$5M grant to reduce child labor in Morocco awarded by US Labor Department

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of International Labor Affairs today announced the award of a $5 million cooperative agreement to Creative Associates International to implement a project to reduce child labor in Morocco.

The project aims to reduce child labor in the Marrakesh-Tensift-Al-Haouz region of Morocco by promoting children's participation in educational programs and delivering vocational training focused on sectors, such as farming and ecotourism. Additionally, it will offer support to youth of legal working age to secure quality employment opportunities.

"This grant will fund a multifaceted project to protect children and families in Morocco," said Deputy Undersecretary of Labor for International Affairs Carol Pier. "Especially for those children at risk of engaging in the worst forms of child labor, education and vocational training hold the promise of a safer and more secure economic future."

Creative Associates International will promote access to social services for families and help them improve their livelihoods by providing access to microlending and savings programs and other activities to increase household resilience. It will also strengthen the capacity of government at the national and local levels to address child labor and of civil society organizations to provide assistance to working children and their families.

The project will collaborate with key government agencies and ministries at the national, regional and local levels, including the Ministry of Employment and Social Affairs.

Since 1995, ILAB projects have rescued approximately 1.7 million children from exploitative child labor. The Labor Department has funded 275 such projects implemented by more than 65 organizations in 93 countries. ILAB currently oversees more than $245 million of active programming to combat the worst forms of child labor. The 12th edition of ILAB's Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor can be found at www.dol.gov/ilab/reports/child-labor/findings/. More information is available at http://www.dol.gov/ilab/.

Editor's Note: Read Deputy Undersecretary for International Affairs Carol Pier's Transforming Dreams for Child Laborers blog post about the department's efforts to reduce child labor globally through its cooperative agreements.