Social Workers and Psychologist Salaries for Child Labourers

Project Summary

Child labour is a major barrier to education for disadvantaged children, especially in large cities, where poverty, lack of support, and vulnerability keep them trapped in a cycle of hardship. To effectively address this, professional support is essential. The Yarra Foundation has partnered with the Kiana Institute in Karaj—an organization dedicated to empowering child labourers and street children—to fund mobile classrooms and the salaries of two social workers and one psychologist. These professionals support and guide volunteers, helping child labourers stay connected to education through tailored interventions. This essential support costs just $5 per child per month.

The table below provides a summary of this project:

Project Background and Full Description:

The issue of child labour is one of the most serious challenges facing disadvantaged children, particularly in large urban areas. These challenges often prevent children from continuing their education and trap them in a cycle of poverty. There are many reasons why children drop out of school, including child labour itself, economic and cultural poverty, being overage, and other forms of vulnerability. Without addressing these underlying issues, it's not possible to reintegrate these children into the education system.

On the other hand, addressing the issue of child labour requires specialized and professional work. This is why the presence of trained psychologists and social workers who have experience dealing with these challenges is critical—not only for bringing children back into education but also for keeping them in school.

One of the organizations that the Yarra Foundation closely collaborates with in the field of child labour is the Kiana Institute. Since 2003, Kiana has been active in the city of Karaj, focusing on education and the empowerment of child labourers and street children. One of Kiana’s key objectives is to reintegrate children deprived of education into the formal schooling system.

To ensure that their interventions in the field of child labour are carried out professionally, Kiana has hired two social workers and one psychologist with field experience. Their role is to supervise and guide the volunteer teams working with Kiana, so that through structured planning and expert oversight, the volunteers' efforts are more effective and impactful.

One of Kiana’s primary areas of focus is supporting children who work in informal workshops—such as waste recycling centres, brick kilns, and home-based workshops. These children often live and work at these sites without their parents. Sadly, many of them have experienced sexual abuse, suffer from low social interaction due to lack of parental presence, feel socially unsafe because of a lack of support, have extremely poor hygiene and nutrition, and struggle with deep feelings of inferiority.

Since 2018, the Yarra Foundation has collaborated with Kiana on several projects. This includes funding for the purchase and equipping of three mobile schools (vans), as well as covering driver salaries and vehicle maintenance costs. These vans travel to underground and informal work sites, essentially bringing classrooms to where the children live and work—keeping them connected to education with the hope that they can one day return to the formal schooling system.

Additionally, Yarra Foundation covers the annual salaries of two social workers and one psychologist. By funding these positions, Kiana is able to organize and manage volunteers more effectively and provide higher-quality services to the children in need.

The annual cost of paying salaries for 2 social worker and 1 psychologist is about $10,850 per year and covers around 268 child labourers, which means only about $4 per child labourer per month. You can help support this cause by choosing one of the options below:

• $25: Funds educators for 6 working children for a month
• $50: Funds educators for 12 working children for a month
• $100: Funds educators for 25 working children for a month
• $200: Funds educators for 50 working children for a month