Press Release

OPEC FUND SUPPORTS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PROJECT IN THE SUDAN

10/2005 January 12, 2005, Vienna, Austria

The OPEC Fund for International Development today extended a US$100,000 grant to a Sudanese non-governmental organization, ZEITUNAT, to pursue a community development project targeting 15 villages in the Sudan ’s West Kordofan State.  The project will seek to help reduce hunger and extreme poverty.  It will pave the way for community participation in development and create productive employment opportunities.  Also planned are sustainable livelihoods for some 1,000 families, the drilling of wells and the construction of health and education facilities. 

A health center will be built in Kashavic, some 844 km southwest of Khartoum , the national capital.  Two artesian wells, at two locations in Kashavic, will be equipped with related water yards for people and separate areas for livestock. A 400-pupil-capacity primary school will also be built, with classrooms fitted with solar panels and furnished with benches, desks and other relevant furniture.  The government of the Sudan will take care of the administration of the school, providing teachers and the requisite running costs.

The south of West Kordofan State had been a zone of conflict since 1985. It is marked by a difficult terrain and a lack of roads.  Swathes of the State have become geographically isolated, with residents lacking basic social services, including safe water supply, primary health care and education.  The State expects to benefit from the comprehensive, all-Sudan peace settlement signed last December 31. 

ZEITUNAT, itself, is a non-profit NGO, based in Kashavic.  It works to strengthen sustainable development and to extend socio-economic services to poor rural communities in West Kordofan State .