Poverty Forces 3 Million Mexican Children to Work Juan Carlos Cruz Vargas - Proceso
go to original June 8, 2013

Around 300,000 children work illegally in the fields of Mexico, providing produce for dinner tables across the globe. The government recently brought in new labour laws to help crack down on child labour. But authorities are finding it hard to prosecute offenders, who are mostly poor farmers. Al Jazeera's Rachel Levin reports from Sinaloa, Mexico. (AlJazeeraEnglish)

Economic uncertainty in Mexican households forced more than three million children to perform some economic activity during 2011, revealed the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI).

Some 45.6% of children combine work, school activities and performing chores at home, thereby limiting their overall development, which includes not only the acquisition of knowledge and skills through the school, but the time required for rest and recreation;

• One in four [25%] combines work and domestic chores;
• 15.3% work and study; and
• 13.8% work for a living.

In releasing statistics for the World Day Against Child Labor, INEGI head Eduardo Sojo said that "childhood is a fundamental stage in human development, so it is important to guarantee that individuals in this phase of life are minimally exposed to certain risks that can impair or damage their physical and emotional integrity."

Read the rest at Mexico Voices

We invite you to add your charity or supporting organizations' news stories and coming events to PVAngels so we can share them with the world. Do it now!