AMBASSADOR BRAZEAL VISITS AWASSA

March 22, 2005
No. 12/05

Trip Highlights U.S. - Ethiopia "People to People" Connections

Addis Ababa (U.S. Embassy) - On March 22-23, U.S. Ambassador Aurelia E. Brazeal visited Awassa, a trip she made at the invitation of Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region (SNNPR) President Hailemariam Dessalegn. While in Awassa, Ambassador Brazeal called on President Hailemariam and his cabinet; met with local officials, members of the civil-society and business communities, and students; and visited a range of projects supported by the United States through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). She also participated in a ceremony marking the donation to the Regional Education Bureau from Americans and Ethiopians living in America of 300,000 primary and secondary school textbooks. The Ambassador also visited a family-health program being implemented by Pathfinder International and Africa Humanitarian Action based at Shashamene Hospital. This visit highlighted how the National and regional governments are working to eliminate harmful traditional practices.

The Ambassador's visit reflects the strong connections between the U.S. and SNNPR, where USAID, especially, has been very active for over a decade. Among activities visited was a new conflict-resolution program, working in ten SNNPR woredas, aimed at making civil society and government better able to work together to resolve and prevent conflict in their community. Administered by the U.S.-based non-government organizations (NGO) Mercy Corps, together with local NGO Agri Service Ethiopia, the program is based on the principle that local conflicts are best resolved locally.

A meeting with Mr. Getachew Hamussa, head of the SNNPR Bureau of Finance and Economic Development, allowed the Ambassador to hear first-hand the successful results the region has achieved following a U.S.-supported program to modernize and streamline the region's budgetary, accounting, and planning systems.

The crucial importance of education was highlighted by two events during the Ambassador's trip. At the Awassa Tabor Senior Secondary and Preparatory School, Ambassador Brazeal met with 37 recipients of the Ambassador's Girls Scholarship Program. This program benefits young women students at 25 secondary schools across Ethiopia, enabling them to complete their education and so be better prepared to be self-supporting and responsible citizen.

Speaking at a ceremony celebrating textbook donations, Ambassador Brazeal noted that "human talent needs to be capable, skilled, knowledgeable, committed, and dedicated to transformation of the country," and stressed that the United States is committed to working with Ethiopia to help realize the country's goals for the education of its youth: "This donation has come about because the people involved believe in the youth of Ethiopia. Societies are renewed, if they are renewed at all, by people who believe in something, care about something, and stand for something." A group of student and faculty alumni of the Ligaba Secondary School in Sodo, in tandem with the U.S.-based Church of Latter Day Saints, made the book donation possible. Among the alumni involved in the donation are several former Peace-Corps-Ethiopia-volunteers, whose connection to their former school remains strong. The 300,000 books will be spread among some 140 schools and libraries in the region.

This trip, which also included a visit to the new regional radio station, Radio Voice of the South, and a range of meetings with groups including SNNPR female parliamentarians and regional bureau heads, is part of Ambassador Brazeal's commitment to being personally involved with U.S.-supported programs across Ethiopia. This commitment reflects her belief that partnering with the local, regional and national government, as well as with non-government organizations at all levels, strengthens the bonds between the United States and Ethiopia, demonstrates clearly how the two countries work together to benefit the people of Ethiopia, and shows how connecting Ethiopian and American people can make positive change a reality.