Untitled - Terre des Hommes

National Child Development Policy
The National Child Development Policy recognizes that familial violence can result in children living
on the streets. This policy touches on issues related to child participation rights, the escalating
number of orphans and worst forms of child labour.
3. Forms
a. All forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery, such as the sale and trafficking of
children, debt bondage and serfdom and forced or compulsory labour, including forced or
compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflict.
Domestic work
The minimum wage for domestic work is TZS 60,000 per month (approx. €30), but domestic workers
are more typically paid around TZS 10,000 to 30,000 (€5 to €10) per month on top of room and board.
Domestic work is considered light work in Tanzania, especially when compared to work in the mines
and on plantations, but due to a lack of regulation, domestic workers often work long hours and
working days from 5 am until 11 pm would not be considered unusual. Child domestic labourers
often have little or no education, have no alternatives to their situation and are in no position to
bargain for better wages or working hours. There are connections between domestic work and the
sexual exploitation of children; a boyfriend, or men and even women within the household, have
been known to solicit domestic workers for a few thousand shillings. Sometimes girls enter into sex
work voluntarily to supplement their meagre earnings and to be able to send some money home to
their families. Some child domestic workers have been sold and trafficked from rural areas. 301
Case studies
The first case study exemplifying the situation for domestic workers in Tanzania is that of a sixteenyear-old
girl who has been a domestic worker for eight months. When her parents arranged for her
marriage to a 57-year-old man, she ran away and found a position in a household about eight
kilometres from her village in Musoma. Her parents are farmers and she has completed school up to
Standard 7. This child wakes up at 4.30 every morning to tidy up before her employers wake up and
works until about 10 pm. Her other tasks are cleaning the compound, maintaining the garden and
taking care of the baby. Her salary is TZS 7000 per month and she has no free days. Although she
faces physical abuse at the hands of her employers and is regularly given less food than family
members, she feels that this is the best alternative available to her at the moment. 302
A contrasting typical story is that of a fifteen-year-old girl who dropped out of school when her
parents died of HIV/AIDS. She was sent to live with relatives, who in turn sent her to work as a
domestic worker in another household. Her relatives received an initial payment of TZS 20,000 for her
services and her monthly earnings of TZS 12,000 go straight to them. She works from 5 am until 11
pm cleaning the house, preparing meals, taking children to school, fetching water and gardening. As
punishment for mistakes, including false accusations, she has been locked outside of the house for the
night and food has been withheld for days on end. This child was also beaten when the lady of the
house accused her of seducing her husband; he had given her sweets for her birthday. She receives
one Sunday off per month. 303
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Verena Maro (Foundation HELP), Patricia Kamugisha and Barnaba Mwenge (Baraka Good Hope Orphans
Development)
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Beneficiary Centre for Widows and Children Assistance
303
Beneficiary Centre for Widows and Children Assistance
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