Ambassador's Special Self Help Program

One of my great joys as a diplomat is being the administrator of the Ambassador's Special Self Help Grants program.  These are small foreign aid grants that are awarded and administered by the U.S. Embassy in the host country.  This year, our Embassy awarded grants totaling $80,000 for ten small projects in Mauritius and Seychelles.  The projects range from helping set up a women's catering cooperative on Rodrigues Island to rehabilitating a school for special needs children in Mauritius. Once the grants are awarded, it is up to the Embassy staff to monitor the expenditure of the funds.  Last week, I made site visits to inspect the progress of three of the grant recipients.  Our small grants are already making very large differences in the lives of many.  At a Mauritius school for developmentally disabled children, a major renovation has already taken place to expand teaching areas and make all areas wheelchair accessible. At a non-profit community center for physically challenged adults, we provided cooking equipment so the adults can get training and make some income cooking commercially.  My third visit was to a health clinic and NGO dedicated to diagnosing and treating Type 1 diabetes, for whom we bought a new state of the art diagnostic device.  The staff was receiving training just following our presentation of the equipment.

The U.S. foreign aid program is always a source of some controversy at home, particularly when the economy is as bad as is this one.  Partly, the positive results of our good works are unseen by the American public.  This stuff rarely, if ever, makes the news. By contrast, what is often seen on the news are foreign people burning our flag and taking shots at Americans.  Seen from up close, our aid projects, especially small, targeted ones like the Self Help program are extraordinary opportunities to improve the quality of life of many at relatively small cost; in doing this, people worldwide get to experience America's caring and compassionate character.  I'm proud to be that kind of American.

"I expect to go through this world but once; therefore,
any good thing I can do, any kindness I can show
to any fellow creature, let me do it now.
 Let me not defer nor neglect it.
For I shall not pass
this way again."

   ---Anonymous