Daddy Aid Worker: Balancing Life and Career in Development

N.B. - This post is an perspective piece, authored by IRD Sustainable Foods Officer Scott Webb, that also appeared on the international development website Devex.

We had been meeting on Skype for about 20 minutes when suddenly, it happened. Through the live video feed, I saw my wife turn around, things shaking in the background. I heard a crackling sound.

That is how on Aug. 23 last year, I experienced one of the strongest earthquakes the U.S. east coast has ever seen – from more than 7,000 miles away.

I'm an international development professional and father of three. I'm based at International Relief & Development's headquarters in the Washington, D.C. area, but have to travel from time to time. In 2011 alone, I visited Africa three times, all of which were three-week trips: to Chad in January, Ethiopia in August, and Kenya in October. Our son was born in April, which provided me a much-needed three-month paternity leave. Otherwise, I probably would have had to go to Tunisia.

Read more...

Davos Is Looking For New Models; the Development Community Has Them

N.B. - This post is an op-ed, authored by IRD President and CEO Dr. Arthur Keys, that also appeared on the international development website Devex.

The theme of this year’s World Economic Forum, meeting this month in Davos, Switzerland, is The Great Transformation: Shaping New Models. The discussion will focus on innovative concepts and models for a global economy in the midst of an historic rebalancing. Thus, the discussion takes place against a backdrop of unease and a sense that the future could be quite different than the past.

Discussion of this new reality at places like the World Economic Forum is immensely important to the international development community. My view is that the development community has, if not all the answers, important and useful insights into how the beliefs and energies of communities can be focused to enable sustainable development.

Read more...

AgriTrade Moves Fresh Vegetables to Urban Areas

LOWER GWERU, Zimbabwe – Samuel Msipa, 59, is a popular figure at fruit and vegetable markets in and around Gweru in Midlands Province. Vendors at Kudzanayi and Kombayi markets know him as “the man who brings fresh tomatoes, carrots, potatoes and other vegetables” and supplies the Gweru urbanites. A simple walk with him across the breadth of the markets is punctuated by stops and starts for deliveries, order-taking, and responses to various queries and requests from his clients – the vendors.

“As you can see there is a great demand for the produce I bring here,” boasts Msipa. “I am just glad I am now able to do more than I was doing a month ago.” With a boost from the AgriTrade loan facility, which gave him a loan of $1,500 three weeks earlier, Msipa says he has experienced “instant and significant growth” in his agro-trading venture.

“I went from buying tomatoes with $50 at a time when I was using my own limited resources, to buying $800 worth of tomatoes using the money I borrowed from AgriTrade, and this has enabled me to serve more customers, supply more market stalls, and grow my capacity as an agro-trader,” Msipa says.

Read more...

Reflections on Haiti, Two Years After the Earthquake

When I arrived in Haiti in May 2010, the damage from the earthquake was still everywhere you looked in Port au Prince – buildings half and fully collapsed, rubble piled up over streets – and the wounds of the country were still fresh. Everyone I met shared a story of lost friends or loved ones. But more striking was the sight of life – normal, everyday life happening amidst such tragedy. Markets were open. Vendors were selling their wares. People were busy about their daily lives, and they were smiling and laughing as they went along. I was amazed at the ability of the Haitian people to not only endure but to persevere. This idea was reinforced every Sunday over the next year as I saw people who had suffered such disaster and misfortune fill the church near my office every week to celebrate life.

Read more...

From 'Bucket' to 'Supermarket Milling'

Chendambuya, Zimbabwe – Roger Taurayi Makonde, a small-scale miller in Zimbabwe's Chendambuya communal area, has moved from serving local homesteads to supplying supermarkets in a space of four months. "Profits are more than expected," he says.

When Makonde started his Rotamak milling business more than five years ago, his scope was milling maize by the bucket for the local community within a radius of 20 kilometers. Thanks to a $3,000 AgriTrade loan he received in July 2011, Makonde is now milling maize meal for a broader market. He grinds the maize, packs it in 5 and 10 kilogram bags, and sells it to supermarkets in nearby Rusape, some 65 kilometers to the south. "Stumbling upon AgriTrade was the best thing that happened to me," said Makonde.

In February 2011, when he decided he wanted to add value to his product by packaging it and selling it in stores, he realized he needed more stocks of maize at any given time than before. In order to do this, Makonde had to expand his business, but he had no idea where to get financing.

Read more...

