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to this bi-monthly newsletter CONTENTS a) ACORD launches new Global Programme a) BOTSWANA: ACORD undertakes study on
knowledge, attitudes, practices, and behavior on HIV/AIDS in Ngamiland
West 4. ACORD'S MEMBERS NEWS a) ACORD launches new Global Programme: Working as activists for Social Justice and Development in Africa. ACORD is launching a new organisational Global Programme, an exciting new programme and programming approach based on learning from 25 years experience working with the poor and marginalised in Africa. The new approach shifts our focus from improving our skills as practitioners to becoming committed activists. For full details of ACORD's new Global Programme see: Overview: A global programme for social justice www.acord.org.uk/e-news/No5/Art1.htm Full report: ACORD's Global
Programme b)PAWS: The
implications of globalisation on Africa's development; developing the
principles and strategies for the new global programme Summary: www.acord.org.uk/e-news/No5/Art3.htm Full report (www.acord.org.uk/b-resources.htm) c) October Update (Dave Waller, Executive Director) Following ACORD's Pan Africa Workshop
on Programme Development (PAWS) in May, (see 1b above), programme teams
have spent the last few months radically reviewing their aims and
future plans. September has been a period of completing programme
documents so that we can start mobilising the resources necessary to
turn the exciting ideas that have been developed into practical
reality. The results of these redesign processes have been extremely
positive with programmes really taking on the ideas that came out of
the PAWS and interpreting them in the many and varied contexts within
which they work. The Social Action component of the Global Programme is continuing to generate real interest as it brings together leadership and organisational development with support to movements and advocacy. In providing a framework in which all our work will be about supporting the rights of excluded and marginalized peoples in Africa to achieve their rights and fulfil their responsibilities it provides a useful focus for ACORD's work that reflects and reinforces our identity and mission. d) ACORD's new office in Nairobi now operational One of the key elements of the changes
that have recently taken place at ACORD was the decision to relocate
ACORD's organisational 'centre' to Africa. ACORD's new office in
Nairobi is now operational. The majority of the Programming
Directorate team is in place and have started work. Details of the new
office are: FAX: 254(2)272 1166. e-mail addresses: e) Recent staff changes at ACORD Programming Directorate : Desta Soloman, Programme Development Advisor (PDA) for Areas and Themes, is on sabbatical to undertake a Masters degree in Social Policy at the London School of Economics. Asha El Karib, previously PDA for Methodology is now Senior Programme Development Manager for the Northern Sudan programme, based in Khartoum. Ibrahim Sahl is now PDA for Research in Nairobi and Mary Musirika, previously Programme Coordinator in Liberia, is Programme Development Consultant. Angela Hadjipateras is now HIV and AIDS Programme Development Officer. Mohhamed Lemine has replaced Mohammed Aly as Programme Manager for Mauritania. Mohammed Aly now works for PACT. We were saddened by the loss of Paul
Donald, Field Officer for Community Based Natural Resources
Management in ACORD's Biharamulo programme in Tanzania, on 23 June.
Paul had worked with ACORD since 1994. He will be sadly missed. ACORD is currently recruiting for the post of Executive Director. Interviews will be held in the first week of November. f) Board and Assembly meeting ACORD's next Board and Assembly meeting will be held in Nairobi from 6 -8 November 2002. g) ACORD sets up new organisational Global Finance Team A new global finance
team has been set up aimed at looking after the finances of the
programmes and those of the organisation as a whole. A workshop, held
in July in Johannesburg, was set up to improve the efficiency of the
team by building its capacity and network support. The Finance and Funding Directors congratulated the participants and trainers on their hard work, noting that all members were responsible for the success of the Global Finance team as a whole. A follow-up workshop will be held around the middle of next year. h) News from the Change Group The Change group has been meeting regularly and is at the stage of presenting recommendations for the rest of the restructuring and relocation process. Options should be ready for consultation within the next 3 weeks. a) BOTSWANA: ACORD undertakes study on
knowledge, attitudes, practices, and behavior on HIV/AIDS in Ngamiland
West A recent study on HIV/AIDS awareness in four communities in western Ngamiland in North-west Botswana indicated people in the area are generally well informed about HIV/AIDS, though this is less so amongst the elderly. People are aware of the causes of HIV/AIDS, know about the different modes of transmission and the different measures that need to be taken to avoid infection. However, 35% of the respondents believe, for instance, that AIDS it is caused by witchcraft, is transmitted by having sex with a widow who has not undergone ritual cleansing and that it can be cured by traditional doctors. For a full report of the research see www.acord.org.uk/No5/Art4.htm b) BURUNDI: Programme receives funding
from EU fund for Democratic and Human Rights. c) DRC: EU grant for community environment management on Kinshasa periphery. An EU Block Grant
partially funds ACORD's programme for community environment management
in Kingabwa, a semi-rural neighbourhood on the periphery of Kinshasa. d) ERITREA: Saving and Credit Scheme receives 1.2 million EURO EU funding ACORD-Eritrea has received a 1.2 million EURO EU grant to fund the new Central Zone Saving And Credit Scheme (CZSCS - ERT/7) which will render services similar to the very successful Southern Zone Saving and Credit Scheme (SZSCS). The Central Zone scheme aims to improve the living conditions of households in rural agricultural communities, particularly for small-scale farmers and livestock keepers, through improved access to micro-finance investment and extension services. The services are saving/credit, livestock insurance, capacity building of the community and advisory service on effective utilisation of loan. To facilitate the new project, a new office has been opened in Asmara. The project has also employed eight promoters, an accountant, a project manager, credit officer and a driver. The project is currently functioning in two sub-zobas of Zoba Maakel, namely Gala Nefhi and Berik, and expansion are underway to include the sub-zone of Serejeka and some others before the end of this year. e) HIV and AIDS: ACORD launches first Thematic Programme ACORD's new HIV and AIDS Support and Advocacy Programme (HASAP)was launched at a one week strategic planning meeting in Kampala, Uganda from 15-20 September. Participants had the opportunity to discuss and learn more about HIV/AIDS as a development challenge and review the strategies for responding to the crisis. The programme is the first thematic programme under ACORD's recent restructuring and new programming approach. SUMMARY: A summary of the recent workshop is available at www.acord.org.uk/e-news/No5/Art5.htm. A full workshop report is being written and will be translated into French and Portuguese. Once completed, it will be posted on the ACORD website and can be obtained from HASAP’s office in Kampala at eaf1@afsat.com. HASAP PROGRAMME DOCUMENT: A programme document, outlining the programme's aims, objectives and approach is available from HASAP at (eaf1@afsat.com). A draft 'Options Paper' on HIV Workplace Policies can be obtained from eaf1@afsat.com. f) HIV and AIDS: Applications for EU
and Comic Relief funding g) LIBERIA,SOMALIA: Programme Closures ACORD has sadly had to close its programmes in Liberia and Somalia. h) MOZAMBIQUE: Internet café and development library set up in Lichinga Lichinga in Niassa, three hours flying time from Mozambique’s capital Maputo and with poor road connections to the rest of the country, used to have a reputation for being "the end of the world". ACORD, having worked in the area for many years, was aware of this marginalisation and with support from the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) decided to do something about it. The result is CDIT – the Centre for Documentation and Information Technology – which serves as an internet café and development library for those in Lichinga who are interested in development. ACORD Niassa, also involved in the coordination of development activities between NGOs and the administration in Niassa, is now exploring ways of building on the experience of the CDIT to share research, stimulate debate about development issues and reinforce links to what is happening elsewhere in Mozambique and the rest of Africa. Is CDIT a model that we could repeat elsewhere in Africa to overcome the isolation of those working on the margins of its society? See www.acord.org.uk for further details of ACORD's Mozambique programmes. i) NAMIBIA: Hand over to local NGO ACORD's Total Child Programme in Namibia is about to be transferred to a local Namibian NGO and will be funded by the Bernard van Leer Foundation. For details of the Total Child Programme see www.acord.org.uk j) SAHEL (MALI): Inter Pares and DFID Civil Society Fund provide support in the Sahel Inter Pares has provided funds to support ACORD's Sahel I Area Programme and the institutional capacity building support programme for local initiatives for peace and development in Timbuktu, Mali. The DFID Civil Society Fund has put £250,000 over four years towards ACORD's programme which supports pastoralist communities in northern Mali and the Sahel (MAL/12). k) SUDAN: ACORD Juba
