Mission East’s Managing Director is moving to Armenia with his family for a year, to lead our programmes there. Armenia was a ‘pioneer’ country for Mission East, early in the organisation’s history. And for Kim, who took part in distributing the first relief supplies there in the early 90s, the Armenia projects are especially close to his heart.
By Morten Østervang, Mission East journalist
In 1980 Kim Hartzner visited Armenia for the first time on holiday, while Armenia was at peace. He probably would not have believed that only a few years later he would be arranging a large relief effort with Hercules planes, hospital equipment and food distributions in the middle of a war. Or that he would be travelling to Armenia on a regular basis during the following years, in order to promote the rights of handicapped children. Now he and his family are going one step further.
After having held overall responsibility for the organisation’s country programmes including those in Armenia for many years as Managing Director, it is now time to spend some time ‘hands on’ in the field. From August Kim will be heading Mission East’s office and programmes in Armenia.
His wife Dorte and their three sons, Philip, Peter Vincent and Alexander, are leaving their house in Holte, Denmark, for a year and moving to the Armenian capital Yerevan, where they have rented an apartment. This will be their home for the next year.
Jumping into the action Kim has been busy these last several years building Mission East as an organisation and guiding its rapid development to an operation which stretches through offices in Copenhagen, Belgium, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Armenia as well as partners in Romania, Bulgaria and Nepal. Now it’s time for him to get closer to the action.
”I think it is healthy to get out and get the projects ‘under the skin’. And my relationship with Armenia is very special,” explains Kim.
Since 1992, during the war with neighbouring Azerbaijan, Kim has been to Armenia over 20 times. During the war, Mission East implemented its first major relief distribution. Right after the war Kim, who is trained as a doctor, quickly saw the huge need of the country’s disabled.
Desperate conditions for the disabled Thousands of disabled children were kept in dismal conditions in institutions, without adequate care or education and were perceived as a disgrace. At the same time the country’s economy and infrastructure had been serious damaged, which made change difficult.
“There were only a few organisations helping in Armenia. The country is desperately poor following the war. For Mission East Armenia was also a ‘pioneer’ country. This was where we first started our work,” explains Kim, who is aiming to be able to speak Armenian by November.
At the same time a couple of the projects have a medical element, which makes it especially interesting for Kim who is a doctor. But in the daily work he will primarily be tasked with the overall management of the country office and the 8 employees. However, there will also be a little time for the work of the Managing Director to continue. Kim will keep his hand on the reins of the organisation, retaining his Managing Director position, but with a reduced workload.
During Kim’s absence Vice Managing Director Peter Blum Samuelsen will take charge of the day-to-day organisational management from Copenhagen, while Kim will oversee long term, strategic decisions.
It is a poor country the family is heading for, explains Kim.
“After the end of the war in1994 the country was in ruins. Out of 3 million citizens, only an estimatet 1.8 million remain. Many have simply fled and these are often the educated.”
At the same time the largest neighbour, Turkey, continues a blockade which hinders Armenian exports and economic recovery is not as fast as hoped.
With a whole new country to get to know, one thing is certain - the Hartzners are in for an exciting year.
In Armenia children with learning difficulties have long been lacking proper education. Some children have been discriminated because of their handicaps and others have never received education that meets their special needs. Mission East aims to improve the conditions for disabled children.
01.06.06
No development without education - Mission East in Afghanistan
Mission East’s Managing Director, Dr Kim Hartzner, has just been on a trip to Afghanistan. What most people hear about Afghanistan is bombs, angry mullahs and Taliban, burning schools and fighting between the police and Taliban. But in general the news does not talk about the progress also taking place in the country. It does not mention all the fantastic things that are happening in Afghanistan every day.
Among many other things, Mission East has built six schools in Afghanistan over the last year. During his visit, Kim Hartzner attended the handover ceremony at which the Afghan Government officially took responsibility for one of these schools, in the village of Khanaqa, Takhar province. Surrounded by mountains, everything else seems far away: for kilometre after kilometre there is nothing but mountains. But now there is a school. And this brings hope - hope for a way out of poverty and for young people to learn to participate in creating the development the country needs. The local mullah is positive about the schools: “No development without education. We need engineers and doctors!
