Cesiri Tono uses an entertainment-education approach to raise awareness among listeners about child trafficking issues, demonstrating that unplanned childbearing can lead to poverty and, in turn, to the exploitation of children. The programme describes in graphic detail the harsh reality of the working conditions to which children are subjected. It shows how family planning can help families break the cycle of poverty that can lead to the exploitation of children. Click here for details about the drama's plot and characters.

The drama is broadcast three times a week over the Africa Learning Channel via WorldSpace satellite. It is being downloaded and broadcast by about 100 community radio stations in Mali, Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso.

The programme was developed following formative research carried out in West Africa that looked at attitudes and behaviours related to reproductive health and the rights and welfare of children. The writers, producer and director then participated in a workshop, during which the results of the formative research were presented and the Sabido methodology of entertainment-education was explained.

Children, Conflict, Rights, Reproductive Health.

UNICEF estimates that 200,000 children in West and Central Africa are smuggled across national borders every year to provide forced labour in neighbouring countries. This estimate does not include children that are sold or traded within their own countries. Boys are often used as farmhands or for physical labour, while girls are trafficked as sexual slaves or domestic servants.

Contrary to popular opinion, however, PMC explains that the children who are trafficked are generally not kidnapped by malevolent strangers. In the majority of cases, parents “give” their children to distant relatives or people with connections to their village, in the hopes of providing them a better life. They are often unaware of the harsh working conditions that their children will face.