Child labor in Zambia is a curse which if not lifted quickly to return the children to the school, it will relegate
Zambia to the depths of unending poverty.
Child labor of Zambia is a deep rooted problem, which has its origin in the parental poverty and orphanhood of almost 1/3 rd of the children in the country.
Zambian child labor is a very serious issue because not only does it reflect the dire situation of the country's HIV/AIDS problem but it also holds the keys to Zambia's future.
Child labor in Zambia is most noticeable in the following areas:
- Digging wells and garbage pits,
- Portering or kuzezera,
- Fetching water,
- Domestic chores or household work,
- Quarrying and stone breaking,
- Cooking local dishes in the markets,
- Carpentry,
- Cutting grass,
- Prostitution earnings
- Picking bottles, and
- Hawking on the street and in markets.
But the area where child labor in Zambia is causing the greatest concern is child prostitution. Not only is it contributing towards the growth of the child labor force with lure of easy money, it is also enlarging the already mammoth problem of STDs, mainly HIV/AIDS. Zambian child laborers are in position to bargain for better wages and other working conditions and are being continuously exploited by their employers, the plight of the children forced into prostitution is even greater because they cannot negotiate for safer sexual practices and often knowingly put themselves in danger of infection due to hunger pangs.
But many organizations both government and nongovernmental are working together to uproot the problem, by providing the children with education and safer means of survival along with negotiation skills necessary for their lives because they are the sole bread earners of their families.