”The construction of this school was made possible because of the 43 kilometres of road that Mission East has built in co-operation with the Tearfund Belgium, financed by the Belgian Foreign Ministry and EU. The road is extremely important since the previously isolated villages in the district now have easier access to markets, schools and health clinics. But attending school does not solve all the problems of poverty. Mission East has also carried out other project activities in these villages, to contribute to an improvement in health and well-being.In particular, clean drinking water and hygiene education mean a reduction in deaths from preventable diseases.
Kim recalls the words of one villager he met:
“Life has changed dramatically. Before 20 to 30 children died each year. Now not a single one dies” How positive to see that ‘good news’ is also a reality in Afghanistan!
27.04.06
Launch of project for disabled children
Mission East’s Managing Director, Dr Kim Hartzner, returned last week from a trip to Armenia. While there he participated in a press conference to mark the official launch of a new project supporting the rights of disabled children in Armenia.
Local interest was high - 6 Armenian TV companies and 12 journalists from national newspaper agencies and radio companies attended the launch. Furthermore, representatives from 3 Ministries (Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education and Science and Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs) attended and expressed their gratitude to Mission East, our partners and Danida for the past and current activities in Armenia. Other development agencies, including UNICEF, UNDP, WHO and USAID also participated in the launch of the project.
The project is funded by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs(Danida) and aims to improve both social attitudes and healthcare practice for disabled children in Armenia. The project is designed and carried out by a collaboration of Mission East and 3 local partner organizations- Nairi, Bridge of Hope and Arabkir. It responds to the discrimination against disabled children in Armenia and the corresponding poor provision for them, which keeps them from reaching their potential. Many disabled children are still kept at home and remain ‘hidden’ from the world, without the opportunity for development, education and activities with other children.
The new project is working to change that and help disabled children take their place in Armenian society.
Kim Hartzner’s speech at the conference was warmly welcomed: ”I hope the work of Mission East and our partners in Armenia will lead to disabled children gaining the same rights as other children. There is a need for these children to be treated with dignity and respect.”
21.04.06
New project in Tajikistan
On 6th April 2006 Mission East signed an important contract with European Commission's Humanitarian Aid Department (ECHO) for a new project in Tajikistan. The project involves disaster risk reduction in Tajikistan and is being carried out in partnership with the organisation Shelter For Life. It extends Mission East’s current disaster risk reduction activities (flood prevention and early warning systems) into the area of earthquake preparedness.
There is a great need for exactly this kind of project in Tajikistan. It is a mountainous earthquake-prone country with a high level of poverty. Many buildings in Tajikistan are poorly built using low quality materials. This means that earthquakes can be catastrophic. And as always, when disaster strikes, it’s the poor people who suffer most. The occurrence of a major earthquake would likely result in a disaster for them.
With this project Mission East aims to increase disaster preparedness and awareness of vulnerable communities, making them more resistant to natural disasters such as earthquakes, and better able to recover from the effects of an earthquake. This will be done through local capacity building, preparedness training, and small-scale mitigation. Among other aspects, Mission East and Shelter For Life will strengthen existing Community Based Disaster Management programs in 40 communities across four regions of Tajikistan and introduce such programs in 2 new regions. This involves local training and awareness raising, alongside improving 'earthquake-proofing' of housing and buildings to reduce possible damage.
27.01.06 New project will give disabled children in Armenia better start in life
In Armenia, conditions for disabled children are miserable because of poverty and widespread discrimination. A new Mission East programme will improve the children’s conditions and rights in the health system. The programme also aims to change the Armenian Society’s view on disabled people and their rights
Mission East now initiates a comprehensive programme, which will improve conditions for disabled children in the Armenian region Armavir. Because of widespread poverty and discrimination, many disabled children live in dreary and dire conditions. In many instances, the children are kept at home. Many do not receive the medical assistance which could give them a life with potential for development, education and activities with other children.
The programme, which the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs supports, will contribute to the identification and proper diagnosis of the disabled children that are now kept outside the health system in the region. At the same time, health personnel lacking qualifications for proper screening and treatment will be trained to develop an efficient practice for screening and referrals, so disabled children will receive the proper treatment. The developed practise is intended to serve as a model to be replicated for the totality of the country’s health system.
