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Rather than go to school and hang out with friends like a “normal” 7-year-old, War War dropped out of school when she was in Grade 2 to work. She didn’t have much of a choice. With two ill parents unable to work and three younger siblings to feed and send to school, War War was the only one in the family capable of securing work to sustain the family. Their home was located in the Industrial Zone of Yangon, where temporary and informal jobs were plentiful.
When War War was 14 a neighbor tipped her off about a garment factory hiring temporary workers. She saw it as an opportunity to secure more stable income for her family and so applied for a position. She was hired, and so War War began her first job in a factory environment.
The Drawbacks of Being a Temporary Worker
Despite the temporary satisfaction of receiving cash in hand every Saturday, War War was all too aware of the drawbacks of having a ‘temporary worker’ status: she couldn’t avail of even the most basic services offered by the factory, including the factory shuttle bus. Nor was she eligible for a transportation allowance. Each night she had to find her own way home in the dark. Another downside of being a temporary worker was that she got no training whatsoever.
Violation of Myanmar’s Labor Laws
By the time War War was discovered by an auditor, she had been performing the same task, 10 hours a day, six days a week for half a year. Despite having a legal minimum working age of 14, it is forbidden for children aged 14 to work for more than four hours per day in Myanmar.
She complained that her fingers hurt from the repetitive work (removing paper tags from clothes) and long working hours. By then, it had been about six years since she last stepped foot in a classroom or received any type of formal education.
War War was discovered in the factory together with another 14-year-old girl in a very similar situation: Moe Moe. She too dropped out of school in Grade 2 to support her family of nine. Like War War, she worked excessive hours each day, six days a week.
Back to Education Through Remediation
CCR CSR, The Center for Child Rights and Corporate Social Responsibility, supported War War and Moe Moe after they stopped working upon being discovered during an audit. CCR CSR took the girls’ interests into consideration and enrolled them into a vocational school that met their needs. Since January 2018, the girls have been taking sewing classes in the morning and then attend non-formal education classes in the afternoon to catch up on the gap in their education.
“I sometimes get confused when studying math because I’m not very good at it, but I’ll keep trying my best!”, War War told CCR CSR.
Meanwhile Moe Moe beamed about improving her literacy skills since attending the FXB Vocational School: “I can learn a lot of things and gain knowledge on subjects I never knew before.”
When the girls complete their education at the school, not only will they be able to apply for more decent, better paying jobs, they can also be a greater asset to their employers by possessing a wider skill set.
Ellen works at the Beijing office of CCR CSR, where she has been in charge of the organization’s internal and external communications since 2015. She provides guidance and support to all of the organization’s regional bases (Mainland China, Hong Kong, Myanmar, Vietnam, Bangladesh) and is responsible for promotion, marketing, design and media relations, as well as maintaining the organization’s web presence.
Ellen has been living in China for almost nine years where she held positions in the media and charity sector before joining CCR CSR. Ellen holds a BA in Chinese and Politics from SOAS, University of London, and speaks fluent English, Mandarin and German.
In a world where big ideas about children’s rights are presented at high-level events, seminars and workshops, the voice of the children themselves is often conspicuously absent. Global Child Forum and CCR CSR have proudly collaborated on a short-film that seeks to give a voice to children, while at the same time inspiring businesses to invest in child rights. Click here to watch the film and listen to children from China, Malaysia, Vietnam and Bangladesh talk about the impacts of businesses on their lives. Read more about the video collaboration between Global Child Forum and CCR CSR here.
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No. 4 in a series of company reflections for the Global Child Forum on the ways in which companies address children’s rights and child-related issues. The study showcases Wilmar’s path towards establishing more sustainable business practices and developing a better understanding of the need to integrate a children’s rights perspective across its operations and suppliers. Click here to read the State of Children’s Rights in Southeast Asia Benchmark 2020.
To mark our 10-year anniversary, and to acknowledge the 30th anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, we asked young people and adult stakeholders what they see as the most critical issues for business to consider in the coming decade. To answer this question, we commissioned a global survey – scanning opinions from Stockholm to Sao Paolo – to listen and learn so that we can better guide companies along their journey to create a better world for children. So what are the top 10 children’s rights and business issues? Read on to find out!
