Delivery of Donations to Flood Victims

April 21,2008

Consul General Douglas Griffiths (c) and the Reina of Quito (d) giving donations to flood victims

Consul General Douglas Griffiths visited San Roque to deliver 309 aid packages to victims of the recent floods in the area.  Each package included a gas tank, kitchen supplies, sanitary provisions and food rations.
The U.S. government, through the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance of USAID and Milgroup in the Embassy in Quito, has invested more than 1 million dollars in material and technical support to Ecuadorians affected by the severe winter this year.
The U.S. government recognizes that the problems caused by the floods are not limited to the most immediate damage.  Therefore, we are working with the Coastal, Environment and Production Ministries to develop a strategy for reconstructing areas destroyed by the floods and helping people rebuild their lives.  With this in mind, USAID is assisting the Central Bank of Ecuador with guarantees that will allow this institution to expand credit to farmers.

Consul General and Political and Economic Officer Visit Cuenca

April 23, 2008

Consul General Douglas Griffiths (r) and Political/Economic Officer Mariju Bofill (l) during their tour of local factories

Douglas Griffiths, Consul General and Mariju Bofill, Political/Economic Officer, visited Cuenca to meet with representatives of the city’s business community and to give presentations at several local universities.
The representatives of the American diplomatic mission met with members of the American-Ecuadorian Chamber of Commerce and visited factories, in addition to attending the inauguration of Universidad del Pacifico’s new campus.
The visit also included a presentation by the Consul General to students at the Universidad del Azuay on Irish immigration to the U.S. in the 1800s and a presentation by the Political and Economic Officer to students at the Universidad Politénica Salesiana of Cuenca.