African Development Foundation

A United States Government Agency

USADF Plans Founder’s Day on May 6, 2008

To Honor the Contributions of Fred O'Regan, Douglas Hellinger and Stephen Hellinger

WASHINGTON - March 24, 2008

As the United States African Development Foundation enters its second quarter century, staff members as well as friends of the Foundation have been gaining perspective and getting reinvigorated by looking to our beginnings, and the ideas that formed our special mission.  To look at our formation also renews a great respect for the vision and perseverance of our Founders.  To recognize their achievement, we are planning a special event - Founder’s Day – on May 6, 2008, to honor those that led the effort to make the Foundation a reality. 

USADF President Lloyd O. Pierson has said,  “Its time for USADF to recognize and celebrate the visionary founders of USADF, [an organization] that has provided the means for the people of the United States to help enlarge economic opportunities for the poorest in Africa.”

In 1980, while the world was being introduced to PACMAN and the Rubik’s Cube, and some were waiting to see “Who shot JR” in the Dallas TV series, Fred O'Regan, Doug Hellinger and Steve Hellinger were busy launching an organization that would eventually touch the lives of hundreds of thousands of people.  The energizing vision behind this creation was that a gap had existed in development for too long that had ignored those closest to the problems to be solved and had excluded their experience and motivation to solve those problems.  It was the recognition by our Founders that direct participation on the part of African groups and individuals at the local level was essential to the design and development of winning strategies.  USADF was specifically designed to work directly with local cooperatives, farmers’ associations, women’s groups, youth groups, community service groups and other similar local enterprises to fund focused and innovative projects addressing the specific needs of local people by the people themselves.

A strong bipartisan coalition has and continues to work actively to support the unique mission of USADF.  Their vision and insight has become embodied in the purposes section of the “African Development Foundation Act of 1980”.  These are: 

• 1) To strengthen the bonds of friendship and understanding between the people of Africa and the United States;
  
  
• 2) To support self-help activities at the local level designed to enlarge opportunities for community development;
• 3) To stimulate and assist effective and expanding participation of Africans in their development process; and
  
  
• 4) To encourage the establishment and growth of development institutions which are indigenous to particular countries in Africa and which can respond to the requirements of the poor in those countries

As we move closer to May 6th and Founder’s Day, we will be providing more information on the Foundation, those people who were instrumental in its development, and on the event itself.  For now, mark the date, as we look forward to celebrating the U.S. African Development Foundation.

 

The United States African Development Foundation (ADF) is a federal agency dedicated to expanding access to economic opportunity in Africa. Over the past 28 years, ADF has funded over 1,100 projects in support of African entrepreneurs and local African communities. For more information on ADF, its programs and its application guidelines, visit: www.usadf.gov. 

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