SEP-OCT 2014

Funds | Partnerships | Learning

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ISSUE #9 | SEP-OCT 2014 ISSN: 2312-0924

She Has Risen:

Big-picture situationer of women in a post-conflict world

C OU N T RY F E AT U R E

Post-war progress: opportunities in Sri Lanka

Long years of war have scarred Sri Lanka and its people. Almost five years after the end of the civil war, the country is still attempting to make peace with challenges of re-building and rehabilitation; and the controversies of war crimes it has to face.

Yet haunted with all these issues, Sri Lanka has forged ahead in overcoming the barriers through government efforts and international support.

T O P ST ORIES

FEATURED CSR

Post-war re-building Many Sri Lankans were displaced, with most of them fleeing and finding refuge abroad. Meanwhile, the government renovated almost 25,000 homes and constructed about 70,000 new houses to assist those who stayed and returned. But some citizens illegally settled on a large amount of property during the war; and in this case, the government has brought in special property laws to protect the rights of internally displaced persons (IDPs).

Helping survivors come home, move on page 3

CSR Asia, Adidas: corporations can help curb modern day slavery

Moreover, members of the LTTE (Tamil Tigers, the revolutionary fighters) who surrendered to the army were rehabilitated: if opting to be granted general amnesty, a two-

Many modern day slavery has some direct or indirect link with the private sector. This is a challenge businesses need to face up to, but also provides an opportunity for private sector engagement. Companies with a multi-national reach and considerable logistical expertise, through their legal departments, compliance codes, accounting methodologies, communications and governance procedures, can help track human rights abuses; and often have an advantage over the public sector in tackling such issues.

Cont. page 4

In any conflict situation, there are likely only two sides to a woman facing or rising from it: the victim and the aid worker—and neither have as much safety nets. The long struggle for gender equality and sensitivity to women’s needs have had its ups in recent years but as peacebuilding and rehabilitation works go full swing, the one question that magnifies the uncertainty on the ground remains: how to sustain women’s participation, safety and empowerment beyond the long journey of rehabilitation? Cont. page 5

NGOs and the rise of new leaders page 6

Beyond CSR: Seoul hosts summit on creating shared value page 7 Exclusive Interview with Grameen Foundation page 11 NGO: community-led rehabilitation is most effective page 12

The CSR Asia Summit this year tackles a ‘Modern Day Slavery’ session in Hong Kong to highlight the best practices of front running companies. One of the confirmed speakers from the Adidas Group,

Grants, financial management workshop in Manila page 13

Cont. page 7

.ngo: an online home for NGOs page 14 NetSuite teams up with TechSoup to help NGOs page 16 For more information on grants and events useful for your NGO, turn to page 15-16 or sign up for free at www.asianngo.org.

Utilising digital technology to advance development

FEATURED GRANT

Grant for Bangladesh’s early grade reading The United States Agency for International Development invites submissions of concept papers from local non-profit organisations to innovate the country’s Early Grade Reading system. Deadline for submission is 7 October, while only Concept Papers will be accepted at this stage.

The main thrust of this Annual Program Statement (APS) is to draw innovative Concept Papers for USAID/Bangladesh’s Innovation for Improving Early Grade Reading activity, to improve the learning outcomes by building teacher effectiveness and strengthening classroom and school management; build institutional capacity of local organisations to promote early grade literacy; and promote innovative low-cost effective interventions for early grade literacy for students.

“Over the last two decades in Bangladesh, the number of institutions

Cont. page 15

Management solutions for a better world

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Image: Wilson Low/Flickr

Technology as a social enabler has been proven to mobilise people in the pursuit of developmental advocacies and initiatives. With this in mind, the Digital Strategies for Development Summit on 2-3 October at the Asian Institute in the Philippines will gather 300 participants and 30 speakers from different countries and organisations to share ideas and provide solutions to social problems the region faces.

DSDS acknowledges the importance of creating relevant strategies for development and use these tools for the good of the people; and seeks to bring together a diverse set of stakeholders to debate, discuss, and deliver solutions related to technological strategies and development.

Cont. page 13

EDITORIAL Editorial

That bucket of opportunity; and the power of social connections For a relatively unknown and less-publicised community or foundation that nevertheless needs a huge deal of help, how do you break through the odds to advance your cause? Sure there are the direct ways of raising funds, asking friends—individual or corporate—to donate, or placing adverts on traditional media or, for those with heftier fiscal situations, organise a fund-raising gala dinner.

Mike Saycon mike@asianngo.org

Or simply build the hype on online social networking sites. Much has been said of the recent ‘ice bucket challenge’ to support the ALS Association – a charity supporting patients of the ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) disease, a progressive neurodegenerative condition that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord.

In just the first half of the year, the ALS Association managed to raise over a hundred million dollars for research and development of cure, patient care, among others. Few other campaigns of such nature have ever broken through geographic boundaries and social classes; where even celebrities, sports personalities and heads of state were not spared by the ‘challenge’ that even ordinary citizens unabashedly posed.

In theory, the whole idea worked and, must I add, was a brilliant (although not exactly new) strategy to raise funds for a charity. For the July-August period alone, the ALS Association received $98.2 mn - compared with the $2.7m donated during the same period last year.

The US-based charity was not the sole beneficiary of the whole campaign: health-related non-profits in the Philippines like I Can Serve Foundation, working for increased awareness of breast cancer in the country, had become recipients of donations from media personalities and politicians who were dared to do the ice bucket challenge. (There has been no officially recognised ALS Association in the country at the moment.)

Seungil Hope Foundation, the Korean counterpart of the ALS

Association, also benefitted from local celebrities and ordinary citizens alike who took to the challenge. TV personality G-Dragon donated KRW81.8 million (USD78,226,000) to the foundation [Note: Seungil was established by Park Seung Il, former basketball player and coach who is suffering from ALS.] Perhaps two of the most successful stories outside the US was ALS Association’s UK counterpart, the Motor Neurone Disease (MND) Association; and Taiwan’s MND Association.

Pre-ice bucket challenge, the British charity would receive, on the average, £200,000 a week in donations. But when the [ice bucket challenge] campaign was at its height on 22-29 August this year alone, MND received £2.7 mn.

At about the same period, the Taiwanese MND Association received NTD13 million ($433,091)—which is around 43 percent of donations they receive annually.

Not everything was rosy, however. The whole ice bucket challenge drew flak from critics – first from water and sanitation activists who contended that the campaign was more a waste of water and a direct insult to people living with almost zero access to clean drinking water. Another school of thought was that as much as it’s been a celebrated campaign, there was a huge question on the motivation (and attack to the capacity of ) donors who donated in the hundreds of dollars but clearly could give more. Billionaires, business magnates and national politicians come to mind.

Finally, a recent article argued that the proportion of how the raised hundred-million for the ALS Association was used has

been dismal. A mere 27% of the total funds received from the campaign was actually put to its intended use, research and development; while it goes on to cite the perpetual six-figure salaries of the people working in the Association. As of this writing, the ALS Association has not responded to the Natural Society article, posted in late-August.

At a deeply personal level—whether it’s a global personality or village neighbours who you rarely saw until their social media posts—it was also considered a largely narcissistic and, to a few groups, nothing but a “mundane, immature game among bored, trend-feeding friends on social media.”

But that also proves the flip side of the coin: earlier this year there was a similar campaign where women posted pictures of themselves online, without make-up, and donating to charity.

The UK’s Cancer Research, although did not kick-start the campaign, managed to raise a total of £8 mn in just six days.

To the non-profit sector, this ‘challenge’ did not merely raise awareness on ALS patients; it highlighted the convenient and powerful use of social media and re-ignited the discourse on global fund-raising, its challenges and opportunities included.

It showed that a larger portion of the citizenry is now more increasingly receptive to the idea of giving—just try to make it fun for them, along the way.

Although some critics pointed out the 'finite' and 'superficial level' of people's attitude towards giving or even caring about a certain cause, this has been an important lesson, too: that the most basic principle of fund-raising – which is to ask for help – is still very much alive wherever in the world. The real opportunity now is to make use of our tools and (social) connections to make things happen.

Of course, non-profits (and even corporations) have now been taking this strategy to heart for their next fund-raising campaigns.

But love the ‘ice bucket challenge’ or hate it, the whole idea worked—and has now become just that: a strategy. ■

Commentary

The real challenge for the private sector When we discuss international development, the role of the private sector is normally either over- or understated. Left-leaning globalisation sceptics tend to blame corporate interests for everything that is wrong with the planet, while free-market enthusiasts see private-sector growth as a panacea for every problem. Both views are exaggerated. A more nuanced approach makes more sense.

Without private-sector development, poverty cannot be eradicated. Only euz.editor@fs-medien.de market-oriented businesses will ever generate the kind of jobs that are needed to provide gainful employment to masses of people. It is also well understood that competition is an engine of innovation. No, market forces do not manage every kind of innovation well on their own; but the track record of governments implementing innovation by fiat is dismal.

Hans Dembowski

These are only two of the reasons why markets are indispensable if a society is to prosper. They do not prove, however, that market forces should be left to themselves, as free-market orthodoxy demands. The global financial crisis of 2008 provided ample evidence of just how devastating market failure can be.

Private-sector banks had lent too many people too much money without assessing thoroughly whether the clients would be able to repay. Too many clients used the loans for real-estate investments. House prices were inflated in places as far apart as Spain, Ireland and California.

Smart brokers, moreover, designed securitisation schemes that were supposed to make risky investments safe. But there was no safety. Market speculation turned into a gigantic pyramid scheme that eventually collapsed. And when it did, it plunged the world economy into crisis.

Environmental protection is probably the policy field that best shows both is needed: prudent regulation and private-sector dynamic. Unregulated markets cause unlimited environmental damage. Accordingly, governments must restrict destructive business practices. On the other hand, the history of the Soviet Union and other centrally planned economies shows capitalist economies were better at tackling ecological challenges.

Markets on their own do not create broad-base welfare and opportunities for all. To achieve that, targeted social welfare policies are needed. If businesses are to treat workers well, they must be formalised and submitted to rules.

It is no coincidence that the handful of nations that regularly tops the Human Development Index runs their economies by carefully regulating markets. They intentionally gear market forces to generating prosperity and sharing it widely. They do so by raising taxes, imposing laws, entitling people to services and spending on physical and social infrastructure.

The real challenge is neither to overcome capitalism nor to set market forces free. It is to gear private-sector activity to the kind of development that allows entire societies to prosper. ■

Anti-corporate agitators respond to this argument by pointing out that big business is guilty of unsustainable practices in developing countries in sectors such as resource extraction or industrial-scale agriculture. What I don't understand is why they insist that capitalism as such is problem. The real issue is inadequate governance and incompetent regulation.

Hans Dembowski is editor-in-chief since 2004 of D+C Development and Cooperation / E+Z Entwicklung und Zusammenarbeit, a media platform funded by the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and commissioned by Engagement Global to provide a forum of debate, involving governments, civil society, the private sector and academia at an international level. This article also appears on the D+C. For more of D+C’s stories, visit http://www.dandc.eu/de.

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F E AT U R E S

Food security summit on challenges, solutions in Asia-Pacific Over 300 government representatives, UN agencies, NGOs, development banks and corporations will gather on 8-9 October in Jakarta for the second annual AIDF Food Security Summit to discuss the imminent food security crisis and nutrition issues that Asia-Pacific is facing.

In addition to global experts, the summit offers unique regional insights from food security experts in Indonesia, including Dr. Suprayoga Hadi (Development for Resources Development at the Ministry for the Development of Disadvantaged Regions in Indonesia), Dr. Minarto (Indonesian Nutritionist Association), Dr Elvina Karyadi (Micronutrient Initiative) and Dr. Ir. Pak Haryono (Indonesian Agency for Agriculture Research and Development).

The two-day summit seeks to enable a debate and information sharing, and provide a platform for strategic partnerships and collaborations. Discussions are designed to lead to innovative solutions and best practices to tackle problems surrounding food This year’s event is supported by a wide range of strategic insecurity in the region. partners including: FMC Agricultural Solutions, FrieslandCampina, Glanbia Nutritionals, Valmont-Valley “Key industry stakeholders in Asia-Pacific, including the private Irrigation, Kubota Corporation, Inve Technologies and also sector companies, must attend this important and timely event. influential supporting partners including AgroPages, CropLife Based on the discussions at last year’s AIDF Food Secuirty Asia, AsianNGO, IRIN, Farming First, Agroforestry Centre, summit and continuous research this event aims to take the Switch Asia, Humanitarian News, among others. For more debate a step further and push for change and set a framework information and registrations visit http://food-security.aidforum. for action engaging all actors,” summit Project Director Sonja org. or contact Agnes Gradzewicz, AIDF head of marketing, at Ruetzel said. agnesg@aidforum.org. ■ As world population edged to 7 billion – up from 2.5 bn in 1950 – it has had profound implications for development, with serious effects on sustainability, urbanisation, and access to health services and youth empowerment; and some include significant food and water shortages.

Reasons for food insecurity are extremely wide ranging and include rising populations and increased consumerism, which will naturally turn out in an increasing demand for food. In particular, according to FAO, the global demand for food is expected to increase by 60% by 2050.

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Helping survivors come home, move on Amid the civil war in the 1990s, a development organisation was founded to work in the north and east of Sri Lanka as a humanitarian agency providing emergency assistance to the displaced Tamil, Sinhala and Muslim communities. The organisation was named Sevalanka Foundation.

Since then, Sevalanka helped numerous displaced communities to transition from living off relief aid to selfreliance and sustainable development.

In the 2002 ceasefire agreement, they decided to establish two subsidiaries to help develop the institutional capacity of other community-based organisations (CBO): the Sevalanka Community Financial Services (Seva Finance), a microfinance institution providing wholesale financial services; and the Sevalanka Enterprise Development Company (SEDCO), which is a social enterprise giving assistance in trade linkages, value chain investment and enterprise development services.

“The programmes we mostly work on have something to do with sustainable development and economic growth of the communities we target. In the field of agriculture and fisheries, business initiatives are focused linking them to markets. Some of our projects also focus on the environment, climate change adaptation and many are gender-sensitive and supportive,” Vice-Chair Lakshi Abeyasekera told Asian NGO, adding that after the war ended in 2009, Sevalanka helped in the return of the displaced families to their home villages with provisions of basic shelter, water sanitation and livelihood initiatives.

Despite the economies of Asia-Pacific out-growing the average global expansion, over 700 mn people in the region still live in abject poverty, surviving on less than $1.25 daily.

Keynote speakers include: H.E. Dr. Harbrinderjit Singh Dillon (Special Envoy to the President of Indonesia for Poverty Alleviation), Anita Kendrick (World Bank), Katinka Weinberger (Director of CAPSA at UNESCAP), Dr. Klaus Kraemer (Director, Sight and Life), Prateek Gupta (Director, Helen Keller International), and Dr. Gatot Irianto (Director General, Agriculture Infrastructure and Facility at the Ministry of Agriculture of Indonesia).

F E AT U R E D OR G A N I S AT I ON

“With the resettlement [programme] coming to a close, our organisation has been active in the support of livelihoods and linking the communities to sustainable development.

Over more than two decades of work with disadvantaged communities, we have now seen them settling in their home villages with a high degree of change. The resettlements are stabilising, well settled and have reached normalcy in their lives,” he added.

Image: 2011 ADB-ASSIST Asia 'CLICK' Photo Competition

For more information on the works of Sevalanka Foundation, visit http://www.sevalanka.org/. ■

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C O U N T R Y F E AT U R E from page 1

Post-war progress: opportunities in Sri Lanka year rehabilitation process sought to reintroduce them to civilian life. The government has also assisted the rehabilitees by giving postrehabilitation cash grants of Rs 25,000 ($250), based on the merit of business plans they proposed. According to the Bureau of the Commissioner-General of Rehabilitation, as of July 2014, close to 2,000 rehabilitees received the grant.

In an International Water Management Institute (IWMI) report, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) implements the Community Resettlement Project that assists post-conflict communities. IOM provides these communities with regular water supply for their everyday needs. At present, 134 people settled in the housing scheme are benefitting through this programme.

Houses of about a thousand families in Northern Sri Lanka have also been reconstructed through the help of Swiss Labour Assistance SAH, which raises households’ awareness on nutrition and domestic food production. To be more stabilised, several communities were offered with WASH amenities, permanent shelter, community road and rail networks, and livelihood skills.

Largely as a result, post-war reconstruction made a positive impact on the country’s economy. Sri Lanka has been ahead of other South Asian countries in terms of GDP per capita since after the 2009 surrender of the LTTE. This was primarily brought by the IMF and Chinese loans for rehabilitation that have rebuilt northern railway systems, roads, and housing; boosting the economy resulting in the recognition of Sri Lankan stock market as one of the best performing markets in the world.

Resiliency of Sri Lankan women Women in Sri Lanka, whose partners died or

for elected office. Visaka Dharmadasa, founder and chair of AWAW said “AWAW is deeply committed to seeing an end to this meaningless war and achieving a sustainable peace.”

Suriya Women’s Development Centre has been focused on women displaced by the conflict, holding various activities on vocational trainings, human rights, gender equality education, psycho-social therapy and the provision of legal advice.

Women entrepreneurship is also being promoted. The Business Development Services One of the series of post-war workshops in 2012 to (BDS) include trainings and counseling, enhance the effectiveness civil society organisations in Sri helping women grow from micro-level to smallLanka. (Image: Integra Initiative) and-medium enterprises (SMEs). BDS reaches women through of projects implemented by went missing during the conflict, have become both government and NGos; such as workshops sole breadwinners of their households. Like on SME development, trainings on technology many, the village of Valipunam that had been services, and business incubation by United a war zone has not yet been rehabilitated, Nations Industrial Development Organization and security remains a big issue for people.

(UNIDO) where they can start a business Women thus struggle to survive; but despite inexpensively. the challenges they have been through, they are some of the most resilient in the former conflict Locally, Child Rehabilitation Centre (CRC) zone. aids war-stricken women in terms of giving guidance for self-employment and runs credit “What they went through in the past three and savings groups mainly in the Ampara decades – as individuals, as families, as an district. entire community – have made them resilient.

They feel they can survive [and] take care of Healing the scars: the role of civil society their families whatever the circumstances are,” Civil society organisations take vital part in the MSM Kamil, head of the economic security post-war progress Sri Lanka gradually achieves, department at ICRC, told IPS. making the peace process easier, wherein CSOs have been the voice and central force for human Programmes were directed to women groups: rights and impartiality. They also deliver social the ICRC is one of the most active international services and development programmes. But organisations supporting this sector and persons CSOs do beyond this—in Sri Lanka, several disabled by the war by conducting microCSOs help mend the scars of war. economic initiatives and community-based livelihood activities to help people from various Sarvodaya is the largest people’s organisation districts of the country generate income. Some in the country, which heads the Sarvodaya of those activities were done in association with Economic Enterprise Development Services, the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society.

“The conflict forced female heads of household and physically-challenged people to fend for themselves or even support their entire families.

They had to find a way to earn a living without necessarily having the skills or experience,” said ICRC Head of Operation for South Asia Anthony Dalziel.

Local organisations have also been active in helping women. The Association of War Affected Women (AWAW) has been promoting peace through conducting awareness programmes and peace-building seminars. It Donations for families in Sri Lanka (Image: Shelter Box) also trains women leaders to run campaigns

NGO supports schools for children with disabilities Several stereotypes were attached to children with neurological disorders. Some parents treat them as burdens; some think the disorder is contagious. In the towns of Bentota and Kandi in Sri Lanka, however, these children were considered a blessing. Parents believe these children have ability to do good in the future.

This and her works with children with developmental disabilities inspired Sonalee Shyamsunder to start Urmi Foundation, an NGO that seeks to address the cultural gaps in caring for children with developmental disabilities.

below 90 who are in need of special schooling.

We are glad that the BMC is one of the few corporations that actually have special education for children with these disorders.

They cannot be inclusively educated.

Their learning curves are different and before they can be mainstreamed, they need to go through therapy and special education. Thus, instead of starting new schools, I felt it was best to support existing systems.”

In its goal to uplift the social status of children with special needs, it launched several programmes at the community level and with Urmi houses special educators and therapists BMC special schools. Aside from schools, who work at BMC special schools for children the foundation also plans to build medical facilities and vocational trainings for them. ■ with neurological conditions.

This includes children with autism, cerebral palsy, Down’s Syndrome and other conditions.

The Foundation helps four BMC special schools at Chembur, Sion, Dadar and Ghatkopar—which all have almost 200 students combined. Part of their work is helping students improve their sitting span, eye-hand coordination, and motor skills. They also try to reduce children’s hyper-activity.

Sonalee feels the need of helping these kids to have a brighter future, saying “there are about 250,000 children in Mumbai alone with neurological disabilities or with an IQ

4

Image: The Asia Foundation

Sri Lanka tea Tamils (Image: Martin Fossum)

the country’s largest micro-credit organisation lending money to grassroots communities.

It conducts peace-building efforts to youths, shelters for the orphaned and poor children, juvenile mothers and elders. It also organises outreach and welfare services to more than 4,000 pre-schools across the country.

Meanwhile, the Ahavoli Family Services Centre works in helping the smallest unit of the society - the family. They implement family counselling, training programmes and workshops, and peace-building and non-violent communication trainings. Complementary to this, the National Ethnic Unity Foundation (NEUF) promotes unity and co-existence among different ethnic groups through awareness programmes advocating unison among ethnicities to bridge communities and dissolve boundaries.

Working mainly for poor tea plantation workers in central Sri Lanka, Power Foundation encourages gender equality, peace-building, and co-existence between the Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims. It has Tamil Youth Radio in the plantation community where information and new approaches in solving issues are broadcast.

They also train young women to become future political leaders in their Young Women’s Empowerment Programme.

Although Sri Lanka has achieved a high leap in terms of economic growth and social actions for women and its people, it still has a lot of work to do.

Sri Lankan woman working as a de-miner (Image: DFID)

In the words of Benislos Thushan, 22, an ethnic Tamil youth, “our leaders have to take the lead in creating equality, acceptance and reconciliation. They have to take the lead in doing away with divisions in our country. In many ways, we are still a country divided.

Maybe not at war, but divided still the same.” ■

Women’s post-war status in Sri Lanka Sharmila Kajeepan, 26, was pregnant when arrested last March at Palaiuttru Trincomalee; accused of being the wife of “Gopi,” who was identified as new leader of the Tamil Tigers.

She had a miscarriage during the interrogation and was not given medical attention. On the same night, she was transported by train to a detention centre—thus recounted the Women’s Action Network.

Lanka programme last year. It is a six-month training where women, along with male youth, were given skills training in masonry and carpentry. This is to improve skills and harness skilled workers to construct post-war housing facilities in the north.

Women’s International Shipping and Trading Association (WISTA) was also initiated in the country, where women in management positions are urged to be involved in the Women’s Action Network, a group of 11 Sri maritime transportation business—an industry Lankan women’s groups from the country’s known to be dominated by men. The launch North and East, claims the government has been arresting innocent female relatives of men of the organisation happened in July, with 49 females becoming members. suspected to be re-building LTTE; and that most are being maltreated.

For its part, among the government’s thrusts is to strengthen its vocational training The arrests were in line with the Prevention programmes for women. It launched training of Terrorism Act (PTA), which was supposed modules in hair dressing and beauty culture to investigate and battle the LTTE revival. training programmes for female ex-combatants Sharmila is just one of the ten cases documented by the group. Underage girls and of the LTTE. elderly women were also arrested. The military The ICRC, meanwhile, has helped households and police, however, assert that these women were “arrested to prevent the Tamil tigers from headed by women and persons disabled due to regrouping.” Women’s Action Network appeals the conflict start income-generating activities and enhance their skills. The international for due process in the course of these arrests. relief organisation conducted micro-economic initiatives (MEI) and community-based Women in Sri Lanka have long been locked livelihood projects in the districts of Vavuniya, in traditional jobs: household chores and child care. Hence, several skills and vocational Kilinochchi and Mulaithivu from October trainings have been organised by international 2011 to June of this year, benefitting more than 1,000 households. It also provided skills NGOs and some government agencies. UNtrainings to former LTTE fighters to become Habitat, in partnership with the National self-employed.

Apprentice and Industrial Training authority (NAITA), German Technical Cooperation These programmes were in accordance with (GTZ) and CEFE NET Sri Lanka, organised the government’s community empowerment the Vocational Skills Development of Post War Resettled Communities in Northern Sri programmes. ■ www.asianngo.org

COVER STORY from page 1

She Has Risen: Big-picture situationer of women in a post-conflict world Where to start?

While domestic violence causes more death and disability worldwide among women than war, cancer, malaria and road accidents; the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute also reported that in the recent armed conflicts we have witnessed, almost 90% of death tolls are those of civilians—most of whom are women and children.

Naturally, the most obvious cross-cutting solution is to protect women during conflict, and, when things are better, opportunities to thrive in a formal (or, in some cases, informal) economy. But that long road ahead always starts with two key elements: a safe environment and a decent education.

In post-war Asia, local NGOs have stepped up to the challenge and have done very well to this day. In Cambodia, following the conflict of the 70s and after the Khmer regime, one of the first non-profit organisations to be set up was the Centre for the Protection of Children’s Rights (CCPCR), sought to advance child protection from abuse and trafficking.

For over two decades now, the CCPCR has zoomed their focus on protecting girls from sexual exploitation, recognising the change of needs between the post-war years and the contemporary times.

“Before, it was more about survival and ‘debriefing’ the children from the trauma of the conflict; now, it’s more about facing the threats of sex tourism and exploitative labour as they grow older. All through these years there are still a lot of child labour issues, violence, or (forced) migration to other countries where they end up begging alms for a syndicate. If we do not work together to prevent this, the welfare of the children will degenerate,” CCPCR Executive Director Thy Nget told AsianNGO. By ‘we’, Thy Nget meant urging not the only private sector donors abroad and government agencies in Cambodia, but also like-minded NGOs in the region and international organisations to do more work together. In recent years, CCPCR did The Village Safety Net programme, which includes workshops and community awareness meetings; and the Kampot Project and the Kampong Thom Project to empower young adults and their parents by creating a computer database to keep track of them.

SHE Rescue Home, on the other hand, provides safe haven for girls aged five to 16 who are or were victims or at risk of trafficking, rape, and forced prostitution. The organisation has built homes for long-stay and for those transitioning while their court cases are ongoing; and provides free education, vocational trainings, regular counselling and family assistance programmes to the girls.

Cambodian Vision in Development, a local NGO, has relied entirely on international funding agencies to continue their projects. The NGO runs a clothing factory that trains and employs disabled and disadvantaged young women. (Image: Pictim/Flickr)

Syrian refugee children attend a class in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, in the current civil war ensuing in Syria. (Image: UNHCR/Flickr)

Where to go?

Along with the rapid transition to democracy, demilitarisation, opening up to world trade and the emerging economies of the region, the opportunities for SMEs and women-specific boom also abound in the region. Myanmar and Vietnam have seen a declining violence against women; while the Philippines, China and the industrialised nations (Taiwan, South Korea) witness the rise of women executives and political leaders.

Addition in Uganda, which seeks to empower single mothers through training in pumpkin farming, business literacy and the sale of pumpkin products such as bread, seeds, and spice tea. The other was Corehead Business Solutions’ CO-OP46 in Nigeria, which teaches women business expansion methods through weekly lectures delivered to their phones via SMS; and establishes a co-op of existing businesses.

Yet on the ground something bigger is brewing.

This year alone, the Singapore Committee for the UN brought yet again its annual ‘Project Inspire: 5 Minutes to Change the World’, an initiative to help young [female] changemakers improve the world for women and girls in Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and Africa through thousand-dollar grants to incubate and innovate their ideas and make them work for their communities.

Last year it recognised projects such as that of the War-Affected Vulnerable Women Livelihood Innovation Project in Afghanistan, which helps marginalised widows in Jalalabad run small businesses by teaching them computer programming and design skills; Nepal’s Empower Generation, which sought to identify and support female entrepreneurs in the clean energy distribution business; and the USD10,000 runner-up Global Press Institute that provides rigorous journalism training to women in Bangladesh, Morocco, Papua New Guinea and Tunisia.

In August, a gala dinner in Singapore awarded a USD25,000 grant to the Vietnam project Supporting Disadvantaged Young Women through Vocational Training and Job Placement Programme. The idea of REACH (www. reach.org.vn) seeks to transform the lives of disadvantaged women in Vietnam through a range of skills training (from web design to hairdressing), plus job placement and followup support. Runner-up was Riverkids’ (www. riverkidsproject.org) From ‘Ait Chai’ Collector to Fashion Designer project in Cambodia, which provides counselling, health care and vocational training for Cambodian sex workers so they can transition out of the sex industry and run their own small business.

The $25,000 grant for 2013 was awarded to the India team, Protsahan, for their works in training for at-risk women in India’s slum areas on design and handicraft, which is a way to empower them and avert them from violence and sexual assault. “In 2010, during a corporate film shoot in Delhi, I came across a woman in a slum. She had six kids and was trying to send

her eight-year-old girl to a red-light district. She sacrifice one child in order to pay for food for five others. [I decided then that] I would start a creative arts school, [Protsahan], for sexually abused girls in the area,” said Sonal Kapoor.

In the face of 21st century progress, women and women’s organisations are gaining a better hand at influencing policy-making, community development and advancing their most critical agenda. The road to reaping their full capacities in nation-building is long—and it is not an advocacy we leave up to them. Ensuring a participatory approach for them, despite vulnerability from their fresh triumphs over armed conflict or disasters, is a priority that even men is obligated to sustain.

Because the ongoing discourse on empowering women does not constitute nor equate to what has been a misconceived feminist, ‘anti-men’ kind of movement. The whole new wave of advancing the rights and welfare of women and girls—children included—is acknowledging the fact that women, young and old, have a far different and deeper multiplier effect to the society. It is a basic response to the changing cultures across the globe, where women are stepping up to break barriers themselves and have, in the wake of new technologies, found a way to innovate solutions for development that were once unimagineable. ■

Some of the finalists recognised were from conflict-plagued Africa, too: one was the Rural Women and Youth Development Organisation’s Women’s Empowerment in Pumpkin Value

WFP offers $23 M in food aid for Lanka children, mothers Malnutrition has been a pressing problem for children and pregnant and lactating mothers in Sri Lanka. In a recent response to this, the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) has offered USD23.5 million in assistance to address this problem and improve the health status of vulnerable groups.

Through its Protracted Relief and Recovery Operation (PRRO), WFP extends the food aid assistance under the umbrella of the UN Development Assistance Framework (20132017). Dr. PB Jayasundera, Sri Lanka’s minister of finance and planning, signed a letter of understanding for the grant with the representative from the World food Programme, Ismail Omer, last August.

programme is reported to be $34.8 mn, $23.5 mn of which will be the direct WFP grant assistance.

The WFP programme, which will be executed by the Ministry of Economic Development, is expected to benefit an estimated 435,000 people. It will be implemented through the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Education Services, Ministry of Cooperative and Internal Trade, relevant Ministries of the Northern Provincial Council and the respective District Secretariats. ■

The Sri Lankan government, in partnership with the WFP, has made effective steps to improve the health status of children and lactating and pregnant mothers under the Mahinda Chintana Future Vision policy framework. These measures recognise and advance the importance of the balanced growth of a child.

The aim of the PRRO programme is to strengthen national capacities to help manage acute malnutrition among children aged 6 to 59 months and pregnant, lactating women while providing food security. It will also aid in emergency situations such as drought and flood.

The total value of UN-DAF’s PRRO www.asianngo.org

Image: Peter Casier/World Food Programme 5

GUEST WRITER

NGOs and the rise of new leaders

Sylvia Estrada-Claudio

To many friends, comrades and scholars studying social movements, the Philippines is an interesting place. We have a vibrant civil society and a large number of NGOs. Philippine activists and development workers have a reputation for great analytical and practical skills.

seclaudio@gmail.com

When I was helping to establish and expand a Southeast Asian network for women's health in the early 1990s we often came upon Filipino expats in Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. At that time these countries were beginning to open up after years of isolation under communist leaders. The first foreign entities on the ground were development non-governmental organisations. And many had Filipino staff. When we would call our affiliates or contacts in, say Cambodia, the head of office would often pass us on to the Filipino, who spoke English, handled the fax machine, wrote the project proposals and narrative reports, accompanied the Cambodian head of office on her trips, and did translations, etc.

Some descriptions of the downfall of the Marcos dictatorship state that the assassination of Ninoy Aquino began the revolt that ended in EDSA I. Those who were deeply involved know that it was a coalition of forces of the Cory yellows and the poor communities and their NGO partners that provided the impetus for social upheaval. The spark of Ninoy's assassination fell on tinder produced by the sweat and blood of development workers like the doctors Bobby de la Paz and Johnny Escandor.

That rich tradition continues to this day. Many activists who have changed their views about the correctness of armed revolution, have remained in NGOs. Today they continue to provide vital services like health and education including political education to large numbers of people.

This vital role of NGOs is acknowledged by development agencies like the United Nations and by scholars in the field of development studies.

not mere conduits and we do deserve real offices and salaries we can live on. And since you referred to doctors, I will attest to you that as a health NGO, we do not run our clinic out of a garage.

That would be telling our patients, “since you're just poor, you deserve less. Let's treat you in a garage.”

It is also the dead center that limits the political horizons of many of our people. Thus we are left with the depressing situation where people believe none of those aspiring to become the next president are worthy. Indeed, they are not. Whether at national or the local level, politicians arise from the dead centre and offer us very little hope.

Building participatory democracy Faced with this situation, we again consider extraordinary measures such as charter change to extend the term of the current president. Many do not see that if institutions are to be built, changing the rules to fit the current crisis does not allow for the long term evolution of mechanisms that allow for participatory democracy.

It is acknowledged, for example, that where government fails, NGOs fill the gap and are able to provide mechanisms for expression, discussion, debate, mediation and even confrontation The idea that another term for the current President is a solution that are important to participatory democracy. must be weighed carefully. The lack of a good alternative is indicative of the fragile nature of our governance processes and Reform at the national level such as the enactment of the Sin the solutions to this cannot be short term.

The School of Martial Law Tax Law, the Reproductive Health Law, the Supreme Court I attribute the predominance of our development workers decision abolishing the pork barrel has been facilitated by the In democracies people need to learn from their political partially to years of training in the difficult conditions of martial participation of NGOs in the process. mistakes. We cannot take away from people their right to vote law. My own experience was that the very first organisations for the wrong kind of politician and for the wrong reasons. allowed by the Marcos dictatorship to function were health Vibrant margins, dead centre In the long term we must have faith in the capacity of people, programmes. These were put up by activists who felt moved to The Philippines is a conundrum. One can see the vibrancy of even the poor and the ignorant, to develop new leaders and respond to the increasing misery of the people as the dictatorship our democracy in the number, scope, breadth and depth of new politics. The impetus for this can only come from the consolidated wealth and power. our NGOs alongside the continuing bankruptcy of our formal dissatisfaction with what they themselves have brought about by systems of governance and representation. As a friend once their own bad theories and practices. That new leaders can arise The dictatorship had a very difficult relationship with these noted, “the margins of Philippine society are vibrant but the and that participatory government is possible has been my life NGOs. On one hand, it had to prove to the international centre is dead.” experience working in real NGOs. community that it was not repressive, so it could not ban all civil society organisations. Banning health and other development More often it is the dead centre that threatens the vibrant People like myself who teach and practice development work organisations was particularly foul. Especially so in the light margins. In our work with local government units we have seen can only hope that someday, as it did during the People Power of the increasing lack of health, education, water, agricultural so many fake NGOs put up by the mayor or governor headed by Revolution, the margins can take centre stage and that the support and other social services. their relatives or retainers. These are then appointed to positions grassroots can eventually grow in the gardens of Malacañang, the reserved for civil society or awarded contracts.

Philippine president’s official residence.

Yet the dictatorship knew that these NGOs were also a source of resistance. They gave the people a sense of how government The fake Napoles NGOs are another example. And let me tell Sylvia Estrada-Claudio is medical doctor who also holds a PhD in Psychology. She is Professor at the Department should serve them. In making poor communities the focus of you that as someone who has developed both practical and of Women and Development Studies of the University of their work, they reminded the people of their rights, worth, theoretical expertise on civil society organisations, the defense the Philippines. She is also co-founder and Chair of the and dignity. While it is true that many NGOs at that time were of Stephen Lim, Napoles' lawyer that there is nothing wrong Board of Likhaan Center for Women's Health. This article put up by activists who were members of, or influenced by, the with housing NGOs in garages and private apartments is insult appeared on Rappler (http://www.rappler.com/thoughtCommunist Party of the Philippines, most who worked in them added to injury. Take for example his idea that NGOs are mere leaders/67126-ngos-philippines-leaders) on 25 August 2014. Rapper is a Philippine-based online news channel were not Party members. Many who worked in basic Christian conduits and that renting office space is not the practice of that brings stories with the aim to inspire community communities or community based health programmes had no NGOs. Those of us who use development aid (and I would engagement and digitally fuelled actions for social change. political affiliations but were merely courageous people who classify PDAF, if properly used as a form of development aid) opposed the dictatorship on their own moral terms. Many knew are not conduits but implementors. The NGOs I work with run [Editor’s note: ‘fake Napoles NGOs in this story refers to a but did not care or welcomed the presence of the communists. clinics, do trainings, deliver supplies. In this situation, we do scandal in the Philippines last year involving Janet Napoles, need office space. a local business trader currently facing legal charges for creating fake non-government organisations to funnel and During that time of extreme repression, many understood siphon lawmakers’ public development funds. Close to a why some would take up arms. Then as now, repression and While they work for far less than what their skills are worth, hundred Napoles NGOs had been named and confirmed maldevelopment were the drivers of violent revolution.

NGO workers are still workers. They should be given adequate fake.] salaries and good working conditions. No, Stephen Lim, we are

Staying safe in conflict zones: advice from female social entrepreneurs Few will remember the death of Pakistani activist and social entrepreneur Fareeda "Kokikhel" Afridi. Shot dead by extremists on her way to work, Afridi was the founder of Sawera (Society for Appraisal and Women Empowerment in Rural Areas) in a tribal region in Pakistan's far-flung northwest hinterland.

Abdulali says that when she ventures into hostile zones she always informs her lawyer and makes sure she is accompanied by a trustworthy person within the community or support network.

Her work, like that of many other female social entrepreneurs in such areas, is phenomenal, yet threats and violent attacks are often the daily reality of working life, says leading human rights defender Hasina Kharbhih.

At Ashoka, we are proud to work with women like Abdulali and Kharbhih who are bravely venturing into areas that are Know your rights unfamiliar and using the necessary levers within a system to "When these kinds of attacks happen and when it starts affecting successfully bring about change. They are creating a safer path your personal life, many tend to give up. But knowing the law in for those who wish to follow in their impressive footsteps. the area you are based can be very helpful," she says.

As the founder of Impulse Social Enterprises and Impulse NGO Network, which provides livelihood opportunities for vulnerable communities affected by human trafficking in North-East India, she has faced several death threats and has been assaulted in front of a local court when fighting a case.

It is crucial for social entrepreneurs, especially women working in dangerous areas of oppression and conflict, to learn their rights, legal provisions and equip themselves with all the legal knowledge necessary to ensure their safety, says the social entrepreneur.

She has developed the "Meghalaya Model" (or Impulse Model), which has helped change the lives of more than 20,000 local women artisans. But keeping an organisation thriving in such conditions can be a monumental task.

"This is very critical," she says, "When you know the law, you can actually stand up for yourself even if the whole system is going against you. You will still have massive support from across the world because they know what you are doing is legally right."

Staying strong "It's very psychologically draining when you have to go through a phase where you are being threatened," she says, "but the other issue is that, when you are running an institution, you have to build a psychological frame that tells your team that things are going to be OK. If I become weakened in the process, the team will collapse or the institution will collapse."

She has successfully sought help and support from organisations like the Asian Human Rights Commission in Hong Kong, Front Line Defenders and BHRPC (Barak Human Rights Protection Committee).

In North-east India, political instability has worsened the problem of human trafficking, which leaves marginalised communities feeling powerless as they struggle in the prevailing system. Building a strong support network with agencies, community bodies and the police in cases of emergency, is mandatory for any social entrepreneur working in these fragile areas, says Kharbhih.

The relentless pursuit of justice has often left many disillusioned 6

in several developing countries, particularly in the South Asian region. Facing fundamentalist forces, religious conservatism or being arrested under false pretences when fighting those in power can be both defeating and fruitless, but Kharbhih offers some advice for others in this situation.

Sumaira Abdulali, founder of the Awaaz Foundation, agrees: having worked in the environmental sector in India for more than 10 years, particularly against illegal sand mining, biodiversity threats and pollution, she has faced physical assault during mining inspections.

She also says that maintaining transparency is key to establishing one's integrity and self-protection. "I think one mistake activists or women social entrepreneurs make, in general, is that they tend to work in a secretive manner and no one knows what they are doing," she suggests. "The truth is, letting the outside world know – the public and the press, is a safety mechanism in itself."

A Myanmar social entrepreneur involving some community children at the recent conflicts in Rakhine State. (Image: Asia-Europe Foundation) Meera Vijayann is communications manager Ashoka India and writes on social enterprise, gender and development.

She has a strong background in communications and works towards driving change through digital media, with a special interest in young changemakers and social entrepreneurs in South Asia and through her work at Ashoka. This article also appears on The Guardian Social Enterprise Network.

www.asianngo.org

CSR

Responsible business for sustainable impact from page 1

CSR Asia, Adidas: corporations can help curb modern day slavery recognises “the importance of respecting, protecting and promoting human rights globally, and believes that the private sector can play a constructive role in advancing this goal.

Adidas Group acknowledges that if companies raise awareness with decision-makers, internally and externally to a business as well as map and track issues within their global supply chains, they can play a constructive role in eliminating modern day slavery. The Group leads in understanding the long-term challenges in fully tracing the origin of cotton in textile supply chains.

To address this issue, Adidas developed a raw materials sourcing strategy to use only Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) cotton in their products. The Group is making good progress towards its 100% Better Cotton goal. Better Cotton offers a best practice approach, whereby the working conditions from the field to mill, to factory floor of Adidas’ manufacturing partners, are known and traceable.

The Group believes that it is only through creating such visibility and working with trusted partners on the ground that they can reduce the incidence and risk to modern day slavery in global supply chains. Moreover, stating that not one party has a monopoly on knowledge, or solutions; but it is every company’s responsibility to try their best.

This initiative, along with other efforts to curb slavery in Asia, supply chain auditing has increasingly become necessary to protect brands and workers from risk. At this year’s CSR Asia Summit in Hong Kong, a separate discussion zooms in on new approaches, including worker training, capacity-building for managers, joint industry initiatives, collaborating with NGOs, local government and other stakeholders in key supply chain locations.

To assist the private sector in tackling this issue and sharing best practices, the Mekong Club was formed, which is a non-profit organisation based in Hong Kong composed of business professionals whose goal is to uncover and stop the business of human slavery.

Some of its members are senior executives from Edelman, Western Union, Ernst & Young, and Winston & Strawn. The Club is one of the first organisations of its kind in Asia to bring together the immense skills and resources of the business community, channelling them into targeted efforts to directly disrupt the human slavery trade. The Mekong Club is fighting slavery through a “business-to-business” partnership, to disable slavery’s economic and structural viability.

The Mekong Club’s approach is to partner with experienced anti-slavery field-experts who have the understanding, networks, and resources to deliver measurable change. By creating general awareness, targeted trainings for business on how to ensure slave-free supply chains, and through the use of innovative technology to identify slavery and shut it down, the Mekong Club aids the private sector to battle this issue.

To learn more on Adidas best practices and the Mekong Club’s strategies, follow the updates and post-event proceedings at this year’s CSR Asia Summit at http://www.csr-asia.com/ summit2014/. ■ www.asianngo.org

Beyond CSR: Seoul hosts summit on creating shared value On 2-4 December, Seoul will host the inaugural international conference on Creating Shared Value (CSV), which aims to spread strategies and models for practical and feasible Shared Value all over Asia.

“Entering the 21st century, numerous companies have emphasised CSR; but successful cases can be counted on one hand.

Companies’ one-sided and self-satisfying efforts did not give consideration to the opinions of every stakeholder involved, which caused misunderstandings and bias,”noted an officer from the Conference Organiation Committee of the CSR Seoul Initiative – host and organizers of this year’s inaugural CSV Conference 2014. The event thus allows participants to debate extensively and in-depth through round-table discussions; and put every effort into arriving at practical outputs for the future of Shared Value.

“Companies across the world are experiencing difficulties in finding practical strategies and models that attain economic and social value simultaneously. CSR Seoul Initiative’s CSV Conference 2014 will therefore gather diverse stakeholders such as business, civic groups, central and local government, investors and experts to debate and discover righteous future business value strategies and cases,” said Eugene Choi, Communication Committee Senior Advisor and professor at Korea University of Media Arts.

Image: Nestlé

Meanwhile, Gwang Pyo Lee, CSV Conference 2014 Communication Committee President and former CEO of Seoul Media Group, emphasised that “CSR Seoul Initiative will handle the hot issues of CSR through annual conferences. With Seoul as a starting point, important implications and conclusions will be spread to Beijing, Tokyo, Hong Kong,

Singapore and all throughout Asia. This year’s conference is a grand initial step in this endeavour.”

For further information please contact the conference organizing committee of CSV 2014 by sending an email to conference@csrseoul.net or visiting their website at www.csrseoul.net. ■

Hilton, DHL offer recycled soaps to poor, disaster areas in Asia At the Conrad Hotel in Seoul, part of the Hilton chain, used soap bars that often end up in rubbish bins are now an important item needed for its corporate social responsibility.

These used soaps are collected by a DHL man every first Tuesday of the month to be sent to Hong Kong-based NGO, Soap Cycling Center, where machines grind them and hygienically recycle them to be re-distributed to rural communities in developing countries and disaster-stricken areas.

Nils-Arne Schröeder, general manager of Conrad Seoul, said “our partnership with DHL Korea and Soap Cycling has enabled us to put our ideas for protecting the global environment into action, which is a responsibility we mutually share.”

The recycled soaps are sent to underprivileged children in the Asia-Pacific region and those who are struck by disasters, through its NGO partners across the region.

When asked what he wants to achieve through the project, David Bishop, Soap Cycling founder said “If we can give all of the children in the world soap and teach them how to use it, you save about one million children every single year from diseases and deaths, just from the soap; while at the same time sustaining a culture of community hygiene.”

As part of Hilton Worldwide's initiative, Conrad Seoul's donation has reached 411,500 kilograms since January 2014. In total, Hilton has recycled and distributed 120 tonnes of re-packaged soap. For Sylvia Low, CSR manager of Hilton Worldwide Asia-Pacific, their partnership with Soap Cycling gives their hotels a chance to “take a small but important step in improving hygiene-related support to underprivileged communities in Asia, while diverting waste from landfills.” (Korea Times) 7

CSR

ASIAN CSR

Hewlett-Packard to launch more eHealth centres in India Hewlett-Packard has announced the opening of 14 more cloud-enabled eHealth centres (eHC) in India, adding to the six that are already operating in the country. The technology and hardware firm aims to reach its goal of 20 eHealth centres for the next 18 to 24 months.

The US-based tech giant recently set up five of these health facilities in Karnataka and West Bengal in April 2014. Along with its partner, Narayana Health (NH), HP is providing innovative and cost-effective solutions to make affordable healthcare available to poorer communities in India. HP sets up the equipment while NH provides manpower to run the operation and spread awareness about the programme.

“Partnering with HP allows us to leverage technologies, such as telemedicine and cloud capabilities to deliver early detection and diagnosis to patients, while maintaining manageable costs,” said Dr Ashutosh Raghuvanshi, Narayana Health’s vice chairman, managing director and group CEO.

An eHC, which is housed in a shipping container, typically has a workstation, cloud-integrated diagnostic system and video conferencing equipment. Outside the shipping container are tents and benches where patients can wait for their turn.

Technologies installed in eHCs allow physicians to connect with patients who do not have access to medical facilities.

People in remote areas are able to get consultations and diagnoses even though the specialists are not physically present at the centre. Monitoring disease patterns and making health profiles in communities, including data-sharing, are also made easier through the cloud-based IT system.

The first eHealth Centre in Kaithal district, Haryana, which opened in 2012, was able to help more than 4,000 patients during its first 100 days of operation. And around 35,000 patients – a collective record among the six operating eHCs in India – have accessed HP’s facilities as of June this year.

(Financial Express)

BMW CSR fund pushes sustainable platform for China In 2011, Chen Yong, a young BMW M3 customer, experienced volunteering in the highlands of Yushu for the first time. In that trip a visually handicapped seven-year old girl caught his attention. He communicated with other BMW customers across the country the need to provide medical support for that girl and a year later, Dailai Yongcou recovered her sight after a successful operation.

Chen is just one of more than 150 BMW customers, dealers and associates organised by the BMW Warm Heart Fund in cooperation with China Charity Federation who volunteered in Yushu to help local schools and families. Since the serious earthquake hit the area in April 2010, the group has already made eight visits.

In July, 22 volunteers arrived ahead of a weekend charity event, bringing with them some winter necessities and stationery to give to more than 3,000 students living in Xialaxiu Center Boarding School and its rural primary schools. Volunteers

taught the children and played games with them. Karsten Engel, president and CEO of BMW Group-China said, “social corporate responsibility, or giving a return to society, is as important as our business.”

Last year, the Warm Heart Fund financed two yaks for every poor family following a suggestion made by the schools. This year, 77 herding families received yaks purchased with the RMB400,000 (US$65,120) raised at a charity auction held by and for BMW customers in June in Jiangsu province. Yak is considered the most cherished treasure in the grassland area, says Zha Yang, headmaster of Lawuga Village Primary School.

In that same volunteer trip, BMW announced it will extend RMB2 mn ($325,600) to support research and work to conserve grassland ecosystems across some 43,000 sq km in Yushu. The company also plans to impart environment protection knowledge and skills by offering training to at least 5,000 people in four counties in the region. (China News)

Korean tech firm builds Ethiopia training school Korean electronics giant LG has teamed up with the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and the World Together Ethiopia to launch an Ethiopian Training College.

The LG Hope Technical, Vocational & Educational Training (TVET) College will be run by LG to train 10th grade graduates in the fields of electronics and information technology. The training also includes skills development for home and office equipment; multi-media platforms like mobile and digital television; and Information and Communications Technology (ICT) facilities and trends.

Students are selected through a screening process and receive

practical lessons as well as leadership and entrepreneurship courses for a year by Korean trainers from LG. Construction of the centre is still ongoing in the capital of Ethiopia, Addis Abeba, which is LG’s first training facility in Africa. Classes are expected to start on November.

To maintain a monthly discussion on administration and operational issues, nine members of the advisory committee are drawn from the founders of this college with the others from Selam TVET College, Ethio Telecom, Ministry of Education and the Federal TVET Agency. (All Africa)

Panasonic initiates Singapore sustainable farming Panasonic Corporation has established a huge name in the world of producing electronic and electric products worldwide and now, it aims to be more than just an electronics giant. It wants to extend its services by using its technologies to address social issues.

It uses an indoor farming technology to produce leafy vegetables and combat land scarcity and food insecurity in Singapore. The farm is said to be the first licensed indoor vegetable farm in the city-state. Last July, Panasonic started selling fresh vegetables and crops to Japanese restaurants in the city.

This initiative is in line with the company’s objective of contributing to the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority’s (AVA) vision of elevating the current self-sufficiency level for leafy vegetables of Singapore. Panasonic realises the need for this move as the country relies mostly on imports for food.

“With over 90% of the food consumed in Singapore being imported, Panasonic hopes the indoor vegetable farming system can contribute to the nation’s food self-sufficiency levels and at the same time provide a better life and a better world through improved food quality,” Hideki Baba, managing director of Panasonic Factory Solutions Asia Pacific, said.

The facility is about 248 sqm, located inside a factory building which produces ten types of vegetables that include lettuce, spinach and radish. Its annual production capacity of 3.6 tonnes is made through nurturing plants with artificial lights coming from LED lights and optimised temperature, humidity and carbon dioxide levels.

It seeks to cultivate more than 30 crop varieties by March 2017, contributing to 3% of the country’s local production. Panasonic claims the crops from the facility are “relatively cheaper as it is half the price of the imported vegetables from Japan.” ■

Parryware builds toilets for students in India About 53 percent of India’s urban poor households use public areas such as streets and fields as toilets; with shortage of [toilets] remaining as one of the country’s main problems— which Parryware seeks to address this year.

defecate in open areas even late at night, due to the scarcity of basic bathroom facilities,” said a spokesperson. Aside from these, they may be prone to diseases that may range from urinary tract to kidney infections.

Parryware, an Indian sanitary ware brand, plans to build toilets in 25 schools in different parts of the country as part of its corporate social responsibility efforts. This will benefit schools in Coimbatore, Indore, Erode, Bhiwadi, Sriperumbudur, Pantnagar, Alwar, and Ranipet.

The initiative was inspired by the Prime Minister’s Swach Bharat Programme, which highlights the need for better sanitation in India with prime concern on toilets.

The project is also expected to greatly help Indian girls with the currently ensuing issues of violence and rape in public domains, as the company will also be building separate toilets for [girls] for their greater comfort and to achieve a more conducive environment for learning in schools.

“Indian women and girls have been more vulnerable to assault and harrassment. One of the reasons is that they are forced to 8

“The Prime Minister's vision of providing sound sanitary conditions to each citizen is laudable. Fortunately, we at Parryware, as India's front-runners in bathroom solutions are in an ideal position to contribute meaningfully to this project," said Pau Abello, managing director of Roca Bathroom Products Private Limited.

Parryware’s endeavour has been hailed by the company as critical in the country’s steps towards a cleaner India. ■

A S I A B U S I N E S S F E AT U R E

After $14.5B losses from Haiyan, what have we learned?

Last year’s Typhoon Haiyan marked global history as the strongest typhoon ever to make landfall—and it hit the Philippines. Early warning systems were established, almost 800,000 people evacuated, and disaster response teams and facilities were quickly installed. But after Haiyan (locally known as Yolanda), over 14 million people were affected: at least 6,000 were killed, and four million displaced from their communities. At least 63 towns in Leyte and Samar provinces and 84 in Panay, Cebu and Negros took the brunt of 250-kilometre per hour-strong winds, storm surges and floods.

The typhoon left a total damage of $14.5 billion.

Behind these massive loses, and with yet another storm Rammasun (locally known as Glenda) having just left the country, we ask: What lessons can we learn from the tragedy and how can disaster-prone nations better equip themselves with risk reduction measures and business continuity strategies?

Strengthen local and national governments Indeed, at the forefront of strengthening a nation’s disaster and risk reduction capabilities – especially in terms of drafting and enacting laws and policies – should be the Government.

In the Philippines, there exists Republic Act 10121 or the “Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010.” The act aims to strengthen the country’s disaster risk reduction and management system by incorporating internationally accepted principles in the creation and implementation of relevant strategies, policies, plans and budgets.

Yet the private sector has an equal share to play by corporations integrating and promoting disaster-ready business practices in support of these local and national legislations. Recently, there have been increasing “talks” on advancing disaster preparedness standards and environmental safeguards in Manila – triggered by the September 2009 floods – that are largely advocated by corporations whose business interests are at stake and NGOs that serve urban poor communities.

As a result, the Senate and Congress both swiftly acted on re-writing national ordinances, the national DRRM law one of them—which now states that a minimum of 5 percent of the national internal revenue should be set aside for disaster preparedness.

More effective communication and information system Haiyan’s damages could have been prevented or minimised if people were well informed. This is a capacity that the private sector – particularly those in the telecommunications and ICT industries – certainly have more to offer.

Increasing the public’s understanding of threats to enable better response from communities can be achieved through a robust early warning system. In fact, the Global Disaster Preparedness Centre pointed out that “communication” is a vital tool in evacuating communities, mobilising rescue teams and coordinating with help centres.

During Haiyan, social media and mobile technologies, indeed, enabled an “interpersonal” warning system and coordination of relief efforts.

Yet, all that would have been impossible if local telecommunications firms did not immediately and actively restore their own infrastructure and facilities in the affected regions.

Multi-hazard post-disaster strategies Areas affected by Haiyan were—and in some cases, still are—also at risk to other hazards such as tropical and infectious diseases, human trafficking, some likelihood of conflict and the overall vulnerability of remaining structures.

This situation calls for multi-hazard approaches to prepare citizens not only for these other risks but also of the seasonality of natural calamities in the region. Risk maps published by the Manila Observatory, for example, can be of great help in this undertaking; while deploying alternative failsafe backup power systems is imperative.

Again, the private sector’s best practices in resiliency and business continuity can serve as an ideal template for mapping multi-hazard response strategies. There are several touch-points that various industries can help capacitate communities with, and this should be seen as an opportunity for better community engagement more than simply an investment for brand reputation-building.

Safe housing, more stable infrastructure Urban planning has always been a touchy issue in Manila. As a megacity built on rolling terrains with quake faults coupled with a massive buildup of infrastructures, it is caught at an odd crossroads between sustainable planning and maximising space.

Buffer zones against flooding, better evacuation routes and improved infrastructure for community sheltering are essential components of re-building communities. These, however, can only be achieved if the Government, private sector and civil society work together with conscious consideration of the needs of and threats that communities may face.

Just recently, national NGOs and corporate partners advocated architects and designers to come up with a “re-building plan” through a design competition. The plan is aimed at Haiayan’s worst struck communities with much prioritisation to cities such as Tacloban, Bantayan and Panay.

With the resources that corporate sponsors have generously pledged to incubating young Filipino designers’ vision for a sustainable housing and building environmentally resilient communities, the traditional formula of private sector aiding local communities has yielded an exemplary forward-looking strategy that is, at least, hoped to deter the damage Haiyan has done in future calamities.

Hindsight is always 20-20, and the lessons can only be learned after the events that trigger the need to re-visit our strategies and roles in safeguarding the community from natural disasters. But at a business continuity perspective, the lessons we learn coupled with the best practices we can share with peers and partners in the region, guided by our experiences and expertise, should benefit our disaster-prone neighbours. ■ This article, written by AsianNGO Publisher Sreenivas Narayanan, is also featured in the blog page of Business Continuity Planning (BCP) Asia, in time for the 2014 Asia Business Continuity Conference in Singapore last August. www.asianngo.org

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Smile Foundation: children as enablers of change Children are the hope of every nation; which is why investing in them is valuable. This inspired a group of young corporate professionals to create Smile Foundation, a local non-profit organisation in India benefitting about 300,000 Indian children and their families. Smile believes that active participation of civil society is needed to achieve sustainable change.

“Eight million children in India are out of school— surrounded by poverty, illness and despair; they are fighting a daily battle for their survival. Together, we can bring hope in their lives. Together, we can bring change and make it last,” Smile Foundation said, adding that they have focused their programmes on education, livelihood and health for the women and the families these children belong in.

Smile implements ‘Mission Education’ that provides basic education and health care to poor children. Also, ‘Smile on Wheels’ is a national initiative that gives medical attention to families in remote areas through the mobile hospital.

They also have ‘Smile Twin e-Learning Programme (STeP) to provide to out-of-school youths and high school graduates with knowledge to enable them to apply for relevant jobs.

They also conduct ‘Swabhiman’, which focuses on women empowerment through life skills and other services.

Peace Education and Development Foundation Low literacy, poverty, malnutrition, lack of basic infrastructure – just some of the challenges facing Pakistan. The threat of terrorism and religious extremism, complicating the situation, have not been fully addressed by a government most busy combatting the surge of terrorism in the last decade.

This is where the non-profit training and advocacy organisation, Peace Education And Development (PEAD) Foundation, comes in. PEAD has been working on de-radicalisation and counterextremism efforts in Pakistan since 2002, with special focus on the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).

Over the years, PEAD has worked on conflict resolution efforts through creating awareness on the importance of governance and its critical role in the society. It has focused its attention on the youth and has conducted targeted programmes for training and capacity building as future leaders and as voices of reason in their own societies.

Lamia Afghan Foundation describes Afghanistan as a “war-torn nation,” and works to rise up and rebuild the country. Lamia is a non-profit organisation established to help underserved families and children in Afghanistan, providing humanitarian aid.

Many Afghans were deprived of basic needs because of scarcity, poverty, hostilities and natural catastrophes. Lamia collaborates with regional or international humanitarian relief organisations like Feeding the Nations, Feed My Starving Children and Food for Kids to bring in food and basic supplies to Afghans.

The second ‘Cook for a Smile’ project happened last July, bringing together corporate leaders to cook and raise fund to support Smile’s ‘Nutrition for Better Literacy’ initiative. Each corporate leader is assisted by junior master chefs to improve their favourite recipes. In this programme, children were provided with education on good nutrition.

Lamia Afghan Foundation, in partnership with Civil Affairs PRTs in Paktika province, has built a dome for girls who stopped schooling after Grade 6; and who are also given free school supplies from the foundation’s donors. This also gives them an opportunity to be involved in women’s sewing projects, which may improve their skills and be a source of income later on in their lives.

Childreach launches anti-child trafficking campaign in Nepal

Among its recent projects is helping the Afghan women be qualified for a global labour market. Afghan women were engaged in skills training and capacity-building activities so they can produce profitable items like scarves and handbags, which is an opportunity to gain income they can use to support their families.

Non-government CODE—which stands for Code of Conduct for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation in Travel and Tourism—conducted an explanatory forum on sex tourism at Yangon's Sule Shangri-La in May, participated by officials of the Ministry of Hotel and Tourism, Myanmar Tourism Federation (MTF) and local tourism companies.

Delegates received training on how to spot likely abuses and abusers.

At the UK premiere of the film “Sold” in August, Childreach International launched the #TaughtNotTrafficked campaign to promote the anti-trafficking movement in Nepal, where as many as 20,000 children are duped into trafficking each year.

“We really aim to teach what child sex tourism is and how to protect children by giving training,” according to a member of the country’s tourism federation, adding that even in big cities, operators are aware of the threat of child sex tourism.

Lamia also funds two tent schools in Kabul that house about 400 refugees. They also distributed relief goods such as winter clothing, coal, tents and other winter items for different refugee camps since last year.

To know more of their past and implementing programmes, visit www.lamia-afghanfoundation.org. ■

At a girls' education centre in the returnee area of Qalai Gudar in Afghanistan. (Image: UNHCR/Flickr)

Patchareeboon Sakulpitakphon, Code's engagement and awareness manager, believes that even with the country's law on child sex crimes, its dangers should still be avoided. In an assessment conducted by the group in Yangon, Nay Pyi Taw, Bagan and Mandalay in 2013, children linked to travel and tourism are identified to be at risk of sexual exploitation.

Besides the training provided for industry representatives, Code also offers information on children's rights and encouraged hoteliers and tour operators to state in their marketing that they're taking steps to combat child sex tourism.

Myanmar is so far not on the list of countries reputed for child sex tourism, but one tour operator who has worked in the industry for decades believes it could happen if the industry and authorities are not vigilant. U Nay Lin Htike said “ignorance to child sex tourism could mean that people may not realise that untoward behaviour is already taking place in the country.” ■

NGO, Unilever push for sustainable supply-chain

Unilever teams up with non-government organisation Solidaridad to enhance the quality of livelihood of one million people globally who work for the manufacturing Based on the novel by Patricia McCormick, “Sold” features giant’s extended supply chains. The NGO, which aims to the story of a 13-year-old girl who was trafficked from her create sustainable supply chains through innovative measures, village in Nepal to a brothel in India. Childreach believes that promotes gender equity; advances initiatives to improve quality education prevents children from being lured to human agriculture, land management and labour practices; and trafficking: an educated child has the advantage of having supports emerging agricultural entrepreneurship. better opportunities.

“This partnership helps drive real change across our value Through the campaign, the organisation aims to let 2,000 chain. We are branching into new areas, which is why it is so children finish primary and secondary school, support important to have the experience and knowledge of an NGO trafficking survivors and allow them to educate others about like Solidaridad. This programme will also analyse and address the dangers and traps of human trafficking. gender issues in each project as well as provide access to training in agriculture, finance, health and hygiene, and nutrition,” said Funds raised through the campaign continuously, aside from Dhaval Buch, chief procurement officer at Unilever. meeting the two main goals, will be used to disseminate information about human trafficking in villages that lack the The partnership will focus on the sustainable production of resources to obtain such; and train parents on new livelihood raw materials – such as tea, cocoa, sugar, palm oil, fruit and skills. With better income, parents will be less inclined to give vegetables, soy and dairy – in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. into the pressures of human trafficking in order to alleviate Sustainable production can be achieved through socially their poverty. responsible and environment-friendly practices. Both parties will collaborate in raising money to support smallholder #TaughtNotTrafficked is supported by Childreach Nepal; farmer initiatives through public and private grants, credit, and Shakti Samuha, a survivor-run anti-trafficking local NGO; and investments. the country’s Department of Education, along with 11 primary schools in the country. (Huffington Post) “Together with Unilever we will engage suppliers and support www.asianngo.org

For more information, visit www.pead.org.pk. ■

NGO educates tourism industry on threats of child sex tourism Many Southeast Asian countries have faced problems of child sex tourism. Although it is not yet rampant in Myanmar, one NGO believes raising awareness about child sex tourism will help control its spread in the nation.

Image: Martin Prohida/Childreach

Currently PEAD collaborates with UNICEF on “Art for Cohesion and Expression” project to increase the capacity of target beneficiaries to understand the significance of tolerance, respect and social harmony to reject violent extremism. It also collaborated with the US government on the launch of an English Access Micro-Scholarship Programme in Peshawar, intended to provide students with opportunities to learn the English and increase their knowledge on diverse cultures across the world and the US culture in particular.

Restoring hope to their war-torn nation

Among its most recent projects is ‘Smile Health Camp’ held last June in New Delhi, an activity for the homeless community in the area with particular focus on young mothers and children. ‘Smile on Wheels’ gave medical examinations and treatment during the camp.

With Smile Foundation’s projects, children now can create a brighter future for India. ■

With a mission to educate and empower communities for a democratic, tolerant and progressive Pakistan by promoting values of democracy, responsible citizenship and social cohesion, PEAD focuses their programmes on human rights and cultural diversity; democracy and governance; peace-building and conflict resolution; and inter-faith harmony and social cohesion.

them to address current and future business challenges.

Suppliers need access to resources and to markets. We need to change market conditions to shift sustainable production from niche to norm. Unilever and Solidaridad aim to leverage their resources with those of others to have large scale measurable impact,” said Nico Roozen, executive director of the Solidaridad Network.

Unilever’s and Solidaridad’s sustainable supply chain projects have already engaged over 150,000 smallholder farmers and workers in India, Mexico, and Columbia. To know more of the partnership and learn about the works of Solidaridad, visit http://www.solidaridadnetwork.org. ■

(Image: St. George’s University/Flickr) 9

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Vietnam children with chronic conditions get support from CLAN Australian NGO Nhan Dan Online-Caring and Living as Neighbours (CLAN) collaborates with the National Hospital for Pediatrics (NHP) of Vietnam to help children with chronic health conditions. Headed by medical doctors Kate Armstrong and Elisabeth Hodson, CLAN started working last June, supporting training for medical professionals and an estimated of 600 families in leading children’s hospitals and treatment centres in Ho Chi Minh, Hue, Thai Binh, and Hanoi.

Last month CLAN met with families of children with lupus, an auto-immune disease that attacks normal and healthy tissues due to the immune system’s hyperactivity; Duchennemuscular dystrophy (DMD), a progressive muscular weakness; and osteogenesis imperfecta (OI), brittle bone disease.

supported by the Australian Embassy with a AU$10,000 grant to strengthen information dissemination and the skills of the parents in child care. Through this, it doesn’t only help ease the load of the hospitals but it also builds a strong community.

Doctors from the Children’s Hospital at Westmead in Sydney, Australia is also one of CLAN’s supporters as they have contributed their expertise free of charge for their projects in Vietnam. (Nhan Dan)

For ten years, CLAN has collaborated with various health professionals and families in Vietnam to continue their mission of helping children living with chronic health conditions like diabetes, autism, congenital adrenal hyperplasia and kidney disease. CLAN has been (Image: Andreas Jenni/Flickr)

IOM sends aid to 200 displaced Afghan families Thousands have fled from the conflict in North Waziristan in Pakistan, including Afghan families that had lived along the country’s border for at least 30 years. But now some of these families have returned to Afghanistan seeking refuge in host communities, mostly in Khost and Paktika provinces.

It is in these areas that the International Organization for Migration (IOM) has been carrying its humanitarian work, recently including the assessment of the refugees’ needs and the distribution of goods. As of last month, IOM has assisted more than 300 displaced Afghan families and handed out relief goods to at least 200 families so far.

The Geneva-based organisation, to date, has distributed non-food item (NFI) kits to 152 families in Matoon district of Khost, and to 48 families in Orgun and Sarobi districts of Paktika.

The NFI kits, funded by the Government of Japan and other partner agencies, contain

hygiene kits, blankets, soap, chlorine solution, a jerrycan, kitchen supplies, and a gas cylinder and stove. IOM is preparing for more relief operations at the host communities and has mobilised more supplies from its warehouses all over the country.

Together with its humanitarian allies and the local authorities, IOM is continuing the assessment of the displaced families' needs. As the conflict remains unresolved, more people are bound to cross the border and resettle in Afghanistan – which means that more needs will have to be addressed.

“These families are scattered throughout Khost and Paktika, so reaching out to them to determine their needs and provide assistance can be difficult,” said IOM Programme Manager Omar Majeedi, adding that their teams are working closely with local communities to make sure they are able to assist vulnerable Afghan families returning from North Waziristan, wherever they may be.

(IOM)

French Aid funds repair of 46 Lanka bridges discussed future constructions that are yet to be implemented.

The French Government granted EUR22 million of financial aid to Sri Lanka for the widening and reconstruction of 46 bridges in dilapidated condition in various regions, which are selected on priority basis. Currently, through French aid, a programme covering the construction of 1,000 bridges with minimum facilities is also successfully being implemented.

Image: James Gordon/Flickr

Phillipe Matiere, chair of Unibridge Agency, announced last month the completion of the re-construction work of 28 bridges under French Aid’s Reconstruction Programme, which aims to reconstruct and widen 46 bridges in Sri Lanka.

This was confirmed by Matiere to Sri Lanka’s Minister for Economic Development, Basil Rajapaks, when they met to discuss the progress of the Bridges Reconstruction Programme implemented through aid fund from the French Government. The two ministers also

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Rajapaksa explained that many of his fellow citizens are already enjoying the benefits of Sri Lanka's rapid economic development, adding that with the improvement of living standards, the number of vehicles used by people has also gone up.

Accordingly, he emphasised the need for widening of the roads and reconstructing dilapidated bridges to suit improved road network.

Present at the meeting to discuss the recent development were French Ambassador Jean Paul Monchau, Unibridge Marketing Director Rechard Gledhill and Additional Secretary to the Ministry of Economic Development Priyantha Mayadunna. ■

KfW: on creating new standards

Energy-efficient construction in India saves raw materials and helps the climate India is now one of the world’s largest energy users and originators of carbon dioxide emissions. The economy devours energy at an ever increasing rate, while the Indian middle classes also contribute to increased consumption as a result of their economic success. The government wants to manage the available resources more carefully. One possibility lies in buildings: insulated walls, modern windows, heating and cooling systems can save a lot of energy.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that 40 per cent of total energy consumption in India is down to the building sector. According to “Germany Trade & Invest”, India’s construction sector is set to grow by an about 10 per cent annually. in the short term.

KfW project manager Corinna Peters therefore believes “it is logical and can have enormous effect to apply the efforts here”.

But these “concealed fuels” which IAEA likes to talk about in connection with energy efficiency have to date attracted little attention in India mainly because of relatively low electricity prices, an only just emerging market for energy-efficient products and a lack of efficiency standards. KfW is then working to change this situation and is applying its longterm experience in promoting such projects in Germany. In order to develop a similar system, along with the Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics (IBP) and “The Energy and Resource Institute” (TERI) in New Delhi, KfW Development Bank has adapted an existing analytical model to Indian conditions.

When supplied with the appropriate data, the programme immediately calculates how a newly planned building differs from the Indian average and how much energy can be saved by a certain measure – such as by installing a different kind of air-conditioning system or using another building material. KfW Development Bank has also made available on behalf of the German Federal Government

a EUR 50 million credit line to the National Housing Bank (NHB), which for its part offers home loans for energy-efficient building via commercial banks. Buildings which are at least 18 to 30 per cent – depending on conditions and type – below the standard energy consumption are certified; loans for these buildings can then be submitted by commercial banks to the NHB for refinancing.

The analytical model exported from Germany calculates whether the new dwellings fulfil these conditions. Some 22,000 dwelling units have now been certified, 2,000 have been financed with a soft loan.

KfW Development Bank will now support the NHB in developing and introducing a label for energy-efficient housing construction so that the scheme becomes widely known in India and established in the housing market. The so-called “KfW efficiency home” is well established in Germany and highly coveted on the German property market. “Other donors are now taking an interest in the NHB and KfW approach,” says Corinna Peters. “They have seen that it works.”

KfW (Reconstruction Credit Institute) is the German Development Bank. Among its portfolio, KfW supports initiatives and financing on housing and the environment, SMEs, development aid, and export-import financing. Another subsidiary of KfW, the German Investment Corporation (DEG), provides loans to private firms to invest in developing countries in the banking, agrobusiness, renewable energy, telecommunications and manufacturing sectors.

Friederike Bauer was senior manager for public information at DEG from 2007 to 2011; and prior to that worked as counselor at the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), in charge of the energy sector. This article also appears on Entwicklung + Zusammenarbeit (Development and Cooperation).

Reaching the poorest: Grameen initiates localised activities Guided by their mission statement to empower the poorest and create a world without poverty, Grameen Foundation has focused their efforts to create a sense of agency among poor communities in Asia and the world.

Alex Counts, founder and CEO of Grameen Foundation, told AsianNGO “everyone has their own unique needs and Grameen helps in addressing these through providing them with the right tools and information.”

Grameen Foundation started in 1997, with work directed towards “harnessing the underappreciated strengths of the poor,” which the poor can use for their own growth.

They work with the civil society, government agencies, and private corporations to widen the reach of their impact across different regions.

Creating innovations across Asia Grameen opened opportunities for millions to move above the poverty line by establishing a small business or improve their existing ones.

Since 2011, it has joined with MicroSave to launch the Progress out of Poverty Index (PPI) in Asia, allowing organisations to measure whether they have an impact to the poor, and improve their products and services to better address the problems of the poor. With this statistics-backed tool, respondents answer 10 questions about their household characteristics and asset ownership. The likelihood that the household is living below or above the poverty line can then be determined.

In China, the Poverty Scorecard China programme motivates organisations to use the

results of the poverty scorecard in strategic and operational decision-making.

Grameen’s efforts also reached India since 2011, where they provided technical and financial support to micro-finance institutions.

Opening a savings account has been made easier for Indians, especially women in poor areas.

Mobile financial services were also launched to increase accessibility of micro-finance. Through Grameen’s MOTECH Platform, reminders and alerts were sent out to patients using Grameen’s micro-financing tool in the health care sector.

In Indonesia, Grameen designed activities focused on mobile financial services for communities in the agricultural and rural areas, implemening TaroWorks that serves as a suite of mobile technology tools used by field workers in remote areas. Through TaroWorks, Grameen Indonesia enables the private sector to work closely with poor farmers. PPI is also being implemented in the country.

The Philippines has also taken large steps in micro-finance through Grameen and its local partner, CARD Bank, which broadens mobile financial services where members can get loans, remittances, and savings. PPI has also been implemented in the country wherein the last PPI results were published August this year.

While Asia has achieved fast economic development, the region is still home to majority of the poor. Grameen’s initiatives continue to reach the poorest in hopes they can improve their lives through the services they offer, and the upcoming innovations that Counts spoke of (see related interview on Page 11). ■

www.asianngo.org

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Grameen Foundation: global base to incubate local strengths In this AsianNGO exclusive interview, Founder and president of the Grameen Foundation, Alex Counts talks about the higher importance of recalibrating strategies for local needs, the impact of Muhammad Yunnus to him and to the works of the foundation, and where the celebrated Grameen brand is headed after gaining the world’s respect through its ground-breaking approach.

How has Grameen Foundation evolved since you founded it?

In our first 10 or 12 years we were focused pretty much on microcredit which, when delivered in a culturally sensitive and efficient way, can give the poor an opportunity to invest in their survival skills. In 2001 we developed a special expertise in information technology as an enabler of growth of microfinance. We brought in a lot of technology professionals, we started as Grameen Technology Centre and advance the use of information technology to spread microcredit faster and more efficiently.

After our five-year strategy ended in 2008, the goal of reaching a hundred million families was achieved; and the Nobel Peace Prize for Mr (Muhammad) Yunnus came in. We decided to broaden our vision. So rather than focus primarily on just growing microcredit, we wanted to make microcredit delivered more efficiently, more securely with lesser likelihood of fraud. We applied what we learned in scaling microcredit into the agriculture and health domains where we’ve done a lot of experimentation especially in Africa, with the support of the Gates Foundation.

there is a mish-mash of laws but enforcement is a different matter altogether, you would do whatever you can in a certain sense. Unless you’re a huge [international] organisation or a multi-lateral or global bank, you really need to work with a local partner. Another challenge we saw was how some like-minded organisations in Asia that had grown into highly profitable institutions—which put the reputation of many other micro-financing institutions that are actually doing ethical work at risk.

What would have been Muhammad Yunus’ most important lesson that you learned in those years you spent with him?

Prof Yunus is the one person who never confuses outputs with outcomes. He always said we’re opening up savings account for the poor, giving them loans they didn’t have access to before—and we’re doing all these but we do need to actually validate that it is moving the efforts on poverty alleviation forward. He invited teams of external researchers to evaluate Grameen and he said, “you could publish the results, whatever you find, good or bad” because he didn’t want to rely solely on his own monitoring and evaluation. We at Grameen always want that third-party feedback about whether we’re moving forward with our works, and I think Grameen as an institution has been characterised as one of the most researched institutions in the world because we are completely open to anyone coming in.

He also developed the ‘10 indicators of poverty’. Based on what they observed using these metrics for 25 years in Bangladesh, The two things that have cut across in our they trace the easily absorbable indicators history is commitment to measurement and that distinguish between a very poor family, a commitment to volunteerism. First, if you don’t moderately-poor family and a non-poor family. measure your final objective—which is reducing He’s been tracking on an annual basis how poverty—then you’ll never know if you’re many of those questions, how many of those successful. It will not be scientific and hence, indicators do all of our 8 million borrowers tick cannot be easily replicated. And we always have off. a strong commitment to volunteerism and engaging civil society. Since 2008, engaging He taught me to measure whether poverty is civil society led us to create something called being reduced, not whether the things you Bankers-led Borders in 18,000-person reserve assume are helpful to the poor; and he showed core of people who want to contribute their me the need to be open to totally reinventing skills to the battle against poverty. That’s what you have done; and he taught me the basically the arc of our 17-year existence. What power of investing in local social entrepreneurs.

I often say is, reducing poverty is too important If you find the right people, you do the right to be left to the experts; it’s something you want ethics, employ the right entrepreneurabillity, people across civil society have a broader stake and set the right orientation towards poverty; in, and that they are part of the team. or whatever their problem is that you’re trying to address—it is much better to go to a local With all the differences in context and needs person, than to just rely on experts who are across the different countries in Asia, how did more expensive, need extra packages and may you ensure a community-based nature of all not necessarily have the local knowledge. your programmes?

Two decades on, where do you see the We’ve been active in the Philippines and Grameen Foundation’s future to be?

India; we’ve had pretty robust programmes in Pakistan and Indonesia; and some works A lot of things that we’re focusing on now and programmes in mainland China. That’s is technology. There’s real potential. Where the Asian footprint of Grameen Foundation. we’ve been trying to position ourselves on for But while we were focused on later scaling now and for the foreseeable future is to focus up microcredit, we never started our own on being practical innovators. Everyone has microcredit organisation; in fact, we never had got innovative ideas but a lot of innovations any staff sent from the US, partly out of respect become dead-end pilots. We’d like to continue for our local partners. International subsidiaries working on bridging the gap between and organisations that did microcredit very developing business models and ensuring the well, were chartered and governed mostly by useability of the poor communities’ resources.

Filipinos, or Indians, or Chinese or Pakistanis— One of our positions is promoting practical this way, there is true ownership. We would solutions that lead to measurable change in the raise money for them in the US or send battle against poverty. technical experts to help them; and we would stand by them if they are arguing for public It’s now recognising the direction to make policy change in their own countries. That way, technology work for the poor; yet ironically our local partners took the Grameen idea and technology is usually the easy part. So what make it truly local. we’re increasingly doing now the customisation of services that would really meet the needs With the Grameen approach to microcredit of the poor; rather than just generic products and microfinance, there are principles that don’t thrown over the wall. Along these lines you will get buried in different cultures and context; also see more works of ours in micro-financial but the practices with which these principles services that complement the agriculture and are applied should be changed or modified and health sectors. Where we’re going to be heading adapted to local cultures. Hence, in getting an is in to these three domains not in isolation understanding of the evergreen, unchanging but the close overlap between them. Hopefully principles, there are actually [practices] relevant we will continue to learn and also share the to different domains. lessons from our mistakes to everyone so we could be both transparent and give back to the Have you ever had any particularly wider community what we have learned as an difficult experiences in facing these different institution. ■ situations?

We have always tried to be extremely open as an organisation with our mistakes and with our learnings—as well as with the challenges of working in differing environments. For NGOs that receive a meaningful subsidy, part of the responsibility that comes with that subsidy is to openly share your learnings so that other people don’t have to re-learn them. And one of the lessons we learned is to be rigorous about learning, and sharing what’s going right and what is going wrong. In countries where www.asianngo.org

There should be enough food After a civil war, the old order is destroyed but a new one is yet to be established. In using the experience of Burundi and Rwanda to postconflict countries in Asia, women in particular find it hard to assert their rights, let alone move forward to a rehabilitative and enabling environment. Anthea Bethge of EIRENE, a Christian peace service, tells D+C’s Hans Dembowski in this interview.

What problems do women typically face in post-conflict countries?

Post-conflict countries are normally in transition. “Might makes right” no longer applies, but there still is no real rule of law that needs to be guaranteed by a government monopoly on the use of force. During the transition, women remain in danger. Earlier, their husbands would protect them or were expected to do so. But now many men are dead, and many others are traumatised. The surviving combatants are frustrated, they have no income, and they raise demands—including within the family. Domestic violence tends to increase in post-conflict situations. At the same time, ownership issues—like land—are ambiguous.

Women are less likely than men to be involved in the protective alliances built during the war.

The irony is that women have become quite competent in taking care of the children and sustaining lives in very difficult circumstances, yet that is hardly appreciated.

or the courts. It makes a huge difference if they learn how they can assert their rights in difficult times. At the same time, we ourselves must overcome the ‘victim’ and ‘perpetrator’ stereotypes.

• Men and women must be involved in collectively tackling comprehensive rural development. It is indispensable to take communitarian approaches to food security, education, health care, seed banks and so on.

The core challenge is the massive sense of distrust. It makes collective action very difficult.

Burundi is a very fertile country, but the hunger index ranks it among the worst places. That need not be so. There should be enough food.

The wars in Burundi and Rwanda erupted when traditional farming suddenly did not suffice to feed growing populations any more.

Is traditional farming still viable?

All too often, combatants argue they must fight because resources are scarce. Scarce resources, however, are not a natural reason for war. But it can be an incentive for economic development, which is possible, given the political will. Too often, leaders opt for belligerence. That said, I agree Burundi’s traditional approaches to farming will no longer do. One reason is that many land disputes have not been settled.

Refugees are returning home, and they find other people working there. Moreover, the old farming model is outdated. People used to feed their families with what they grew on Why is that so? their fields and sell the remaining ten percent Social discourse generally revolves around on local markets. Now, new approaches to how former enemies interact with one another processing harvests and marketing are needed. and how they share power. In Burundi, for The good news is that they are feasible. The example, the important players are the parties country’s population density is helpful, so of the Hutus and Tutsis. In contrast, widows’ infrastructure and services can be provided to rights are not discussed. That is not what the all. Things are working out well in Rwanda, men fought for. Women’s accomplishments are after all. simply taken for granted.

What is different in Rwanda?

What can an organisation such as EIRENE One side clearly won the war. President Paul do to improve matters?

Kagama is implementing developmental A lot, but in my experience from various policies in an authoritarian way, but his countries, the following three are especially government is not corrupt. The women’s quote important: of 30% at all levels of government is fulfilled.

• Along with our partner organisations, Kagame’s government certainly has some we must prepare women for positions of serious faults, including military involvement in leadership. It makes sense to practice holding the DRC, for example. But in Rwanda, it has campaign speeches, initially in small groups. established a state of law and fostered economic The point is that there are hardly any accepted growth. role models for women in public life. They must learn to address men and to defend their Anthea Bethge is executive director of rights in interaction with them. They need to EIRENE, the international Christian peace be articulated. service. Contact her at bethge@eirene.

• It helps to boost informal, semi-formal and formal mechanisms for handling disputes. State org. This interview feature also appears institutions typically are not operating properly on Entwicklung + Zusammenarbeit yet, and many widows may not trust the police (Development and Cooperation)

Alex Counts founded Grameen Foundation and became its President and CEO in 1997, after working in micro-finance and poverty reduction for 10 years. A Cornell University graduate, Counts’ commitment to poverty eradication deepened as a Fulbright scholar in Bangladesh, where he witnessed innovative poverty solutions being developed by Grameen Bank.

He trained under 2006 Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, the founder and managing director of Grameen Bank.

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NGO: community-led rehabilitation is most effective

Pakistan NGO provides potable water in Yousuf Goth

Pakistan has struggled from both natural calamities and terrorist attacks; and it has been a decade since insurgency, terrorist attacks and sectarian strife erupted in the country displacing more than 3 million people and killing more than 40,000 civilians. Almost a year ago an earthquake in Balochistan province left over 800 fatalities and damaged 46,000 homes.

The Health and Nutrition Development Society is helping people in Yousuf Goth in Karachi gain access to clean water. Also called as HANDS, the Pakistan NGO repaired the filters and enhanced the pumping stations in the neighbourhood since the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) lacks the financial capacity to fund the much needed improvements.

Sustainable rehabilitation and redevelopment have thus become challenging. This is why the Urban Resource Centre (URC) and Technical Training and Resource Centre (TTRC) were inspired to launch a low-cost process to rehabilitate housing and infrastructure, with the community leading the project. URC and TTRC’s experiences on field note that community-driven methods are the most effective approach to rehabilitate and develop both poverty alleviation and post-disaster reconstruction.

URC is a non-government organisation that facilitates development, advocacy and knowledge resources through the active

involvement of the local stakeholders. TTRCC is composed of a group of para-professionals in vocational fields that undertake development works.

By adopting this approach, they conducted a research of their focus areas in four village sites: Khan Mohammad Bazaar, Niabat, Daroga Burfi Bazaar and Nadgo Pirandar, where residents are in extreme poverty and their income depend on agriculture and livestock rearing.

The area has only one pumping station, which was meant to provide water to 18,000 people. There are 80,000 people living in the Ghulam Mustafa Zaor, Hands’ general manager, neighbourhood now, and they depend on a To start the process, they initially held meetings said that the organisation conducted a survey single water pump installed 15 years ago. with different stakeholders. The villagers were in Yousuf Goth two years ago. With that data, then tasked to elect a committee of elders the NGO was able to take note on the water With the help of HANDS, Water Aid, the water in charge to select households who need the problems in the area. board, and the residents themselves, problems technical support and provision of construction on water shortage are now slowly being materials the most. Every single committee “We initiated work in Gadap Town to solve the addressed. elects a coordinator to head each [committee’s] problem of water in the area and with the help specific tasks. of the KWSB and the residents, we were able to Yosuf Goth now has five supply lines, one filter Development grants comprised of developing help the people,” he said. plant, and a repaired pumping station. The simple designs for damaged walls and roofing water supply at present reaches 60 percent of structures; and rehabilitate 18 water supply areas “Around 80,000 people live in Yousuf Goth but the residents when previously, only 20% of the in the community. (TNS) there was no pipeline in many of the areas and residents were able to access tap water. (Tribune)

InsideNGO workshop on grants, agreements rules Non-government organisations’ finance, contracts and grants staff, administrative teams, programme development teams, independent auditors and individual consultants who work on USAID projects are invited to a workshop on the agency’s grants and cooperative agreements on 10-12 November in Bangladesh.

The workshop is particularly targeted for those who need to ensure compliance, appreciate the requirements from a field perspective, understand relationships with USAID and negotiate awards, prepare for audits and those who need an update to the latest USAID rules and regulations.

Participants will be given the opportunity to connect with peers, examine the realities of managing USAID awards, gain ideas from each other’s experiences and develop strategies for handling real-life scenarios. Some of the expected learnings from this series of workshop are on applying USAID rules and regulations to ensure compliant and successful programme implementation; navigating these rules and regulations that underlie all USAID and US government awards; and developing strategies to commonly confusing issues like determining allowable costs, procedures for purchasing

equipment, property disposition, limits on budget revision, cost sharing, documentary requirements and avoiding common audit findings.

Taiwan gov't urged: protect foreign workers

Activists have appealed to the Taiwanese government to improve the quality of human rights protection for foreign workers. Better protection of the rights of injured workers, “International organisations that rely on USAID especially blue-collar workers, has become a pressing issue that migrant worker rights funding often face challenges in effectively activists call on the government in Taipei to managing their awards, especially with the address. complex rules and regulations associated with award management. They would need staff members who understand how USAID awards The activists contend that many foreign work and can effectively manage to maintain workers are forced to return to work before donor compliance. While this workshop focuses they recovered from the injuries sustained from on USAID funding for grants and agreements, doing their jobs. it also provides a good foundation for understanding other US government funding,” In March this year, a foreign worker had an InsideNGO said in a statement. accident at work and had to undergo six major surgeries. The Indonesian, who wished to The workshop will be at the Dhaka Regency Hotel and Resort, facilitated by Keith Edwards remain anonymous, said his boss “told him and Alison Brady, senior practitioners with to return to work only two months after the decades of experience managing USAID grants accident,” and added he was threatened to be and cooperative agreements. This training is deported if he refused to do so. the first of three requirements for InsideNGO's USAID Assistance Certificate. For more "I said ‘No’ because I wasn’t fully recovered and information and to register for this leg of the I couldn’t work yet, but my boss then stopped training series in Dhaka, visit www.insidengo. paying me, saying he wouldn’t pay because I org/events. ■ refused to go back to work," said the migrant worker through an interpreter.

Jobs firm joins to end HK ‘modern-day slavery’ Modern-day slavery in the guise of debt bondage is a common ordeal that many of the foreign domestic workers experience in Hong Kong. Those who have fallen into the traps of debt bondage, were duped by their employment agencies back home: they were required by these agencies to pay illegal placement fees; if they do not comply, they risk losing their jobs or worse, not finding work at all.

instead. This means that 70 to 80 percent of their salary for the next seven to eight months goes to the agencies.

When his three-year contract ended, his boss stopped paying for his labour and health insurance. He also said he did not get help in paying for his medical expenses.

“Last year, as many as 1,026 workers were reported to have suffered injuries at work and majority of them were blue-collar workers—a large percentage foreigners,” said Lin Shu-fen, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator, during the press conference at the legislature in Taipei last August.

“Although they should enjoy the same rights under the Labor Standards Act as local employees, they often suffer more," Lin added.

Language barriers and issues on residency status put workers at a disadvantage in claiming support from their employers.

“For example, a foreign worker may lose legal residency in Taiwan once the work contract is terminated and therefore an employer may force a foreign worker to go back to work before they are fully recovered, threatening to terminate the work contract,” explained Chen Su-hsiang, policy researcher at Taiwan International Workers’ Association.

“A foreign worker may also lose insurance coverage or be forced to cease treatment once the contract expires,” Chen said, adding that although foreign workers suffering from work injuries may legally extend their residency, the procedure is complicated and the application can be turned down if something goes wrong with the process. (Taipei Times)

Anti-human trafficking proposals receive Singapore grants

Because of this, many domestic helpers have fallen to heavy debt and are most likely vulnerable to poverty and abuse. "Employers are often unaware of the issue, or if they are, they choose to ignore the situation," said Stiles. "The Grants amounting to about SGD80,000 root of the problem is the employment agencies (US$64,000???) have been awarded by the overcharging,” he said.

This unethical practice among employment Inter-Agency Taskforce on Trafficking-inagencies across the region prompted Scott Stiles, Persons (TIP) to three anti-human trafficking In response, Fair Employment Agency charges David Bishop and Tammy Baltz to set up Fair Employment Agency, a non-profit recruitment the standard fee of about HK $8,000—which is proposals in Singapore, aimed at raising public firm that aims to help the ‘helpers’—and put an to be paid for by the employers. This will cover awareness about TIP. the service of sourcing, vetting and placing a end to this form of [slavery].

This year’s chosen proposals to receive the domestic worker through all legal means. grant are Biz@TIP, a long-term business "Our slogan is 'Fair to Workers, Fair to As it is a charitable mission, the directors do not engagement campaign to promote ethical Employers, Fair to Hong Kong'," said Bishop, receive compensation for their services out from practices among companies in Singapore, adding that as Hong Kong is a commercial the profit. Profits from the placement fees are town, they needed to find a creative, proposed by the Singapore Committee for commercial solution to fix this large social issue. used to improve and sustain the agency. "We UN Women; the use of film screening and think the business can sustain and even expand "Our goal is to right the wrongs on each side. photography to educate the general public, because it's a good idea and meets a clear The best way to do that is to solve the debt a proposal from EmancipAsia; and the market need," said Stiles. problem,” he said. development of a university-accredited module on human trafficking at NIE, which will "But our goal really is to change the Some of the employment agencies charge include overseas field visits, proposed by Dr environment, not make money. In the best the helpers with exceedingly high placement possible world, we wouldn't need to be here in Sallie Yea. fees that reach up to HK$21,000. Since most helpers cannot pay for the amount immediately, 10 years," they said. (SCMP) they are made to pay it off through “loans” Now on its second annual cycle of awarding,

12

hygiene. Thus, sanitation problems are rampant.

Residents raised this issue with the water board many times, but the board says that it does not have the resources to increase the volume of water being provided to the area,” said Ghous Bux, a resident of Yousuf Goth.

this year saw a total of six proposals evaluated by the members of the TIP taskforce from a pool of grant applications received from March to May 2014.

This year’s grants were awarded to a wide range of initiatives including business engagement campaign, photography exhibitions and film screenings for the general public, and a module for trainee teachers.

“Last year, we launched the inaugural TIP Public Awareness Grant and saw several successful initiatives. It is important that we continue to reach out to a wider audience about human trafficking and increase awareness of the issue, ” said Alvin Lim, co-chair of the Taskforce and the Ministry of Manpower's Divisional Director of Workplace Policy and Strategy Division. ■

LEARNING A CARNODS SR EASSOI A URCES M D F CALENDAR O F EVENTS ( w w w. md f. n l ) 15-17 September 2014 Disaster Risk Reduction Islamabad, Pakistan

15-19 September 2014 Results-based Management Vientiane, Laos

22-26 September 2014 Management Skills Vientiane, Laos

29 September- October 3, 2014 Training of Trainers Bali, Indonesia

29 September- October 3, 2014 Results-based Management Dhaka, Bangladesh

6-10 October 2014 Management Skills Dhaka, Bangladesh

13-15 October 2014

Advocacy and Policy Influencing Hanoi, Vietnam

20-23 October 2014 Change Management Bali, Indonesia

20-24 October 2014

Leadership and People Management Cambodia

27-31 October 2014

Leadership and People Management Colombo, Sri Lanka

3-6 November 2014

Monitoring and Evaluation for Learning Hanoi, Vietnam

10-12 November 2014 Disaster Risk Reduction Kathmandu, Nepal

10-12 November 2014 Knowledge Management Hanoi, Vietnam

17-21 November 2014

Results-based Management Bali, Indonesia

24-28 November 2014 Management Skills Bali, Indonesia

1-5 December 2014

Winning Proposals and Reporting Yangon, Myanmar

15-17 December 2014

EU Procedures: Procurement Procedures and Contract Management Bangkok, Thailand

Grants, financial management workshop in Manila To gain an understanding of effective management of USAID rules and regulations, and efficient financial management, InsideNGO will conduct workshops for non-government organisations’ finance, contracts and grants staff, administrative staff, programme staff, development staff, independent auditors and USAID staff in Manila in November.

The USAID Rules and Regulations workshop will be 10-12 November and is a pre-requisite to the workshop on Financial Management for US Government funding on 13-14 November, hosted by InsideNGO, a leading training and consultancy firm specialising in NGO capacitybuilding.

Facilitated by USAID grants and cooperative agreements senior practitioners, the Rules and Regulations workshop will train participants to manage awards and programmes successfully through complying with rules and regulations.

They will also be equipped with the knowledge on creating Award Review processes to evaluate their organisations’ compliance, how to explore the USAID structure, and how to prepare their

organisations to meet the criteria for successful audits.

This is also a venue for participants to increase their network through connecting with peers, be engaged in a participatory learning process to share and gain ideas from each other, and formulate strategies for real-life situation.

Innovation Forum launches deforestation, BHR conferences London will see two very timely events: How business can tackle deforestation on 28-29 October, and the Business and Human Rights - How to get beyond policy, manage risk and build relationships on 10 November.

The first even is a two-day conference that seeks to find solutions in combatting deforestation, designed to become an annual meeting place to discuss the trends, debate the issues, connect the key players and drive change. Through an interactive and engaging agenda brought together by corporate practitioners and NGOs that make a difference, the conference features some of the confirmed speakers and senior participants including Lord Mandelson (chairman for Global Counsel and former EU Trade Commissioner), Dhaval Buch (chief procurement officer at Unilever), Jeremy Goon (group head of CSR for Wilmar), and Scott Poynton (executive director of TFT).

The ‘Business and Human Rights conference, meanwhile, will gather corporate practitioners tasked with the responsibility of putting human rights principles into practice. It promises to go beyond the usual theory and, instead, into the practical implications and real-world challenges of implementing the human rights guiding principles across the business.

The event combines a number of strategic plenary sessions with a series of interactive workshops, each led by highly experienced practitioners from the likes of Unilever, Ericsson, ABB, Nestle, IHRB, BP, John Lewis, among others.

Innovation Forum produces high-level events and analysis around the sustainability trends and opportunities for business in emerging markets. With over 30 years’ experience in A follow-up event on financial management will the sustainability space the Innovation Forum be conducted for NGOs’ finance compliance, team has developed an extensive readership and programme staff, hoping to equip and broader network of senior CR and attendees with basic knowledge on financial sustainability professionals, along with strong management of US Government funding; ties to NGOs, academics, governmental including the fundamentals of accounting officials and the media operating in the space. procedures, timekeeping systems, basic budget management, indirect costs and dealing with For more information or to view the full donor audits and reviews. programme lineup, visit http://innovationforum.co.uk/bhr-conference-brochure.

Both trainings will be conducted at The AsianNGO readers are entitled to a 15% Peninsula in Makati, the country’s central discount on tickets. Just quote ANGO15 when business district. These trainings comprise the registering at http://www.innovation-forum. two requirements for InsideNGO's USAID co.uk or get in touch with Innovation Forum Assistance Certificate. For more information directly by sending an email to Charlene and to register for the trainings, visit www.

Ordoñez at charlenne.ordonez@innovationinsidengo.org/events. ■ forum.co.uk. ■

from page 1

Utilising digital technology to advance development

Image: Klienne Manaois/’Ten Photos to Shake the World’ 2013

“Digital technology may not be the ultimate and only answer; it can nevertheless make the work of development pioneers and thought leaders more efficient. It is through technological strategies that we can greatly enhance progress with a people-centred, innovative, inclusive and responsive development,” Sreenivas Narayanan, Managing Director of ASSIST, said.

The event aims to maximise the potential benefits that digital technology provides in making enduring ventures to create sustainable projects for a better society.

Discussions will be focused on increasing the awareness of people with digital strategies and innovations. Problems associated with the development of digital technologies that include issues on intelligence and security, governance, and sustainability will also be tackled.

In exploring new media, its enabling conduits, and technology as a catalyst for inclusive growth, it aims to create a convergence point among stakeholders on cross-cutting themes and make the conference a starting point for a series of interventions over the coming years.

It will leverage the opportunities and capacities that modern technology offers in the field of development and community-building.

The plenaries will zero in on matters on technology, governance, youth, education and employment, disaster management, and health.

Parallel breakout streams will further showcase solutions to problems in governance, youth, education, and employment, health, and disaster management. On the breakout session on governance, the government will share their DILG Google Cloud services, Local Governance Performance Management System (LGPMS), Open Data system and Naga City’s e-governance.

On the youth, education and employment session, innovations such as mEducation, PeaceTech Gnowledge Platform and SMS Story will be explored.

Health sessions will be composed of dialogue on Real-Time Community Health Information Tracking System (rCHITS), Blood Donors Network, Mobile Health (MOTECH), Tech for PWDs, and Senior Citizen Home Safety Association. The talk on disaster management will be about Aidmatrix, Davao City 911, Marikina 131 and Relief Asia.

The conference is organised by ASSIST, an international organisation which focuses on capacity-building of different organisations across Asia and Africa; in collaboration with AIM in Makati, the League of Government Associations, the Philippines’ Department of Interior Local Government, Civika and AsianNGO. For more information on the summit and to get on contact with the organisers visit their website at www.dsds.org.ph. ■

www.asianngo.org

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L EOAURNNTI RNYG FAE N DURREES O U R C E S C AT C AL E N DAR O F E VE N TS 16-17 September, 2014 CSR Asia Summit 2014 Hongkong

8-9 October 2014 6th International Conference on Corporate Sustainability and Responsibility Berlin, Germany

16-17 September, 2014 The Myanmar Global Investment Forum Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar

12-13 October 2014 Inter Conference Symposium of International Association of Agricultural Economists Hydrabad, India

17-19 September, 2014 Electric & Power Vietnam Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam

16 October 2014 Impact Asia Hong Kong

17-19 September, 2014 51st PMAP Annual Conference Cebu City, Philippines

16-17 October 2014 6th International Singapore Compact CSR Summit Singapore, Singapore

19-22 September 2014 China Charity Fair 2014 Shenzhen, China

16-18 October 2014 Emerging Leaders Conference Manila, Philippines

23-26 September 2014 Spikes Asia Singapore, Singapore 25-27 September 2014 Green Philippines 2014 Manila, Philippines

3 October 2014 Sustainability Forum 2014 Athens, Greece

4-6 November 2014 Wise Summit 2014 Doha, Qatar

19-21 November 2014 Clean Air Asia: BAQ 2014 EST Colombo, Sri Lanka

4-7 November 2014 BSR Conference 2014 New York, USA

20 November 2014 Sustainable Business Awards IN Jakarta, Indonesia

10-11 November 2014 Business and Human Rights – How to Put Principles into Practice London, UK

20-21 November 2014 B4E Indonesia Summit 2014 Jakarta, Indonesia

11-12 November 2014 Diversity & Inclusion in Asia 2014 Conference Hong Kong

20-22 November 2014 Asia-Pacific Conference of German Business Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam

12-13 November 2014 AidEx 2014 Brussels, Belgium

25 November 2014 Sustainable Business Awards SG Singapore, Singapore

2014

18-20 October 2014 The International Conference on Communication and Media 2014 (i-COME'14) Malaysia

13-15 November 2014 Asian Congress for Media & Communication (ACMC) Hong Kong

25-26 November 2014 Responsible Business Forum Singapore Singapore, Singapore

20-21 October 2014 PIA2014: Philanthropy Unlimited Singapore

18-20 November 2014 Digital Media Asia Singapore, Singapore

25-26 November 2014 Solar Energy Southeast Asia Bangkok, Thailand

19-20 November 2014 Social Innovation Summit 2014 California, USA

2-4 December 2014 Creating Shared Value (CSV) Conference 2014 Seoul, South Korea

19-20 November 2014 AIDF Disaster Relief Summit Washington DC, USA

7 December 2014 B4E COP20 Dialogue Lima, Peru

23-26 October 2014 SVN 2014 Fall Conference Connecticut, USA 28-29 October 2014 How to get deforestation out of your corporate supply chain London, UK

8-9 October 2014 AIDF Food Security Summit: Asia 2014 Jakarta, Indonesia

For further information and more events, visit www.asianngo.org

Innovation for better delivery of aid: the 2014 AidEx Now in its fourth year, the AidEx in Brussels will welcome over 2,000 visitors from the international aid community and more than 200 suppliers of essential aid equipment to come together for over two days to advance a common advocacy: improve the delivery of aid globally. This year’s event will take place at the Brussels Expo on 11-12 November.

Expected to attend this year’s AidEx are senior management and procurement professionals, consultants, logistics coordinators and field operators from a variety of international NGOs, government agencies and policy makers from across the globe—all with the shared goal to improve delivery of aid through sourcing new products and innovations and forming longer-lasting relationships.

“The AidEx 2014 Conference programme will focus on innovation in aid. Innovation does not just encompass product design; we need to look at and understand the fundamental changes going on within the commercial and non-profit sector, allowing organisations to be as efficient as possible whilst providing the best possible care to those in need,” noted conference author Rob McConnell.

Some agencies supporting AidEx are the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department (ECHO), the UK Trade and Investment Aid-Funded Business Service, and the city government of Brussels; along with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

NGOs like Global Hand, HLA, the International Human Rights Observer (IHRO), LIFESAVER, The Red Cross EU Office and ShelterBox are also partners.

“AidEx is an opportunity for the humanitarian and civil protection sectors to look at what new ideas, new innovations, new products and new services are out there, while converging stakeholders and interest groups to expand their networks,” noted Val Flynn of the European Commission.

Visit www.aid-expo.com for more information; or contact Nicholas Rutherford, AidEx event director, at +44 20 7970 4058 or nicholas.rutherford@centaur.co.uk. ■

V CAN tackles citizen issues through web portal With the aim of creating a platform for increased awareness and participation among Indian citizens, V Citizens Action Network (VCAN) has launched a web portal last August: www.togethervcan.in.

The portal serves as a hub for citizens to gain additional information on issues that concern them, which also bridges the gap between the constituents and administrative offices.

"Many such websites and portals exist, but they deal with specific issues or subjects. Citizens

should get all information from one source if possible, like a one-stop shop. It is in the spirit of partnership that information is given for the use of citizens. These are baby steps so people are well equipped with information before going to the authorities," said Indrani Malkani, a core trustee of VCAN. The portal will give details about local offices that include police station locations, and application lifecycle management (ALM).

Official procedures are also documented. This way, citizens are more informed about the

services the government offers and the steps they need to undergo to avail those services.

Another feature that citizens can post issues they face and find corresponding solutions through an interactive map of the city for location-specific problems.

VCAN is an NGO organised by Mumbai citizens that calls for public participation in the democratic processes. This is in line with their advocacy of a fair, honest, transparent and accountable society. ■

.ngo: an online home for NGOs In a diverse and dynamic region like Asia, active communication among different NGOs can be hard to achieve. Smaller or newly established NGOs find it hard to be visible online, while some who created their own website become static after only a few years. This makes collaboration, partnerships and coordination even more difficult. As a result, potentials for NGOs to grow and advance their cause are limited.

Thus .ngo|.ong.

International Advisor of Public Interest Registry Genuine NGOs can register; but a (PIR); and Ingrid Srinath, PIR board member. validation process is required for entry in the community. Validation process is critical to “The potential of change was in the hands of have a secure space for the community. NGOs outside the government (NGOs),” de Jesus need to answer the validation questionnaire said, adding that civil society is integral to that includes past programmes and how long the democratisation process and Thus, it is the organisation has been established. They important to empower this sector. The portal may also submit documentations of their was designed to maximise the capacity of NGOs past events. Newly recognised NGOs may be to impact social change. validated through references.

Thorne described the domain as “home for NGOs” as it is specifically designed for The portal was introduced to Manila audience the NGO community worldwide, creating at the Asian Institute of Management in Makati an environment to be visible as trusted last August, where representatives from different international non-profit organisation, gain NGOs shared their concerns and gained funds and partnerships ton further develop a deeper understanding about the portal’s the local development sector. Being a domain mission, goals and opportunities. Presentations holder of .ngo enables organisations to collect and discussions were provided by Melinda de donations and showcase their causes and Jesus, Executive Director of Centre for Media programmes.

Freedom and Responsibility; Nick Thorne, 14

Srinath mentioned that re-validation will happen yearly after the organisation has been part of the domain to meet strong technical security standards. The .ngo | .ong domain is being launched by PIR, which already administered the.org top-level domain. PIR believes that .ngo|.ong domain will provide a secure and valuable support to the NGO community. ■

Architecture advocacy: towards a collaborative culture The building sector contributes to almost half of the energy consumption (49%) and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (47%) in the world; thus it also bears responsibility to promote sustainability and energy conservation.

This inspired The Green Architecture Advocacy Philippines (Green AP) to implement Green Forum for the past years. The Green Forum last 29-30 August at SMX Aura in Manila, brought together building owners, architects, engineers, interior designers, landscape artists and contactors to collaborate intensively in a timely and sustainable manner through Integrated Project Delivery. The focus this year is on Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) that promotes a shift from a blame culture to collaborative culture, thus the theme, INTEGREEN: Collaboration for Sustainable Buildings.

The two-day event overall reminded stakeholders that in order to have a successful shift to a collaborative culture, IDP principles should be upheld: mutual respect, mutual benefit, early goal definition, enhanced communication, clearly defined open standards, appropriate technology, high performance, and leadership.

“A collaborative culture is the best way to go sustainable. With collaboration, there would be less waste, less re-work and more cost savings,” said Arch. Miguel Guerrero III, Green Forum Chairman.

He added that collaborative culture advocacy alone can help the society grow wherein everyone would help each other in achieving sustainability.

Also seeking to engage even the laymen to encourage more people to go green, Green AP promotes using sustainable practices in construction by those involved in the building industry; in line with hopes that green architecture will inform and direct consumers in green building practices.

At a time when humans destroy more than create things, the 11th Green Forum is timely and valuable. Green AP continues its efforts towards building sustainability for all levels of society. ■ www.asianngo.org

LEARNING AND RESOURCES from page 1

I N S I DE N G O: U P C OM I N G E V E N T S

Grant for Bangladesh’s early grade reading system through primary education sector development, the directorate of Primary Education and District Primary Education Office, Upazila Eduacation Office, the National Academy for Primary Education, and the Primary Teachers Training Institutes.

Upon implementation, it also seeks to fund innovations that will result in widespread improvements in literacy skills for Bangladeshi students through improved teaching and learning materials; increased local capacity; better trained teachers to develop literacy skills for students; and better education data to support decision-making, transparency, incentives and accountability.

All of these, according to the USAID, are essential to advancing the goal of all children reading in the primary grades.

Image: Sharif Ripon/Flickr)

and proportion of enrolled students grew at every level and the country’s success in achieving gender parity in both primary and secondary education is acknowledged worldwide. But quality of education has not developed at the same pace, particularly in institutions serving the poorest children.

Bangladesh’s illiteracy rate of nearly 55 percent suggests the primary education system is not meeting the needs of the country’s 26 million school-aged children,” the USAID said in a statement.

Persistently low cognitive achievement influences attendance and dropout rates at primary and secondary levels, the USAID adds. Uneven distribution of learning

opportunities and outcomes by regions, poverty, and social groups also requires a response. In Bangladesh the quality of reading instruction is low and negatively affects overall educational achievement.

Only about two percent of children achieve reading and other prescribed competencies by the end of fifth grade. Students who complete fifth grade are estimated to be performing at a second grade level. Not surprisingly, the literacy rate in Bangladesh is significantly lower than that of other developing countries, hovering around 56 percent.

The grant will ultimately contribute in the works to capacitate Bangladesh’s Early Grade

“Success in any education system is determined, ultimately, by learning outcomes. Like many developing countries, Bangladesh has little data to systematically assess progress over time in acquiring basic skills at the primary level.

Nevertheless, the results of national assessments and public examinations provide evidence that learning outcomes are not yet optimal,” the US government’s aid and development arm added in its note.

To download the full application package and review the guidelines, deadlines and restrictions, visit the USAID website at www.grants.gov. ■

10-12 November 2014, Dhaka USAID Rules & Regulations: Grants & Cooperative Agreements (Workshop) 13-14 November 2014, Dhaka Procurement Planning & Execution: USAID Grants & Cooperative Agreements (Workshop) 10-12 November 2014, Manila USAID Rules & Regulations: Grants & Cooperative Agreements (Workshop) 13-14 November 2014, Manila Financial Management for US Government Funding (Workshop) 17-19 November 2014, Bangkok PMD Pro 1 - The Essentials of Project Management (Workshop) 17-19 November 2014, Bangkok USAID Rules & Regulations: Grants & Cooperative Agreements (Workshop) 20-21 November 2014, Bangkok USAID Proposal Development: From RFA/ RFP to Proposal (Workshop) 15-17 February 2015, Dubai USAID Rules & Regulations: Grants & Cooperative Agreements (Workshop) 18-19 February 2015, Dubai Procurement Planning & Execution: USAID Grants & Cooperative Agreements (Dubai) 18-19 February 2015, Dubai USAID Proposal Development: From RFA/ RFP to Proposal (Workshop) For more details, visit www.insidengo.org.

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LOGISTICS/SHIPPING AIDMATRIX Foundation, Inc.

builds & operates powerful technology hubs that support diverse stakeholder groups in their efforts to work together to solve the world's most challenging humanitarian crises. Our solutions enhance participation, amplify contributions, & accelerate results for humanitarian relief. 38,000 leading corporate, nonprofit and government partners leverage Aidmatrix solutions to mobilize $1.5 billion in global aid annually.

Joan Bond | Director, Programs Business Development Phone: 972 869 8160 | www.aidmatrix.org

The IFRC Global Logistics Service

is a recognized provider humanitarian logistics services with a global presence & 90 years of experience.

We are specialized in procurement, transportation, warehousing, fleet management & supply chain setup. By regionalizing our operational capacity we achieve substantial savings in delivering humanitarian aid. www.ifrc.org/logistics

www.asianngo.org

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Free listing in PDF classified pages – online and print editions.

Extra distribution at key events - Launching July 2014.

TRAINING

PRIZES Islamic Development Bank IDB Seeks Nominations to Win US $450,000 for Prizes in Science & Technology & Women Contribution to Development Gender -NGOs Division.

Phone: 966 2 646 6787 E-mail: prizeforwomen@isdb.org www.isdb.org

RECRUITMENT To see your company here, please contact robert@asianngo.org

SHELTER

MDF We are passionate learning facilitators with 29 years of experience in the field of international co-operation.

Clients therefore call upon our training & consultancy services to achieve better &more sustainable results.

We offer expertise on the programme, individual, organisational & network level, throughout all sectors, & all over the world.

Ms. Ineke Ann Pitts | Director, MDF South Asia E-mail: ineke@mdfsa.lk | +94112808121 www.mdf.nl

Bestnet is constantly working to develop innovative & intelligent new products that offer safe and cost efficient solutions that help us build a network of life!

Supply of WHO recommended long lasting Insecticide treated nets for malaria prevention & durable portable solar products for light, mobile charging and radio.

E-mail: mhl@bestneteurope.com Phone: +45 30180115 | www.bestneteurope.com

SOFTWARE Techsoup / Connecting Up, Inc. is a not-for-profit organisation that works to unleash the power of not-for-profits by providing a variety of information, products, resources & programs. Our services are available in Australia and New Zealand and throughout South East Asia. We also help to develop relationships with business, community & government sectors for the development of the notfor-profit sector.

E-mail: rj@connectingup.org Phone: 1300 731 844 | www.connectingup.org

Blackbaud Pacific Serving the nonprofit and education sectors for 30 years, Blackbaud (NASDAQ: BLKB) combines technology and expertise to help organisations achieve their missions. Blackbaud works with more than 29,000 customers in over 60 countries and offers a full spectrum of software solutions and related services including fundraising, eMarketing, constituent relationship management (CRM), payment services and analytics.

Website: www.blackbaud.com.au Email: Elizabeth.Hubrich@Blackbaud.com.au

Softrek a nonprofit donor management software and decision support tools enable our clients to better manage their fundraising activities, make decisions about building donor relationships, & improve their fundraising results.

Phone: 800.442.9211 (toll free) or 716.691.2800 E-mail: info@softrek.com | www.softrek.com

Claro KC we offer training and technical assistance in support of acquisition & assistance (A&A) activities and strategies, project management, decision-making, conflict transformation, & wise use of resources to organizations for effective coordination & execution of international development programs. Training, technical assistance approaches, methodology, and strategies are designed and implemented by a knowledgeable and experienced team.

Mr. Jeffery Bell | Vice President Fax : 877-464-8592 | E-mail: eff@clarokc.net http://www.clarokc.net

TRANSPORT To see your company here, please contact robert@asianngo.org

WATER SOLUTIONS Vergnet Hydro Provides potable water solutions for rural and isolated communities. For the last 30 years, we have been designing, manufacturing and installing sustainable human powered water pumps adapted to the users and their socio-economic environment.

Today, 100 000 pumps supply water to 50 Million people in more than 35 countries.

Phone: +33 2 38 22 75 10 E-mail: eau@vergnet.fr | www.vergnet-hydro.com

F Cubed Water

Owners, Inventors & manufacturers of Direct Solar Powered Desalination Technology, one of the most efficient and cost effective products of its kind in the world. The panel(s) system creates its own natural sun-powered water cycle to revitalize water to drinking water quality from any water source. This includes polluted, contaminated, industrial waste water,brackish ground water, saline aquifers and sea water. www.fcubed.com.au

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NG C LOEUANR TNRI Y F EAAN TD U RREE S O U R C E S AVAILABLE GRA N TS Support to Agriculture Research and Development Programme (Grant) Donor: USAID Country: Haiti Area(s) of Interest: Agriculture, Research, Poverty Alleviation Application Deadline: 3 November 2014

Survey, Design, Costing and Supply for Thanh An Commune Can Gio District (Works and Services) Donor: World Bank Country: Vietnam Area(s) of Interest: Energy Application Deadline: 3 November 2014

CISE Research Infrastructure (Grant) Donor: National Science Foundation Country: Various Country Recipients Area(s) of Interest: Research Application Deadline: 6 November 2014

Construction of Sumgait Court Complex (Works and Services) Donor: World Bank Country: Azerbaijan Area(s) of Interest: Infrastructure Application Deadline: 5 November 2014

East Asia and Pacific Summer Institutes for Graduate Students (Grant) Donor: National Science Foundation Country: China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan Area(s) of Interest: Research Application Deadline: 13 November 2014

Construction of Narimanov and Surakhani District Courts (Consultancy) Donor: World Bank Country: Azerbaijan Area(s) of Interest: Infrastructure Application Deadline: 10 November 2014

Computer and Network Systems, Core Programmes (Grant) Donor: National Science Foundation Country: Various Country Recipients Area(s) of Interest: Research Application Deadline: October 2014, January 2015

NGO Services for Implementation of Resettlement Action Plan (Consultancy) Donor: World Bank Country: India Area(s) of Interest: Transportation Application Deadline: 11 November 2014

Computing and Communication Foundations, Core Programmes (Grant) Donor: National Science Foundation Country: Various Country Recipients Area(s) of Interest: Research Application Deadline: October 2014, January 2015

Community-based Resilience Programming in the Arid Lands of Kenya (Grant) Donor: USAID Country: Kenya Area(s) of Interest: Emergency and Disaster Management Application Deadline: 30 November 2014

Water Rehabilitation Project (Works and Services) Donor: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Country: Tajikistan Area(s) of Interest: WaterApplication Deadline: 27 October 2014

Innovation for Improving Early Grade Reading Activity (Grant) Donor: USAID Country: Bangladesh Area(s) of Interest: Education Application Deadline: 25 February 2015

For further information and more grants, visit www.asianngo.org

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Cloud-based firm NetSuite teams up with TechSoup to help NGOs Leading provider of cloud-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) and omni-channel commerce software suites company, NetSuite Inc., has officially partnered with TechSoup Global, an international network that uses technology to help build the capacity of NGOs, in an agreement finalized only last June.

“This partnership fills a very specific need for our community that has not been addressed up until this time. It goes a long way toward helping TechSoup Global deliver on its promise to provide technology information and resources for non-profits; and to help missiondriven organisations change the world faster,” said Gayle Samuelson Carpentier, TechSoup Global Chief Business Development Officer.

This move would give NGOs the opportunity to utilise NetSuite’s comprehensive suite of cloud business management applications: ERP, customer relationship management, e-commerce, professional services automation, TribeHR for social human capital management, and the LightCMS content management platform.

Through NetSuite’s softwares, qualified NGOs can easily perform their business operations like accounting, social impact reporting, and other processes unique to their organisations. They can also perform other tasks like ERP, donor management and fund-raising.

These applications can be accessed on TechSoup.org through the NetSuite.org corporate citizenship programme.

“We’re excited with the chance to ultimately extend our suite of application to deserving

organisations around the globe and equip them with the tools to manage finances and donors, and explain the impact that their efforts are having on their communities and the world,” said David Geilhufe, NetSuite.org senior director.

TechSoup’s survey conducted to more than 10,800 NGOs in 88 countries in 2012 revealed that 90 percent of respondents uses at least one cloud application and 53 percent plans to transfer their IT to the cloud within the next three years.

TechSoup Global has 52 partner NGOs in Africa, the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe, and the Middle East.

To learn more about the works of TechSoup, visit their website at www.techsoupglobal.org or www.techsoup.asia. ■