Katete parents forcing children into cattle herding?

Some parts of Zambia have a relatively high prevalence rate of boys herding cattle at the expense of their education as evidenced in Katete in Eastern Province.  In collaboration with its partners, PANOS Institute Southern Africa is working towards enhancing child protection by strengthening existing child protection systems. Our staffer, VIOLET MENGO, reports.

TINENENJI Tembo of Malata village in Katete has a secret. It is that she has lent out her 12-year-old son, Gift, to her area councillor to herd cattle for three years.

Ms Tembo has found herself in this poignant scenario due to the high levels of poverty in her home. She has taken this path in a quest to live a better life after acquiring cattle from the councillor at the end of her son’s three-year contract.

She revealed her secret at a recent PANOS Institute Southern Africa stakeholders’ meeting in Katete. The forum was on strengthening child protection systems.

“My husband and I agreed that our son Gift works for three years to earn the family cattle that we have been longing for. I have now realised that it was wrong for us to have done that,” Ms Tembo said.

She said the lack of alternative survival means made the family sacrifice Gift’s education in the hope that once they acquire cattle, they would be able to send him and his siblings back to school.

“Iam willing to withdraw him [Gift] from his labour but what happens to the two years he has served so far?” she wonders. Ms Tembo said her son started herding cattle in 2011 but withdrew after a year. He was later persuaded to go back and renew the contract, which will now expire in 2015.

He is supposed to be in Grade Four but as things stand, Gift is not in school and may never have an opportunity to be in class again.

He is fourth in a family of eight. Gift’s case is one of the many in Katete, where parents have resorted to sacrificing their own children as labourers to wealthy families in bid to own cattle, which is believed to be a symbol of wealth.

Katete district commissioner Peter Kaisa is aware of this development and the infringement on children’s rights to education by the parents in their bid to lift themselves from the shackles of poverty.

Mr Kaisa said there is need for urgent action in addressing traditions, norms and cultures that adversely affect the development of children.

“Some traditions are very difficult to change but with concerted efforts from chiefs and the community, the injurious traditions can be removed. Sending children to herd cattle is considered a normal practice, but this becomes injurious to a child when it affects his or her education,” Mr Kaisa said.

He called on schools, the Church and parents to work with traditional leaders to curb child exploitation and ensure that children are protected and attain the highest level of education.

Mr Kaisa said child protection should not be the responsibility of Government alone, but all leaders and community members should feel duty-bound.

According to the Police Victim Support Unit (VSU) in Katete, a number of parents have suffered the consequences of sending their children to herd cattle with the hope of earning a living but never get the desired benefits.

Sergeant Stella Muleya said child abuse and early marriages are some of the common cases which the unit has been dealing with for some time now.

Ms Muleya said although VSU also receives a number of cases of defilement, there has been a sharp increase in the number of children herding cattle but never getting the benefit of their service.

“Some of the causes of child suffering include lack of food and the need to live a better life, so parents encourage their children to work and be able to support the family in some way,” Ms Muleya said.

She said because of the families’ insatiable desire for improved living conditions, they do not care about the kind of endeavours their children engage in as long as they are able to bring food on the table.

“There is need for collaboration in addressing these challenges from all stakeholders,” Ms Muleya said.

Area member of Parliament Peter Phiri says he is aware of the challenges facing the people in Mkaika constituency and has been engaging various stakeholders in an attempt to address the bottlenecks.

“We are planning a dialogue meeting with relevant stakeholders in the district to find solutions to the problem of child exploitation.

This is being worsened by the increase in the number of early marriages and children being forced to work as labourers at tender ages,” Mr Phiri said.

It is against this backdrop that PANOS Institute Southern Africa has embarked on a project called ‘Strengthening Child Protection Systems’ in Katete.

Regional programme manager for media development and ICTs Elias Banda says the institute will collaborate with different stakeholders to enhance child protection through the necessary protection systems.

Child protection, according to PANOS, is a set of usually Government-run services designed to protect children and young people.

PANOS is partnering with the Zambia Police Service through the VSU and the department of social welfare in the Ministry of Community Development, Mother and Child Health.

“Communities will identify problems affecting the development of children. They will also come up with their own ways of addressing the identified challenges and we will provide the needed support,” Mr Banda said.

PANOS has already supported the efforts of the local leadership in the district through the listening clubs.

On behalf of Save the Children International in Zambia (PSAf), PANOS has partnered with Mpangwe Radio to use radio as a platform where child protection issues can be discussed.

“We want to use radio to influence change and policy formulation. These interventions are expected to promote community action in reducing child abuse and advancing community-owned protection interventions,” Mr Banda said.

There are five listening clubs in Katete; they are Malata, Keni, Kagord, Kalimeta and Chibolya. These listening clubs give the residents a voice so that they can drive their own development agenda.

“The clubs produce programmes that can help others change in a positive way and share ideas aimed at fostering development,” Mr Banda said.