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TFG / West Africa
TFG / WEST AFRICA: CAMEROON
In 2005, The Future Group completed an exploratory assessment mission with Director & Head of Africa Initiatives Treva
Braun. Reporting from the field, she identified an environment which was highly succeptible to human trafficking and
began preparations to assemble a full scale deployment. In 2006, Treva led Jessica Singer and Meera Bai in the first
research and pilot phases of The Future Group's Cameroon counter-trafficking initiatives.
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A network for the fight against exploitative child domestic
labour in Cameroon
Réseau de lutte contre l’exploitation du travail domestique des enfants au Cameroun
A project of
The
Future Group
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Made possible with sincerest thanks to:
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The Future Group in Cameroon
The Future Group’s counter-trafficking initiative in Cameroon
began with an exploratory mission in June 2005, during which information was gathered on the issue of child trafficking in
Cameroon, including the current realities
of the problem and the efforts being made by governmental and non-governmental actors to combat it. This mission made it apparent to TFG that child trafficking is a problem of large scale in Cameroon and that there was a need for much work to be done
in efforts to curb the phenomenon. Our findings led us to plan and launch a full
counter-trafficking initiative in Cameroon.
The first research and pilot phases of TFG’s counter-trafficking project took place over the course of March,
April, and May of this year, 2006. The purpose of this deployment was firstly
to conduct further research into the realities of child trafficking and establish partnerships with local organizations, and
secondly to design a pilot project consisting of three program elements. TFG
strived to tailor programs specific to the particular needs of victims and of local actors involved in the fight against child
trafficking. Throughout our project design and implementation, we have worked in close collaboration with local organizations.
From the research conducted throughout this deployment, the TFG team discovered that not only is child trafficking
a widespread problem in Cameroon, but
the trafficking of children for domestic employment is particularly prevalent and largely unaddressed. There is an overall
lack of awareness about the exploitation and trafficking of child domestic workers. As a result of the long-standing tradition
of ‘placement’ in Cameroon,
the evolving practice of employing children for domestic labour is typically accepted as normal. As this arrangement has become
largely commercial in nature, without the best interests of the child as the driving force, the exploitation of these children
is widespread. Further, unlike many other workers such as those on plantations or in other industrial settings, child domestic
workers are hidden in the private homes of individuals and are therefore particularly vulnerable to abuse and exploitation.
Adding to this is the complete absence of any regulatory framework in Cameroon
for child domestic labour.
Thus, after much discussion and many meetings with the various actors involved in the fight against child trafficking,
and with the guidance of the International Labour Organization, TFG decided to focus its efforts on combating the exploitation
and trafficking of child domestic workers.
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| Association Enfants Jeunes et Avenir |
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| United Action for Children |
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| Africa Women's Association |
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| Serve the Orphans Foundation |
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Project Overview
The project, named “CDWatch”, has created, facilitated, trained and supported a local
communication and action network on the issue of child domestic workers. The CDWatch founding members are TFG and four local
partners – Association Enfants Jeunes et Avenir (Yaounde), African Women’s Association (Yaounde), Serve
the Orphans Foundation (Yaounde and Ndu, NWP) and United Action
for Children (Buea, SWP). The principal aim of the network throughout the pilot stage has been to prevent the trafficking
and exploitation of child domestic workers through awareness-raising sensitization, health sector training to identify and
assist victims, and simple, logical child monitoring actions taken at the community-level. Thus, the three program components
of this pilot initiative are as follows:
- Awareness-Raising
Education
Education of children and adults in both rural and urban areas about the issue of trafficking for
child domestic labour, the relevant law (including the new law passed 29 December 2005), the role of society in protecting
children from domestic labour exploitation, and current avenues for victim assistance.
- Health Care
Sector Training
A pilot level training program for healthcare workers was developed and delivered in several hospitals
in Yaoundé.
Rural-urban networks, comprised of various actors at the organizational and community levels, were
formed and trained for the purpose of creating a network of actors who can survey and monitor the movement of child domestic
workers from rural to urban areas, to ensure they are not being trafficked or exploited.
All of these projects were carried out in full collaboration with our local partners and with the guidance and support
of the International Labor Organization. The implementation phase of the pilot programs had a duration of one month, during
May 2006.
