{"id":5765,"date":"2008-10-21T03:38:56","date_gmt":"2008-10-21T00:38:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/?p=5765"},"modified":"2008-10-21T10:55:16","modified_gmt":"2008-10-21T07:55:16","slug":"near-east-foundation-celebrates-90th-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/2008\/10\/21\/near-east-foundation-celebrates-90th-year\/","title":{"rendered":"NEAR EAST FOUNDATION CELEBRATES 90th YEAR;"},"content":{"rendered":"
Merhaba Sukru Bey,<SSaya@superonline.com><\/span><\/div>\n
Bugun aksam American Turkis Society ve Turkish Coalition of America’n ortaklasa dozenledigi konferansa gidecegim. Aksam gec vakit Istanbul’a donecegim, Londra’da butun gun kaldikdan sonra.<\/span><\/div>\n
Near East Foundation web sayfasindan bazi bolumleri gonderiuorum, Armenian genocide’la basliyor.<\/span><\/div>\n

YUKSEL OKTAY [mailto:yukseloktay@verizon.net] <\/span><\/p>\n

—————————————————————<\/p>\n

Founded during Armenian Genocide<\/strong>
\nNEAR EAST FOUNDATION CELEBRATES 90th YEAR;
\nFIRST U.S. INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATION;
\nPIONEER OF AMERICAN PHILANTHROPY ABROAD
\n\u201cNEF@90: Celebrating Development; Honoring
\nPhilanthropy\u201d is the theme of this year\u2019s
\ncommemoration of the 90th anniversary year of the
\nNear East Foundation (NEF), which was founded as
\nNear East Relief in 1915 in urgent response to the
\nArmenian genocide and deportations and in the process
\npioneered international humanitarian assistance. A
\nseries of celebratory events is being planned throughout
\nthe year, highlighted by a gala banquet to take place
\nSeptember 21 in New York City.
\nDuring World War I, the Near East Foundation is
\ncredited with saving a million lives of Armenians,
\nAssyrians, Arabs, Persians and others in the region,
\namong them 132,000 orphans. Many an Armenian can
\ntrace their lives or those of their parents and
\ngrandparents back to Near East Relief orphanages and
\ncamps. NEF\u2019s rescue mission and relief operation
\nduring war and subsequent reconstruction work in its
\naftermath employed techniques that reverberated
\nthrough the following decades and are employed to this
\nday. NEF\u2019s approach created the models for the
\nMarshall Plan, Truman\u2019s Point-4 Program, the Peace
\nCorps, the US Agency for International Development
\n(USAID) and the United Nations Development
\nProgram.
\nCommented NEF President Ryan A. LaHurd, Ph.D.,
\n\u201cWhile the Near East Foundation has an extraordinary
\nrecord of past accomplishments, we remain on the
\ncutting-edge of practice today. Currently we are at
\nwork in a wide range of development projects in a
\ndozen countries of the Middle East and Africa, carrying
\nout this organization\u2019s historic mission–\u2018To help people
\nthe people of the Middle East and Africa build the
\nfuture they envision for themselves.\u2019\u201d
\nCorroborating that view, last year NEF received the
\nprestigious Arab Gulf Programme for United Nations
\nDevelopment Organizations (AGFUND) International
\nPrize for Pioneering Development Projects for 2004,
\nfor enhancing nursing as a career in Upper Egypt.
\nAnnounced in Riyadh, the award came as a result of a
\ncompetition with 83 projects from 32 countries on
\nthree continents.
\nAlso, the Near East Foundation received the 2004
\nFreedom Award, the highest recognition granted by the
\nArmenian National Committee of America for the
\norganization\u2019s \u201clongstanding history of aiding the
\nArmenian people and others in their darkest hours.\u201d In
\nFebruary of this year, NEF was among those honored,
\nand NEF\u2019s President delivered the keynote address, at
\nthe \u201cInternational Relief, Refuge, and Recognition\u201d
\nluncheon sponsored by The Armenian Assembly of
\nAmerica, The Armenian General Benevolent Union,
\nand The Western Diocese of the Armenian Church of
\nNorth American to honor Near East Foundation\u2019s
\nhumanitarian response to the Armenian Genocide.
\nFurther recognition came in the 2003 museum
\nexhibition, \u201cNear East\/New York: The Near East
\nFoundation and American Philanthropy,\u201d of 300
\nphotographs and objects from the Near East
\nFoundation archive chronicling its early work. The
\nshow debuted at the Museum of the City of New York
\nin Manhattan, and has subsequently toured this past
\nwinter to the Doheny Memorial Library at the
\nUniversity of Southern California. It will next be on
\nview at the Armenian Library and Museum of America
\nin Watertown, Massachusetts, opening April 24, the
\ncommemorative date of the Armenian Genocide. In
\n2004 NEF\u2019s history and its current work in Morocco
\nand Egypt were featured in two, half-hour, television
\nprograms, produced for \u201cThe Visionaries,\u201d a series on
\n\u201cphilanthropies that make a difference\u201d broadcast
\nnationally on PBS.
