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The Eua Water Supply Upgrade Project was officially opened in March by the Crown Prince of Tonga, Prince Tupouto'a Lavaka and New Zealand High Commissioner, Christine Bogle.
Funded by NZAID, the project means that the community now has access to good quality drinking water 24 hours a day, 7 days a week – a huge improvement on the muddy water which was the norm.
The new water supply will improve the health of over 5,000 people in the immediate future, and the community will continue to reap the benefits for generations to come.
The project is an excellent example of the Government of Tonga's Ministries and the local community working together to achieve the common goals of better health, improved living standards, and increased economic productivity for the people of 'Eua.
NZAID’s contribution to the project marks New Zealand’s support to outer island development.
For more information contact kirsty.burnett@nzaid.govt.nz
The new Timor-Leste government, formed in 2007, organised its first annual Development Partners' Meeting in Dili at the end of March.
Representatives from the new government and from the wide range of bilateral and multilateral development partners active in Timor-Leste, including NZAID, discussed issues of national priority including public safety and security, employment and income generation, and improving social service delivery.
NZAID's Timor-Leste programme is currently being reviewed, and consultations are being held with a number of Timorese and New Zealand stakeholders. The review aims to draw lessons from NZAID's development assistance to Timor-Leste over the period 2001-2007, that will help to shape a new country programme strategy.
It will focus on identifying the best forms of assistance that will work in Timor-Leste, especially ways of supporting sustainable capacity development, the principles of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, and conflict prevention and resolution.
Development of the new country programme strategy will begin later this year.
For more information contact anna.mosley@nzaid.govt.nz
New Zealand will extend its current support to Vanuatu’s new Department of Correctional Services by providing another two full-time advisors to work alongside their counterparts in Port Vila and Luganville.
Training will also be given to Correctional Service staff in specific areas, and the government is considering other short-term steps that can be taken to improve prison security with New Zealand’s help.
NZAID has provided advice to the new department since its establishment in 2006, supporting the government of Vanuatu’s decision to create a professional correctional service. “A dedicated Correctional Service is better able to meet community needs and frees up the Police to focus on the many other challenges they face,” said New Zealand High Commissioner, Jeff Langley.
“The new Correctional Service has done some excellent work in areas such as parole, probation and community-based sentencing. Many chiefs and community leaders are calling for offenders to be taken under the wing of their respective communities, and developments in probation, parole and community work all respond to those needs.”
New Zealand has already committed 234 million vatu to build a new prison facility near Port Vila. Work on the new prison should start in May with the new facility to open in 2009.
For more information contact leonard.chan@nzaid.govt.nz
NZAID and World Vision are teaming up to help Solomon Islands communities rebuild and repair thousands of homes damaged or destroyed in the April 2007 earthquake and tsunami.
After working with Oxfam to provide access to clean water and sanitation for people in the camps on Gizo Island immediately following the disaster, NZAID has allocated $1.5 million over a two-year period to help communities in Western Province repair and rebuild 3,500 houses.
This funding forms part of New Zealand’s approximately $7.5 million tsunami recovery package for Solomon Islands, which also includes significant support for rebuilding schools and improving the livelihoods of rural fishermen and women.
NZAID Manager in Honiara, Guy Redding, says the project will provide materials and training to help communities build houses that can better withstand future earthquakes.
“Solomon Islanders know how to build homes but because of the disaster, do not have the money and resources to get the right materials and that’s where NZAID and World Vision come in,” he said. “We will be providing communities in Western Province equipment and materials as well as training in “building back better” techniques.”
Families will be able to choose the materials and equipment they need such as sago palm for roofing, cut timber, nails, fuel and tools, from a list of options, up to a set value per household.
The NZAID-World Vision partnership will complement Solomon Islands Government reconstruction efforts and will also be coordinated with their Members of Parliament, AusAID and the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands.
In addition to NZAID’s support, AusAID will be providing approximately A$1.6 million, while the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands will provide logistical and transport support to World Vision to help speed up the delivery of building materials into remote areas.
For more information contact guy.redding@nzaid.govt.nz
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NewZAID updates you in brief on key issues and events on the NZAID agenda. Please click on the useful links included in this newsletter to explore issues in greater depth.
 - On set during the filming of Love Patrol
Broadcasting on Maori Television from the 18th May, Love Patrol is a new soap-opera style TV show from Vanuatu that focuses on issues such as youth police brutality, the problems of keeping youth uninformed about sex, and the dangers of HIV AIDS.
Co-funded by NZAID and AusAid, the ten-part TV series is part of the Wan Smolbag Theatre Group’s mission to promote new attitudes to these serious issues facing youth in Vanuatu and encourages people to think about topics that are very rarely discussed in schools or the community.
For more information contact angela.hassan-sharp@nzaid.govt.nz
From 2008, NZAID will be collecting, analysing and reporting better information on the results to which it contributes. This is to better inform the New Zealand Government, NZAID managers, partners and stakeholders such as the New Zealand public.
All New Zealand government agencies will have new frameworks in 2008 as a result of a recent Review of Accountability Documents. NZAID has already been investing time and effort in strengthening its performance information framework and approach to monitoring and evaluation. It is seen as an important part of being a responsive and learning organisation with strong and integrated appraisal, audit, monitoring, review and evaluation systems.
