What is CHES?

Winrock has worked extensively in the Asia Pacific region. In Cambodia, Winrock is implementing the Children’s Empowerment through Education Services (CHES) project to eliminate the worst forms of child labor in agriculture.

The project is funded by the United States Department of Labor, and is being implemented in  four provinces in close collaboration with governmental and non-governmental organizations at all levels.

The project will run for four years, starting in September 2007. Winrock addresses the implications of child labor through educational opportunities for children, training for families, employers, and communities.

The majority of working children in Cambodia are found in the rural agricultural sector (76.5 percent).

Children engaged in hazardous work on commercial farms and in subsistence agriculture often do not attend school regularly, are exposed to harmful chemicals and are at risk of injury from carrying heavy loads, using unsafe tools and operating dangerous machinery.

CHES aims to withdraw and prevent 8,250 children from hazardous child labor in subsistence and commercial agriculture, including freshwater fishing. The CHES project works in 11 districts, 30 communes and 150 villages of Siem Reap, Pursat, Kampong Cham and Prey Veng provinces, and ensures 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.

Objective