Rose Charities International Meeting: Progress update Jan 2012

Rose IV Meeting and Conference: Penang :  Update Jan 2012

The Rose IV Meeting in Penang, Malaysia (22^nd to 25^th March 2012), and hosted by the Penang Rose Charities Association (Rose Charities Malaysia)  is shaping up to be an amazing gathering of both Rose Charities , and other people the world over.

Delegates representing projects or registered Rose groups from,  Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Uganda, UK, USA and Canada and Guatemala  will be attending.  

The ‘Hillman Fund’, a special group inside Rose Charities Canada which sponsors health education projects in Africa, Pakistan, and Cambodia will have a big presence including chair of the Hillman Committee, Dr Joanne Young of Vancouver,  Annette Borkent of the Safe Motherhood Guatemala Project, Dr Wagma Reshsteen of Primary Health Frontiers, Pakistan, and Dr Wais Aria of  The Tabish Social Health Organization, Afghanistan.

Dr Andrew MacNab (B.C’s Childrens Hospital)  founder of African Hearts and Brighter Smiles, Uganda will be speaking on his work with Health Promoting Schools, and Rachel Green of Rose Charities USA on the topical area of Social Networking.

AMDA International’s senior Emergency Relief Director (Mr Nithiananan) will be attending (AMDA and Rose Charities have worked very closely a number of  emergency relief operations and are very close partners) . AMDA has huge international emergency humanitarian relief experience, and is one of the foremost NGO’s in this area.

Joanna Thomson, founder of the Rose Cambodia Rehab Center will be discussing her amazing assistance to the disabled of Cambodia,  Mr Louis Lap Nguyen co-founder of Rose Charities Vietnam,  the impressive range of Rose Vietnam projects with include sight restoration, income generation and orphanage assistance

Rose Charities Sri Lanka with its spectrum of multi-sectorial projects, ranging from early childhood care and education, through education for all ages, including college support, micro-credit, sports for peace and vocational training will be represented by co-founder Mr Anthony Richards as well as Dr Yoga Yogendran.

From Rose Charities New Zealand, Mrs Anne George will be representing. Rose New Zealand works closely with the Rose Cambodia Sight Center providing expertise and resources. In 2011 the Sight Centre passed the mark for patients assisted (many with sight restoring operations). Rose NZ also assists eye programs in Nepal and work in NZ itself (Anne Georges specialty) with new immigrant program(s).  Rose Australia delegates will include Sarah Miller, an expert in Cambodia programs, Rose Austalia’s main focus.

Rose Charities Malaysia, the hosts will be very well represented, not least by Mr  Lawrence Cheah Chair of the Rose International Council.  Rose Charities Malaysia, running out of Penang assists Malaysias indigenous people (Orang Asli), help the aged programs and helth promotion in Penang.  

The meetings will work at three levels.  a) sector focus groups on specific areas (Vietnam, Cambodia, Sri Lanka,  and Health Education/Safe birthing etc ) , round-table discussion for the whole Rose network and a more formal Conference component where persons from Malaysian (and other) NGO’s and interested parties will be invited.

Malaysia’s Penang Island, with its historic UNESCO listed George Town, is a wonderful location for the meeting, most of which will be held in the seaside Tanjung Bunga area at the Paradise Sandy Beach Hotel.

All Rose Charities persons and other linked or interested parties are welcome.

For details, please contact Mrs Sarah Miller (Australia)    sarah@rosecharities.org.au

                                      or  Ms  Judith Peralta (Canada)     jbperalta@hotmail.com    

* Note: with one or two exceptions where limited assistance has been offered, all attendees are self funding.  Conference costs have been kindly born by Rose Charities Malaysia from specifically donated sources.  No Rose Charities charitable donation funds have been used for the conference or meeting, unless specifically given by donor(s) for that purpose.    

                    

Health Promoting Schools Conference Nov 2011: a grateful student kindly writes

Learning Outcomes from Many Voices One Song Colloquium

I would like to thank the Hillman Fund for their support for allowing me the means to attend the health promoting schools colloquium at Stias. With your support I was able to present regarding my experiences working in health promoting schools with Brighter Smiles Africa this past summer in Uganda, another project the fund kindly supported. This colloquium was the first time that I have the opportunity to present at an academic session and there are indeed many lessons that I have learned. It was  also nice to be reunited with one of the Ugandan students I had worked with in the summer.

Learning about other models of health promoting schools currently being implemented was very interesting, especially as we were learning from the very people who created them. Aside from the successes that were described, the sessions also provided healthy discussions of the challenges and obstacles that the different programs have faced and the approaches that were taken to solve some of the roadblocks. Key lessons that came up over and over again included:

·       The importance of creating relationships with communities prior to initiating projects.

·       Really listening to what is being asked for

·       Having local buy-in within communities and champions who are willing to run projects

·       Having a clear entry and exit strategy so that projects are created in a supportive and sustainable fashion 

·       Having a willingness to learn from communities and to be flexible. This can allow projects to evolve

·       How patience and persistence are critical to success in navigating complex bureaucracies

I was quite inspired by the different people that I met at the colloquium. There was such a diverse mix of professionals ranging from physicians, dentists, nurses, educators, social workers, psychologists, anthropologists, psychologists, students and politicians. Even more fascinating was the diverse collaborative roles that many of the participants had; for instance, to see a physician involved in front line education, policy making, and community development while also running a practice and having a rich personal life was vital for me to see. This alone expanded the way I view my role as a future health care provider.

Stepping back from my studies for a week to take part in this conference helped me see the bigger picture. This colloquium also helped me to create links and gain an understanding of how ideas get created, and the paths they take to get implemented. Listening to stories of success and failure taught me the importance of persistence and patience when working with bureaucracies. More importantly, this event impressed upon me the significance of collaboration - not only among colleagues and other professionals but also with members of communities – in dealing with social and health care issues.

On a personal level, I was touched by the support and encouragement that was shown to me. Prior to going, I felt as though I was just a student going to present to other professionals, but I was wrong. Throughout the entire conference I was treated as a colleague and it was an honor to be respected and heard. This experience taught me that as a student, I represent the future, and that I can have a role in helping to determine how individuals, communities and governments work in dealing with social issues.   

Participation in the colloquium has also planted seeds for future international discussion and collaboration between the students present; the chance to contribute to a consensus statement on the future of Health Promoting Schools; and an invitation to submit a joint paper to a focus edition of the journal Health Education to be dedicated to the work presented.  

Lastly, I would like to emphasize that the mentorship and guidance shown to me by Dr. Macnab and his colleagues is a precious and lasting gift that I deeply cherish.

Thank you

Sincerely

Mohammad Bardi