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U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
PRESS RELEASE
WASHINGTON, DC 20523
PRESS OFFICE
http://www.usaid.gov
(202) 712-43202002-047
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 23, 2002Contact: USAID Press Office
Washington, DC - The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), in partnership with the U.S. Department of Labor, is airlifting 200 manual sewing machines and 50,000 yards of fabric to the Ministry of Women's Affairs in Kabul, Afghanistan today. These efforts are part of a global partnership with Laura Bush, USAID, the Department of Labor, Vital Voices Global Partnership, corporations, and individuals to enable Afghan women to earn an income sewing school uniforms for Afghan girls.
Earlier this year, the Afghan Ministry of Women's Affairs Minister Dr. Sima Samar asked the organization Vital Voices for help in providing uniforms, shoes and socks for 150,000 Afghan schoolgirls. Vital Voices worked with Mrs. Bush and Dr. Samar to establish the Afghan Back-to-Work/Back-to-School Uniform Project. Various corporations have donated sewing machines, fabric, shoes and other supplies, worth $2.5 million. The Department of Labor is in the process of awarding a $300,000 grant to Vital Voices to pay the salaries of the women seamstresses who will sew the school uniforms.
Today's shipment of sewing machines and fabric has been donated by J.R. United of Miami through its partners in Pakistan. Other contributors include Polo Ralph Lauren, Liz Claiborne, Springs Industries, LL Bean, Bass and Company, New Balance, Sebago, Sarah Lee Corporation, General Motors, Fiskars Brands, Wal-Mart, and private individuals. USAID is coordinating the delivery of an additional 550,000 yards of fabric, 1.44 million buttons, 23,749 pairs of shoes, 10,000 socks, sewing shears, and household goods from sources around world. It is one of the many ways USAID is providing education and job training for Afghan women and girls.
USAID is training Afghan educators, many of whom are women; providing nutritious food to 47,000 schoolchildren in Kabul and northeastern Afghanistan; rehabilitating more than 600 schools in partnership with the World Food Program and the International Organization for Migration; and has edited and printed nearly 10 million elementary and secondary textbooks. In addition, USAID is training and employing 3,200 women to sew quilts and clothing for distribution in hospitals, orphanages, and schools.
In fiscal year 2001, Afghanistan was the United States' top recipient of humanitarian aid, receiving $184 million before September 11. The United States has pledged nearly $400 million in this fiscal year for Afghan relief and reconstruction.
The U.S. Agency for International Development has provided economic and humanitarian assistance worldwide for more than 40 years.
For more information about USAID's activities in Afghanistan, please visit http://www.usaid.gov/about/afghanistan.
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