Despite all the current events going on in the world, there is an ongoing issue that must be addressed involving child labour. According to the International Labour Organization, 218 million children between 5 and 17 years of age are in employment; among them 152 million are victims of child labour, and almost 73 million work in hazardous conditions. Now most of us have the privilege of working from home or remote learning for school. Unfortunately, that is not the same case for many children around the world. The pandemic is affecting families economically and numerous parents are losing their jobs and are now unemployed. Due to this loss of income, youths in certain areas of the world are now being put to work or increase their workload.
It hurts me to know that children must work to provide at such a young age. They are stripped from having an education and are being paid so little to work in such harsh conditions. These children are not only affected physically but also mentally. They can no longer keep themselves safe during these unfortunate times and are ill equipped when it comes to home and health. Oftentimes we think to ourselves that there is nothing we can do for child labourers.