AVSI-USA Annual Report 2011

2011 AVSI-USA

2 0 1 1 A n n ua l R e p o r t

w w w . avsi - usa . o r g

Section I Background on AVSI and AVSI-USA Page 1

Section II 2011 Year in Review Page 9

Section III Reflections on Development Page 18

Section IV Financials Page 22

ta b l e o f

Contents

Annual Report 2011

High school students at the Cardinal Otunga School in Nairobi, Kenya are hard at work in the science lab.

W h o is A vsi ?

AVSI-USA is a network member of AVSI Foundation, which was founded in Italy, in 1972 after a group of Italian friends embarked on a volunteer development project in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Today, forty years later, AVSI’s programs are on-going in 38 countries across Africa, Latin America, Eastern Europe and Eurasia, and East Asia with a consolidated

A V S I M issi o n Mission

budget of $50 million per year. AVSI’s portfolio is

To promote the dignity

centered on long-term development interventions,

of the person through

with education as the primary point of entry and

development activities

focus, with specific emergency relief and post-conflict

and programs with

operations as needed. AVSI’s identity continues to be

particular attention to

intimately linked with its origin, with the impetus and energy behind its emergence and growth, which is the Christian experience as lived within the Catholic movement of Communion and Liberation. This experience broadens reason and makes possible a meaningful engagement with reality in all of its factors.

1 Background on AVSI and AVSI-USA

education, drawing from the social teachings of the Catholic Church.

W h at W e D o AVSI programs are moved by a passion for the human being, rather than a drive to solve problems or to simply apply the best scheme to eliminate poverty. The objective of all our efforts is to nurture an environment in which individuals, families and groups have the space, confidence

AV S I i n t h e world

and tools to be protagonists in their own lives. Being a protagonist means starting from one’s desire for happiness and truth and taking steps forward, guided by the intuition of the road towards the desired good. For AVSI,

• Headquarters: Cesena, Italy; Milan, Italy • Presence: 38 countries • On-going Projects: 100 • Human Resources: 1,450 employees (150 at HQ and expatriates abroad) • Direct Beneficiaries: 4,000,000 people

every program is the

• Indirect Beneficiaries: 17,500,000 people

possibility to reawaken

• Distance Support Program: 33,338 children

these desires and to

• Local Partner Organizations Involved: 700

sustain them along a

• Member Organizations of AVSI network: 35

path through human

• AVSI Foundation total budget, HQ 2011:

relationships with people AVSI provided safe places for children in Cite Soleil, Haiti, following the 2010 earthquake

• Founded: 1972

and communities, thus

28 million Euro ($35.5 million USD) • AVSI Foundation consolidated budget,

putting into motion their

including country offices 2011:

capacity and creativity

35 million Euro ($44.5 million USD)

to use every opportunity for their own development,

• AVSI Foundation Funding Sources:

including policies, programs and financial investments. In

65% from private donors, business and

this way, people are the main resource for development.

groups, 35% from institutional donors

This approach is demanding and requires time. AVSI’s

including Italian government, European

long-term commitment has been possible due to the

Union, UNICEF, UNHCR, USAID, US State

dedicated and professional AVSI staff members and the

Department.

sustained commitment of AVSI’s supporters, as well as public and multilateral funders.

Ultimately, AVSI’s aim is to empower individuals and local organizations, namely non-profit groups, associations or cooperatives and businesses, to sustainably provide educational, medical and social services and economic development as a fundamental contribution to the building up of their communities. AVSI seeks to facilitate partnerships between the private sphere and the public sector to more effectively share resources, energy and ideas, working towards the common good.

Our educational programs help thousands of Somali refugees in the Dadaab, Kenya, camps

Annual Report 2011 2

Our A p p r o a c h t o D e v e l o p m e n t Centrality of the person The person is seen according to his/her unique value and fundamental relationships: within the family and in society. The person cannot be defined by a social category or a limitation such as poverty, disease or disability.

Starting from the positive Every person and every community represents a potential resource, regardless of their vulnerability. This means valuing and strengthening all that has been accomplished by the people in the community and also helping each person to understand his/her own value and dignity.

