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