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

Opportunities for Reducing Adolescent and Child Labor through Education (O.R.A.C.L.E.)

Region/Country

AFRICA/Uganda

Project Duration

August 6, 2003 - November 2, 2007

Fiscal Year & Funding Level

FY2001: USD 3,000,000
FY2006: USD 200,000
Matching Funds: USD 444,453

Problem to be Addressed

Since the birth of the Lord’s Resistance Army’s (LRA) rebel campaign in Northern Uganda in 1986, roughly 20,000 Ugandan children have been abducted to serve as porters, soldiers, and sexual slaves for this rebel group. Many more have endured continual displacement and disruption while some are serving as heads of households, standing in for parents and guardians who have been killed, gone missing or died due to HIV/AIDS. At the time of project funding, these circumstances put children in Northern Uganda at risk of further involvement as child soldiers, a worst from of child labor (WFCL), as well as other forms of hazardous labor.

Results

The project withdrew or prevented 5,657 children, former child soldiers or war-affected children in the Kitgum and Pader districts of Uganda, from the worst forms of child labor.

Project Objectives

To contribute to the prevention and elimination of child labor in northern Uganda.

Intermediate objectives included:

  • At the end of the project, community awareness of and attitudes toward the educational and developmental needs of children will have been improved through capacity building of child protection and education networks in the communities and by way of sensitization, mobilization and participation;
  • At the end of the project, the quality of the educational environment for children at risk of economic exploitation will have been enriched by focusing on augmenting the number of and skill base of teachers through training and material support; and
  • At the end of the project, the access to education for children at risk of exploitation will have been ensured through material support, transitional and non-formal education programs, and family-based poverty reduction strategies.

Summary of Activities
  • Worked to improved community awareness and attitudes through conducting a baseline survey, building capacity among stakeholders, and sensitizing the community via radio/drama programming and community sensitization campaigns led by local partners;
  • Sponsored students at Primary Teachers’ Colleges and unqualified teachers under the Teacher Development and Management System;
  • Provided teaching materials for the Primary Teachers’ College and Scholastic Teaching, Learning Materials Kits for Primary and Secondary schools, and training in teaching, psychosocial and life skills;
  • Supported primary students and sponsored children in remedial, secondary education, vocational, and non-formal classes; and
  • Developed income generating activities and provided adequate school water supply and sanitation facilities.

Grantee

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) and Associazione Volontari per il Servizio Internazionale (AVSI)

Implementing partners

A variety of non-governmental and other organizations.

Contact Information

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

(202) 693-4843