Managing Director, MD, Kim Hartzner says:
"It is important that the children are included in their community, rather than living as second class citizens that are kept hidden at home or institutionalised at the margin of society. In order to give the children a good start in life, where they can develop and be stimulated as other children, it is vital that they enter the health system and receive the proper treatment. At the same time, this project seeks to make a long term change to the position of disable people in Armenia by enabling NGO’s and families to speak their case to the public and the authorities".
In cooperation with three local partner organisations in Armenia, Mission East will train Armenian NGO’s in to advocate for disabled people and their rights as well as creating awareness of the issue in the country. Also, the programme will contribute to Mission East’s effort to secure disabled children education, once disabilities are properly ascertained from a health perspective and then they can be assessed for the educational needs.
For further information contact Mission East’s Press contact, journalist Morten Østervang, at telephone nummer +45 39 61 2048 or +45 2047 6274 or email:morten.ostervang@miseast.org
Facts about the project:
·
The Danish Foreign Ministry supports the project with ten million DKK
·
The project will create and overview of how many disabled children there are in the Armavir Region and what services they currently receive and which they should be receiving (from health and social perspectives).
·
It will give families in ten villages training in advocating their cause, creating support groups as well as learning their rights
·
It will create a model for screening and referrals of disabled children · It will train NGO’s in advocacy and lobbying for disabled rights
28.12.05 Visit in Afghanistan The 26th December, representatives from the Belgian Government in Afghanistan visited Mission East. They wanted to see the newly finished Chaal Road which Mission East has build in co-operation with the Integral partner Tearfund in Belgium, financed by the Belgian Foreign Ministry and EU.
The representatives from the Belgian Government were very impressed by the Chaal Road and happy to see what hope for the future the road is bringing
The road is extremely important since the previously isolated villages in the Chaal district now have easier access to markets, schools and health clinics. Previously, the local people had to go on long journeys only possible on donkey-treks through the hills.
The new road also means that other people and organisations can make their way to these vulnerable populations, to help with further development of trade and vital services.
Around 4,400 men have been working on the road through the mountaneous landscape, mainly using very simple tools.
23.12.05 The tsunami one year after
On Boxing Day 2004, a massive earthquake deep in the Indian Ocean triggered tidal waves which reached speeds of 500mph and a height of 20 metres when they hit Indonesia. Some 300,000 people across 12 countries were killed.
Mission East and the other Integral partners started the relief work almost immediately in the most affected countries - India, Sri Lanka and Indonesia.
Mission East is part of a formal alliance of 12 Christian relief and development organisations established in 2003. This alliance made a quick and professional response to the victims from the tsunami possible.
Through Integral's office in London, all 12 organisations got involved in an immediate joined response which provided help to the most affected areas.
Mission East immediately send out letters to all the supporters of the organisations, to obtain economic support for the victims. The money were soon channelled to emergency programmes in Sri Lanka, India and Indonesia.
The emergency aid mainly consisted of medicine, food and clean water. Later the reconstruction of whole villages started.
If you stand on a beach and watch the Indian Ocean lapping the coastline of South Asia, it is as if nothing ever happened. But turn around, look inland and the legacy of that dreadful day is everywhere, even today.
The Indonesian province of Aceh is still a barren wasteland. But slowly, normality is returning. Housing counstruction is underway in the village of Bareundah, in Aceh, Indonesia, where Mission East's Integral partner Tearfund UK is helping. 300 families in 5 villages whose homes were destroyed by the tsunami are participating in the construction of their own earthquake resistant homes and sanitation facilities. Every 10 days a house is being completed and a family has a place to call home again.
23.12.2005
Mission East supports Medair in Pakistan
Mission East is supporting the International aid organisation Medair to help the survivors from the earthquake in Pakistan.
Medair is implementing an emergency relief programme in Poonch District, 110 km from Islamabad. The focus is on temporary shelter and distribution of relief items to earthquake survivors.
Medair has already distributed shelter kits to 2,600 families and 300 tents have been given to families in need. By Christmas Medair plan to have distributed 1,000 more shelter kits and 700 more tents, to help families survive the winter.
Once the families have built their temporary homes, they receive a wood burning stove, mattresses, blankets and hygiene supplies.
The donations for Pakistan that Mission East has received, is supporting Medair's work in Pakistan.
