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6th
Annual Fundraising Reception.
Ottawa, Canada - Last week, Awdal Development
Organization held its 6th annual fundraising
reception. Close to $2500 were collected and
although attendance was hampered by heavy
rain, the event was nevertheless a resounding
success.
Awdal Development Organization (ADO) and
its partner on the ground, Rural Education
And Development (READ), were both created
to provide basic education to the rural communities
of the region of Awdal (Northern Somalia).
Both organizations function as an extension
of the community they serve and operate on
the premise of first among equals. Any one
person can and has the opportunity to contribute
to all aspects of the activities in which
ADO and READ are engaged.
Established in the year 2001 through a collaborative
effort of inhabitants of Awdal and natives
of the region now living abroad, ADO’s
purpose is to help provide a constant source
of income for the programs initiated by READ.
On the other hand READ’s principal function
is to built, operate and maintain a network
of schools in the rural communities of the
region, in order to ensure that children living
in these communities have access to basic
education. READ was establish on July 24th,
2000.
The welfare of the rural communities in Awdal
is crucial to the rest of the region. Not
only do theses communities sustain the agricultural
and livestock productions of the region, but
they also serve as a bridge between the nomadic
segments of the population and the urban centres
where a large portion of the population resides
ADO and READ believe that in the short run,
access to education in the rural communities
will provide the opportunity for parents to
keep their children at home instead of sending
to the urban centers for schooling, which
also contributes to the population exodus.
Furthermore, literacy will improve their access
to information and increase their options
and abilities to diversify agricultural production
into higher value horticulture. Finally, young
girls, who are often not given priority when
family decisions are made about which child
to send to an urban centre for schooling,
will have more opportunities to attend school.
In the longer run, a better educated population
will be better equipped in organizing its
economy, controlling the trade on which it
is dependent, and thereby reducing the severity
and frequency of repetitive food shortages
while reducing the population stress on poorly
equipped urban centres.
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