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Technical Cooperation Project Summary

Project Title

Reducing the Exploitation of working children through education

Region/Country

AFRICA/Democratic Republic of the Congo

Project Duration

September 30, 2007 – September 30, 2012

Fiscal Year & Funding Level

FY 2007: USD 5,500,000
Matching Funds: USD 82,376

Problem to be Addressed

Decades of conflict within the Democratic Republic of Congo have left many children vulnerable and at risk of engaging in hazardous and exploitive labor. Within the Katanga Province, the Kasai Province and the Ituri District, children are working in mines and mining services, small-scale commerce, and agro-pastoral activities that place them at risk for health complications and injuries and/or prevent them from obtaining an education. Many of these children are believed to be unaccompanied minors as result of the violent conflict. A significant population of displaced children also resides within these areas and is vulnerable to the worst forms of child labor.

Targets

This project targets 8,000 children for withdrawal and 4,000 children for prevention from mining, mining-related services, small-scale commerce, agro-pastoral activities, and the worst forms of child labor in the Katanga Province, the Kasai Orientale Province, and the Ituri District.

Project Objectives

To contribute to the prevention and elimination of child labor in the Democratic Republic of Congo through the following objectives:

Intermediate objectives include:

  • Reduce the population of working children in the project target areas by 2010 through the provision of quality basic education;
  • Develop policies and laws on child labor and basic education; and
  • Mobilize a wide array of actors to improve and expand education infrastructures and the protection of children from exploitation.

Summary of Activities
  • Improve access to formal education, vocational training, accelerated learning programs and literacy training;
  • Secure part-time apprenticeships and part-time work for direct beneficiaries and provide their families with business development training;
  • Train existing school management committees, community child protection networks, provincial government offices, unions, and employer organizations on how to identify and monitor exploitive child labor;
  • Provide the Government’s National Committee on the Worst Forms of Child Labor with assistance to develop a work plan to improve enforcement of child labor laws and policies; and
  • Increase community awareness of the impact of hazardous work and the value of formal education.

Grantee

Save the Children Fund UK in association with the American Center for International Labor Solidarity

Implementing partners

Government agencies at local and state levels; non-governmental organizations; workers’ and employers’ organizations; private sector business associations; UN organizations; national and international NGOs; and community-based organizations.

Contact Information

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

(202) 693-4843