A new evaluation policy and set of guidelines for undertaking reviews and evaluations have been in use since 2005. These are available on the NZAID website. From 2008, summaries of each review and evaluation will also be available on the website, with full copies of reports available on request.
Analysis of emerging lessons and themes from the reviews and evaluations of individual aid activities will form an important part of NZAID’s annual reporting. This analysis will cover cost effectiveness and value for money, and also how NZAID implements policies in areas such as gender, education and human rights.
A key part of the new system will be strengthening analysis and reporting of results at the programme strategy level. Programme strategies determine the links between individual aid activities and big picture objectives like poverty elimination. NZAID’s country and regional programme strategies are available on its website.
Measuring development impact is a difficult and complex task. The next few years will see important steps forward in this area and the development of systems that will keep NZAID, partners and the New Zealand public fully informed about what is working and what lessons have been learned.
The views of NewZAID readers are welcomed!
For more information contact peter.ellis@nzaid.govt.nz
Dr Habibe Sarabi, Governor of Bamyan Province, Afghanistan recently spent a week in New Zealand as a Guest of Government.
As governor of a region with World Heritage status, Dr Sarabi is working towards developing Bamyan into an international tourism destination. Spending time with Department of Conservation staff at the Tongariro National Park gave her the opportunity to see firsthand their park management and conservation programmes.
Her visit also strengthened the connections between Bamyan and the New Zealand agencies already working in the Province - NZAID, the New Zealand Police and the New Zealand Defence Forces. She met with senior government officials including Prime Minister Helen Clark, and discussed the overall security situation and development progress in Afghanistan, especially in Bamyan.
Discussions with Department of Internal Affairs and Local Government NZ focused on the workings of local government systems and processes, and after meeting with Porirua City Mayor, Jenny Brash, Dr Sarabi agreed to consider a sister city relationship between Porirua and Bamyan.
NZAID's programme in Bamyan focuses on rural livelihoods through improving health and education, particularly for women, and improving service provision through the provincial government. Human rights is also an important feature of all work in the area.
For more information contact suzanne.loughlin@nzaid.govt.nz
 - NZAID Development Programme Officer, Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy, reviews the foundations of a satellite classroom in Phu Cat district.
Construction of early childhood classrooms is underway in Binh Dinh province. The first ground-breaking ceremonies were held in mid-January at sites for individual classrooms in Van Canh district.
Since then, contracts have been let for classroom construction in Phu Cat, Tay Son and An Nhon districts, while tendering for main schools is underway with bids due to be opened on 5 April.
"It's great to see tangible evidence of progress," said NZAID Manager, John Egan. "There's so much involved in preparing for construction that you don't see - land allocation, clearance and preparation, confirmation of design and tendering of the physical work. But you really know something's happening when there are holes being dug for foundations, stacks of reinforcing iron and piles of sand, stone and cement waiting to get mixed."
The Early Childhood Care and Education project is building 11 early childhood centres and 69 satellite classrooms. It began in June 2007 with a workshop to launch the project and to explain its objectives and activities to education managers and early childhood workers in all 11 districts of the province. Advocacy campaigns have been conducted throughout the province, alerting communities to the project and educating them about the importance of early childhood education.
Severe flooding throughout the province in October-November 2007 caused a number of delays, but the provincial Department of Education and Training expects all facilities to be up and running in time for the next school year in September 2008.
NZAID staff, John Egan and Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy were accompanied by Mrs Doan Thi Trung Hieu (Project Manager) and Ms Le (Project Administrator), and staff of the Phu Cat and Tay Son District Boards of Education and Training as they reviewed progress in both districts in mid-March.
For more information contact john.egan@mfat.govt.nz
 - Together the panels represent a Mapuche astronomic map called Meli witxan Mapu, the four points which sustain the universe.
A textile piece created by members associated with the NZAID-supported Foundation Chol Chol was selected from 120 Chilean handicraft products to win the UNESCO Seal of Excellence for Handicrafts Products.
The seal of approval guarantees that the product complies with the highest criteria of quality, innovation, commercialisation and has been produced with careful regard to cultural authenticity and environmental conservation.
The textile is made of six individual woven panels, created using Mapuche ancestral textile weaving techniques, spun by hand with a spindle, and dyed with vegetable products and minerals from the Araucanian region. Each panel has a different Mapuche textile icon and together represent a Mapuche astronomic map called Meli witxan Mapu, the four points which sustain the universe. This piece was created and made with the support of the Foundation for Handicraft Innovation.
Twenty-two pieces were chosen to be exhibited until the 30 March at the International Handicraft Fair in Cordoba, and will then represent Chile in the international selection of the UNESCO Recognition of Excellence for MERCOSUR Handicraft Products where Chile will compete with products from Uruguay, Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay.
Weavers which work for the Foundation have been delighted with this support where “not only is the innovation of our work in ancestral weaving valued, but also our work and our culture is acknowledged”. This UNESCO certificate will also allow for communication and the diffusion and entrance to international markets of high exigency.
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