BANDA ACEH - "I am very lucky that my parents and siblings were all safe from the tsunami disaster. I couldn't go to school anymore as it was destroyed. Yet, I am so happy now being able to join the training", said one participant Halifa Annisa. "It makes me forget what had happened… Someday, I want to be a veterinarian", she adds.

Halifa was interviewed by "Smart Workers", a joint radio talk show of the ILO and the Indonesian radio station Smart FM. The talk show intends to promote the new ILO training program for youth and raise awareness of the problem of potential child exploitation in Banda Aceh after the tsunami.

The ILO training gives children practical skills which can help them find employment in non-exploitative and non-hazardous work. But the training programme also responds to concerns that children in the province could become victims of trafficking or might be employed in dangerous and unsuitable work in the reconstruction process.

With support from the ILO's Programme for the Elimination of Child Labour (ILO-IPEC), the training is being implemented by the Provincial Department of Manpower of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam through its Vocational Training Centre. Over a period of ten weeks, groups of older children receive basic training in furniture making, sewing and embroidery, or computer skills. A total of 192 children will receive training during the first phase of the project.

"We are pleased to be able to use our experience and facilities to support this training programme for young people. By investing in training and building the skills of the younger generation we are building the future of Aceh", says the head of the Provincial Manpower Office in Banda Aceh, Manan Ganto.

Meanwhile, the ILO Chief Technical Adviser for the Child Labour Project, Patrick Quinn, emphasizes that efforts to prevent child labour in Aceh, and particularly the worst forms of child labour, are a priority. "We need to ensure that children whose lives have been disrupted by the tsunami disaster have the chance of returning to school. We need to help them to avoid dropping out before completion of basic schooling", he says.

According to Quinn, many older children between the ages of 15-17 are already in the workforce. Some of these children have lost their jobs, others have seen their parents lose livelihoods. "Many of these children are in a vulnerable situation and open to exploitation. This training aims to provide older children with practical skills that can help them find employment in non-exploitative and non-hazardous work", he says. More programmes are already planned and will commence in the coming months.

In addition to providing direct services to children the ILO-IPEC team will also be working with Government, United Nations agencies and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to reinforce the message that child labour should not be used in the reconstruction process.

The new programme is part of a major ILO project to prevent child labour in Indonesia. Financed by the United States, the ILO-IPEC project aims to assist the Government's efforts to implement the National Action Plan on the elimination of the worst forms of child labour. Besides the government, employers, trade unions and NGOs are the main project partners.

Whilst Indonesia has made significant progress in increasing access to education, particularly at the elementary level, more than half the children entering school do not complete the national nine year basic education programme. Many of the children who drop out of school drift into the labour force, and are vulnerable to exploitation.

At the local level, action programmes in six provinces, now including Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam aim to withdraw children from the worst forms of child labour and prevent vulnerable children entering such employment. Sectors covered by the project are mining, deep sea fishing, footwear, children's involvement in the drugs trade, and trafficking of children.

In this context, it is important to mention that the new National Medium Term Development Plan for 2005-09 refers to the need for implementation of the National Action Plan against child labour. This is the first time that child labour has been explicitly acknowledged in the national development plan for Indonesia.

For further information, please contact Gita Lingga, ILO Jakarta Office, Tel. (+6221)391-3112, ext. 155.