Sumnima Tuladhar, executive director of Child Workers In Nepal (CWIN), says the organization, in partnership with local government bodies, has begun awarding hotels and restaurants that do not use child laborers with certificates recognizing their proactive stance in a new program called “Prevention of Child Labor in Hotels and Restaurants.” [break]
This new approach, initiated on June 12 of this year, more commonly recognized as the World Day against Child Labor, has been embraced by four municipalities in the Kathmandy Valley: Thimi, Lalitupur, Kiritipur and Kathmandu Valley Metropolitan City.
Under this new approach, CWIN´s child labor monitoring unit conducts regular inspections to ensure that the businesses remain free of child labor and then awards them with certificates to encourage them.
The program has already been launched in Kirtipur and will be extended to the other three municipalities within the coming months.
Gyan Maharjan, chief executive of the Kirtipur Municipality, claims 210 businesses in Kirtipur have been awarded with the certificate till date. Maharjan is hopeful that this new effort will successfully rid the municipality of child labor.
Tuladhar says CWIN has started monitoring teashops, hotels and restaurants to study the child labor situation.
“We are distributing certificates as we speak right now to the restaurants and hotels that do not use child laborers within the Kirtipur Municipality," she says. CWIN is very optimistic about the success of this program, claiming that the municipalities involved have been actively involved in raising awareness in the communities they serve.
“People are becoming generally more aware of the issue and more organizations are cooperating,” she says.
CWIN estimates that a few hundred certificates would be awarded before the end of June.
According to Tuladhar, being thrown into hardships of labor is one of the biggest threats to the lives of Nepali children. “Generally speaking, it is about obstructing childhood and the harms can be long lasting and difficult (for the child) to recover,” says she. Tuldhar also adds that the organization has been working through the Child Help Line to investigate situations and work with the police to intervene. The organization also provides support and counseling to the victims and helps in their integration back into the society.
Working alongside CWIN, another non-government organization Children and Women in Social Service and Human Rights (CWISH) agrees with the fact that underage workers are vulnerable to many forms of abuses.
“I would say this is one of the biggest problems in Nepal,” says Vishnu Timilsina, Executive Head of CWISH. “It would have a long lasting impact on our national economy. Child laborers are forced to sacrifice their future to make somebody else´s present better. These children are not being properly trained or educated for the future. Employers never prioritize their education.”
A study conducted by CWISH among 347 child workers revealed that nearly 40 percent of them were aged between 10 and 14.
The CWISH found that 62 percent of child laborers come from indigenous communities and often work from 5 am until 10 pm. Timilsina adds that caste discrimination prevails in domestic labor, too. “Nobody wants a child from the lowest Caste,” says she.
To make matters worse, a startling 90 percent of the children who call CWISH helpline complain of sexual abuse.
Meanwhile, the government has initiated a process of creating an anti-child labor policy to address the situation. “We hope this will bring justice to thousands of Child Laborers,” says Timilsina.
The policy is currently at the cabinet awaiting approval.
Tuladhar of CWIN comments on the policy with a different perspective. “The bigger challenge would be implementing the policy. The problem has been neglected for too long. Why is the state not taking any action? In most cases, the government has become an outsider just observing and waiting for the people to speak out.”
Kick-starting the trend in Kirtipur
Kirtipur Hillside Hotel and Resort is one of the first to be awarded for refusing child labor. The hotel proudly displays the certificate on the wall behind the reception desk promoting their affirmative action to customers. “It recognizes our commitment that we won´t child labor, neither today or in the future,” says receptionist Nirmala Maharjan. An employee for two years, Maharjan claims the hotel´s employees are all at least twenty years of age.
“This is a family run hotel. All the family members work, others work, but we have never allowed child labor,” Maharjan adds. Having always refused to employ child laborers, Hillside Hotel and Resort sees a strong need for the community to take action against child slavery and maintains a strong sense of pride for being part of the movement.
According to the hotel, the award was given to them by the Kirtipur Municipality on June 12. “They (Kirtipur Municipality) came and they checked our staff and then interviewed the manager,” says Maharjan.
Another business to receive the certificate is Kirtipur Inside Restaurant. The restaurant´s managing director Bijaya Kumar Maharjan claims that the restaurant has been free of child labor since it opened ten years ago. “The municipality approached us,” says Masharjam, “and looked to see if we use child labor. Never have we employed a child!” he exclaims.
The moral stigma attached to child labor has been a strong motive and reminder for the restaurant to hire older employees. The director acknowledges the toll child labor takes on children and society and considers it disgusting.
Maharjan believes that if CWIN continues with their project, there is hope that Kirtipur will be free of child labor one year from now.
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