BENIN IV ALUMNI ROAD SECURITY AWARENESS PROJECT

UNCLAS COTONOU 000511 DEPT FOR AF/PD (DBWHARTON, EKEMP, SANCHEZCROWE),AF/W (VHARPER) ECA/P/A (MKIRSH) PARIS FOR ARS (DWINTON) SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OEXC KPAO SCUL BN SUBJECT: BENIN IV ALUMNI ROAD SECURITY AWARENESS PROJECT Ref: Cotonou 460 ¶1. DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITY: On October 21, 2009, the IV Alumni Association, in collaboration with the American Embassy and the NGO "Alinagnon," organized their first community project to raise Beninese awareness regarding road security. During the September 18, 2009 IV Alumni reception held at the American Cultural Center, alumni brainstormed about how to implement the road safety project they had proposed a few months earlier. President Obama's recent call for volunteerism gave further impetus to this idea, which resulted in a community project to make a TV public service announcement focusing on the need for drivers to exercise greater caution on the road. ¶2. JUSTIFICATION /OBJECTIVE: The first goal of the program was to bring alumni together to think about their roles and responsibilities and the contributions they can make to their communities. The second goal was to encourage them to impact their communities by working on projects in order to raise the communities' awareness about the role they should play in the development of Benin. ¶3. MSP UMBRELLA THEME AND AUDIENCE REACHED: Subject program meets Post's objectives in promoting Democracy, Human Rights, Education, Mutual Understanding and Investing in People. Ten alumni, representing various programs such as the Fulbright, Humphrey, International Visitors, and Summer Institutes, participated in the activity that took place at one of the most crowded crossroads in Cotonou, near the U.S. Embassy. ¶4. Activities/Result/Impact: At the September 18, 2009 dinner, the Acting PAO talked to the alumni about the President's volunteer initiative. During the dinner, the alumni worked in small groups and came up with the results of their brainstorming: a list of various community projects that could be implemented. These projects included civic education, public order and law enforcement, awareness-raising of road security, cleaning campaign, blood drive. The first project selected by the alumni follow-up committee to be implemented is the awareness-raising of road security. ¶5. The lack of security on the road is a serious issue in Benin, especially in Cotonou, the commercial capital. Since there are no taxis, motorbikes are the most common method of transportation in Cotonou. The motorbike drivers, usually young men between the ages of 18 and 40, do not necessarily respect the rules of the road and everyone is jostling to get where they need to go, in a hurry. Road accidents are frequent and many youth are dying on the road. In fact, the night before the filming of the TV commercial, a pedestrian was killed at the same location. The aim of the community project on road security identified by the alumni is to sensitize road users as to the importance of respecting traffic lights and grade crossings, and giving priority to children crossing the street. ¶6. The October 21 activity consisted of designing and filming a TV commercial to demonstrate situations involving motorbikes and car drivers to highlight bad behavior endangering the lives of school children trying to cross the road. PAS section employees participated as actors, playing the roles of the bad drivers. This public service announcement spot will be broadcast on TV stations, stressing the message: "ON THE ROAD, BEWARE OF OUR CHILDREN" ¶7. Non-USG sources of in-country funding/in-kind support: the Embassy appreciated the collaboration of the City Hall for authorizing the event, the Police who helped regulate the traffic during shooting and the ONG "Alinagnon," which provided the Alumni with traffic jackets. ¶8. Quality of government and agency support: Excellent. Kudos to the Embassy team who worked hard to pull this program together. KNIGHT