0:00:02 > 0:00:03Every day of the week,
0:00:03 > 0:00:07200 million children around the world go out to work.
0:00:08 > 0:00:10'Children who work in circuses in Russia...
0:00:12 > 0:00:14'..on chocolate plantations in Africa...
0:00:15 > 0:00:17'..children who work in Bollywood...
0:00:19 > 0:00:23'..and children who want to be Africa's next big football star.'
0:00:23 > 0:00:26Welcome to the world of Children At Work.
0:00:37 > 0:00:40I'm Hazel Lindsey and I've come to one Ghana's
0:00:40 > 0:00:43largest cocoa growing regions to see how children here help to create
0:00:43 > 0:00:46one of the world's best-loved luxuries - chocolate.
0:00:48 > 0:00:50Children in the UK eat more chocolate
0:00:50 > 0:00:51than any other kids in Europe.
0:00:51 > 0:00:56And around 70% of the world's cocoa is grown in West Africa.
0:00:56 > 0:01:00That means most of the chocolate we all eat, starts its life here.
0:01:00 > 0:01:03The children of the region often play an important
0:01:03 > 0:01:06and controversial role in the process -
0:01:06 > 0:01:08working in the cocoa plantations.
0:01:09 > 0:01:13I'll be spending a week in a typical cocoa village
0:01:13 > 0:01:14in the Ashanti region of Ghana
0:01:14 > 0:01:18to find out more about how children here live and work.
0:01:20 > 0:01:24The village is about five hours' drive from the capital, Accra.
0:01:24 > 0:01:26It's called Akyem Ofoase.
0:01:26 > 0:01:30The roads are pretty rough around here, so you can't drive very fast.
0:01:31 > 0:01:33There we go.
0:01:33 > 0:01:35It's so dusty.
0:01:35 > 0:01:37'I'll be staying in the local guesthouse,
0:01:37 > 0:01:40'usually home to visiting business people.
0:01:40 > 0:01:42'There aren't any tourists here.'
0:01:44 > 0:01:46Brilliant.
0:01:46 > 0:01:50'It's a world away from home, where cooking and chocolate
0:01:50 > 0:01:52'are two of my favourite things.'
0:01:53 > 0:01:55So, I'll add three bags of those.
0:01:55 > 0:01:58I know my chocolate very well.
0:01:58 > 0:02:00'Or I thought I did.'
0:02:01 > 0:02:05'But going to Ghana in West Africa, where much of the cocoa
0:02:05 > 0:02:07'that goes into our chocolate is grown,
0:02:07 > 0:02:11'makes me realise, there's a lot more to it than I thought.
0:02:13 > 0:02:16'Akyem Ofoase is home to about 7,000 people.'
0:02:16 > 0:02:18You're very pretty.
0:02:18 > 0:02:19'And although I'm a stranger here,
0:02:19 > 0:02:21'I'm made to feel welcome straightaway.'
0:02:23 > 0:02:25It's just amazing, Like, yesterday,
0:02:25 > 0:02:28I was in the freezing cold in England and now, it's boiling hot
0:02:28 > 0:02:30and I'm surrounded by all these beautiful children.
0:02:30 > 0:02:33I'm so excited to find out about the cocoa growing
0:02:33 > 0:02:37and it's just brilliant, really. So excited.
0:02:39 > 0:02:42'The kids get really excited whenever they see my camera.'
0:02:42 > 0:02:44Say cheese.
0:02:44 > 0:02:48'I don't think they've ever seen themselves in a photograph before.
0:02:49 > 0:02:52'I'd like to find out more about them and their lives.
0:02:52 > 0:02:55'In particular, as a newly qualified science teacher,
0:02:55 > 0:02:57'I wonder if they go to school.'
0:02:58 > 0:03:01- Do they like school? - He said he goes to school.
0:03:01 > 0:03:03- Do they like it?- Yeah.
0:03:04 > 0:03:06'The kids clearly love going to school,
0:03:06 > 0:03:09'but what's their favourite subject?'
