Empowering the Working Children through Mobilization and Capacity Building Approach Project

Chattogram City Corporation, Bangladesh

Background:

The EWCP project was designed to empower working children through capacity building, enroll them in Non-Formal Education, and mainstream to formal education to continue their studies. To achieve the goal, the project implemented age-appropriate vocational training, which is a key tool in empowering children to leave their hazardous jobs. Alongside it provided Livelihood Skill Development Training to the parents/caregivers of working adolescents for economic empowerment.  Besides, the project also provides Life Skill Based Education for adolescent girls and boys to elevate them as competent future citizens of the country.  The project made an effort to raise awareness by mobilizing the community people, job providers, and relevant government authorities. It also attempted to create awareness by mobilizing the mass population through awareness sessions, meetings, workshops, round-table meetings on child labor issues, and district-level advocacy meetings on child protection with NGOs, Govt stakeholders, media personnel, ward councilors, etc. The project has been designed to implement for three years (Sep 2017 to May 2020) in four Wards (04, 06, 18 & 35 no Ward) of Chattogram City Corporation with the target of 4000 beneficiaries of 2000 households. The primary target program participants of this project are children between 06- <18 years of age. MOMODa FOUNDATION has been selected through a competitive process to conduct the final evaluation study to look into the impact of the project.

Methods:

This final evaluation used qualitative and quantitative information from mainly primary sources of data collection methods. 458 Household representatives were interviewed and data were collected using the mobile data collection platform (SurveyCTO) for the quantitative information. 11 FGDs, 20 KIIs, 5 case studies, and several meetings were conducted for capturing qualitative information from the NFE (Non-formal education) parents, Skill development trainee parents, LSBE (life skill-based education) children, TVET (technical and vocational education and training) children, CPCs (child protection committee), Ward Commissioners, relevant government officials,  NFE school teachers, job providers, project staff, etc.

Summary of findings:

The end-line study demonstrates that the project has achieved almost all of its outcome indicators to the expected extent. The project has made an impact on human, social, and economic empowerment of the working children’s families as well as strived to establish a mechanism for child protection to ensure a better life for the working children.

The report is now under the final review of the WVB team. MOMODa FOUNDATION has been highly appreciated by the WVB officials for the great commitment, professionalism, and cooperation that has been demonstrated by the organization thus far.