ETHIOPIA: FY2006 FUNDING REQUESTS FOR ESF

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ADDIS ABABA 000402 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR G/TIP E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KWMN KCRM PHUM ASEC ELAB SMIG USAID SUBJECT: ETHIOPIA: FY2006 FUNDING REQUESTS FOR ESF ANTI-TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS PROJECTS REF: 05 STATE 226696 ¶1. Embassy Addis Ababa submits two proposals for FY2006 ESF anti-trafficking in persons projects. As requested, the proposal information has been formatted per reftel guidelines and listed in priority order. Due to space constraints, the entire text of the project proposals could not be included in this cable. Proposal summaries as submitted by the prospective grantee have been provided below, but proposals in their entirety have been emailed to AF/E: Michael Gonzales, AF/RSA: Marinda Harpole, and G/TIP: Edward Flood. PROPOSAL ONE (OF TWO): PROJECT CONCERN INTERNATIONAL -------------- -------------- ¶A. TITLE OF PROJECT Path of Hope - "Finote Tesfa": Strengthening Safety-Nets to Reduce Children's Vulnerability to Trafficking, Exploitive Labor, Sexual Abuse and Life on the Streets in Ethiopia ¶B. NAME OF RECIPIENT Project Concern International (PCI) ¶C. PROJECT DURATION August 31, 2006 - July 31, 2009 (Project is new.) ¶D. DESCRIPTION Executive Summary Trafficking of children for exploitative labor is an increasing challenge in Ethiopia. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reports that, "up to 20,000 children, some 10 years old, are sold each year by their parents and trafficked by unscrupulous brokers to work in cities across Ethiopia". While international trafficking is of concern in this context, the IOM,s counter-trafficking unit reports that internal trafficking in Ethiopia is among the highest in the world. Ethiopian children are sold for as little as $1.20 to work as domestic workers or prostitutes. The downward spiral into a life of sexual and physical abuse and exploitation often begins when poor, rural children in Ethiopia become victims of child traffickers, who promise them a better life and then sell them to face even greater poverty and suffering. According to Alem Brook, legal expert at the IOM in Addis Ababa, "parents are often deceived with promises of money or that the child will be educated." Roughly two-thirds of the children are trafficked by brokers who take a percentage of the child,s earnings, and one-third are trafficked by friends and family. Most boys and girls end up as domestic laborers, commercial sex workers, weavers or professional beggars (IOM, 2005). Increasing numbers of women are trafficked abroad. The normalization of domestic trafficking can lead to increased international trafficking, which highlights the need for a special project to address the challenges of domestic trafficking at villages of origin and transit towns before they become even more acute. Factors leading to child migration or trafficking for purposes of labor in Ethiopia are multiple, complex and interrelated, as described in greater detail in the "Justification" section of this proposal. To summarize, sending children to work in cities is a commonly accepted practice, as is child labor in general. These factors contribute to the ease with which children can fall victim to trafficking, migration and situations of exploitative labor. Children who have left their villages of origin, whether on their own or after having been trafficked or manipulated into leaving, arrive at transit and destination cities to face additional pressures, dangers and risk factors. Despite their dream of a better future, they face extreme difficulty finding well-paying jobs because of their low educational status and extreme competition for work in poverty-ridden cities. They are often recruited by "brokers" that search for vulnerable children arriving at the bus stations and offer them support in finding employment and a place to sleep. They may then be further recruited into commercial sex. Some girls may enter domestic labor, which at best, is very low paying, and at worst can be abusive, wages can be withheld without cause, and children may be raped by the homeowner or other family members. Sometimes traffickers demonstrate their "good will" by finding domestic labor jobs for the rural girls, and after winning their trust, lure them ADDIS ABAB 00000402 002 OF 003 into the sex trade. As a result of such abusive circumstances, many children resort to desperate measures to survive, including begging on the streets, sex commerce and other forms of economic exploitation. Along this path, there are "tiered" levels of vulnerability which become worse and worse. Ultimately, children become most vulnerable on the streets. This path from rural poverty, to urban poverty, and on to the worst forms of labor and homelessness, results in children on the streets who lack access to even the most basic services and concrete options for improving their lives. The "Path of Hope" project, or "Finote Tesfa", in the Ethiopian language of Amharic, will prevent and mitigate trafficking and child exploitative labor at three key points: villages of origin, transit towns and destination cities. The strategic objective (SO) of this project is stated as follows: Reduced vulnerability of children in Ethiopia to trafficking for exploitative labor, sexual abuse and life on the streets. This SO will be supported by two intermediate results (IRs): - IR1: Increased community and family resiliency at villages of origin to prevent child trafficking/migration. - IR2: Increased awareness, monitoring, interception and redirection of children in transit towns along migration routes. These IRs have been developed to address the problem of child migration and trafficking at three levels - IR1, to be implemented in villages of origin, focuses on primary prevention. IR2, to be implemented in transit towns, focuses on