Child carpet workers with hands raw and bloody from knotting threads were the spark for a child welfare project run in Pakistan by the Catholic development agency Caritas Aotearoa.

The project, carried out by the Pakistan National Council for Civil Liberties and funded under the New Zealand Good Governance Programme, took place among 300 children in Kot Lackpat, an industrial part of Lohore.

Initially the focus was just on workers in the carpet industry, but Caritas project officer Peter Zwart says this proved to be too narrow and the project was expanded to include children working in other local industries, including brick kilns and sports goods factories.

Some of these children are treated well by their employers, but others have to do difficult, heavy and dangerous work and live in appalling conditions, he says. Few have access to education, health care or recreation.

"Standards for the treatment of child workers vary widely, but Pakistan is one of a number of countries in South Asia in which child labour is a real problem. The laws controlling it are reasonable but they don't impinge much on reality."

The project worked on several levels. First, it gave the children one and a half hours' education each day in Urdu, English, maths and awareness of child labour issues. It also included sports events, drama and debating competitions, picnics and excursions.

At the same time the organisers ran community workshops and meetings on subjects such as the rights of children, ethics, the environment, the importance of education and basic hygiene. They also set up committees which, when needed, can step in to stop children being badly treated by their employers.

Peter Zwart believes the programme "went as well as could be expected in difficult conditions". The children on the programme learned that they have rights that must be respected. Their situation was the result of unjust human action and not the result of some sort of cosmic accident. This offers considerable hope for the future, he says.

Nevertheless, he thinks a combination of factors, including ethnic and religious divisions, will mean community attitudes to child labour in Pakistan change relatively slowly. Progress is not helped by the attitude of employers, who perceived the Caritas project as a threat and in some cases relocated their factories to areas where the child labour issue is less contentious.

Peter Zwart says while it is important to work towards a complete end to child labour, particularly in its worst forms, it is also essential to look at the broader issue. Child labour is a symptom of poverty in the community, and until this is addressed blanket bans may do more harm than good.

"Certainly we're not in favour of child labour - serious child labour that denies access to education or health, or play - but we have to work at community level to change these things. We have to be reformist, not revolutionary.

Courtesy : New Zealand Development Assistance