\nORIGINS
\nNEF was created in response to an alarming cable from
\nAmerican Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire Henry
\nMorgenthau to the U.S. Secretary of State stating that
\nthe Turkish \u201cdestruction of the Armenian race is
\nprogressing rapidly,\u201d and it was urgent that something
\nbe done. Within two weeks a group of civic, business
\nand religious leaders, led by Cleveland H. Dodge,
\nformed a committee, mostly comprised of distinguished
\nNew Yorkers, to rescue over a million people caught up
\nin the tragedy. Dodge\u2019s grandson, David S. Dodge, still
\nserves the Near East Foundation, having been for many
\nyears the chair of its board of directors. He is
\nrepresentative of the intergenerational commitment of
\nmany of the founding families and their ongoing
\nfinancial support through the years.
\nThe volunteer committee quickly met its $100,000 goal,
\nthanks to donations from those early board members.
\nBy 1919 the committee was chartered by Congress and
\ndesignated the primary channel for U.S. postwar aid to
\nthe region. From 1915 to 1930, Near East Relief raised
\n$110 million for refugees\u2014that is about $1.25 billion in
\ntoday\u2019s dollars\u2014including $25 million in in-kind food
\nand supplies. This remarkable outpouring occurred at a
\ntime when bread cost a nickel a loaf.
\nMore than one million people had been rescued from
\ncertain death by starvation and exposure. Some 12
\nmillion people had been fed, and at one point between
\n1919-20, an average of 333,000 people were fed daily.
\nForty hospitals were built. Over 130,000 children were
\nhoused, fed and taught in orphanages and provided
\nwith medical care. One of these Armenian children was
\nPhoebe Kapikian, who thinking back to her memories
\nof being a two-and-a-half year old in the village of Sivas
\nrecalled only \u201cconfusion\u2026driven out\u2026groups with
\nbundles on their backs of things that belonged in the
\nhouse going on ahead\u202660-70 children left behind and I
\nwas clinging all the time to my older sister Ashan\u2026a
\nlong, hard journey\u2026.\u201d
\nShe was piled into one of the many carriages hired to
\nrescue abandoned orphans and taken to the Island of
\nSyra. \u201cThe buildings already were in construction. We
\nwere taken care of very well by the Near East
\nFoundation. We would rise on time, wash our faces.
\nThere was plenty of water. They tested every child for
\nhis or her capacity of how much they could read and
\nwrite. So we had to go to school and we had food,\u201d she
\nexplained, recalling her years at the orphanage.
\nNearing the age of 10, she was chosen to join a group
\nof children being sent to England, later joining her older
\nsister in America–thanks to the tireless efforts of
\nKatharine Reynolds McCormick, an philanthropist who
\ntraveled the United States lecturing about the plight of
\norphans, raising funds and finding homes. \u201cShe was a
\nmother for all that she did for me and my sister too,\u201d
\nsaid Miss Kapikian in an interview shortly before her
\ndeath in 2004 after a rich life and career as a librarian in
\nQueens, New York.
\nVery early in the relief effort attention focused on
\nhelping the rescued orphans to become self-supporting
\nand contributing members of the communities that
\nabsorbed them. Both in its orphanages and in foster
\ncare homes under NEF auspices, attention shifted to
\nteaching agriculture and industrial skills, primarily at
\nNEF demonstration centers. A generation of poultry
\nraisers, dairymen, mechanics, shipbuilders, cabinet
\nmakers, masons, shoemakers, tailors and nurses grew up
\nand moved out into their adopted countries. Thus
\nNEF moved beyond relief to become the first true
\ninternational development organization.
\nIn the Middle East, NEF became a symbol of American
\ngenerosity and a prototype for the Peace Corps, besides
\nits work with orphans, providing medical aid to six
\nmillion patients. NEF was the vehicle for service to the
\nregion by hundreds of American volunteers\u2014doctors,
\nnurses, teachers, social workers. In short, NEF
\nprovided hope, home, training and education to a
\ngeneration \u201cwithout a childhood.\u201d NEF saved the
\nremnants of Armenians, helping resettle them in
\nArmenia, Lebanon, Syria, Cyprus, Greece and the
\nUnited States; and helped rescue other wartime victims
\nincluding Assyrians, Greeks, Turks and Kurds. NEF
\nwas at work in Armenia, Turkey, Persia, Lebanon, Syria,
\nPalestine, Egypt and the Caucasus.
\nPHILANTHROPY
\nAn unsurpassed achievement at the time and
\nremarkable even today, all this was accomplished by
\npioneering philanthropic techniques which continue to
\nbe used today. Among the innovations, NEF produced
\na series of compelling posters created by top American
\nillustrators. Their national fundraising campaign feature
\nMadison Avenue-style slogans like \u201cHunger Knows No
\nArmistice\u201d and \u201cClear Your Plate\u2014Remember the
\nStarving Armenians.\u201d NEF Bundle Days encouraged
\nAmericans to send used clothing overseas, which they
\ndid\u2014by the tons. Celebrities became spokespersons.
\nChild-actor Jackie Coogan spearheaded the NEF Milk
\nCampaign; and cans of condensed milk were collected
\nat screenings of his films at movie theaters around the
\ncountry. He even visited the region, traveling on a
\n\u201cmilk ship\u201d out of New York. Americans were urged
\nto \u201cadopt and orphan,\u201d being told \u201c$60 a year cares for
\na child.\u201d On International Golden Rule Sunday, families
\nacross the country ate a simple orphanage meal and
\ndonated the equivalent cost of their average Sunday
\ndinner. Based on population, each American town and
\ncity was asked to contribute. President Woodrow
\nWilson issued proclamations and wrote endorsement
\nletters.
