US embassy cable - 04DJIBOUTI793

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 DJIBOUTI 000793 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE PASS USAID; NAIROBI FOR USAID REDSO 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID, SCUL, SENV, SOCI, PREL, DJ 
SUBJECT: TRIP REPORT: SELF-HELP SITE VISITS TO OUTER 
DISTRICTS 
 
 
1. (U) Summary: Pol/Econ officer and Self-Help Clerk 
(SHC) traveled to the Southern districts of Dikhil and 
Ali Sabieh, May 16 and 17 and to the Northern districts 
of Tadjourah and Obock, June 1,2 and 3 to visit FY02 
and FY03 projects for follow-up and close-out visits, 
as well as initial visits for FY04 proposed projects. 
Both trips were highly productive and fairly well 
received by the different communities.  The following 
is a detailed trip report for both trips. End Summary. 
 
ALI SABIEH 
---------- 
2. (U) Ali Sabieh is one of Djibouti's smaller districts, 
situated southeast of Djibouti City bordering both 
Somalia and Ethiopia.  The town of Ali Sabieh lies just 
off the main trucking route into Ethiopia.  The district 
is home to the three refugee camps presently operating 
in Djibouti - Ali Adde, Holhol and Aour Aoussa.  The 
population of the district engages mainly in farming and 
herding of small livestock, though unemployment is a 
large problem for those in the main town.  This trend was 
very apparent in all of the districts visited.  The 
region is in the higher elevations giving it cooler 
temperatures than the lowland desert climates of Djibouti 
City and the large middle portion of the country. 
However, it still has the same arid landscape prevalent 
throughout Djibouti and water, as usual, is a primary 
concern.  For these reasons the Self-Help projects chosen 
in the Ali Sabieh district are especially vital to the 
livelihood of the communities.  From FY02 and FY03 
Self-Help funds, Embassy Djibouti was able to fund three 
projects focusing on water, farming and a sewing workshop 
for unemployed women. 
 
3. (U) In the small village of Dourreh, about 45 minutes 
drive from Ali Adde, the community requested Self-Help 
funds to reinforce and renovate existing wells, assist 
farmers in purchasing tools and equipment, and conduct 
training on soil and water conservation.  The two wells 
visited had been reinforced to provide greater protection 
from the erosion caused by rains flowing through the Oued. 
 
4. (U) The area immediately surrounding the Ali Adde 
refugee camp is one that has very few sources for potable 
water.  Currently, the villagers have to use the well 
inside the camp because it is the closest source to the 
town.  The community proposed building a well at another 
watering hole nearby to the majority of herders and farmers, 
however this site was claimed by the government so finding 
a new site was necessary.  The watering hole also happens 
to be located on the edge of the Oued, which would have 
inevitably meant that a flood could ruin the well 
completely.  This project is still underway, but the 
association has chosen a new site in a more secure spot 
along the Oued and has addressed the issue of 
counteracting erosion from the rains.  Once completed, it 
will provide a great service to the local population. 
 
5. (U) In the town of Ali Sabieh many women are without 
jobs, as well as many men.  The local women's association, 
which is one of the most active in the community, proposed 
a sewing workshop to train the young girls and women of 
the town.  The association uses a building in the old 
Catholic center that is no longer in use as a place where 
the women can come to work and display their products.  The 
sale of the products goes partially to the seamstress and 
partially to continuing the sewing workshop.  This 
association also has used a loan from the Fonds 
Djiboutienne de Development (Djiboutian Development Fund) 
to start its own microcredit service to help local women 
get their own businesses and ventures started.  The 
association started with a loan benefiting 20 women 
participating in the microcredit service and has been able 
to pay back the initial loan in full and expand the service 
to benefit 45 women. 
 
