Trip Dates & Itinerary
Trip Dates & Itinerary
Trip Dates: M 12/20/2011 through 01/12/2012 from LAX
- Steven Roy will be the logistic leader of this trip. Informational or phone contacts and/or requests for interviews should be made through Sandy Ramsey.
- Volunteers may join the tour at any point – you/they don’t have to do the entire trip with us, as long as we know when they will join and leave.
- Because this trip does not involve an extended stay in any one location, we will not be able to offer long term work/engagement opportunities to volunteers who choose to join us. The information on our website at http://crisisrecovery.org/index.php/get-involved will not apply to this trip.
Itinerary
- 12/20 – 12/26 Kathmandu, Nepal (Volunteers can get a Nepalese VISA on arrival in Kathmandu)
o Meet for discussion and action planning with NGOs, Women for Human Rights (WHR) and DRR Livlihoods
o Conduct a field evaluation of our ongoing projects and a goat giving ceremony in cooperation with Women for Human Rights (WHR)
o Review Hotel Properties: We will look at boutique hotels to purchase in connection with CRI’s collaboration with Women for Human Rights (WHR) to train widowed women in hospitality, accounting, food services, and other hospitality industry activities.
- 12/26 Delhi, India (Volunteers must have an Indian VISA on arrival at any location in India)
- 12/27 – 12/29 Agra, India
- 12/29 – Delhi, India
- 12/30 - 01/03 Chennai, India
- 01/03 – 01/04 Colombo, Sri Lanka and overland to Galle, Sri Lanka. (Volunteers can get a Sri Lankan VISA on arrival in Colombo. Colombo is the only POE for air flight into Sri Lanka. Therefore, volunteers who wish to join us for the Sri Lankan portion of the trip must arrive in Colombo and must join us in Galle on or before 01/04)
- 01/05 – Overland to Kandy, Sri Lanka
- 01/06 Kandy, Sri Lanka
- 01/07 – 01/09 Overland with AWAW to the north country cities of Ampare and Trincomalee, Sri Lanka
- 01/10 Return to Kandy, Sri Lanka
- 01/11 Overland to Colombo, Sri Lanka
- 01/12 Thursday Fly Colombo to LAX via Hong Kong
- 01/12 Home at LAX
o Meet for discussion and action planning with NGOs, Orissa State Volunteers and Social Workers Association (osvswa.org)
o Fact finding meetings with several NGOs. Details are still pending.
o Opportunity to visit the Taj Mahal will be provided.
o Meet for discussion, fact finding, and action planning with NGO Skillshare International (skillshare.org)
o Meet for discussion, fact finding, and action planning with NGOs, Coastal Poor Development Action Network, and Center for Association for Rural Education and Service (CARES)
o Sightseeing opportunities will be provided
o Meet for discussion, fact finding, and action planning with NGO Bridge to Sri Lanka
o If possible, we will visit the Elephant Preserve/Refuge in Pinnawela and/or observe elephant bath at 10 AM or 2 PM
o Meet for discussion, fact finding, and action planning with NGO Association of War Affected Women (AWAW) in Kandy
o We will visit the women who received a spice grinder on CRI’s previous visit, and will evaluate donation of another spice grinder.
o We will also evaluate the pottery cooperative and may agree to purchase pottery manufacturing equipment.
Trip Objectives
New Projects
o This is What Wealth Looks Like (Small items such as tiffins, sewing machines, spice grinders, goats, ducks, chickens, or pigs can provide hope and an income. Income can allow women to enroll their children in school, thus creating a future for them. CRI gives direct material aid to families and organizations in South Asia to advance this goal.)
o This is What Courage Looks Like (Portraits and interviews with extraordinary women who are standing up for the rights of women in South Asia despite extreme social disincentives and occasional death threats.)
o This is What Strength Looks Like (Women who are making their way to better lives for themselves, their families, and their communities in South Asia despite social and economic barriers that they are forced to overcome.)
CRI would welcome volunteer participation in this project to assist in development, videography, scripting, editing and distributing the video.
We will be working on this objective throughout our trip.
Local Hotel Management Project in Kathmandu, Nepal – We will initiate discussions with WHR and a commercial hospitality operator in Kathmandu leading to the purchase and operation of a boutique hotel in Kathmandu. The hotel will serve as a training venue where WHR’s constituents can learn a variety of trades relevant to the hospitality/tourism industry in Nepal. On completion of training, the hotel will offer placement assistance or direct employment if possible. To the extent possible, the training will be offered on an each-one-teach-one basis, fostering solidarity and loyalty among the graduates and sustainability in the teaching program.
This project represents a major transition point for CRI. It marks the beginning of a transition in our organization from passive funding though local NGOs and direct giving to selected beneficiaries and into active management of projects in-situ within the areas we serve.
Fish Nets in Chennai, India – This is an evaluation visit and fact finding conversation with two non-profits in Chennai, India who serve disenfranchised women. Sandy Ramsey has had previous contact with the organizations and has been in frequent e-mail contact with them since that initial meeting. One of the organizations is attempting to organize a fish-net factory to train local women in manufacturing skills and supply local fishing communities with a badly needed asset. The goal of these conversations will be to determine
o what the organizations project goals and objective are,
o whether the organizations have the accountability and effectiveness to carry out the projects, and
o whether CRI can assist them with material, monetary, or administrative support
If it is determined that the organizations have an effective and accountable program, CRI may purchase items in the local economy to assist them in that effort.Elephant refuge in Pinnawela on way to Kandy – This initiative is a bit off CRI’s usual vector. It represents an effort to with other NGO or NFP partners and to broaden the community of support for both CRI and their organizations.
New NGO contacts: New Project Assessments and New Friends – Sandy Ramsey has been actively communicating with a number of NGOs located in the cities we intend to visit. We will meet with some of them to determine
o what the organizations are doing,
o whether the organizations have the accountability and effectiveness to carry out projects, and
o whether CRI can assist them with material, monetary, or other support for those projects
If it is determined that the organizations have an effective and accountable program that fits withing the scope of CRIs Not-for-profit objectives, CRI may purchase items in the local economy to assist them in that effort.
Old Project Review and Extensions
We will visit WHR in Kathmandu to review programs that they are conducting and to which CRI has contributed on previous visits to South Asia. CRI is obligated to honor several donors’ requests that we donate a number of agricultural assets (goats, mostly) to women in WHRs programs. Hence, time has been allotted for a visit to “the Widows Village” in order to fulfill this obligation and the social relations and customs that attend it. We will also evaluate the efficacy of the donation program and determine whether it should be continued.
Spicy Work in Sri Lanka – On a previous trip to Trincomalee, Sri Lanka CRI donated a spice grinder for use by the local women. It has been reported that this machine supports some 100 women and their families. This represents an extraordinary return on the $400 ($4/family) purchase – making it one of our more successful and effective projects. We will visit Trincomalee to assess this project and will, if indicated, commit to provide additional support (in the form of additional grinders for the operation)
Project Evaluations for On-going projects