A relatively new form of child labour is scrap collection and recycling. An increasing number of children can be found, either alone or in the company of their families, searching through garbage containers for reusable items, as well as on refuge dumps. In order to be able to adequately address this type of child labour, a better understanding is needed of what the work involves, how it is organized, what are the hazards and the benefits.

 

Save the Children  commissioned Dutch film maker and photographer Chris de Bode to produce a short film on the lives of boys working in scrap collection. Through the use of a combination of  techniques including: a Go Pro camera that was fixed on the boys’ chests, a professional camera, and moving portraits of the key players, the film portrays the work of the boys, the impact on their lives and health, as well as their own perceptions and dreams for the future.