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Pilot Program 1: Education of Rural and
Urban Populations
Objectives
The education programme was designed to create awareness among and collect research data from rural and urban communities
on CDWs as a particular trafficking and child rights issue in Cameroon, with a view to increasing public knowledge about the
problems, reducing the numbers of children falling prey to exploitative domestic labour, improving the working conditions
of those children who are sent to work as CDWs, and informing affected communities about existing avenues for victim assistance.
In order to achieve these objectives and ensure longer-term sustainability, TFG trained and facilitated the staff of our local
partners in the Northwest Province (NWP), Southwest Province (SWP), and Yaoundé thereby creating new or heightened counter-trafficking
capacity in some of the most affected areas.
Local Representatives
UAC (United Action for Children)
Mr. OROCK- Project Coordinator
Buea, SWP
AWA (Africa Women’s Association)
Mme. MANGA-President
Yaoundé
ASSEJA (Association Enfants Jeunes et Avenir)
M. ZINGUI, Secretary General
Yaoundé
SOF (Serve the Orphans Foundation)
Dr. NFOR – President
Yaoundé and Ndu, NWP
Program Accomplishments
1. A total of 14 awarness-raising sessions were held, as follows:
- 1 session with leaders of various associations in Yaoundé
(with the assistance of AWA and ASSEJA)
- 5 sessions with at-risk children in primary and secondary
schools: 3 in the environs of Buea, SWP and 2 in Njimnkang, NWP (with the assistance of SOF in the NWP and UAC in the SWP)
- 8 sessions with rural adults: 2 in the environs of Buea,
SWP and 6 in Njimnkang, NWP (with SOF in NWP and UAC in SWP)
2. A total of about 350 adults and 400 children were educated on the issue of trafficking for domestic labour exploitation
3. A 30-page education training manual with supporting documents was developed in both English and French and distributed
to all CDWatch founding members
4. Staff and volunteers from AWA, ASSEJA, SOF and UAC were trained and facilitated on delivering education sessions,
thus adding capacity to each of the organizations listed
Future Possibilities
The lack of awareness surrounding the issues of child domestic workers is one of the biggest reasons why exploitation
of child domestic labour continues, often unnoticed. The education sessions were highly successful; the message was well-received
and understood and everyone from the youngest child to the oldest adult was deeply concerned by the information TFG and the
local partners shared with them during the sessions. The success of this program is encouraging, and it is TFG’s hope
to eventually see the expansion of this education to all corners of Cameroon.
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| Residential Road in Buea |
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Pilot Program 2: Health Care Sector Training
Objectives
It was determined that practically, the health care sector training pilot project was designed to have a threefold
purpose. The first purpose was to train 100 health care workers in the identification and assistance of victims of child trafficking,
specifically victims of child domestic labour exploitation. The second purpose was to build capacity in local associations
in trafficking-related issues, and in training presenters on how to conduct training sessions on trafficking-related issues.
The final purpose was to collect research data for further phases through the use of questionnaires, and for the International
Labour Organization to incorporate into their overall training sessions of a larger network of civil service members, including
future training of the health care.
Local Representatives
ASSEJA
Thierry Fegue
Program Accomplishments
1. 5 training sessions were conducted with a total of approximately
100 doctors, nurses, social workers, and administrative staff in 3 Yaoundé hospitals. Training was conducted on the identification
and assistance of victims of child trafficking.
2. A local Cameroonian association was trained in the subject
of child domestic labour exploitation and in the presentation of health care sector training sessions.
3. Questionnaires were distributed and collected to health
care workers at education sessions, compiling qualitative and quantitative research information on the level of awareness
of health care workers on human trafficking and child domestic labour exploitation issues in Cameroon.
Future Possibilities
Training of the health care sector on trafficking and child domestic labour exploitation is critical in Cameroon, since health care workers are among the key members
of society well positioned to identify and assist victims. The ILO is currently preparing to conduct training of various other
governmental sectors in the area of child trafficking. The results of this pilot project will aid in their development of
training modules and will allow for a smooth integration of the health care sector into the overall training strategy.
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| Street Vendors |
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Pilot Program 3: Rural-Urban Network
Objectives
Child domestic workers, often recruited from rural villages to work in urban areas, can easily slip through the cracks
of surveillance once they have left the village. The lack or insufficiency of systems on the rural side for establishing recruitment
conditions for their children and tracking the movement of CDWs means children are often placed in a vulnerable situation.
