Welcome to the October 2008 quarter edition of

Exchange Magazine.

This edition of Exchange marks the start of the

AYAD Program’s second decade of operation,

with the Program officially ‘turning 10’ on 27th

August this year. So to the volunteers, Australian

partners and host organisations across the

Asia-Pacific region who have contributed to

the success of the AYAD Program over the

past decade I wish you all a very happy 10th

anniversary!The Australian Youth Ambassadors for Development (AYAD) Program

aims to strengthen mutual understanding between Australia and the

countries of the Asia Pacific region and make a positive contribution

to development. The Program achieves these aims by placing skilled

young Australian (18-30) on short-term assignments in developing

countries in the Asia Pacific region. AYAD volunteers work with

local counterparts in Host Organisations to achieve sustainable

development outcomes through capacity building, skills exchange and

institutional strengthening.

The AYAD Program provides support to AYADs including living and

accommodation allowances, flights, pre-departure training, in-country

management, insurance, medicals and debrief on return.

The AYAD Program is an Australian Government, AusAID initiative and

is fully funded by the Australian Government’s overseas aid agency,

AusAID. AYAD is managed by Austraining International, a South

Australian international project management company.

and VIDA (Volunteering for International Development from Australia) host

organisations. This Workshop bought together these host organisations,

volunteers and representatives from AusAID Post, the Philippines

Government and Austraining for the purpose of establishing longer-term,

programmatic plans that align volunteer inputs with the capacity-building

objectives of the host organisations. This approach will result in more

effective outcomes for these institutions. It will also facilitate better

evaluation of capacity-building and broader developmental impact of the

volunteer assignments, with a focus on assisting host organisations to

define and measure their own success.

In pursuing the allusive aid effectiveness agenda it is important not to

lose sight of the other, equally important objectives of the AYAD Program:

personal and professional development for young Australians; developing

linkages between Australia and partner countries; and engaging the

Australian community. The 2007 tracking survey ‘Project AYAD ‘Where

Are They Now?’ highlighted the on-going contribution of returned AYADs

to the field of international and community development. For example,

the survey found that 30% of returned AYADs are currently working in

the aid and development field, and 55% are volunteering their time to

community-based initiatives in Australia. I encourage you to read the

stories of returned AYADs Alexa Ridgway and Scott Graham in this edition

of Exchange to see how the impact of the AYAD Program extends well

beyond the twelve month volunteer assignment.

Until the next edition,

Anthony Rologas

AYAD Project Director

The stories in this issue of Exchange again highlight how our volunteers

and Australian partners are supporting capacity-building within local

host organisations and contributing to development in the communities

in which they work. As the AYAD Program enters its second decade

it is timely to reflect on how the achievements of individual volunteers

have contributed to the overall developmental outcomes and impact

of the AYAD Program. This is the same question that many other aid

organisations and programs are asking themselves with increased

attention being paid to aid effectiveness following the 2005 Paris

Declaration.

Assessing aid effectiveness is difficult. This was acknowledged in

AusAIDs first Annual Review of Development Effectiveness in 2007.

However the AYAD Program is tackling this challenge head on. I had the

pleasure of returning to the Philippines in early September to participate

in a pilot Programmatic Planning Approach Workshop for selected AYAD

Anyone for AYAD Idol?

Into the Hills, in Search for the Hungry

The Land of a Million Elephants

From Little Seeds...

Volunteer Photo Gallery

Fiji Outrigger Paddlers just love their Water!

DI: Alexa Ridgway and Koori Courts of Victoria

Caring for Land, People and Culture

Australian Partner Organisations

Calendar

Editor Orit Bierenboim

Sub Editor Erin Green

Design: Danny Connery

Agency of New Design

Contributors:

Scott Graham

Erin Green

Olivia Kemp

Janelle Morey

Amy Paten

Alexa Ridgway

Ingrid Suter

Photo credits:

Cover Photo - Paul Wager

Contents Page - The Production Hub

Anyone for AYAD Idol? - The Production Hub

Into the Hills, in Search of the Hungry - Olivia Kemp

The Land of a Million Elephants - ElefantAsia

From Little Seeds - Amy Paten

Volunteer Photo Gallery - ( See spread for details )

Fiji Outrigger Paddlers - Janelle Morey

Caring for Land, People and Culture - Scott Graham

All Content and Images are AYAD 2008

Exchange Magazine welcomes submissions from

AYADs and alumni (RAYADs), Host Organisations and

Australian Partner Organisations. Please contact the

AYAD Marketing Manager, Orit Bierenboim at

info@ayad.com.au for further information.

Exchange is printed on recycled paper.

Exchange October - December

On location with The Production Hub during

the filming of the AYAD Documentary - see

over the page for the full story.

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roof over your head: “It provides families with a safe place

to live but it also makes sure that families live in a healthy

environment. It gives people a sense of security in the

community. The children have a place to study, they have

a place to play, they have the opportunity to socially interact

with their friends and the community.”

Pierre has been working with Habitat for Humanity to

improve their communications and fundraising practices in

order to better support the core role of Habitat for Humanity

in the community. The role is based in Dhaka, the capital of

Bangladesh but also requires visits to some of the remote

villages where Habitat works in the field. It’s one of these

visits that producer, Matthew Fallon, remembers as his best

experience so far on the AYAD documentary project:

“We were walking through calf deep mud in Bangladesh,

loaded up with all the gear. That was pretty full on. It was

only 2 km or so but it really brought home that this was the

path local villagers walked daily to get to the main road, to

access markets and the outside world. We were only there

for a day so for us it was an adventure but it’s different living

there. But you definitely knew you were making a film about

real life in the world when half of the world’s mud was caked

up your legs.’

Next stop, Indonesia, and a change of pace for the Doco

crew who filmed newly arrived AYAD, Alice Moffett, as

she settled in to her new home and her new work at the

Greenhands Permaculture school in the hills of Aceh.

“It was important to try and get as many different AYAD

perspectives as possible,” said Matthew, “we wanted to be

able to show what it was like living in a developing country

both from a ‘fresh eyes’ perspective and from the perspective

of someone who has lived their for a fair while. Working with

Alice was a great opportunity to get a feel for what it means

to be newly arrived as an AYAD and Aceh was a fantastic

place to share this experience.”

