Washington, DC - Over the last few weeks, I’ve been contacted by many friends, colleagues, and Global Fund for Children supporters expressing concerns about exactly how the massive amounts of funding and resources for Haiti will be deployed. I wanted to take a moment to respond and share some of my thoughts on the situation.

I, too, am concerned that despite the tremendous outpouring of support in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake, the resources and funds will be focused solely on large-scale organizations and projects. To be sure, a global panoply of governmental and nongovernmental organizations are vital to the short- and long-term survival of Haiti and its people. The scope and scale of this disaster requires mobilization and coordination on an unprecedented level.

But the danger in focusing global resources solely on large international entities is that as soon as the situation begins to become somewhat manageable, the vast majority of these groups will close up shop and move on to the next crisis. That is not a criticism, as this is the very model on which they operate. Nonetheless, their inevitable departure has the potential to dampen Haiti’s prognosis for long-term recovery. Read more

Istanbul, Turkey - Turkey, which I once considered the most difficult country in my region, has endeared itself to me over and over again on this trip. Traveling from central Turkey to the southeast and then all the way to the west has given me the unique opportunity to see more regions of this country than most people have the chance to in a lifetime. In four short days, I met with groups in Ankara, Diyarbakir, Istanbul, and the regions of Kocaeli and Adapazari, which were affected by the 1999 earthquake.

Through these many meetings in different areas of the country, I asked the same question—where are the many civil society groups that I expected to find in Turkey? Is it my lack of Turkish language skills? Am I looking in the wrong places? Over and over again, I was assured that it has nothing to do with me but is a systemic issue in the country. Read more

Vientiane, Laos – “You are very friendly. You are so different from Americans,” one of the wait staff in my hotel says to me, leaning in and beaming from ear to ear. Amused by his candid observation, I scan the breakfast room to see what prompted his remarks.

There are travelers arguing with a Lao staff member in English about how cold the coffee is—and about how eggs should be poached, although the Lao-speaking waiter clearly has no idea what “poached” means. He has a gentle smile. He attempts a desperate laugh, as many in this region of the world do when something is a bit uncomfortable. This serves only to infuriate the seated couple. It’s ironic to behold the backdrop to this trio: framed behind them, not 25 meters from the glass window, are Lao families working the streets, their tiny children strapped to their backs in makeshift carrying pouches, as they try to eke out a meager existence by hawking shriveled-up fruits. Poverty in Laos is stark. Read more

Diyarbakir, Turkey - I flew to southeastern Turkey to meet with GFC grantee partners Umut Işiği (Light of Hope) and ÇAÇA (Çocuklar Ayni Çatinin Altinda Dernegi, or Children Under the Same Roof Association). Both groups are located in Diyarbakir, whose population is primarily Kurdish. This region of Turkey has experienced political difficulties, and many children here are affected by political events happening around them. This has caused an increase in violent behavior, and recently many children were convicted outside of Turkey’s child protection law and sentenced to adult prisons for more than 20 years for “exhibiting terroristic behavior.” In response to the situation in Diyarbakir, ÇAÇA has created a coalition of NGOs and has formally requested action from UNICEF on this issue. The organization has also started a study/research project regarding the child protection law and is working on advocacy as well.

ÇAÇA’s primary initiative is running a center where children learn creative arts such as drawing and painting—an outlet outside of the formal education system. The center is located in an extremely low-income neighborhood in the city. While I was visiting ÇAÇA, the staff told me the story of Mahsun. Mahsun was 12 when he started classes at the center four years ago. At that time, he exhibited violent behavior and was very aggressive toward everyone, including his family. He refused to go to school. Through his courses and the work of the staff at ÇAÇA, Mahsun has learned to “open up” and to communicate his feelings. The staff helped him choose a high school, and he will start attending his choice—a specialized vocational school—in the next few months. The staff see him as a huge success and a motivation to continue their programs. Read more

Bangkok, Thailand – Khun Wassana has a good reason for being late. She rushes in to our meeting breathlessly, sits down, lets out a long sigh, and then drops the news: a novice monk in Chonburi, just southeast of Bangkok, has been charged with sexually abusing a child. She had to convene her team to wrestle with the issues. Apart from investigating the facts and assessing the health and safety of the child and family, she expressed concern about how the media and the religious element might influence the case. In a country where more than 90 percent of the population is Buddhist, her concerns are valid. Khun Wassana is the director of the Child Protection Unit at the Center for the Protection of Children’s Rights (CPCR), a GFC grantee partner and Sustainability Award winner. She and Khun Arusa are meeting me for a GFC check-in at a restaurant near Lumpini Park.

I learn about Khun Wassana’s background. Growing up in Petchaburi, about 200 kilometers southwest of Bangkok, Khun Wassana was the fifth of six children and was raised in a fishing family. Her identification with her early days runs deep—she even uses the analogy to discuss her current work: “When I was a child, I would come out to the boats and separate the fish. Fish are easy to categorize. You can look at them and know right away what kind they are. But trafficking and child abuse cases are different—things on the surface are not what they seem, and how you respond can vary. You have to handle each situation appropriately.” Her eyes sparkle as she describes her life path from the fishing boats to being the first one in her family to complete university, to becoming the head of CPCR’s Child Protection Unit. At CPCR, Khun Wassana has accrued 20 years of experience sorting out these complicated trafficking cases and lobbying for Thailand and its people to undertake systemic legal and social change regarding the establishment and enforcement of child protection measures. Read more