0:03:09 > 0:03:13- Maths.- Maths.- English.- English.
0:03:13 > 0:03:16- Science.- Science!- ICT.- ICT.
0:03:20 > 0:03:23'But they say there is only one computer at school,
0:03:23 > 0:03:27'which they all have to share. They all have big ambitions -
0:03:27 > 0:03:31'when they grow up, they want good jobs outside the cocoa village,
0:03:31 > 0:03:34'as doctors or footballers.
0:03:35 > 0:03:38'Sadly, most children who live in West Africa's cocoa villages
0:03:38 > 0:03:42'won't even go on to secondary education.'
0:03:42 > 0:03:44One, two, three, jump.
0:03:48 > 0:03:51One, two, three. Yeah!
0:03:51 > 0:03:54'The majority here will grow up to be adult farm workers.
0:03:54 > 0:03:58'Despite all this ambition, there aren't the opportunities to match.'
0:04:02 > 0:04:05'I'm here to meet 11-year-old Patrick Tawaih,
0:04:05 > 0:04:08'whose family have been cocoa farmers for generations.
0:04:11 > 0:04:13'His house is right in the middle of the village,
0:04:13 > 0:04:16'where there's no running water or electricity.
0:04:18 > 0:04:21'Most people in country areas in Ghana
0:04:21 > 0:04:23'survive on about 75 pence a day,
0:04:23 > 0:04:25'and Patrick's family are no exception.'
0:04:26 > 0:04:31So, this is your kitchen? Brilliant. Is that...? What's in here?
0:04:33 > 0:04:35'He shares his one-room house and front yard
0:04:35 > 0:04:39'with his extended family of aunties, uncles and their children.
0:04:42 > 0:04:45'Everything happens right here, in his front yard -
0:04:45 > 0:04:48'work, rest, chatting, snoozing.
0:04:48 > 0:04:50'There's a real sense of community here.
0:04:50 > 0:04:52'All under the watchful eye of the family's animals.'
0:04:52 > 0:04:55And your goat, which is happily eating.
0:04:56 > 0:04:59You do your washing-up here? I'm following you.
0:05:02 > 0:05:05'Patrick's uncle owns the family's cocoa farm.
0:05:07 > 0:05:09'And they're all keen to show me round
0:05:09 > 0:05:12'so we set off straightaway for the plantation,
0:05:12 > 0:05:15'which is about 20 minutes' walk from the village.
0:05:19 > 0:05:20'It's estimated that, in Africa,
0:05:20 > 0:05:25'between 56 and 72 million children work in agriculture.'
0:05:27 > 0:05:29The ground's really uneven, it's boiling, boiling hot,
0:05:29 > 0:05:31so humid and sweaty.
0:05:33 > 0:05:36'Hot and humid are exactly the right conditions for growing cocoa,
0:05:36 > 0:05:39'but horrible to work in.
0:05:39 > 0:05:44'All the same, there are 600,000 small, family farms, like this one,
0:05:44 > 0:05:46'all over Ghana...'
0:05:46 > 0:05:49Do they grow on the trunks?
0:05:49 > 0:05:51'..and they produce most of the country's cocoa.'
0:05:53 > 0:05:56They grow, like, up the trunk? I did not know that!
0:05:56 > 0:06:01'Today, Patrick's uncle is giving me a crash course in cocoa production.'
0:06:01 > 0:06:07- I had no idea at all that cocoa pods grew up, around the trunk.- This one.
0:06:07 > 0:06:11- Oh, it's good.- That one's ripe? - This one is ripe.
0:06:11 > 0:06:14- And...- And this one, it's not quite ripe.
0:06:14 > 0:06:18And they just keep going, up and up. It's amazing.
0:06:19 > 0:06:22I can't believe how magical this place is.
0:06:22 > 0:06:24There's trees literally everywhere.
0:06:24 > 0:06:26I didn't realise they grew so close together.