Whether it’s cycling through the crazy traffic in

Hanoi, Vietnam or trekking through calf deep mud in

Bangladesh, there’s been no shortage of adventures

for the documentary crew following some of our

AYADs around in their daily lives.

2008 is the tenth anniversary of the AYAD Program and to

celebrate this milestone the AYAD Program is developing a

television documentary to share some of the stories from

AYADs in the field with the Australian public (and hopefully our

partners around the Asia Pacific as well). The documentary

crew from The Production Hub has been working closely with

the AYAD Program and AusAID to capture the experiences

of our AYADs as they go about their assignments in locations

across the Asia Pacific.

The first challenge for the team was trying to narrow down the

options to 5 or 6 AYADs in five countries across the region.

The crew knew they couldn’t do justice to any more than that

in a one hour documentary and there has been lots of wishful

thinking about a great AYAD mini-series as the team tried to

choose who would feature in the documentary.

With so many great projects to choose from in such a

diverse range of sectors and with AYADs coming from so

many different backgrounds there was a wealth of great

stories waiting to be told. It was a real struggle to choose

which countries from our twenty partner countries we would

film in let alone which AYADs would make the final round.

Finally, decisions were made and the crew got down to the

fun logistics of carrying lots of expensive, and heavy, camera

gear through Papua New Guinea, Vietnam, Bangladesh,

Indonesia and Samoa.

The Doco crew started their AYAD adventure in Papua New

Guinea where they headed out to Alotau to film AYADs

Christian James and Kylee St George, both working with St.

Barnabas School of Nursing. Beautiful Alotau was a fantastic

setting to follow the work of these two nurse trainers and

their counterparts and to get a taste for the warmth and

friendliness of the local people who had welcomed Christian

and Kylee, and now the Doco crew, into their lives.

After a brief return to Australia they headed out again, this

time to Hanoi, Vietnam where the crew followed AYAD Tam

Tran, a Vietnamese Australian working with Blue Dragon

Children’s Foundation. Tam is working as a Social Work

Trainer with Blue Dragon focusing particularly on street kids

and other disadvantaged young people. The Doco crew

had an amazing, and humbling experience, meeting the

exuberant Tan, a ten-year-old boy whose cerebral palsy has

left him unable to walk.

Tan is a bright, happy, cheeky boy. When asked whether

he was happy to have the Doco crew visit his home he

immediately started discussing his imminent stardom and

whether the crew should provide a limo. The irony of these

comments was clear given the extreme poverty of his family

and the complete lack of access to their home by any

motorized transport. In one of the simple bamboo rooms on

the boat Tan calls home, the Doco crew saw a loving, caring

family looking for ways to provide their son with access to

education and a better life. It is a two kilometre walk over

narrow, muddy trails from the riverbank to the nearest road

but now a couple of times each week, Tan’s mother or his

social worker from Blue Dragon, carry Tan from his home

to the road and another 3 km to the Blue Dragon drop-in

centre where he has a wheelchair and access to education,

art, computers and his peers.

After Hanoi it was on to Bangladesh and AYAD Pierre

Johanessen, working with Habitat for Humanity. Habitat

for Humanity is an international NGO working to provide the

world’s most disadvantaged people with access to housing.

Habitat for Humanity Bangladesh’s National Director, Kelly

Koch, explained why housing is so much more than just a

Laidback cameraman, Geoff Ellis, also acquired his new

nickname ‘Mr. Goof’ in Aceh, where the local hotel owner

misread the English ‘eo’ in his name. It turned out to be a

good sign of the welcoming, friendly and positive people of

Aceh.

“People were really open to us filming. They wanted to know

what we were doing. At one site an Acehnese man came up

and started talking to Chris, our director, about the tsunami

and how it affected him and how Aceh is changing,” says

Matthew, “It was incredible to have such open and honest

encounters with the local people.”

The Doco crew were amazed to see the changes that a

few years have wrought in what was one of the areas most

devastated by the tsunami.

The final stop for the documentary is Samoa where AYAD

Tina Macumber is working on a cricket development

project. And post Samoa? It’s back to the editing suite and

time to turn hours and hours of footage into a one hour

documentary that demonstrates the passion, devotion,

strength, enthusiasm and good humour that our AYADs

bring to their work across the region. It’s no easy task but

with such great material to work with the documentary is

sure to be a winner.

Documentary producer, Matthew Fallon, says:

“The opportunity to see so many countries and spend time

with the AYADs is one of the best things about filming this

documentary. They know so much about the place and you

get such privileged access to their lives and the lives that

they’ve touched. That’s been the most amazing thing for

me.”

The AYAD Documentary is currently in the final stages of

shooting. Watch this space for news on the final editing

process and screening dates on Australian television.

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Into the hi l ls , in search of the hungry

AYAD Olivia Kemp recently joined a United Nations World Food

Programme team to conduct an Emergency Food Security

Assessment in the foothills of Nepal. Here she shares her

experience of the warmth and generosity of the Nepalese people

and the unforgettable realities of their lives in western Nepal.

To know hunger, to really understand that concept deeply is something

that I will probably never experience. But after three years of recurrent

drought, hail damage, landslides and crop disease, the hills of western

Nepal are suffering and hunger is a constant companion to many. The rural

lives nestled in the remote villages of the western hill and mountain districts

are in jeopardy. The risk of acute malnutrition and mass-migration, forever

shifting the culture of these hills, is very real.

A number of international organisations have implemented emergency

operations in this area to provide much needed assistance to the people

living there. One of these organisations is the largest humanitarian

organisations in the world, the United Nations World Food Programme

(WFP), my AYAD Host Organisation.

Recently it was reported by the WFP field-based monitors that the situation

in the western regions of Nepal had seriously deteriorated due to the poor

winter season and in particular the lack of rainfall combined with the global

rise in food prices.