Famine, War and Drought

Right now 13.3 million people are in crisis because of the Famine, War, and Drought in the Horn of Africa.  This is the worst drought in 60 years, the worst famine in 20, and there is non-stop violence.

Today, you can make a big difference by taking part in FWD Day. It’s a massive push to spread awareness and ensure the Horn of Africa tragedy no longer goes overlooked. The goal is to generate 13M+ tweets and shares of the FWD facts.

Celebrities like Uma Thurman, Josh Hartnett, Geena Davis, Lance Armstrong, and Anthony Bourdain are on board.  Check out their videos at: youtube.com/usaidvideo. And check out what IRD is doing on our IRD Voices Channel. 

But we need you to show your support too! Join the powerful FWD coalition by:

Read more...

IRD CEO Arthur Keys' Letter to Senator Murray On International Affairs Budget

ARLINGTON, VA -- International Relief and Development (IRD), together with other international aid organizations, is trying to raise awareness of the importance of foreign aid as part of the U.S. federal budget. There is great debate around the country, and especially on Capitol Hill, on how best to reduce our national deficit and regain America's sound fiscal footing.

The International Affairs budget has experienced deep cuts over the last year, and additional cuts are expected for FY2012. The programs funded by the International Affairs budget strengthen our national security, create American jobs, and boost US exports. They also demonstrate our humanitarian values and build goodwill for our nation, which translates into increased economic and political cooperation with the United States.

On Wednesday, IRD President and CEO Dr. Arthur B. Keys, Jr., wrote a letter to Senator Patty Murray, Co-Chair of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction. The Committee is charged with presenting a recommendation to the Congress on how best to reduce the deficit by at least $1.5 trillion over the next 10 years. The Committee must submit their recommendation by November 23, 2011, and the Congress will vote on the recommendation before December 23, 2011.

Keys' letter asks Senator Murray to support a strong and effective International Affairs Budget and oppose disproportionately deep cuts to these programs that are so vital to America's leadership and global engagement.

Read the letter...

Report from Banadir Hospital, Somalia

N.B. - Sagal Mohamoud, IRD’s Country Representative in Somalia, visited Banadir Hospital in Mogadishu on Friday, September 2. Below is her account of the visit and the current situation on the ground in Somalia.

Banadir Hospital is a women and children’s hospital, run by Somali doctors. The hospital has no regular source of funding, but receives periodic donations and supplies from several different sources, including the governments of Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Germany.

Some acquaintances in Mogadishu mentioned that a number of internally displaced people (IDPs) were going to Banadir Hospital for medical care. Together with a few other non-governmental organizations (NGOs), I took the opportunity to visit Banadir, talk with the doctors, and learn how best we might be able to support the important and life-saving work they are doing at the hospital.

Read more...

Bringing Water to Dollo Ado, Ethiopia, Part II

N.B. - Scott Webb is a Relief Officer for IRD, and is posting a two-part series on his assessment and water trucking trip to Dollo Ado, Ethiopia.

We spent the day in the Dolo Bay woreda.  I thought the Dolo Ado woreda was a dry place, but Dolo Bay (pronounced like “bye”) is more parched and desiccated.  We visited a village where their water literally ran out 2 days ago.  In fact, they thought we might be coming to them with water – which is exactly what the Dolo Ado government rep had told us the day before – that these people don’t need any more visits, they need help.  NOW.  The area has hardly had any rains for 2 years now.

In these villages, a common way to save water and prepare for drought is to build “burkitts”.  These are basically covered rainwater catchments – you build where a lot of water will run in a storm, dig a deep, cemented in area, cover it up with a good roof to prevent evaporation, and lock it up until your regular water source runs out.  In one village we visited, their burkit had a little bit of water.  In the other, it was dry – a wet spot drying where they drew their last drops only 48 hours before.

Read more...

Bringing Water to Dollo Ado, Ethiopia

N.B. - Scott Webb is a Relief Officer for IRD, and is posting a two-part series on his assessment and water trucking trip to Dollo Ado, Ethiopia.

Arrived in Dollo Ado on a UN Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) flight this morning.  Nice plane, only about half full, almost all expats decked out in REI gear.  First time I’ve landed on a dirt runway.  It’s good to be out of Addis.

Dollo couldn’t be more different.  Where Addis is cool, rainy, and verdant, Dollo is dry, dusty, and hot.  The Addis airport is an international hub, the Dollo airport is really only for expat aid workers and their colleagues.  When we arrived, there was an army of white land cruisers lined up, to pick up the people arriving and drop off those that took my plane back to Addis.

