Cablegate: Ambassador's Fund for Refugees Supports School

VZCZCXRO5579
RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHGI RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHKI #0954 2210855
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 090855Z AUG 07
FM AMEMBASSY KINSHASA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6688
INFO RUEHXR/RWANDA COLLECTIVE
RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY

UNCLAS KINSHASA 000954

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PREF CG
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S FUND FOR REFUGEES SUPPORTS SCHOOL
REHABILITATION

1. (U) The Ambassador signed a USD 20,000 grant from the
Ambassador's Fund for Refugees at a special reception August
7 for Action and Interventions for Development and Social
Supervision (AIDES), an NGO which will rehabilitate a
secondary school in Buburu, Equateur Province. The UN High
Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) presented a slide show of
schools in the area and explained how the grantee will use
the funds to improve the learning and teaching environment in
Buburu. Most schools in that region of province are makeshift
structures lacking basic educational materials.

2. (U) In his remarks, the Ambassador emphasized the USG's
continued commitment to refugees. He noted this was the third
successive year Embassy Kinshasa had funded projects through
the Ambassador's Fund for Refugees and first time it had
supported a project in Equateur. The Ambassador noted it will
benefit approximately 3,000 children between the ages of 13
and 20 by the end of the year. Speaking on behalf of the
UNHCR, Africa Bureau Director Marjon Kamara thanked the
Ambassador for his continued support of refugees in the DRC.

3. (U) The ceremony was well attended. Numerous senior
officials including Geneva-based Kamara and the president of
UNHCR's Executive Committee, Love Mtesa, were present.
Equateur's Provincial Assembly President and Minister of
Economics and Finance also attended, along with several
members of the media.

4. (U) The event received positive media attention and was
reported in at least three other major newspapers and six
television news programs. L'Avenir, a pro-Kabila Kinshasa
daily, called the grant "an example of an activity which must
be encouraged as it will allow refugees to return to the
region and begin a new life, making education accessible to
Congolese children."

MEECE

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