Malawian Children Trafficked to Mozambique in Search of Jobs

This article uncovers a new form of exploitation where some families in Malawi are giving away their children to herd animals and work in crop fields in Mozambique at the expense of their right to education.

Article | 12 June 2021
''I lived in the bush with cattle all day. The owner of the animals was cruel to me. I really missed school. I am happy I am back”
This article uncovers a new form of exploitation where some families in Malawi are giving away their children to herd animals and work in crop fields in Mozambique at the expense of their right to education.

Some children have sad stories of how they suffer ill-treatment and how they had to foot long distances returning home after exploitation experiences away.

Parents are reported to be paid between 40 and 60 thousand Kwacha for each child per year for the toil of the children. These are usually children aged between eight and 15-years-old.

"I came here in June last year. I look after a herd of six cows. The owner of the cattle agreed with my parents. They pay my parents for the work I am doing. But I wish, I had clothes and shoes, at least". This is the voice of a 15-year-old boy Chilungamo.

We met him in Mozambique in a village called Masoko. He says he is not here by choice. He says his dream was to become a medical doctor. However, family poverty forced him into this situation.

"I dropped out of school while in Standard and came here to herd cattle. I look after a herd of 17 cows. But I miss home. I miss my mother. She has never come to see me. I miss her” explains another boy called James. He is aged 11. He too is in Mozambique working. In Malawi, he comes from Chakana in Dedza district.

We also met 12-year-old Joseph. A Standard two drop out from Kaboola village, also in Dedza. His mother was here last month-end to collect money for work he is doing "I refused to come here. I told them I needed to be in school. But my parents forced me. They said I would not be here for a long time. I wish I continued school. I miss school”.

These are but a few of the many children, all boys that we met in rural parts of Mozambique near Malawi working as herd boys. All of them were in tattered clothes and walked about with no shoes on. A common denominator about their feelings is that they should return home and go to school.

When David was in Standard two, he was forced to travel with strangers to Mozambique. He had no clue where he was going and what he would do there. He suddenly found himself herding cattle. He was out feeding cattle from six morning to six late.

Treatment was harsh. For most days he was not given food for when out in the bush. That’s what prompted him to think of escaping.. He walked on foot. Through bushes in unchartered paths until one day, he was back in Malawi. Luckily, he was assisted to retrace home.

In a village called James in Mozambique, we met Gilibetiyo Shane. He is a livestock farmer. He says there is no secret about what is going on. Children come work and their parents get paid.

"The best are boys in age ranges 12, 15 and 20. They come from either Malawi or Mozambique. As long as their parents agree, it is fine. We pay the parents. If the boys are from Malawi, we pay per month for each animal”

Migeriro Lesi comes from Basho village in neighbouring Mozambique. He shares the sentiments. He faults Malawian parents and guardians for the situation the children are in. He says, for the money the parents collect as payment for the children’s work, they should buy them clothes.

"They are just greedy parents, they came to collect money for work done by their children and buy the children nothing. Being a herd boy is tough work. Because of the suffering, some children quit. The rights of the children are being violated by their own parents not us"

Group Village Headman Fosa of Dedza is worried. He acknowledges the problem but says it is difficult to police as parents do it discreetly. They only discover children are missing.

"It is to do with poverty. These parents let children go without even alerting us chiefs. Sometimes we force the parents to bring the children back home to continue school"


Education rights advocate, Benedicto Kondowe, outright describes this as a violating of a child’s right to education. He says law enforcement has immediate duty to arrest parents involved in this.

For the Executive Director of the Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation, Michael Kaiyatsa, this is a clear proof of need for civic education on the dangers of poor parental care. Kaiyatsa believed the malpractice is rooted in illiteracy.

For Gender and Child and Welfare minister, Patricia Kaliati, government will act against parents who cannot take good care of children. But some parents I spoke to think authorities do not understand a thing and are missing the point.

No parent would happily see this going-on. Desperate situations, desperate solutions, they argue. Poverty, they tell me, can make people do the most of unimaginable things.

Sustainable Development Goal target 8.7 in the 2030 agenda calls on nations to work to end all forms of violence against children. This is a renewal of the global desire to ensure that every child lives free from neglect, abuse, exploitation and fear.

Maxwell Matewere works for the United Nations as National Programs Officer responsible for human trafficking, drugs and crimes. Here is how he reacts to what is going on in this respect. Here are some of the lamentations of some of the boys who managed to make it back home.

“I lived in the bush with cattle all day. The owner of the animals was cruel to me. I really missed school. I am happy I am back”

“I decided to come back because the work was too much. I walked back home. Left Mozambique around six in the morning and got home around two in the afternoon of the following day. I went to Mozambique against my will. I was forced by my parents. Its all over here”

The developments in Dedza, are a clear violation of the rights of children to education. It is child labour of unacceptable proportions.

Grace Nyenyezi Khombe is a Malawian-based sub-editor for Zodiak Broadcasting Station (radio, television and internet). She has received several awards for women's investigative journalism and is affiliated with the AmaBungane Centre for Investigative Journalism and Code for Africa.