0:06:26 > 0:06:29And the way that all the cocoa pods wind themselves around the trunks,
0:06:29 > 0:06:31it's just amazing.
0:06:32 > 0:06:35One thing that I've really noticed is the leaf litter.
0:06:35 > 0:06:37I think you can probably hear it.
0:06:37 > 0:06:40I'm scraping through so many cocoa pod leaves.
0:06:40 > 0:06:43Obviously, in leaves there can be hidden snakes,
0:06:43 > 0:06:46so it's not surprising that lots and lots of children get bitten.
0:06:51 > 0:06:55'In Ghana, it's illegal for children under 13 to work.
0:06:55 > 0:06:57'After that, they're allowed to do light work
0:06:57 > 0:06:59'that won't interfere with their schooling.
0:07:01 > 0:07:06'11-year-old Patrick is one of the lucky ones, as he attends school.
0:07:06 > 0:07:09'But many thousands of children in cocoa-growing areas
0:07:09 > 0:07:13'don't go to school regularly because they're working so hard in the plantations.'
0:07:16 > 0:07:19Wow. That's nothing like chocolate.
0:07:20 > 0:07:22Just eat and see.
0:07:22 > 0:07:25- You can eat it!- Hmm. - What does it taste like?
0:07:26 > 0:07:29- Don't chew it! - We don't chew it.- Ah!
0:07:32 > 0:07:34- We don't chew it.- No? Aaah.
0:07:34 > 0:07:37My mouth doesn't taste very nice! Can I spit it out?
0:07:43 > 0:07:45Well, that was a huge disaster.
0:07:45 > 0:07:48Instead of just, basically, sucking the white pulp,
0:07:48 > 0:07:51which is beautifully sweet-tasting, I took three of these into my mouth
0:07:51 > 0:07:54and bit into them and, right in the middle, is the cocoa bean
0:07:54 > 0:07:58which happens to be the most bitter thing I've ever put in my mouth. It was absolutely disgusting.
0:08:04 > 0:08:06'Back in the village,
0:08:06 > 0:08:09'I discover that, as well as helping out on the farm,
0:08:09 > 0:08:11'Patrick has his own nursery for cocoa plants,
0:08:11 > 0:08:13'which he wants to show me.'
0:08:13 > 0:08:16- Oh, wow, Patrick. So, here are all your cocoa plants.- Yes.
0:08:16 > 0:08:17Where did you get them from?
0:08:17 > 0:08:21- Farm.- The farm. And how long have they been here for?
0:08:21 > 0:08:25- Nearly three weeks.- Three weeks?
0:08:25 > 0:08:29- And how long until they are fully grown?- Don't know.
0:08:29 > 0:08:34- One week or two weeks. - So, in two weeks they'll be ready.
0:08:35 > 0:08:39- So, you'll sell the plants to cocoa growers, basically?- Yes.
0:08:39 > 0:08:41Then they plant them in their plantations.
0:08:41 > 0:08:46- How much do they pay you for each plant?- 20 pesways.- 20 pesways.
0:08:46 > 0:08:49'That's about 15 pence a plant,
0:08:49 > 0:08:52'which goes towards Patrick's family's income
0:08:52 > 0:08:54'and makes them relatively well-off.
0:08:55 > 0:09:00'I'm beginning to realise that if the children didn't work on the farms,
0:09:00 > 0:09:03'they'd go short of money and food.
0:09:03 > 0:09:04'It's a tough choice.
0:09:07 > 0:09:11'Early next morning, I set off with another group of children
0:09:11 > 0:09:15'from the village on their long walk to the cocoa plantations.
0:09:19 > 0:09:22'In the heart of the forest, it's surprisingly busy.
0:09:22 > 0:09:24'Kids are on their way to school, gathering firewood
0:09:24 > 0:09:29'and making sure that their best shoes are kept nice for school.'
0:09:32 > 0:09:35Oh, gosh, they're moving quickly.
0:09:35 > 0:09:40'Nearly all the boys here help out on their families' farms.
