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.

Looking back, it is clear that a lack of understanding of the electoral process and the regulations governing the elections by the youth in these neighborhoods contributed greatly to the violence. This lack of knowledge on their civic rights and responsibilities made them vulnerable to manipulation to perpetrate acts of violence. With the next presidential elections on Oct. 25, 2015, many feared that the situation could repeat itself if nothing was done.

For the June 2014 National Assembly elections, USAID, through its Increasing Inclusion and Mitigating Violence in Electoral Processes project, fielded 230 PwD to monitor access in all facets of the electoral process. This included not just voting on Election Day, an achievement in itself, but a landmark program—the first of its kind in the world—to also monitor the preceding political campaigns. The project is implemented in partnership with the International Foundation for Electoral Systems and two local organizations, HandiKOS and the Kosovo Democratic Institute.

The eldest of three daughters, she grew up in a farming family near the Mekong River in Cambodia. Doem Sdao, a rural, agricultural community, was poor and isolated. Cheng never heard of gender equality until she was recruited to join the Cambodia Ministry of Women’s Affairs in 2007. Her education in law and development cooperation led her superiors to give her a leadership position on gender and climate change.

Across Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, the 2014-2015 Ebola crisis affected hundreds of thousands of families. Husbands lost wives, children lost parents, and communities lost entire families to the deadly disease. While Ebola brought an unprecedented health epidemic, it also gave rise to a less visible crisis—a food crisis

Arnon Boonyapravase fends off jokes from friends who wonder what on earth he printed out on his 3D printer. “Some say it is a pregnancy test. Others say it is a breathalyzer,” he said.

When Mohammad Saber and Mohammad Asif started Zarnegar, a printing press in Mazari Sharif, it was boom time in the capital of northern Afghanistan’s Balkh province. It was 1999 and Mazari Sharif was rapidly becoming one of Afghanistan’s more important economic hubs. Posters and billboards dotted the city, proof of a flourishing advertising industry.

Without investments, Albanian farmers and agribusinesses have very little chance of expanding into modern and sustainable commercial enterprises able to compete in the European market. About half of Albania's workforce is active in agriculture, and 20 percent of its economy relies on agriculture production and trade. However, it has been very difficult for agribusinesses to access capital.

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