Support for Children and Young Migrant Workers

THE CONTEXT OF YOUR INITIATIVE

The project supports children and young migrant workers for four specific reasons:

 The number of children and adolescents migrating within and between countries in West Africa is so high because there are so many armed conflicts and other natural catastrophes, particularly in Côte d’Ivoire, Mali and Burkina Faso.
 The social services are not effective.
 We acknowledge the voluntary nature of children/adolescents migrating to find work.
 To add to the single strategy of intercepting and systematically sending back migrant children/adolescents. We enable them to integrate into society by offering them access to decent jobs in the places they reach.

THE ACTIVITIES CARRIED OUT AS PART OF YOUR INITIATIVE

– Raising awareness on a large scale and at the local level in families, communities, community-based organisations about the dangers involved in these children/adolescents’ migration, particularly in the workplace.
– Organising workshops to train people in general life and parenting skills: in contrast to standard training sessions, these workshops can teach adults and children at the same time. They can target specific groups of people (children or adults, or even parents). The sessions (which last at least an hour) target topics carefully selected in advance by the coordinator.
– Setting up and strengthening community protection mechanisms for children/adolescents, drawing support from practices already used in communities.
– Creating and organising listening sessions.
– Taking a register of and identifying child/adolescent workers.
– Providing them with healthcare, food, clothes, sanitation facilities/products, and providing legal support.
– Placing them in foster families or transit centres.
– Searching for their families and reuniting them.
– Training state and non-state actors in the dangers linked to their migration, the rights and responsibilities of the children and the protection services available along the migration routes.
– Placing the migrant children/adolescents in apprenticeships based on their job interests, having established which professions they’re interested in during listening sessions. This is done in collaboration with the chambers of trades and crafts, and state vocational training bodies.
– Providing training and induction kits, child support, and organising literacy classes for young migrant workers undertaking apprenticeships.

WHO IS INVOLVED FROM OUR GROUP?

44 members of staff
20 volunteers

WHICH PARTNERS ARE YOU WORKING WITH ON THIS INITIATIVE?

FUTURE PROSPECTS

403 children/adolescent workers are currently in apprenticeships.

Over 400 children/adolescent migrant workers are enrolled in literacy courses at levels 1 and 2.
14 literacy centres are open over all the project sites and are recognised by the national literacy and non-formal education institution.
Over 125 children/adolescents have managed to reintegrate into their families and the community.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO ADD ANY INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR INITIATIVE?

WHAT ARE YOUR PROSPECTS?

Given the scope of this matter, we will need to expand our intervention zones whilst ensuring our organisation has a steady income to open local offices in each intervention area. Moreover, we will need to provide them with vehicles in order for certain activities to be carried out, namely research and family reunification.