In an effort to provide insights and guidance on how businesses protect – or fall short in protecting – children’s rights in the Southeast Asia region, this report makes use of two essential Global Child Forum research products: The Children Rights and Business Atlas and The corporate sector and children’s rights benchmark. More specifically, insights are provided across three areas where the corporate sector impacts children’s rights: The Workplace, The Marketplace, The Community and the Environment. Throughout this report, data from the Atlas highlights contextual factors that shape how companies can and should respond to children’s rights. This information is contrasted with the results of the Benchmark scoring for the 20 largest companies in Southeast Asia. A gap analysis provides recommendations for company actions that address risks and create positive impact on children’s rights in the region.
This is Tran Thanh Nam, a former bartender and current employee at Cuong Phat Pottery Company in Binh Duong, Vietnam. At the tender age of 15, Nam decided to drop out of school and the world of education behind. "I wasn’t very mature back then" he says. When Nam left school, finding a decent age-appropriate job was difficult, leaving him with no option but to take high-risk jobs like bartending until late at night. But since early 2018, Nam, now 17, has been working at Cuong Phat Pottery Company. The factory is taking part in a youth development programme which creates opportunities for out-of-school youth such as Nam. This has been a new chance for Nam, changing his life. This is one of four stories profiled in, "Four countries. Four stories” - a film collaboration between Global Child Forum and CCR CSR. The video gives voice to children who talk about the impacts of businesses on their lives. #ChildrensVoices
15-year-old Warwar Nwe was just ten years old when she had to drop out of school. “My father had to go to Yangon to get medical treatment and so, our whole family came along with him to Yangon,” she says with a sense of sadness. In Yangon, Warwar Nwe missed her old life: “I felt very sad and cried. I couldn’t see my friends and teachers anymore.” But when Warwar Nwe was 14 she heard about a garment factory recruiting young workers. This is the story about how a business initiative positively can change the life for children. It is one of four stories profiled in, "Children's Voices” - a film collaboration between Global Child Forum and CCR CSR. The video gives voice to children who talk about the impacts of businesses on their lives. #ChildrensVoices
In an effort to provide insights and guidance on how businesses protect – or fall short in protecting – children’s rights in the Middle East and North Africa, this report draws on one of Global Child Forum’s essential research products: The corporate sector and children’s rights benchmark. More specifically, insights are provided across three areas where the corporate sector impacts children’s rights: The Workplace, The Marketplace, The Community and the Environment. In 2014, Global Child Forum, in partnership with Boston Consulting Group, published a benchmark study of the 350 largest companies in the region. This report is a follow-up to that study. An updated benchmark analysis has been conducted on 20 of the region’s largest companies.
In an effort to provide insights and guidance on how businesses protect – or fall short in protecting – children’s rights in South America, this report draws on one of Global Child Forum’s essential research products ‘The corporate sector and children’s rights benchmark’. More specifically, insights are provided across three areas where the corporate sector impacts children’s rights: The Workplace, The Marketplace, The Community and the Environment. In 2017, Global Child Forum, in partnership with Boston Consulting Group, published a benchmark study of the 300 largest companies in the region. This report is a follow-up to that study. An updated benchmark analysis has been conducted on 20 of the region’s largest companies.
In an effort to provide insights and guidance on how businesses protect – or fall short in protecting – children’s rights in the Nordic Region, this report draws on one of Global Child Forum’s essential research products: The corporate sector and children’s rights benchmark. More specifically, insights are provided across three areas where the corporate sector impacts children’s rights: The Workplace, The Marketplace, The Community and the Environment. In 2016, Global Child Forum, in partnership with Boston Consulting Group, published a benchmark study of the 299 largest companies in the region. This report is a follow-up to that study. An updated benchmark analysis has been conducted on 20 of the region’s largest companies.
In an effort to provide insights and guidance on how businesses protect – or fall short in protecting – children’s rights in South Africa, this report draws on one of Global Child Forum’s essential research products ‘The corporate sector and children’s rights benchmark’. More specifically, insights are provided across three areas where the corporate sector impacts children’s rights: The Workplace, The Marketplace, The Community and the Environment. In 2015, Global Child Forum, in partnership with Boston Consulting Group, published a benchmark study of the 271 largest companies in the region. This report is a follow-up to that study. An updated benchmark analysis has been conducted on 20 of the region’s largest companies.
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