Indian Ngo

Latest NGO's News Dated on January 27th,2012

2012-01-26T21:57:00.000-08:00

American NGO workers prevented from leaving Egypt

Son of US transportation secretary among several election monitors placed on 'no-fly list' as tension with Cairo escalates

Tension between the US government and the Egyptian military authorities has reached a new peak after it emerged that several American non-governmental workers, including the son of a member of President Obama's administration, are being prevented from leaving the country in an ongoing spat over Egypt's recent parliamentary elections.

Sam LaHood, the son of the US transportation secretary Ray LaHood, was turned back at the airport in Cairo on Saturday in a significant escalation of the diplomatic stand-off between the two countries. LaHood heads the Egyptian outpost of the International Republican Institute, a conservative-leaning think tank that had been monitoring the elections held in recent weeks in the wake of the toppling of President Hosni Mubarak.

According to Politico he was placed on a "no-fly list", without explanation, after he tried to board a plane in an attempt to escape rising hostility towards his and other foreign NGOs. LaHood had previously been named in the state-run press in Cairo.

Lorne Craner, president of IRI, said that Egyptian officials quizzed about the no-fly policy had told the institute that they were still completing their investigations following the December raids and that they might "go to trial soon".

"That's pretty disquieting – to have that kind of thing raised by an ally that's receiving a billion and a half dollars in US aid each year," Craner said.

He added that the Obama administration was working very hard to ameliorate the crisis. All five IRI workers in Cairo who have been put on the no-fly list, three of whom are American, are still free to move around the country and have their passports.

Craner said that at first the military generals had responded to the raids as though they were utterly unaware of what had happened. "But it's been nearly a month since then and the generals have been approached on a number of occasions and yet things have only got worse. So you have to wonder what's going on," he said.

The move follows a raid conducted on 29 December against 17 NGOs by Egyptian security forces in which computers, money and documents were seized. President Obama raised the harassment of US and other foreign NGOs in a phone conversation with the Egyptian military chief Field Marshal Tantawi on 20 January.

It is understood that six workers in the Cairo office of the National Democratic Institute, three of them American, have also been told they may not leave the country. NDI was among several groups involved in election monitoring.

News of the no-fly lists prompted a rash of diplomatic activity and public condemnation against the actions of the Egyptian authorities. John McCain, the US senator for Arizona, said that he had watched events in Egypt with "growing alarm and outrage. It's outrageous that these individuals would be held against their will by Egyptian authorities and prohibited from leaving the country."

The escalation poses a sensitive diplomatic challenge for the Obama administration. The US government is coming under mounting pressure from Congress to suspend the $2bn in aid it gives Cairo every year, largely in the form of military assistance.

While needing to be seen to protest against the Egyptian military junta's resistance to democratic change and ongoing human rights violations, the administration is also keen not to destabilise its relationship with one of its key allies in the region.

The timing of the move against the foreign workers comes as a further blow to the reform movement in Egypt that has been pushing for real democratic change in the wake of last year's popular uprising against Mubarak. The first democratically-elected parliament to sit in Egypt in 60 years convened on Monday, raising hopes that the junta would honour its promise to cede power in June.
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Questions raised about foreign aid link with resource development

The Conservative government is fundamentally realigning the way Canada delivers foreign aid, using private-sector partners in the mining and agricultural sectors. In some instances the government's aid agency is even helping write legislation regulating the mining industry in developing countries.

But if the policy direction at the Canadian International Aid Agency seems to blur the line between Canada's economic interests and international development goals, it is not something that worries International Co-operation Minister Bev Oda. When asked, during an interview with the Citizen, how she separates Canada's trade and foreign policy interests from Canadian development goals, she replied: "I really don't separate them."

"I think if we can increase the capacity of any country to become a global trading partner, if they've got products Canadians need, we can import them, and if Canada has products they would like, Canada can export them."

And Oda says she wants to see more partnerships between aid agencies and companies to help deliver Canadian aid around the world.

"Our government is very much looking to increase its relationships with the private sector," she said, adding that she would like to see such relationships between NGOs and corporations in manufacturing, agriculture and tourism, in addition to the extractive industry.

Oda said Canada's expertise in the mining and extraction industries — Canada is a global leader in mining — provides "added value" when it comes to international development. "It's another way of improving the effectiveness of CIDA's work," she said.

It is a direction that has divided the foreign aid community and has critics asking whether Canada's international aid strategy has been overtaken by the country's economic interests.

Liberal MP John McKay, who has pushed for more accountability for Canadian mining companies working overseas, calls the policy direction regrettable. "I don't think that poor peoples' money should be, first and foremost, used to benefit our economic interests."

Many of the countries CIDA works in have burgeoning resource development industries and, in many cases, Canadian companies are already there and would like to expand. Oda said helping these countries develop their resources and establish stable economic foundations is the best way to reduce poverty over the long term. CIDA will even help developing countries draft mining legislation to better attract foreign investment, she said. Such investment, she said, builds the economy and reduces poverty.

She pointed to a recently announced CIDA-funded project in which Canadian NGO Plan International Canada is working with the mining company Iamgold Corp. to train young people "in occupations directly related to the mining sector or other sectors surrounding this industry."

"These are all skills that can be left behind, that these people can take to other areas," Oda said. When mining companies from other countries, such as China, go into developing nations, she noted, they bring their own workforce.

The policy direction takes place against the backdrop of the federal government's corporate social responsibility strategy which, according to CIDA documents, is aimed at "improving the competitive advantage of Canadian international extractive sector companies by enhancing their ability to manage social and environmental risk." CIDA's role in the strategy is to help developing countries manage their minerals, oil and gas "and to benefit from these resources to reduce poverty."

The very title of the federal government's CSR strategy, Building the Canadian Advantage: A Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy for the Canadian International Extractive Sector, "suggests that it is corporations that are intended as the real beneficiaries of CSR initiatives," said Catherine Coumans of the group MiningWatch, "with collaborating NGOs following in second place."

The foreign aid link with resource development is likely to be controversial because of the obvious self-interest for Canada. As home to about 75 per cent of global mining companies, any policy that helps open up mining markets around the world or smooths the way for companies already there, will benefit Canada. And it raises legitimate questions about what happens when the government's foreign aid direction clashes with Canada's economic interests.

In recent years some Canadian mining companies have worked to overcome growing concern about the environmental and social impacts of mining around the world — concerns heightened by specific cases in which mining companies were accused of human rights abuses and environmental damage. Many companies have recognized they need a social licence to operate and have adopted corporate social responsibility policies. Partnerships with NGOs, supported by the federal government, are part of this direction.

But linking development assistance to resource development results in mixed motives for CIDA, according to McKay. "Is this for alleviation of poverty, to further our economic and corporate interests, or for gaining influence in particular industries? That has been the problem with CIDA all along: We have mixed motives."

"Why not just wind up CIDA and put it into the international trade portfolio if that is what it is being used for?"

The Canadian aid agencies that are working with mining companies on the pilot projects announced by Oda last fall defend the initiatives as worthwhile and beneficial.

"When NGOS are working in these countries, should we do nothing, or should we roll up our sleeves and push these companies to do better. It is easy to stand on the sidelines and be sanctimonious," said Plan Canada CEO Rosemary McCarney, a founding member of the Devonshire Initiative, which is based on the belief that the Canadian mining and NGO presence in emerging markets can be a force for positive change.

McCarney dismisses critics who say working with mining companies compromises NGOs.

"This is not going to compromise our perspective or our ability to speak out on development practices," she added. Plan Canada is working with Iamgold on a $5.7-million CIDA-funded skills-training project in Burkina Faso. The company contributed $1 million to the project.

McCarney said Plan thought long and hard before getting involved in the project and made sure it was comfortable working with the company and with the project.

"It took a lot of courage, it also took a lot of homework for us. Our reputation is everything for an NGO. You have to partner carefully and purposefully and have your eyes wide open."
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NGOs seek tit-for-tat rules on visas

BEIRUT: More than 20 civil society groups called on the government Wednesday to treat foreign nationals who wish to visit Lebanon the same way their countries treat Lebanese when they apply for visas, expressing frustration that Lebanese are treated as “inferior” by many countries.

The groups also called on the government to pressure states to treat Lebanese decently.

“We call on the Lebanese state to force states with which it maintains diplomatic ties to treat the Lebanese the same way Lebanon treats the nationals from these states,” activist Hayat Arslan told a news conference at her residence in Aley which was attended by representatives of nearly two dozen associations.

“We are treated as inferior when we seek a visa to most countries, whether for work, tourism or medical treatment, as if we are second class people,” she added.

Arslan called on the government to enforce certain rules governing how embassies treat Lebanese.

According to Arslan, Lebanon should force foreign embassies to set dates for appointments for Lebanese seeking visas within a “specified and plausible period of hours or days, rather than weeks or months.”

The civil society groups also requested that Lebanese applying for a visa be treated decently, be given explanations if their request for an appointment is rejected, be notified if any necessary documents for a visa application are missing and have fees returned to them by consulates or embassies if they are denied a visa.
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Bahrain u-turns on pledge to give NGOs unfettered access
The Bahrain Government has denied a leading Human Rights activist entry to the country earlier this month, despite recent assurances that NGOs would have full access to the Kingdom.

Bahrain suggested Human Rights First’s (HRF’s) Brian Dooley’s delay his visit until March, a step Dooley’s branded a “terrible signal” to the regime’s crackdown on those asking for democratic reform.

The latest denial comes less than two weeks after Bahrain refused to admit Rick Sollom of the Physicians for Human Rights.

“Bahrain’s decision to block observers from entering the Kingdom only suggests its Government has something to hide,” Dooley said in a statement to The Muslim News.

“They may talk a good game, but denying or delaying access to human rights organizations undermines their claim to have learned from past mistakes.”

In a letter to Bahrain’s Minister of Human Rights and Social Development, Fatima Al Balooshi, Dooley said his ban was surprising given the Government’s recent claims that NGOs would have unfettered access.

In a meeting with Al Balooshi on November 24, Dooley was guaranteed that NGOs would be granted access to the Gulf Island if they gave five days’ notice of their arrival.

In addition, on October 21, Bahrain Minister for Foreign Affairs, Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, assured Dooley and other observers that NGOs would not be denied access to the kingdom.

In his letter to Al Balooshi, Dooley said. “At the release of the BICI [Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry] report in November, HRH King Hamad assured the world that ‘any Government which has a sincere desire for reform and progress understands the benefit of objective and constructive criticism,’ and that the day of the BICI report ‘turns a new page of history.’ Delaying or denying access to independent human rights observers runs counter to these statements.”
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Syria Chaos claims ICRC Aid Official
SYRIA- Local Syrian NGOs along with International ones condemned late on Wednesday the killing of Secretary General of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent Dr. Abdel Razaq Jbeiro and a Christian priest the Rev. Basilious Nasser on Wednesday.

Syrian Arab Red Crescent Dr. Jbeiro was shot dead Wednesday as he travelled outside the capital Damascus in a clearly marked vehicle, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said.

Doctor Abd-al-Razzaq Jbeiro, also head of the Red Crescent branch in the northern town of Idlib, was on the highway to Idlib from Damascus after attending meetings at Red Crescent headquarters, the agency said in a statement.

"Regardless of the circumstances, the ICRC condemns this very severely," Beatrice Megevand-Roggo, head of ICRC operations for the Near and Middle East, told Reuters in Geneva.

In a statement expressing shock at the killing, the International Committee of the Red Cross called on “all those involved in the violence” to spare Red Cross and Red Crescent staff members.

“The exclusively humanitarian aim of the Red Crescent and Red Cross is to bring aid in a fully impartial and neutral manner to people in need,” the statement said.

She added that the "lack of respect for medical services" remained a major issue in Syria.

"The president of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, Dr. AbdulRahman al-Attar, said that he has "officially requested the Syrian authorities to launch an investigation into the death of Dr. Jbeiro," the ICRC said in a statement.

Syria official media reported Wednesday “The Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) denounced the assassination of head of Red Crescent Branch in Idleb Dr. Abdel Razaq Jbeiro, who was gunned down by armed terrorist group on Wednesday in Khan Shekhoun.”

Syrian state television blamed "terrorists" for the killing, saying he had been "assassinated" in Khan Sheikhoun district.

State-run SANA news agency added “A statement issued by the three organizations said that the news of Dr. Jbeiro's death was a great shock, pointing out that Jbeiro was on his way back to work after the conclusion of meetings held in Damascus, and that he was in a car clearly carrying the distinct logo and symbol of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent.”

Dr. Jbeiro, born in 1945, had also previously worked as director of Idlib hospital.

Megevand-Roggo, who had just returned from a two-week trip to Syria, Yemen and Lebanon, told Reuters that checkpoints and harassment in Syria prevented ambulances and medical workers from evacuating and treating the wounded, some of whom have died as a result.

"It is very difficult for the wounded, notably those among the opposition forces, to get access to necessary medical care. It is difficult for medical personnel to do their work without being under pressure," she said. "Lives have been lost."

"There have been repeated incidents where Red Crescent ambulances have been shot at, our volunteers have been wounded. Their work is very dangerous," she added to Reuters.

"Protests started out as non-violent but today the situation is one of widespread violence in the country because many arms are circulating and many people use them, Megevand-Roggo said.

"Our access remains fairly random, we cannot go places with any regularity or frequency, some areas are more problematic than others," she said. "We'd like to develop a more regular and frequent presence in affected areas, including rural zones."

The ICRC started visiting prisoners in Syria for the first time last September, including the central prison in Damascus.

But it has been unable to carry out further visits to detention centers due to a disagreement with Syrian authorities over the ICRC's standard terms, she said.

"The dialogue is difficult, we are in a situation of stagnation regarding the possibility for us to resume our activities and visit other detention centers," she said.

ICRC terms worldwide include the right to interview prisoners privately about their treatment and conditions of detention and to make follow-up visits.

Syrian authorities say that more than 5,000 detainees were released under Bashar's latest amnesty this month, although activists say this still leaves many thousands more behind bars.

"There are certainly several thousand detainees. We have very little information on the situation," Megevand-Roggo said. "The most urgent thing is to be able to tell families where their loved ones are being held and to facilitate contact between them."

The ICRC is the only international agency deploying aid workers in Syria. A local Red Crescent volunteer was killed and three others were injured in the flashpoint city of Homs last September when an ambulance came under heavy fire.

More than 5,000 people have been killed in a 10-month-old uprising against President Bashar al-Assad`s regime, the United Nations said last month.
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3 NGOs De-registered by the Registrar of Societies

Three non-governmental organisations have been de-registered by the Registrar of Societies.

They include the Committee of Citizens, Leadership Environment and Development Southern Africa and the Evangelical Youth Alliance International.

Chief Registrar of Societies Clement Andeleki has confirmed the development in a press statement issued to ZNBC News on Tuesday.

Mr Andeleki has explained that the three organisations have been operating illegally, failed to pay annual returns and failed to comply with their terms of registration.

He has also reminded political parties, clubs, charity organisations and churches to pay their annual returns by 31st March, 2012.

But Committee of Citizens Executive Director Gregory Chifire has maintained that his organisation is still a legal entity.

Mr Chifire has challenged the Registrar of Societies to check his records and tell the nation the truth.

He says the action has not surprised him, describing it as a political gimick by the PF government.

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No one cares about the welfare of internal migrant labourers

Rajiv Khandelwal is the founder and director of Aajeevika Bureau, a specialised public initiative based in Udaipur that provides services to thousands of migrant workers from impoverished rural areas who enter urban labour markets for seasonal employment.

Aajeevika Bureau is an attempt to address the problems associated with exhaustion of rural resources and the inevitability of migration among rural youth.

Khandelwal’s team at the Bureau has designed a number of innovative solutions for migrants, including registration and photo ID services, vocational training, employment counselling, legal aid, financial services, and destination support.

The Bureau also actively seeks to influence policy around rural migration and has presented strong alternatives to the government, donors and research agencies.
Aajeevika Bureau’s work has been picked up by a number of organisations in high-migration states like Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Orissa, Bihar and Maharashtra.

In this interview, Khandelwal explains what India’s growth story means for internal migrants who have both fuelled and fed off the country’s development. He suggests a possible course of civil society action and state policy for this large, growing, yet overlooked segment of our population.

What implications does the India growth story have for internal migration?

The truth is that India’s growth story is essentially fuelled by internal migration, and India will grow as internal migration increases. They both fuel and feed off each other.

A lot of the benefits of growth, however, actually skip large sections of migrant workers. They may be contributing significantly to high-growth industry and services, but the returns for them continue to be low.

Wages in our country are among the lowest anywhere in the world and that does not look likely to change anytime soon. India’s economic growth, in fact, is a success story because of unbridled distress migration by the country’s poor.

How have the state, markets and civil society shaped the discourse on internal migration?

I would say that migrant workers are neglected by all three major columns of society.

The state has largely ignored migrant workers, mainly because it perceives internal migration, or the relentless shift of people from villages to cities, as a problem. In fact, a lot of the state’s programmes are driven by the agenda to keep people in villages.

The National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, for example, is built around the need to help people find local employment. Little is said about the fact that the NREGS does not fully answer people’s need to migrate.

NGOs have divided their work into rural, urban, farmers, artisans, women, children, and so on. Very few NGOs actually define migrant workers as a segment requiring attention. NGOs’ work with unorganised sector workers in the labour market is actually very limited.

Even NGOs based in urban areas that receive large waves of migrant workers barely recognise these groups as candidates for support -- they are seen as mobile or unavailable. Large trade unions too have left out unorganised sector workers because they are difficult to bring together and mobilise and do not represent significant political gains for them.

Large corporations and the urban industrial economy, I think, are enjoying the benefits of this neglect of migrant workers. In the scenario of deregulation and lax labour laws, they reap the dubious and short-term benefits of a casual and informal workforce.

On whom does the onus lie to ensure that internal migrant workers are not excluded from policy responses and protective measures?

I think the onus has to mainly lie with the state. There is a strong argument, and I agree with it, that in the case of workers in the informal economy, where the relationship between employer and worker is not very clearly established, the state should be seen as the principal employer. It is the state’s responsibility that workers in the informal economy are protected and given services and social security benefits.

With increasing numbers of migrant workers, I also see a significant role for trade unions and NGOs. Large numbers of rural people now live in cities, even if seasonally.

India will be poor in its cities, not just in its rural areas anymore. The focus of civil society attention has to start shifting similarly. They have to start seeing migrants as major candidates for services, support and advocacy.

When we talk of the role of NGOs and trade unions, are there any concrete examples or interventions on their part?

In the case of interventions by NGOs and civil society, I am happy to say that attention is now growing. Our organisation, Aajeevika Bureau, for instance, has specifically focused on issues of migrant workers.

We have worked both at the ‘source’, in Rajasthan, and at the ‘destination’, in Gujarat. We also work and collaborate with a number of organisations across the country in high-migration settings and help them in their programmes for migrant groups.

These organisations work in high-migration corridors like Orissa to Andhra Pradesh and Kerala, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh to Mumbai, and corridors within Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Gujarat.

The number of organisations is steadily increasing, although it is nowhere close to the scale of the problem. I would say that there is a need to see more trade union involvement in this sector and new forms of trade union activity among migrant workers in some of the sectors that I mentioned earlier. I think that aspect still remains poorly covered.

We have the Inter-State Migrant Workmen Act (ISMW Act). What has its implementation been like?

The ISMW Act is an obsolete piece of legislation. It was drafted in the mid-’70s and in the very specific context of inter-state movement of labour. It largely governs contractors and attempts to bring them under some kind of regulation, which is desirable.

But there are several facets of internal migration that have opened up since then, which the ISMW Act does not even consider. If anything, there is a need to re-draft the legislation itself and bring some specific industries within its ambit -- especially industries that are known to hire unskilled, vulnerable, migrant groups.

This would include industries like construction, head-loading, low-end retail, manufacturing, hospitality and brick-kiln work. Trade unions, NGOs, workers’ organisations and the government need to come together to push for new legislation for migrant workers.

We’ve now gathered that the primary response should come from the state. But the interventions that we’ve seen so far have been coming largely from civil society. How scaleable do you think their interventions are? And what is their ability to influence state responses and policies, and change the current discourse on migration?

Some of the work that civil society is doing -- for instance the move to issue migrants an ID, provide them with skills training, offer legal protection, and financial services -- is highly scaleable.

They are not unique to a specific geography; they are fairly universal solutions that can be taken to any geography and any group of migrants across the country. Of course, civil society is limited by its resources, its networks and its ability to deliver.

Therefore, it can partner well with governments to deliver these services. I think that the replicability is in the content. How it should be done, how we roll it out now over a larger area with a greater number of groups is a matter of state definition.

The state can work closely with civil society towards that end. I would come back to the need to show working models in these corridors. It will also bring some inter-state coordination to the front. It will show how the governments of Orissa, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Maharashtra can work together, and how organisations across these geographies can work together. Unless that coordination is cracked, between source and destination, we will not be able to scale up services significantly.

Secondly, a lot of investment is coming into urban infrastructural improvement and improvement of urban services. These services can start looking at the presence of large populations that are present seasonally, not permanently. Services can be designed around the presence of temporary workers, which is another potential for scale because a lot of investment is now happening in urban areas.

The discourse will be changed by practice, not purely by research. A combination of research and practice will change the discourse. The fact that there are national symposiums, conferences, debates and inquiries around the issue of internal migration shows that some effect is already taking place.

There is a fair bit of recognition of the success that is happening in pockets of the country, wherever work with migrants is taking place. The discourse will obviously change when the state adopts it wholesale and accepts it as its development agenda.

This will take some time, but the fact that civil society is contributing to working functioning models on the ground will be the tipping point for the discourse, not just research or policy analysis. - Infochange News & Features
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Activists in Egypt to hold massive rally today

CAIRO Egyptian activists are preparing for a mass rally on Friday, after they spent the night in Cairo’s Tahrir Square marking the first anniversary of the uprising that ousted president Hosni Mubarak.

In an interesting development on Thursday, the Muslim Brotherhood, the big winners of the parliamentary vote, said it will not field a candidate for the Egyptian presidency.

“The Muslim Brotherhood will not support (former member) Abdel Moneim Abul Fotouh or any candidate who has an Islamic reference in the presidential elections,” he said, quoted by Egypt’s news agency Mena.

Also on Thursday, the country’s military authorities told several American pro-democracy activists, including the son of a member of US President Barack Obama’s cabinet, that they cannot leave the country, in what one of those affected called a “de facto detention”.

At least 27 pro-democracy groups have called for the rally to press for democratic change, with marches to set off from mosques after the noon Muslim prayer towards Tahrir, the National Front for Justice and Democracy said.

Egypt’s press on Thursday hailed the “revival” of the revolution after massive crowds took to the streets in Cairo, the Mediterranean city of Alexandria, the canal city of Suez and in the Nile Delta and Sinai peninsula.

“The revolution continues,” trumpeted the independent daily Al Shorouq, saying millions of Egyptians wanted to see “the end of military rule.”

“The people want the continuation of the revolution,” proclaimed the state-owned Al Ahram, above a large picture of massive crowds thronging Tahrir Square — the symbolic heart of the Egyptian protests.

Protesters spent a peaceful Wednesday night in Tahrir Square, despite weeks of warnings by the military council and state media of possible trouble.

Egypt’s bourse on Thursday spiked 7.18 per cent in a buying spree, after the peaceful and orderly rallies. The main EGX-30 index reached 4432.99 points at the close of trading.

“The Muslim Brotherhood will not support (former member) Abdel Moneim Abul Fotouh or any candidate who has an Islamic reference in the presidential elections,” he said, quoted by Egypt’s news agency Mena.

He said the movement would “reach an agreement with all national powers on the qualifications of the upcoming president,” stressing that “the demands of the Egyptian nation are on the top of the Muslim Brotherood’s priorities.”

The Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) won 235 seats in the new People’s Assembly, or 47.18 per cent, while the ultra-conservative Salafist Al Nur party came second with 121 seats.

Describing a travel ban that may add to strains with its US ally, officials at two prominent US-funded NGOs said on Thursday that 10 of their staff must stay in Egypt.

They said the orders were related to judicial investigations launched last month into a number of NGOs for alleged violations of rules relating to the registration of organisations in Egypt.

Among those targeted is Sam LaHood, Egypt director of the International Republican Institute, whose father Ray LaHood is US Transportation Secretary.

Sam LaHood had tried to fly out from Cairo on Saturday and was told that he could not leave, one NGO official said.

The US urged Egypt to lift travel bans placed the NGO officials.

“We are urging the government of Egypt to lift these restrictions immediately and allow these folks to come home as soon as possible,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told a news briefing.
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Rape, corruption in camps blight lives of Somali displaced
MOGADISHU (AlertNet) - Nurto Isak's food rations are feeding her, her three children, and -- she suspects -- the militiamen guarding the camp in Mogadishu where she and other uprooted Somalis have taken refuge.

The city is host to more than 180,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) who, like Isak, have fled a killer combination of conflict, drought and hunger back home.

Many risk long, difficult journeys to reach the capital, their sights set on the numerous aid agencies that have set up relief operations to hand out food and treat malnutrition there.

Yet many people at various IDP settlements in the war-torn city complain that food aid is not reaching them and accuse local aid workers working for international and Somali NGOs of taking it to line their own pockets.

"Half of the rations intended for our camp is given to the warlord whose militia are said to be guarding us," Isak told AlertNet (www.trust.org/alertnet), a humanitarian news service run by Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Many of the displaced said women were being raped in camps, while others lamented a lack of jobs, health clinics and schools despite the increased presence of aid groups.

Six months after famine was declared in parts of Somalia, the Horn of Africa country remains in the grip of a humanitarian crisis, with 4 million people in need of aid, according to U.N. figures.

However, fighting between government forces and Islamist rebels, combined with attacks on aid workers and a history of aid being manipulated for political gain, means Somalia is one of the toughest countries for relief agencies to operate in.

As such, it is a classic case study of the obstacles to effective aid as highlighted in an AlertNet poll of 41 leading relief agencies published on Thursday.

In the survey, more than half the experts cited increasingly complex disasters as one of the biggest challenges to aid delivery -- with the use of aid as a political weapon and violence against relief workers also featuring highly.

Last month two staff working for Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) were shot dead by a colleague in Mogadishu, while earlier this month the International Committee of the Red Cross suspended food distribution to 1.1 million people after al Shabaab rebels blocked deliveries to areas under the militant group's control.

"This is one of the most complex environments for humanitarians," said U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Somalia, Mark Bowden, in response to the claims by displaced people that food rations were being sold by local aid workers.

"Despite continued efforts to strengthen our monitoring systems, allegations still and will continue," he said in a statement to AlertNet.

FAST BUCK

Some of the IDP camps -- little more than a clutch of flimsy shelters made of sticks and cloth -- are directly and indirectly run by government forces or warlords linked to the government, residents say.

Shukri Aden, a resident at another camp, said she had witnessed traders buying food supplies directly from a number of local staff working for NGOs and aid agencies responsible for distributing food in her camp.

"Traders park their cars and lorries beside the camp when it is food distribution day," the mother of six said.

Once a month residents of the camps are handed a card that allows them to collect 25 kg of rice, 25 kg of wheat flour, 10 kg of sugar and 5 liters of cooking oil, Aden said.

But often they are pressured into handing their rations to a local aid worker who pays them around $5 each -- hardly enough to buy food for a day.

The aid worker then sells the food at a marked-up price to a trader, earning thousands of dollars in profits, she said.

"They give us cards to take food but we rarely receive the ration," said Aden, who has taken to begging and washing clothes to scrape together a few more shillings to feed her family.

RAPED AT GUNPOINT

A few miles away in Dinsoor IDP camp, Kadija Mohamed, 36, told AlertNet she was raped.

"Three armed men in government uniform came into the camp. The strongest one shone a powerful torch in my eyes, he strangled me and then raped me in front of my crying kids," she said.

Mohamed, a widow, said she waited for sunrise before making her way to a nearby clinic only to be told there were no doctors.

"Later the camp leaders brought me some painkillers. Now I'm OK but I do not know what diseases I caught from the rape. I have nowhere to go for a check-up," Mohamed said. "We live in these makeshift shelters. We have no aid agency or government to protect us at night. We are at God's mercy."

Isak also said rape was common in her camp.

"They rape even mothers at gunpoint at night -- and we are threatened to death should we disclose it," she said. "The makeshift shelters have no lockable doors, so these men just come in at night and lie on you."

In its January 18 report, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said sexual violence against women and girls was continuing in Somalia. It also said security in the IDP settlements was insufficient and at risk of deteriorating.

QUESTION OF PRIORITIES

Mohamed's brother, Macalim Ibrahim, 40, reserved his biggest criticism for government officials and local aid workers.

"These local aid workers are building houses with the sale of food intended for the poor displaced people like us," he told AlertNet. "We are deprived and yet have no government or aid agencies to ask for help."

He also questioned the effectiveness of some of the aid that has been given.

"Many NGOs come, take our photos, and never come back. For example, one aid agency came and erected this school building made of iron sheets," Ibrahim said.

"We brought our kids to the school but it did not work more than 7 days. The guys took footage of the kids at school and never came back. And the teachers disappeared.

"Other aid agencies came and built these latrines. That is good but a hungry man never goes to the toilet. We need food and water to survive," he said.
-----------------------------------------
FEATURE-Rape, corruption in camps blight lives of Somali displaced

MOGADISHU, Jan 26 (AlertNet) - Nurto Isak's food rations are feeding her, her three children, and -- she suspects -- the militiamen guarding the camp in Mogadishu where she and other uprooted Somalis have taken refuge.

The city is host to more than 180,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) who, like Isak, have fled a killer combination of conflict, drought and hunger back home.

Many risk long, difficult journeys to reach the capital, their sights set on the numerous aid agencies that have set up relief operations to hand out food and treat malnutrition there.

Yet many people at various IDP settlements in the war-torn city complain that food aid is not reaching them and accuse local aid workers working for international and Somali NGOs of taking it to line their own pockets.

"Half of the rations intended for our camp is given to the warlord whose militia are said to be guarding us," Isak told AlertNet (www.trust.org/alertnet), a humanitarian news service run by Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Many of the displaced said women were being raped in camps, while others lamented a lack of jobs, health clinics and schools despite the increased presence of aid groups.

Six months after famine was declared in parts of Somalia, the Horn of Africa country remains in the grip of a humanitarian crisis, with 4 million people in need of aid, according to U.N. figures.

However, fighting between government forces and Islamist rebels, combined with attacks on aid workers and a history of aid being manipulated for political gain, means Somalia is one of the toughest countries for relief agencies to operate in.

As such, it is a classic case study of the obstacles to effective aid as highlighted in an AlertNet poll of 41 leading relief agencies published on Thursday.

In the survey, more than half the experts cited increasingly complex disasters as one of the biggest challenges to aid delivery -- with the use of aid as a political weapon and violence against relief workers also featuring highly.

Last month two staff working for Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) were shot dead by a colleague in Mogadishu, while earlier this month the International Committee of the Red Cross suspended food distribution to 1.1 million people after al Shabaab rebels blocked deliveries to areas under the militant group's control.

"This is one of the most complex environments for humanitarians," said U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Somalia, Mark Bowden, in response to the claims by displaced people that food rations were being sold by local aid workers.

"Despite continued efforts to strengthen our monitoring systems, allegations still and will continue," he said in a statement to AlertNet.

FAST BUCK

Some of the IDP camps -- little more than a clutch of flimsy shelters made of sticks and cloth -- are directly and indirectly run by government forces or warlords linked to the government, residents say.

Shukri Aden, a resident at another camp, said she had witnessed traders buying food supplies directly from a number of local staff working for NGOs and aid agencies responsible for distributing food in her camp.

"Traders park their cars and lorries beside the camp when it is food distribution day," the mother of six said.

Once a month residents of the camps are handed a card that allows them to collect 25 kg of rice, 25 kg of wheat flour, 10 kg of sugar and 5 litres of cooking oil, Aden said.

But often they are pressured into handing their rations to a local aid worker who pays them around $5 each -- hardly enough to buy food for a day.

The aid worker then sells the food at a marked-up price to a trader, earning thousands of dollars in profits, she said.

"They give us cards to take food but we rarely receive the ration," said Aden, who has taken to begging and washing clothes to scrape together a few more shillings to feed her family.

RAPED AT GUNPOINT

A few miles away in Dinsoor IDP camp, Kadija Mohamed, 36, told AlertNet she was raped.

"Three armed men in government uniform came into the camp. The strongest one shone a powerful torch in my eyes, he strangled me and then raped me in front of my crying kids," she said.

Mohamed, a widow, said she waited for sunrise before making her way to a nearby clinic only to be told there were no doctors.

"Later the camp leaders brought me some painkillers. Now I'm OK but I do not know what diseases I caught from the rape. I have nowhere to go for a check-up," Mohamed said. "We live in these makeshift shelters. We have no aid agency or government to protect us at night. We are at God's mercy."

Isak also said rape was common in her camp.

"They rape even mothers at gunpoint at night -- and we are threatened to death should we disclose it," she said. "The makeshift shelters have no lockable doors, so these men just come in at night and lie on you."

In its Jan. 18 report, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said sexual violence against women and girls was continuing in Somalia. It also said security in the IDP settlements was insufficient and at risk of deteriorating.

QUESTION OF PRIORITIES
Mohamed's brother, Macalim Ibrahim, 40, reserved his biggest criticism for government officials and local aid workers.

"These local aid workers are building houses with the sale of food intended for the poor displaced people like us," he told AlertNet. "We are deprived and yet have no government or aid agencies to ask for help."

He also questioned the effectiveness of some of the aid that has been given.

"Many NGOs come, take our photos, and never come back. For example, one aid agency came and erected this school building made of iron sheets," Ibrahim said.

"We brought our kids to the school but it did not work more than 7 days. The guys took footage of the kids at school and never came back. And the teachers disappeared.

"Other aid agencies came and built these latrines. That is good but a hungry man never goes to the toilet. We need food and water to survive," he said.

Latest Jobs for NGO's Part-2 Dated on January 27th,2012

2012-01-26T21:17:00.000-08:00

TOR - of District Resource Person (DRP)- Program, DRP-Training and Monitoring & Evaluation- cum- Accounts Assistant for the districts of Ranchi, Dhanb
Plan International
Location: Jharkhand

Terms of Reference for the position of District Resource Person (DRP)- Program, DRP-Training and Monitoring & Evaluation- cum- Accounts Assistant for the districts of Ranchi, Dhanbad and East Singhbhum in the state of Jharkhand.

Background:

A project proposal is being submitted by Plan International (India Chapter) to Jharkhand State AIDS Control Society (JSACS) for being considered as ‘District Implementation Agency’ for implementation of Link Worker Scheme (LWS) in three districts (Ranchi, Dhanbad and East Singhbhum) in the state of Jharkhand.

The LWS is an intervention with a goal to address HIV prevention, care, support and treatment requirements in the above indicated districts and which mainly focuses on community involvement to enhance the uptake of the services on HIV.

The specific objectives of the project include:
• Reach out to High Risk Groups (HRGs) and vulnerable youth and women in rural areas with information, knowledge, skills on Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) including HIV prevention and risk reduction.
• Increase availability and use of condoms among HRGs and other vulnerable men and women
• Establish referral and follow-up linkages for various services including treatment of STIs, testing and treatment of Tuberculosis, referral to ICTC/PPTCT services, HIV care and support services including Antiretroviral treatment (ART)
• Creating an enabling environment for People Living with HIV (PLHIV) and their families, reducing stigma and discrimination against them through interactions with existing community structures/groups, e.e; Village Health Committees (VHC), Self Help Groups (SGHs) and Panchayati Raj Institutes (PRI)

The scheme will make an effort to build a community-centred model for rural areas

Position-1

District Resource Person (DRP)-Program (3)
This position will be based at the respective district hqrs. of Ranchi, Dhanbad and East Singhbhum. The selected person will be the lead person in steering district level activities. The incumbents will report to the Project Coordinator-Plan India, based at Ranchi.

Honorarium:
Rs. 20000/- (Rupess twenty thousand only) per month excluding travel and communication expenses for official purpose

Eligibility criteria:
• Should possess as Master’s degree in any discipline (preferably in Social Science) from a recognized university
• Should have a minimum of 3-5 years experience of development work, preferably in programme management
• HIV positive people, especially positive women, with the required qualifications and experience shoud be given preference
• The individual must have sensitivity of working with marginalized groups, including people affected by HIV/AIDS and high-risk groups, hands on experience of working on social mobilization and community based projects and experience of working with varied partners

Key Skill areas:
• Programme management – Ability to draw up action plans, work plans for different cadres with prioritization, review programme implementation, provide inputs to programme design tailored to the district situation and provide supervisory inputs to the different cadres of personnel in the sheme
• Linkages – Competence to work with different departments in the government at the district level, civil society partners including positive networks, PRI members and other divisions under NACP-III (National AIDS Control Program-III) at the district level.
• Reporting - Capability to interpret reports and feed back into programme implementation, share results in an easy to understand manner with Supervisors and Link Workers, compile programme updates and share highlights and challenges
• Fund management – Know-how to work with allocated funds, supervise M & E cum accounts assistant on submission of accounts and budget preparation

Child protection Policy:
This is a level 2 assignment since there may be some direct contact with children ,the agency/ consultant/s will be asked to sign and adhere to Plan’s Child protection policy.

Position-2:

District Resource Person (DRP)-Training (3)
This position will be based at the respective district hqrs. of Ranchi, Dhanbad and East Singhbhum. The incumbents will report to DRP-Program at the respective districts.