0:09:40 > 0:09:44'They're just some of the millions of children who work on farms all over Africa every day.
0:09:46 > 0:09:48'They're an invisible workforce.
0:09:52 > 0:09:56'I'm interested to hear what they've got to say about their working lives.'
0:09:56 > 0:09:59Tell me about a typical day during the harvest season.
0:09:59 > 0:10:02TRANSLATION
0:10:19 > 0:10:22'Cocoa growing is a hazardous occupation for these children.'
0:10:22 > 0:10:25So, what happened when you hurt yourself?
0:10:27 > 0:10:28Ow. Does that happen often?
0:10:33 > 0:10:34A snake! Was it poisonous?
0:10:39 > 0:10:41Does it make you afraid to come back out?
0:10:45 > 0:10:47'The cocoa farmer they're working with today
0:10:47 > 0:10:50'says he feels responsible for their well-being.'
0:10:50 > 0:10:52How do you feel when they injure themselves?
0:11:05 > 0:11:09'In spite of the hazards they face, the children told me that they enjoyed working
0:11:09 > 0:11:10'as a team of friends.'
0:11:12 > 0:11:14Do you like working with all the other children?
0:11:33 > 0:11:36'I'd always thought that children who had to work would be unhappy
0:11:36 > 0:11:40'and resentful. But meeting these kids has made me re-think that.
0:11:41 > 0:11:44'All the same, just because they don't seem to mind,
0:11:44 > 0:11:46'doesn't mean it's right.
0:11:51 > 0:11:55'To find out more about 11-year-old Patrick's everyday life,
0:11:55 > 0:11:58'I'm spending the day with him at home.'
0:11:58 > 0:12:00Thank you very much, Patrick.
0:12:03 > 0:12:05'Patrick and his auntie Regina have invited me
0:12:05 > 0:12:07'to look around the house.'
0:12:10 > 0:12:13- So, is this where you sleep with your family?- Yes.
0:12:13 > 0:12:15And there's your little brother, fast asleep.
0:12:15 > 0:12:18How many people sleep here at night?
0:12:20 > 0:12:24- Ten.- Ten. Wow. Ten people.
0:12:26 > 0:12:30- Is this one of Patrick's brothers or sisters?- Yeah.- Hello.
0:12:30 > 0:12:35- Desmond. His name is Desmond. - Desmond. Hello, you're beautiful.
0:12:35 > 0:12:41- He doesn't know what to make of it all. And who's this?- Kwami.- Kwami.
0:12:42 > 0:12:44Fast asleep on the floor.
0:12:44 > 0:12:46- Is he ill?- Yes.
0:12:48 > 0:12:50'One-year-old Kwami has malaria,
0:12:50 > 0:12:53'a disease which is carried by mosquitoes.
0:12:56 > 0:13:00'The cramped living conditions mean that serious diseases like malaria
0:13:00 > 0:13:02'and typhoid, which is caused by poor hygiene,
0:13:02 > 0:13:04'are both common here, in the village,
0:13:04 > 0:13:08'and they can be deadly, especially for babies and children.'
0:13:10 > 0:13:15- Regina, what are you drinking? - Medicine.- Medicine. What is it for?
0:13:15 > 0:13:20- What do you drink it for? - For typhoid.- For typhoid.- Yeah.
0:13:20 > 0:13:23- Is this it here?- Yeah. - Let's have a look.
0:13:25 > 0:13:29- Wow, we've got a real selection. - Cocoa leaves.- Cocoa leaves.- Yeah.
0:13:29 > 0:13:30- Mahogany bark.- Yeah.
0:13:33 > 0:13:37- And this one.- Star fruit. - Star fruit, yeah.
0:13:37 > 0:13:39It's got a very smoky smell, actually.
0:13:41 > 0:13:45- And then, you just pour it into your cup?- Yeah.- And it helps?- Yeah.
0:13:46 > 0:13:50'It's a poor substitute for the vaccination against typhoid
0:13:50 > 0:13:54'that I had before I came here, but it's all they've got.'
