2. How are mobile phones leading to the
use of child soldiers?
• There has been a civil war in the Democratic Republic of the
Congo since 1998.
• The war is the world's deadliest conflict since World War II,
killing 5.4 million people.
• The sides are fighting for control of valuable resources like
gold, tin and tungsten and tantalum (used in mobile phones
and computers to improve battery performance).
• Child soldiers are used by most sides in the conflict. The
armed groups that use them make money by controlling
mines or ‘taxing’ the people who work in them.
• The purchase of many mobile phones and computers
contributes to the use of child soldiers. The higher the
demand for tantalum, the more children are used to take
over territory and collect payment from mines.
• The DRC has one of the largest numbers of child soldiers
(estimated at 30,000). Some are as young as nine.
• 1/3 of the soldiers are young girls.
3. Enough! Is an organisation that set
out to end the use of child labour
and child soldiers in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo.
In the box labelled
‘Breaking the Link’ write
down any methods you
might use to draw
attention to this issue. No
idea is too bizarre or
unrealistic!
4. Using the ideas on the board….
Write down:
A practical idea that you think would have a
powerful impact.
The idea that you believe would simply not work
(and why!)
The idea that would be great in an ‘ideal’ world
but not the one we live in…
7. What the Enoughproject does:
• Use Social Media and online petitions to put
pressure on companies to use conflict-free
minerals.
• The Enoughproject organises itself around the
idea that if awareness leads to consumers
changing their spending habits then
companies will stop sourcing the 3Ts from
countries where child soldiers are used.
• Visit http://www.raisehopeforcongo.org/ and
complete the webquest sheet.
