In addition, the exodus of an estimated 500,000 Sri Lankan women to jobs in the Middle East left a serious vacuum in the labour pool for domestics. By far the most aggravating factor for child labour is poverty, a condition that afflicts more than half of Sri Lanka's population. For many poor families, a child's income ensures survival. The majority of them take jobs as domestics. They are abused but remain invisible to the outside world.
Several agencies help poor families keep their children at home.
Also providing money is Foster Parent project, implemented by Adoption Forum in Norway, Amana in Belgium and several other non-governmental organizations. In this project, local patrons act as foster parents to children living at home. In September 1995, Parliament drafted sweeping legislation protecting children from cruelty and neglect, sexual exploitation and trafficking. It provides stiff penalties for offences and mandatory imprisonment for serious violations. The legislation, expected to become law early in 1996, will prohibit the hiring of children under 15, an age limit recommended by the International Labour Organisation.