Transforming Lives

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.

One morning in 2015, a mother brought her 9-month-old daughter to the Vumilia Dispensary, a health clinic in Tanzania’s Tabora region. Tecra Chubwa, the nurse who oversees the facility, remembers the infant and her mother, and even remembers weighing the girl herself. But when she later reviewed the day’s vaccination records, she discovered the child had not received the measles-rubella vaccine she was due for that day.

The Jordan Workforce Development Project, which runs from 2014-2019, is designed to increase private sector employment, especially for women, youth and those living at or below the poverty line. To date, the project has successfully placed more than 300 Jordanians in new jobs in the food production, clean energy and garment sector and launched eight public-private partnerships to create job placement and improve employee retention. 

An app developed with support from USAID is making wildlife protection officers more effective in their efforts to combat wildlife trafficking in Southeast Asia.

Mozambique has the 10th highest incidence of early marriage in the world. It is estimated that 48 percent of girls are married by the age of 18, and some 14 percent by the age of 15—below the legal age of consent established by Mozambique’s family law. Early marriage violates the rights of children, perpetuates gender inequity, and is often accompanied by early pregnancy, which carries increased health risks for both mother and child.

St. Kitts—Miguel Gumbs, 18, answers to the nickname Ezzy because he has a new approach to life: He takes it easy. However, that was not always the case.

Six-year-old Yohana Peter clutches a bottle of mango juice as he waits for his medication outside a pharmacy at Al Sabah Children’s Hospital in Juba, South Sudan. Seated next to his mother on a metal bench, Yohana looks anxious.

Patricia* arrived at the Women’s Justice Center in Torreon, located in Mexico’s state of Coahuila, in March 2015. She had fled a situation where her partner had become violent toward her and her family. The center helped Patricia with her divorce, and found her legal counsel and a support group. At the same time, she attended vocational education classes in jewelry making and baking.

Edgar Otero, 26, lives in Monterrey, Mexico, and his young life has been impacted by growing up in a violent home and in neighborhoods with high levels of crime and violence. He laments that he suffered physical and mental abuse from his father, who also abused his mother.

Mexican youth are finding new ways to overcome the violence, crime and unemployment in their communities. As they turn toward training and educational opportunities, they are turning away from the limitations of their circumstances.

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