6. (U) Meetings with the town's various associations 
showed many needs, but a distinct lack of coordination 
among the different groups.  Three different groups 
expressed the need for youth sports venues and several 
mentioned the need for computer training and access.  One 
group had purchased computers but couldn't pay for the 
utilities necessary to run an information center, though 
if the group housed the computers at the town's Centre de 
Development Communitaire (CDC) it could have benefited 
from the government paid electricity.  Community leaders 
expressed some doubts about the program, reflecting on 
the lack of coordination and knowledge of the program 
throughout the community in past years.  Pol/Econ and 
Self-Help Clerk (SHC) addressed their concerns and 
highlighted the need for a better coordination, not only 
among associations but between the community and the 
Embassy.  Pol/Econ emphasized that in past years there 
may not have been a lot of interaction with the 
communities, but that the reason for this trip was to 
begin building a relationship with the community. 
 
DIKHIL 
------ 
7. (U) Neighboring the district of Ali Sabieh is the 
largest district in the country, Dikhil.  Dikhil's 
borders extend from the Ethiopian/Djiboutian border to 
the Gulf of Tadjourah.  Covering the mid-section of 
Djibouti, the climate is hotter and more arid than that 
of Ali Sabieh lending to many of the same concerns in 
the communities and in the main towns.  As in the other 
districts, wherever there is a slightly cooler climate 
and some vegetation nomadic herders and farmers can be 
found.  It is no different in Dikhil.  The highest 
levels of traffic to Ethiopia also have to pass through 
Dikhil.  This puts a heavy burden on the District's 
roads, which in some areas are becoming more rough, 
narrow and dangerous at night as more trucks travel 
them.  As in Ali Sabieh, Dikhil has not been very 
active in the Self-Help program in the past years and 
many of the same concerns were raised.  In FY02 and 
FY03, Embassy Self-Help funds were able to provide the 
materials for three projects to their individual 
communities.  The rehabilitation of a youth center, a 
soccer field, and a sewing center that was recently 
inaugurated by the Ambassador. 
 
8. (U) Many of the towns in the Dikhil district are 
either isolated and far removed from the main roads, or 
centered entirely on catering to the trucking industry. 
For these communities, the youth is a major emphasis. 
It is no surprise that alternative activities for youth 
are a major emphasis when the 50 percent unemployment 
rate is put next to the age ratios.  Forty-three percent 
of all Djiboutians are under the age of 14 and the median 
age of the entire population is eighteen.  Yoboki is one 
of Dikhil's towns that has the major trucking route going 
through the center of town.  The community youth 
association proposed the creation of a soccer field to 
provide the youth of the area an alternative to the 
vices that can sometimes come through with the trucking 
industry. 
 
9. (U) In stark contrast to Yoboki, As Eyla is so far 
from the main road that a local guide was needed to find 
the town.  The heavy rains in April had made it 
inaccessible, so several different roads were created to 
bypass the damaged parts.  In the middle of the desert 
the community is well organized.  The proposal from the 
community was to rehabilitate the town's youth center so 
that the large youth population would have some 
alternative to keep children from delinquency.  The 
project was well ahead of schedule and once finished 
will provide the youth with a library, a gathering room 
and a place to study after school. 
 
TADJOURAH 
--------- 
10. (U) Tadjourah is one of the larger districts in the 
country, located in the Northern part of the country with 
its borders extending from the Ethiopia to the coastline. 
Tadjourah's landscape is mostly mountainous and has a 
cooler climate than most of the other areas in the country 
but still suffers from very limited rainfalls.  The coastal 
region of Tadjourah is able to support more vegetation 
than many areas in Djibouti, which also support several 
agricultural growers.  There is a growing number of 
fishermen taking advantage of this abundant resource in 
the Gulf of Tadjourah.  This industry is only recently 
developing because of less supportive cultural attitudes 
towards fishing. 
 
