At the 3rd Signing Ceremony for GGPs during JFY 2013 at the Embassy of Japan on 03 October, 2013

Endemen Walachehu.  Kamey Wu Ilkum.

It is always a most pleasant duty for me to sign grant contracts for grassroots human security projects (GGP) with prominent project partners.  This is the third signing ceremony for GGPs during JFY2013, and today one grant contract has been concluded.  The project is for the expansion of the Amora Secondary School in the Kola Tambien Woreda, Tigray Regional State with funding of USD 121,267.  To my pleasure, during the past three years of my tour of duty in Ethiopia, a total of 58 grant contracts have been signed, which cover various fields such as education, health, water supply and infrastructure.

Excellency, Ladies and Gentlemen,

First of all, I would like to express my heart-felt congratulations to our project partner, the Tigray Development Association, represented here today by the Executive Director, Dr. Tadele Hagos.  Your organization is an important and reliable partner for us in implementing community-based projects in the Tigray Region.

Now, I would like to introduce the project briefly.  The Amora Secondary School was established in the Guroro Kebele by the community in 2011 and named after a famous TPLF fighter who was born in the village.  Thanks to this school, a better opportunity has been provided for students in the area for secondary education since only two secondary schools were available in the Woreda before.  Yet, the number of students has increased rapidly.  Indeed, the total number of students reached 820 at the school in 2012, an increase of about 200 students as compared with that of the previous year.

In such a situation, the Amora Secondary School has had a space problem with only two standard classrooms available, supplemented by two extra community-built, temporary classrooms.  Because of this, 272 students have had to study outdoors, under the trees.  I was really surprised to see two classes underway outside when I visited the school in March this year.  These outdoor classes have sometimes caused sunstroke in the hot season, and classes have been disrupted by showers in the rainy season.  In addition, the community-built temporary structures are now out of service due to termite damage.  Therefore, the construction of new school buildings has been an urgent necessity at this school.

This project, therefore, aims to improve the educational environment of the school by building new school blocks.  Through this project, two blocks with eight fully furnished classrooms and a block of latrines will be newly constructed.  As a result, all the students will be able to study in classrooms, and the average number of students per class will be reduced from 68 to 54.  In addition, 268 additional students will be newly enrolled.

Excellency, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is gratifying for us that this project will be managed by such a respected partner as your organization in the coming year.  It will be significantly conducive to the empowerment of vulnerable and marginalized people in need and will contribute to the economic and social development of the community.

Before I conclude, I would like to remind our project partner that the project awarded this time should be implemented in a timely manner, with my project coordinator in charge, Satoko, well informed of the progress and changes in plan, if any.  It is also critically important that the benefits of the project should be enjoyed by people in the local communities as this is one of the most significant characteristics of GGPs.

Amesegenalehu.  Yemesgen!