Oct 12

In town I saw a small girl walking down the street with a bundle of firewood on her head. She must have been about 5 years old and this single image brought into sharp relief the concept of child labour. It is not just economic activity but also domestic activity which is categorised by UNICEF as child labour and with the burden of domestic responsibilities linked to traditional expectations about gender roles, girls are particularly at risk. It is very difficult to find time for schooling if firewood has to be fetched by foot every day!

A typical Benin citizen will have only spent 4.5 years at school; however looking at the figures in more detail, girls really are worse off. Regardless of urban or rural, females of the poorest 20% of the population only achieve on average just over one year of education. Anything less than 2 years is classed by UNICEF as “extreme education poverty”. For the similar segment, boys fare better with an average of 3 years of education. For the richest 20%, girls are better off (avg. 5.5-7 yrs.) but still lag behind boys (avg. 8.5-9 yrs.). Fortunately EDEM is here to help!

Whilst living in Europe, it is hard to get a real sense for the poverty and some of the many challenges facing developing countries. If the challenges I have seen in Benin are representative of what other developing countries are experiencing then the world has a big challenge on its hands! In Europe we tend to take education for granted and sometimes forget what an important a privilege it is! Meanwhile every little helps and getting involved in the dynamic is just what EDEM is doing locally and Accounting for International Development is doing globally!

Photo: Child engaged in domestic activity…