- ENDA TM Jeunesse Action 54 rue Carnot, Dakar, Sénégal
Since 1994, the AMWCY has federated 4,693 local associations of working children in 28 African countries, representing 1,021,065 children and young people – giving them a voice and catalyzing their power to act.
To inform, educate, empower, protect and support vulnerable children, especially workers and young people, so that they can realize their dreams in Africa. To make the voice of working children and young people heard by authorities and decision-makers in order to promote and respect their rights.
All African children must be born and grow up in good conditions and enjoy their full right to fulfillment, while being able to help their communities develop harmoniously in peace and in a favorable environment.
Since 1994, 28 countries.
Over 1 million of children.
As part of the global effort to combat child labor, many efforts are being made and many ideas put forward by various players in public life and in national and international civil society.
It all began with listening activities for so-called “street children” and a literacy project for them in the cities of Dakar, Ziguinchor in Senegal and Bamako in Mali, developed by ENDA.
Since 1991, the alternative training program has complemented the literacy program already underway, essentially based on learning a trade according to the participant’s expectations.
Once the tools were in place and the movement had taken off, the idea of ENDA coordinating the project to initiate a federative movement of all African working children and young people was born.
These years will then be devoted to setting up national coordinating bodies to supervise grassroots groups throughout the country, and to overseeing IGAs as they make the transition to other, less hazardous types of work carried out by children and young people.
The AMWCY’s big dream is to become totally autonomous, so that it fully reflects the will of its founding fathers.
The AMWCY is currently present in 28 African countries, mainly in West Africa, and has some 270,955 active members. Members are first organized into grassroots groups, according to their location or vocation, and work together on issues that concern them and the children and young people around them. The groups are then organized into regional and national associations. Every three years, a general assembly brings together representatives of the associations in each country. These meetings are an opportunity for members to take stock of their activities and define the direction for the coming years.
The majority of AMWCY members are children under 18, and more than half are girls. To ensure that the movement remains child-led, all new members must be under 18, and when a member reaches the age of 24, they must step down from leadership positions.
We work to promote children’s voice and leadership, and to protect the rights of millions of children and young people across Africa.