Regions: Africa   Asia   Latin America


Name of Organization: Aasaman-Nepal

Country: Nepal

Project Title: "Child Labor Abolition through Education"

Project Timeframe: 24 Months

Location of Project: Sarlahi district - 6-7 Village Development Committees (VDCs)

Budget Amount: $100,000

NGO contact and website:
Ms. Radha Koirala
Janakpur, Nepal
office: 041-522473
Email: aasaman@wlink.com.np

Project's Primary Objective: Objective # 2 – Strengthening Formal and Informal Educational System

Description of Organization: Aasaman Nepal has worked for five years beginning from 1999 to enroll children to school in Dhanusha and Mahottari districts of Eastern Nepal. It believes that a child not in school is a child laborer and that the elimination of child labor is possible through children's access to education. Social mobilization is the key strategy of its work. It plays the catalytic role and stimulates various stakeholders to action. Aasaman Nepal's work has primarily been on two levels. The first is to inform communities and create demand for education at the grassroots. The other is to actively engage with the government, and other prospective stakeholders at the district level on the issue of quality education for all children.

Description of Project funded by CIRCLE: Aasaman Nepal believes that the elimination of child labor is possible through children's access to education. However, accessing all children to education remains an uphill battle in Nepal's rural Terai where the discriminatory Hindu-caste hierarchy is deeply entrenched and the power structure is built to heavily favor the upper caste people placing the "lower cast" groups at the sharpest end. Age-old illiteracy and ignorance have further pushed the ethnic groups into a tight corner. Children of these groups are found working as an auxiliary breadwinner, if not the principal one. Even parents are found willingly sending away their children to Indian cities to engage in hazardous labor for money.

Therefore, taking into account of literacy status along with their vulnerability to child labor (55% child illiteracy), Aasaman Nepal has designed a pilot project, Abolition of Child Labor through Education in 6-7 Village Development Committees (VDCs) of the Sarlahi district. The project will be launched with a rights-based approach attempting to build linkages between micro-projects and macro-level advocacy work in collaboration and alliance with a range of allies and partners. Aasaman Nepal, besides developing its strategic structures corresponding with the Government's three-tier functioning mechanism in place (District/Ilaka/Schools), will work towards building a network of a wide spectrum of stakeholders that have a direct or indirect stake in educating children. Aasaman Nepal will work principally on a two-pronged strategy; (i) it will work with the government network in strengthening and activating them to enhance children’s enrollment and retention; (ii) it will work in alliance, partnership, and collaboration with different stakeholders, organizations and civil society to build pressure on the government for a policy change in favor of children's easy access to education.

Aasaman Nepal will concentrate on capacity building measures of both the service recipients and service providers. School Improvement Plans on one-side and community organizations on the other will receive support from Aasaman Nepal. The implementation methodology will be participatory and consensus-based. The approach will be non-confrontational but conciliatory aimed at generating discussions for consensus building.

Aasaman will conduct promotional campaigns for enrollment, awareness raising on early marriage and birth registration. Additionally, it will support and mobilize various fora and groups and also celebrate events such as CRC day, Children’s Day, Education Day, Child Labor Free Day, Disability Day and a children's fair. To achieve its main objective, i.e. improving educational systems and facilities, Aasaman will provide coaching for slow learners, support volunteer teachers in schools and make follow up and home visits for irregular and drop-out children; provide coaching in school health activities and life skills education, scholarship support for girls and Dalit children, and educational materials for schools. It will also strengthen and mobilize Government Resource Centers and documentation systems.

Aasaman Nepal's slogan is Kam Chhodau, School Patahaun (Getting children out of work and into school).

Project Targets (Common Indicators):
Enrollment: 1,500 at-risk children Prevented (enrolled) in educational programs.
Retention: Number and 75 percentage of children that persist in the program
Completion: (of Grade 1 and 2) will increase by 15%