News Behind the News

// January 6th, 2011 // No Comments » // China, Ethiopia, field work, Indonesia, Kenya, Sudan, tcd, Updates

News Behind the News is a publication released by GHNI’s headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. Most of these news clips come directly from our staff in the field.

Eastern Ethiopia: GHNI completed a dormitory for teachers in Garmaam Elementary School. Around 600 children attend this school. During the construction of this school it was amazing to see the community develop and take ownership. Almost 1,200 people are living in this village.

Southern Ethiopia: Wako and Achalu are hard workers and were struggling with many different difficulties in order to change their lives. Wako has 4 children and Achalu has 5 children. After joining GHNI they attended TCD training and they commented how this training has changed their lives. After the training they started to plow a small acre of land. Now they have each harvested different kinds of vegetables. Wako earned 2000 birr from his harvest (about 4 months of wages) and Achalu earned 1,200 birr (about 3 months’ wages).

China: GHNI met with our network in the mountains that are working with the Yi minority group. They relayed very encouraging news of the impact of buffalos we have loaned to families there. These loaned animals are transforming the families. Now we hope to be teaching Community Health to move the villages towards transformation.   

Egypt: Field visit to Zarayeb El Nakhel area:

Farhan, Azmi and Nabil (LifeWind – Egypt) visited the area and met with Isaac and Einas who are leaders in the local church. LifeWind has already started assessment work in the area for the last six months and welcomed our full participation in the area. They welcomed us wholeheartedly. After a thorough discussion with them, we came to the following understanding:

• The local community is in desperate need of help.
• The plan is to help 200 families to become self-sustainable.
• The starting point is to have medical research and tests. Children will have the priority in the initial stage.

Indonesia: Pak Agus is a new partner with GHNI’s income generating projects. He lives in a village called Clowok in the town of Salatiga. He has lived in the village for several years. Pak Agus desires to help the surrounding community. He has seen that most of the people who live in his community have livestock. So he thought that the need for organic supplemental food for livestock might be high. He wants his community to adopt an organic farming system for their livestock by using organic materials. To help him start this business, he applied to partner with GHNI.

Kenya: GHNI’s TCD work in our pilot village, Gambella, has been so successful that many other villages have requested our program. Our staff Wubshet and Habiba have interviewed and chosen three additional villages to help beginning in 2011. Also, they had new baby, named Abraham!

Lebanon: GHNI has been working in Bedawi, a Palestinian Refugee camp for several years. A few times, during fighting, we were the only ones there via our courageous staff guy, Michel. UISP (Unione Italiana Sport per Tutti) and UNRWA inaugurated a new sports playground in an UNRWA school in Bedawi Camp. The Italian Sport Association UISP funded the EUR 16,500 project.

Sudan: There have been numerous instances of carjacking perpetrated against INGO’s, UN agencies, and UNAMID over the course of the past few months, raising concerns about the feasibility of continued operation under the given security constraints.

Despite the situation on the ground in Darfur, GHNI has been able to drill four (4) new boreholes over the course of the past month that will provide potable water for approximately 8000 residents of South Darfur. GHNI’s activities in Otash camp continue to provide valuable education in community health and hygiene as well as support for the livelihoods of many camp residents. South Darfur continues to pose challenges to the delivery of humanitarian services, but GHNI continues to reciprocate with perseverance for the sake of those who are suffering.

Turkey: Recently there has been an increase in terrorist activities that have coincided with our move to the region. More than two dozen troops have tragically lost their lives last summer due to roadside bombs or in conflict with guerilla fighters in the mountains. As usual, the oppressed people who are just trying to make a living and send their kids to school are caught in the crossfire. It is into this desperate situation that we are trying to bring hope.

The SWEET SPOT of Community Development: Part 1

// August 20th, 2010 // No Comments » // tcd, Updates

When Community Development becomes TRANSFORMATIONAL

–Jeff Power, GHNI US Partnership Development Director

Global Hope Network International helps the poorest villages of the world transform themselves. Here are critical elements to ensuring that our Transformational Community Development (TCD©) programs are truly transformational:

COMMUNITY-BASED

Community – It sounds obvious, but we have to base our program within a community. The community has to see themselves as a community. A community is a group of people who have a sense of unity and belonging. A true community is small.

Ownership – Community ownership of the program is irreplaceable. The community has to want to change. The people of the community have to choose, above all, to assume responsibility for their own development and for the development of their community. They must believe that they themselves are the key to their community’s future.

Leadership – The community must choose respected leaders among themselves to lead the development effort. Those leaders must have the vision, time and interest to drive their community’s development. They are in charge of leading the development program, and we then become the assistants, the coaches, the trainers of those leaders.

CATCHING THE KEY IDEAS

Knowledge transfer – Everything changes once the community leaders grasp that the greatest wealth we give a village is knowledge, more than money. Then the community becomes eager to learn the development knowledge, that will fuel their future.

Holistic approach – Development that is transformational must happen on several fronts simultaneously. The five development sectors in our TCD (water, food, wellness, income and education) are common to ALL communities worldwide, from the smallest villages to the largest cities. The community must see that continually developing themselves in those sectors is the common framework of transformation worldwide.

Problem Solving – When the leaders regularly gather their people to constructively solve their community’s problems they are on a great path!

