Education as weapon against child labour
According to Article 32 of the international Treaty of the rights of a Child, child labour is prohibited. regardless of this, there are still an estimated 250 million children. some as young as 5 years old working, 95% of all child labourers live in the third world.
 Some organization are calling for a boycott of companies which in the making of their goods employ. The World Study Fund believes one should first offer an alternative before imposing a boycott. It is of the utmost importance that educational opportunities are created. This was made very clear in 1993, when mainly American Governmental pressure caused over ten thousand children to lose their jobs in the garments industries. Their textile companies were afraid of the announced boycott. The United Nations Children's Fund, Unicef found on investing the plight of these children that hardly any children returned to school. They dismissed got more dangerous jobs, like welding without protective gears, or removing hot steel products from the ovens in steel companies. Many girls ended up in prostitution.
The World Study Fund hopes to prevent history repeating itself. We want to ensure that a child can study.  Only then can children be taken out of employment. The Bangladeshi producers agree with this. They refuse to release the 10.000 children still employed there, until their education is guaranteed.
Better opportunities
Rolf Carriere, the head of Unicef Bangladesh, is convinced that it is possible to child altogether in eradicate the next ten years. "Child labour prevents children from enjoying their youth, to get education and hampers their health and development."
It is a proven fact that education offers greater opportunities for generating income. This can result in smaller families and people having more control over their destinies, thus releasing them from the poverty trap.
 The International Labour Organization, in their report of December 2003: "Schooling of children, in stead of forcing them to produce productive labour, will in time (say 15 years from now) result in great profits for these developing countries. Paying now for the education of a child will give a sevenfold return on investment".
That's why the World Study Fund is of such importance. It enables children to have a future and make a positive contribution to the development of their country.
We hope we can rely on your support in this worthwhile project.
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