Reports & Publications

Child-led Participatory Action Research (2018)

PURPOSE OF CHILD LED PARTICIPATORY ACTION RESEARCH (CLPAR)

• To conduct a research which is led by the children in order to assess problems and issues facing by children in the region,
• To advocate the government officials and other responsible people to fulfill the rights
based on findings from the research, and
• To use these findings in Child Rights awareness raising activities, trainings, events and
also in Child Rights promoting advocacy and campaigns.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The first stage of the research was a series of discussion with stakeholders from project areas to choose the main scope of the research. 396 participants including children took part in the discussions: 174 children from five villages (two villages from Magway Township and three village from Pakokku Township), 93 parents and guardians and 129 people from village administration and community-based organizations.

In the discussions, the participants mentioned seven types of children who are losing their rights namely; (1) Working Children, (2) Out-of-school Children, (3) Children who are experiencing discrimination, (4) Children who are beaten by their parents or by their teachers, (5) Children who are bullied, (6) Neglected Children, and (7) the Orphans. They confirmed that the Working Children requires a change for their lives among seven types and chose that title to do research.

The main reasons why children are working constitutes financial problems of their families and lack of accessibility to upper secondary education (high school). Children earn money to pay the debt of parents, and to get the extra income for family. Some children leave schools not because they do not want to study but because the high schools are not located in their villages. They have to go to another town or village to continue their study.

According to the findings from the research on working children, most of the boys work as waiters at restaurants, inns and teashops. Some are masons, causal labors, general labors in farms, brick carriers at construction sites and some work at workshops. Most working girls are sellers, costermongers, general labors in farms and at fried bean factory.