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.

The security crisis in the northern and central regions of Mali has greatly affected the regions of Mopti and Timbuktu, forcing banks and microfinance institutions to move further south. As a result, agricultural producers in the regions have found themselves without any financial institutions to finance their inputs.

Women entrepreneurs in Mali are getting the support they need to take risks, challenge the status quo, access credit and manage their businesses. Cissé Fanta Bah is an agrifood processor and the president of a women producers’ organization called Ton Kamono. She is one of the many rural women benefiting from a USAID mentoring program in the town of Bankass located in the district of Mopti.

August 2018 — Emina Subašić is one of 100 unemployed people receiving the chance to learn new skills to get a good job — and stay in Bugojno, in central Bosnia and Herzegovina, where they have family, friends and history. For Subašić, the training has made all the difference.

Audio recording technology and inter-agency collaboration have strengthened Albania’s court system.

Ernest Masereka, a voluntary community health worker from Rutoke village in Uganda, understands the benefits of open dialogue. He first introduced his community to the idea of forming a village health club in December 2017. Village health clubs provide forums where community members can disseminate important messages and address issues, such as sanitation, health and savings. Collectively, members of the club come up with action plans and provide local solutions for the challenges their community faces.

In 1882, the Government of Absynnia (now Ethiopia) gifted one of its iconic zebras to President of France Jules Grevy. The exotic animal was then recognized as its own species of zebra and given the name Grevy’s zebra. This species of zebra is identified and differentiated from other zebra species by its fine close-set stripes, white belly, and large ears, among other traits.

To improve the effectiveness of Albania’s public sector, in 2012 USAID’s Planning and Local Governance Project partnered with Co-PLAN Institute for Habitat Development, an Albanian NGO dedicated to sustainable urban planning, to research on how Albanian cities can apply new financial instruments, such as land value capture, to increase revenues. 

The village of Bankass in the Mopti region of Mali was once known for its excellent millet and sorghum production. Nowadays, however, the impact of weather fluctuations is felt throughout the country, especially in areas like Bankass with low rainfall and weak soil.

The saying “land does not deceive anyone” has become the motto of Alassane Berthe, a farmer who works on the lush green landscape in Sanoubougou village located in Mali’s southern region of Sikasso. While many young people in the region are tempted by urban migration, or work in traditional gold mining sites where they risk their lives, Berthe decided to stay with his family and invest in the land.

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