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.

Channeuon Kob awoke at the first light of day to fix breakfast for her family. Now that she would no longer have to smell gas fumes as she prepared breakfast, she was eager to cook. Kob recently purchased a clean cookstove to replace her butane gas cylinders as part of a new biodigester system that converts waste into fuel.

In Benin, nearly 70 percent of women will be victims of gender-based violence in their lifetimes. As in most of the world, the majority of these crimes will go unreported. This is where the One Stop Care Centers step in to provide survivors with a place to receive comprehensive, survivor-centered care.

The people of Rudo, a small town in eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), live off the land, growing fruits and vegetables or raising cattle. There are no factories and companies, so citizens are mostly left to fend for themselves against the forces of nature. Sanja Mršević is one of the thousands who share this fate.

Zerdo is a musician by trade, with a music school degree, but she could not find a paying job in her line of work. She is not alone: Joblessness in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) for people in her age group is over 40 percent. So Zerdo knew she had to create her own destiny. She stayed true to what she loved and started a business based on nature.

Bertha January, a single mother, often struggled to provide her 13-month-old daughter, Zipora, with enough nutritious food to keep her healthy. Over time, Zipora became extremely underweight and lethargic, almost reaching a point where she was not strong enough to eat.

In 2014, the Ebola virus outbreak claimed over 2,000 lives in Guinea. The rapid spread of the disease across the country was primarily due to the Ministry of Health’s lack of communication preparedness and transparency, which led to the citizenry’s complete mistrust of the public health system. As a consequence, people avoided hospitals and reverted instead to alternative health care through local healers, exacerbating the spread of the disease.

We all want to be happy, but when making other people happy is what brings you happiness, you can still face a lot of obstacles. Sanja Idrizović, from the town of Konjic in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), experienced this firsthand. She studied psychology so she could help people heal emotionally and psychologically in order to live healthier, happier lives.

Patil, like most women in her village, provides financial assistance to her family by selling rotis (Indian flat bread) made from a locally grown crop called jowar. But like most households in her village, Patil’s business was regularly disrupted due to an unreliable power supply.

Suad Beslic has returned from Germany to his home country of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) to start a local company that manufactures fire trucks for export to Germany and other global markets. With his return, he has brought back hope for young people in the small Bosnian town of Zivinice.

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