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Patron Julie Etchingham presents Anti-Slavery International’s BBC Radio 4 Appeal to be broadcast on 5 November.
We are delighted to announce that on 5 November, BBC Radio 4 will broadcast Anti-Slavery International’s appeal to unlock the future of Tanzania’s child domestic workers. The appeal is presented by our new patron, broadcaster and journalist, Julie Etchingham.
There are an estimated 1 million children doing domestic work in Tanzania, the majority of them girls. Poverty and hardship in rural areas force children to migrate to the cities to find work. Many girls also run away from home to avoid domestic abuse or forced marriage.
Far from their families they are vulnerable to exploitation. They are forced to work gruelling long hours and are often segregated from the rest of the household, eating their meals alone and sleeping on a mat on the floor instead of a bed. This is just one of the forms that modern slavery can take.
“I was working for about 17 hours each day. My employer was very cruel to me. She often shouted at me and insulted me. I had to work for several months without pay, and I had no way of communicating with my parents.”
Read the story of Sophia and how she turned her life around.
Our work to unlock the future of child domestic workers
Anti-Slavery’s project in Tanzania partners with local grassroots organisations to help girls like Irene escape slavery. As an organisation, we not only provide shelter and support for individual victims, but also seek to change the conditions that allow slavery to happen.
We provide a safe space for child domestic workers where they can learn about their basic rights, such as a fair salary, a contract of employment and time off to attend school or training. We build their confidence and organise them in committees, so they can stand up for their own rights.
It costs £27 to send a child to attend these groups.
Please make a donation today to help us unlock the future of people in slavery like Irene.
We also reach out to employers, to change the way they treat their staff and show them the benefits of this. We open a dialogue in the community, between employers and community leaders, to begin the process of challenging the social norms and attitudes that allow slavery to happen.
This approach has been extremely successful and saw dramatic changes in attitudes in communities where we work.
Our Radio 4 appeal will be broadcast on Sunday 5 November at 07:55 and 21:25 and again on Thursday 9 November at 15:25. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter to stay up to date with further announcements on the campaign.
Watch our patron Julie Etchingham deliver a message for Anti-Slavery supporters:
You can also listen to the recording of Julie about her passion to fight modern slavery:
