// September 16th, 2011 // No Comments » // Afghanistan, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Japan, Jordan, Libya, Myanmar, Nigeria, Somalia, Sri Lanka, tcd, TLD
Some of the kids in GHNI's orphan care programs in Myanmar
A summary of news and reports from the field staff and interns of GHNI, Geneva Switzerland.
HORN OF AFRICA FAMINE WORSENS
Drought, war, disease and tribal conflict have devastated Somalia and its bordering countries. International appeals have gone out and there is some response, but much of it will be too late. GHNI has a trusted partner that has been working in a region of Somalia for years. WE HAVE SENT FUNDS IN THE LAST FEW DAYS SO OUR PARTNERS CAN PURCHASE FOOD IN SOMALIA TO FEED THE STARVING. Most aid agencies send containers which will take months to arrive. Also, this constant relief unfortunately often helps to create and continue dependency. GHNI is sponsoring aid for communities that are starving, but also ones we believe will be open to development teaching. GHNI’s Transformational Community Development lessons provide training in drip irrigation, sustainable agriculture and public health so that families can have a future of food security and more resilience. Click here to contribute to disaster relief for Somalia and northern Kenya.
AFGHANISTAN
Violence has not deterred our work in Afghanistan, and the women often take the lead. Generous friends from Switzerland, friends of GHNI, have helped many poor women become self-sustainable by sending funds and spores for mushroom cultivation. This was the vision of Michael Mueller of Switzerland, former GHNI Director, Afghanistan.
ARMENIA AND CENTRAL ASIAN RURAL POOR
Armenia is one of the poorest countries in Central Asia and the rural poor have largely been neglected since the fall of communism. GHNI is having our first Transformational Community Development conference for Central Asia in Armenia the third week of October. We expect over 20 champion trainers from four or more countries. We desperately need funds. Cost per foreign delegate can be up to 90 USD per day.
LIBYA: RELIEF AND RECONCILIATION
Dr. Peter McLewin recently led an international team to Benghazi to bring medical supplies for many wounded as well as study the long term needs. Because there are few aid organizations there, GHNI was hosted for several days by members of the National Transition Council. While there, GHNI conducted in-depth assessments in several sectors of social needs including education, medicine, business and development. In the midst of the team’s stay, they were introduced at a rally of more than 100,000 people. One of our team members spoke briefly about how her brother had been killed in a terror attack by a Libyan on a Pan Am flight, and it caused her to have a hatred for Libyans. Then she said that since coming to Libya and seeing the pain of the Libyan people caused by Gaddafi, she now had a sense of unity and reconciliation with them. The crowd went wild. We are hoping to help the new government in its steps towards a democratic, free state.
JAPAN
Relief efforts continue in Japan from the results of the earthquake and tsunami. GHNI has sent people and resources with a view to help with long-term community development. Our present program is in partnership with several agencies that provide counseling services for victims of Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. Several internationally known psychologists are helping in this endeavor. We also are doing an assessment to provide the poorest of the poor with a community development program like TCD under the auspices of the partnership we are engaged in.
NIGERIA
The rural poor of northern Nigeria have, for the most part, been very neglected. GHNI West African Director, Martins Atanda, has recently seen so much success in helping poor villages become more self-sustaining, that a local chief gave a hectare of land. This land will be developed as a model for sustainable agriculture and cash crops with a center for GHNI to teach Transformational Community Development. Volunteers will be coming in December from Burkina Faso, Mauritania, Togo, Niger and other francophone countries for training. To sponsor a village worker contact Jeff.Latsa@ghni.org
SRI LANKA
Still recovering from the years of civil war and terrible flooding earlier this year, Sri Lanka is not much in the news. Yet the doors are now more open than ever to help the rural poor, who often live on less than $1 per day. Our Directors, Jay and Celeste Pieterz, report they are making inroads in remote village areas and are actively teaching GHNI lessons to the villagers in Agalawatha.
MYANMAR
Orphan care programs abound in Myanmar as a result of Cyclone Nargis. GHNI is teaching many community based orphan care programs how to become self-sustaining through agricultural programs. A team from Hong Kong bought 200 chickens for a small orphanage and now the 20 orphans are being sustained with no outside help! Plus they are learning farming and care for animals.
