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Technical Cooperation Project Summary

Project Title

Combating Exploitive Child Labor Through Education in Turkey

Region/Country

EUROPE/Turkey

Project Duration

September 30, 2004 – September 26, 2008

Fiscal Year & Funding Level

FY 2004: USD 6,000,000

Problem to be Addressed

Approximately 960,000 children were found to be engaged in economic activities in 2006 in Turkey.  In some parts of the country, children are engaged in seasonal commercial agriculture, including fruit, vegetable, nut, spice, and cotton cultivation.   These child laborers face long working hours, limited access to education, and poor living and working conditions.  Many of these children migrate with their families for 3 to 7 months at a time and have difficulty attending school.

Results

The project withdrew 461 and prevented 2,009 children from exploitive child labor in seasonal commercial agriculture in the provinces of Gaziantep, Şanliurfa, Elazig, and Ankara.

Project Objectives

Contribute to the reduction of the worst forms of child labor in Turkey by educating children working or at risk of working as seasonal agricultural laborers.

Intermediate objectives include:

  • Facilitate children’s access to targeted educational programs;
  • Link families of seasonal child laborers with available social and economic service programs to help children stay in school;
  • Make children, parents and communities aware of the benefits of education for child laborers and at-risk children; and
  • Provide the public sector with quality information about the prevalence of child labor in seasonal commercial agriculture.

Summary of Activities
  • Developed institutions responsive to the needs of marginalized children and youth engaged in seasonal agricultural and their families;
  • Developed and implemented pilot educational interventions directed at the children of seasonal agricultural workers using various resources of current education and social services programs, reaching child laborers and children at risk;
  • Developed a household approach to change expectations related to concepts of school and work, including parents, extended family members, and the child;
  • Implemented an information campaign on health and safety practices and procedures targeted to address child labor and gender issues related to agriculture; and
  • Created a highly structured monitoring and evaluation process to measure program effectiveness and provide a basis for policy dialogue and discussions among relevant government agencies and other stakeholders.

Grantee

IMPAQ International, LLC., in association with Management Systems International, Inc. (MSI).

Contact Information

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

(202) 693-4843