Local Resources – Transformation is near when the development leaders instill a mindset of, “Let’s look around to see what resources are available right here or nearby to solve our problems.”

Self-Sustainability – Dependence is the worst possible curse! The community’s development leaders must constantly ensure that each development step releases them from dependence and empowers them toward self-sustainability.

The Loss of a Great Friend and Supporter

// June 28th, 2010 // No Comments » // News, Supporters, Updates

Pierre Marshall Tullier (1945-2010)

Global Hope Network International has lost a great friend and supporter. Pierre was a board member of GHNI and had a great compassion for bringing help and hope to the hidden and hurting around the world. He was involved in a hands-on basis as a great encourager, traveling to a number of the areas where GHNI works. Pierre “came on to the board at a critical time when we needed encouragement and wisdom. He provided both,” stated Scott Gillis, fellow GHNI Board Member.

Pierre was born in New Orleans in 1945 to Peter and Marjorie Tullier, and was raised in Lafayette, Louisiana. After his parents moved to Annapolis, Maryland, he was appointed as a page in the United States Senate. He graduated high school from the Capitol Page School in Washington, D.C. in 1963 and was presented his diploma by President John F. Kennedy. He received a Bachelor of Science degree from Georgetown University and a Masters degree in Operations Research from George Washington University.

Pierre later joined Dunn Capital Management, Inc., where he worked for 26 years before retiring as President of the company.

Pierre and his wife Sandra always opened their home to leaders and families of the organizations in which they were involved. He served as a director on several boards including GHNI’s.

Pierre is survived by his adoring wife of 25 years, Sandra, as well as their five children and ten grandchildren.

A celebration of Pierre’s life will be held on Wednesday, June 30, 2010 at the Grace Place, Stuart, Florida at 10:30 AM.

In lieu of flowers, Pierre’s family has requested that contributions be made to Global Hope Network International, among other organizations. A special Pierre Tullier Memorial Fund has been established for those who want to give to the causes that Pierre strongly believed in and supported.

Although Pierre’s impact will endure for many generations, he will be sorely missed.

It’s About People

// June 1st, 2010 // 1 Comment » // Ethiopia, Jordan, Updates

It’s about people. Period. I just returned from GHNI’s 10 Year Anniversary and Global Staff Conference in Amman, Jordan. While the week was full of meetings and break-out sessions, these activities were not the heart of why 50 GHNI staff from 20 countries converged on the “City of Refuge,” as Amman is called. We came because we care about what happens after the meetings – where brainstorming sessions grow arms and legs, where strategy produces tomatoes and goats that help poor families, where lives are touched and villages are transformed. As staff from diverse geographies and cultures, we came together with the same heart and vision – to “Bring Help and Hope to the Hidden and Hurting.” It was powerful.
 
One of my personal highlights was getting to meet some of our incredible field staff whom I had only heard about.  For example, Zerihun is GHNI’s Project Manager in Ethiopia. The two dimensional picture I had of this man grew flesh and bone as I witnessed his humble heart, sharp intellect and warm personality. Also, he is the proud father of a new baby girl born just days before the conference! Zerihun pours out his life for his people and is working diligently to see Transformational Community Development become a reality in Ethiopia. He is just one of the many passionate and committed staff members serving in some of the hardest places around the world. These men and women are my heroes. 

As GHNI looks ahead to the next ten years, it all boils down to one thing: PEOPLE. Thousands of lives have been touched by this organization over the last decade. I’m excited to see how many more will be forever changed, one village, one person at a time.

By Naomi Schalm

the Next 10 Years

// April 15th, 2010 // No Comments » // field work, tcd, Updates

In a recent strategic planning session, the International Management Team reviewed the last 10 years and positioned ourselves to be a serious force for building holistic community development models. This is so we might fulfill our vision of Bringing Help and Hope to the Hidden and Hurting amongst the poorest of the poor villages in the world. We were amazed that, starting with an office in our small apartment on the Swiss/French border 10 years ago, we have grown to over 140 staff working with hundreds of partners in the villages of over 40 countries. But we are not satisfied with our work. Of the 13 ethno-linguistic regions, from West Africa to East Asia via the Middle East, our goal of having a solid model of sustainable village transformation via the revolutionary model of Transformational Community Development (TCD) in each region is not yet achieved. We therefore hope to find solid national partners in each of the three remaining regions in the next three years.

GHNI also continues to see fruit as we continue to learn from many partners the value of being a flat organization that is open sourced and focused on national partners of integrity. A recent study funded by a Post Graduate school gave us high marks for being a forward-looking aid organization shaping a new paradigm for future sustainable development. The study hallmarked GHNI’s low overhead, principle of building capacities and strengthening of local national aid organizations, and focus on sharing best practices of sustainable community development at the village level.

We are committed to the village. We believe there are lots of good programs going on and needed for the global poor. However, the poorest of the poor still live in the villages that most aid organizations never see. That is why we are in Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Yemen, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Lebanon and Egypt, etc. Our dedicated staff have given their lives for the people they work with. They are volunteers living on very little but enjoying the absolute fullness of joy of seeing lives transformed one person at a time.

Let me encourage you to join our Global Village. Get your family, school, company, office, church or foundation engaged in adopting a village. Then celebrate seeing that village helped and hopefully transformed over the next three to five years.