There is a windy, flowing river here, the Ganale.  Some of our proposals have involved encouraging irrigated agriculture along this river, which flows year-round.  The town seems to be set up on a kind of grid, all mashed together with whatever is around – cast off tents, old brush serving as compound walls.  Lots of people walking around.  From the plane I could see one of the camps for the Somali refugees that come here.  Nearly 200,000 of them are spread out into 5 UNHCR managed camps.  There are dozens of NGO’s here catering to them, studying them, observing them, serving them.

Read more...

In the Line of Duty

On World Humanitarian Day, I have found myself reflecting on the many tragedies I have witnessed as an aid worker, the suffering of so many innocent civilian populations caught up in violent, humiliating and unjust conflicts around the world, as well as the realities and scale of destruction that natural and manmade disasters bring to entire generations.

But in security, every day of the year is dedicated to aid workers and the people they serve.  Over the past 10 years, a small but growing group of skilled security professionals within the humanitarian and development field have been working hard to raise awareness and bring attention and resources to the risks that all aid workers face to deliver essential services to those most vulnerable. During that same period the world has changed dramatically and the exponential rise in number of attacks, kidnappings, murders and violent crime experienced by aid workers reflect those changes and highlight the increasingly hazardous operating environments.  The largest group of casualties among aid workers over the past few years has by far been the local national aid worker, accounting for nearly 80% of recorded victims of violence.

Read more...

Bringing Relief to the Horn of Africa

IRD's relief team has been on the ground in Ethiopia and preparing a response for Somalia to contribute to the international response to the drought crisis in the Horn of Africa. We are targeting drought-affected communities in Ethiopia to provide emergency water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH). Our plan includes:

• - provision of emergency water through trucking or purification systems
• - construction or rehabilitation of existing water points
• - provision of water purification supplies
• - provision of sanitation supplies

Read more...

Partnering to Mobilize "the Haves" in Development

N.B. - IRD will be a platinum sponsor at the Society for International Development's (SID) triennial World Congress today and tomorrow. The theme of this year's Congress is partnerships, so IRD is taking the opportunity to highlight some of its partners across the development spectrum. Today's guest blog is from Justin Perkins at Care2, who will also be a featured guest at IRD's exhibit booth today from 2 - 4 p.m. Stop by the booth, ask him questions about his work, and find out more about the partnership. And then tell people that you did! Use the Twitter hashtag #SIDWorldCongress.

In 1998, I did a study abroad in Northeast Brazil, the most impoverished part of the country. The focus of our academic and practical studies was to understand the intersection of cultural and development issues.  The impact of that experience was huge, and set me on a path that has involved a search for organizations to work with who are effectively leveraging market forces and pulling the "big levers" that will lead towards improving conditions for people in developing areas.

A huge piece of that work has led me to the education and activation of "the haves" in the developed world, which is how I came to Care2.

Read more...

Communities on Fertile Ground

N.B. - Through a partnership with Emory University, each year IRD sends Emory students to the field to contribute to our projects and inform their coursework. Emory Graduate student Marques Harvey reports back from Mozambique. Find out more about the partnership at www.ird.org/emory.

We spent our first week in Mozambique at the IRD headquarters in the capital of Maputo, where we learned more details on our projects from the country staff. We had lots of documents to become familiar with in order to perform our tasks, such as national strategies and plans and project reports. These documents were enlightening, but they also created a lot more questions for me. For instance, I was reviewing several national plans on how to deal with orphans and vulnerable children. The plans were very comprehensive in addressing all of the needs and rights of children, such as adequate nutrition, vaccinations, education, access to information, etc. Reading these plans, however, I couldn't help but wonder whether reality in the country is reaching these ideals. I'm looking forward to going into the field to visit orphans and vulnerable children with IRD's partner organizations, where I'll get a better idea of the current situation and how IRD can help.

Read more...

First Aid in Pah Panang

The chief’s wife in Pah Panang village, Boualapa district clears away the dishes from dinner – steamed fish, fish soup, and sticky rice. Night has fallen while we were eating, and community members have quietly slipped in during the meal to join us on the floor. Soukasien, the IRD health officer, and I are here to assess a small first aid program.

A little over a year ago, remote communities with limited access to even their local health clinic were chosen from the 150 communities that IRD currently serves in Laos. A volunteer within each community was identified, provided a large first aid kit, and given a three-day training to learn how to diagnose and treat common illnesses and injuries. While the community volunteer was free to treat other community members, the priority was providing basic care to children attending school.