For most of us, this hike in food prices is an inconvenience, or an

interesting article in The Economist. For the poorest of the poor, it is the

literal meaning of the word – a crisis. It means skipping meals, selling of

household assets, women selling their wedding jewelry, pulling children

out of school to work, continuous borrowing from money lenders and,

for some here in Nepal, whole families migrating to India to find casual

labouring jobs. These are all common coping strategies adopted in times

of hardship to simply make it through another day.

For humanitarian professionals, the practice in such emergencies is to

travel to the location and conduct an initial rapid assessment – in this case,

an Emergency Food Security Assessment. Such an assessment aims to

collect in-depth data and conduct community consultations to confirm

the situation and the number of people affected - to paint an accurate

picture for the donors and decision makers. As a member of WFP Nepal’s

Food Security Monitoring and Assessment Unit, I was fortunate enough

to be included in the trek up into the hills to conduct the assessment,

under the guidance of two local WFP colleagues, Pushpa Shrestha and

Kishor Bhandari and a member of the Nepal Ministry of Agriculture and

Cooperatives, Naresh Sharma.

This assessment, this huge week of my small life, has left such a marked

impression on me. I have now seen hunger, stepped into the homes and

lives of the people who know hunger far too well, the unwanted guest

who regularly arrives on the doorstep, sometimes for a day, sometimes for

months. I have spoken with families and seen the pain on a mother’s face

as she watches her children, far too small for their age, lose their strength,

lose the rich black shine in their hair, as it fades to fair, dusty brown.

Most of our journey was on foot, due to wet monsoon conditions blocking

roads with multiple landslides. This is the case every year for the local

people of much of Nepal, winter means transport by vehicle or motorbike

(if you can afford the fuel) but monsoon season means carrying food by

ponies and people enduring long, long days on foot.

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The conditions for us just to reach the affected areas

were extremely tough, even by a lover of the Australian

outdoors. Extreme humidity, steep precarious hills,

large boulders tumbling from the sky as we ran from

landslides, crossing waist deep, fast flowing rivers

full of diligent Nepali leaches were all obstacles in our

path in addition to the long, long distances to cover

each day. We had only one week to conduct an in

depth assessment – as the people were in such urgent

need and once we had collected the data there would

be data-processing and reporting to be done back

in Kathmandu. To reach our destination in time we

walked from 8-14 hours each day and slept in local

homes, sharing their lives for just a small precious

moment. The process of providing food aid to those

in need in Nepal is complex. WFP not only faces

challenges in identifying populations in need but also in

distributing the food aid, when just reaching the villages

means difficulties in access and transportation.

In the villages we sat with these people, on rough

straw mats, with children and dogs and chickens

clustered around and talked to families, shopkeepers

and traders in the markets and community health

workers. We asked question after question, with

discussions that enabled us to understand the impact

the food crisis was having on their daily lives – and

what they knew of the most vulnerable members of

their communities. We met with government officials

and village development committees, agricultural

officers, the police, doctors at the local hospital, the

army, local NGOs and international agencies with

sub-offices located in the district head quarters. We

talked and talked and talked and scribbled down the

alarming facts as they calmly spoke of their hardship.

Their patience and their resilience is a Nepali trait I am

growing used to but one I continue to admire.

One of the WFP field-based monitors, Kishor Bhandari,

joined us on the assessment with his ‘tools of the

trade’ – a PDA and a satellite phone. Field monitors

are used by WFP all over the world, to collect field-

based, up-to-date information. Few face the extremity

of challenges that the field monitors in Nepal endure

working in the most topographically varied country in

the world. They walk the landscape tirelessly, recording

answers to the surveys saved in their PDAs and then,

when network coverage allows, they connect to the

satellite phone and email the data back to Kathmandu,

to the Food Security monitoring unit, where the

numbers are crunched and the figures of people in

need and the extremity of this need are confirmed.

Into the hi l ls , in search of the hungry

Previous Page : Monsoonal clouds form over the Bheri River in Nepal.

Above : (top) : Olivia and her counterparts trekking up into the villages.(bottom) : Community consultation with key village members.

Right : Jajarkot locals

From this data, WFP and many other organisations are

developing knowledge on socio-economic trends in

villages, agricultural production, health and malnutrition

and the use of coping strategies within households,

which indicate food insecurity. This information is

absolutely invaluable and WFP could not target

populations in need without this monitoring system and

these dedicated individuals.

Walking up into those hills, into those lives, was

something I had been waiting for all those months

behind my computer screen back in Kathmandu and I

immersed myself in it completely. Back in Kathmandu,

writing my report of the assessments findings, I was

often transported back up their into their homes,

sipping sweet, black tea over quiet conversation

around the smoky clay stoves, the monsoonal clouds

dancing low on the distant hills. This was not the

trekking trails of the Nepal the ‘intrepid’ backpacker

knows, this was not the cultural melting pot shrouded

in smog that is Kathmandu – up there in those remote

hills, tucked away in the clouds, I made my discovery

of the real Nepal. I felt a reawakening up there and,

despite all the sadness and poverty around me, my

love for this country seemed to grow.

Conducting such work and meeting those people,

amongst the poorest people in the world, feeling the

reality and urgency of their needs – the reality of hunger

- was an intense experience that I will never forget. But

I think what made a lasting impression on me was the

beauty, the warmth and the generosity they extended

toward me, despite the pain they endure every day. I

had never before received such wealth, as I did that

week from those people classified as ‘the poorest of

the poor’.

9

Ingrid Suter is an AYAD volunteering as a

Communications Officer with ElefantAsia in

Vientiane, Lao PDR. ElefantAsia is the only

conservation group in Laos working for the

protection and conservation of domestic

elephants, of which there are approximately

560 remaining. With wild elephants and

habitat protection a typical focus of wildlife

management, the significance of the domestic

elephant is often overlooked.

“Many foreigners get emotional when discussing

domestic, or captive, elephants”, Ingrid explains. “They

believe all elephants should be free and allowed to

roam around in the wild. But the reality in Southeast

Asia is different. People don’t understand that the

domestication of Asian elephants has been an integral

part of Indochinese culture and historic tradition for

centuries. ElefantAsia’s goal is to keep that ancient

culture alive and the elephants in good health.”

Asian elephants were once owned by the kings and

royal families of Laos for transportation, logging and

warfare purposes, and are today still considered

religious deities in Lao Buddhism and animism.

