CHILD CARE CENTERS AND VOCATIONAL TRAINING CENTERS


Child Care Centres (Block Grant Project) is a joint venture of ISCOS-CISL, European Commission (EC) and SHARP.

The project of Childcare Centres is impemented in four of its operational areas namely Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Mianwali and Attock. This project is aimed to enhance the level of and interest in education; for the street working children as well as refugee children working mostly under bondage in the brick kilns.

This project aims at motivating and encouraging the street working children towards formal/informal as well as technical education on one hand and intends to develop contacts and relationships with their parents (community) inorder to encourage them towards education of their children instead of sending them to work in hazardous conditions either bondage and/or in the from of forced labour resulting in an increase in child labour in the country.

SHARP is running 4 ChildCare Centres (CCCs) and 3 Vocational Training Centres (VTCs). The childcare centres are located in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Attock and Mianwali (one in each city). Each childcare centre has two shifts: morning and evening. Besides this, three Vocational Training Centres are operating in Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Attock (one in each city). According to our aims, the centres are:

* Initially reducing, contributing to the elimination of child labour from the counrty

* Workers' liasion offices coordinating at district level

* An agent in increasing the literacy level or rate of literacy in Pakistan

* Serving as a proper community centre, where people are coming and sharing their problems, experiences and other social issues etc.

VOCATIONAL TRAINING CENTERS/INDUSTRIAL HOME

Women covered more than the half of the population of Pakistan and dominant professions among the women and children are brick kiln; agriculture and hazardous labor. Most surprising is that the females are doing labor in informal sector without receiving any wage and reward. Women often seek additional training for the purpose of income generating that’s why they are living their lives under the poverty lines and their children are also the sufferer of poverty. The severe economic pressures on females are a major constraint to improving their health and sending their children to school.

SHARP started a project for women empowerment in the year 2004 with the help and generous support of Islamic Development Bank and initially established an Industrial Home at Village Shakrial, Islamabad with 25 students. The community warmly responded the initiative and at stage organization had to regret new incumbents. After a year the center was run by the organization itself from its own resources. In the year 2006 ISCOS-CISL-EC adopted the project, which is not only successively organizing formal and informal education to the endowing the females of the selected localities with vocational training but it has been expanded into three branches with 250 capacity. Further it is not only providing the regular course on of industrial home but also cooking and beautician courses added in the centers with other activities.

SHARP is contributing to sustainable development through these programs aims to empower the females through social mobilization and vocational training. Hundreds of the female students who completed their training are now running their own centers and providing a support to their families. A large number of earthquake-affected women were also been admitted in the center. So far, around 400 women have attended the center to upgrade their sewing and tailoring skills, enabling them to contribute in their family income.

SHARP is presently managing three Industrial Homes at Shakrial, Alipur (Islamabad) and Attock with two shift programs.

CHILD CARE CENTER/VTC DATABASE

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