Doing with The approach to project planning and implementation consists of doing with people; that is, starting from a relationship with the people whom the project is targeting and building with them along a path of mutual education and empowerment.

Development of Civil Society and Subsidiarity A development project must enhance the capacity of people to associate, recognizing and supporting the creation of intermediate bodies and local institutions integrated in the social context.

Partnership Partnerships are promoted with and among all the actors in the particular context, including institutions that are public and private, local and international, in order to favor synergies and optimize available resources

3 Background on AVSI and AVSI-USA

where we are, what we do

where we are, what we do

RUSSIA LITUÂNIA

CANADÁ

A T L A N T I C

P

POLAND

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A C

I F G

I C

U

MEXICO

M

L

E

F X

I

GERMANY

O F C O

ÁUSTRIA

SWITZERLAND SPAIN

KAZAKHSTAN

R.F.da I. RUMANIA KOSOVO BULGARIA ITALIA ALBÂNIA

PORTUGAL

LEBANON PALESTINIAN TERRITORY JORDAN EGYPT INDIA

CUBA

BURME

E A N O C

HAITI

THAILAND

C A R I B B E A N

SIERRA LEONA

IVORY COAST

PHILIPPINES

SUDAN

NIGERIA

VENEZUELA UGANDA

COLOMBIA

SRI LANKA

KENYA

ECUADOR

O

D.R. of CONGO

RWANDA BURUNDI

C

PERU

A

N

Type of projects

I N D I A N O C E A N

E

BRAZIL

ANGOLA MOZAMBIQUE

PARAGUAY

Agriculture & Environment CHILE

Emergency relief Vocational training and development of small business

ARGENTINA

Healthcare Social-educational Distance support Countries where AVSI is implementing projects

Urban Upgrading

Countries where AVSI is promoting activities

AVSI-USA Mission

To support the AVSI

network by leveraging resources and contacts in the U.S. in order to enhance and broaden the achievements of member organizations in promoting human dignity in developing countries.

Annual Report 2011 4

10 years of AVSI-USA AVSI-USA is a non-governmental organization with non-profit status in the U.S. which began as an initiative of friends in New York who came together in 2000 to commit themselves more seriously to the dialogue between AVSI and U.S. based institutions and individuals. Over the years, this simple beginning developed with the establishment of an office in Washington, DC, a number of growing partnerships with U.S.-based funding and research institutions, and a widening network of friends and supporters.

Partnerships with Funders World Bank Since the mid 1990s, AVSI has had a relationship with the Bank, specifically through its contribution of financial and technical resources to a large program of urban upgrading in Brazil.

Based on a method initially used in the city of Belo Horizonte, AVSI was asked to begin a small pilot program in Salvador de Bahia in 1994

AVSI’s work in urban upgrading began in 1994 with a project to help families living in stilt-homes over the bay in the Novos Alagados area of Salvador de Bahia, Brazil. New, safer housing was built on land, and families were helped to integrate into the community.

with 15,000 families, which grew into a highly significant long-term effort of roughly $10 million dollars and that reached 500,000 households.

Currently a new initiative is underway, bringing the methodology and acquired experience to Africa in a ground-breaking tri-partite collaboration of the Governments of Italy, Brazil and Mozambique under the coordination of Cities Alliance, to integrate slum areas in the city of Maputo.

AV S I - U S A’ s

C o n t ri b u t i o n

Reflection upon this case shows that even technical experts at the highest levels, such as the staff of the World Bank, can recognize that the growth of a city, its services and facilities, is made

• Linkages with donors and collaborators.

possible and sustainable through the method

• Specific program management support

of encounters and collaboration among people,

for U.S. Government funding and U.S. institutional donors.

be they government or institutional officials or community members.

• Technical support for research, monitoring and evaluation of program impact.

• Strategic guidance to AVSI and network partners.

5 Background on AVSI and AVSI-USA

United States Agency for International Development (USAID) From the recognition of the value of AVSI’s work in Northern Uganda

and Rwanda in the mid to late 1990s when

to provide technical assistance to other MIF

both countries faced severe crises, USAID has

projects. Building on this relationship, AVSI

become an important donor for AVSI projects

has continued its close dialogue with the IDB

in Africa. From 2000 to 2010, AVSI received

at various levels and expects to increase our

over $24 million of USAID funding directed to

collaboration with the Bank in the years to come.

