Wednesday, June 12, 2013

The Power and Reach of Rotary

Bob Sherman, Chairman of the Duluth 25 Rotary World Service Committee and GTLI Executive Director, Lori Pappas, at the May 29, 2013 rotary meeting in Duluth MN. Over the past two years, Duluth 25 Rotary, Proctor High DECA club and a host of others raised $50,500 in support of GTLI water projects in SW Ethiopia. In collaboration with Boeing Global Corporate Citizenship, these committed Minnesotans thousands of miles from Ethiopia, have refurbished 20 water wells, providing access to clean drinking water for 10,000 people.

“Real money going to real people that is making a significant difference. I also want to thank everyone for their emotional support. It gives me the energy to keep going,” stated Lori.

Making the presentation is TJ Lind, the 18 year old Proctor DECA student who led the community engagement activities to raise this money. Dr. Bill Himango and Crystal Taylor spent 10 days in March/April 2013 visiting the water sites and meeting the people enjoying their clean water.

Monday, May 20, 2013

Upcoming Speaking Event

On Wednesday, May 22nd at the Minneapolis Club, Lori Papas and Julie Krieger will be discussing their work to maximize the impact of charitable donations. View the flier for more details:

Monday, April 8, 2013

The Learn and Play Center is a big success!


A new coat of paint, clever pictures, toys, puzzles and games turned GTLI’s Learn and Play Center into a magnet for community children AND our most regular little community participant is female – Gardo!


Gardo, a lovely little Hamar beauty, joins the orphans every day to learn and play.


Abeba is Team Leader of GTLI’s Orphan and Vulnerable Children program. She’s amazing – organized, competent and leads with a gentle loving hand. The local government informed us last week that 3-4 more orphans will soon be arriving at our camp, bringing the total to ten.

As of April 1, 2013, we are serving one meal plus snack to all community children who participate in the Learn/Play program in addition to the orphans. We want all hungry children to receive at least one meal per day.

The GTLI Learn and Play Center has become “the place to play” for Hamar children. Our wonderful Aussie volunteer, Margaret Mueller, took time from mentoring Hamar women beaders to decorate the playroom.


Duluth MN Rotarians, Bill Himango and Crystal Taylor, came to the field bearing gifts for the children. The kids are besides themselves with joy.



In six short months, the OVC (Orphans and Vulnerable Children) project has expanded from caring for four children to supporting ten orphans and teaching 16 children daily. This project is solely supported by individual donations. Please donate and join our family.






Wednesday, February 27, 2013



Innovative new cross-tribe initiative 

February 1, 2013, GTLI started working with Hamar’s neighboring tribe, Bena, who live in Benatsemay woreda directly adjacent to Hamar woreda in South Omo Zone, SNNPR, Ethiopia. And, Hamar community leaders are facilitating the learning process for this neighboring tribe!

Thanks to the generosity of Boeing Global Corporate Citizenship, Rotary Club of Duluth MN, Nor’Wester Rotary Club of Port Angeles WA and Rotary Club of Southington CT – 5,000 Bena tribe members will have access to clean water and will learn healthy hygiene and sanitation behavior taught and modeled by Hamar tribe early adopters .  In addition to the refurbishment of five non-functioning water wells in Benatsemay woreda, 540 households in Hamar woreda will receive water filtration systems by June 30, 2013.

Please note: funding for this initiative is $11,700 short so any and all contributions will be greatly appreciated!

Monday, February 18, 2013

1,877 people made snow angels

Make your Mark: Angels for a Cause event at the University of Minnesota Duluth on Saturday in Duluth, Minn. Clint Austin | Forum News Services
Learn more about the Make your Mark event here: http://www.bemidjipioneer.com/content/1877-people-made-snow-angels

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Constructing a Water Scheme in Hamarland


