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?

- Welfare centres
- Police services
- Primary school inspectorates
- Vocational training centres
- Legal protection services
- Workplace inspectors
- The AEJT (association of child and youth workers)
- Community-based organisations
- Haulier trade unions
- The chambers of trades and crafts
- Micro-finance institutions

Awareness-raising activities on the dangers faced by child and adolescent migrant workers, these previously consisted of large scale or local-level training sessions, today our efforts are more focused on multimedia campaigns disseminated via local radio stations in the areas where we work.

Moreover, the capacity-building activities run by non-state actors on the children’s rights and responsibilities and the dangers they face when they migrate, which were previously carried out in classrooms, are now more focused on activity centres. In fact, a community training course was run, reaching 127 communities. This process will shortly be expanded to include other sites.

FUTURE PROSPECTS

- To wrap up the apprenticeship placement process by giving out apprenticeship kits and maintenance allowance
- To help children/adolescent migrant workers who have completed their training and received a qualification to find jobs

SHARE YOUR PROGRESS AND THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF THIS INITIATIVE

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?

Our transnational management of children/adolescent migrant workers with Mali and Burkina Faso has enabled us to make contact with numerous NGOs who work on migration in general, and in particular those linked to child/youth workers.

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.