March 2006. The community of Huanca is located in rural Peru, in a region of extreme poverty where child labor in high-risk activities is extremely common. CIRCLE partner ISAT’s pilot project in Huanca is educating and training parents, local authorities, teachers, and children about the dangers of child labor in small-scale mining.

ISAT organized a school drawing contest to encourage the community to reflect on the problem of child labor. Pupils from pre-school (age 3-5), primary, and secondary grades (aged 6-17) participated, and for each school level there was a winner. ISAT/CIRCLE asked the children to express, using their drawings, the dangers they are exposed to while working in the mining sector. They were also asked to think about ways to promote their own rights and happiness. Altogether, there were 13 awards for drawings. Each winner received a prize corresponding to his or her age: a children’s book, a learning tool, school stationary, etc. Students from secondary school also participated in an additional contest, drawing on pre-approved public walls within the community.

People walking in the streets of Huanca today can no longer remain indifferent to the messages displayed on their walls and homes. These walls speak about the realities of child labor in mines, showing the chemical contamination and the negative impact on a child’s health. The drawings have provoked strong reactions in Huanca because before ISAT, the community never discussed it. Most people now agree that mining work is detrimental to both adults and children.

Children received their awards for the contest a month later at the secondary school “Agropecuario Industrial de Huanca.” Children and adolescents from all three local schools were present, as well as teachers, authorities, parents and the general population. The students prepared songs, dances, and poetry related to child labor. A school calendar for 2006 was also prepared with winning drawings and the dates of children’s celebrations and community and school jubilees.

The drawing contest was a successful initiative because it provided a vehicle for children to publicly express their private worries concerning child labor and its consequences on their health. Moreover, it promoted participation of parents and teachers and contributed to the development of sensibilities among the general population. As a result, some of the parents are sending their children to take computer classes during summer vacation, rather than sending them to work in the mines.

Funding provided by the United States Department of Labor under cooperative agreements E-9-K-2-0048 and E-9-K-4-0005.
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