Not all children in Côte d’Ivoire are lucky enough to have a birth certificate. This is a serious problem for the further education of the child, because without a birth certificate, they are unable to finish their education. In cocoa growing communities this issue is one reason which keeps children out of school and working on the cocoa plantations instead. Children working, instead of going to school is considered part of the International Labour Organisation’s definition of the worst forms of child labor.

That is why Barry Callebaut is supporting parents financially to organize birth certificates for their children. In 2015/16 this amounted to 214 birth certificates, some of which were provided many years after the child was born. In addition, we also provided school kits, containing a  backpack, pencil case, ruler, notebooks, and pens. This allowed children who could not afford the school equipment, to go to school. In 2015/16, Barry Callebaut provided a total of 11,983 school kits.

Fantastic news is that the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Education in Cote d’Ivoire have recently kicked off a national initiative to register 1,165,000 million primary school students who do not have a birth certificate. This will hopefully prove to be a structural solution to one of the drivers of children working the cocoa fields.