Speeches Shim
Every day, all over the world, USAID brings peace to those who endure violence, health to those who struggle with sickness, and prosperity to those who live in poverty. It is these individuals — these uncounted thousands of lives — that are the true measure of USAID’s successes and the true face of USAID's programs.
Bibi Khairulnesah, who recently earned her bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the Polytechnical University of Kabul, is one of three young graduates participating in a pilot internship program designed to help women launch successful careers in nontraditional occupations such as architecture, engineering, and business administration.
It’s barely daybreak when Ms. Golsom Shojaee sets off on a motorcycle across the mountains of central Afghanistan. Her husband, Mohammad, is the designated driver. Her mission is to ensure remote community-based education centers are operating smoothly.
Najila Danishjo is only 20 years old but is fully committed to helping the women of her country. The young teacher has fought furiously to arrive at where she is now: a trainee in the USAID Promote Women’s Leadership Development (WLD) ‘Royesh’ pre-service delivery program.
Companies ranging from business startups to corporate heavyweights are driving economic growth and creating jobs in Afghanistan, but obtaining a business license in the country has been a lengthy and costly process, frustrating even determined investors.
Potatoes are Afghanistan’s third most consumed crop, and about 50 percent of the potatoes are imported from Pakistan. The potatoes are grown primarily in the highlands, which excludes the province of Jawzjan. Farmers in Jawzjan are interested in growing potatoes, but they’re unwilling to experiment, in part because of their belief that potatoes need a lot of water, something in short supply in Jawzjan, where average annual rainfall is only 230 mm.
But Mugabekazi’s life took a turn when she was identified by a USAID program that reached out to over 3,700 female sex workers in Rwanda. The program provided the training Mugabekazi needed to become a community health and financial leader. She learned how to teach her peers about family and financial planning, reproductive health, nutrition and more.
In Samburu County in northern Kenya, Josephine Lempirikany, a 50-year-old mother of six, remembers when food distributions were unreliable. Her family went hungry and she was unable to pay her children’s secondary school fees because she spent all her income on what food she could afford. But now, they have a consistent supply of food and her children are healthier and able to stay in school.
Fish farmer turned entrepreneur, Gibran Huzaifah, 26, strives every day to transform the aquaculture sector with the power of technology. Huzaifah developed a “smart” fish feeder that can detect when fish are hungry and automatically dispenses feed accordingly. Feed represents approximately 80 percent of fish production costs, and Huzaifah says his fish feeder can reduce feed usage by up to 20 percent.
January 2017—My Bach, a biotechnology undergraduate student in Hanoi, is passionate about pursuing a career in science, but concerned about the low number of female colleagues in the field in Southeast Asia.
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