Honararium:
Rs. 15000/- (Rupess fifteen thousand only) per month excluding travel and communication expenses for official purpose

Eligibility criteria:
• Should possess a Master’s degree in any discipline (preferably in Social sciences) from a recognized university
• Must have proficiency in the local language and dialects
• Should have a minimum of 2 years experience in training and pedagogy especially in social sectors like SHG movement, watershed movement, literacy etc.
• HIV positive people, especially positive women, with the required qualifications and experience should be given preference
• The individual must have sensitivity of working with marginalized groups, including people affected by HIV/AIDS and high-risk groups, hands on experience of working on social mobilization and community based projects and experience of working with varied partners

Key Skill areas:
Ability to draw up training plans, prepare reports, conduct training on needs assessment, hand hold and mentor, design training sessions and coordinate its implementation.

Responsibility of DRP (Training):
1. Ensure training of in-house staff e.g. M & E cum Accounts Assistants, Supervisors and Link Workers
2. Ensure training activities are conducted as per the plan define in the Operational Guidelines
3. Maintain rapport with local health units and facilitate access to services
4. Coordinate with the Supervisors in their work
5. Conduct orientation training of local health functionaries like ANM, ASHA, AWW, VHSC members etc

Child protection Policy:
This is a level 2 assignment since there may be some direct contact with children ,the agency/ consultant/s will be asked to sign and adhere to Plan’s Child protection policy.

Position-3:

M & E cum Accounts Assistant (3)

This position will be based at the respective district hqrs. of Ranchi, Dhanbad and East Singhbhum. The incumbents will report to DRP-Program at the respective districts.

Honararium:
Rs. 10000/- (Rupess ten thousand only) per month excluding travel and communication expenses for official purpose

Eligibility criteria:
• Should possess a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce/Financial Accounting from a recognized university, with proficiency in computers
• Must haves proficiency in the local languages and dialects
• Should have a minimum of 2 years of experience in handling accounts, MIS data entry and ease in working with NGOs
• HIV positive people, especially positive women, with the required qualifications and experience should be given preference

Key skill areas:
Ability to draw up budgets, document financial activities and maintain books of accounts, consolidate district reports and data entry.

Responsibilities:
1. Ensure consolidation of information generated in the mapping activities
2. Ensure timely collection of reports, data entry and preparation of analytical reports for action
3. Ensure timely submission of reports to SACS/NACO/DAPCU
4. Ensure orientation of Supervisors and DRPs on the indicators outlined in the Operational Guidelines for LWS
5. Ensure procurement process is followed as per the requirements of the scheme
6. Orient district level and in-house staff on the requirements of procurement, fund tracking, financial documentation
7. Ensure proper financial documentation i.e., maintaining books of accounts, regular bank reconciliation, submission of audit reports, utilization certificates
8. Ensure administrative budget is utilized as per requirement of the programme

Child protection Policy:
This is a level 2 assignment since there may be some direct contact with children ,the agency/ consultant/s will be asked to sign and adhere to Plan’s Child protection policy.

How to apply: Interested candidates are requested to apply at planindiacareers@planindia.org. Please mention the position applied for in the subject line. The last date for sending your applications is January 30, 2012. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted

“Children are at the heart of everything we do”

Job Email id: planindiacareers@planindia.org
Apply by: 30 Jan 2012
--------------------------------
Regional Emergency Manager, South Asia
Christian Aid
Location: Delhi
Job title: Regional Emergency Manager, South Asia

Salary: INR 1886463 pa plus benefits

Based: New Delhi, India

Closing date: 5.00pm Monday 13 February 2012

More than half the world lives in poverty. Poverty is an outrage against humanity. It robs people of dignity, freedom and hope, of power over their own lives. Christian Aid has a vision – an end to poverty – and we believe that vision can become a reality. We are striving to bring lasting change to the lives of the poorest communities. We work wherever there is great need, helping people to find their own solutions to the problems they face, irrespective of their religion, caste or creed. If you’re passionate about positive change across the world, then this job might be for you.

Christian Aid is looking for a Regional Emergency Manager for the South Asia region. This position involves leading Christian Aid’s response to humanitarian crisis in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, and ensures coherence and integration with country strategies. The post holder plays a leading role in the region to improve the capacity of partners and Christian Aid country teams to prepare for, mitigate against the impact of and respond to emergencies. The post holder will lead emergency responses and will coordinate disaster risk reduction work in their region alongside relevant regional or country based staff. The post holder will work closely with the Regional and Country staff and the Humanitarian Division staff in developing and then implementing agreed emergency response and mitigation strategies. S/he will support partners to enable them to implement rapid, effective and principled responses to emergencies. S/he will be responsible for developing best practice in emergency preparedness and response and will ensure internationally agreed standards are met. The post holder will work to promote the voices of partners and local communities to ensure that they are heard and acted upon in new emergencies.

About you
You will have sound experience of working on major institutional donor funded projects, you will understand the complexity of teams and partners located in different part of South Asia, and know what it takes to deliver high quality work and perform to tight deadlines. You will have a back ground in international development and good knowledge of resilience, disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation. You will need significant experience of emergency/humanitarian programmes including emergency preparedness and the links between emergency and development work. You will have considerable knowledge of the application of key humanitarian standards into programming. You should also have experience of programme appraisal, monitoring and evaluation, and working through partners.

Candidates need to have a degree in a development-related discipline, with substantial knowledge of emergency relief, rehabilitation, disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation and development with focus on documentation, research, networking and advocacy. Other essentials are excellent writing and communication skills in English and fluency in Hindi or any other South Asian language, as well as IT skills.

Please show your suitability for this post by giving answers to the following questions: using the guideline notes in the application form may help you formulate your answers.

1. Innovation and Creativity:

Describe the most complex problem that you were faced with and how you generated a new approach or explanation or solution.

2. Effectiveness and Accountability
Describe a time when you examined ways to improve the services or products in your area, while taking into consideration the longer-term and broader corporate perspective.

3. Team Work
Discuss an example of a time when your teamwork skills proved useful when you recognized that your team had reached its limit in terms of productivity (for example, they were burning out, or could not solve the problem).

4. Operational leadership and Management
Describe a project you undertook which had potential long-term implications.

We value the contribution each person makes to the success of our organisation. So you can expect a wide range of rewards and benefits that will ensure you enjoy a good work/life balance.

Preference will be given to applicants who have current and valid permission to work in India.

We value diversity and aspire to reflect this in its workforce. We welcome applications from people from all sections of the community, irrespective of caste, race, colour, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, religion or belief. We actively encourage applications from socially excluded communities, religious minorities, people living with disabilities and especially women candidates to apply.

Role Profile for this post can be downloaded here.
http://www.christianaid.org.uk/Images/Regional emergency manager%2C South Asia 2012-0102_tcm15-58369.pdf

To apply for this post, please download and email your completed International application form at:
http://www.christianaid.org.uk/Images/CA-Application-Form-International.pdf and send to: delhirecruitment@christian-aid.org (quoting the reference number).

Alternatively, your completed application form can be printed out and posted to us at:

Christian Aid
D-25-D, South Extension Part II
New Delhi
India 110 049

Please note CVs will not be accepted and that only short-listed candidates will be contacted. If you have not been contacted by 17 February 2012, please assume your application was unsuccessful.

Job reference: India/2012/0102
Closing date: Monday 13 February 2012
Interview date: Week commencing 21 February 2012

Christian Aid values diversity and aspires to reflect this in our workforce. We welcome applications from people from all sections of the community, irrespective of caste, race, colour, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, religion or belief. We encourage applications from socially excluded communities, ie Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, religious minorities and people living with disabilities, and especially encourage women candidates to apply.

Job Email id: delhirecruitment@christian-aid.org
Apply by: 13 Feb 2012
------------------------------------
Work Camp Team Leaders
FSL-India (Field Services and Intercultural Learning)
Location: Bangalore, Karnataka

Work Camp Team Leaders (5 Positions)

Field Services and Intercultural Learning (FSL India) is a non-profit organization based in Bangalore and is registered under the Indian Trust Act in 2000. We are a charitable, non-political, non-religious youth organization. FSL India networks with national and international organizations to promote youth mobility and inter-cultural learning and acts as a support structure for other youth and social organizations. We host about 1300 international volunteers every year with the support of national and international partners.

We run several projects all across India with the help of long term and short term volunteers. We work in many different fields like Medical Camps, Slum Development, Yoga and Ayurveda, Tibetan Culture, Tribal children, Street Children, Creative and interactive Education, Sea Turtle conservation, Orphanages, Agriculture, Environment Protection, Social Awareness Projects, Eco-Tourism, Eco-clubs, Tent schools for children of migrant workers, Construction and Renovation projects, HIV/AIDS awareness, Women Empowerment, Sanitation etc. For more information about our organization, visit our website and Blog:

Website: www.fsl-india.org
Blog: http://fsl-india.org/blog/

FSL India is looking for five highly committed and self-motivated Team Leaders to join FSL India team and be responsible for organising work camps handling all coordinate with partner organisations and volunteers of work camps.

1. Location: All 5 Positions will report to FSL India, Head Office, Bangalore

2. The primary roles and responsibilities:

• Pre work camp Tasks: Checking e-mails and contact with FSL communicator, coordinators and local contact person(project)
• Organising Work Camp: Arrange for food accommodation for work camp volunteers, prepare budget, daily accounts, finalizing schedule, organise transportation volunteers pick up and drop during the work camp, Guidance/work demonstration to volunteers, ensure volunteers safety, conduct evaluations.
• After work camp finished: Ensure final settlement of accounts, prepare team leader report and submitting all the documents of work camp along with final accounts.
• LTV Field assistant: Assist in translation and provide support to volunteers placed in Home Based Projects (maximum 10 days/month) - Sea turtle conservation, Eco Tourism, Environment Education, Eco Clubs etc.

3. Requirements and Skills:

• Education Qualification: Bachelor's degree. Higher professional qualification will be an added value.
• Must have excellent communication skills in spoken and written English. Fluency in one or two Regional Languages will be an added value.
• Excellent writing, documentation and good presentation skills.
• Minimum 3 year commitment is a must.
• Must be computer savvy - strong computer skills (MS Word, Excel, Power Point and Outlook
• Excellent inter-personal and representational skills
• Experience working with non-governmental organisation and inter-cultural team will be added value.
• Self-motivation/ability to work with less direct supervision.
• A good team player with team building facilitation skills.

4. Salary and Benefits:

CTC – INR 6,000 to 10,000 per month which, will be decided on the basis of experience and career history in the relevant field. Besides, the incumbent shall be entitled for monthly food, travel and telephone allowance as per organisation policy.

5. Reporting Requirement:

The incumbent shall work under direct supervision of Deputy Director/Director/President of FSL India and comply with the reporting requirements as per the reporting calendar. He/she will also work in close coordination DD (M&E) and CC (Documentation and Liaison).

6. Deadline for Application:

Interested candidates may apply with a detailed C.V. by February 10, 2012 stating current salary drawn, expected salary and giving details of two references to: fslrohan@gmail.com

Only short-listed candidates will be notified and called for interview. FSL India is an equal-opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of national origin, caste, religion, gender, race etc. Qualified female candidates are encouraged to apply.

7. Disclaimer Clause:

This job description is not an exhaustive list of the skill, effort, duties, and responsibilities associated with the position.

Job Email id: fslrohan@gmail.com
Apply by: 10 Feb 2012
-------------------------------------
Long Term Volunteer (LTV) Coordinators
FSL India (Field Services and Intercultural Learning)
Location: Bangalore, Mysore, Chennai, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu

Long Term Volunteer (LTV) Coordinators
Field Services and Intercultural Learning (FSL India) is a non-profit organization based in Bangalore and is registered under the Indian Trust Act in 2000. We are a charitable, non-political, non-religious youth organization. FSL India networks with national and international organizations to promote youth mobility and inter-cultural learning and acts as a support structure for other youth and social organizations. We host about 1300 international volunteers every year with the support of national and international partners.

We run several projects all across India with the help of long term and short term volunteers. We work in many different fields like Medical Camps, Slum Development, Yoga and Ayurveda, Tibetan Culture, Tribal children, Street Children, Creative and interactive Education, Sea Turtle conservation, Orphanages, Agriculture, Environment Protection, Social Awareness Projects, Eco-Tourism, Eco-clubs, Tent schools for children of migrant workers, Construction and Renovation projects, HIV/AIDS awareness, Women Empowerment, Sanitation etc. For more information about our organization, visit our website and Blog:

Website: www.fsl-india.org
Blog: http://fsl-india.org/blog

FSL India is looking for highly committed and self-motivated LTV Coordinators to join FSL India team and be responsible for coordinating long term volunteering program involving the international youth.

1. Location: Bangalore, Mysore and Chennai

2. The roles and responsibilities:

• Identify Host Organisations/Host Families/Projects and facilitate placement of long term volunteers
• Ensure placements of long term volunteers - study application, identify and short list as per the volunteers’ preference
• Participate in organising Orientation for long term volunteers along with other coordinators and chief coordinators
• Ensure registration of volunteers at Foreigner s’ Regional Registration Office (FRRO) and prepare documents for exit visa
• Follow-up with long term volunteers, Host Organisation and Host Families to ensure progress of volunteer service
• Ensure monthly consolidation of progress report and submit to Chief Coordinator
• Participate in monthly get together and quarterly evaluation of volunteers and facilitate one-to-one talk
• Facilitate and undertake periodic Monitoring visits and report to the chief coordinator regarding the progress
• Ensure final evaluation and placement report of volunteers and assist in preparing Project Info Sheets
• Any other roles assigned by the management from time to time.

3. Requirements and Skills:

• Education Qualification: Bachelor's degree. Higher professional qualification will be an added value.
• Must have excellent communication skills in spoken and written English. Fluency in Regional Language (Kannada/Tamil) will be an added value.
• Excellent writing, documentation and good presentation skills.
• Minimum 3 year commitment is a must.
• Must be computer savvy - strong computer skills (MS Word, Excel, Power Point and Outlook)
• Excellent inter-personal and representational skills
• Experience working with non-governmental organisation and inter-cultural team will be added value.
• Self-motivation/ability to work with less direct supervision.
• A good team player with team building facilitation skills.
• Willing to travel to various project locations with short notice

4. Salary and Benefits:

CTC – INR 6,000 to 10,000 per month which, will be decided on the basis of experience and career history in the relevant field. Besides, the incumbent shall be entitled for monthly food, travel and telephone allowance as per organisation policy.

5. Reporting Requirement:

The incumbent shall work under direct supervision of the Chief Coordinator (LTV Program) of FSL India and comply with the reporting requirements as per the reporting calendar. He/she will also work in close coordination DD (M&E) and CC (Documentation and Liaison).

6. Deadline for Application:

Interested candidates may apply with a detailed C.V. by February 10, 2012 stating current salary drawn, expected salary and giving details of two references to: fslrohan@gmail.com

Only short-listed candidates will be notified and called for interview. FSL India is an equal-opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of national origin, caste, religion, gender, race etc. Qualified female candidates are encouraged to apply.

7. Disclaimer Clause:

This job description is not an exhaustive list of the skill, effort, duties, and responsibilities associated with the position.

Job Email id: fslrohan@gmail.com
Apply by: 10 Feb 2012
-------------------------------------
Programme Manager
Urban Development and Housing Department (UD&HD)
Location: Bihar

VACANCY NOTICE

Urban Development and Housing Department (UD&HD)
Government of Bihar, 1st Floor, Vikas Bhawan, New Secretariat, Patna – 800 015
(Tel: 0612- 2215580, 2215385; Fax: 2217059, 2231566; Email: urbansec-bih@nic.in, procurement@spurbihar.in
No. SPUR-PMU/047/Appt/2011-12/76

Date: January 11, 2012

The Urban Development and Housing Department (UD&HD), Government of Bihar (GoB) announces the following vacancies in the Department. All positions are to report to the Principal Secretary (PS), UD&HD, GoB.
(a) Planning and Monitoring Specialist – One position
(b) Finance Specialist – One position
(c) Programme Manager – One position

Details of the job profile and eligibility criteria are available on the website http://www.urban.bih.nic.in or http://www.spurbihar.in/. Interested and eligible candidates may send applications along with resume/CV by mail only to urbansec-bih@nic.in and procurement@spurbihar.in on or before January 31, 2012. All applications have to be mailed to both addresses. Appointments are contractual and initially for one year but extendable based on performance. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted – personal enquiries will not be entertained and could lead to disqualification.

The Principal Secretary, UD&HD, GoB reserves the right to accept or reject any or all applications without incurring any obligation to inform the affected applicant/s of the grounds.

(Shashi Shekhar Sharma)
Principal Secretary, UD&HD

Functional Area : Programmme Coordination
Designation : Programme Manager
Number of Positions : 1 position

Job Description
• Responsible for coordination between ULBs and UDHD on programme implementation
• Assistance in keeping records of physical and financial progress of programme implementation
• Undertake periodic field visits
• Coordinate between UDHD and ongoing/proposed externally funded programmes
• Assistance in inter-departmental coordination as required
• Any other work as may be assigned periodically

Reporting Line
• Principal Secretary, Urban Development and Housing Department

Qualifications and Experience
• Masters in Urban Planning from a nationally recognized institute
• At least 3 years work experience

Salary
Rs.50,000/- per month all inclusive (Contractual Appointment)

Job Email id: urbansec-bih@nic.in
Apply by: 31 Jan 2012
--------------------------------
Deputy Director of Programs (LTV/MTV, Work Camps and Outbound)
FSL India (Field Services and Intercultural Learning)
Location: Bangalore, Karnataka

Deputy Director of Programs (LTV/MTV, Work Camps and Outbound)

Field Services and Intercultural Learning (FSL India) is a non-profit organization based in Bangalore and is registered under Indian Trust Act in 2000. It is a charitable, non-political, non-religious youth organization. FSL India networks with national and international organizations to promote youth mobility and inter-cultural learning and acts as a support structure for other youth and social organizations. FSL India hosts about 1300 international volunteers every year with the support of national and international partners.

FSL India runs several projects all across India with the help of long term and short term volunteers. It works in different fields like Medical Camps, Slum Development, Yoga and Ayurveda, Tibetan Culture, Tribal children, Street Children, Creative and interactive Education, Sea Turtle conservation, Orphanages, Agriculture, Environment Protection, Social Awareness Projects, Eco-Tourism, Eco-clubs, Tent Schools for children of migrant workers, Construction and Renovation projects, HIV/AIDS awareness, Women Empowerment, Sanitation etc. For more information about FSL India organization, visit our website and Blog:

Website: www.fsl-india.org
Blog: http://fsl-india.org/blog/

FSL India is looking for a highly committed and self-motivated Deputy Director of Programs to join our national team and be responsible for overall planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of Long Term/Mid Term Volunteering (LTV/MTV) program, Work Camps and Outbound program.

1. Location: FSL India, Head Office, Bangalore

Roles and responsibilities for Long Term/Mid Term Volunteering (LTV/MTV) program, work camps and outbound program are as follows:

• Identify Host Organisations and ensure placement of volunteers in various projects.
• Ensure work camp set up and organise as per the planned schedule.
• Coordinate with various stakeholders, liaison with government officials and civil society organisations for promotion of FSL India programs.
• Prepare annual financial plan and approval of monthly budget for program activities.
• Conduct monitoring and evaluation of programs, make quantitative and qualitative analysis and generate reports on the progress.
• Facilitate impact study of programs and inform the management regarding the progress.
• Prepare reports, blog articles, newspaper clippings etc. and submit as per the reporting calendar.
• Organize Annual Meet for Host Organisations and Host Families and provide necessary input.
• Organise orientation, get together and final evaluation for volunteers.
• Facilitate training needs assessment for staff, volunteers, Host Organisations and Host Families, develop appropriate training modules and conduct training.
• Develop appropriate formats and framework for gathering information on programs.
• Assist in preparation of program reports for Annual Report of FSL India.
• Facilitate inter-cultural learning among international volunteers and local community.

2. Requirements and Skills:

• Education Qualification: Bachelor's degree. Higher qualification in development sectors will be an added value.
• Must have excellent communication skills in spoken and written English. Fluency in Kannada is desirable.
• Excellent writing, documentation and good presentation skills.
• Demonstrable knowledge transfer skills including extensive experience with formal training/capacity building and ability to negotiate with development organisations.
• Minimum 3 year commitment is a must.
• Must be able to travel 12 to 15 days a month.
• Must be computer savvy - strong computer skills (MS Word, Excel, Power Point and Outlook
• Excellent inter-personal and representational skills
• Experience of working with non-governmental organisation and inter-cultural team will be added value.
• Self-motivation/ability to work with less direct supervision.
• A good team player with team building facilitation skills.

3. Reporting Requirement:

The incumbent shall work under direct supervision of the Director/President of FSL India and comply with the reporting requirements as per the reporting calendar. He/she shall work in close coordination with communicators, coordinators, Assistant Director (M&E) and Chief Coordinator (Documentation and Liaison).

4. Salary and Benefits:

CTC – INR 1.8 to 3 lakhs per annum, which will be decided on the basis of experience and career history in the relevant field. Besides, the incumbent shall be entitled for monthly food, travel and telephone allowance as per organisation policy.

5. Deadline for Application:

Interested candidates may apply with a detailed C.V. by February 10, 2012 stating current salary drawn, expected salary and giving details of two references to: fslrohan@gmail.com.

Only short-listed candidates will be notified and called for interview. FSL India is an equal-opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of national origin, caste, religion, gender, race etc. Qualified female candidates are encouraged to apply.

6. Disclaimer Clause:

This job description is not an exhaustive list of the skill, effort, duties, and responsibilities associated with the position.

Job Email id: fslrohan@gmail.com
Apply by: 10 Feb 2012
------------------------------------
Planning and Monitoring Specialist
Urban Development and Housing Department (UD&HD)
Location: Patna, Bihar
VACANCY NOTICE

Urban Development and Housing Department (UD&HD)
Government of Bihar, 1st Floor, Vikas Bhawan, New Secretariat, Patna – 800 015
(Tel: 0612- 2215580, 2215385; Fax: 2217059, 2231566; Email: urbansec-bih@nic.in, procurement@spurbihar.in)
No. SPUR-PMU/047/Appt/2011-12/76

Date: January 11, 2012

The Urban Development and Housing Department (UD&HD), Government of Bihar (GoB) announces the following vacancies in the Department. All positions are to report to the Principal Secretary (PS), UD&HD, GoB.
(a) Planning and Monitoring Specialist – One position
(b) Finance Specialist – One position
(c) Programme Manager – One position

Details of the job profile and eligibility criteria are available on the website http://www.urban.bih.nic.in or http://www.spurbihar.in/. Interested and eligible candidates may send applications along with resume/CV by mail only to urbansec-bih@nic.in and procurement@spurbihar.in on or before January 31, 2012. All applications have to be mailed to both addresses. Appointments are contractual and initially for one year but extendable based on performance. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted – personal enquiries will not be entertained and could lead to disqualification.

The Principal Secretary, UD&HD, GoB reserves the right to accept or reject any or all applications without incurring any obligation to inform the affected applicant/s of the grounds.

(Shashi Shekhar Sharma)
Principal Secretary, UD&HD

Functional Area: Project Monitoring
Designation: Planning and Monitoring Specialist
Number of Positions : 1 position

Job Description
• Facilitate annual planning by ULBs and UDHD for inclusion in state plans
• Development of road map for implementation of urban reforms
• Provide inputs to ULBs on programme implementation
• Monitoring of all on-going interventions of the UDHD
• Develop and maintain MIS recording physical and financial progress of on-going interventions
• Undertake periodic field visits
• Collecting and collating information on urban development in other states
• Identification and sharing of information on best practices in urban reforms in other states
• Preparation of terms of reference for appointment of consultants as required
• Appraise Principal Secretary from time to time on progress of urban reforms and projects in hand
• Any other work as may be assigned periodically

Reporting Line
• Principal Secretary, Urban Development and Housing Department

Qualifications and Experience
• Masters in Urban Planning from nationally recognized institute
• At least 5 years work experience

Salary: Rs.80,000/- per month all inclusive (Contractual Appointment)

Job Email id: urbansec-bih@nic.in
Apply by: 31 Jan 2012
--------------------------------------
Finance Specialist
Urban Development and Housing Department (UD&HD)
Location: Patna, Bihar

VACANCY NOTICE

Urban Development and Housing Department (UD&HD)
Government of Bihar, 1st Floor, Vikas Bhawan, New Secretariat, Patna – 800 015
(Tel: 0612- 2215580, 2215385; Fax: 2217059, 2231566; Email: urbansec-bih@nic.in, procurement@spurbihar.in)
No. SPUR-PMU/047/Appt/2011-12/76

Date: January 11, 2012

The Urban Development and Housing Department (UD&HD), Government of Bihar (GoB) announces the following vacancies in the Department. All positions are to report to the Principal Secretary (PS), UD&HD, GoB.
(a) Planning and Monitoring Specialist – One position
(b) Finance Specialist – One position
(c) Programme Manager – One position

Details of the job profile and eligibility criteria are available on the website http://www.urban.bih.nic.in or http://www.spurbihar.in/. Interested and eligible candidates may send applications along with resume/CV by mail only to urbansec-bih@nic.in and procurement@spurbihar.in on or before January 31, 2012. All applications have to be mailed to both addresses. Appointments are contractual and initially for one year but extendable based on performance. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted – personal enquiries will not be entertained and could lead to disqualification.

The Principal Secretary, UD&HD, GoB reserves the right to accept or reject any or all applications without incurring any obligation to inform the affected applicant/s of the grounds.

(Shashi Shekhar Sharma)
Principal Secretary, UD&HD

Functional Area : Finance
Designation : Finance Specialist
Number of Positions : 1 position

Job Description
• Facilitate annual financial planning by ULBs and UDHD for inclusion in state plans
• Financial monitoring of all on-going interventions of the UDHD
• Advise to ULBs on spend and maintenance of records
• Knowledge sharing of Finance Commission recommendations and other relevant central and state government recommendations with ULBs
• Overseeing audit of municipalities and UDHD and addressing audit paras
• Develop and maintain MIS recording financial progress of on-going interventions
• Providing inputs in design of interventions in line with above
• Update Principal Secretary or others designated by him on progress of interventions
• Any other work as may be assigned periodically

Reporting Line
• Principal Secretary, Urban Development and Housing Department

Qualifications and Experience
• MBA Finance from a nationally recognized management institute
• At least 5 years work experience

Salary
Rs.80,000/- per month all inclusive (Contractual Appointment)

Job Email id: urbansec-bih@nic.in
Apply by: 31 Jan 2012
--------------------------------------
Monitoring and Evaluation Officer
Marie Stopes International (MSI)
Location: Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh

Position: Monitoring and Evaluation Officer
Location: Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh
Last Date: 10th February 2012.
Email Id: recruitment@mariestopes.org.in

About Marie Stopes International:
Marie Stopes International (MSI), headquartered in UK, is one of the world’s leading organisations offering high quality, affordable family planning and safe abortion products and services in over 40 countries across the globe. MSI is a global, non-profit and non-governmental organisation (NGO) committed to upholding the fundamental rights of women and couples to decide freely, and without coercion, the number and spacing of their children. MSI has clinical programs in 44 countries, each with a recognized brand, professional management and a results-based service delivery ethos, India and Pakistan being some of the oldest programs among these.

In India its mission is to deliver evidence based, client focused, culturally-sensitive behavior change interventions for effective, efficient equitable and sustained use of Family Planning (FP) with special emphasis on Long Acting and Permanent Methods (LAPM) and post abortion care through improved quality, access, choice and satisfaction using expertise in engaging the private sector to strengthen health systems.

The Marie Stopes program in India features an integrated range of service provision and advocacy activities which create an ‘enabling environment’ for SRH and drive positive change to India’s Contraceptive Prevalence Rate (CPR). The services are provided using a network of MSI’s providers as well as MSI trained franchised private sector providers and “CHOICE” clinical outreach activities, and social marketing of high quality affordable FP in collaboration with both the central and the state governments and independent private providers. Marie Stopes India’s impact in India is significant.

Scope of work:
The purpose of the position is to collate, manage, analyse and provide market and programmatic evidences to support the development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of new and existing programs of Marie Stopes India.

Key Responsibilities:
1. Creation and Maintenance of monitoring information system
• Design and coordinate a national-level, organizational-wide monitoring and evaluation strategy and system.
• Identify, define and validate with key stakeholders a set of appropriate and useful performance measures.
• Create a network-wide M&E framework; identify sources of relevant data, and the processes for data management.
• Outline procedures for reporting and data use.
• Establish a system for the sharing of program data (in the form of recommendations) with SMT.
• With support from SF manager prepare IEC materials, policy guidelines and legal frameworks through discussions, workshops, in house analysis and external commissioning in the state
• Provide expert technical inputs in Research, documentation and coordination with implementing partners in carrying out research activities
2. M&E tools design and implementation
• Create and adapt data collection tools for M&E.
• Travel to project areas in order to oversee the implementation of M&E work, train staff, and maintain an understanding of current stage of development of M&E practice in organization.
• Synthesize analyze data and write summary reports by program base M&E results.
• Establish a system for the sharing of program data (in form of recommendations) with SMT.
• Prepare and update monthly, quarterly and annual monitoring and evaluation plans and reports.
• Collecting, compiling, analyzing and preparing briefs/ reports and making presentations from various sources
3. Produce Quality presentation, reports and proper dissemination of findings.
• Prepare and deliver presentations, executive summaries and reports in an easy-to-understand format for decision-making to internal as well as external audiences which include donor, government and NGOs.
• Responding to external and internal research enquiries from colleagues, government departments, academics, local councils, regional development agencies and members of the public;
• Explaining complex ideas and findings in a way that can be easily understood;
• Keeping up to date with developments in policy and social issues, as well as qualitative and quantitative research methods;
4. Production of evidence based information through use of primary/secondary data to help management on the design, implementation and evaluation of program activities.
• Collaborate with program staff to understand fully the implementation of the program and the implications for research design and implementation
• Assist the supervisor in commissioning and managing research projects by drafting research brief and research specifications.
• Assist the supervisor in planning and budgeting research studies as per the budget.
• Assist the supervisor in designing and implementation of appropriate research methodology,
• Supervise data collection and statistical and qualitative analysis through in house and/or contracted research agencies.
• Assist the supervisor in systematically disseminating research findings to program staff, government officials and donors.
• Collaborate with the program implementation team to derive conclusions, hypotheses and assumptions that are supported by data.
• Assist communication, service delivery, marketing and other line managers through sourcing, analyzing and reporting secondary data on Demographic Health Survey (DHS), RCH, Census, BSS, IBBA, relevant research from national & international partner organization
5. Ensuring Quality control and Data analysis
• Conducting, or commissioning then analysis of data of qualitative and quantitative studies with members of the public and large-scale data sets;
• Provide critical analysis of existing research. Perform quantitative & qualitative data analysis, including complex multivariate analysis, using analysis tools like SPSS and/or STATA and content analysis using NVivo/ Atlas.ti, when required.
• Ensuring that research is conducted within a set time frame to meet policy requirements

Skills and Experience
Qualifications/Knowledge/Expertise
• At least a Bachelor’s degree in Social Science, statistics or Public Health/Demography from a reputed institute;
• Masters or MBA would be preferable.
• Professional training on Research Methodology/Population Studies/Public Health will be treated as an additional qualification
• Preferably a marketing, research, social science, social marketing or reproductive healthcare expertise.

Experience:
• About 2-3 years of experience in handling/leading similar responsibilities.
• Demonstrated ability in application of statistical methods in survey sampling and advanced statistical analysis
• Knowledge of sexual and reproductive healthcare (SRH) and Family planning (FP) services (desirable).

Skills and abilities:
• IT literate – proficiency in MS Office particularly Excel (essential), MS Project (desirable) and SPSS or other data analysis software (desirable);
• Demonstrate competence in a variety of computer applications, including database, spreadsheet and word processing programs.
• Ability to adjust to changing priorities and meet deadlines.
• Proven ability to interpret verbal, written and numerical data;
• Good command on Hindi and English language.
• Highly numerate;

Personality/Aptitude:
• Drive, enthusiasm, initiative, outgoing, persistent and result oriented attitude
• Innovative, inspirational, collaborative and team working capabilities
• Reliable, responsible and professional.
• Personable friendly, helpful, sensitivity to individual client needs, empathetic, non-judgmental.
• Flexible approach, responsive to changes and new ideas, adapt/create new systems.
• Ability to remain calm in pressurized environment
• Good attention to details

Attitude/ Motivation:
• Keen to pursue personal development;
• Strong commitment to the goal and vision of MSI;
• Pro-Choice.

Note: Please indicate clearly the position name “Monitoring and Evaluation Officer” in the subject line of the application.

Job Email id: recruitment@mariestopes.org.in
Apply by: 10 Feb 2012
---------------------------------
Finance and Admin Officer
Marie Stopes International (MSI)
Location: Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh

Position: Finance and Admin Officer
Location: Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh
Last Date: 10th February 2012.
Email Id: recruitment@mariestopes.org.in

About Marie Stopes International:
Marie Stopes International (MSI), headquartered in UK, is one of the world’s leading organisations offering high quality, affordable family planning and safe abortion products and services in over 40 countries across the globe. MSI is a global, non-profit and non-governmental organisation (NGO) committed to upholding the fundamental rights of women and couples to decide freely, and without coercion, the number and spacing of their children. MSI has clinical programs in 44 countries, each with a recognized brand, professional management and a results-based service delivery ethos, India and Pakistan being some of the oldest programs among these.

In India its mission is to deliver evidence based, client focused, culturally-sensitive behavior change interventions for effective, efficient equitable and sustained use of Family Planning (FP) with special emphasis on Long Acting and Permanent Methods (LAPM) and post abortion care through improved quality, access, choice and satisfaction using expertise in engaging the private sector to strengthen health systems.
The Marie Stopes program in India features an integrated range of service provision and advocacy activities which create an ‘enabling environment’ for SRH and drive positive change to India’s Contraceptive Prevalence Rate (CPR). The services are provided using a network of MSI’s providers as well as MSI trained franchised private sector providers and “CHOICE” clinical outreach activities, and social marketing of high quality affordable FP in collaboration with both the central and the state governments and independent private providers. Marie Stopes India’s impact in India is significant.

Scope of work:
Finance & Admin Officer is responsible for overall Administrative & Financial Management. Also would be responsible for maintenance of Sun System Accounting Software, Project Finance, Control & Payment of Creditors, Debtors Management,Preparing Reports for Management, Field advance reconciliation and provide able assistance to the Finance Manager for the success and sustainability of MSI’s Programme.
The person is also expected to have excellent accounting knowledge, good liaison experience with Debtors & Creditors, Account & Bank Reconciliation & subsequent follow up and Resolution. He/She should have good knowledge of Accounting Software and Other operating systems.

Key Responsibilities:
1. To Maintain Books of Accounts: To enter data on day to day basis, filing of the vouchers and reconcile account balances.
• To prepare, coordinate and organise vouchers for data entry
• To ensure reconciliation of the data and entry into sun system on day to day basis
• To reconcile account balances and pass necessary adjustment entry
• To implement records and reporting formats, to ensure that all financial transactions and information are accurately recorded and adequately monitored for decision making and projections.

2. To Ensure timely payments: To ensure timely payments to the creditors and Staff
• To ensure timely preparation of payments
• To ensure receipt of expense vouchers to the Bhopal office on time and entry into sun system
• To ensure control over advances by analysing it person wise, age wise and amount wise and preparing a report for Management Review.
• To ensure that all expenses are in conformity with established rules and regulation.

3. Fund Management: To prepare cash flow project wise, ensure sufficient bank balances for the smooth functioning of the finance.
• To prepare cash flow on monthly basis
• To ensure bank reconciliation weekly basis
• To maintain and report fund balance to the FM on daily basis
• To assist the SPM for developing yearly financial plans and budgets and timely disbursement of funds to all the stakeholders for the effective implementation of the project.

4. Debtors/ Donors Management: To ensure management of debtors/ Donors balance on proactive basis for both reporting and compliance of donor requirement.
• Feed collected data in accounting software, prepare , compile and analyse reports /records and present this to Finance Manager /Project Manager
• To check the receipt on regular basis and keep an district wise/ age wise tracking with finance dept at state level
• To prepare feed back reports/queries on the reports received from Donor/ partner agencies and review with Finance Manager on weekly basis
• To establish accounting systems, procedures and internal controls on regular basis for project funding.

5. Preparing & Filing Statutory Returns & Reports: To preparation & filing of TDS, PF, VAT, Professional Tax & Other Statutory Returns on time
• To ensure correct deduction of taxes from payments and deposition of same within given timeframe
• To ensure filing of all returns on time
• To issue TDS certificate or decimation of information to the staff on time.
• To review insurable risks, fulfil the statutory requirements and safeguard the legal documents and records of the project

6. Preparation of Management Reports: To ensure preparation of timely and accurate reports for the management review and follow up on the action taken .
• To prepare management reports like aging analysis of advances, debtors analysis, F/U on BRS, Cheque book inventory and others
• To take F/U action based upon the review meeting with management
• To meet all financial reporting requirements under the project agreement, Prepare monthly and quarterly financial reports and variance analyses, assess the financial impact of variances from the budget and suggest appropriate corrective action.
• Monitoring of recording / reporting system through field visits and submit visit note with appropriate suggestions / actions for improvement
• To ensure proper up keeping and maintenance of computers and other peripherals.
• To ensure for organized office filling system of reports/files/registers/papers, ensure maintenance of inward-outwards registers, receipt and dispatches of correspondence etc of the project
• To prepare feedback / queries on the reports & letters received from the implementing partner, state level department and other partner agencies.

