Donation used to teach valuable job skills to Djibouti women

  • Published
  • By Petty Officer 1st Class John Osborne
  • Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa Public Affairs
DJIBOUTI (AFPN) --  The Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa Chaplain's Office participated in the Navy's Operation Hand Clasp and delivered a sewing machine, clothing material, pens and spiral notebooks to students Sept. 10 at the Union National of the Djibouti Women here.

The donation, which will be used to teach valuable job skills to women of Djibouti, marked the beginning of deliveries by the organization to Eastern Africa. 

Also on hand to make the donation was W. Stuart Symington, U.S. ambassador to Djibouti. 

Operation Hand Clasp provides the type of support organizations such as the Union National of the Djibouti Women need to help each other, the ambassador said

The Navy program is based in San Diego and began in 1959. The organization coordinates the transportation and delivery of humanitarian, educational and goodwill materials donated by corporations, charitable and public service organizations, and private citizens throughout the U.S. The donated materials are then passed onto the U.S. military, who in turn distributes them to needy citizens in foreign countries on behalf of American citizens. 

Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Oledia Bell of CJTF-HOA's Chaplains Office said the military has no idea where the donations come from, but in this case the notebooks and pens were given by the congregation of Bethel African Methodist Episcopal in Hampton, Va., of which she is a member.

For years, CJTF-HOA has been committed to helping the Union National of the Djibouti Women in their mission to train Djiboutian women to learn a trade and help make them more viable members of the local work force. 

Chaplain Bell said Operation Hand Clasp is a mutually beneficial endeavor for the Union National of the Djibouti Women and the CJTF-HOA.

"This work gives CJTF-HOA another positive image in the local community," Chaplain Bell said. "Our goal and UNFD's goal is to empower these young women and make them employable. We want to teach them life skills and not just give them a handout."

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