NEWSLETTER JUNE 2013 ECUADOR DELIVERY OF STUDIES AND FINAL DESIGNS FOR WATER SUPPLY SYSTEMS FOR COMMUNITIES ALONG THE NORTHERN BORDER The studies and final designs for water supply systems for several communities along the northern border have been delivered, as local management action to strengthen the performance and capacities of decentralized autonomous governments there. Since 2001, IOM with funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under cooperation with the national Government through the technical secretariat of Plan Ecuador, has worked in the provinces along the Country s northern border, implementing varied infrastructure for water supply, sanitation, roadways, bridges, irrigation, and others, always striving to provide greater well-being for the citizens of this important region of Ecuador. The communities benefitting from these studies include Yalare and El Encanto in San Lorenzo, Santa Rosa in Cascales, Santa Elena and Puerto El Carmen in Putumayo and Marian 4 and Flor de Oro in Cuyabeno. This will enable the Mayors of these local jurisdictions to raise the resources to implement projects to improve health conditions and raise the people s quality of life.
IOM s Head of Mission, Rogelio Bernal, met in the offices of the Ministry of the Interior with Hiroshima Villalva, Institution-building Project Manager for the Ministry of the Interior s Migratory Control Units, to discuss issues of shared interest. NATIONAL WORKSHOP ON MIGRATION STATISTICS A N a t i o n a l Workshop on M i g r a t i o n Statistics, was organized under the joint efforts by the Secretariat- General of the C o m m u n i t y o f Andean Nations (SGCAN) and IOM. This workshop will be replicated in other countries of the sub-region. The aim is to ascertain how information and the different administrative records regarding migration are being used, to generate effective migratory statistics. The achievements are already visible, in the reactivation of the Special Inter-institutional Commission on Migration Statistics. WORKS DELIVERED IN SAN LORENZO IOM has delivered infrastructure for Child Centres for Living Well in the city of San L o r e n z o, benefitting 150 children and 28 pre-schoolers who attend these centres. Rogelio Bernal met with the National Coordinator of Special Projects, CPCB César Navas-Vera and CPCB Jorge Vizcaíno-Vanoni, who are engineers in Industrial Electronics and in Naval Armaments, working with ECU 911. This meeting was basically to decide on joint actions. This work supports the actions by the Mayor s office, to enable children to Live Well and reinforce the work of MIES. The inauguration ceremony was attended by the Mayor of the canton of San Lorenzo, the Canton Council of Children and Adolescents, the Director of Area No. 6 of the Ministry of Health, authorities of the Church, regional and canton directors of MIES, municipal, MIES promoters, the police authority of the canton, military authorities, the zone Head of SENAGUA for San Lorenzo and representatives of IOM.
IOM AND THE MINISTRY OF THE INTERIOR HOLD THE FIRST MEETING OF THE UNIFIED NATIONAL PROTOCOL FOR INTEGRATED PROTECTION OF VICTIMS OF TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS This last 19 June, in the facilities of the Ministry of the Interior, the first information meeting was held on the Unified National Protocol, which will become the nationwide tool endorsed by the Ecuadorian Government. The meeting was chaired by the Ministry of the Interior, and IOM presented its initiative and explained how this Protocol will comprise tools for adequate, integrated protection for victims of trafficking in persons. The institutions that will be parties to constructing this Protocol are: Ministry of the Interior, Judicial Police, the National Directorate of Police Specializing in Boys, Girls and Adolescents (DINAPEN), the National Prosecutor s Office, the Ministry to Coordinate Social Development (MCDS), the Ministry of Economic and Social Inclusion (MIES), the Ministry of Public Health and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility. AGENDA IOM and the University of Otavalo joined forces to reduce cases of trafficking in persons in communities in the cantons of Otavalo and Cotacachi. Thirty students from the University attended the training on this topic. IOM gave two days of training, on 17 and 20 June 2013. CULTURAL ORIENTATION DAYS RSC LATIN AMERICA As part of the quarterly activities of RSC Latin America, three days of Cultural Orientation (CO) were held between June 3 rd and 13 this year. This workshop was for refugees who have been accepted by the US Government for resettlement in that country. During the 3 orientation days, refugees aged 14 to 70 had the opportunity to learn about different aspects of the United States. This is a transition to a new reality, different from what they had imagined about what their lives in that country will be, starting on their arrival there. These new cultural orientation days were especially unique because two new co-trainers at the RSC Latin America became part of the team of facilitators. For this purpose, training and ongoing guidance was provided by Stanislav Shelukhin, CO coordinator for RSC EURASIA, in IOM Russia, tapping his 12 years of experience providing this type of courses worldwide. We also had the valuable presence of Larry Bartlet, Director of the Office of Admissions for Refugees of the PRM and Sean Hantak, Programme Officer for Latin America and the Caribbean, who took advantage of their visit to the Offices of RSC Latin America to participate in the CO, handing out the attendance certificates to the first group of participants, most of them from the province of Esmeraldas. To contribute to the first theme of the Santo Domingo Canton s agenda to Combat Trafficking in Persons, to be presented in July, training was provided for UNIANDES University on this topic. They then took a test to gauge the knowledge acquired. The event was attended by 33 students.
