August 13 2001, ILO, Guatemala and IPEC launch project on fireworks industry
Introduction
During 1999, the Government of Guatemala's Ministry of Labour, IPEC and six national organizations, including non-governmental and community-based organizations and employers' and workers' organizations, implemented a project aimed at preventing approximately 2,500 children from entering work in the fireworks industry while withdrawing some 2,200 child workers in the same sector in two municipalities in the vicinity of the capital, Guatemala City.

Child employment in the fireworks industry is particularly hazardous as the children are involved in every step of the production cycle, including mixing gunpowder and cutting firecracker tubes with machetes. In addition, they are exposed to chemicals without adequate protection and work long hours in a totally unsuitable working environment.

The Government of Guatemala signed a Memorandum of Understanding with IPEC in 1996 making the Programme fully operational in the country. IPEC subsequently carried out a survey of the fireworks industry, which was revealed to be poorly regulated and in which entire families worked, using their own children to generate income but depriving them of education. The two municipalities, San Juan Sacatepéquez and San Raymundo, were selected because of the high number of child workers identified in the study.

Project Objectives
The project will:
Identify working children.
Set up rehabilitation programmes, combining formal and non-formal education, health care and income generating activities.
Encourage families to withdraw children and place them in rehabilitation/education centres.
Strengthen law enforcement.
Create awareness.
Establish community group watch as a monitoring mechanism.
Promote employer action.
Establish an independent monitoring component.

Time Line
The project will run for two years. The first year will involve direct action programmes in the two municipalities and studies on other communities. Programmes will be developed for other firework-producing communities and capacities for implementation will be established.

The second year will see activities completed in the two municipalities and other projects started up in other communities. Sustainability will be built in from the outset.

An independent evaluation will be carried out by international experts at the end of the project. One key aim is to make the project replicable.

The Overall Problem
In Guatemala, more than 500,000 children between seven and 15 years old work; this represents 12 per cent of the total economically active population.

Major obstacles to the campaign against child labour in the country are the general attitude of society towards child labour and the traditional practice of engaging children in work. The high level of poverty and unemployment also has to be taken into account when making interventions, as these are the main factors which give rise to child labour. The fact that an age for completion of compulsory education has not been set, while a minimum working age has, is a matter of continuing concern.

Although there is increased response to child labour issues, especially from the Government, there is a long way to go. Due to the high rate of school drop-out, considerable attention must be focused on education. Alternative forms of education, bi-lingual education for indigenous children, content of school curricula, and vocational training all have to be taken into consideration. The active involvement of the Government, workers' and employers' organizations, NGOs and communities will be essential to the ultimate success of the project. However, given the lack of experience and understanding of the complexity of the child labour problem by institutions working with children's rights, identifying implementing partners and building their capacities will be one of IPEC's priority areas during the course of the programme. Action programmes aimed at eliminating child labour and assisting working children in stone quarries, and prostitution are also planned. Integration of a child labour module in the Household Survey and the elaboration of indicators for monitoring and evaluating child labour programmes will also be considered.

Other Guatemalan Activities
In Guatemala, the Peruvian NGO Fe y Alegria works in five districts with indigenous groups in 184 urban communities, covering 6,200 families, running mainly educational programmes as well as skills training. Fe y Alegria gives priority to practical life skills and emphasises the development of a work ethic and community-based education.

Central American Participation
Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama are IPEC-participating nations in Central America.

El Salvador also experiences problems with children working in the fireworks-production sector, but is not yet an IPEC-partner.