7. Procurement, Operations, supply chain management
• Assist in preparing procurement plans, vendor analysis, purchase order follow up, supply systems, quality checks, and settlements
• Identify the cause of any unreasonable delay in the achievement of milestones; and propose corrective action.

Skills and Experience

Qualifications:
• M. Com ,ICWA,MBA Finance
• M Com, MBA Finance, CA or ICWA will be preferable
• Good Knowledge & Skills of software’s like MS Office/Accounting Software like Tally will be desirable

Experience:

• B. Com or equivalent with at least 5 years of relevant experience in NGO environment
• M Com, MBA Finance, CA or ICWA with at least 3 years of relevant experience in accounting
• Good accounting and analytical skills & knowledge

Other Skills

• Good interpersonal and communication skills (both oral and written)
• Ability to work without close supervision or should be self-driven
• Proven ability to interpret verbal, written and numerical data
• Ability to work in a team as part of the team
• Hard working and willing to additional time if required

Attitude / Motivation:
• Flexibility
• Drive and enthusiasm
• Ability to remain calm in a pressurized environment
• able to give long hours to the office
• Confidentiality
• friendly, helpful, warm and caring manner

Note: Please indicate clearly the position name “Finance and Admin Officer” in the subject line of the application.

Job Email id: recruitment@mariestopes.org.in
Apply by: 10 Feb 2012
-------------------------------
Evaluation Coordinator of Social Security Systems
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ)
Location: Delhi

Vacancy Announcement

Reference no: 02/01/2012GIZ Social Security India Project/ Evaluation Coordinator

Position: Evaluation Coordinator of Social Security Systems for Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit in the Indo-German Social Security Programme (IGSSP)

Location: New Delhi

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ)
Working efficiently, effectively and in a spirit of partnership, we support people and societies in developing, transition and industrialised countries in shaping their own futures and improving living conditions. As a federally owned enterprise, we support the German Government in achieving its objectives in the field of international cooperation for sustainable development. We are also engaged in sustainable social security around the globe. Established on 1 January 2011, GIZ brings together under one roof the long-standing expertise of DED, GTZ and InWEnt. GIZ operates in more than 130 countries worldwide. Our registered offices are in Bonn and Eschborn in Germany. GIZ employs approximately 17,000 staff members worldwide, more than 60 % of whom are local personnel.

Project brief Indo-German Social Security Programme
Indo-German Social Security Programme (IGSSP) supports the Indian Ministry of Labour and Employment in implementing the Unorganised Sector Workers‘ Social Security Act and improving the social security system for workers in the informal sector and their families. The first phase of the programme will be from April 2011 to June 2014. The objective of the first phase is “ The performance capability of the providers of public sector health insurance, pension insurance and life and accident insurance programmes is improved.“ The programme works in four components, such as health insurance, old age pension, life & accident insurance and coherence of social security systems & a bilateral social policy dialogue. The target groups are unorganised sector workers and their families and especially below-the-poverty-line (BPL) workers in the informal sector of the economy. GIZ will be working closely with the Ministry of Labour of Employment, other ministries and related organisations for this purpose.

Responsibilities
The Evaluation Coordinator of Social Security Systems is responsible for

- Developing and coordinating projects of evaluation on the Central and State level and
- Strengthening the administration of partner institutions working in social security schemes, in particular supporting the implementation of social security schemes in identified states as required by them.

The main focus will be on Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY). He/she will also be expected to support the Ministry of Labour and Employment in administration related topics.

TASKS
The tasks within this assignment stretch over the following responsibilities:

I. Evaluation

Desktop Study: Thorough overview on existing RSBY studies, reporting.

Methodology: The evaluation coordinator in collaboration with International and National experts will need to develop the methodology and tools of the study, sets up key questions and questionnaires addressing the key topics.

Supervision: The questionnaires etc. are to be carried out by local field workers (e.g. master/PhD-students) or by contracted agencies in selected States. The evaluation coordinator supervises and coordinate these activities.

Coordination: The evaluation coordinator supports and if necessary, coordinates evaluations of RSBY by the State Nodal Agencies.

Work in collaboration with International and National Experts in the design and Implementation of a panel data study of RSBY

Further evaluation as requested

II. Strengthening Capacities at State Level

Supporting states

- Analysing the status of implementation of RSBY by states
- Advising selected SNA’a in developing capacities and smoothening administrative processes
- Assisting selected SNA’s in reshaping their processes

Advising partner institutions
- Developing, monitoring and supporting the implementation of quality administrative systems and standards in close consultation with programme partners.
- Develops flexible and innovative administrative standards that can be applied to the regional level, NGOs and other organisations.
- contributes to preparing and implementing administrational standards, related coordination processes and activities at the regional level

Knowledge Management
- Ensuring knowledge transfer of programme information regarding administration between partners and GIZ
- Identifying and developing strategies for knowledge transfer to partner organisations, especially to ensure sustained capacities in these institutions beyond the project phase.

III. General tasks

The Evaluation Coordinator supports in development, revision and continuous improvement of administrative processes used by partner organisations.

He/she
participates in management meetings
Participates in meetings of partner organisations that require administrative support.

Required qualifications, competences and experience
Qualifications
At least a PhD or equivalent in relevant subject related to Social Security.

Professional experience
- at least 10 years’ professional experience with a minimum of 5 years in a comparable position
- Profound understanding of social health protection / health financing – ideally, work experience in this field in the Indian context
- Profound knowledge of RSBY
- Long term work experience with experimental designs and the field of impact analysis and program evaluation
- Profound experience and knowledge of both quantitative and qualitative research methods in evaluation research
- Experience in working with ministries and public bodies (in India)

COMPETENCES
- Experience in team leading
- Experience in coordinating groups of researchers
- Excellent communication & presentation skills, sound comprehension, analytical and interpersonal abilities, excellent oral and written communication skills in English and Hindi.

Other knowledge, additional competences
very good working knowledge of ICT technologies (related software, phone, fax, email, the internet) and computer applications (e.g. MS Office)
fluent written and oral knowledge of the Hindi and English.
willingness to up skill as required by the tasks to be performed.
knowledge in social security systems related to unorganised sector workers, in particular RSBY, National Pension Scheme; Janshree Bima Yojana.
ability to motivate and support staff
outstanding office administration, management and organisational skills
professional experience with social security schemes administration

Please email your application latest by 13th February 2012 to HR Manager (Email: giz-indien@giz.de ) giving reference to the position applied for.

Only short listed candidates will be contacted.

Job Email id: giz-indien@giz.de
Apply by: 13 Feb 2012
------------------------------------
Programme Manager: SRHR, HIV & Key Populations
India HIV/AIDS Alliance
Location: Delhi

India HIV/AIDS Alliance
invites
talented professionals to join our team in Delhi

Programme Manager: SRHR, HIV & Key Populations (Full time)

Introduction:
Established in 1999, the India HIV/AIDS Alliance comprises a Secretariat in New Delhi, five lead partner organisations (the Linking Organisations within the global Alliance) and their networks of over 100 community-based non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and community-based organisations (CBOs) across seventeen States in India.

The Alliance in India has supported over 120 community-based projects through its NGO and CBO partners to prevent HIV infection; improve access to HIV treatment, care and support; and lessen the impact of HIV. The last including reducing stigma and discrimination, particularly among the most vulnerable and marginalised communities key to the epidemic – sex workers, men who have sex with men (MSM), injecting drug users (IDUs) and adults and children living with and/or affected by HIV.

Key Responsibilities:

The Programme Manager is responsible for leading Alliance India’s portfolio on HIV and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) integration that places special emphasis on key populations, including MSM, transgenders and sex workers, PLHIV and young people.

The Programme Manager will be primarily responsible to manage Alliance India’s two European Commission funded programmes currently implementing in six States across the country focusing on the SRHR needs of key populations affected by HIV/AIDS, including high-risk groups, PLHIV and young people.

The Programme Manager will be the key person for providing technical support in capacity development and Advocacy on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (ASRHR) Policies by ensuring the involvement of key population, youth and PLHIV; open communication to inform debate and mobilisation of the community to engage in policy change. S/he will be responsible for the completion of the programme deliverables ensuring high quality and adherence to the timeliness.

S/he will be responsible for the implementation of advocacy and policy activities and for informing, influencing and documenting advocacy work within programmes of Alliance India and its relevant stakeholders. The position will play a key role in developing strategies for creating an enabling environment for the programme and the community.

S/he will be responsible for analysing the progress, impact, challenges and lessons learned of programmes, and ensure effective documentation of programme activities, and ensure dissemination of the best practices, dialogue and advocacy at various levels. S/he will also contribute during the preparation of various proposals, concept notes, as part of resource mobilisation process.

The Programme Manager will be an active member of the middle management, taking autonomous responsibility for the results of his/her objectives and /or project deliverables, supporting senior management team (SMT) in ensuring the overall welfare and success of Alliance India, managing task forces and working groups, and participating actively in management meetings, to guide SMT on improving organisational effectiveness.

The incumbent will be mainly responsible for the following:

? Under the supervision of the Director : Policy & Programmes , lead the strategising, planning and co-ordination to build an enabling environment for the programme and successfully implement advocacy work at the programme implementing areas.
? Develop and implement advocacy strategy in relation to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) for key population, young people and PLHIV that includes needs assessment, key change objectives and areas for collaboration and lead the implementation of the strategy.
? To establish a pool of technical support providers locally for the entire project area and enhance their expertise to further take care of the advocacy and SRHR needs of the key population.
? To create and establish advocacy coalitions between the Civil Society Organisations in the different programme areas to strengthen joint advocacy movement.
? Ensure the preparation and compilation of high quality programme reports in close co-ordination with other team members, adhering to the donor requirements and ensuring timeliness in the submission.
? Review programme reports, alongside financial reports with the finance team and prepare analytical reports for donor reporting, ensuring compliance with various donor restrictions and regulations.
? In collaboration with the Finance & Operations team ensure grant funds are effectively utilised against programme deliverables.
? Assess the organisational and technical support needs of programmes especially in sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) related areas for the key population, young people, PLHIV, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and develop capacity building plans for needs identified; also carryout review and evaluation of the progress and impact of such activities and take corrective actions wherever required.
? Support the key population, especially amongst young people and PLHIV from vulnerable and marginalized communities, in increasing their capacity/knowledge and understanding about SRHR and the linkages with HIV/AIDS.
? Mobilise and build the advocacy and leadership capacities of a core group of individual youth leaders from local / district level and empower them to take a lead role in acting as a ‘social change agent’ on issues around SRHR for young people.
? To develop innovative mechanisms for linking key population, youth groups, PHIV networks at different levels to advocate for effective national responses that meaningfully include them in SRHR policy and programme development.
? Identify institutional mechanisms for incorporating key population, PLHIV and adolescent/ young people’s input into policy and programming processes (including planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation).
? Analyse the progress, impact, challenges and lessons learned of programmes, and ensure effective documentation of programme activities, in order to disseminate lessons learned and best practices for internal and external audiences.
? Responsible for tracking and address media advocacy and organising events and campaigns on major advocacy issues related to the area of programme.
? Contribute to Alliance India’s conceptual understanding of legal and ethical issues, as well as rights based programming, and provide inputs into the programmes to incorporate these issues.
? Extend support to the Technical Support Team and other senior management members in new programme development; especially in the development of budgets in line with concept notes and work plans for various project/programme proposals.
? As a middle management team member, contribute to the organisational strategic planning process and participate in the planning, development and implementation of the overall Alliance India’s work plan and the related Programme team work plans.
? Complement the activities of the other departments within the team and provide support wherever required.
? Provide need based Technical Support to various clients, based on the requests from the Technical Support Hub which is set up by Alliance India Secretariat for catering to the technical support needs of various stake holders in South-Eastern Asia region.
? Represent Alliance India at various policy fora: state, national and international.

Essential requirements:
? Master’s degree in social sciences, health or development field (or equivalent)
? At least 7 to 8 years of progressively responsible management experience in the health, development or other relevant sector.
? At least 4 years experience of developing and leading policy and advocacy work especially on adolescent / youth related and PLHIV Projects.
? Experience of working with multiple stakeholders in the civil society, private sector and the government at different levels.
? Demonstrable track record of significant accomplishments in policy and advocacy work.
? Excellent writing and verbal communication skills.
? A very strong understanding and experience of direct programme implementation and interface with vulnerable and marginalised populations in the context of SRHR.
? Demonstrated knowledge and understanding of partnerships and/or donor environment, donor relations and reporting.
? Experience of providing technical support to, and capacity building of, organisations.
? Sound understanding of the principles of NGO support, particularly around SRH, HIV/AIDS and public health promotion.
? Ability to work effectively in teams as well as independently.
? Ability and willingness to undertake travel, within India, for an average of 30% of time.
? Strong commitment to HIV/AIDS.
? Fluent in English language.

Desirable qualities/experience/skills:
? Good understanding of development issues and the HIV epidemic.
? A good understanding of legal and ethical issues around HIV/AIDS.
? Experience of managing health programmes programmes funded by European Commission
? Experience in policy work – analysis, communication and influencing.

The position requires a strong commitment to HIV/AIDS and sexual and reproductive health and NGO activities in India, and a strong interest in and understanding the relevant issues.

Applications are welcomed and encouraged from qualified and experienced people living with HIV/AIDS and from those affected by the epidemic.

As a matter of policy, Alliance India operates rigorous recruitment and selection procedures and checks. This approach is part of our institutional commitment to protect children and other supported groups from abuse. Our Child Protection Policy will be made available to short-listed candidates.

Compensation package will commensurate with qualification and experience. Interested candidates meeting the above criteria are requested to visit our website – http://www.allianceindia.org/about-us/careers.php to download our application template. The completed application should be sent before the closing date by e-mail to recruit@allianceindia.org. Please indicate the title of the post applied for on the subject line of your e-mail.

Only completed applications in our prescribed format will be considered.

India HIV/AIDS Alliance

Second Floor, Kushal House, 39 Nehru Place, New Delhi 110 019
Tel: (011) 4163 3081
Email: recruit@allianceindia.org
Website: www.allianceindia.org

Closing date for receipt of complete applications: 9th February, 2012

Interviews will be take place during the third/fourth week of February, 2012. Please note that we will not be able to notify all applicants. Only short listed candidates will be notified about the interview date.

Job Email id: recruit@allianceindia.org
Apply by: 09 Feb 2012

Latest Jobs for NGO's Part-1 Dated on January 27th,2012

2012-01-26T21:04:00.000-08:00

Programme officer
Manav Sansadhan Sankriti Vikas Parisad(MSSVP)
Location: Kawardha, Chhattisgarh

Manav Sansadan Sanskriti Vikas Parisad (MSSVP) is a non-for profit organization. MSSVP is conceptualized by like-minded professional from different segments of the society who have pledged for the upliftment and empowerment of rural society particularly for the socially and economically vulnerable. It takes up various need based and context specific activities for the economic, social, cultural and environmental development.

Job Description :The programme officer will be responsible to achieve desirable results of the programme in the assigned project areas, the programme officer will be primarily responsible to lead project activites and process.

Responsiblities:
The Programme Officer will be expected to take following tasks:

1. Design,implement and support programme activities across programme area.
2. Coordinate and liasoning with the related functionaries and line departments for effective implementation of the programme activities in the programme area.
3. To Strengthen the implementation process training needs will be assessed for transferring necessary skills and knowledge focusing on programme goal.
4. Regular field visits to monitor programme process, collection and analysis of data, time to time reporting and documentation activities for improvement of process.

Qualifications and Competencies:

1. Master's degree in social science and other related disciplines.
2. Experience in supporting project managment.
3. Good communication skills - both oral & written.
4. Ability to use computer.
5. Ability for field visits in project areas to monitor programme activities.
6. Flexible approachand ability to work in a dynamic environment.
7. Good team worker.

Salary:- 8000-10000

Interested Candidates can send their CV to mssvpkwardha@reddiffmail.com and a copy to mssvp.org@gmail.com before 10/02/12 with name of the postion in subject line of email.

candidates from chattisgarh especailly kawardha district should be given preference.

Job Email id:mssvpkwardha@rediffmail.com
Apply by: 10 Feb 2012
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Women Programmes Coordinator and Field Worker
Sangini
Location: Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh
WOMAN PROGRAMS coordinator :

salary-8000/-

Post Graduate Trained in Social Work , Psychology and Counselling . Should be located in Bhopal. Can do Capacity building , Documentation /Report writing in English Hindi both .

Can coordinate and run the Field Programs of the organization . Can work on case of violence against women , conduct Workshops and Events locally , Wiiling to work with community,
networking with Govt..departments & ngo locally.having own vehicle.

WOMAN FIELD worker

Graduate in social work
interested to work with community & cases on violence against women.
can do report writing & typing in Hindi.

salary-5000/-

No male is required please read carefully,only female & interested candidate apply to this job

Job Email id: sangini_center@yahoo.com
Apply by: 30 Jan 2012
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Social Worker cum Counsellor
Rajasthan Bal Kalyan Samiti
Location: Jhadol, Udaipur, Rajasthan
Position: Social worker (female)
Organization: Rajasthan Bal Vikas Samiti, founded in 1981 by Pandit Jeevat Ram Sharma is working for welfare/development of the tribal areas of Southern Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. It is a registered society (NGO).
The RBKS runs a Children’s home in Jhadol (Rajasthan) which provides the best of facilities for the education, health and overall development of the orphan children under their care. The age group of children ranges from 6 years to 17 years. RBKS invites applications for the position of Social worker cum counsellor for home. Details of the job responsibilities are as follows.

Essential Job Functions
• Support and mentor housemothers, ensuring that program activities are carried out in a timely manner and with attention to the quality
• Train and supervise the care givers/mothers. Social worker will be the main link between the mothers and the Project Director.
• Maintain case files of all the children, update them and prepare reports as & when required.
• Establishing linkages with local service providers and agencies through networking to avail quality and cost effective services for the children
• Supervise the activities for the educational & health requirements of the children
• Compile monthly programmatic and financial report in consultation with House mother and Accountant
• Analyze and appraise the program activities and budgets for each component, ensuring alignment with the Miracle Foundation India standards of Rights to Child
• Maintain communication with Miracle Foundation India as and when required
• Undertake counselling of the children as & when required
• Maintain records for the activities of the children

Qualifications
• Master’s degree in social work / Psychology or related field
• Expertise in child development, child psychology, &/or out-of-home care
• At least 8-10 years professional experience

Age of the candidate: 35 years and above

Competencies
• Advanced Counselling skills
• High level of analytical & conceptual thinking
• Basic computer skills, knowledge of MS word, Excel, internet
• Ability to multi task
• Highly motivated, responsible, self-directed and resourceful
• Understanding of living in institutional care
Language Requirements:
• Fluency in spoken English and Hindi
• Excellent written English skills,
Salary: Rs. 15000 to 20,000 pm (consolidated)

Interested candidates may send their detailed CV to Ms. Nitu Singh:
email ID - nitu@rbks.org

Last date to receive applications: 15th February 2012

Job Email id: jhadolrbks1@rediffmail.com
Apply by: 15 Feb 2012
----------------------------
ANM Cum Counselor
Hope Center for Women and Children Itarsi
Location: Itarsi, Madhya Pradesh

Post :-ANM cum Counselor For TI Project

Qualification :- MSM and 3 Years experience in HIV/AIDS Programe

Salary :- 7000/ Month

Job Discribtion:- The ANM / Counselor are the lampposts in creating BCC among the individuals in the high risk target group and shall act in co-ordination with the field workers and project managers in the overall service delivery for the community. They should have good attitudes towards HRGs and be able to take feedback from the community in order to improve service delivery.

Job Email id: hope_center@ymail.com
Apply by: 25 Feb 2012
-------------------------------
Accounts Manager
Centre for Urban and Regional Excellence
Location: Delhi

Centre for Urban and Regional Excellence (CURE), is a development NGO with a vision to create an enabling environment for pro-poor urban and social policy through inclusive planning and governance, partnerships, institutional capacity building and urban reform. Key pillars of CURE’s work include policy advocacy, implementing slum upgrading projects, development of community-based GIS information systems and research. For further information regarding our work please refer to www.cureindia.org

CURE invites application from qualified candidates for one Accounts Manager.

Job Location: New Delhi

Role and Responsibility

· Accounting and Book-keeping.

· Contracting and contract management.

· Data entry of transactions in to the accounting software (Tally).

· Prepare monthly financial statements.

· Maintain petty cash and ensure that the fund is replenished in time.

· Send communication to the service provider / funder about payment and obtain receipt for all payments.

· Preparation of bank reconciliation statement.

· Make entries for accrual on a monthly basis and follow up for payment in the subsequent month.

· Keep track of fund flow and follow up with funder/donor to receive the funds on time.

· Financial audit preparation and coordinate the audit process.

· Knowledge of applicable laws, codes and regulations (FCRA, Income Tax, etc.).

· Payments and Reimbursements.

· Prepare the vouchers / Journals / Receipt Voucher along with appropriate support documents for review & approval.

· Manage the travel advance given to staff and ensure timely settlement.

· Deduct TDS Deduction and remit the amount within the stipulated time.

· Ensure routine payments are made in time like telephone, rent etc.

· Make payment to Clusters / project offices.

Qualification:

Commerce graduate, preferable MBA in finance
At least 2 years work experience in managing accounts
Good command of English
Good computer skills (especially in excel)
Good practical knowledge of Tally and other accounting software.

Remuneration: Will be commensurate with skill and experience

How to apply: Send your resume and cover letter to sshukla@cureindia.org and manish118@gmail.com . Please mention your name as the resume word/pdf file name.

Job Email id: manish118@gmail.com
Apply by: 05 Feb 2012
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Block Coordinator (4)
Samudaik Kalyan Evam Vikas Sansthan
Location: Kushinagar, Maharajganj, Uttar Pradesh

Job title- Block Coordinator (04)

Report to: Project Coordinator

Location: Kushinagar and Maharajganj

Role and Responsibilities:

This position would play its role in implementation of the project activities in their respective block as well as to monitor and support the cluster coordinators in proper implementation of the thus planned activities.

Job Email id: cwds97@rediffmail.com
Apply by: 15 Feb 2012
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Monitoring & Documentation Officer
Samudaik Kalyan Evam Vikas Sansthan
Location: Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh

Health and MNREGA:

Job title: Monitoring & Documentation Officer:

Report to : Secretary

Location: Gorakhpur

ROLES / RESPONSIBILITIES:

To undertake all organization related documentation work, organizational communication and dissemination in keeping with SKVS’s overall strategy for SKVS’s visibility, transparency and credibility as an institution of repute.

Nature and scope (Major areas)

Organizational documentation and overall communication, both internal and external:
• To ensure the final preparation and dissemination of all organization documents viz., reports, meeting minutes etc.
• To devise policies for internal and external communications for organizational purposes such as bringing new donors, advocacy campaigns, etc.
• To strengthen and improve the internal reporting structures and devise new and effective reporting formats in consultation with the Monitoring and Evaluation Manager.
• To devise systems of knowledge management and inculcate a culture of reading in the organization.

Principal Accountabilities
1. Ensure the preparation of quality reports/documents - Donor/Annual/Board and their timely dissemination.
2. Develop brochures, fliers, and other communication material.
3. Train staff and partners in creative writing and process documentation.
4. Undertake the Monthly staff meeting minutes and any other significant meeting minutes during the year.
5. Ensure that the documentation, publication and communication policy of the organization is followed,
6. Develop database of media contacts for campaign related communications.
7. Update the SKVS website regularly.
8. Overall knowledge management in the organization.

2. QUALIFICATIONS, EXPERIENCE AND COMPETENCIES:

Qualification & Experience
• The ideal candidate would be a graduate/post graduate in social Communication/Social Work
• At least 3-5 years of work in Health, education, communication and documentation, and project monitoring and evaluation.

Required Competencies:
• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English and Hindi.
• Proficient in the use of computers and MS Office.
• Proven abilities in project planning, reporting & analysis.
• Good documentation capabilities.
• Good analytical skills

Job Email id: cwds97@rediffmail.com
Apply by: 15 Feb 2012
----------------------------------------
ANM /Counsller
Arunodaya Sarveshwari Lok Kalyan Samiti, Ujjain
Location: Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh

ANM / COUNSLLER Salary : 7000/-, T.A. : 400/-, Qualification: MSW /M.A. Psychology /M.A. Sociology/ B.Sc. Nursing & Minimum 2 years experience in above work.

Job Email id: arunodaya_ti2010@rediffmail.com
Apply by: 30 Jan 2012
----------------------------------------
Residential Home Carer
Ashima World / SEED
Location: Kolkata, West Bengal
DESCRIPTION AND MAIN DUTIES

The Residential Home Carer position is a residential position available for energetic people in the education and child development field, who are willing to work hard and make a difference to the lives of a focused group of previously deprived children. The appointed candidate will be directly responsible for the development of these children, and will report to the Home-in-charge and Project Managers directly.

The candidate selected will perform tasks such as: liaising with the children's schools, managing the home under the Home-in-charge, teaching children the value of study and hard work, providing the children with basic manners, keeping the premises tidy and clean at all times, improving the children's hygiene and habits, ensuring the safety and health of the children, developing a good communication channel with the children in order to create a healthy atmosphere of trust in the home, etc.

He/she should be an ethically impeccable person who understands the value of hard work and human dignity. A deep understanding of what development means and feelings of solidarity are essential to this post. He/she will be closely monitored and directed but is expected also to work hard on own initiative.

As a development organization we are committed to reducing inequality and discrimination on the basis of gender. Currently, there are slightly more male workers in the team working on this project and therefore qualified and capable women are strongly encouraged to apply. This does not mean that male candidates' applications will be disregarded.

Please note that this position is residential. This means that the candidate appointed will have to live at the premises and attend the children's needs. He/she will be given 4-5 days leave per month.

REMUNERATION AND BENEFITS

- Starting monthly salary of Rs. 4,000/- to be revised for appraisal every year for a minimum 16 year period.
- Added 50% extra as ‘Puja Bonus’ at the end of the pertinent month.
- Free lodging at the project.
- Free meals at the project.

HOW TO APPLY & CONTACT

Interested applicants can either (i) send an email attaching a copy of their resume to our email address: ashima.international@gmail.com and arrange an appointment for an interview or (ii) contact us by phone on 9831061835/9051733056 and arrange an appointment to see us at the project; to which candidates will need to bring a copy of their resume.

Note that the position is in urgent need to be filled and a candidate may be selected before the given deadline.

Job Email id: ashima.international@gmail.com
Apply by: 20 Feb 2012
-------------------------------------
Team Leader
Baradrone Social Welfare Institution
Location: Gajole, Malda, West Bengal

Baradrone Social Welfare Institution (BSWI) is a grassroots level community development and non-profit organisation that was established in the year of 1976. BSWI works with strong vision and commitment towards sustainable rural development and it is embellished by various national and international development agencies. BSWI has been working in three districts of West Bengal for the livelihood improvement of the poor and the marginalised communities through its subsectors (a) Education & Awareness (b) Community Health (c) Livelihood development/ Basic Needs Programs and (d) Women’s Organisations.

BSWI operates an Integrated Rural Development Project in the Gajole Block of Malda district, West Bengal. The project comprises of the subsectors:
• Capacity Building of the target families in sustainable livelihood; Self-Help Group management; Integrated Natural Resource Management; Strengthening Producers’ Collective (livestock and fish); and networking with banks and financial institutions

• Land & Water: Promotion of 5% Model Pits and Seepage Ponds for increasing agricultural productivity and sustainable agriculture

• Food Security through promotion of SRI (System of Rice Intensification); Agriculture Development; Horticulture (Mango plantation); Inland Fishery

• Common Property Resource Management (CPRM): Improvement of local community ponds for improving users’ economic status; networking with the Panchayat in various schemes including the MGNREGA schemes for the weakest groups

• Livestock Promotion through promoting a Goat Collective amongst the tribal families

• Advocacy and Lobbying with local nationalised/state-run banks and financial institutions, NABARD and line departments for increasing the government programs’ outreach amongst the needy groups.
The project is being supported by SIR DORABJI TATA TRUST and is in its third year of the first phase (November 2009 – October 2012). The project is based on a long-term perspective and is likely to be continued further after the end of this first phase.
We look for a dynamic TEAM LEADER immediately for this project to handle the project management responsibility. The person applying for this position should meet the following criteria:
? A graduate preferably in Agriculture/Sociology/Rural Management/BSW/MSW with good academic records
? Having three years’ experience in the related fields with a reputed organisation/institution
? Age should be less than 35 years
? Able to read-speak-write Hindi and English (and of course Bangla)
? Able to write project reports / project proposals
? Able to plan and monitor the project interventions
? Able to conduct related training programs independently
? Able to participate in seminars/workshops and meetings
? Able to operate computer
? Able to stay in the project area.

Salary is negotiable based on the quality and experience of the applicant. Only the shortlisted candidates will be called for interview.
Willing candidates can send their applications along with C.V. to the following link:

Sanjib Bhattacharya, Secretary
Baradrone Social Welfare Institution (BSWI)

EMAIL: bswi_india@yahoo.co.in

Last date of receiving applications: 15th February 2012

Job Email id: bswi_india@yahoo.co.in
Apply by: 10 Feb 2012
------------------------------
Community Coordintor
Ebenezer Home of Social Outreaches
Location: ANNA NAGAR, CHENNAI, Tamil Nadu
Ebenezer Home of Social Outreaches is a Non Profitable and Charitable Society serves the downtrodden Children and community for more than 25 years in Chennai city. EHSO involves in various projects like, Children Home, Day Care Center, Elderly Care Center, Community Medical Center, Community Relief & Development Projects, Child Sponsorship Program, Community Child Care Centers and other programs too..
Position : Community Field Coordinator - Child Care Center
Location : Chennai, Anna Nagar
Reports to : CEO

Job Summary :
Community Filed Coordinator for Child Care Center needs strong child oriented / welfare / rights and motivational attitudes and have the capacity of handling the slum / downtrodden children in disciplined manner with proper educational tool and guidance.
Strengthening the Child Care Center in all means of development,
Able to Network with local Heads and smooth functioning of CCC in all centers.

Qualifications:
Minimum of 2 to 3 years of field experience and child related work will be added plus,
Minimum of UG and if BSW is most welcome,
Technical Knowledge like Basic Computer / Excel is needed.

Personal Competencies:
1. Skilled in working collaboratively with team members under his/her supervision.
2. Able to work with diverse groups of people in a multicultural, team environment.
3. Self-motivated and able to prioritize work and multitask to meet deadlines.
5. Commitment to children partners and program participants for the quality program
6. Strong commitment to supportive supervision, staff development, coaching/mentoring and proven value addition to the staff performance/growth
7. Strong community children's management and interpersonal skills

Interested candidates may apply with a detailed C.V. by January 28, 2012 stating current salary drawn and expected salary and send across to pcehso@gmail.com

Only short listed candidates will be notified and called for interview.

EHSO is an equal-opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of national origin, caste, religion, race etc. Qualified female candidates are encouraged to apply.

Only short listed candidates will be notified and called for interview.

Job Email id: pcehso@gmail.com
Apply by: 30 Jan 2012
-----------------------------------
Training Coordinator
The Calcutta Samaritans
Location: Kolkata, West Bengal

Training Coordinator for the Learning Site under GFATM Round 9 India HIV-IDU Grant

Roles and Responsibilities:

The Training Coordinator will be responsible for the following:

•Developing an overall comprehensive training plan and schedule for the Learning Site in coordination with Learning Site coordinator.

•Designing, planning and implementing the detailed training schedule for the Learning Site.

•Collating and collecting training materials and modules provided by the Technical partners.

•Ensuring that resources are targeted effectively so that training can be linked to objectives and that targets are met within their time frames.

•S/he should actively participate and lead in all the harm reduction trainings conducted in the Learning Site.

•S/he should provide timely feedback to PMU and Technical partners from the trainees on the effectiveness of the training program.

•Organizing and planning logistical support for the trainings (done in conjunction with the Learning Site Coordinator).

•Timely apprise the issues and challenges to the Learning Site coordinator for smooth execution of activities.

•S/he should perform other related duties as assigned by the Hony. Director of the organization.

Qualification & experience:

• Minimum 12th standard pass.
• Experience in working with Injecting Drug Users is preferred.
• Knowledge on Injecting Drug Users, harm reduction programs.
• Preference for people from the Injecting Drug Users community

Salary:

Rs. 9,000/- (Rupees Nine thousand only) per month consolidated.

Only short listed candidates will be notified and called for an interview. No phone calls will be entertained.

Interested candidates may apply with a detailed C.V. addressed to The Hony. Director, 48 Ripon Street, Kolkata- 700 016 and mail to jobs.calsam@gmail.com by 30th January, 2012.

All applicants are requested to mention “Application for the post of Training Coordinator for the Learning Site under GFATM Round 9 India HIV-IDU Grant” in the subject line.

Job Email id: jobs.calsam@gmail.com
Apply by: 02 Feb 2012

Latest NGO's News Dated on January 25th,2012

2012-01-24T21:13:00.000-08:00

Three NGOs kiss good-bye
Three non-governmental organisations have been de-registered by the Registrar of Societies.

They include the Committee of Citizens, Leadership Environment and Development Southern Africa and the Evangelical Youth Alliance International.

Chief Registrar of Societies Clement Andeleki has confirmed the development in a press statement issued to ZNBC News on Tuesday.

Mr Andeleki has explained that the three organisations have been operating illegally, failed to pay annual returns and failed to comply with their terms of registration.

He has also reminded political parties, clubs, charity organisations and churches to pay their annual returns by 31st March, 2012.

But Committee of Citizens Executive Director Gregory Chifire has maintained that his organisation is still a legal entity.

Mr Chifire has challenged the Registrar of Societies to check his records and tell the nation the truth.

He says the action has not surprised him, describing it as a political gimick by the PF government.
------------------------------------
Dying to Live: Urgent Need to Increase Organ Donation Awareness
Thousands of people die every year waiting for someone to donate an organ that is so vitally important and could have kept them alive. Very few seem to care. Frequent campaigns are needed to sensitize the Indian public on urgent need to step up organ donations and save precious lives. In the case of deceased organ donation, organs and tissues harvested from a person declared 'brain dead' can be used to save as many as nine lives or more.

One such initiative was the Organ donation rally organized at the Marina Beach, Chennai, South India on Sunday by MOHAN Foundation (Multi Organ Harvesting Aid Network), a not-for-profit organization promoting deceased organ donation. The rally which was flagged off by Mr. Saidai S. Duraisamy, Mayor, Corporation of Chennai, at the Triumph of Labour statue and reached the Gandhi statue where a unique sand sculpture depicting organs that can be donated to save lives was etched on the sands of Marina beach.

Speaking on the occasion, the Mayor observed, "Organ donation is one donation that doesn't require a person to have material wealth in order to be able to give away something to another. It just requires the willingness to pledge one's organs after death for another's use, getting a donor card and informing the nearest kith and kin about the intention to donate." The Mayor said he would explore ways to step up infrastructure to speed up availability of organs for transplant and assured the gathering that the Corporation of Chennai would help facilitate venues for awareness campaigns and rallies to take the organ donation movement forward.

Mr. Sharad Sharma, Chief General Manager, State Bank of India was pained to note that even 17 years after the Transplantation of Human Organ Act was passed in India, there was severe lack of awareness on organ donation among the Indian population and there were very few NGOs promoting organ donation awareness in India. Mr. Sharma informed the audience that SBI had donated a public education van to MOHAN Foundation in order to spread the message of organ donation to a wide spectrum of people.

Mr. Anantha Padmanabhan, NAC Jewellers said that the best way to take the movement forward was for every person to pledge to donate his or her organs and be a role model to others. He said, following his example about 60 or more of his family and friends had signed a Donor Card.

Welcoming the gathering, Dr. Sunil Shroff, Managing Trustee of MOHAN Foundation said, "Tamil Nadu is at the forefront of the deceased organ donation programme in India. The latest statistics show that there have been 230 organ donors in the state from October 2008 till date. As a result 1318 organs and tissues have been donated saving many lives. Events such as this help people realize the importance of this cause and build positive public will about organ donation."

Dr. V. Kanagasabai, Dean, MMC & RGGGH, Dr. M. Panchanathan, JD (MEDL), DMRHS, Dr. N. Muthurajan, Dy. Director of Medical Education, and Dr. V. Palani, Medical Superintendent, participated in the rally which also had enthusiastic corporate people and students from colleges like Loyola College, Agrasen College, Quaid-e-Milleth, Sindhi College, and SDNB Vaishnav College marching to promote awareness on organ donation carrying banners with slogans such as, "Give Life a Second Chance", "Don't take your organs to heaven. God knows it's needed here." MCC students effectively presented the theme of organ donation through a vibrant street theatre performance. The Mayor distributed medals to the sand sculptors from Government College of Fine Arts

MOHAN Foundation a not-for-profit, non-governmental organisation was started to promote deceased organ donation. It is a registered NGO with Income Tax exemption under Section 80G and 35AC and has offices in Chennai, Hyderabad,Bangalore, Coimbatore, Chandigarh, Delhi, Visakhapatnam and USA.

