Children of Kabul (Review)
When a mother awakens her children, it’s usually to usher them to school, but for Omid in Children of Kabul, his mother’s voice awakens him to a harsh reality: “Omid, my dear. Get up. Go to work.” Over 1.5 million children in Afghanistan are forced to work for their families’ survival, according to UNICEF reports. [...]
Children of Kabul (Trailer)
Children of Kabul (www.childrenofkabul.com), a new film by Jawad Wahabzada and Jon Bougher, brings you to the war-torn streets of Kabul, Afghanistan, documenting the unfolding tragedy of child labor. Taking you into the lives of four young Afghan children – Omid, Sanabar, Yasamin and Fayaz – this short documentary provides first-hand accounts of a generation washing cars, picking garbage, selling food and hammering metal to earn money for their families. Devastated by war and economic difficulties, these children are the breadwinners of their families, creating an uncertain future for a country on the front lines of American foreign policy.
The Kenyan Schoolhouse
I was rummaging through a pile of old photos yesterday and came across this one, sent from Kenya in 2002. Has it really been 10 years? These faces looking to the future and proudly showing off their school uniforms were in a very different condition when we met them on a coffee plantation in Kiambu [...]
Fair Labor Association Report on Apple Supplier Foxconn
Introduction to the Fair Labor Association report on working conditions at Foxconn, supplier for Apple Computers. Published March 29th 2012. For the appendices to the report on the findings at Guanlan, Longhua, and Chengdu, as well as worker satisfaction surveys, and an explanation of the methodology for the report, click here.
Global Child Labor Developments: Measuring Trends from 2004 to 2008
The latest trend report from ILO/IPEC provides new global and regional estimates on child labour for the year 2008 and compares them with the previous 2004 estimates. It also explains in detail the underlying estimation methodologies and gives an overview of the datasets used. The report shows that globally child labour continues to decline, albeit at a lower rate. Key findings are presented according to: form of children’s work, age group, sex, region, sector of activity and status in employment.
From Documentarian to Humanitarian
Feature article on Len Morris and the Kenyan Schoolhouse program. First published in the Vineyard Gazette’s April 6 2012 edition. Reprinted with permission.
Remarks on Receiving the Iqbal Masih Award
I’m honored to accept this award and would like to share it with all of the people who have helped over the years with the films, our Kenya Schoolhouse program and Media Voices for Children. Thank you for this encouragement. I got here by accident from another career. I was making network TV documentaries … [...]
Hunger in America
This week at Media Voices, we are focusing on hunger, or food insecurity, in the United States. Coincidentally, the U.S. House of Representatives just passed a budget that is perfectly appalling in its implications for vulnerable children. The Ryan budget takes a giant step toward closing the gap between the United States and the developing [...]
Preserving America’s Family Farms Act: The Latest Strike Against Working Youth in Agriculture
In 2008, I started my personal journey to change the child labor law exemptions in agriculture. I still don’t understand politics, but as an engineer I do recognize trends. The opposition’s mode is not to rally, march, and protest. The people and organizations who want to keep the status quo in agriculture, including keeping someone [...]