\nThe lingering impact of NEF fundraising is evident in
\ntoday\u2019s attention-grabbing graphics on through celebrity
\nendorsements. And the Milk Campaign continues as
\nwell. Twenty tons of milk were distributed by the Near
\nEast Foundation to malnourished children in the West
\nBank from December 2003 to early May of 2004. Since
\nthen milk, cheese and other local dairy products were
\ndelivered to the families of 836 children enrolled in all
\n17 kindergartens in the cluster of West Bank villages
\nnorth of Nablus, where NEF currently is at work on a
\nrange of development projects.
\nForty tons of water, much of it to be mixed with
\npowdered milk for children, were trucked to Baghdad
\nby NEF at the height of the Iraq war along an
\nextremely dangerous route during U.S. bombings. Also
\ndespite extreme risk to humanitarian personnel, NEF
\ndelivered 50 sheep to the Abou Shashir refugee camp in
\nDarfur, Sudan, for the special occasion of the recent
\nEid Al-Adha celebrations. For a brief time, despair in
\nthe camp lifted and life seemed almost normal for
\npeople who feel preyed upon by all sides. NEF was the
\nonly non-Islamic, Western agency participating in the
\nfeast with the local people of Darfur. An NEF
\nshipment of medicines and blankets followed.
\nFROM RELIEF TO DEVELOPMENT
\nWhile providing emergency relief in these
\ncircumstances, the Near East Foundation has been a
\nforce for the human and economic development of the
\nregion since 1930, when it had successfully completed
\nits refugee activities. NEF aimed for long-term change,
\nparticularly attending to vocational education and
\nagriculture, including experimental projects and
\ninstruction in raising sheep, poultry and cattle and the
\nuse of fertilizer\u2019s, seeds and mechanized farm
\nequipment. NEF had become America\u2019s first
\ninternational development agency, teaching people skills
\nthat could permanently improve their lives. The idea
\nexpressed in the saying, \u201cgive a man a fish and he will
\neat for a day; teach him to fish and he will eat for a
\nlifetime\u201d became NEF\u2019s watchword.
\n\u201cNEF\u2019s approach has had far-reaching significance and
\nhas impacted foreign aid programming for the past half
\ncentury,\u201d according to Dr. Linda Jacobs, a Middle
\nEastern archeologist and current chair of the NEF
\nboard of directors. Dr. Jacobs previously was a
\nmember of the NEF staff. The Jacobs Family
\nFoundation, set up by her parents Dr. Joseph and
\nViolet Jabara Jacobs, has been a long-time generous
\nsupporter of NEF\u2019s work, and her mother is NEF\u2019s
\nlargest individual donor. The Jacobses represent yet
\nanother example of the intergenerational commitment
\nof many NEF supporters through the years.
\n4
\n\u201cToday this approach is termed \u2018self help,\u2019\u201d Dr. Jacobs
\ncontinued, \u201cbut NEF has been doing this since the
\n1920s and 1930s, decades before it became widespread
\npractice. And \u2018self help\u2019 remains a cornerstone on our
\ndevelopment work internationally to this day. In
\ndozens of programs we work at the grassroots where
\ntraining, technology and community-based
\norganizations touch people\u2019s lives.\u201d
\nThe NEF-American University of Beirut Institute of
\nRural Life and its specialists provided much of the
\nleadership in the post World War II Middle East in the
\nareas of education, economic development and health.
\nActivities ranged broadly from water purification and
\nsanitation improvements, to decreasing infant mortality
\nand introducing malaria control, to home and welfare
\ndemonstrations and small industries employing women,
\nto organizing schools and teacher training and
\ndeveloping rural cooperatives.
\nThe Near East Foundation\u2019s first experimental rural
\ndevelopment program was in Greece where they
\nworked in 48 villages on land donated by the Greek
\ngovernment. The program consisted of training in
\npractical farming adapted to local conditions, water
\nmanagement, basic education in literacy, and health
\nmaintenance. From the beginning the aim was to
\ndevelop local leadership and create programs which
\ncould carry on after NEF staff departed. Using this
\nMacedonian experiment, NEF\u2019s work spread eastward
\nto Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Iran. Just one case in
\npoint, in 1946 the Iranian government asked the Near
\nEast foundation to establish a rural improvement
\nprogram for 350 villages based upon their successful
\nMacedonian model. Four years later in 1950, President
\nTruman established the Point Four Program on
\ninternational aid modeled on NEF\u2019s work in Iran.
\n\u201cMany of the now standard ways of going about the
\nbusiness of international development,\u201d Dr. Jacobs
\ncommented, \u201ccan be traced back to the Near East
\nFoundation way before the 1960s cries of \u2018power to the
\npeople\u2019 and subsequent social movements. I cannot
\nemphasize this enough since it is an amazing fact given
\nthe prevalent paternalism or worse at the time.
