Stacey Dooley Investigates

The BBC recently broadcast Kids with Machetes - Stacey Dooley Investigates.  ICI hosted Stacey at a community project in Dotou, Ivory Coast.  During her visit, the villagers were proud to demonstrate how they protect their children, ensuring they attend school while looking after the cocoa crop that supports individual families and the community as whole.

Speaking after her visit to Dotou, Stacey said, "Education is going to break the cycle of poverty". And, although there’s a long way to go and education is just one facet of our efforts, education does give these children options.  As Stacey said "Slowly, slowly, slowly; growing, growing, growing". 

We agree.

In Dotou today, six new classrooms have been built – 3 funded by ICI and 3 by funds raised by Dotou and the Ivorian government, along with housing to accommodate four new teachers.  Most importantly, the community is engaged and committed to the wellbeing of their children and ending the worst forms of child labour.

You can see the programme on BBC iplayer at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00n80rw

It is important consumers understand more about where the products they buy come from and Stacey has a unique way of making this information accessible to everyone. Earlier in the year, ICI welcomed Stacey to the Dotou community in Ivory Coast, where we have worked since 2006. Touring the project, the village elders were proud to demonstrate how they protect their children and ensure they attend school while also helping out with the cocoa crop in their spare time supporting their families and the community as whole.

ICI works as one of the partners contributing to a national plan of action put in place by the Ivorian Government to eventually eliminate child labour from cocoa production. Prior to ICI’s involvement in Dotou, demand for school places outstripped supply. Today, six new classrooms have been built – 3 funded by ICI and 3 by funds raised directly by Dotou, with support received from local authorities, along with housing to accommodate four new teachers.

Availability of education is a key component of the solution to child labour. Equally, the people of Dotou are aware of the dangers posed to children working on farms and have passed by‐laws to ban children from farms during crop spraying and the school day.
But, let’s be clear; while ICI is making progress on the ground, Stacey’s right the worst forms of child labour and forced labour (as defined in ILO Conventions No 182 and 29) are simply unacceptable. The issues facing the cocoa sector are hugely complex and inextricably linked to larger economic and social issues in the developing world. Unfortunately, there is no quick fix.

In Dotou, the community continues to demonstrate their commitment to ending child labour. We, at ICI, continue our work with the Government and our local partners to support Dotou, along with the many other communities in both the Ivory Coast and Ghana. Working in partnerships with communities on the ground, ICI is beginning the work to change the way cocoa is grown in the long term ‐‐ because every child deserves a childhood, an education and a chance to escape the cycle of poverty.