VZCZCXYZ0013
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHCV #0209/01 0502252
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O R 192252Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY CARACAS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0494
INFO RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS

UNCLAS CARACAS 000209 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREF PHUM PREL KDEM SNAR VE
SUBJECT: S/GWI Project Proposal - Venezuela 
 
REF: STATE 12531 
 
¶1.  Please find below a project proposal for the "Shelter for 
Victims of Gender-Based Violence" for the S/GWI small grants 
initiative, as announced in reftel.  FundaSucre, a public 
foundation of the Sucre municipality of Caracas, would be the 
recipient organization, and this project would support the 
establishment of a shelter in Caracas to specifically address the 
needs of victims of domestic abuse.  While Venezuela has 
significant oil revenues, an estimated 37.9% of the population 
lives below the poverty line, and resources for advancing women's 
political, economic, and social rights are limited.  The text below 
is a translated and reformatted version of their proposal.  This 
project would support Embassy Caracas's MSP goal of strengthening 
institutions and protecting human rights.  The Political Section at 
the U.S. Embassy will be responsible for managing the grant and 
submitting a mid-term evaluation of progress.  Our development 
assistance to Venezuela is limited due to a strained bilateral 
relationship.  This project provides an opportunity to focus 
cooperation on a non-confrontational topic of mutual national 
interest, while building leadership tools and resources for women 
in one of Caracas's poorest areas.  Embassy Caracas thanks S/GWI 
for the opportunity to submit a proposal for this initiative. 
 
 
 
Shelter for Victims of Gender-Based Violence 
 
 
 
¶2.  Statement of purpose:  The FundaSucre Foundation proposes to 
use S/GWI's small grants initiative to support the establishment of 
the first shelter specifically for victims of gender-based violence 
in Sucre municipality, one of the five political entities in the 
Greater District of Caracas, with an estimated population of 1.2 
million.  Physical and mental violence against women is a serious 
problem in Venezuela, and Caracas is said to have one of the 
highest rates of domestic violence in the country.  In general, 
Venezuelan attention to the needs of victims of gender-based 
violence has increased since the promulgation of the 2007 Right of 
Women to a Life Free of Violence Law.  In 2009 the Venezuelan 
government established a full-fledged Ministry of Women's Affairs. 
The government has also begun setting up courts specifically 
designed to handle domestic abuse cases.   Shelters and 
safe-havens, however, are very limited, and women in poor areas 
have few options.  The purpose of this project is to establish the 
first shelter for women and their children in Caracas' largest slum 
area, the "barrio" of Petare, in Sucre municipality.  The long term 
goals of this pilot program are to demonstrate a working example of 
ways to provide refuge for victims of  gender-based violence, and 
to prevent the return of women to abusive situations, within the 
context of increasing government attention to this issue. 
 
 
 
¶3.  Summary of proposed program:  In partnership with FundaSucre, 
the public foundation of Caracas's Sucre municipality, this 
one-year project would contribute to the start-up costs of 
establishing a pilot program to provide shelter for battered women 
and their children in one of Caracas's poorest areas, Petare. 
S/GWI's support would go toward counseling, legal assistance, 
capacity-building workshops for the victims of abuse, and furniture 
and supplies associated with the launch of the shelter.  Sucre 
municipality and FundaSucre will pay staff salaries, rent and other 
expenses, and commit to fund the continued operation of the shelter 
following the end of S/GWI's support.  This pilot program will also 
serve as an example for establishing other local municipality 
shelters throughout the city and country. 
 
 
 
¶4.  Project description:  FundaSucre and the Sucre municipality 
have identified the director of this new shelter and will locate a 
suitable building in Petare, Caracas's largest slum.  S/GWI's 
funding will be used to furnish the center, pay for supplies, and 
provide training to staff in advance of the shelter's opening. 
Once the shelter opens, the grant will support services and 
training workshops for the victims of abuse and their children. 
Sucre municipality commits to funding all aspects of the shelter 
upon completion of the project.  The shelter will also provide 
refuge and services for the children of battered women, considered 
essential to the ability of many women to make use of such a 
center.   Initially the shelter will have capacity for 10 women and 
their families at a time, with a projected stay of 30 days. 
Services at the shelter will include assistance in finding a safe 
place to live permanently. 
 
