| Posted to the web on January 14, 2011 |
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January 14, 2011 (ADDIS ABABA) - The Embassy of the United States of America provided 145,000 USD in a financial support on Thursday from the Ambassador’s Special Self-Help Program and a grant from the US African Development Foundation for 15 projects initiated by Ethiopian communities, schools and NGOs.
According to a press release, the Self-Help Program is a special source of funding that allows US assistance to directly respond to needs at the community level.
“The community leaders you see here today are very important partners in our work to build a better, more prosperous tomorrow through grassroots development,” said US Ambassador to Ethiopia Donald Booth at a signing ceremony at the American Embassy on Thursday.
“All of the selected projects exemplify the United States commitment both to work with Ethiopian communities to promote self-reliance as well as to support local organizations in helping others to help themselves,” he added.
The Special Self-Help Program provides small-scale, short-term support that yields high-impact and tangible improvements in people’s lives.
The 15 projects will reach over 23,000 Ethiopians, living both here in Addis Ababa and throughout five states: Amhara, Oromia, Gambella, Somali and the SNNP states.
Among the new projects are initiatives that will provide safe drinking water and storage in the drought-prone Somali state and construct and equip school and community libraries among other educational activities.
As in previous years, the program will support a variety of income-generating projects, from grinding mills to efficient stove construction and marketing.
These projects will enhance the economic autonomy of women, girls and elderly, as well as help improve the local environment.
Similarly, US Ambassador to Ethiopia Donald E. Booth on the same day announced four winners of an art competition marking the 70th anniversary of the US President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s famous “Four Freedom” speech on January 6, 1941, to the US Congress.
The four winning are works were unveiled at an awards ceremony attended by the nearly 200 are competition entrants and other guests.
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