This month, URI welcomes CCs from Togo and Djibouti - two African countries that are new to the URI community - thus bringing the number of countries in which URI operates to 86. With the guidance and assistance of Ambassador Mussie Hailu, Regional Director of URI for Africa, Association Voix Du Development from Djibouti, Djibouti, Africa, SOS Jeunes from Balbala, Djibouti, Africa, and Initiative for a Positive Future from Togo (IPF-Togo), Lomé,Togo, Africa, have joined the URI family.
Togo is located in West Africa, and Djibouti is located in the Horn of Africa, which lies in the East. Both countries are multiethnic, however, religiously they are very distinct. In Togo, Approximately 51% of the population has indigenous beliefs, 29% is Christian, and 20% Muslim, where as Djibouti is predominately Muslim; Islam is observed by 94% of Djibouti's population, while the remaining 6% follow Christianity.
For years, Togo has been criticized for its human rights record and political governance. When Gnassingbe Eyadema, a former veteran turned coercive leader, died in early 2005 after 38 years in power, tension and violent ensued. Even now political reconciliation remains elusive. Furthermore, Togo is among the world's poorest countries.
The new CC, Initiative for a Positive Future (IPF-Togo), encourages individuals to recognize their our own potential and harnessing these qualities for the benefit of everyone in an effort to promote sustainable human development and better the quality of life in Togo.
Djibouti has undergone its own political problems. In the early 1990s, tensions over government representation led to violence, which ended in a power sharing agreement in 2000 between the ruling party and the opposition. Today, Djibouti is a semi-presidential state, meaning a popularly elected fixed term president exists alongside a prime minister. Djibouti's location allows it controlling access to the Red Sea, thus becoming its main economic asset, ensuring a steady flow of foreign assistance.
Both Djibouti CCs, Association Voix Du Development and SOS Jeunes, work with youths and aim to promote and improve educational opportunities and social development, such as health and social services. Civic engagement and environmental issues are also a top priority.
Maria Eugenia Crespo, the Director of Cooperation Circle (CC) Support, who manages the CC approval process and is the staff liaison for the CC Approval Committee, emphasizes the importance of the addition of these new CCs:
"When I received the applications from these two new countries in Africa, I went to the map and discovered they were in opposite sides of the continent (Togo is by the Atlantic in the West and Djibouti is by the Indian Ocean in East). This clearly speaks of the broad reach our leadership is having in the region and of the difference URI can bring to a continent that is facing major social, economical and political challenges."
