Trip Report: David Snyder Reports from Hanoi
© David Snyder/Counterpart International.
By David Snyder
Wrapping up a few days in Vietnam with Counterpart International, which asked me to write and photograph some of the programs they carried out.
Yesterday, I met with several local motorbike taxi drivers, known here as Xe Om. They make their living on Hanoi’s roadways, ferrying passengers on their motorbikes. But Hanoi’s roadways are dangerous – overcrowded and filled increasingly by dangerous drivers who flout existing laws, according to drivers I spoke with.
One of Counterpart’s programs in partnership with the Red Cross was educating Xe Om drivers in first aid and road safety, providing them with first aid kits so they could help with any accidents they came upon.
It was certainly much needed. One driver I spoke with said he has responded to 100 incidents since he was trained in 2006, and though many were minor, he has helped to immobilize broken bones and transport injured crash victims to hospitals as well.
Today, I stopped in on the Hanoi Emergency 115 Center. It’s a cross between a 911 call center, where people phone in emergencies, and a paramedic unit. Equipped with five ambulances, the center receives as many as 90 calls each day.
In 2001, Counterpart supported the group with three ambulances – vehicles they used to open their first satellite center. Over the following years, Counterpart provided other vehicles and most importantly training to help the center’s medical staff provide more effective emergency care. Now, Hanoi 115 has five centers around the city and reaches 30,000 patients each year with emergency services.
It’s been an interesting experience, seeing how these projects have gone on.
It’s not an opportunity I get too often so I’m glad to have been able to see it.
David Snyder is a professional freelance writer and photographer based in Maryland. www.davidsnyderphotography.com
May 31st, 2011 | Tags: 115, David Snyder, motorcycles, prehospital trauma care, safety, Vietnam | Category: Trip Report | Leave a comment
Trip Report: Partnering to Reach More
By Russell Bernstein
Each year, Counterpart’s Humanitarian Assistance practice area receives and ships millions of dollars’ worth of donated items to serve the most at-risk populations worldwide. We partner with US- and international-based partners to acquire and distribute these donated items. Feed My Starving Children (FMSC), a faith-based organization committed to feeding the world’s starving children, is one such organization.
Over the last year and a half, Counterpart has shipped eight containers of FMSC’s MannaPack Rice,worth $468,000, to Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Belarus and Senegal. MannaPack Rice is composed of a mixture of rice, soy nuggets, vitamins, minerals and dehydrated vegetables that is fed to malnourished children.
On January 28 - 29, I attended the annual FMSC Partner Conference in Miami, Florida. This conference brought together many of FMSC’s 90 partner organizations to share successes from the past years, and learn about new initiatives and products for the upcoming year.
On the second day of the conference, I had the opportunity to hear presentations directly from a few of FMSC’s partners. Educational Concerns for Hunger Organization’s (ECHO) discussion on small farm agriculture drew the largest response from attendees. ECHO researches new ways to grow food under difficult conditions – on rooftops, in extreme heat or extreme drought. Their web site serves as an online portal to house all their research and findings.
The two-day event was a great opportunity to learn and network with organizations that have similar humanitarian initiatives. Donor organizations, like Feed My Starving Children, are an integral part to Counterpart’s Humanitarian Assistance work for the world’s most at-risk populations.
Learn more about our Global Humanitarian Commodities Distribution.
Russell Bernstein is a Senior Program Manager for Humanitarian Assistance, managing the logistics for our commodity distributions. He has been working at Counterpart since 2001.
February 3rd, 2011 | Tags: Azerbaijan, Belarus, Humanitarian Assistance, humanitarian commodities distribution, malnutrition, MannaPack Rice, partnership, Russell Bernstein, Senegal, Tajikistan, trip report | Category: Trip Report | Leave a comment
Trip Report: Brushing Away the Dust
Civic Education in Afghanistan
by Brian LeCuyer
Kabul in August is a city caked in a film of dry dust that seems thicker than air. That was the first thing I noticed when I got off the plane in Afghanistan. The dirt swirled and blew, blending in with the nearby barren brown hills.
Cleaning away the layer of never-ending dust is an impossible task, but the people of Afghanistan constantly work at it. In the Wazir Akbar Khan neighborhood, local Afghans spray water on the walkways and patios outside their homes to rinse it away. Outdoor tables in the household garden are tended to every five minutes to ensure they stay clean for an evening meal. Cars are wiped down every morning to remove the grime.
I arrived in Kabul in August, about a month before the Parliamentary elections, to support Counterpart’s Support to the Electoral Process in Afghanistan Program (STEP) which fights the general lack of knowledge about governance, the electoral process and democracy that agitates and inhibits Afghanistan’s progress.
Since the beginning of 2009, STEP’s civic education campaign has met with almost 2 million Afghan voters to explain the basic concepts that underlie a free and open society. These meetings often happen in small villages in rural districts – places tucked between two mountain ridges that are easier to reach by donkey than by car. Meetings are led by local Afghans, who have been trained by Counterpart, and all attendees are provided with education materials tailored specifically for them- the average Afghani voter.