0:13:54 > 0:13:59- Is typhoid a real problem round here?- Yes. It's a problem.
0:14:01 > 0:14:05'The village is completely dependent on cocoa farming for its living.
0:14:05 > 0:14:07'It's hard to believe that chocolate,
0:14:07 > 0:14:10'which we all think of as a luxury, a treat,
0:14:10 > 0:14:13'starts off in a place where there are no luxuries at all.'
0:14:13 > 0:14:15So, tell me what's happening here.
0:14:23 > 0:14:26'The traditional way of drying the beans is to leave them
0:14:26 > 0:14:29'for six days in the plantation, wrapped in banana leaves.
0:14:29 > 0:14:32'This stops them being eaten by animals.
0:14:34 > 0:14:38'Then, they're put on drying mats, all around the village
0:14:38 > 0:14:40'for another week or so.
0:14:41 > 0:14:45'I was amazed to discover that there are no machines involved at all
0:14:45 > 0:14:47'in the production of cocoa here.
0:14:47 > 0:14:51'Everything is done by hand, just as it was 200 years ago,
0:14:51 > 0:14:56'when slaves here first cultivated cocoa for the European market.
0:14:59 > 0:15:02'As well as helping with cocoa production,
0:15:02 > 0:15:04'children are expected to do a lot of household chores.
0:15:05 > 0:15:07'Even ones that involve heavy lifting.
0:15:09 > 0:15:12'Patrick often has to collect the family's water.
0:15:12 > 0:15:15'He's going to take me to the bore hole which provides a clean supply
0:15:15 > 0:15:17'for the whole village.'
0:15:17 > 0:15:22This is the bore hole. Show me how to do it. Do you have to just pump?
0:15:25 > 0:15:29And that will bring up the water from deep underground, nice and clean, I can see.
0:15:36 > 0:15:39Fantastic. We can cook the dinner now.
0:15:46 > 0:15:49Shall I have a go? See how easily I can carry this on my head.
0:15:50 > 0:15:53That's so heavy, I can barely lift it above my head.
0:15:55 > 0:15:56Ah, wow.
0:15:58 > 0:16:01It's really, really, really heavy.
0:16:03 > 0:16:07I'm spilling it everywhere!
0:16:13 > 0:16:15'Everything I take for granted at home -
0:16:15 > 0:16:18'turning on a tap, doing the washing in a washing machine,
0:16:18 > 0:16:23'cooking on a cooker, even taking a shower - just doesn't exist here.
0:16:25 > 0:16:30'It means that everything takes an effort and everyone has to help out.
0:16:31 > 0:16:34'Childhood here is hard work.
0:16:40 > 0:16:44'This evening, I'm going to be eating with Patrick's family.
0:16:44 > 0:16:49'I'm not sure what's on the menu, but I get a bit worried when I see what the neighbours are having.'
0:16:51 > 0:16:54Bush meat, and I can see lots of legs.
0:16:54 > 0:16:56I think I can see a jawbone right there!
0:16:56 > 0:16:59It's a very small animal, whatever it is.
0:16:59 > 0:17:02'It's a bush rat and it's served up with fufu,
0:17:02 > 0:17:05'which is pounded cassava and yam.'
0:17:05 > 0:17:08It's very interesting.
0:17:11 > 0:17:14'It's the end of the day, and back in Patrick's yard,
0:17:14 > 0:17:16'his family are also getting ready to eat.'
0:17:16 > 0:17:19I'm just sat watching Patrick's dinner cook
0:17:19 > 0:17:21with his gorgeous sister, Precious.
0:17:21 > 0:17:24His mum's just finished adding some spices to the soupy mix.
0:17:24 > 0:17:27I'm really surprised by how many chickens and goats...
0:17:27 > 0:17:32I don't know if you can see them, just scratching around. It's brilliant.
0:17:36 > 0:17:40'It takes quite a while to cook a meal for ten people on an open fire.
0:17:40 > 0:17:45'I'm just relieved that we're not having bush rat for dinner.'