Last 10 June, the Programme against Trafficking in Persons held the second Workshop to Construct the Canton agenda against Trafficking in Persons in the Canton of Cotacachi. The event came under the Cooperation Agreement between IOM and the Municipal GAD of Cotacachi. 20 public and private institutions of the canton took part. SENSITIZATION WORKSHOP ON TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS A sensitization workshop on Trafficking in Persons was given to community leaders and parents in the Yacupamba Community, in the canton of Guamote. This was done under interinstitutional cooperation supporting the project for A Life Without Violence for boys and girls from 14 communities in the canton of Guamote, promoted by Plan International. As part of the methodology, a spot ad on preventing trafficking in persons was presented in the Kichwa language and a fragment of the video reporting on trafficking in persons in the indigenous population of the Ecuadorian Highlands, produced by the La TV Program. SENSITIZATION FOR DOCTORS IN THE PROVINCE OF IMBABURA In the canton of Lago Agrio, IOM held training for community defenders offices. This workshop was requested by the Ombudsman Function and the Governor's Office of Sucumbíos, Area of the Women s Court, in order to sensitize and train local stakeholders, neighbourhood leaders, community (ombudsman) defenders and members of the citizen civil service project National Police, CCNA, and Judicial Police, on topics of trafficking in persons and domestic violence, among others. This same training was also given for 14 communities in Guamote. A p r e v e n t i o n workshop was held on 12 June, as a joint effort with the Public H e a l t h Directorate of Imbabura, in order to sensitize h e a l t h professionals regarding trafficking in persons. This event was also coordinated with the Mobility Group, in which IOM has promoted creation of a specific area of work to combat trafficking in persons. The workshop was attended by 28 participants. It began by highlighting the importance for the Public Health Directorate of Imbabura to learn about the crime of trafficking in persons. The issues discussed included: conceptualization and characteristics of trafficking, identifying victims, local reality and the role that the Public Health Directorate of Imbabura can play in preventing this crime. The Health Commissary Court commended IOM for its work on the matter and asked us to consider providing other workshops for other staff of the Public Health Directorate in Imbabura.
LIFE STORIES During June, the project A Healthy Dose of Life, which aims to provide primary health care to the Colombian and vulnerable Ecuadorian population in the province of Sucumbíos, along the Colombo-Ecuadorian border, implemented one health brigade in the communities of: Cochas del Betano, El Cóndor, Luis Bermeo, Monterrey and General Farfán, benefitting 1500 persons in services of oral hygiene, general medicine, vaccination, weight / height / growth monitoring, medical check-ups and Papanikolau exam services, as well as promotion and prevention activities in family planning, health education, hand-washing and water filtration. This project is being implemented jointly with the Consulate of Colombia in Nueva Loja. César Andrade returned from Italy in November 2012 with support from IOM s Voluntary Return and Assisted Reintegration Programme. Just over a year ago, he decided to leave Ecuador to improve his income, as a breadwinner for his family. However, the situation in Italy also proved to be complicated, with only sporadic work as a brickmason, and also taking care of children. His expenses in Italy were high and he was not working enough to make a living. At the same time, his mother was quite ill, so he thought the best would be to return to Ecuador. Now, thanks to IOM s assistance, he is working with his father, raising dairy cattle on a small scale in Nobol. On 6 June, health education materials were given to 19 schools in communities of the Canton of San Lorenzo, in which the Integrated Municipal Development Programme (PIDEM) has built basic infrastructure. The event was directed by Mr. Jorge Mena, PIDEM Coordinator, and attended by representatives of the Canton Directorate of Education and of the beneficiary schools. This donation will enhance the children s education and even for parents in this area. César owns four head of cattle. He milks them himself and distributes their milk in his local region. Now we want to buy more cows to increase our production. I am very grateful for everything you have done for me. Now I am with my family and working at what I know how to do.