Project Title |
Prevention and Elimination of Child Labor in the Melon Plantations of Honduras |
Region/Country |
THE AMERICAS/Honduras |
Project Duration |
October 2000 – July 2005 |
Fiscal Year & Funding Level |
FY 2000: USD 792,240 |
Problem to be Addressed |
Although the Constitution mandates free and compulsory education up to the sixth grade, extreme poverty and a lack of schools prevents many children in Honduras from receiving an education. In the Department of Choluteca, the main economic activities are producing sugar cane, melon, maize, cotton, cattle breeding and fishing. Choluteca was one of the Departments that suffered most during Hurricane Mitch in October 1998.
The children and adult workers who are responsible for spraying melons with insecticides and fertilizers do not use special protective equipment. Children suffer the effects of exposure to these chemicals more than adults, due to their lower body weight. In addition, children are involved in harvesting the melons, which at times involves cutting the melon from the vine with a knife. |
Results |
The project withdrew 909 children and prevented 3,188 children from exploitive labor in melon production, in the municipalities of Choluteca and Marcovia, Honduras. |
Project Objectives |
Development Objective:
To contribute to the prevention and elimination of full- time hazardous child labor in melon plantations in Honduras.
Immediate Objectives:
- At the end of the project, child labor in the melon plantations of Choluteca and Marcovia will have been reduced by (i) preventing or withdrawing at least 1,200 children under the age of 14, as identified through the survey, from full time and hazardous work in melon plantations of Choluteca y Marcovia and enrolling them in schools; and (ii) training at least 500 families from the targeted group to participate in alternative income generating activities, with a selected numbers having access to a revolving fund to be established by the project;
- At the end of the project, a credible workplace monitoring system will have been implemented to verify that (i) targeted children and families are benefiting from the program; (ii) child workers are phased out from full-time and hazardous work and are provided with education and other support services; (iii) no new children are entering work in melon production in Choluteca y Marcovia and other surrounding communities; and (iv) measurable progress is being made towards the prevention and elimination of child labor in the melon sector of Choluteca Marcovia; and
- At the end of the project, the community and the Association of Melon Producers will have been mobilized to take action against child labor, including the provision of financial and in-kind support to the programs. Further, the capacity of partner organizations in the design, management and implementation of child labor action program will also have been strengthened.
|
Summary of Activities |
- Withdrew child workers from work and prevented children from entering work in melon production, and enrolled children into school;
- Provided targeted children and their families with health and nutrition services;
- Organized and trained 500 families of working children to participate in alternative income generating activities;
- Strengthened the capacity of partner institutions to take action against child labor in the melon industry;
- Sensitized and mobilized families, communities, governmental and non-governmental organizations, melon producers, workers, and employers to take action against child labor; and
- Established a credible child labor monitoring and verification system.
|
Grantee |
International Labor Organization’s International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor (ILO-IPEC)
|
Implementing Partners |
Ministry of Labor; Project HOPE; CIPE Consultores; Fundacion Hondureña de Desarrollo Integral Comunitario; National Institute of Vocational Training (INFOP); Camara de Comercio e Industria de Choluteca; National University of Honduras (UNAH) ; Municipalities of Choluteca y Marcovia; Local Commission of the Rights of the Child; Consejo Hondureño de la Empresa Privada; National Commission for the Elimination of Child Labor; Human Rights Commissioner Local Delegate. |
Contact Information |
Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor and Human Trafficking (OCFT)
(202) 693-4843 |
