VOA社论:美国向近东救济工程处捐款5500万美元(2/2)

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【VOA Editorial】01-14-2012
U.S. Contribution To UNRWA

Photo: AP
A Palestinian woman drags a sack of flour received as food supplies at a United Nations food aid distribution center, Shati refugee camp, Gaza City.
联合国近东巴勒斯坦难民救济和工程处(近东救济工程处), 即United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
【VOA社论】节目单订阅>>>>
HINTS:
the Agency
dollar用符号$表示，如$250 million
文中有4处连词符
Palestinian
General Fund
West Bank and Gaza
Lebanon

The Agency also runs an enterprise training program that educates participants in subjects such as book-keeping, taxation, tendering, computing and e-commerce. Further, the Agency helps support economic development in the refugee community by offering capital investment and working capital loans at commercial rates, including microfinance loans and small-scale enterprise loans. Such programs are critically important to help the Palestinian refugee population become self-sufficient, which is why the United States is UNRWA's largest bilateral donor. In 2011, we provided just under $250 million to the agency, including $146 million to its General Fund, 75 million to its West Bank and Gaza emergency programs, and $15 million to emergency programs in Lebanon. The final $10 million went toward the construction of five new schools in Gaza, which will serve an estimated 10,000 schoolchildren. The United States encourages the Agency to maintain the neutrality of its operations, expand its donor base, enhance its strategic communications, and maximize programmatic efficiencies in order to better serve refugees.