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Floriculture Training Program Is A Good Deed Worthy Of Angelina JolieCopyright © 2006-2008 Wesley Berry, AAFAngelina Jolie is well known not just for the hit movies she stars in, but also for the wonderful charity work she's done in countries around the world. Now USAID has begun a floriculture training program that's doing as much good as any backed by a major star like Jolie. USAID (www.usaid.gov) has joined hands with Asocolflores, which is the Colombian Association of Flower Exporters, to provide money to pay for a training program designed to help Colombians start "budding" careers in the floral industry. Silvia Ardila, promotion and communications assistant for Asocolflores, says the program is meant to assist those Colombians who have been displaced by years of violence in Colombia, the number of which is in the range of three million people. Now, 500 of those who have been displaced are fortunate enough to have the opportunity to take part in the joint-effort program. According to Ardila, 25 percent of the funding will be provided by USAID. Before beginning the program, each potential participant (all of whom must be at least 18 years of age) must pass a test. The purpose of the test is to prove the individual is able to both read and write, and to show that he or she truly has an interest in a career in agriculture. The training program spans one year. The first nine months of that year long commitment by each participant is spent in various classrooms in the Cundinamarca and Antioquia regions of Colombia. But, the time isn't only spent at desks listening to lectures; the participants also have plenty of opportunities to receive hands-on experience when they travel to local flower farms. The remaining three months of the program provides even more hands-on experience in the form of internships at one of Asocolflores's member farms. All that experience really pays off since many of the students wind up with full-time jobs on the farms where they intern at the end of the program. Ardila says, "At the end, 40 percent of those who [pass] the course are definitively hired in the farms." As for those who aren't hired, Asocolflores assists them to "start a process for the development of their own business." In a press release, Asocolflores representatives said, "Linking displaced people who need career options with the country's fast-growing flower industry filled a key gap in expertise that inhibited the industry's growth." Fostering careers in floriculture may not be quite as glamorous as filming a Hollywood blockbuster, but it's certainly a program worth attention from famous do-gooders like Angelina Jolie. However, even without her assistance, USAID and Asocolflores are doing a world of good for both the people of Colombia and the floral industry. About The Author:
*** Digital Reprint Rights *** *** Author Notification *** We ask that you notify the author of publication of his or her work. Wesley Berry, AAF can be reached at: wes@wesleyberryflowers.com *** Print Publication Reprint Rights *** If you desire to publish this article in a PRINT publication, you must contact the author directly for Print Permission at: wes@wesleyberryflowers.com
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