 
 
                a. Specific Activities:  The specific goal of this 
 
project is to assist FundaSucre with the start-up costs associated 
with a shelter for battered women and their children.  The project 
will fund the identification and furnishing of the center, training 
of the staff, counseling, legal assistance and workshops and 
services for the beneficiaries once the project is open. 
 
                                ¶1.  Opening the shelter 
 
Meet with the community to increase awareness and identify a 
location 
 
                                                Rent location 
 
                                                Appropriately 
configure and furnish space 
 
                                                Inauguration of 
shelter 
 
                                ¶2. Serve an average of 10 women and 
their children per month 
 
Design registration system 
 
                                                Develop protocol 
for welcoming beneficiaries 
 
                                ¶3. Assistance in placing children 
under the age of 5 in municipality pre-schools 
 
                                ¶4. Offer psychological counseling 
for women and their children 
 
                                ¶5.  Offer legal services to women 
at the shelter, including explanation of rights and information 
about court cases 
 
¶6.  Provide training and capacity-building workshops to women at 
the shelter, in partnership with public, private and non-profit 
organizations 
 
¶7. Hold sports events for the women and their children at the 
center, in partnership with the Sports Department of Sucre 
Municipality 
 
 
 
                b. Desired Outcomes and Performance Measures: 
 
                                ¶1. A shelter for women and their 
children in the Petare area of Caracas' Sucre Municipality 
 
                                ¶2. The shelter will serve an 
average of 120 women and their children in its first year of 
implementation. 
 
                                ¶3. Access at no cost to 
municipality pre-schools for children at the shelter, partnerships 
between pre-schools and the shelter. 
 
                                ¶4. Access for the beneficiaries to 
regular psychological counseling, measured by number of 
appointments 
 
                                ¶5. Access for the beneficiaries to 
legal counsel, measured by number of appointments 
 
                                ¶6. Capacity-building workshops, 
measured by number of participants 
 
                                7.Sports events, measured by number 
of participants 
 
 
 
¶5. Detailed Budget:  The budget in USD below is calculated at the 
official exchange rate of 2.6 Bolivars to the dollar.  Sucre 
Municipality will pay for the salaries of full time employees, rent 
of the building, and portions of other costs. Proposed S/GWI 
contributions are in bold. 
 
 
 
                a. Personnel Salaries:   207,888 USD - paid by 
Sucre Municipality 
 
                b. Location Rent and Utilities: 45,000 USD -paid by 
Sucre Municipality 
 
c. Furniture for the Shelter:  25,000 USD 
 
d.  Shelter's Materials and Supplies:  100,000 USD 
- 50% will be paid for by Sucre Municipality, requested S/GWI 
contribution is 50,000 USD 
 
                                Food:  40,000 USD 
 
                                Clothes: 5,000 USD 
 
                                Computer and office supplies: 
20,000 USD 
 
                                Chemical products : 7,000 USD 
 
                                Hardware tools: 3,000 USD 
 
                                Kitchen supplies: 10,000 
 
                                Cleaning supplies: 5,000 
 
                                Medical and other supplies: 10,000 
 
e. Counseling Services, and Capacity-Building Workshops and Events: 
50,000 USD - 50% paid by Sucre Municipality, S/GWI contribution is 
25,000 USD 
 
                                Transportation: 5000 USD 
 
                                Payments for experts and trainers: 
15,000 USD 
 
                                Event space:  10,000 USD 
 
                                Printing costs: 10,000 USD 
 
                                Equipment: 10,000 USD 
 
 
 
                Total Budget: $ 427,888 - Requested S/GWI Support: 
$100,000 USD 
 
 
 
¶6.  Description of Recipient Organization - FundaSucre:  FundaSucre 
is the public foundation of Sucre municipality, designed to receive 
government funds and community and business donations to undertake 
social and economic development projects in the municipality.  With 
a staff of 134 people, FundaSucre currently manages 52 projects, 
many of which are designed through community participation and are 
funded through a variety of donors.  While the organization has not 
previously run a shelter for victims of gender-based violence - 
indeed there is no such shelter in Caracas now - it has extensive 
experience managing development projects of many types in Sucre. 
The foundation works closely with Sucre municipality officials and 
other non-profit and humanitarian organizations. 
DUDDY