,he or she would drag the bag of pods through the forest. Also, children as young as 10 spray the cocoa pods with chemicals without protection from the harsh chemicals.
Living conditions on cocoa farms in Ghana where harsh, children were fed the cheapest food which was often corn paste. Also, children would sleep on wooden planks in small huts that did not have any windows. There were not any sanitary bathrooms for the laborers on the cocoa farms. There was also no access to sanitary clean water on the farms
Child labor in factories during the industrial revolution and child labor in factories today are still similar, but different.

During the industrial revolution it was very common for a child to work 12-14 hour, but sometimes they would work as many as 19 hours each day. Also in the industrial revolution child were paid little to no money for their labor. Conditions inside the factories during the industrial revolution were dirty, crowded, and as it got later at night the inside would get darker and the laborers only had the light of a candle to work. That is how, many incidents happen where children, are often injured and in some cases killed. Today children 12 hour days or less, and are still paid very little. In cases a shirt sold for $60 in the U.S. would only pay a child labour 20 cents for making it. Inside the factories the conditions are still harsh but as society advanced new technology such as the electric light bulb invented in 1879 it provided more light for the workers when it got darker outside, which decreased the amount of

accidents.
Child labor is a global problem that could be solved by stricter laws, companies being punished for using child labor and people boycotting products that have been made with the use of child labor. In Ghana, agriculture the most common industry where child labor is used. Cocoa farms in Ghana produce about 21% of the world's chocolate. Children on cocoa farms have harmful jobs, such as using dangerous equipment like chainsaws and machetes. Children on cocoa farms live in harsh conditions with no access to clean water, and sleep on wooden planks. Child labor is a terrible problem that should be stopped.