BENIN'S G/TIP PROJECT PROPOSALS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 COTONOU 000096

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

G/TIP FOR JANE SIGMON
AF/W FOR DANA BANKS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ELABPHUMSMIGKCRMBN
SUBJECT: BENIN'S G/TIP PROJECT PROPOSALS

REF: 07 STATE 161278


1. Post has the pleasure to submit four project proposals for G/TIP
ESF and INCLE funding for FY 2008. While Benin is a Tier 2 country
with a government firmly committed to the fight against trafficking
in persons (TIP),Beninese children continue to be victimized by
traffickers. The proposals selected by Post will provide health
care for trafficked girls, publicize the anti-trafficking laws among
police officers and other law-enforcement personnel, create boarding
schools for trafficked children, raise community knowledge of
trafficking and facilitate the re-integration of trafficked
survivors. The institutions in question have the capacity to
implement programs, which will directly aid trafficked children and
strengthen the systems, which fight against TIP in Benin.

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Silesian Sisters: Medical Services for 1,000 Girls
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2. The Silesian Sisters of Don Bosco, prior recipients of G/TIP
funding, submitted a project proposal for a one year project
requesting $35,724 in funding, and titled "Provide medical and
mental health services to 1,000 (one thousand) trafficked girls in a
year". The edited abstract follows:

"The proposed project is an answer to the dire need of health and
mental care for the trafficked girls in the market of Dantokpa. The
Silesians Sisters propose to create and manage an infirmary that
will offer free basic health treatment to at least 1,000 girls in a
year. There will also be weekly sessions with a psychologist and
general awareness sessions on prevention and hygiene. 24 awareness
sessions will be provided for at least 500 concerned adults to
improve their understanding of the health and mental needs of the
children. The project will be part of a broader program that the
sisters are implementing in Dantokpa to help trafficked girls and
therefore the activities will be sustained even after the project is
complete."

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ABAEF: Publicizing Benin's Anti-Child Trafficking Law
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3. The "Association Beninoise D'Assistance a L'Enfant et a la
Famille" or Beninese Association of Assistance for Children and
Families (ABAEF) submitted a project proposal for a 15 month program
requiring $39,181.62, and entitled "Support Program to the
Implementation of the Law Against Child Trafficking in Benin". The
edited abstract follows:

"Wiser for their experience in child's rights training, ABAEF
analyzed the main causes and consequences of child trafficking in
Benin, namely the exploitation of children in child and sexual
labor. ABAEF raised awareness of the need and obligation of
traffickers' repression, the assistance and protection of legal
rights of child trafficking victims and their witnesses. ABAEF came
to conclude that it is necessary to enhance technical capacities of
the child protection actors for an effective implementation of the
laws. This will serve to deter traffickers and protect victims and
witnesses. The current project targets the professionals and
officials in charge of the implementation of child trafficking laws.
These professionals are judges, police officers, immigration
agents, labor inspectors, social workers, child protection
personnel, NGOs and the general population. The program aims at
putting practical tools at the disposal of those professionals. The
activities targeted should lead to the promulgation of the law of
2006-04 on child trafficking in simplified terms for the general
public, and a train-the trainers session about the texts and to the
elaboration of didactic materials such as pamphlets and practical
guides on the legal steps towards reinstituting rights of victims
and assuring the protection of witnesses. Those tools will be
publicized at the work place through briefing sessions on the work
environment at borders, police stations, immigration, labor
inspection and social services... They will also be put at the
disposal of other stake holders and populations during public
sessions in some areas in the country and some zones that are at
risk. For these activities, trainers will help to get the
information out and disseminate material to local stake holders who
did not participate in training."