11. (U) Tadjourah is by far the most active district in 
the Self-Help program, having a total of ten projects 
over FY02 and FY03.  The community leaders consistently 
submit a greater number of proposals than the other 
outlying districts.  Most of the projects focus on water 
resources in hard to reach areas, though the town of 
Tadjourah has a diverse range of projects to counter 
the unemployment problem.  Within the town limits of 
Tadjourah, the Self-Help program has funded a 
library/reading room for youth, equipment for a 
vocational school, and a computer workshop.  The Cardin 
Vocational School, run by the Catholic church, was in 
the midst of final exams when Pol/Econ and SHC visited. 
The work coming out of these classes was very well done. 
The center can accommodate 16 students for each 
three-year program and has lodging for the students that 
come from far out of town.  The vocational school 
teaches four disciplines: electricity, mechanics, carpentry 
and masonry.  Skilled workers in each of these areas are 
in short supply throughout Djibouti. 
 
12. (U) Site visits to the more remote projects involve 
steep, rocky, twisting dirt roads that at times do not 
look wide enough for a single vehicle.  The village of 
Ardo is at the base of the mountain that Bankouale, one 
of Djibouti's remote tourist sites, sits on.  The women 
of the village rely heavily on the sale of their crafts 
to passing tourists.  The community's proposed craft 
center located at the entrance of the village was about 
half-way through construction and proceeding well. 
The community will use this center to house the 
villagers crafts and have the women take turns running 
the center and baking for passers-by. 
 
13. (U) Not so far from Ardo and Bankouale are the 
hilltop towns of Assaya and Saoub.  Water projects were 
proposed for each of these villages.  In Assaya, the dam 
that was proposed has been completed and has already 
proved effective.  The community constructed a dam to 
block silt from filling the natural watering hole and 
deepened the hole.  The last rains stayed in the watering 
hole for 23 days, a drastic improvement from before.  In 
Saoub, the project to create two cisterns to collect 
rainwater had been completed, though the second cistern was 
destroyed in the last stages of construction by the floods 
in early April.  The first cistern was dry when visited, 
but had held water for sometime after the floods. 
 
OBOCK 
----- 
14. (U) Obock neighbors the district of Tadjourah and 
covers the most of Djibouti's Northern coastline. 
Obock is even more arid than Tadjourah and is much 
more desolate.  Once the capital of Djibouti, the town 
of Obock was one of the most badly damaged cities 
during the civil war in the early nineties.  This may 
contribute to the feeling that the city and district 
has been forgotten by the government and many NGOs. 
Obock has not been very active in recent years, 
according to one association leader because the 
government and NGOs come and do not follow through 
on their promises. The leader added that the town has 
given up on outside help.  Pol/Econ and SHC emphasized 
that this was precisely the reason Self-Help would be 
productive in Obock.  SHC emphasized that there were 
two projects already underway in Obock from FY03, both 
focusing on developing farming and agriculture. 
Pol/Econ and SHC were able to visit one of the completed 
projects, which has seen some benefit but is 
experiencing slight problems with management of equipment. 
Pol/Econ and SHC advised the association sponsor on ways 
to improve the situation. 
 
15. (SBU) COMMENT: Post feels the Self-Help program is 
making a significant impact on communities inside and 
outside of Djibouti City.  The concept of associations and 
non-governmental civil society aid is new to the 
Djiboutian culture but seems to be firmly taking root. 
Proposals from larger towns like Tadjourah and Djibouti 
City are consistently dynamic, creative and address 
vital needs of the communities.  Post believes that with 
the recent addition of staffing to the Pol/Econ section 
and the Self-Help program, it will be able to be more 
visible in the outlying regions.  The lack of an American 
presence and the existence of only word-of-mouth knowledge 
of the Self-Help program seemed to be the most often 
mentioned shortcomings of the program.  The success rate 
of projects in Djibouti seems  fairly consistent and the 
program has had few serious issues arise over the course 
of project implementation.  Post feels Self-Help has 
been and will continue to be a vital part Mission 
Djibouti's success.  END COMMENT. 
RAGSDALE