Fight against trading of children in Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso is one of the poorest countries in the world. Almost half of the new born children starve to death, before the age of five. Burkina Faso is dry and barren. But, encircled by six other countries (Mali, Niger, Benin, Togo, Ghana and Ivory Coast), Burkina Faso is ideally situated for international trade. Trading of people included.
In Burkina Faso the buying and selling of children is illegal. Nevertheless, annually thousand of children disappear. The government of Burkina Faso is active in the fight against the trading of children. In 2002, the police rescued almost 900 children from their so-called ‘owners'. If possible, the children were reunited with their family. Otherwise they were brought to a shelter. However, from most of the traded children nobody ever hears again.
The role of ChildRight in Burkina Faso
In close cooperation with GRADE*, a women’s rights organisation based in the capital city Ouagadougou, ChildRight fights against the trading of children, by means of:
* A specific team, which is specialised in tracking down and liberating child slaves. Investigation is done to get information on trading routes, the buyers of the children and the places where the children are hidden. Once known where the children can be found, the team will try to liberate the children.
* Arranging good shelter for the children. Most of the liberated children are ill and anxious. They are in great need of attention and care in order to deal with their experiences.
* Bringing the children back home, if possible. If (good) parents or caretakers cannot be found, the children are brought to a shelter.
* Making sure that the children go to school and receive a professional education. This is very important, because when educated well, the children will be able to look after their own living.
* Seeing to it, together with experts and lawyers that the buyers and sellers of the children will get caught and be sentenced.
* Advising parents on how to be good and caring parents, on how to protect their children against the trading.
* De complete name of GRADE is ‘Groupe de Recherche Action pour un Développement Endogène de la Femme Rurale du Burkina'.
Orphans in Africa
Because of poverty and diseases such as Aids, more and more children in Africa are without parents. Experts believe that by the year 2010 there will be over twenty million of children of whom both parents died of Aids. This means a greater number of children than the total population of the Netherlands. Most of these single children are themselves infected with HIV, the virus that causes Aids. The African countries are too poor to help these orphans. The children end up on the street where they become easy targets for child traders. These orphans, infected with Aids end up as slaves, being employed in agriculture, factories, or prostitution.
