Deadline: 23-Aug-21
The U.S. Embassy Gaborone announces an open competition for organizations to submit applications to carry out a program to strengthen children’s rights in Botswana. The program would raise awareness of child labor, particularly in agriculture, empower civil society and local leaders to contribute to solutions, and ensure the government enforces laws to protect children.
Program Objectives
Child labor exists in Botswana, particularly in the commercial agriculture and cattle farming sector, but the scale of the problem is largely unknown, and enforcement of Botswana’s existing laws on child labor is minimal. A lack of research and inconsistences in knowledge about child labor likely contribute to these problems thus driving conceptions that child labor is isolated and that children’s work is mostly harmless. There is also little public awareness of the issue. Many child workers are from the San ethnic group, a minority population that has faced considerable discrimination on land rights, education, and language. The Government of Botswana has little capacity to enforce labor laws due to insufficient data, too few inspectors, and poor access to agricultural sites.
- Length of performance period: 18 months
- Number of awards anticipated: 1 award
- Award amounts: awards will not exceed $300,000
- Total available funding: $300,000
- Type of Funding: FY20/21 Economic Support Funds under the Foreign Assistance Act
- Anticipated program start date: January 1, 2022
Priority Region: Botswana
Activities
- Research: A study of child labor to identify trends, current numbers and demographics of victims, and possible tactics to counter the problem.
- Outreach: Engage with stakeholders in agricultural regions, including the cattle farming areas of Ghanzi and Tsabong, to ensure they are aware of child labor regulations, can identify child labor, know their responsibilities under the law and the legal ramifications of violating the laws, and are able to play a productive part in solutions.
- Public Awareness: The project will fund media campaigns including radio, local television, and social media in farming areas to raise awareness of what child labor looks like, its deleterious effects on children and their rights, and how to report it.
- Victim Assistance: Botswana’s system of child victim assistance, including for issues such as Gender Based Violence and Trafficking in Persons (TIP), is highly dependent on a loose network of poorly funded NGOs and victim assistance groups.
- Children engaged in child labor and their parents
- Government of Botswana labor inspectors and labor officials
- Botswana’s Parliament and political leadership
- The general public, particularly those in cattle and agricultural regions
- Social services organizations and shelters
- Indigenous groups in Botswana.
- The media
Eligibility Criteria
- Not-for-profit organizations, including think tanks and civil society/non-governmental organizations
- Public and private educational institutions
- Individuals
- Public International Organizations
For more information, visit https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=334688