About Medindia

Medindia.com (or .net) is a premier health website providing a range of services to both healthcare consumers and the medical professionals. Medindia has a net presence of over 10 years and was started with a social mission to improve the health of people by providing important authentic and validated health information that is easily understandable. Over the years it has evolved into Asian regions most comprehensive portal in the health sector in terms of content, viewer-ship, technology leadership and domain expertise.

The initiative is headed and sustained by eminent doctors with a team of editors, programmers and designers. The popular areas include health calculators, inter-actives, animation, slides, news, Health Info, health directories, electronic medical records and medical education related information. The search directories have over 200,000 entries of Doctors, Dentists, Hospitals, Medical colleges, Chemists, Surgical suppliers and Pharmaceuticals from all over India.The content and medical expertise for the site is provided by Medindia Health Network Pvt Ltd. The site is affiliated to Medical Computer Society of India and contributes part of its income in promoting medical informatics to improve patient care.
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Rahul Singh says he can make humanitarian disaster relief faster, better, and cheaper

It’s two and a half days since the magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti on January 12, 2010. The Adventist Hospital, an enormous white building in a formerly leafy suburb of Port-au-Prince, now looks more like a war zone. Thousands of people are camped around the hospital in need of urgent medical care—mangled limbs, bleeding head wounds, shattered bones. Every few minutes a pickup truck emerges from the dust and rubbish to deposit yet another injured body onto the hospital grounds.

In the midst of this bloody chaos stands Rahul Singh, a Toronto paramedic who rushed to the Haitian capital within hours of hearing the catastrophic news. A big, charismatic bear of a man, Singh becomes the natural centre of gravity of most rooms he walks into, and in the swirling chaos of the hospital, he’s the eye of the storm, someone people can’t help but look to for leadership. He doesn’t keep them waiting. Singh quickly sets to work with four paramedics, a general surgeon, and a water technician, all people he brought with him on a few hours’ notice.

The medical team begins to set fractures and amputate gangrenous limbs while Singh searches the surrounding area for a place to set up the water purification unit. He discovers a swimming pool that’s fed by a creek on the adjoining university campus. There are thousands of litres of water in the pool that they can purify. The creek will refill the pool, providing a continuous supply of water. He concentrates on the task at hand, blocking out the chaos around him. Later, he’ll describe it as a “Zen moment” in which time stands still. Within a few minutes, clean water is flowing from the tap. Singh and his team have only been in Haiti for a few hours, but they’re up and running.

In the immediate days after the quake, this was no small feat. The death toll was already estimated at 200,000 victims, and thousands more lay trapped or dead in the rubble. Non-governmental agencies tried to mobilize but faced complications because the country was in shambles without electricity or phone service. Wreckage, dead bodies, fires and homeless people blocked most roads. Schools, government buildings, and hospitals had collapsed, and even a prison was destroyed, leaving 4,000 inmates at large. Yet over an eight-week period, Rahul Singh and his small group of colleagues from the international aid NGO he founded, Global Medic, provided medical assistance to more than 7,000 people and distributed 15 million litres of clean water. Even more remarkable is that they did it on a budget of $400,000—miniscule by the measure of any humanitarian operation.

Global Medic’s work in Haiti earned Singh a place on TIME magazine’s “2010 TIME 100” list of the world’s most influential people, putting him in the company of Barack Obama, Lady Gaga, and Steve Jobs. The Globe and Mail named him one of Canada’s “Top 40 under 40” in 2009. Though the recognition is a recent development, he’s been doing his unorthodox humanitarian work for a long time: for the past 13 years Singh and his team have provided life-saving assistance in more than 40 countries suffering in the aftermath of tsunamis, earthquakes, cyclones, floods,landslides, and other disasters. However, despite his numerous awards and considerable experience, Singh remains an outsider in Canadian international disaster aid.

Singh is naturally gregarious, with a natural everyman charm. Whether it’s chatting up Taylor Swift’s backing band in a New York elevator (they were also attending the TIME 100 awards in 2010, and he offered to share a cab) or addressing the Global Competitiveness Forum in Riyadh, he draws people in. Colleagues describe him as larger than life—the kind of person that can walk into a room and instantly captivate everyone’s attention. He brushes off any suggestion, however, that his rising-star status means he has any special talents. “I just work hard,” he says. “That’s all I’ve got. I see talented people around me and I can put them in a position to deliver.”

Born in 1970, Singh grew up as an only child with a single mother in Verdun, a former working class neighbourhood on the island of Montreal. “I was a poor kid. I was also an English kid in a French community and a brown kid in a white community,” he says. After his rough and tumble youth, Singh ended up in law enforcement and made his way to Hamilton, Ontario where he took a job with the Niagara Regional Police Service. He later moved to Toronto to work as a community patrol officer with Toronto Community Housing. The stress of working in a milieu of drugs, guns, and violence began to take a toll on Singh’s marriage, among other factors. He decided to leave law enforcement and become a paramedic instead, graduating from college in 1989.

The switch to working ambulances was a better fit for Singh, but it failed to save his marriage. At the age of 27, he was divorced, balding, and grumpy. Deciding that he needed to change things up, he took off travelling the world, and eventually wound up in Nepal where he worked with an organization that was training local medics. When a mudslide wiped out a nearby village, Singh was sent on his first humanitarian mission.

He slept in a hammock that was not at all designed for a man of his bulky frame; most nights it sagged so low that he ended up sitting in floodwater. Among the few comforts he enjoyed were cheese rations and listening to Marvin Gaye’s “Trouble Man” on his Walkman. But despite the deprivations of the job, Singh found he was enjoying himself: “I discovered that I’m good at this. I’m thinking, ‘it’s the bomb!’” But the project soon ran out of money and was forced to close down. Singh’s dedication to the mission had not gone unnoticed, however, and he was invited to a meeting in Kathmandu to meet the director of the aid agency. When Singh arrived, he found the director staying in a five-star hotel. “There’s people dying and he’s eating a $21 pepper steak,” Singh says, shaking his head in disbelief. “I couldn’t swallow it, so I told him off.”

That experience was the catalyst for the development of Global Medic. Singh wanted to create an aid NGO that would do away with the executive salaries, bureaucracy, equipment overhead, and the other expensive trappings of aid delivery that he saw as wasteful. He started the David McAntony Gibson Foundation (named after his best friend, who had died in 1998), of which Global Medic would be the operational arm. He raised $8,500 in the foundation’s first year as a charity. And he rounded up his dirty dozen, 13 fellow Canadian paramedics. They set off on their first international mission in 2003, assisting anti-landmine personnel in Cambodia.

Global Medic has now worked on more than 60 missions and their 2010/2011 budget topped out at $1.4 million. Yet Singh takes no paycheque; he still works full-time as a paramedic with the Toronto Emergency Service. He and his full roster of paramedics, firefighters, and police officers all volunteer for missions by taking vacation time or unpaid leave. “I think we’ve got more credibility when we are unpaid,” Singh says, “and more importantly, it’s pretty hard to question our motivations.”

It’s remarkable that Singh has amassed a team of volunteers to call upon at a moment’s notice. The model best suits shift workers who can take time off without losing their jobs. Julie Colgan, a London, Ontario paramedic who has served three missions with Global Medic, says she enjoys the experience of seeing firsthand the difference she can make in a community, but she also appreciates the opportunity to work with Singh because of his “no bullshit, get out of my way because I’m coming in’ attitude.”

It’s precisely that approach—Singh calls it “pigheaded,” and says it’s typical of the paramedic mentality necessary to cope with the job—that has enabled Global Medic to grow exponentially in such a short period of time. Singh’s persuasive skills mean money and supplies seem to multiply in his care. He asks companies to donate generators, medicine, tents, water purification tablets and food to supply the warehouse outside Toronto. The team goes to Costco to stock up on food, PowerBars, bandages, and gauze before a mission. “Store clerks ask us why we’re buying so much stuff, and when I explain that we’re taking it to earthquake victims in Japan they give it to us for free,” he says. He often persuades airline and helicopter companies to fly in personnel and supplies at no cost. He also donates his speaking fees—up to $10,000 per talk—to Global Medic. One of Singh’s signature maneuvers is to tell speaking sponsors that he donates his fee, then ask them to double it. They usually do.

All this chutzpah hasn’t won Singh many friends among government officials at home. Singh is one of the few NGO directors in Canada willing to openly criticize the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). He becomes livid when describing how long it takes for the agency to make funding decisions following a disaster. “They tell me they’re doing a good job but they’re sitting behind a desk,” he says, pounding a fist on the table. “I’ve just been in Haiti watching nine-year-old girls getting their legs chopped off, so don’t tell me you’re doing a good job, because you’re not.”

As a paramedic, Singh knows that time is of the essence when it comes to saving lives. It’s his primary focus—get into a country as fast as possible with life saving assistance—much like a 911 call—and then get out of the way so that longer-term agencies can take over. He believes Canada should have a prepackaged program like his, complete with inflatable hospitals and portable water units, ready to go at all times. “We get Canadian supplies, innovation, and boots on the ground within the first 24 hours of a disaster,” he says.

In the current system, the bulk of Canada’s humanitarian funding goes to the multinational organizations such as CARE, Oxfam and Save the Children. It frustrates Singh to see funding for immediate disaster response go to agencies that he says are better suited to long-term development. Trying to crack into that closed circle has put Singh at loggerheads with the bigger agencies, which—perhaps understandably—don’t agree with Singh’s assessment. “I get a real push back, ‘stay down young man’ type of vibe from them,” he says.

Agencies such as CARE and Oxfam have developed their mandate for disaster response in a way that takes into account their long term relief goals and advocacy work. They maintain the view that it’s important not just to get in fast after a disaster but also to get it right. “There are moments in which an organization that is first on the scene can appear to be more efficient,” says Kevin McCort, president and CEO of Care Canada. “In the long run, though, it makes sense for the community to benefit from a group that can stay there and provide value for a long time, rather than the person who gets their first with whatever they happen to have.”

Faster isn’t necessarily better, McCort says. He describes how the Canadian Medical Assistance Teams, a small NGO based in Brantford, Ontario, immediately got on planes to fly to Tokyo after the 2011 earthquake in Japan. However, once they landed they realized they weren’t prepared to deal with the radiation crisis, so they had to come home. The focus on getting into a country first is also not entirely altruistic. “There’s a macho component among aid groups,” says Susan MacGregor, professor of international development at Humber Institute of Technology & Advanced Learning. “Part of it is bragging rights to a certain extent. All the NGOs want to be first on the ground.”

In theory, getting into a country for the initial life saving response following a disaster should be simple. “It’s easy in the sense that the needs are clear,” says MacGregor. “When people don’t have water, you give them water. That is much more clear than trying to give somebody a livelihood, or trying to improve somebody’s life expectancy.” Yet providing these basic necessities becomes extremely difficult in the midst of chaotic conditions. The result is that disaster aid—an estimated $15 billion a year industry with more than 250,000 employees worldwide—has become a circus.

The size of the circus has gotten bigger in recent years as instantaneous news reports with images of suffering create awareness around the need for help. That prompts a flood of well-intentioned—but not necessarily competent—do-gooders into high-profile locations. While there is logic to having more players on the ground, it hasn’t yet resulted in a more effective response.

Many experienced organizations have become increasingly frustrated at the bottleneck of aid that occurs. Médecins Sans Frontières had their planes bumped off schedule in Haiti because flights for celebrities such as John Travolta and Sean Penn took precedence. Involvement of state actors such as military and government compounds the problem and seems to be an increasing trend. Add to that hundreds, perhaps thousands, of church groups and small NGOs with varying degrees of professionalism, capability, and contextual understanding and you have an atmosphere not unlike the Wild West. “There is a difference between ‘able to do’ and ‘has the capacity to do’ and those are important distinctions,” says Michael Fark, operations manager with MSF.

MacGregor describes a situation in which a group called Mothers Without Borders came to Indonesia after the earthquake and tsunami in 2004. The group of women from Arkansas wanted to get to Banda Aceh to care for orphaned babies, but they arrived in the country without tents, water bottles, or food. “They came with a few thousand dollars in cash and had absolutely no idea how to get north in the country. It’s these types that are a huge drain on the system,” she says.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) tries to coordinate the work of various agencies through a cluster system, which splits relief efforts into sectors such as shelter, food, water, and education. However, many small NGOs don’t know about it. Others, such as Global Medic, don’t have full-time personnel to attend meetings, and don’t consider the system useful to them anyway.

Singh prefers to find his own local partners to work with. “The meetings don’t even happen until a week after a disaster and by that time it’s too late,” Singh says. Outsider groups such as Global Medic are branded “cowboys” in the aid world by the larger NGOs. While OCHA is clearly still a work in progress, the UN believes the effort is worthwhile because lack of coordination results in duplicated efforts and wasted resources.

“It’s not that we want to have somebody sitting in a meeting all day,” says Robert Fox, executive director of Oxfam. “But we recognize that if we don’t, we’re operating on partial information and we’re likely to be complicating, rather than helping the situation.” Yet even the UN system has its limitations. “It’s difficult to coordinate 50 agencies,” says Fox. “ It’s impossible to coordinate 5,000.”

Global Medic has now joined Policy Action Group on Emergency Response, a network that promotes coordination between aid agencies. It’s a signal to others in the industry that Singh is willing to play along—up to a point. It’s an acknowledgement that Global Medic may ultimately have to temper Singh’s shoot-first bravado in order to grow. Singh wants access to CIDA funds, which means courting the very agency Singh has spent more than a decade antagonizing.

There have already been some tangible results of this new, more congenial approach: CIDA provided $535,000 to Global Medic to assist with relief following the 2010 flooding in Pakistan. Still, Singh is impatient as ever: “It’s like pulling teeth,” he says. “They’re taking their time to warm up to us, and I’m like, ‘let’s get into bed.’”

For now, however, Global Medic continues to depend on private and corporate donations. “Our donors are different. They don’t want to see pictures of crying babies,” Singh says. He recounts how a law firm in Toronto called up after the earthquake in Haiti and wanted to donate $50,000. When they asked him what he would do with the money, Singh told them “we’ll put another hospital and water unit in, and we can do it tomorrow.” It’s that straight-shooter response and apparent financial transparency that make Global Medic popular with a public that is increasingly aware that there is a gap in what NGOs claim they accomplish and what they can actually do.

Sitting in his office, surrounded by hundreds of framed press clippings, Singh sips tea and reflects on whether he can change the way disaster response is currently delivered. The TIME award has opened doors and in some ways leveled the playing field, but Singh is up-front about his limitations. “We need a CEO here. We need somebody that can wear a tie and go talk to government and speak the language and schmooze—because that’s just not me,” he says. It hasn’t escaped Singh’s attention that often he is the lowest-paid and least-educated person in the room. He shrugs it off. “It’s funny, this life that I lead, because I’m a blue-collar grunt. I’m not a caviar-and-Perrier kind of guy.”

Nevertheless, Singh is determined to change the way Canadian humanitarian aid is delivered, whether the caviar-and-Perrier set—or anyone else—likes it or not. “We’ll get there eventually,” he says. “But will the government open their arms and welcome me?” He throws back his head and a huge bellow of laughter fills the room. “Hell no!”
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Police are custodians of the law, not Umno

YOURSAY ‘I implore the police. Please be seen to be fair so that the rakyat's confidence in you can be restored.'

Cops in cahoots with rowdy mob, alleges ABU

Trumpet Call: The police must act. Not only must they profess to be the custodians of the law, they must be seen to be so. If they just stand by and do nothing to investigate and apprehend the hooligans at Saturday's ‘Anything But Umno' event, all hell can break loose.

There is a distinct possibility that the incident can spark a wider racial conflict. The video evidence is there for all to see. I implore the police, please be seen to be fair so that the rakyat's confidence in you can be restored.

Up2U: So what else is new about these very senior police officers? Their promotion, good posting and other fringe benefits depend on Umno leaders, thus it is only natural and logical for them to follow their instructions and protect their interests.

Just imagine what these senior officers will be capable of when Umno-BN lose in the next general election.

Ashoka PJ: Now you know why the Indian Malaysians need Hindraf - nobody else cares about them, especially the police who use them as punching bags.

Way Forward: Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein and the Polis Di-Raja Malaysia (PDRM), why the double standards?

Students at a peaceful gathering like the university sit-in, you came in full gear and force to disperse and arrest them, but these rowdy pro-Umno scums who had caused much havoc, you did not even raise a finger and your officers even supported them.

Hah Thiam Khean: Our government says Malaysia is not mature enough. If you have open discourse it will lead to violence. Therefore the country needs ‘strong' laws and enforcement to keep peace and protect us.

I agree. We need strong laws and enforcement to deal with violent people who disrupt peaceful gatherings.

There are indeed Malaysians who are not mature enough. When there is open discourse that they do not like, they resort to violence and provocation. The country needs strong law enforcement to immediately arrest, try and jail these violent and immature people.

Dear government, please show you mean business and deal swiftly with these violent people. Please do this even if some police officers and Umno members who committed the violence need to be jailed. Let them make their case in court if they claim to be innocent.

I await your strong enforcement actions to protect all peacefully assembled citizens of Malaysia. Please show me you mean what you say.

CiViC: It's no surprise. It's getting boring to see and read all these. Police? What? They are gangsters for Umno-BN.

Anoymous: The statement Selangor police chief Tun Hisan Tun Hamzah makes on this incident is an insult to all Malaysians.

Look at the video - it doesn't look like anything that Tun Hisan said and it really painted a bad image for Prime Minister Najib Razak. Tell me where is justice, or is there law in our nation?

Louis: This is not the first time that a meeting or conference organised by NGOs or opposition has been interrupted by thugs. It happened so many times before that the police should have by now taken precautions to prevent it.

But surprisingly the police did not learn. Or maybe they are aware of it, but prefer to remain indifferent. Do not tell us that the police did not know or get wind of such impending disturbance.

During the Emergency, our police force had one of the best intelligence services in the region. Has that branch of service deteriorated to such an extent that it cannot even foresee disturbances at this particular function?

Fariez: I was wondering why the Selangor CPO Tun Hisan was actually talking like a defence counsel for the protesters, rather than like a cop.

Even before any investigation was started, he lost no time in claiming that there was no violence, only some shouting and shoving.

He also said that the protesters were actually local kampung folk who had to protest the presence of Malays in the gathering.

I don't think they are kampung folk, they are probably rowdies who got organised somewhere with some NGO backing and came to disrupt the session.

Luckily, as seen on video footage, the ceramah crowd did not retaliate, although the protesters were armed with sticks and started throwing and kicking chairs and pamphlets with impunity, perhaps confident of immunity.

We do not want this culture of violence to take root in Malaysia and police inaction may result more violence in Malaysian politics.

Police, please keep the peace, for that is your job. Let not this happen again. Take stern action against the protesters.

Kamalappans: The mastermind behind the scene could be that ambitious bulldog who wants to be the next MB.

Mr Pringles: The mob is from an Islamic radical group called Waris Malaya. The last time they were seen was at a ceramah called ‘Ayuh Bersatu Mempertabatkan Aqidah Ummah', organised by Hasan Ali, who has since been sacked by PAS.

Pants on Fire: This message is to the IGP (inspector-general of police) - if the police do not arrest anyone despite their faces clearly recorded on video, you are nothing but one of the thugs who were openly defying the laws and taking the law into their own hands.

PB Win: From the video clip, the police should be able to identify each and every ‘monkey' who caused trouble and was charging with batons in their hands, and also those stupid ‘chimpanzees' on motorcycles causing havoc and potential injury by accident.

Did anyone notice a couple standing there with a child, who appeared to be puzzled and not know where to go? Let's see how many of them will be caught...

A tip for the police force: catch the fat monkey and you can catch each and every other monkey.

The above is a selection of comments posted by Malaysiakini subscribers. Only paying subscribers can post comments. Over the past one year, Malaysiakinians have posted over 100,000 comments. Join the Malaysiakini community and help set the news agenda. Subscribe now.
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NGOs slam ‘anti-Semitic’ US think tank comments
"Think tanks are entitled to their political viewpoints – but they’re not free to slander with impunity," AJC says of CAP.

The American Jewish Committee and the Anti-Defamation League weighed in last week on the mushrooming anti-Israel scandal surrounding a group of bloggers working for the US think tank Center for American Progress (CAP).

Jason Isaacson, the AJC’s director of government and international affairs, told The Jerusalem Post by e-mail on Friday that “think tanks are entitled to their political viewpoints – but they’re not free to slander with impunity. References to Israeli ‘apartheid’ or ‘Israel-firsters’ are so false and hateful they reveal an ugly bias no serious policy center can countenance.”

He called on CAP to “disavow them and put a stop to them.”

CAP, which has an estimated annual budget of $38 million, formulates policy suggestions about the Middle East for the Democratic party and politicians.

Zaid Jilani wrote on Twitter, where he is identified as a blogger for CAP website ThinkProgress, “So DC ‘liberals’ are going to spend a lot of time defending Obama against the charge that he’s not supportive enough of Israeli apartheid.”

In an earlier Twitter item, Jilani termed US supporters of the Jewish state “Israel- Firsters.”

The Simon Wiesenthal Center and NGO Monitor in Jerusalem blasted Jilani and CAP for stoking hatred of Jews.

In addition to these “dualloyalty” accusations, Ali Gharib, a CAP blogger, suggested in a Twitter item that US Senator Mark Kirk (R-Illinois) was more loyal to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) than to the United States. Gharib asserted that Kirk represented the pro- Israel organization in Congress.

After the Post reported last week on Gharib’s comment, he wrote that “one [of] my tweets several months ago, a crude characterization of a senator, is being seized upon by critics branding me as an anti-Semite.

While the accusations are completely false and contemptible, I do apologize for the crudeness of the flippant tweet in question.”

The ADL, meanwhile, issued an e-mail statement to the Post last week citing two expressions of anti-Semitism at CAP.

One was the “Israel Firsters” comment, which the ADL said was “playing into the old anti- Semitic notion that Jews are more loyal to some foreign entity than to their own country.”

However, the ADL acknowledged that Jilani had “later tweeted that he didn’t realize the implication of this term, apologized for it, and indicated he would be more careful about his language.”

The second example it cited was “an accusation in a blog that the Israel lobby was marching America to war against Iran as it did with regard to Iraq.” The ADL expressed “strong disagreements” with the way CAP addressed issues relating to Israel, American-Israeli relations and US policy in the Middle East.

“Most of their blogs come from a perspective of blaming Israel for the lack of progress in Israeli-Palestinian affairs and minimizing or rationalizing the Iranian threat,” the statement read.

Critics also accuse CAP blogger Eli Clifton of ignoring indications that Iran is working on a nuclear device and of pushing a biased agenda against the Jewish state.

The ADL wrote that it had “raised our concerns directly with CAP about the preponderance of articles critical of Israel.”

In response to the Jewish groups’ criticism, CAP spokeswoman Andrea Purse told the Post on Saturday that “hundreds of articles and policy papers from the Center for American Progress and ThinkProgress demonstrate our longstanding support for Israel and the two-state solution to Middle East Peace Process as being in the moral and national security interests of the United States.”

She stressed her organization’s abhorrence of anti-Semitism, noting that CAP had “written about its continuing undercurrents and takes any allegation of anti-Semitism extremely seriously. A handful...

of tweets on the personal accounts of ThinkProgress staff were inappropriate, and the authors have publicly apologized for using objectionable language. That language never appeared in any CAP or ThinkProgress publication and never will.”

The spokeswoman added, however, that the think tank would also not tolerate “attempts to ascribe to CAP or ThinkProgress views we clearly do not hold or attack us by association with individuals and groups we have no connection with whatsoever.”

She refused to comment on whether CAP agreed with Matthew Duss, the director of the think tank’s Middle East Progress department, who has compared Israel’s policies to racism in America’s “segregated South.”

Duss declined to answer repeated queries regarding these statements.

Multiple attempts to reach CAP president John Podesta, who was former president Bill Clinton’s chief of staff, were also unsuccessful.

CAP staffers’ remarks on the Jewish state have attracted growing concern from Demcoratic and Republican congressional officials.

“I think what we’re seeing play out is a power struggle inside the Democratic Party over the very nature of the USIsrael relationship,” a senior Republican Senate aide told the Post. “There are some forces on the far-Left who insist on perpetuating anti-Semitic stereotypes as a way to achieve their political goals and to change US policy toward Israel. And then you have individuals in the Center-Left, like a Josh Block [the former Clinton administration and AIPAC spokesman who first brought the CAP bloggers’ comments to the attention of Washington news site Politico in December], who are pushing back and saying enough is enough.”
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President attacks NGOs over commenting on West Papua
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has reprimanded non-government organisations that often criticise how the Indonesian Military (TNI) handles security in West Papua, saying that they imply that the law should not be enforced in the country’s easternmost island.

“Papua is part of Indonesia. It doesn’t make sense that NGOs say something that implies that we can’t enforce the law in Papua,” he said at the TNI and National Police leaders meeting in Jakarta.

The President said the military presence in Papua was not without reason.
“They are there because there is still an armed separatist movement, which we should be aware of,” he said, emphasising that there was only a small military presence that did not conduct aggressive military operations.

The President stressed that the government was eager to improve people’s welfare on the island by implementing programs to accelerate Papua’s economic development.

‘No tip service’
“That is not just lip service – the average development expenditure per capita in Papua is the highest in the country,” the President said.

He added that he had conveyed the government’s policy on Papua to his counterparts across the globe as news regarding military activities in Papua spread quickly to world leaders.

“Many have asked me about what happened in Papua. I should explain that the military presence in Papua was not without justification,” he said as quoted by kompas.com.
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Human rights violations escalate despite 2011 uprising
CAIRO: In December, member of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) Major General Mokhtar El-Molla criticized in a meeting with foreign journalists the media's focus on the cases of detained bloggers like Alaa Abdel-Fattah and Maikel Nabil.

"Nabil and Abdel-Fattah are Egyptians and we are very keen to protect all Egyptians. But we are talking about one citizen out of 85 million," he said.

In a letter from inside his dark, narrow prison cell, Nabil wrote about one such citizen.

"The military believes that one citizen is a useless, marginalized thing, but their minds cannot understand that only one citizen put an end to Mubarak’s rule: the citizen Khaled Mohamed Saeid."

Nabil described this ‘one citizen’ theory as a fascist ideology where the rights of one can be compromised to protect the well-being of an entire society, forgetting that sacrificing the freedom of one leads to the enslavement of all.

One year after Egypt’s popular revolt toppled strongman Hosni Mubarak, the state of human rights has worsened as thousands of civilians were referred to military trials, reports of violations and torture against prisoners increased, and protesters were killed and injured.

After Mubarak's ouster, SCAF’s sugarcoated statements about "protecting the revolution" heightened aspirations of democracy for millions of Egyptians.

SCAF dissolved the parliament and disbanded the State Security apparatus known for its flagrant violations of human rights under Mubarak, but immediately formed "Homeland Security," which many saw as a mere change in name.

"The SCAF has fallen short of satisfying the hopes and aspirations that were at the heart of the uprising," Amnesty International said in its first major report about the Arab Spring titled "Year of Rebellion: The State of Human Rights in the Middle East and North Africa."

Military tribunals

In one year, around 12,000 civilians were subjected to military tribunals, a move justified by SCAF as a way to preserve order after police forces withdrew from the streets on Jan. 28.

This claim was, however, disproved by rights activists who said that military trials continued even after police returned in full force.

"SCAF has tried over 12,000 civilians in military courts in seven months, while ousted president Hosni Mubarak used military trials for silencing only 2,000 civilian political opponents in 30 years," lawyer and executive director of the Hisham Mubarak Law Center (HMLC), Ahmed Ragheb, said in a press conference in September.

The abhorrent practices discovered to be associated with military tribunals included, according to rights activists, beatings during arrest, torture and maltreatment inside military prison, and the lack of basic rights in courts where lawyers faced many violations while defending clients. In numerous cases, defendants were handed down prison sentences in the absence of their lawyers.

Forced virginity checks performed on seven female protesters arrested during a violent crackdown on a Tahrir sit-in last March was one of the most flagrant violations by military police.

Samira Ibrahim, one of those protesters, was the first to take her case to court, winning a verdict by the Administrative Court to end the practice of virginity checks in military prison.

Ibrahim filed two other lawsuits, one before the Administrative Court against referring her to a military trial — where she received one-year suspended sentence — and another before a military court against those who performed the virginity checks.

Ibrahim is yet to see justice. The military court has charged the doctor who performed the checks with public indecency but her lawyers are struggling to change the charge to sexual assault.

"Military trials for civilians are a continuation of Mubarak's selective justice used to oppress opponents. Trying civilians before military courts on the pretext of the deteriorating security situation is a typical pre-revolution policy," said Ragheb.

"Military trials are expanding, not only in terms of the number of civilians tried, but geographically as well; citizens in Suez, Alexandria, Ismailia, Qena, Assuit and Gharbeya are tried in military courts."

Military tribunals have not only targeted Tahrir protesters, but also ordinary citizens who were sometimes accused of violating the curfew, or were involved in minor scuffles with neighbors.

Nabil and Abdel-Fattah were the first to reject being interrogated by the military prosecution. Nabil received a two-year prison sentence, but Abdel Fattah was eventually referred to a civilian investigating judge in the Maspero case, and was released pending investigations.

Nabil received a pardon this week, and was released on Tuesday evening.

The two were not the only political activists targeted by the military judiciary. Prominent activist and former member of the April 6 Youth Movement, Asmaa Mahfouz was referred to military prosecution after posting a critical opinion of SCAF and was accused of incitement to violence using her Twitter account, but she was quickly pardoned because her interrogation drew a wave of criticism by political powers and rights groups.

In 2011, SCAF repeatedly promised to lift the decades-long state of emergency, but instead widened the scope of the Emergency Law in September when angry protesters stormed the Israeli Embassy to protest the killing of six Egyptian soldiers on the border.

SCAF promised later to lift the emergency law before parliamentary elections.

Head of the military judiciary General Adel El-Morsy said that military trials for civilians would not end until the emergency law is lifted.

In a speech on Jan. 24, Tantawi said the emergency state will be lifted on the morning of the first anniversary of the Jan. 25 uprising. The law would still apply in cases of “thuggery,” he said.

Right to speak

In the meantime, freedom of expression has suffered. Following a brief period in which the future of media looked promising, former information minister Osama Heikel declared that no more licenses will be given to satellite channels.

"Words and opinions are still more powerful than live bullets," lawyer Negad El-Borai said in a press conference in January.

The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) slammed in a statement in January the crackdown on freedom of expression when four members of the April 6 Youth Movement were arrested for "hanging anti-SCAF posters," as well as the continuous attacks on the "3askar Kazeboon" (Military Liars) campaign that aims to expose violations of army forces through film screenings in neighborhoods around the country.

"The SCAF is using the same tactics and the same oppression [of Mubarak] by using the general prosecution to restrict freedom of expression. This time they used organized groups from the remnants of the old regime to clash with anti-SCAF campaigns," ANHRI said.

"SCAF presents this as a scuffle between two [groups] of the citizens, as if the revolution is a point of view, as if democracy is a subject of conflict between two sides."

Executive Director of ANHRI, lawyer Gamal Eid recounted the crackdown on media and freedom of expression since February.

"We expected [a bit of] confusion in the political performance of SCAF because military institutions are undemocratic by nature, but the crackdown on free speech definitely betrays bad intentions," Eid said.

"SCAF should have given more space to free media and free speech as a sign of goodwill. Enabling media to criticize SCAF will help them perform better," he said.

Stains of blood

The killing and injuring of peaceful protesters were the most flagrant of human rights violations in 2011, bringing to mind the bloody crackdown of the Mubarak regime on Jan. 25 protesters, which left over 800 killed and thousands injured.

The bloody crackdowns on a mostly Coptic protest in October left 27 dead and hundreds injured; on Tahrir protesters in Mohamed Mahmoud Street in November that left over 45 dead; and on protesters camped outside the Cabinet building in December left 19 dead — heightening abuses to a frightening level.

In Maspero, 14 of the 27 victims were run over by Armored Personnel Carriers (APCs), in Mohamed Mahmoud excessive amounts of teargas were used, and in the Cabinet clashes women were targeted by army forces. In all three incidents, protesters were killed with live bullets.

No serious investigations were launched in these three incidents or any of the violations before them, according to rights groups.

"These violations come in an atmosphere of averting punishment and lack of accountability as many of the complaints [against violations] are ignored by the Prosecutor General," ANHRI said.

Targeting

A group of foreign and local non-profit organizations (NGOs) were raided by army forces and prosecutors in December and had their equipment and documents confiscated.

Minister of Justice Adel Abdel Hameed said in a press conference earlier in December that investigations into illegal foreign funding were based on the results of a probe conducted by a fact-finding committee affiliated to the ministry.

"The probe examined the legality of the work of 300 NGOs and the direct foreign funding they received from foreign governments and organizations," the minister said.

"The investigations revealed that a number of Egyptian and foreign organizations received foreign funding and worked illegally inside Egypt. Investigations are ongoing as other state monitoring institutions are compiling reports about these organizations," he added.

Rights organizations slammed this escalation, describing it as a move to silence voices of dissent.

"This serious step marks the beginning of a security campaign that is expected to affect dozens of advocacy groups, and is part of a broader campaign launched by the SCAF to smear and stigmatize all rights activists and numerous forces involved in the January 25 revolution," the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) said in a statement in December.

"The aim of this unprecedented campaign is to cover up SCAF’s failures in the transitional period and harass political groups, activists, and rights advocates who have dared criticize its policies, expose the shameful abuses that have taken place under its administration, and in some cases successfully pursued legal action against military violations before the courts," EIPR added in a joint statement with other rights groups, titled "Crisis of Human Rights in Egypt: The Bitter Results of Ten Months in the Grip of the Military.”

Observers believe that human rights violations against pro-democracy advocates are a continuation of Mubarak’s oppressive tactics and a sign of a decaying tyranny exerting all efforts to survive a revolution.
-------------------------------------------
US NGO tells DNE 'We applied for license in 2005'
CAIRO: Refuting accusations by the Egyptian government, US NGOs Freedom House and the National Democratic Institute told Daily News Egypt they had applied for proper licensing from the country's foreign ministry and were awaiting responses.

"We have been working without a license, but at the same time we did not have an office or a location," said a Freedom House employee, who wished to remain anonymous.

"However, after January 25, we attempted to apply for a license at the foreign ministry and they actually asked us to open up an office and file the proper paperwork in order to do so."

He stressed that the organization was told that they must open the office before they could apply for a license.

"We followed the procedure, opened an office and filed the proper documents with the foreign ministry; they replied with an official letter stating that they received our paperwork and they would respond to our request within 60 days," he added.

The organization received this letter just one day before their office was raided by police officers last Thursday.

Responding to allegations that Freedom House has received and disseminated funds illegally, the source said that the organization does not even have a local bank account.

“All financial transactions are coordinated with the Washington office, we simply review the procedures here, we do not deal with any funds as the government has alleged," the Freedom House employee said.

Two ministers insisted on Sunday that the state acted “within the law” as part of an investigation on alleged illegal funding of select local and foreign human rights organizations.

Fayza Aboul Naga, Egypt's minister of international cooperation and planning pointed out at a press conference Sunday, that after the January 25 uprising many of the organizations under inspection "suddenly" began to open up offices all over Cairo "behind the government's back."

“Our ministry is responsible for monitoring such cases," she said. “The organizations in question are not operating within the permitted fields and some are operating without the proper licensing from the foreign ministry.”

Julia Hughes, country director of the National Democratic Institute (NDI), told Daily News Egypt that their organization had applied for a license back in November 2005 and were still awaiting approval from Egypt's foreign ministry.

According to Article 6 of the NGOs Law 84 of 2002, the ministry is under obligation to enter a summary statement of the association’s statute into the relevant register within sixty days from the date of submission by the application by the founders. “Should sixty days elapse without being made registration shall be deemed effective under the law.”

Yet Aboul Naga said that the investigation involving these “select” organizations was brought to the Cairo Court of Appeals' attention by her ministry because they are operating without the proper permits and are allegedly receiving aid without approval, knowledge or oversight from the state.

After the January uprising, which ousted former president Hosni Mubarak, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces accused pro-democracy protesters, including the April 6 Youth Movement widely credited for spearheading the protests, of illegally acquiring foreign funds in a bid to “destroy” Egypt.

In response to allegations that SCAF may have been behind the investigations, Aboul Naga stressed that last week's raid did not involve any members of the armed forces “whatsoever” and that the police was simply asked to secure the inspection and the area surrounding the offices.

“This was not a move to destroy human rights organizations as some have portrayed it to be,” Justice Minister Adel Abdel Hamid told a group of journalists at the press conference.

“Egypt is careful to provide support to facilitate the work of human rights organizations, both foreign and local,” he added. “But after January 25, Egypt has vowed to be a country that fully complies with a fair and just legal system.”

She added that the organizations under question have political affiliations and are receiving funding from other nations and global institutions. This, under Egyptian law, is illegal, Aboul Naga stressed.

According to Law 84 NGOs need approval from the Ministry of Social Solidarity before receiving foreign funds.

Article 11 of that law bans NGOs from pursuing activities that “threaten national unity, violate public order or morality” or “practice any political or trade union activity exclusively restricted to political parties and trade unions.”

Rights activist have consistently criticized these vague stipulations, accusing the governments to abusing them to stifle dissent.

Abdel Hamid reiterated that the state has the power to block funding and employees of the organizations could face imprisonment and a fine if found guilty of operating and accepting funds illegally.

