A History of Child Labour in the Miraa Industry in Kenya,1907-2010

Today, it is becoming clear that throughout the world, many children are often engaged in exploitative and hazardous labour. In Kenya, this practice begun during the colonial period but has persisted to date. Various factors have come in play to explain this emerging trend of child labour.These factors differed depending on the period that children worked.This book has narrowed down to a specific case study of children in wage labour in the miraa/khat industry. Miraa is a common name used in Kenya to refer the leaves and stems of catha-edulis, which are mainly used for recreational purposes. The process of preparing these stems and leaves for the market involves picking/harvesting, sorting and grading, wrapping, packing in gunny sacks and lastly transportation to the market. Various responses have been put in place to eliminate this vice, although not yet successful.This book has made a valuable contribution in the field of child studies and development. In particular,it is recommended for researchers, government and Non-governmental organizations and all other agencies especially those striving to combat child abuse and enforce children's rights.