Siddiq busy preparing bricks instead of going to school. He wants to join his friends at school but due to extreme poverty, he is still waiting on such an opportunity.

Slavery – it is a practice that sends a shiver up backs and brings up images of slave ships and chains for many. In this day and age, slavery has many faces and is in multiple industries. Across all situations one of the most difficult sights to see is that of a child in dirty, dangerous or degrading work.

Instead of being physically chained, a lack of income and poverty has forced Siddiq, his three siblings and his parents to work in a brick kiln in Pakistan. Siddiq works in one of the worst forms of child labour. Even as his family has struggled in the brick kiln for 10 years, Siddiq’s parents still dream of a better future for their children – a future that includes attending school and breaking the cycle of poverty that forces their children into the same work they do. To make sure a better future is not an illusion for Siddiq’s, a revival of the abolition spirit needs to take hold.

In the 1800’s, Christians led a campaign that altered the world’s political landscape by helping to abolish the trans-Atlantic slave trade. A church movement is once again being built for the millions of boys and girls working in the worst forms of child labour. This movement is called Abolition Sunday and it is our turn to lead.

On June 9th (just before World Day Against Child Labour, June 12), or any Sunday of your choosing, we invite you to participate in Abolition Sunday. Using the toolkit provided, your church can make child slavery the focus of your Sunday worship, learning and praying about this issue in the light of Christian faith.

Join us in advocating for a safer world for children.

Children like Hamisi and her mother Lucia of Tanzania should remain at the centre of Canada’s international development efforts

Recently, the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) merged with the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT). In light of these changes, World Vision Canada is calling on our government to ensure Canada’s focus remain on the needs and aspirations of the poor.

To see World Vision Canada’s full response to the budget, including our reasons for optimism and concern,  click here.

In Mali, Moutian (L) who was severely malnourished, has seen his outlook change through World Vision’s Community Management for Acute Malnutrition programming.

The solutions are not only needed immediately but are low cost like training for community health workers or zinc supplements. To see the success of these investments you have to look no further than Moutian (pictured) who at six months old was at the weight of a newborn and severely malnourished. After two months of nutrient treatment, he gained more than 2kg and is now recovering. The look on his mother’s face shows us the difference basic health supplies can have on a life.

For success stories like Moutian to keep occurring, we need our Canadian government to continue its global leadership on maternal and child health in May and June. This is a critical period as the Women Deliver conference, Nutrition for Growth meeting, 2013 G8 Summit, World Health Assembly, and United Nations General Assembly all draw attention to critical health interventions needed for mothers and children.

We need you to ask Canadian official to ensure Canada has strong representation at these events and delivers commitments to basic health interventions.

Your Church: a Voice for Ending Child Slavery 

They work in mines with their hands, on cocoa farms with machetes, and on streets begging: millions of boys and girls are being pushed or tricked into dirty, dangerous, and degrading work. This is what modern-day child slavery looks like and as with the trans-Atlantic slave trade over 200 years ago, churches can play a part in abolishing these practices today.

On June 9th, we are inviting churches from across Canada to increase awareness of modern-day child slavery and take action to address this injustice. Your church can use the Abolition Sunday Toolkit which includes sermon notes, prayers, stories, Sunday school lessons, a petition and more. Please consider sharing this material with your church community or take the lead in setting up an Abolition Sunday event.

Changes to Canada’s International Development Work

Recently, the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) merged with the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT). In light of these changes, World Vision Canada is calling on our government to ensure Canada’s focus remain on the needs and aspirations of the poor. To see our full response, click here.

By Dan Wilcox – Advocacy Campaign Coordinator

The Chocolate Scorecard for Canada helps us look beyond the packaging to what Canadian company’s are doing to commit to ethical cocoa.

The Chocolate Score Card asks nine of the largest Canadian chocolate company’s six questions related to their cocoa sourcing. Find out which company’s responded and who has committed to supplying all their cocoa ethically by 2020 before you look for that next Canadian made chocolate.