During the past 2 years, GTLI has provided 13,000 people access to clean water and disease prevention (healthy hygiene and sanitation behavior) training. Here’s a brief insiders-look at “what it takes” to construct a water scheme in an arid land with few aquifers, difficult road access, great distances and flash floods.
Pre-Funding:
Securing funding for WASH (water supply, sanitation and hygiene) projects in this area is complicated and difficult. First of all, it’s really expensive. The cost/beneficiary ratio is much higher than projects closer to Addis Ababa. And, donors like specifics (type of well, estimated costs, etc.), local government water employees want to help design the scheme (but with long lead times and high turnover of government employees, what is designed vs. what actually can be implemented changes), and the community elders who know likely water sources are concerned about “sacred grounds” which often conflicts with the best location.
 Geo-tech experts must use sophisticated equipment to assess potential sites and determine the best combination: location and preferred water scheme design for anticipated depth. The depth determines the type of water scheme, hand dug or drilled bore-hole, or hand dug well used as a reservoir recharged by a sub-surface dam. Unfortunately, these activities cost money – and government permission – and at this point, we have neither!  So –proposals need to be as general as possible but specific enough to get funding. Not only is it complex – it’s a gamble. Everything is variable . . . nothing is for sure.
 Securing contractor/permission/location post- funding.
This should be easy – but securing reliable contractors to work a two-day drive from Addis Ababa is challenging.
Inside scoop on what really happened during the construction of our latest four water schemes. . .
 The first contractor “snuck out of the area” literally in the middle of the night after drilling one of the 4 contracted wells. It took us 6 months to get the other 3 water schemes in (two shallow-drilled and one hand dug) – and cost 124% more than the original budget.
 During that time, the communities had to improve road access – which they did – multiple times because of contractor broken promises and flash floods. It slowed down healthy hygiene/sanitation behavior training significantly because the community felt GTLI “lied to them” – and refused to participate. Frustrating – but fortunately, through perseverance, at the 11th hour, a reliable contractor agreed, showed up, dug the wells and now the projects will meet their objectives – but over budget.
Our agreements with donors and government stated shallow-drilled wells, as specified by the geo-tech study in three specific locations and one to-be-determined location.  Fortunately, the donors were flexible, allowing us to modify water scheme designs and locations.
A – Only two-shallow drilled wells were constructed according to the original plan
B– One shallow drilled well was constructed 45 minute walk away from the intended location because that’s where water was found.
C – One well was hand-dug because we just couldn’t get the drilling rig to the site. It was impossible to adequately improve the road. The hand-dug well took forever. After digging through six meters of sand, the diggers had to chip away rock. Every week, they threatened to quit – the work was just so hot, buggy and unbearable. Finally, adequate water was found at 12 meters.
Imagine – being in a one meter wide hole, 12 meters deep, chipping rock, day after day, plagued by bees desperate for water.
Flexibility is the key – location, type of well, etc. Now, if only the budget was flexible. . .
 Additional Construction activities:
After “drilling or hand-digging the well,” Top work –supplying the pumping mechanism and constructing the cement platform and Cattle trough – creating a livestock watering area by extending the run off cement trough requires a lot of cement. The cost of cement is skyrocketing; the price has tripled over the past two years. 
Fencing the well and demarcating the Defecation Free Zone, DFZ, (as marked by white paint on tree) is done by the community. They also construct four community pit latrines at the far corners of the DFZ.

 Maintenance:
The community selects a WatSanCo (Water Sanitation Committee), 7 members, 50% female, trained by local government with our technical and financial support to maintain the well, monitor the Defecation Free Zone surrounding each water point, and ensures the fencing around the scheme is maintained. The committee learns the 10 component parts of the pumping mechanism and how to repair the well. The tricky part is providing access to spare parts. Most GTLI projects supply WatSanCo with beginning inventory and a mechanism to purchase spare parts in the future. Currently, that funding mechanism is female goats whose offspring can be sold to purchase required parts. Even though the local government water office is mandated to maintain the wells, the challenges of transportation, communication and budget constraints appear insurmountable and so GTLI builds sustainability mechanisms into the beneficiary community.
Longevity of the water schemes:
When we began working in the area, less than 10% of the 129 water schemes in the woreda (area of approx 2,000 sq. km) were functioning. NGOs (non-government organizations) and local gov’t bodies constructed wells but because mechanisms were not created to sustain the wells, after a short time new wells become non-functional. Unfortunately, organizations tend to construct new water schemes, not refurbish existing water schemes! GTLI is working hard to reverse the trend.
Over the past two years, GTLI has constructed and/or refurbished 26 water schemes – and all of them are functioning. Of course, we still work in the area and constantly check-in and support each WatSanCo. Our long-term goal is to increase Hamar people’s resilience to climate change and encroaching agri-business, which will allow our 13,000 beneficiaries time to gain confidence, resources and skills to maintain their schemes while GTLI is available to “lend a helping hand.”

Monday, March 12, 2012

Field Update


February 25, 2012 was a red letter day for GTLI. US Ambassador, Donald Booth and his wife Anita, and USAID/Ethiopia Chief of Mission, Thomas Staal, spent the day with GTLI, elders and pioneer women of Wonga Bayno and Minogelti. They travelled many hours on bumpy, dusty roads to see firsthand the difference projects supported by you (either as a US taxpayer, a Rotarian, or private donor). When asked if their expectations had been met – everyone replied “Met and Exceeded – one of the most amazing days ever experienced in the field!” which is quite the testimonial because these people have seen a lot!!!
The women’s cooperative of Minogelti performed an incredible drama, depicting what they have learned in school and healthy hygiene/sanitation behavior training.


