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Greetings!

We are please to annouce the 2011 National Jatropha conference.  This conference is being organized by the Jatropha Agriculture and Nutrition Initiative (JANI); a project sponsored by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to promote Jatropha cultivation and improve access to Jatropha markets in Tanzania. Kindly find the specific conference details below.

DATE:       03/03/2011 (Thursday) – 04/03/2011 (Friday)
LOCATION:     New Safari Hotel, Arusha, Tanzania

All conference attendees are expected to arrive before 8:30AM on Thursday, March 3rd 2011, and depart on Saturday, March 5 th 2011.  There will be an optional field visit the morning of Saturday, March 5th. The conference will be conducted in English; therefore all attendee’s should have a good knowledge of the English language.

The 2011 National Jatropha conference has two objectives. The first objective is to identify the realities and constraints related to Jatropha cultivation in Tanzania, based on the shared experiences of stakeholders. The second objective is explore existing opportunities (markets) for Jatropha products, including the potential use of Jatropha in meeting household energy requirements. The conference will produce a directory of contact information for Jatropha related markets, in order to encourage future cultivation of Jatropha by individuals and organizations.

It is our wish that this conference is highly participatory, discussing the realities of Jatropha cultivation, and collaborating to find solutions to the challenges.  We hope that this event can serve as a stepping stone for future policy discussions on biomass as a renewable energy source at both District and National levels. Each participant should feel free to share their opinions, experiences and ideas in order to reach this common goal.

If you have questions, or would like to attend, please contact us at:
JANI Project ‐ National Jatropha Conference 2011
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Phone: +255 756448788

Kind regards,

Paul Warmka
Partners for Development ‐ Tanzania
Chairperson, National Jatropha Conference Organizing Committe

I've had the fortune of being at PFD as an intern for about four months now, and I'm happy to say that I'll be staying on as a Project Assistant through the summer. In the time that I have been here, headquarters has hosted two of our Country Program Directors.

My first day on the job I met Anne Johnson, our CPD for Nigeria. She has been working in our Nigeria program from its launch in 2000, and has some amazing insights to offer. My four months at PFD are nothing when compared to her 20 years of field experience! It's amazing to have the opportunity to learn from such seasoned professionals.

This week our CPD from Cambodia, Jonathan Garrett, is spending some time at headquarters. It's really interesting to get up to the minute information about what is going on the field. It's also great to hear all the little stories about our staff members there that I have yet to meet. It's an odd feeling being one of the few staff members who has yet to see our field offices and get to know the field staff, but I'm sure it will happen some day!

-Whitney

You may have seen some new additions to our resources page lately. Here at PFD we are constantly looking for new information to share with our stakeholders, whether its resources on micro-finance institutions or information about jatropha uses.

Two of these new publications are important curriculum documents for our child-to-child health programs in Cambodia. These curriculum have been built off years of experience, and have been shown to be incredibly effective at spreading factual information between children and to their families. The programs are based on the simple idea that children's behaviors are easier to influence than adults. Therefore, we bring messages about malaria prevention, basic hygiene and nutrition.

Many parties were involved in the revision of the school health education program. Two workshops were held with Kratie and Stung Treng representatives from: PFD, departments of the Provincial Offices of Education and Agriculture, the Teacher Training College, and local schools. For year 1, PFD has written the curriculum for grades 1-3, as many remote villages only have schools with these grades. We also want to pilot the new curriculum. Based on the success of this curriculum, PFD will write a curriculum for grades 4-6, including additional topics on malaria, dengue fever and HIV/AIDS.

PFD would like to thank Souvann Phoum, the Khmer NGO that trained PFD and POE staff in Child-To-Child methodology. We would also like to thank the Provincial Offices of Education in Stung Treng and Kratie for their assistance in writing this book and their continued support. The Stung Treng Teacher Training College also assisted greatly in the writing of lessons and we are grateful for their help. Finally, PFD would like to extend thanks to the teachers in both provinces for their patience and insightful feedback on our program.

Please check out the curriculum and share your thoughts on facebook!

Exciting news to share! Partners for Development is in the planning stages of some awesome social events to come! In an effort to promote our organization and help those who support us understand what it is we're up to lately, there are two events to keep an eye out for!

First - PFD Happy Hour will be coming to a venue near you (if you happen to live in the Washington, DC area that is). Take advantage of the opportunity to meet with PFD staff and board members and mingle with up and coming young professionals. This happening is likely to draw students from many of the DC area universities, so it'll be a great networking opportunity!

Second - PFD will be hosting its first annual Gala Event this fall. The Gala Event will include a fabulous feast, a presentation about one of PFD's amazing programs, and a great opportunity to interact with PFD staff and board members. Look forward to lots more information as we get closer to the date!

Greetings PFD Followers!

Partners for Development is proud to host and evening of networking, discussions, and a mix and mingle occasion for our young professionals! This event will be a great opportunity to network with international development colleagues in a fun, face-to-face setting, while winding down from the workday or a busy class schedule.

Come learn more about current PFD programs and partnership opportunities, network, and enter a raffle with exciting prizes!

When:
Friday, March 26th, 2010
Time:
5pm-7pm
Where:
The Cozy, Comfortable and Friendly
Elephant & Castle Pub
900 19th Street
Washington DC, 20006
Donation/Cover Charge: 
$5

See you there!
All donations will go towards supporting PFD Programs in public health, agriculture,  and small business development

And dont forget PFD's 1st Annual Gala coming soon...

