As a countermeasure against child labor, we provide basic education in two countries, Nepal and India, aimed at integrating impoverished children who cannot receive an education into public schools.
Background - Current Status and Problems of Child Labor
Child labor deprives children of the opportunity to receive an education. Losing the opportunity to receive an education severely narrows their options for choosing a profession. When those children become parents, because they do not know the importance of education, they force their own children to work instead of receiving an education, and the negative chain continues for the next generation. Child labor is not just a children's human rights issue; it is a root cause of the intergenerational cycle of poverty.
Project Overview and Objectives
In order to eradicate child labor, we operate bridge schools (non-formal schools) targeting "impoverished children aged 8 to 14 who cannot receive even the minimum necessary education" in collaboration with local labor unions, funded by donations from labor unions in Japan. Our goal is to have them transfer to public schools after receiving basic education (a bridge to public school enrollment), to help parents and local communities understand the importance of education, and to break the negative chain of child labor in those communities.
JILAF Informal School
Recommendations
Educational
Opportunities
Education
Local Community
Hiring Children
School Projects
We started the project in 1996 in collaboration with the Nepal Trade Union Congress (NTUC), and currently, about 450 children are studying in 9 schools. So far, about 8,000 students have graduated, and more than 80% of them have transferred to public schools.
In collaboration with the Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC), starting with the opening of the Kovilpatti school in 1999, we have been relocating to areas based on the severity of child labor, and currently, about 60 children are studying in Guntur district.