*13-year old Spencer

*11-year old Massa

By SakiG

School children in low-income homes in Liberia are a particular target of child abuse. Many of these kids perform adult duties after school hours. They have no time to rest or to study their lessons. They form a major contribution to the welfare of their homes, a common thing in most African homes.

Spencer, a 13 year old third grade student, caught my attention today when I first saw him quickly crossing a road with a wheelbarrow loaded with a bag of coal. He noticed that I had taken his photo and he asked about it, which prompted a short discussion between both of us as we walked slowly in the same direction. He is an example of the kids I usually call, “emerging bread winners.”

Spencer explained to me that his daily task after school is to sell cold water and use the proceeds to purchase a bag of coal for his mother, who then sells the coal in small quantities for little or no profit. This is sad. The expressions on his face showed how happy and committed he chose to be in performing his after-school-hour duties. When asked about his study time, he could not remember when was the last time he had the opportunity to study for just an hour. He however refused to further elaborate on his family’s means of survival on the grounds that he didn’t know me very long, and that he was afraid.  This was smart of a kid like him, though I did not have any bad intentions as he may have thought.

Unlike Spencer, Massa, an 11-year old girl, also a third grade student, who I met almost an hour after Spencer and I parted, spends most of her time after school either studying, playing, resting, or doing some domestic work, such as laundry and kitchen aid. She looked promising and determined as a child growing up in a well-fed and high-income home. Spencer’s future also seemed bright too, considering how he commits himself to family responsibilities at such an early age. Another very promising thing about him is that he’s in school, a privilege many children of his age do not have in Liberia.

Meeting Spencer and Massa made me wonder about the role of children in homes – whether they should be major bread winners in the case of Spencer or sit and enjoy the rights and privileges that little Massa has as prescribed by international laws. In an African society and a post-conflict country such as Liberia, this is obvious since poverty rings the bell at most homes, and also because of the unequal opportunities in African societies.

Despite the fact that Spencer has been given the opportunity to grow up with huge responsibilities, his rights as a child are being totally abused under conventional laws as children are to be cared for and not to take on adult responsibilities. Spencer doesn’t have time to play or even take part in activities besides his assigned tasks as stated above. This results in him missing his childhood experience and is a hindrance to his academic progress.

After school hours there are many differences between the haves and the have-nots.  Can we make a change? The challenge remains ours.