“We have more than 35,000 non-profit organizations which work in social development, women’s rights, and other initiatives, and we commend them because they are able to provide assistance to communities that the government is unable to reach,” said Aboul Naga.

Both Aboul Naga and Abdel Hamid stressed that the investigations were "not an attack" on civil society organizations, as portrayed by the media.

Youssef Mohamed, manager of Initiatives and Campaigns at the Egyptian Democratic Academy told DNE that if the government will move to shut down organizations that work in development or political awareness for receiving funds or donations, then the state must provide alternative support or encourage local businesses to donate.

"If they really believe in providing support for these organizations, then they must do this," he said. "These movements are creating political and social awareness and this is a problem for the government, Fayza Aboul Naga was a minister under the Mubarak regime, she is still a minister now and apparently she thinks she is in the pre-January 25 era… such violations are no longer acceptable."

The press conference comes a day after the United States, the European Union, and the United Nations strongly condemned last week's raid on the 17 offices of 10 pro-democracy and human rights groups in Egypt.

The raid on the civil society organizations also triggered threats to halt the US’ $1.5 million in military aid to Egypt, said reports.

On Friday, the UN human rights body called for an end to “heavy-handed tactics.”

“The reactions to these investigations are based on void beliefs, this was not an attack or crackdown, it is an investigation and this must be made clear inside and outside Egypt,” said Aboul Naga.
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Underhand move against SL

People from all walks of life yesterday expressed their dissatisfaction over a scheduled protest today by a handful of persons posing as journalists, whose agenda it is to tarnish the country’s image.

They said that these elements with vested interests are trying to disrupt the day- to- day life of the people by launching these protests to achieve their sinister agendas.

They also said that these elements were trying to harm the country’s image by launching this type of protest at a time when Lanka has won accolades internationally for eliminating the scourge of terrorism.

According to S M Sirinivasa, a businessman from Kegalle, the government has ensured the freedom of the people in all parts of the country by eliminating terrorism which plagued the country for more than 30 years.

He said that these elements in connivance with their collaborators in foreign countries are engaged in a futile attempt to tarnish the country’s image. Sirinivasa was of the view that the objectives of the LTTE rump in foreign countries and group of persons who are trying to incite the people in the South and North are the same and thatthey want to destabilise the country.

Sirinivasa said the country has seen massive development in the aftermath of the war and these elements want to reverse this progressive march towards development and prosperity.

Peradeniya University, Sociology Department, Senior Lecturer Dr Vijitha Nanayakkara said that the government took many steps to protect media freedom as soon it came to the power. “The government took great efforts to strengthen the civil society and protect media freedom in the post- conflict period despite various obstacles. Some groups and persons allege that there is no media freedom at present.

We can recall how these groups and persons were engaged in media suppression in the past. It is obvious they are doing so to achieve their own objectives,” Dr Nanayakkara said.

“A free but more responsible media are essential for conflict-sensitive reporting. All media personnel have a responsibility to engage in fair and balanced reporting. They should uphold media ethics and moral values. It is only then that we can create a truly humane society,” he said.

He said that the aim of this so called protest and agitation is to place the government in difficulty. “The government is engaged in rebuilding Sri Lanka in the aftermath of the 30 year war.

It is the responsibility of all Sri Lankans to help and strengthen the government to achieve targeted economic and social goals”. The Free Media Movement is organizing a protest against the government by claiming that there is media suppression in Sri Lanka.

Ven Watinapaha Somanada Thera commenting on this said that there is no truth in the claim that the media was suppressed. “The fact is some media organizations are trying to take unnecessary advantage over media freedom. This is an attempt to mislead the people. Media organizations should do a service for the betterment of the country as well as people and act with responsibility. Media organizations should be well disciplined when reporting incidents,” said Ven Somananda.

“The ‘Black January’ declared by certain media groups against the government is part of a conspiracy being adopted by some NGOs and it is the new version of Neocolonialism, Lakbima News Chief Editor Attorney-At-Law Rajpal Abeynayaka said.

“It is true that during the war, there were some restrictions on the media ,but that situation no longer prevails in Sri Lanka.

“These situations occur during times of war.

That is a common feature anywhere in the world. Great Britain also controlled the role of the media during the IRA conflict, he pointed out. “These fake journalists run on money and have been hired to carry out the western agendas.

“Certain NGOs found it difficult once the war ended. They lived on weapons dealings and armed sales and would never like to see a peaceful environment in the country. “If the country is rife with turmoil, it will be easy to sustain their livelihoods depending on the money pumped in to their organizations. After the war ended,their funds were limited and their luxurious lives were dealt a severe blow.

“Sri Lanka has been named as one of the best countries for tourism. This situation will be further strengthened in the future. Therefore, these elements began to tarnish the good image acquired by a terrorism free Sri Lanka. This move clearly bares the conspiracy;, he added.
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Bar Council says homosexuals free to speak up
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 24 — The Malaysian Bar Council refuted today Utusan Malaysia’s claims that it supports homosexuality but backed the freedom of expression “minorities who face discrimination, abuse and persecution for their sexual identity.

An Utusan Malaysia bureau chief’s column in the Malay daily questioned why the Bar Council “supported” homosexuality among Malaysians, calling it part of a “deviant wave” that is fast gaining acceptance throughout the world.

But Bar Council president Lim Chee Wee (picture) told The Malaysian Insider “Utusan’s claims are irrelevant.”

“We would not support same-sex marriage but we support freedom of expression, even for (Perkasa president Datuk) Ibrahim Ali despite not agreeing with him,” he said, referring to the leader of the right-wing Malay rights NGO.

Lim said section 377 of the Penal Code bars both anal and oral sex without any distinction with regards to sexuality.

“Penetration is sufficient to constitute the sexual connection necessary to the offence described in this section. What is clear is that this provision does not draw a distinction between homosexual and heterosexual activity,” he said.

He added that the Bar Council “supports the freedom of expression and assembly by a group of minorities who face discrimination, abuse and persecution for their sexual and gender identity.”

Section 377 provides that “any person who has sexual connection with another person by the introduction of the penis into the anus or mouth of the other person is said to commit carnal intercourse against the order of nature.”

Lim said that as heterosexual adults engage in oral and anal sex, such a law presented a “moral hypocrisy.”

Noraini Razak, who was a news editor at the Malay daily until last month, accused the lawyers today of supporting gays, lesbians and transgendered people despite Malaysia being among 70 out of a total of 195 countries which banned homosexuality.

“It is honestly very strange when this deviant wave, which is being defended by this group (Seksualiti Merdeka) as a human right, gets the direct and indirect support from many local NGOs, including the Bar Council,” she wrote in her column.

Umno’s Utusan Malaysia also recently accused Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim of supporting homosexuality during an interview with BBC.

In the interview, the BBC reporter had reportedly asked Anwar whether he was prepared to push for the idea of anti-discrimination as far as gay rights were concerned, to which he had allegedly said “we will have to review some of our archaic laws.”

“We Muslims and non-Muslims in Malaysia generally believe and are committed to support the sanctity of marriage between men and women, but we should not be seen to be punitive and consider the archaic law as relevant,” Anwar had told BBC.

But he had also pointed out that Pakatan Rakyat (PR) did not support homosexuality, an excerpt of the interview which Utusan Malaysia did not include.

Anwar is now demanding a total of RM150 million in damages from the Umno daily for allegedly tarnishing his reputation in an article accusing him of being a gay rights proponent.
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Almost 70% of British public distrust red-top tabloids
Survey in wake of phone-hacking scandal finds only 14% of respondents trust red-tops 'to do what is right'

Polly Curtis: Why has trust in the media increased?

Almost 70% of the British public distrust red-top tabloids in the wake of the phone-hacking scandal, according to a new survey.

In a study of 2,100 UK adults in January, 68% of respondents said they did not trust red-tops – including the Daily Star, the Daily Mirror and the Sun – "to do what is right".

However, faith in the UK media overall actually rose 15% last year among a separate group of 5,600 adults who described themselves as university-educated people who regularly follow the news.

The Edelman Trust Barometer, published on Tuesday, is an annual survey that measures Britons' trust in the government, business, media and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). US firm Edelman is one of the biggest global PR and communications groups.

This is the first time that Edelman has asked a representative sample of UK adults about how much they trust the media, so year-on-year comparisons are unavailable.

Ed Williams, chief executive of Edelman UK, said the survey shows "a separation between TV and radio, serious news including broadsheet newspapers, and social media and tabloid papers at the other end of the scale".

He added: "Those who said their trust in media had decreased cited 'phone-[hacking] stories', 'scandal' and 'politics' – those were the trends."

Just 14% of the group of 2,100 adults trust red-top newspapers "to do what is right", according to the survey, as trust in quality titles and TV news also suffered a decline.

The huge fall leaves red-tops trailing behind social media, such as Twitter and Facebook, as information sources that the public trust in this way.

Edelman's study suggests that broadcasters including the BBC and Sky News are among the most trusted media organisations, ahead of quality titles such as the Guardian and the Daily Telegraph.

Almost 58% of those surveyed said they trust the broadcasters, compared with 47% for quality titles and 39% for "online news sources", such as the Huffington Post.

Only 26% of respondents said they trust mid-market newspapers, including the Daily Mail and Daily Express, while 45% said they distrust them.

• To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editor@mediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication".
-----------------------------------------
Fund misappropriation probe against Bedi on: Police

Probe against former IPS officer Kiran Bedi for allegedly misappropriating funds meant for her NGOs and inflated air tickets are in progress and efforts are on to finalise the investigation at the earliest, the Delhi Police told a court in New Delhi.

In a status report police said the investigation has revealed that Microsoft had provided Rs 48 lakh to Bedi's NGO, India Vision Foundation (IVF), besides 62 laptops and two desktop computers for promoting computer education.

It stated Vedanta Foundation informed the police that IVF was assigned by it to impart computer education among police authorities and 70% of its expenses were to be borne by Vedanta as donation.

The probe was carried by Delhi Police's Crime Branch on the FIR lodged against Bedi on directions of the court on November 26, last year.

"The investigation is in progress and efforts are being made to finalise the investigation at the earliest," the police said in its status report submitted before additional chief metropolitan magistrate Amit Bansal.

The report stated that several documents have been received in response to summons to produce document issued to both Microsoft and Vedanta Foundation several documents.

The police stated that summons were issued to Fly Well Travels for production of documents and details of air tickets purchased by Bedi, but it(the travels) sought more time to provide the details.

The report said, "Fly Well Travels has been located and notice under section 191 CrPC has been served upon it to produce the details of air tickets procured by Kiran Bedi either in her individual capacity or as chief of IVF.

"They were also asked to provide the details of tickets purchased with concession of gallantry medal. They have sought some time to prove the details."

It said Ravi Venkatesan, the then chairman of Microsoft and Jay Motwani, its then manager accounts, have been located as residing in Bangalore and Hyderabad respectively.

"Both have been located and contacted over phone. They will be examined in due course," it said.

It further stated "the CEO of Vedanta Foundation T Ravi Krishnan is in Mumbai who has been requested to join the investigation and will be examined in due course of investigation".

It further said a television news channel has provided the VCD of news broadcasted on November 18, 2011, however, the channel's reply on details of students who had complained against the Bedi-run Navjyoti Community College are still awaited.

Latest NGO's Events & Happenings Part-2 Dated on 25th,2012

2012-01-24T20:57:00.000-08:00

Applications open to LAMP Fellowship 2012-13

Do you want to work with an MP to shape national policy?
Apply Now for LAMP Fellowship 2012-13.

The Legislative Assistants for Members of Parliament (LAMP) Fellowship is an opportunity for exceptional young Indians who are seeking to widen their understanding of politics and policy-making in the country. The LAMP Fellowship is a unique initiative, designed to provide individualised research support to MPs, by training Fellows to assist them in their tasks as law-makers.

The LAMP Fellowship was conceptualised by PRS Legislative Research in 2010, launched with a pilot initiative consisting of 12 LAMP Fellows. Currently, the LAMP Fellowship 2011-12 has 46 LAMP Fellows, who come from diverse academic backgrounds and are working with Members of Parliament from across political parties.

Role of a LAMP Fellow: Each Legislative Assistant is assigned to an MP, to provide quality research support for their legislative and oversight duties. The LAMP Fellow will help MPs frame Parliamentary questions, raise issues, participate in parliamentary debates and speeches and help prepare for committee meetings.

Essential Criteria: Under the LAMP Fellowship, we are seeking committed, highly-motivated individuals to assist MPs for their work in Parliament. Applicants must meet the following criteria:

* Applicants must be no more than 25 years of age (born on or after

January 01,1987)

* Applicants must have at least a Bachelor’s degree in any discipline.
* LAMP Fellows are required to be based in Delhi for the entire duration of the Fellowship.
* Only Indian citizens can apply.

Duration: June 2012 to May 2013.

Applications are now open. Last date for applications is February 26, 2012. Apply at: www.lamp.prsindia.org

Find out more about being a LAMP Fellow at: www.lamp.prsindia.org/faqs

Hear from current LAMP Fellows and MPs in the programme. Watch the LAMP film at: http://lamp.prsindia.org/gallery

If you have any queries regarding the LAMP Fellowship, you can get in touch with us at lampfellowship@prsindia.org

Regards,
The LAMP Fellowship Team
-------------------------------------
AROGYA SENA MEDICAL CAMP AT CUDDALORE THANE CYCLONE AFFECTED AREAS

Founder national chief of Arogya Sena, renowned disaster relief expert and cardiologist Dr Abhijit Vaidya is arriving with a medical team of Arogya Sena at Puducherry on 19th Jan 2012 for 2 days intensive medical relief work. This team of 7 members will visit at least 10 villages around Cuddalore and treat victims of the storm suffering from various disaster related and post disaster medical illnesses. The members of this central team will be Dr Vaidya (leader of the team), Ashish Ajgaonkar, Dr Pandit Bobade, Dr Yogesh Gadekar, Atul Runwal, Ganesh Babar and Manohar Bhandari. This team will bring around 20 categories of high quality medicines as per indigenous code developed by Dr Vaidya out of his vast experience of treating disaster victims since 1993. Dr Vaidya also has vast experience of training volunteers in Disaster management. He has trained around 14000 thousand Arogya Sainiks from 7 states of India. Arogya Sena treats all patients free of cost and has treated around 41000 patients and distributed medicines worth Rs 55 lacs in various disasters across our country in last 16 years without any government or international aids. Dr Vaidya will also guide a team of 10 members of Tamilnadu state branch of Arogya Sena lead by state branch Chief Dr Ravichandiran. Dr Vaidya will also conduct an advocacy programme for around 70 volunteers of Tamilnadu Arogya Sena and NGO’s at Cuddalore on 20th Jan 2012, Friday between 5 to 7 pm.

Dr Ravichandiran, chief of Tamilnadu Arogya Sena is instrumental in bringing Dr Vaidya and his team for the medical relief of Thane storm victims. It was at the time of Tsunami Dr Vaidya had conducted large scale medical relief work along the coasts of Tamilnadu from Chennai to Puducherry. It was this work which inspired Dr Ravichandiran to form Tamilnadu state branch of Arogya Sena. After this he invited Dr Vaidya at Nagapattinam to guide NGO’s involved in the relief work. Latter Dr Vaidya visited Nagapattanam to inaugurate the state branch and train Arogya Sainiks from 29 districts mainly in Disaster Management. Recently he visited Chennai to reorganize the branch and conducted training for Health Rights, another large area tackled by Arogya Sena.

Dr Ravichandiran conducted extensive survey of the disaster hit areas. What he observed that though the casualties were not much the storm inflicted extensive damage to houses, trees, crops and communication systems in 9 out of 13 blocks of Cuddalore. It has rendered few lac people homeless and are suffering from various medical problems as have been staying in make shift shelters since then. Government is concentrating mainly on infrastructure, electricity and water. Medical help is often neglected in long term relief work. Arogya Sena team will tackle this neglected area and provide guidelines to the state branch volunteers for further work.
for more information contact drravifaceindia@gmail.com
or 9442333503
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Need Names of NGOs/Schools working with Girls in Maharashtra

Hi,
If you know of NGOs or schools that fit the bill, please mail me.
Thanks.
- Chandni

From: Team Samhita
Date: Wed, Jan 11, 2012
Subject: Corporate partnership to support health care
needs of 10,000 girls

Hi Chandni,

Here is the note.

An MNC is looking for NGO partners to implement a project for which
we are looking to work with NGOs / schools in areas surrounding Mumbai to reach out to 10,000 girls in total (each NGO / school should reach out to at least 500 girls).

We'd like names of NGOs or schools that work with or have easy access to between 500-10,000 girls from the low-income communities in areas around Mumbai and small cities and towns of Maharashtra.

It'd be nice to have contact details too of people working at such NGOs / schools, if possible.

Also, NGOs working with girls could directly mail you (chandni at samhita.org) and mention the age group that they work with or are open to working with in their area.

Thanks.
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Rural Supply Chain- Piloting Production & Packaging of Products
Read the complete story at:
http://www.drishtee.in

Drishtee is looking volunteers for Rural Supply Chain project under Piloting Production & Packaging of Products.

Project Description:

a. Status of the Project :

The project is presently in a conceptualization stage wherein few products have been identified for the initial piloting phase. Drishtee aims to pick up 2 products initially (for the proposed pilot project) for which it would provide integrated support such as – Provisioning of raw material, Capacity development (training), Quality Control, Packaging support and distribution support.

b. Project Team :

The project team is presently comprising of the top management. A command and control system would be put in place after the pilot.

c. Objectives/Goal :

The objective to understand the cost feasibility of producing/packaging quality products in rural areas for rural as well as urban consumers.

Role and Deliverables :

Intern 1 – Would have the role of supporting the rural enterprise by enabling rural production and packaging of the items.

Intern 2 – Would be focused on relationship and possible partnerships for sourcing best technology, material, raw material etc to support the Rural production center and the packaging unit.

Qualifications :

a. Education : Minimum Graduate

b. Experience : Should have 5 years of experience in the corporate or social sector

c. Skills & Interests: Sustainable development

d. Mandatory Language : English

Stipend :no
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Looking for enhancing your IT skills?

Benefits of using technology cannot be underestimated. It helps a person to increase productivity, improve communication, get more organized & collaborate easily. It provides easy, fast & cost effective IT solution for nonprofits. It is very important in social development to make the NGOs as professional organizations.

ConnectIT is a unique advanced IT training program conducted by NASSCOM Foundation in partnership with Microsoft tailored especially for the Indian NGO community.

The three day ConnectIT workshop which we have organized at Hyderabad from 17th Jan to 19th Jan is an effort from our end to empower you in leveraging Microsoft Office and the power of the Internet.

This will further enhance your skills to communicate effectively, achieve program goals, using social media more effectively to increase your outreach, create annual strategic and funding plans & many more benefits.

Participant’s experience

“I learnt advanced PowerPoint features like power point video, hyperlinks, etc. which helped me to make presentations, got to know about online tools and how to do marketing online, also I shall spread the learning’s to my colleagues which will help them in their daily activities.
I will ask other NGOs from our network to register for your future workshops ….” Mr Pandurang Solanke. Action For Agricultural Renewal in Maharashtra (AFARM)

Our recommendations are that the organization leader or senior staff using MS Office & the Internet should attend this workshop and further share the knowledge with others in the organization. Working knowledge of English is essential. Maximum two people from the organization can register.

We understand that training workshops can be very expensive. So we have made our charges to the minimal off Rs 500 per participant.

Click here for Registration Guidelines
Venue: To be announced shortly

For queries, contact: Vikas Kamble or Santosh More - 9223501938 or 022 28328535/36/37/38
Email us on connectit@nasscomfoundation.org

Looking forward to your participation. Also pass the word to your network in AP & specially NGOs in Hyderabad.
--------------------------------------------
Composting Bin to Compost Food and Garden Waste

Read the complete story at:
http://www.hotbincomposting.com

Do you know the smart way to Compost Food and Garden Waste and save the environment? HotBin effortlessly reduces and recycles Home, Food and Garden Waste into great compost. We offer some simple tips to ensure you have rich compost quickly with ease. For more queries about HotBin composting visit http://www.hotbincomposting.com
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The retreat of glaciers and snowfields in the Himalaya and Tibetan Plateau jeopardize these "water towers" on which 1 billion Asians depend for flows during the dry season and drought years. More than 450 million Asians live within the low-elevation coastal zone, including almost 20 percent of the region's urban residents.Read the complete story at:
http://cdrn.org.in/show.detail.asp?id=23091
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Partnering for sustainability worldwide: Software developers and South Asian accountants support GRI

Read the complete story at:
http://cdrn.org.in/show.detail.asp?id=23096
------------------------------------------------
Partnering for sustainability worldwide: Software developers and South Asian accountants support GRI

Read the complete story at:
http://cdrn.org.in/show.detail.asp?id=23096
-----------------------------------------------
Cerificate Course in Microfinance and Rural Livelihood for satff of NGOs, MFI and unempoyed youth

Read the complete story at:
http://www.cmfraj.org/mfrl.html
Cmf is providing an opportunity to unemployed youths from poor and vulnerable section of the society by providing them jobs in rural development through a Certificate Course.
Centre for microFinance (CmF)Jaipur is, an autonomous organization registered under the Rajasthan Societies Act, 1958, is launching a job oriented certificate course on Microfinance and Rural Livelihoods for the unemployed youth with the support from Rajasthan Rural Livelihood Project (RRLP), Govt. of Rajasthan. On the successful completion of the course the student will be able to do job with NGOs, MFI, Govt. rural development programs like RRLP, NRLM, MPOWER, Banks etc.
The first four batches of the certificate course have been successful, 58 students enrolled in the programme have been employed by various organization like BASIX, SRIJAN, GDS, Ibtada, Ujjivan Microfinance, CULP, Ajeevika Bureau, Lupin foundation, SURE, CSR Hindustan Zinc limited, and others. Presently these students are getting the remuneration in the range of Rs 8,000 to Rs 20,000.
It is fifth batch starting from 1st February 2012 and will end on 31st May 2012. All the students after successful completion of the course will provide job placement in NGOs/RRLP/MFIs
Scholarship is available for BPL students from Khamnor, Devgarh and Kumbalgarh blocks of Rajasamand district, Anandpuri, Gathol, and Sajangarh blocks of Banswara district, Sagwara, Simalwara and Dungarpur blocks of Dungarpur district , Raipur, Shara, Asind blocks of Bhilwara district. The course is also open for Non BPL students without scholarship.
Look forward for your support, in providing the rural youth an opportunity of a career in development sector.
For detail, please go through the attached documents and visit http://www.cmfraj.org/mfrl.html
-------------------------------------------------
FW: GlobalGiving is hosting workshops in Hyderabad and Chennai - please help us spread the word!

Dream A Dream wishes you a festive season filled with love, care and togetherness. Support us in spreading more smiles in this world during this festival of care and compassion. Make a donation at http://www.dreamadream.org/catalog/2

Warm regards,

Vishal Talreja

Cofounder & Executive Director | Dream A Dream | Ashoka Fellow

M: +91-98455 24118 (India)
E: vishal@dreamadream.org | W: www.dreamadream.org
B: vtalreja.blogspot.com

From: Sudeshna Mukherjee [mailto:smukherjee@globalgiving.org]
Sent: 10 January 2012 05:01
To: vishal@dreamadream.org
Subject: GlobalGiving is hosting workshops in Hyderabad and Chennai - please help us spread the word!

Dear Vishal,

Hope this email finds you well. Thanks to support from you, Bangalore Cares and other outreach partners, last September, GlobalGiving successfully concluded 7 workshops across North and West India with close to 350 participants. Further, we witnessed a surge of participation from Indian organizations in the recently concluded Winter Open Challenge.

As we usher in the new year, we have more good news to share! On popular demand and in order to address the needs of non-profits down south, we are pleased to share that GlobalGiving is hosting two new workshops for FREE in Hyderabad and Chennai on 24th and 27th January, 2012 respectively. The workshops will be conducted by Donna Callejon, Chief Business Officer at GlobalGiving.

We would appreciate your kind support in spreading the word in your network and making this opportunity available to as many people as possible. I am pleased to share link to the form that carries all details of the workshop. Online registration is mandatory and deadline has been included in the online registration form. Once again we appreciate your support in making this possible.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Best,
Sudeshna

--
Sudeshna Mukherjee
Atlas Corps Fellow (Spring 2011 - 12)

GlobalGiving I a million little earth-changing ideas

1023 15th Street, NW, 12th Floor I Washington, DC 20005
Main 202.232.5784
http://www.globalgiving.org/

twitter | facebook
-----------------------------------
Attend the Mumbai Cyclothon NGO Meet on Tuesday, January 17th to understand how your corporate and individual donors can participate and raise funds for your NGO

GiveIndia as the official Charity Partner of the Mumbai Cyclothon 2012 invites all NGOs to attend the NGO Meet on January 17, 2012 in Mumbai.

The Mumbai Cyclothon is an International cycling event which is hosted by ID sports, a sports management company. In the 2011 edition, more than 10,000 cyclists participated. The event will be held between March end - April 1st Week 2012. Mumbai Cyclothon being India’s biggest cycling movement, attracts lots of media attention and just like International marathons is a perfect opportunity for NGOs to reach out to their corporate and individual supporters and raise funds for their chosen cause.

GiveIndia in collaboration with ID sports is arranging a free workshop which can be attended by any NGO to understand how to make the most of the Mumbai Cyclothon.

Attend the NGO Meet on January 17, 2012 at 10:15 AM to learn more:
1. Learn how your individual donors can participate and raise funds for your NGO
2. Learn how your corporate supporters can send teams to participate in the cyclothon

To attend the NGO meet, fill the registration form on http://bit.ly/v7lDSh

Date and Time: January 17, 2012 at 10:15 AM

Venue:
Walchand Hirachand Hall, 4th Floor,
IMC Bldg, IMC Marg,
Outside Churchgate Station,
Churchgate,
Mumbai - 400020, India.

For any queries, please contact 022-23894942 or write to rakhee@giveindia.org
-------------------------------------
Support disability - Vote for a project for Children with Special needs in Pondicherry

Read the complete story at:
http://www.sparktherise.com/projectdetail.php?pid=5397.

Pl vote & support our project for children with disability. Click on the link below & cat your valuable votes. Help an NGO with its project
http://www.sparktherise.com/projectdetail.php?pid=5397.

For any additional info or queries pl mail: admin@satyaspecialschool.org

An Integrated Specialty Center for Children With Special Needs (CWSN) | Spark the Rise Indian Project
www.sparktherise.com
An Integrated Specialty Center for Children With Special Needs (CWSN) is a project that has been created to try and be the next spark. Support An Integrated Specialty Center for Children With Special Needs (CWSN) or even submit your own projects to be the next Spark!

Latest NGO's Events & Happenings Part-1 Dated on January 25th,2012

2012-01-24T20:51:00.000-08:00

Placement & Market Linkage for IT skilled student

Project Description:

Drishtee with brand CEEP (Center for Education and Entrepreneurship Programme) has being providing IT related education in rural parts of India since last 12years and is one of the established brand, which is being certifying the rural and semi urban aspirants for Job oriented IT modules and Computing skills based curriculum locally trained by the Drishtee Education franchisees.
Moving ahead with its efforts of training more than 30000+ candidates for different IT application courses, CEEP intends to create and provide the employment opportunities in respective field for its trained candidates. Job opportunities will be identified from District level first to avoid the migration and further exceeded to state level onwards.
Based on the outcomes of these initiatives a proper placement cell to coordinate the market linkage viz-a-viz with employer and candidates will be established.

Key Deliverables:
- Survey the local markets to identify the opportunities of employment at District Level onwards
- Create identified employer’s database
- Interact with the employers for Placement opportunities - Meetings, Proposals
- Create the interactive placement panel for both employer and CEEP candidates

Qualifications :
- Personnel final year pursing or passed out MBA with HR specialization
- Basic computer skills required

Experience :
- Any first hand project or experience in placements will be preferred

Skills & Interests:
- Good Communication skills (Verbal and Written)
- Ready to travel in rural parts
- Liaising skills

Stipend: Will be considered

Duration: min. 6 month

Work Location of the Intern: Noida

No of Interns: 1-2

To Apply :
Interested candidates email resume along with covering note to geeta.s@drishtee.in
----------------------------------
Six Sigmal Tutorial

This Six Sigma Tutorial gives you a working knowledge of this gold standard of business analysis.
----------------------------------
Tooth Extraction Complications

Observing aftercare of tooth extraction is very important. There are many do's and don'ts after tooth extraction. These are no smoking, no spitting, not eating hard things. There can be many complications after tooth extraction. Most common is bleeding, infection, dry socket, parts of tooth left behind.
-----------------------------------
Mission Biderhalli Chinnikatte "Dream My Aba"
Read the complete story at:
http://personalinitiativedreamaba.blogspot.com/

Where do I begin? My Grandpa “My Aba”, one of my All-time inspiration who spent his last 15-20 years on just Milk and Glucose biscuits living a satvik life and supporting the Village Chinnikatte in small little ways possible. Read complete story at http://personalinitiativedreamaba.blogspot.com/
-------------------------------------
Inviting Applications from NGOs/Service Providers for a Corporate Foundation in Kolkata

A company in Kolkata wants to help employees and their families better their lives through new services (or products) that can be offered both one-time and over a few sessions.

If you know of organisations or individuals in Kolkata and outside who might be equipped to help make the employees and/or their families happier, healthier and/or more efficient through structured activities, please mail me at chandni at samhita.org.

While the company is open to a whole range of training sessions and activities, the priority areas are health and hygiene awareness workshops, skill-building and income generation activities for family members of the employees, financial literacy programmes, and education-related initiatives for school-going children.

The target audience for the pilot project is employees earning between Rs 80,000 to Rs 4 lacs per annum and their family members.

- Chandni

PS: For more details, read a related mail that was sent recently to a few NGOs based in Kolkata.

From: Samhita Social Ventures
Date: Thu, Dec 22, 2011
Subject: Inviting applications from NGOs to partner with a corporate foundation on livelihood and health care initiatives

Dear all,

I hope you're doing well. Our client, a corporate foundation in Kolkata is keen to partner with local NGOs, to offer welfare activities for the families of its employees based in Kolkata. Some of the activities that the client is considering are:

* Financial literacy and inclusion
o Training on basic concepts of financial literacy such as income and expenditure planning, household budgets, assessment of household needs and sources of income, importance of bank accounts, insurance, basic identity documents
o Helping employees and families access basic identity documents
o Opening of bank accounts and access to micro-insurance and savings products
* Livelihood
o Skill development for wives, siblings and children of employees
o Training in entrepreneurship
* Health
o General health check up
o Eye camps
o Workshops on hygiene, nutrition
o Alcohol and tobacco counseling

Here are a few additional details about the foundation:

* The foundation plans to extend these services to families of 30 employees as a pilot. Based on the success of this pilot, they could consider extending these to 2000 or more employees and their families
* The employees and their families are located in different areas of Kolkata. You may offer your service at the company's main office or at your premises
* The foundation will compensate you for all your efforts

If you are able to offer these or other related services, please provide us with the following details:

1. Description of the services that you offer
2. The format in which you offer them (e.g. one-day workshop / 2-3 hour talk) and the number of participants per workshop / session that you need (minimum and maximum)
3. If it would be possible for you to offer multiple sessions per day / per week
4. Resource requirements per session / workshop (venue, chairs, printed material, etc) that you would want us to arrange
5. The cost per session / per workshop
6. Any samples of your training module (text or video), if possible
7. Any other details

We would appreciate a reply by the 30th of December. Please note that indications of cost at this stage are merely for preliminary consideration and detailed proposals / costing can be done at a later stage. We look forward to hearing from you. Please write to us at chandni@samhita.org

About Us
Samhita is supported by N S Raghavan, one of the co-founders of Infosys. We help companies and donors partner with credible NGOs to increase social impact. We facilitate grants and awards and provide advisory services to companies and donors. NGOs registered with us can raise funds online from Indian and international donors, free of cost. Please visit www.samhita.org for more details about the organization.

Thank you very much!

Regards,

Team Samhita
--------------------------------------
2011 Global Hunger Index

Read the complete story at:
http://cdrn.org.in/show.detail.asp?id=23117

The challenge of hunger: Taming price spikes and excessive food price volatility

Summary

This year’s Global Hunger Index (GHI) shows that global hunger has declined since 1990, but not dramatically, and remains at a level characterized as “serious.”
2011 GHI

* Issue Brief
* Video
* Infographic
* Press Materials
* Launch Event
* Data
* iTunes | Kindle | Interactive

Across regions and countries, GHI scores vary greatly. The highest GHI scores occur in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. South Asia reduced its GHI score substantially between 1990 and 1996, but this fast progress could not be maintained. Though Sub-Saharan Africa made less progress than South Asia after 1990, it has caught up since the turn of the millennium.
----------------------------------------
Workshop on Contemporary Feminism, Jan 20, South Bombay

Dear Madam,
Greetings from Population First!
As you may be aware Population First has been closely working with college teachers to involve students in gender issues through training programs and workshops. We recently collaborated with Research Centre for Women’s Studies (RCWS) and Post Graduate Studies and Research (PGSR) of
SNDT University to conduct a series of workshops on Facilitation Skills for
Addressing Gender issues in colleges. As requested by some of the participants at these workshops, we are now organizing a one day workshop on Contemporary Feminism on January 20, 2012 at the conference hall of Elphinstone College. The workshop is especially for teachers of Humanities and Social Sciences who are interested in teaching or understanding theory and how to make it accessible to students without making it simplistic.

The feminist theories taken up at the workshop would be :
·Post modern/Queer theory
·Dalit/Black Feminism
·Ecofeminism Post Colonial feminism
·Psychoanalytic/Ecofeminism
·Ecofeminism/Psychoanalytic
·Postmodern/Postcolonial feminism

The workshop would be conducted by experts in the area and would
be a sharing of experiences. Please do write back to us if you are interested
in attending the workshop. Also please do forward it to anyone who would be
interested in participating in it.
Best regards,
Dr A.L. Sharada
Director

Population First
-------------------------------------------
Reminder to sign up for the Mumbai Cycloth NGO Meet on Tuesday January 17th, 2012

GiveIndia as the official Charity Partner of the Mumbai Cyclothon 2012 invites all NGOs to attend the NGO Meet on January 17, 2012 in Mumbai.
The Mumbai Cyclothon is an International cycling event which is hosted by ID sports, a sports management company. In the 2011 edition, more than 10,000 cyclists participated. The event will be held between March end -
April 1st Week 2012. Mumbai Cyclothon being India's biggest cycling movement, attracts lots of media attention and just like International marathons is a perfect opportunity for NGOs to reach out to their corporate and individual supporters and raise funds for their chosen cause.

GiveIndia in collaboration with ID sports is arranging a free workshop which can be attended by any NGO to understand how to make the most of the Mumbai Cyclothon.

Attend the NGO Meet on January 17, 2012 at 10:15 AM to learn more:
1. Learn how your individual donors can participate and raise funds for your NGO
2. Learn how your corporate supporters can send teams to participate in the cyclothon

To attend the NGO meet, fill the registration form on see link

Date and Time: January 17, 2012 at 10:15 AM
Venue:
Walchand Hirachand Hall, 4th Floor,
IMC Bldg, IMC Marg,
Outside Churchgate Station,
Churchgate,
Mumbai - 400020, India.

For any queries, please contact 022-23894942 or write to rakhee@giveindia.org
---------------------------------------------
AN APPEAL TO SUPPORT THANE CYCLONE VICTIMS IN INDIA

Read the complete story at:
http://www.facengo.webs.com

The Thane cyclone which formed in Bay of Bengal on 28.12.2011, had crossed between Cuddalore and Pondichery with 135 km speed on 30.12.2011 and created extensive to the entire coast line villages in Cuddalore and Pondichery . People live in dark, no transport, no livelihood, no shelters, no active or passive communication, suffer with health problems.

Ø 9 out of 13 blocks in Cuddalore.and many places in Pondichery are affected. Even beyond state's precautions,40 people are died in Cuddalore, out of this 24 are women
Ø Roads damaged,trees fell down huts removed, electricity and telephone communication and water supply disconnected.
Ø Total houses damaged is 3, 56,000. out of them 63,703 are completely damaged (51,024 are tiled house) remaining 2,41,271 are partially damaged.
Ø Affected People are living in schools and community halls and temples.
Ø The predominant livelihood of people here, the agriculture is completely damaged. Out of the total 1, 84,942 hectare of agriculture lands in the district 90,752.3 hectare are damaged,
Even to reinstate the power, drinking water and basic infrastructures like roads, the state is struggling. And requesting public and CSR contributions. nothing else could be expected from state now. Apart from the immediate support of Rs 2000 to affected families, the state does not have done any thing in household level. People require immediate external support for household things, drinking water, temporary shelters, health care and other basic livelihood. good hearted individuals and institutions are requested to support this cause. For clarifications please contact me in drravifaceindia@gmail.com to get more information. for online donations visit www.faceindia.bbnow.org/donate.php
-----------------------------------------------
CSR-Nonprofit Summit, Jan 20-21, Pune

Dear Chandni

I am attaching our press release and will appreciate if you could kindly forward it to the appropriate organizations.