“The use of elephants is not just a luxury afforded to

the rich and noble”, explains Ingrid. “Domesticated

elephants have been used as a form of typical livestock

by conventional Lao communities for hundreds of

years.”

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Unfortunately access to veterinary care and medication

is often financially or geographically difficult, resulting in

many domesticated elephants suffering from horrific yet

easily preventable injuries. One of ElefantAsia’s major

programs is their Mobile Veterinary Care Unit. This mobile

unit travels to remote communities’ in Laos that still

employ elephants for livestock purposes. ElefantAsia

currently provides onsite support to 75% of Laos’

domesticated elephants. The mobile unit provides free

veterinary health checks, medications and treatments to

sick or injured elephants.

The idea of elephants as livestock (how they are classified

in Laos) was initially a difficult concept for Ingrid to

comprehend. “Coming from Queensland my idea of

what livestock is conjures images of large-scale sheep

and cattle stations, not domesticated elephants,” reflects

Ingrid. “It took a lot of research and discussion with

workmates before I really understood the importance

elephants play in rural and remote communities here.

Some 10,000 people can benefit from the income

generated by a single elephant. That’s as important as

any livestock industry anywhere in the world.”

Recently news of a poaching came to the ElefantAsia

office from the Sayaboury province. According to the

mahout (an elephant handler), his elephant had been shot

in the head and legs and its majestic tusks fully removed

by the poachers. “Fortunately this isn’t a common event”

says Ingrid. “Elephants are valuable livestock in Laos and

the poaching of an elephant is a huge economic loss

for mahout families as well as the entire Asian elephant

population.”

Sadly a modern form of employment is threatening

the Asian elephant’s long-term survival in Laos. Most

domesticated elephants work in legal or illegal logging

operations, tragically destroying their wild cousin’s

habitat. Domestic elephants also have extremely low

reproduction rates, as financially it makes little sense for

a mahout to breed their female elephants (cows). Given

the long gestation and rearing period required, cows are

regarded as more economically valuable working than

raising babies.

This is where ElefantAsia steps in. The ultimate goal for

ElefantAsia is to seek sustainable, alternative employment

for these elephants in less physically and environmentally

destructive ventures such as Laos’ growing ecotourism

industry. Incentives and economic support are also

provided to mahouts who wish to enter their cows into

a voluntary breeding program. “ElefantAsia have initiated

a scheme much like the ‘baby bonus’ incentive we have

for women in Australia,” laughs Ingrid. “If a mahout’s cow

has a baby he will be financially compensated. It worked

in Australia, so there’s a chance it can work here too!”

As Communications Officer, one of Ingrid’s roles is to

work with her counterparts to identify relevant funding

opportunities and prepare proposals so ElefantAsia’s

projects can continue and expand. “A great day for me

was when I heard my first funding proposal had been

successful,” recalls Ingrid. “My proposal to the British

RSPCA provided ElefantAsia with enough money to make

400 ‘elephant first aid kits’”. These kits are waterproof

containers full of antiseptics, bandages and other

medicines mahouts can administer to their sick or injured

elephant immediately. It is the mahout who cares for their

elephants on a day-to-day basis, so it’s essential that they

have knowledge and access to modern medications.

Training in how to use all supplies in the kit is free and

provided by ElefantAsia’s mobile veterinary unit.

The Lao PDR’s elephants are in a unique position. Having

not received the same scrutiny, publicity or research

funding as neighbouring nations, population numbers

are mere estimates. No accurate figure for either wild or

domestic elephant populations exists, limiting the ability to

provide significant species conservation. The smuggling

of wild elephants for domestic use into neighbouring

nations is also a major threat to wild elephant populations.

Ingrid’s next goal is to gain enough funding to have all 560

domestic elephants in Laos micro-chipped.

“Micro-chipping the entire captive population is an exciting

and achievable form of immediate and effective elephant

conservation,” says Ingrid. “Elephant ownership would

become completely transparent. The capture of a wild

elephant for domestic use or illegal sale would be virtually

impossible. Thailand is already well underway with micro-

chipping all their domestic elephants, and there is no

reason why the same positive results can’t be achieved in

Laos through ElefantAsia.”

Ingrid still has six months left of her placement with

ElefantAsia. “The AYAD program has given me amazing

opportunities to make direct and positive impacts for

endangered species conservation,” says Ingrid. “While

the majority of my day may be spent sitting at a desk

writing proposals, the rewards are so high. I have the

ability to really help out and contribute to elephant welfare

and conservation.” Ingrid is also looking forwarded

to planning the next annual Elephant Festival; a huge

occasion in Laos that is growing is size and publicity each

year. “Things are going to get pretty crazy around here

soon” says Ingrid “Organising 100 elephants and 50,000

people is not something that is done easily in Laos. But

book your tickets, the next festival will be held in February

2009!”

The potential for further Asian elephant research in Laos

is promising, and Ingrid is hoping to one day undertake

Asian elephant research of her own with ElefantAsia.

“Without the AYAD program I would have never have

had this fantastic opportunity. Volunteering in Laos I have

met some truly passionate and remarkable people. This

beautiful country and its elephants are beckoning me to

stay and help further protect this endangered species.

Laos was once, after all, known as ‘the land of a million

elephants.’“

ElefantAsia’s mobile vet unit at work in the Sayaboury province.

1

from little seeds…

China is a country that has had rapid development

in the east but beyond the big cities there are

areas, particularly in the north-west, that are areas

where people face high levels of poverty and a

difficult farming life. It is there that that AYAD

Amy Paten is working with local governments

and communities in Gansu on the Loess Plateau,

in the east of Gansu province of China. She is

helping alleviate poverty through improved farming

practices. It’s a big project with an important

goal and Amy’s experience demonstrates that by

working together big things can be achieved. Here

she shares her experiences:

I’ve been volunteering as a farming systems analyst

for Gansu Grasslands Ecological Research Institute

since March 2008, with the support of the University

of Adelaide - my Australian Partner Organisation. The

Institute in Lanzhou University and the University of

Adelaide have worked extensively together, over the past

10 years, to improve farming systems and environmental

conservation in the Loess Plateau region of Gansu.

