U.S. Grants Assist Community Development
Ambassador’s Self Help Program, Democracy Fund Empower
Projects Across Ethiopia

October 20, 2005
No. 47/05

Addis Ababa (U.S. Embassy) – On Thursday, October 20, U.S. Chargé d’Affaires Ambassador Vicki Huddleston marked the 2005 round of grants to community organizations across the country through the Ambassador’s Special Self Help Program and Democracy and Human Rights Fund.  These special programs give U.S. Ambassadors in Africa the opportunity to fund community-based initiatives that might not otherwise meet the criteria of traditional development assistance.  Among the 15 projects made possible by this year’s grants are initiatives to expand classrooms in Amhara, to purchase and install a grinding mill in Gambella, to construct antenatal, delivery, and postnatal wards at a health center in Oromiya, and to discourage female genital cutting in the Somali region.

Together, the projects represent funding of $153,000 (over 1.3 million birr).  Grantees are selected from hundreds of proposals received by the Embassy; they are required to meet rigorous standards that ensure funded programs improve economic and social conditions at the community or village level; support high-impact, quick-implementation activities benefiting a large number of people in one year’s time; are community-initiated; show evidence of local support; and are self-sustaining. This year’s projects will reach more than 300,000 Ethiopians in eight of the country’s 11 administrative regions.

The Ambassador’s Special Self-Help Program and Democracy and Human Rights Fund have been active in Africa since the early 1960’s.  The success of the programs is demonstrated by the direct effects they have on the lives of those benefiting from the project.  For example, in Moyale district, Borena Zone, Oromiya Region, construction of an underground water cistern to capture rainwater from catchments has greatly reduced the burden on women and girls, who previously walked six hours a day to fetch water for their families.

“People-to-people projects such as these exemplify the best of U.S. humanitarian assistance,” said Ambassador Huddleston. “They reach people at the community level and provide them the support needed to improve their lives and the lives of their children.”

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