Back Up and Re-group!

On September 30, 2016 By Daniel EmigIn Development, TCD, Team, TrainingLeave a comment

What’s a better attention-getter than a Bob Marley statue, complements of Universal Studio’s(Orlando, Florida)!

A breather from the travels and overseas’ focus, our GHNI-USA(and Geneva, Switzerland) team gathered in Orlando, Florida for a few days of re-grouping, training, camaraderie and new challenges for our future into ’17 and beyond. What an incredibly good time of seeing where we’ve been and accomplished in the past 15 years.

Each team member was able to update their specific focus, and do some healthy projections out into the future, laboring together to help each other in virtually all capacities.

From various regions we work in, each of us were mutually encouraged to hear stories of how Transformational Community Development(TCD) was impacting individuals, villages, cultures, and governments, in ways well beyond each of our individual foci. “Team” matters! Administrative responsibilities in Geneva and Orlando matter deeply into each village!

I am privileged to have such surroundings of this team, each grabbing a nearby baton or rope from another to help. We must have each other!

In the months ahead as you read of villages and lives being transformed, please keep in mind that it’s not “about” me. It’s about our collaborative efforts into the lives … bring Help and Hope to the Hidden and Hurting.

And a HUGE “Thank You” for being equally a part of this team … !!!

Daniel

House of Esther – Spitak, Armenia … there … !

On August 30, 2016 By Daniel EmigIn Armenia, GHNI, refugee, Self-Sustainability, TCD1 Comment

House of Esther – Spitak, Armenia

It’s truly a beauty to behold, when one sees one person, impassioned, committed to a task at hand, accomplish so much in 5 short weeks of their “vacation” time! Please witness this man and his accomplishments … Vince Melkonian.

HoE – House of Esther, in Spitak, Armenia is a future home of transition, healing, and wholeness for refugees out of Syria and other needful locations. Seeing that TCD-Transformational Community Development can happen in this setting, Vince is focused on allowing GHNI to serve alongside he and others, as they help some of the neediest people of Armenian decent, displaced in war-torn locations.

To accomplish this, much logistics have to happen in short order, especially as winter is fast approaching this higher elevation locale.

Pig pens were built. Chicken coops were built. Manure, top-soil and fertilizer were brought in for establishing fields of farming. Green-houses were established. Crops planted in early Spring were harvested. Dorms for refugees were configured. Vision seminars for TCD were taught to those living there and locals. Relationships between organizations were further secured, as UNHCR-Armenia, GHNI, ALEPPO org., and others came together to commit to this special place.

Further help is needed in finances, as we secure a manager for, and make all provisions needful for full-fledged self-sustainability or HoE. Will you please consider these needs and all we all seek to accomplish here. It’s a great semi-rural location for vetted refugees to re-establish life and become healthy again. Donations can be made at: https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/ghni-AM-House-of-Esther?code=Refugees%20in%20the%20Middle%20East%20Webpage

Thank you … Daniel!

UNHCR-Armenia - ALEPPO-GHNI + — UNHCR-Armenia – ALEPPO-GHNI +

India 2x Villages: Agriculture & Education foci …

On June 30, 2016 By Daniel EmigIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Jatapara 6-'16 new farming TCD initiates — Jatapara 6-’16 new farming TCD initiates

Your name: Manu Kisku Date – 10 June 2016

Last month I had taught the villagers to do kitchen gardening and grow brinjal, tomato, chlli, etc., so that they don’t have to buy vegetables from the market and they can get nutritious food and they can even sell it. As the result, some of the villgers did it. Dular Hembrom is one of them who tried it. With the little help of us, she grown brinjal this time, and surprisingly she got a large amount of brinjal that she is having it herself, giving it to the neighbour and she has sold some of it to the weekly market and earned more than 500 yet.

It is a solid proof before villagers that with little amout of water, they can get a good vegetable. Now Dular Hembrom is standing as a modal before other and I am trying to teach her success story to others.

Your name: Sanjay Tigga Date – 10 June 2016

The TCD work was started in Kharibari Village under Jalpaiguri District of West Bengal in the month of May 2016. Though I would visit this village once a while and offer study materials among the children, that paved the way to enter in community. From May month I started giving weekly tuition to the children and now around 7-8 children are coming every week. Then one Wednesday I called a gathering of parents and informed them about the por performance fo the children studying in government schools.

The children are so weak so that a 2^nd standard children are not able to read and write English alphabet. Almost all the children are very weak in studies to the poor education system of government schools. When parents were shown how weak their children were, that really raised a concern in their minds. I explain them that we can together overcome this problem provided they help me wholeheartedly. They were happy and now they all are dropping their children to weekly school.

Khairbari 6-'16 TCD Education — Khairbari 6-’16 TCD Education

Spitak, Armenia – May ’16

On May 29, 2016 By Daniel EmigIn Armenia, refugee, United Nations1 Comment

Spitak, Armenia – May ’16

Abram-Gary-Dan-Haig A & H are 1st 2 residents of HoE - Spitak, Armenia — Abram-Gary-Dan-Haig
A & H are 1st 2 residents of HoE –
Spitak, Armenia

Nothing compares to actually being on-location. My(Daniel’s) time in Spitak & Yerevan, Armenia was incredibly rewarding, as I was able to be close to all the staff, volunteers, and the two men(Abraham & Haig) who are the initial refugees at the House of Esther(HoE). These men will soon be joined by their families, as they set up all the needs of Transformational Community Development(TCD) as it relates to this unique setting of refugees from war-ravaged Syria.

Vince at the helm, leading so many of these initiatives allowing HoE to become a reality, he is juggling so many responsibilities and needs. Please do let us/me know if you’d like to be a part of this endeavour. Our hopes are to have at lease 3 families there by summers’ end.

Already, we have leadership that is allowing mentoring related to agriculture and specifically green-house gardening, so needful in this part of Armenia at an altitude of over 7K feet.

Sayran. ...The Litel Big Man (our GHNI Garden Greenhouse Specialist - Spitak, Armenia — Sayran. …The Litel Big Man (our GHNI Garden Greenhouse Specialist – Spitak, Armenia

Our meetings with ALEPPO Organisation and UNHCR for Armenia went well. Our hope is to have them both engaged in HoE, as they are enabled to provide quality oversight. More importantly, they are also able to help GHNI pre-select specific families most suited to this type of refugee setting, almost two hours from the capital of Yerevan.