The Diamond Development Initiative (DDI) announced that the Antwerp World Diamond Center (AWDC) has again made a significant contribution to this fund. This year's grant is already the third by a donation from AWDC, aimed at the development of local communities of diamond miners.
AWDC CEO Ari Epstein said: "AWDC is supporting DDI as the fund works with the primary link of the diamond supply chain, that is, with people who are important to our industry, but who are often overlooked."
DDI appreciates the fact that the funds directed by AWDC are not aimed at a single project. "The gift of joint AWDC support continues to drive innovation in ethical diamond shipments, and it also supports key tasks that no organization can work without," Dorothée Gizenga, DDI's executive director, said. "Grants like this allow donations, made by other sponsors, go even further, which means great advantages for diamond prospectors and their communities. "
The AWDC funds will also be used to fund the DDI mobile school project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, an important study of prospectors and small mining companies in Tanzania, as well as the second phase of DDI activities related to Ebola Fever in Sierra Leone.