U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Leadership for Education and Development (LEAD) scholarship recipients hosted their tenth annual conference at the American University in Cairo (AUC) on September 20, 2014. This year’s conference aimed to empower students to translate technologies and innovations into commercially-viable ventures and contribute to Egypt’s economic development.
Cairo – The U.S. Government announced today that it created 1,400 jobs and provided in-kind micro-grants to 2,650 women to establish their own businesses in Upper Egypt. Through the USAID-funded Fostering Opportunities in Rural Southern Areas (FORSA) project, Pathfinder International trained more than 8,600 women in business management and life skills and trained 1,125 community health workers who provided advice and information to families about reproductive health, maternal and child health, and family planning.
“Investing in women helps lift families out of poverty,” said Dr. Nabil Alsoufi, USAID/Egypt Health Director. “Providing both economic empowerment and health information leads to healthier, more productive families that contribute to society.”
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), in cooperation with the Holding Company for Water and Wastewater Treatment, inaugurated five new facilities in Upper Egypt including a training center, three potable water treatment plants, and a wastewater collection facility. “Over 560,000 rural inhabitants of Sohag and Assiut now have access to potable water and sanitation,” said Dr. Mary C. Ott, Mission Director at USAID in Egypt. “This has improved the health and living conditions, as well as the livelihoods, of families in Upper Egypt.”
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) congratulated 30 Egyptian professionals who were awarded Cairo Initiative scholarships to pursue post-graduate studies in the United States starting in September 2014. The Cairo Initiative Scholarship Program selects scholars on the basis of their ability to fill crucial skills gaps necessary to increase Egyptian efficiency and economic growth. Upon their return to Egypt, the scholars have committed to work in their ministry or institution in a job already identified and defined as needing the skills the scholars will learn. The Cairo Initiative Scholarship Program was launched in 2011 during a critical transition period in Egypt and the first two cohorts of participants are already benefiting from the program.
Cairo – Today, the U.S. Agency for International Development inaugurated the local market in Madinat Al Salam. Constructed by more than 200 residents of the Al Salam area, this market is part of a project called “Egypt Works” which is funded by USAID and implemented by Catholic Relief Services.
“This community transformed a trash area into a clean, safe marketplace that has had a tangible impact on the lives of Egyptians,” said Dr. Mary C. Ott, Director of the USAID mission in Egypt. “In the process, USAID helped employ hundreds of people who contributed to this marketplace and to the livelihoods of Al Salam community members.”
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