\nPHILOSOPHY
\n\u201cFrom its earliest days the philosophy of the Near East
\nFoundation has been never to impose an agenda, never
\nto come into a community with preconceptions of what
\nis best, but to listen and learn about the needs from the
\npeople themselves, then get down to work and help,\u201d
\nshe continued. \u201cThe Near East Foundation has an
\nenviable record through the years of valuing the dignity
\nof people and respecting their opinions way before it
\nwas considered the preferred way to proceed,\u201d she
\nsummed up, concluding, \u201cAnd unfortunately many
\norganizations involved in similar work still remain
\npainfully remiss on this issue today.\u201d
\nHer opinion is reiterated by Steven W. Lawry, Ford
\nFoundation staff person who was former representative
\nfor that Foundation\u2019s Middle East and North Africa
\nprograms, based in Cairo. He had many opportunities
\nto observe NEF in action up close. According to
\nLawry: \u201cThe Near East Foundation has made
\nremarkable contributions toward alleviating human
\nsuffering over the many years since its founding. My
\nbelief is that NEF is best characterized as a humanistic
\norganization, dedicated to giving vulnerable
\ncommunities the capacity to shape sustainable solutions
\nto their own problems. Their staff are dedicated
\nprofessionals, highly trained and practiced in sociology,
\nagriculture, engineering, urban planning and other fields
\nrelevant to development and change.
\n\u201cBut they also understand the central importance of
\ngiving leadership to beneficiary communities in the
\ndesign and governance of development and change
\ninitiatives. Importantly, NEF staff member bring to
\ntheir work a profound respect for the dignity and
\nknowledge of those they wish to serve. This results in
\ninterventions and programs that build community social
\ncapital and better enable individuals and communities to
\nconstructively address their problems over the longterm.
\nIn short, I personally have had very rewarding
\nexperiences with the Near East Foundation and the
\nqualities of professionalism, service and imagination
\nthat characterize their work.\u201d
\n5
\nIn 1964 the Near East Foundation began working with
\nthe newly-independent African countries on agricultural
\ndevelopment, recruiting hundreds of technicians trained
\nin livestock improvement, water management, and
\nscientific crop improvement. As its work evolved, NEF
\nestablished a separate African Endowment Fund that by
\n1980 funded development of experimental projects in
\nnew areas. In the 1980s the Near East Foundation
\nresponded to the threat of famine in Mali with a
\nprogram that embraced livestock rehabilitation, village
\nseed and cereal banks, agricultural credit, literacy, and
\nsoil and water conservation. Even before the end of
\nLebanon\u2019s civil war, in 1988 NEF had launched a
\nvocational training initiative in that country, including
\nprojects to assist those disabled by the war to find
\nemployment.
\nIn the competition between population growth and
\nfood shortages in Africa and the Middle East,
\nthroughout the 1980s NEF continued to work on
\nagricultural improvement tailored to local conditions
\nand the strengthening of local institutions and
\ncommunities\u2014what historically they had been very
\ngood at accomplishing. Increasingly NEF worked in
\ncooperation with other donor agencies to implement
\nprojects ranging from beekeeping in Sudan and
\nSwaziland to community development projects in Egypt
\nand Jordan and seed and cereal banks in Mali.
\nIt was in Mali that Steve Lawry of the Ford Foundation
\nfirst became acquainted with the Near East Foundation.
\nHe was there supervising a University of Wisconsin
\nteam researching forest rights and management. \u201cThe
\nlocally-based NEF team asked us to help evaluate their
\nefforts to build an efficient, low-cost system for better
\nharvesting rainwater for agricultural and forestry
\npurposes. What we found was astounding,\u201d he still
\nsounds astounded to this day.
\n\u201cNEF staff had designed a simple water harvesting
\ntechnology based on surveying natural water run-off
\npatterns and constructing, with village volunteer labor,
\nlow-level earthen ridgelines that channeled water to
\ncultivated areas. The practice reduced stress to crops
\nand improved food security. It represented in
\nimportant ways an adoption and extension of traditional
\nand locally-familiar water conservation techniques.
\n\u2018However, traditional harvesting practices were limited
\nto individual farms, \u201c Lawry continued, \u201cTo successfully
\nextend the design to a larger water catchment area,
\nNEF helped community members work through a
\nnumber of complex questions around land tenure, water
\nrights and labor management. NEF staff worked with
\nintelligence and sensitivity at every level, the technical as
\nwell as the social, in helping shape an intervention that
\nyielded sustainable benefits and could be managed by
\nthe local community permanently.\u201d He remains an
\nNEF fan to this day and later, as the Ford Foundation
\nrepresentative for the Middle East and North Africa,
\nrecommended Ford funding for a variety of NEF
\nresearch and community development initiatives.
\nCENTER FOR DEVELOPMENT SERVICES
\nA major NEF milestone occurred in 1990 with the
\nestablishment of the Center for Development Services
\nin Cairo, with assistance from the Ford Foundation to
\nsupport their initiatives in community development.
\nThe center maintained that early focus on self-help in
\ndozens of programs and brought together a cadre of
\nprofessionals who could become a \u201cthink tank\u201d of
\npracticing development workers to refine techniques
\nand mentor local talent. Current projects range widely
\nfrom a number of local Egyptians initiatives on through
\nworking with street children to recover their lost
\npotential in five Arab countries and a six-country
\ninitiative on Islamic philanthropy.
