Skip to page content
Bureau of International Labor Affairs
Bookmark and Share
DOL Home > ILAB > Technical Cooperation Project Summary

Technical Cooperation Project Summary

Project Title

Stop Exploitive Labor And Educate Children For Tomorrow (Select) Program

Region/Country

AFRICA/Guinea

Project Duration

September 30, 2008 –  September 29, 2011

Fiscal Year & Funding Level

FY 2008:  USD 3,500,000
Matching Funds:  USD 364,665

Problem to be Addressed

Guinea is a source, transit, and destination country for trafficking of children.  In 2001, the ILO estimated that 31 percent of children ages 10 to 14 years in Guinea were engaged in labor, with 68 percent of those engaged in the worst forms of child labor.  Most children are engaged in agriculture, domestic labor, and informal sectors, while others work in mines, quarries, herding, fishing, and transportation sectors.  War-affected refugees from nearby countries make up a portion of children working in Guinea.

Obstacles to children receiving education in Guinea include school fees, the cost of school supplies, and the lack of transportation to and from school.  The quality of education in Guinea is also negatively affected by limited government resources to provide school supplies and equipment; poor and limited infrastructure and resources, resulting in an insufficient number of schools; poor school facilities; and an inadequate number of teachers. 

Targets

The project targets 3,930 child beneficiaries that were victims of trafficking and an additional 3,930 children at risk of trafficking, by providing direct education, vocational training, and other services.  The project will focus on domestic labor, agriculture (cotton and coffee), mining (gold and diamonds), granite quarrying, and commercial sexual exploitation.  Direct services will be provided to children in the regions of Kindia, N’Zérékoré, and Faranah

Project Objectives

To reduce the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labor (WFCL) through the following objectives:

  • Withdraw and prevent children from exploitive child labor;
  • Strengthen country capacity to combat exploitive child labor and promote education;
  • Raise awareness on exploitive child labor and the importance of education; and
  • Support research and data collection on exploitive child labor.

Summary of Activities
  • Improve access to education through direct support for four types of educational services, including: formal education (e.g. primary school), non-formal education (e.g. NAFA centers, vocational training centers, rehabilitation centers), apprenticeships, and tutoring;
  • Refer children and provide support to existing recovery and rehabilitation centers;
  • Provide training to cross-border police on child trafficking;
  • Conduct awareness-raising campaigns on the importance of education, and the dangers of child labor and child trafficking;
  • Conduct school feeding activities that include school lunches for vulnerable children;
  • Disseminate project success stories in the national media;
  • Increase household income through livelihoods training; and   
  • Conduct research on exploitive child labor and child trafficking to inform project activities.
  • As of February 28, 2010, 886 children have been withdrawn or prevented from exploitive child labor as a result of this project. 

Grantee

World Education (lead); Plan International USA, Inc.; ChildFund International; and SageFox Consulting Group (associates).

Implementing Partners

Association pour la Promotion des Initiatives Communautaires; Association Sauvons Les Enfants Desherités; Le Monde des Enfants; La Fraternelle de Développement; Association Guinéenne de Recherche-Action; Action Contre l’Exploitation des Enfants et des Femmes; Sabou Guinée; Groupe Media pour la Promotion de l’Education en Guinée (GROUMPEG); Club des Amis du Monde; International Training Center of the ILO; and World Food Program.

Contact Information

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

(202) 693-4843