Thank you for your help and best regards,

Martin

11th January, 2012 for immediate release

CSR-Nonprofit Summit supports rural development and women¹s empowerment in India On the 20th and 21st of January, 2012, the internationally sponsored CSR-Nonprofit Summit will bring together corporations and nonprofit organizations in support of rural development and women¹s empowerment in India. Hosted by Elon University¹s Periclean Scholars, Comprehensive Rural Health Project, Jamkhed (CRHP), and SOSVA Training and Promotion Institute (STAPI), this invitation-only conference seeks to connect corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives to promising nonprofit organizations working in India, principally in the state of Maharashtra. The Summit takes place at the Maratha Chamber of Commerce, Industries & Agriculture in Pune.

The introduction of the new Companies Bill 2011 has brought greater
attention to CSR initiatives. If passed, this new law would require large
Indian corporations to contribute two percent of their annual net profits towards CSR activities. The CSR-Nonprofit Summit aims to enhance support for this national priority by providing opportunities for increased
understanding, networking, and collaboration, between corporations and
nonprofit organizations.

During the two-day conference, participants will engage in plenary sessions,
workshops, and networking meetings. Ms. Vandana Krishna, I.A.S. Principal
Secretary Women and Child Development Department, will deliver the keynote
address. Other highlights of the conference include a discussion on CSR
investment strategies by Indian corporations, a presentation of successful
models for rural women¹s development, and conversations on bridging the gap between CSR departments and nonprofit organizations. As of today, close to 30 corporations and 60 nonprofits have confirmed their participation in the
Summit.

Through creative programming participants will gain a better appreciation
for the evolving CSR climate. Sessions emphasizing networking opportunities
will link companies to reputable nonprofit organizations. The development of
sustainable partnerships between Summit participants will serve to generate
long-term support for women¹s empowerment and rural development in India.

Website: www.csr-nonprofit.org
Contact email: csr.nonprofit@gmail.com
Conference Venue: MCCIA Trade Tower, 5th Floor, Senapati Bapat Road, Pune.
Contact phone number: (STAPI) Tel: +91 - 20 - 26682714, 26687900, 2669 6212
_____________________
Martin Kamela
Physics Department, Elon University
http://www.elon.edu/mkamela
----------------------------------------
CSR-Nonprofit Summit, Jan 20-21, Pune

Dear Chandni

I am attaching our press release and will appreciate if you could kindly forward it to the appropriate organizations.

Thank you for your help and best regards,

Martin

11th January, 2012 for immediate release

CSR-Nonprofit Summit supports rural development and women¹sempowerment in India On the 20th and 21st of January, 2012, the internationally sponsored CSR-Nonprofit Summit will bring together corporations and nonprofit organizations in support of rural development and women¹s empowerment in India. Hosted by Elon University¹s Periclean Scholars, Comprehensive Rural Health Project, Jamkhed (CRHP), and SOSVA Training and Promotion Institute

(STAPI), this invitation-only conference seeks to connect corporate social
responsibility (CSR) initiatives to promising nonprofit organizations
working in India, principally in the state of Maharashtra. The Summit takes
place at the Maratha Chamber of Commerce, Industries & Agriculture in Pune.
The introduction of the new Companies Bill 2011 has brought greater
attention to CSR initiatives. If passed, this new law would require large
Indian corporations to contribute two percent of their annual net profits
towards CSR activities. The CSR-Nonprofit Summit aims to enhance support for this national priority by providing opportunities for increased
understanding, networking, and collaboration, between corporations and
nonprofit organizations.

During the two-day conference, participants will engage in plenary sessions,
workshops, and networking meetings. Ms. Vandana Krishna, I.A.S. Principal
Secretary Women and Child Development Department, will deliver the keynote
address. Other highlights of the conference include a discussion on CSR
investment strategies by Indian corporations, a presentation of successful
models for rural women¹s development, and conversations on bridging the gapbetween CSR departments and nonprofit organizations. As of today, close to 30 corporations and 60 nonprofits have confirmed their participation in the
Summit.Through creative programming participants will gain a better appreciationfor the evolving CSR climate. Sessions emphasizing networking opportunities will link companies to reputable nonprofit organizations. The development of sustainable partnerships between Summit participants will serve to generate long-term support for women¹s empowerment and rural development in India.

Website: www.csr-nonprofit.org
Contact email: csr.nonprofit@gmail.com
Conference Venue: MCCIA Trade Tower, 5th Floor, Senapati Bapat Road, Pune.
Contact phone number: (STAPI) Tel: +91 - 20 - 26682714, 26687900, 2669 6212
__________________________
Martin Kamela
Physics Department, Elon University
http://www.elon.edu/mkamela

Latest NGO's News Dated on January 24th,2012

2012-01-23T21:47:00.000-08:00

Work cut out for new SABC chief

Moffet Mofokeng

GENDER and experience seem to have put new SABC boss Lulama Mokhobo in good stead when she was appointed this week, outdoing former acting group chief executive officer Phil Molefe and another unnamed woman candidate in the race for the position.

She becomes the first woman to head the troubled broadcaster, which battles with corporate governance issues, fraud and corruption and a mass exodus of key staff.

The Sunday Independent has established, from officials in the government and the broadcasting sector, that Mokhobo, who has worked at the public broadcaster before, won the race for the top post because “she has the right qualifications” for the job and “she (is) a woman”, something that was in line with the ANC’s policy to empower women.

However, a trade union leader said Mokhobo was “not part of the defeated Polokwane elite” which quit the SABC after the removal of former president Thabo Mbeki from office a few years ago.

“She was not among those people,” the leader, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said. “It was on that basis that she was given the thumbs up to take over the reins at the SABC. The ANC is committed to woman leadership.”

The appointment of the SABC CEO – which is approved by the cabinet with the blessings of Luthuli House – is highly contested in the ruling party. For three years now, the SABC has been plunged into turmoil as warring factions within the ruling party could not agree on who should be in charge of the broadcaster.

SABC board chairman Ben Ngubane refused to comment on the matter, saying the SABC made a recommendation to Communications Minister Dina Pule, and she made the appointment.

“We submitted our findings to the minister and she made her decision. It is her decision and we are happy with it,” he said.

The SOS Coalition – a group consisting of labour federation Cosatu, the Communications Workers’ Union, Media Monitoring Africa, the Freedom of Expression Institute, the SA Screen Federation and the Broadcasting Electronic Media and Allied Workers’ Union – welcomed Mokhobo’s appointment and said she had tough decisions to make ahead.

“We note the enormous pressures of this job and the tough decisions that need to be taken to ensure the successful implementation of the SABC’s turnaround strategy. We will keep a watchful eye on all progress in this regard.

“SOS and its members note the need for strong leadership in this position,” SOS co-ordinator Kate Skinner said. “The coalition must highlight an ongoing problem which needs attention and resolution – the issue of appointments of SABC executives.”

The SABC has not, for more than four years now, had a permanent chief operating officer and a chief financial officer.

Mokhobo is the sixth SABC CEO – including those who were appointed on an acting capacity – to be in charge of the broadcaster since 2009.

Before her, there was Dali Mpofu, who quit after accepting a R14 million settlement; Gab Mampone, who left under a cloud; and Solly Mokoetle, who was also paid millions of rand to go.

Former chief financial officer Robin Nicholson, who also acted in the CEO’s post, has taken the SABC to court for unceremoniously terminating his contract.

Molefe will return to his job as the head of TV and radio news.

Late last year, Ngubane clashed with board member Cawe Mahlathi over the CEO’s appointment.

Mahlathi, who was said to be “the most vocal” board member, urged Ngubane at a board meeting to come clean on a letter that former Communications minister Roy Padayachie wrote to the board demanding to know why Tau Morwe, the chief executive officer of Transnet’s National Ports Authority, was recommended for the SABC top post when in fact “he did not have any broadcasting experience”.

Instead of informing all board members about the minister’s letter, Ngubane took all the documents that came from Spencer Steward, a recruitment agency that interviewed, among others, Morwe and Joe Mjwara – a director at Business Connexion who has in the past worked for the Communications Department as a deputy director-general – for the job, and gave them to Padayachie.

At that meeting, sources said, Mahlati insisted that Ngubane should have told all board members about the letter and she demanded to know why board members were not informed of it.

Ngubane said Mahlati was critical of him over the CEO’s post because she was “heavily conflicted” in the matter.

In an e-mail to The Sunday Independent, Ngubane said Mahlati had applied for the CEO’s job – which she did not get – when in fact she was nominated for a position on the board of the SABC.

Ngubane said Mahlati was then made to choose between being a candidate for the board post, or the CEO position, which she failed to get after a “pre-interview” selection process aimed at short-listing candidates for the CEO job.

In the e-mail, which he sent to The Sunday Independent last year, Ngubane said Mahlati proceeded to the “pre-interview” process and did not withdraw her nomination for a post on the board, suggesting that she was fighting Ngubane because she did not get the CEO position.

Ngubane said he “deliberately” sent the report on the CEO selection process to Padayachie because the report contained “sensitive information” about Mahlati’s application.

“In the pack to the minister, there was sensitive information which talks about the application and assessment of board member Cawe Mahlathi. When she applied for the position of GCEO at SABC, she had been already nominated for selection by the parliamentary portfolio committee for communications. She was given a choice that she had to choose between going for the interview process for GCEO or withdrawing from the portfolio committee process for the SABC board.

“She chose to go for the GCEO position, was given a pre-interview for the purpose of short-listing candidates and was not short-listed. She had not withdrawn from the board selection process and was subsequently appointed SABC board member,” Ngubane said.

“With such a conflict she should not be speaking on the matter of selection of the GCEO.”

The ANC has been accused of interfering with the process of appointing the SABC CEO and the dismissal of Nicholson, who acted at the time as the CEO.

Morwe, who came out tops during the interviews, was the board’s preferred candidate for the post.

However, a board member said at the time, the ANC was “unhappy” about the selection process as it and Padayachie wanted Mjwara to be appointed.

Communications Minister Dina Pule said; “After the board conducted a thorough and intense search and interview process for an employable CEO, they forwarded me the shortlist.

“I looked at the names and satisfied myself with the integrity of the process and that of the candidates. I then appointed the best qualified and the most suitable person for this very important position.

“The board and management team have my full support as they embark on the very important task of stabilising the SABC and putting the public broadcaster on a sustainable path.”
-------------------------------------------
JLF Day 4 Diary: Rushdie drama refuses to die down
The agony of waiting for Salman Rushdie, words of wisdom from Ben Okri and Amish Tripathi and a rather strange interaction with a Muslim activist who refuses to name the author he's protesting against. That was the second last day of the Jaipur Literature Festival, reports Abhishek Mande.

The festival, as William Dalrymple pointed out on Day One, had 262 speakers other than Salman Rushdie. The number of course, dwindled by at least four when Ruchir Joshi, Jeet Thayil, Hari Kunzru and Amitava Kumar were asked to leave when they read out passages from The Satanic Verses in protest of Rushdie's absence.

As Day Four dawned, the rumours of Rushdie addressing the audience via video conference -- which had been floating since the very first day -- got stronger.

And as yet another day went in anticipation of whether the author would put up an appearance or not, we were informed by Sanjoy Roy, the festival producer at the end of the day that Rushdie would indeed be there via video link and will address the session at 3.45 pm in the front lawns.
---------------------------------------------
Nagaland tense NSCN factional feud intensifies

Nagaland continues to be tense with the factional feud between NSCN (Khaplang) and NSCN (Khole-Kitovi) intensifying during the past few days.

The turf war which started in Dimapur in December last year shifted to Zunheboto, the hometown of Kitovi Zhimomi, the general secretary of NSCN (Khole-Kitovi), and then to Athibung where NSCN (Khaplang) over-ran the designated camp of its rival faction last week.

In a renewed spate of violence, the two rival NSCN groups clashed at Zunheboto where one cadre of the Khole-Kitovi group was critically injured, while in another skirmish in Kohima, an NSCN(K) commander and his son were injured.

In Zunheboto, NSCN (K) cadres reportedly attacked the residence of Kitovi Zhimomi, Ato Kilonser of NSCN (Khole-Kitovi), at Amiphoto Colony in the wee hours of Sunday and also later in the afternoon.

Hokugha, political organizer (PO) of the group, hailing from Melahumi village in Sumi region was critically injured in the attack.

According to the Khole-Kitovi group, four armed cadres of NSCN (K) attacked Hokugha while he was alighting from his vehicle near Shotomi village.

He was critically injured in the gunfire.

In another incident at Kohima Saturday evening, the town commander of NSCN (K), â€˜SS' Maj Kivekhu and his son, Tovito, were injured when suspected armed cadres of NSCN (Khole-Kitovi) fired at them near the Community Hall of Forest Colony at around 6:00 pm.

The firing continued for nearly 10 minutes.

While Tovito sustained injuries on his shoulder, Kivekhu has been admitted to the ICU with stomach injuries.

Sources said Kivekhu's daughter, who was also in the vehicle, escaped unharmed.

Security has been beefed up across the state to prevent further escalation of factional clashes, police sources said.

Police and the Assam Rifles have been pressed into service to prevent movement of armed cadres and to ensure that the Ceasefire Ground Rules are adhered to, sources said.

AR personnel are to be deployed near NSCN-designated camps.

Meanwhile, with the increase in inter-factional rivalry in the state resulting in firing and disturbing the peace of populated areas, the IGAR (N) has assured the general populace that security forces would be deployed around the designated camps of the two factions to deter unauthorized movement of armed cadres to and from the camps.

A press release issued by IGAR (N) said the security forces would carry out spot-checking in the region to protect innocent civilians.

The aim of the security forces is to defer the unauthorized move of armed cadres from the designated camps, the release said.

The IGAR (N) sought the cooperation of the common people and also appealed to all NGOs, civil societies, Naga Hohos and the Church to ensure that good sense prevails among the Nagas.
-------------------------------------------
'We Can Be Heroes': DC Superheroes Fight Famine in Africa

The Justice League of America, including Earth protectors Superman, Batman, Green Lantern and Wonder Woman, are all teaming up to fight famine in the Horn of Africa as part of an campaign called "We Can Be Heroes." The new initiative -- backed by DC Entertainment, Time Warner and three NGOs -- strives to bring food and nourishment to those in need by donating up to $2 million over two years to Mercy Corps, Save the Children, and the International Rescue Committee, which are all currently working to end famine in Africa.

"In the Horn of Africa, 13 million people are suffering through the worst hunger crisis in 60 years," says the campaign video. "They need a hero. You are needed. Thousands of children are struggling to stay alive. One small act can make you a hero. Join the Justice League to fight the hunger crisis. Give now. DC Entertainment will match it 100%. We can be heroes."

Time Warner, including its divisions like Warner Bros., has also pledged to match any employee donations. The campaign also banks on an online store, where users can buy clothes or accessories that send 50 percent of all proceeds to the three individual charities.

The fight to end famine is nothing new, but DC Entertainment has brought awareness to the effort by leveraging its popular coalition of superheroes, collectively called the Justice League of America. On the campaign's Web site, each hero represents a quality that hopes to inspire consumers to donate their dollars to the cause.

Superman represents Strength. "Superman is the world's most powerful and iconic superhero. Sent to Earth from the planet Krypton, he was raised with unwavering morals and internal strength to always do what is right."

Batman represents Justice. "Unrelenting vigilante and master strategist, Batman has dedicated his life to protecting the innocent. He is a man pushed to his physical and mental limits in the pursuit of justice."

Wonder Woman represents Equality. "Wonder Woman is the world's most iconic female superhero. On a mission to battle evil wherever it lurks, she is a symbol of power, inspiration and quality."

Green Lantern represents Willpower. "Chosen for his ability to overcome fear, headstrong test pilot Hal Jordan is the first human member of the intergalactic police force called the Green Lantern Corps."

The Flash represents Drive. "The fastest man alive, the Flash is committed to stop crimes from happening and solve those he's too late to prevent."

Aquaman represents Responsibility. "Half-human and half-Atlantean, Aquaman is forever an outsider to both worlds. He inherits the responsibility to protect land and sea, from themselves and one another."

Cyborg represents Communication. "After a horrific accident, football star Victor Stone was rebuilt into Cyborg, a digital and physical tank. As the world's greatest hub for communication and information, Cyborg fights to hold onto his humanity while protecting us all from technological threats."

While its platform may use heroes with otherworldly abilities to promote the cause, the campaign centers around the idea that anyone can be a hero, even through a small, generous act.

"[The tagline] extends not just to the everyday people, but to the Africans suffering on the ground," said George Rupp, president and CEO of the International Rescue Committee. "Such people often have to fight for survival or overcome great odds to provide for their families."

Africa will need a Herculean effort from the DC and Time Warner campaign; the famine is the worst to hit the continent in more than 60 years. Subject to untreated water and rampant diseases like malaria, Africa is home to more than 750,000 malnourished children, and in Somalia alone, one child dies every six seconds.
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NEWS FLASH FROM THE STONE AGE! THE FLINTSTONES ARE STILL ALIVE AND PLAYING IN MOSCOW

“Russia’s federal security service, the successor to the KGB, has launched a cold-war style attack on non-governmental organisations and human rights groups, linking them with alleged espionage by British diplomats in Moscow.The accusations against the British diplomats come within weeks of Russia assuming the presidency of G8 from Britain and just days before a meeting of finance ministers in Moscow which will be attended by Gordon Brown, the UK chancellor…

The FSB on Monday confirmed claims made in a state television programme that it had uncovered a James Bond-style spying operation involving four British diplomats using a transmitter hidden in a fake rock on a Moscow street to gather information.

It said the spies had also financed NGOs, including the Moscow Helsinki Group, one of the most prominent human rights campaigners in Russia.

“The most important thing is that we caught them (the spies) red-handed while they were in contact with their agents and established that they were financing some non-governmental organisations,” said Sergei Ignatchenko, a spokesman for the FSB.

The UK Foreign Office rejected “any allegations of improper conduct in our dealing with Russian NGOs”. It said it had openly given financial support to projects implemented by Russian NGOs in the field of human rights and civil society… Russian analysts said the programme was inspired by the FSB and aimed to discredit all foreign sponsored NGOs as outfits of foreign intelligence services.

“This was a classic special operation [by the FSB] aimed at limiting any form of foreign influence in Russia, including NGOs and foreign media,” one Russian commentator said.”
– Financial Times (Arkady Ostrovsky), January 23, 2006

“If we send them away, more will come. Maybe clever ones will come. And we will have to struggle to find them. It has now become clear to many why Russia passed a law regulating NGO activities.”
– President Vladimir Putin, February 2006

“There’s not much you can say. The spy rock was embarrassing…you can’t really call up and say ‘I’m terribly sorry about that, it won’t happen again’. I mean, they had us bang to rights. Clearly they had known about it for some time and had been saving it up for a political purpose.”
– Jonathan Powell, chief of staff to Prime Minister Tony Blair in 2006, BBC Channel 2 Interview broadcast on January 19, 2011

“Vladimir Putin has been handed a propaganda gift, according to some analysts, after an admission that British embassy officials deployed a fake rock to spy on Russia…Commentators said Mr Powell’s admission could increase pressure on Russian NGOs just as they are coming under renewed fire.

“In the current political situation, this admission [by Mr Powell] could be used as proof that Putin is right when he claims that foreign intelligence services are behind the protests,” said Nikolay Petrov, analyst at the Moscow Carnegie Center. “If numbers fall at the next protest on February 4, then I think they will ratchet up this line to the full extent: that NGOs are receiving orders from the enemies of Russia to destabilise the country.”
– Financial Times (Catherine Belton), January 20, 2012

“This is one of the few cases when on an official, political level such an official admission is made. The admission we heard is a serious signal from London that it is time to improve our relations. It is a propaganda step. The British policy on information will also change to say: ‘We are open, we do not hide facts.’ ”
– Nikolai Kovalyov, Colonel-General and former head of Federal Security Service (1996-98), in interview with RIA-Novosti, January 19, 2012

Read more: http://johnhelmer.net/?p=6622#ixzz1kLqnHtDI
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THE SKY ISN'T FALLING, BUT THE PARTY IS OVER!
WHILE many in Grenada continue to debate the recent firing of Joseph Gilbert, it is important not to over-react, but to put everything in its proper context.

There are varying degrees of opinion about both the letter – delivered or undelivered, signed by the now fired minister, and whether it was deserving of the action of Prime Minister Tillman Thomas.

Let me say the obvious, that under our system, Prime Ministers have a right to decide who they want in their cabinet – and can fire for good reason or no reason.

As a student of the broader science of politics – I try to always go beyond debating what happened – to the more fundamental point – what it means.

Last week’s political developments in Grenada did not change the fundamental realities on the ground – social and economic. The people in Snell Hall, Hermitage or River Sallee are not any better served or worse served for it.

So when my response to the news last week was that people should not get too excited or get their “undies’’ unduly wet because “the sky is not falling”, it is because fundamentally nothing has changed.

This current National Democratic Congress government is being run by the triumvirate of Prime Minister Thomas, Finance Minister Nazim Burke and the Minister of Everything (my phrase) Glen Noel; a triumvirate supported by a cabal of official and unofficial advisors that former Attorney General Jimmy Bristol described as the “Second Cabinet’’.

Every other member of cabinet – except for Thomas, Burke and Noel – is expendable. And every member of cabinet is subject to the highest standards of behavior – save the triumvirate.

Accept my sympathies Patrick Simmons, Michael Lett, Peter David, Sylvester Quarless, et al – you have no power to effect the change people voted for – more than I have.

And that brings me to the crux of the matter – the policies of this government would not change from its IMF-inspired obsession of balancing the books without caring too much about balancing people’s lives.

Make no mistake about it – this debate and this struggle is about power. But not narrow political power. It is about economic power. It is about empowerment.

People see danger signs where there are none; and the emergency lights that are flashing in the real things that matters, people miss them.

Another budget is upon us, maybe the penultimate one before elections, and the seniors still won’t have the campaign promise of $400 a month fulfilled; unemployment will still hover near 30 percent with no real break in sight and small businesses will be tottering on the brink of closure.

I am less concerned about the job of Joseph Gilbert – he is an engineer, he would probably now make more money anyhow than he did as a minister – than I do about my friends in Munich and La Digue and wherever.

As I listened to the Prime Minister this past week and as I read Joe Gilbert as well, I was asking myself – how does that all matter – how does that all make sense to my cousins who could not pay the cable or internet bill to watch the speech on TV or read the statements online?

What happened last week was more important in the context of what will happen next – as who will be our new government next year.

Yea, I said next year. I don’t think there will be a general election this year.

Most politicians are not Jean Bertrand Aristide. They do not allow themselves to be put on a plane to be flown off to an unknown destination.

So this will be drawn out for as long as the constitution allows.

What is maybe clearer to a lot of people now – though it’s been clear in my mind for a while – is that this ruling party as we know it is effectively finished. The party is over.

Even if friends and well wishers say a million Hail Marys while holding the rosary, a miracle won’t happen that will make Tillman Thomas bring himself to run on the same platform with David, Roberts, Quarless, Walker, Gilbert and Hood. (And vice versa. Neither can they go on a platform and still say Uncle Tilly is the best thing since – well, Keith Mitchell).

Of course, Lett is not a factor because he is retiring; Simmons has no stomach for the fight, he will go too.
Given that scenario – who can boldly declare that the party now exists as we once knew it?

We say it clichéd, but it is true – it is the majority of Grenadians that will have to find a way to sort this out.
They will have to decide if there is a third way – and whether there is no choice but to go back to Mitchell.

There is a myth that NDC won the last general election – and that somehow Thomas, Burke and David delivered us from all evil.

It was a broad coalition of NGOs, trade unions, churches and community organizations that came together and ushered this bunch into office.

It is the people of the coalition that must reclaim their change because the current keepers have given it a bad name.

In the end though, with eternal faith, this will sort itself out – and the people in the end will get some kind of government they deserve.

PS: Democracy does not guarantee us a good government; but it guarantees us the opportunity to change a bad one.
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Haitians No Longer Excluded From Biggest U.S. Temporary Foreign Worker Program

A couple of weeks ago, the second anniversary of the devastating earthquake in Haiti came and went with a slew of media reports looking at the difficulties of rebuilding the country: half the pledges from the international community remain unfulfilled, homelessness and displacement are still significant problems, and economic, social and political reconstruction following the country’s huge losses in 2010 is slow. The country dubbed the “republic of NGOs” is still struggling to recover.

Good news for Haiti, however, was revealed late last week by Michael Clemens of the Center for Global Development. Haiti, which had been excluded from America’s largest temporary foreign worker program (the H-2 visa program for temporary and seasonal workers) was added to the list of more than 50 countries eligible to participate, “ending a longstanding policy of excluding Haitians from America’s largest temporary employment-based visa program.” This is important, significant news. It opens the door for economic migrants from Haiti to come seek higher wages for temporary work in the U.S., and will strengthen the flow of remittances to Haiti, providing Haitians with new sources of income to rebuild their businesses, send their children to school and generally be in a better position to support themselves.

According to the Migration Policy Institute, “remittances are among the most tangible links between migration and development.” According to World Bank estimates, officially-recorded remittances flows in 2010 totaled over US$440 billion worldwide. In comparison, official development aid from OECD countries totaled $119.6 billion. Critics note that unless remittances are invested in the country of origin, their long term impact on economic growth and development is limited. Nevertheless, for a country like Haiti, with low-paying wages even for qualified work, the opportunity to earn more and bring a much needed cash and income in the country can have a significant impact, alleviating the need for credit and spurring livelihoods. CGD’s Michael Clemens lays out the benefits:

* Each H-2 worker admitted would typically raise the income of a Haitian family by $19,000 per year.
* A moderate flow of H-2 workers, over ten years, would put almost $400 million into the pockets of Haitian families, including the workers.
* Roughly 30-40% of H-2 workers’ income would be sent to Haiti.
* Each dollar sent to Haiti expands the Haitian economy by three dollars or more.
* Disposable income for Haitian families complements U.S. reconstruction efforts.

Click here for the full analysis

In spite of all the NGO and foreign donor efforts, reconstruction and recovery in Haiti have been slow and laborious. Giving Haitians the possibility of directly participating in the rebuilding of their country by opening up new opportunities for migration is significant, important news.
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Why support gays, Utusan columnist asks Bar Council
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 24 — A bureau chief at Umno’s Utusan Malaysia questioned today why the Bar Council “supported” homosexuality among Malaysians, calling it part of a “deviant wave” that is fast gaining acceptance throughout the world.

Noraini Razak, who was a news editor at the Malay daily until last month, accused the lawyers of supporting gays, lesbians and transgendered people despite Malaysia being among 70 out of a total of 195 countries which banned homosexuality.

“It is honestly very strange when this deviant wave which is being defended by this group (Seksualiti Merdeka) as a human right gets the direct and indirect support from many local NGOs, including the Bar Council,” she wrote in her column today.

Seksualiti Merdeka, a movement championing the freedom of sexual orientation and gender identity, was not allowed by the authorities to hold the festival last year despite having held it annually since 2008.

Its organiser filed a judicial review earlier this month against the ban, saying it is “absolutely unconstitutional, illegal and undemocratic”.

Noraini, who is now Putrajaya bureau chief, quoted academic Professor Salleh Buang as saying that “among the 12,000 law practitioners active in this country, surely there are many Muslims. Why have they not made their voices heard?”

“Salleh’s question is can this country continue to uphold its beliefs from being affected by this deviant wave? If so, for how long, especially with the emergence of active groups demanding that sodomy be excluded from the list of heavy offences in the Penal Code?

“There is also internal support from among our country’s legal experts. What about support for the government in tackling this wave, this deviant movement?” the editorial asked.

Utusan recently accused Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim of supporting homosexuality during an interview with BBC.

In the said interview, the BBC reporter had reportedly asked Anwar whether he was prepared to push for the idea of anti-discrimination as far as gay rights were concerned, to which he had allegedly said “we will have to review some of our archaic laws.”

“We Muslims and non-Muslims in Malaysia generally believe and are committed to support the sanctity of marriage between men and women, but we should not be seen to be punitive and consider the archaic law as relevant,” Anwar had told BBC.

But he had also pointed out that Pakatan Rakyat (PR) did not support homosexuality, an excerpt of the interview which Utusan did not include.

Anwar is now demanding a total of RM150 million in damages from the Umno daily for allegedly tarnishing his reputation in an article accusing him of being a gay rights proponent.
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Civil society NGOs under threat, says Access
Attacks on the freedom-of-speech community worldwide seemed to grow in 2011, according to umbrella organization Access.

The group, whose members include civil society NGOs around the world, says the security and “cyber warfare” skills available to activists don’t match the skills available to their attackers – whether they are criminals, individuals or governments.

“LGBT [lesbian, gay, bi and transgender] activists, environmental advocates, and corporate campaigners are facing … foes, who are using the Internet to disable, disarm, and neuter them”, the group writes in the report, Global civil society at risk: An overview of some of the major cyber threats facing civil society.

The lack of “deep information security knowledge, skills, and experience” puts individuals and NGOs at risk, since they often only realize that they’re at risk “when communications with a colleague suddenly cease and their fate becomes unknown”, the report says.

The report says that since Access was founded after the Iran elections in 2009, it has documented pretty much the full range of attacks against member organisations, including DoS, blocking and filtering, man-in-the-middle attacks, surveillance, communication blackouts, compromised user accounts, Website defacements, data leakage, takedown notices, and attacks on NGO’s sources of funding.

All of these events were, of course, familiar to tech news-watchers: the hosing of the Sarawakreport.org Website in April 2011, apparently by the Malaysian government; the increasingly-widespread Internet censorship efforts even in supposedly-liberal societies like Australia, the US and the UK; the compromising of the Comodo and DigiNotar CAs; surveillance in a host of countries, not only on the Internet but in the world of wetware via increasingly-pervasive CCTV systems; shutdowns that were observed pretty much wherever the “Arab Spring” spread; and so on.

Access’ concern, however, is not for the tech-savvy, but rather for the activists who are at risk, are attacked, and lack the means to defend themselves. As well as documenting the forms attacks are taking, the report is a call for help:

“It is imperative that members of the global technology community, including the corporate sector, consider what they can do to assist civil society to meet the cyber threats they face,” the report says.

Access is calling for assistance creating products that are human-rights friendly by design, offering products to NGOs at prices that meet their budgets, sharing threat information with NGOs, or open-sourcing products that help them secure their communications and defend their operations. ®

Latest Funds for NGO's Part-2 Dated on January 24th,2012

2012-01-23T21:17:00.000-08:00

HIF seeks proposals for small grants facility from projects aimed at recognition, invention and dissemination of an innovation towards making humanitarian aid more effective and cost-efficient

The Humanitarian Innovation Fund (HIF), created through a partnership between ELRHA (Enhancing Learning and Research for Humanitarian Assistance) and ALNAP (The Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance in Humanitarian Action), represents a collective effort to enhance the contribution of innovation to improving operational humanitarian performance at the field level.

The fund supports organizations working in countries struck by humanitarian crises, such as Haiti or Pakistan, to develop, test and share new technologies and processes that will make humanitarian aid more effective and cost-efficient in the future.

Small Grant Facility Call for Proposals

HIF has issued a call for proposals for the small grant facility for projects up to £20,000 aimed at making humanitarian aid more effective and cost efficient.

Small grants will be allocated to projects with an implementation period of up to 6 months. These grants will principally support the recognition, invention and dissemination of an innovation (stages 1, 2 and 5).

Objectives

* Enabling and supporting humanitarian innovators to move creative ideas through the innovation process;
* Supporting them in building new partnerships with key actors;
* Enabling the lessons from grant funded projects and from analysis of innovation processes in humanitarian contexts to be disseminated more widely;
* Strengthening existing relationships between humanitarian agencies, academics and those in the private sector engaged in innovation processes.

What type of projects will be funded?

The HIF will fund innovations that are at any of the 5 stages of the innovation process (1-recognition, 2-invention, 3-development, 4-implementation and 5-diffusion) and that will contribute to improving the relevance, appropriateness, coverage, efficiency and / or effectiveness of humanitarian aid relative to existing practices

What types of humanitarian interventions are targeted by the HIF?

The definition used for humanitarian aid is taken from Global Humanitarian Assistance. This excludes any long term development assistance. The definition provides some useful examples of traditional responses to humanitarian crises:

* material relief assistance and services (shelter, water, medicines etc.);
* emergency food aid (short-term distribution and supplementary feeding programmes);
* relief coordination, protection and support services (coordination, logistics and communications).
* reconstruction relief and rehabilitation (repairing pre-existing infrastructure as opposed to longer-term activities designed to improve the level of infrastructure)
* disaster prevention and preparedness (disaster risk reduction, early warning systems, contingency stocks and planning).

There is no geographic restriction as to the project location. However that the HIF will only support innovation in a humanitarian response setting as per the definition provided by the Global Humanitarian Assistance.

Last date for submission of proposals is February 12, 2012.

For more information and details, you can visit this link.
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Endangered Language Fund

The Endangered Language Fund offers grants for language maintenance as well as linguistic field work.

The work to be funded is that which caters both the native community and the field of linguistics. However, work which has instant applicability to one group and more distant application to the other will also be considered. Publishing subventions are at low priority but will also be considered. Proposals can originate in any country. The language involved must be in danger of disappearing within a generation or next. Endangerment is a continuum and the location on the continuum is one factor in our funding decisions.

Eligible expenses include consultant fees, tapes, films, travel and others as well. Overhead is not allowed. Grants are normally for a one year period though extensions may be applied for. We expect grants in this round to be less than $4,000 in size and to average about $2,000.

Researchers and language activists from any country are eligible to apply. Awards can be made to institutions but no administrative (overhead, indirect) costs are covered.

Applications must be received by April 20th, 2012.

For further information, visit the link.
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Tibet Fund invites applications from Bhutan, India and Nepal for Tibetan Scholarship Program 2013
The Tibet Fund is currently inviting applications for 2013 Tibetan Scholarship Program (TSP). The U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs offers all the required financial support for this program. Candidates selected for the program will complete their two-year master’s degree in the United States.

The Tibet Fund was established in 1981 with an aim to protect and preserve the cultural and national identity of the Tibet region. Since its inception, the Tibet Fund has been funding lots of projects related to health care, education, refugee rehabilitation, religious and cultural preservation, elder care and community and economic development for the Tibetan refugees living in India, Nepal and Bhutan.

Fields of Study

* Agriculture
* Auditing
* Banking Management
* Computer Science
* Counseling
* Development Planning
* Education
* Environmental Studies
* Food Protection
* Human Resource Development
* International Law
* International Relations (Negotiations)
* Inter-Religious Studies
* Library and Information Studies (Archives)
* Mathematics; Physics; Chemistry; Biology
* Management & Development
* Mass Communication / Journalism
* Social Work
* Natural Resources Management
* Public Administration
* Public Health/Medicine
* Renewal Energy Technologies
* Rural Development
* Security and Intelligence Study
* Sinology and Chinese Studies
* Waste Management and Recycling Technology

Eligibility Conditions
Applicants for the two-year master’s program in the United States must have secured grades of a minimum of 45 percent in a bachelor’s and post-graduate program.

Applicants must have completed at least four years of academic work after class XII including a bachelor’s degree. Partial computer courses, vocational training and diplomas from non-recognized academic institutions will not be accepted.

To demonstrate English language skills, applicants must produce a copy of their TOEFL iBT score with a minimum score of 90 out of 120.

Applicants should be born on or after January 1st, 1977. Selected participants will be required to take the GRE or GMAT exam. The last date for submitting the applications is March 31, 2012.
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Skoll Awards: Core Grant Support and Noncash Award

The Skoll Foundation has announced the opening of the 2013 application process for the Skoll Awards for Social Entrepreneurship given out each year to select social entrepreneurs who are solving the world’s most pressing problems. The award gives a core support grant to the organization over a period of three years in addition to a noncash award to the social entrepreneur, which is presented every spring at the Skoll World forum.

As many of the world’s most pressing problems are exacerbated by the inequality existing between the rich and the poor, the Skoll Foundation’s focus is on the issue areas of economic and social equity, environmental sustainability, health, institutional responsibility, peace and security and tolerance, justice and human rights. The awards are offered to the organization and the social entrepreneur for presenting a tested and proven social innovation addressing problems in the above-mentioned issue areas.

The criteria for applicants demands that the applying organizations should have the potential to create an impact; it should have a proven approach that can be applied elsewhere; it should have its own innovation that can lead to address the social and/or environmental problems; it should be able to leverage partnership with the Foundation; it should be led by a visionary social entrepreneur; and of course, there should be sustainability in its institution and its idea.

NGOs across all countries are invited to submit applications. However, organizations such as those inclined towards religious or ideological doctrines, lobbying, film financing, political campaigns etc are eligible to apply.

In order to apply to this opportunity, organizations have to first take up an eligibility quiz available at the Skoll Foundation’s website. If the applicant successfully passes the quiz, then he or she can enter to submit the online application.

The deadline to submit applications is 1 March 2012. For more information, visit this link.
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Micro-Grants for Citizen Media Outreach Projects

Rising Voices has issued a call for proposals to to support and nurture underrepresented communities so that they can begin to take full advantage of participatory digital media tools has been our microgrants for citizen media outreach projects.

These small grants provide an opportunity for individuals, grassroots groups, networks, and other organizations without significant access to larger funding to be able to pass along knowledge by teaching others in their community in the use of these tools, as well as to provide ongoing support.

Rising Voices is accepting microgrant proposals for funding up to $4000 for global projects.

This funding opportunity is open to private individuals, groups, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

There is no requirement for an organization to be legally registered, but there is a requirement selected projects to have access to a bank account that is able to receive international bank transfers.

The application deadline is February 3rd, 2012 at 11:59 PM GMT.

