JUST before midday on a Thursday, when children across the island are expected to be engaged in activities at school, three teenage boys stood at a traffic light in Kingston — squeegees and soapy water in hand — waiting to wipe the windshield of the next motorist for loose change.

Child labour has been a long-standing issue in Jamaica, with multiple studies exploring its root cause and recommending solutions. According to the 2016 Jamaica National Youth Activity Survey (JYAS), focused explicitly on child labour, 37,965 children ages five to 17 years old were engaged in child labour. The survey further noted that of the children engaged in child labour, 26,053 were involved in hazardous work that compromised their health and safety while 11,912 engaged in child labour other than hazardous work.

When the Jamaica Observer team approached the boys on the streets of Kingston during school hours, two of them ran across the street, glancing over their shoulders multiple times, seemingly checking to see if they were being chased. Only the reassuring words from a nearby tamarind vendor could stop their apparent retreat.

“A nuh police,” the vendor shouted.

From a distance, the boys watched the Sunday Observer team cautiously before slowly making their way back to a giant tree growing from a median strip, which shielded them from the blazing sun.

When asked about their ages, they hung their heads low, waiting a while before answering.

“Seventeen years old,” one of them said.

“Sixteen years old,” said another, but his child-like facial features and petite figure indicated otherwise.

The third boy remained silent before wandering off to the side of the road and away from the Sunday Observer team.

However, the 17-year-old was more than willing to share his story about how he ended up on the streets wiping windshields.

“I dropped out of school in grade seven, and I never did do anything much,” he said, adding that he was expelled from his high school after multiple fights with his schoolmates who would constantly try to steal his money and bully him relentlessly.

Windshield wiping, which calls for a squeegee and bottle of soapy water, is a common source of income for some children in Jamaica.

When his mother’s quest to get him enrolled at another school became difficult, he found himself at home, playing video games as he watched the years pass.

“My mother carried me to Haile Selassie High School to get me in the school but I told her it nuh make any sense she send me to that school, because if I was going to my old school and I get [expelled] so fast and I’m going to go to this other school where a lot of my friends are, it don’t make sense,” said the 17-year-old.

“I’m going to go out there and do bare foolishness, so I just said, ‘Mi nah bother go.’ I told my mother, and she worked with what I was saying because I wasn’t lying. I would go out there and see almost everybody from my community, and me and them would lick head and do a lot of foolishness, so I just told her I’m not going to school,” he reasoned.

He pointed out that he is from a violence-prone area, and his mother was already struggling to put him through school as well as take care of his siblings, so it was a sacrifice that, at the time, made sense.

He said when he was 16 years old one of his friends asked him if he’d ever thought about wiping windscreens at the traffic light. His friend told him that he made “decent money” wiping windshields, and the 17-year-old decided to give it a shot.

The teenager told the Sunday Observer that the police have made multiple attempts to get him and his friends off the streets, but they keep going back to the traffic light because they need the money to take care of themselves and help their family.

“You have some people out here who disrespect us and sometimes, me nah tell no lie, we couldn’t hold it back and we have to disrespect them more times, but if they don’t say certain things to us, we’re not going to harass them. I don’t disrespect people at the light. I just hustle my money and go a me yard,” he explained.

As the youngster reflected on his experiences on the street his eyes slowly filled with tears that he quickly blinked back.

He stood fiddling with his hands — the evidence of years of hard work visibly etched on them — before sharing that he wished things were different and that he did not have to miss out on his high school experience.

While he cannot change the past, the 17-year-old is positive he can create a better future. He shared that he has plans to apply to the Human Employment and Resource Training/National Service Training Agency (HEART/NSTA Trust) programme to study to become a mechanic or an electrician. He’s now awaiting his tax registration number (TRN), which is the final document needed to complete his application.

“I want to have my own car or bike and fix it. If my light can gone, I want to be able to fix it and [be able to do much] more. I want to be able to take care of myself,” the youngster said, adding that he also hopes to one day become a professional footballer.

The 16-year-old windshield wiper was more timid as he shared his story.

Also introduced to windscreen wiping by a friend who told him that it is a lucrative side hustle, the younger teen hits the streets on days he is not at school.

Though sceptical about sharing the details of his journey, he disclosed that he cannot afford to attend classes every day.

“I’m not going to school today [last week Thursday], but I’m going next week on Monday. I didn’t have any money to go this week so I’ll go next week. I have to make the money first,” he told the Sunday Observer.

While he has no idea what his future holds, the 16-year-old said he hopes he’ll not have to spend the rest of his life hustling.

As Jamaica observes Child Month in May, the theme this year is ‘Act Now, Stand Against Child Abuse and Exploitation’. It serves as an encouragement to Jamaicans to recommit to safeguarding the rights of children and to stand against all forms of abuse and exploitation.

According to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, every child is born with the right to a healthy start in life, an education, and a safe, secure childhood — all the basic opportunities that translate into a productive and prosperous adulthood. However, across the globe, millions of children are denied their rights due to many factors such as their place of birth, race, poverty, or disability.

Child labour is one activity that denies the rights of children to an education and safety. In Jamaica, child labour is a criminal offence, with penalties ranging from $250,000 or three months’ imprisonment to a maximum of $1 million. However, despite this reality, studies show that many children find themselves engaged in economic activity at a young age for extended hours due to poverty or parental neglect.