In Batticaloa, Sri Lanka we held a friendly cricket tournament between youth from the East and South to mark International Peace Day.
In Jaffna, Sri Lanka we opened a collection center and distributed “freezer trucks” to farmers as part of USAID’s public-private alliances program. This hand over of equipment, tools and grants will improve productivity and profitability of fruit and vegetable cultivation in the conflict-affected Northern Province. These partnerships will not only provide employment to young men and women in the conflict-affected districts but also offer training and social integration among members of diverse ethnic groups.
In Vavuniya, Sri Lanka under our Office of Transition Initiatives program, we will hand over a large truck to recently resettled farmers in the North in a bid to enhance their marketing potential and to foster relations between the North and the South. Farmers will also receive water pumps and sprinklers on a credit basis.
In Iraq, as part of an ongoing effort to improve local governance and build local capacity, we held a competition for the best District Council website. The websites will evaluated based on their content quality and quantity, layout/ organization, update frequency, and objectivity/reliability.
In Jordan, as part of our water resources management program, we began work at a new wastewater treatment plant. Jordan is one of the ten most water-deprived countries in the world. The treatment plant will help improve the health and environmental conditions of the surrounding areas.
In the Ukraine, we will hold a 10th Anniversary celebration of Telekritika, a key media watchdog in Ukraine and a long-standing USAID partner. The celebration includes award ceremony to honor TV producers and TV journalists whose activities represent the highest ethical reporting standards to strengthening independent media in Ukraine.
