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Managua (Agenzia Fides) - Hundreds of vulnerable children in Managua drop out of school to work in the markets of the city. Many of them are children of the same merchants. The Nicaraguan Institute for Human Promotion (Inprhu) estimates that there are at least 1200 younger workers in the markets in Managua. This situation exposes infants to endless work days, sexual abuse, and school drop out. According to the Nicaraguan Coordination Office for NGOs that work with childhood and adolescence (Codeni), the main risk is school abandonment.
Inprhu organizes school retrieval programs, crafts and dance courses for young workers of some of the city's markets.
The last official figure on child labor in the country dates back to 2012, when 396,118 minors were engaged in work. In Nicaragua, the Labor Code and the Child and Adolescent Code lay down prohibitions for public and private enterprises employing child labor. Both codes imply that teenagers may be employed in the country from the age of 14 and that the work environment must not endanger their life, health, integrity, and must not interrupt their educational process. (AP) (Agenzia Fides, 19/6/2017)
