DUAZON, MARGIBI – The Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social Protection (MGCSP) has taken swift action to remove children involved in hazardous rock-crushing labor in the Rock Crusher Community, Duazon, along the Robertsfield Highway.
By Patience M. Jones, Contributing Writer
The intervention comes in response to a June 13 report by FrontPage Africa, which exposed the harsh and dangerous conditions children were enduring as they crushed rocks to help support their families.
The article, accompanied by a video report, which circulated rapidly online, triggered national concern and widespread calls for immediate action. In response, the Ministry deployed a team to the site as part of its ongoing Street Child Project.
Upon arrival, the team conducted a rapid assessment, held meetings with parents and community leaders, and ordered an immediate halt to the use of children in any form of rock-crushing activity.
Following the visit, the Ministry began documenting the children involved, including their identities and living conditions, and committed to a plan of support aimed at ensuring both short-term relief and long-term protection.
The plan includes the provision of small grants to parents and guardians to ease financial pressures that often drive children into labor, full academic scholarships for the upcoming 2025–2026 school year to give the children access to formal education, and sustained community engagement and monitoring to ensure school attendance and continued support.
This effort is part of the second phase of the Street Child Project, which was launched in August 2024 and officially commissioned on April 13, by President Joseph Boakai. The program seeks to provide comprehensive responses for children in vulnerable street environments and to address the root causes of child labor and neglect.
The Ministry has also issued a stern warning to parents and guardians, emphasizing that involving children in rock crushing or similar dangerous activities is a violation of Liberia’s child protection laws. Officials made it clear that any parent or guardian found exploiting children in this manner will face arrest.
Local community leaders and residents have expressed appreciation for the government’s intervention. Community chairlady Madam Sonnie Mulbah extended thanks to FrontPage Africa for shedding light on the issue.
She said the community was surprised when the Ministry of Gender arrived on June 13, just days after the FPA video was released. She added that since then, the Ministry has been actively engaging with residents and working directly with the children involved. She emphasized that without the media exposure, the community may not have received such urgent attention.
Single mothers in the area also shared their gratitude and expressed hope that the government’s support will bring lasting changes for their children and help prevent them from returning to dangerous labor practices in the future.
