5 Tough Places for Boys to Grow Up

by Jocelyn Bell

In almost every country of the world, boys have advantages over girls. They’re better educated, better nourished, have lower rates of HIV, and, in many cultures, more valued by their parents. Despite the privilege afforded by gender, boys’ lives can be short and brutal.

Here are some of the reasons why the United Nations considers Sierra Leone, Chad, Lesotho, Myanmar and Swaziland to be tough places for boys to grow up.

1. Sierra Leone
Surviving the first five years
For both boys and girls, Sierra Leone might be the worst place in the world to be born. More children die before their fifth birthday here than in any other country — 270 deaths for every 1,000 births. Malnutrition is a contributing factor in 50 per cent of all deaths of children under five. Other common killers include pneumonia, diarrhea, malaria, measles and AIDS.

World Vision started working in Sierra Leone in 1978. Its work there includes training traditional birth attendants and distributing medicine.

2. Chad
Forced to work
Chad has the second highest rate of child labour for boys worldwide. Here, 54 per cent of boys ages five to 14 years are doing work that negatively affects their health and development, interferes with their education and, in its worst forms, costs them their lives. In extreme cases, boys’ work in Chad includes being trafficked into slavery to herd cattle, begging on the streets and fighting in the national army.

World Vision has worked in Chad since 1985 and currently serves some 400,000 people.

3. Lesotho
Lack of education
In most countries, boys’ attendance at school is higher than girls’. But in the tiny southern African nation of Lesotho, it’s the boys who are absent. By the time they reach high school, only 19 per cent of boys attend, compared with 30 per cent of girls. In mountain districts, boys as young as seven are expected to drop out of school to look after cattle, leaving home for months at a time. “Herd boys,” as they’re known, are exposed to isolation, extreme weather conditions and physical, emotional and sexual abuse. As adults, 74 per cent of men in Lesotho can read and write, compared to 90 per cent of women.

World Vision began working in Lesotho in 1976 and helps provide education, nutrition and support to orphaned and vulnerable children.

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Click here to read about 2 more tough places for boys.

In Chad, boys as young as five are frequently forced into child labour. This reduces their opportunities for education and sometimes, costs them their lives. Photo: Djimte G Salomon/World Vision.