Cordillera Administrative Region- The Department of Social Welfare and Development here continues to promote child rights through its Strategic Helpdesks for Information, Education, Livelihood and other Developmental Interventions (SHIELD) against Child Labor Program.
The SHIELD against Child Labor Program aims to strengthen efforts at the community level through the establishment of helpdesks and local registry on child labor, and convergence of support services intended to assist children engaged in labor.
“We are implementing the SHIELD program with our partner local government units with the goal of eliminating child labor in our communities”, DSWD FO CAR Regional Director Leo L. Quintilla said.
SHIELD program is comprised of three components including the development of Child Labor Local Registry (CLLR) which serves as an identification tool of child laborers and can be utilized as a referral and monitoring mechanism. It also includes the establishment of Barangay Help Desk on Child Labor which aims to provide a multi-layer and immediate intervention at the community level. The program also involves a strengthened organizing, advocacy, and capability-building strategies to increase awareness and capacities in relation to addressing child labor concerns.
As of 30 June 2023, DSWD’s SHIELD Program was able to provide cash assistance to 59 beneficiaries amounting to a total of PhP 177,000.00.
“The cash assistance provided to our beneficiaries should be used for the educational needs of our youth beneficiaries. This helps us ensure that we keep our children in school instead of them doing livelihood activities”, Director Quintilla added.
The SHIELD Program aims to help children experiencing worst forms of child labor including all forms of slavery, prostitution, pornography, illegal activities, and working in hazardous circumstances which are harmful to the health, safety, or morals of the children. On one hand, children are allowed to work under circumstances as allowed by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE). Concerns on child labor may also be reported to the said agency. # DSWD FIELD OFFICE CAR, SOCIAL MARKETING UNIT, NERIZZA FAYE G. VILLANUEVA-TRINIDAD
