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Technical Cooperation Project Summary

Project Title

Alternatives to Combat Child Labor through Education and Sustainable Services in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region

Region/Country

MENA/Lebanon, Yemen

Project Duration

August 16, 2004 – August 17, 2008

Fiscal Year & Funding Level

FY2004: USD 8,000,000
FY2007: USD 400,000
Matching Funds: USD 1,831,342

Problem to be Addressed

Child labor is widespread in Yemen.  Children working in agriculture are exposed to hazardous conditions and activities, including the use of pesticides, prolonged exposure to extreme temperatures, the use of heavy equipment, and carrying heavy loads.  Children also work under dangerous conditions as street vendors, iron workers, beggars, and domestic servants, and in the fishing, leather, construction, textile, and automobile repair sectors.  Children in border regions are trafficked to Saudi Arabia for labor, forced begging, and the transport of illicit goods.

In Lebanon, children work under hazardous conditions in several sectors, including metal works, construction, automobile repair, equipment installation and maintenance, painting, street work, carpentry, construction, welding, and seasonal agriculture.
Exploitive child labor is prevalent throughout the entire MENA region; however, there is no framework for awareness raising, best practice-sharing, policy reform, capacity building, and coordination across borders.

Results

Lebanon: The project withdrew 1,994 and prevented 6,958 children from hazardous work in seasonal agriculture in Akkar; small industries and domestic settings in Bab el-Tebbaneh; the urban informal economy in Beirut; and tobacco cultivation in southern Lebanon.
Yemen: The project withdrew 2,818 and prevented 4,949 children from hazardous work in agriculture in Ibb; the fishing industry in Abyan; and agriculture in Hajja.  Children vulnerable to trafficking in Hajja were also targeted.

Project Objectives

Reduce the number of children engaged in the worst forms of child labor in Lebanon, Yemen, and the MENA region.

Intermediate objectives include:

  • Withdraw and prevent children from WFCL through improved access to formal and non-formal education;
  • Improve the quality of and increase access to basic and vocational education;
  • Increase awareness of child labor and education issues;
  • Strengthen institutions and policies; and
  • Increase the likelihood of sustainability.

Summary of Activities
  • Created a regional child labor information network and published and distributed a bi-annual newsletter to disseminate lessons learned, findings, and best practices;
  • Organized a regional conference on strategies to combat child labor;
  • Provided increased access to school supplies, literacy training, catch-up education, and vocational training opportunities to withdraw or prevent 16,719 children from exploitive labor;
  • Improved school quality through teacher training and infrastructure improvements;
  • Raised the awareness of parents and employers regarding the hazards of child labor through community meetings and media trainings; and
  • Provided technical guidance to government policymakers on key child labor and education issues.

Grantee

CHF International in association with the Rene Moawad Foundation and the Charitable Society for Social Welfare

Implementing Partners

AMIDEAST

Contact Information

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

(202) 693-4843