Destroying old myths while building development : lessons from the Sisal Region

Abstract

In 1996, the Brazilian Government implemented the Child Labor Eradication Program - PETI, a conditional cash transfer program aimed at reducing child labor by paying a stipend to families who send their working children to an extended day program. After 12 years, PETI has had its most successful implementation in a poor semi-arid region of Brazil, the Sisal Region. The existence of an associational structure in which the federal, state and local government joined efforts with local civil society institutions, mainly a NGO and local rural labor unions, enabled each institution to contribute to the project in the best way possible. As a result the Sisal Region considerably reduced child labor, provided high quality extended day programs and assisted the families involved in PETI with projects aimed at their economic independence.