For further information, please look at Medair's website: www.medair.org
Pakistan: The earthquake in October here destroyed an entire village. Through Medair Mission East supports the Pakistani people with tents and supplies that will help them get through the winter Foto: Läkarmissionen
01.12.05
Mission East strengthens effort in Afghanistan
Mission East has been granted 20 million Danish Kroner by the Danish Foreign Ministry to strengthen its efforts in Afghanistan’s poorest and most inaccessible areas. The comprehensive programme will improve living conditions for 30,000 people
Every second child in Afghanistan is malnourished. Many families live below subsistence level. Diseases like typhoid, dysentery or cholera are widespread , as there are often neither proper sanitary facilities nor enough access to clean water.
Since the fall of the Taleban regime in 2001, the extent of the health and food problem hundreds of thousands of people in the North Eastern part of Afghanistan has become apparent. It is an area which is difficult to access because of mountains, and where international help has been scarce. Since the war, Mission East has provided livelihood support, clean water and other assistance as one of the few international relief and development organisations, in this area.
Mission East now increases its efforts in this area significantly. Mission East has been granted 20 million Danish Kroner for projects in the provinces of Takhar and Badakhshan in the poor, North Eastern corner of the country. The comprehensive programme will improve food and health conditions. Also, the programme will create possibilities for the population to create sustainable incomes through household, food production.
"The humanitarian situation is still acute. With these means, we can help 30.000 people from their food shortage and the health risks they are exposed to. At the same time we create sustainable income opportunities. With our long lasting expertise in these areas and in Afghanistan we can make a real difference in this area", says Mission East’s Managing Director, Kim Hartzner.
The programme will secure access to clean water and sanitary facilities in a large number of villages. 10,000 people will be trained in health and hygiene issues. Also, Mission East will seek to improve local nutritionby setting up kitchen gardens in a large number of households. Some will receive animals and others will receive assistance for apiculture. This will give the households access to food and also enabling them to make an income by selling the products.
As a part of the project, Mission East will build a road, which connects the remote province of Takhar with the nearby city. This will provide temporary work for many local people.
"Improving nutrition and endemic health risks have been a high priority. But at the same time, it is vital to create sustainable possibilities for the future, that will secure food and an income," says Kim Hartzner.
24.11.2005 Mission East has been granted a new contract with EU in Afghanistan Mission East has just entered a 4,5 million DKK contract with the European Commision's Humanitarian Aid Department (ECHO) to fund work in Afghanistan.
The money is, among other aspects, to be be used in securing clean drinking water, latrines and basic hygiene education in Chaal and Taloqan disctricts in North Afghanistan. An estimated 10,000 people will benefit from the programme, of whom 95% are refugees who have returned after decades of war in the country.
"We are very pleased about our newest contract. With this contract we will be able to continue the work we are already carrying out in the area and in that way secure a great extent of coherence. During last summer we have, among other things, celebrated the opening of a road of 43 kilometres from the capital of the province out to the Chaal district. Now we can also help providing clean drinking water and basic sanitation", says the general secretary of Mission East Kim Hartzner.
The new contract with EU coincides time wise with EU entering a partnership agreement with Afghanistan. The country's president Hamid Karzai is currently in Europe to attend the signing og the contract.
An important objective with the agreement is that EU works towards those development targets for Afghanistan considered priority by the population themselves. This is an objective which is always present in Mission East's work. This project is thus based on a dialogue with central representatives of the societies in question. The target is to obtain self sustainable development:
"It is extremely important that, as a foreign aid organisation, we listen to the local people and their needs. It will not work if we go out and tell people what they need, if in reality, they need something completely different. With this contract, we can contribute to a very urgent need for clean drinking water, hygiene awareness and latrines", says Kim Hartzner.
05.08.05 Mission East receives kitemark "We believe that people truly are the future of Mission East, and that investing in Mission East people is the key to our organisational success." Kim Hartzner, Managing Director.
On 17th June 2005, Mission East was awarded the kitemark 'Verified Compliant with the People In Aid Code'. This second and full kitemark underlines the importance with which Mission East regards the care and management of its staff and comes after many months of hard work.