African countries. A bulk of that support came

Evaluation and Research

through the program for Orphans and Vulnerable

Over the past few years we have also seen an

Children (OVC) in HIV affected communities in

increased interest in the lessons learned from

Rwanda, Kenya and Uganda (2004-2010, $15

AVSI’s programs and in the exercise of impact

million from USAID; $15 million from AVSI private

evaluation. Within the framework of the multi-

contributions) which benefited over 12,000

country OVC project mentioned above, AVSI

children and their families. AVSI has continued

conducted a longitudinal survey of a sample of

to solidify its relationship with USAID in 2011

the beneficiaries over time as part of an evaluation

through continued work with orphans and

study that was carried out to document the impact

vulnerable children in Ivory Coast and Uganda.

on children and their households. This survey

Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)

provided interesting results in terms of the areas

In 2004, AVSI and its partner organization

of impact and the mechanisms of change. One

in Argentina, the Asociación Cultural para el

clear conclusion was the importance of the family

Desarrollo Integral (ACDI) successfully obtained

environment and family-level interventions to

a grant from the IDB’s Multilateral Investment

improve the well-being of children. In 2009, AVSI-

Fund (MIF) for a project to adapt sophisticated

USA entered into an agreement with high-level

information and communications technologies to

researchers at Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA),

the needs of small cattle raisers and associations

a research body housed at Yale University, and

for management and quality control purposes.

with a private U.S. donor to conduct a randomized

From ACDI’s first experiences, new opportunities

control trial evaluation alongside an expanded

for expansion into other sectors and countries

model of an AVSI economic development

have come about and ACDI has been called on

program for women in Northern Uganda.

U S G o v e r n m e n t Fu n d i n g Funding from usaid, us dol, state department to avsi US Government Funding to AVSI $6,000,000.00 $5,000,000.00 $4,000,000.00 $3,000,000.00

US Government Fundin

$2,000,000.00 $1,000,000.00 $-­‐ 2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

Annual Report 2011 6

Priva t e Fu n d raisi n g 2 0 0 5 - 2 0 1 1 Community Center in Rio de Janeiro Opportunity 2005 Hurricane Response in Louisiana 2006 Clinic Support for Victims of Landmines and War

General Support for Meeting Points: International and Kampala

2011 San Rafael Health Clinic and Foundation

2012 Earthquake Response

Brazil USA

Chile

Uganda

Gaza Strip

WhoWe

Help

Uganda

Paraguay

Haiti

2009 Cilvil Conflict Emergency Response

2012 Earthquake Response & Reconstruction

Indonesia

Mexico

Kenya

Community Education & Nutrition Center Opportunity

Lebanon

2005 Tsunami Emergency Response

High School in Nairobi Opportunity

2011 Horn of Africa Refugee Emergency

2006 Civil Conflict Emergency Response

Growing Circle of Supporters Through our stable presence over the past 10 years, AVSI-USA is increasingly recognized as a trusted partner for many individuals, families and foundations in their gesture of solidarity with the poor of the world.

Charitable donations to individual projects and to AVSI in general continue to increase.

Over the past years, numerous fundraising and outreach events have been organized by friends of AVSI throughout the country.

These include small initiatives of children and

7 Background on AVSI and AVSI-USA

groups (lemonade stands, yard and bake sales) and larger events (concerts, dinners) which often benefit from cooperation of business sponsors. As you can see in the graphic above, through these initiatives, AVSI-USA has facilitated contributions to a wide range of causes, the two most significant being emergency relief after the Haiti earthquake in 2010 and on-going support of three selected partners in Mexico, Brazil and Kenya through our giving program known as Opportunity.

Jenny helped organize fundraising events in Washington, DC, sharing the incredible experience of Padre Aldo Trento.

Fundacion San Rafael, Paraguay AVSI-USA began to support the initiative of some friends who took up the cause of the San Rafael Foundation and its hospice during 2011, in light of founder Fr. Aldo’s visit to D.C. As a result, over $8,000 was collected for his clinic, including the hospice for the terminally ill, school, homeless shelter, and more.

friends who got together to plan for his visit.

