Children working in some of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) cobalt mines are getting support to trade their
tools for textbooks to escape from dangerous and even fatal worker exploitation, Save the Children said on World Day
Against Child Labour.
Home to the world’s largest cobalt reserves, the DRC sees tens of thousands of children toiling in mines daily to meet
growing global demand for the mineral that powers lithium-ion batteries in electric cars and electronic devices.
These children face deadly landslides, hazardous conditions, and diseases but continue to abandon school and work due to
poverty and hunger in a country facing the worst global hunger crisis, with an estimated 25.4 million people - or one
quarter of the population - facing crisis levels of hunger or worse.
This means many children working in DRC’s mines fall behind academically, making it difficult to return to the
classroom.
To tackle this learning crisis, Save the Children, with the support of the German non-profit foundation Stiftung
Kinderförderung von Playmobil, is helping vulnerable children in mining communities in DRC access the support they need
to stay in school or successfully return to the classroom.
Catch-up Clubs - an innovative approach to accelerate the recovery of lost learning - assess children and teach them at
the required level to help them regain literacy and other learning. The clubs include Socio-Emotional Learning
activities to help children learn and thrive despite the challenges they face. In addition, Save the Children provides
students with learning materials, ensures teachers receive training to build their skills, and provides schools with
support to strengthen child protection mechanisms.
Faustin-, 11, worked in a cobalt mine in southwestern DRC with his mother for two years after his father died in 2019,
leaving the family with no income or means to pay his school fees.
" I am still a child. This job doesn't deserve me. I'd like us all to be able to study and put an end to these mining
stories," said Faustin. "I regret the time I spent in the mines. I missed out on a lot of subjects. Because my friends
were going to school, and I was working. Those who were at the same level as me when I started mining, completely passed
me by. That's what I regret."
Older children in the DRC tend to work to pay for their education, while the younger primary school aged children in the
mines are forced to drop out of school completely.
Muntosh-, 12, was aged about six when he witnessed his brother being killed while working in a cobalt mine. As his
family needed the income he continued to turn up to work and spent six years in the mines before joining Save the
Children’s Catch-up Clubs. He is now receiving the learning boost he needs to avoid having to drop out of school
completely. The toil on his body from mine work, however, still impacts him daily.
"One day I found a large block of cobalt in one of the holes and removed it. From that day on my body has hurt a lot.
There are also landslides that kill. There was a landslide right next to where we were toiling for cobalt when the earth
slipped and buried my brother and he died. I was in the first grade at the time," said Muntosh.
But when it comes to his education, he added that he now "feels great because my intelligence is coming back. I'm trying
to take care of my life."
Save the Children first launched its innovative Catch-up Clubs in 2021 in the aftermath of the COVID-19 Pandemic and has
since expanded the programme to 10 countries around the world, including the DRC. The Clubs are specifically geared
towards children falling behind in Grades 3-5, when their learning can be accelerated relatively easily. The aim is that
after 12 weeks, 80% of participants can read and write to a standard that allows them to learn independently.
Greg Ramm, Country Director for Save the Children in the DRC, said:
" We’re seeing a huge need for green energy solutions globally, which heavily relies on cobalt - but it is imperative that
what fuels our smartphones, computers, and electric cars doesn’t also fuel child rights violations.
"Growing up in the DRC is incredibly tough for children - with widespread hunger, escalating conflict and the risk of
exploitation and abuse. Education is a lifeline for children and a gateway to a better future. However, m any children
here have fallen behind in school due to the need to work to be able to afford to even go to school.
"The Catch-up Clubs is a holistic approach to education that benefits all levels of the mining community. Without the
clubs, some of these children may not be returning to school today. Being able to access quality education shouldn’t be
a privilege, it is a right."
Between 15-30% of the DRC’s cobalt is produced in Artisanal and Small-scale Mining (ASM) sites which are less capital
intensive and more labour intensive than large-scale mining but tend to be linked to environmental harm and human rights
abuses such as child labour.
Save the Children is calling for greater investment in cobalt ASM communities that enables parents to support their
children without the necessity of child labor. These investments can range from supporting the formalisation of the
artisanal mining sector - including case management for children in child labour - to improving access to education and
health systems, both crucial in preventing child labour and other child rights violations.
Save the Children has worked in the DRC since 1994 to meet humanitarian needs linked to the arrival of refugees and the
displacement of populations due to armed conflict in eastern provinces. Save the Children has scaled up its humanitarian
response to support existing care systems, training local leaders and communities to prevent and respond to exploitation
and abuse and ensuring access to healthcare through mobile clinics.
- Names changed.