Japanese aid for local organisations

Japan's government has granted 96.2 million CFA (about US $136,000) to five local organisations to help promote development and improve living conditions, the Japanese embassy in Abidjan said in a news release. About $56,000 will go towards the construction of six wells which will be equipped with manual water pumps to provide potable water to residents of Fronan, 400 km north of Abidjan. The project was initiated by the Fronan women's association. Another $53,700 will go towards the purchase of gynaecological and pre-natal care equipments for a children health centre in Adjame, a suburb of Abidjan. The local NGO 'Femme Face au Sida' (Women facing Aids) received US $5,800 for the construction of an information/literature centre. An orphanage in Abidjan, Notre Dame des sources, has received about $13,000 for the purchase of equipment, including a refrigerator, beds, and cots. The remaining $ 7,000 were given to the African Center for Human Security, an NGO based in Abidjan. It would allow the centre to purchase computer equipment, the release said. These grants were drawn from an aid package destined for small projects. Since 1989, Japan has financed more than 50 such projects in Cote d'Ivoire, the release said.