They’re now working together on a newly funded project

by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural

Research (ACIAR) to help farmers, local government and

extension agents to improve the crop-livestock systems

in Western China to alleviate poverty and reduce

environmental degradation.

The Loess Plateau suffers from low and erratic rainfall,

the environment and resources are degraded and

many people here are living in severe poverty. The local

government wants to increase livestock production by

integrating forages into crop rotations to help improve

water use efficiency, soil quality and overall farm

productivity.

I’m working closely with local researchers and farmers to

find the best ways to collect and analyse data on current

farming practices, especially where there is a mix of crop

and livestock being used by farmers, and then working

with the farmers to find ways to improve their livelihoods

through better planning of animal feeding and livestock

nutrition.

Growing forage crops offers the potential to reduce soil

erosion, make the use of resource more efficient and to

boost farmers’ livelihoods. However, the farms are small,

and they are not reliable sources of food. The farmers

have limited capital for investment or the capacity to

increase risk. In order to make any changes we need to

From left to Right : : Teaching Mr Gao Chongyue how to take a blood sample : Setting up a weather station : Surveying local farmers

evaluate the current environmental and social systems

and the likely impacts of change. Time also needs to

be spent working with and training the farmers in more

efficient farm management practices.

The farmers are welcoming and keen to participate. We

aim to make a simulation model based on the current

farm systems so we can run scenarios of improved

practices and see what the long term implication

of these scenarios would be. Then we can start

making sustainable changes. The work is very much

participatory and the farmers are involved from the start.

One of my most memorable experiences was on a field

trip to Quzi. We were collecting rectal faecal samples

from goats on the farms and none of my Chinese

counterparts had done this before. They didn’t quite

understand what I meant until I did a demonstration. I

turned around to see Mr Gao Chongyue, the extension

agent and very senior in his role, down on the ground (in

his suit) with his glove on collecting the sample from the

next goat. The look on his face, once he had extracted

a sample, was as if he’d found gold! This scene was

really important as I, a young female, had just shown

this senior male how to collect rectal faecal samples

(something he would normally never have to do). It

defied all cultural boundaries and I could really see that

everyone on the project wanted to help the farmers and

that gender, age and status didn’t matter anymore – we

were just a group of people out to achieve a common

goal.

The local government has been very supportive of the

work and this support is vital for the success of the

project. The Institute’s staff bring local knowledge to

the project while us Australians bring knowledge on

sampling and experimental techniques and an outside

view. I’m glad to be a part of the project and share my

knowledge in animal nutrition and husbandry and at the

same time learn so much from the local people. The

farmers, whilst being some of the poorest people in

China, are the happiest and most giving people I have

ever met. They appreciate the simple things they have

and this is an attitude I want to take back to Australia

with me.

I feel honoured and lucky to be invited into their homes

and view their daily lives and experience their friendly

and unique culture. It’s great to be able to come

here and travel around but I value most being able to

contribute to work that will help preserve some of the

most beautiful environments here and maybe make the

life of the people on the land a little bit easier.

3

Welcome to the AYAD Photo Gallery, a

chance for AYADs and alumni (RAYADs)

to share photos of their experiences

in-country. Want to share your photo?

Simply email the photo with a caption to

info@ayad.com.au

By submitting your photos to the AYAD

Program you are giving consent for

these images to be used for promotional

purposes by the AYAD Program (including

website, promotional materials and

Exchange) so don’t forget to get consent

from the people in the photos.

From top to bottom, left to right:

Local delicacies on display in the

Philippines : AYAD

A proud Bangladeshi bus driver sits

in his beautifully painted vehicle :

Photo by Dean Saffron

Fijian Hut : Photo by Patrick Boyd

Church steeple ruin in front of Mayon

Volcano in the Philippines : Photo by

Amber Rowe

Ovoo, a shamanistic cairn found on a

mountain in Mongolia : AYAD

Working in the fields, Vietnam :

AYAD

Creative Hands : Photo by

Jo Grzelinska

95

AYAD Janelle Morey is working as the Sports

Development Officer for Fiji Outrigger, the

National Federation for Outrigger Canoeing, in

Fiji’s capital city, Suva.

Before departing on what she calls ‘an adventure of

a lifetime’ Janelle would tell friends and family where

she was going and what she was going to be doing

and heard nothing but “You’re going where? A tropical

Island? Sun, sand and water. What an awesome

opportunity!”

“They were right,” says Janelle. “It has been amazing

and Fiji is a beautiful, tropical experience but even more

than that it has been an incredible opportunity to work

with the friendly people of Fiji and spread the word

about the sport of outrigger canoe racing in a place

where outrigger canoes have played a pivotal historical

role.”

Outrigger canoe paddling has its origins in the

development and spread of the coastal culture of the

Pacific Rim region about 30,000 years ago, with canoes

playing an integral role in the survival and transmigration

of ancient cultures. Great tree trunk canoes held

together with vines served as the prime transport for

tribes and clans moving throughout the Pacific and the

image of the outrigger canoe still resonates strongly in

many Pacific cultures.

Currently Janelle is focused on the development of

the newly formed USP Islanders Canoe Club, which

is based out of the University of South Pacific. The

opportunity for a new club to be developed was evident

to Janelle when she first arrived in Fiji and the University

of South Pacific was the perfect place to create a new

club with its mix of students from all over the region.

“The new paddlers are a combination of people who

have been paddling since the sport first began in Fiji

while others are ‘fresh in the boat’ or FIB’s (novices),”

Janelle says. “No matter whether they’ve been paddling

for years or only a few weeks, I’ve seen enthusiasm,

good sportsmanship and dedication to training in the

new club.”

Most recently a committee has been elected to take

over running of the club which means Janelle can rest

assured that the good work she has started at the

University of the South Pacific will continue when the

time comes for her to say goodbye.

Thousands of years later, outrigger canoe racing has

become a competitive sport and maritime advancement

has seen the canoe evolve from the heavy wooden

canoes of the past to the sleek, fibreglass racing boats

of today.

