For “Ipew,” a 15-year-old boy from Rodriguez in Rizal province, the daily trek from the mountains to Sitio Wawa was not just a journey but a heavy burden.

Laden with goods like saba bananas, peanuts, and avocados, his small frame would bear the weight of survival, trading childhood for labor to support his family.

“It also hurts my body when what I’m carrying is heavy. I just endure it, but it’s hard to go downhill when it rains. I carry our goods, the ones we sell, like saba bananas, peanuts, and avocados, to help my mother and father,” he said in Filipino.

For his parents, Amelia and her husband, seeing their son toiling away at such a young age was a daily heartbreak. They felt trapped by poverty, compelled to accept their harsh reality.

“We have nothing to eat if we don’t help carry the goods. We use the money to buy rice, food and coffee,” Amelia said.

However, a new chapter has started for Ipew and his family when the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) stepped in with its Strategic Helpdesks for Information, Education, Livelihood, and Other Developmental Interventions (SHIELD) against child labor program.

The initiative, which aims to rescue and rehabilitate child laborers, provided a ray of hope to those like Ipew who were caught in the cycle of child labor.

Implemented in partnership with the local government unit (LGU) of Rodriguez, SHIELD offers a range of support services tailored to the needs of child laborers and their families.

This includes educational assistance and livelihood aid, crucial elements that are helping families break free from the grip of poverty and exploitation.

“We have galvanized our agreement and partnership with the DSWD about this. Through this program, we cannot completely eradicate child labor, but we can minimize the number of child laborers in the municipality,” said Delilah Chua, the Municipal Social Welfare and Development officer of Rodriguez LGU.

Since formalizing their partnership with the DSWD in February, the Rodriguez LGU has established help desks in targeted barangays to provide immediate and appropriate interventions for child laborers. These help desks also facilitate referrals to other government agencies, ensuring a comprehensive support network for affected families.

Thanks to the SHIELD program, Ipew is no longer a child laborer. Instead, he is preparing to continue his education at Wawa Elementary School as a grade six student, with dreams of a brighter future.

“My dream in life is to finish my studies and then work as an electrician,” he said.

“I want my child to hold a pencil and pen so that he won’t have to struggle in the mountains,” Amelia chimed in.

Since its inception in 2021, SHIELD has reached approximately 10,192 child laborers, with 1,986 of them now assessed to be free from child labor and reintegrated into their families and communities.