Executive Summary
During the month of January, World Vision Azerbaijan welcomed
new National Director, Stu Willcuts. 621 MT of WFP supplemental
food rations were distributed to 44,744 beneficiaries. World
Vision is expanding the current WFP supplemental food
distribution to include an additional 87,000 beneficiaries and 13
districts in central and south-central Azerbaijan. QIIP has
provided an additional 132 loans to create and expand IDP
businesses. CSRP continues work on 15 shelters in Sumgait, home
to 5,628 beneficiaries. Myles Harrison has been appointed
Regional Manager based in Mingechevir, and Tammie Harris joins
World Vision Azerbaijan to conduct a three-month nutritional
survey.
1. New World Vision Azerbaijan National Director:
World Vision Azerbaijan welcomed new National Director Stu
Willcuts to Azerbaijan, effective January 1, 1998. Stu, an
American, served with World Vision International as Associate
Director of Latin America Region from 1977-1982, Relief Associate
from 1982-1985, and Representative for East Africa, based in
Nairobi, Kenya from 1985 to 1987. In 1990, Stu was named
Vice-President of Northwest Medical Teams International, a
US-based NGO. He was named as a member of the DART Team of OFDA
for Operation Provide Comfort in Northern Iraq and an assessment
team to Albania and Romania. In 1992, Stu joined the American Red
Cross as the representative to the Soviet Union based in Moscow.
As the Soviet Union dissolved that same year, Stu was moved to
Armenia where he was the deputy head of delegation for the IFRC
and relief delegate for the ICRC from the Fall of 1992 until
mid-1993.
In mid-1993, he joined SCF-USA as the Caucasus Regional
Director. He was transferred to Angola in Spring 1994 to open the
SCF/USA program. In January 1995, Stu was named as one of the
DART/OFDA officers for Sarajevo, Bosnia finishing in July. He
then was asked to lead an International Medical Corps team to
assess the healthcare needs of Sierra Leone and Liberia,
finishing in December, 1995. Stu then joined AirServ
International to assist in opening their program in Liberia in
early 1996. Due to the change in the political situation the
AirServ program could not be realized. Stu was then contracted by
USAID as the Food for Peace officer for Sierra Leone finishing in
December, 1997.
World Vision Azerbaijan is excited to have Stu leading our
programs. He brings with him a wealth of experience, and a
detailed knowledge of the Transcaucus region. Please join us in
extending a warm welcome to Stu.
2. Supplemental Food Assistance
The first month of the first round of the 1998 distribution of
World Food Programme (WFP) supplementary food rations to
seventeen north-central and northwest districts was completed on
31 January. During January, over 621 MT of supplementary food
rations of flour, peas, oil and sugar have been distributed to
44,744 beneficiaries, comprising 11,828 families. Over 243 MT of
wheat flour and 480MT of vegetable oil arrived and were unloaded
at the warehouse in Mingechevir.
With final approval given this month from WFP headquarters in
Rome, World Vision is preparing for an expansion of our current
food distribution program, to include an additional 13 districts
of central and south-central Azerbaijan. This distribution will
be based in Imishli, and will provide 1,800 MT or three months of
emergency food aid to 87,000 refugees and IDPs who stood to have
their food assistance cut off without notice. This month, the
staffing and support structures have been put in place: a World
Vision office was opened in Imishli, warehousing was secured,
food rations for the Imishli operation have been transferred from
Mingechevir and diverted from new WFP shipments. Some previous
CARE Intl. staff have been retained, new staff have been hired,
and World Vision staff has been transferred. World Visions
food distribution and monitoring systems have been established in
Imishli, and new staff is being trained in conjunction with the
Mingechevir operation. Distribution in the new districts is to
begin mid-February.
The Food For Work pilot program continues, with the number of
participant families over 100. Several new work sites have been
identified in Ganje and Mingechevir, and World Vision continues
to explore possible future projects as a means of providing
assistance for those families likely to be phased out from future
WFP food distributions.
3. Income Generation
The Quick Impact Income Project (QIIP) seeks to provide small
loans for business creation among IDPs, to increase family
income, food security and standards of living of IDP families in
Ganje, Mingechevir, Kazak and Baku. In January, $66,750 in loans
has been disbursed, with an average loan size of $513. An
additional 132 QIIP-supported businesses have been created or
expanded. Since its inception, QIIP has lent out over $630,000,
to start or expand a total of 2,098 businesses.
