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Kyrgyzstan project overview
The main intervention of the project in Kyrgyzstan is poverty reduction. This is achieved through enhanced income generation facilitated by micro credits to small, organised farmers’ groups.
Specifically the project aims to support at least 2,800 vulnerable children and in so doing protect them from child labour.
About this project
Progress so far
Reintroduction of traditional self help
One of the successful outcomes of the project is the reintroduction of traditional self help methods whereby neighbours work together on each others’ land during peak seasons. This initiative allows children to be released from work.
To date an estimated five thousand tobacco growing families and fifteen thousand school age children have benefitted from the programme.
Around one thousand children have been removed from child labour. Almost seven hundred families have improved their incomes via the credit scheme run by the programme. Summer camps have been organised for three hundred former child labourers who also received clothes and schooling materials.
Farmers improve their standard of living
In 2008 micro credit was up and running again after a short break. 307 families, organized in Mutual Aid Groups, received small loans. By buying and reselling livestock farmers have been able to supplement their income and improve their standard of living. By the end of the year all of the money borrowed by farmers had been repaid. A condition of borrowing money is that no child labour can be used. However, during the period when loans weren’t available, the communities continued to observe the ‘no child labour’ rule. This suggests that the project is having a positive impact on attitudes as well as living conditions.
Summer camps offer refuge and protection
150 children at risk of being involved in child labour were sent to summer camps in 2008. An evaluation noted that the ‘summer camp is a very good social service for the psychological and physical development of the children.’
Farmers no longer ‘very poor’
Participants of ECLT funded micro-credit schemes moved out of the officially designated `very poor category` upwards to ‘poor’ and ‘average’ categories.
Children debate child labour
Working with school children, the project took the subject of child labour to School Parliaments. The institution provides an important forum for awareness raising and challenging attitudes.
Developing new strategies and securing government support
A round table meeting was organized in Alabuka to engage people and organizations who have an interest in addressing child labour. One outcome of the session was the establishment of a Working Group of stakeholders to oversee the implementation and monitoring of the programme in that region.
Who’s running the project?
National coordinating partner
Working Group on the Elimination of Child labour in Kyrgyzstan. Project staff take their direction from the Working Group which was set up specifically to oversee implementation of the ECLT project in Kyrgyzstan.
Working Group
- Unions: Agricultural Workers Union of Kyrgyzstan, Trade Union of Educators, Trade Union of Workers of Public Health Services;
- Tobacco companies: “Reemtsma-Kyrgyzstan” (Imperial Tobacco), Sunnel-tobacco;
- Government: The Ministry of Rural and Water Management, State JSC Kyrgyztamekesi, the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Migration, Department of Ombudsman of Kyrgyzstan;
- International agencies and NGOs: ILO/IPEC, UNICEF, the Centre for the Protection of Children, Save the Children, Youth Programme, UNDP, American Center of International Solidarity.
Area covered by the project
Alabuka and Nookat (Osh) districts.
Duration of the project
First project: January 2005 to December 2006.
Second project: April 2007 to December 2009.
Third project: January 2010 to December 2012.
Budget
The overall programme budget for the third project is US$552,909 over four years.
Project documentation
You can find out more about the Kyrgystan project by viewing the following project documention: