In Colombia, it is estimated that more than 5,000 children and adolescents work in mines and quarries. Children working in mining is one of the worst forms of child labor, as it affects their physical and mental development and limits their possibilities of having a happy and healthy life.

Fondo Acción was part of the Somos Tesoro project, an initiative that focuses its efforts on reducing child labor in mining areas around Colombia. This project was financed by the United States Department of Labor in partnership with Pact World, the Alliance for Responsible Mining, and the Mi Sangre Foundation. We, as Fondo Acción, lead the component related to public policy in order to promote policies that reduce child labor in mining.

Somos Tesoro implemented a comprehensive strategy aimed at strengthening public policies for child protection, prevention, and reduction of child labor, and also apply labor and mining safety and hygiene standards, make training in educational institutions more attractive, and generate greater economic stability for families.

 Main objectives  

– Strengthen public policies aimed at the comprehensive protection of children and adolescents, the prevention and reduction of child labor in mining and the formalization of artisanal and small-scale mining in coal and gold through inter-institutional coordination for their application in the prioritized municipalities.Apply the labor, security, and hygiene norms which protect adults and, through them, their families in order to avoid possible child labor.-To make training more attractive in educational institutions in order to promote children and adolescents staying in school.   –Generate greater economic stability for families in the mining areas prioritized by the project.  

We work in key municipalities where the most cases of child labor in mining were identified:

-Sogamoso, Tópaga, Gámeza and Mongua, in Boyacá. 

-El Bagre, Zaragoza, Remedios and Segovia, in Antioquia.