banhocheiroso

The curse and blessing that is child labour.

We left Maranata with a slow leak in one tire. We stopped soon afterwards to get it seen to. If this lad were in England, he would have been in school. As it is, for the last 8 months, he has worked with his Dad, while doing 4 hours of school. Shock horror, you may say. But on the other hand, while his British counterparts are squabbling over Neighbours and computer games, he showed us the meaning of the word Work: a wheel removed, checked, problem identified, repair effected and wheel replaced with total competence and zero fuss. He charged us 5 reais - £1.20. I felt churlish to pay so little, and yet would have felt churlish to pay him more. Do you know what I mean?

These issues are not as straightforward as some think.