00:00It's natural for a child to go out and have fun.
00:03But there are people in Tondo, Manila, who go out to look for food.
00:08That's what they collect to buy rice and food for their families.
00:13Here is the story of public affairs of Kara David in the show, Karadox.
00:22How many youths do we have to walk in one part of Tondo?
00:31No, there's more. I'll bring it to you.
00:34They carry hammers and axes.
00:36They go straight to a village in their area.
00:48This is where we met Uno, a 10-year-old boy.
00:51He doesn't have a real name.
00:54Their job is to collect rice from burnt houses in their community.
01:05What do you do with the rice?
01:07I get it and sell it.
01:10What grade are you in?
01:11Three.
01:12Oh, you're in grade three. Are you studying now?
01:14No.
01:15Why aren't you studying?
01:17I lost my...
01:20What did you lose?
01:22My birth certificate.
01:24You lost your birth certificate.
01:26What does your mom do?
01:28She's a farmer.
01:30What does your dad do?
01:33He's a cleaner.
01:35Oh, he's a cleaner.
01:38And you're in charge of the rice?
01:41After more than an hour of collecting rice,
01:46Uno goes straight to the junk shop to sell his rice.
02:00Twenty, thirty...
02:02I'll just make it 33 because I don't have any more.
02:06Uno earned 60 pesos.
02:09That's enough to buy rice.
02:13According to the data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority or PSA,
02:18in 2022,
02:201 million children aged 5 to 17 were considered to be working.
02:27The common reason for their work is that they are forced to do housework instead of studying.
02:36According to the Director of the Project Against Child Exploitation or Project ACE of World Vision,
02:42one of the reasons why child labor is a burden in a country is poverty.
02:48You know, the issue is also related to poverty.
02:53There are a lot of things that have been done.
02:55Some have gone far, but they will still go far.
02:58Because as long as we don't get rid of the issues of poverty,
03:04the issue of corruption,
03:06the issue of family values,
03:08there are still a lot.
03:10According to the Department of Social Welfare and Development or DSWD,
03:14the Department of Education of DepEd has programs for out-of-school youth.
03:21It's not expensive to send them to school,
03:23especially in elementary, high school, or even college.
03:29Because the government has programs where they can study for free.
03:36As long as the issue of poverty in the country is not solved,
03:40there will always be children who will be born prematurely and will not be able to finish their studies.
03:48Let's not let their dreams and efforts go to waste.
03:59Let's make the world a better place.
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