VZCZCXRO1842
PP RUEHLMC
DE RUEHMU #0647 1802234
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 292234Z JUN 09
FM AMEMBASSY MANAGUA
TO RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4294
INFO RUEHZA/WHA CENTRAL AMERICAN COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEHLMC/MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORP WASHDC PRIORITY
RUMIAAA/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL PRIORITY
RHBVJPX/COMPHIBRON SIX  PRIORITY
RHBPCOM/USNS COMFORT  PRIORITY

UNCLAS MANAGUA 000647 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR WHA/CEN KRAAIMORE 
STATE PASS TO USAID 
USAID FOR LAC 
LABOR FOR KCHINNOCK, CHOLMES 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB NU
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR INAUGURATES DOL PROGRAM AGAINST CHILD LABOR
 
REF: A. MANAGUA 599 
     ¶B. MANAGUA 580 
     ¶C. 2008 MANAGUA 1357 
 
¶1.   (U) Summary: On Friday, June 12, Ambassador Callahan 
traveled to the Department of Jinotega to inaugurate a $5 
million Department of Labor (DOL) program which will combat 
child labor at coffee plantations in Jinotega and Madriz. The 
program, called ENTERATE (Combating the Worst Forms of Child 
Labor through Education in Nicaragua - see reftel C), is a 
joint effort between the USG and American Institute for 
Research (AIR). End Summary 
 
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ENTERATE Launch Event 
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¶2. (U) As previously reported (see reftel C), ENTERATE is a three-year DOL-funded project committed to "educating child workers and eradicating exploitation" that targets approximately 10,000 Nicaraguan children ages 5-14 who work or at risk of working on coffee plantations in Jinotega and Madriz. The ENTERATE inaugural event was on June 12, the World Day Against Child Labor, and held at the Santa Maura coffee plantation, a model coffee farm without any child labor. The Santa Maura coffee plantation also hosts a USAID Exellencia school. Present at the ceremony were the Ambassador, a local Ministry of Labor representative, and representatives from the supporting ENTERATE NGOs: La Cuculmeca, El Club Infantil, both from Jinotega; and the Institute for Human Advancement (INPRUH) from Somoto, Madriz.
 
¶4. (U) On June 12, the Ambassador gave the final remarks in the hour-long ceremony that included cultural presentations by youth from the Jinotega Club Infantil and the Somoto INPRUH. Following the ceremony, the Ambassador held a brief press conference immediately following the event with ENTERATE director Melba Castillo and AIR country representative Marcus Broer.
 
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PRESS COVERAGE 
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¶5. (U) Several members from the national and local press corps attended the event, including "La Prensa" (center-right national daily), Channel 12 (national TV), Radio Corporation and Radio Maranatha, and HOY ("La Prensa" weekly journal). The next day the "La Prensa" departmental section included photos from the event and quoted the Ambassador as saying, "The importance of this program is that it provides an excellent opportunity...for children and adolescents to prepare and study as a way to help fight poverty in this nation."
 
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Comment 
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¶6. (U) The June 12 ENTERATE launch was the second time that the Ambassador and the Embassy organized a national press conference to feature this significant $5 million dollar, three-year program to combat child labor in Nicaragua's coffee region (see reftel C). Unlike the first launch event of November 2008, the message about the ENTERATE program was not distorted by the government propaganda machine. The event, which took place shortly after the MCC decided to partially terminate its programs in Nicaragua in response to the GON,s failure to address credible allegations of fraud in the November 2008 Municipal elections (see reftel A & B), gave the Ambassador a chance to express and demonstrate in a tangible way that USG aid will continue in other areas unaffected by the MCC's decision.
 
CALLAHAN