Office and staff under attack Eight members of staff from ACORD's Emergency and Capacity Building programme in Juba, Bhar El Jebal, spent more than five terrifying hours trapped within suffocating programme offices while they took shelter from cross fires in the street on August 2, 2002. No rescue operation could be undertaken due to the intensity of the firing. The offices in which they had taken refuge were then shelled fortunately causing only damage to the upper building, the programme vehicles and store. No member of staff was seriously injured, though many were severely stressed and traumatised by the event. Some have not yet fully recovered. l) TANZANIA: Isle of Man supports governance and basic rights in Karagwe. The Isle Of Man has provided support for ACORD's governance and basic rights programme in Karagwe. The programme, started in October 2000, works in 15 villages in the most remote area of Karagwe District. This is where the influx of Rwandan refugee into Tanzania between 1994-1996 had the greatest impact on livelihood. The programme has recently seen improvements in governance through closer partnership between local government and the local communities; it has identified and promoted strategies for increasing gender equality, increasing awareness of critical issues for women such as land rights and land tenure, while promoting information availability and accessibility to support them in brokering negotiations with public authorities. HIV/AIDS awareness has increased and the capacity for good care within the community has improved. For further details of our work in Tanzania see www.acord.org.uk m) UGANDA (Northern): Oxfam Hong Kong provides support to northern Uganda conflict programme ACORD has recently received funding from Oxfam Hong Kong for its Northern Uganda programme that supports internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the Acholi sub-region (Gulu and Kitgum) through the creation of an environment that is conducive to sustainable peace and long term development. The programme is aimed at building the capacity of IDPs through an integrated programme of research, dialogue, advocacy and psycho-social support, to realise their development potential and human rights while progressively working towards resettlement. ACORD has worked with local partners in
Northern Uganda since 1979 to address a variety of problems under a
wide range of programmes. The early years intervention focused on
supporting the rehabilitation of physical infrastructures, but most of
this work was destroyed during the armed conflict which began in 1986.
After critical reflection, ACORD shifted its support for initiatives
aimed at helping people, survive, recover and cope with the rapidly
changing situations brought about by conflict and violence. ACORDs
new, wider programme (UGA/21) is now involved in ongoing debates and
policy formation to initiate institutional changes required to enable
programmes and projects to promote wider dialogue on conflict issues,
the development of a more inclusive democratic form of governance and
other critical issues related to Human Rights, discrimination and
social exclusion.
The Uganda People's Defence Forces (UPDF) this week gave over 600,000 people in Pader, Gulu and Kitgum districts 48 hours to assemble in "protected camps". This act, according to Brigadier Aronda Nyakairima, is to pave the way for a major and final military offensive against the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) in Northern Uganda. See a report by George Omona, ACORD Area Programme Manager, Northern Uganda, on www.acord.org.uk/e-news/No5/Art6.htm 3. USEFUL
RESOURCES The Dialogue to Action website features lots of new resources to keep leaders in dialogue and civic engagement informed, involved and inspired. b) WEBSITE: Southern Links For sharp analyses, news from a Global South perspective and insights into global development issues. This is a unique portal of information and links to the forces that are shaping the future. For further information, e-mail Southern Links on enquiry@southernlinks.org or phone +44 (0) 208 352 3621. c) PUBLICATION: There is an alternativehttp://www.zedbooks.demon.co.uk/home.htm Edited By Veronika Bennholdt-Thomsen,
Nicholas Faraclas And Claudia Von http://www.kit.nl and www.kit.nl/information_services The Royal Tropical Institute(KIT),
based in the Netherlands and working internationally on development
studies, provides one of the world's largest collections of scientific
and popular books and journals, articles and maps on developing
countries. It currently has over 250,000 publications, 18,000
periodicals and an on-line catalogue. KIT's Information Services
provides CD-Rom's, databases and www.odi.org.uk/publications/aug2002_colour_web.pdf f) IIED: Sustainable Development 4. MEMBERS
NEWS bi) INTER PARES: Inter Pares has put CAN $25,000 towards supporting ACORD's organisational change process. Inter Pares is one of ACORD's 10 members and works overseas and in Canada in support of self-help development groups, and in the promotion of understanding about the causes, effects and solutions to under-development and poverty. bii) INTER PARES: Inter Pares has recently moved and is now located at: 221 Laurier Avenue East, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1N 6P1. Tel: (1-613) 594 4704 biii) INTER PARES:
'We are the Other' c) VREDESEILANDEN: Sign the petition
and wage a war on hunger Vredeseilanden http://www.vredeseilanden.be is an independent development organisation based in Belgium supporting programmes in fourteen countries in Africa, Latin America, Asia and Flanders. Vredeseilanden does not implement its own programmes, but supports initiatives of 150 organisations, farmers' and women's groups. Its main focus is on projects which are directly or indirectly concerned with food security, the universal right to adequate wholesome food. d) LIST OF MEMBERS
5.
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