The Education First Project

The Education First Project (EFP) is combating child trafficking by helping victims of child trafficking and children at risk to obtain an education. The anticipated impact of the EFP is to create an effective and sustainable model for protecting and educating this vulnerable population of children. Although it is just now finishing the first year of execution, the project has already helped 465 victims of child trafficking and 1,091 at-risk children.

How Do We Do This Project and What Are Our Accomplishments to Date?

Lead organization CRS Benin, in consortium with World Education and Terre des Hommes, is implementing the EFP to reduce child trafficking in Benin by increasing participation of trafficked and at-risk children in appropriate education programs. The EFP uses the following strategies to achieve this goal:

• Change family and community attitudes about the risks of child trafficking and the benefits of education
• Support communities to provide more accessible, relevant, and quality education opportunities for at-risk and trafficked children
• Build the capacity of communities and families to be the primary actors in identifying, recovering, and reinserting trafficked children, as well as strengthen the system of recovery centers
• Support governmental and other institutions in policy and program initiatives to create synergy and ensure sustainability of project interventions.

The four-year EFP targets children ages 6 to14 years old who are at risk for both internal and external trafficking, with a special emphasis on girls. A minimum of 2,000 trafficked children and 8,000 at-risk children from approximately 100 communities will directly benefit from the project. The EFP is targeting all nine districts in the Zou department, where at least 50% of all trafficked children in Benin originate, as well as five districts in the Borgou/Alibori department, which is a source and transit zone for child trafficking.

Background Of The Magnitude Of Child Trafficking In Benin

According to the U.S. Department of State's 2001 Report, an estimated 8 to 14 percent of rural children in Benin have left their home villages to work within or outside the country. According to the study, this means as many as 173,000 children are put to work, of which 49,000 are working outside their home country.

Through external trafficking, Benin supplies a steady workforce to employers in other African countries, including Cote d'Ivoire, Gabon, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Togo, Congo, Cameroon, and Equatorial Guinea, and as far away as Europe.

Internal trafficking within Benin takes place primarily from rural areas to big towns. The majority of these children work as domestic laborers, street vendors, porters, construction workers, and in other trades. Of these, 43 percent are girls, a significant number become vidomègon (domestic workers) who are placed with a relative or stranger and often exploited.