While ICI does not run a sponsorship programme for individual children we do have a “micro-projects” fund that we use to match community raised resources for improvements in schools, supply of education materials, and other initiatives that communities take to prevent child labour.
 
Because of our active programme on the ground 100% of the money received into the micro-projects fund is applied at community level. Typically communities will plan a series of relevant activities after a process of sensitization and awareness rising. The emphasis is for community members to decide for themselves what actions to take to tackle child labor. Some of the activities are purely internal to the community, such as issuing local by-laws, or getting teachers appointed.
 
In the spirit of communities taking the lead role, owning the change and developing sustainable solutions, ICI requires communities to make a clear and real commitment to their own initiatives. So for example in the case of the need to rehabilitate school facilities, the community might provide the labor, local building blocks and poles. This would reflect their contribution to such a project. However additional funds might be needed to purchase roof sheets, acquire school learning materials, etc. This is where the micro project is needed. 
 
Micro projects are assessed and managed by partners approved by the ICI. These partners are responsible for the proper implementation and management of the award (usually less than 5000 USD).

Today, 56 micro-projects have already been financed, mainly to support education provision. These initiatives benefited to more than 4,000 children, most of them were able to attend school and get a quality education, sometimes for the first time in their lives.

Interested? Please visit the Support us page!