Kampala

Eight new stamps featuring various development projects of the Aga Khan in Uganda have been issued by Posta Uganda. The stamps, which commemorate the Golden Jubilee of the Aga Khan, were launched on Wednesday during celebrations to mark the World Post Day at the Posta office in Kampala.

The Aga khan Development Network (AKDN) is a network of institutions founded and led by Prince Karim Aga Khan, which collaborate with the governments and other organisation, towards improving living conditions and opportunities for people in some of the poorest parts of the developing world like Uganda.

According to the Chairperson of the board of directors of Posta Uganda, Ms Proscovia Njuki, the stamps are a way of disseminating information.

October 9, 2008

The weather was perfect for more than 4,800 walkers who participated in the Aga Khan Foundation's Dallas Partnership Walk in downtown Dallas on Saturday.

The walk, one of five held in major cities across the United States, is organized by a huge network of volunteers to raise funds to help fight global poverty. The 3-kilometer trek started and ended at Dallas City Hall Plaza, where an array of booths were set up to offer a variety of ethnic food as well as display creative projects that inspire hope.

"The theme for this year is 'Planting Our Future,' " said media coordinator Rafiq Lakhani. He pointed out that in the Village in Action, participants could engage in interactive activities "to learn how people in developing countries overcome the challenges of low income, poor health conditions and limited education opportunities."

In the Village, Seed City and Sprout Town highlighted how pottery, baking, weaving, sewing and other talents can flourish into businesses with the help of microfinancing from the foundation.

US keen to extend higher edn programmes to Bangladesh

October 08' 2008

The US is keen to extend higher education programmes to Asian countries, including Bangladesh, to help face global challenges such as food security, disaster management and poverty reduction.

"The number of visas issued to Bangladeshi students has increased recently. We welcome them… we want to see more students," said Thomas Farrell, US deputy assistant secretary of state for education and cultural affairs, at Asia Regional Higher Education Summit yesterday.

The US may award five more Fulbright scholarships to Bangladeshi students a year in the areas of food security and disaster management, he said at the three-day summit titled 'Higher Education's Response to Global Challenges' that began at a city hotel on Monday.

Source: TheDailyStar

Kabul, Afghanistan, October 7, 2008—IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, today signed an agreement with the First MicroFinanceBank, Afghanistan (FMFB) to strengthen the bank’s capacity to introduce a product line that will address the housing needs of low- and middle-income Afghans.

Most microfinance institutions and banks in Afghanistan do not offer housing loans, and traditional housing finance is limited because the existing legal and regulatory infrastructure does not support mortgage lending. To bridge this gap, IFC and FMFB will join forces to ensure that low- and middle-income families and individuals have access to affordable housing loans. IFC plans to recruit an advisor to work closely with FMFB to develop sound operational policies and guidelines necessary for building a sustainable housing portfolio.

Muslim-ul-Haq, CEO of FMFB, said, "We are confident that with IFC’s technical assistance, we can offer products that help meet the housing needs of the majority of Afghans who currently do not have access to housing finance."

Syed Farhan Fasihuddin, IFC Manager for Housing Finance Advisory Services in Middle East and North Africa, said, " Our aim is to improve the living standards of people in Afghanistan’s economically challenged communities. We hope to build on our long-term relationship with the FMFB in our effort to achieve this objective."

October 6, 2008

ASWAN: In the dusty sundrenched roads of Seil, Ikhlas, a middle-aged mother of three, everyday performs a minor miracle of capitalism.

In this poor section of Aswan, where the smell of manure hangs thickly in streets lined with mud and brick houses, an entrepreneurial spirit thrives.

Ikhlas, a name which means loyalty, stands as proof that initiative in the business arena is not confined to Wall Street or even the powerful cabals that rule Cairo.

Three years ago, Ikhlas grew worried that her husband’s meager salary as a handyman could not sustain her family, so she began to look for employment.

She came across the First Microfinance Foundation, founded by the Agha Khan Agency for Microfinance.

Your Excellency Vice President Professor Gilbert Bukenya,
The Right Honourable Speaker,
The Right Honourable Prime Minister,
Your Worship the Mayor,
Honourable Ministers,
Excellencies,
Distinguished Guests,

It is a very great joy for me to be here today, and I am most grateful to the Vice President - and all of you - for joining us. This is indeed a special celebration - in a truly magnificent setting.

