Giving - but fair!
Advent is here and wish lists are once again being drawn up and handed over to parents and godparents for the Christ Child. At the top of many people's lists this year will once again be a games console or a smartphone.
We often don't realise that these much-wanted devices may have been produced by children. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), over 150 million children worldwide are affected by child labour. Instead of going to school, they work in agriculture, sew clothes or dig for raw materials for smartphones and tablets in branched mines, often under dangerous conditions.
Children have a strong sense of justice and parents can use the pre-Christmas period to sensitise their children to these abuses and to inform themselves together with them. The best way to do this is through films: ZDFtivi, for example, presents the topic in a child-friendly way. UNICEF offers teaching materials for teachers on its website.
Fairtrade labels help families
Why are many children in developing and emerging countries forced to work? Taking this into account, how can we give each other presents at Christmas? What Fairtrade products are there that I would like? Or do we even decide to donate to an aid organisation? These are important questions that you can discuss at the family dinner table.
Because a donation for projects to improve working conditions or school education helps those affected. And when shopping, we can opt for fairly produced products. In Switzerland, the Max Havelaar Foundation awards the Fairtrade label for sustainably grown and fairly traded products.
It is more difficult with electronic devices. In the near future, there will be no label for fair production. That's why we should think carefully about whether we really need a new device before we buy it. Fairphone and Shiftphone, both companies that work towards a transparent supply chain, fairly traded materials and good working conditions, offer an alternative for mobile phones.
The road to a world without exploitative child labour is still a long one. But we can choose fairly produced products and support aid projects. In doing so, we are giving a gift to families and children around the world.
About the Pestalozzi Children's Foundation
The Pestalozzi Children's Foundation is an internationally active children's aid organisation. Children and young people have been at the centre of its activities since 1946. The Children's Village in Trogen is a place of peace-building, where children from Switzerland and abroad learn to deal with cultural and social differences through exchange. In twelve countries around the world, the foundation provides disadvantaged children with access to quality education.
www.pestalozzi.ch