\nLawry again: \u201cAfter working in the country for several
\nyears, NEF leadership had concluded that the most
\nenduring contribution it could make to Egypt would be
\nto help establish an Egyptian development support
\norganization, embodying many of NEF\u2019s own traditions
\nof professionalism and service, but bolstered by the
\nadded knowledge, experience and legitimacy that
\nEgyptian staff would bring to the fore over the longterm.\u201d
\nHe adds, \u201cIt is rare for international development
\norganizations to design initiatives with the explicit aim
\nof putting themselves out of business. But this was
\n6
\neffectively the goal of NEF in establishing the Center
\nfor Development Services as a resource for Egyptians
\nto struggle with complex problems on their own
\nterms,\u201d he continued, adding, \u201cThis initiative
\ndistinguishes, in my mind at least, NEF as a humanistic
\nas well as a technical assistance organization.\u201d
\nOne of those Egyptians was Montasser Kamal, a
\nmedical student 20 years ago at Cairo University when
\nhe first became associated with the Near East
\nFoundation\u2019s work in Egypt, and later at manager at the
\nCenter for Development Services. \u201cNEF has had a
\nprofound impact on my life,\u201d he states categorically,
\n\u201cwork ethos, team work, mutual respect and having an
\ninvestigative mind are all qualities which I gained while
\nat NEF, and which I carry with me to this day. As
\nNEF \u2018pushed the envelope,\u2019 its ethos was embraced by
\nits staff throughout their professional and even personal
\nlives and in turn by the communities where NEF
\nworked.\u201d Dr. Kamal also obtained a Ph.D. in medical
\nanthropology and is now with the World Health
\nOrganization.
\nHe elaborates further: \u201cNEF has without doubt come
\nto be one of the most influential institutions in the lives
\nof many disadvantaged people in Egypt and other
\ncountries of the Middle East. NEF also became
\ninfluential in my life and the lives of many other
\ndevelopment practitioners in the region. The influence
\nof NEF, however, cannot be attributed to the scale of
\nits financial resources, which was always modest.
\nRather, the influence can be attributed to the ability of
\nNEF\u2019s leadership to tackle key cutting-edge
\ndevelopment issues before they became \u2018flavor-of-themonth\u2019
\nand pursing them long after others were swayed
\naway from them because of their inherent challenges.
\n\u201cThe abilities to make timely decisions, charter new
\nstrategic directions, and create alliances have helped so
\nmany poor because, in part, these were qualities that
\ninspired new generations of professionals to enter the
\nfield of development,\u201d he believes.
\nIn 1991 NEF began working in Lesotho in southern
\nAfrica on a comprehensive rural development program
\nbased on the creation of a local non-governmental
\norganization called GROW. In 1993 an Appropriate
\nTechnology Training Center was established in
\nMorocco to promote technical alternatives for
\ndevelopment by rural women. That same year they
\nstarted a micro-credit program in the rural villages of
\nJordan.
\nPALESTINE
\nIn 1994 NEF enhanced its program in West
\nBank\/Gaza by supporting water resources with the
\nPalestinian Hydrology Group to help save some 400
\nsprings and ponds. Other programs included a
\ncommunity health unit at Birzeit University; specialized
\ntraining for United Nations Development Program
\npersonnel in multi-village development; technical
\nassistance to U.N.\u2019s Relief and Works Agency providing
\neducation, health and social service to 2.8 million
\nregistered Palestinian refugees in the West Bank, Gaza,
\nLebanon, Jordan and Syria; job creation and building up
\ntechnical expertise.
\n\u201cThe needs were enormous,\u201d commented Dr. Vartan
\nGregorian, president of the Carnegie Foundation, an
\nArmenian, long-time NEF supporter and member of its
\nInternational Council. \u201cIf Palestinian selfdetermination
\nand home rule had to become a reality; if
\nits economy had to be viable, its economic
\ninfrastructure had to be secured and strengthened.
\nHence NEF had established several important
\nprograms.\u201d
\nIn 1998 NEF expanded its urban development work in
\nsome of the poorest sections of Cairo, which in Ford\u2019s
\nLawry\u2019s opinion \u201cwere decisive in saving a low-income
\ncommunity in central Cairo from being forcibly
\nremoved to make way for historic conservation and
\ntourism projects.\u201d He says the Center for Development
\nServices demonstrated that the community, though
\npoor, was stable and had a variety of closely-knit
\neconomic and financial arrangements that created large
\nnumbers of service and small-scale manufacturing jobs.
\n\u201cImportantly, and perhaps ironically,\u201d he commented,
\n7
\n\u201cthe research also found that the volunteer efforts by
\ncommunity members had over the years been decisive
\nin saving many revered Islamic monuments from
\ncollapse, while wealthier groups had long-ago
\nabandoned the district for the suburbs.
\n\u201cThe Center\u2019s research findings were taken up by the
\nstaff members of the Aga Khan Foundation, who were
\nleading restoration efforts in the district, and used to
\nconvince Cairo local government authorities that
\ndisplacement would destroy vital social and economic
\nsupport networks and that the community should be
\nallowed to remain,\u201d he summed up.
