Too Young To Work

Over 250 million children worldwide are engaged in child labour. Of these, up to 100 million children are being severely exploited in India.

The United Nations (UN) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) have been campaigning against child labour for many years. A range of resolutions and conventions are in place to protect children. Unfortunately, many governments, member states of the UN and ILO, either fail to ratify these conventions, or if ratified, do not ensure their country complies with them. This means that many children that should be protected, are not.

Too Young To Work (TYTW) projects have supported the development of schools in high-risk areas since 1997. The schools project was initiated by the ILO in co-operation with Building and Wood Workers’ International (BWI) under the ILO’s ‘International Program for the Elimination of Child Labour’ (IPEC).

These schools aim to provide a viable alternative to child labour to parents, children and their communities.

From a small one-year pilot that initially targeted construction related industries, particularly brick making, in three semi-remote areas, the project has grown from strength to strength.

Since its humble beginnings, the three schools supported by TYTW have successfully transferred more than 600 boys and girls to the government school system.

The program in India is co-ordinated by BWI.