Children are our future

Dedicate this to the millions of children who are going through similar hardship everyday around the world. whoever read this, pass the message on.

The sky was still dark when Maly got up from the wooden plank he was sleeping on. The zinc roofed hut they slept in was almost saturated with smell of urine from a rusty tin container in a corner. The hut had no windows but two small openings in the wall. Maly and his 15 other companions were waiting but nobody said anything. A few minutes later, “Big guy” Le Gros came and opened the lock from outside.

They went out and were joined by other groups of children at the shed on the cocoa plantation. Le Gros barked some instructions and they were given their tools and rations.
Now, it was the harvesting season. Maly and his companions had to fill up the sacks and transport them to the collection point where the trucks were waiting.

He felt hungry and weak, and the sack full of cocoa beans was getting heavier and heavier. He had to wait for another 4 hours before he could eat his ration of corn and banana paste.
“Think of birds when you are working. Don’t ever think about food.” That was the advice given to him by Agasi, who was older and taller than Maly.

Maly bent over while the other 2 children lifted a big sack and placed it on his back. He walked difficultly trying to balance the sack but tripped and fell on the ground. He heard an angry shout and almost immediately the burning pain of Le Gros’s cane was on his back and thighs. The other children came to pick up the spilt cocoa beans while he struggled to get up to avoid more beatings. Being beaten was almost a daily event and nobody showed any emotion about it.

After the sun had set, Maly and the children were given a ration of rice and a cup of sweet drink. After eating, they were lead back to their small huts.

On their way, Maly saw a big white car drove past them and stopped in front of the manager’s house not far from where they were. A well dressed white man got in the spotlessly white car and it drove off in another direction.

“That’s our big boss, Mr. Santos. Greet him the next time you see him. Understand?” Le Gros barked out loudly at them.

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Mr. Santos and Anna, his pretty personal assistant, entered the VIP room at the airport. The journalist from Business Times stood up and greeted them.

“Thank you so much for coming. I am Andre Luz from Business Times. It’s my pleasure meeting you, Mr. Santos.”

Mr. Santos gave him a warm smile and a firm handshake before they sat down on the couch. Andre couldn’t help to notice how pretty Anna was in her well tailored, fitting business suit.

“Mr. Santos, last year you were nominated as the person of the year by the Environmentalists magazine. Can you tell us more why did you choose to produce your cocoa beans by organic standards?”

“This is simply because I believe in the organic principles of agriculture. I truly believe that everyone has to play his or her part in preserving our environment. Organic farming principles focus in applying environmentally friendly methods to improve soil fertility. The key principle is sustainability. I believe that it is the responsibility of us farmers to take care of the earth and keep the soil healthy. When we leave a farm, the soil should be better and more fertile than when we started.”

“Being certified organic, is your operation entirely chemical free?” Andre continued with the interview.

“Definitely. Using chemical pesticides and herbicides pose a heavy toll on our environment. They are polluting our food, soil and water sources. Furthermore, they don’t solve the problems that they were supposed to solve. On all my plantations, we use cultural and biological methods to control pests and weeds.”

“Organic products usually get premium prices in the market. Is this part of the reasons you went for organic certification?”

“You are right that organic produce is usually more valuable than conventional produce. But no. It’s not the reason why our farms employ organic methods in out operations.”

Mr. Santos looked at Andre and said with his sincere voice.

“The main reason we are doing it organically is because we believe in preserving the environment for our children. We want to give them a pollution free world for them to live better, healthier and happier. Children ARE our future.”