Awareness-raising and Local Stakeholder Mobilization about Social Impact of Migration on Children from Migrant Households in Khatlon Oblast, Tajikistan

Tajikistan’s economy primarily depends on labour migration. Remittances from Tajik citizens working in Russia and other neighbouring countries help to sustain the Tajik economy and provide a means of livelihood for local households. Research on Tajikistan’s social-economic situation suggests that the country’s dependence on revenues from migration is likely to remain stable or even increase in the future. The effect of labour migration on the local population, however, raises social concerns beyond the economic calculations of economic migration’s benefits. IOM’s 2009 report on the abandoned wives of migrant workers identified the increasing social costs incurred by migrant workers’ families, particularly in relation to their children. Specifically, the study identified heightened dropout rates amongst migrant families’ children, as well as higher rates of depression, trauma, and abuse. The school to work transition for such children becomes particularly challenging. The awareness of the acutely negative social impacts from migration on families and children left behind in Tajikistan is as of yet insufficient, however. The lack of widespread awareness has limited the development of institutional practices that could address these issues in a consistent and comprehensive manner at both central and local levels. Therefore, this project sets itself the objective of increasing awareness about the social impact of migration in Tajikistan on the children left behind, as well as mobilizing and empowering local stakeholders to address dropout rates and school to work transition of migrants’ children.

To reach this objective, IOM will endeavour to: 1) Develop a network of governmental and non-governmental organizations, teachers, religious leaders, and diaspora members with the purpose of facilitating efforts to safeguard children’s right to education; 2) Increase network capacity by launching pilot activities related to counselling and support for children and their parents in pursuing education; 3) Increase awareness about the value of education for the country at large.

The activities required to achieve these outcomes will include: 1.1.) Identifying and engaging with government stakeholders to establish a working group to develop a local strategy for the Rasht Valley to address the drop-out rate amongst children of migrants; 1.2.) Developing a methodology for counselling and engaging with families and children at risk of drop-out; 1.3.) Identifying and training female leaders in the targeted districts and bringing them together in a network to promote education on the district, community, and individual levels; 2.1.) Identifying children from vulnerable migrant households at risk of dropping out from school and providing academic and extracurricular support; 2.2.) Setting up summer activities led by diaspora members for children from migrant families; 2.3.) Piloting a vocational training course (school to work transition scheme) at a high school that will replicate the Soviet model of in-school professional training and provide applicable job skills to students; 3.1.) Launching a massive advocacy and information campaign through the use of radio and TV on importance of education as a route to healthy and more educated society; 3.2.) Including local religious leaders in the advocacy campaign and encouraging their participation; 3.3.) Conducting a final forum including representatives from the working group, professional network and relevant government and non-government actors to present preliminary results and receive inputs on the long-term implementation of the strategy.