Senior Group Kafulatila has applauded the Joining Forces Alliance to End Child Labour (JOFA-ACTE) Project for its role in promoting and protecting children’s rights in his area.
He made the remarks during JOFA Project Media Tour organized by Plan International Malawi aimed at assessing the impact of the project.
In an interview with Yetu Radio, Kafulatila said that before the project’s intervention, many children in his community were trapped in child labor, which contributed to school dropouts, early marriages, and teenage pregnancies.
“The project has closed knowledge gaps on child labor and supported the reintegration of children into schools in my area,” he said.
Speaking on behalf of the Scorecard Team, Moses Chinyama Mizeki revealed that the initiative has successfully reintegrated 139 school dropouts from five Group Village Headmen under Traditional Authority Chimutu.
“We have managed to rescue children from early marriages, gold mining, sand digging, brick making, working in tobacco estates and other forms of child labor,” Mizeki said.
However, Mizeki admitted that withdrawing children from gold mining remains a major challenge, as many are lured by the money brought in by buyers.
He nevertheless commended local authorities for introducing by-laws aimed at protecting children from exploitation and harmful practices.
JOFA Project, funded by the European Union, is targeting 8,000 children in Lilongwe Traditional Authority Chimutu and Ntchisi districts Traditional Authority Kalumo.
