Campement Paul, Cote d’Ivoire: Improving Education, Reducing Hazards
Campement Paul is a community located in the San Pedro district of Cote d’Ivoire. It was the first Ivorian community to adopt an ICI-sponsored Community Action Plan to eradicate child labor from its cocoa farms.
The community identified the lack of education provision as a key constraint. As a result, they built teacher accommodations and recruited two volunteer teachers. The ICI sponsored the construction of new classrooms and 80 pupils now can attend primary school for the first time.
Today, thanks to these efforts, the number of children using machetes has dropped by 19%, the number involved directly in spraying activities (pesticides and fertilizers) by 26%, and the number carrying heavy loads by almost 34%. It is now forbidden for younger children to be present while farms are sprayed or to help on the farm during school days. Lydie, age 13, says she now fetches water for spraying the day before it begins on her family’s farm, because her mother understands how dangerous spraying can be for her.
Sekyere Krobo, Ghana: Fostering Positive Changes
In the cocoa farming village of Sekyere Krobo, Ghana, the ICI implemented its community engagement approach in 2005. Working with their local partner, Support for Community Mobilization Program Project (SCMPP), the ICI organised community-wide meetings, focus group discussions and leadership meetings to identify key issues and help the community develop a Community Action Plan. Education was key among the important issues identified through this process.
The village used an ICI community grant to extend electricity to its primary and junior high schools to facilitate attendance in the evening. In turn, this change led to an increase in literacy rates, as well as an overall improvement in academic performance, according to the heads of the two schools.
In addition, the district assembly – after receiving the Community Action Plan – implemented several projects in the community to tackle labor issues and improve social services.