In Baku and Ganje, the demand for second and third loans among
current QIIP clients continues to increase. Upon
"graduating" from the QIIP program, which involves
repaying the initial loan, keeping detailed records of all
business activity during the life of the loan, updating business
and marketing plans, and attending all required business training
and regular meetings with World Vision Business Advisors, QIIP
clients then become eligible apply for second and third loans.
These loans are beneficial for all parties involved: existing
QIIP clients who have proven their creditworthiness as well as
their business skills are eligible for additional loans to
further expand their successful businesses. This translates to
increased revenues and profit, the hiring of additional workers
(who are usually also IDPs), and increased financial security and
self-reliance for participating IDP families. For QIIP Business
Advisors, they continue to deal with clients who understand the
importance of the business skills taught them and put them into
practice, have proven their ability to repay QIIP loans, and have
established markets to sell their goods or services.
4. Community Shelter Rehabilitation Project (CSRP)
The ongoing mechanisms for cleaning and maintaining the
buildings continue to proceed well, and witness an increased
understanding of communal responsibility among the shelters
IDP residents. The six-month evaluation period for Shelter
Working Group (SWG) craftsmen for buildings completed in the
summer has come to the end. During this time, the craftsmen were
responsible for on-going maintenance needs of the rehabilitated
shelters, as identified by the community through the SWG. Reports
from the SWG indicate that craftsmen have completed well over 80%
of all maintenance requests from the SWG within two weeks of the
requests. There is also high praise for the work of these
craftsmen, both from community residents and SWG leaders.
Following this six-month evaluation, the toolkits are given to
the craftsmen, and it is the responsibility of the community to
compensate the craftsmen for any future repairs. In the shelters
in which the six-month evaluation is complete, on-going
maintenance continues to be performed by craftsmen, who are
either compensated for their work by individual families, or
perform the needed services for free for poor families in their
shelter. To facilitate the ownership of the community in on-going
maintenance needs of their shelter, WV has also provided each SWG
with a small amount of spare parts, such as additional cement,
sockets, fuses, and light bulbs. On-going maintenance supplies
are paid with collections from the residents as organized by the
SWG.
CSRP continues rehabilitation work on 15 large public
buildings in Sumgait, home to 5,628 beneficiaries. Because of the
impending winter weather conditions, work on the roofs of these
shelters was the first priority of the rehabilitation. This
roofing work was carried out on all 15 buildings simultaneously,
and is now completed. Since 1995, World Vision has rehabilitated
over 475 public buildings and shelters, providing sanitation,
safety and security to over 34,000 beneficiaries.
5. Nutritional Survey:
A comprehensive nutritional survey is being completed in the
30 districts in which World Vision currently distributes food
assistance to over 190,000 beneficiaries. Questionnaires and
initial research are being developed in conjunction with WFP and
other NGOs. Local staff is being recruited and trained, with the
survey to be carried out in February and March. This survey will
assess household food security and nutrition for IDP children and
families currently receiving food rations, and is being conducted
by World Vision in order to target the most vulnerable recipients
as we enter a phase-out period in supplementary food assistance.
6. Staff comings and goings:
Myles Harrison, previously Program Officer, Operations
Officer, and most recently Acting Officer in Charge for seven
months, has been appointed Regional Manager with the arrival of
new Country Director, Stu Willcuts. Myles will be responsible for
overseeing the 30-district food distributions, regional
microenterprise operations in Ganje, Mingechevir and Kazak, the
nutritional survey currently being conducted, and the Food for
Work pilot program, as well as possible future repatriation
efforts. Myles, a British citizen, graduated from Leeds
University in the UK with a degree in Management Studies and
Operational Research.
Tammie Harris joined World Vision Azerbaijans staff in
January, to conduct the nutritional survey in the 30 districts in
which World Vision distributed food aid. Tammies previous
relief and development experience was in Senegal, and in Sri
Lanka with the Peace Corps. She received an MPH from Tulane
University in the US.
WVAz continues to search for two open staff positions. An MED
Project Manager has yet to be identified, though the search
process continues. Additionally, a Commodities Officer is sought
to manage WVAzs USAID/WFP food distributions from the
Mingechevir office and warehouses. Both staffing needs are
anticipated for April 1998. World Vision Azerbaijan has 8
expatriate staff, representing Australia, Ethiopia, United
Kingdom, and the United States, and 200 national staff.
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