As part of efforts to address the causes of child labour and put an end to it, especially in the cocoa producing states in the country, the Lutheran World Relief (LWR), has launched a project tagged Child Labour Education and Resilience (CLEAR) in Ondo State. The project is expected to empower communities that have limited education on child labour. The CLEAR project, which spans one year from October 2023 to the end of September 2024 in the Idanre and Ifedore local government areas of Ondo State, would also help to improve net income from cocoa farming and other sources, and also equip children of cocoa farmers with life-building skills.
The Governor of Ondo State, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, who launched the CLEAR project in Akure, said that the state government cares about the children as a whole for most of the children, who could not find their fit at the farms are on the streets in Akure, begging for money. “Ondo State took it up as a responsibility to evacuate them from the streets, some of them are in schools right now being sponsored by the government and some of them are also in higher institutions”. Aiyedatiwa, who was represented by the President, National Council for Women Society, Oluseyi Odusola said; “we are here for war against child labour and that is why we are appreciating the Lutheran World Relief for organising this kind of programme in Ondo State.”
The Chief of Party, Lutheran World Relief, Nene Akwetey-Kodjoe, said that the project was founded by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in partnership with the Ondo State Government, Cocoa Farmers Association of Nigeria (CFAN), Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, and International Labour Organisation (ILO). According to him, “we are to ensure that in these two communities, Idanre and Ifedore, the children are not involved in child labour or to ensure that the incidences of children working in hazardous conditions in the production of cocoa is reduced to the barest minimum. So, we are bringing on board this support. We have a little bit of funding for the year to eliminate or reduce the incidence of child labour in hazardous tasks, but not children helping their parents.
This particular project, the CLEAR, is limited to these two communities in Ondo State and we have a larger project called TRACE in agriculture and cocoa ecosystems. So, we amplify whatever we learn in the implementation of CLEAR in the TRACE project”. The Deputy Chief of Party, Lutheran World Relief, Olawale Awoyemi, said that despite the existence of strong policy frameworks and initiatives aimed at eliminating child labour, implementation and coordination remained a challenge due to inadequate funding and a lack of capacity within relevant government departments and committees. Awoyemi said the objectives of the CLEAR project was to increase awareness of teachers, parents, and community leaders about child labour and its negative impacts, to improve the socio-economic status and resilience of parents and to increase entrepreneurial activities through vocational clubs in schools.
The National President of the Cocoa Farmers Association of Nigeria (CFAN), Adeola Adegoke, urged all the cocoa origin countries to make sure that what they are producing must be child labour and deforestation free. “This kind of project, brought by Lutheran World Relief, is timely and it is going to add value to other programmes that I know the government had been doing in the state. We are still struggling as a country with forest if cocoa is being rejected at the international market and that is why CFAN is very keen to partner with Lutheran World Relief to make sure that this project succeeds because the earlier it succeeds, the earlier it is guaranteed a free flow of our market. Ondo State is passionate about cocoa and we believe that we want to increase the production and also produce in high quality one that is internationally-compliant and it must be child labour free. CFAN is committed to make sure that this project succeeds in the Ifedore and Idanre local government areas of the state”, he stated further.
