Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class Jared Walker | 171119-N-JY474-093 CAMP LEMONNIER, Djibouti – U.S. service members and base...... read more read more
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CAMP LEMONNIER, Djibouti – U.S. service members and base personnel attended the Camp Lemonnier Djiboutian Bazaar, Nov. 19.
The semi-annual event takes place in the spring and fall of every year. The bazaar not only supports the local economy, but allows attendees to purchase gifts for themselves and their loved ones for the upcoming holiday season.
This November marked the seventh bazaar coordinated by the Army Civil Affairs Battalion and Camp Lemonnier personnel. There were 16 vendors overall, to include 10 artisan commercial vendors.
According to Chief Operations Manager for the bazaar, Navy Chief Legalman Jeneice Annunziato, by having the artisans association involved was like having a “made in Djibouti tag” for the items.
“In addition to the ‘Djiboutian tag’ there were some other benefits to having the bazaar,” Annunziato said. “First, it gives the local associations the opportunity to make a craft to support themselves and their families. Second, this also gives American’s the opportunity to create intracultural relationships with the Djiboutians, Embassy and Chamber of Commerce.”
Djiboutian husband and wife team, Mohammad Ismael Caco and Mariam Hassan Mohammed, patiently waited for the May bazaar to open six months ago and felt the same way about this bazaar.
“[The] last bazaar, I sold a lot of items but I hope to sell more this time around,” Caco said. “The bazaar was well organized and easy to sell goods because there was no debate about the price of the merchandise. I really looked forward to participating in this bazaar and selling my goods to the Americans again.”
In May 2017, the bazaar raised $44,076. Sunday’s event brought in roughly $63k to local vendors. Within two bazaar events, roughly $107k was put back into the economy. Many vendors made more in the day than they do in an entire year.
Those that attended the event also had the opportunity to pet and take photos with a camel from the local Decan Wildlife Refuge. The camel itself brought in a little over $1,000.
Action officer for the bazaar was Bravo Company, 411th Civil Affairs Battalion Army Capt. Kimball K. Yamasaki. He said vendors came from all over Djibouti to sell authentic items to base personnel.
“They have a chance to sell their merchandise to the U.S. service members on base,” Yamasaki said. “Service members aren’t allowed to leave the base regularly, so this gives them an opportunity to see what the locals are selling off base.”
Many U.S. service members looked forward to browsing the bazaar and buying goods such as statues, knives, necklaces, artwork and clothes. Clothes is what caught the eye of first time bazaar attendee, Marine Corps Cpl. Vickson Joseph.
“What I liked about the clothes was the many variation of colors,” Joseph said. “Because of that, I bought some clothes for myself and I also got a purse for my mom.”
Another aspect of the bazaar was the base personnel that volunteered to work with the vendors, which acted as liaisons for the vendors and the U.S. service members.
“I volunteered for this event because it was a good opportunity to interact with the vendors and see what they are selling,” said Hospital Corpsman First Class Petty Officer Elizabeth Jimenez. “It is also a good opportunity to see everyone on base and mingle as well.”
To put on a bazaar like this takes the coordination of many departments within the base and off the installation. Notably, the Camp Lemonnier security, public works and logistics teams were exceptional in providing support with getting merchandise and vendors on base for the full-day event.
The U.S. Embassy Djibouti and Djiboutian Chamber of Commerce also played a role in assisting in the success of an event of this magnitude. Coordination must run through the Embassy to ensure vendors are vetted properly. The Djiboutian Chamber of Commerce assisted in finding local vendors for the bazaar.
“The personnel that helped me plan this event are super stars,” Yamasaki said. This is literally a team effort.”
Camp Lemonnier is one of Navy Region Europe, Africa, Southwest Asia, installations that conducts eight lines of operation to support air operations, port operations, safety, security, housing, MWR, Fleet and Family Support and what is called the core: the fuels, water and power that keep the bases operating.
Camp Lemonnier’s mission includes enabling joint warfighters operating forward and to reinforce the U.S. – Djibouti relationship by providing exceptional services and facilities for the tenant commands, transient U.S. assets and service members.
| Date Taken: | 11.19.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 11.24.2017 09:00 |
| Story ID: | 256422 |
| Location: | DJ |
| Web Views: | 245 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Camp Lemonnier hosts Djiboutian Bazaar, by PO1 Jared Walker, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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