An Inauguration Ceremony for a project for Self-reliance Support for the Women’s Group in East and West Harerge Zones, Oromia, took place in Goro Gutu Woreda on Monday 13 December 2010. This project was funded by the Japanese Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGP), to the amount of USD87,571.

Mr. Yoshinori Kitamura, First Secretary and Head of the Economic Cooperative Division of the Embassy of Japan, celebrated the completion of the Center, together with representative of the Goro Gutu Woreda and the World Food Program (WFP), as well as members of the community.

The Embassy of Japan supported the rural women’s self-reliance through constructing drip irrigation with ponds and a tanker, and providing flour mills, poultry, bee keeping, vegetable seeds and grafted apple seedlings, and hand tools in each of six villages, in Tulo, Doba, Goro Gutu, Deder, Meta Woreda, where the MERET project*1 has been implemented. This project is aimed at improving the life of 597 women and their families (around 3,500 people) in order for them to emerge from dependency on food aid. Also, it will promote the women’s status at the community and the household level by enhancing their capability to produce the crops and earn a daily living.

This project has been implemented by the National Project Service Unit, Natural Resources Management Department, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, which was established in 1988 by the support of WFP Food for Work, now called MERET. 

The Embassy has continuously supported bringing direct benefits to the local people, especially women, who cannot access the social and economic services easily. The benefits of this project are expected to broaden not only the benefits for women but also the prosperity for all the community.