VZCZCXRO5918
PP RUEHMA RUEHPA
DE RUEHCO #0096/01 0430759
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 120759Z FEB 08
FM AMEMBASSY COTONOU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0173
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE

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 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶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 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
¶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 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶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 
 
COTONOU 00000096  002 OF 002 
 
 
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 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶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