Ambassador Grappo presents a certificate of award to one of English Access Microscholarship Program participants.

U.S. Ambassador Congratulates English Language Students
April 28, 2008

On Tuesday, April 28, as part of a two-day visit to the Dhofar Governorate, U.S. Ambassador Gary A. Grappo met with students participating in the English Access Microscholarship Program in Salalah. 

Access is one of the U.S. Embassy's largest programs in Oman; it provides two years of intensive English teaching to 280 students in five communities across the Sultanate:  Muscat, Sohar, Sur, al-Buraimi, and Salalah.  It is administered in conjunction with the Ministry of Education and educational partners including English Language Service, English Language Center, and Buraimi College.  Oman is one of 55 countries participating in the worldwide Access program.

Talking with the students, the Ambassador congratulated them on their participation in the program and presented each with a certificate of award.  The event took place on the premises of ELC Salalah and included both male and female Access participants from the Salalah area.  He noted the critical importance of language skills in both education and the workplace, and he encouraged the students to use their enhanced English abilities as the basis for learning more about the world around them.

During this visit to Dhofar, Ambassador Grappo also met with local officials including H.E. Shaikh Muhammad bin Marhun al-Ma'mari, Minister of State and Governor of Dhofar; interacted with local community and business leaders, including Shaikh Amer al-Amri, Chairman of the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Salalah; and met with participants in another U.S. Government program, Women in Technology, which enables deserving women to learn how to use new technologies in their lives and work.