A nationwide multimedia campaign to raise awareness and stimulate discussions on issues related to human trafficking will be launched 12 November in Eldoret in Kenya's Rift Valley Province.
The Kaa Chonjo (Watch Out!) campaign will use a wide variety of communication channels including radio, television, mobile cinemas, billboards, posters and road shows to raise awareness among communities living in Northern Kenya and the North Rift Valley made vulnerable by drought, the food crisis, as well as civil and political unrest, all of which have often resulted in forced displacement.
"Forced displacement disrupts social and economic support systems within communities and is conducive for traffickers to recruit, transport and exploit women, children and men," says IOM's regional counter-trafficking officer Tal Raviv in Nairobi.
An assessment carried out by IOM in the target regions establishes poverty and the search for livelihood as key factors that render people vulnerable to trafficking. It notes for instance that impoverished families from the North Rift Valley tend to migrate to coastal areas in search of employment in the hospitality sector, where they are exposed to exploitation.
In addition to awareness raising activities, IOM's counter-trafficking team has established a referral system that enables vulnerable households within the targeted areas to embark on livelihood activities.
"Providing grants for small scale entrepreneurship or to help poor families send their children to school reduces their vulnerability to human trafficking, smuggling and other forms of irregular migration," Raviv adds.
In Northern Kenya, IOM is working with the Ministry of State for National Heritage and Culture through a public private partnership to support the construction of cultural centers that will serve as skills centers where targeted host communities can work and preserve their culture while engaging in income generating activities.
In addition, IOM is working with the Department of Children's Services in North Eastern Province to support the establishment of a Children's Call Centre at the government-run Child Rescue Centre.
The information campaign, which will run until the end of the year, is part of a larger project to provide assistance to vulnerable families in the Rift Valley and Northern Regions of Kenya funded by the Japanese government and supported by its Kenyan counterpart.
For more information please contact Alia Hirji at IOM Nairobi, Tel+254 714 606 725, Email ahirji@iom.int
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