The lasting impression from my time in Kabul was the dedication and passion of our local staff. They want to see the STEP program succeed – they want to help build a country where their fellow citizens are educated and have a voice in their government. They were constantly discussing how STEP could educate more people and motivate more Afghanis to participate in the civic process. Every discussion and every decision was centered on how STEP could do the greatest good.
They work tirelessly, despite the obstacles before them. The recent Parliamentary elections took place in a physically insecure environment, and Afghanistan’s future seems to get hazier with each day, something that has nothing to do with dirt in the air. It has everything to do with a lack of security, a lack of justice and an infestation of corruption.
Counterpart’s STEP team does everything it can to promote the ideas of good governance, citizen participation and democracy in this insecure environment. And, just like cleaning away the layer of dust, there is always more work to do: another village to educate, another training to lead, another civic education brochure to distribute. Just like with the dust, STEP’s task may seem to never end, but because of the hard work and dedication of the STEP staff, Afghanistan’s future is not so hopeless.
Learn more about our STEP program in Afghanistan.
Brian LeCuyer is a Program Assistant, focusing on Counterpart's programming in Afghanistan. He has been at Counterpart since September 2009.
October 27th, 2010 | Tags: Afghanistan, Brian LeCuyer, civic education, dust, elections, Kabul, STEP, trip report | Category: Trip Report | Leave a comment
Trip Report: Counterpart Begins Programming in Chad
By Abiosseh Davis
In July 2010, Counterpart was awarded a grant to implement the Promoting Elections, Accountability and Civic Education (PEACE) program in Chad. I arrived on the ground in late July and promptly commenced the process of establishing Counterpart’s presence in N’Djamena. The opportunity to help with the start-up a new program was both thrilling and daunting. It was my first start up and I had no idea what to expect. The experience has turned out to be one of the most rewarding of my career to-date.
Gathering information about Chad is difficult; there are few websites that can offer any degree of insight, not even travel sites. Consequently, it is difficult to know what to expect. What I discovered was a fascinating country with a mix of cultures, languages and religions. At the same time, Chad is struggling to balance an opening economy that has significantly increased investment and a desire for democratic change with the reality of persistent poverty and a legacy of conflict and authoritarian rule.
Through meetings with government officials and other electoral actors, it became clear that the Chadian population has experience voting, but little hope in significant change or oversight on government activities. Counterpart’s PEACE program, led by the enthusiastic and knowledgeable Chief of Party, Renzo Hettinger, will work to enhance the capacity of the Independent Electoral Commission (CENI) to organize and conduct free and fair elections. Simultaneously, PEACE will support civil society through grants, training, and technical assistance to improve their ability to disseminate information and educate the population about electoral processes and to meaningfully engage the citizens of Chad in future elections.
Learn more about our PEACE program.
Abiosseh Davis is the Program Coordinator for Knowledge Management. She has worked at Counterpart since September 2009.
September 21st, 2010 | Tags: Abiosseh Davis, Chad, trip report | Category: Trip Report | Leave a comment
Trip Report: Tourism and Economic Growth in Guatemala
By Arlene Lear
Recently, I had the good fortune to join Christine Hicks, Counterpart’s Economic Development Division Manager, on a visit to our Guatemalan sustainable tourism program – The Alliance for Community Tourism – to see firsthand Counterpart’s achievements in maximizing Guatemala’s potential to attract tourists and enhance economic growth for communities in and around tourist sites.
As a result of our efforts, sales of handicrafts and other locally-produced products currently stand at $11 million, exceeding our target by $1 million. To date, 2,500 jobs have been created and more than 7,000 people have directly benefited from improved natural resource management of protected areas. Very significantly, our $3.4 million cooperative agreement with USAID has leveraged over $8 million in cost share from the government of Guatemala, local businesses and communities– creating an enviable cost/benefit ratio. On a personal level, it was gratifying to see how lives have been changed, culture preserved and partnerships strengthened with key agencies of the national government, the Guatemala Exporters Association (AGEXPORT), the Guatemala Institute of Tourism (INGUAT), the Institute for Vocational and Productivity Training, the Rainforest Alliance, National Geographic, community leaders and businesses.
One of the most enjoyable aspects of the trip was getting to know Mario Del Cid, our Country Director, and his deputy Rony Mejía and our other talented and high energy country staff. Their dedication to “managing for results” was exceeded only by their patience in educating me about sustainable tourism’s contribution to all levels of the economic development value chain. It was also exciting to learn how “civil society” strengthening methods are woven into the fabric of the program – community mobilization, multi-stakeholder consensus building, and policy dialogue and reform – to ensure local ownership and lasting results.
I encourage everyone to visit Guatemala to experience Lake Atitlán and its awesome volcanoes and lush forest cover, the architectural splendors of Antigua and the Mayan culture, and to feel the warmth and graciousness of its people. In planning your trip, you can refer to our recently published Geotourism MapGuide created with National Geographic, which will imminently be launched, and soon available globally through the internet.
To learn more about our program in Guatemala, visit our website.
*Arlene Lear is our Senior Vice President and has been at Counterpart since 1992.
June 2nd, 2010 | Tags: AGEXPORT, Arlene Lear, geotourism, Guatemala, handicrafts, Lake Atitlan, map, trip report | Category: Trip Report | Leave a comment
