Kephas’ transition from child labour to academic excellence
14-year-old Kephas Zimba hails from changaluwa village in Traditional Authority (T/A) Kawamba in Malawi. Like many other youths who are subjected to child labour at a tender age, Kephas was employed as goat grazer after dropping out of school due to lack of the basic education support which forced him to look for the job to support his aged grandmother.
30 August 2024
Despite being underage, Kephas had to work the whole day without food to earn enough money to support his family.
However, his life took a positive change when he was identified and withdrawn by the Social Dialogue Committee from T/A Kawamba with support from International Labour Organization (ILO) through the Addressing Decent Work Deficits and Improving Access to Rights in Malawi’s Tobacco Sector (ADDRESS) project funded by the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Lilongwe.
Kephas was among 30 children, who were withdrawn from child labour through the child monitoring system implemented by Good Health Organization under the ADDRESS Project and was supported with basic school materials for him to get back to school.
Kephas has just completed primary school leaving certificate of education Examinations at Chankhandwe Primary School
“I lost my mother who was the bread winner of my family at a tender age, and I was forced to live with my aged grandmother. Due to the problems, we were facing at home, I decided to start looking for a job, so that I should be able to earn enough money to support my family. Life was difficult as sometimes I could spend the whole day in the bush without eating but I had no choice as that was the only way we could find food at home,” he narrated. “After three years working as a goat grazer, I was identified by the social dialogue committee who were able to provide pyscho-social support and advise me to go back to school. It was a difficult decision considering the challenges we were facing at home, but I was motivated by the basic support they provided such as notebooks, uniforms, pair of trouser and shoes, that made me to go back to school. I have just completed my primary School Leaving Certificate of Education Exams and am working hard so that I should achieve my dream of becoming a doctor.”
Kephas is grateful to ILO through the ADDRESS project and its implementing partners, Good Health Organization, for restoring his hope in education.