CHILD LABOUR

VICYA recognizes that an incomplete education wastes our community's and our nation's most valuable resource: the minds and talents of our children. Although officially illegal, child labour flourishes because of the very real short-term advantages it provides to employers and desperate parents alike. And yet by creating another generation of poorly educated young people, the problem of child labour sustains poverty and the ills that accompany it at both the local and the national level. Through an array of programming, VICYA has been committed to extending educational and training opportunities to those for whom the benefits of a comprehensive education remain elusive. We hope to expand our mission to include children who have been prematurely thrust into the labour force, a practice that provides temporary relief to the poorest families but dramatically diminishes children's future prospects for generations to come.