The People In Aid Code of Good Practice in the management and support of aid personnel was launched in 1997 and revised in 2003. Mission East is the first agency since the Code was revised to have completed the rigorous process. The Code aims to provide a benchmark of good practice human resource provision in seven key areas, under a guiding principle which underlines the centrality of people to the achievement of an organisation’s mission. Humanitarian organisations are able to 'implement' the Code - a first kitemark is awarded when an agency demonstrates their commitment to working towards verifying that its human resource provision meets the standards set by the Code.
In order to be verified compliant with the Code - and achieve the second kitemark - Mission East's project team began a lengthy process of social audit in 2003. Social audit is a means of analysing current human resource provision, checking staff perception of this provision and highlighting any areas of weakness. The verification process was completed by an assurance statement given by an externally appointed auditor after extensive examination of Mission East's human resources practices and a review of the project team's final report.
Although this kitemark is a recognition of Mission East's efforts to date, it is also a challenge to further improve all areas of human resource provision. By setting good practice benchmarks, the Code has enabled Mission East to clearly identify areas where improvement would be of further benefit. Thus the kitemark signifies a new period of improvement and consolidation by the Human Resources Team. In other words, we are working hard to ensure that Mission East staff are truly central to the achievement of our mission.
26.07.05 Mission East helps out in flooded Afghanistan
The northern province of Badakshan in Afghanistan has recently suffered its worst flooding for years, with dramatic impact on an already vulnerable population.Flood water and landslides damaged many sections of road and bridges, cutting off access to some areas and preventing local people from reaching markets and vital services.
Mission East responded rapidly in cooperation with other organisations and with the local authorities.Engineers and logisticians were quickly in place to assess the situation and help design the actions needed.With the support of donors GTZ and IOM, Mission East was able to participate in the rehabilitation of the Faizabad – Baharak road, one of the most important roads in the province.Within 9 days,500 metres of flooded, damaged road had been restored or remade in order to restore vehicle access along the road.
Mission East is also addressing other rehabilitation needs in Badakshan, including repair of irrigation systems.Other ongoing programmes in the province respond to the need for clean water, hygiene education and establishing kitchen gardens.
26.07.05 Mission East behind new law in Armenia
At a press conference in july, Armenian government officials thanked Mission East and its partner organisations for their efforts leading to the National Assembly adopting the new legislation on Special Education.
The new law ensures that all children with disabilities are provided with equality of educational opportunities and promotes inclusive education, enabling schools to serve all children, particularly those with special education needs. Mission East, through its Armenian partner organisation Bridge of Hope, enabled the establishment of a special task force, composed of local special education experts, to help draft the new legislation.
“After two years of deliberations, the legislation was passed in late May and signed into law by the president. I would like to thank Mission East and its local partner organisation, Bridge of Hope, for their moral and financial support,” declared the author of the legislation, Mr. Ardak Arakelyan, Secretary of the Disabilities Commission of Armenia’s National Assembly. “This landmark legislation, which creates the mechanism for defending the rights of children with disabilities and establishes the grounds on which their education will be built, would not have been possible without the support of many local NGOs. Among the international organizations, I would like to single out Mission East, whose moral and financial support has been invaluable,’ said Mr. Arakelyan.
As Mission East we are proud to be able to contribute to the change in the cultural perception of disabled children as “defective” and incapable of learning and becoming an active part of society. We are aware of the importance of the inclusion of these children in the community, fighting perceptions and cultural traditions that have stigmatized them, and force them to a position of second class citizens to be kept hidden at home or “institutionalised” at the margin of society.
16.05.05
Koran desecration report was wrong
US magazine Newsweek has said it erred in reporting that a copy of the Koran had been flushed down a toilet at Guantanamo Bay by US interrogators. It said a US military investigation had failed to corroborate the story and apologised for carrying the report. At least 15 people have been killed in anti-US riots in Afghanistan following the article's publication last week.
The US military in Afghanistan says, however, there will still be an investigation into the allegations. Several claims of desecration of the Koran have been made by former inmates of the US facility in Cuba. As well as the deaths in Afghanistan, more than 100 people have been injured in violent protests across the Muslim world, from Pakistan to Indonesia.
In its latest edition, Newsweek's editor writes that its original source is not sure, where he saw the assertion. "We regret that we got any part of our story wrong, and extend our sympathies to victims of the violence and to the US soldiers caught in its midst," the editor, Mark Whitaker, writes.
