Maseru

A year later after World Vision Lesotho launched a project to eliminate Child Labour and Forced Labour with the support of European Union (EU), the fight remains far from over. Despite training hundreds of community members and leaders, only a handful of cases have been confirmed, exposing the deep-rooted silence, fear, and lack of awareness that continue to shield the problem from public view.

EU donated €459,726 for two-year, three-month campaign aimed at eliminating child and forced labour across five districts under World Vision’s Area Programme (AP). The project, launched on 30 May 2024, set targets to train 100 project members, 140 Community Child Protection Team (CCPT) members, reach 6,000 community members through gatherings and empower 1,000 children through peer-to-peer learning.

In a year of project’s operation, many targets have been exceeded while others are well underway. According to Project Coordinator Mmathabang Nkosi, 101 project members have been trained, surpassing the goal. CCPT training reached 142 members instead of 140 planned. Community leaders targeted was exceeded with 12 from its original target, reached 124 trained leaders. However, some figures show that there are challenges the project is facing amidst its successes, with only 2,561 community members have been reached through gatherings, less than half the goal and just 126 children have received peer-to-peer training out of the planned 1,000.

The most telling statistic, though, is in the core aim is identifying 300 cases of child labour across the Aps. So far, only four confirmed cases have been recorded. An additional 15 suspected cases have been flagged, but many are still under assessment while some have been referred to relevant offices.

Nkosi believes the low numbers are not a sign of a problem solved but rather a sign of a problem hidden. 

“People still lack knowledge of what constitutes child labour, while others are afraid to report cases,” she explained. 

This highlights the reality in many rural communities, where poverty, dependence on child income and fear of retaliations create an unspoken wall of silence.

Thandiwe Sphumula from the Ministry of Labour,portrayed that the absence of visible cases in formal sectors can be misleading. 

“There are no child labour cases seen on the surface in the formal sector, according to inspectors’ reports,” she said, pointing to agriculture, domestic work and street work as the real hotspots.

These sectors are affected by poor enforcement of child labour laws, inadequate infrastructure, endemic poverty and lack of quality education. Showing that children often work in companies sourcing agricultural produce or extracting metals and minerals which is hazardous and harmful to their development.

“Poverty forces families to rely on children for survival. The problem is made worse by weak rule of law and gaps in education access,” Sphumula added. 

Lesotho’s legal minimum working age is 15 years, and even then, the work must not deprive the child’s rights. According to Tiisetso Mohlabi from the Ministry of Social Development, the law allows light work that does not deprive children of education, rest or safety.

When children are identified as being at risk of child labour, Mohlabi says there is a case management system to ensure they and their families receive support, sometimes in the form of food. This is vital in a country where child vulnerability is not only tied to labour but also to homelessness.

Street children, for example, remain a pressing concern. “We work with organisations like Sepheo to help removestreet children with their families because orphanages are a last resort. Unfortunately, some children voluntarily return to the streets days after intervention,” she explained.

Child labour is not just a social issue but it is an economic one. As Mohlabi points out, “When children drop out of school, they contribute to a less educated workforce, which reduces the country’s productivity.” Over time, this translates into stunted national growth, reduced innovation and an unbroken cycle of poverty.

‘Maseiso Ntlama, speaking on behalf of the World Vision National Director, stressed that while progress has been made, the fight is far from won.

“We are managing policy gaps in the implementation of laws and working closely with partners like UNICEF to tackle the root causes of this injustice,” she said. 

For Ntlama, poverty and inequality are at the heart of the problem.

The delay of the Child Protection Amendment Bill which was delayed for over five years remains an example of misplaced priorities. 

“Policies in the interest of parliamentarians are reviewed overnight, but bills that protect the most vulnerable are left to gather dust.”

Another obstacle is manpower. ‘Mathabo Tsiane, a Health Inspector, revealed that there are only three child labour inspectors in the entire country. 

“It is impossible to cover all cases with such a small team,” she said.

Tsiane emphasised that the legality of a child’s work depends on several factors being their age, the type of work, the number of hours worked and the conditions under which It is performed. 

“A child should not work more than four hours without rest and not more than eight hours in a day,” she added.

Despite the challenges, the project has made significant strides in training, awareness raising, and community mobilisation. The collaboration between government ministries, non-profits and international donors also shows a growing united front against Child Labour

Nkosi says the project’s next phase will focus heavily on public awareness. “We need communities to speak up. Reporting is the first step to rescuing children from these situations,” she said.

Ultimately, ending child labour in Lesotho will take more than laws and projects. It will require a cultural shift where communities refuse to accept exploitation as normal and where every child is seen not as a source of income but as a person with a right to education, safety and dignity.

As the project enters its second year, the question is whether the momentum gained so far can overcome the barriers of silence and fear. For now, the fight continues in the fields, in the streets, in policy chambers and in the hearts of those who believe that no child should have to work for their survival.

It takes a world to end violence against children.