The Humpty Dumpty Institute has launched a new on-line campaign “Wishing Well Sri Lanka” (www.wishingwellsrilanka.org) to promote and raise funds for a series of new initiatives in northern Sri Lanka that will provide fresh water and improve sanitary conditions to over 10,000 people in the districts of Mannar, Killinochchi and Mullaithivu.  We are also seeking additional support for our well-known school feeding program in Velanai, Jaffna District. 

I urge you to visit www.wishingwellsrilanka.org and be as generous as you can.  You can contribute as little as $5 to this worthy cause.  Since the end of the 30-year conflict in 2009, hundreds of thousands of Sri Lankans have been streaming back to their original homes all over northern Sri Lanka.  The Government is doing its best to absorb this returning population, but these people are facing tremendous challenges.  Simply put, there is no infrastructure.  Thirty years of violence and neglect has devastated the Northern Districts.  Live minefields still pose a serious threat to life and limb.  Homes have to be rebuilt. There is very little fresh water for drinking, bathing or farming since all of the wells are in disrepair. There are no toilets and the risk of life-threatening disease is very real.  And new roads have to be laid.

With HDI’s “Wishing Well Sri Lanka” program, we are starting off in a relatively small way by building and repairing 230 communal and domestic wells and 100 new latrines.  As we continue to raise funds through our on-line campaign, we will increase the number of wells and latrines we repair and build and hopefully expand our target area to other districts as well.  Please join hands with HDI and help kickstart our new initiative by visiting www.wishingwellsrilanka.org and making a generous contribution.  Many thanks.

Best wishes for a happy and healthy holiday season.

Ralph L. Cwerman

President

On April 22, 2010 the Sub-Committee on Asia, Pacific and the Global Environment of the House Foreign Affairs Committee chaired by Representative Eni F. H. Faleomavaega conducted Congressional Hearings on “The Legacy of War; Unexploded Ordnances in Laos”.  Dr. Robert Keeley, the Country Director of the Humpty Dumpty Institute program in Laos testified before the committee along with Scott Marciel, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the State Department’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, and representatives from the Mine Advisory Group (MAG) and the Legacy of War.  The Hearing marked one of the first and only instances that an in-depth review of the status of UXOs in Laos has been brought up in the form of Congressional Hearings.

Dr. Keeley and the other witnesses reiterated that Laos is the most heavily bombed country in history, that nearly half of that country is still contaminated with UXOs and that over 25,000 people have been killed or injured in Laos since the Vietnam era.  The hearings originated from a trip to Laos by Representative Faleomavaega from Samoa, Representative Mike Honda from California and HDI’s Congressional Advisory Board Member, Representative Joseph Cao from Louisiana.  During this brief visit to Laos, the group of Congressmen became even more concerned about the state of UXO clearance in Laos.   Please click here to get a full copy of the testimony and a recent article by Congressman Honda on the UXO situation in Laos. 

I am proud that HDI was invited to participate in this hearing.  It serves to remind us that our international work is very important and that we continue to play an important role in the conduct of U.S. Foreign Policy.   HDI is grateful to be singled out by Representative Faleomavaega and Representative Honda for our work in Laos.

Ralph Cwerman

President, HDI

I could not begin HDI's new blogsite with better news.  A few days ago, we learned that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has approved a new Dole-McGovern Food for Education grant valued at $4.1 million to the Humpty Dumpty Institute (HDI) in FY 2010 to continue our UXO clearance and direct feeding program in Laos for another 15 months.   An agreement to be negotiated immediately will provide HDI with $3.2 million in cash resources.  An additional $900,000 will cover the cost of transportation for 910 metric tons of beans, canned salmon, corn-soy blend, milled rice and vegetable oil to feed approximately 19,000 children daily in one of the most remote and food insecure provinces in Laos starting in September, 2010.  The Humpty Dumpty Institute was among only seven NGOs that received new USDA approval this year.  This is the third tranche of our 3-year UXO clearance and school feeding and rehabilitation program in Laos.  

To date, in partnership with International Relief and Development (IRD), over 3.45 million nutritious snacks have been served daily to nearly 16,000 food insecure children in Laos and over 135,000 take home rations have been provided  to schoolchildren, particularly young girls, as incentives to stay in school and attend regularly.  All 109 participating schools have reported that 98% of their students attended at least 80 percent of classes, increasing the number of Lao children in Khammouane Province who are regularly attending school by over 20 per cent.    

Laos has the unfortunate distinction of being the most bombed country in the world.  The removal of unexploded bombs coupled with our educational development activity has brought renewed hope to the people of Khammouane province.    To date, in conjunction with the Mines Advisory Group, we have cleared over 2.2 million m² and destroyed nearly  4,000 items of unexploded ordnance.   In addition, over 400 school and agricultural sites have been cleared of unexploded bombs.  Due to the use of improved mine detection equipment allowing for faster clearance, we increased our clearance output by 225% over the past 15 months.   In sum, the children we feed now have a better chance for educational advancement and the land we clear has made large areas available for cultivation, and provided new and safer access to schools. 

The Humpty Dumpty Institute has also made great strides in the school improvement and garden component of this program, with 150 renovation projects completed by the end of 2009.  With an eye toward sustainability, school gardens have been planted in over 100 villages, with many already producing  vegetables to supplement daily school feeding.  Of the 109 schools targeted for this activity, over 100 have received seeds and tools, 50 new water wells are operating, and school facilities have been renovated in over 90 villages.  We have also supported and enabled health and hygiene training to all the schools.   

In 2010-2011, the Humpty Dumpty Institute will expand its program to an additional 41 schools and will sharply focus on sustaining an immensely improved educational system in a much safer environment.    We will build on our achievements by continuing to increase student enrollment and attendance rates and by providing a safe educational environment to more school children in Khammouane Province.

USDA’s approval to continue funding our program in Laos for a third year is a very serious commitment that reflects the vitality and sustainability of our program.   With this grant, the Humpty Dumpty Institute will have received nearly $17 million in funding from USDA for its humanitarian programs in Laos, Sri Lanka and Angola. 

Ralph L. Cwerman

President, HDI