Janelle is working with Fiji Outrigger to help lift the

profile of outrigger canoe racing and to educate

locals of the role outrigger canoes have played in the

history of the South Pacific. Part of her work is also to

increase the involvement of young people in the sport

through increased profile and inclusion in school sports

curriculum.

Janelle’s first taste of Fiji’s paddling lifestyle and of her

work to come arrived as soon as she stepped off the

plane. The Wai Tui Fiji Outrigger International was

taking place at Suva Point, an annual event founded

five years ago by Colin Philp, currently president of Fiji

Outrigger.

The event showcases the cultural links of the sport in

the South Pacific with ceremony, music and dance,

wrapped up in the warm embrace of good-natured

competition in a tropical environment. This year saw

teams from Australia, American Samoa, PNG and

New Zealand compete in the 3 day tournament. Fiji is

without a doubt a fantastic environment for outrigger

canoeing, the course is scenic and international

paddlers have found the experience as good as that in

Tahiti or Hawaii.

It was during the Wai Tui Fiji Outrigger International

that Janelle experienced the excitement, commitment,

and paddling family values of those dedicated to the

sport of outrigger canoeing. This experience has only

continued to grow as Janelle was welcomed with open

arms into the Fiji paddling family.

“A large part of my role has included paddle-a-thons

for juniors and the frequent regattas (17 in 2008) held

by my Host Organisation,” she said. “Fiji Outriggers

Regattas always prove to be an eventful day filled with

keen juniors forgetting their paddles or simply living on

‘Fiji Time’.”

During the year Janelle also teamed up with Fiji Triathlon

to develop a mini series of multisport events consisting

of Paddle, Bike, Run. The success of these events

led to Janelle working with Fiji Triathlon to host the Fiji

WEETBIX Kids ‘TRYathlon’ which was a huge success

for all involved.

7

The experience of migrating by paddling for thousands

of miles in an outrigger made from tree trunks is one

we can only imagine. Lucky enough for Janelle she will

experience what paddling in a canoe for many miles

was like for ancient cultures when she departs on a

10-day journey of paddling around the Yasawas islands

in late October.

“Of course I will be paddling in a modern day,

lightweight, fiberglass Va’a 6 boat with a support boat

following behind and nights camping at local Villages

and Backpacker Hostels,” says Janelle, “so I’ll definitely

have a much easier experience than the original

islanders did!”

Although only 6 months into her 12 month assignment

Janelle feels that she has already made an impact on

the sport and the local community and feels like one of

the family.

The friendliness of not only the paddlers, but the locals

in general has certainly brought many smiles and tears

of laughter along with memories and photos that will

last a lifetime.

Left : The National Canoe Centre’s Under 19 Girls TeamRight : Under 16 Boys 500m sprint race finish line.

By the time Alexa Ridgway had completed

her Arts/Law degree in 2005, she knew she

wanted to do community work in Australia.

She had tried and tested the corporate

legal scene and decided that it was not for

her. Instead it was the needs of Australian

communities that got Alexa out of the bed

in the morning. But without a degree in

social work, and no background in case

management, she was unsure of where to

begin.

Left : Alexa on assignment in Samoa, with the Animal Protection Society.

At the beginning of 2005, Alexa had visited a friend

in Samoa who was an AYAD. Inspired by this

experience, she began looking into opportunities

to become an AYAD herself. By luck, Alexa saw a

position in Samoa that would use her background

in running animal welfare campaigns, while also

developing her cross-cultural, project management

and community development skills.

Alexa’s AYAD placement in Samoa was as Humane

Educator with the Animal Protection Society from

2006-2007. With Samoa having a very large dog

population - a high proportion being strays that

often become aggressive - the Society plays an

important role in maintaining the country’s health

and wellbeing.

“The Animal Protection Society is the only

organisation to provide veterinary care for cats

and dogs in Samoa with the majority of their

work involving assisting the control of the stray

and unwanted animals through sterilisation and

euthanasia,” said Alexa.

“After 10 years of operations, the Society decided

that their work needed to expand to include an

educational component so they applied for an

AYAD to assist them in pursuing this new focus,”

she said.

As Humane Educator, Alexa’s role was to establish

a community education program to increase

awareness of the dog problem and teach Samoans

how to better care for their animals. Working with

her Samoan counterpart, Alexa established a ‘Self-

Starter Humane Education Pack’ which included

school curricula for both primary and high schools

as well as information on how to run community

education programs (from Voluntary Vet Assistant

programs to fundraisers).

Eighteen months after the education pack was

completed, it is still being used by the Society’s

staff. To hear that the education program has been

sustainable is a thrill for Alexa:

“I was always a little unsure whether my education

resource would be sustainable. I am really moved

to hear that it is still being found a useful tool by the

the Society and is continually being implemented at

the grassroots level.”

Animal Humane Education was not the limit

of Alexa’s AYAD experience. She was able to

use her background in swimming to create a

swimming development program at Samoa’s

National Swimming Complex, which included the

introduction of waterpolo – the first time this sport

had ever been played in the country.

And, towards the end of her 12-month term, Alexa

visited Vanuatu to train 14 local Humane Educators.

Inspired, the new educators taught animal

education to over 400 school students in the month

following the training.

“The AYAD Program gave me a great opportunity

to learn about Pacific culture while using my skills

to bring about change and build relationships with

local Samoans,” Alexa said.

Alexa’s experience in Samoa inspired her to seek

further volunteering opportunities in the international

development field. This time Alexa decided to

volunteer in Cambodia. She self-funded a trip to

Phnom Penh to volunteer with the NGO ‘Bridges

Across Borders’ where she established a practical,

activity-based education program for children

on the meaning of law and children’s rights. She

found this be a great learning experience to further

develop the skills she had learnt as an AYAD.

Since returning to Australia in early 2008 Alexa has

taken up a RAYAD Development Internship which

has proven a great opportunity to start her career in

Australian community work.

“In March of this year, I was an intern with the Koori

Courts of Victoria - a division of the Magistrates’

Court, which sentences Indigenous defendants

who have pleaded guilty,” she said. “The Koori

Court provides an informal atmosphere and allows

greater participation by the Aboriginal (Koori)

community in the court process. A Koori Elder or

Respected Person, the Aboriginal Justice worker,

Koori defendants and their families can contribute

during the court hearing,”

During her internship, Alexa designed a youth

mentoring program for at-risk Indigenous young

people to deter them from entering the criminal

justice system.

