VZCZCXYZ0031
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHCO #0511 2990842
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 260842Z OCT 09
FM AMEMBASSY COTONOU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1160
INFO RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 1535

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