Protect the Child

Support children who have been displaced by the ongoing Congolese civil war fuelled by conflict minerals.

The current war in the DRC is the widest interstate war in the history of modern Africa. It involves 9 African nations and has directly affected the lives of 50 million Congolese. The war has lasted over 10 years and taken over 5 million lives, many due to starvation.

This war is fuelled by the mining of what is known as conflict minerals. Gold, tantalum, tin and tungsten are all mined and controlled by Congolese militia groups. These minerals go into our phones, laptops, computers, cameras and just about every other personal electronic device you can think of. Over $300 million worth of conflict minerals are mined and traded into the legitimate mining industry each year.

We are demanding companies be transparent in where they source their minerals, so that consumers can be confident their possessions are exploitation-free. This year, Barack Obama signed a transparency bill enforcing traceable minerals for all electronic companies trading in America. We want the Australian government to do the same.

Help us create the demand for change. Buy a Protect the Child t-shirt, donate online, or register your voice. It is time we were given the opportunity to purchase conflict free products.

The Protect the Child campaign is an initiative of the Hands That Shape Humanity ‘Hand Up' mentor Program. Design students were asked to design an ‘ordinary product with an extraordinary message’.

Jason Giam of the College of Fine Arts, UNSW designed these graphic t-shirts with powerful messages to inspire human potential in order to raise money for Save the Children. Save the Children will use the money to facilitate education for children in the Congo who have been displaced by the Congolese civil war.

Conflict Minerals 101

To support The Protect the Child campaign you can purchase a t-shirt or make a donation online.