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2009-01-16
Provincial Director of Education, Zonal Director of Education, Principal of Thiruvalluvar School, students, parents, and community residents. On behalf of the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, I am pleased to be here today as we celebrate the start of great changes at this school, which will benefit the entire community.
As the development agency of the US Government, USAID is committed to helping communities in the East return to a normal way of life as quickly as possible. To make that happen, we believe that local residents need jobs and communities need important services, like schools, to function effectively.
During this week, USAID has been breaking ground on eight renovation projects here in the East. In Batticaloa District, USAID is renovating two schools and a hospital. In Trincomalee District, we are rehabilitating five schools, repairing damaged classrooms and building new ones so more students can attend schools in their villages.
All of this work means that USAID is renovating 13 damaged classrooms and building 64 new ones in seven schools, constructing three new hospital wards, and providing 63 beds for in-patient hospital treatment. Local residents will directly benefit from these changes, and local communities will be strengthened by improved institutions.
At USAID, we realize the important role schools and hospitals play in community life, and the impact they have on building a stronger community. Having a school that better meets the needs of all children will help residents return to a normal way of life and re-establish roots in the local community.
An improved school also ensures a brighter future for young people, encouraging them to stay in school, get an education, and eventually find a good job that will give them financial independence.
At USAID, we couldn’t do this work without funding from the U.S. Pacific Command, a part of the U.S. Department of Defense, which has join USAID tot provide humanitarian assistance to communities in Eastern Sri Lanka. Thanks to the U.S. Pacific Command, USAID is able to improve two schools and one hospital in Batticaloa District and five schools here in Trincomalee District.
I also want to thank our contractor, DAI. They will be working in your local community for the next few months to renovate the school, and I know they are committed to building a better future for all residents.
Lastly, I wish to express my appreciation for another key partner, the Provincial Director of Education, who is USAID’s grantee for this project. The Provincial Director, working in collaboration with his national- and divisional-level colleagues, was instrumental in helping direct the U.S. Pacific Command’s resources and USAID’s assistance to this community, and in obtaining government clearances and approvals to make today’s groundbreaking event possible. We look forward to continued cooperation and support from the Provincial Director and his colleagues as construction begins.
Today’s ground breaking ceremony marks the beginning of some exciting changes at the hospital. Changes that I hope will encourage more of your neighbors and relatives to return to the area, as the hospital expands and offers more services for local residents. Changes that I hope will signal an increase in stability and a rise in optimism about the future for this region. Changes that I hope will bring each of you the opportunity to rebuild your lives and your communities in peace and prosperity.
Thank you again for having me today. I look forward to returning in six months and seeing all the changes to Thiruvalluvar School and your community.
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