While Fr. Aldo was in D.C. October of 2011, unexpected doors were opened and people who had never met him were moved to tears by his witness. Meetings with interested groups at Georgetown University and even officials at the World Bank and Inter-American Development

Jenny, a young professional in D.C., met Fr.

Bank were held, where Fr. Aldo was able to

Aldo in Paraguay a few years ago and has been

share his work and the accomplishments

continuously struck by his radical faith in the

of the Foundation which serves highly

midst of all the suffering that surrounds him,

vulnerable people in Asunción, Paraguay.

his sincerity in the face of his challenges, and the blossoming of charitable works beyond his talents. The beauty and magnitude of the fruits borne from this man are clear signs that what is at work is not just in the hands of man.

Jenny struck up a relationship with his assistant,

“I always tell my children in the orphanages, you need to have calluses on your head for observing so much, calluses on your knees from praying so much, and calluses on your hands for working so much, that’s how you find God.” - Fr. Aldo 

Andrea, as Fr. Aldo’s newsletter needed English

More information about the San Rafael

translations and his works sought continuous

Foundation: www.sanrafael.org.py

sources of new funds. Jenny rallied dozens of

Annual Report 2011 8

2011

a Year in review GUIDED BY REALITY, TENDING TOWARDS AN IDEAL After the crisis years of 2009-2010, we at AVSI-USA are now seeing new fruits of all the energy put into responding to opportunities as they emerged and the continuous strengthening of relationships. We are more certain now that nothing is lost in all our efforts. We also see that organizational growth is possible when judgment and patrimony is built through thoughtful reflection on past experiences and accumulated evidences, together with forward thinking and visioning about what may be possible. At the bottom of all this are the sustained relationships with real people living out their lives in specific places in the world, and the tireless interest in staying with them with a tension towards an ideal. At the end of all our efforts, there is also the simple certainty that our task is to follow where reality leads.

With support from the Dorothea Haus Ross Foundation, AVSI renovated dormitories that give girls the chance to attend school in Eastern Equatoria State, South Sudan.

Amidst houses piled on top of each other in poor neighborhoods of Oaxaca, Mexico, the Crecemos-DIJO community centers offer a second home to help families nurture and educate their children.

At the annual technical meeting of the AVSI network in December 2011 in Milan, Italy, Fr. Juliรกn Carron, President of the Fraternity of Communion and Liberation, gave AVSI the following provocation: WHAT IS LEFT BEHIND AFTER YOU HAVE SPENT ALL YOUR ENERGIES

AND RESOURCES? His question both confirmed the work done over the past few years to understand and document the change brought about by the work of AVSI and our partners, and spurred a greater commitment as we address this challenge in the future.

9 2011 A Year in Review

IN 2011, we continued our work based on these same certainties and confirmed in our effort with new growth. The events of the year can be best expressed in the significant three-pronged role we see AVSIUSA playing in service to AVSI’s work around the world.

In the following section you can read more details on what we have done and how we are pursuing new opportunities and ways to collaborate in the following areas:

enhance Thanks to program development support from our office, this year brought new fruits in terms of projects from funding with the U.S. Government and private donors, and evaluation projects to help build the capacity of the AVSI Network to design more effective programs and communicate results.

extend Each year, our network of relationships extends to new peers in the field, policy-makers, multi-lateral funders, private supporters and businesses. This allows AVSI to submit proposals to a larger range of funders, and engage with a wider audience, for example the new contacts made in 2011 which led to grants from U.S. foundations.

communicate Taking advantage of the key dialogues and conferences which are located in New York City and Washington, DC, AVSI-USA attends and hosts many events each year to stay on top of best practices and to share what we have learned from AVSI’s history. As these discussions extend more and more into the on-line realm, we too are engaging more through our website, e-newsletter, and social media.

Annual Report 2011 10

ENHANCES AVSI-USA ENHANCES AVSI’s Work World-Wide

1.

USaid programs for orphans & vulnerable children In Ivory Coast, USAID requested a proposal from AVSI to continue and expand the original OVC program (2005-2010). AVSI-USA

2011

supported the preparation of this proposal and the agreement was signed in November of 2010. The new program (2010 to 2014) has a total budget of $10.37 million, with $9.5 million from USAID and the remainder from AVSI’s Distance Support Program.