Gulu Bola, the chairman of the cooperative is now working as a paid GTLI community mobilizer, in the neighboring community of Itu, teaching CBLA (healthy hygiene/sanitation) behavior, funded by Rotary International.  Two years ago, Gulu overcame death threats to attend school! A mighty, courageous pioneer woman

Kadja Elu has received elder permission along with 14 other community members to teach CBLA in remote communities as a GTLI mobilizer, funded by USAID/OFDA thru IRC (Int’l Rescue Committee). Another innovative first!

Anita Booth shows her loving gratitude to the Women’s Cooperative of Minogelti.


Following the ceremony, Ambassador and Mrs. Booth distributed candy to the children from the rural trading center funded by US Embassy of Ethiopia and supported by the WA Rotary clubs of Bainbridge Island, Tacoma 8, Tumwater, Kingston, Poulsbo, Seattle 4, Kirkland, and MN Rotary clubs of Duluth 25 and Northfield.

Many other activities these past three weeks:
1.  Clean water and healthy hygiene/sanitation for 7,200 people project launched.
  • Five community mobilizers, 2 sanitarians, 1 water engineer were hired and trained in CBLA
  • Fifteen Hamar “Ergas” (people who make things easy for others – wonderful Hamar word!) have been hired and trained to assist with this project
  • Refurbishment of 15 water schemes has begun
  • Duluth 25 Rotary, Proctor MN DECA students are raising $28,000 to make this emergency relief project sustainable (funds combined with Boeing GCC grant). Psst . . . they need to find $6,000. 

 2.  Grand opening celebration of the beautiful – built to last over 100 years – school in Wonga Bayno, thanks to the generosity and hard work of Peter Seiler.

3.  New grant proposal was submitted (1 minute before the deadline, much, much too close!!) which will provide the basis for integrated programming over the next few years. Please send prayers and positive energy to make this grant become a reality.

4.  As well as our current Rotary Itu/Galcide project (healthy hygiene/sanitation and clean water for 1,090 people) and USAID project (healthy hygiene/sanitation and clean water for 3,700 people) and Rotary Self-Reliance thru Small Business continue implementation. Send energy for this as well – so much going on. . .
Our biggest challenge right now: mobilizing a reliable water contractor to construct two shallow-drilled wells.  Know anybody??

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

February Field Update


Much to share - many activities in the field are starting to produce exciting results.

Three rotary clubs (Edina MN, Kirkland WA and Snoqualmie Valley WA) have joined forces with several kind individuals and are now supporting Hamar orphans. Ilu Orgo’s smile says it all. When I met her 4 months ago, her solemn stare was heart-wrenching. Now – her hugs and kisses fill my heart with joy.
Ilu Orgo, female, age approximately 5 is anxious to move to our camp in Wonga Bayno.

The elders of Wonga Bayno have said “yes.” They agree we can raise orphans (traditionally considered to bring misfortune to the tribe) in their community. This is a gigantic first step.

Still needed: adequate funding to eradicate the practice of child abandonment in Hamar.

It’s very encouraging to see the outcomes of “Self-Reliance thru Small Business” grant funded by 11 Rotary clubs, 4 districts and Wolfgang Seiler estate:
The school is finished and students are learning Amharic and English. Unfortunately, since female attendance is directly connected to bead-making, when production slowed down to match sales, female school attendance decreased.

Beading is ramping up, in preparation of 2012 sales; so once again, young girls are coming to school.

Chicken farming is in full-swing in Wonga Bayno. Under the watchful eye of Gedion, Livelihood Coordinator, our chickens acclimated to the wind and heat of Wonga Bayno, 40 adults proved they use pit latrines; attended school; built chicken coops and 10 days ago, received 5 chickens each.  They also participated in an egg-eating feast!  Eggs are new to the Hamar diet.

Seyu Elu is a model woman. She is active in Wonga Bayno’s women cooperative, is a community leader in Hygiene and sanitation training, and now is a chicken farmer. She’s one of my close friends.
Efforts to perfect goat-skin tanning are being led by the builder of our school and benefactor, Peter Seiler. If we can tan the goat skins locally, Hamar have potential to earn good money. We are still in the “figuring out stage.”

Creating lye out of ashes to easily remove fur is in the experimentation stage. Currently, four strong men alternate scraping the skin for three evenings.

