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Name of Organization: Ethiopian Muslims Relief and Development Association (EMRDA)

Country: Ethiopia

Project Title: "Reducing Child Labor Through Enhanced Public Awareness Campaign"

Project Timeframe: 6 months

Location of Project: Afar Region, Amibara Woreda

Budget Amount: $10,000

NGO contact and website:
Africa Avenue, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 7515
Phone: 251-1-520803
E-mail: emrda@telecom.net.et

Project's Primary Objective: Raise awareness of the importance of education for all children, and mobilize a wide array of actors to improve and expand education infrastructures.

Description of Organization: Ethiopian Muslims Relief and Development Association (EMRDA) is an indigenous NGO engaged in education and human resource development activities for the sustainable improvement in the life of the poor. Education, Democracy and Human Rights, RH/HIV/AIDS and Food Security are the main programmatic foci of the organization. Since its establishment in 1994, EMRDA has been contributing to the development of the country through implementing Alternative Basic Education and functional adult literacy programs, constructing and upgrading primary schools, and providing vocational and skills training to unemployed youth inline with the government's education policy. Grassroots mobilization and awareness raising are typical strategies. Based in Addis Ababa, EMRDA is operating in four regions: Afar, Oromia, Amhara and Addis Ababa

EMRDA is a founder and member of several forums and networks, including Basic Education Network Ethiopia, Horn of Africa NGOs Network Development, National Children and Youth Forum, National HIV/AIDS forum, Pastoral Forum Ethiopia, Educational Research Association, CRDA, and World Muslim Youth Association. It has established partnerships with Pact-Ethiopia, Action Aid Ethiopia, CRDA, the US Embassy, World Bank, UNESCO, Muslim Aid UK, Islamic Development Bank, and other bi-lateral and multilateral donors.

Description of Project funded by CIRCLE: Afar National Regional State is a resource-rich region of Ethiopia with an estimated population of 1.6 million. Archeological studies indicate that the region is the place of origin of mankind, with the discovery of "Lucy" dating back 3.5 million years. However, it is one of the least developed regions of the country with marginalized and vulnerable population. Recurrent drought, animal disease, reduced access to land and water, low access to social service extremely high rates of maternal and infant mortality rate are salient indicators of the poverty in the region.

Children in the Afar society are generally perceived as assets gifted from God. Even so, child labor exploitation occurs across the region, particularly in Amibara district, where this innovative CIRCLE project will take place. From the age of four, children are obliged to engage in domestic activities that are incompatible with their age. Girls share the burden of domestic workload of their mothers including childcare, cooking food, production of utensils for domestic use as well as for sale. It is a typical tradition of Afars to engage boys in herding camels far from their villages, carrying Klashinkovs to protect themselves from attack by other ethnic groups or clan members. An Afar father usually buys a gun for his boy at the age of ten. In addition, with the expansion of mechanized farming along the Awash basin, young children are working as daily laborers during land preparation, wedding and harvesting seasons.

The status of basic education in Afar region is the worst in the country both in terms of qualitative and quantitative measurement. The Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) is only 12.6% and the level of adult illiteracy is almost 99%. Local studies indicate that child labor demand and communities' lack of awareness about the relevance of education are the two most important determinants for these statistics.

EMRDA's primary objective is to raise the awareness of parents and community members in Amibara Woreda about the hazards of child labor and the relevance of enrolling and keeping children in school. The project addresses some basic issues related to the well being of children, through avoiding discrimination against children, respecting child rights, protecting children from the devastating impact of HIV/AIDS, stopping child labor exploitation, sending every child to school, protecting children from war, etc. These topics will be included in an adult functional literacy manual and group activities.

Three main strategies are envisaged: (1) Introduce a REFLECT-like community education program through participatory community dialogue within the traditional systems; (2) Advocate for increased support of the government, local investors and community leaders in the campaign against child labor and promotion of basic education; and (3) Increase the involvement and capacity of religious leaders and the school community to educate the public about the hazards of child labor and the relevance of education. Using the Afar "Dagu" system, over 4,000 children and adults will be reached. "Dagu," in the local language, is a traditional information exchange and dialogue practice among the Afar society.

Project Targets (Common Indicators):
Enrollment: 150 children
Persistence: 90%
Transition: No transition to other non-CIRCLE funded programs
Completion: 90%