Written by Michael Scharff, communications intern with the IRC in Uganda. Mike has worked in Uganda for one year, focusing on the drought-prone Karamoja region and the area around Kitgum in the north where tens of thousands of people were displaced by fighting between rebels and the Ugandan government.

Peter Keem, 7, sits barefoot on the crusty, dry earth, using all his energy to smash large rocks into small bits.

"It's hard work," he says. "But I have to do it. My father is dead and my mother is very poor. I want to make money for school books and food."

On any given day, a dozen or so children join Peter at this quarry on the outskirts of Moroto town in Uganda's northeastern Karamoja region. They're working for local contractors who will use the crushed stones for road construction. Each child spends hours in the hot sun every day but earns just a few dollars.

Child labor is a widespread problem in Uganda. According to government figures, 1.76 million of Uganda's 5 to 17 year-olds are involved in some kind of work. Many like Peter have to miss school to go out and work instead, while many are putting themselves in harm's way.

Indeed, a newly published survey, commissioned by aid agencies the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and AVSI Foundation, shows that 15% of children in north and northeast Uganda, are involved in harsh, dangerous labor such as breaking stones in quarries, collecting heavy firewood and prostitution.

"Poverty means that many parents need their children to go out to work and help to support their family," says Dorothy Jobolingo, an IRC child labor expert in Uganda. "There are few sustainable employment opportunities for parents, so it's often the case that everyone in the family is called on to help out."

The problem in north and northeast Uganda is further compounded as many parents don't see the worth of sending their children to school.

"In the north, where there has been years of fighting between rebels and government, parents see that schools have become run-down, teachers have fled and the quality of education is subsequently low," says Jobolingo. "Similarly in the northeast, where there's traditionally been underinvestment in services, parents question why their child should spend time in a classroom, learning little, when they could be out supporting their family."

Jobolingo is director of LEAP - the Livelihoods, Education, and Protection to End Child Labor project - which is helping thousands of children like Peter to get out of the workforce and into school.. LEAP pays school fees, provides educational materials, supports parents with livelihood opportunities and advocates for laws prohibiting child labor to be upheld.

Thousands of students will also benefit from renovations to school classrooms, teacher training and the formation of community groups designed to oversee the well-being of schools.

Mary Abwola, 15, knows all too well what it's like to spend hours each day out of school and doing hard graft. She was only 11 years-old when both her parents were killed by rebel fighters from the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). Their deaths forced Mary to drop out of school and work as a domestic servant to support her younger siblings.

Thanks to LEAP, Mary is now back in school and determined to make for herself a better life. "I want to be a teacher," Mary says proudly. Hopefully the awareness raised by the World Day Against Child Labor will mean that more of Uganda's youngsters will follow in Mary's footsteps.

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