Youth Need Not Apply

As appeared in the Marian Magnet.

Lucky Strike, Belize - “Plantain chips, mango sweet, tambran sweet, Coke, Winterfresh!,” yells Daniel, 8, at the Belmopan bus terminal. Your eight year old is in second period Math while Daniel is earning a dollar an hour, maybe. Before the terminal he rose pre-dawn, had a bucket bath with cold water, outside, from a well, fed the chickens, ate breakfast that consisted of beans and tortilla, and caught the first bus to Belmopan, the capital of Belize (pop. 10,000), from his village with his father and their stock of snacks. After the terminal he will go home where his bed maybe a hammock along side 6 others.

This is unfortunately the reality of some children in Belize though, certainly not all. According to a report in 2001 the US Labor Department estimated that just over 6 % of children 5 – 14 were working at the time. It is legal for a 12 year old to do light work in Belize. I would be shocked if this number improved over the years as the country’s GDP growth, currently 3.5 similar to the U.S, has not seen much flux since 2003. The realities of other children are much worse. Other children maybe found begging for a quarter, “shilling”, in Belize City, chopping cane in the sugar fields in the North, hauling oranges in the South, or God forbid, skipping school to sell their young body to an adult male tourist in exchange for school fees, cash, or material items. A horrific scene when you consider 2.8% of the population, of epidemic proportions, is only reported to be living with HIV/AIDS and when the tourism sector employs 25% of the country.
Given the hells that are among us we must ask, “Is all child labor bad?” No. My friend Rahiem, 14, along side his older brother, can be found selling everything from mosquito repellent to bread, at the family’s convenient shop, The Black Orchid. As a store clerk he is immersed in socialization, math, business, and hospitality- skills that will only help him in adulthood and transition into the work force. Rahiem is one of the brightest in his class and the president of my 4-H club in Lucky Strike, the village where I live and work.

Unfortunately, outside of the home there are not many opportunities for youth. Many youth assist the family in some form of chores whether it being on the farm, sanding wood carvings, or selling baked goods door to door. Sport’s seasons for rural youth maybe a single game elimination tournament, if that. As a volunteer Youth Development with 4-H/ Belize’s revamped Outreach program I am proud of the difference we are striving to make. From chess clubs to health workshops; community service activities to environmental summer camps; and from pig rearing to competing in 170 mile canoe races, we are developing an atmosphere of positive productivity and fun along side our much needed Belizean adult leaders.
Being a Peace Corps volunteer immerses you into living amongst these realities – this roller coaster of experiences.

Recently I was heading South for a football (soccer) match and the bus I’m on arrives in Belmopan and I’m faced with a moral dilemma. If I buy a bag of plantain chips am I a supporter of a child trying to make some money for his family or am I supporting the exploitation of the child who should be in second period Math?

* The article presented does not necessarily express the views of the United States Peace Corps or the Peace Corps post of Belize, but that of its author.