Venezuela
The Proniño program started in Venezuela in 2002, growing from 346 beneficiaries in 2005, 1,000 in 2006, 5,560 in 2007 and a goal of 10,000 children and teenagers at work or at risk of imminently joining the labour market for 2008.
The main objectives of the Proniño program have been to encourage children to stay in school, to provide them with the support necessary to make good progress in their educational process, and to provide them with worthy development opportunities, at the same time strengthening their family and community environment.
This work is carried out through various non governmental organisations: the Asociación Civil Protección Integral a la Infancia y la Familia (PROINFA), the Asociación Civil Mi Casita Azul and la Universidad Católica Andrés Bello (UCAB).
Beneficiaries and their families come from the most underprivileged social and economic strata, where the breadwinner is normally a single mother who works in the informal sector of the economy and with an income that is insufficient to maintain the nuclear family, causing minors to go to work.
This precarious family existence, combined with an educational system which does not allow the poorest to acquire the skills and abilities necessary to successfully complete at least the mandatory education, is the backdrop against which Venezuelan children and teenagers live, both those working and in risk situations, some of them without schooling, and these the very people that require the protection and attention of the program.
Children registered with Proniño receive support in paying for matriculation, transport, school materials and uniforms, as well as primary and preventive health care, educational support and psychological care, training in life skills and cultural, sporting and recreational alternatives.
Parents and guardians, for their part, have their awareness raised about the issue of child labour through meetings, forums and workshops on rights and the importance of staying in school to improve living conditions and those of their nuclear family, requiring them to commit to participating and collaborating with the program.
Schools in turn receive support in terms of infrastructure and resources, and teachers are trained to encourage better social integration and offer guidelines on situations that affect or could affect children at work or at risk.
In terms of educational quality, this period has seen the consolidation of a partnership with the schools involved in the program to achieve its goals, and the three executor bodies of the program paid special emphasis to awareness raising activities (meetings and workshops) aimed at management and teaching staff on the importance of developing effective strategies to guarantee that children and adolescents stay in school.
Likewise, and for the effective use and application of Information and Communication Technologies as a tool to improve the quality of educational processes in Proniño schools, a diagnosis was carried out providing information relevant to achieving the optimum integration of ITC as a tool to reduce child labour and improve educational achievements.
Based on the results of this diagnosis, a plan was drawn up for 2008, having the objective of improving education quality and innovation in Proniño educational centres through knowledge and use of the Internet, involving the implementation of Fundación Telefónica Classrooms in Proniño developing an action-training plan for Proniño educators, and developing and disseminating the Proniño Educared Channel.
For the proper implementation of the program, participating bodies have been developing their own social support networks between various public and private players linked to the issue of child labour and protecting the rights of children and adolescents.