Project Gonaives was featured in the February 2009 issue of NEED Magazine, a photo-journalist magazine dedicated to global and domestic humanitarian issues.
CLICK HERE to read the full article.
CLICK HERE to listen to interviews with Marc Young, HODR International Operations Director, and volunteers Paul Hammond and Bill & Laura Allen.
CLICK HERE to view NEED’s ‘Shoveling Out Haiti’ photo gallery.
After an unprecedented six weeks on the ground, Marc, John, and I have decided to conclude our activities in Sichuan and announce no HODR deployment here in China.
Although we found communities with needs well-matched to HODR’s strengths and met many incredible generous, insightful, appreciative people, we are unable to operate with reasonable confidence of sustained government permission. As we noted several times in our assessment updates, NGOs are a nascent community in China, and the foundations for effective work are currently being established through the experiences of several domestic and international NGO pioneers in China. Additionally, the Chinese government has done an incredible job at responding to this event.
We have a commitment to provide a stable base and transparent operations to our volunteers, and we simply are not able to do that in China at this time. We looked at several options of modifying our model to allow us to support earthquake survivors in some capacity, but ultimately decided that we would be unable to meet our dual goals of providing tangible assistance to a community in need as well as the unique volunteer experience that makes HODR what it is.
For a more personal look at our experiences here in China, please visit the HODR blog. Marc, John, and I have all posted our perspectives on the assessment.
If you’re looking for a way to plug in with HODR, please consider joining Project Cedar Rapids, currently operating in Iowa, USA. We’ve extended the project until August 1, 2008 and your support is much appreciated!
And so, after 135 individual contacts, 52 organization/business contacts, 51 meetings, 26 government office visits, and 27 site assessments, we leave China. Until next time, zai jen!
Stefanie Chang
John Hancock
Marc Young
CHINA: Sichuan Earthquake Assessment Team
After 4 weeks in China, we are simultaneously:
1. Strengthening our relationship with our targeted project sites
2. Working towards securing permission to launch
The centralized bureaucracy and lack of a Chinese precedent for organizing NGOs, especially in a disaster context, adds to the challenge of this assessment.
Along with making connections with Chinese NGOs, we’ve also branched out our site assessments. John made the 10 hour trip to Bazhong, a cluster of rural villages built with mud brick construction on the very edge of Sichuan province. We’ve also followed reports on the situation in Gansu province from iboughtashelter.com, where they are now on the ground.
Operations director Marc Young will join me in Beijing this week for a round of higher level meetings, while John continues to pursue our connections in Chengdu. We’re planning a two-week push to try to move forward in both of our goals; thanks to our patient volunteers and supporters for your continued enthusiasm!
Due to the restrictive operating environment for foreign NGOs in China, we’ve shifted our strategy to finding a partner Chinese organization, with whom we can launch a response project open to both foreign and Chinese volunteers.
The past few days have been filled with meetings with various local and national Chinese NGOs and foundations. We present the work that HODR has done in other countries and how we can be effective in similar ways in Sichuan. The HODR model is very different from current NGO activities in China and so skepticism yields to curiosity, which turns into genuine interest in the opportunities we can create.
We plan to spend the next week establishing these partnerships. The operating environment in China is completely different from any country that we’ve worked in before, so these next steps are critical in determining whether a volunteer deployment is possible or not.
John Hancock
Project Coordinator
New assessment photos are now here!
On Sunday we joined iboughtashelter.com for their test build in Baiguocun, a village that has only a quarter of the tents it needs for its population of 2500 people. The fun, chaotic build was an amazing taste of what it’d be like to work in China. Men, women, and children pitched in, villagers showed up with all varieties of obscure and ancient tools which worked far better than our shiny new shovels and pickaxes, and we had as much of a workout from laughing as from erecting the durable, community-approved shelter!
We’ve narrowed down the list of villages that we’re interested in working in and are now trying to secure official permission to launch our volunteer base. While the lack of NGO infrastructure in China makes it challenging to receive such approval, we strongly believe that there are tangible, immediate ways that HODR volunteers can make an impact in the small villages affected by the quake.
John and I will split the rest of this week between scouting villages and obtaining permission to work in the area. We’re still optimistic that we can make a definitive project announcement by the end of this week. Thanks so much for your support; we’ll post again soon!
Stefanie Chang
Assessment Team Lead
It’s been a busy week here in Chengdu! Click here for a first look at the assessment, currently in progress.
Immediately upon arriving on Sunday, I met with reps from IFRC and Sichuan Quake Relief, a well-coordinated local expat relief effort. I’ve also made connections with a range of NGOs and local Chinese groups, all of whom have launched initial assessments in the affected areas.
Since Wednesday, I’ve been in the field visiting the areas around An Xian, Mianyang, and Mianzhu. In smaller villages with older construction, the devastation is complete – 90% to 95% of homes are collapsed or unlivable. John arrived on Thursday night and we’ve continued to assess and identify potential locations where HODR may be able to work. We’re amazed and touched by the gratitude and hospitality of the people we meet, who face such difficult circumstances yet always smile and shake our hands. Jodie, one of our invaluable local guides, said “In China, it is everyone’s dream just to have their own house. For so many people, now this is gone.”
The government is working hard to meet the shelter needs of people from the worst affected areas. A massive temporary housing operation is underway, with modular houses springing up in vast blocks in government-prepared lots. Local leaders have a strong understanding of the needs in their communities.
I feel confident that we’ll be able to reach a decision whether HODR can announce a volunteer project by the end of next week. Thank you for your interest and support; please continue to check back for updates!
Stefanie Chang
Assessment Team Lead
Stefanie Chang has been on the ground in China for 48 hours. In Beijing, she met with Anne Halvorson from the iboughtashelter.com group who shared first person insight on how things are currently proceeding. HODR volunteer Kirsty (Project Rayenda/Bangladesh) was present in Beijing prior to the earthquake, and debriefed Stefanie on a UN coordination meeting that took place earlier this week.
Stefanie is currently in Chengdu and has met with IFRC and Sichuan Quake Relief, a volunteer expat group which has been channeling relief directly to quake-affected areas. Initial information sounds encouraging in that the government response has been well-coordinated, and there is overwhelming interest among the Chinese and expat populations to volunteer.
The assessment team will double this coming Friday when John Hancock (Project Pisco/Peru, Project Rayenda/Bangladesh) is scheduled to arrive in China.
We are attempting to gather as much information as we can about the NGO and government response. We hope to determnine soon if the type of assistance that HODR can provide is needed and would be accepted.
We will continue to update you as information becomes available.