Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09LOME276
2009-08-10 15:59:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Lome
Cable title:  

DOL PROJECT TO FIGHT THE WORST FORMS OF CHILD

Tags:  ELAB KTIP TO 
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R 101559Z AUG 09
FM AMEMBASSY LOME
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 9173
INFO ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC
UNCLAS LOME 000276 


DOL FOR CHANDA LECKIE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ELAB KTIP TO
SUBJECT: DOL PROJECT TO FIGHT THE WORST FORMS OF CHILD
LABOR

UNCLAS LOME 000276


DOL FOR CHANDA LECKIE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ELAB KTIP TO
SUBJECT: DOL PROJECT TO FIGHT THE WORST FORMS OF CHILD
LABOR


1. Summary. Ambassador Hawkins met with Mr. Moulero Adeye,
Technical Advisor of the International Labor Organization's
(ILO) DOL funded project, and his colleague Essodina Abalo,
on July 29. The men outlined the progress made in the
implementation of the project and described upcoming
activities planned in the context of fighting the worst forms
of child labor. The Embassy is pleased with the planned
activities and feels they will have a real impact in the
fight against child labor in Togo. End Summary.


2. ILO is working with many local NGOs to implement the
projects. From conversations with the project implementers,
it appears that the NGOs were chosen because of their
strength in each particular sector, which should improve the
quality of the results predicted. The Embassy has had
positive experiences working with the same organizations.
While the Embassy understands that these projects are
awaiting final approval from Geneva before implementation can
begin, we are still pleased with the level of planning and
the clear thought given to what will work well in Togo.

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Planned Activities
--------------


3. The first activity, and only activity to be completed, was
a basic survey on the extent of child labor in Togo. The
results are being finalized now and, when completed, will
provide the most comprehensive picture of child labor in Togo
to date. For individual children, information collected
included socio-demographics, education, type of work and
frequency, risks and accidents, relationships between child
workers and adult supervisors, future aspirations, migration
variables, and household chores. For households, the
questions focused on socio-demographic factors of the
household, education and training, economic activities,
household activities, and the household's perception of child
labor. The data from this survey will provide the first ever
reliable report on child labor in Togo.


4. The second project focuses on children working as porters
in the informal sector of the economy. These children
generally work in the markets in Lome. The project hopes to
remove 625 porters from the markets and reintegrate them into
their communities.


5. The third project targets child vendors. These children
can be found not only in markets, but also at most major
intersections, at the border with Ghana and on the beach. The
goal is to protect 500 children who are at risk working in
this sector and reintegrate 225 children under age 15, of
which 75% are girls.


6. The fourth project addresses the agriculture sector, which
is where most children in Togo are employed. These activities
will try to reinforce community structures to protect 1800
vulnerable children from dangerous agricultural work (usually
involving pesticides or dangerous farm tools such as
machetes).


7. Children are often sent to bigger cities to work as
domestics in households- families often believe that this
will provide them with a better life than they can have in
their villages. The fifth project aims to protect 200
children already working as domestics in Lome and put them
back in school. It will also try to prevent an additional 300
at risk children in the Sotouboua-Blitta region (roughly 4
hours north of Lome) and Agou (2 hours north of Lome) from
entering the trade.


8. The sixth project aspires to protect 100 at-risk girls
from commercial sexual exploitation and extract an additional
60 girls who are already involved in the trade.


9. The final project will enable children currently involved
in agriculture to attend school. While most Togolese children
assist with subsistence farming, for some it takes on greater
proportions. The last project hopes to involve communities to
place a greater value on education and build 5 schools to
help reach this goal.

--------------
Comment
--------------


10. While the project took a while to get off the ground, the
Embassy is very pleased with both the progress and nature of
the planned activities and with the cooperation with the ILO
representatives. We look forward to continuing to support the
project in the future.


Hawkins