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March
2003 to March 2008 - Independent Consultant
- Contracted by Save the Children Sweden,
Vietnam to act as consultant for an evaluation of an innovative project
that it promoted and supports in District 4, Ho Chi Minh City (called
“Child Friendly District”), and to write the final
report (4 months, December 2007/March 2008).
- Contracted
by Save the Children Sweden, Vietnam to carry out an analytical study
of the above project (“Child Friendly District”)
and to write a booklet that traces its history, processes, strengths
and weaknesses from its origins to the present day (2 months, December
2005/January 2006).
- Team
Leader of a team of 8 researchers for a study on street children and a
project evaluation for Unicef, Hanoi. This involved taking
responsibility for the design and implementation of a participative
study of street children in Hanoi, including field research in 4 rural
communes having a history of child migration. Responsible for the
evaluation of Unicef’s street children’s project in
northern Vietnam. Analysing the collected data and writing the final
report (4 months, March to June 2003.
February
2001 to January 2003 & October to November 2003
Education Specialist, Son La & Lai Chau Rural Development
Project, The European Union, Vietnam
- Responsible for the design, start-up and
management of a large education component (4 million Euros) within a
rural development project targeting poor ethnic minority communities in
2 mountainous provinces of N.W. Vietnam
- Building over 100
“cluster village centres” (CVCs), i.e small primary
schools & adult education centres, each serving a cluster of
remote villages, including mapping for the strategic siting of the CVCs
- Training
or upgrading the training of under-qualified, ethnic minority primary
school teachers
- Supplying
text books and educational materials
- Establishing
small libraries in the CVCs and commune centre schools
- Provision
of scholarships to children from disadvantaged ethnic minority families
- Adult
literacy classes, awareness-raising, material development and
wide-scale dissemination of information relevant to ethnic minority
villagers.
October
1995 to March 2000 - Independent Consultant in Vietnam
Consultancy jobs, all undertaken in Viet Nam, include the following:
- Contracted
by FADO (a Belgian NGO) to evaluate the effectiveness of its
partnership with GRET (France) in the agricultural project "Collines",
Phu Tho Province, North Viet Nam (6 weeks April/May 2000).
- Contracted
by Save the Children Fund UK (Hanoi Office) to analyse and synthesise a
participatory poverty assessment conducted by three field research
teams in Ho Chi Minh City (HCM City) for the World Bank, and to write
the final report (5 weeks, May/June 1999, HCM City).
- Contracted
by FOS, a Belgian NGO (Hanoi office), to evaluate the management,
partnerships and other institutional aspects of its agricultural
development/extension programme in the Mekong Delta (5 weeks,
January/February 1999, Dong Thap and Long An provinces).
- UNICEF's
consultant adviser to the Centre for Information and Statistics,
Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, Hanoi, for the design,
formulation and data analysis of a national survey on child disability
and child labour (as required from November 1998 to May 1999, Hanoi).
- Contracted
by CARITAS Switzerland (Hanoi office) to evaluate the structure,
management and other institutional aspects of its community development
project in Binh Thuan province (5 weeks, October/November 1998, Binh
Thuan Province).
- Contracted
by UNICEF (Hanoi), to evaluate its alternative basic education
programme in selected areas of Viet Nam (1 month, May/June 1998,
various sites in Quang Ninh province and HCM City).
- Contracted
by UNICEF (Hanoi) to conduct a review and analysis of all available
research material in Viet Nam on street children, child prostitution
and trafficking, child disability, the family and child labour, with
the aim of identifying appropriate prevention and intervention
strategies as well as gaps in existing knowledge for further research
(6 weeks, HCM City, March/April 1998).
- Contracted
by "Ecoles Sans Frontieres" (Head Office, France) to evaluate its
non-formal education programme in HCM City (7 weeks, May/June 1997, HCM
City).
- Acting
as "on call" adviser to the Vietnamese personnel of Terre des hommes,
Lausanne, Switzerland (Tdh) on personnel, administration and
operational issues during the absences of the Representative (as
required during 1996/7/8, HCM City).
- Revising,
editing and designing the layout of a Handbook for Street Children in
HCM City prior to publication, having authored the book in 1993/4 (as
required during 1996/7/8, HCM City).
- Providing
"on call" consultative support to "Maison Chance", a Franco-Swiss
Association that supports severely disabled adults as well as street
children. Assisting the founder/director of the association to register
and legalise its project in HCM City, to establish a computerised
accounts system and to resolve various administrative/partnership
issues (ongoing since December 1996).
- Contracted
by Radda Barnen (Hanoi office) to evaluate the role and effectiveness
of the "Ho Chi Minh Child Welfare Foundation" as reflected in a
selection of its socio-educational children's projects in and around
HCM City (2 months, October/November 1996, HCM City).
