Evaluation Learnings Search

Learning Description

Learning from the piloting of initiatives by implementing Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs): The involvement of local government in training to facilitate labor contractor registration immediately following likely enabled higher rates of registration. The coordination and relationship building between actors within migrant communities benefited from the hiring of Kurdish speakers on staff; and investment in staff to build capacity and work alongside community members leads to better results over time.

Learning Description

Contractual relationships between companies and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs): These formalized relationships have led to a more empowered and productive partnership, resulting in continued interest for most of the partners to continue their shared work going forward.

Learning Description

The target number of communities should be considered after reviewing the geographic potential, topography, access, budget size, and the human resources available to the project. As has been noted, the Eliminating Child Labor in Cocoa Producing Communities in Cote d'Ivoire (ECLIC) project sites are geographically dispersed across three districts. There is no doubt that the populations in all of the communities are extremely needy, but for a measurable impact, the ECLIC staff and budget are not sufficient. Staff field agents want to visit all of their communities regularly, but for some, it may take an hour or two on a motorcycle over rough terrain, especially during the rainy season. Once there, they need to concentrate on maintaining progress on multiple activities and not be in a rush to leave. One Agent Technique/Technical Officer (ATEC) with responsibilities for nine villages is not excessive, but the obstacles of terrain and distance make their work disproportionately challenging and fatiguing.

Learning Description

Before selecting community sites, proceed with caution when working with marginalized groups. The United States Department of Labor's (USDOL’s) initial announcement requesting proposals for the project stated: “At a minimum, applicants must incorporate the targeted activities listed below to assist in expanding educational opportunities and increasing student attendance and retention in cocoa growing areas: Pilot Program to reach children in encampments: Applicants must propose a strategy(-ies)to provide children in remote areas, such as encampments, with educational opportunities, at least as a pilot activity.” It was appropriate for USDOL to request that encampments be recipients of some benefits, considering the large populations of cocoa growers who live there, and the isolation that children especially experience. The lack of basic services, particularly education, constitutes a major need. Using the Protective Cocoa Community Framework, the project chose twenty eight encampments out of its fifty communities. Issues related to land use and ownership, settlement, forced displacement and encampments, ethnic clashes, and migration have been at the center of volatile disputes for decades. These are contentious and complex issues, and local authorities should be commended for their dispassionate approach in trying to resolve problems legally. USDOL has an important role to play in Côte d’Ivoire with regard to focusing on ending child labor in the country, especially in its role to lay a foundation with the Harkin-Engel Protocol. However, the issues concerning the preservation and reforestation of forest land collide with Eliminating Child Labor in Cocoa Producing Communities in Cote d'Ivoire (ECLIC's) program where communities live illegally in the protected lands. There may be solid criticism of the manner in which policy is being applied, but more importantly, these issues are beyond the purview of both USDOL and the implementing partner. It is common sense to identify all ministries which are involved in a project’s primary activity. Here, the project worked with the most obvious ministries, mostly through the Comité Interministériel/(Interministerial Committee to Fight Child Trafficking, Exploitation and Child Labor (CIM), which represents the key ministries related to child protection and child labor. In planning a project, it is worth the extra effort to think expansively about potential stakeholders, beyond just the traditional ones. Due to the particular issues related to the location of ECLIC communities in protected forests, other players had an interest not considered originally. These included the Ministry of Environment, Urban Health and Sustainable Development, Water and Forest Services, the Water and Forest Development Services, and the Ivoirian Parks and Reserves Office.61 Since the project began, these offices have become interested stakeholders. While it is not possible to know all the complications which might arise during the implementation of a project, ECLIC has learned that working in areas designated as classified forest zones should be a signal for caution. Given reports of exploitation of forest areas in Côte d’Ivoire, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) should normally acknowledge and accept the conditions needed to rebuild these critical natural resources. From now on, it should be a consideration for ICI and other NGOs wishing to work with encampment populations.

Learning Description

Choose consulting and research firms carefully. The firm hired to conduct the baseline data (BLD) survey proved somewhat unprepared to handle the complexity of the contract and required a lot of input from the project and United States Department of Labor (USDOL). As a result, the final report is still pending. Another firm, Office of Statistics and Computer Studies (CESI), which was hired to do a study on children in the encampments, proved more reliable and professional. The project will conduct an end line study. In the words of the Project Manager, “we should invest more money and time during the end line survey to hire a well specialized firm enable[d] to do the right work in due time.”

