Expansive urbanisation leaves a lasting scar in children

Lilongwe, a capital city of about 1 million people, is one of the fastest-growing cities in sub Saharan Africa with more new virgin areas that were once communal settlements being opened up and developed into either industrial or residential areas beyond what was once the city’s boundaries.

A 20 kilometre drive out of the city towards the northern western part of the metropolitan in Traditional Authority Njewa, we come across a place called ‘Kunjerwa’, which is near Dip Trading Centre. Here, there is a huge brick manufacturing site along the banks of Lingadzi river. 

This is where most people that are in construction in the city and surrounding areas are sourcing burnt bricks in large quantities for their projects. 

It is a buffer for raw materials for the rising levels of construction that is changing the face of the city. As those buying bricks here find it convinient, and probably cheaper, there is a dark side to this place. 

Little do the buyers know that almost 30 percent of the brick production process done here involves children as young as 8 years, most of them are sent by their parents to do some peace works to get money to buy food for their families.

Mphatso Phiri, not his real name, is a 10 – year old boy in standard two at Tsapa Primary School in the area. A first born in a family of three, Mphatso together with his peers-both boys and girls-embark on carrying heavy loads of bricks from where they moulded and dried to the kiln for further processing.

The boys and the girls are paid according to the quantity collected. A line of of 60 pieces of bricks earns one K50. 00 while a line of 120 pieces of bricks yields a K100. 00.

“Every day I work hard to finish at least 10 lines so that I get K1,000 kwacha. I give this money to my mum to buy me school materials like pencils. My mom also fetches water for the moulding of the bricks and my dad sells sweet potatoes,” said Mphatso.

Tonia Elias, owner of the brick production business, says most children who are involved in carrying bricks at the site do so out of their parent’s will as the money they earn is used to support their families. 

“This work is just lighter for them and they do it after classes and during weekends,” said Elias, trying hard to justify her act of recruiting minors in her business.

According to Lastone Mataka, Njewa Child Protection Committee chairperson, the problem of child labour in the brick manufacturing sector is high in the area as owners opt for cheap labour from children.

Mataka adds that apart from brick production, most children in the area are also involved in 

cattle herding through arrangements with their parents. 

“Previously cattle owners here were employing someone who is mentally unstable but these days they are employing children from within the ranges of 9 to 14 years from this village as well as other areas, who are paid as low as K10,000 per year,” said Mataka. 

He said the formulation of the Child Protection Committee and the implementation of the Joining Forces for Africa: Acting to End Child Labour (JOFA ACTE) Project by Plan Malawi and Save the Children International has helped to increase awareness of issues of child labour, a development that has helped reduce cases of child labour in the area.

“Since 2023 when the project was initiated, we have rescued about 26 children from child labour, out of whom 10 are boys and 16 are girls," he said." We discussed with their parents and convinced them to go back to school,” adds Mataka."

District Social Welfare Officer for Lilongwe Derrick Mwenda acknowledged that cases of child labour are high in Traditional Authorities Njewa and Chimutu as well as the rest of the district.

He said from January to May 2024 his office has recorded more than 120 cases of child labour. Most of these, he said, were involved in sand mining, working at construction sites and farms.

“What is most worrisome is that child labour brings life-long implications on lives of children. It affects holistic development of a child as it damages their physical, emotional, 

psychological and social wellness leading to school drop outs and serious health problems," said Mwenda. 

These problems affect them up to adulthood and creates a vicious circle of poverty since they grow into irresponsible citizens,” he said. 

The engagement of community members in the fight against child labour, especially in its worst forms, through Child Protection Committees is expected to help address the problem in Lilongwe and Ntchisi districts where the JOFA ACTE project is being implemented. 

Joining Forces is a global alliance of the six largest child-focused international NGOs: Save the Children, Plan International, World Vision, SOS Children’s Villages, ChildFund Alliance, and Terre des Hommes.