June 2009

June 2009

I N S I D E   T H I S   I S S U E

1. Integral Q&A : Dedicated to Service
2. Integral Relief: Integral Responding in Pakistan
3. Integral Member Agency: Fair Trade Handicrafts in China

Dedicated to Service

Laurie Cook with his sons Aaron, Tyler & Chris (left to right) How many languages do you speak? Barely 1 What motivates you to get out of bed in the morning? I love life & all that it brings, the good the bad & the ugly. What has been your most memorable country visit with work & why? The visit to Kigali, Rwanda, was probably the most memorable. The combination of visiting the Genocide Memorial as well as many recipients of microfinance loans was powerful. What do you enjoy the most about your current job? I love working with people who enjoy what they are doing & are dedicated to the people they serve. What has been your most interesting job? To be honest every job has been interesting from digging ditches to digging graves, which I did one summer whilst at Seminary; from meeting celebrities whilst managing advertising budgets to cleaning toilets; from being a President to being a labourer; I’ve loved it all! What do you find the most challenging? The most challenging thing is working with people who do not care or are not self-motivated. What do find inspiring about Integral? I find the collection of dedicated, professional people from different cultures & background, working, praying & sharing together to be incredibly inspiring. How do you relax? My staff might say I’m always relaxed, but I love to either ride my road bike or sit at our cottage by the water. Where would be your favourite place to live in the world? My favourite place is where I am now with my wife & boys in what has been our home for the past 28 years. What skill do your have that many don’t know you possess? I’m not too bad at woodworking.

WRCA's website

Integral Responding in Pakistan

"The lack of media coverage of what’s fast becoming one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises in Pakistan is seriously restricting the amount of attention that donors are giving to this crisis, so we are grateful for extra funds received through Integral." says Kate Bowen, TFUK's International Projects Officer. The volatile state of affairs is extreme & changes daily - as the Pakistani army plans continued offensives against the Taliban in the Waziristan region the number of displaced people grows to critical proportions.

The UN refugee agency describes the displacement of people in Pakistan as the largest & fastest anywhere in the world in recent years. Those who have been put in camps are in need of assistance; food, water, sanitation, shelter & healthcare. TFUK's partner is providing food, water & tents for fleeing families at three locations. Help is also on its way to families at the Shivai Ada camp where residents have no shelter & are living in the open. "People urgently need food supplies, shelter & medicines," says TFUK's Country Representative for Pakistan, Ashraf Mall.

TFUK is appealing for donations to enable their partner to step up its support for a rising tide of displaced people. The UN says of the people who have fled so far, some go to the camps, but vast numbers find private accommodation, with host families or friends, or in schools & mosques. Those host families who are housing new people are already poor, & now under a critical amount of extra pressure. There are fears that these hosted IDPs will be in need of camp accommodation as well if the host families cannot continue to support them. On top of this there are another half a million people in the northwest who have been displaced since last August, many coming from tribal areas of the region. "The situation is urgent'" says Kate, "15 camps have been filled last month alone".

TFUK need a man to go to support the partner in Pakistan for between 2-3 months. For the Terms of Reference please contact Kate.Bowen@tearfund.org

TFUK's website

Fair Trade Handicrafts in China

"Danyun has been involved in education & community development in Jijiezi village, Tianxin Township, since 1998 after a massive earthquake hit the area in 1995," explains Dr. Chan, CEO of CFHK. "CFHK helped with the mountain terracing, water supply, micro-loans for corn & fertilizer, & children’s tuition. However, villagers were still struggling to survive economically because of limited crop land & poor soil, as well as a lack of  investment. As the women were all experts in embroidery, Danyun decided to start a three years’ Micro-enterprise development project producing handicraft products in 7 villages."

Danyun launched a fair trade programme in the embroidery products, which are distributed through the established networks for sale of fair trade items. As well as paying reasonable wages to the women, Danyun also set aside 10% of the gross sales as fund for community development. In addition to embroidery products, the greeting cards & ornamental decorations made by the women are popular in the overseas markets. "This achievement serve as testimony of the worthiness of the effort by both the women & our partner," says Dr Chan.

Huang Pin Fen (pictured) always enjoyed making handicrafts such as blanket covers & pillow covers, but only for her own use. In 1999, 3 people from Danyun visited her village & invited the women to produce handicrafts for the market. "Huang was very shy, but now has the confidence to represent her village at different fair trade conferences," says Dr. Chan. "Not only can she afford better education for her children through making handicrafts, but the project has greatly enhanced her relationship with the community. It's tradition that people only take care of blood relatives, but many of the women will now visit the sick who are not family members. It is wonderful that a sense of community is built through caring for others & by developing technical skills together."

Threads of Yunnan website

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