The village chief and the community volunteer take turns answering questions as it gets later and later into the night. With enthusiasm, the community volunteer describes how the community developed a plan to sustain the first aid program once the donated medicine and materials in the first aid kit run out. Every child at school is charged Kip 5,000 for the year (about $0.60) – a fee every family can afford. The funds are pooled and are available when new medicines and materials need to be purchased. This way, the chief states, “No sick person is charged.” If you are injured or ill, you don’t have to first decide whther your family has enough money to be treated.

Read more...

Getting Started in Mozambique

N.B. - Through a partnership with Emory University, each year IRD sends Emory students to the field to contribute to our projects and inform their coursework. Emory Graduate student Lindsay Haeger reports back from Mozambique. Find out more about the partnership at www.ird.org/emory.

We spent our first week in Mozambique at the IRD headquarters in the capital of Maputo, where we learned more details on our projects from the country staff. We had lots of documents to become familiar with in order to perform our tasks, such as national strategies and plans and project reports. These documents were enlightening, but they also created a lot more questions for me. For instance, I was reviewing several national plans on how to deal with orphans and vulnerable children. The plans were very comprehensive in addressing all of the needs and rights of children, such as adequate nutrition, vaccinations, education, access to information, etc. Reading these plans, however, I couldn't help but wonder whether reality in the country is reaching these ideals. I'm looking forward to going into the field to visit orphans and vulnerable children with IRD's partner organizations, where I'll get a better idea of the current situation and how IRD can help.

Read more...

Not a Job, But a Way of Life

Today I was really touched by one of our IRD staff. He’s the project manager for the Safe Educational Opportunities program, Saosavanh. The thing is, he did nothing particularly special today. In fact, he did pretty much what he does every day. Saosavanh didn’t save a drowning child, rescue a cat from a tree, or make the winning touchdown. Instead, he met with a few people, picked us up from the market, and generally just did his job.

Out of everyone in our office (maybe even including Heather and me), Saosavanh has the best English. Unlike others, he has the language capabilities to communicate fully with Heather and me. If he wanted he could bring us into his office every morning and tell us about the impact he has made throughout his career in development. He could tell us how he has worked with IRD from the beginning, when IRD came to Laos, and how he has stuck with them the entire way. He could tell us about villages that now have access to clean water, children who no longer go hungry during the school day, and mothers and fathers whose daughters now come home smiling after school. He could tell us of villages transformed, schools rehabilitated, and lives changed because of his work. He could tell us of all these things, and I assure you they are true.

Read more...

Better Vision for a Better Life

Once again Peggy Jean and I were attending a training for the Better Vision for Better Life (BVBL) project. Overall, the project has met a need for eye screening and care at the village level in Khammoune Province, as well as built capacity for screening from the teachers and CHWs at the community level all the way up to administrators at the district level. Also, the project provided needed ophthalmology equipment at the provincial level.

At the beginning of the week, we made it for the second, and last, day of a refresher course for clinicians working at health centers in Xiaboutong district. After over an hour on a dirt road, we arrived at the rather impressive district office where the training was held. Over thirty men and women filled the front of a large conference hall. All were prepared for the last few hours of the program with IRD produced eye health manuals and paper and pen ready to jot down important notes. All participants were quietly attentive, listening as Dr. Sambath Darasouk, the only ophthalmologist for Khammoune Province, reviewed common eye diseases.

Read more...

Arrival in Khammouane

N.B. - Through a partnership with Emory University, each year IRD sends Emory students to the field to contribute to our projects and inform their coursework. Emory Graduate student Peggy Jean Craig reports back from Laos. Find out more about the partnership at www.ird.org/emory.

This was our first week to go out to the field. On Thursday afternoon, Heather, the other Emory intern, and I rode with three other IRD staff out to Dongnakham village in Sai Buatong district, Laos, where IRD was conducting a community health education training for the first time in Dongnakham. The trainings cover information about hygiene, nutrition, and sanitation. The village is about an hour away from the IRD office in Gnomolat, with about half of the journey on a dirt road.

As we pulled up to the house we would use to conduct the training, the first thing I noticed was all of the children playing under the house. Lao houses in the low and middle lands are built on stilts off of the ground so they won't flood during rainy season. The space below the house is used to park motorbikes, hang hammocks, or serve as a place for kids to play – all three of which were happening simultaneously here.

Read more...