In the case of those children recruited to be domestics who become entrapped in a situation of exploitation in the receiving
household, be it either sexual or labor exploitation (or both), the lack of surveillance on the urban side and limited communication
with their village of origin often means that the exploitation continues unnoticed.
With a system of monitoring, rural and urban centers are brought together in a network which ensures that recruitment
practices are responsible and any child recruited for domestic work in a rural area is accounted for in the urban center to
which he/she is brought. On the rural side, a Safe Community Committee develops recruitment conditions for the village children
which are drawn from international and national legislation as well as a Code of Conduct for child domestics currently referred
to by many West African nations. The committee will track each child recruited for domestic work in the village via an easy-to-use
system of data collection. The rural NGO partner is then responsible for relaying the data to the urban network. On the urban
side, monitoring occurs through a system of regular “check-ups” conducted by intermediary NGOs and volunteers.
The system of surveillance, which works on both the rural and urban sides, is a community-level initiative facilitated by
the help of an NGO partner(s) and, when action to withdraw a victim needs to be taken, authorities and other actors such as
the Ministry of Social Affairs, INTERPOL, and the ILO.
The ultimate objective of such a system is to be able to keep track of children recruited for domestic work—from their village of origin to the household in which they are placed—in order to
ensure that the working standards and well-being of a child who is of legal age to work are being respected. If the child
is found or suspected to be in a situation of exploitation, those responsible for the monitoring on the urban side can alert
the appropriate authorities in the Chain of Intervention who can withdraw the child and take any other appropriate action.
Local Representatives
AWA (Africa Women’s Association)
Mme. MANGA-President
Yaoundé
ASSEJA (Association Enfants Jeunes et Avenir)
M. ZINGUI - Secretary General
Yaoundé
SOF (Serve the Orphans Foundation)
Dr. NFOR – President
Yaoundé and Ndu, NWP
Program Accomplishments
1. An urban team in Yaoundé was formed and trained on the
issues of child trafficking with a specific focus on the trafficking and exploitation of child domestic workers. The team
consists of AWA, ASSEJA, SOF, and TFG.
2. A pilot Safe Community Committee (the “SCC”)
was trained and formed in the village of Njimnkang, Ndu Subdivision, Northwest Province. The committee, comprised
of 9 members from the village, including pastors, teachers, and returned child domestic workers, was trained on the issues
of child trafficking with a specific focus on the trafficking and exploitation of child domestic workers, which is a large-scale
problem in the Northwest Province. The SCC is the rural counterpart to the urban team.
3. A liaison organization for the rural-urban network was
identified and trained. SOF, whose main office is located in Ndu, will serve as the liaison of information between the respective
rural and urban sides of the pilot network. Volunteers from SOF will facilitate the SCC meetings and the transfer of information.
4. All members of the rural-urban networks were furnished
with identification and tracking documents to monitor not only the movement but the well-being of any child who leaves the
rural village of Njimnkang
for domestic work in urban areas, such as Yaoundé.
Future Possibilities
The formation of both the rural and urban side of the network was incredibly successful and TFG hopes to see a continued
collaboration in the future. The foundation has been laid for an expansion of the rural-urban network to extend to include
many other actors and locations. The networks have opened up the lines of communication between rural and urban areas so that
children who take work as domestics in urban areas can be protected from exploitative labor situations in the future. It is,
however, important for relevant authorities to be available to assist the network members in functions that are beyond their
capacities, such as the withdrawal of child trafficking and exploitation victims, if the case so arrives. INTERPOL, with its
lawful ability to assist in such matters, is an essential partner in the Chain of Intervention and preliminary arrangements
have been made with them to facilitate the pilot program. In order to curb the problem of child domestic exploitation and
child trafficking, a network of actors in the Chain of Intervention must be communicating and working in harmony.
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| Buea at the base of Mt. Cameroon |
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The Future of CDWatch
The trafficking and exploitation of child domestic workers is a serious reality in Cameroon.
It is, however, an area in which much research and work has yet to been done. The problem is not a new one, but the efforts
to combat it are. The work that TFG has done in collaboration with local partners is a pioneering effort and is an initiative
with exceptional future potential.
The long-term success of the initiative relies on the contribution of many actors, and TFG hopes to continue working
with all relevant stakeholders to ensure the ongoing success, sustainability and expansion of the CDWatch program.
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