\nWhile working at the Center Dr. Montasser saw NEF\u2019s
\npro-poor ethos and participatory modus operandi in
\ndevelopment in action, up front and personally. He
\ncredits NEF\u2019s approach with \u201csubstantially helping to
\nalleviate the suffering of poor women, men and children
\nin the region\u201d in both urban and rural areas\u2014and
\nimpacting the professional development community in
\nthe process. \u201cThe work of NEF in urban development,
\nin health programming, in local community
\ndevelopment and in economic development has helped
\nso many poor to stand up for their right and to become
\nsufficient,\u201d he says. \u201cNEF was there to see them
\nthrough and is still there to tap into these communities
\nas a resource to help others in need.
\n\u201cNEF works in many areas where poverty has alienated
\npeople and government apathy has left societies
\ndisenfranchised,\u201d he continued. \u201cIn the context of this
\nall too common picture in developing countries, the
\nextraordinary work of NEF was felt and will be felt for
\nmany years to come. The poor and underprivileged
\nwho have become independent and vocal; the women
\nwho are now more assertive and financially
\nindependent; the youth who are now working and are
\nfully engaged in the affairs of their community; and the
\nmen who are now more actively engaged in the
\ngovernance of the resources in their communities\u2014are
\nall extraordinary examples of how local development
\ncan change lives if done properly.
\n\u201cThrough gradual and sustained effort, profound
\nchanges in the lives of people NEF works with have
\ntaken place,\u201d he reaffirmed. \u201cFrom dependent,
\nexpected handouts with a sense of political
\nhopelessness, NEF has helped people to be
\nindependent active members of society who are socially
\nengaged in a process of change.
\n\u201cPerhaps one of the most extraordinary achievements
\nof NEF has been to bring the voice of the poor to
\npolicymakers,\u201d he added. \u201cIn the absence of
\ndemocratic processes, people\u2019s voices are often lost to
\nthe more powerful. That is not the case where NEF
\nworks. Where NEF works, people now know that
\npower is not a zero-sum game and that they have an ally
\nwho can help them bridge this power gap in various
\neffective and constructive ways. I remember the time I
\nwas working at NEF, when the concept of citizen
\nparticipation in development was paid lip-service at
\nbest. NEF had embarked on a change strategy by
\nwhich all its projects and programs had to demonstrate
\nthat they were participatory in nature. It was not easy.
\nIt is still not easy. But progress has been made, and
\nNEF has come to set the ground rules on how to
\nencourage participation and create the social sphere for
\nit take place.\u201d
\nCURRENTLY
\nToday the Near East Foundation continues to provide
\nqualified specialists to transfer technical skills and
\ntraining, leverages funding for projects with strong local
\nsupport, and extends its reach through inter-agency
\ncooperation. \u201cBeing the oldest, nation-wide,
\ninternational assistance organization in the United
\nStates gives us certain advantages,\u201d commented NEF
\nPresident LaHurd. \u201cWe have the history and
\nexperience that attracts a constantly-growing group of
\naffiliates and contacts as well as highly-qualified staff.
\nAnd with few exceptions they are all nationals from the
\ncountries in which they work.
\n\u201cSo we operate with a strong network of partners and
\nthe confidence and trust of local authorities\u2014right now
\nin 12 countries,\u201d Dr. LaHurd continued. \u201cOur Cairo
\nregional office and Center for Development Services
\nare both highly regarded in the Middle East in
\n8
\nparticular. That we are the largest publisher of
\ndevelopment materials in Arabic is just one of many
\nreasons we are so well respected.\u201d
\nAn up-to-the-moment report on the Near East
\nFoundation\u2019s current activities is available at their
\nwebsite www.neareast.org and detailed descriptions of
\ntheir projects country-by-country in their 2004 annual
\nreport also is online at the site. What is particularly
\nnoteworthy is how their successful approaches in one
\ncountry are replicated in others where they work. A
\ncase in point, the generation of supplemental income
\nfrom fish farming in irrigation ponds of poor farmers
\npioneered in the 1980s in Jordan and now expanding
\nwonderfully in the Jordan Valley\u2014going soon to Gaza
\nand Sudan when funding is available.
\nFor Abou Baker, a 60-year-old farmer in an agricultural
\ncommunity in the Gor Al-Safi district south of the
\nJordan Valley, fish farming brought in $700 last
\nNovember, a traditional down-season, increasing his
\nfamily income 15-20 percent. This was very important
\nto him, since he is getting older\u2026now 60; lost a leg
\nbecause of a landmine accident, has a family of 14 to
\nsupport on his small farm burdened by water shortages,
\nhigh production prices, and poor marketing. Abou
\nBaker was one of 25 small farmers who received
\nfingerlings, fish feed, and technical and financial
\nassistance when NEF initiative a fish farming program
\nin his area in 1999.
\nThen there is the Near East Foundation\u2019s pioneering
\nwork in micro-credit dating from long before it was chic
\nand used in many countries where NEF works, like
\nSudan. Here the so-called \u201cpopsicle lady\u201d lives, a
\nwidow with a family to support and doomed to beg in
\nthe streets\u2026until receiving her $200 NEF loan. She
\nbought a refrigerator with a freezer and every evening
\nfills small plastic bags with juice. Next morning she
\nheads to the nearby elementary school and sells them to
\nschool children at recess\u2014and supports her family. She
\nwas able to repay the loan in a year.
