0n Sunday 9 March, punching and kicking the pads for 10 hours for the children of Congo's cobalt mining areas.

150,000 Artisanal Miners in the Democratic Republic of Congo

2,000 die in the mines every year.

40,000 children work in these mines.

This is to raise awareness of a largely ignored issue, as much as to raise dough for this worthy cause.

70% of the world’s cobalt is produced in the Democratic Republic of Congo (the DRC). People say the DRC is a poor country, it's not. It's a nation incredibly rich but full of poor people due to hideous exploitation historically, and right now by the more developed countries at the forefront of the "Green Revolution."

Worldwide demand for cobalt is burgeoning. Cobalt, is a key component of rechargeable batteries in electric cars, computers and cellphones. Demand for cobalt is anticipated to have tripled since 2010 to 2025.

Artisanal mining produces more that 30% of the cobalt mined in the DRC. Artisanal mining refers to small scale, largely informal sector mining by workers who use basic tools to extract from the earth: they sell to large foreign organisation who process the cobalt, mostly outside the DRC, and make billions of dollars.

Most of the DRC's cobalt comes from two southern copper belt provinces, including Haut-Katanga province – home to the Congo Children Trust's Kimbilio project, a safe haven for street-connected children including many who have worked in cobalt mining. Kimbilio offers the kids:

Education and Schooling;

Healthcare Access;

Shelter and Safety: a safe haven for children who have nowhere else to turn.

Vocational Training: equipping young people with practical skills for sustainable livelihoods.

In the long-term, we need to end the system that abuses these children and their families. Right now, please help them with a donation.