Go. Staying. Where does the feeling tilt?
The World Doctors Association takes stock. Keyword 2022: Loving Home. That is possible if there is medicine, education and water. Or in other words: perspective.
Dreams bring people across the sea. Shattered as soon as they reach our shores. But you have to be able to stay at home. See the future. Feel confidence. Have a perspective. "2022 has once again shown that we are on the right track with our aid projects. Loving Home! We have to give people this feeling" said Toni Pizzecco, President of the World Doctors, at the members' meeting last Thursday.
Helping in the right place. In 2022, World Doctors supported 32 projects in 11 countries. 20 members were in action. Well over 1000 people from South Tyrol supported the association: 86% of the project budget came from donations.
For World Doctors, this means investing in medicine, education and drinking water. Children who have to walk for miles to fetch water don't make it to school. However, those who do not learn anything do not build a livelihood. It's a vicious circle that needs to be broken.
In 2022, the association completed several projects. New classrooms were opened in seven schools in Africa. The school in Dubbo, Ethiopia, is so popular that the families' school fees are now used to pay the teachers' salaries. Sewing courses for women and girls have been launched in Nepal and Ethiopia. The vocational school in Emdibir in Ethiopia has been expanded to include computer science. In Nepal's Dhulikhel Hospital, a container has been converted into an optician's workshop. This means that glasses can now be made immediately after the ward round. And drinking water was supplied in good quantities, as it is every year: 114 wells now provide water for 50,000 people.
A project close to our hearts for a good ten years: Attat Hospital south of Addis Ababa. The hospital enjoys a good reputation. In 2022, the number of births and surgical procedures increased, as did the number of inpatient stays. If there is no expansion, investments are made in equipment, medication and training.
The need in general. It is always acute in 2022. As if politics and nature were playing with dominoes. War, earthquakes, the Taliban. The association is looking for allies. World Doctors, under the direction of Franco De Giorgi, deliver medicines and aids to two children's hospitals in Kiev and Odessa with the White Cross National Rescue Service. Shortly after the outbreak of war in Ukraine, the aid partners set up a medical outpatient clinic in the Vojany refugee camp; doctors from South Tyrol traveled there to care for refugees. Aid packages to Syria brought the helpers into contact with the people: A destroyed school in Aleppo is now being rebuilt in cooperation with the NGO WeWorld. In Afghanistan, 240 women and widows are regaining hope thanks to monthly support.
Among the helping hands, one stands out in particular. The Helping Hands Prize 2022 goes to Stefan Haller from the Algund Alpine dairy. Under Haller's leadership, South Tyrol's dairy farms in Ethiopia have set up a cheese dairy that currently employs three people. "Money makes it possible. However, the real strength of our association is people like Stefan Haller, who don't just ask, but do," says Gabriele Janssen Pizzecco, Managing Director of the association, in recognition of the award winner.
All the activities of World Doctors are aimed at enabling people to stay in their homeland. This is why the association primarily supports projects that generate income in the long term. Gabriele Janssen Pizzecco: "The Happy Cheese dairy is a good example of how development aid can also create sources of income." A first step towards Loving Home.
Speaking of emotions. Rejoice with us! Westbound is playing again this summer. After a three-year corona break. Do you remember them? The band led by Toni Pizzecco, all musicians performing for a good cause. Train to Optimism is the name of the program, eight concerts are scheduled. You have room in your calendar, don't you?