Presentations, Discussions, Notes and Images from Rose Charities International Meeting, Ho Chi Minh City, February-March 2009Sat 28th Feb 2009
History and Overview.
The history of Rose Charities is hard to define as so many of those involved have brought in their own particular streams. All these histories may be likened to the roots of a large tree, each coming into the main feeder root at different times, but each being essential and vital to the saga of the whole organization. The amazing histories that everyone brings and which feed or ‘Rose tree’ are all equally relevant: none have any more significance than
any other and each makes up the whole
One can however take the history line which carries the name Rose and at least look at that. Rose Charities came out of projects in Cambodia founded in the early and mid 1990’s . Establishing a project in Cambodia in 1992, with the organization AMDA in an outlying district to provide health services for the refugees returning from the Cambodian-Thai border area, it was clear that there were huge needs in almost every sector. One of these was sight restoration and in 1995 we were able to found an organization we called IRIS (International Resouces for the Improvement of Sight) to help address this issue with simple low cost inra-ocular surgery.
Drawing on contacts with AMDA Nepal, experts were brought from that country to set up a very successful rural ‘eye camp’ program. As the program developed a plan was formulated to extend the simple operation, surgical rehabilitation (ie eye operation) concept to other needed areas. One of these was land mine injury, the incidence of which was enormous. Several excellent prosthetic groups were in the country, but the medical system was inadequate to provide the large number of stump preparations (one cannot put an artificial limb on a non-prepared, often ragged and uneven stump). Other surgical rehabilitation areas included cleft lip and palate surgery, burns injuries, old improperly treated traumatic injury, slow growing tumours, and burns. (often deliberately inflicted by acid throwing). To separate this new division of IRIS from its originally intra-ocular brief, the name ROSE was used, standing originally for ( Rehabilitaion Oriented Surgical Enablement), and operations began in 1997.
In 1998, the IRIS directors decided to split off ROSE from IRIS and an organization was registered in Vancouver Canada in order to run the newly independent ROSE project. This was the birth of Rose Charities Canada. Over subsequent years, other Rose Charities organizations were registered including New Zealand, the UK. Resources steadily increased through donations and grants from the Canadian, Australian and British Embassies support wings and the Kadoorie Charitable Foundation in Hong Kong. In 2002 however the entire project was nearly destroyed when it was subject to a major theft , looting, vandalization and linked identity theft by a locally resident disenfranchised expatriate.
Shocking as these events were both for the poor of Cambodia and Rose Charities donor base, the wave of international support enabled most of the equipment to be replaced in the subsequent years. This fulfilled the pledge of Rose Charities to the original donors such as the Kadoorie Charitable Foundation ( KCF ), Australian and British Government / Embassy Funds, Canada Fund, and private donors that their generous support would not be in vain. In overcoming this event a lesson was learned and a foundation forged which has stood the test of more than a decade and helped the organization to grow and mature. Now, in Cambodia the two projects (eye and rehabilitation surgery) teach, train and operate at multiple levels and act as foci for international experts and groups with specialized expertise to come to assist and bring their skills for the aid of the Cambodian poor, while training personnel from Hong Kong, Australia, Canada, New Zealand etc come to teach and train.
The 2004 Asian tsunami saw Rose teams working with AMDA Canada to provide assistance both in Sri Lanka as well as Aceh Province in Indonesia, emergency relief initiatives which were carried on in later years to Pakistan (Earthquake), USA (Hurricane Katrina), Indonesia (Earthquake), Nepal (floods). Rose Charities and AMDA Canada have always worked very closely in this area where AMDA are emergency relief specialists. The Sri Lanka team which
brought child medical assistance to Kalmnunai, exists too this day as Rose Charities Sri Lanka with its numerous multi-sectorial projects and at the time of writing is currently engaged in emergency humanitarian aid activities assisting the tens of thousands of displaced persons escaping from the conflict areas of the north east. In the past three years Rose Charities Sri Lanka has been funded by The Canadian International Development Agency ( ‘ CIDA ‘)Rose Charities supported AMDA International in their assistance to both Myanmar / Burma in the terrible cyclone of 2008 and the Sichuan Earthquake. AMDA was one of the very few international organizations which was able to send teams to both locations.
From 2004 Rose Charities has continued to expand organically both in Asia, and, more recently in Africa. Rose Charities Australia, and Vietnam (both 2006), Rose Charities Madagascar (evolving from the UCCAN group in 2007), and the linkage of the Hillman Medical Education Fund (2007) which now runs through Rose Charities. This wonderful fund supports medical education in Africa and Pakistan for those who are not able to afford it as well as conducting mother and child teaching workshops and promoting all related aspects of health and education. Based on the incredible lifetime work of Professors Don and Liz Hillman (both O.C. .. Orders of Canada awardees) the fund continues to expand its field of operation.
.The Rose Charities microcredit group, run by Rose Charities Canada and Sri Lanka is one of the most successful sub-groups and it is planned in future to extend this arm to other countries where it could be implemented. Scores of small scale businesses have been assisted in gaining viability which in turn assists families, communities and the country in terms of poverty reduction.
