Ambassador Simon Henshaw visited the University of Labe, where Rector Mamadou Dian Gongore Diallo and other university leaders received him. Ambassador Henshaw visited the university and donated books on behalf of the United States Embassy in Conakry. During his stay in Labé, Ambassador Simon Henshaw visited the Shoemakers’ Center of Dalaba, an association of shoemakers that has received two grants from U.S. Embassy Conakry. Founded in 1932, the center was the showcase of the city of Dalaba, where travelers stopped to buy a souvenir.
Through the Ambassador’s Self Help Fund, U.S. Embassy Conakry provided support for the modernization of the workshop and the store in 2006. Then, between the two rounds of the 2010 presidential elections, the workshop was attacked and burned. In order to help the shoemakers maintain their livelihood, U.S. Embassy Conakry provided a second grant in 2014 for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the center and to purchase new equipment.
Information on applying for a grant through 2020 Special Self Help Fund is available at: https://gn.usembassy.gov/special-self-help-fund/