Project goal: to improve the coping capacities of 14,000 vulnerable children and their families, and the capacity of local providers to ensure quality care and education.

In Uganda, AVSI submitted a winning proposal to USAID/Uganda for a new phase of the OVC program in expanded areas of the country.

The project consortium is led by AVSI and includes CARE, FHI360 and TPO. The project, Sustainable Comprehensive Responses to Orphans and Vulnerable Households (SCORE) will last five years (April 2011 – April 2016) and the total budget is $32.6 million with $29.38 million from USAID and the remainder from cost-share sources. The goal of this ambitious project reaching 35 districts and 25,000 households is to decrease the vulnerability of critically and moderately vulnerable children through a household approach that addresses economic security, food and nutrition, child protection and family strengthening issues. AVSI-USA will continue to play a technical support role, which takes a number of forms: review of program reports; preparation of publicity materials; support for monitoring and evaluation activities; attendance at pertinent meetings and events in the US; and steady communication with technical experts at USAID Washington.

Project goal: to decrease the vulnerability of 125,000 critically and moderately vulnerable children through an integrated family based approach.

11 2011 A Year in Review

2.

U.s. state department, bureau for populations, refugees and migration In Kenya, AVSI Foundation was awarded a grant from the U.S. State Department’s Bureau for Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM), “Strengthening Basic Education in Dadaab Refugee Camps” with a

2011

total budget of $668,816 with a contribution of $367,338 from PRM. AVSI-USA led the proposal writing process, taking into account the lessons learned from the previous attempts to secure PRM funding for Kenya and other countries and the conversations had with PRM officers in Washington, DC. AVSI-USA will support implementation and serve as a liaison with the PRM office in D.C. Project goal: to increase access and quality of primary education for all refugee children in Dadaab, Kenya, through two objectives: increasing classroom capacity and improving quality of teaching through teacher training.

3.

women’s income generating support program, private donor In late 2008, AVSI-USA received a grant for a joint research and development program in northern Uganda from a private funder in the U.S. The impact of the program was analyzed through a randomized control trial evaluation by a team of researchers from the Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) institute located at Yale University, and program activities were implemented by AVSIUganda. The data at the end of Phase 1 of the project in mid 2010 show incredibly good economic results, pointing to the effectiveness of the approach for poverty reduction even among the most vulnerable women in a post-conflict, reconstruction environment.

In 2011, AVSI-USA participated with IPA in preparing a successful funding proposal to the World Bank, supplementing existing funds for Phase 2 (2011-2012) & extending the project timeline to August 2012.

Project goal: to support 1,800 women to improve their livelihoods opportunities through a start-up grant, skills training and followup, and to understand what method works best and why.

Annual Report 2011 12

Extends

AVSI-USA extends AVSI’s Work World-Wide

1.

proposal writing and support AVSI-USA dedicates significant time to supporting AVSI projects and partners in various locations around the world and is continuously on alert for new business opportunities and following leads as they arise.

AVSI-USA is increasingly recognized as an important reference point for people who are interested in supporting specific initiatives of AVSI and partner organizations. Together, we submitted over 21 concept papers and proposals in 2011.

2 . fundraising

AVSI-USA enjoys an ever growing network of supporters and friends

2011

who donate to the organization periodically from across the U.S. Contacts are made primarily through personal relationships here or in the field, as well as through public events, the website and AVSIUSA’s electronic newsletter.

Foundation Funding. AVSI-USA expanded its contacts and portfolio related to U.S. foundations due to the committed effort of our new Communications and Fundraising Officer.

•

The W. O’Neil Foundation committed a grant of $16,000 for AVSI Kenya to address educational needs and funding gaps in the Dadaab refugee camps, to be executed in 2012.

•

The DeVry University Foundation contributed a grant of $27,000 to AVSI’s local partner, CDM, in Salvador Bahia, to provide investments in equipment for professional training of youth.

