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Technical Cooperation Project Summary

Project Title

Emergency Response to Child Labor in Selected Tsunami Affected Areas in Sri Lanka

Region/Country

SOUTH ASIA/Sri Lanka

Project Duration

March 31, 2005 – March 31, 2008 

Fiscal Year & Funding Level

FY 2005: USD 562,408

Problem to be Addressed

The tsunami that struck South and Southeast Asia in December 2004 killed thousands and left survivors stripped of their assets and livelihoods.  In Sri Lanka, the disaster primarily affected low-income communities, exacerbating poverty and vulnerability.  Children are particularly at risk: many have lost their families; damage to schools has left many children without educational opportunities; and many parents are forced to send children to work as a survival strategy.  In the post-disaster environment, working children are more likely to encounter abuse, exploitation, and exposure to hazards in the workplace.

Results

The project withdrew 27 and prevented 2,438 children from exploitive work in agriculture, fishing, domestic work, commercial sexual exploitation, and other hazardous industries in the tsunami-affected areas of Kinnya (Trincomalee District) and Koggala (Galle District).  These 2,438 children were provided with direct education/training services.

Project Objectives

Support the Sri Lankan government to tackle issues of child labor in post-recovery and reconstruction efforts in policy and programs. 

Intermediate objectives include:

  • Strengthen the capacity of relevant government, media, international relief and reconstruction organizations and NGO institutions (district and central level), enabling staff and community members to integrate child labor issues into post-tsunami reconstruction policies and to monitor the child labor situation in the post-tsunami environment; and
  • Provide a flexible and timely response to tsunami-affected children and their parents/guardians through Community Centers in selected areas.

Summary of Activities
  • Provided policy and program support to Sri Lankan government ministries in development of proposals for child labor-sensitive emergency responses;
  • Strengthened inter-sectoral coordination mechanisms to integrate child labor issues into rehabilitation and reconstruction programs at provincial and district levels;
  • Conducted awareness-raising campaign to mobilize key decision-makers to address child labor issues in emergency response programs;
  • Provided support and training to Sri Lankan Ministry of Education officials to increase enrollment and retention of tsunami-affected children;
  • Provided support and training to key partners to undertake action against child labor in affected areas;
  • Established community centers in selected areas to provide preventative and rehabilitative services to tsunami-affected children;
  • Established a follow-up referral system for affected children and parents/guardians based on local community resources;
  • Established a mechanism to monitor the child labor situation at the district level;
  • Provided formal, non-formal and vocational education to targeted children as appropriate; and
  • Provided support to enable families/guardians of targeted children to access local and national safety nets.

Grantee

International Labor Organization’s International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor (ILO-IPEC)

Implementing Partners

Don Bosco, Kinniya Vision, Ministry of Labor Relations and Foreign Employment (MLRFE); Center for National Operations (Children’s Desk); National Child Protection Authority; Department of Child Probation and Child Care Services; District Secretaries; Ministry of Education; National Worker’s Congress.

Contact Information

Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking (OCFT)

(202) 693-4843