"It wasn’t easy for me because there were a lot of obstacles... We, the women, received a tricycle this morning and the youth received a freezer with a generator to start selling frozen fish. I'm so happy. This tricycle will allow us to earn money”. This is how Madam Zadi Valérie, a mother at-risk living in the Ayaou-kouakoukro community in Soubré, and a member of the Child Protection committees, expressed her happiness. This, after receiving from Madam Caroll Miloky, project manager, a donation of a tricycle for the women group.
According to Madam Zadi "This donation will allow vulnerable women of Ayaou-kouakoukro to help children at school (Editorial Note: support their education) and youth on apprenticeship".
Like vulnerable women and youth of Ayaou-kouakoukro Community, it is also those of Akromiambla and Kondokro (Gagnoa) and Godililié (Divo), also received material for Income Generating Activities (IGA). All those donations are part of the ECLIC dynamics of supporting Cocoa growing communities in the fighting against child labour.
Assistance received by vulnerable household is essentially composed of: 2 tricycles, 1 bicycle, 2 motorcycles including fuel, insurance and stickers as well as license plates, phytosanitary products, a freezer, 2 palm oil presses, 1 husker, 1 shredder.
It is also necessary to note the building of three facilities, respectively dedicated to the use of the husker, the oil presser and the sale of phytosanitary products. During the various distributions that took place from August 30 to 1, both participants and community leaders welcomed the "commitment honoured by ECLIC" and assured, "to make good use of the material received".
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For the ECLIC project manager, the most important is ahead. Back to the "commitment honoured by ECLIC ", she stressed the need for each parent to send their children to school and to avoid hazardous work. As she said, " child’s best place to be is at school". The field visit was also an opportunity for her and team to assess the use by community school, of the donation by Biblionef Foundation, of edutainment books for students.
Those donations to 6 community-based organizations (CBOs), included 3 women's groups and 3 youth groups, will allow them to strengthen their financial autonomy to support their families.
As a reminder, the ECLIC project is a 4 years project (Nov. 2015 - Nov. 2018) funded by the US Department of Labor (USDOL) in fifty (50) cocoa growing communities in Côte d'Ivoire to fight against child labour. The project is implemented in the Nawa, Gboklê, Lôh-Djiboua, Gôh, Guémon and San Pedro regions. Through its interventions, the project seeks to:
- Strengthen community mobilization in the fight against child labour;
- Increase income of households with children at risk of being engaged or in child labour;
- Improve access to quality educational opportunities for children at risk of being engaged or in child labour.
