Filipino receives first US anti-child labor award

MANILA, Philippines - A Filipino anti-child labor advocate received the first annual Iqbal Masih Award for the Elimination of Child Labor given by the US Department of Labor.

US Ambassador to the Philippines Kristie A. Kenney presented the award to Maria Cecilia Flores-Oebanda of the Visayan Forum Foundation on Friday.

"It is a great honor to present the Iqbal Masih Award to Cecille, who is a long-time partner of the US Mission in the Philippines in combating exploitative child labor as well as trafficking of women and children for domestic servitude and commercial sexual exploitation," Kenney said at the ceremony held at the US Embassy.

"The award recognizes Cecille's work that has brought real change to the lives of thousands of children in the Philippines," she added.

The Iqbal Masih Award was established by the US Congress to recognize the work of an individual, company, organization or national government to end the worst forms of child labor.

The award reflects the spirit of Iqbal Masih, a Pakistani child enslaved at the age of four who escaped his servitude and became an outspoken advocate against child slavery.

In 1995 at the age of 13 and a year after receiving the Reebok Human Rights Award, Iqbal was killed in Pakistan. His dedication to ending child slavery, however, continues to inspire individuals around the world.

Like Iqbal Masih, Flores-Oebanda was born into poverty. As a child, she helped to support her family by scavenging. As a teenager, she advocated for the rights of youth and farm laborers.

Flores-Oebanda later founded and now leads the VFF, a nongovernmental organization that has rescued and provided assistance to more than 32,000 victims and potential victims of trafficking.
The VFF has helped to file more than 65 trafficking cases on behalf of more than 165 victims.

Flores-Oebanda serves as the Southeast Asia coordinator for the Global March Against Child Labor.

The US government has declared the fight against human trafficking as a high priority. - Joe Torres, GMANews.TV

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