The Price Of Puff
Forbes Africa|December 2016-January 2017

It is still one of the biggest businesses in Africa despite all the efforts from the government trying to stamp it out. The tobacco industry makes over $700 billion a year and seems to survive advertising bans and restrictions. Part of this business is African children who work for a dollar a day.

Ancillar Mangena
The Price Of Puff

It’s 5AM in the northern hills of Malawi where its tobacco is grown. Chifundo Ndilowe is awake and ready for the day. Dressed in grey shorts and a blue NBA vest, still filthy from yesterday’s long day on the farm, Ndilowe has hours of hard labor ahead. He is just 15 years old and has been planting and picking tobacco since he was 10.

“I came here in 2011 because rural life is hard. We were battling at home and I had to start contributing for us to survive. I stopped going to school to work. It is very tough working under these conditions because it is hot and we easily get tired and I am often sick,” he says.

Ndilowe moved 567 kilometers from Mulanje to Mpherembe, 300 kilometers north of Malawi’s capital, Lilongwe, to work in a tobacco farm five years ago. It means long hours, missing school and breaking the law for little pay. He earns a little more than $140 and $280 a year depending on the harvest. That’s less than $1 a day.

“We work for the year and only get paid after harvest. During the year, we get 20 kilograms of maize for 12 days because we don’t grow crops for consumption. They also give us salt and then we have to figure out the rest ourselves. I get to eat once a day and I take whatever is there,” he says.

Ndilowe is just one of an estimated 800,000 youngsters in the tobacco fields; voices that are seldom heard. One of an army of children who sweat for millions of cigarettes lit all over Africa.

A study on child labor in the tobacco industry in two areas of Malawi, Suza in the Kasungu district and Katalima in the Dowa district, found 57% of all children were being used as child labour in the tobacco fields.

George Kube, an adult tobacco worker, works with Ndilowe and two other children.

Denne historien er fra December 2016-January 2017-utgaven av Forbes Africa.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra December 2016-January 2017-utgaven av Forbes Africa.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA FORBES AFRICASe alt
TRACK, WATCH, BEFRIEND
Forbes Africa

TRACK, WATCH, BEFRIEND

IN THE PRISTINE WILDERNESS OF GABON ARE THE MAJESTIC AND GENTLE WESTERN LOWLAND GORILLAS. A FIRSTHAND REPORT FROM OUR TRAVEL WRITER ON WHAT GOES INTO HABITUATING THEM.

time-read
4 mins  |
August - September 2024
CHALLENGING BUT NECESSARY: THE AI BALANCING PROBLEM
Forbes Africa

CHALLENGING BUT NECESSARY: THE AI BALANCING PROBLEM

Artificial intelligence (AI) continues transforming many industries, providing unprecedented opportunities for innovation and efficiency. However, these advancements bring complex challenges that necessitate a delicate balancing act.

time-read
3 mins  |
August - September 2024
BEYOND ACADEMIA: THE SOCIETAL IMPACT OF MULTILATERAL EDUCATIONAL COLLABORATIONS
Forbes Africa

BEYOND ACADEMIA: THE SOCIETAL IMPACT OF MULTILATERAL EDUCATIONAL COLLABORATIONS

The great poet William Butler Yeats once said, \"Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.\"

time-read
3 mins  |
August - September 2024
The Business Of Dance: Embracing One's Individuality And Style
Forbes Africa

The Business Of Dance: Embracing One's Individuality And Style

In the dynamic world of street dance, passion and perseverance pave the way for success. Living out this ethos is South African born B-girl turned businesswoman, Courtnaé Paul.

time-read
2 mins  |
August - September 2024
COMPASSION FATIGUE: THE DANGEROUS DESCENT FROM HELPING TO HURTING
Forbes Africa

COMPASSION FATIGUE: THE DANGEROUS DESCENT FROM HELPING TO HURTING

It is a workplace reality that caring too much for your colleagues can hurt you.

time-read
2 mins  |
August - September 2024
IT HAS NEVER BEEN MORE CRITICAL TO FIND OUR NICHE
Forbes Africa

IT HAS NEVER BEEN MORE CRITICAL TO FIND OUR NICHE

Have you found your niche? I received a lot of advice when I set up my company, but perhaps the most important consisted of just three words: Find Your Niche.

time-read
3 mins  |
August - September 2024
HOW TO MAKE AFRICA WIN OFF THE FIELD TOO
Forbes Africa

HOW TO MAKE AFRICA WIN OFF THE FIELD TOO

When all else fails, try sports. It's good for the soul.

time-read
2 mins  |
August - September 2024
BEAN THERE, DONE THAT
Forbes Africa

BEAN THERE, DONE THAT

British author Roald Dahl tapped into every chocoholic's imagination when creating Willy Wonka's bizarre chocolate factory in his 1964 children's novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

time-read
6 mins  |
August - September 2024
IT DOESN'T GET ANY BETTER THAN WORKING WITH AL PACINO ON BROADWAY'
Forbes Africa

IT DOESN'T GET ANY BETTER THAN WORKING WITH AL PACINO ON BROADWAY'

Arnold Vosloo Actor

time-read
2 mins  |
August - September 2024
BLENDED FINANCE: BRIDGING THE GAP IN EMERGING MARKETS IN SUPPORT OF THE SDGS
Forbes Africa

BLENDED FINANCE: BRIDGING THE GAP IN EMERGING MARKETS IN SUPPORT OF THE SDGS

Amid the widespread global support for the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), there was an underlying concern among economists and financial advisors in the emerging and frontier markets: public sector and donor funds were stalled, if not regressing, and the funding gap to realize the SDGs was increasing.

time-read
2 mins  |
August - September 2024