- Contracted
by Radda Barnen (Hanoi office) to evaluate the fundraising activities
of the "Ho Chi Minh Child Welfare Foundation", and to assist that
organisation in the development of a fundraising strategy (6 weeks,
August/September 1996, HCM City).
- Assisting
Radda Barnen (Hanoi office) with the content and methodology of a 5 day
workshop on the rights of children in conflict with the law (early
1996, Dalat).
- Contracted
by the "Committee for the Protection and Care of Children", HCM City,
to provide technical expertise for a workshop on the popularisation of
the law amongst street children (3 days, early 1996, HCM City).
July
1974 - June 1995: Terre des hommes (Tdh), Lausanne, Switzerland
OCTOBER
1991 - JUNE 1995 : Representative, Tdh, Viet Nam
- Recruiting
and managing Tdh's office and Street Children's Programme personnel.
Providing technical support and on-the-job training to this team and to
the personnel of Tdh's local partners. Representing the organisation
within Viet Nam as a whole.
- Planning,
co-ordinating and analysing research, and writing a report (produced in
September 1992) on the situation of "Street Children in Ho Chi Minh
City".
- Introducing
a street-based/drop-in centre model of work with street children to
different Vietnamese groups/organisations working in HCM City.
Contributing to the promotion of non-institutional projects for street
children in general.
- Planning
and initiating street children's projects with various Vietnamese
partner organisations. Designing and co-ordinating a 3 week training
course on "work with street children" for the personnel of these
projects and other interested participants.
- Planning,
researching, co-ordinating and writing a Handbook for Street Children,
in order to promote their awareness of those laws and rights that
affect their day to day life, as well as of the places to go to get
legal, medical and social support.
- Collaboration
on the development
JULY
1984 - SEPTEMBER 1991: Head, Asian Programmes, Tdh, Switzerland
- Responsibility
for all existing Tdh programmes (and the development of new
initiatives) in Asia. Recruitment and orientation of field
representatives/directors. Visits to each country of operation twice a
year to monitor the work. Support of all Tdh representatives in Asia,
as their manager. Writing/compiling regular reports and newsletters on
Tdh's activities in Asia. Institutional fund-raising, mobilisation of
public support ...... .
- Visiting
makeshift refugee camps in areas of Eastern Sri Lanka which were
occupied by the Tamil Tigers or by the Sri Lankan Army. Surveying the
needs of child victims of the armed conflict, Tamil and Sinhalese, and
initiating a programme of care and support to predominantly Tamil
children who had lost or been separated from their families.
- Planning
and co-ordinating research into the situation of street children in the
cities of Dhaka, Khulna and Chittagong, Bangladesh. Planning the Tdh
street children's programme in Dhaka, based on the findings.
- Initiating
a debate at headquarters and in the field on Tdh's operational policy
in general. Advocating the "localisation" of field programmes, wherever
possible, and a change from direct project management to the promotion
and support of local initiatives. Providing the impetus and support
required for the Tdh representative in Sri Lanka to transfer the
ownership and management of the Tdh programme in Nuwara Eliya to a new
Sri Lankan NGO, formed essentially by the local Tdh team. Starting a
similar process of localisation in Bangladesh and Nepal.
- Exploratory
visit to Vietnam. Needs assessment of children in Ho Chi Minh City, and
a rapid appraisal of the problems facing ethnic minority families in
selected villages in Bu-Dang District, Song Be Province. Proposal to
the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA), Hanoi,
for Tdh to conduct 6-month studies into these two vulnerable
communities, with the aim of initiating appropriate programmes of
support at the end of that period, based on the research findings.
Formulating and signing an agreement with MOLISA.
MARCH
1978 - 31 MAY 1984: Itinerant Delegate, Tdh, Lausanne, Switzerland
Exploratory missions, work with refugees,
research on children's rights issues, design and establishment of new
projects, evaluations, troubleshooting .... :
October 1982 - May 1984: NEPAL
- Children's
needs assessment.
- Design
and construction of the Tdh orthopaedic children's hospital in
Kathmandu (opened in 1985).
- Negotiating
and signing an agreement with the Nepalese Government for this project
and for a Tdh representative office.
- Research
on/work with street children in Kathmandu. Design of a street-based
project for street children.
September
1979 - September 1982: VARIOUS MISSIONS
- Exploratory
visit to the Anambas Islands, Indonesia, where Vietnamese boat-people
had recently taken refuge. First screening of unaccompanied minors in
these camps. Planned, organised and managed the transfer of 146
unaccompanied children to Germany with the logistical help of the "Ile
de Lumière" and "Cap Anamour" (September to November 1979).