\nIn Jordan NEF\u2019s micro-credit activities have recently
\ntaken a new twist\u2014home improvement loans for the
\nurban poor. While in Lebanon, where NEF has had
\nlong-term involvement in landmine issues, they are now
\nproviding loans to disabled victims and their families
\nand caretakers. Like Abo Khalid, a blind man who used
\nhis $700 loan to furnish his small kiosk with goods\u2014
\ntea, newspapers, cigarettes, children\u2019s candies. His
\naverage monthly income of $300 helps feed his
\nchildren. Thanks to NEF-provided-credit, wheelchairbound
\nAli was able to establish a small maintenance
\nservice center for computers and electronic
\nequipment\u2014and a reputation for high quality work.
\nBoth have been freed from previous dependency on
\nothers, regained control over their lives, and become
\nfully productive members of society.
\nThe Near East Foundation also has particular expertise
\nin desert environments, both adapting agriculture to the
\nharsh conditions and desert reclamation, including 10
\nyears of research on trees best suited to Mali\u2019s Sahel,
\nultimately fruitful in every sense of the word. Now
\nNEF\u2019s involvement with reclaimed desert around
\nEgypt\u2019s Lake Nasser could in time become the largest
\nagricultural project NEF has ever undertaken in that
\ncountry.
\nSpeaking of large, the Near East Foundation has
\ncompleted planning and is now seeking funds for what
\ncould prove to be the most far-reaching initiative in
\nNEF\u2019s entire history of development work in Africa,
\ninvolving nine countries and over 100 million people. It
\nwould support local governance in West Africa\u2019s huge
\nNiger River Basin under severe environmental threat
\nand competing demands, building upon successful
\napproaches modeled in Mali since the 1980s.
\nNEF continues its investment in the people of the West
\nBank, most intensely involved in a cluster of villages
\nnorth of Nablus in a wide range of projects, from
\ntraumatized children and nutrition, to environmental
\nissues and community organization, to good drinking
\nwater and youth centers, even helping train two
\npromising Palestinian athletes bound for the Athens
\nOlympics.
\nIt is a particularly rewarding site to see kindergarteners
\nfrom the six participating West Bank communities
\nclapping their hands and bursting into grateful song
\nwhen they see the NEF team approaching to distribute
\ntheir packages of dairy products. Later, when group
\npictures were taken, the children held their milk cartons
\n9
\nhigh above their heads and loudly cheered. As the
\nmother of Sabreen from Ijnisniya put it: \u201cI feel so
\nhappy when I see my child drinking the milk, especially
\nthe chocolate-flavored\u2014she loves that kind. We put
\nthe cheese and yogurt in the fridge to eat later. I am so
\nhappy that we have these important foods for such a
\nprice. You know how bad our economic situation is
\nnowadays, and without this program, we could not get
\nthese milk products for our children.\u201d While there had
\nbeen some absenteeism in the kindergartens at the
\nbeginning of the school year, during the \u201cCup of Milk\u201d
\ndistribution date\u2014there was absolutely none.
\nIn over 70 villages in the Souss-Massa Dra\u2019a area of
\nsouthern Morocco where NEF has been working, in
\nliteracy alone, 92 percent of women participating say
\nthey have learned to read, and 72 percent can now add
\nand subtract and report using their skills regularly.
\nFifty-thousand people in southern Morocco\u2014women
\nin particular\u2014have gained new self-esteem, education
\nand income because of NEF\u2019s programs over the years.
\nWomen like Fatima Bouhassi from the village of
\nN\u2019Kob, who can now read and write, has completed
\nNEF-sponsored midwife training, and gathers all the
\nother village women in her house and shares everything
\nshe learns. Using innovative theater techniques, NEF
\npromoted Morocco\u2019s new and history Family Code that
\ntook effect last July, governing women\u2019s position in
\nsociety and status. With seven women playing various
\nroles for illustration and clarification, NEF field staff
\ndiscussed the new laws, particularly marriage, divorce,
\nchild custody and inheritance, with large groups of
\nvillage women. So unique, it got attention from the
\nBBC in news reports.
\nThe little white house at the GROW compound in
\nMokhotlong, home to NEF Lesotho country director
\nKen Storan, has some new visitors, named Hlompho,
\nTumeliso, Rorisang, Thabang, Tiisetso\u2026. The latter is
\nabout one-and-a-half years old\u2014his exact age is
\nunknown. Before being embraced by Ken, he lived by
\nhimself, most of the time in a cold house, sometimes
\noutside, even in the rain. Hungry and skinny upon
\narrival, two months later he had gained seven pounds
\nand could stand up by pulling on a chair. Tiisetso also
\ncan breathe easily since his pneumonia is gone; and has
\nlearned to smile and laugh, and likely will soon walk and
\nrun too.
\nThis is what the AIDS pandemic really means and the
\nNear East Foundation is helping children\u2014the most
\nvulnerable victims of disease and poverty\u2014in many
\ncountries in Africa and the Middle East. Beyond
\nproviding individual children with emotional and
\nphysical warmth, safety, rehabilitation from
\nmalnutrition and sickness or care with terminal illness;
\nreconnection with family or caring adoptive homes,
\nschooling and mentoring; the Near East Foundation is
\ncombating the AIDS calamity with an integrated and
\ncomprehensive approach that combines health,
\nagriculture, infrastructure development and more.
