Gwangju City sending humanitarian aid to Benin, Africa

- supplying street lighting, and school equipment to Abomey city, Benin

Gwangju City will offer humanitarian aid and support to Abomey City, in Benin, Africa, by providing street lighting, electronic appliances, tyres, and household items which have been produced in Gwangju.

This support will be promoted as a friendship-exchange program between the two cities. The deal was agreed last October when Abomey Mayor Glele attended a LUCI (Lighting Urban Community International) meeting, and requested support to expand the city’s poor infrastructure, in particular, public street lights, and Gwangju Mayor Park Gwang-tae stepped forward to offer assistance.

Elsewhere, Gwangju city sent $100,000 to the relief effort underway in Haiti, following the large-scale damage caused by a recent earthquake. Gwangju is further promoting aid and support for Abomey in order to raise its profile as an international city in today’s global era, and build a bridgehead for further trade exchange with the African continent.

Gwangju city made an agreement with Mayor Glele to ▲provide street lighting ▲supporting education, such as inviting and training students, ▲future investment in Gwangju businesses ▲invite cultural exchange groups etc. after assessment of the situation by working level consultative groups sent to Abomey last December.

The public street lighting will be supplied in the form of re-processed street lamps. Street lamps which have been discarded will be repaired, coated to prevent rusting, and repainted and maintained. There are a total of 50 lighting systems including street lights and landscape lighting.

A non-governmental working-level consultation, attended by Im Byeong-seon, representing Innerfinety, will offer supplies and new products, as well skills and technical support for future maintenance, and was key in the decision making.

Additionally, to showcase the excellence of local products in this global era, as well as lead to future exports, in co-operation with local businesses seeking to enter the African markets such as Samsung Electronics Gwangju and Kumho tyres, Gwangju City will send locally-produced products such as an air-conditioner, a refrigerator, five sets of tyres, and tables and desks donated by Salesio High School. These products will be shipped from Gwang-Yang harbour this coming Jan. 27th.

“Local businesses and schools attended this humanitarian international exchange with one mind,” said a city official. “Through the support of street lights, the democratic and human-rights city of Gwangju will raise its status as an international city, and the renown of ‘City of Light’ will spread to Africa, which will help to stage a successful World Photonics Expo 2010 Gwangju.”

Gwangju city hosted an event to commemorate the aid dispatch, attended by Gwangju Mayor Park Gwang-tae, and participating businesses, which took place in the performance square in front of Gwangju City Hall January 25th.