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Sanctuary of Moses: Village for Trafficked Children
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4. The NGO Sanctuary of Moses requests $499,802 for a project
entitled "Economic Support Funds (ESF) for Sanctuary Village
Primary/Secondary School & Homes in Adjohoun and Trade/Technical
School in Kpomasse". This project will build upon Sanctuary of
Moses's prior smaller project to fund the construction of schools
with adjacent dormitories to care for children in need of care after
they have been rescued from trafficking environments. The project

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has a three year timeline for completion. The edited project
abstract follows:

"Statements published on the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)
website, supports the need for a Sanctuary of Moses (SOM) project.
It says in part "trafficking in children is a global problem
affecting large numbers of children. Some estimates have as many as
1.2 million children being trafficked every year. There is a demand
for trafficked children as cheap labor or for sexual exploitation.
Child trafficking is lucrative and linked with criminal activity and
corruption . . . trafficking always violates the child's right to
grow up in a family environment. Large numbers of children are being
trafficked in West and Central Africa, mainly for domestic work but
also for sexual exploitation and to work in shops or on farms and
nearly 90% are girls." Since the founding of SOM in June 2004, it
has provided service with a dedicated and clear purpose of helping
children rescued from traffickers and slavery in West Africa. The
goal of SOM projects is to provide after-care services, education,
homes, schools, supportive services, and hope to more than 800
children, in Benin, who suffer the scourges of slavery and have no
hope for tomorrow. Additionally, the Sanctuary curtails trafficking
by empowering families through micro loan allocations for mothers to
establish enterprises that help support their families. Since June
2004, SOM has adopted a primary and a secondary school both with
dormitory facilities in the village of Akpali Kpevi, Ze which
operates as a refuge for child victims of trafficking and it has a
population growth from 87 to 270. The Sanctuary Village Projects
proposes to utilize funding to house, educate and protect nearly 800
child victims through the development of two additional villages
located in Adjohoun and Kpomasse designed to house a maximum
population of 500 child victims at the two sites."

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GRAPAD: Community Action for Child Protection
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5. The Groupe de Recherche et d'Action pour la Promotion de
l'Agriculture et du Devolppement or Group for Research and Action
for the Promotion of Agriculture and Development (GRAPAD) submitted
a request for $338,221 dollars for a three year project which aims
to raise awareness of trafficking among community members and create
a sustainable, community-level, system to prevent trafficking.
GRAPAD was international NGO World Learning's partner while World
Learning implemented its recently completed G/TIP funded project in
Benin. The project is entitled "Community Action for Child
Protection in the region of Agonlin, Zou Department, Benin". The
edited project abstract follows:

"The project, Community Action for Child Protection - Agonlin,
ACPE-Agonlin, will use the knowledge and lessons learned from the
G/TIP funded pilot project ACPE. ACPE was implemented in a
sub-region, or commune, of Benin called Ouinhi, and the proposed
ACPE-Agonlin would extend the project into the neighboring region of
Agonlin. The goal is to mobilize local participation for the
eradication of child trafficking and the worst forms of child
exploitation in the region of Agonlin. Over a period of three
years, project activities will focus on attaining the following four
objectives:

i. To raise the consciousness of parents, guardians, religious
leaders, community leaders and children on the effects of child
trafficking and child exploitation;
ii. To establish a sustainable system at the community level to
prevent child trafficking as well as offer efficient assistance to
recuperated trafficking survivors by working within indigenous and
existing frameworks;
iii. To facilitate the socio-economic reinsertion of returned
trafficking survivors as well as survivors of child exploitation;
iv. To continue to improve upon institutional collaboration in order
to synchronize the various efforts to combat child trafficking.

The approach consists of and relies upon baseline research that will
be used to promote institutional collaboration within the
region/department of focus. The target communities, through
capacity reinforcement, will take initiatives to alleviate the
socio-economic obstacles contributing to child trafficking, both in
the households and community at-large. These efforts will be
reinforced and supported by local officials and civic leaders. Such
initiatives translate into small grants activities managed by
community-based committees, which are approved of and supported by a
commune-based committee and financed by the project. The strategy
proposed is to give value to the participative community action
approach, employed and improved upon during ACPE. There will also
be a strong collaboration with community radio stations in the
region. The direct beneficiaries of this communication strategy
will be trafficking survivors, parents, and/or guardians, religious
leaders, civic leaders as well as the local committees and
commune-level committees."

BROWN