The project’s primary activities should be to provide citizen media training workshops to the target community, as well vital ongoing support and mentoring.
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Foundation Ensemble’s Programme Fund and Small Grants Fund Call for Proposals

Foundation Ensemble provides grant support to NGOs in areas of water and sanitation, sustainable development and animal biodiversity through its Programme Fund and Small Grants Fund.

The Foundation has issued a 2012 call for proposals for providing funding for projects that will bring multiple benefits in three or more categories of impact among the following:

* Environmental Impact: Improvement of the main natural resources (water, air, timber, wildlife, fish,…), preservation/enhancement of biodiversity, fight against erosion, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, carbon capture, soil enrichment, fight against desertification, etc. …
* Social Impact: Improve food security, health, education, housing, governance, understanding and respect for human rights, reducing the risks of conflict …
* Economic Impact: Increase and diversification of income, creation of micro-enterprises, job creation, cost reduction (energy, water, …)…
* Disaster Risks Reduction : Such as landslides, floods, destruction of habitat and means of production, caused by hazards like storms/cyclones, droughts, earthquakes, tsunamis

This is obviously not about trying to respond to all these issues, but to make interventions which can meet the priority needs of communities in one or several areas, while helping to improve the situation for other aspects.

To know more about Programme Fund (for select countries only), click here.

To know more about Small Grants Fund (for all countries), click here.
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2012 Red Ribbon Award: $10,000 grant opportunity for grassroots NGOs

The Red Ribbon Award seeks to recognize and provide grants of $10,000 to community-based organizations for their efforts to reduce the spread and impact of AIDS. Selected organizations will receive the Award at the XIX International AIDS Conference to be held in Washington, DC from 22-27 July 2012. The Red Ribbon Award is a joint effort of the UNAIDS family.

Grassroots initiatives, community-based organizations, faith-based organizations, small NGOs and organizations of people living with HIV (PLHIV) and key population can apply for this Award. Both nominations and self-nominations are accepted.

The Red Ribbon Award 2012 will be given to community groups for outstanding leadership in responding to AIDS in one or more of the following categories:

* Prevention of Sexual Transmission – Work to prevent sexual transmission including (but not limited to) among young people, men who have sex with men and transmission in the context of sex work
* Prevention among people who use drugs – Work to prevent HIV infections among people who use drugs
* Treatment, care and support – Work to improve access to antiretroviral therapy, essential care and support for people living with HIV, their families, loved ones and dependents including services to limit TB deaths among people living with HIV
* Advocacy and Human Rights – Advocating for abolishing punitive laws, discrimination and harmful practices around HIV transmission, sex work, drug use, transgender populations or homosexuality that block effective responses including (but not limited to) HIV-related national restrictions on entry, stay and residence – Work to end stigma and discrimination of people living with HIV their families, loved ones and dependents – Work to end gender-based violence in the context of the AIDS epidemic.
* Stopping new HIV infections in children and keeping mothers alive, Women’s Health – Work to prevent vertical transmission of HIV, and AIDS-related maternal mortality – Work to address the HIV-specific needs of women and girls.

Nominations can be submitted online or by email. The deadline to submit nominations is 29 February 2012. For more information, visit this link.
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EC seeks Grant Proposals in Policy-Making on Food Security and Nutrition in Developing Countries

European Commission has issued a restricted call seeking concept notes for projects that would help in strengthening the capacities of specific groups (like farmers’, pastoralists’, fishermen’ organisations) and encourage their participation in policy-making related to food security and nutrition in developing countries. This call is being issued under broader Food Security Thematic Programme (FSTP) of European Commission.

Global Objective of this Call for Proposals

Increasing the participation of key stakeholders in developing countries to decision-making processes related to food security and nutrition.

Specific Objective of this Call for Proposals

Strengthening the capacities of specific groups (farmers’, pastoralists’, fishermen’ organisations) to reinforce their participation in policy-making, having an impact on food security and nutrition.

The call for proposals is divided into two lots according to the following results:

Result 1 (Lot 1): Capacities of organisations of farmers, of pastoralists, of fishermen and of aquaculture farmers are reinforced in order for them to network and to engage in effective dialogue with public authorities and development partners.

Result 2 (Lot 2): Networks (or platforms) of organisations of farmers, of pastoralists, of fishermen and of aquaculture farmers at regional, continental or global level are set up or reinforced in order to actively participate in decision making processes related to food security and nutrition.

Priority Areas

* Supporting the poor, vulnerable and marginalized.
* Looking for territorial coherence and regional dimension

Location

Actions must take place at the multinational, (sub-) continental or global level, across several developing countries. They must take place in at least 3 DCI eligible partner countries or territories. Activities do not need to be of the same extent in all countries involved. Effective transfers of experience to bor from other countries are considered as relevant to establish the multi-national character of an action.

Sectors/ Themes

* Farmers’, pastoralists’ and fishermen’s organisations can be supported both separately and together in order to provide ample space for the specific needs of each group.
* Both existing networks and new networks of farmers’, pastoralists’ and fishermen’s organisations will be supported at multi-country, (sub-) continental and global level.
* Whenever possible the support will be direct, through the organisations themselves but the call for proposal will also accept indirect support through non-governmental organisations, public sector operators, local authorities, international organisations. When the support is indirect, special attention will be given to the past experiences of the applicants with the respective key group and to the participation of the key group in the elaboration of the proposal and the degree of participation in the implementation modalities.

Last date for submitting the concept notes is February 7, 2012.

For more information, visit this link.
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USAID, AusAID and World Vision seek Grant Proposals for Innovative Programs to Improve Child Literacy among Primary Grade Children

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), and World Vision have announced a request inviting grant proposals from interested organizations for innovative programs with potential to improve reading skills and low literacy rates among primary grade children. Through a multi-year initiative called ‘All Children Reading – A Grand Challenge for Development (ACR)’, the Founding Partners have plans to collaborate to achieve the goal of global action to improve child literacy.
Objectives

The All Children Reading Competition aims to encourage innovative thinking and design to bring new knowledge to the challenge of improving primary grade reading rapidly and at scale in certain countries. Applications from and relating to low- and lower-middle income countries are particularly encouraged.

Funding Availability

It is estimated that US $7,500,000 will be made available for awards under the RFA. The amount of available funding is subject to change. The maximum funding available for a single application is US $300,000 over the maximum two-year period of performance. The Founding Partners anticipate funding approximately twenty-five (25) grants under this RFA. The Founding Partners reserve the right to fully or incrementally fund selected application(s) as well as to partially fund selected application(s). The Founding Partners reserve the right to make no awards at all through this RFA.
Areas of Interest

The funding partners are interested in funding innovations that will result in (1) widespread access to improved teaching and learning materials and (2) better education data to support decision-making, transparency, incentives and accountability; both of which are essential to advance the goal of All Children Reading in the primary grades.

The illustrative areas of interest listed below are not meant to be exhaustive or limiting in any way:

- Innovations in Teaching and Learning Materials to Improve Student Learning

* Support the production of and/or access to language and level-appropriate narrative, expository and instructional materials for emerging and beginning readers and their teachers;
* Support the development/editing/printing of texts of similar difficulty in two or more languages/scripts;
* Address the challenges of materials distribution in developing country contexts;
* Benefit children with special needs and/or learning disabilities;
* Foster parent and community involvement in children reading;
* Support large numbers of teachers in remote locations in their effective and continuing use of new materials;
* Help students, teachers and communities develop high quality materials locally;
* Bridge gaps between school and home and support a community reading culture in contexts where family literacy and school involvement levels are low;

- Innovations in Education Data to Improve Student Reading

* Develop simple approaches to allow school and local level managers to prioritize, collect, analyze and use key education-related data at the school level to improve instruction and learning outcomes;
* Improve school, regional and national level resource planning to improve learning outcomes;
* Consolidate and analyze disparate sources of education data at the local, regional, national and international level;
* Widely disseminate education-related data in easy-to-understand ways to a variety of audiences;
* Deliver data and information to improve teacher preparation and professional development;
* Assist teachers and education officials with rapid and efficient student assessments and teacher evaluations; and

Geographic Restrictions

Applicants, regardless of entity type, may not be from foreign policy restricted countries: Cuba, Iran, Libya, North Korea and Syria.

Last date for submitting the applications is January 31, 2012.

For more information, visit this link and search by the Funding Opportunity Number for “SOL-OAA-12-000010

Latest Funds for NGO's Part-1 Dated on January 24th,2012

2012-01-23T21:12:00.000-08:00

SEAF seeks Applications for Second African Diaspora Marketplace Grants

Small Enterprise Assistance Funds (SEAF) is currently inviting applications for the Second African Diaspora Marketplace (ADM) grants. The second ADM has been launched as an initiative of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Western Union Company. The main aim of ADM is to encourage sustainable economic growth and employment by offering support to U.S.-based African Diaspora entrepreneurs with innovative ideas for start-up and established businesses in Sub-Saharan Africa.

It is expected that ADM will award 15-30 winning businesses with matching partnership grants approximately $50,000. The exact number of businesses supported will be determined by the availability of total funds. In addition, the ADM will facilitate access to technical assistance, capacity building and information on a range of follow-on financing options for all finalists. These opportunities will be afforded through linkages with existing USAID and other United States Government (USG) programs in Africa as well as ADM partnerships with the private and public sector.

Eligibility Criteria

The ADM seeks the most promising proposals for sustainable commercially-oriented business that meet the following eligibility criteria:

* Business Location: Proposals must be implemented in one of the following countries: Benin, Cote D’Ivoire, Ghana, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Uganda and Zambia. Representing four trading regions: ECOWAS, SADC, EAC, COMESA
* Sub-Saharan African Diaspora Participation: Proposals must be submitted by a member (or members) of the Sub-Saharan African Diaspora living in the United States as a U.S. citizen or permanent resident. Who is considered a “diaspora member?” The ADM uses the African Union’s definition of diaspora: “people of African origin living outside the continent, irrespective of their citizenship and nationality and who are willing to contribute to the development of the continent and the building of the African Union.”
* Proposals may be submitted by an individual diaspora member, a group of diaspora members, or a diaspora-owned business based in the U.S.
* African Partnership: Proposals must be submitted in partnership with a local African entity located in the participating Sub-Saharan African country where the business is or will be established. The African based partner may be an individual, a group of individuals or a business.
* Award Size: Requests for ADM funding should be approximately US$50,000.

Business Criteria:

* Must be a start-up or established business seeking to expand or introduce new goods or services.
* Must be legally registered in the Sub-Saharan African country of implementation. Businesses that are not yet legally registered may also participate in the competition provided they are able to become legally incorporated before advancing to the final round of the competition.
* Must include a minimum of 25% ownership by the proposing U.S.-based diaspora member. Proposals that advance to the final round will be required to submit evidence of diaspora ownership.
* Eligible sectors: All commercially viable proposals in information & Communication Technology ICT, Agribusiness, and Renewable Energy will be considered.

Evaluation Criteria

* Business Idea
* Management Capacity
* Sustainability
* Financial
* Results
* Leverage

Last date for submitting the applications is February 3, 2012.

For more information, visit this link.
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AusAid seeks Proposals for Community-based Climate Change Action Grants

AusAid is currently inviting proposals from Australian and international NGOs for the community-based climate change action grants, a funding scheme for NGOs to develop and implement community-based climate change responses in one or more Pacific Island countries or in a single country in South East Asia. Grant proposals can be submitted under any one of the two categories: Community-based adaptation grants and Community-based mitigation grants. While the adaptation grants are meant to focus on building the resilience of communities to the impacts of climate change, the mitigation grants will help communities reduce or avoid greenhouse gas emissions, while also addressing key development priorities.

Objectives

* increase the resilience of communities in developing countries to the unavoidable impacts of climate change;
* reduce or avoid greenhouse gas emissions while also contributing to development priorities in the target communities;

Funding Available

Up to AUD$30 million in funding is available to non-government organizations though the Community-based Climate Change Action Grants.

Organization Eligibility Criteria

* To be eligible for funding, organizations must comply with the following criteria:
* The lead organization is an Australian or International NGO with knowledge and technical skills of relevance to community-based climate change adaptation and/or mitigation. Applications from organizations that have established working relationships with local partners are encouraged.
* The organization(s) is accredited by AusAID and/or agrees to the Statement of International Development Practice Principles.
* The organization(s) manages activities and relationships with other organizations in a way that reflects good practice in developing countries.
* Applicant organizations must declare all other proposals or sources of funding (including Australian Government funding) that is related, or may impact, on the activity.
* Consortia applications must be accompanied by a separate letter from each partner providing information about the organization, noting the relationship between the lead and partner organizations and intent to collaborate on the proposed activity.

Activity Eligibility

* Proposed activities must be consistent with the Australian aid program’s strategic goals and development objectives, as outlined in An Effective Aid Program for Australia: Making a real difference – Delivering real results.
* The proposed activities must comply with AusAID’s safeguards.
* The proposed activity is to be implemented in one or more Pacific Island countries or in a single country in South East Asia.
* Organizations proposing to run activities in Vietnam are eligible for mitigation funding for this grants program. However, adaptation proposals for other eligible countries can include a mitigation component.
* Proposals for integrated adaptation and mitigation activities may be accepted for Vietnam. The proposals should clearly indicate the relative proportions of adaptation and mitigation components.

Last date for submitting the concept paper is February 10, 2012.

For more information, visit this link.

This grant is only for Australian or international organizations.
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FAO Call for Papers and Grant Opportunity

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and Cornell International Institute for Food Agriculture and Development (CIIFAD) in collaboration with the International Association of Agricultural Economists (IAAE) is hosting an international symposium on “Inclusive Agro-Enterprise Development”, as part of the technical program of IAAE’s Triennial Conference of 2012.

The symposium aims to bring together leading scholars, government officials, private sector representatives and development practitioners to discuss innovative approaches to promote inclusive agro-enterprise development. The goal is to offer a platform whereby novel international experiences in agro-enterprise development policies and support institutions can be discussed, lessons can be learned and recommendations can be made to improve the effectiveness of agro-enterprise investment promotion initiatives by governments and development organizations.

* Areas of special interest for discussion include:
* Business models linking producers and buyers
* Agro-industry clusters, agribusiness incubators and agro-food parks
* Agro-based growth corridors and special economic zones
* Technical and financial support for small and medium enterprises
* Collective action and producer associations/ cooperatives
* Risk management approaches and tools for small-holders
* Pro-poor investment promotion policies and mechanisms
* Incentives for micro and missing-middle investors
* Infrastructure investments to enhance market integration

Potential contributors to the symposium can send a proposal consisting of an extended abstract (250 – 400 words) and a brief resume.

Professionals from developing countries who have their contributions accepted for presentation at the symposium are eligible to a grant of a maximum of US$2,500 (two thousand and five hundred dollars), to help defray their costs of participation in the IAAE event. The grants will be provided to a number of selected participants, upon submission of a technical paper to be prepared in accordance with FAO guidelines, to be later communicated to authors. The selected papers and a synthesis of the symposium discussions and deliberations will be published as a joint FAO – Cornell University book.

Deadline for Submission of an extended abstract (max 400 words): February 28th 2012

For more information, visit this link.
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University of Groningen, Netherlands seeks Applications for the Eric Bleumink Fund Scholarship

University of Groningen, Netherlands seeks applications for the Eric Bleumink Fund scholarship from eligible students in developing countries to pursue Maters degree program at the university. The grant is usually awarded for a maximum of 2 years for a Master’s degree program.

The primary objective of the Eric Bleumink Fund, established on 23 May 2000, is to provide financial support to Master’s students and PhD students from developing countries who wish to pursue a Master’s degree or a doctorate. This initiative will not only improve the cooperation between the University of Groningen and universities in developing countries, but will also raise the level of academic expertise in these countries.

University of Groningen offers a number of scholarships for international students and researchers. Several scholarships are available for international students who are motivated to study Bachelor’s, Master’s and PhD programs, as well as for exchanges, short courses and research stays at the university. More than 70 Master’s degree programs have English as the language of instruction.

Eligibility Criteria

Candidates for the Eric Bleumink Fund should:

* be nationals of and have their permanent residence in a developing country
* have a good command of the English language
* be in good health, so that health insurance in the Netherlands can be arranged
* be available for the whole period of the fellowship and be able to take part in the entire study program
* have no other means of financing the study in question

Eligible Countries

Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Angola, Bangladesh, Benin, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, Cape Verde, Central African Replublic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, China, Colombia, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kiribati, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Laos, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Myanmar, Moldova, Mongolia, Macedonia, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Morocco, Nepal, Niger, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Namibia, Niue, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Autonomous Palestinian Territories, Rwanda, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, Sudan, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Swaziland, Syria, Tajikistan, Thailand, Tokelau, Tonga, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Tanzania, Togo, Tuvalu, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Vanuatu, Vietnam, Wallis and Futuna, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe, East Timor, South Korea

Allowances

* A living allowance of € 970 per month for food and accommodation for Master’s students. In the case of a short stay in the Netherlands, the University of Groningen will make lodging arrangements for this period. The costs of rent, amounting up to a maximum of € 450 for master’s students will be deducted from the living allowance. In that case € 520 remains of the monthly allowance.
* A settling allowance of € 275 for extra expenses incurred when arriving in the Netherlands. This lump sum is paid along with the first monthly allowance.
* Travel costs for the journey from Amsterdam Airport (Schiphol) to Groningen and back.
* A study allowance of € 310 per year for books and other study material.
* The expenses for the visa at the Netherlands Embassy and the Foreign Police Department in the Netherlands will be reimbursed.
* All tuition fees for the Master’s program will be covered by the Eric Bleumink Fund.

Deadline

Deadline for submitting the application for scholarship is February 22, 2012

For more information, visit this link.
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African Union Research Grants-Open Call for Proposals -2012

Deadline: 20 April 2012

Countries/Region: AFRICA

The African Union Commission (AUC) is committed to ensure that science and technology in Africa contributes to its sustainable development efforts. The Act establishing the Union recognizes the need for Africa to embark on an ambitious strategic science and technology development programme, aimed at contributing to the wellbeing and improved quality of life for the African citizens. To this end the establishment of the AU in 2002 was accompanied by the setting up the AUC with a special Department of Human Resources, Science and Technology to drive this strategic programme.

The Specific objective of this Call for Proposals is to award grants to finance research projects in the fields of (a) Post-harvest and Agriculture, (b) Renewable and Sustainable Energy, or (c) Water and Sanitation. It is highly envisaged that the deployment and the improvement of science and technology research in these challenging areas will effectively contribute to Africa’s poverty reduction strategies, economic growth and social development efforts.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA:
There are three sets of eligibility criteria, relating to:

* applicant(s) which may request a grant (2.1.1), and their partners (2.1.2);
* actions for which a grant may be awarded (2.1.3);
* types of cost which may be taken into account in setting the amount of the grant (2.1.4).

Who can apply:

* be legal persons and

* be nationals of African Union , ACP, EU Member States, Least Developed Country as defined by the United Nations (LDCs), European Economic Area (EEA) Member States, one of the official EU candidate countries or, for proposed actions taking place in at least one LDC, reciprocal access shall be granted to the members of the OECD/Development Assistance Committee and

* be directly responsible for the preparation and management of the action with their partners, not acting as an intermediary and

* be registered locally in ( or have a memorandum of understanding in relevant research areas, with) an eligible African country prior to the publication of this call for proposals and

* have at least a three-year record in the formulation and/or implementation of research activities in Africa for which they will have to provide the relevant legal documents and

* be able to demonstrate their experience and capacity to manage activities corresponding in scale and complexity to those for which a grant has been requested and

* have stable and sufficient sources of finance to ensure the continuity of their organisation throughout the implementation of the proposed action and

* belong to consortia of scientists as explained under 2.1.2 (2)- composition of partnerships. and

* belong to at least one of the following categories:

1. National or regional science and technology organizations, research institutions, universities, government ministries or public institutions dealing with scientific research including regional science and technology institutions, with separate legal status, not belonging to any national system but formally recognized by one of the eligible countries; or
2. Established science and technology networks provided that: all network members and the network headquarters are located in eligible countries; the network has a legal status; the network is applying in its own right; and the network has been registered for a minimum of two years.

For more information visit this link.
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International Foundation for Science seeks Applications for Research Grants

Founded in 1972, the International Foundation for Science (IFS) is a research council that aims to build the scientific capacity of developing countries in sciences related to the sustainable management of biological and water resources. This non-governmental organisation works to promote the research efforts of promising young science graduates, who have the potential to become leading scientists in their countries. In the past 37 years, IFS has offered over 7,000 research grants to young scientists from different parts of the world.

IFS is currently inviting applications from eligible projects in select developing countries for the research grants. The timeframe of a research project should normally be 1-3 years. After having completed an IFS supported research project, and submitted a project report, grantees may apply for renewal grants.

Grant Provisions

An IFS Research Grant has a maximum value of USD 12,000. It is awarded to an individual researcher, for a specific research project, presented by the Applicant in the Application form. The IFS Research Grant is intended for the purchase of the basic tools needed to conduct the proposed research project – equipment, expendable supplies, and literature – and to arrange fieldwork activities related to the proposed project. The grant cannot be used to pay for the aspiring Grantee’s own salary or for honoraria, or to cover tuition fees or living expenses. It is expected that the IFS Grantees already receive a salary and are employed by or otherwise attached to a developing country research institution.

Funding for Research Teams

Although the IFS Research Grant is individual, IFS strongly supports the creation of research teams. To jointly fund a team project, researchers who qualify for IFS support may apply for individual IFS Research grants. Each team member should describe his/her own individual research objectives as well as his/her contribution to meeting the objectives of the team. Each individual application will be evaluated based on individual merit as well as contribution to the team objectives.

Eligibility Conditions

An eligible candidate for an IFS Research grant is:

* a citizen of a developing country
* a scientist with at least a Master’s or equivalent degree/research experience
* under 40 years of age and at the beginning of research career
* attached to a university, national research institution or a research-oriented NGO in a developing country

Exceptions:

* China: Chinese applicants must be under 30 years of age.
* Researchers from Hong Kong SAR are not eligible for support from IFS.
* Researchers from Sub-Saharan Africa are eligible for IFS support up to the age of 45, provided they have completed their highest academic degree (MSc, MA, PhD or equivalent) in the previous 5 years.
* Argentina, Chile, Mexico and Uruguay: Applications are no longer accepted from these countries.

Eligible Countries

IFS Research grants are reserved for developing country scientists for research projects carried out in a developing country. Country eligibility is based on the GNI per capita (GNI = Gross National Income) of the country, as published annually by World Bank. The upper limit is drawn at the average GNI/capita for so-called Upper Middle Income Countries (UMIC). If a country’s GNI/capita increases and exceeds this upper limit for some consecutive years, the country will be phased out of the IFS granting programme.

Due to the improved economic situation in Argentina, Chile, Mexico and Uruguay, these countries are no longer eligible for IFS grants.
Project Selection Criteria

To qualify for IFS funding, research projects must be:

* related to the sustainable utilisation, conservation or management of the biological or water resource base
* conducted in a developing country
* of a high scientific standard
* feasible
* relevant for the country/region

Last date for submitting the applications for second session is January 29, 2012.

For more information, visit this link.
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Applications invited from Citizens of Select Countries for EXPERTS II Grants Program

Applications are currently being invited from the citizens of select countries for EXPERTS II grants. Being run with the support of European Commission, EXPERTS II is the scholarship project targeted at citizens of Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Thailand. The main objective of the project is to facilitate collaborations between Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) from South and Southeast Asia (SSEA) and EU by exchanging information in science and policy issues while sharing key issues of sustainable development in academic cooperation.

Objectives

* To build on the experience and existing cooperation of the EXPERTS consortium establishing sustainable cooperation among the partners from both SSEA and EU in high quality research and education
* To enhance the international cooperation capacity of the participating institutions from SSEA by transferring and sharing know-how and best practices, administrative capacities, and training the next generation of researchers and academic staff,
* To exchange ideas, views and knowledge among the partners from both SSEA and EU

Fields of Study

* Agricultural sciences; Architecture, urban and regional planning; Business studies and management sciences; Education and teacher training; Engineering, technology; Geography, Geology; Law;
* Medical Sciences; Natural Sciences; Social Sciences; Physical education and Sport Science; Leisure Studies; Home Economics and Nutrition; and Nautical Science and Navigation

Scholarship Provisions

* Travel cost- one return ticket to the host University- provided by the Coordinator
* A monthly subsistence allowance
* Full insurance coverage – health, travel and accident
* Tuition fees, if applied at the host university- when the study duration is longer than 10 months

Target Groups

Target Group 1: Undergraduate, master and doctorate students, post-doctorates, and academic and administrative staff that contribute to the overall topics of the EXPERTS project in research and cooperation from the partner universities that are participating from SSEA region. The candidate must be registered at the home university at the time of application and in case of undergraduate students – they must have successfully completed at least one year of studies in their home institution.

Target Group 2: Master, doctorate students, and post-doctorates of non-partner universities from SSEA region (concerned by lot 11) and graduates from the partner universities, oriented to the topic of the EXPERTS project in research and cooperation.

Target Group 3: Master and doctoral students belonging to minority groups that provide proposals that increase cooperation and research through innovation in their regions will be sought in this category.

General Conditions

Only Candidates of the following nationalities are eligible to apply: Bangladesh – Bhutan – China – India – Indonesia – Nepal – Pakistan – Sri Lanka – the Philippines – Thailand

In order to be an eligible candidate, you must have not resided nor have carried out your main activity (studies, work, etc.) for more than a total of 12 months over the last five years in one of the European countries.

No student, and no academic staff member can benefit from more than one mobility activity within the same project.

Last date for submitting the applications is February 10, 2012.

For more information, visit this link.
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European Commission’s Erasmus Mundus ACP II Program Grants

Applications are currently being invited from interested individuals for Erasmus Mundus ACP II Program grants. Erasmus Mundus ACP Program is an initiative of European Commission. The Mundus ACP II is the renewal project of Erasmus Mundus ACP, and a joint program of 20 Higher Education Institutions from the European Union and the African, Caribbean, Pacific (ACP) Countries.

More About MUNDUS ACP II Project

The MUNDUS ACP II Project is the MUNDUS ACP Project renewal whose implementation began in the 2010/2011 academic year. The Project comprises European and several ACP Countries’ Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and HEIs Associations, and was implemented within the framework of the Erasmus Mundus, Action 2 – STRAND 1, Lot 15, ACP Countries.

Goals of MUNDUS ACP II Program

* The mutual enrichment and a better understanding between Europe and the ACP Countries, through the exchange of people, knowledge and skills at Higher Education level;
* The increase of international cooperation between European and ACP Countries’ HEIs, thus contributing to foster the socio-economical development of this region;
* The promotion of transparency and recognition of studies and qualifications at an international level.

Grant Provisions

* According to the Guidelines of the Erasmus Mundus Programme, the mobility flows within the scope of this Project are possible in the 16 study fields.
* The selected applicants of this Project will receive a monthly scholarship, according to the type of mobility they will carry out.

Eligibility Conditions

The MUNDUS ACP II Project foresees individual mobility flows to:
* Students (Master and Doctorate) and Academic and Administrative Staff of the ACP Countries willing to develop their activity in one of the European Partner Universities:
o Full Master students will carry out their studies in Europe, in a partner institution of the Project, with the duration of 24 months with the purpose of undertaking their full training at the host institution and the issue of the corresponding Diploma).
o Doctorate students will undertake a mobility period in Europe, in one of the partner institutions of the project, under the doctoral program in which they are enrolled in their home countries (ACP), with the duration of 10 months (this mobility period must be fully recognized by the partner ACP Institution).
o The Academic and Administrative Staff will develop, in Europe, in a partner institution of the Project, activities for the exchange of knowledge, skills and experiences with the duration of 1 month of effective work.
* Academic and Administrative Staff mobility from Europe who wish to develop their activity in one of the ACP Countries’ Partner Universities. The Academic and Administrative Staff will develop, in the ACP Countries, in a partner institution of the Project, activities for the exchange of knowledge, skills and experiences with the duration of 1 month of effective work.

Note: The Project’s mobility scheme determines that the ACP Countries’ candidates may only apply to European partner institutions and that the European candidates can only apply to ACP Countries’ partner institutions. The main objective of this mobility flow scheme is to reinforce regional cooperation between the Higher Education Institutions of the ACP region and the EU.

Last date for submission of applications is January 31, 2012

For more information, visit this link.
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King Baudouin Foundation Funding Opportunity for Projects to improve the Quality of Life for Coffee and/or Cocoa Producers in Developing Countries
The Efico Fund, managed by the King Baudouin Foundation, was setup with the purpose of improving the living conditions of poor communities producing coffee and/or cocoa in developing countries.

The Fund is responsible for selecting and monitoring projects and for distributing financial support. Projects contribute directly or indirectly to the structural and sustainable improvement of poor populations that produce coffee and/or cocoa in developing countries. The projects may also involve humanitarian aid and rehabilitation activities for the poor in these countries.

In this context, applications are now permanently invited from eligible projects till October 1, 2012 for the Efico fund.

Funding Size

Projects can be supported one or more years with a maximum amount of 20.000 € per year. The jury can grant an exception if this is well-founded in the project application.

Eligibility

The project must aim to provide sustainable development for poor populations that produce coffee and/or cocoa in developing countries. This assumes that the project will satisfy three dimensions of sustainability: social, environmental and economic. The central idea is that projects will improve the living conditions of coffee producers and their communities.

Social criteria

* provide sustainable improvement of the living and working conditions of coffee and/or cocoa farmers, plantation workers and their families and ensure that their basic needs are met regarding food, housing, health and education;
* respect local labour laws, allow consultation, participation and adequate working conditions (see UN Global Compact);
* respect human rights and non-discrimination on the basis of gender, race, religion, political or philosophical convictions;
* improve education and training for all concerned, paying special attention to women and children.

Environmental criteria

* maintain and promote local biodiversity (fauna, flora);
* limit the use of pesticides as much as possible; apply, wherever possible, the principles of sustainable agriculture, giving priority to natural methods of pest control and, if pesticides must be used, use the least toxic and limit their application as much as possible over time and area;
* use, wherever possible, integrated soil fertility management, with judicious use of organic and inorganic fertilizers and natural methods (mulch, soil cover, papilionaceae, etc.) to retain soil fertility and prevent soil erosion;
* manage water resources judiciously through the recycling and purification of waste water, storage of rain water where land is irrigated, and drainage to prevent stagnation;
* give priority to renewable energy sources and limit energy consumption;
* limit the production of waste and recycle as much as possible and, where nothing else is feasible, ensure safe removal for treatment/processing.

Economic criteria

* strive for better (coffee) quality in production and processing through training, financial stimuli and transparent product quality guarantees, value for money;
* encourage market access, make input/output market information available and stimulate collective and participatory activities (cooperatives, producer groups);
* ensure the traceability of each batch through product documentation and good supply chain management;
* ensure food safety in all circumstances; avoid contamination;
* support labels, quality and origin certifications to create commercial added value for coffee;
* capitalize on ecological added value in financial terms wherever possible.

Last date for submission of applications is October 1, 2012

For more information and details, you can visit this link.
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The Road Safety Fund seeks Grant Applications for Improving Road Safety Condition in Middle-Income and Low-Income Countries

The Road Safety Fund is the organization dedicated to support and encourage preventative measures that are proven to reduce the risk or severity of road injury. The Fund was established as a global fund to support the implementation of the United Nations’ Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020. The Fund gets donations from different companies, governments, philanthropies and the public and supports road injury prevention programmes in countries and communities working to defeat this growing epidemic of road death and injury. The Road Safety Fund believes in investing in the people and the skills that can provide sustainable paths to safety.

The Road Safety Fund is currently inviting applications under small grant program for projects with potential to improve road safety condition in middle-income and low-income countries. The Small Grants Programme is enabled with the generous support of Allianz, Bosch, Guinea Alumina, Innovate Solutions and Vinci Autoroutes Foundation. The fund is looking for projects that will make a demonstrable and sustainable contribution towards the achievement of the Goal of the Decade of Action: to save five million lives by 2020. The small grant funding is intended to enable and catalyse practical activity.

Grant Size

Up to a maximum of US$30,000 per project

Eligibility Criteria

To be considered for funding, applicants must:

1. Be governmental or non-profit organisations with a track record in road injury prevention activities or related fields;

2. Ensure project proposals:

* are aligned with the Global Plan for the Decade of Action;
* contribute to road injury reduction in middle-income and/or low income countries;
* demonstrate a catalysing effect, for example by:
o encouraging and enabling institutional capacity development including, where applicable, legislation and enforcement of road injury risk factors;
o building sustainable national or local partnerships and campaigns to practically address specific road injury risk factors, e.g. seat belt, helmet or drink driving coalitions;
o developing strategies to sustain activities over the medium and long term, for example by using the project to leverage additional public/private sector funding;
o demonstrating potential transferability of your activity to other regions/countries;
* include measurable outputs and objectives;

3. Accept, understand and meet their obligations under the UK Bribery Act 2010;

Payment & Reporting
Grants will be paid in instalments. The first instalment will be paid on signing of the grant agreement. Any subsequent instalments will be paid upon receipt of satisfactory activity and expenditure reports, as required in the grant agreement.

Communication

Organisations and projects funded through the small grants programme will be communicated via the Road Safety Fund website and annual report, and any relevant ad hoc publications. Organisations in receipt of funding will be required to acknowledge the support of the Road Safety Fund in any communications relating to their project.

Last date for submitting the applications is January 31, 2012.

For more information, visit this link.
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North-South Centre of the Council of Europe seeks Grant Applications for Africa Europe Youth Cooperation Program

The Africa Europe Youth Cooperation Program is an initiative of North-South Centre of the Council of Europe that aims to raise awareness about issues of global interdependence and solidarity in Europe. This program also aims to promote cooperation and human contacts between Europe, the southern Mediterranean and Africa. One of the main objectives of the program is to provide training and capacity building for young people and youth organisations as well as to facilitate policy action on youth in development policies.

North-South Centre of the Council of Europe is currently inviting grant applications for Africa Europe Youth Cooperation Program. This grant allocation, or seed funding, is intended to promote Africa Europe youth exchanges, networking and political participation of nonstate actors. It aims at funding initiatives which provides the possibility for youth leaders, youth workers, experts and trainers to participate in Euro African Youth activities and youth exchanges projects.
Grant Provisions

The grants are of a maximum 2000 € per project/organisation.
Program Activities

* five sub-regional seminars on youth policies and African youth charter;
* Africa-Europe training courses for youth organisations, and training opportunities for African Diaspora in Europe;
* mapping exercise of Africa-Europe youth cooperation/work, leading to the creation of an Africa Europe Youth Cooperation on-line resource centre.
* providing seed funding for pilot youth NGO exchanges;
* the establishment of the Africa Europe Youth Platform and institutional follow up, monitoring and implementation with key youth actors from Africa and Europe, and representatives of implementing agencies and institutions of the Africa-Europe youth strategy;
* African University on Youth and Development.

General Conditions

* The application should be submitted by a youth organisation, network or nonstate actor at local, national, (sub)regional or international level that is active in promoting Africa Europe youth cooperation.
* Priority is given to projects presented by organisations coming from Africa and/or from the African Diaspora Living in Europe, and organisations/networks that submit projects which will allocate the grant support for African youth participants in the project and/or participation of African Diaspora in the project.
* The participants in the project benefiting from the grant should be under 35 years of age.
* Innovative projects with an experimental approach are encouraged to apply.
* Projects that respond to the thematic priorities, such as: youth rights; youth participation; climate change, food security and youth entrepreneurship would be priorities in this call.

Eligibility of Expenses

The following costs are eligible for the grant:

* International travel
* Local transport
* Board and lodging
* Visa expenses
* Fees for experts (i.e. trainers, facilitators, speakers, etc)

The organisation which receives a seed funding grant will be notified at the latest 4 weeks after submission of project description and will thereafter sign an Administrative Arrangement with the North-South Centre for the execution of the financial support. Two (2) months after the implementation of the project (end of eligible period) the beneficiary must submit a narrative (of the results and main outcomes of the project) and financial report of the project to the NSC.

Last date for submitting the applications is January 29, 2012.
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Gates Foundation’s Request for Proposal: Preventing Preterm Birth
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s new grant program for Grand Challenges in Global Health in partnership with the Global Alliance to Prevent Prematurity and Stillbirth (GAPPS), is seeking letters of inquiry for the new grant program Preventing Preterm Birth.

The grant program seeks to address the problem of the increasing number of newborans dying from preterm birth than from any other cause. Those newborns that survive often suffer disproportionately from other diseases and in this way, preventing preterm birth is part of a comprehensive approach to ensuring a healthy start to life.

By filling the void of scientific knowledge on the causes and mechanisms important to preterm birth in the developing world, this initiative could:

* Lead to low-cost novel technologies to reduce the global burden of prematurity
* Attract scientists to engage in this underserved global health field
* Increase investments from other global health research and development funders

The deadline to submit proposals is 31 January 2011. For more information and to apply to this opportunity, visit this link.

Latest NGO's News Dated on January 23rd,2012

2012-01-22T22:35:00.000-08:00

Yudhoyono slams NGOs over Papua

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono reprimanded on Friday nongovernmental organizations that have regularly criticized how the Indonesian Military (TNI) handles security in Papua, saying that they have implied that the law should not be enforced in the country’s two easternmost provinces.

“Papua is part of Indonesia. It doesn’t make sense that NGOs say things that imply that we can’t enforce the law in Papua,” he said at a TNI and National Police leaders meeting in Jakarta.

