Member Spotlight: 
Administrator Power Visits USAID Project Implemented by DT Global in Sudan

August 12, 2021 /  By DT Global

Sudanese youth activist, Alaa Salah, speaks with Administrator Power and USAID staff at the mural in Khartoum commemorating the 2018-2019 revolution. (photo by DT Global)

USAID Administrator Samantha Power meets with youth activists at the Abu Shook Youth Center in North Darfur. (Photo by DT Global)

This past week, DT Global was honored to host Administrator Samantha Power on her visit to Sudan. DT Global has implemented USAID’s Toward Enduring Peace in Sudan (TEPS) program since 2014. Early last week, Administrator Power visited El Fasher in North Darfur, where the TEPS Senior Advisor and Darfur and Gender Expert, Nawal Osman, welcomed her to the country. In North Darfur, Administrator Power visited an internally displaced people (IDP) camp in Zam Zam and Abu Shook Youth Center supported by USAID/TEPS. She spoke with youth activists who work on transitional justice in Darfur, and had a closed discussion with TEPS-trained journalists. TEPS has trained 50 young Darfur women journalists on journalism roles in democratic transition.

Having met Nawal previously in 2004 in Darfur, the Administrator took time to share stories about their previous work in the region and discuss the important programming that DT Global is currently implementing on behalf of USAID. In the Darfur region, TEPS has trained 55 youth on civic education topics, including the principles of democracy, transitional, justice, human rights, tolerance, and diversity management. In turn, these facilitators conducted civic education sessions at the community level, reaching more than 10,000 people.

Following the stop in North Darfur, Administrator Power continued on to Khartoum, where the USAID/TEPS team arranged for her to meet with 10 local activists at a mural commemorating the revolution. Serving tea at the event was Awadia Mahmoud, a tea seller and activist for disadvantaged women in Sudan who helped form 75 women’s cooperatives and unions. TEPS has worked with Awadia for five years and was honored to help her travel to the US in 2016 to receive the Woman of Courage Award from then-US Secretary of State John Kerry. Over tea, Awadia shared her story with the Administrator. The USAID/TEPS program also held an event on August 3 at the University of Khartoum where Administrator Power delivered the keynote“A New Generation of Giving” speech addressing over 100 leaders from civil society, political parties, women and youth associations, resistance committees, journalists, lawyers, business associations as well as the Minister of Justice.

USAID’s TEPS program aims to strengthen the foundation for democratic and peaceful Sudanese development by promoting stability and establishing a basis for longer-term development. DT Global’s TEPS Chief of Party, Abdalla Mohammed, was thrilled for the opportunity to showcase their important work with the Administrator. “Hosting Administrator Power was a great honor,” shared Mohammed. “The TEPS team works closely with the local community to create real change on the ground in Sudan. Over the past seven years, we’ve built strong partnerships, collaborations, and friendships with the Sudanese communities where we work. The Administrator’s visit served as a meaningful reminder of how strong the bond is between Sudan and the United States, and we were proud to showcase the beauty of this special country.”

TEPS serves as a catalyst for stability in Sudan by encouraging greater engagement between communities and government at state and local levels, while also strengthening the capacity of Sudanese citizens to productively engage with their elected officials. Through its implementing partners, TEPS works towards increasing the involvement of community members in determining priority needs and creating opportunities for improved government-community engagement and collaboration. Together, USAID, TEPS, and the local community work to respond to Sudan’s social, political, and economic realities through a flexible and adaptive approach to changing conditions and priorities, focused on achieving quick impact while also helping to create the enabling conditions for enduring peace and sustainable development.