*EPF318 05/22/2002
Text: First Lady Says NGOs Foster Civil Society
(Commends the work of NGOs in Afghanistan) (1170)

First Lady Laura Bush told an audience in Prague that the work of NGOs (non-government organizations) is instrumental in fostering a civil society, where freedom and democracy can flourish.

The First Lady was participating in an NGO roundtable at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty in Prague, on May 21.

Highlighting the work of NGOs in Afghanistan, Mrs. Bush said, "Thanks to you, the people of Afghanistan are learning that the world's concern for them is also great. To the people of Afghanistan, you offer the outstretched hands of the world."

NGOs frequently do what government cannot do, and sometimes do what government will not do, she said. Pointing to Afghanistan as a place where the role of NGOs is vital, she noted that NGOs helped deliver food to starving people in Afghanistan, even when the Taliban tried to block these deliveries.

Following is the text of First Lady Laura Bush's remarks at the roundtable in Prague on May 21:

(begin text)

First Lady's Remarks At RFE/RL Roundtable Of NGOs
21 May 2002 -- Prague, Czech Republic

Thank you for having me here today. I am here today primarily to listen and learn, but first I can't resist applauding the important work you and the organizations you represent are doing in Afghanistan and many other places throughout the world.

Organizations including People-In-Need, Caritas, International Organization for Migration, and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty are delivering supplies, information, and economic assistance to people who desperately need them. By doing so, you are delivering help and hope for a better life, one person at a time. You know better than anyone that the need is great. Thanks to you, the people of Afghanistan are learning that the world's concern for them is also great. To the people of Afghanistan, you offer the outstretched hands of the world.

I am meeting with you today not only to get an update and commend your work in Afghanistan, but also to focus on the critical importance of nongovernmental organizations -- NGOs -- in fostering a civil society, a society where freedom and democracy can flourish.

More than 25 American NGOs are currently working in Afghanistan. Together with other international organizations, they will help rebuild the education system, integrate women back into society, and jump-start small business through training and micro-lending programs. I don't think it's an overstatement to say that the work of NGOs formulates the glue that helps hold a civil society together.

The United States of America puts a lot of money into starting and strengthening NGOs because they meet needs and foster communities in a way that government often cannot. Government can build schools and pay teachers; it took the PTA to organize parental involvement and community investment in those schools. Government can provide money, as it did in setting up an American Enterprise Fund in the early days of democracy here in the Czech Republic. Yet it was the American Chamber of Commerce that helped identify emerging corporations and link available money with aspiring people in a way that improved and invigorated the entire economy.

Also here in the Czech Republic, the Association for Education for Citizenship and Democracy has developed civic education curricula and trained teachers to help teach democratic values to the nation's young people. The Environmental Partnership Foundation has matched American environmental experts with local Czech leaders, resulting in many land stewardship and community development projects. The Broumov Center has sponsored community and cultural events to encourage tolerance, fight racism, and promote cross-border cooperation with Poland and Germany. In all these examples, the United States government supports and helps fund the important work of nongovernment organizations because they strengthen the foundation of democracy.

Non-government organizations are made up of highly motivated, caring people. They frequently do what government cannot do, providing humanitarian relief in places where local parties or ethnic groups are suspicious of the government. They sometimes do what government will not do. NGOs helped deliver food to starving people in Afghanistan even when the Taliban tried to block these deliveries.

Because they work at the local level, close to the people, NGOs generate new ideas to solve old problems, and always, they focus on the individual human beings we are trying to help. Our government works with NGOs around the world in much the same way that my husband wants government to work with faith-based and community groups in our own country. His faith-based initiative recognizes what NGOs prove every day: that people who are motivated by their faith or good will for their fellow man, people who have a passion to make a difference, are often far more effective at delivering help to people in need than government could ever be.

The United States of America believes the work of NGOs is so important that our government will spend close to a billion dollars worldwide this year on programs that help foster democracy and the civil society on which it depends. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty is a great example. Radio Free Europe is a nonprofit, private entity that is funded through a federal grant from the Broadcasting Board of Governors. By 'Bringing news to people who need it,' it is widely credited with helping to end communism in Eastern and Central Europe. Polish leader Lech Walesa said its role was comparable to the one the sun plays to the earth.

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty defines its fundamental mission as helping people create the conditions of freedom in which they can make decisions for themselves and their countries. One of those conditions is information. Some of Radio Free Afghanistan's most important work right now is informing citizens about the Loya Jirga and what it means to their lives.

Another condition of freedom is freedom of association, an individual's ability to join with others of common interest and common concern. Freedom of association is often denied in the world's most repressive societies, as it was in Afghanistan when women were isolated and treated as virtual prisoners in their homes. Some of the most important work that NGOs will do in Afghanistan is helping integrate women back into society. After years of isolation, many women who are joyful about their new freedom are also understandably apprehensive and uncertain about how to take their place in society. NGOs can help bridge that gap with training, education, and moral support, providing opportunities to bring together like-minded individuals and help them find a comfortable place.

All of you are here because you are committed to making a difference. On behalf of the American people, I thank you for the important work that you are doing. As you and your organizations work in Afghanistan and around the world, you are providing resources, training, education, and a powerful example -- an example of the best that a civil society has to offer.

Thank you and I look forward to hearing from each of you.

(end text)

(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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