secondary prevention, and on protecting children from potential traffickers and migration by using "honest brokers" to intercept children and mitigate against factors that manipulate them towards migration or trafficking. These IRs are described in greater detail in the "Project Description" section of this proposal, and are reflected in the Results Framework for the project, found in Appendix A. Additionally, a "Conceptual Diagram of the Path of Hope Project" is found in Appendix B. The project could be expanded to include a third module, which would be implemented in destination cities, as resources allow. (NOTE: Post supports the funding of the third module. END NOTE.) If the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons were interested, Project Concern International (PCI) could submit this third module for funding upon request. The module is already developed and budgeted for, so submission would be expedited. This complementary module would improve children,s access to services, referrals and reunification, and would strengthen the social safety-net that must be in place to reduce the number of children on the streets and the potential for international trafficking. All three of these targeted strategies lead to the enhanced resiliency of Ethiopian society to protect its children. The Path of Hope project design has been developed by incorporating the recommendations and lessons learned of various organizations conducting similar work. Specifically, the project interventions include: public awareness raising activities, including education through community-based groups and schools; family income generation activities and women,s savings and loan groups in order to reduce the need to send children away from home to help support the family; education and engagement of bus drivers, shop keepers and police in transit towns in order to better identify and rescue children at-risk; and the recruitment and engagement of youth and adult Advocates for Child,s Rights to reach out to vulnerable children. These recommendations and insights were gathered by means of a number of mechanisms, including: 1) key informant interviews with local government agencies, NGOs and other Private Voluntary Organizations implementing similar work; 2) focus group discussions (FGDs) with children formerly living on the streets subjected to exploitative labor; and 3) discussion groups held with Ethiopian NGOs implementing similar work. A list of agencies consulted during development of this proposal is included in Appendix ¶C. The project will be implemented by Project Concern International (PCI),together with two partner NGOs, Children Aid-Ethiopia (CHAD-ET),and the Multi-purpose Community ADDIS ABAB 00000402 003 OF 003 Development Project (MCDP). Letters of Support for this project have been provided by these NGOs to PCI and are presented in Appendix D. CHAD-ET will reach 250,989 beneficiaries in the geographic region of South Gonder, while MCDP will reach 123,762 beneficiaries in the Chencha Woreda of the Gamo Gofa Zone in the Southern Nations, Nationalities People,s Region (SNNPR), resulting in a total of 374,751 beneficiaries to be reached over a three year project. Of these beneficiaries, 54,699 are children in South Gonder (to be reached by CHAD-ET) and 2,100 are children in SNNPR (to be reached by MCDP). The total amount of this request submitted to the Office to Combat Trafficking in Persons of the US Department of State is $1,564,233 for three years, and a counterpart contribution will be provided in the amount of $271,781 (or 15% of the requested amount). This project could be enhanced through the incorporation of a third module to be implemented in destination cities, such as targeted areas of Addis Ababa, in the amount of $289,644 as resources allow. This third component is also described below and is meant to complement the Path of Hope proposal concept described in this proposal. E.- I.: Due to cable express space constraints, the remainder of the project proposal has been emailed to AF/E: Michael Gonzales, AF/RSA: Marinda Harpole, and G/TIP: Edward Flood. J: FUNDING MECHANISM: ESF Funds K: EMBASSY POINT OF CONTACT: Nicholas Namba, namban@state.gov. PROPOSAL TWO (OF TWO): IOM -------------- ¶A. TITLE OF PROJECT Let's Make a Difference Through 3P's: Prevention of Trafficking, Protection of Victims of Trafficking, and Prosecution of Traffickers. ¶B. NAME OF RECIPIENT International Organization for Migration (IOM) ¶C. PROJECT DURATION Twelve Months ¶D. DESCRIPTION The overall objective of the project is to contribute to the efforts of the Ethiopian government to combat trafficking in human beings. The immediate objectives of the program are to raise the awareness of the youth on trafficking and sexual and reproductive health issues and bring about behavioral change; provide direct assistance to victims of trafficking and capacity enhancement of government bodies and NGOs. This project will complement existing counter trafficking activities towards the prevention of trafficking, protection of victims of trafficking and prosecution of traffickers. The major components of this Project include sensitization of in and out-of-school youth to raise awareness and behavioral change; return and reintegration assistance to victims of trafficking with emphasis on their mental, physical social well-being with direct assistance provided by a local NGO and strengthening the institutional capacities of relevant government bodies notably the Judicial Training Center (JTC) in order to criminalize and prosecute traffickers. The project would be implemented over 12 months with a total estimated budget of USD 284,618. E.- I. Due to cable express space constraints, the remainder of the project proposal has been emailed to AF/E: Michael Gonzales, AF/RSA: Marinda Harpole, and G/TIP: Edward Flood. J: FUNDING MECHANISM: ESF Funds K: EMBASSY POINT OF CONTACT: Nicholas Namba, namban@state.gov. HUDDLESTON