Africa-Press – Uganda. Uganda has received an undisclosed number of Japanese overseas volunteers, extending the tally of those that have come in the country to at least 760 over the last 20 years.
“In 2001, the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV) began coming to Uganda. They have worked together with local communities, building trust and friendships for the social-economic development,” Ugandan state minister for foreign affairs Okello Oryem told several diplomats in Kampala.
Ugandan state minister for foreign affairs Okello Oryem underlined the contribution of the volunteers and the Japanese government towards development.
“There is a sheer multitude of volunteer success stories that we have witnessed such as the construction of schools and water boreholes to teaching baseball to young boys and girls,” he said February 17.
According to him, activities carried out by individual Japanese volunteers are much smaller in scale than those implemented by large development cooperation programs but have an undeniable long-term impact on the lives they touch
Mr Oryem also expressed optimism about prolonged excellent bilateral and international level relations between Kampala and Tokyo.
“The COVID -19 pandemic has illustrated that we are stronger if we work together and through the continuity of the JOCV Programme, more can be achieved,” he said at the event in Kampala.
Mr Oryem appealed to the Japanese government to back Uganda’s ambitious path to social-economic transformation in line with Vision 2040.
“One of our core focuses will be implementation of Parish Development Model, (PDM). I invite your government through the Japanese International Cooperation Agency to explore working with Uganda as we undertake this journey in the areas of agriculture whole value chain development and tourism among others,” he said.
Amidst what Mr Oryem described as complex circumstances, the minister called for continued togetherness to ensure effective measures to assure safety of the Ugandan people and their livelihood, including that of the volunteers.
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