Deniece did a fantastic job of highlighting the amazing response of PfD to the earth quake in Haiti last week. While I too immediately was taken by the enormity of the tragedy and seeming impossibility of the possible reconstruction efforts, the quake also made its impact known on a personal level for me.

The university I attended for my undergraduate degree is Saint Martin's University, a small liberal arts college in Washington State associated with the Benedictine monestary, an order of the Catholic church. Saint Martin's drew many of its students from Bellarmine Preparatory School, a Catholic high school in Tacoma, WA. I have close friends who graduated from Bellarmine.

One of the Bellarmine graduates of 2005, Molly Hightower, was working at an orphanage in Haiti when the earthquake hit last week. Her family recieved word that she had not survived this tragic event early on January 15th. The news rocked our community. A close friend of mine knew Molly and her family very well, and my heart goes out to all that did.

It's sometimes impossible for me to fathom the widespread destruction in Haiti. When I read of tens of thousands dead as the result of this horrific natural disaster it's difficult to understand. It becomes a little more comprehensible when the story hits home, even in such a tragic manner.

Greetings Partners for Development followers, my name is Deniece O. Yeboah, one of your bloggers here at PFD HQ.

It's been such a learning experience working here, staying updated on key international development issues and news stories, while working on various programs to improve the quality of life of underserved populations abroad.
 
Since I’ve been here, the devastating earthquake in Haiti has unfortunately taken the lives of many. Documented as the largest earthquake ever recorded in the area, the core of Haiti and our hearts were shaken. Upon hearing the news my immediate thoughts were, “How is Haiti going to rebuild?" Being the poorest country in the Western hemisphere, prior to the earthquake, Haiti struggled economically, politically and socially to keep its people on their feet.  There is no doubt that the Haiti earthquake adds to the woes of a slighted country, causing an enormous amount of desperation and despair. I cannot stress enough what a natural disaster of unprecedented proportion this is. The time is now, we must all pull together to help our neighbor in the south. Thankfully many people have already reached out to see what they can do, with an outpouring of aid money aimed at key needs. (To read more about the needs of Haiti refer to our Resources section with up to date reports on the on going crisis).
 
Within hours of the earthquake, Partners For Development began responding by setting up a Haiti Response Fund. All donations to the fund will be used strictly to help rebuild Haitian livelihoods. HQ has been busy staying in touch with various international organizations working in Haiti, figuring out key needs and organizing a plan once the dust settles. I know that in partnership with the various organizations already on the ground, PFD will do what it does best, partner with local counterparts to answer local needs.  
 
Please visit our homepage for more information, until next time continue to improve the quality of not just your life but also the lives of others!

Welcome to the PFD Blog!

This is Whitney Kippes, and I am one of the current Program Support Interns. In order to help everyone understand what we do here at PFD, Deniece and I will be reporting on the goings on at PFD and around Washington over the next few months.

Frequently, my days begin by checking grants.gov to  search for any new funding opportunities that we might be able to take advantage of. As I'm sure you are well aware, PFD gets its primary funding through grants from other organizations, including the U.S. Government.

This morning yeilded several promising results from the President's Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief. Finding new grant opportunities is always fun for us, because it means that we can find ways to build on the amazing work that PFD is doing overseas!

Of course, as time goes on, the staff members will work to assemble the project proposal. While working on a deadline to complete the proposal things can get a bit hectic around here, but I particularly enjoy working on proposal development because it lets me imagine what the project will be like on the ground!

 Welcome to the Partners for Development blog!

 
Deniece and Whitney, two talented twenty-something interns and aspiring  international development professionals, will be blogging about their experiences working for PFD in the Spring of 2010. To be sure you never miss an update, remember to subscribe to the RSS feed!

You can read more about their previous experiences and career goals below.  

Whitney is a first year Masters candidate in International Affairs at George Washington University. Her interests include conflict management, women’s development, and development efforts in conflict and post-conflict societies.  Whitney will assist PFD on a variety of tasks related to program support, as well as developing fundraising and communication tools. Whitney holds Bachelors of Arts degrees in Political Science and American History from Saint Martin’s University in Washington State. She also participated in the Washington Semester Program at American University in 2008, where she studied international law and organizations. Whitney has previously interned with the Fund for Peace, where she helped develop software to attach metrics with qualitative data to measure state failure. She has also participated in Women’s World, an international conference on issues affecting women held every three years. You can reach Whitney by email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

 Deniece is currently a first year Masters student in African Development and Public Policy at Howard University, previously earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations, Political Science, and African American Studies from Syracuse University-Maxwell School. Deniece studied in Accra, Ghana for four years and raised funds locally and abroad to support education programs and activities, focusing on children, orphans and disadvantaged students in Mampong, Ghana. Outside of academia, Deniece’s professional career development includes interning for the U.S Department of State: Bureau of African Affairs, and Former Senator Hillary Clinton.  She has also participated in conferences such as Model United Nations, applying a combination of practical and academic experience in the sphere of International Affairs.  Deniece’s interests include international development, particularly in West Africa; and also resource exploitation and conflict management. Deniece will assist PFD in researching funding opportunities, preparing proposal documents, and managing grants.  Deniece can be reached by email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .