VZCZCXRO3734
RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHTO #1475/01 3511548
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 171548Z DEC 07
FM AMEMBASSY MAPUTO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8369
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 0103
RUEHNY/AMEMBASSY OSLO 0170
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 0147

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 MAPUTO 001475 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
G/TIP FOR MFORSTROM 
AF/S FOR MSHIELDS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KCRM KWMN PGOV PHUM MZ
SUBJECT: ANTI-TRAFFICKING SUCCESS STORY: FINAL REPORT ON 
FY05 ESF ASSISTANCE TO MOAMBA SHELTER 
 
REF: A. 06 MAPUTO 1056 
 
     ¶B. 06 STATE 57689 
 
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SUMMARY 
------- 
 
¶1. (SBU) From July 2006 to July 2007 post allocated $12,000 
in FY05 ESF funds to help start Mozambique's first shelter 
for victims of trafficking in persons.  The majority of funds 
were used to furnish an onsite office, pay salaries, procure 
water, food, and medicines, and provide transport to and from 
the border with South Africa.  The shelter opened in June 
2006, and despite facing significant startup problems, 
achieved moderate success in finding screening for victims, 
providing shelter, food, and activities, providing 
psychological support, and assisting with reintegration. 
Prior to the conQn of the project and with a view to 
long-term sustainability, post introduced the NGO Save the 
Children-Norway (SCN) and the Peace Corps to the project and 
encouraged their participation.  SCN subsequently Qcided to 
invest $250,000 over a four-year period, and the Peace Corps 
assigned a volunteer to work at the shelter for a two-year 
period. 
 
-------------------------- 
THE GRANT AND USE OF FUNDS 
-------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) Post signed a $12,000 FY05 ESF grant with the 
Institute for Civic Education (FECIV) to start the 
trafficking victims' shelter.  FECIV did not have previous 
experience running a shelter, but received financial 
(approximately $25,000), managerial, and technical support 
from the German NGO, Terre des Hommes. 
 
¶3. (SBU) USG funds were used to help finance the operational 
costs of the project for one year and can be broken down 
using the following categories: 
Equipment - $2,593 
Nutrition, Medicine, Hygiene, Transport - $5,036 
Communication, Office Materials - $1,213 
Coordinator Salary - $2,850 
 
------------------------ 
CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS 
------------------------ 
 
¶4. (U) The shelter has space for up to 80 children, but has 
averaged approximately 10-15 per month, of which probably 2-5 
could be positively identified as victims of trafficking; the 
remaining are victims of abuse, vulnerable orphans, or 
runaways.  This can partly be explained by the fact that most 
government officials, and even some social workers, still do 
not have a firm understanding of what constitutes 
trafficking.  On several visits to the shelter, the social 
worker related stories of resident children that described 
smuggling vice trafficking.  This challenge will be difficult 
to overcome, but with the (USG-funded) anti-trafficking in 
persons law nearing approval in Mozambique's legislative 
assembly, the issue is being more widely acknowledged and 
understood by the general public. 
 
¶5. (U) Another challenge involved logistics and changing 
assumptions.  The project anticipated sending a 
representative to the border each week to meet trains 
carrying repatriated Mozambicans to screen for trafficking 
victims.  However, within a few months it became evident that 
very few children were on the trains, and the Coordinator had 
to seek out alternative methods for finding trafficking 
victims.  The project also envisioned partnering with local 
officials, border guards, and NGOs working on the border to 
screen for trafficking victims, but lack of reliable 
transport and communication kept the shelter a virtual secret 
during the early months.  Post played an active role in 
finding a solution to this challenge by making several visits 
to the border and rekindling a relationship with a religious 
order active on the border, the Scalabrini Nuns.  The nuns 
have run a shelter and school immediately on the border for a 
decade and have a strong relationship with the border guards. 
 With a view to renewing a partnership between the shelter 
and the Scalabrinis, poloff encouraged USAID to direct 
$15,000 to the Scalabrinis foQoject to specifically 
screen for victims of trafficking and subsequently liaise 
with the Moamba shelter.  This relieved the shelter from the 
 
MAPUTO 00001475  002 OF 003 
 
 
burden of having to make arrangements to travel to the border 
and perform a function in which it had no previous experience. 
 
¶6. (U) A final challenge involved staffing.  The initial 
project called for a full-time project coordinator, 
psychologist, guard, cook, and social worker.  In January 
2007 post learned by chance that the project coordinator (who 
was based in Maputo) had resigned the previous November. 
Post approached the FECIV director and expressed serious 
concern, while advocating for the immediate hiring of an 
on-site coordinator and assistant, and provided technical 
assistance throughout the hiring process.  The new 
coordinator has a degree in social work and lives in Moamba. 
Her creative energies and constant presence have made a 
noticeable difference in both the physical appearance of the 
shelter, the number of activities, and the overall morale of 
the children. 
 
---------------------- 
PARTNERING WITH AN NGO 
---------------------- 
 
¶7. (U) After meeting the SCN representative during a courtesy 
call in January, poloff learned that SCN had a significant 
amount of money available for trafficking-related issues in 
Mozambique.  Poloff spoke in detail about the shelter and 
encouraged SCN to become a partner.  In April the Embassy 
organized a visit to the border and the shelter to better 
help SCN understand the situation on the ground and meet the 
relevant players.  After recognizing that most of the initial 
setup for the shelter was in place (land, building, staff, 
food, partnership with Scalabrinis), SCN decided to make the 
shelter a pilot project as part of an overall project to 
place shelters for trafficking victims in all three regions 
of the country.  SCN is providing $250,000 to the Moamba 
shelter over four years, with components for salaries, 
transport, new facilities, electricity, a well, food and 
medicine, etc).  This represents more than a 1000 percent 
increase on our initial investment. 
 
--------------------------------- 
PEACE CORPS ENSURES U.S. PRESENCE 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶8. (U) Following a January visit to a trafficking shelter 
(considered a model for Southern Africa) in Malelane, South 
Africa, post learned that the shelter had utilized several 
Peace Corps Volunteers (PCV) during its first few years of 
operation.  With this in mind, poloff approached the Peace 
Corps director in Maputo to inquire about the possibility of 
placing a PCV at the Moamba shelter.  Post again organized 
visits to the border and shelter as well as with SCN to 
provide a broad overview about the trafficking situation and 
the Moamba shelter in particular.  As a result, in December 
the Peace Corps assigned a PCV to the shelter for a two-year 
period to assist in organizing activities for and helping 
reintegrate the children. 
 
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COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶9. (SBU) Despite experiencing early growing pains, careful 
monitoring and immediate intervention by post has helped to 
not only sustain the shelter but also involve actors with the 
capacity to take the operations to the next level.  In 
particular, the hiring of a new coordinator, the renewed 
partnership with the Scalabrini nuns, and the involvement of 
SCN and a PCV should ensure that the Moamba shelter will be 
equipped to provide all necessary assistance to trafficking 
victims in Mozambique for many years to come, while ensuring 
important continuing USG presence.  A successful Moamba 
project will also mean that SCN would later open shelters in 
the central and northern parts of the country.  With the 
anticipated passage of a new anti-trafficking in persons law 
in 2008, a remaining overall challenge will be the further 
education of government actors, such as police, border 
guards, and other immigration officials as to what 
constitutes trafficking and how to deal with trafficking 
cases.  Post notes that the initial small ESF investment has 
resulted in significant dividends with international and USG 
partners to help victims of trafficking at the border, and 
believes that further ESF funding to address this concern 
would be money well spent. 
 
 
MAPUTO 00001475  003 OF 003 
 
 
Chapman