\nIn Swaziland, which has the highest HIV infection rate
\nin the world, close to 40 percent, NEF is using that
\ncomprehensive approach in 18 chiefdoms in the
\nnorthern Hhohho area of the country. NEF works
\nwith people like Lussy Tfwala, chairperson of the water
\ncommittee of Nkonjaneni homesteaders. They had a
\nwater source in the mountains above, but no means of
\ngetting it except by making hours of trips up and down
\nsteep slopes, carrying water by oxen cart and upon their
\nheads. With NEF support, the committee, once
\norganized, successful obtained $17 from every
\nhomestead family who would benefit from a domestic
\nwater supply, for the engineering, materials and heavy
\nmachinery needed. Contributing their labor, association
\nmembers carried the material up the mountain and dug
\nkilometers of trenches to bring the pipes from the water
\nsource to local taps. Four homesteads share a tap and
\ntake rotational responsibility for maintenance chores.
\nThe amount each homestead contributed has become a
\nfund for repair and maintenance costs, augmented by a
\nsmall monthly fee, for ownership leads to responsibility
\nand commitment.
\nThis Nkonjaneni association now has the skills,
\norganization, data to build on, new ways to assign
\ncommunity responsibility, and the means to sustain
\ntheir critical water supply. It demonstrates NEF\u2019s
\napproach: true development is not primarily about the
\nproject, but more about the capacities built in the
\ncommunity that sustain NEF undertakings long after
\ntheir staff has moved on.
\nAnd last year the Near East Foundation returned to
\nArmenia, for the first time since their expulsion by the
\n10
\nSoviets in 1927, to work with street children. Actually
\nthey were the only foreign agency allowed to operate in
\nthe Caucasus even after the Sovietization of the region,
\nand supervised the welfare of 17,000 children in
\nArmenia alone until being forced out. NEF
\nChairperson Linda Jacobs received an overwhelming
\nreception that left her deeply moved by the often tearyeyed
\nArmenian representatives who greeted her so
\nwarmly in every sector– government, education, social
\nwelfare, religion\u2014and ordinary citizens.
\nIN CONCLUSION
\nThe final word on the Near East Foundation goes to an
\nArmenian, the Carnegie Corporation\u2019s Dr. Gregorian.
\n\u201cIt is an honor and a privilege for me as an Armenian,
\nIranian, Middle Easterner and an American to pay
\ntribute to the Near East Foundation as it celebrates its
\n90th birthday.
\n\u201cNEF is not a charitable institution. It is a
\nphilanthropic one. It invests, it welcomes investors. It
\nbuilds. Its aim has always been \u2018to help people help
\nthemselves.\u2019 It aims to assist the people of the Middle
\nEast and Africa in their quest of autonomy in the social,
\neconomic and cultural realms. It provides people
\nknow-how, wants to endow them with hope, to assist
\nthem in their struggle against poverty, disease, hunger
\nand injustice. That is the mission of NEF. NEF stands
\nfor dignity. It stands for our community with mankind.
\nIt stands for the best ideals and impulses of the
\nAmerican people, its idealism, altruism and generosity.\u201d
\nDr. Gregorian concludes eloquently: \u201cYou, who are a
\nrescuer of a nation, planter of seeds of hope, promoter
\nof economic and social progress in the Middle East and
\nAfrica, symbol of America\u2019s faith and goodwill, we
\ncongratulate you for generating knowledge, generating
\ngoodwill, generating hope, generating progress.
\nBuilding bridges of brotherhood and sisterhood in a
\nworld that will transcend religion, ideological, ethnic,
\nregional and racial conflicts, especially now when more
\nthan ever we need to stress common values and bonds
\nthat unite the \u2018People of the Book,\u2019 the Jews, the
\nChristians and the Muslims. May you continue your
\ngood work. May you bring peace to the region.\u201d
\nNear East Foundation
\n90 Broad Street, 15th Floor \u2022 New York, NY 10004, USA
\nPhone: +1 (212) 425-2205 \u2022 Fax: +1 (212) 425-2350
\nwww.neareast.org
\nPress Contact
\nAndrea M. Couture
\n212-425-2205 x17
\nacouture@neareast.org
\nCopyright \u00a9 2005 Near East Foundation, All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Merhaba Sukru Bey,<SSaya@superonline.com> Bugun aksam American Turkis Society ve Turkish Coalition of America’n ortaklasa dozenledigi konferansa gidecegim. Aksam gec vakit Istanbul’a donecegim, Londra’da butun gun kaldikdan sonra. Near East Foundation web sayfasindan bazi bolumleri gonderiuorum, Armenian genocide’la basliyor. YUKSEL OKTAY [mailto:yukseloktay@verizon.net] ————————————————————— Founded during Armenian Genocide NEAR EAST FOUNDATION CELEBRATES 90th YEAR; FIRST U.S. INTERNATIONAL […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":26515,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5765","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-armenian-question"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5765","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/83"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5765"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5765\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26515"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5765"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5765"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5765"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}