•

The Dorothea Haus Ross Foundation committed a grant of $13,000 to AVSI South Sudan for the rehabilitation of a girls’ dormitory at the St. Kizito Secondary School in Isohe, Eastern Equatoria State, South Sudan.

•

The Loyola Foundation confirmed a grant of $10,000 to AVSI’s partner the Cardinal Maurice Otunga Secondary School in Nairobi, Kenya, for the purchase of computers and books to improve the quality of educational resources provided.

13 2011 A Year in Review

private individual donations received, 2011

2011

AVSI-USA continued to promote its private fundraising initiative called “OPPORTUNITY: A Unique Giving Program to Share in the Adventure of Life.� This initiative is a tool through which people and groups can choose one of three institutions selected from the AVSI network to support financially and in other ways over the longterm. Concretely, donors are asked to register as Partners, making a commitment of an annual, fixed donation to one specified institution.

The institutions selected are: Crecemos - Desarrollo Integral para la Juventud Oaxaquena (DIJO) in Oaxaca, Mexico; Cantinho da Natureza in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and the Cardinal Otunga High School in Nairobi, Kenya

Annual Report 2011

14

3.

relationships and contacts AVSI-USA supports the representation of the AVSI Foundation in front of certain agencies of the United Nations system. AVSI enjoys general consultative status with ECOSOC and UNICEF. AVSI-USA has continued building relationships with other staff in New York at UNICEF, UNDP, OCHA and at the Italian Mission and the Holy See Mission to the UN. AVSI-USA continued to play a facilitating role for AVSI vis-à-vis the development banks located in Washington, DC. AVSI-USA continues to provide a link between AVSI and the Cities Alliance program at the World Bank and has furthered contacts within the Inter-American Development Bank. In 2011, AVSI entered into an agreement with the IDB for a program of youth skills development through sports in Brazil, in addition to having

2011

multiple proposals for different countries in the region under review.

AVSI-USA’s summer internship program gives students the opportunity to work abroad for 10-12 weeks on issues related to their studies. Here, Tim is shown on an internship with AVSI partner Crecemos-DIJO in Mexico.

4.

internships In 2011, AVSI-USA sponsored two internships through AVSI projects abroad, one in Kenya and one in Jordan. Reviewing the various internship arrangements and experiences of the previous five years, AVSI-USA has concluded that the most advantageous format is through defined agreements with universities. In 2012 and into the future, AVSI-USA intends to continue its standing agreement with the Notre Dame Law School’s Program on Law and Human Development to offer internship opportunities within AVSI’s network, with the perspective of entering into similar partnerships with other universities.

15 2011 A Year in Review

communicates AVSI-USA communicates AVSI’s Work World-Wide

1.

tools Newsletters, Printed and Visual Materials In 2011, AVSI-USA continued to send out a bi-monthly electronic newsletter that links directly to our website with a mailing list which has grown to around 1,500 contacts, including friends and other development professionals. AVSI-USA updated and re-published its “AVSI in Latin America” brochure, utilizing the time and talents of a summer volunteer.

Website AVSI-USA continued to increase the content on its website and made a significant advance in the timeliness and quality of updates, given the addition of a Communications Officer to the full-time staff. Traffic to the website grew steadily in the second half of 2011, thanks in part to outreach through the newsletter and an AVSI-USA Facebook page with around 500 followers.

visit our website To find more information and other publications go to www.avsi-usa.org

2011

AVSI-USA public event in New York City in October, 2011

2.

events and meetings AVSI-USA hosted Public Events In October, AVSI-USA participated in an event co-sponsored by Crossroads Cultural Center of NYC and the World Youth Alliance with the title “Aid to Developing Countries: The Importance of the Human Factor.” This event featured Ambassador Oscar de Rojas, former head of the UN Office on Financing for Development, and AVSI-USA’s Jackie Aldrette.

Annual Report 2011

16

Since 1973, the Cantinho da Natureza in Copacobana, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, has been providing early childhood education, after-school activities, youth employment and other services to the residents of the favelas (slums) that stand so close to the nearby world-famous beaches and resorts.

Other Conferences: Engaging in Dialogue Throughout the year, AVSI-USA staff participated in numerous meetings and conferences in Washington, D.C. and in New York. These events offered opportunities to stay tuned to relevant discussions, debates and emerging themes related to international development work, funding and technical areas, as well as occasions to connect with other actors and potential partners.

