Untitled - Terre des Hommes

c. Illicit activities
Illicit activities, such as the production of illegal goods and smuggling, are known to occur in both
rural and urban areas, but there is little knowledge about the extent of these activities. 345 Children are
used in illegal brewing, especially in rural areas. 346
d. Hazardous work: work which, by its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out,
is likely to harm the health, safety or morals of children
Children are involved in many different types of hazardous labour in Uganda. In the agricultural
sector, children’s tasks include caring for livestock, work in the fields, burning charcoal, drying
tobacco, picking coffee and tea and transporting and processing sugarcane. Children work in the
fishing industry, on boat landing sites, and fetching and selling firewood and water. 347 Child labour in
the sugarcane industry is thought to be on the rise, but there are very few NGOs focusing on this
sector. 348 In the urban setting, many children are involved in the collecting and selling of scrap metal,
factory work and work in garages, hotels, restaurants, markets and stores, they can also be found
washing motorcycles and cars. 349 Overall however, child labour is said to be most common in the
sugarcane and fishing industries. 350
Case studies:
One case study brought to light, focuses on a boy who makes brooms for a living. He spends three
days collecting grass, a day tying up the grass into brooms and then a full day selling the completed
brooms at the market. Cutting the grass contributes to hand injuries and back pain. On a good market
day he earns about USH 3000 (about €1) for five long days of work. 351
A second case looks at the story of a twenty-year-old who had lost both his parents by the age of
twelve. After his parents died he dropped out of school and went to live with relatives. He works
long days at various agricultural jobs and then unloads vehicles until three in the morning. This
young man earns about USH 5000 (less than €2) for every 16–hour work cycle. 352
A final example of the various pathways leading to child labour is that of a fifteen–year-old boy who
was sent to live with his grandmother in the slums after his parents divorced. He was in Primary 7 at
the time, but they could no longer afford his school fees. He and his siblings were split up and he no
longer knows where his brothers and sisters are. This particular boy was kicked out of his
grandmother’s place after a while and ended up on the streets collecting and selling scrap metal with
a group of boys. He earns USH 500 - 2000 (less than €1) a day. 353
345
Nandi Ketty and Moses Kyomba (Uganda Police Force); Jimmy Obbo Ivans (ANPPCAN)
346
Group interview CRO, JINNET, ADSN; Jimmy Obbo Ivans (ANPPCAN)
347
Opio Ouma (Jinja District Local Government); Anslem Wandega (ANPPCAN); Dr. Regina Mbabazi
(International Health Sciences University); Adrine Namara (District Labour Officer, Kampala City Council);
Jimmy Obbo Ivans (ANPPCAN); Group interview CRO, JINNET, ADSN
348
Group interview CRO, JINNET, ADSN, Jimmy Obbo Ivans (ANPPCAN)
349
Dr. Regina Mbabazi (International Health Sciences University); Group interview CRO, JINNET, ADSN; Opio
Ouma (Jinja District Local Government); Group interview CRO, JINNET, ADSN
350
Group interview CRO, JINNET, ADSN
351
ADSN beneficiary
352
ADSN beneficiary
353
UYDEL beneficiary
105