During a time of global crisis that is increasing the risk of child labour in West Africa and beyond, the International Cocoa Initiative has published a collection of awareness-raising tools designed to support the fight against child labour.
“A boy your age should not be doing this kind of dangerous work, especially without an adult to watch over you,” so begins the animated series ‘Kweku and the Bird’ that follows a young boy as he learns the dangers of child labour, the importance of education, and more. This series is part of a collection of awareness-raising materials produced by ICI to support cocoa-growing communities in Ghana andCôte d'Ivoire.
The tools include an 8-episode series of educational films in French, each covering different aspects of child labour from the use of pesticides to carrying heavy loads, and a cartoon that follows the story of Aïssa, a young girl, with the objective of making children aware of their rights and responsibilities. ICI has also published a toolkit that includes a training manual for practitioners, an awareness-raising flipbook for community sessions, posters and a pamphlet, all devised with and endorsed by national authorities in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire.
ICI’s objective is to ensure children in cocoa communities are protected from the risks of child labour and to ensure the scale up of good practices within the sector. These materials are now freely available online, in addition to a number of user guides with tips to ensure they can be used as effective awareness-raising tools.*
The materials are available in English, French and in local languages.
Access the tools in English and Twi.
Access the tools in French, Baoulé and Malinké.
*Due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, ICI’s group awareness-raising activities have been suspended. Activities are continuing through agents based in cocoa-growing communities, but only when they can respect social distancing and sanitation guidelines in place. ICI is currently exploring other ways to support awareness-raising in the community including the use of audio messages, local radio stations and community information centres.