If you are looking for ways to further encourage Canadian chocolate companies to make sure chocolate doesn’t hurt children, check out the Voices Facebook Group and share your thoughts.

By Dan Wilcox (Advocacy Campaigns Coordinator)

Just some of the ethical chocolate options available to Canadians

To many of us, Easter is inextricably linked to chocolate… chocolate bunnies, chocolate covered eggs filled with white and yellow crème, crunchy-shelled pastel mini-eggs filled with chocolate, you name it.

One national Canadian retailer recently sent me an advertisement trumpeting, “The magic of Easter morning begins with a cute basket full of sweet treats…” I sighed. Easter is being commercialized into a shopping event as much as Christmas, and reduced to focusing on gifts, candy, and cute animals. I happen to believe that what Easter commemorates is infinitely more profound—and that Jesus changed the course of history.

But whatever our spiritual beliefs, however religious or irreligious we are, however we mark Easter, Passover or the arrival of spring, most of us love chocolate. So if we’re going to buy chocolate, let’s make sure it’s good chocolate.

My own preference is dark chocolate, 70% cocoa or higher, not too sweet, and with a satisfyingly sharp “snap” when it breaks, proving its quality pedigree through expert tempering and high cocoa content. And of course, with a rich, velvety texture as it melts.

When I say “good chocolate,” though, I also mean ethically sourced, fair trade chocolate. I was shocked when I learned through World Vision Canada’s website that only five percent of the chocolate sold around the world today is certified to be free from the use of forced, child or trafficked labour. More than one million children in West Africa are being used for cheap labour so that those of us in the West can buy cheap chocolate.

We are unwittingly part of a global system that promotes child slavery by buying the 95% of chocolate that is not certified ethical. So starting this Easter, let’s think about where our chocolate comes from.

It’s now easy to find ethical, fair trade chocolate in grocery stores, pharmacies, and department stores. The Good Chocolate Guide from World Vision lists some brands to look for. Whenever I’m near a Ten Thousand Villages shop, a program of the Mennonite Central Committee relief and development charity, I’m happy to support their cause by buying some fair trade Camino cocoa powder, hot chocolate mix, or a bar of chocolate.

We take for granted that chocolate is everywhere in the West, from the cheapest dollar stores to the most expensive patisseries, boutiques and restaurants. If we all use our voices and vote with our spending power, more Canadian companies will support this initiative to only buy cocoa that is certified free of forced, child or trafficked labour.

I was fortunate enough to win World Vision Canada’s Valentine’s Day contest for a gift basket of ethically sourced chocolate available in Canada. I’m rationing it carefully, so I haven’t tasted every variety yet, but I’ve been impressed by some of the best chocolate I’ve ever had! The brands included Camino, Green & Blacks, Cote D’Or, Alter Eco, Tcho, Denman Island, Galerie au chocolat, Organic Fair, and giddy yoyo. Thank you, World Vision! I’m now going to be much more aware of whose hard work harvested the beans that supply the world cocoa market.

Guest blog post by Wendy Elaine Nelles

For information on what Canadian chocolate companies are doing to address child slavery in the cocoa industry, check out the Chocolate Scorecard for Canada.

Our photo guide takes you through the 7 easy steps to prepare these tasty treats. Learn about where to find ethical chocolate and Easter egg moulds, and the quick cooking process. There is no doubt that your family and friends with a sweet tooth will appreciate your efforts.

Why ethical Easter eggs?

Cocoa used to make chocolate is regularly harvested in part by child and trafficked labour. This is especially common in Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana, where an estimate 1.8 million children work in cocoa growing activities. When we use ethical chocolate, we are ensuring we are not contributing to child labour on cocoa farms. To learn more about the issues surrounding child labour on cocoa farms and how our Help Wanted: End Child Slavery campaign is working to address these issue, check out our cocoa and child labour information sheet.

The Help Wanted: End Child Slavery campaign is calling on the Canadian chocolate companies to commit to sourcing ethical cocoa for all of their products by 2020 as a way to end child labour in the industry.

