Urgent Petition to End Child Slavery in India

I received this message from the Walk Free team today and wanted to share it on here. Please read it and sign- children's lives are hanging in the balance here!

Blessings!

Ronell x

***URGENT*** Time is running out. The Indian Parliament is going to adjourn on Friday so we are in Delhi and planning to deliver the petition TOMORROW calling on the Indian Parliament to abolish child slavery in India by passing the "Child and Adolescent Labour Abolition Bill”.

 Click to take action before 8pm on Wednesday so we can add your signature before we head to the printer!

Every day, millions of children in India wake up to long hours of backbreaking labour, working everywhere from stone quarries to carpet factories to rice mills. These children—some as young as 5 years-old—are kept from school and forced to work 7 days a week for up to 18 hours a day in hazardous situations that leave them permanently injured or crippled by heavy loads and dangerous equipment. 

Because these children are often left illiterate and plagued with health problems, they are—in a cruel twist of fate—less likely to find employment once they reach adulthood. This continued enslavement of children traps generations of Indians in a vicious cycle of slavery, illiteracy and poverty.

Thankfully, Indian politicians are considering legislation called the "Child and Adolescent Labour Abolition Bill," which: 1) prohibits employment of children under 14 years of age, 2) outlines harsh sentences for violators, and 3) provides for monitoring of suspected cases of child slavery. This legislation would put an end to the enslavement of children in India, but it risks not passing without a demonstration of mass public support. That is why we are personally delivering 1,010,917 signatures on the 29^thof August to the Parliament of India, calling on them to immediately pass the Child and Adolescent Labour Abolition Bill.

TAKE ACTION. Add your name to the petition calling on the Indian Parliament to abolish child slavery in India.  

Days from now, the Parliament of India will close the doors on its Monsoon Session. They need to know that any further delay in the passage of this historic law banning child labour in their country is simply unacceptable.

For every day that this bill is delayed, millions of children in India will continue to be trapped in the nightmare of modern slavery. While leaders in India remain inactive, an entire generation remains at risk of being bought and sold to work in unimaginable conditions of sex slavery, bonded labour and domestic servitude.

By keeping this crucial bill off the agenda, the Indian Parliament is allowing modern slavery to continue to rob children of the chance to be healthy, educated and free to build a bright future for themselves and for their country.

Tell Indian politicians to pass the "Child and Adolescent Labour Abolition Bill" NOW.

We can end child slavery in India.

After you take action, will you take a moment to forward this email to your friends and family to make sure that as many people as possible join us in pressuring the Indian Parliament to protect millions of children from modern slavery? Thank you in advance for your help.

In solidarity,

Debra, Nick, Jessica, Kate, Mich, Amy and the Walk Free Team

Would You Ask Her..?

Here is another post by Walk Free about how someone's life was saved through a practical, every day response! Please read below about yet another example of how you could save someone from modern day slavery in a practical way.

Blessings!

Ronell x


When your friend is crying, you comfort them. But would you do the same for a stranger? Recently, a woman saw a fellow church-goer in distress. When she got talking to her, she realised she was a victim of modern slavery - and didn't hesitate to help get her to a safe haven. Would you do the same?

SHARE to raise awareness that we can all play a part in helping to end modern slavery - one case at a time.

Source: http://bit.ly/17k6Jeq

Walk Free // Sign a Petition for Freedom!

Across the globe, an estimated 20.9 million people are currently living in modern slavery. Stripped of their dignity and humanity; forced to work effectively without pay; trapped behind bars and worse. The world’s most vulnerable sentenced to a lifetime of rape, abuse and extreme labor. 

Those who perpetuate modern slavery count on our silence to drive their profits. They survive on secrecy and stigma. Without the attention of world leaders, they have been able to enslave more people today than at any point in history.

If we take a stand now, we can make ending slavery a global priority, ensuring those trapped in the silent web of slavery are not ignored.

Those who perpetuate modern slavery count on our silence to drive their profits. They survive on secrecy and stigma. Without the attention of world leaders, they have been able to enslave more people today than at any point in history. 
If we take a stand now, we can make ending slavery a global priority, ensuring those trapped in the silent web of slavery are not ignored.

If we take a stand now, we can make ending slavery a global priority, ensuring those trapped in the silent web of slavery are not ignored.

Your voice counts! Together, we can fight to create a world where freedom is a reality for all!

Sign this petition by WalkFree.org to help end modern day slavery forever: http://e-activist.com/ea-action/action?ea.client.id=1786&ea.campaign.id=19144 

I believe our generation can build a world without slavery. 

A world where it is unthinkable for one human being to be treated like someone else’s property. 

A world where those who coerce or deceive people into forced labor or steal other people's freedoms are brought to justice.

A world where everyone can walk free.

I commit to mobilise governments, businesses and communities to end modern slavery.

A world where those who coerce or deceive people into forced labor or steal other people's freedoms are brought to justice. 

A world where everyone can walk free.

I commit to mobilise governments, businesses and communities to end modern slavery.

A world where everyone can walk free. 

I commit to mobilise governments, businesses and communities to end modern slavery.

I commit to mobilise governments, businesses and communities to end modern slavery. 




Also remember the Run3KforFreedom happening THIS SATURDAY (6th July)! You can join the run and raise money, or you can sponsor online. All proceeds will go to The A21 Campaign, which is tirelessly fighting for the freedom of those trapped in modern day slavery!

Blessings!


Ronell x

Only ONE in 714...

