Jockin and an old Friend in Bombay
November   2003

Peter Swan
Back in Black
now in Bangkok

Rizwan and Imran the newly formed  
Video Team from URC Karachi 

 

Adnan and latest addition 
to URC  Abdul Rehman 

 

 

Our good friend Nguyen Thu Houng   accepts the award

Arif Hasan's new book
available from ACHR 

 

Louisa

May, Louisa, Jon

in Bhutan

 

 

ACHR ACTIVITIES CALENDARS

   to Decmber 2005  
    2001 

   ACHR Contents of Web Site
   Contents Index by Country

ACHR Programmes
Young Professionals
Eviction Watch and Housing Rights
Advocacy
Country Level Projects
Training and Advisory Programme
Community Strengthening

TAP III Components
Regional Issue Based Workshops
Regional Exchanges
Community Strengthening
New Initiatives
Communication and Documentation

Why Community to Community Exchanges ???

"If I am from a South African poor community and I learn a new building technique in Karachi, I don't then go to a seminar or lab, or write a report or a book, or take it to an NGO committee ......  I immediately get to work with it when I return to my community and through our Federation I am a permanent, accessible resource for many other communities."
   
     Eldridge Jerry    South Africa

SEE  FACE   TO   FACE
COMMUNITY EXCHANGES

2005   December

Philippine YP Arlene Lusterio is now in her third week in Can Tho Vietnam and struggling to learn Vietnamese. Arlene is doing research in "urban" coastal human settlements, at the Mekong Delta Development Research Institute of Can Tho University.

Cambodia
Somsack and Wut report .... UPDF Cambodia have expanded to 13 other cities besides Phnom Penh - with over 30 small community based up-grading processes in place

October
Arif Hasan has written wise words on the Earthquake in Pakistan here

ACHR Activities Calendar 
2005   Updated October 2005   CLICK HERE

"If you see anything mysterious or unusual - enjoy it while you can " - Luenig

Where's Fr Jorge Anzorena ??  
Thailand     Sept 30 until Nov 1 2005
Europe SELAVIP until 23 Nov
South Africa - from Nov 24 to Dec 20
In Japan from 25 January 2006
Philippines from around 15 of February
Philippines unitl March 15
March 15 to Japan till August 2006
anzorena@aa.mbn.or.jp 

Moving Around July

Prof Johan Silas is busy in Aceh Indonesia constructing 14,500 new houses with a grant from ADB.

David Crosbie is in rural China evaluating and monitoring relocation projects.
Andre Alexandre is in Ladack India working on a new project of village infrastructure as well as the continuing heritage preservation projects.
Abdul Khatri is stilll in Cambodia and now working on water and sanitation projects in peri-urban areas .
Jon and May Price ( Domingo) and girls will live in Jordon for a while. Jon will work in the Lebanon and Syria for UNRWA.

TSUNAMI News July
The Thai's working in tsunami affected villages have been invited by UNDP to visit communities in the Maldives to exchnage ideas on community-based rehabilitation processes.
ACHR wil also collaborate with UNDP in organising a Tsunami dialogue with people from affected communities in Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and the Maldives - to be held soon in Phuket, Thailand.

Tsunami January
By week 3 of the Tsunami relief and rehabilitation effort we have constructed a new web site you can find Here

2004

Sad News from Durban South Africa
Many in Asia know Patrick from South Africa. He has inspired savings groups all over Asia. Last week we received the sad news that Patrick's wife Doreen passed away suddenly. On behalf of the Asian urban poor movement we send our sympathies to Patrick and his 2 daughters,

From South Africa:
On a humid & sweltering day the South African Federation came in their 100s to bury Doreen Nobuhle Mshengu Hunsley, wife of the first Federation President.
By coming together to pay their last respects they remembered that in Africa and beyond it is the women who pay the highest price for poverty and have the most to gain from its eradication.
But as long as they remain enchained, the fight against poverty will be lost, in large part because the war will continue to be marshalled by those who are not driven - by their pain,suffering and oppression – to end it.

December 26 - Tsunami
We're trying to keep up with the tragedy across Asia. Send reports to be posted so we can learn from each other.

DEC 20 Sustainable Partnerships !
Best wishes to Anne Nicholson and Phil soon to be married in Australia. Anne returned to Australia during the year after 3 years at the ACHR secretariat in Bangkok.
Also to Anne's replacement at the ACHR Sec. Le Thi Huyen who is off back to Vietnam this month to get married - and then returning to work for us, of course.
And congratualtions to ACHR's Vietnam resident Hanoi Huong and Mr Thomas - married earlier this year .
ACHR marriages ! - could be a New Millennium Goal. (not)

December
The Orangi Pilot Project - OPP - Web site is at
http://www.oppinstitutions.com/

We are compiing a Report on ACHR activities in 2004
Available soon - Meanwhile for a summary you can go to the calendar below.