The Pentagon has said there is no substance to the specific allegation but a spokesman for the US military in Afghanistan says that there will still be a thorough investigation into the claims.
"It is important that the Afghan people see that we take any allegations like this seriously," the spokesman, Col James Yonts, said.
Several Muslim countries, including Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, had strongly condemned the reported allegations and asked Washington to take stern action if they were right. Violence broke out in several Afghan cities as angry mobs attacked the offices of the UN and international aid agencies - among them Mission East.
Source: BBC News
14.05.05 Mission East staff safe after office attack Following the attack on the Mission East office in the northeastern Afghan town of Baharak yesterday, Mission East staff are confirmed to be safe.
The attack was part of protests arising in several areas of the country in response to allegations of desecration of the Koran at Guantanamo Bay. In a range of towns, men attending Friday prayers were urged to protest and went straight out onto the streets with anti-American messages.
In the town of Baharak, Mission East’s office was immediately identified as an international representation and came under attack, with rocks thrown to break down the gate to the office compound. As angry rioters entered the compound, local and one expat staff managed to escape, but the crowd burnt agency vehicles and set the office alight. The nearby staff residence was also looted and a vehicle stolen.
Other aid agencies in the town were also attacked, with one reported to have lost 60 vehicles. Authorities tried to stop the riot, and shot dead four protesters, reported to be masked and not from the local area. Police and a local commander trying to halt the violence were beaten by the crowds.
Coordinating closely with other agencies and with local authorities and international military presence, Mission East is taking every measure to ensure the safety of its staff. The agency’s other office in Badakshan in the city of Faizabad has been temporarily closed. The situation is closely monitored from other locations. International press reports of five European expats in Baharak were incorrect, and the two international staff in the area have today been withdrawn from the province.
The incident has resulted in higher visible security presence in Faizabad, in anticipation of further disturbances. Meanwhile the Governor of Baharak is reported to have launched an investigation into the riot.
Decisions concerning the future and direction of Mission East's programmes in Badakshan will be based on assessment of the situation in the days to come.
08.03.05 Mission East is helping out in Asia
Since 1991, Mission East has provided humanitarian aid to Eastern Europe and Asia. We now have a massive expertise helping these areas. This expertise is very usefull in our work helping the victims of the tsunami.
Being a small organisation, we have decided to co-operate with partners from all over the world, e.g. Strømmestiftelsen from Norway, Tearfund UK and World Relief US.
Working together, we can save many more lives and provide the best help for those in need.
01.06.04
International relief and development organisations unite to fight poverty Today, thirteen major independent relief and development organisations announced that they will bring together their expertise and resources in a unique new partnership to better assist needy people around the world. The name of the new alliance is Global Alliance.
The partner organisations of Global Alliance have agreed to adopt a common international identity where possible in order to work towards the alleviation of human suffering and the eradication of poverty.
"Poverty and illness exist and will continue to exist in our world. While many people live comfortable lives, millions spend their life in misery and hopelessness," says Laurie Cook from World Relief Canada, Chairman of the Global Alliance board. "As agencies dedicated to fighting poverty, we recognise the need to come together in order to be more effective. Together, we can make an even bigger difference in the countries where we work."
Global Alliance will bring together expertise and resources from the following organisations to avoid duplication and enhance relief and development activities in some of the world’s poorest countries:
CEDAR Fund (Hong Kong) Erikshjälpen (Sweden) Läkarmissionen (Sweden) Human Bridge (Sweden) Mission East (Denmark) Strømme Foundation (Norway) Tearfund Belgium TEAR fund Netherlands TEAR Fund New Zealand TearFund Switzerland Tearfund UK & Ireland World Relief Canada World Relief United States
"The organisations within Global Alliance work in 75 countries around the world and assist millions of people. The agencies have a combined income in excess of 135 million US dollars. Money which will now be spent more effectively on assisting people in need," says Kim Hartzner, Managing Director of Mission East.
"Global Alliance represents a unique opportunity for Mission East and the 12 other organisations to fight poverty. The alliance can act more effectively in collaboration to make a swift and relevant response to people in situations of conflict or disaster. A programme assisting IDPs in Iraq, born out of the Global Alliance cooperation, is already testimony to this. Together, we can better assist needy people in the hot spots of the world."
