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Technical Cooperation Project Summary

Project Title

Reducing Exploitive Child Labor Through Education in Southern Africa (Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, and Swaziland)

Region/Country

SOUTHERN AFRICA/Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, and Swaziland

Project Duration

August 16, 2004 – August 12, 2008

Fiscal Year & Funding Level

FY 2004: USD 9,000,000

Problem to be Addressed

The project will improve quality and access to basic, technical, and vocational training for children who are working or at risk of working in the worst forms of child labor (WFCL).

Results

The project withdrew and prevented 11, 127 children from WFCL in Southern Africa.

Project Objectives

To contribute to the elimination of the WFCL in Southern Africa by improving quality of and access to basic, vocational, and technical education.

Intermediate objectives included:

  • Increase educational opportunities for disadvantaged children, including HIV/AIDS-affected children, children heading households, teenage mothers, and children with little or no education;
  • Improve teacher quality, school infrastructure, and additional school resources; and
  • Strengthen inter-ministerial coordination and policies on education and child labor.

Summary of Activities
  • Hosted a regional conference on child labor and HIV/AIDS for up to 250 participants;
  • Hosted country-specific conferences on child labor and HIV/AIDS for up to 20 key stakeholders in Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, and Swaziland;
  • Supported and strengthened existing efforts in South Africa and Swaziland to provide educational and social services to orphans and vulnerable children (OVC). Expanded support to domestic NGOs and support groups in Namibia and Swaziland to provide services to OVC;
  • Extended alternative learning programs for herd boys in five districts in Lesotho;
  • Implemented a pilot scholarship program in South Africa that will establish flexible school hours for children living in Mpumalanga province who combine school and work; and
  • Reviewed South African laws dealing with child trafficking and strengthened institutional capacity to deal with the problem.

Grantee

American Institutes for Research

Implementing partners

Government agencies at local and state levels; non-governmental organizations; UN agencies; workers’ and employers’ organizations; and community-based organizations.

Contact Information

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

(202) 693-4843