PROGRAMS AND EVENTS

U.S. Ambassador John Campbell Flags Off Northern Nigeria Book Donation Program and Commissions Two Seed Storage Facilities in Kano, June 2-3, 2007.

Date: June 2 -3, 2007
Venue: Kano

Ambassador Campbell handing over USG-donated books to Representative of Kano State Governor Abdulahi Sani Zango. | Full size

“Support for education is a high priority for the American government, and represents a significant aspect of our foreign assistance around the world,” said U.S. Ambassador John Campbell during the flag off ceremony for a large U.S. book donation program to 60 schools in Northern Nigeria.

The flag off ceremony took place at the Dala Government Girls School on Saturday June 2. 

On Sunday June 3 Ambassador Campbell commissioned U.S. constructed seed storage facilities at Garko LGA and Darki LGA, Kano State. 

Books

The donation of school books was the flag off ceremony for a series of donations to 60 secondary schools in Northern Nigeria.  The donations will take place over the next several months. 

Each set of books consists of 198 titles and focuses on: 

• The African American Experience.  This collection contains books focusing on the African American Experience.  This collection is intended for students in grades 4-9.  A second set contains biographies of key African Americans in U.S. History and are appropriate for grades 4-9.

• Secondary Ambassador Collection.  This collection contains over 100 books and items for teachers and is a combination of US history, geography, biographies, science, fiction and sports. The books are appropriate for grades 5-8 and above. 

The books are published by Scholastic Press in the United States and are all in English.  Scholastic, the global children's publishing, education and media company, has a corporate mission supported through all of its divisions of helping children around the world to read and learn. Recognizing that literacy is the cornerstone of a child's intellectual, personal and cultural growth, for over 85 years, Scholastic has created quality products and services that educate, entertain and motivate children and are designed to help enlarg enlarge their understanding of the world around them.
 
The books will be donated to schools in Kano, Katsina, Bauchi, Gombe, Niger, Borno, Sokoto and Maiduguri.  Altogether the donation will include 11,880 books and weigh over 2 and ½ tons.  

Seed storage facilities

Northern Nigeria is an extremely arid climate that provides inhospitable environs for the growth of crops, and the need for education and storage facilities is critical.  The need for secure seed storage, crop management education, and facilities is high. 

Communities in Northern Nigeria have been vulnerable to economic hardships resulting from timing fluctuations between harvest cycles and market cycles. 

The seed storage project will provide safe and secure seed storage with educational facilities to 5 communities throughout Kano and Kaduna States, Nigeria and will provide key infrastructure to support the self sufficiency of communities in Northern Nigeria.

This is a joint project with Kano and Kaduna State Governments and US Office of Defense Cooperation, facilitating a joint partnership with the United States Agency for International Development, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), and United States Department of State. 

Sites have been provided by IITA through de-confliction with the individual Local Government Authorities and were deemed appropriate for the construction of the below specified seed storage facilities.

Seed storage facilities commissioned this weekend:
          
• Darki, Wudil Local Government Area (LGA) Kano State, Nigeria
• Garko, Garko LGA Kano State, Nigeria
  
To be commissioned at a later date:

• Sarina, Garko LGA Kano State, Nigeria
• Yarumfa, Giwa LGA Kaduna State, Nigeria
• Zaria, Zaria LGA Kaduna State, Nigeria

The Humanitarian Assistance (HA) Program is a stand-alone project sponsored by The U.S. European Command (EUCOM).   The primary objectives of this program are to: strengthen international relationships, improve infrastructure for the host nation and ameliorate significant suffering.