Social Support Centres has started off in Hendek District of Sakarya Province, Çilimli and Akçakoca districts of Düzce in the West Black Sea Region with the participation of ILO Director for Turkey Office, Numan Özcan, Senior Expert Lütfiye Karaduman representing the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, Akçakoca District Governor Mehmet Özer, Çilimli District Governor Emin Şimşek and Hendek District Governor İdris Akbıyık. ILO and the Ministry of Labour and Social Security started the project in 2013 in Ordu Province as a pilot project and outcomes are being used for an expansion to West Black Sea Region to eliminate child labour in hazelnut sector and prepare a model for other agriculture sectors where seasonal agriculture workers are present.

Mr. Özcan and Mrs. Karaduman have attended the first day in the schools distributing t-shirts and stationeries. Çilimli Social Support Centre.

Worker families are settled wide spread among the hazelnut gardens unlike East Black Sea Region where workers settle in dedicated temporary settlement areas. Families are identified in coordination with local officials. They are being visited and informed on child labour issue and project. Project experts are conducting outreach services to identify the children and convincing families to register their children to the social support centres. Experts also collect statistical data about families. 38 students in Akçakoca, 51 students in Çilimli and 22 students in Hendek were registered on the first round of family visits. Family visits will continue to increase the number of children attending to social support centres.


Children are identified and families are being convinced to register their children at social support centres instead of taking them to hazelnut harvest. Akçakoca, Esma Hanım Village

Students are going to school with a school bus

Worker families are spread through hazelnut garden, which makes harder for children to be identified and attend to social support centres. Once they are identified they are taken every morning to centres with a school bus and brought back to their families after school.


Vata (11) and Mihriban (13) are enjoying the drive to the school. Akçakoca, Esma Hanım Village

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The overall objective of this project is to contribute elimination of worst forms of child labour (WFCL) in seasonal agriculture in line with the Turkish Government’s strategy drawn by the National Employment Strategy 2014-2023. A model has been developed through the Dutch Government and CAOBISCO* funded “Elimination of Worst Forms of Child Labour in Seasonal Commercial Agriculture in Hazelnut Harvesting in Ordu” project 2013 and 2014. The project aims contributing to the withdrawal of children from work and prevention of at-risk children to be engaged in seasonal hazelnut agriculture. It will bring added value through the replication of the strategic intervention model in the different regions and contribute to a sustainable child labour monitoring mechanism in seasonal agriculture. The project will step up efforts to attain the goal of contributing to the policy making and efficient implementation on the elimination of WFCL in seasonal agriculture.

*Contributing members of CAOBISCO to the ILO PPP Project: Ferrero, Nestlé, August Storck KG, Barry Callebaut, Alfred Ritter GmbH & Co. KG, Mars incorporated, Chocosuisse, NATRA S.A., Griesson - de Beukelaer GmbH & Co., Cémoi chocolatier, Gebr. Jancke GmbH, Neuhaus NV, Stollwerck GmbH, Koenig Backmittel GmbH