RECOMMENDATION: PRM FY 2009 JULIA TAFT REFUGEE FUND FOR

UNCLAS KINSHASA 000461 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR PRM/AFR E.O. 12958; NA TAGS: PREF PREL CG SUBJECT: RECOMMENDATION: PRM FY 2009 JULIA TAFT REFUGEE FUND FOR DRC REF: STATE 14280 ¶1. Embassy Kinshasa requests $20,000 from the Julia Taft Refugee Fund for the construction of safety walls around open gas holes in the North Kivu IDP camps of Buhimba and Bulengo. Due to the volcanic activity in the region, there are certain holes in the ground where extremely high, and often lethal, concentrations of carbon dioxide gas escape into the air. According to the United Nations Office of Project Services (UNOPS),the flow of gas depends on the atmospheric conditions, such as pressure, temperature, and wind. ¶2. This project would help to protect the 10,546 and 18,716 people, especially children, in the Buhimba and Bulengo camps, respectively. ¶3. The work would be implemented by the international NGO Saving Lives through Alternative Options (SLAO). It has been a prior reliable and trustworthy construction partner for UNHCR. UNHCR's Goma office would oversee the work. This also would be a potential income generating opportunity for IDPs living in the camps as SLAO would employ some IDPs as construction workers. SLAO will be required to adopt UNHCR's Code of Conduct. ¶4. Post would be able to award a grant to SLAO before the end of fiscal year 2009 and hopes for favorable consideration by PRM of this proposal. GARVELINK