'Somos Tesoro' initiative launched in Colombia

This week, Pact launched a $9 million initiative to fight child labor in mines in Colombia. With funding from the U.S. Department of Labor and the support three local partners, “Somos Tesoro” — Spanish for “We are Treasure” — plans to benefit more than 5,000 children, workers and their families in mining areas in the regions of Boyacá and Antioquia.

• Helping children stay in school.
• Generating economic stability in families to avoid resorting to children as a source of income.
• Implementing labor, health and safety standards in mines to protect adults and their families.
• Strengthening public policies aimed at protecting children and the formalizing small-scale mining.