1 – Framework of the survey
The CRC is the joint project of 5 national and international NGOs: Aschiana, Afghanistan Demain (AD), Children in Crisis (CIC), Enfants du Monde Droits de l'Homme (EMDH) and Terre des Hommes (Tdh), funded by the European Commission to improve living conditions of street and working children and their families with a view of reintegrating them in the mainstream society, and to advocate for the Rights of the Child.
Coordinated and administered by Tdh, the CRC has been operating since June 2003 and has been providing basic services to street and working children of Kabul city through day-care centres and outreach activities, in different districts of the city.
The objectives of this 2006-2007 programme are stated below:
Overall objective:
To protect and defend the rights of children at risk, particularly street and working children in Afghanistan
Specific objectives:
- To reintegrate disadvantaged and marginalized boys and girls into mainstream society
- To ensure the good health and well being of disadvantaged and marginalized boys and girls and families
- To strengthen the Child Rights Consortium (CRC) and establish it as a leading child rights forum in Afghanistan
- To influence the development of child protection policy in Afghanistan
2 – Objectives of the survey
At the very beginning of 2006, Tdh will extend its intervention to a new location, at the eastern border of Afghanistan with Pakistan, known as Torkham area. Torkham is not really a town but more the main commercial hub (of both legal and illegal goods) between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Cross-border traffic and smuggling at Torkham border have dramatic consequences on street and working children (very hard and harsh labour conditions for children; high number of children working there …).
This in-depth survey will aim at getting a comprehensive and in-depth picture of the situation of the street and working children in Torkham.
It will then lead to adapt, design more in detail (and modifying if necessary) the planned programme of Tdh intervention targeting the street and working children in Torkham, in line with the Child Rights Consortium objective. The programme of Street and working Children in Torkham should practically start in April 2006.
The specific objectives of the survey are:
- To evaluate precisely the number of children working in Torkham
- To obtain data about the street and working children identity (age, sex, nationality, native city…)
- To obtain detailed base-line information about the children's working pattern and working condition
- To obtain detailed base-line information about the children's daily life and daily living conditions in Torkham (including if they go to school or not, how their travel from home to Torkham…)
- To identify specific needs of these children working in Torkham
- To gather detailed base-line information about the children's home and family background (location of home, family living condition, family economic situation, educational situation…)
- To ascertain the family's view about why their children are working, what is needed for themselves and their children.
- To promote information and concern about this group of vulnerable children.
- To gather information from stakeholder (from both Afghan and Pakistani) about their view of the situation of the children working in Torkham
- To gather information from stakeholder (from both Afghan and Pakistani) about the future of Torkham border post and its potential impact on child labour
- To produce a base-line list of children working in Torkham
3 –Report
At the end of the survey should be produced a survey report in English (and also translated into Dari). It should include:
- A summary of the survey report
- An introduction (framework of the survey, background…)
- Objective of the survey
- A detailed description of the methodology
- Detailed results of the survey
- Conclusions and recommendations
Moreover, a database gathering all the information collected should be constituted and submitted to Tdh. All these information will be kept confidential.
4-Additional information
The survey will be led by Tdh in partnership with the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and Flower, a local NGO partner of Tdh on Street and Working Children programme in Peshawar.
Part of the team will have to be recruited and should pursue their work on the programme of Street and working Children in Torkham.
5 – Profile of the survey team leader
Qualifications and Experience:
- University degree in sociology, social sciences or child psychology
- Knowledge in Child Protection
- Experience of field social work in development countries
- Previous working experience with street and working children
- Previous working experience in field survey
- Previous working experience in Afghanistan, Central Asia or Indian subcontinent and/or in Muslim country will be highly appreciated.
- Fluent spoken and written English
- Knowledge in Pashto (and/or Dari / Urdu / Farsi) desirable for the fieldwork. However, a translator (English – Pashto - Dari) will be provided by Tdh throughout the survey.
Skills:
- Autonomy and Organisation
- Good interpersonal, management and leadership skills as team leader and team member
- Strong capacity of analysis
- Strong sensitivity to child protection issues
- Very good negotiation capacity
- Good writing/ reporting skills
- Great capacity to adapt to Afghanistan cultural, political and religious context
Duty Station:
The survey will be implemented in Torkham and its surrounding. However, there will not be fixed duty station. The survey team leader will share its time between Kabul, Torkham, Peshawar and Jalalabad.