Let me extend, at the very start, my heartfelt thanks to the person who made this beautiful site available for the building of a new Aga Khan Academy. He is Amirali Karmali, known affectionately throughout Uganda as Mzee Mukwano. We are most deeply grateful to Amirali and his family for their extraordinary generosity.

I know I speak for everyone here in describing this gift as a truly inspiring one.

The Quran tells us that signs of Allah’s Sovereignty are found in the contemplation of His Creation - in the heavens and the earth, the night and the day, the clouds and the seas, the winds and the waters. I am confident that future generations of students and teachers - who will come to this Academy from around the region and around the world - will feel a profound sense of inspiration as they look out on this superb landscape.

As you have heard, the new Academy in Kampala will be one of 18 Academies in 14 countries which will be developed over the next 15 years. Together, they will constitute an inter-related community of learning - exchanging students and teachers, sharing ideas and insights. And they will also share a variety of environmental experiences. Some, like the first Academy at Mombasa, will be in ocean-side settings, other will be placed in high mountain environments, still others will be built in desert terrains or forested areas - or, as in Kampala, at the side of a beautiful lake. As our students and teachers experience these remarkable surroundings, I hope they will develop what I would call a sense of “environmental pluralism”- to accompany the appreciation for cultural pluralism which we will also hope will be one of the programme’s hallmarks.

Your Excellency President Museveni
Honourable David Migreko, Minister for Energy
Honourable Ministers
Excellencies
Distinguished Guests

Let me begin by expressing my warmest thanks for your kind introduction and for this wonderful welcome.

What a great pleasure it is to be a part of this historic occasion. I am particularly pleased that it comes during my Golden Jubilee year - and indeed at the outset of my Jubilee visits to places in the world which have had special meaning to me - and to the Ismaili community - over the past fifty years. I know I will always remember this day - and this place - as a special highlight of these celebrations.

The laying of this foundation stone is indeed an historic moment. The project we celebrate today is an unprecedented endeavour.

As Nizar Juma has pointed out, it represents the largest single private sector investment of any sort in East Africa and the largest independent power project in sub-Saharan Africa. I understand it is the largest single power investment ever made by the International Finance Corporation - anywhere in the world.

His Highness the Aga Khan,
Ministers,
Members of Parliament,
development partners,
chief executives of Bujagali Project Financing Institutions present,
chief executives of Industrial Promotion Services,
Sithe Global and Salini,
Ladies and gentlemen,

I welcome you all to Jinja to witness the laying of the Foundation Stone for Bujagali Hydro-power Project. I wish to extend special welcome to His Highness the Aga Khan and congratulate him on this auspicious occasion of celebrating the 50th anniversary of his ascension to the position of Imam of the Ismaili Muslim Community. I salute all our development partners who have graced this occasion with their presence here in Jinja.

His Highness the Aga Khan has made significant contribution towards the social and economic development of this country. The Aga Khan Foundation for Economic Development's (Akfed) participation in Uganda ranges from manufacturing, finance and banking, the media, social services like education and now infrastructure.

Specifically, in the power sector, Akfed as public- private partnership with Government is operating the West Nile power supply concession under which power supply in the area has been increased from four hours per day to 18 hours per day and also involves the construction of the 3.5 MW Nyagak mini Hydro-power plant, which is expected to be commissioned early next year.

Your Excellency President Kikwete,
Honourable Ministers,
Distinguished Guests:

Let me begin my comments this evening by thanking His Excellency the President for his exceptionally warm and generous speech and comments about me – I am deeply touched President. I would also like to say how much I have enjoyed these last few days in Tanzania. It is always a great personal pleasure for me to be here - and I am most deeply grateful for your wonderful welcome and your gracious hospitality.

The enormous honour you have shown me, through the creation of a special stamp to mark this Jubilee, is something I profoundly appreciate and will always remember.

This Jubilee year provides such an ideal opportunity for me to visit places which have been particularly important to me - and to the Ismaili community - throughout my Imamat. I am taking these opportunities to revisit some of the important themes of these fifty years, and to announce a number of new initiatives.