0:17:45 > 0:17:47Patrick's mum's showing me how to make a rice dish
0:17:47 > 0:17:50and I think she's going to mould it together in her hands.
0:17:52 > 0:17:59- Using a saucer to pull it out. That looks really hot.- Hot.- Very hot.
0:18:00 > 0:18:01Ha!
0:18:02 > 0:18:07- It's absolutely boiling.- It's hot. - Ow. Is this cold water?- Yeah.
0:18:07 > 0:18:09It's not as good as yours.
0:18:14 > 0:18:18Patrick's mum has some skewers of fish and she's taking them off
0:18:18 > 0:18:21and rinsing them in water. So, the fish are going into the soup.
0:18:21 > 0:18:27'I've been made to feel so at home by Patrick's family, it's brilliant.
0:18:27 > 0:18:30'Seeing how they make ends meet on about 70 pence a day -
0:18:30 > 0:18:33'about the same price as bar of chocolate at home -
0:18:33 > 0:18:37'it does make me wonder why we don't pay more for our chocolate.
0:18:37 > 0:18:41'If we did, it might make their lives quite different.'
0:18:43 > 0:18:44I slept quite well.
0:18:44 > 0:18:47The electricity kept cutting out, so my fan was intermittent.
0:18:47 > 0:18:50So it was boiling hot, but it's all part of the experience.
0:18:50 > 0:18:51And I'm having a brilliant time.
0:18:53 > 0:18:56'What the last few days have made me think,
0:18:56 > 0:18:59'is how easily we take for granted the chocolate we eat.
0:19:00 > 0:19:05'At home, chocolate means enjoyment, celebration, a taste of luxury.
0:19:05 > 0:19:08'Here, it's just a way of earning the bare minimum.
0:19:10 > 0:19:12'Patrick manages to combine education
0:19:12 > 0:19:14'with helping out on the cocoa farm,
0:19:14 > 0:19:17'and I'm curious to see what his school is like.'
0:19:19 > 0:19:23It's eight o'clock in the morning, I'm visiting Patrick's school.
0:19:23 > 0:19:24It's brilliant to be here,
0:19:24 > 0:19:27all the children are so beautifully turned out.
0:19:28 > 0:19:31Patrick's already been really busy cleaning the school,
0:19:31 > 0:19:34picking up rubbish.
0:19:34 > 0:19:38'In Africa, it's quite usual for children to be responsible
0:19:38 > 0:19:40'for cleaning the schools themselves.
0:20:04 > 0:20:07'When I saw the teachers carrying sticks,
0:20:07 > 0:20:10'I wondered what they were going to be doing with them.
0:20:10 > 0:20:12'I didn't realise they'd be using them on the children.
0:20:15 > 0:20:18'The children here treat it as normal.
0:20:23 > 0:20:27'After cleaning up, it's time for Patrick to join everyone else
0:20:27 > 0:20:29'for prayers, as this is a Catholic school.'
0:20:29 > 0:20:33THEY PREY IN GHANAIAN LANGUAGE
0:20:33 > 0:20:36'Ghana is a mainly Christian country,
0:20:36 > 0:20:39'a legacy of its history as a former British colony.
0:20:45 > 0:20:48'There's free education for all Ghanaian children
0:20:48 > 0:20:50'up until the age of 15.
0:20:51 > 0:20:54'But because they have to provide their uniforms and books,
0:20:54 > 0:20:58'it often means that children can't afford to attend school.
0:20:59 > 0:21:01'Patrick's more fortunate.'
0:21:01 > 0:21:04Patrick attends school every day, from eight till two,
0:21:04 > 0:21:07and he's going to show me what one of his classes is like.
0:21:07 > 0:21:11'They're learning about prime numbers.
0:21:11 > 0:21:14'It's noisy in class and difficult to concentrate.
0:21:14 > 0:21:17'Very few of the children have exercise books.'
0:21:22 > 0:21:23What is it?
0:21:23 > 0:21:27Looking around, it seems that only a few people actually have books.