Site Visits and Visits to the U.S. Site visits taken by AVSI-USA in 2011 included to Jordan, the West Bank, Uganda, Haiti, and Mexico. AVSI-USA staff attended the AVSI annual international workshop in Milan, Italy.

AVSI-USA also hosted a visit from Silvia Caironi, working on issues of micro-credit for the large Brazilian organization ATST, and Sarah Holtz, an AVSI-USA staff person based in Quito, Ecuador. On both occasions, AVSI-USA, with the help of its volunteers in D.C., coordinated a number of meetings including with the IDB, World Bank, Acci贸n International and the Inter-American Foundation.

17 2011 A Year in Review

2011

reflections on development from the desk of avsi-usa We at the AVSI-USA office have an interesting perspective, sitting across the way from the U.S. Agency for International Development, down Pennsylvania Avenue from the U.S. Congress, a stone’s throw from the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank, within the loop of the big think tanks, and all the while with a mandate to communicate and share the unique patrimony and proposal that AVSI brings to the world. A good amount of our time is spent interacting with people at these institutions, comparing their experiences, priorities and visions with what we have learned from our own experience, both personally and within AVSI. The opportunities to pursue partnerships and ultimately to collaborate on projects are occasions which enable us to better understand the context we are working in as well as the uniqueness of what AVSI has to offer.

As in any field of work, the world of international development and cooperation is dominated by a particular jargon, including the concepts and terms which follow trends and schools of thought. Too easily, the meaning behind the words that are used gets lost or confused without adequate attention given to clarifying the nuances or the values under the surface. Our years of experience in the field have led us to understand how one’s concept of the human person—what is it that makes each of us move and act?—underlies one’s way of looking at development, and therefore one’s definition of priorities, strategies and, consequently, results. For this reason we at AVSI-USA often find ourselves returning to this question, open and humble in front of human freedom and desire. Let us share some examples: Kiringye, Democratic Republic of Congo Our President, Ezio Castelli, was recently reflecting on his experience forty years ago as one of the first AVSI volunteers who journeyed to the heart of Africa, the

Over 450,000 Somali refugees call the sprawling camps in Dadaab, Kenya, home. AVSI has helped to build 4 schools, 20 educational structures and provide teacher training for 730 teachers in the camps since 2009.

Annual Report 2011

18

A project in Kiringye was one of the first stories in AVSI’s 40-year history. Today, AVSI continues to promote education, child protection, economic recovery and other projects in the eastern part of Democratic Republic of Congo.

Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), as a young

on the surrounding areas. Thousands of farmers

man recently graduated from university in Italy as

progressively joined the two cooperatives as their

an engineer. During those years of the 1970s and

initial hesitation was overcome by the change

1980s, the AVSI volunteers worked together with

they recognized in others. We have learned that

the people they met to improve their livelihoods

people change when they witness something

through support along the peanut and rice value

positive being lived, and not simply because they

chain, from farming to processing and marketing,

hear nice or even convincing words.

and through help to small farmer cooperatives.

They found ways to promote the valuable initiatives that had sprung up from the people themselves, including literacy classes, women’s programs, water supply and irrigation schemes, and basic education groups. AVSI learned that even the best intervention plans must be continuously cross-checked with the ever changing context, and that the energy and commitment to follow through on a project depends on sharing the same vision with the people themselves. We have learned that this means listening, watching, and valuing what is being proposed from “the bottom-up.”

Ezio also recalls that the commitment of that first group of farmers caused a positive domino effect

19 Reflections on Development

Many activities of that first integrated rural development project in DRC continue even today despite the tragic events and general instability in that part of the country over the past two decades.

We see that the essential factors for success were the commitment to the needs and interests of the individuals working on the project, and the comprehensive way of facing reality brought about by the Christian event. We have learned that the impact of projects or “external investments” depends on the commitment and passion of individual people who have been moved to work and foster change.