Health Promotion in Laos

N.B. - Through a partnership with Emory University, each year IRD sends Emory students to the field to contribute to our projects and inform their coursework. Emory Graduate student Heather Reese reports back from Laos. Find out more about the partnership at www.ird.org/emory.

For the last hour or so, we've bounced along the pitted dirt road, untouched by the thick humidity outside our heavily air-conditioned IRD vehicle. We're on our way back from Dong Na Kham village, a small community of only 30 or so households about 80 km from the field office in Gnomalat. Today was the first community health promotion meeting in this village. Although we left the office a little after 2 pm, the meeting didn't start until dusk, around 6 pm. It was enough time to allow men to finish in the fields and children to gather, as IRD staff connected the projector and speakers to the generator. While waiting for the rest of the community to gather, the health officer set up health education posters along the edge of the clearing to introduce the topics to be covered: hygiene, sanitation, and nutrition. As soon as each new poster went up, children eagerly crowded around. It was exciting to see the children's interest.

Once the sun had set, the projected film was visible and we were ready to start. First, the health promotion coordinator covered hygiene focused on children. Two videos were used: the first involved song and a video montage of children sweeping houses and clearing branches from the ground; occasionally there was short footage of a child taking a bath or washing cups. The second was a cartoon story (from Thailand but dubbed in Lao) about a family that all came down with diarrhea. In the video, when everyone realized why they were getting sick, the community banded together to clean the local water supply, the river.

Read more...

IRD and the Peace Corps Celebrate 50 Years

To celebrate 50 years of the Peace Corps and highlight the importance of partnerships in achieving our development objectives, IRD hosted a reception and dinner at the Newseum in Washington, DC, May 10. The event was attended by 160 guests, including congressmen, ambassadors, and IRD partners, donors, and friends. Notably, one-third of attendees were returned Peace Corps volunteers.

A group of former volunteers who work at IRD planned the event, and the focus never strayed from the values reflected in our decisions to join Peace Corps, our work at IRD, and Peace Corps as an organization. We summed up our feelings in a video we prepared for the event, in which we talk about our work and why IRD and Peace Corps offer a natural partnership. You can watch the 6-minute film here.

Read more...

IRD Discusses Water Programming at International Water Summit

Rotary’s first International Summit on Water in Developing Countries took place on April 15 at the National Press Club in Washington.  The purpose of the conference was to bring together leaders at the global, national and regional level who could contribute to dialogue about improving global water and sanitation solutions.

President and CEO of IRD Dr. Arthur Keys participated in a panel discussion with Jerry Wiles, President of Living Water, and Steve Hollingsworth, Chief Operating Officer of Care. The panelists talked about the roles of their organizations in developing countries and how they have been able to help communities overcome challenges in water and sanitation. Dr. Keys stressed the importance of a temporary presence with regard to assistance programs: “In Zimbabwe, IRD has invested in local research companies, and they have discovered a unique way to capture rainwater. One of the reasons that program has succeeded is that it presents a viable business model at the local level.”

Read more...

Libyan Refugee Crisis - IRD Delivers Medicines at the Tunisian Border

Today, International Relief & Development (IRD) delivered needed emergency medicine, medical supplies and trauma gear to front line Tunisian Protection Civile first responders on the Tunisian/Libyan border. With these supplies IRD working with MoPH’s Dr. Mohamed Mokddad, will support the immediate medical needs of evacuees crossing the border.  The Tunisian team was visibly pleased and said they would make use of everything between their emergency operations at the border and in the transit camp. According to the Protection Civile, no one has provided them with external support and they continue to be in need for medical equipment which IRD is currently sourcing locally.

View IRD's Flickr photostream on the distribution.

Read more...

Building a Democracy: Egypt Looks Forward

N.B. - IRD's Chief of Communications, Jeff Grieco, is guest posting from Egypt on the situation as part of IRD's assessment team. Photo courtesy of photopoly.net.

In order to understand the transformation in Egypt following the departure of President Mubarak, the international community must understand the motives of the multiple interest groups now actively transforming this complex society.

The democracy protestors, largely middle class Egyptian youth, have been the spark to ignite what all Egyptians call “their January 25 Revolution,” but they are not the only partner.  As the protests grew, more poor Egyptians joined these protests and then various groups - some bad and some good - also joined to offer their support as well. Most Egyptians seem to feel additional pressure or anxiety about reforming their government - they truly want to “get this right."

Read more...

Haiti Orphanage Receives School Kits from Sangster Elementary School and IRD

All of the 35 children at the New Foundation orphanage in Haiti experienced the earthquake last January, and many lost their parents. They are accustomed to starting over.