INDONESIA
Our GHNI staff serving in Indonesia, Cedric Lehot from Switzerland, and Phil Costello, National Director, share this report: Two weeks ago, Cedric and I (Phil) officially closed down our Toraja Project after three years. Although our partnering family was disappointed to see our involvement officially end, they could not be more grateful for the past three years GHNI has invested in their community. Pak Yordan, Pak Issac and Ibu Demise all expressed in different ways how grateful they were for GHNI. Pak Yordan pulled me aside and went on and on about how before GHNI, no one in the community knew anything at all about organic farming, but now because of GHNI’s investment in them, they have the tools/skills they need to continue this practice.
SYRIA REFUGEES
Thousands of families from Syria have fled to the relative peace of Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan. GHNI Jordan Director, Jamal Hashweh, has found many refugee families in the northern desert of Jordan and is presently gathering a partnership of aid organizations to reach out to them with tents, food, clothing and medical help.
EGYPT
Ezbet El Nakhel is a slum inside the poorest part of Cairo’s suburbs. In a historic first, our partnership director reports they held a Health Survey Project for forty-seven people. The doctors did various analysis for the people there, including urinalyses, blood analysis and blood pressure. They also held community health meetings to increase their awareness for disease prevention. Our partnership team was also able to reach 500 families with food rations during the revolution – thanks to the generosity of many of you!
IRAQ
We are seeing leaders transform! GHNI is helping the Ministry of Education in Irbil with a series of training programs called Transformational Leadership Development led by Mike Shea. Mike and his team will be in Irbil this October conducting another TLD conference. They are looking for volunteers with good business leadership backgrounds to help teach. Contact Mike.Shea@ghni.org if you are interested!
INDIA
Approximately 400 million rural and some urban Indians have been left behind the Economic Miracle of India. Much of this is due to their lower caste status or because of injustices laid upon their ethnic group. A rural focused group has approached GHNI and now we are training 700 of their village workers in TCD and these trained workers will reach up to 80,000 villages. A major part of the effort will include helping these 700 workers be self-sustaining with no western aid supporting them!
JORDAN
Jordan is an island of stability in the midst of much conflict. The commitment to help the poorest youth continues. We are excited to announce that the Vocational Student Loan Program, mostly funded by European donors, has been fully subscribed. This means all the funds have been loaned out to some of the poorest of the poor Jordanian youth to attend technical school and make a living for themselves and their families. A major breakthrough here is the fact that it is a loan program, not a give away program and the ones we help have committed to repay so others can be helped. 285 USD can help fund a few months of tuition for a student loan. To help, click here and type “Jordan Student Loan Program” under the Special Instructions.
CHINA
Although the rapid advancement of the economy has helped millions in China, up to 400 million of the rural poor remain hidden and hurting. GHNI is partnering with a great group of partners in China, working from Cheng Du and surrounding areas. The training will teach young business entrepreneurs how to start a business that they can also use to train others in some of the poorest small towns in the rural areas. The motivation and drive of these trainers is so exciting. The program we have engages top successful small business people from many countries to help them learn how to teach the poorest of the poor.
GENEVA INSTITUTE FOR LEADERSHIP AND PUBLIC POLICY CONFERENCE NO. 2
Government leaders from more than 12 developing countries convened in Geneva this summer to learn “Sustainable Development for the Rural Poor”. This was the theme of our conference this year as we brought together government leaders from countries such as Afghanistan, Somalia, Libya, India, and Indonesia with globally recognized professors from Switzerland, Europe, the Americas and Africa. The various professors and speakers taught and shared model legislation and also presented a fantastic case study on how villagers amongst the rural poor of Kenya have come to become self-sustainable. This Kenyan village has become a model to other villages for food, water security, micro-loan programs, public health and providing basic education for the children of semi-nomadic Borana tribes. The government leaders discussed ways to make the laws and regulations of their lands more positive towards allowing Transformational Community Development to function in their countries. The results were requests for more of what we teach! 2,280 USD sponsors a government leader to our next conference. Click here to help.
