WDACL 2007: Zambia Project - activities for the World Day Against Child Labour	12.07.07
			Initial Project Document: Elimination of Child Labour in Tobacco-growing in Zambia, 2005-2008	18.10.05

	09.05.06		6,000 Children Working On Tobacco Farms - The Post, Zambia

Implementing partner
HODI

Steering Committee composed of
Zambia Leaf Tobacco Company (Universal), BAT Zambia, Tobacco Association of Zambia (TAZ), Zambia Federation of Employers, National Union for Plantation Workers (Nupaw), Hodi ILO Regional Office, representatives from the ministry of Labour and social security). The steering committee has been very active in designing the initial project proposal, but then has been rather dormant during most of phase 1, but being revived.

Location
Choma and Kalomo districts, Southern province, with both commercial and smallholder farmers.

Budget
USD 618’302 over 3 years (October 2005 - September 2008). Prolonged up to March 2009. Total overall amount USD 720’000. Phase 2 submitted; to start April 2009

Objective
Fight child labour via:

• Access to preschools (360 children)
• Access to primary and secondary school (1’000 + 250 children)
• Access to vocational training (150)
• Income Generating Activities –IGA (preventing 1’000 children)
• Health care, prevention (HIV/AIDS, family planning)
• Awareness raising (20’000)

Overall target
Withdraw and prevent 2’760 children from the estimated 21’000 children in Choma and Kalomo districts.

END OF PROJECT ACHIEVEMENTS

• 440 children accessed preschools (122% of target)
• 1,733 children withdrawn and accessed primary and high school (100%)
• 3 out 4 preschools built, plus a day care centre (totalling 100%); 7 out of 8 preschool teachers contracted and trained (88%)
• 166 out of 250 secondary school scholarships given (67%)
• 3 double classroom school blocks built (75%)
• 2 vocational training centres built
• 111 out of 150 children enrolled in vocational skills training (74%)
• 1,241 at risk children prevented from child labour (124%)
• 1881 households supported with agricultural inputs and livestock support (80%)
• 137 families given IGA cash loan (11%)
• Prevented and withdrawn children, approx 3’700, out of a target of 2,760 (134%)

Community Skills Training Centres were built, instructors recruited, students
selected, relations with existing government centres from which the program will operate were also established. Opened and running courses in carpentry, tailoring and bricklaying.

Sensitisation from child labour prevention committees visiting commercial farms,
family farms, and holding sensitisation sessions (106) with parents, children, teachers and community leaders, and drama groups performances, reached 27’175 people according to the attendance list (136%).

Radio programmes 14 (of 12) are being aired as a series; community listening groups
and community reporters are animating/assessing impact in the villages

Concerns:
Access to primary school:
Awareness raising, opening of preschools and classrooms are causing an increase in school enrolment and attendance; as a consequence there is a lack of space in existing and project-built classrooms. Extra classrooms are being built in the project area building on the project dynamic by the Kids rights Foundation. Preschools are now compulsory by law; the Ministry of Education is to assist and take over this aspect of the project. There is also a need to lobby for free education at the high school level.

Vocational training scheme:
Initial plans were not consistent with the project objectives; it needed adapting based on an outreach scheme HODI had developed in other areas. This slowed down the implementation of this component. As of today 111 students were enrolled, 47 writing the exams.

Cash loans:
Micro-credits have been difficult to implemented, mainly due to a “handout” culture which develop from aid projects by which credits were considered as grants. Moreover a cash transfer scheme was about to be implemented in Kalomo, which strongly demotivated farmers to take on micro-credits. That aspect will be entrusted to specialised institutions in the next phase.

Kwacha vs. USD fluctuations:
The Zambian Kwacha fluctuations gaining value with the drop of the dollar and the raise of the copper economy caused the project to undergo exchange losses which needed to adapt the project pace and costs.

Baseline survey:
Impact assessments need a baseline survey as reference for further comparison. It seems both costly and difficult to find the right institution to carry out this work. It should take place during 2009

Quick facts last updated: March 2009