Next step: making the skin supple WHILE eliminating all odor.
The Women’s Cooperative of Minogelti is actively buying and selling products for their rural trading center.
They recently gave our field purchaser, Bayu Ferede, 7,000 birr ($405) to take to Addis Ababa to purchase a list of items. This is a huge step – selling product, saving money, planning what/how much to buy.

Learning to speak Amharic and do simple calculations at the FAL (Functional Adult Literacy) school made this possible (and funding from the US Embassy of Ethiopia).

We are still waiting for the 3rd shallow well drilling contractor who has promised to drill the final two shallow drilled wells currently under contract – many promises but no performance. The still to be constructed wells are in Itu, Minogelti (funded by Rotary) and Bala, Wonga Bayno (funded by USAID.) Fortunately, we still have plenty of time to construct these wells, but it is frustrating, to say the least.

AMAZING NEWS:

GTLI has just been awarded a grant from USAID/OFDA to refurbish 15 water schemes and train 7,200 people in healthy hygiene/sanitation behavior. The challenge is to accomplish this in 4 months.

Our strategy: employ Hamar ergas (community facilitators) who have developed leadership skills while participating in our previous CBLA (Community-based Learning in Action) hygiene/sanitation projects and facilitate Hamar teaching Hamar.

Meet Lingo Askar. He is the leader of the Household Inspection Team in Aldo, Wonga Bayno. He’s committed to healthy hygiene/sanitation behavior, regularly lectures other community members on the importance of pit latrine usage, and is now one GTLI’s newest community workers.
Lingo and 14 other Hamar men and women (yes, WOMEN) will spend the next four months working in 15 communities promoting healthy hygiene/sanitation behavior. 

The opportunity for “uneducated rural Hamar adults” to be employed as Hygiene/Sanitation experts AND earn money will benefit Hamar in countless ways.

We are incredibly excited and honored to be a part of this transformation!!

Hamar community members (male & female) employed to teach other Hamar outside their community healthy hygiene/sanitation behavior.

“Helping Hamar Help Themselves” is becoming a reality!!



Monday, January 30, 2012

Practicing What I Preach


My family, friends and colleagues often hear me talk about my personal goal to become an endless source of Love, Peace and Harmony. NOTE: this is a very slow, bumpy work-in-process... 
 
My first work week back in Addis was cut short by Timkit (Epiphany), an elaborate celebratory time for Ethiopian Orthodox Christians. The empty field, ½ block from my house in Addis, is a popular gathering spot for numerous local churches. Try to imagine, religious music and preaching broadcast non-stop for over 40 hours, so loud it is difficult to hear a normal speaking voice.  Being a person who combats mental fatigue with quiet solitude, I find Timkit challenging.

At 3AM the second night, while reflecting on the meaning of Love, Peace and Harmony, I had my own “epiphany” I’d like to share:
Love = facilitating the discovery process of JOY, HAPPINESS for others
Peace= empathically understanding needs, concerns, belief system of others (which requires TOLERANCE)
Harmony= collaboration, balance, respectful co-existence
My take-away:
1.     Timkit celebration is a good opportunity for me to practice “tolerance”
2.     AND, the Hamar are experts at Harmony. Collaborating and sharing with others are “knee-jerk” reactions for them. During these past four years, I have never witnessed one Hamar ignoring the needs of a neighbor.

I’d love to hear your thoughts...

Monday, January 23, 2012

Biggest Event Since Elton John Concert!


That’s the buzz in northern MN regarding the upcoming “Do YOU have what it Takes?” competition on Saturday, February 11, in Duluth MN, sponsored by Drops of Hope.

Drops of Hope is a group of high school students and business advisors from Duluth MN who have partnered with the Rotary Club of Duluth and GTLI to bring clean water to Hamar people of Ethiopia. www.whatittakes.us
 

These wonderful young people from Proctor, MN’s DECA club have organized an amazing “Have Fun, Do Good” fundraising extravaganza. On February 11, the “best” singing and/or dance groups from 46 high schools in northern MN will compete for top honors. All proceeds from the event will go directly to GTLI clean water projects in Hamarland.
 
And, watch out “Guinness Book of World Records,” another world’s record is about to be smashed. On 18 February, thousands of hardy Minnesotans are gathering to create over 5,100 SNOW ANGELS!  Providing even more “Hope for Hamar.”

I always knew MN was a special place. Of course, I’m biased. It’s my birthplace (Mahnomen, MN) as well as my 3 children and 3 grandchildren.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

2 Suitcase = 4 Months


One of the questions asked during my last lecture in the states was, “Have you packed any items in suitcases Americans might find unusual?” My reply was, “I still need to pack and can’t remember what I am supposed to take!”  As is often the case during my two month in the states, “stuff” is accumulated in a closet and at the last minute, packed.

