Solidar Switzerland, with the assistance of implementing partners piloted an “intervention to counter child labour in one slum of Lahore”, Punjab, aimed to reduce child labour and to initiate a model of community-based transition from child labour to decent work and serve as a potential model to replicate in collaboration with the government. The following four expected outcomes of the project were envisaged: a) The rights of child labourers are recognized and better protected by community members; b) Child labourers are better protected through services offered by partners; c) A referral mechanism is established between state and non-state actors to contribute to countering child labour through education; and d) A documented pilot initiative to counter child labour in a slum in Lahore is available for capitalization. The initiative focused on engaging and empowering communities, proposing transitional structures (Non-Formal Education (NFE) centers) that would facilitate linkages and interactions for a collective behavioral improvement among state and non-state actors. The project also intended to set up a referral mechanism to counter child labour. The intervention was based on two main axes: workers’ rights and child protection.
FAME conducted the study to: a) Evaluate the entire project in terms of effectiveness, relevance, efficiency, sustainability, and impact, with a strong focus on assessing the results at the outcome and project goals levels; b) Generate key lessons and identify promising practices for learning; and c) Identify areas for continued advocacy and intervention, for countering child labour. The main objective of the end-of-project evaluation was to asses to the extent project achieved its overall goal and expected outcomes as stated in the logical framework.