IOM Upgrades Shelter for Stranded Migrants on South African Border

GENEVA, Switzerland, July 13, 2012/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- 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 US$ 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.