“The project gave me the opportunity to use my

background in law as well as the cross-cultural

communication skills I gained as an AYAD to

network with people who are mentoring and

working with Indigenous youth,” Alexa said. “It

gave me the opportunity to brief the Koori Court

and President of the Children’s Court on best

practice for mentoring programs and to offer

recommendations for its use with at-risk indigenous

youth.”

Alexa also assisted the Koori Court with their

Annual Koori Court Conference which brought

together over 130 key stakeholders from Victoria

to participate in discussions about the on-going

development of the Koori Courts.

However, Alexa’s volunteering journey was not yet

complete. As a result of her AYAD experience and

her Koori Court Development Internship, she was

accepted to volunteer with the Red Cross Remote

Communities Holiday Program in the indigenous

community of Maningrida in Arnhem Land in July

2008. In this role she ran sports and arts activities

for children in Maningrida, specifically focusing on

using the swimming development skills she gained

in Samoa to organise swimming and waterpolo

sessions.

Alexa sees her experiences as an AYAD and her

Development Internship as life changing.

”It was only due to my experience as an AYAD that I

was able to take up a Development Internship with

the Koori Court and it was through this experience

of working side by side with Indigenous Australians

that I was accepted to go to Arnhem Land. It is so

amazing to see how this has led me step by step

to more experiences where I can learn about the

world, develop my skills and give back to others.”

Interestingly, since returning to Melbourne, the

Maningrida Community has contacted Alexa asking

for a copy of the Self-Starter Humane Education

Pack she created in Samoa.

”It is as though my entire AYAD experience has

gone full circle with my work in Samoa now being

used in indigenous communities in Australia as

well. It is so rewarding to see the work from my

placement as an AYAD being used as an ongoing

resource in so many different contexts.”

9

After his extended 9-month assignment Scott returned to Australia in

May 2008 to manage his parent’s farm and run a small environmental

consultancy. But even before returning to Oz Scott had made up his mind

that he wasn’t finished with the Philippines. His experience in Bohol had

left such an impression on him that he once again packed up his life and

went back to the Philippines after only three months in Australia.

Scott knew that he’d been able to contribute something useful during his

AYAD assignment, but he was certain that he had gained more than he

gave. Was it greedy to go back for more?

Since August 2008 Scott has been working with the Landcare Foundation

of the Philippines in his own right, this time training trainers in soil health

and organic farming techniques so that they can pass on this knowledge

to farmers. He is also keeping in touch with the AYAD Program by lending

a hand to the Philippines In Country Manager and Host Organisations

in planning for future AYAD assignments. He is hoping that this work will

evolve into longer-term opportunities to keep working in Bohol and the

Philippines.

Experiencing all the fantastic natural wonders in Bohol also gave Scott

the idea for a new business opportunity in eco-tourism. “During my AYAD

assignment I would take my motorbike out on weekends and explore the

island’s nooks and crannies. I found so many amazing sites that were

virtually unknown to anyone but the locals (and sometimes not even

them!). When friends would come to visit me I would take them around to

some of these sites rather than the tired old two or three tourist attractions

that most people get dragged off to.”

AYAD Scott Graham spent 9 months on the island of Bohol in the

Philippines. During that time he discovered great beauty in both the

land and the people, which has inspired him to continue to work

with them beyond his assignment.

Scott’s original AYAD assignment was for 6 months with the World

Agroforestry Centre on Bohol. He was working with the staff of the

Landcare Foundation of the Philippines to develop monitoring and

evaluation tools to measure the success of their training on soil

conservation, agroforestry, organic agriculture and livelihood improvement.

But before he had even started, Scott recalls being called “the Australian

expert on monitoring and evaluation”. This, and the excessive attention he

received for the simple act of being white, made him think it would be a

very long 6 months in the Philippines.

While the Philippines is off the holiday radar of most ordinary Australians,

with over 7000 islands it would be impossible not to have at least some

great destinations, and Bohol is certainly one of those places.

It took Scott all of a week to fall in love with his new tropical island home.

His workmates soon became like an extended family, he met a group of

Pinoy (Filipino) and foreign friends that became his ‘Barkada’ (i.e. “group

of mates” in Australian speak), the monitoring and evaluation wasn’t as

boring as it sounded, he found that he was able to use his skills more than

originally planned, and he even started to enjoy the various unidentifiable

parts of pig that dominate the menu!

Six months soon started looking too short rather than too long. After

identifying some gaps in the Landcare Program, Scott and his Host

Organisation requested that his project be extended for another 3 months

so that he could focus on his areas of greatest interest: soil science,

organic agriculture and, unofficially, exploring the natural paradise of Bohol.

“The support provided by my Host Organisation and Australian Partner

Organisation, the World Agroforestry Centre and the Australian Centre for

International Agricultural Research, made the assignment much easier”

says Scott. “The staff of the Landcare Foundation, who I worked closely

with, were friends, teachers and students to me, in that order.”

“There is something very different about Filipino workplace culture

compared to the sterile environment found in most Australia offices. In

the Philippines workmates are considered as friends or extended family

and the line between personal and professional is often blurred. Staff

gatherings are like a reunion of old friends and always accompanied by

social events.”

With the help of these colleagues and his other Filipino friends, Scott

was able to pick up some Visaya, the local language, and converse with

farmers during trainings and monitoring visits. “For me the single most

important advantage was to learn the local language,” Scott says. “A “taas

ilong” (“long nose”) that can speak Visaya is still seen as a great novelty

here, but as in most countries, you have a different relationship with locals

if you can communicate on their terms”. This, Scott says, is one of the

reasons he grew to love living in Bohol.