'A mere fraction' of the victims of modern slavery throughout the world have been recognised by governments, meaning the majority aren't able to access the protection and support they deserve -http://1.usa.gov/19T78Vp

SHARE this graphic if you believe governments need to do more to recognise and rehabilitate victims of modern slavery.

The human cost of chocolate

I read the following article ('The human cost of chocolate') on CNN's Freedom Project page and thought I would share.

Blessings!

Ronell x

In "Chocolate's Child Slaves," CNN's David McKenzie travels into the heart of the Ivory Coast to investigate what's happening to children working in the cocoa fields. More information and CNN International air times

It may be unthinkable that the chocolate we enjoy could come from the hands of children working as slaves. In the Ivory Coast alone, there are an estimated 200,000 children working the fields, many against their will, to create the chocolate delicacies enjoyed around the world.

More than 10 years ago, two U.S. lawmakers took action to put a stop to child labor in the cocoa industry. Despite pushback from the industry, the Harkin-Engel Protocol, also known as the Cocoa Protocol, was signed into law on September 19, 2001.

In an upcoming documentary, "Chocolate's Child Slaves," CNN's David McKenzie travels into the heart of the Ivory Coast - the world’s largest cocoa producer - to investigate what’s happening to children working in the fields, 10 years after the protocol was signed.

The CNN Freedom Project examined in September 2011 what effect this protocol has had over the years and also what some of the major issues are surrounding slave labor and the cocoa industry. Here's some of the background of that coverage reprinted:

Where does cocoa come from?

Some 70 to 75 percent of the world's cocoa beans are grown on small farms in West Africa, including the Ivory Coast, according to the World Cocoa Foundationand the International Cocoa Initiative.

Does Ivory Coast allow children to work on these farms?

No, child labor is illegal and since the implementation of the Cocoa Protocol in 2001, the chocolate industry along with governments and human rights groups have worked to end the practice. Yet, a 2007 UNICEF report estimates 200,000 children are involved in the worst forms of child labor on cocoa farms throughout Ivory Coast. Some are the children of cocoa farmers but many other youths are smuggled into Ivory Coast from Mali and Burkina Faso to work on cocoa plantations, according to the International Labor Rights Forum.

What exactly is the "Cocoa Protocol"?

Ten years ago, U.S. Rep. Eliot Engel, D-New York, and Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, introduced legislation mandating a labeling system for chocolate. After the industry raised concerns, a compromise was reached that required chocolate companies to voluntarily certify they had stopped the practice of child labor. The certification process would not involve labeling products "child-labor-free," as initially proposed.

Instead, it calls for public reporting by African governments, establishment of an audit system and poverty remediation by 2005. The deadline had to be extended to 2008 (read Fortune Magazine's report on the state of the protocol in 2008) and again to 2010. Today, many aid groups say some of the provisions have still not been met.

So has the Cocoa Protocol had any success in ending child labor in the cocoa industry in the past 10 years?

It's hard to say. Ivory Coast has had further economic problems following its civil war from 2002 to 2004. Chocolate exporters and manufacturers say the war and its aftermath have hampered their efforts to eradicate child labor.

"Honestly, it's hard to see anybody saying that this protocol has attained the goals that were set out in it," said Judy Gearhart, executive director of the International Labor rights forum.

Chris Bayer, a Tulane University researcher, spent five years in the Ivory Coast and Ghana monitoring the protocol's plan and studying the scope of the problem.

"Unfortunately, over the last 10 years we have seen very little implementation of the actual commitments," he said. "Industry did not live up to the Harkin-Engel protocol. The issues are systemic. Children are still working."

The International Cocoa Initiative was set up by the protocol to bring all parties together to address the worst forms of child labor in the supply chain. The ICI board has representatives from the major cocoa processors and chocolate manufacturers. It says progress is being made.

"Five of the six commitments made in the protocol have been completed," the group said in an e-mail statement at the 10-year anniversary of the protocol. "And governments of cocoa producing countries, ILO, the OECD, independent foundations, members of the cocoa supply chain and ICI itself are ACTIVELY working on the sixth commitment - to improve the livelihoods of cocoa growers the infrastructure in cocoa communities farmers organizations, educational facilities etc. Substantial funds are being expended on these activities."

Lemon-aid: Ending Child Slavery- One Bottle at a Time

I read this story on facebook tonight and was really challenged. So many of us complain about circumstances holding us back, but this little 9 year old abolitionist proves that if we just start where we are and do what we can do, we can make an actual tangible difference in the world. Hope you are challenged and inspired to do something incredible! Remember, it doesn’t happen over night, just take the baby steps and it will grow!

Blessings!

Ronell x

Ending Child Slavery — One Bottle at a Time

on may 5, 2012, i saw a picture of two enslaved boys with big rocks strapped across their heads. to feel better, they were holding hands. i never knew about slavery, but i knew it was wrong. i decided to make a stand for them.

my quote is: “compassion is not compassion without action.” so, i decided to make a stand and sell my lemon-aid every day rain or shine to help end child slavery. the world stood with me. (you can see my entire journey right here!) on day #173, i reached my goal. when i woke up the next day i wanted to do more. so, i am!

i decided to bottle up my organic, fair-trade, dee-licious lemon-aid and give net profits to end child slavery. when you enjoy this best-ever-made lemonade, you are helping us end child slavery in our lifetime —one bottle at a time.

thank you with my whole heart.

with love,

vivienne, 9

http://www.makeastandlemonade.com/