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.

Iryna Adamovich, coordinator of an extracurricular Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) School and a math teacher in Barysau is a Belarusian educator who promotes creative engineering and best practices in STEM education, incorporating them into her school’s curriculum to ensure a bright future for Belarusian youth.

The International Development community mourns the loss of Chief Nyamphande IV, a traditional chief of the Nsenga Tribe of Zambia, who passed away suddenly on January 17th, 2020. Chief Nyamphande was a celebrated land champion known for his promotion of women’s land rights and access to land for all people across Zambia. An important USAID partner, Chief Nyamphande contributed to numerous national development efforts over the course of his career, and his leadership offered a model of good governance for customary land.

With four lively kids, Ihunwo wasn’t too worried when 7-year-old Winner fell while playing at their home in the Obio Akpor local governance area of Rivers state, Nigeria. Winner later developed a lump on her back and, although it looked strange, it didn’t initially hurt much, so Ihunwo dismissed it as “just a bump.”

October 2018 — Belène Alexandre, 31, one of the two supervisory lawyers providing legal assistance at the St. Marc Legal Aid Office, is only too aware of how easy it is for those who can’t afford a lawyer to get lost within the Haitian justice system, and she has made it her life’s work to help them reclaim their rights.

The company, whose name means “Fast Forks” in Belarusian, was launched by Alfred Service in February 2016 with just three team members. The business grew rapidly with a steep rise in delivery and catering orders, but, to meet high customer demand, it needed a professional convection oven.

October 2018 — Most schools in Macedonia are not ethnically integrated. If a school is in an ethnically diverse community, often the school will operate in shifts, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Each shift delivers instruction in a different language.

Children of the same age who attend the same school but are from from different ethnicities might never have the opportunity to interact with one another. With limited exposure to children from other ethnicities, students end up having prejudices about their peers from different ethnic backgrounds.

Malaria is the leading cause of sickness and death in Uganda. Prevention, correct diagnosis and treatment are crucial to reduce malaria cases and mortality as well as lower the risk of resistance to antimalarial medicines and decrease medicine waste and misuse. However, due to inappropriate practices in malaria testing and treatment, many patients are treated incorrectly, receiving unnecessary or wrong medications.

After graduating at the top of her class in Tanzania with a degree in community development, Ummi Shaib expected to find a position in social work. But three years into her job search, she faced rejection after rejection. With employment opportunities seemingly hopeless, and under mounting pressure from her family, Shaib decided to marry so she could “at least have a husband to depend on.”

Hailing from Bitola, a small town in southwestern Macedonia, Barbara Vasilevska was diagnosed with eye nerve atrophy at the tender age of 7. Her parents were very concerned about her education prospects and wondered if there was a special school she could go to in her town, if she would be able to cope without additional support, and if she would be one of the only children in Bitola with this problem.

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