Child labour is a reality in many developing countries. At times, you will find kids as young as 6 working side by side with their parents to help put food on the table. Their daily travails is daunting and can affect their development for the rest of their lives.
Founded by music professor Marianne Sébastien, Association Voix Libres is an international humanitarian association whose core mission is to end child labour in the mining fields and garbage dumps in poverty-stricken Bolivia. Almost twenty years ago after witnessing hundreds of children especially young girls working in the mine fields from her trip in the vast Altiplano region of Bolivia, Marianne was determined to help and free the girls from the misery of working in such dire and precarious conditions.
The association provides various education programmes and rehabilitation to children and their mothers to ensure their holistic development. The key means to combat poverty:
This year, TFWA Care will provide financial assistance to Association Voix Libres to enable 3,550 underprivileged girls all throughout Bolivia to have access to quality education. The funding sought will cover the cost of:
Often times, the girls at Voix Libres are from broken homes with vulnerable mothers who are victims of domestic violence. Workshops will also be provided to families who are in need of rehabilitation from local experts. Former Voix Libres students also take part as mentors to help the newcomers in the program.
Effective action against child labour requires the children and their mothers at the centre of the programmes designed to protect children's rights. We hope to help 3,550 kids in the Altiplano region and beyond live the childhood they deserve and a better and brighter future with their families.
‘Good things happen only if we make them happen’