Safely home in Myanmar, this family was earlier trafficked to Singapore. No matter what age you are, all people deserve protection from this form of exploitation.

World Vision regularly works with parliamentarians from all political parties to raise the needs of the world’s most vulnerable children.

Your voice is needed! With the Liberal Party in the process of electing a new leader, there is a special opportunity for this party to commit to supporting children in dirty, dangerous, and degrading work. Ask Liberal President Mike Crawley to take the opportunity of the leadership selection and Liberal Party visioning to ensure that the Party is committed to concrete actions to end child slavery.

We’re confident we can influence the Liberal Party based on our past success. The creation of the National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking last year showed that our voices will be listened to. But what exactly will this plan do, especially for vulnerable children? Find out how this plan takes a big step in preventing and ending trafficking.

Looking for more ways to play a part in ending child slavery? Check out our campaign on helping Canadian chocolate companies source ethical cocoa which is free from child labour. With Easter around the corner, there are easy steps we can take to be a part of the ethical chocolate movement.

By Dan Wilcox
Advocacy Campaigns Coordinator
World Vision Canada

Over 2 million children are involved in cocoa farming and harvesting, many of them using dangerous machetes to cut open the cocoa pods.

Chocolate and Valentine’s Day are inseparable it seems. Whether it is for a loved one, friends, or colleagues, many of us like to buy a little gift of sweet chocolate indulgence to show we care.

This Valentine’s Day you can show that you care both for the special people in your life and for children you will likely never meet. Over 2 million children work in cocoa-related jobs, many of which are dirty, dangerous and degrading. As part of our Help Wanted: End Child Slavery campaign, there are a number of ways you can ensure the chocolate you find this Valentine’s Day isn’t hurting children.

• Starting your search – the Good Chocolate Guide is a great place to start as it lists ethical chocolate products that can be found in Canada, making it easier to get on your way.

• Expanding the market and the demand – if you’re like me, you might prefer to shop at a local chocolatier for your Valentine’s Day gifts. If so, we have a job for you!  Find out more about the cocoa your chocolatier is using by passing along this pamphlet.  If they carry ethical chocolate products, help others find the store by adding it to the ChocoFinder app.

• Tweeting for Chocolate – learn how you can turn your Tweets on ethical chocolate into a delicious prize with our Good Chocolate Giveaway contest. Follow us on Twitter to find out the latest ethical options supporters have found!

• Sharing about where chocolate come from with your children. – “I’d love to work on a chocolate farm.” This is the innocent view of six year old Sarah, daughter to blogger Britt Hamilton. In the latest Yummy Mummy blog, Britt explains to her daughter about the dangers children face while working on cocoa farms, and what we can do.  Read the full blog and share the messages with chocolate loving children in your life.

The small steps we take today can help shape a future where children are not exposed to dangerous pesticides or working with machetes on cocoa farms. That’s something all our special Valentines can appreciate.

By Dan Wilcox – Advocacy Campaigns Coordinator

Some of the ethical chocolates that will be found in the Good Chocolate Giveaway gift basket.

Giving the gift of chocolate is a sweet way to show your loved ones you care on Valentine’s Day. With over 2 million children working in cocoa related work, our chocolate choices matter. By choosing ethical products over others, we can let the chocolate industry know that we prefer chocolate treats that don’t harm children.

To make your shopping experiencing even better, we have created a contest to encourage you to choose ethical chocolate products as gifts for Valentine’s Day. Give a gift and then, maybe, get one too!

Congrats to Wendy Nelles who won the #GoodChocolateGiveaway contest. Her Tweet of Fairtrade cocoa powder won her a gift basket of ethical chocolates.

But we would still love to know how you are supporting ethical chocolate:

• Buy an ethical chocolate gift. Use our Good Chocolate Guide or the ChocoFinder app for help in finding a tasty treat.
• Take a picture of your purchase.
• Post your picture on Twitter using the hashtag #GoodChocolate.

Contest Dates

• The contest is now closed.

For more information on how the cocoa industry affects children, check out our Help Wanted: End Child Slavery cocoa page.