I want to recount the small amounts of paid work that I did in the mid-1960s as a boy aged around 9-12 in the prosperous commuter suburb where we lived. This was about 30 miles north-west of Central London in Buckinghamshire, one of the ring of ‘Home Counties’ which surround the capital. Cleaning cars for...

This article outlines a tension that plays itself out in rural areas throughout Africa. On the one hand, it is recognised that children throughout the world engage in economic activity, and this is particularly so in rural areas. On the other hand, is the policy, corporate and NGO focus on the elimination of child labour...

I was born in rural Michigan in 1892. I started my educational career in a one-room country school when I was six years old. Grades were from one to eight and were taught by one teacher. The school was about a mile from our house and while it was a rather pleasant walk when the...

I grew up in a small town called Bibiani in the Western Region of Ghana. Life in the community was normal. My now-deceased father was a farmer and a tailor while my mother worked as a petty trader selling smoked fish (and she still does today). At the age of seven, I started accompanying my...

I come from a family in the Netherlands whose business was growing vegetables. The farm was small, only 0.7 hectare. When I was born the farm was very diversified, but by the time I was in my twenties, it was totally specialised in tomatoes with substrate cultivation. I worked quite often on the farm during...

Of the 736 million people living in extreme poverty worldwide, about 80 per cent live in rural areas and depend on agriculture for survival. Many of these are smallholder farmers who receive a relatively small income for the crops they produce and market. Others are farm labourers who struggle to make ends meet due to...

I grew up in the village of Kings Langley, 20 miles north-west of London. Nowadays it is a commuter suburb of London. My father was a shy man and was devoted to his garden, and we were lucky to have a relatively large garden where he grew vegetables and soft fruit. We also had four...

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, until I was 13 years old, I lived with my grandmother in Takoradi, in Ghana’s Western Region. There were 13 of us in the house and the respective roles of adults and children were very clear. Household chores for children (six years plus) included cleaning dishes, stepping out...

Reflection 2 (The Netherlands) When my twin brother and I turned 14, my parents made it known that we were now old enough to start spending our time on Saturdays and during school holidays in a more ‘useful’ way. In other words, we should think about getting a part-time job. Hiding out in the garden,...

I was born in Cape Coast, the capital of Ghana’s Central Region. I spent part of my childhood there, and part in Akim Oda, in the Eastern Region. My parents were divorced, so my childhood living situation involved a series of transitions: I lived with my mother and grandmother for a while, moved in with...