But last week they got some help from children at Sangster Elementary School in Virginia, who made each child a new “school kit”— a backpack filled with pens, paper, crayons, and other school supplies.

“It was a real joy,” said Lloyd Rollins, director of U.S. programs at IRD, “to see children give to children. This is something they made possible.”

Read more...

IRD and the John Dau Foundation commemorate World AIDS Day 2010 in Sudan

World AIDS Day – observed every year on December 1 – is a time to pause, raise awareness, remember those we’ve lost and renew our commitment to finding a cure and preventing the spread of the disease.

With events and movements to mark this day throughout the world, we’d like to spotlight one such effort in Duk Payuel. Our partner, the John Dau Foundation (JDF) in Sudan, is proud to sponsor its second annual event in recognition of World AIDS Day.

Read more...

Sanitation Distribution in Haiti - Giving Thanks for the Basics

The 600 employees of Toussaint L’Ouverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, already consider themselves ready to give thanks—they have jobs. But the reality in Haiti today is that many of these employees are the only breadwinners in their families, some are the only employed people in their neighborhoods. Their families extend from their homes, into the neighborhoods and streets around them.

On Monday morning, IRD’s Haiti staff distributed sanitation kits to every worker at the airport, offering free soap, anti-bacterial gel, washcloths, toothbrushes, baby diapers and tampons.

Katie Kalixte, one of the supervisors of the airport cleaning service admitted, “It’s a dirty job.” She said that although they are constantly trying to replace the toilet paper and paper towels there, “It’s never enough.”

At IRD, we were hoping that by donating sanitation items, airport employees – who are on the front lines against the international spread of cholera – would be better able to take care of themselves and their families.

Read more...

IRD Responds to Haiti Cholera Outbreak

With the prominence of the Haiti cholera outbreak in the news and on people’s minds, we thought it might be helpful to provide some basic facts about cholera and the current situation in Haiti. If you have additional questions, we encourage you to chime in here or via our Facebook page or Twitter.

In addition, you can learn more about the work IRD is doing in Haiti here.

Read more...

Niger visit Sept 19-28

*Editor's note: the author is an IRD Sustainable Foods Program Officer. He will also be presenting at an upcoming event IRD is hosting to honor the U.S. Ambassador to Niger Bisa Williams - look for more information about the event to come.*

I love working for IRD because they sent me to Niger. Most people wouldn't make a statement like this, because by all statistical measures, Niger is one of the worst places on earth. It's the poorest country in the world on the UN Human Development Index, 182 out of 182. Fifteen percent of children die of largely preventable diseases before reaching the age of 5. Most people live on less than one US dollar per day. Niger is currently emerging from an epic famine that most development experts consider being one of the worst in recorded memory - with up to twenty percent of the population considered to be severely malnourished, according to FEWS-NET.

I'm happy I went to Niger for two reasons - first, because I get to work for an organization that helps Nigeriens, among the most perennially and consistently vulnerable people on earth, and second, because I lived in Niger as a Peace Corps Volunteer from 1997-2001. I had not visited since then, and this was the kind of homecoming I had always hoped for. With the statistics that I highlighted above, I never wanted to come back to Niger as a tourist.

Read more...

Through the Farmer’s Lens

Reporting from IRD’s “Community, Participation, Development: Toward Improved Practice” conference at Emory University.

Dr. Isatou Jack

I sat in on a session today with Dr. Isatou Jack and Dr. Sue Ellis, both with IRD, as they led a collaborative presentation and discussion on “Democracy, Governance and Community.” Dr. Jack gave everyone in the room a document and asked us to read it in advance of the session, to help give context to the discussion that would follow. Dr. Jack has agreed to allow me to share that story here, which is the narrative from an interview with a farmer in Gambia.

Read more...

IRD event at Emory University: Welcome and Keynote

“As an organizer I start from where the world is, as it is, not as I would like it to be.  That we accept the world as it is does not is any sense weaken our desire to change it into what we believe it should be…” – Saul Alinsky, Rules for Radicals

Dr. Arthur B. Keys, president and CEO of IRD, referenced this poignant quote from Saul Alinsky in his remarks welcoming those attending the “Community, Participation and Development: Toward Improved Practice” conference at Emory University. It struck a chord with many in the room and, in a way, set the tone for the conference.

Read more...

