[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 109 (Wednesday, August 5, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1553]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            SUCCESS OF CARE

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                           HON. JIM McDERMOTT

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, August 5, 1998

  Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, as Congress moves forward on 
consideration of fiscal year 1999 foreign operations appropriations, it 
is worth noting a few of the many successes CARE, one of the world's 
largest international relief and development organizations, has had in 
helping the world's poor. Many of CARE's programs are supported by 
private donations and the U.S. Agency for International Development.
  Day-long walks for water forced families in Mozambique to set 
priorities for water use. Drinking and cooking ranked ahead of washing 
hands and taking baths. CARE worked with communities to identify health 
problems related to water and sanitation needs. As a result CARE's 
Community Water and Sanitation Project was designed to dig wells and 
install water pumps close to where people lived. Now mothers and 
children can walk to the nearest pump in minutes and health has 
improved because of the availability of clean water.
  Six years ago, the region had 138 functioning water stations with 
more than 1,800 people using each. Five years later, the region had 372 
water stations, each serving approximately 840 people. As of November 
1997, 97 percent of the pumps installed were functioning 
satisfactorily.
  In Ecuador, CARE's SUBIR Project is working with Chachi Indians 
living in and around the Cotacachi-Cayapas Ecological Reserve and the 
Yasuni National Park. For years, the country's timber companies have 
harvested lumber from these protected areas, stripping the land of all 
vegetation, leaving behind unusable, depleted soil and harming wildlife 
habitat. Further, the Chachi Indians have gained little or no income 
from the trees that populate their land. CARE's work is helping 
preserve the environment and increase the incomes of the indigenous 
people of the Reserve and National Park. They include working with the 
Government of Ecuador to obtain land titles to 35,000 hectares for the 
Chachi, teaching sustainable forest management and negotiating fair 
lumber prices with the timber companies.
  The value organizations like CARE cannot be emphasized enough. Their 
efforts play an integral role in development assistance worldwide. 
These programs show how public-private partnerships between the U.S. 
Government, host country governments, private U.S. citizens and 
businesses can help others build a better future.

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