| Combating Exploitive Child Labor Through Education (CA-Primero Aprendo): A Department Of Labor project jointly awarded to Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Costa Rica, and the Dominican Republic that aims at improving access to quality education as a means to combat exploitive child labor in Central America and the Dominican Republic. The project will design and implement creative and innovative approaches to: 1) provide educational opportunities (enrollment) for children engaged in or, at risk of entering child labor, particularly the worst forms; 2) encourage retention in, and completion of educational programs, and 3) expand the successful transition of children in non-formal education into formal schools or vocational plans. It is targeted at children aged 6 to 15 mostly in rural and semi-urban areas; beneficiaries include children who have abandoned schooling prematurely, and those currently enrolled in school to prevent them from leaving school before completion of the education cycle. It will focus on four specific types of actions: 1) Raising awareness of the importance of education and the dangers of child labor (at the international, national and local levels); 2) Strengthening institutions and policies that address education and child labor (special attention will be given to National Child Labor Commissions, agencies in the public and private sectors, NGOs and local institutions; and 3) Support to improve formal and transitional educational systems to reintegrate working children, and reduce dropout, including demonstration program initiatives and exchange of knowledge and experience among key actors. The project is undertaken under a Cooperative Agreement between CARE USA and the US Department of Labor, and it has as partners: Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and DevTech Systems, Inc. Collaborative work will be developed with major regional organizations such us PREAL, OEI and CECC. |