This trip, the contents included:

Approx weight
Notes
200 clown noses
Not much but bulky
Make believe fun items
Candles
20#
Dark nights with no electricity
Food items
5#
Almonds, tea, Balance bars
Beading supplies
30#
Wire cutters, crimpers, misc supplies for IGA program
Toys for orphans
10#
Books, wood animals, Qwirkle board game
Personal items
20#

Gifts & office supplies
10#


Early trips included multiple tents, tools to fix vehicles, medical supplies, etc. The load varies each trip.

There is much to accomplish before I return in early May.  WASH (water, sanitation hygiene) project for 6,000 people is in full swing and a new project for an additional 7,200 scheduled to start by February 1; our new primary and adult literacy school’s grand opening will be in February; microenterprise projects in chicken farming, beading, goat skin tanning and vegetable gardening are ramping up; 8 “mingi” orphans need to be moved into a better facility; and funding for the Mother Child Health program and Abandoned children (Mingi) project needs to be secured.

Meanwhile, activities in the USA and Europe are expanding as well: our wonderful volunteers sold record number of Hamar shikinee (beaded products); 7 Rotary clubs and a Seratoma club have indicated interest in our Mingi project to date; the first outcome of GTLI-Carleton College relationship, African studies, featuring Hamar and GTLI’s work, will be tested in a Northfield, MN middle school this spring; Martha Paas, GTLI’s newest Board member, is spear-heading fund-raising in MN and Christine Walsh is keeping us organized. And, thanks to Nemer Fieger and Michelle Schindler, our just released 2011 Annual Report is now available on the web:  Annual Report

Stayed tuned for weekly updates with new photos – my New Year’s resolution!

Monday, January 9, 2012

Wayne Eddy Affair | Lori Pappas


Today Wayne interviews Lori Pappas Founder & Executive Director of Global Team for Local Initiatives.  Lori spends over six months a year in Africa working with the Hamar Tribe of southwest Ethiopia she shares her stories of building a school to educate the Hamar women, as well as the trials of teaching the people basic hygiene and sanitation as preventative illness practices.

Lori ‘s background is as a specialist in strategic planning who has served as a strategy consultant, turnaround consultant and executive vice-president of a multinational software company. A successful software entrepreneur as well, Pappas is the founder of JobBOSS Software Inc., a developer of software packages for the manufacturing industry.

Lori Pappas, NGO Ethiopia, Global Team for Local Initiatives, Public Talk at Carleton

“The Magic of Yes: Stepping Beyond Fear and Embracing the New,” an illustrated, exciting, compelling and immediate talk about global outreach and Lori Pappas’ work in Ethiopia. Sponsored by the Economics department and The Humanities Center at Carleton.

Date: Tuesday, January 10th, 2012
Time: 7:00 pm
Duration: 1 hour
Location: Weitz Center 236
Contact: Nikki Lamberty, The Humanities Center, x4217

Check out GTLI’s website
Click here to listen to the show!

Listen in to the Wayne Eddy Affair every weekday. Monday through Thursday, 9:00-11:00 a.m. Fridays from 9:30-11:00 a.m.

Friday, December 9, 2011

Learning in Hamarland . . . a whole different ballgame


Here in America, when we want to increase our chances for promotion, assume additional responsibilities, have new experiences, we have options. We can enroll in night classes, take an on-line course or participate in a convenient workshop.  It’s much more difficult in Hamarland.


First, you have to get to class . . . which means cross the Keske river.

Even though this area is experiencing severe drought, rains in the highlands cause havoc in the lowlands. Flooding of the sandy river beds is unexpected and deadly. I’ve seen many large Isuzu trucks severely damaged when trying to cross the Keske River, pictured above. Several weeks ago, while I was driving our vehicle, it sank up to its front axle and had to be pulled out by an Isuzu truck AND pushed by 5 strong young men.


Workshops must be held in daylight, as there is no electricity. Be prepared to be crowded, table space and chairs are limited.


All the materials are in a non-native language, unfamiliar concepts are presented and participatory discussion is expected.


But, at the end of four days, you are incredibly happy that you had the opportunity to learn.

GTLI staff recently participated in a 4-day workshop in Turmi, the market town, 30km from our field camp, across the Keske river, conducted by Keith Aulick and Rufael Fassil of FHI 360.

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

We planted 250 orange flesh sweet potatoes in May in our demonstration garden in Hamar.We are hopeful this will be a viable option for nutrition.

Nutrition: A Sweet Potato a Day...