0:21:27 > 0:21:29I think everyone's having to remember
0:21:29 > 0:21:32everything they're being taught.
0:21:32 > 0:21:34Three divided by three?
0:21:34 > 0:21:35- One.- One.- One.
0:21:35 > 0:21:39'To me, it seems a very old-fashioned way of learning.
0:21:39 > 0:21:42'It's quite repetitive and boring.'
0:21:42 > 0:21:46Two times three times three. Do not include one.
0:21:50 > 0:21:54- Hurry up.- I'm quite shocked by the discipline in this classroom
0:21:54 > 0:21:59- cos the teacher's walking around with a stick.- Go to classes.
0:21:59 > 0:22:02More than half of children from cocoa villagers
0:22:02 > 0:22:07finish their primary education without being able to read or write.
0:22:10 > 0:22:13When I met some children out in the cocoa plantation,
0:22:13 > 0:22:16I asked the farmer they were working for
0:22:16 > 0:22:19what he thought of them missing out on school.
0:22:19 > 0:22:20TRANSLATION
0:22:24 > 0:22:27Do you think it's right that you should be working in the cocoa plantations?
0:22:27 > 0:22:30Or that you should be at home playing?
0:22:30 > 0:22:32TRANSLATION
0:22:35 > 0:22:38- Do you like school?- Yes.
0:22:38 > 0:22:40Why do you like school?
0:22:43 > 0:22:45What would you like to be when you're older?
0:22:45 > 0:22:47TRANSLATION
0:22:50 > 0:22:51A doctor.
0:23:04 > 0:23:07Do you want your children to become cocoa farmers when they're older?
0:23:29 > 0:23:33'So, what do these children think about the chocolate that we eat?
0:23:33 > 0:23:35'I've brought some for them to try.'
0:23:36 > 0:23:38It's too smooth, sweet.
0:23:40 > 0:23:42'Because we add a lot of milk and sugar to our chocolate,
0:23:42 > 0:23:45'the children don't seem to like it very much.
0:23:48 > 0:23:51'In fact, the children in this village don't eat much chocolate,
0:23:51 > 0:23:55'as I discover later, when I go with Patrick to his local sweet shop.'
0:23:55 > 0:23:57So, which sweets do you like best, Patrick?
0:23:59 > 0:24:02I love the way they sell toothbrushes at the sweet shop.
0:24:02 > 0:24:03There's a mixture of things here.
0:24:03 > 0:24:06But, interestingly, I can't see any chocolate.
0:24:06 > 0:24:10'Of course, chocolate would melt in the heat here.'
0:24:10 > 0:24:11Can I see them?
0:24:11 > 0:24:14'The local sweet shop is one of the few places
0:24:14 > 0:24:16'which offers treats for the children.
0:24:16 > 0:24:19'It's a welcome break in their routine.
0:24:19 > 0:24:21'There isn't much for the children to do here.'
0:24:21 > 0:24:23I like this, Patrick, it's good.
0:24:23 > 0:24:26'There are no playgrounds in the village,
0:24:26 > 0:24:29'no books, no iPods, no toys.
0:24:29 > 0:24:32'But the children always find something to play with.
0:24:32 > 0:24:37'And, as I've got to know them, I've become very attached to them.
0:24:40 > 0:24:42'Now that it's time to leave, I feel very sad.
0:24:44 > 0:24:48'But today, I'm moving on to Accra, the country's capital and main port.
0:24:51 > 0:24:53'After the simplicity of the cocoa village,
0:24:53 > 0:24:55'it's a bit of a shock to the system
0:24:55 > 0:24:59'to be back in all the noise and commotion of the city.'
0:24:59 > 0:25:02I love bustling towns because there's so much to look at
0:25:02 > 0:25:04and there's always people trying to sell you things.
0:25:04 > 0:25:08Thank you very much. Thank you.
0:25:14 > 0:25:15'And after all the chocolate,
0:25:15 > 0:25:19'I can't resist a nice, cool drink of coconut milk.'
