IOM has opened the first of a string of snack kiosks employing
vulnerable women on the campus of Dhaka's private North South
University (NSU).

The Kafé Mukti initiative, which is supported by Norway
and Denmark, brings together IOM, food giant Nestlé, NGO
partner TMSS and the university, and follows similar IOM projects
in India designed to provide training, create jobs and generate
income for vulnerable women and victims of human trafficking.

The kiosks, each of which employs two women selected from
vulnerable women supported through different NGO projects, will
sell tea and coffee from vending machines provided free of charge
by Nestlé, as well as snacks and utility items like pens,
notebooks and soap. Nestlé will also provide subsidized
stocks of tea and coffee for each kiosk.

Speaking at the opening of the NSU Kafé Mukti, IOM
Regional Representative for South Asia Rabab Fatima described the
project as "a showcase of public private partnership promoting
corporate social responsibility towards the rehabilitation of
vulnerable people."

"These kiosks will provide vulnerable women with an escape route
from exploitation. We hope to set up five more outlets in Dhaka and
have plans for more in other cities," she said.

Norwegian Ambassador Støfring Ingebjørg and NSU
Vice Chancellor Dr. Hafiz.G. A. Siddiqi, who also attended the
opening, stressed the social importance of the initiative and the
value of promoting entrepreneurship and self-reliance among
vulnerable women.

The Kafé Mukti concept was originally developed by IOM in
India six years ago, where it partnered with Amul, the Indian dairy
corporation, to set up seven Amul Parlors in Delhi. These are now
supported by a local NGO.

Subsequently IOM Hyderabad partnered with Hindustan Lever Ltd,
which provided tea and coffee vending machines, and the Andhra
Pradesh and Orissa state governments, to set up seven more kiosks,
now called Kafé Khushi. These now employ 21 survivors of
trafficking and other vulnerable people.

For more information, please contact:

Asif Munier

IOM Dhaka

Tel:  +880.2.881.4604

E-mail: "mailto:amunier@iom.int">amunier@iom.int