ACHR Activities Calendar 
2003-4   Updated November 2004   CLICK HERE

Young Professionals -
Jeffrey Ing - who was working in Thailand for the past 6 months is now in East Timor helping out with community activities
David Crosbie - in Cambodia for more than a year or 2, is taking a break back in the UK - David worked on ACHR's CDS for Phnom Penh and the Understanding Asian Cities activity.
Mami Nakamura - Thai speaker from Japan - worked in Thailand for over one year - produced great community centred videos - now back in Japan until February.
Much thanks to each for some great work.
Le Thi Huyen is the new voice at the ACHR Secretariat - currently working on counrty reports for Laos and Vietnam and helping out with exchnages in Thailand.

Overheard
"Kill the Vertical" - a new phrase in favour of horizontal learning between communities rather the vertically inclined "training" by leaders, NGO's or institutions with perhaps top down inclinations.

Son: "Dad is god on our side ?"
Dad: "I don't think God's playing any more"

An anonynous ACHR elder returning to Aisa from Europe:
"It is good to be in a different environment and with people who think through the book rather than from the field."

 

Sept Many from ACHR and SDI attending the Bacelona .. World Urban Forum

Guide to Ban Mankong:
Thailand's Up-grading programme for all cities. HERE

June All of us were deeply shocked this month when Jockin was admitted to hospital with serious complications arising from blood sugar and heart disorders. Thankfully he is now recovering. His illness comes as a warning signal to all of us – but especially to Jockin himself.

2003
2003 was an interesting year for the urban poor in Asia and busy enough for the ACHR secretariat in Bangkok. Go here for a summary message from ACHR for 2003

Dec 2003
New Edition of ACHR's Newsletter on How to deal with EVICTIONS
Let us know if you have changed your mailing address since the last issue

Nov 2003
Captain Credit Meets the Prince  
Jockin SDI -NSDF India escorted Prince Charles through Bombay's largest slum Nov 6.  See More Pictures on the SPARC Web site HERE

JULY 
Abdul Khatri takes leave from OPP to work for ACHR in Cambodia and the region for 12 months
May Domingo-Price is helping out at UPDF Phnom Penh this month and will return to PP from Bhutan, with Jonathon and kids, full time from January 2004.  Perhaps also to be joined by the return of Hallam and wife (congratulations Hallam for August) and also Keke and family. 
URC Phnom Penh have a new Web site   HERE urc.freehomepage.com 

JUNE
Wuria Karadaghy  leaves Afghanistan this month to work in Colombo. You can write to Wuria at karadaghy@hotmail.com

Peter Swan - back in Bangkok after a couple of years in Phnom Penh 

Prafulla Pradhan  is back for the UN in Burma after Afghanistan. 

Congratulations to Visal and wife ( UPDF Phnom Penh) on the birth of their first child.  Visal will spend a month in Japan looking after the kid. 

Huong meets the King of Sweden
The Five Provincial Vietnamese Cities project receives  the Stockholm Partnerships Award from his Majesty King  Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden.  Photo opposite: Our good friend Nguyen Thu Houng   accepts the award ---  

ACHR Annual Regional Meeting May 24-28 
Pix  HERE

Lalith L  has left the UNCHS post in Bangladesh and has taken a post in Afghanistan 
Update 2005 - in Sri Lanka

POETRY AND DEVELOPMENT  ??
Our friend and ACHR "elder" Arif Hasan has allowed us to post some of his beautifully thought provoking poetry on our website. 
Take a look   HERE

Tuy Someth  our old Cambodian friend from PADEK and SUPF is leading the local team of the UNCHS DFID Urban Poverty Reduction Programme in Phnom Penh. 

Congratulations to all at OPP- RTI on the occasion of being awarded the UN HABITAT AWARD for 2000.

Kenneth Fernandes, now working out of Australia with COHRE  

For those who know Wuria Karadaghy we have posted another brief update from him ... this time from Afghanistan  HERE
Update Wuria is now in Sri Lanka - 2005

Read what people think about 
Istanbul Plus 5 and related issues   HERE

MAY
YP Patama Roonrakwit  - ( CASE Bangkok ) went to Buckingham Palace April 2001 to meet with the Queen.. Patama was instrumental in helping the Oxford Brookes (UK) University organize practicum's and workshops in Asia each January for the past 3 years for development students at Brookes, MIT and YPs under ACHR YPP.  Oxford Brookes won the Queen's Anniversary Prize for its MSc course in Development Practice. 

Chris Wilson (YP working canal communities in Bangkok for the past year)  has left for Hong Kong. Chris will work as an architect and replenish his cash reserves to enable his return to Thailand. Contact Chris at chris_wilson49@hotmail.com

Two Awards to Arif Hasan - Congratulations -see the e-News page and small tribute

MAGSAYSAY WINNERS Congratulations !
Jockin Amputham -  for International Understanding   Click  Here for a small tribute to a special ACHR person.  

Phy Chunthy (Thy) a small tribute to our friend who died so young.  HERE