Areas of Expertise
Child Labor Prevention
Child labor is a complex problem rooted in the extreme poverty of many developing countries. Prevention of child labor lies in the ability to create an environment that protects children from being exploited. Through its work, AIR adopts a two-pronged approach: 1) focusing on key strategies at the policy level; and 2) focusing on grassroots strategies to mobilize communities against child labor. Reintegration of child workers into their homes and schools has proven crucial to breaking the cycle of child labor. AIR has worked to achieve this goal by focusing on issues such as psychosocial support for child workers, family reunification, community development and training, teacher sensitization, conducive school-fee and school-readmission policies, and vocational training.
Recent Projects
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Nicaragua’s ENTERATE (Educando Niños Trabajadores y Erradicando Actividades y Trabajos Explotadores)
Together with its Nicaraguan partners (La Cuculmeca, INPRHU-Somoto, and Club Infantil), AIR is working to reduce the worst forms of child labor in Nicaragua by providing access to and improving the quality and relevance of education as well as providing skills or vocational training for 10,045 children, mostly in the rural and urban areas of the Departments of Jinotega and Madriz.
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Reducing Exploitive Child Labor in Mozambique (RECLAIM)
RECLAIM withdrew/prevented approximately 2,960 children from exploitive child labor by enrolling them in either formal or vocational education programs, and provided income generation alternatives to 500 women.
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Reducing Child Labor in Southern Africa (RECLISA)
The RECLISA website provides up to date information regarding this project's activities in Southern Africa as well as a wealth of resources about child labor in that part of Africa.
