IOM and the government have opened three Kafé Mukti snack
kiosks employing vulnerable women at the Bangladesh Secretariat,
the Department of Social Services and the Department of Women
Affairs.

The Kafé Mukti initiative, which is supported by Norway
and Denmark and brings together IOM, food company Nestlé and
NGO partners, is designed to provide training, create jobs and
generate income for vulnerable women and victims of human
trafficking.

The first Kafé Mukti in Bangladesh was opened on the
campus of Dhaka’s private North South University in July
2008. It followed a similar initiative piloted by IOM in India.

The kiosks, each of which employs two women referred to the
programme by NGOs BNWLA and DAM, 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 also provides subsidized stocks of tea and
coffee.

"These kiosks are a showcase of public-private partnership in
promoting corporate social responsibility towards the
rehabilitation of vulnerable people. They provide vulnerable women
with an escape route from exploitation. We hope to set up more
outlets and turn Kafé Mukti into a brand name promoting
women’s empowerment," said IOM Regional Representative for
South Asia Rabab Fatima.

The opening of the three kiosks was attended by
Bangladesh’s Home Secretary, the Secretary of the Ministry of
Women and Children Affairs, the Secretary of the Ministry of Social
Welfare, and the ambassadors of Denmark and Norway.

For more information please contact:

Asif Munier

IOM Dhaka

Tel: +880.1.713.033.261

E-mail: "mailto:amunier@iom.int" target="_blank" title=
"">amunier@iom.int

or

Tanya Huq Shahriar

Tel: +880.1.713.01.1705

E-mail: "mailto:tshahriar@iom.int" target="_blank" title=
"">tshahriar@iom.int