"Did you know that 10 years ago an agreement (called the Harkin-Engel Protocol) was signed between big chocolate companies, the United States and the Ivory Coast to eliminate the worst forms of child labour from their cocoa supply chain? And yet our new report, released today, shows that child labour and, more disturbingly, the worst forms of child and trafficked labour are still rife in cocoa production today.
Child and trafficked labour in cocoa farms:
Criminal networks have been caught trafficking children across regions and international borders to work on cocoa farms in West Africa. Many more children regularly work on family farms to supplement their low and often unfair income. These children carry heavy loads, work with fire, chemicals and knives, with little or no protection. They receive little or no pay. Often they have no hope of going to school.
Some media reports have claimed that in the worst cases, children as young as six are being forced to work 80-100 hours per week, enduring beatings and malnutrition on top of back-breaking work.
So the agreement has failed, but why? And what’s next? It’s great that some chocolate companies have committed to using ethically certified cocoa. This means that you can buy their chocolate confident that you are not supporting forced, trafficked or child labour. However, the percentage of cocoa that is ethically certified is still only 1-3 percent globally. And looking forward, even with good growth in ethical cocoa, it’s likely that 60-75 percent will still be uncertified in 2018. Because of this, we can’t rely on ethical certification alone to solve the problem, more needs to be done.
The report recommends that cocoa companies pay a small levy of 2 cents in every $10 of chocolate sales, Tim Costello explains how the money would be used:
“The money raised from the levy is needed to combat child and trafficked labour and train cocoa farmers in sustainable practices” ."
Yep that's right, kids trafficked, beaten, forced to work so that I can eat chocolate, and chocolate companies know this, but the almighty dollar means more than these precious lives and that breaks my heart. As you can see from the article there are ethical producers which is why my family is having a Fair Trade Easter, but more needs to be done. Change can only happen however when people know and people care! It's not good enough just to know about something and think it's sad, to see change we have to act, we have to BE THE CHANGE!!! It starts with you and me!
I have been reading 'Lioness Arising' by Lisa Bevere and the following quote sums up exactly what I am trying to say. "When you are awakened you can't help but respond. Don't confuse being awakened with being upset. If something upsets you, you may react in that moment... you can be upset and not awake. But you can't be fully awake, and therefore alertly aware of the problems in the world, and not respond." I am upset about many things, but more than that I am awake, awake to injustice in the world, awake to God's heart for the poor, the needy, the oppressed, the widows, the orphans (and if you don't think God cares about these things then you are not reading the same Bible I am!) and because I am awake I cannot help but respond. Sadly not everyone is awake and I feel that part of the role God has given me in being a voice to the voiceless is to awaken people. I can share my heart, share information, I can pray, host events, but in the end it is up to each person whether they want to really wake up or not because waking up requires change and some people just like being comfortable.
As for me, all the children of this world, all the people of this world, matter to me, because they are all precious to the God who created them and so I raise my voice whether it offends people or not, because to be silent would grieve the heart of the God who gave His all for me. And just this past week I was encouraged that using my voice can bring change, because some people are listening. Here is an article that was in my local paper:
My point here is not to toot my own horn but to say that we all have a voice, we just have to use it. I am no-one special. I am a stay at home mum who never finished uni. I have no qualifications, no fancy title or career, just a heart and a passion for the poor and oppressed and God has used me to bring awareness on social justice issues and that just amazes and inspires me and I hope it inspires others too, to use their voice against injustice!!!! I need you to use your voice, because a chorus of voices is too loud to ignore and there is much injustice to shout about!
Let me leave you with more words from Lisa Bevere:
"May none of us be content with the safety of our children alone but instead grow in the understanding and awareness that all the children of this earth are our charge. May we be careful to move all children out of harm's way. May none of us imagine that local influence does not have the potential for far-reaching impact. Let none of us believe that our role is in-consequential. And let none of us imagine that we can conquer the world single handedly."
'Stand united, singular in vision, contending for people's trust in the message, the good news, not flinching or dodging in the slightest before the opposition. Your courage and unity will show them what they're up against: defeat for them, vistory for you- and both because of God.' Phil 1:27-28 (MSG)
1 comment:
Thank you for taking a stand on this. I have recently become very involved in learning more about Fair Trade. I volunteer for Trade As One and I am changing my shopping habits. We need to keep this issue front and center!
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