My action plan to end child slavery was both rewarding and challenging. There were many pros and cons and many forks in the road and dead ends. 
Photographer : henri ismail at flickr
My vision: To end child slavery so every child has access to education. Child slavery and poverty form a classic ‘egg chicken’ relationship; what came first the poverty or the slavery? Ending child slavery will help eradicate poverty; closing the gap between rich and poor nations.
The plan: Through a social awareness campaign and government lobbying I planned to get people excited about ending child slavery and creating change. I wrote letters to MPs and local councils and to the Victorian Governor Mr David de Kretser.
What I realised: Governments will not change their policies unless the public demands it. The government is the economic guarantor of a nation and will not implement policies that will be against the national interest of economic growth. A policy to end trade with a nation who uses child slavery would weaken Australia’s economy. The strongest action a nation’s government would be willing to take is to apply diplomatic pressure to a country that uses slavery.
My solution: In the globalised world that we live in, nations don’t have absolute power. The key to ending child slavery is through consumer awareness and action. Companies will produce what people want. If people don’t want goods made by a child’s hand they won’t buy it. The obvious answer is to name and shame the companies who use child slavery (there are clear examples on the net; search for child labour under images).
The problem: defamation and corporate confidentiality. Corporations can sue you for defamation. This is happening in Tasmania at the moment with the Gunns logging company suing 20 environmentalists for defamation. The act for Breach of Confidence protects commercial and private communication above freedom of expression.
The solution: promote products and services who don’t use child slavery. Although this is not as effective and emotionally appealing; by supporting services and products who don’t use child slavery you can start a trend which, other consumers may follow forcing companies to change their ways. However this also brings problems of innuendos; if a company releases a line of clothing that is ‘child free’ does that imply all other clothes are made by child slaves?
The pros of my action plan: developing a deep understanding of the complexities of child slavery and the mechanics behind it was rewarding and forced me to think outside the square. I became very passionate about the issue and determined that I could contribute to the movement to help end child slavery.
The cons of the action plan: the complexities involved in child slavery and the greed attached to the continuation of slavery was at times daunting and unnerving. Sometimes I felt that it was too much of a challenge and I wouldn’t make a difference. The project was time consuming but at the same time I was being rewarded for my hard work.
My advice: Take on the big challenges in life; someone has to do it why can’t it be you!
This work is licenced under a Attribution licence.
© Jenelle 2006. First published on actnow.com.au. See original post here.Labels: Leadership, Social Entrepreneurship, World Issues
