IIECL Completes Baseline Studies of 24 Communities in Two West African Countries

The International Initiative to End Child Labor (IIECL) staff has recently completed two baseline studies that comprised 24 communities in two countries in West Africa. The study targeted 8 communities in Cote d’Ivoire and 16 communities in Ghana. The studies were conducted to establish a baseline measurement on specific program indicators for the World Cocoa Foundation’s (WCF) Empowering Cocoa Households with Opportunities and Education Solutions (ECHOES) program.

The WCF ECHOES program represents an alliance with joint support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and multiple WCF member companies. The ECHOES program aims to strengthen cocoa-growing communities by expanding opportunities for youth and young adults through relevant education. Through functional literacy, livelihoods training, life skills training, teacher training, and curriculum development, the WCF ECHOES Alliance is working to improve access to quality and relevant education for thousands of children, youth and adults living in cocoa-farming communities in West Africa. Ultimately, the program seeks to serve as a scalable model for education in rural West Africa. ECHOES implementing partners include: Winrock International, International Foundation for Education and Self-Help, Making Cents International, World Education and Leadership Africa.

IIECL’s baseline study included both qualitative and quantitative methods. The methodology applied included a representative sample of households (including an economic status of the family), 100% sample of schools, participatory rural labor market assessment, and focus groups with community leaders, teachers, and in-school and out-of-school children and youth within each of the 24 communities. IIECL also identified and conducted the same study in two control communities for comparison of impact. The baseline reports will be released in the near future. Community profiles are under development and will be released later this summer.