Islamabad: (Parliament Times) Japanese ambassador to Pakistan Mr. Takashi Kurai on Monday inaugurated two social development projects in district Faisalabad which have been completed with the financial assistance extended by the Government of Japan.
The projects include the construction of new building of St. Teresa Girls High School and installation of five Water Filtration Plants in Faisalabad. The Embassy of Japan, under its Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGP) Program, provided financial assistance for these projects.
The St. Teresa Girls High School was constructed with the financial support of US$ 76,110 provided by the Government of Japan to the NGO named Concern Lane Alliance for Rural Areas (CLARA) – a non-governmental organization actively working in the education sector. Currently, around 100 students study in the school. The new building can accommodate 300 students to get education in the school every year. Before this project, the school was being run in a small rented building, not a suitable venue for education. Due to the limited space in the old building it was difficult for the school to offer admissions to new students. After successful construction of the school, students have been shifted to new building and NGO is now able to accommodate more students to fulfill their dreams of better education facilities.
The installation of five water filtration plants in District Faisalabad has been completed with the financial assistance of US$ 85,717 provided by the Government of Japan to Al Khidmat Foundation – a non-governmental organization actively engaged in the sectors of health, education and emergency relief. Before the installation of water filtration plants, lack of access to safe and clean drinking water was a major problem for local residents. Contaminated water was one of the major reasons for the spread of water borne diseases like diarrhea, cholera, hepatitis etc. After successful installation of five water filtration plants, the project is now benefiting around 30,000 people, including women and children, from five different areas in District Faisalabad.
H.E. Mr. Takashi Kurai, in his speech at the inaugural ceremonies, congratulated both NGOs for timely and successful completion of these projects. Ambassador Kurai wished that the assistance of Japanese Government will contribute to the creation of effective and affordable conditions for education of girls as well as provision of more safe and clean drinking water for the communities. He hoped that through all these assistance, living standards of Pakistani people will improve, and the friendly and very warm relationship between the people of Japan and Pakistan will be further strengthened.
It may be recalled here that the GGP Program is an initiative of the Japanese government with the belief that in consideration of the enormity of the challenges being faced by the world today, development assistance should not only be limited to governments, but also be channeled to the grassroots level through civil society organizations. Since it began in 1989, the Embassy of Japan in Pakistan has supported more than 370 projects under the GGP Program, with a contribution of more than 2.7 billion Japanese Yen.
