Child labour..........and the impact of chocolate?

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There are a lot of kids in happy, healthy and thriving families where they have an opportunity to grow and experience many things. Sadly , however, this is not the case for a lot of kids around the world.

It is estimated that 158 million children aged 5-14 years are engaged in child labour (UNICEF, 2008)

As a result of poverty,family violence and for a means of families to survive(even if it is such a small income), child labour is real and affects many kids around the world. It can have long term impacts and affects the most vulnerable of boys and girls.

Child labour can include children being involved in excessive amounts of work, slavery at its worst and sadly child prostitution.

How can you and I do something to help end child labour? Here are some tips I have suggested:

Firstly as a Christian praying is important. God hears all our prays and is concerned for the poor and destitute of this world.
See how you can advocate for people in third world countries. Maybe you can petition, lobby, visit helpful websites informing you better on how you and I can help bring an end to child labour.

There is one thing though which many people love to eat..chocolate that can make a difference in ending child labour. Fair trade is involved in making a better deal for people in the developing world so that purchases made in western countries benefit and not hinder children.

Below is a website for Fairtrade Australia.
http://www.fta.org.au/


So maybe next time you buy your chocolate, why not check if it is fair trade chocolate?

Homelessness-part 2

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I wrote a previous post about homelessness in our city and my experiences of an upcoming event. Even though on this occasion I didn't see homeless people in this event, I am still very much aware of the need of services to provide for people in need. Services that in the future people we know may need. Through helping on this street count I gain some extra knowledge about where homeless people live and conditions for them. There are a lot of dedicated people wanting to bring about social change and have this issue of homelessness on governments minds so funding can be used to help these people in vulnerable positions.


If anyone is interested in finding out more about homeless people thee is a magazine called " The Big Issue" . Website is:
http://www.bigissue.org.au/ There is also a blog on the website too.

Happy reading!