In Congo, some 40,000 children work in the cobalt mines*.
Thanks to Good Shepherd Kolwezi program 3,000 children have quit the mines to attend school.
*Unicef 2014 estimate
Help children get out of the mines
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Modern Slavery in Cobalt Mining
The incredible mining wealth of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is worth an outstanding $24 trillion. The raw materials that power our digital future and green vehicles are extracted from these mines; like cobalt, an essential component of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. More than 60% of the world’s cobalt supply comes from southern DRC, much of it from artisanal or small-scale mining. The living conditions of these artisanal miners in the largest cobalt mining area in the country are among the worst in the world. Women, girls and an estimated 40,000 children are forced to work in artisanal mines, in unsafe and unhealthy conditions, using rudimental tools and without any protective equipment. They work for less than a dollar a day, not enough to survive, while being denied their rights to protection, healthcare and education.
A Community Development Program
In 2012, the Good Shepherd Sisters, supported by the Good Shepherd International Foundation, started a program in DRC to assist these women, girls and children from artisanal mining communities of Domaine Marial, an isolated, impoverished and underserved cobalt mining area around the city of Kolwezi. Through this program we work to:
Eradicate child labor and strengthen child protection systems, providing access to their basic human rights such as education and healthcare
Provide sustainable alternative livelihoods and ensure food security to families
Eliminate gender-based violence and discrimination against women and girls through economic and social empowerment
Improve communities cohesion and effective mobilization to lobby the government for an equitable distribution of resources and to increase the accountability of mining companies involved in the cobalt/battery supply chain
RESULTS
2990
+
children are protected, nourished and educated
80
%
of children enrolled in education project quit the mines
0
children reintegrated into the formal school system
448
girls trained to access decent jobs
0
women and girls gained skills for alternative livelihood and improve their income
89
%
of people in the Maisha Farm Coop have improved food security
0
%
of women no longer work in the mines
Project Activities
Media
A CBS News Investigation finds children mining cobalt in DR Congo
CBS reports on a life-changing to Ziki’s story, thanks to GS program
CNN discovers child labor in cobalt trade in DR Congo
Maisha: A New Life Outside the Mines
The Good Shepherd International Foundation produced the film ‘Maisha: A New Life Outside the Mines’ documenting the living conditions of the artisanal mining community in Kolwezi and the impact that this community development project is having. The film is currently available online and was shown at more than 10 film festivals and screenings throughout the world. It was awarded numerous honors, including Best Documentary Short Filmat the 12th Human Rights Film Festival of Barcelona and Best Ethnografic Filmat the Vaasa Festival 2016.

Resources
“Weaving the Web” - The GSS approach to Community-Based Development and Child Protection in Kolwezi, report by M. Canavera CPC Columbia University
Bon Pasteur Kolwezi Theory of Change Strategic Plan 2018-2022
GSS Research on Violence and Abuse against Women, Girls and Children in Artisanal Mining Communities of the DRC
Help children get out of the mines
Your donation is an opportunity to greatly improve the lives of hundreds of children, women and their families
Support our projects in DR Congo
Select or fill in the amount of your donation
“It’s no fun going into the mine. But that work is finished for me now! Now I study. Now, I’m doing well. At school I learned that children have rights and that all children are born equal.”
Morgan, 8-years-old
Child Protection Program
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