| dc.description.abstract | Reports show that approximately 1.01 million children aged 5-17 years are engaged in child
labour, with 90% in the rural areas, working in agriculture, domestic work, informal sector,
mining and fisheries. Although existing literature mainly talks of boys engaged in fishing,
information concerning girl child involvement in fish processing is scarce. However,
primary schools around Wagusu Beach experience high girl child school drop-out as well as
irregular attendance and it may be that these girls are engaged in fish, processing activities
in order to earn wages to support their household economy. Specifically, the study sought to
identify forms of fish processing activities that girl are involved in Wagusu Beach, examine
how involvement in fish processing activities affect girl child school attendance and lastly,
to establish the perception of the Wagusu Beach community about the involvement of the
girls in fish processing activities. This study employed Social Exclusion theory espoused by
Jehoel-Gijsbers and Vrooman (2007). The study employed descriptive design involving
mainly qualitative data collection techniques. The study sample included 22 girls selected
from 84 girls aged between 10-15 years who were enrolled in the 2 schools around Wagusu
Beach, 2 head teachers, 20 parents, 2 Beach Management Unit (BMU) officials and 1 Area
Chief, who were purposively selected to participate in the study. Qualitative data were
collected through Focus Group discussions with the girls and key informant interviews with
the head teachers, parents, BMU officials and the area Chief. The data collected were
analysed thematically. Findings showed that girls were involved in fish processing activities
including drying, cleaning, packing, cutting and watching over aired fish to prevent birds
from eating them. The findings also showed the working girls missed school for several
days especially during peak fish harvesting periods- between November and April. Even
though parents were aware that the labour denied the girls access to proper education, they
felt compelled to allow them to work to contribute to the household income. Some parents
felt working was okay and served the purpose of training the girls into responsible adults.
The community leaders were aware about the situation but could not take any action
because they felt that the families needed this extra income. Therefore, this study
recommends for awareness creation on effect of this labour on education of these girls
. around Wagusu Beach. There is also a need for the Government to strengthen social
protection, especially extending assistance to the needy girls | en_US |
