Vocational training helps children escape factory work

A Plan project in Cairo is working with local Community Development Associations to help working children learn vocational skills and escape harsh labor conditions.

Small brick buildings cluster haphazardly around an ancient ruin in an informal settlement with little running water or proper sewerage. Most families here cannot afford to send all their children to school and rely on them to work to supplement the household income.

In addition to a nursery for working mothers from low-income families, Plan’s project in this area provides numeracy, literacy and vocational training classes for working girls and boys. These children often work long hours in harsh conditions in factories making sweets, plastics or car parts.

The classes, held on weekends, enable the girls and boys to learn reading and writing skills as well as crafts like making tablecloths for sale at local markets. These skills are aimed at helping these children make the shift to less harmful labor.

One of the girls enrolled in the classes, 11-year-old Astra, said: “I used to work in a stainless steel factory making teapots. I used to work from 8 in the morning to 11 at night and not get home before midnight. The owner of the factory also used to treat us very bad."

“I used to earn about E£30 (30 Egyptian pounds) a week. I would take what I needed for my expenses and then give the rest of the money to my family. Nowadays I take part in the project and I sell handicrafts to get an income. I am much happier now.”

The project has also established Community Development Associations who take up specific issues amongst target groups - the girls and boys themselves, their parents and factory owners - to raise awareness of child rights, including their rights to an education and play as well as safe working conditions. The project has been working with the government to provide services and support for these communities.

Neyama, 14 years old, said: “This is a good project – I have learnt a lot of good things. I know the importance of education now. I dropped out of school to work, but I made sure that I carried on working at home and sat my exams.”

When asked what she wished for, Neyama said: “I wish to stop working and return to school. And I want to be an engineer.”

Learn more about Plan's work in Egypt.