VIDEO: Mississippi Community Development Programs in Response to Hurricane Katrina

Lori West, IRD director of Gulf Region, shared this video as part of her presentation in the “Community Disaster Preparedness and Response” session today. It provides a great view into the work IRD is doing in Mississippi in response to the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.

Read more...

IRD & Emory University Present Conference to Improve Practices

Dr. Arthur B. Keys, president and CEO of IRD, welcome conference attendees. Photo credit: Cindy Brown

Last night, we kicked off a three-day conference at Emory University in Atlanta focused on identifying and exploring challenges and emerging issues in community relief development. The conference will also examine the current state of theory and practice from multiple perspectives in order to improve participatory community development practices on the ground.

The event—which is hosted by International Relief & Development and the Candler School of Theology at Emory University—brings together practitioners from IRD and other Atlanta-based NGOs, and faculty from across Emory University. Presenters are from IRD, Candler School of Theology, Rollins School of Public Health, and a variety of other schools and departments across the university—representing fields such as anthropology, public health, applied agriculture, political science and development studies.

Read more...

Pakistan's Independence Day

Note: Sajjad is IRD's Country Director in Pakistan, overseeing the USAID-funded Emergency Water and Sanitation program in the KPK province prior to the flooding and our response to the flooding today.

Thank you to everyone who has stretched out their hand for Pakistan.

Over the weekend, August 13-15, I traveled to Muzaffargarh District in Southern Punjab.  The purpose of my visit was mainly to be with the affected people on Pakistan's Independence Day - August 14 - and to monitor the distribution of supplies.  I traveled different parts of severely affected areas of the district Muzaffargarh.  This area is badly hit by the flood.  When I arrived there, IRD and its local partner Mojaz Foundation were already distributing tents that we procured locally through a generous donation from the Church of Latter Day Saints.  We also distributed jerry cans and Aqua Water purification tablets.

During my field trip, I observed some constraints as well, including health hazards for distribution teams and security risks as time passes and frustrations are converting to outrage.

Read more...

"Villages Washed Away" - An Update from Pakistan

Note: Sajjad is IRD's Country Director in Pakistan, overseeing the USAID-funded Emergency Water and Sanitation program in the KPK province prior to the flooding. The following is a personal reflection from him following multiple assessments in the region and initial efforts to get emergency supplies to the displaced.

My country is going through a great suffering and miseries because of the sequential disasters, one after the other. In Particular the life in KPK province is almost crippled because of the Military Operations against Taliban since May 2008. 

The most recent flood has really added devastation in the region and washed away houses, properties, public infrastructure, livestock and the entire supply chain.  The recent rains started on July 22/23 affected millions of people and destroyed roads and communication network along the Indus and Kabul rives. The most affected districts are Nowshera, Peshawar, Charsadda, Swat, Shangle and Dir, DI Khan and Tank districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province -Pakistan.

The provincial government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has confirmed hundreds of deaths but though unofficial figures would be higher because many areas of the province were inundated and inaccessible due to severing of communication links, the government also conceded that the death toll could be in thousands keeping in view the severity of the floods and a large number of people are still missing. Millions of people are homeless and without livelihood, having lost their possessions.

According to official estimates 2.5 million people have been affected by the natural calamity termed the worst in the history of the province.

Read more...

IRD at the Food Aid and Development Conference

This week, I have been attending with several colleagues the International Food Aid Conference, which is co-sponsored by USDA and USAID, in Kansas City, M0. The event is expected to feature high-level staff from the two agencies, including USAID Administrator Raj Shah and the two deputy coordinators for global food security - Amb Bill Garvelink and Amb Patricia Haslach. It's always a great opportunity to meet or reconnect with other professionals in the field and discuss upcoming challenges, opportunities, and share best practices.

Along those lines, Ahmadou Danpoulo Baba, President of Imperial Foods in Douala, Cameroon and IRD partner, spoke at the conference today about his noodle production project. In collaboration with partners, USDA, IRD, U.S. Wheat and the World Institute for Soy in Hunger and Health (WISHH), Baba spoke about how he'd used the example of the IRD USDA-funded noodle projects in Indonesia and Cambodia to jump start his own effort in Cameroon. And later in the day, David Prettyman, IRD's Deputy Director of Sustainable Food and Agriculture Systems, who's known as the "noodle king" in Indonesia, talked about IRD's work in both long-term agriculture and food assistance projects, particularly in Africa (Cameroon, the Gambia, Senegal, and Guinnea-Bissau, Mozambique). He noted that Baba may now be the new heir apparent to his rule as the noodle king.

