The PPIC-Work Approach

PPIC-Work seeks to improve the working conditions and learning opportunities of children who work in the micro and small enterprises that are clients of MFIs. Utilizing a gender-sensitive, rights-based approach PPIC-Work is able to serve the interests of large numbers of working children by working with and through self-financing microfinance institutions.

Children work to support themselves and their families and while there can be concerns about children’s work, attempting to ban them from work is generally not in their best interest and can make problems worse. Rather than preventing children from working it is preferable to help make work safe and appropriate for those children who do have to work. MFIs are well placed to help children and business owners create safer work places and ensure that children have access to formal or non formal education. By helping working children, MFIs can improve the social impact of their programming through interventions that can generally be integrated into normal lending operations and are easily sustainable.

The PPIC-Work approach emphasizes collaboration and cooperation among business owners, working children and loan officers. The positive relationship between business owners and MFI staff serves as a starting point for discussing ways of improving children’s working conditions and learning opportunities. Loan officers who have been trained in hazard assessment and mitigation are able to help business owners determine what improvements should be made first and what costs are involved. Training provided to working children on children’s rights, workplace safety and other social and technical skills helps them engage in these discussions with adults and advocate for their own rights. Once the interventions are identified, the costs of agreed solutions are incorporated into the dual purpose loan contract and funds are issued.

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Business owners and working children worked together to develop a code of conduct that sets out minimum standards for children’s work (see the Code of Conduct Guide under “manuals and Field Guides in the “microfinance and Working Children section of the website). This code of conduct is also integrated into the loan contract. Business owners take responsibility for implementing the changes and loan officers monitor children’s working conditions during their routine visits. Improvements for children usually happen incrementally over time and each new loan cycle provides an opportunity for additional improvements.