A total of 700 children working in sugarcane plantations in the Province of Iloilo will avail assistance from the World Vision and ERDA Foundation's ABK3 LEAP Project ("Pag-Aaral ng Bata para sa Kinabukasan-Livelihoods, Education, Advocacy and Protection to Reduce Child Labor in Sugarcane).

In the Preliminary Baseline Result presented by Miriam Pascaran-Paulino, Monitoring & Evaluation Officer of ERDA Foundation, Inc. to Provincial Administrator Raul N. Banias with representatives from the offices of Provincial Planning and Development, Provincial Social Welfare and Development and the Department of Labor and Employment, the children to be assisted are coming from the municipalities of Anilao specifically at barangays Mostro, Poblacion and Palaypay; barangays Dela Paz and Libertad in Banate; barangays San Antonio and Vista Alegre in Barotac Viejo; barangays Alabidhan and Poblacion in Bingawan.

She said these municipalities are among the 44 prioritized municipalities nationwide to be covered for Year 1 of this project in 2012 until 2013.

Paulino added these areas were identified with high incidence of working children in the sugarcane and high percentage of households with working children in sugarcane in the past 12 months.

Record showed that in Anilao, there are 150 households identified with children working in sugarcane while Banate with 175; Barotac Viejo, 149; and Bingawan, 116.

Other municipalities that were not qualified for the year 1 will be considered as expansion areas for year 2 and year 3 include barangays Aglalana, Sto. Tomas, Cairojan and Talongonan in Passi City; barangays Sawe, San Isidro, Romblon and Navalas in Dueñas; and barangays Camire, Cubai, Garita and Bantayan in San Enrique.

Paulino said further the project aims to bring back the children in school by providing them educational assistance, school supplies, uniform and miscellaneous fees.

She said they will also give alternative livelihood for the families that will no longer require their children to work on the early age such as backyard gardening, swine raising, among others.

Paulino said the ABK 3 LEAP is the third cycle of the ABK project of World Vision together with ERDA Foundation that focuses on child labor.

She recalled that during the first and second ABK project focused on areas like scavenging, prostitution, quarrying, mining and working in firework factories. (Ian C. Espada/ Capitol News)