A teenage girl in Albania works illegally in a shoe factory where labels are sew on that say Made in France, Made in Italy, Made in Greece. When inspectors come, the young girls who are undocumented workers know to hide on the second floor of the factory. Photo courtesy of World Vision Canada.

Child Labour: Shining light in the darkness

By and World Vision Canada |

Why are so many kids afraid of the dark? They’re lying in the same beds as just moments ago, when the light was still on. They’re surrounded by the same toys and books, and the same loving family. But here’s the difference: they can’t see what’s happening in the room around them, especially deep in the closet or way under the bed. And that bothers them.

As an adult, I often lose sleep about what I can’t see in the world around me—especially child labour. The stores in my local mall are the same ones that I’ve shopped in for years. They’re friendly and familiar. Yet the more I learn about the complexities of global supply chains, the darker and more obscure things get.

Since rules governing trade vary between countries and products, the tale behind even a simple T-shirt is a total mystery. The cotton may have been picked in one country, spun into thread in another, woven into cloth somewhere else. The fabric might have been cut into pieces in a fourth country, assembled in a fifth, and labeled in a sixth.  As I stand by the rack, I have no sense whatsoever about the age—or safety—of the workers.

Shoes are also produced in darkness, as I saw for myself on a recent trip to Albania. Footwear available for sale in Canada may be designed in Italy or France, and the leather or fabric may be cut there. But when it comes to the painstaking task of assembling the pieces, many of the world’s shoes are sewn by Albanian child workers working full-time hours in brutal conditions. Some breathe in fumes that cause constant stomach cramps, inside the factories where they spend their days. Others sew at home with hunched shoulders and blistered fingers. It’s outrageously ironic that one of their jobs is to stitch labels onto the shoes they’re making: Made in Italy. Made in France.

As Christians, we know God wants to shine light into dark places. “For you are all children of light, children of the day,” wrote Paul in his letter to the Thessalonians. “We do not belong to the night, or to the darkness.  So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake…”

When it comes to child labour, we all need to wake up, look in the closet, and deep under the bed.

As fellow believers, I ask you to contact companies that you support, asking for information about every stage of their production process. You can post your questions in places where others will see: on the companies’ Facebook and Twitter accounts.

We need more light to truly see who’s suffering in the darkness.

A nine-year-old girl assembles shoes alongside her mother on their porch, hunched over with a sharp instrument. She’s been helping her mother since she was five years old. When a middle man picks up the shoes, he pays them 30 cents for each pair. They are told these shoes sell for $40 in shoe stores. Photo courtesy of World Vision Canada.
A nine-year-old girl assembles shoes alongside her mother on their porch, hunched over with a sharp instrument. She’s been helping her mother since she was five years old. When a middle man picks up the shoes, he pays them 30 cents for each pair. They are told these shoes sell for $40 in shoe stores. Photo courtesy of World Vision Canada.

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About the author

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World Vision Canada

Wendy Therrien is Director of Policy for World Vision Canada. She’s currently working on the No Child for Sale campaign.

About the author

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