SENATOR RICHARD LUGAR and SAGAMORE INSTITUTE Inaugurate the 'Indiana-Africa Connections Project'

INDIANAPOLIS, Oct. 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- SENATOR RICHARD LUGAR will help SAGAMORE INSTITUTE inaugurate its "Indiana-Africa Connections Project," a database that lists more than 250 Indiana citizens and organizations who regularly engage with groups in SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA.

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Sagamore Institute worked with University of Indianapolis graduate students to compile the database, which includes entries such as the Bryantsville Hunger Relief Project, a farm that sends corn to South African countries, and The Institute for Affordable Transportation, an Indianapolis-based group that manufactures and distributes low-cost utility vehicles to individuals in developing countries. This project underscores an emerging paradigm in foreign aid that elevates non-governmental citizen-to-citizen international assistance.

Since its inception in 2004, Sagamore Institute has investigated the many bridges between Indiana and Africa, most significantly a 20-year collaboration between Indiana University and Moi University School of Medicine in Eldoret, Kenya. This partnership has led to one of the most effective programs for treating HIV/AIDS in Africa. It also has generated hundreds of personal and professional connections between Indianapolis and Eldoret.

Senator Lugar's experience as Ranking Member and former Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and advocate for improving Africa's economy and health care makes him an ideal partner with Sagamore in showcasing Indiana's role as an important global citizen. 

Through leadership on crucial legislation such as the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction Program, PEPFAR, the African Growth and Opportunity Act and Tropical Rain Forest Conservation Act, and a heavy interest in energy and hunger security, Senator Lugar has demonstrated the need for a strong and healthy relationship between the United States and countries throughout the African continent.   

The unveiling of the database will take place at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, October 21, at Sagamore Institute's new headquarters in the historic Levey Mansion. The event is open to the public.

About Sagamore Institute

Sagamore Institute is an Indianapolis-based nonpartisan research group — or "think tank" — that brings policymakers and practitioners together to turn ideas into action. Follow us on Facebook here.

SOURCE Sagamore Institute