|
|
|
|
| Ambassador's Speech>2011 >110214 | |||||
|
|||||
| at the Signing Ceremony for Six Grant Contracts for Education and a Water Supply in Three Regions on 14 February, 2011 |
|||||
| Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, Endmen Walachehu. This is a most pleasant duty for me to sign six grant contracts for grassroots human security projects with prominent project partners in three regions of Ethiopia. Out of the six projects three are aimed at improving the educational environment in rural areas, and the other three are intended to ensure a safe water supply in isolated communities. Now let me briefly introduce each project. The first project is for the expansion of the Bodji Chekorsa Preparatory School, West Wollega Zone, Oromia. The project partner is the Bodji Chekorsa Woreda, a local authority. This project is to construct two blocks of classrooms and a block of latrines on the exiting campus with funding of USD101,000. 200 combined desks and chairs, 8 blackboards and 8 teacher’s desks and chairs will be supplied as well. In the Bodji Chekorsa Woreda, access to secondary education is extremely poor due to the shortage of schools. There are only two junior high schools while 32 primary schools exist. This is the reason why the Embassy of Japan decided to recommend this project to Tokyo for approval. With this project, an additional 544 students will be enrolled in secondary school. The second project is for the expansion of the Tijo High School, Arsi Zone, Oromia. The project partner is the Digelu-Tijo Woreda Education Office, another local authority. This project is to construct two blocks of classrooms on the existing campus with funding of USD106,000. 184 combined desks and chairs, 8 blackboards and 8 teacher’s desks and chairs will be supplied as well. In the Digelu-Tijo Woreda, the enrollment ratio at secondary schools is extremely low, marking 16% while that at primary schools is almost 100%. This is a poor record as compared with the national average of 38%. There are only three secondary schools while there are 50 primary schools in this woreda. For this reason the Embassy of Japan decided to recommend this project to Tokyo for approval. With this project, to my pleasure, 451 students who have been on a waiting list will be enrolled in secondary school. The third project is an adult education program, named the “Expansion of the Functional Literacy Program in Oromia.” The project partner is the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus, a respected religious organization. This project is to construct twelve new Literacy Centers for twelve Synods in the Oromia Region with funding of USD 98,000; one Center for each Synod. Each Center will have two classrooms, equipped with 16 three-person-benches and two blackboards. In each Center, upon completion, a six-month adult literacy course will be offered to 48 adult students twice a year. Since 1998, the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus (EECMY) has run its adult functional literacy program through 132 learning centers located throughout the Oromia Region. As a result, around 80,000 adult men and women have become literate. However, the literacy rate in Oromia still remained at 23% in 2009, substantially lower than the national average of 36%. This is the reason why the Embassy of Japan decided to recommend this project to Tokyo for approval. With this project, 1,152 socially and economically marginalized adults, who could not attend school when they were young, will have an opportunity to learn basic knowledge of literacy and arithmetic. This will in turn provide them better opportunities for employment and social activities. The fourth project is for a water supply and road construction in the Yaya Gulale Woreda, North Shoa Zone, Oromia. The project partner is the Ethiopian Future Children, a celebrated foreign NGO. This project consists of two different programs with funding of USD 101,000. The first part is to build a water supply system in Nono Chamari village, which includes one spring capping, one water reservoir, three water distribution points and a 2,400 m water pipeline. The other part is to construct a 5 km road between Tigi village and Fital town with one culvert. In Nono Chamari village, access to safe water is less than 30%. The residents, especially women and children, are not only forced to undertake the heavy duty of fetching water, walking long distances, but they also face the risk of suffering from infectious diseases as most of the water they use is unprotected. In Tigi village and its vicinity, the residents live in scattered farming areas, growing crops for markets in Addis Ababa. Due to the unpaved narrow road, access to markets and social services including a hospital is interrupted by muddy conditions in the rainy season. These are the reasons why the Embassy of Japan decided to recommend this project to Tokyo for approval. With this project, 4,200 residents in Nono Chamali village will enjoy safe water, access to which will also be improved. In addition, 14,000 residents in and around Tigi village will be ensured better access to markets and various social services throughout the year. The fifth project is for a water supply to improve health and sanitation in two villages in the Gurage Zone, SNNPRS. The project partner is Grarbet Tehadiso Mahiber, a well known Ethiopian NGO, which has supported disabled people through its hospitals for many years. This project is to install a water supply system, which includes one spring capping, one water reservoir, seven water distribution points, seven laundry sinks and a 3,547 m water pipeline. A cattle trough will be set up at each water point so that the water for people and animals is separate. In Dobi and Mekech villages, access to safe water is only 21%. The residents depend primarily on water from a river far from their residences. The women and children are not only forced into the heavy duty of fetching water, walking long distances, but the residents also face the risk of suffering from infectious diseases, in particular, diarrhea and trachoma. It is reported that over 30% of infants suffer from trachoma in these villages. For these reasons the Embassy of Japan decided to recommend this project to Tokyo for approval. With this project, 13,200 residents in these villages will enjoy safe water without the fear of water borne diseases. In addition, health and hygiene education will be given to increase the awareness of the residents. The last project is for the prevention of acute watery diarrhea (AWD) in the Takussa Woreda, Amhara. The project partner is the Takussa Woreda Health Office, a local authority. This project is to provide safe and adequate water by constructing 20 hand dug wells in all of the ten most affected kebeles in the Takussa Woreda with funding of USD 93,000. The Takussa Woreda is one of the areas most affected by acute watery diarrhea (AWD) in the Amhara Region. In 2007-08, 1,189 AWD cases were reported there, and 14 people lost their lives to it. Although various efforts have been made to prevent and control the disease, AWD has been hard to combat because safe water coverage has not been sufficient. Access to safe water in this woreda is less than 10%. Many of the residents rely on water from a river as the number of wells available is limited. This is the reason why the Embassy of Japan decided to recommend this project to Tokyo for approval. With this project, 6,330 residents will be the beneficiaries of a safe water supply. The Amhara Health Bureau has been carrying out a project called the “Amhara Regional Infectious Disease Surveillance (AmRids)” with JICA to strengthen the disease surveillance scheme, and the Takussa Woreda is one of the AmRids target areas. This institutional capacity building of the health services through the AmRids project, combined with improved access to safe water for the community, will contribute to the reduction of AWD cases. Ladies and Gentlemen, It is gratifying for us that all these six projects will be managed by the respected partners in the coming months. All of them will be conducive to the empowerment of vulnerable and marginalized people in need and contribute to the economic and social development of Ethiopia. In this connection, I would like to remind our project partners that the projects should be implemented on schedule, with my staff in charge well informed of the progress. It is also critically important that the benefits of the projects should be enjoyed by people in the respective local communities. One of the characteristics of grassroots human security projects is that they are directly beneficial to residents. Through this scheme, the Embassy of Japan will continue to give priority to education and social welfare of underprivileged people in rural areas. Amesegenalehu. |
|||||
|
|||||