Yudhoyono said the military presence in Papua was not without justified.

“They are there because there is still an armed separatist movement, which we should be aware of,” he said, emphasizing that there was only a small military presence that did not conduct aggressive military operations.

The President stressed that the government was eager to improve welfare in Papua by implementing programs to accelerate Papua’s economic development.

“That is not just lip service — the average development expenditure per capita in Papua is the highest in the country,” Yudhoyono pointed out.

He added that he had conveyed the government’s policy on Papua to his counterparts across the globe as news regarding military activities in Papua had spread quickly to world leaders.

“Many have asked me about what happened in Papua. I should explain that the military presence in Papua is not without justification,” he said.

To respond to grievances from Papuans who deemed themselves unfairly treated by the central government, Yudhoyono set up in Sept. 20, last year, the government-sanctioned Presidential Unit for the Acceleration of Development in Papua and West Papua (UP4B).

Lt. Gen. Bambang Darmono, the commanding officer in Aceh from 2002 to 2005, was appointed the chief of the program.

Last week, the partnership for governance reform (Kemitraan) and the Legal Aid Institute (LBH) released a survey from 2011 that found that torture was commonly carried out by members of the police to extract information from suspects.

More than 205 respondents including suspects, police personnel, prosecutors, correctional officers, human rights activists, academics and local tribal chiefs, testified that torture was committed by police officers against suspects during arrests, investigations, detention and in jail.

Earlier, Vice President Boediono brushed aside fears of “foreign intervention” in the event of donor development funds being more accessible in Papua.

“Don’t seek ghosts in broad daylight,” Boediono said on Wednesday.

“The most important thing is for us to filter, be selective. Let’s not close ourselves off [unnecessarily],” he remarked.

He stressed that there were many donors — bilateral and multilateral – with good intentions in Papua.

He dismissed undue fears that countries like Australia and the United States had ulterior motives, referring to treaties and statements made by the two countries stating their support for Indonesia’s territorial integrity.
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Irby: Center participates in two-way cultural exchange

GORDONSVILLE --

Last summer the University of Virginia Center for Politics' Global Perspectives on Democracy program hosted 25 Afghan women from NGOs and high levels of the government from Afghanistan. This exchange, in partnership with Relief International and through the funding of the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, provided classroom instruction and job-shadowing opportunities that focused on civic engagement, the rule of law and public administration. From Dec. 8-17, 2011, a delegation of four — Meg Heubeck from the U.Va. Center for Politics, Maury Brown from Germanna Community College, Joe Szakos of Virginia Organizing and I — traveled to Kabul, Afghanistan, to witness the progress of the participants and meet with other members of the government and NGOs.

While in the United States, the delegates were tasked with formulating ideas on how they would use what they learned during the exchange as a catalyst for action upon return to Afghanistan. On the evening of the American delegation's arrival in Kabul, we reunited with the Afghan participants to learn about their project activities and personally reconnect. Each participant gave a report on the project activities since their return, which was truly inspirational. They told about training sessions and presentations they had hosted on topics such as individual rights, the importance of civic engagement, the rule of law and combating corruption, and about pamphlets they had created and distributed on the importance of women participating in society and knowing how to respond when their rights are violated. Everyone in attendance gave a stirring report.

Traveling around Kabul gave us a taste of some of the daily challenges that face those living in the city and, I suspect, across the country. Issues related to security are ever present. As one might expect, heavily armed Afghan police, military personnel and private security guards are a constant sight in Kabul. While we thankfully never witnessed any criminal or terrorist activity, these personnel are clearly there for a reason, and that weighs on the psyche of the people. It was a surprise for me that we saw extremely few foreign military personnel. The fact that Afghans are in charge of Kabul must be considered a success, though there is clearly much work to be done in other parts of the country. The treatment of women on almost all levels is one of the greatest challenges facing Afghanistan and will take many years to significantly change. Improving education and literacy (currently under 30 percent) must occur among all in the country, but especially women and girls. Transparency and the fight against corruption was a subject that regularly made its way into our discussions. Infrastructure and the environment are also areas of great need. The evening rush hour in Kabul leaves your eyes burning.

With all of these challenges considered, it appears that Afghanistan and its government are moving in the right direction. Citizens are hard-working and are doing their best to improve their condition, and the government seems to be doing a fair job of rebuilding its institutions. Afghanistan is not a nation on island time, and there is a lot more going on in this country than the flashpoints we hear about on the news.

Even though Afghanistan is far away from the U.S. in many ways, we need to remember that Afghans are similar to us in many ways. They love their families, are industrious, attend religious services or not, desire stability in their daily lives, and want to be free. There may be some who hate Americans, but the overwhelming majority do not. While they naturally look forward to full independence from foreign intervention, most appreciate the removal of the Taliban yoke.

One can learn only so much in a week, but I left Afghanistan with an increased level of awareness and understanding of Afghan government and civil institutions, life in Kabul, and where Afghans and the Center for Politics' past and future exchange participants are literally and figuratively coming from. There are so many challenges. Where will Afghanistan be in five, 10 or 20 years? Afghanistan's stability is our stability, and it is an honor to have had a small part in our nations' futures. Many, both military and civilian, from Afghanistan, the U.S. and other countries have done much more than I to help provide stability and rebuild this nation. Many families have made the ultimate sacrifice. Let us not lose sight of where we have come in the past 10 years and the progress that is being made. And it is being made.
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Nature Alert misleading the public on orangutans

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (NRE) together with the Department of Wildlife and National Parks Peninsular Malaysia (Perhilitan) would like to address the issues raised by Sean Whyte, CEO of Nature Alert in FMT on Jan 11, with regards to the news of orangutans being abused at Melaka Zoo.

The Ministry and the Department are highly concerned with the way Nature Alert is misleading the public by issuing pictures taken at certain angles that doesn’t depict the way orangutans managed by Zoo Melaka. The pictures were taken only to form a perception among the public that these orangutans are badly managed which is the ultimate objective of this UK based NGO.

It is important to note that anybody can take pictures of orangutans in their respective cages and claim that they are being abused because as it is a well known fact that pictures may tell a hundred stories but not the truth. The truth can only be discovered by conducting a thorough check with the respective zoo management about the issue and not by just producing pictures to mislead the public.

In this aspect, the Ministry has clarified the issue in a leading newspaper last week which can be found at this link http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/1/7/nation/10213526&sec=nation

In this regard, we also would like to reiterate that the government led by the Prime Minister pays utmost importance on transparency in handling all issues ranging from rakyat’s welfare to wildlife welfare. This government fully believes that with elements of transparency, openness and integrity, any issue can be resolved amicably.

With this kind of approaches in our way of doing things, we had extended our invitation to Mr Whyte for a visit to A Famosa Resort to view and analyse the newly built enclosures for orangutans but regrettably, Mr Whyte refused to accept our invitation.

The session was a success in gathering feedback, expert opinions and knowledge from all the NGOS present which showed their commitment in managing the wellbeing of our orangutans. Mr Whyte’s refusal to join the said group of NGOS to analyse, discuss or provide feedbacks in managing orangutans in our zoos clearly shows that Mr Whyte’s has a different priority.

As a Ministry responsible to safeguard the biodiversity in this country, we welcome feedback, criticism, opinions and so forth and this can be seen clearly with our involvement with NGOS in resolving issues related to wildlife. We have been working very closely with our NGOs in various fields and would expect the same from from Nature Alert.

Since orangutans are Malaysia’s natural heritage, the concern for the environment and welfare of the orangutans and other wildlife is not the monopoly of any party including Nature Alert. We are equally as concerned, if not more, hence, issues of orangutan welfare and management should not be an issue to be manipulated by any party.

Being the second oldest zoo in Malaysia, further improvement is needed to upgrade the existing facilities and this will be undertaken from time to time. These actions need thorough planning and executed accordingly in line with the new zoo guidelines to be enforced soon. Here, we would like to invite all our stakeholders to share their knowledge, experiences and feedbacks for better management of zoos in time to come.

The writer is Head of Corporate Communications, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (NRE)
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Kashmir zealots push Christians into valley of fear

SRINAGAR: From the toast of Srinagar to a man with a question mark about his intentions, it's been quite a journey for Juan Marcos Troia, an Argentinian football coach and star of the documentary, 'Inshallah Football'.

In 2009, Marcos was credited with reviving football in Kashmir. 'Inshallah Football' is about one of Marcos's best players, Basharat, the son of a former militant, and his dream to play in Brazil. Though initially denied, Basharat got his passport and went to Brazil a few months ago. But there is no smile of satisfaction on Marcos's face. Much has changed since 2009.

Kashmir is in the grip of a controversy surrounding religious conversions by priests and foreign NGOs. Everyone, it seems, is under the scanner. Troia, who has been questioned by the state football association about the funding for his clubs, is now the target of a whisper campaign. Fundamentalists are ratcheting up religious mobilization.

His house vandalized, Marcos is now running around asking cops for help. "We have to fend for ourselves," says his dejected wife, Priscilla.

The controversy began when a video surfaced showing a pastor C M Khanna baptizing young Muslim boys. A Sharia court "summoned" Khanna and accused him of converting Muslims by luring them with money; a claim that the Christian Council of India denies. Khanna was arrested for disturbing communal peace. He is now on bail but the Sharia court ordered his "expulsion" from the state. Although this court has no legal sanctity, political parties have remained silent.

This has left the field open for further pressure on the 400-odd Christians in the Valley. The two missionary schools in Srinagar are now facing calls to include Islamic prayers as part of the curriculum and prove they do not promote Christianity.

The few foreign nationals who live here are harassed. "I got a call around midnight, and this man on the phone asked me how many Bibles I had, how my 'real motive' was known to him," said one foreigner.

Local converts are worse off. A few weeks ago, the mere rumour that a few boys in a Ganderbal village had converted led to a raids by five carloads of men led by a maulvi from a madrassa. Their homes were ransacked.

Adding to this climate was an article in Kashmir's leading English daily on Friday last. Titled 'Apostasy unveiled', the full page spread is an alleged first person account of one of the boys pastor Khanna had converted. The story of Class 10 student reads like a film script.

He was trapped by the pastor who used a girl to entice him to drink alcohol. Then blackmailed him with a video recording. The student is "progressively addicted to alcohol, women, money, drugs, and the promise of weapons".

At each stage, pastor Khanna's personal involvement is recorded. The highlight is this passage: "There were candles and an empty glass on the table. As the prayers went on, someone brought a jug full of red liquid and poured it into the glass. It was swine blood which we all had to drink. Khanna took some sips, then his daughter and I joined the others."

This is the most talked about news in Srinagar - on twitter and facebook, in living rooms and cafes. "One comes to know the extent to which these people will go to convert," read a facebook comment.

Even educated people this reporter spoke to believe sex, booze and money is the only reason why anyone would convert to Christianity. For the Christians here it's an indictment they shall have to learn to live with.
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Trust in Government Suffers a Severe Breakdown Across the Globe

Credibility of Governmental Officials and CEOs Experience Biggest Drops Ever, 2012 Edelman Trust Barometer Finds

NEW YORK, Jan. 23, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Blame for the financial and political chaos of 2011 landed at the doorstep of government, as trust in that institution fell a record nine points to 43 percent globally, according to the 2012 Edelman Trust Barometer. In seventeen of the 25 countries surveyed, government is now trusted by less than half to do what is right. In twelve, it trails business, media, and non-governmental organizations as the least trusted institution. France, Spain, Brazil, China, Russia, and Japan, as well as six other countries, saw government trust drop by more than ten points. Government officials are now the least credible spokespeople, with only 29 percent considering them credible. Nearly half of the general population -- the first time the Barometer looked at this broader group -- say they do not trust government leaders to tell the truth.

"Business is now better placed than government to lead the way out of the trust crisis," said Richard Edelman, president and CEO, Edelman. "But the balance must change so that business is seen both as a force for good and an engine for profit."

Although business experienced fewer and generally less severe declines in trust, it has its own hurdles to clear. Trust in business fell globally from 56 percent to 53 percent, with countries like France and Germany, in the heart of the Eurozone economic crisis, experiencing double-digit decreases. Lack of confidence in business spread to South Korea, where trust dropped 15 points. China was the only country to see a significant increase in trust in business, rising from 61 to 71 percent.

CEO credibility declined 12 points to 38 percent, its biggest drop in nine years. In South Korea and Japan, it dropped by 34 and 43 points, respectively.

In the midst of this systemic decline in trust, a "person like me" has re-emerged as one of the three most credible spokespeople, with the biggest increase in credibility since 2004, and now trails only academics and technical experts. Regular employees jumped from least credible spokesperson to tied for fourth on the list, with a 16-point record rise. Social-networking, micro-blogging, and content-sharing sites witnessed the most dramatic percentage increase as trusted sources of information about a company, rising by 88, 86, and 75 percent, respectively.

"This is further evidence of the dispersion of authority," said Mr. Edelman. "Smart businesses will talk to employees first, because citizens now trust one another more than they do established institutions."

The 2012 Trust Barometer reveals that the factors responsible for shaping current trust levels are less important than those that will build future trust. Consistent financial returns, innovative products and highly regarded senior leadership are the primary factors on which current trust levels lie. However, listening to customer feedback and putting customers ahead of profits are far more vital to building future trust.

"Our analysis shows that the operational factors driving present trust in business aren't enough to expand trust in the future," said Neal Flieger, chair, Strategy One, Edelman's research firm. "The path forward requires more of a focus on societal and employee-facing issues."

Although business is substantially more trusted than government, 49 percent of global respondents believe government does not regulate business enough. Nearly one-third want government to protect them from irresponsible business practices and one-quarter want regulation that will ensure responsible corporate behavior. "The interventions people are asking government to take are changes business can step up and implement on its own," said Mr. Edelman.

Once again, banks and financial services declined in trust, and were the two least trusted sectors with France, Spain, Brazil, Japan, and South Korea recording the most severe drops. Technology remained the most trusted sector globally.

Media, the one institution to see an increase, saw its global trust level rise above 50 percent. It experienced significant regional upticks in India (20 points), the U.S. (18 points), the UK (15 points) and Italy (12 points).

"As the media landscape dimensionalizes and delivers a wider range of options, it is becoming more trusted," said Alan VanderMolen, President and CEO, Global Practices and Diversified Insights Business, Edelman. "The media also did an exceptional job this past year of covering the financial problems throughout the EU."

In Japan, site of last March's earthquake and subsequent nuclear disaster, trust fell severely in three of the four institutions including government (down 26 points), media (12 points), and NGOs (21 points). That loss of trust extended to five industry sectors, including energy (down 46 points), media (21 points), banks (20 points) and financial services (17 points).

"The fragility of trust was never more evident than this past year in Japan, where the government's lack of leadership and the local utility's poor transparency revealed huge shortcomings in the command-and-control approach to communications," said Mr. Edelman.

Other key findings from the 2012 Edelman Trust Barometer include:

The United States held steady across three major institutions, unlike last year when it posted significant declines in NGOs, media, business, and government.

Traditional media and online search engines are the most trusted sources of information for people searching for general news and information, new product information, news on an environmental crisis, and company announcements. Traditional media, TV, newspapers, and magazines are still the most trusted sources of information, according to the Barometer.

Among 18-29 year olds, digital media is the most popular source for general news and information.

With the exception of technology and automotive, South Korea experienced extraordinary drops in trust in every industry sector. Telecommunications, down 32 points to 39 percent, and financial services, down 25 points to 39 percent, endured the largest drops in trust.

Brazil saw the greatest drops in trust across all major institutions - government (53 points), NGOs (down 31 points), business (18 points), and media (12 points). At the time of last year's Trust Barometer, Brazil had just been awarded the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics and President Dilma Rousseff had just been elected. This year's declines represent a return to normalcy for businesses and the arrest of four government officials for corruption.

About the Edelman Trust Barometer The 2012 Edelman Trust Barometer is the firm's 12th annual trust and credibility survey. The survey was produced by research firm StrategyOne and consisted of 20-minute online interviews conducted from October 10 - November 30, 2011. The 2012 Edelman Trust Barometer online survey sampled 25,000 general population respondents with an oversample of 5,600 informed publics in two age groups (25-34 and 35-64) across 25 countries. All informed publics met the following criteria: college-educated; household income in the top quartile for their age in their country; read or watch business/news media at least several times a week; follow public policy issues in the news at least several times a week. For more information, visit http://www.edelman.com/trust or call 212.729.2166.

About Edelman Edelman is the world's largest independent public relations firm, with offices in 60 cities and 4,000 employees worldwide, as well as affiliates in more than 30 cities. Edelman was named Advertising Age's top-ranked PR firm of the decade and one of its "2010 A-List Agencies" and "2010 Best Places to Work;" PRWeek's "2011 Large PR Agency of the Year" and "2011 Large UK Consultancy of the Year;" European Excellence Awards' "2010 Agency of the Year;" Holmes Report's "2011 Global Agency of the Year," "Agency of the Decade," and "2009 Asia Pacific Consultancy of the Year;" and among Glassdoor's top five "2011 Best Places to Work." Edelman owns specialty firms Blue (advertising), StrategyOne (research), Ruth (integrated marketing), DJE Science (medical education/publishing and science communications), MATTER (sports, sponsorship, and entertainment), and Edelman Consulting. Visit http://www.edelman.com/ for more information.

CONTACT: Michael Bush 212.729.2181 michael.bush@edelman.com
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President slams NGOs commenting on Papua

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono reprimanded on Friday nongovernmental organizations that often criticized how the Indonesian Military (TNI) handles security in Papua, saying that they implied that the law should not be enforced in the country’s easternmost island.

“Papua is part of Indonesia. It doesn’t make sense that NGOs say something that implies that we can’t enforce the law in Papua,” he said at the TNI and National Police leaders meeting in Jakarta.

SBY said the military presence in Papua was not without reason.

“They are there because there is still an armed separatist movement, which we should be aware of,” he said, emphasizing that there was only a small military presence that did not conduct aggressive military operations.

The President stressed that the government was eager to improve people’s welfare on the island by implementing programs to accelerate Papua’s economic development.

“That is not just lip service – the average development expenditure per capita in Papua is the highest in the country,” SBY pointed out.

He added that he had conveyed the government’s policy on Papua to his counterparts across the globe as news regarding military activities in Papua spread quickly to world leaders.

“Many have asked me about what happened in Papua. I should explain that the military presence in Papua was not without justification,” he said as quoted by kompas.com.
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India Digest: Tax Rulings Fixed, CJI Demands Government Action

Here is a roundup of news from Indian newspapers, news wires and websites on Monday, January 23, 2012. The Wall Street Journal has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

Tax Rulings Fixed, CJI Demands Government Action: Chief Justice of India SH Kapadia has asked the government to take “appropriate action” against at least 20 members of the country’s top income tax tribunal who are on the CBI’s radar for having allegedly ‘outsourced’ writing of judgments to private parties. (Source: Hindustan Times)

Kashmir Zealots Push Christians Into Valley of Fear: Kashmir is in the grip of a controversy surrounding religious conversions by priests and foreign NGOs. Everyone, it seems, is under the scanner. (Source: The Times of India)

Rly Panel for Linking Fares to Inflation, a One-Time Hike of 25%: A high-level committee on rail modernisation chaired by Sam Pitroda, advisor to the prime minister, has recommended that the Railways hike passenger fares one time by 25 per cent and index all fares to inflation to raise Rs 60,000 crore next year. (Source: The Indian Express)

Manmohan Betraying People: Team Anna: Spearheading its campaign to put the Lokpal Bill issue in the forefront as a poll issue, Team Anna on Sunday accused the four major parties in the fray in Uttar Pradesh of misleading the people on the issue and demanded that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh come up with an altogether new, effective and strong Bill.
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The Attack on NGOs in Egypt

Eleven members of the United States Senate have written to Egypt’s head of government Field Marshal Tantawi to threaten a reduction of U.S. aid unless the NGOs raided on December 29 are permitted to reopen.

As I have written here previously, that’s the right stance for the United States to take. Three of the seventeen organizations raided were American and backed by U.S. Government funding: Freedom House, the International Republican Institute, and the National Democratic Institute. Written materials and computers were also seized, and despite various promises nothing has been returned.

We may not be able to stop the Egyptian military and security forces from such actions but we surely don’t have to pay for it. They should be told there is now a freeze on our military aid until this situation is rectified.

Why is this so important? The answer lies not only in Egypt, whose possible transition to democracy is the target of such raids. It happens that Freedom House, NDI, and IRI work in dozens of countries around the globe that are not free: Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, Burma, China, and Venezuela are examples. The rulers of those countries obviously do not appreciate the work they do to promote democracy, and the danger is that they will learn a lesson from Egypt. Today that lesson would be “we can throw these people out and seize their work materials with impunity. We’ll just get a few protests from the State Department. It’s an easy price to pay.” We need them to know that the price will be high, in foreign aid if they get any and in relations with the United States overall. We need them to conclude “it just isn’t worth the pain.” If Egypt can get away with this, others will inevitably try to follow.

That’s what those senators were trying to teach, and it is a lesson that the United States must instill. The work those NGOs do is central to our foreign policy and our position in the world, and we should not allow them to be harassed, intimidated, and ejected. Choosing between support for Field Marshal Tantawi and those American NGOs should be easy, and in any event they are canaries in the coal mine. The treatment they receive is an infallible signal of the sort of government that is in place, and should be a guide to our relations with the regime abusing them.
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NGOs probed over N-funds
An official team from the ministry of Union home affairs resumed its inspection Wednesday, after the Pongal holidays, of non-governmental organisations affiliated to the Thoothukudi Roman Catholic diocese.

The 2-member team of Mr Johinder Prasad, under secretary (audit), ministry of home affairs, and Mr Sujith Kumar Singh, that was said to have begun its auditing on January 10 on a complaint that foreign funding received by NGOs affiliated to the Thoothukudi Roman Catholic diocese misused the funds to instigate the anti-KKNPP movement, suspended its inspection for three days beginning January 15 in view of the Pongal festival.

The team also inspected the Thalamuthunagar refugee camp, near Thoothukudi, where the Thoothukudi multi-purpose social service society (TMSSS) of the diocese was doing welfare activities using foreign funds.

The prime minister’s office minister V. Naray-anasamy had recently stated that some of the NGOs in Thoothukudi were instigating the anti-KKNPP struggle using foreign funds.

He also warned that their FCRA registration would be cancelled. Reacting to this audit, Thoothukudi Roman Catholic bishop Yvon Ambroise said it was only a usual audit of the ministry.

He also threatened legal action against a section of the media that continues to publish false news to tarnish their image.
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NGOs vow to defy SCAF crackdown

CAIRO: Thirty-two rights groups condemned a raid on civil society organizations Thursday, promising to continue their work.

Security forces and prosecutors raided 17 offices of rights groups and organizations on Thursday, including the offices of three US-funded groups promoting democracy, following official announcements about an investigation into illegal foreign funding.

“This serious step marks the beginning of a security campaign that is expected to affect dozens of advocacy groups,” the 32 groups, which include the Center for Egyptian Women’s Legal Assistance, the Center for Trade Union and Workers Services and the Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression, said in a statement.

The raid “is part of a broader campaign launched by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) to smear and stigmatize all rights activists and numerous forces involved in the January 25 revolution,” they added.

The charges for which the offices were raided and their equipment confiscated haven’t been officially announced. It’s believed to be part of the government investigation of the funding of civil society organizations.

Minister of Justice Adel Abdel Hameed said in a press conference earlier this month that investigations into illegal foreign funding were based on the results of a probe conducted by a fact-finding committee affiliated to the Ministry of Justice.

"The probe examined the legality of the work of 300 NGOs and the direct foreign funding they received from foreign countries and organizations," the minister said.

"The investigations revealed that a number of Egyptian and foreign organizations received foreign funding and worked illegally inside Egypt. Investigations are ongoing as other state monitoring institutions are compiling reports about these organizations," he added.

“They are trying to defame us but this is a [small] battle, said Ahmed Seif, founder of the Hisham Mubarak Law Center, one of the signatories. “The bigger battle is to continue our work, because all the victims have faith in us. So the question should be how we are going to protect our country by protecting the files in our offices.”

Armed special forces along with police officers and prosecutors raided the offices of the International Republican Institute (IRI), the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and Freedom House, all Washington-based organizations, as well as Germany’s Konrad Adenauer foundation and 13 Egyptian NGOs including the Egyptian Arab Center for the Independence of Judiciary (ACIJ) and Budgetary and Human Rights Observatory (BHRO).

Gamal Eid, head of the Arab Network Human Rights Information, one of the signatories, said, “I asked the public prosecutor what are the special forces doing here, they told me it’s their right. We are ruled by a tyrannical regime.”

The United States, Germany and the United Nations have condemned the raids.

The 32 Egyptian groups, which held a joint press conference Thursday hours after the raids, said they were still discussing how to respond.

“We are studying our options. We could organize a protest or a sit-in. We are still figuring out our way but we will not stop,” Seif said.

Nasser Amin, head of the ACIJ, stressed that the organization would work with or without offices and even if its members were behind bars. He however lamented the timing.

“We were expecting this to happen but before Jan.25 [the uprising the toppled president Hosni Mubarak], not after,” he said.

In the statement the groups said, “The SCAF proves not only its hostility to the fundamental goals of the Egyptian revolution and the sacrifices of its martyrs, but demonstrates its deeply held desire to settle accounts with political and advocacy groups that played a prominent role in ushering in the revolution or during the uprising itself.”

They said SCAF is reproducing Mubarak’s authoritarian methods “in an even uglier, more dangerous form.”

The Egyptian Social Democratic Party strongly condemned Friday the raids on NGOs.

"The ESD calls on all revolutionary and political forces to join a march in front of the Prosecutor General's office to condemn current raids by prosecutors and Commandos forces against NGOs," ESD said in a statement Friday.

Other voices, however, were not as critical.

Mahmoud Ghozlan, spokesman of the Muslim Brotherhood, told Daily
News Egypt that the work of rights groups is appreciated and the rights of association, expression and organization are constitutional rights, but all should work in accordance with the law.

"These organizations should have patriotic agendas, their sources of funding should be revealed and monitored, and they should be working legally," Ghozlan said, quoting US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton when she said $40 million will be given for NGOs to support democracy.

"US money was injected in the country right after the revolution with claims to support democracy, but this money should be monitored and state institution must make sure that this money is spent legally," he said.

Ghozlan said that all should respect the law, and as long as the judiciary is working on monitoring this process, the rule of law should be respected.

The groups’ representatives at the press conference said the campaign aims to repress the right to speak up in Egypt.

“Why are we a target? Maybe because we have been monitoring the military’s budget?” asked Helmy Rawy, head of BHRO.

“We won’t stop, we will unite with April 6, Revolutionary Socialists, Ultras, and whoever is ready to resist those who are working on countering the revolution,” said Hafez Abou Saeda, head of the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights, one of the signatories.

Hafez described as illegal the act of confiscating properties and paperwork without registration. This, he explained, would allow the government to add to the list material not take from the raided offices.

In late October, the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation revealed that 12 Egyptian NGOs had received $5.8 million, while 14 US NGOs operating in Egypt had received $47.8 million illegally, according to reports.

At that time, Minister of International Cooperation Fayza Aboul Naga slammed the funding of NGOs that were not registered with the ministry or whose funding the Ministry of Foreign Affairs does not oversee.

“It is not enough for the [US embassy] to notify the Egyptian government if the NGOs were given funds and this does not justify the continuation of their activities, which must cease immediately,” said Aboul Naga, adding that Egypt does not reject foreign funds to NGOs as long as they are processed within the agreed upon legal framework.

Law 84/2002 requires NGOs to get approval from the Ministry of Social Solidarity before they can receive foreign funds. The ministry could block funding for several reasons in which employees of the organizations face imprisonment and a fine if convicted.

Aboul Naga has previously specified that these funds should only go towards development projects and that funding for political organizations, whether civil society or political parties, is completely illegal.

“The military chiefs now ruling Egypt, has no intention of permitting the establishment of genuine democracy and is attempting to scapegoat civil society for its own abysmal failure to manage Egypt’s transition effectively,” David J. Kramer, president of Freedom House, wrote in a press statement.

NGOs representatives say they expect more raids by security forces to take place these days. –Additional reporting by Mai Shams El-Din.
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NGO crackdown: Frontline of the ongoing revolution
Operating as a nongovernmental organisation (NGO) in Egypt is no mean feat. Aside from the fear of further crackdowns following last week’s raids and what civil society groups are calling a government-led “smear campaign,” advisory council spokesperson Mohamed El-Khouly on Wednesday urged Egypt’s ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) to issue a law further regulating the already carefully monitored activities of NGOs. Most groups are on guard.

“This is just the beginning,” says Khalid Ali, a prominent lawyer whose organisation, the Egyptian Centre for Economic and Social Rights, was not visited in the recent raids. “There are rumours that 100 NGOs will be subject to investigation, with some saying as many as 400 will be targeted.”

The fear of investigation is so keenly felt that Ahram Online has received several reports of civil society groups sending staff members home for the week, encouraging workers to remove all personal belongings from offices, and duplicating and securing key files and documents.

Many groups who initially spoke out against the police raids on NGO offices are now declining to comment. On Tuesday, the German government announced it would send a special envoy to Egypt because the German Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Foundation had been raided.

In the latest development, prominent civil society workers and activists (including some whose offices were raided) are set to take legal action against Egypt’s Al-Wafd newspaper following unfounded allegations published in its online edition that the groups had received American funding. The offending article referenced a US diplomatic cable, recently published by online whistleblower Wikileaks, which documented several meetings between Egyptian NGO activists and American diplomats.

“There’s no mention of funding whatsoever in the cable,” says Ghada Shahbender of the Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights (EOHR), whose name appears in the Wikileaks document. “I never denied meeting with Americans. I will continue to meet with them every chance I get to push our pro-democracy demands.”

“On more than one occasion at these meetings I have personally criticised American foreign policy double standards in dealing with the region,” she said. “This comes in the context of a harassment campaign by the state aimed at discrediting human rights advocates and organisations that report on state crimes.”

Daily News Egypt reported on Tuesday that the editor of Al-Wafd’s online news portal, Adel Sabry, had admitted to inaccuracies in the article on a television talk show. Nevertheless, the piece, entitled ‘‘Wikileaks announces the names of those who got American funding”, remains online.

Interestingly, the Egyptian police website (www.egypolice.com), an informal webpage run by the media office of the Ministry of Interior, picked up the Al-Wafd story and – despite both parties having access to a translation of the Wikileaks document – simultaneously published a post entitled, “Urgent and surprising… Wikileaks announces on its website the activists and politicians that had American funding.” The fact that a website claiming to represent one arm of the Egyptian security apparatus is taking the (factually incorrect) state party-line of a supposed “opposition” party newspaper is concerning.

Ali believes the action taken against NGOs is likely to escalate. “They may even take some groups to court and imprison NGO workers,” he told Ahram Online. Ali also fears his organisation will be targeted as it is mentioned in a recent government fact-finding report.

The report was first mentioned in July 2011 by Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Fayza Abul-Naga and commissioned by Minister of Justice Mohamed Abdel Aziz El-Guindi. The document, which was leaked to El-Fager newspaper in late September, purportedly identifies 39 Egyptian and American civil society groups that are operating “without a license from the Ministry of Social Solidarity (for the Egyptian organisations) or from the foreign ministry (for the American organisations).”

The list includes the three American NGOs – the National Democratic Institute (NDI), the International Republican Institute (IRI) and Freedom House – that were raided last Thursday.

However, as NDI director Julie Hughes told Ahram Online, obtaining these licenses can be difficult. The NDI has been attempting to register for six years, she explained. They were finally told in June 2011 by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that they would not be granted a licence for “political reasons.”

“The authorities want most of these organisations to be registered because, when you register, the agreement comes from State Security, so you’re under their jurisdiction,” said Ali. “The authority’s objective is to force all NGOs and organisations to work under their authority.”

Ghada, whose organisation is licensed, agrees: “We are monitored and controlled by the Ministry of Social Solidarity under legislation passed in 2003 that gives the government complete control over NGOs. We object to this, but the EOHR nevertheless operates within their guidelines.”

Foreign funding has also been another reason to target NGOs, which, again, must be approved by the Ministry of Social Solidarity. In August, the Supreme State Security Prosecution launched investigations into foreign funding allegations, warning that groups could be charged with high treason, conspiracy against the state and compromising national security through the implementation of foreign agendas.

This is despite the fact that the Egyptian Armed Forces receive $1.3 billion in annual military aid from the US in an agreement that links Egypt to Israel’s US aid package.

“Most NGOs have foreign funding because there is very little money in Egypt,” one civil society worker who wished to remain anonymous for fear a backlash, told Ahram Online. “The Ministry of Social Solidarity will only fund projects that are in line with government politics, ruling out certain topics. We tried to run a project on prostitution, but they don’t want to be seen backing immoral people, so we didn’t get the funding.”

Bypassing legal means of funding can sometimes be the only way to work effectively on the ground, civil society workers say, forcing NGOs to violate the law and encouraging corruption. The legal situation for these NGOs leaves them in a precarious position, as outlined in a complaint letter written by civil society groups to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCR) following the recent crackdown on NGOs.

The 2003 legislation, which the letter says is systematically vague and has not been updated since the fall of the Mubarak regime, states that NGOs can only be created with approval from the Ministry of Solidarity (see Article 6). Article 17 of the law confirms that all receipt of funds must go through the ministry, while articles 34 and 42 give the Ministry of Social Solidarity and the security apparatus the right to object to board elections and disqualify candidates from the board. It also gives them extensive rights to dissolve civic associations.

The document cites the treatment of the New Woman Foundation as a recent example of ministry interference in the work of NGOs. The ministry was able to reject a prestigious international award the foundation had received on the grounds that the foundation was advocating for a new law conforming to international standards, which the ministry claimed was outside the remit of NGOs.

The letter sees this action as symptomatic of the “authoritarian” behaviour of the ministry and is in “clear violation of Article 22, paragraph 2 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.” The letter also condemned the minister’s request to Egypt’s central bank to allow him to monitor NGO bank accounts, saying this represented a breach of account confidentially “upheld in Law 88/2033.”

The purpose and details of last week’s raids on NGO offices remain unclear.

Abu El-Naga, who appears to be the spokeswoman for the crackdown, gave no clear explanation as to why this particular group of civil society organisations had been chosen. The initial number of offices targeted was set at 17, but was then reduced to ten in the national and international media. Until now, Ahram Online has only been able to confirm seven. No official list has been issued.

Ahram Online can confirm that the targeted organisations are the NDI, the IRI, Freedom House, the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Foundation, the Arab Centre for Independence of the Judiciary and Legal Profession (ACIJLP), the Budgetary and Human Rights Observatory and the Future Centre of Judiciary Studies.

There are some obvious political motives behind the choice. The three American organisations are on the NGO hit-list drawn up by the Ministry of Justice. The Budgetary and Human Rights Observatory has been campaigning against the secrecy of the military budget – a controversial topic and one of the main features of the SCAF’s supra-constitutional proposal. Nasser Amin, ACIJLP director and Helwan parliamentary candidate, recently filed a court case because of potential vote rigging.

The Egyptian authorities may also have used the raids to send a message to Washington. At the very least, including American NGOs and a German foundation would help support the domestic party line that the government was cracking down on organisations with “foreign agendas.”

Civil society groups also question the use of paramilitary troops rather than normal police officers and the bizarre behaviour of the security forces, which included confiscating a water boiler, inspecting bathrooms and looking at a roof. Several of these groups have been operating since 2005 – so why raid them now? Then, in a televised interview with Abul-Naga, the government claimed the SCAF had no knowledge of the raids.

The actions last Thursday are not new. "This crackdown on Egyptian civil society has been happening for years,” said the anonymous NGO worker. “People who have been working for land rights in Egypt have been consistently tortured and imprisoned, from as far back as the 90s. It’s only new in the sense that we’re now supposed to be ‘post-revolution’.”

She emphasised that, since Mubarak stepped down, NGOs had become bolder in their work, which, she says, the SCAF rightly identifies as having contributed to the revolutionary process. Ghada agrees, seeing the raids as an extension of the security forces’ behaviour in November’s and December’s clashes in Cairo: “We have yet to see reform,” she said. “Events of the last quarter of 2011 show the SCAF is trying to abort the Egyptian revolution.”
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Denmark offers tech for electricity
ISLAMABAD – Ambassador of Denmark to Pakistan has said that Pakistan is facing serious problem and Denmark as a friendly country is helping Islamabad in whatever manner it was possible.

In an interview with the news agency, the Ambassador said his country can help Pakistan in energy field through provision of technology. He said there is electricity and gas in Pakistan but was facing problems due to increase in population. He said garbage could be used as a raw material for generation of electricity and his country was doing this.

He said as President of the European Union it was priority of his country to further increase relations with Pakistan. He said Denmark in collaboration with NGOs was implementing several programmes in Pakistan. The Ambassador said there is no alternative to democracy and people of Pakistan could improve the system by electing politicians of integrity. He said NATO attack on Pakistani posts in Salala was very dangerous and should be investigated in a transparent manner.

He said Pakistan has given tremendous sacrifices in the war on terror and his country would extend full assistance for access to European markets.

He said Denmark became a welfare state after lot of efforts. He said though the country has not many resources but the government provided condusive business framework which played critical role for development. He pointed out that education is key to development of a country. He said Pakistan has not been able to achieve major progress in this field.