DJIBOUTI: Congressman hails military for humanitarian work

DJIBOUTI, 10 August 2004 (IRIN) - A visiting United States Congressman on Monday hailed the humanitarian work being done by a 1,400-strong US task force in the Horn of Africa. The force is involved in health, water and infrastructure projects. "There is no question that it is very appreciated, from the head of state to the peasant persons and where they are drilling wells there is a profound appreciation," Donald Payne told IRIN in Djibouti. The US troops based in Djibouti have since November 2003 provided medical support to 11,000 people, built schools and clinics and constructed water wells in Djibouti, Ethiopia and Kenya, in addition to performing their usual military duties. "We talked to some [of] our military people that completed water projects, [and] how the villages adopted them as part of their family, part of their tribe, or held celebrations with goats being roasted on the completion of projects," Payne said. Apart from their own projects, the US force has complemented the work of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) in Djibouti. "The US military is helping with our programme [in Djibouti], especially on infrastructure works, enabling us to use our funds for other things," Flynn Fuller, USAID Office Director, Burundi, Djibouti and Somalia Programs.