Speech by Yadav Amatya, Project Director of Winrock International in Cambodia

Launch of CHES Project

Phnom Penh, 12 March 2008

Chairperson, H.E. Vong Sauth, Minister of Labor and Vocational Training

Chief Guest, H. E. Dr. Kol Pheng, Senior Minister of Education, Youth and Sports

Guest of Honor, H. E. Ambassador of United Sates of America for Cambodia

His Excellencies,

High level delegates and representatives from the Royal Government of Cambodia and International Development Agencies

Child and youth representatives

Distinguished guests, Winrock partners, ladies and gentlemen

Good afternoon!

On behalf of the Winrock project team I would like to extend my warm welcome to you all. It’s my great privilege to have this opportunity to present key highlights of the Project entitled “Children’s Empowerment through Education Services: CHES” being implemented by Winrock International with the generous support of the United States Department of Labor.

CHES is being implemented in four provinces of Cambodia in close collaboration with governmental and non-governmental organizations. The project period is for four years starting from 30 September 2007 and ending on 30 September 2011. Through CHES, Winrock will address the implications of child labor in agriculture through educational opportunities for children, training and livelihood for families, and communities.

CHES aims to withdraw and prevent 8,250 children from hazardous child labor in subsistence and commercial agriculture, including fresh water fishing, in 11 districts, 30 communes and 150 villages of Siem Reap, Pursat, Kampong Cham and Prey Veng provinces and ensure the adoption of child labor elimination strategies and provision of direct services in six newly constructed rural schools. By targeting rural agricultural communities, which are both employers of children and source areas for urban or international migration, CHES is working to prevent other hazardous and worst forms of child labor such as domestic labor, trafficking for labor and sexual exploitation, brick making, and portering.

The development objective of the CHES Project is to reduce the number of children engaged in exploitive child labor in subsistence and commercial agriculture in Cambodia.

By the end of the project CHES aims to achieve followings objectives

1. Improve access and quality of education for working and at-risk children in the target areas by:

a. Providing 1,500 NFE and 2,250 mainstreaming education support packages to targeted children aged 6-14, to assist in their withdrawal from exploitive labor and reintegration into the formal education system

b. Providing 3,000 formal education support and transportation packages to targeted at-risk children and girls aged 6-14 to prevent them from entering into exploitive child labor and by;

c. Providing vocational training, life skills and apprenticeship opportunities to youth and families for gainful and self employment;

2. CHES will strive to strengthen and build capacities of national and local institutions to effectively address the issues of child labor in agriculture;

3. The project will implement an advocacy, social and community mobilization program to sensitize target group on exploitive child labor in subsistence agriculture and freshwater fishing and;

4. Conduct participatory research on the causes and extent of child labor in subsistence agriculture, tobacco, cassava farming, and fishing;

As a single Agency, Winrock cannot deal with the complex problem of child labor, governmental and non-governmental organization should take a fare share of their responsibilities to accomplish this daunting task.

In this regards, Winrock is very happy to note that the project will be implemented in close collaboration and coordination with the

• Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training

• Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports

• Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries

• Inter-ministerial Sub-committee on Child Labor

• ILO-IPEC

• Wathnakpheap and

• Kampuchean Action for Primary Education (KAPE) 

Winrock is most concerned about the remarkable and courageous children working in agriculture who are often unseen and who dream of going to school, having their very own set of books and pair of uniforms. We are particularly concerned about the plight of girls and young women who are often victims of trafficking, lured across the border by false promises of good employment.

With our limited experience in Cambodia so far, one thing is very clear - the children working in agriculture need us today more than ever. The children need our expertise. The children need our compassion. The children need our guidance and help to open the doors of the nation’s schools that are often not accessible, not available and not affordable for them and to their families. Together we can make child labor everybody’s business. I thank you for your kind attention.

Thank You.