Watoto ni Hazina (Children Are Treasure):
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The Watoto ni Hazina Project seeks to strengthen the capacity of key stakeholders in the Untied Republic of Tanzania to address child labor and promote acceptable conditions of work in artisanal and small-scale gold mining.
The Problem
Artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) directly employs 1.2 million people in the United Republic of Tanzania (URT), 20–30% of whom are women. However, ASGM is plagued by child labor (CL), and hazardous working conditions that endanger both children and adults, particularly due to toxic mercury exposure—ASGM accounts for 80% of the country’s total mercury use. According to URT’s National Action Plan for Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining 2020-2025 (NAP-ASGM), an estimated 8,000 - 10,000 children aged 10–17 (80–85% boys) are directly engaged in ASGM.
Efforts by government and other key stakeholders to address child labor and promote acceptable conditions of work face three significant challenges. First, the lack of detailed, disaggregated local-level data on CL and Acceptable Conditions of Work (ACW) in ASGM hinders decision-makers from effectively implementing laws and policies to protect the most vulnerable children. Second, weaknesses in key monitoring and data collection systems prevent the effective identification of CL and ACW issues. Third, local government, organizations, and communities lack the capacity to respond to the highly dynamic nature of ASGM with coordinated, area-based, holistic approaches.
Our Strategy
The Watoto ni Hazina will work toward three outcomes.
Outcome 1: Increased capacity of key stakeholders to collect and disseminate data on CL and ACW in ASGM.
Under Outcome 1, the project will strengthen the capacity of research institutions to collect statistical data and produce research to inform effective action to prevent child labor and other labor violations in Tanzania.
Outcome 2: Increased monitoring, identification, and reporting of instances of CL and ACW violations in ASGM.
Under Outcome 2, the project will work with the government to improve coordination and strengthen existing national reporting systems for the monitoring and identification of ASGM child laborers in vulnerable households.
Outcome 3: Increased capacity of key stakeholders to address CL and promote ACW in ASGM at the local level.
Under Outcome 3, the project will build local capacity to conduct effective interventions targeting CL and/or ACW in ASGM in the Geita region.
- Grantee:
- Pact, Inc.
- Implementing Partners:
- Rafiki Social Development Organization, Tanzania Women Miners Association
- Contact Information:
- (202) 693-4843 / Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking (OCFT)
- Tags:
- Child Labor
- Artisanal Gold Mining
- Capacity Building
- Education
- Gold
- Livelihood Services
- Mining
- Supply Chains
- Tanzania
