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| Project Name: | Combating Child Trafficking through Education in Mali |
| Project Description: |
Funded by the U.S. Department of Labor, the project aims to reduce child trafficking and exploitative child
labor through improvements in access to and quality of education in five (5) districts in 2 regions of Mali (Segou and Mopti). The project targets all Centers for Development Education (CEDs) (CEDs are a principal focus of the project
because they are generally more accessible to the typical children at risk outside the education system), as well as 50 percent of the students in target communities and sixth graders in public schools. It also aims to increase overall
school enrollment by reaching an additional 14,000 of out-of-school children. The project objectives are: 1) improve
enrollment in quality non-formal and formal education of children at risk of being trafficked or exploited. CARE aims
to strengthen the capacity and functionality of the non-formal CEDs, train at-risk children to make them more
employable in the medium to long term, and build bridges between formal and non-formal education programs that
allow children a realistic option of transitioning from one to the other; 2) mobilize two communes per district in the
project area to prevent child trafficking and exploitative labor and to adopt re-integration strategies for trafficked or exploited children that model how often communes may address the problem. Under this objective, CARE raises
awareness about the dangers of child trafficking and exploitative labor, trains CED and formal school management
committees to lobby public officials to clamp down on child trafficking and reintegrate returning children. CARE also
raises awareness among children themselves and provides economic opportunities, including microfinance, for the
families of at risk children; 3) improve capacity, collaboration and visibility of key civil society actors in working with
the government to combat child trafficking and exploitative labor through education. CARE's role in this component
includes engaging in advocacy to ensure that existing laws and safeguards protecting child rights are enforced,
providing capacity building to civil society organizations (CSOs) allowing them to protect and defend children's rights,
promoting effective collaboration among CSOs and government actors in order to ensure that quality educational
opportunities are available to children at risk, and using new technologies for information and communication (NTICs)
to improve educational and advocacy services for children at risk. CARE brings together a variety of strategic actors:
children, families and teachers; communities and communes; civil society and government, as well as the media.
CARE Mali is the prime grantee in this project, which is implemented in collaboration with World Vision Mali and
several local NGOs. |
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