“His Excellency, President Ali Abdullah Saleh,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is my pleasure, in this occasion, to speak on behalf of local communities who are benefiting from SFD programs and activities.

First, I would like to extend our gratitude and appreciation to this successful developmental institution, the Social Fund for Development, and to all those supporting it.

It is my pleasure to share with you our experience in the villages of Al-Awlah, Deer Mosa, and Deer Al-Rudaini in Al-Luhaiya district, Al-Hodeidah governorate, with the Social Fund. This experience details a story of development that suits the spirit of this modern age.

The Social Fund initiated the first step and reached our remote area, which is deprived of many essential social services. Before SFD intervention, the three villages lacked safe drinking water, but now a vital water project has been implemented. Illiteracy rates are incredibly high among both men and women, but after the Social Fund came to the area, several literacy activities have been attracting community members to education. The Social Fund is also helping us to solve low enrollment rates among girls. Our villages have always suffered from various health problems, and so the Social Fund is training men and women from our villages to become health service providers.

What distinguishes the work of the Social Fund is its commitment to involving the beneficiaries in: assessing their development needs, project implementation, and training the local community on project operation and maintenance. The SFD has encouraged the community to form a local development committee that includes community members and the local council. The committee was trained through several courses on operation and maintenance of projects, project management, book-keeping and accounting and participatory development planning.

We are proud today that we have became partners with SFD, the development institution that revived the spirit of self-help among us, and changed our thinking; we don't have just to wait for services to come to us, instead we have to participate in the provision, funding, and management of such services.

Finally, I would like to deliver an honest letter of gratitude from the men and women, children, youth and elderly of our area to all those participated in establishing, managing, and supporting this pioneer institution.