Read more...

Dealing with Disaster in the Gulf

Note: Trent is an intern from Emory University's Candler School of Theology who participated in IRD US program management this summer. The following is a personal reflection from him after he attended the summit for case management agencies in the Gulf Region on dealing with the consequences of the BP oil spill.

Earlier this month, I attended the Mississippi Gulf Coast Disaster Recovery Summit at the University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast. It was a gathering of NGOs, religious organizations, businesses, and community leaders to tackle the largest ecological/technological disaster this country has seen. Representatives from along the coast came to learn, express their concerns, and collaborate resources. The South Mississippi Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (SMVOAD) organized the event and you can get general information about the conference and its speakers here.

I attended the Summit as a kind of "outsider". I grew up in the Midwest and won't try to claim that I understand life on the Coast. The fishing, the ecology, and lifestyle are all foreign to me and it was difficult to fully grasp the implications of this disaster from afar. Thus, for me the Summit was about education. I learned how people's lives are tied up with the Gulf and how this technological disaster is also an emotional disaster. It not only affects people's jobs but their livelihood and this came through in people's questions for panelists and sometimes emotional responses. People can rebuild after a hurricane, but this is fundamentally changing life along the Coast.

Read more...

Haiti Six-Month Anniversary

This week, we're returning our focus to Haiti in remembrance of the six month anniversary of the devastating January 12 earthquake.

IRD began distributing tarps, pharmaceuticals and medical commodities in Haiti in the first days following the disaster. Since then, we have been been transitioning them from immediate relief concerns to somewhat longer-term solutions, including temporary shelters and latrines for the displaced.

To find out more about what we are doing, take a look at our Flickr photostream of our recent temporary shelter construction, read our opinion piece on Haiti and the hurricane season in the Providence Journal, watch a video of our sanitation training, view the Google map of where we're working, or check out our updated fact sheet.

IRD is providing shelter to more than 50,000 people in Leogane - progress, even as the six month anniversary highlights the tremendous amount of work yet to be done.

Read more...

Global Health TV

IRD has partnered with Global Health TV, which is produced by the Global Health Council and WebsEdge, on a five minute film clip regarding the Women First program in Mozambique. Women First is being implemented in partnership with World Vision through funding by the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Women First is a unique program facilitating women in Zambezia province in northern Mozambique to set up their own businesses and deliver health messages to their communities. In a country devastated by the HIV/AIDS epidemic, this project is empowering vulnerable women who are often socially and economically excluded.

The film clip focuses on two women's groups ("mola" and "pededge"), both of which are in the district of Nicoadala, about 35 km from Quelimate City. Themos Ntasis, founder of Women's First, and now the director of IRD's programs in Zimbabwe, introduces the project. The film also features: Stella Carina, a line coordinator for IRD who provides health and business training to more than 200 women entrepreneurs; Aninha Fonseca and Juliana Cebola, two of the project beneficiaries: and Mansur Ibrahim, a wholesaler involved with the project.

The IRD piece is being screened at two major global health conferences in June 2010: Women Deliver (June 7-9) and the Global Health Council Conference (GHC) (June 14-18). Women Deliver is the leading global event for maternal and reproductive health - www.womendeliver.org. The GHC Conference promotes global efforts to saving lives by improving health throughout the world; this year' conference focuses on the importance of sound monitoring and evaluation - www.globalhealth.org. The clip will also be streamed and hosted online on Global Health TV - www.globalhealthtv.com - a dedicated digital channel for a full year after the conferences.

Of course, it's available on the IRD TV, on the IRD website, as well as our new YouTube Channel, irdvoices. Please check them both out, and stop by IRD's booth at the Women Deliver and Global Health Council Conference to tell us that you did.

Read more...

Haiti Benefit Results

First, on behalf of all IRD staff, I'd like to offer a big thank you to everyone who participated in our Haiti Benefit and Raffle last week near headquarters in Arlington, Virginia. We had a great turnout - over 300 - and those who came seemed to enjoy themselves. And most importantly, we collected almost $40,000 in money for our Haiti programs.

At the benefit we first aired our thank you video to our donors. Take a look and let us know what you think.

Having recently returned from Haiti, I can tell you this video represents pretty much exactly what this money has been and will be going to: building latrines, sanitation training, and providing shelter and temporary employment. And as we've mentioned in previous posts, because of weather, limited resources and deteriorating conditions, everyone in the NGO community is still working against the clock in Haiti. So please keep the efforts in your thoughts.

Read more...