Learning Description

Expanding funding and networks contributes to sustainability. The project has been very successful in leveraging funds beyond the United States Department of Labor (USDOL) budget to support planned activities and to expand the services that Eliminating Child Labor in Cocoa Producing Communities in Cote d'Ivoire (ECLIC) provides. ECLIC received help from The World’s Children’s Prize for The Rights of the Child, an annual event where children receive awards for child rights activism. The program provides teachers with materials consisting of structured exercises to introduce children from participating schools to concepts of democracy, child and human rights, environmental protection, and news reportage. Children learn to become Child Right Ambassadors. An Ivorian child was featured in the organization’s internationally-circulated newspaper, The Globe, which is supplied to the schools. Before the project, the children involved had been working or at risk of working. The Non-Governmental Organizational Organization (NGO) provides "The Globe "as reading material to serve as an impetus for increased studying. The activity has brought previously isolated ECLIC villages into a greatly-expanded network. The Embassy of Switzerland also made a small grant to the project. The book donation group, Biblionef, provided forty three trunks of more than 5,000 books to the project as well.64 Walking for Water, another NGO, is raising money to provide a borehole and hand pump to be installed in Sinikosson, one of the project’s most remote communities. These inputs should be recognized as important links to building sustainability for the project communities.

Learning Description

Operating as a team helps maintain a productive work environment. The work environment among the Eliminating Child Labor in Cocoa Producing Communities in Cote d'Ivoire (ECLIC) team should be recognized as a best practice. There is a commitment to high standards and mutual respect, fostered by the Project Manager and by International Cocoa Initiative (ICI). The team of fifteen is small enough to be able to support one another and communicate easily. Following the lead of the Project Manager, the team reacts and addresses unanticipated problems thoughtfully and deliberately. Faced with challenges and difficulties, the team maintains a culture of positivity.

Learning Description

Frequent and transparent dialogue with the government is crucial. The project leadership and staff in the field should be commended for the quality of relationships that have been established with government services. By holding regular meetings and keeping open lines of communication, the project keeps the government aware of routine project activities. As a result, local authorities are willing to help when problems surface. Besides good relations with government administration (particularly in the sub-prefectures), the project works with the Regional Education services for formal education, literacy and bridging class preparations. It also communicates regularly with agents of ANADER and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. ICI provides backbone support to Eliminating Child Labor in Cocoa Producing Communities in Cote d'Ivoire (ECLIC). In its government relations on the national level, International Cocoa Initiative (ICI) merges the fight against child labor in the cocoa fields with policy advocacy. For example, ICI is working with Conseil National de Surveillance (National Oversight Committee of Actions against Child Trafficking, Exploitation and Child Labor (CNS) to expand the National Child Labor Monitoring System (SOSTECI) into its nine target departments.

Learning Description

A comprehensive Market Study helps identify successful livelihood options. It was a good practice to produce a Market Study in the communities and surrounding commercial centers before starting income generating activities. The Market Study identified livelihood ideas that increase revenue and improve chances for success through diversification. The efforts of the Chambre Nationale des Métiers de Côte d’Ivoire/Chamber of Skilled Trades and Vocational Training (CNMCI) to identify practical vocations and try to accommodate the special needs of potential beneficiaries are also a good practice. Both of these activities are features in the Comprehensive Monitoring and Evlauation Plan (CMEP). They ensure success in reaching the project objectives and help build sustainability in the communities. The program is a challenge because of the geographic scattering of the potential enrollees, but the project and CNMCI are determined to make it possible for children to learn vocational skills.

Learning Description

Using smart technology keeps the team connected and empowers volunteers. The project makes efficient use of tablets and smart phones to resolve problems. Fifty tablets continue to be used by the one hundred volunteers monitoring beneficiaries. Staff persons have portable modems to access the internet easily. As noted, the AAgent Techniques/Technical Officers (TECs) and the Project Manager exchange information daily on a chat app, with the result that there is complete transparency and few unexpected crises. This has helped the ATECs, who operate alone, to unify and communicate with each other, share solutions, and keep the Project Manager abreast of potential problems. ATECS were all furnished with a complete set of protective riding gear for motorcycling, which has proved essential for those who confront reckless traffic, potholes, and muddy ravines