MANTHOC
MANTHOC is a movement of 5000 child workers that tries to dignify labor and to improve the conditions under which children work. It began in 1976 to defend the rights of young workers, and is run by militant youth. The program works in 10 Peruvian provinces. Participants insist that “MANTHOC is not an NGO: it is a life choice.”
When MANTHOC was founded, the military government opposed all labor unions as a threat to security and capital. At the same time, many factories had closed in the mid 1970s. Given this context, one could understand why so many children began to work on the street: their families desperately needed money. Catholic youth groups, inspired by Liberation Theology, went onto the street to meet these working kids and to mobilize them into a union. Because it comes from this grassroots perspective, MANTHOC has no interest in ending child labor. It wants to defend the rights of young workers and improve the quality of their lives.
The Christian metaphor of Jesus as a child worker is essential to MANTHOC. “If it was no shame for the Child God to work as a carpenter, why should it shame us?” MANTHOC also recognizes the ideology of labor in the contemporary world: respect and dignity come from work and a salary. “If we want a world in which children are respected, how can we deny them the right to work?” Finally, MANTHOC knows that the real lives of almost all children revolve around work. In peasant families, children always worked with their parents in the fields. In rich families, children do chores and care for their younger siblings. “Isn’t this work?” MANTHOC wants to dignify all of this labor, and as such, dignify the lives of children.
MANTHOC depends on five philosophical principles:
1. Children and adolescents are not dependent; they are autonomous agents. They can and should act on their own behalf.
2. Children and adolescents must have an active role in society. They themselves, and not adults, should defend children’s rights.
3. Advocacy must be universal: not just in favor of MANTHOC members, but also in favor of all children.
4. MANTHOC sees itself as a model for other movements.
5. Children are teachers -- not just for their peers, but for all people.
Based on these principles, MANTHOC works in three areas:
1. Education: To insure that child workers also have the time to study. The program provides after school help with homework, remedial education, and help in returning drop-outs to school. MANTHOC also runs vocational education workshops.
2. Organization: MANTHOC believes that the powerful can crush any individual child, but that no one can stop a united movement.
3. Evangelization: The movement emerged from the Catholic church, but it is ecumenical. “Evangelize” means to educate and to bring justice and equality to the world.
MANTHOC is organized in neighborhood groups, based on self-help and empathy: when one child falls ill, for instance, all the rest feel a responsibility to support h/er and h/er family. Equally important, a union of street vendors can get better prices from wholesalers, improving profits and reducing the hours a child must work. Neighborhood groups also engage in “community action,” from cleaning brigades to protests in front of Congress. With the help of the national office of MANTHOC, these groups can learn how to run a small business: there are now programs in baking, recycling, and making greeting cards.
In Lima, MANTHOC runs three training centers, generally close to the markets where children work, so that children can come easily to get tutoring, to talk with their friends, or just to be off the street. The centers also have libraries and an on site nurse.
The national organization is composed of representatives from each of the neighborhood groups. One adult, the “National Collaborator,” administers the movement, but she never claims to represent it. This “Collaborator” is elected by the children who make up the movement.
In spite of its radical politics, MANTHOC has a great relationship with the police, helping them to create “Colibrí” (hummingbird), a police division that works exclusively with child workers. The police have learned that organized child labor improves public order and reduces gang activity, so they help MANTHOC to organize children into labor unions.
MANTHOC initiated another successful experiment in the late 1990s, when it opened its own school. The school began as a formal after-school program, but soon children were asking MANTHOC to turn it into a real elementary school. Now the school has its own curriculum, written in large part by the students, and is licensed by the Department of Education.
Instead of grades, the school has “circles.” Children go to the circle appropriate for their educational level, regardless of their age, and they move on to the next circle after fulfilling certain requirements, not at the end of the year. This model has turned out to be perfect for older children who never really went to school. Teachers can give individual attention and can base their lessons on the strengths of child workers -- using the math skills of a street vendor, for instance.
Children participate in school administration. They chose the colors and symbols on their uniforms and help to adjust curricula. Unlike most Peruvian schools, teachers do not rule with an iron hand; in fact, children generally call their teachers by their first names. The results are clear in the leadership potential of the children and in their test results.
MANTHOC believes that its results validate its methods. Members now have more secure jobs and feel more dignified. Grades have improved for almost all MANTHOC members. Many children can give more money to their families, thus improving their quality of life. The children’s small businesses generally make a profit. And in the shantytowns, MANTHOC members are recognized as role models.
You can read MANTHOC's mission statement (in Spanish) by clicking here.
MANTHOC (Movimiento de Niños, Niñas y Adolescentes Trabajadores Hijos de Obreros Cristianos)
Los Tulipanes #780
Villa jardin primera zona, Villa María del Triunfo
Lima 35, Peru
Tel 51 1 450-6090, 276 1202, 276 8150
Fax 51 1 477-2769
Escuela: Manuel Medrano 126 Zona A
Ciudad de Dios
Lima 29, Perú
contacto: In 2005, MANTHOC elected the following people for a 3 year term:
Presidencia : Lic. Cecilia Ramírez Flores
Tesorería : Elber Alarcón Garay
Secretaría : Lic. Moisés Bazán Novoa
manthoc@terra.com.pe or manthoc25@hotmail.com
