Objectives:

Reduced vulnerability of children at risk of falling into child labour through strengthened social protection for plantation communities.

To contribute to reaching the goal of zero tolerance for the worst forms of child labour by 2016 (ongoing).

Partners:

Ministry of Labour and Labour Relations, Ratnapura District Secretariat, Plantation Human Development Trust (PHDT) & the Employers Federation of Ceylon, Sabaragamuwa Chamber of Commerce and Trade unions

Target Beneficiaries:

20,000 Plantation communities including at least 1000 young women and men (direct and indirect)

Regional Focus:

Ratnapura District.

Project Outcomes:

Families and their children vulnerable to exploitative employment have better access to social protection such as education including vocational training opportunities, health and enjoy a better family environment on the plantations.

Main Activities:

• Strengthen the capacity of the Estate Workers Housing Cooperative Societies (EWHCS) on 12 estates on Social protection and Child Labour
• Strengthen capacity of plantation communities including 1,000 girls and boys to access enhanced social protection as a right rather than welfare.
• Strengthen employability of 50 young girls and boys or their families on an alternatives to Hazerders Forms of Child Labour (HFCL)
• Conduct advocacy programmes through the Sabaragamuwa Chember of Commerce and the PHDT for regional plantation companies/other private sector partners to mainstream support education and health services for school retention
• Conduct a workshop to develop a common agenda for Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) to pursue a common goal for the benefit of plantation children and their families.
• Conduct a leadership training programme for plantation community mobilisers (PCMs) of the subnational Government offices and health cadres to better serve plantation families and form themselves into social protection cells to enhance service delivery for education, health and other social services.
• EWHCS and PCMs conduct cascading and repeated training programmes within their own structural framework (cells, units) to ensure coverage of social protection, education and health interventions to the most vulnerable, and sustainability of services.