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Last updated April 2008 Namaskaar * Asalam-o-Alaikam * Sawatdee Ka * Komusta Ka Child Labor in the Asia Asia is home to more than half of the world's children. It includes some of the world's most rapidly growing economies, and also some of the poorest. In The end of child labour: Within reach (2006), the ILO reports that the Asia-Pacific is home to the majority of children working in the worst forms of child labor. Out of an estimated 218 economically active children (aged 5-14) in the world, 18% (approximately 122.3 million) of those children reside in the Asia-Pacific region. What are these children doing? UNICEF estimates that there are at least a million child prostitutes in Asia with the greatest numbers in India, Thailand, Taiwan and the Philippines (CATW, fact book, 2001). In Nepal, some 62,000 urban domestic laborers are under age 14. (Innocenti Digest 5, Child Domestic Work, UNICEF, May 1999 citing, Pradhan, G., Urban child domestic labour in Nepal, Child Workers in Nepal, Kathmandu, 1995.) In Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan and the Philippines, child domestic workers spend on average 15 hours or more working each day and are generally on-call day and night. CIRCLE Project Asia While factors contributing to child labor vary from country to country, Winrock International’s premise is that family decision-makers and employers respond to economic and social conditions rationally. Providing viable economic and social alternatives, as well as unbiased information for informed decision-making, will lead to behavioral changes that reduce the number of children working in harmful conditions and increase educational alternatives and school retention. Winrock also realizes that the most successful interventions in education have a grassroots connection to the children and to the teachers, parents, and local circumstances. The need for cooperation with civil society is a pre-requisite for successful education-strengthening programs. Project Objectives The CIRCLE Project Asia aimed to prevent child labor, particularly in its worst forms, through a series of sub-contracts awarded over four years. The program objectives were to identify and promote replicable, community-based educational innovations that successfully address the prevention or reduction of child labor and to document their Best Practices. All CIRCLE projects were expected to contribute directly to one of the following objectives outlined by the US Department of Labor: Strengthen formal, non-formal, and transitional education systems that encourage working children, and those at risk of working, to attend school. Raise awareness of the hazards of child labor and the importance of education for all children. Strengthen national institutions and policies on education and child labor. Ensure sustainability and/or replication, as documented by monitoring and measuring techniques for tracking impact, including numbers and stories reflecting educational persistence, completion and prevention of child labor for at-risk children. The Process Circle projects were implemented in the following countries: Nepal India Pakistan Bangladesh Thailand Philippines Cambodia Vietnam

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