27 March 2024
Mr Ushio Shigeru, Ambassador of Japan to South Africa, signed grant agreements with a number of representatives from organisations across South Africa, Lesotho and eSwatini to implement the Grant Assistance for the Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGP).
GGP is a Japanese funding scheme that was started in 1989. It assists non-profit organisations with a direct impact on the well-being of people at grassroots level. It gives priority to areas that aim to improve basic human needs, as well as areas of particular importance from the perspective of human security.
On 15 March 2024 Ambassador Ushio signed agreements with representatives of PinkDrive for medical equipment for mobile cancer screening to the value of USD 118,912 and with Makgaung Primary School in Limpopo who received USD 52,518 for the construction of a block of three classrooms.
On 13 March 2024, the Embassy of Japan signed a grant contract with Principal of Qhomane Lesotho Evangelical Church in Southern Africa High School (Qhomane High School) in Maseru, the Kingdom of Lesotho to construct classrooms for the school for USD 52,624. The project aims to solve the shortage of classrooms and improve the poor learning environment with overcrowded capacity per class by constructing a new classroom building at Qhomane High School. The school has about 480 students in total.
On 8 March Ambassador Ushio was in Cape Town where he signed agreements with Touching Nations for the provision of a mobile clinic for the socially vulnerable for USD 56,548, St Joseph's Home for Chronically Ill Children for the provision of specialised audiology equipment for USD 18,808 and with Tygerberg Hospital Children's Trust for medical equipment worth USD 56,765.
In Eswatini Ambassador Ushio Shigeru signed a grant contract on 18 March with representatives of Mater Dolorosa High School and Mkhuzweni High School at the Ministry of Education and Training in Eswatini. The former is for the construction of a computer laboratory for USD 51,563 and the latter for the construction of classrooms for USD 57,255. This support intends to achieve social and economic well-being for the people of the Kingdom of Eswatini.
Since its inception, more than 600 projects have been implemented in South Africa and its neighbouring countries.
TDS and Embassy of Japan