USAID/ENGINE’s Pre-service Activities Disseminated to Key Partners

A half-day workshop in which USAID’s flagship nutrition project, Empowering New Generations to Improve Nutrition and Economic opportunities (ENGINE) officially handed over its Pre-Service Education (PSE) activities to partner institutions and government counterparts was held on June 09, 2016, at the Elilly Hotel, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.  The leader of the project’s pre-service program, Jhpiego, organized the event which aimed to seal the sustainability of the efforts achieved so far, by instilling a sense of ownership within the project’s key stakeholders. Government partners from the Ministries of Education, Agriculture and Health, universities, Agriculture Technical Vocational Education and Training (ATVET) colleges, donors and Feed the Future project partners were among the attendants of the event.Key project achievements with emphasis on ENGINE’s PSE accomplishments were highlighted both by the organizers and the keynote speakers, which consisted of the project’s Agreement Officers’ Representative (AOR) Mary Harvey (USAID), Dr. Habtamu Fekadu, Chief of Party (ENGINE) and Birara Melesse, National Nutrition Case Team Coordinator at the Federal Ministry of Health. Implementing institutions of the project’s pre-service component were also recognized through a certification ceremony.

A large segment of the workshop was dedicated to a discussion on ways forward and reflection on ensuring the foundations that have been established by the project are built upon by the concerned bodies. The participants expressed their unrelenting commitment to furthering the aims of the project and their gratitude for its work thus far, “A country can only develop through quality education. Jhpiego [through ENGINE’s PSE activity] not only taught us about nutrition education but also the importance of quality in education. The training they provided throughout the project to our instructors improved all other course delivery, not only for nutrition courses. Now our instructors know how to teach and how to assess skills. Jhpiego has given us a base and a platform. There’s no doubt regarding the sustainability of the project interventions. There is no doubt the work will continue!” Kassa Demo, Wolayta Sodo ATVET College.