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08 September 2005
Uganda Is Latest African Donor of Relief to Hurricane Katrina
Foreign Minister Kutesa describes $200,000 donation
By Jim Fisher-Thompson
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington -- Uganda has joined other African nations responding to devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina with a donation of $200,000 for relief and rebuilding efforts in New Orleans and communities along the Gulf of Mexico coast.
Visiting Ugandan Foreign Minister Sam Kutesa told the Washington File September 7 that the government of President Yoweri Museveni and the people of Uganda "feel with you and sympathize with you at this time of sorrow. We know you have lost dear ones, as well as considerable property. And we want Americans to know we are thinking of them and are standing shoulder to shoulder with them."
The official made a point of mentioning the donation was not just a pledge but that the money would be transferred immediately to the Bush-Clinton Katrina fund.
Hurricane Katrina struck the U.S. Gulf Coast August 29. The storm and subsequent flooding have devastated parts of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama and left thousands homeless. (See related article.)
A statement released by the Ugandan Embassy September 8 announcing the donation quoted Museveni as saying, "The United States has been generous in responding to natural and humanitarian disasters all over the world, including in Africa. Uganda has more than once been the beneficiary of this generosity and justice requires us to aid the people in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama who have lost their homes and loved ones."
President Bush named his father, a former president, and former President Bill Clinton to head up fund-raising efforts for reconstruction that may cost more than $150 billion. The hope is they can duplicate their very successful fund-raising efforts for victims of the devastating tsunami that struck South Asia in December 2004. (See related article.)
Kutesa said, "We know that under the guidance of the two former presidents money will go where it is needed most and where it can be used best."
Uganda joins other African nations contributing to Katrina relief including: Djibouti, $50,000; Gabon, $500,000; and Kenya, $100,000.
Noting the symbolic value of the Uganda donation matched against the immense sums needed for reconstruction, Kutesa told the Washington File, "America has been very generous in helping Uganda fight HIV/AIDS and developing its economy. So it is only right that we try to help as much as we can. We wish we could do more but we are limited."
Kutesa said, "We know what human tragedy can mean. Unfortunately in Africa much of it has been man-made instead of natural. The human tragedies of Idi Amin and Milton Obote, for example, led to the deaths of more than 800,000 Ugandans" in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Now, he said, Uganda is one of the best friends America has in Africa and "we look forward to strengthening our relations as we both cope with the aftermath of disasters that have struck our countries."
Kutesa's next stop in America is New York City, where he said he will participate in the annual United Nations General Assembly meeting the week of September 13-17. President Museveni plans to attend with a number of other African leaders. (For additional information, see The United Nations at 60.)
A highlight of the U.N. gathering, Kutesa said, will be a meeting of the foreign ministers of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Uganda in a tripartite peace process for eastern Congo begun two years ago with the help of the U.S. State Department. After Burundi recently joined, the Great Lakes peace effort is now called the "3 plus 1" talks. (See related article.)
For additional information on recovery efforts, see Hurricane Katrina.
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
Click here to donate to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort.
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