- Ground-breaking
research on the child trade in Bangkok, Thailand (3 months - 1979/80).
Presentation of report, "The Price of a Child" (later to be published),
to the "Working Group on Slavery and Slavery-like Practices", United
Nations, Geneva (August 1980). Participation in the BBC documentary
film, "One way ticket to Hualampong", on child trafficking in Thailand
(1981).
- First
research on the sexual exploitation of children by tourists in Sri
Lanka (February to April 1980). Writing of 2 reports, "Hello, What's
Your Name Then?" and "Boy Prostitution in Sri Lanka" (1980 &
1981). Press Conference in Switzerland on the direct link between the
publication and open sale of specialised guides in the west and the
promotion of child prostitution and pornography in developing countries
such as Sri Lanka, the Philippines .... (1981). Assistance to the
Government of Sri Lanka in drawing up measures to protect children from
prostitution. Participation in the government committee (Ministry of
Plan Implementation, the Tourist Board, Chief of Police, Tdh ... )
which was set up to monitor and develop these measures (5 months in
1980/1981).
- Interim
management and evaluation of the Tdh programme, "Jari Children's
Village", Wollo District, Ethiopia (2 months - 1980).
- Evaluation
of the Tdh co-operative credit project in Kurigram District, North
Bangladesh (3 months - 1982).
- Exploratory
disaster relief mission in Chad (2 months - 1982).
- Follow-up
research (3 weeks), sponsored by the British "Daily Mirror" newspaper,
for an article by John Pilger on child slavery in Thailand.
Presentation of report, "The Exploitation of Child Labour in Thailand",
to the United Nations in Geneva (August 1982).
March
1978 - August 1979: SRI LANKA
- Evaluation
and closure of the Tdh nutrition programme in 6 tea estates in Nuwara
Eliya district.
- Formulation
of a resettlement and development programme for two squatter
communities, comprising "Indian Tamil" families, mainly harijan caste,
living in the town of Nuwara Eliya. Negotiating and signing an
agreement with the Sri Lankan Government on behalf of Tdh, designing
the new village ("Galway Village"), to be built on nearby government
land, and managing its construction. Planning the programme components
in collaboration with the target families and the neighbouring
tea-estate community: a crèche, a day care centre, a
children's trade school and a commercial agricultural project for
adults.
- Establishment
of a pre-school and educational support project for children (from tea
estate and harijan caste families) in Hatton, Nuwara Eliya district.
APRIL
1975 - DECEMBER 1977: Field Director, Tdh, North Bangladesh
Design,
establishment and management of:
- emergency
shelters and feeding programmes for victims of the 1974 floods
- mother
and child clinics, with nutrition units for children with
kwashiorkor/marasmus
- 2
primary schools, with teacher training in active learning methods,
design and production of appropriate syllabi and materials
- 2
residential trade training centres for children
- a
pilot co-operative credit programme for landless mothers
- an
integrated rural development project, with a strong focus on the
empowerment of women, comprising homestead land cultivation, health and
nutrition education, income-generation support (to families/women's
co-operatives), promotion of family planning awareness (and provision
of contraceptives), vitamin A distribution, mobilisation of community
resources ....
- administrative
& accounts systems, monitoring tools, organizational &
staffing structures... .
JULY
1974 - MARCH 1975: Field Director, Tdh, Gopalganj, Faridpur, Bangladesh
- Design
and implementation of a project enabling 200 returnee Bangladeshi
families, living in a squatter refugee colony after the Independence
War, to reclaim and resettle on their own homestead and agricultural
land. Legal support, provision of bamboos and thatch for housing, rice
seed and small wooden boats, on a part credit, part grant basis.
*****************
July
1973 - June 1974: Administrative Officer, Save The Children Fund (UK),
Khulna, Bangladesh
- Management
of mother and child clinics (urban and rural), office management,
logistics.
June
1972 - May 1973: Trainee Social Worker, Berkshire Social Services
Department, Newbury, England
- Generic
casework (families, the elderly, young offenders).
- Establishment
and management of a community centre for Ugandan Asian refugees in
Greenham Common Resettlement Camp.
June
1971 - May 1972: Residential Child Care Officer, Somerset Social
Services Department, England
- Responsible
for the day to day care and counselling of emotionally disturbed
children and children in conflict with the law in a Government Home.
*****************
VOLUNTARY
WORK AND TEMPORARY EMPLOYMENT AS A STUDENT
1968
- 1971 - University of St. Andrews, Fife, Scotland
1966/7
(9 months) - Belmont House School, Newton Mearns, Scotland
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