Garowe, Somalia, 7 Mrch 2008 - The official opening of Garowe bridge phase one began at 9:00 am on Saturday, March 1, 2008. It was a momentous occasion drawing remarkable crowds and invited guests, including the Vice President of Puntland Hassan Dahir Afqura, respected community elder Sultan Mohamed Said Garase, Members of Parliament, Cabinet ministers and other government officials, NESHA delegates, a representative from local NGO Kaalo, businesspeople, educators, intellectuals, women, children and other members of the community who turned out to witness the opening of Garowe bridge.

An advocacy group organized the event, the formal procedure opened with a reading from the Noble Qur’an. Lul Mohamed Warsame, a member of advocacy group, proceeded with the ceremony and read a welcoming speech in front of the 200-plus crowd.

Lul said she was grateful for the participants and expressed thanks to all the people of Garowe and mentioned that this upshot was the community contribution at large while giving special gratitude to State Bank of Garowe, GOLIS Private Ltd., NEC Private Ltd., Kaalo NGO, Abdullahi Isse Ali Ilyare, Jama, Dhagadheere, Saido Hersi Egal, Bashir Mohamed Abdullahi for their input towards this mission.

The proceeding took a sensational turn when a delegate from NESHA Ahmed Aidid Osman read a message on behalf of his organization announcing that NESHA is delighted and happy to see this kind of endeavor. Although NESHA's connection as an organization is limited to the outskirts of Garowe, however, NESHA will participate in this project as a community member and handed over a check on that spot.

After a round of speeches, Puntland Vice President Afqura officially declared open and cut the traditional rope in the presence of the large crowd. VP Afqura publicly congratulated the advocacy group and told the crowd let every body contribute to the development of our country.

To conclude the ceremony, respected traditional elder Sultan Garase whispered his words of wisdom. He told the public the importance that this road has to the community and narrated his personal experience: "I was driving to Garowe Hospital with my family when a car turned and it did not have brakes. The driver could not stop it and the ugly thing was that I did not have space to back up. My good experience helped us that day," he said.

He commended the bridge and its significance, saying that the bridge will impact the community in a very positive way. He cited the advocacy group's selfless efforts as an

exaple to be followed across Puntland and Somalia in general.

He then closed the ceremony with a prayer.

Sent by: Garowe Advocacy Group

Source: Garowe Online