Regions: Africa   Asia   Latin America


Name of Organization: Rehabilitation and Development Agency

Country: Sierra Leone

Project Title: "Community Based Child Rescue and Empowerment Project"

Project Timeframe: 14 months

Location of Project: Kemokai Section, Sorogbema Chiefdom, Pujehum District

Budget Amount: $71,000

NGO contact and website:
201 Bo-Taiama Highway
New London, Bo, Sierra Leone
Mobile: (076) 639791, 644275, 639887
Email: radarehab@yahoo.com

Project's Primary Objective: Strengthen formal and transitional education systems that encourage working children and those at risk of working to attend school.

Description of Organization: RADA has been working in the Kemokai area since 2002, when the Liberian civil war escalated. At that time the agency was involved in emergency community empowerment projects, funded by DEC through Christian Aid, which contributed to addressing the food security and water and sanitation needs of both refugees and host communities.

To contribute to the reduction of child labor, RADA has placed refugee children in formal primary school systems in host communities, while conducting community sensitization activities on the rights of refugees, especially children. Working with the World Bank, RADA also helped in the construction of a junior secondary school and nine primary schools, trained community teachers and parents, and provided furniture and learning materials to four chiefdoms of the same district. (Only one school was established in the Kemokai area, although it is the most vulnerable: this is therefore the target area for CIRCLE.) RADA has also been working with school children (both boys and girls) in the fight against HIV/AIDS in the Kemokai section. Anti-AIDS clubs have been established in schools, trained, and actively engaged. These kids are also involved in many peer education and monitoring activities, skills they will apply to the issues of child labor.

Description of Project funded by CIRCLE:

RADA of Bo will implement a CIRCLE project in eleven villages in the Kemokai section in the Sorogbema chiefdom of the Pujehun District in southern Sierra Leone. Kemokai section is situated on the Union Bridge, which links Sierra Leone and Liberia and is very symbolic to a peaceful co-existence among the three Mano River Union countries of Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone. However, contrary to its vision, the bridge and its environs became a battlefield during the wars in Sierra Leone and Liberia. It has also been used to transport looted goods, illegal arms and weapons, trafficking victims, natural resources, minerals (specifically diamonds), and to carry out illegal trade, all activities that contribute to renewed conflict. The region is home to many children and youth who are at-risk of child labor due to the lack of educational facilities and the opportunities involved with smuggling and cross-border trading.

Education, as one of the key priorities for the government's recovery efforts, is one of the principal incentives for the prevention of child labor. However, the level of destruction in the education system in these areas is alarming. During the war pro-government forces destroyed much of the infrastructure while launching their offensives, while retreating rebels would systematically burn down school structures.

Being a heavily contested border area, the Kemokai section suffered major destruction and nearly three years after the war little progress has been made in rehabilitating its educational infrastructure. This setback has serious implications for school-aged children who are vulnerable to exploitative child labor and worse, human trafficking. Agriculture and cross-border trade (including drug smuggling) are the main livelihood opportunities and children make up a significant part of the workforce. With the presence of UN peacekeeping forces and LURD rebels in the area, young girls are frequently seen crossing the bridge to the troops to offer sex for very small amounts of money and food.

This CIRCLE project aims to assist children who are at-risk to child labor are educated in sub-contract funded activities in the target communities. The project will be implemented through two major components: (1) Establishment of two community schools, training of community teachers, establishment and training of School Management Committees, establishment of in-school Kids' Clubs; and (2) Research, documentation and communication. Kids' Clubs Against Child Labor, child-led advocacy and awareness raising groups, will be established in five primary schools and involved in advocacy campaigns and peer education through media, songs, drama, games/sports and outreach programs. They will provide peer monitoring through regular home and school visits. This is to ensure that their colleagues enroll, transition, and complete the educational system and also to ensure that their involvement in exploitative labor is reduced. Additional activities will include the construction of school sanitation (hand pump wells and toilets) and recreation (play ground) facilities, in-service training of community teachers/educators and Kid's Clubs, monitoring, and the production and dissemination of documentation and communication products.

The project will primarily target 100 school-aged children at-risk of child labor, smuggling, prostitution, and trafficking and those involved in domestic services. With the help of the community members and the activities of the Kids' Clubs, up to 50 children who are already victims of the above will be traced and placed into formal and informal educational systems according to their needs.

With support from RADA, community artisans will undertake all construction work of the schools, while UNICEF and the Ministry of education inspectorate office will train the community teachers and school management committees.

Project Targets (Common Indicators):
Enrollment: 150
Persistence: 125
Transition: 25
Conclusion: 100