“I have spent the last three years as a labor inspector working in factories in developing countries to monitor the level of Humane treatment that they receive. My aim was to ensure that the products sold in stores and consumed by my children was being produced utilizing ethical conditions for the workers themselves, and that no children were being exploited.
I have become frustrated while interviewing workers and discovering that in the village they grew up in, in the best case scenario there is no one with an education exceeding 5 years of formal training. This translates into elementary school being offered, but no additional opportunities. There were no jobs in the villages, so children as young as even 12 or 13 were sent by their families to help pay their expenses, and maybe to help provide educational opportunities for their siblings. I realized that finding these children working in factories resulted in their employment being terminated, and felt guilty at this short-term solution. Poor, uneducated, underage, and unemployed, these children would then go in search of employment at a smaller factory that was not producing for a major retailer or high profile brand name, and often the conditions were even more dismal in these factories.
My next thoughts were rather than continuing to put a band-aid on this re occurring problem, that I should begin to observe the symptoms and formulate proper treatment. That is why I started the Hong Kong Education Consultant Group. The international outreach program is expanding this service and sending qualified and certified teachers to travel to the factories and hold classroom training to teach the workers how to read, write, and do basic mathematics.
I am sure that you have seen documentaries or other news articles on the children working in developing countries, but if you are not overly familiar with Manufacturing in developing countries, let me tell you that the workers often have to leave their homes and travel to the large cities in order to obtain employment. Most enterprises offer dormitories, so the workers are sleeping in a building that is adjacent to the production. The typical routine is to work for 6-8 years, earning sufficient income to send a little home each month, and save a little each month. In China, Bangladesh, Mongolia and Vietnam, the minimum wage for these workers, working a 48 hour work week is less than $20 USD, per month. After working to physical exhaustion after these years, the workers return to their village, hopefully having saved enough to buy some land or some construction materials so that they can build a home or build on their parents existing home, and then start a family. At this point the cycle will just repeat itself, when their children run out of educational opportunities.
My aim is to provide an additional year or two of formal education to the workers making the shoes and clothes we wear, the furniture we enjoy, and the electronics that we depend upon. By advancing the education of these workers today, the benefits will best be received by the next generation, who will be able to stay in the village continuing their education until they are atleast 16 or older.
Xin Hu Li, a factory worker where the Hendricks Foundation has worked, when she finished working at the factory, went back to her village and began working at the school and has extended the number of years of education offered to the neighboring children and her siblings, all because of the experience gained from having teachers come to the factory.
Does anyone have any suggestions for how I can increase this service to provide to more people and work on eradicating Child Labor? Thanks for your suggestions.