12,526 child workers benefited from DoLE’s project

Twelve thousand five hundred twenty-six (12,526) child laborers were benefited from Angel Tree Project (ATP) of the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) that granted their wishes for food, clothing, schooling and other forms of assistance, said DoLE Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz.

Baldoz said the project has granted the wishes of 12,526 child workers since the DoLE regional offices launched it in 2006 until 2009. For this year, another 1,000 elementary and high school child worker-beneficiaries of the project will be given school supplies by the United Nations International Children Educational Fund (UNICEF), which has been a DoLE’s partner on the anti-child labor program.

The project aims to gather and grant the wishes of child laborers through the building up of a network of patrons and supporters throught national efforts against child labor. Donors, benefactors, contributors and sponsors of the program are called angels.

Services under the program include food, clothing, shelter, mentoring, livelihood, educational and medical assistance, and other works and training opportunities for target child worker-beneficiaries.

The project also encourages children from identified barangays to continue their education as they are informed that doing laborious tasks will endanger their lives and health.

“Child workers are forced to stop their schooling and work to supplement the income of their families or simply to support themselves. Through ATP, however, we are educating the children, while providing their parents with livelihood or other income sources to overcome poverty that ties child workers and their families to the cycle of child labor,” said Baldoz, who also cited the importance of the observance of the month of October as ‘Children’s Month’ to give recognition to the rights of children and their important role to their families and in society as a whole.

She explained that the ATP is a manifestation of the joint efforts between government and the private sector in keeping children away from dangerous workplaces.

The DoLE chief said as she exhorted the parents and other adults that the should always be protected and not to be exploited.

Baldoz also mentioned the other continuing DoLE programs such as the Sagip Batang Manggagawa (SBM), or Rescue Child Workers and Kabuhayan para sa Magulang ng Batang Manggawa (KaSaMa). The programs are aimed to rescue child workers from hazardous and exploitative work, while providing their parents an access to decent livelihood opportunities to enhance their income so that they would no longer force their children to work. –Mina Diaz, Daily Tribune