AUSTRALIAN PARTNER ORGANISATIONS

Aceh Research Training Institute

ACIAR

Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA)

AIDS Council of New South Wales

ANZ Bank

Asia-Pacific Journalism Centre

Austcare

Australian Development Gateway

Australian Foundation for the Peoples

of Asia and the Pacific

Australian Human Rights Centre

Australian Mekong Resource Centre

Australian National University

Australian Orangutan Project

Australian Red Cross

Australian Rugby Union

Australian Sports Commission

Ba Futuru Australia

Baptist World Aid Australia

Be A Hero Australia

Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation (Australia)

Box Hill Institute of TAFE

Brisbane Institute of Strength Based Practice

Bureau of Meteorology

Burnet Institute

The AYAD Program works with a diverse range of

Australian Partner Organisations who provide support,

enthusiasm and expertise to projects in all our partner

countries.

Australian Partner Organisations (APOs) are

Australian government departments, non-government

organisations (NGOs), educational institutions and

private companies that have or wish to establish links

with organisations working in development in the Asia

Pacific region.

The benefits of being an Australian Partner

Organisation are many and varied including building

new partnerships in our region, providing an amazing

professional development opportunity for staff and

making a positive contribution to development.

If you are interested in learning more about partnering

with the AYAD Program please contact the AYAD

Partnerships Team at apo.ayad@austraining.com.au

or (freecall) 1800 225 592.

The AYAD Program would like to thank our current

active APOs for their involvement and support:

Seeing an opportunity to fill this market gap,

Scott started helping Filipino friends to develop

a personalised tour operation that allows tourists

to experience the ‘real Bohol’, the one that Scott

himself fell in love with.

Together, Scott and his mates established ‘Barkada

Tours’ that takes small groups to Bohol’s hidden

beaches, rivers, waterfalls and villages – sites and

experiences that would otherwise be impossible for

brief visitors to the island.

“The word ‘Barkada’ basically means ‘groups of

mates’, the people you like to hang out with. And

that’s the kind of experience we are trying to create

with the tour business – just like a group of friends

came to visit and we are showing them around

the place we love,” says Scott. “The whole ethic

of the operation fosters social and environmental

responsibility amongst visitors and locals alike. We

are trying to lead by example for other companies

that are sure to start cropping up in this burgeoning

tourist area”.

By involving local business and individuals in the

tours and showing the community that respect for

the natural environment makes economic sense,

Barkada Tours hopes to contribute to sustainable

growth in Bohol.

Scott says that the AYAD Program was a great

experience for him, and a gateway. “I have

travelled in a lot of countries before” he says, “but

my AYAD assignment allowed me to integrate a

lot more with the culture and the place, which

opened up a different kind of experience that has

eventually led me to where I am now”.

Visit http://barkadatours.blogspot.com for

more information about seeing Bohol in all its glory,

and www.landcaremates.org to learn more

about the work of the Landcare Foundation of the

Philippines Inc.

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Previous Page : The beach at Bohol

Right : Teaching the locals about organic

gardening methods

CARE Australia

Caritas Australia

Central Queensland University

Charles Darwin University

Charles Sturt University

ChildFund Australia

Chisholm Institute of TAFE

Christian Blind Mission International (CBMI)

CLAN (Caring and Living as Neighbours)

Commonwealth Ombudsman

Constitutional Centre of Western Australia

Deakin University

Department of Agriculture and Food (WA)

Department of Environment, Water,

Heritage and the Arts

Department of Immigration and Citizenship

Department of Primary Industries (NSW)

Department of Primary Industries and

Fisheries (QLD)

Engineers Without Borders

Environmental Defenders Office Ltd

Flinders University of South Australia

Foundation for Developing

Cambodian Communities (FDCC)

Friends of Venilale

George Institute for International Health

GHD Pty Ltd

GK Ancop Australia

Griffith University

Habitat for Humanity Australia

Hassall and Associates

Hope Worldwide

Humane Society International

iEARN

International Australian Football Council (IAFC)

International Centre for Eyecare Education (ICEE)

International Cricket Council East Asia Pacific

International Fund for Animal Welfare

International Rugby Board

International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics

International Women’s Development Agency

Interserve Australia

Jane Goodall Institute Australia

Land Equity International Pty Ltd

Macquarie University

Manly-Manado Inc.

Marie Stopes International Australia

Murdoch University

Oxfam Australia

Permaculture Research Institute

Philippines Australia Studies Centre (PASC)

Plan International Australia

Planning Institute Australia (QLD Division)

Presbyterian Ladies’ College

Queensland Institute of Medical Research

Roads and Traffic Authority (NSW)

Royal Australasian College of Physicians

Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne

Royal Life Saving Society Australia

Save the Children Australia

Scarlet Alliance, Australian Sex Workers Association

Scouts Australia

Speech Language & Learning:

Educational Therapy Consultancy

Susila Dharma Australia Inc

TAFE SA

The Fred Hollows Foundation

Tonga Australian Football Association (TAFA)

Transparency International

Triathlon Australia

UNHCR

UNICEF Australia

UNIFEM Australia

Union Aid Abroad (APHEDA)

UniQuest Pty Ltd

October

9 APO/RAYAD Networking Event (Canberra)

November

18 APO/RAYAD Networking Event (Melbourne)

22-23 RAYAD Debrief (Melbourne)

December

5 International Volunteers Day

7-12 ICM Workshop (Brisbane)

January

12-22 Info Sessions around Australia

(tbc) APO/RAYAD Networking Event (Brisbane)

30 Intake 25 (July 09) Assignments online

February

20-22 State Representative Workshop (Adelaide)

(tbc) Intake 24 PDT

March

31 AYAD Forum

These details are correct at time of printing. Please

check www.ayad.com.au for the latest information.

October November December

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Uniting International Mission (UIM)

University of Adelaide

University of Queensland

University of Sydney

University of Tasmania

University of Technology Sydney

University of Western Sydney

URS Sustainable Development

Vets Beyond Borders

Victoria University

Western Sydney Institute of TAFE

Wetlands International – Oceania

World Vision Australia

World Youth International

WSPA

WWF - Australia

Youth Challenge Australia

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au

Australia Freecall : 1800 225 592

Telephone : +61 (8) 8364 8500

Email : info@ayad.com.au

Managed by Austraining International Pty Ltd

Level 1, 41 Dequetteville Tce, Kent Town SA 5067

www.ayad.com.au

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