0:25:22 > 0:25:23Thank you.
0:25:26 > 0:25:27It's delicious.
0:25:29 > 0:25:33'Here, in Accra, I'm going to talk to Bright Appiah.
0:25:33 > 0:25:38'He's the director of Child Rights International, which campaigns against child labour.
0:25:38 > 0:25:40'He says it continues to be a problem,
0:25:40 > 0:25:45'partly because of parents' traditional attitudes to their kids.'
0:25:45 > 0:25:48Because I strongly believe that people do not respect
0:25:48 > 0:25:49the dignity of children.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52They feel that children are their property
0:25:52 > 0:25:56- and they can use their child to do anything at all.- Anything they wish.
0:25:56 > 0:25:58Who's really to blame?
0:25:58 > 0:26:01Is it us as consumers, spending too little on our chocolate?
0:26:01 > 0:26:04Is it the government? Is it the farmers themselves?
0:26:04 > 0:26:08Or even the chocolate manufacturers? It's such a long chain, isn't it?
0:26:08 > 0:26:12There's a chain of responsibility, that you have mentioned.
0:26:12 > 0:26:14All of us need to look at it.
0:26:14 > 0:26:17But I think that the final consumer of the product
0:26:17 > 0:26:21has a lot of say in all these matters.
0:26:21 > 0:26:25Because if children are doing this, you know,
0:26:25 > 0:26:30we can also speak out and tell them that, yes, enough is enough,
0:26:30 > 0:26:32we need to give children their place.
0:26:36 > 0:26:39'As the sacks of beans are made ready to be shipped to Europe
0:26:39 > 0:26:42'on the final stage of their journey,
0:26:42 > 0:26:45'I want to hear what the chocolate manufacturers are doing
0:26:45 > 0:26:50'about replacing the main ingredients in the process - child workers.
0:26:57 > 0:27:01'Back home in the UK, I'm in London to meet Nick Weatherill
0:27:01 > 0:27:04'who's from the International Cocoa Initiative.
0:27:04 > 0:27:06'They represent chocolate manufacturers, governments
0:27:06 > 0:27:08'and other organisations
0:27:08 > 0:27:11'and say they're committed to getting rid of child labour.
0:27:11 > 0:27:15'He says that parents have no choice about whether their children work on the farms.'
0:27:15 > 0:27:20It's clear that if a poor African household, a family,
0:27:20 > 0:27:24doesn't have enough money to feed themselves,
0:27:24 > 0:27:28then they will use whatever resources they've in got the house,
0:27:28 > 0:27:32and that includes their own children, to increase the income they can get.
0:27:32 > 0:27:36'So, will child labour in the cocoa industry
0:27:36 > 0:27:38'ever be a thing of the past?'
0:27:38 > 0:27:40With all of the right factors in place,
0:27:40 > 0:27:46and that means consumers demanding that their cocoa isn't contributing
0:27:46 > 0:27:50to the problem of child labour, governments putting in the right resources
0:27:50 > 0:27:52so that kids can go to school,
0:27:52 > 0:27:57companies ensuring that farmers are getting sufficient revenue
0:27:57 > 0:28:00from their production. If all of this happens then,
0:28:00 > 0:28:04we really believe that we can solve this problem.
0:28:04 > 0:28:05Oh!
0:28:05 > 0:28:07'It's been a privilege to meet Patrick
0:28:07 > 0:28:09'and the children of Akyem Ofoase
0:28:09 > 0:28:12'and I'm really sad to have left them.
0:28:13 > 0:28:17'I'll never look at chocolate or eat it in the same way again.
0:28:18 > 0:28:21'But most of all, I'd like to think that by enjoying chocolate
0:28:21 > 0:28:25'and giving cocoa farmers a better deal, we might also, one day,
0:28:25 > 0:28:28'be giving these children the right to a childhood.'
0:28:32 > 0:28:36Applause. Yeah! Very good.
0:28:44 > 0:28:47Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd