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http://www.ayad.com.au/images/files/Oct_Dec08.pdfTRANSCRIPT
Welcome to the October 2008 quarter edition of
Exchange Magazine.
This edition of Exchange marks the start of the
AYAD Program’s second decade of operation,
with the Program officially ‘turning 10’ on 27th
August this year. So to the volunteers, Australian
partners and host organisations across the
Asia-Pacific region who have contributed to
the success of the AYAD Program over the
past decade I wish you all a very happy 10th
anniversary!The Australian Youth Ambassadors for Development (AYAD) Program
aims to strengthen mutual understanding between Australia and the
countries of the Asia Pacific region and make a positive contribution
to development. The Program achieves these aims by placing skilled
young Australian (18-30) on short-term assignments in developing
countries in the Asia Pacific region. AYAD volunteers work with
local counterparts in Host Organisations to achieve sustainable
development outcomes through capacity building, skills exchange and
institutional strengthening.
The AYAD Program provides support to AYADs including living and
accommodation allowances, flights, pre-departure training, in-country
management, insurance, medicals and debrief on return.
The AYAD Program is an Australian Government, AusAID initiative and
is fully funded by the Australian Government’s overseas aid agency,
AusAID. AYAD is managed by Austraining International, a South
Australian international project management company.
and VIDA (Volunteering for International Development from Australia) host
organisations. This Workshop bought together these host organisations,
volunteers and representatives from AusAID Post, the Philippines
Government and Austraining for the purpose of establishing longer-term,
programmatic plans that align volunteer inputs with the capacity-building
objectives of the host organisations. This approach will result in more
effective outcomes for these institutions. It will also facilitate better
evaluation of capacity-building and broader developmental impact of the
volunteer assignments, with a focus on assisting host organisations to
define and measure their own success.
In pursuing the allusive aid effectiveness agenda it is important not to
lose sight of the other, equally important objectives of the AYAD Program:
personal and professional development for young Australians; developing
linkages between Australia and partner countries; and engaging the
Australian community. The 2007 tracking survey ‘Project AYAD ‘Where
Are They Now?’ highlighted the on-going contribution of returned AYADs
to the field of international and community development. For example,
the survey found that 30% of returned AYADs are currently working in
the aid and development field, and 55% are volunteering their time to
community-based initiatives in Australia. I encourage you to read the
stories of returned AYADs Alexa Ridgway and Scott Graham in this edition
of Exchange to see how the impact of the AYAD Program extends well
beyond the twelve month volunteer assignment.
Until the next edition,
Anthony Rologas
AYAD Project Director
The stories in this issue of Exchange again highlight how our volunteers
and Australian partners are supporting capacity-building within local
host organisations and contributing to development in the communities
in which they work. As the AYAD Program enters its second decade
it is timely to reflect on how the achievements of individual volunteers
have contributed to the overall developmental outcomes and impact
of the AYAD Program. This is the same question that many other aid
organisations and programs are asking themselves with increased
attention being paid to aid effectiveness following the 2005 Paris
Declaration.
Assessing aid effectiveness is difficult. This was acknowledged in
AusAIDs first Annual Review of Development Effectiveness in 2007.
However the AYAD Program is tackling this challenge head on. I had the
pleasure of returning to the Philippines in early September to participate
in a pilot Programmatic Planning Approach Workshop for selected AYAD
Anyone for AYAD Idol?
Into the Hills, in Search for the Hungry
The Land of a Million Elephants
From Little Seeds...
Volunteer Photo Gallery
Fiji Outrigger Paddlers just love their Water!
DI: Alexa Ridgway and Koori Courts of Victoria
Caring for Land, People and Culture
Australian Partner Organisations
Calendar
Editor Orit Bierenboim
Sub Editor Erin Green
Design: Danny Connery
Agency of New Design
Contributors:
Scott Graham
Erin Green
Olivia Kemp
Janelle Morey
Amy Paten
Alexa Ridgway
Ingrid Suter
Photo credits:
Cover Photo - Paul Wager
Contents Page - The Production Hub
Anyone for AYAD Idol? - The Production Hub
Into the Hills, in Search of the Hungry - Olivia Kemp
The Land of a Million Elephants - ElefantAsia
From Little Seeds - Amy Paten
Volunteer Photo Gallery - ( See spread for details )
Fiji Outrigger Paddlers - Janelle Morey
Caring for Land, People and Culture - Scott Graham
All Content and Images are AYAD 2008
Exchange Magazine welcomes submissions from
AYADs and alumni (RAYADs), Host Organisations and
Australian Partner Organisations. Please contact the
AYAD Marketing Manager, Orit Bierenboim at
[email protected] for further information.
Exchange is printed on recycled paper.
Exchange October - December
On location with The Production Hub during
the filming of the AYAD Documentary - see
over the page for the full story.
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roof over your head: “It provides families with a safe place
to live but it also makes sure that families live in a healthy
environment. It gives people a sense of security in the
community. The children have a place to study, they have
a place to play, they have the opportunity to socially interact
with their friends and the community.”
Pierre has been working with Habitat for Humanity to
improve their communications and fundraising practices in
order to better support the core role of Habitat for Humanity
in the community. The role is based in Dhaka, the capital of
Bangladesh but also requires visits to some of the remote
villages where Habitat works in the field. It’s one of these
visits that producer, Matthew Fallon, remembers as his best
experience so far on the AYAD documentary project:
“We were walking through calf deep mud in Bangladesh,
loaded up with all the gear. That was pretty full on. It was
only 2 km or so but it really brought home that this was the
path local villagers walked daily to get to the main road, to
access markets and the outside world. We were only there
for a day so for us it was an adventure but it’s different living
there. But you definitely knew you were making a film about
real life in the world when half of the world’s mud was caked
up your legs.’
Next stop, Indonesia, and a change of pace for the Doco
crew who filmed newly arrived AYAD, Alice Moffett, as
she settled in to her new home and her new work at the
Greenhands Permaculture school in the hills of Aceh.
“It was important to try and get as many different AYAD
perspectives as possible,” said Matthew, “we wanted to be
able to show what it was like living in a developing country
both from a ‘fresh eyes’ perspective and from the perspective
of someone who has lived their for a fair while. Working with
Alice was a great opportunity to get a feel for what it means
to be newly arrived as an AYAD and Aceh was a fantastic
place to share this experience.”
Whether it’s cycling through the crazy traffic in
Hanoi, Vietnam or trekking through calf deep mud in
Bangladesh, there’s been no shortage of adventures
for the documentary crew following some of our
AYADs around in their daily lives.
2008 is the tenth anniversary of the AYAD Program and to
celebrate this milestone the AYAD Program is developing a
television documentary to share some of the stories from
AYADs in the field with the Australian public (and hopefully our
partners around the Asia Pacific as well). The documentary
crew from The Production Hub has been working closely with
the AYAD Program and AusAID to capture the experiences
of our AYADs as they go about their assignments in locations
across the Asia Pacific.
The first challenge for the team was trying to narrow down the
options to 5 or 6 AYADs in five countries across the region.
The crew knew they couldn’t do justice to any more than that
in a one hour documentary and there has been lots of wishful
thinking about a great AYAD mini-series as the team tried to
choose who would feature in the documentary.
With so many great projects to choose from in such a
diverse range of sectors and with AYADs coming from so
many different backgrounds there was a wealth of great
stories waiting to be told. It was a real struggle to choose
which countries from our twenty partner countries we would
film in let alone which AYADs would make the final round.
Finally, decisions were made and the crew got down to the
fun logistics of carrying lots of expensive, and heavy, camera
gear through Papua New Guinea, Vietnam, Bangladesh,
Indonesia and Samoa.
The Doco crew started their AYAD adventure in Papua New
Guinea where they headed out to Alotau to film AYADs
Christian James and Kylee St George, both working with St.
Barnabas School of Nursing. Beautiful Alotau was a fantastic
setting to follow the work of these two nurse trainers and
their counterparts and to get a taste for the warmth and
friendliness of the local people who had welcomed Christian
and Kylee, and now the Doco crew, into their lives.
After a brief return to Australia they headed out again, this
time to Hanoi, Vietnam where the crew followed AYAD Tam
Tran, a Vietnamese Australian working with Blue Dragon
Children’s Foundation. Tam is working as a Social Work
Trainer with Blue Dragon focusing particularly on street kids
and other disadvantaged young people. The Doco crew
had an amazing, and humbling experience, meeting the
exuberant Tan, a ten-year-old boy whose cerebral palsy has
left him unable to walk.
Tan is a bright, happy, cheeky boy. When asked whether
he was happy to have the Doco crew visit his home he
immediately started discussing his imminent stardom and
whether the crew should provide a limo. The irony of these
comments was clear given the extreme poverty of his family
and the complete lack of access to their home by any
motorized transport. In one of the simple bamboo rooms on
the boat Tan calls home, the Doco crew saw a loving, caring
family looking for ways to provide their son with access to
education and a better life. It is a two kilometre walk over
narrow, muddy trails from the riverbank to the nearest road
but now a couple of times each week, Tan’s mother or his
social worker from Blue Dragon, carry Tan from his home
to the road and another 3 km to the Blue Dragon drop-in
centre where he has a wheelchair and access to education,
art, computers and his peers.
After Hanoi it was on to Bangladesh and AYAD Pierre
Johanessen, working with Habitat for Humanity. Habitat
for Humanity is an international NGO working to provide the
world’s most disadvantaged people with access to housing.
Habitat for Humanity Bangladesh’s National Director, Kelly
Koch, explained why housing is so much more than just a
Laidback cameraman, Geoff Ellis, also acquired his new
nickname ‘Mr. Goof’ in Aceh, where the local hotel owner
misread the English ‘eo’ in his name. It turned out to be a
good sign of the welcoming, friendly and positive people of
Aceh.
“People were really open to us filming. They wanted to know
what we were doing. At one site an Acehnese man came up
and started talking to Chris, our director, about the tsunami
and how it affected him and how Aceh is changing,” says
Matthew, “It was incredible to have such open and honest
encounters with the local people.”
The Doco crew were amazed to see the changes that a
few years have wrought in what was one of the areas most
devastated by the tsunami.
The final stop for the documentary is Samoa where AYAD
Tina Macumber is working on a cricket development
project. And post Samoa? It’s back to the editing suite and
time to turn hours and hours of footage into a one hour
documentary that demonstrates the passion, devotion,
strength, enthusiasm and good humour that our AYADs
bring to their work across the region. It’s no easy task but
with such great material to work with the documentary is
sure to be a winner.
Documentary producer, Matthew Fallon, says:
“The opportunity to see so many countries and spend time
with the AYADs is one of the best things about filming this
documentary. They know so much about the place and you
get such privileged access to their lives and the lives that
they’ve touched. That’s been the most amazing thing for
me.”
The AYAD Documentary is currently in the final stages of
shooting. Watch this space for news on the final editing
process and screening dates on Australian television.
5
Into the hi l ls , in search of the hungry
AYAD Olivia Kemp recently joined a United Nations World Food
Programme team to conduct an Emergency Food Security
Assessment in the foothills of Nepal. Here she shares her
experience of the warmth and generosity of the Nepalese people
and the unforgettable realities of their lives in western Nepal.
To know hunger, to really understand that concept deeply is something
that I will probably never experience. But after three years of recurrent
drought, hail damage, landslides and crop disease, the hills of western
Nepal are suffering and hunger is a constant companion to many. The rural
lives nestled in the remote villages of the western hill and mountain districts
are in jeopardy. The risk of acute malnutrition and mass-migration, forever
shifting the culture of these hills, is very real.
A number of international organisations have implemented emergency
operations in this area to provide much needed assistance to the people
living there. One of these organisations is the largest humanitarian
organisations in the world, the United Nations World Food Programme
(WFP), my AYAD Host Organisation.
Recently it was reported by the WFP field-based monitors that the situation
in the western regions of Nepal had seriously deteriorated due to the poor
winter season and in particular the lack of rainfall combined with the global
rise in food prices.
For most of us, this hike in food prices is an inconvenience, or an
interesting article in The Economist. For the poorest of the poor, it is the
literal meaning of the word – a crisis. It means skipping meals, selling of
household assets, women selling their wedding jewelry, pulling children
out of school to work, continuous borrowing from money lenders and,
for some here in Nepal, whole families migrating to India to find casual
labouring jobs. These are all common coping strategies adopted in times
of hardship to simply make it through another day.
For humanitarian professionals, the practice in such emergencies is to
travel to the location and conduct an initial rapid assessment – in this case,
an Emergency Food Security Assessment. Such an assessment aims to
collect in-depth data and conduct community consultations to confirm
the situation and the number of people affected - to paint an accurate
picture for the donors and decision makers. As a member of WFP Nepal’s
Food Security Monitoring and Assessment Unit, I was fortunate enough
to be included in the trek up into the hills to conduct the assessment,
under the guidance of two local WFP colleagues, Pushpa Shrestha and
Kishor Bhandari and a member of the Nepal Ministry of Agriculture and
Cooperatives, Naresh Sharma.
This assessment, this huge week of my small life, has left such a marked
impression on me. I have now seen hunger, stepped into the homes and
lives of the people who know hunger far too well, the unwanted guest
who regularly arrives on the doorstep, sometimes for a day, sometimes for
months. I have spoken with families and seen the pain on a mother’s face
as she watches her children, far too small for their age, lose their strength,
lose the rich black shine in their hair, as it fades to fair, dusty brown.
Most of our journey was on foot, due to wet monsoon conditions blocking
roads with multiple landslides. This is the case every year for the local
people of much of Nepal, winter means transport by vehicle or motorbike
(if you can afford the fuel) but monsoon season means carrying food by
ponies and people enduring long, long days on foot.
7
The conditions for us just to reach the affected areas
were extremely tough, even by a lover of the Australian
outdoors. Extreme humidity, steep precarious hills,
large boulders tumbling from the sky as we ran from
landslides, crossing waist deep, fast flowing rivers
full of diligent Nepali leaches were all obstacles in our
path in addition to the long, long distances to cover
each day. We had only one week to conduct an in
depth assessment – as the people were in such urgent
need and once we had collected the data there would
be data-processing and reporting to be done back
in Kathmandu. To reach our destination in time we
walked from 8-14 hours each day and slept in local
homes, sharing their lives for just a small precious
moment. The process of providing food aid to those
in need in Nepal is complex. WFP not only faces
challenges in identifying populations in need but also in
distributing the food aid, when just reaching the villages
means difficulties in access and transportation.
In the villages we sat with these people, on rough
straw mats, with children and dogs and chickens
clustered around and talked to families, shopkeepers
and traders in the markets and community health
workers. We asked question after question, with
discussions that enabled us to understand the impact
the food crisis was having on their daily lives – and
what they knew of the most vulnerable members of
their communities. We met with government officials
and village development committees, agricultural
officers, the police, doctors at the local hospital, the
army, local NGOs and international agencies with
sub-offices located in the district head quarters. We
talked and talked and talked and scribbled down the
alarming facts as they calmly spoke of their hardship.
Their patience and their resilience is a Nepali trait I am
growing used to but one I continue to admire.
One of the WFP field-based monitors, Kishor Bhandari,
joined us on the assessment with his ‘tools of the
trade’ – a PDA and a satellite phone. Field monitors
are used by WFP all over the world, to collect field-
based, up-to-date information. Few face the extremity
of challenges that the field monitors in Nepal endure
working in the most topographically varied country in
the world. They walk the landscape tirelessly, recording
answers to the surveys saved in their PDAs and then,
when network coverage allows, they connect to the
satellite phone and email the data back to Kathmandu,
to the Food Security monitoring unit, where the
numbers are crunched and the figures of people in
need and the extremity of this need are confirmed.
Into the hi l ls , in search of the hungry
Previous Page : Monsoonal clouds form over the Bheri River in Nepal.
Above : (top) : Olivia and her counterparts trekking up into the villages.(bottom) : Community consultation with key village members.
Right : Jajarkot locals
From this data, WFP and many other organisations are
developing knowledge on socio-economic trends in
villages, agricultural production, health and malnutrition
and the use of coping strategies within households,
which indicate food insecurity. This information is
absolutely invaluable and WFP could not target
populations in need without this monitoring system and
these dedicated individuals.
Walking up into those hills, into those lives, was
something I had been waiting for all those months
behind my computer screen back in Kathmandu and I
immersed myself in it completely. Back in Kathmandu,
writing my report of the assessments findings, I was
often transported back up their into their homes,
sipping sweet, black tea over quiet conversation
around the smoky clay stoves, the monsoonal clouds
dancing low on the distant hills. This was not the
trekking trails of the Nepal the ‘intrepid’ backpacker
knows, this was not the cultural melting pot shrouded
in smog that is Kathmandu – up there in those remote
hills, tucked away in the clouds, I made my discovery
of the real Nepal. I felt a reawakening up there and,
despite all the sadness and poverty around me, my
love for this country seemed to grow.
Conducting such work and meeting those people,
amongst the poorest people in the world, feeling the
reality and urgency of their needs – the reality of hunger
- was an intense experience that I will never forget. But
I think what made a lasting impression on me was the
beauty, the warmth and the generosity they extended
toward me, despite the pain they endure every day. I
had never before received such wealth, as I did that
week from those people classified as ‘the poorest of
the poor’.
9
Ingrid Suter is an AYAD volunteering as a
Communications Officer with ElefantAsia in
Vientiane, Lao PDR. ElefantAsia is the only
conservation group in Laos working for the
protection and conservation of domestic
elephants, of which there are approximately
560 remaining. With wild elephants and
habitat protection a typical focus of wildlife
management, the significance of the domestic
elephant is often overlooked.
“Many foreigners get emotional when discussing
domestic, or captive, elephants”, Ingrid explains. “They
believe all elephants should be free and allowed to
roam around in the wild. But the reality in Southeast
Asia is different. People don’t understand that the
domestication of Asian elephants has been an integral
part of Indochinese culture and historic tradition for
centuries. ElefantAsia’s goal is to keep that ancient
culture alive and the elephants in good health.”
Asian elephants were once owned by the kings and
royal families of Laos for transportation, logging and
warfare purposes, and are today still considered
religious deities in Lao Buddhism and animism.
“The use of elephants is not just a luxury afforded to
the rich and noble”, explains Ingrid. “Domesticated
elephants have been used as a form of typical livestock
by conventional Lao communities for hundreds of
years.”
9
Unfortunately access to veterinary care and medication
is often financially or geographically difficult, resulting in
many domesticated elephants suffering from horrific yet
easily preventable injuries. One of ElefantAsia’s major
programs is their Mobile Veterinary Care Unit. This mobile
unit travels to remote communities’ in Laos that still
employ elephants for livestock purposes. ElefantAsia
currently provides onsite support to 75% of Laos’
domesticated elephants. The mobile unit provides free
veterinary health checks, medications and treatments to
sick or injured elephants.
The idea of elephants as livestock (how they are classified
in Laos) was initially a difficult concept for Ingrid to
comprehend. “Coming from Queensland my idea of
what livestock is conjures images of large-scale sheep
and cattle stations, not domesticated elephants,” reflects
Ingrid. “It took a lot of research and discussion with
workmates before I really understood the importance
elephants play in rural and remote communities here.
Some 10,000 people can benefit from the income
generated by a single elephant. That’s as important as
any livestock industry anywhere in the world.”
Recently news of a poaching came to the ElefantAsia
office from the Sayaboury province. According to the
mahout (an elephant handler), his elephant had been shot
in the head and legs and its majestic tusks fully removed
by the poachers. “Fortunately this isn’t a common event”
says Ingrid. “Elephants are valuable livestock in Laos and
the poaching of an elephant is a huge economic loss
for mahout families as well as the entire Asian elephant
population.”
Sadly a modern form of employment is threatening
the Asian elephant’s long-term survival in Laos. Most
domesticated elephants work in legal or illegal logging
operations, tragically destroying their wild cousin’s
habitat. Domestic elephants also have extremely low
reproduction rates, as financially it makes little sense for
a mahout to breed their female elephants (cows). Given
the long gestation and rearing period required, cows are
regarded as more economically valuable working than
raising babies.
This is where ElefantAsia steps in. The ultimate goal for
ElefantAsia is to seek sustainable, alternative employment
for these elephants in less physically and environmentally
destructive ventures such as Laos’ growing ecotourism
industry. Incentives and economic support are also
provided to mahouts who wish to enter their cows into
a voluntary breeding program. “ElefantAsia have initiated
a scheme much like the ‘baby bonus’ incentive we have
for women in Australia,” laughs Ingrid. “If a mahout’s cow
has a baby he will be financially compensated. It worked
in Australia, so there’s a chance it can work here too!”
As Communications Officer, one of Ingrid’s roles is to
work with her counterparts to identify relevant funding
opportunities and prepare proposals so ElefantAsia’s
projects can continue and expand. “A great day for me
was when I heard my first funding proposal had been
successful,” recalls Ingrid. “My proposal to the British
RSPCA provided ElefantAsia with enough money to make
400 ‘elephant first aid kits’”. These kits are waterproof
containers full of antiseptics, bandages and other
medicines mahouts can administer to their sick or injured
elephant immediately. It is the mahout who cares for their
elephants on a day-to-day basis, so it’s essential that they
have knowledge and access to modern medications.
Training in how to use all supplies in the kit is free and
provided by ElefantAsia’s mobile veterinary unit.
The Lao PDR’s elephants are in a unique position. Having
not received the same scrutiny, publicity or research
funding as neighbouring nations, population numbers
are mere estimates. No accurate figure for either wild or
domestic elephant populations exists, limiting the ability to
provide significant species conservation. The smuggling
of wild elephants for domestic use into neighbouring
nations is also a major threat to wild elephant populations.
Ingrid’s next goal is to gain enough funding to have all 560
domestic elephants in Laos micro-chipped.
“Micro-chipping the entire captive population is an exciting
and achievable form of immediate and effective elephant
conservation,” says Ingrid. “Elephant ownership would
become completely transparent. The capture of a wild
elephant for domestic use or illegal sale would be virtually
impossible. Thailand is already well underway with micro-
chipping all their domestic elephants, and there is no
reason why the same positive results can’t be achieved in
Laos through ElefantAsia.”
Ingrid still has six months left of her placement with
ElefantAsia. “The AYAD program has given me amazing
opportunities to make direct and positive impacts for
endangered species conservation,” says Ingrid. “While
the majority of my day may be spent sitting at a desk
writing proposals, the rewards are so high. I have the
ability to really help out and contribute to elephant welfare
and conservation.” Ingrid is also looking forwarded
to planning the next annual Elephant Festival; a huge
occasion in Laos that is growing is size and publicity each
year. “Things are going to get pretty crazy around here
soon” says Ingrid “Organising 100 elephants and 50,000
people is not something that is done easily in Laos. But
book your tickets, the next festival will be held in February
2009!”
The potential for further Asian elephant research in Laos
is promising, and Ingrid is hoping to one day undertake
Asian elephant research of her own with ElefantAsia.
“Without the AYAD program I would have never have
had this fantastic opportunity. Volunteering in Laos I have
met some truly passionate and remarkable people. This
beautiful country and its elephants are beckoning me to
stay and help further protect this endangered species.
Laos was once, after all, known as ‘the land of a million
elephants.’“
ElefantAsia’s mobile vet unit at work in the Sayaboury province.
1
from little seeds…
China is a country that has had rapid development
in the east but beyond the big cities there are
areas, particularly in the north-west, that are areas
where people face high levels of poverty and a
difficult farming life. It is there that that AYAD
Amy Paten is working with local governments
and communities in Gansu on the Loess Plateau,
in the east of Gansu province of China. She is
helping alleviate poverty through improved farming
practices. It’s a big project with an important
goal and Amy’s experience demonstrates that by
working together big things can be achieved. Here
she shares her experiences:
I’ve been volunteering as a farming systems analyst
for Gansu Grasslands Ecological Research Institute
since March 2008, with the support of the University
of Adelaide - my Australian Partner Organisation. The
Institute in Lanzhou University and the University of
Adelaide have worked extensively together, over the past
10 years, to improve farming systems and environmental
conservation in the Loess Plateau region of Gansu.
They’re now working together on a newly funded project
by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural
Research (ACIAR) to help farmers, local government and
extension agents to improve the crop-livestock systems
in Western China to alleviate poverty and reduce
environmental degradation.
The Loess Plateau suffers from low and erratic rainfall,
the environment and resources are degraded and
many people here are living in severe poverty. The local
government wants to increase livestock production by
integrating forages into crop rotations to help improve
water use efficiency, soil quality and overall farm
productivity.
I’m working closely with local researchers and farmers to
find the best ways to collect and analyse data on current
farming practices, especially where there is a mix of crop
and livestock being used by farmers, and then working
with the farmers to find ways to improve their livelihoods
through better planning of animal feeding and livestock
nutrition.
Growing forage crops offers the potential to reduce soil
erosion, make the use of resource more efficient and to
boost farmers’ livelihoods. However, the farms are small,
and they are not reliable sources of food. The farmers
have limited capital for investment or the capacity to
increase risk. In order to make any changes we need to
From left to Right : : Teaching Mr Gao Chongyue how to take a blood sample : Setting up a weather station : Surveying local farmers
evaluate the current environmental and social systems
and the likely impacts of change. Time also needs to
be spent working with and training the farmers in more
efficient farm management practices.
The farmers are welcoming and keen to participate. We
aim to make a simulation model based on the current
farm systems so we can run scenarios of improved
practices and see what the long term implication
of these scenarios would be. Then we can start
making sustainable changes. The work is very much
participatory and the farmers are involved from the start.
One of my most memorable experiences was on a field
trip to Quzi. We were collecting rectal faecal samples
from goats on the farms and none of my Chinese
counterparts had done this before. They didn’t quite
understand what I meant until I did a demonstration. I
turned around to see Mr Gao Chongyue, the extension
agent and very senior in his role, down on the ground (in
his suit) with his glove on collecting the sample from the
next goat. The look on his face, once he had extracted
a sample, was as if he’d found gold! This scene was
really important as I, a young female, had just shown
this senior male how to collect rectal faecal samples
(something he would normally never have to do). It
defied all cultural boundaries and I could really see that
everyone on the project wanted to help the farmers and
that gender, age and status didn’t matter anymore – we
were just a group of people out to achieve a common
goal.
The local government has been very supportive of the
work and this support is vital for the success of the
project. The Institute’s staff bring local knowledge to
the project while us Australians bring knowledge on
sampling and experimental techniques and an outside
view. I’m glad to be a part of the project and share my
knowledge in animal nutrition and husbandry and at the
same time learn so much from the local people. The
farmers, whilst being some of the poorest people in
China, are the happiest and most giving people I have
ever met. They appreciate the simple things they have
and this is an attitude I want to take back to Australia
with me.
I feel honoured and lucky to be invited into their homes
and view their daily lives and experience their friendly
and unique culture. It’s great to be able to come
here and travel around but I value most being able to
contribute to work that will help preserve some of the
most beautiful environments here and maybe make the
life of the people on the land a little bit easier.
3
Welcome to the AYAD Photo Gallery, a
chance for AYADs and alumni (RAYADs)
to share photos of their experiences
in-country. Want to share your photo?
Simply email the photo with a caption to
By submitting your photos to the AYAD
Program you are giving consent for
these images to be used for promotional
purposes by the AYAD Program (including
website, promotional materials and
Exchange) so don’t forget to get consent
from the people in the photos.
From top to bottom, left to right:
Local delicacies on display in the
Philippines : AYAD
A proud Bangladeshi bus driver sits
in his beautifully painted vehicle :
Photo by Dean Saffron
Fijian Hut : Photo by Patrick Boyd
Church steeple ruin in front of Mayon
Volcano in the Philippines : Photo by
Amber Rowe
Ovoo, a shamanistic cairn found on a
mountain in Mongolia : AYAD
Working in the fields, Vietnam :
AYAD
Creative Hands : Photo by
Jo Grzelinska
95
AYAD Janelle Morey is working as the Sports
Development Officer for Fiji Outrigger, the
National Federation for Outrigger Canoeing, in
Fiji’s capital city, Suva.
Before departing on what she calls ‘an adventure of
a lifetime’ Janelle would tell friends and family where
she was going and what she was going to be doing
and heard nothing but “You’re going where? A tropical
Island? Sun, sand and water. What an awesome
opportunity!”
“They were right,” says Janelle. “It has been amazing
and Fiji is a beautiful, tropical experience but even more
than that it has been an incredible opportunity to work
with the friendly people of Fiji and spread the word
about the sport of outrigger canoe racing in a place
where outrigger canoes have played a pivotal historical
role.”
Outrigger canoe paddling has its origins in the
development and spread of the coastal culture of the
Pacific Rim region about 30,000 years ago, with canoes
playing an integral role in the survival and transmigration
of ancient cultures. Great tree trunk canoes held
together with vines served as the prime transport for
tribes and clans moving throughout the Pacific and the
image of the outrigger canoe still resonates strongly in
many Pacific cultures.
Currently Janelle is focused on the development of
the newly formed USP Islanders Canoe Club, which
is based out of the University of South Pacific. The
opportunity for a new club to be developed was evident
to Janelle when she first arrived in Fiji and the University
of South Pacific was the perfect place to create a new
club with its mix of students from all over the region.
“The new paddlers are a combination of people who
have been paddling since the sport first began in Fiji
while others are ‘fresh in the boat’ or FIB’s (novices),”
Janelle says. “No matter whether they’ve been paddling
for years or only a few weeks, I’ve seen enthusiasm,
good sportsmanship and dedication to training in the
new club.”
Most recently a committee has been elected to take
over running of the club which means Janelle can rest
assured that the good work she has started at the
University of the South Pacific will continue when the
time comes for her to say goodbye.
Thousands of years later, outrigger canoe racing has
become a competitive sport and maritime advancement
has seen the canoe evolve from the heavy wooden
canoes of the past to the sleek, fibreglass racing boats
of today.
Janelle is working with Fiji Outrigger to help lift the
profile of outrigger canoe racing and to educate
locals of the role outrigger canoes have played in the
history of the South Pacific. Part of her work is also to
increase the involvement of young people in the sport
through increased profile and inclusion in school sports
curriculum.
Janelle’s first taste of Fiji’s paddling lifestyle and of her
work to come arrived as soon as she stepped off the
plane. The Wai Tui Fiji Outrigger International was
taking place at Suva Point, an annual event founded
five years ago by Colin Philp, currently president of Fiji
Outrigger.
The event showcases the cultural links of the sport in
the South Pacific with ceremony, music and dance,
wrapped up in the warm embrace of good-natured
competition in a tropical environment. This year saw
teams from Australia, American Samoa, PNG and
New Zealand compete in the 3 day tournament. Fiji is
without a doubt a fantastic environment for outrigger
canoeing, the course is scenic and international
paddlers have found the experience as good as that in
Tahiti or Hawaii.
It was during the Wai Tui Fiji Outrigger International
that Janelle experienced the excitement, commitment,
and paddling family values of those dedicated to the
sport of outrigger canoeing. This experience has only
continued to grow as Janelle was welcomed with open
arms into the Fiji paddling family.
“A large part of my role has included paddle-a-thons
for juniors and the frequent regattas (17 in 2008) held
by my Host Organisation,” she said. “Fiji Outriggers
Regattas always prove to be an eventful day filled with
keen juniors forgetting their paddles or simply living on
‘Fiji Time’.”
During the year Janelle also teamed up with Fiji Triathlon
to develop a mini series of multisport events consisting
of Paddle, Bike, Run. The success of these events
led to Janelle working with Fiji Triathlon to host the Fiji
WEETBIX Kids ‘TRYathlon’ which was a huge success
for all involved.
7
The experience of migrating by paddling for thousands
of miles in an outrigger made from tree trunks is one
we can only imagine. Lucky enough for Janelle she will
experience what paddling in a canoe for many miles
was like for ancient cultures when she departs on a
10-day journey of paddling around the Yasawas islands
in late October.
“Of course I will be paddling in a modern day,
lightweight, fiberglass Va’a 6 boat with a support boat
following behind and nights camping at local Villages
and Backpacker Hostels,” says Janelle, “so I’ll definitely
have a much easier experience than the original
islanders did!”
Although only 6 months into her 12 month assignment
Janelle feels that she has already made an impact on
the sport and the local community and feels like one of
the family.
The friendliness of not only the paddlers, but the locals
in general has certainly brought many smiles and tears
of laughter along with memories and photos that will
last a lifetime.
Left : The National Canoe Centre’s Under 19 Girls TeamRight : Under 16 Boys 500m sprint race finish line.
By the time Alexa Ridgway had completed
her Arts/Law degree in 2005, she knew she
wanted to do community work in Australia.
She had tried and tested the corporate
legal scene and decided that it was not for
her. Instead it was the needs of Australian
communities that got Alexa out of the bed
in the morning. But without a degree in
social work, and no background in case
management, she was unsure of where to
begin.
Left : Alexa on assignment in Samoa, with the Animal Protection Society.
At the beginning of 2005, Alexa had visited a friend
in Samoa who was an AYAD. Inspired by this
experience, she began looking into opportunities
to become an AYAD herself. By luck, Alexa saw a
position in Samoa that would use her background
in running animal welfare campaigns, while also
developing her cross-cultural, project management
and community development skills.
Alexa’s AYAD placement in Samoa was as Humane
Educator with the Animal Protection Society from
2006-2007. With Samoa having a very large dog
population - a high proportion being strays that
often become aggressive - the Society plays an
important role in maintaining the country’s health
and wellbeing.
“The Animal Protection Society is the only
organisation to provide veterinary care for cats
and dogs in Samoa with the majority of their
work involving assisting the control of the stray
and unwanted animals through sterilisation and
euthanasia,” said Alexa.
“After 10 years of operations, the Society decided
that their work needed to expand to include an
educational component so they applied for an
AYAD to assist them in pursuing this new focus,”
she said.
As Humane Educator, Alexa’s role was to establish
a community education program to increase
awareness of the dog problem and teach Samoans
how to better care for their animals. Working with
her Samoan counterpart, Alexa established a ‘Self-
Starter Humane Education Pack’ which included
school curricula for both primary and high schools
as well as information on how to run community
education programs (from Voluntary Vet Assistant
programs to fundraisers).
Eighteen months after the education pack was
completed, it is still being used by the Society’s
staff. To hear that the education program has been
sustainable is a thrill for Alexa:
“I was always a little unsure whether my education
resource would be sustainable. I am really moved
to hear that it is still being found a useful tool by the
the Society and is continually being implemented at
the grassroots level.”
Animal Humane Education was not the limit
of Alexa’s AYAD experience. She was able to
use her background in swimming to create a
swimming development program at Samoa’s
National Swimming Complex, which included the
introduction of waterpolo – the first time this sport
had ever been played in the country.
And, towards the end of her 12-month term, Alexa
visited Vanuatu to train 14 local Humane Educators.
Inspired, the new educators taught animal
education to over 400 school students in the month
following the training.
“The AYAD Program gave me a great opportunity
to learn about Pacific culture while using my skills
to bring about change and build relationships with
local Samoans,” Alexa said.
Alexa’s experience in Samoa inspired her to seek
further volunteering opportunities in the international
development field. This time Alexa decided to
volunteer in Cambodia. She self-funded a trip to
Phnom Penh to volunteer with the NGO ‘Bridges
Across Borders’ where she established a practical,
activity-based education program for children
on the meaning of law and children’s rights. She
found this be a great learning experience to further
develop the skills she had learnt as an AYAD.
Since returning to Australia in early 2008 Alexa has
taken up a RAYAD Development Internship which
has proven a great opportunity to start her career in
Australian community work.
“In March of this year, I was an intern with the Koori
Courts of Victoria - a division of the Magistrates’
Court, which sentences Indigenous defendants
who have pleaded guilty,” she said. “The Koori
Court provides an informal atmosphere and allows
greater participation by the Aboriginal (Koori)
community in the court process. A Koori Elder or
Respected Person, the Aboriginal Justice worker,
Koori defendants and their families can contribute
during the court hearing,”
During her internship, Alexa designed a youth
mentoring program for at-risk Indigenous young
people to deter them from entering the criminal
justice system.
“The project gave me the opportunity to use my
background in law as well as the cross-cultural
communication skills I gained as an AYAD to
network with people who are mentoring and
working with Indigenous youth,” Alexa said. “It
gave me the opportunity to brief the Koori Court
and President of the Children’s Court on best
practice for mentoring programs and to offer
recommendations for its use with at-risk indigenous
youth.”
Alexa also assisted the Koori Court with their
Annual Koori Court Conference which brought
together over 130 key stakeholders from Victoria
to participate in discussions about the on-going
development of the Koori Courts.
However, Alexa’s volunteering journey was not yet
complete. As a result of her AYAD experience and
her Koori Court Development Internship, she was
accepted to volunteer with the Red Cross Remote
Communities Holiday Program in the indigenous
community of Maningrida in Arnhem Land in July
2008. In this role she ran sports and arts activities
for children in Maningrida, specifically focusing on
using the swimming development skills she gained
in Samoa to organise swimming and waterpolo
sessions.
Alexa sees her experiences as an AYAD and her
Development Internship as life changing.
”It was only due to my experience as an AYAD that I
was able to take up a Development Internship with
the Koori Court and it was through this experience
of working side by side with Indigenous Australians
that I was accepted to go to Arnhem Land. It is so
amazing to see how this has led me step by step
to more experiences where I can learn about the
world, develop my skills and give back to others.”
Interestingly, since returning to Melbourne, the
Maningrida Community has contacted Alexa asking
for a copy of the Self-Starter Humane Education
Pack she created in Samoa.
”It is as though my entire AYAD experience has
gone full circle with my work in Samoa now being
used in indigenous communities in Australia as
well. It is so rewarding to see the work from my
placement as an AYAD being used as an ongoing
resource in so many different contexts.”
9
After his extended 9-month assignment Scott returned to Australia in
May 2008 to manage his parent’s farm and run a small environmental
consultancy. But even before returning to Oz Scott had made up his mind
that he wasn’t finished with the Philippines. His experience in Bohol had
left such an impression on him that he once again packed up his life and
went back to the Philippines after only three months in Australia.
Scott knew that he’d been able to contribute something useful during his
AYAD assignment, but he was certain that he had gained more than he
gave. Was it greedy to go back for more?
Since August 2008 Scott has been working with the Landcare Foundation
of the Philippines in his own right, this time training trainers in soil health
and organic farming techniques so that they can pass on this knowledge
to farmers. He is also keeping in touch with the AYAD Program by lending
a hand to the Philippines In Country Manager and Host Organisations
in planning for future AYAD assignments. He is hoping that this work will
evolve into longer-term opportunities to keep working in Bohol and the
Philippines.
Experiencing all the fantastic natural wonders in Bohol also gave Scott
the idea for a new business opportunity in eco-tourism. “During my AYAD
assignment I would take my motorbike out on weekends and explore the
island’s nooks and crannies. I found so many amazing sites that were
virtually unknown to anyone but the locals (and sometimes not even
them!). When friends would come to visit me I would take them around to
some of these sites rather than the tired old two or three tourist attractions
that most people get dragged off to.”
AYAD Scott Graham spent 9 months on the island of Bohol in the
Philippines. During that time he discovered great beauty in both the
land and the people, which has inspired him to continue to work
with them beyond his assignment.
Scott’s original AYAD assignment was for 6 months with the World
Agroforestry Centre on Bohol. He was working with the staff of the
Landcare Foundation of the Philippines to develop monitoring and
evaluation tools to measure the success of their training on soil
conservation, agroforestry, organic agriculture and livelihood improvement.
But before he had even started, Scott recalls being called “the Australian
expert on monitoring and evaluation”. This, and the excessive attention he
received for the simple act of being white, made him think it would be a
very long 6 months in the Philippines.
While the Philippines is off the holiday radar of most ordinary Australians,
with over 7000 islands it would be impossible not to have at least some
great destinations, and Bohol is certainly one of those places.
It took Scott all of a week to fall in love with his new tropical island home.
His workmates soon became like an extended family, he met a group of
Pinoy (Filipino) and foreign friends that became his ‘Barkada’ (i.e. “group
of mates” in Australian speak), the monitoring and evaluation wasn’t as
boring as it sounded, he found that he was able to use his skills more than
originally planned, and he even started to enjoy the various unidentifiable
parts of pig that dominate the menu!
Six months soon started looking too short rather than too long. After
identifying some gaps in the Landcare Program, Scott and his Host
Organisation requested that his project be extended for another 3 months
so that he could focus on his areas of greatest interest: soil science,
organic agriculture and, unofficially, exploring the natural paradise of Bohol.
“The support provided by my Host Organisation and Australian Partner
Organisation, the World Agroforestry Centre and the Australian Centre for
International Agricultural Research, made the assignment much easier”
says Scott. “The staff of the Landcare Foundation, who I worked closely
with, were friends, teachers and students to me, in that order.”
“There is something very different about Filipino workplace culture
compared to the sterile environment found in most Australia offices. In
the Philippines workmates are considered as friends or extended family
and the line between personal and professional is often blurred. Staff
gatherings are like a reunion of old friends and always accompanied by
social events.”
With the help of these colleagues and his other Filipino friends, Scott
was able to pick up some Visaya, the local language, and converse with
farmers during trainings and monitoring visits. “For me the single most
important advantage was to learn the local language,” Scott says. “A “taas
ilong” (“long nose”) that can speak Visaya is still seen as a great novelty
here, but as in most countries, you have a different relationship with locals
if you can communicate on their terms”. This, Scott says, is one of the
reasons he grew to love living in Bohol.
AUSTRALIAN PARTNER ORGANISATIONS
Aceh Research Training Institute
ACIAR
Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA)
AIDS Council of New South Wales
ANZ Bank
Asia-Pacific Journalism Centre
Austcare
Australian Development Gateway
Australian Foundation for the Peoples
of Asia and the Pacific
Australian Human Rights Centre
Australian Mekong Resource Centre
Australian National University
Australian Orangutan Project
Australian Red Cross
Australian Rugby Union
Australian Sports Commission
Ba Futuru Australia
Baptist World Aid Australia
Be A Hero Australia
Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation (Australia)
Box Hill Institute of TAFE
Brisbane Institute of Strength Based Practice
Bureau of Meteorology
Burnet Institute
The AYAD Program works with a diverse range of
Australian Partner Organisations who provide support,
enthusiasm and expertise to projects in all our partner
countries.
Australian Partner Organisations (APOs) are
Australian government departments, non-government
organisations (NGOs), educational institutions and
private companies that have or wish to establish links
with organisations working in development in the Asia
Pacific region.
The benefits of being an Australian Partner
Organisation are many and varied including building
new partnerships in our region, providing an amazing
professional development opportunity for staff and
making a positive contribution to development.
If you are interested in learning more about partnering
with the AYAD Program please contact the AYAD
Partnerships Team at [email protected]
or (freecall) 1800 225 592.
The AYAD Program would like to thank our current
active APOs for their involvement and support:
Seeing an opportunity to fill this market gap,
Scott started helping Filipino friends to develop
a personalised tour operation that allows tourists
to experience the ‘real Bohol’, the one that Scott
himself fell in love with.
Together, Scott and his mates established ‘Barkada
Tours’ that takes small groups to Bohol’s hidden
beaches, rivers, waterfalls and villages – sites and
experiences that would otherwise be impossible for
brief visitors to the island.
“The word ‘Barkada’ basically means ‘groups of
mates’, the people you like to hang out with. And
that’s the kind of experience we are trying to create
with the tour business – just like a group of friends
came to visit and we are showing them around
the place we love,” says Scott. “The whole ethic
of the operation fosters social and environmental
responsibility amongst visitors and locals alike. We
are trying to lead by example for other companies
that are sure to start cropping up in this burgeoning
tourist area”.
By involving local business and individuals in the
tours and showing the community that respect for
the natural environment makes economic sense,
Barkada Tours hopes to contribute to sustainable
growth in Bohol.
Scott says that the AYAD Program was a great
experience for him, and a gateway. “I have
travelled in a lot of countries before” he says, “but
my AYAD assignment allowed me to integrate a
lot more with the culture and the place, which
opened up a different kind of experience that has
eventually led me to where I am now”.
Visit http://barkadatours.blogspot.com for
more information about seeing Bohol in all its glory,
and www.landcaremates.org to learn more
about the work of the Landcare Foundation of the
Philippines Inc.
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Previous Page : The beach at Bohol
Right : Teaching the locals about organic
gardening methods
CARE Australia
Caritas Australia
Central Queensland University
Charles Darwin University
Charles Sturt University
ChildFund Australia
Chisholm Institute of TAFE
Christian Blind Mission International (CBMI)
CLAN (Caring and Living as Neighbours)
Commonwealth Ombudsman
Constitutional Centre of Western Australia
Deakin University
Department of Agriculture and Food (WA)
Department of Environment, Water,
Heritage and the Arts
Department of Immigration and Citizenship
Department of Primary Industries (NSW)
Department of Primary Industries and
Fisheries (QLD)
Engineers Without Borders
Environmental Defenders Office Ltd
Flinders University of South Australia
Foundation for Developing
Cambodian Communities (FDCC)
Friends of Venilale
George Institute for International Health
GHD Pty Ltd
GK Ancop Australia
Griffith University
Habitat for Humanity Australia
Hassall and Associates
Hope Worldwide
Humane Society International
iEARN
International Australian Football Council (IAFC)
International Centre for Eyecare Education (ICEE)
International Cricket Council East Asia Pacific
International Fund for Animal Welfare
International Rugby Board
International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics
International Women’s Development Agency
Interserve Australia
Jane Goodall Institute Australia
Land Equity International Pty Ltd
Macquarie University
Manly-Manado Inc.
Marie Stopes International Australia
Murdoch University
Oxfam Australia
Permaculture Research Institute
Philippines Australia Studies Centre (PASC)
Plan International Australia
Planning Institute Australia (QLD Division)
Presbyterian Ladies’ College
Queensland Institute of Medical Research
Roads and Traffic Authority (NSW)
Royal Australasian College of Physicians
Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne
Royal Life Saving Society Australia
Save the Children Australia
Scarlet Alliance, Australian Sex Workers Association
Scouts Australia
Speech Language & Learning:
Educational Therapy Consultancy
Susila Dharma Australia Inc
TAFE SA
The Fred Hollows Foundation
Tonga Australian Football Association (TAFA)
Transparency International
Triathlon Australia
UNHCR
UNICEF Australia
UNIFEM Australia
Union Aid Abroad (APHEDA)
UniQuest Pty Ltd
October
9 APO/RAYAD Networking Event (Canberra)
November
18 APO/RAYAD Networking Event (Melbourne)
22-23 RAYAD Debrief (Melbourne)
December
5 International Volunteers Day
7-12 ICM Workshop (Brisbane)
January
12-22 Info Sessions around Australia
(tbc) APO/RAYAD Networking Event (Brisbane)
30 Intake 25 (July 09) Assignments online
February
20-22 State Representative Workshop (Adelaide)
(tbc) Intake 24 PDT
March
31 AYAD Forum
These details are correct at time of printing. Please
check www.ayad.com.au for the latest information.
October November December
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Uniting International Mission (UIM)
University of Adelaide
University of Queensland
University of Sydney
University of Tasmania
University of Technology Sydney
University of Western Sydney
URS Sustainable Development
Vets Beyond Borders
Victoria University
Western Sydney Institute of TAFE
Wetlands International – Oceania
World Vision Australia
World Youth International
WSPA
WWF - Australia
Youth Challenge Australia
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au
Australia Freecall : 1800 225 592
Telephone : +61 (8) 8364 8500
Email : [email protected]
Managed by Austraining International Pty Ltd
Level 1, 41 Dequetteville Tce, Kent Town SA 5067
www.ayad.com.au
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