In Sierra Leone, child labour leaves childhoods on hold

“I’m not happy that I’m working here while my friends are in school,” says 12-year-old Adama as she looks around the quarry in the Gombu community of Kenema, southeastern Sierra Leone. Adama works alongside her parents, and each day is faced with the arduous task of breaking up large rocks into gravel that is then sold to construction contractors.

Adama is one of nearly 138 million children worldwide who are engaged in child labour, with more than a third of those children involved in hazardous work that is likely to jeopardize their health, safety or development.

Most often, child labour occurs when families face financial challenges or uncertainty – whether due to poverty, sudden illness of a caregiver, or job loss of a primary wage earner. Whatever the reason children are subjected to child labour, the consequences are staggering – it can result in sexual or economic exploitation, extreme bodily and mental harm, and even death. In nearly every case, it cuts children off from schooling and health care, restricting their fundamental rights.

Adama has been working at the quarry for five years, hoping to save up enough money to go back to school. She wants to be a teacher one day. But for now, her busy days start even before it’s time to head to the quarry.

“In the morning, I sweep, I wash the dishes, I clean the rooms and then follow my dad and my mom to the quarry to earn a living,” she says, although the family’s combined income working there is about $2 a day – barely enough to pay for a single meal.

The prevalence of child labour has fallen in sub-Saharan Africa over the past five years, although the total number has remained stagnant against the backdrop of population growth, ongoing and emerging conflicts, and stretched social protection systems.

“The money isn’t enough to send me to school,” Adama says. “It isn’t enough to take care of us. It’s not enough to buy clothes for us.”

Vandy, also 12, lives in the nearby community of Kpava. Like Adama, he longs for the days when he could attend classes. However, his community school closed because the teachers weren’t being paid. “We are supposed to sit the NPSE this year,” Vandy says, referring to the national primary school examination, “but we have no teachers.”

With no classes available, Vandy now joins his father in the back-breaking work of processing charcoal. Together, they make around $2 a day – barely enough to provide for the family’s basic needs. “We can’t afford to eat three times a day,” Vandy says. “Some days if we don’t make enough sales, we go to bed hungry.”

Almost 1 in 5 children in Sierra Leone are engaged in child labour. Child labour compromises children’s education, limiting future opportunities and perpetuating an inter-generational cycle of deprivation.

Social service workers play a key role in recognizing, preventing and managing risks that can lead to child labour. In Sierra Leone, UNICEF works with the Government to strengthen both child protection and education systems, ensuring that children at risk of child labour are identified early and connected to support services. Through case management, positive parenting programmes, and community engagement, UNICEF helps families understand the value of keeping children in school rather than sending them to hazardous work. These efforts aim to keep children safe, learning, and able to enjoy their childhoods.

Adama and Vandy both agree that finding a way back to their educations will be crucial in helping them – and their families – break out of the cycle that so many other children find themselves in.

“When I finish school, I want to be a [successful] woman,” Adama says. “I want to be a teacher.”

Vandy, meanwhile, is focused on finding a way to support his family. “I want to go back to school. But I want them to bring back the teachers,” he says. “I want to be a minister when I grow up so that I can help my family.”