Rose Charities in Cambodia, Vietnam, and, one of the newest members of the network. Malaysia have all been very impressive in the recent years in the expansion of their scope of activities, initiative and involvement. The Rose Charities Cambodia Eye clinic now is statistically the second most productive (numerically) in Cambodian and the Operation FIRST/Rose Charities cooperation project is now one of the main foci for specialized as well as routine rehab surgery operations running properly in Cambodian Ministry of Health facilities. Every year it is also visited by many medical students for elective purposes. Rose Charities Malaysia has, along with the kind hosts of this wonderful conference, Rose Charities Vietnam, made considerable strides forward. Activities are too numerous to list in this report but Rose Charities Malaysia has conducted health missions for the indigenous people of Malaysia, assisted with help for the elderly, supported ‘Health Expo’s and many other charitable efforts. Rose Charities Vietnam on the other hand has continued its blind assistance and poverty reduction programs, assisted with fundraising (overseas) for Vietnamese orphanages, moved to try to assist with a new corneal transplant project and, (between the end of the conference and the time of writing this report) sponsored its first operative eye camp.At this meeting we welcome three directors from Rose Charities USA. Registered in New York, Rose Charities USA has been concentrating on fundraising, and also its own intra-USA project of working with Nez Perce Native American Youth in digital art training and production. Rose Charities New Zealand and Canada also assist with projects within their own countries.
Rose Charities interest and support groups have emerged in Hong Kong, Europe (Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, France), and Singapore, and others continue to emerge organically. All trustees, directors and members of Rose Charities groups hold the same values of maximum cooperation with other groups, contacts, and joint problem-solving for the benefit of those in need. This policy brings many wonderful friendships and confirms the simple fact that assistance is always a two way process.
This meeting will see the launch of the Rose Charities International Charter which has now been worked on for a year from its initiation at the first Rose Charities (10 year Anniversary) Meeting in Penang, Feb 2008. A very great vote of thanks is due to Linda Roberts both for this and for assisting with the organization of the current meeting today. The Charter will finally create a proper ‘hub’ for the Rose Charities network, allow the creation of a Rose Charities International Board and establish proper working practices and guidelines for all official Rose Charities Groups. While there is little desire within the members of the organization to add excess bureaucracy, there is both the wish and need to have linkage, overseeing and intra-Rose Charities discussion mechanisms both for ensuring standards as well as planning out future directions and policies which affect all groups.
The year since the first Rose meeting in Penang in Feb 2008 and this meeting has been a busy one, full of exciting developments. The overriding factor in all these efforts is the dedication, perseverance, drive and charity of so many of those who make up the Rose Charities networks. This meeting, once again brings many of us together to share thoughts, ideas and friendship. Our gracious hosts this year, Rose Charities Vietnam are foremost in perpetuating these characteristics and I want now to express all our gratitude to them for the wonderful arrangements they have made to make this meeting a successful and enjoyable one. Thank youInternational Rose Meeting: Sunday 1st March, Asian Ruby Hotel. Ho Chi Minh City. 9.30 am
Attendees: Linda Roberts (Canada), Joanna Thomson (Rose Charities Australia), Noot Seear- Annie Henley – Jason Rosenstock (Rose Charities USA) , Will Grut (Rose Charities Canada, UK, New Zealand) , Dr Nous Sarom – Ms Dim Vanny (First-Rose Cambodia), Lawence Cheah (Rose Charities Malaysia),
Skype video attendee: Josephine de Freitas (Rose Charities Canada)
Issues were discussed as per the headings below and summarized as follows…
Regional networking – ways forward: Regional networking was considered to be very beneficial for exchange of ideas, plans, resources. Already it has been seen in a expedient and generous donation of sutures for eye surgery from Vietnam to Rose Charities Cambodia when there was an unexpted need and those on order had not turned up. The group was of the opinion that any further contacts an links on a regional basis should be promoted as much as possible. Lawrence Cheah (Malaysia), indicated that he has possible contacts in Indonesia, Singapore, West Malaysia and other areas who might be interested in the Rose Network. It was however noted that regional contacts should not be at the expense of integrated Rose links throughout the whole network. The world today ia one of rapid and easy communications and travel which brings all areas within easy reach of each other.
Development of specific interest areas (eye surgery ,counseling, education, micro-credit etc). The promotion of specific interest areas should be according to the aims and desires of each national group. Rose Charities deliberately has a very wide mandate. ‘Rehabilitation is a term which is applicable to almost any sector. Will Grut (Canada, New Zealand) noted though that groups which had been concentrating on a particular area (such as New Zealand with its focus on eyes) was becoming specifically known in its donor base for its link with this area; and this was often beneficial
Women’s group development. The need for the development of specific women’s groups and / or women’s projects was considered very relevant. Linda Roberts (Canada) had recently been in Nepal , working with Kunti Chapagai to set up a specific womens group to assist with the problems of trafficking.
Emergency relief.. why when how. While emergency relief is important, it needs to be put in context. There are many specialized organizations which deal specifically in these areas which huge amounts of specialized resources and materials available at very short notice. It is important that any relief effort actually assists and does not hinder. Rose Charities should only undertake work in this area if it is clearly of benefit to the recipients and within its logistical capabilities. There has been a very close relationship with AMDA over the years, which is one of the specialist agencies and was one of the very few organizations which had teams both in Sichuan and Myanmar / Burma in 2008 for their respective earthquake and typhoon disasters. Rose Charities contributed to these efforts. Generally however any Rose Charities effort will more likely be undertaken if the disaster is in a country or region where there is a Rose group of project.
The recession and funding. While the recession has certainly reduced levels of donation, the extreme cost effectiveness of the majority of the Rose Charities programs has minimized the impact on the organization. Some small cuts have been necessary in field programs but in almost all cases 100% function has still been preserved by careful planning.
Next International meeting. The next (3rd) Rose Charities International meeting is planned for February 2011. Candidate countries are Malaysia (Penang) again, or Cambodia.
Representatives for international board. These will be decided over the next few weeks and the board be in action by March/April 2008
