Listening to the Kids – the Children’s Helpline and World Day Against Child Labour
Friday 12th June is the World Day Against Child Labour, which seeks to bring awareness and action to eliminate child labour around the world. In its most extreme forms, child labour involves children being enslaved, separated from their families, exposed to serious hazards and illnesses or left to fend for themselves on the streets of large cities often at a very early age. However not all work done by children can be classified as child labour. Children’s or adolescents’ participation in work that does not affect their health and personal development or interfere with their schooling is generally regarded as being something positive. This includes activities such as helping their parents around the home, assisting in a family business or earning pocket money outside school hours and can provide them with skills and experience useful for the future.
Labour that jeopardises the physical, mental or moral well-being of a child, either because of its nature or because of the conditions in which it is carried out, is known as “hazardous work” and must be eliminated.
When to call Child Helpline (Free Call) 1325
If you see or hear about any child being forced to work under the age of 15 you can call the Child Helpline Fiji. The Child Helpline is a new telephone counselling service that’s for kids or for anyone who is concerned about a child. Child Helpline Fiji is about helping children solve their problems. Kids can now call this toll free number to report if they are forced to do any form of hazardous work.
Please call Child Helpline if you are or if you know a child working in a job that:
- is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful;
- interferes with their schooling by depriving them of the opportunity to attend school;
- obliging them to leave school prematurely; or
- requires them to attempt to combine school attendance with excessively long and heavy work
How can Child Helpline assist?
You can call by mobile or landline from anywhere in Fiji for free on 1325 anytime between 6 am and 6 pm every day. One of our counsellors will answer and give you their name; they are here to listen to you and they speak all of Fiji’s national languages. Our counsellors are here to help if you want to talk about something that is worrying you, they are great at helping kids solve all kinds of problems. Children and young people, or people concerned about children, living anywhere in Fiji can call the Child Helpline.
Remember: you’re not alone if you’re near a phone! If you need to talk you can call us at 1325.
