Cameroon Tries to Get Child Miners Back to School
Voice of America
KAMBELE, EASTERN CAMEROON - Authorities in Cameroon say they are attempting to remove thousands of children working in gold mines along the country’s eastern border. Some of the children were displaced from the Central African Republic because of violence there and dropped out of school to mine gold for survival.
The 2021-2022 school year in Cameroon started Monday, and Cameroon's Ministry of Basic Education says thousands of children have not returned to class in areas along the border with the Central African Republic. The government says many of the children prefer working in gold mines. Auberlin d'Abou Mbelessa is mayor of Batouri, a town on the border.A Swiss flag is pictured in front of the Burgenstock Resort where the Summit on Peace in Ukraine will take place June 15 and 16, in Lucerne, Switzerland, May 28, 2024. FILE - Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi speaks at a press conference in Beijing, May 30, 2024. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy listens to a question during a press conference after the 21st Shangri-La Dialogue summit at the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore, June 2, 2024.
FILE - The United Nations logo is pictured in front of the United Nations Headquarters building during the U.N. General Assembly in the Manhattan borough of New York, Sept. 22, 2016. FILE - Greece's Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis speaks in Athens, May 17, 2024. FILE - Panama's Foreign Minister Janaina Tewaney speaks in Panama City, Panama April 11, 2023.