Rita Nyarko
Rita Nyarko is 16 years old and started working on the cocoa farm when she was just five years old. She dreams of being a fashion designer but was only able to attend school up until junior high and has been forced to miss school when things are busy on the cocoa farm. Main harvest season on the plantation is from late September to late November meaning Rita misses almost half of the school year to harvest cocoa for Cargill
While on the farm, she regularly performs hazardous work for the benefit of Cargill. Like the other children, she uses a sharp machete to weed the cocoa trees and trim leaves, cut down cocoa pods from the trees, and open the cocoa pods. Rita also has scars on her body from accidentally cutting herself with her machete. Like her child counterparts, she also applies pesticides and herbicides without protective equipment. She reported that she feels sick and dizzy while applying the chemicals. On one occasion, she was so sick that she had to go to the hospital. Similarly to Cynthia Mensah, they provided her with unknown medication to alleviate her symptoms. The pesticides have made her so ill that she’s traumatized by her experience and said she is afraid of spraying the chemicals, but that the job needs to be done so she does it.
All of the tasks she regularly performs on the plantation are undisputed examples of the Worst Forms of Child Labor in clear violation of ILO Convention No. 182. Additionally, for a minor child to perform such work is a violation of sections 87 and 91 of Ghana’s Children Act of 1998 and for any child under 18 years of age to apply herbicides or pesticides is illegal under the law of Ghana. Further, it is also illegal for any female, regardless of age, to work with pesticides due to risk of damage to her reproductive system.
Together with her two siblings and her mother, the family made a total earning of $260 dollars last year from selling cocoa to Cargill.
Grace Nyarko
Grace Nyarko is 13 years old and started working on the cocoa farm when she was eight years old. Like her sister Rita she attends school when she can, but has to miss school when things are busy on the cocoa farm, especially during the main harvest season from late September to late November. The school she sometimes attends is a one-hour walk from her home.
Like her sister, she is required to put herself in regular danger by performing hazardous work for the benefit of Cargill, such as using a sharp machete to weed the cocoa trees and trim leaves, cut down cocoa pods from the trees, and open the cocoa pods. Grace also has scars on her body from accidentally cutting herself with her machete.
Just like her sister, she applies pesticides and herbicides without protective equipment. Whenever she sprays the plants she feels sick and dizzy. She even has a persistent cough that she attributes to a reaction to the chemicals she sprays.
All of the jobs she regularly performs on the plantation are clear examples of the Worst Forms of Child Labor in clear violation of ILO Convention No. 182. Additionally, for a minor child to perform such work is a violation of sections 87 and 91 of Ghana’s Children Act of 1998, and for any child under 18 years of age to apply herbicides or pesticides is illegal under the law of Ghana. Further it is also illegal for any female, regardless of age, to work with pesticides due to the strong likelihood of doing damage to her reproductive system.
Together with her mother, sister and her brother, the family made a total earning of $260 dollars last year from selling cocoa to Cargill.
Daniel Nyarko
Daniel Nyarko is 10 years old and started working on the cocoa farm that directly supplies Cargill when he was only four years old. Like his sisters, he attends school when he can, but has to miss school when things are busy on the cocoa farm, especially during the main harvest season from late September to late November.
In the beginning, he performed light tasks like hauling water and carrying bags of cocoa pods, but by the time he was eight, he was regularly performing the same type of hazardous work as his siblings for the benefit of Cargill.
Like the other children, he uses a sharp machete to weed the cocoa trees and trim leaves, cut down cocoa pods from the trees, and open the cocoa pods. If someone needs to climb a tree with a machete to reach the higher cocoa pods, Daniel is given that job. He also applies pesticides and herbicides without protective equipment, but because he is so small, he can’t carry the large chemical tank on his back so he is given a smaller tank.
Just like his sister, he also has a persistent cough that he attributes to the chemicals he sprays. All of the jobs Daniel regularly performs on the plantation are clear examples of the Worst Forms of Child Labor in clear violation of ILO Convention No. 182. Additionally, for a minor child to perform such work is a violation of sections 87 and 91 of Ghana’s Children Act of 1998.
Together with his two sisters and his mother, the family made a total earning of$260 dollars last year from selling cocoa to Cargill.