VOA常速英语2007-New Program Aims to Support Youth in African Coc

By Phillip Wellman
Dakar
14 October 2007

The United States Agency for International Development and the U.S.-based World Cocoa Foundation have agreed to launch a multi-year partnership¹ aimed at improving education and providing greater opportunities for thousands of young people in cocoa farming communities throughout Ivory Coast and Ghana. Phillip Wellman reports from our West Africa Bureau in Dakar.

The partnership, known as ECHOES, which stands for Empowering Cocoa Households with Opportunities and Education Solutions, will be working with the governments of Ivory Coast and Ghana to develop a curriculum that will provide both academic and life skills training for students.

A recent independent survey names education as a major challenge facing cocoa farming communities in West Africa.

The survey says that while government efforts have improved enrollment² rates, a lack of adequately trained teachers and the relevancy of what they teach continue to be major problems in rural areas.

President of the World Cocoa Foundation, Bill Guyton, says that outside teachers, mostly from the United States, are being brought to Ivory Coast and Ghana to provide training. He says the goal is to have local teachers teaching by the end of December when ECHOES is expected to be fully³ operational.

Guyton says that the World Cocoa Foundation, which is supported by over 60 chocolate companies and trade associations throughout the world, currently has several programs in West Africa aiding cocoa farmers. But he says what is missing is an outreach program to youth, which he says ECHOES will provide.

"I think the reason why the chocolate companies and the World Cocoa Foundation membership really value this is because it goes beyond just corporate⁴ social responsibility," said Bill Guyton. "It is an investment in the future. And young people that have skills training and good education will become productive adults, whether they choose to be cocoa farmers or in some other discipline."

Some analysts⁵ say that organizations like the Wold Cocoa Foundation should begin putting more of an effort on securing a fixed⁶ price for cocoa bought from farmers rather than making them dependent on charity.

They say thirty years ago, large-scale cocoa farmers made enough money to send their children to university and small-scale farmers could provide, at the very least, a few years of elementary education for their children.

Since then, various factors have siphoned profits away from the farmer, leading to progressive impoverishment⁷. At the same time, chocolate companies in the West continue to supply affordable⁸ products to their customers.

Education Program Director at the World Cocoa Foundation, Charlie Feezel, says ECHOES will both strengthen coca communities and benefit Western companies.

"We offer them expanded opportunities that help to diversify⁹ the social and economic base of the communities," said Charlie Feezel. "That way we ensure their longevity¹⁰ and a continued healthy community and for us the strengthened supply of cocoa."

Feezel says that ECHOES is currently scheduled to run for two years. But he says it is hoped that the program's success will allow it to continue indefinitely.

"As part of its success we hope to see all stakeholders buy into the program to the degree that it continues on," he said. "Indeed, one of our goals for this program is to develop a replicable¹¹ model of rural-relevant education in West Africa."

Seventy five percent of the world's cocoa is grown in West Africa. In both Ivory Coast and Ghana, the cocoa industry is made up of mainly small-scale farmers. Analysts say the farmers have had little leeway in improving their poor work conditions, both in regards to powerful, private operators who buy their cocoa and governments who set the rules.

1 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

2 enrollment   

n.注册或登记的人数；登记

参考例句：

• You will be given a reading list at enrollment.注册时你会收到一份阅读书目。
• I just got the enrollment notice from Fudan University.我刚刚接到复旦大学的入学通知书。

3 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

4 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

5 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

6 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

7 impoverishment   

n.贫穷，穷困；贫化

参考例句：

• Therefore, the spiritual impoverishment is a more fearful social phenomenon. 所以，精神贫困是一种比物质贫困更隐蔽更可怕的社会现象。 来自互联网
• Impoverishment is compounded by many elements, and can transmit to be a pernicious cycle. 贫困是由多种因素复合而成的，并且具有传递性，形成贫困的恶性循环。 来自互联网

8 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

9 diversify   

v.（使）不同，（使）变得多样化

参考例句：

• Our company is trying to diversify.我们公司正力图往多样化方面发展。
• Hills and woods diversify the landscape.山陵和树木点缀景色。

10 longevity   

n.长命；长寿

参考例句：

• Good habits promote longevity.良好的习惯能增长寿命。
• Human longevity runs in families.人类的长寿具有家族遗传性。

11 replicable   

可复制的，能复现的

参考例句：

• The database must be closed to make the database replicable programmatically. 若要用程序将数据库设置为可同步复制，则必须关闭数据库。
• You must select a database with a least one replicable table. 必须选择一个具有一个以上可复制表的数据库。