IOM will today (13/7) launch a project to build and upgrade two
shelters for up to 120 unaccompanied minors and 50 women migrants
at Musina on the South African border with Zimbabwe.

The USD 200,000 project, which is funded by the European
Commission and UNDP, will target vulnerable stranded migrants and
is located about 20 km from the Zimbabwean border. Musina is the
main point of entry into South Africa for Zimbabwean migrants.

IOM will upgrade accommodation, living and dining areas, build
kitchens and install water and sanitation. It will also erect
security walls and supply furniture, including beds with mosquito
nets. 

The new accommodation will improve living conditions for women
and unaccompanied minors who have previously endured difficult
living conditions. Many of the children have left their families at
home or lost contact with them on the journey to the border.

"For a long time unaccompanied minors, abused migrant women, and
vulnerable migrants endured humiliating living conditions in
Musina. By improving the shelters and offering return assistance to
those in need, we can restore some of their dignity and basic human
rights," says IOM's acting Chief of Mission in South Africa, Erick
Ventura.

The project is part of broader IOM assistance designed to build
the capacity of South Africa, particularly at the provincial and
municipal level, to manage rural-urban migration and the
integration of migrants into South African society.

Apart from providing shelter, the IOM office in Musina also
provides protection and family tracing assistance to stranded
migrants and unaccompanied minors.

For more information please contact

Mohammed Hassan

IOM Musina

Tel. +27824471834

Email: "mailto:mohassan@iom.int">mohassan@iom.int