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This
project was designed to improve in-service
training and social rehabilitation programs
offered by the Working Child Program PMT)
in Quito (Ecuador), and by the QHARURU Project in La
Paz (Bolivia), to provide youth with a competitive
edge in the work market.
From 1996 to the present, 500 urban youth have
been the direct beneficiaries of this project. Market studies have been performed and databases have been
set up in La Paz and El Alto (Bolivia) and Quito and
Guayaquil (Ecuador). Micro-enterprises, and work
training programs to provide youth with information on
job opportunities have been set up. Basic educational
curricula have been consolidated and enhanced to
assure that all youth receive a solid educational
foundation. This is an extremely important part of the
program, since most child workers are unable to attend
school, or must attend night schools. Micro-enterprise
strategies have been reformed and workshops on
strategic thinking and management have been carried
out. Research on the role that employment opportunities play
as protective factors in substance abuse prevention
has been carried out.
The Executive Secretariat has documented these
experiences, to share the lessons learned with other
institutions and to secure future funding to sustain
the project.
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