All of this is in contrast to much of what we hear around us. Often, development thinking

and planning is based on the faulty assumption

responsibility toward her children. Just like each of

that development will be automatic once certain

us, she needs help to see that her life has inherent

conditions are met. These days, many place

value regardless of the disease and consequential

unrealistic hope in the availability of tools and

limitations on what she can do. When she meets

technologies, while others focus on the perfect

someone who helps her to affirm this, she gains

set of policies or the amount of financial resources

the courage to face her circumstances. But given

which will bring us closer to our dream of “an

that poverty and disease aren’t circumstances

end of poverty.” We tend to ignore the fact that

that are easily dealt with or resolved quickly, she

human behavior and social life is not mechanistic;

needs a beautiful companionship that lasts to help

following such logic would reduce human nature

her say “yes” each and every day to the path she

since it would do away with freedom and desire.

has chosen, which implies taking her medications,

Kireka neighborhood, Kampala, Uganda As a second example, think of the middle aged woman in this vast urban slum who finds out she is HIV+ and so are many of her children. What can have any chance of breaking through the veil of resignation and anxiety that she has to bear?

We have seen concretely with thousands of women whose lives have been changed through Meeting Point International that it is not just the offer of a service—a regime of anti-retroviral drugs for example, even if free—that helps a woman out of her shell to embrace the potential of her life and

finding work, caring for her children and worrying about their education. Then, similar to the domino effect witnessed in DRC, this woman can become like a lighthouse which catches the attention of her neighbors who are spurred to wonder how such change has been possible.

The primary condition for any of us to develop is to give in to the human desire for fulfillment that is reawakened through events and encounters which make us aware of the value and potential of our life. Thus, human relationships are not a hindrance to development or simply a tool, but

Rose Busingye founded Meeting Point International in the Kireka slum outside of Kampala, Uganda,, where over 1,000 women living with HIV/AIDS receive clinical care and other support. The women are most easily recognized by their joyful faces, singing and dancing and colorful beads sold to generate income.

Annual Report 2011

20

When an emergency strikes a community where we are working, AVSI takes advantage of its long-term presence and knowledge of the context to help respond right away. After the Haiti earthquake, we helped to coordinate hundreds of medical volunteers who came to help those affected.

instead occasions to continually reawaken ourselves to the pursuit of beauty, happiness and goodness.

AVSI has moved forward into the world favoring relationships based on friendship, trust, mutual respect and commitment among individuals and groups. When sparked, the human spirit attracts others and can generate movement. AVSI’s role is to facilitate the energy and maturation of local “subjects” and their intelligent, courageous response to the dramatic needs of their environment. This is the possibility for real scaling-up and replication of successful actions.

Of course, the external environment—opportunities, resources, infrastructure, policies and social context—are essential influencers on what change is possible. Yet, we will continue to insist that even in the best “enabling environment,” without attention to the internal environment of desire within the human person, no policy or technology will serve real needs.

We are fully committed to our engagement in this fascinating field of work, grateful for the opportunity to communicate real examples of how development programs and international aid can be truly at the service of the person. 

21 Reflections on Development

audited financial statement of activities as of december 31, 2011 and 2010

2011

2010

Support and Revenue Unrestricted Donations

516,059

105,721

Grants

336,903

713,097

Program Service Revenue

6,646

22,577

Interest Income

1,099

2,123

$860,707

$843,518

113,963

82,871

536,962

711,266

65,128

57,944

$716,053

$851,481

$144,654

(7,963)

$12,514

$20,477

$157,168

$12,514

TOTAL REVENUE

Expenses Program Services Overseas Programs & Grants Management & General TOTAL EXPENSES

Changes in Net Assets Net Assets, Beginning of Year Net Assets, End of Year

AV S I - U S A is a 5 0 1 ( c ) 3 p u b l ic charit y re g istered in the state o f ne w y o r k ein : 1 3 - 4 1 4 7 9 7 3

Annual Report 2011 22

We are grateful to all those who support AVSI-USA, without whom none of our work would be possible. If you would like to contribute to our mission or to a specific project.

You can do so by check or credit card. By check, please mail to the following address: AVSI-USA 529 14th St. NW, Suite 994 Washington, DC 20045 or you may donate by Paypal through our website: www.avsi-usa.org Questions? Write to infoavsi-usa@avsi.org

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