Gaston

43, Male

Chiang Mai

Thailand

Profile Information:

Gender
Male
Name
Gaston Schmitz
Organisation
the Constellation for AIDS Competence
About Me:
I am 29 years old and from the Netherlands. I have 3 brothers of which 1 twin brother, two great parents and a great dog called ' Baloe' . My background is in International Management. I almost worked for a large multi-national in the field of Marketing, but switched to the development cooperation sector. I did a second Master in Development Studies, worked in Mozambique for Unilever, in the Philippines for a NGO and for a Dutch NGO in post-conflict areas such as Kosovo, Bosnia and Sierra Leone. Since January 2008 I am working for the Constellation as the facilitator for ' Transfer'. This means facilitating the transfer of our approach and mindset to other people, organizations, topics and of course my own community and family :)

Working for the Constellation is not really work. It is reflecting, appreciating and trying to be as happy as possible in my work. If I do my work mindful, the results of my work come naturally and my learning curve is steeper than ever before. So, let's enjoy every bit of our work and look for strenghts!
My dream:
My dream is to explore more cultures and communities around the world and keep on learning from them.

A more materialistic dream is to go snowboarding in Alaska with my friends :)
I'm proud of:
I have learnt to take much better care of myself the last years. I feel my body and mind and take up signals much better. I am able to enjoy small moments much more than before. And I am proud that I climbed my first 7A route last weekend :)

Comment Wall:

  • Jean-Louis Lamboray

    Welcome Gaston.Happy that you joined!
    JL
  • Laurence Gilliot

    Hi Gaston,

    Welcome welcome on Ning, the maybe future home of the Constellation family ;-) ! What do you think of the site, blog, forums?
    Would be great to have a picture of you, just to have a feel! Feel free to try out all kind of options and explore what is useful to us.

    Cheers,

    Lau
  • Benyaich Aicha

    Hi Gaston,

    Vincent and I are so happy that you recovered from the fever and we hope that you are now in good shape (especially for climbing :-). We send you big hugs from Belgium to you and Laurence.

    Vincent & Aïcha
  • Amber

    Hi Gaston,

    Did you see the article I sent to Laurence and Marlou re: the story of my colleague? Check it out if not. Not sure where to post it, but maybe you can make a suggestion. Looking fwd to Friday's flexin'! ;)
  • Amber

    Well, both articles are now online as blog entries here. :) Re: Wild Rose - hmmm... that's really too bad! I feel like I may have just discovered something good! Where will you go when it closes? Any other suggestions? I really want to focus on going to yoga regularly now - trying to make more of a commitment to my health. Let's talk more on Friday. :)
  • Renault Yves

    Thank you for the news, one very important for me is the way Fabian understood the approach. If you have some time, let me know how WHO&UNICEF are dealing with their participation.(I mean how are you feeling it) Thank you and courage
    Yves
  • Gyna Lydiana

    Owh, Thank you Gaston!!
    and i'm ready to share a lot of photos from Indonesia!!
    wakakakkakakk
  • Sandeep Gaikwad

    Dear Gaston,

    Thanks for your comment
  • Renault Yves

    Hello Gaston, thank you for sending me some news. In my mind it's not what an "international" coach can bring to the people but what he should learn from the people and how he can translate that the daily work of WHO in this case.
    Because the "carnaval" time is fitting around my birthday I spent some time in the one in Malmedy and this last day "Mardi gras" in Maastricht, it seems that the crisis boosted the creativity of he people,music,band, sketches etc...
    "l'IMAGINATION au pouvoir" we need it.
  • Myrna A. Maglahus

    Hello Gaston. I thank you for reading my blog. It's my very first blog, you see =). It was inspiring and I might continue doing blogs. I was excited somebody I don't know personally commented. In my excitement, i have erased some of the comments, I'm not sure how i did it, and only one comment is left. I'm still learning my way through the internet, you see. thanks again
  • Shyam Sunder Sharma

    Dear Gaston,
    I am thankful to you for your comment and memmorising a short meeting at UPSACS. I will be keep in touch with you for sharing our experinces on HIV/AIDS with Community & Stake Holders. This is to inform you that under Mainstreaming we are going to sensitize the all DPROs (District Panchyat Raj Officers )of U.P. on 22-23 May 2009. They will further help in the process to sensitize PRI officers in district & Gram Sabha Meetings. If you have any problem in accessing NACO site You can visit UNDP site for informations on Mainstreaming works in India.
    We will be in touch,

    With Regards

    Shyam Sunder Sharma
    Mobile -09452029516
  • Sreeram Varadadesikan

    Thanks a lot Gaston. It is a pleasure to be part of the group and wish to be useful here too as well as learn from global experiences being shared here.
  • Ricardo Walters

    Hey, G...

    I'm on it. Today. Right now!

    R
  • Francine Egberts

    Hee Gaston,
    Heb de blog van Rebecca nog niet gelezen, zal er even induiken, dank voor de tip! Zal ook nog even achter m'n collega's in Bangkok aangaan, want er is zeker interesse maar Casper is nu aan t verhuizen, dus die is even niet zo goed bereikbaar. Spreek je gauw weer. Succes!
    groeten Francine
  • Bobby Zachariah

    Hi Gaston, Thanks for being a tireless crusader of being an encourager. You are a born ACP champion. I shall try. B
  • rebeka sultana

    Gaston, I come to ning to see your comment. Preparing for Bali. Thanks for kind words. I really needed them now! Papua event was great. Sirinate an excellent coach. Learned so much from her, the indo team and the Jayapura peoples.
    I am rereading the book ' Teachings on Love' by Thich Nhat Hanh. Please come again to Jakarta, the lovely place i ever stayed. Jakarta has one color...GREEN

    Regards,
    Rebeka
  • jose30

    Bonjour Gaston,
    Wht' s news ?
    j'ai été au bandundu. je suis à Kinshasa. Je venais assisté à la réunion des délégués des OAC sur les AGR animé par la facilitatrice Judith nes activités vont bon train.

    Salutation cordiale

    José NDJALI
  • Alain DIBAKANGA Zolana

    Salut SALT,
    Je vous annonce que la petite BELLEFIE a été orientée depuis hier, au centre AMO CONGO, de N'djili Q/7 et bénéficiera de la prise en charge médicale de ce centre, ceci après la confirmation de test VIH qui a démontré la présence du virus dans son sang.Elle sera donc aujourd'hui à leur centre de kasa vubu pour passer au test déterminant la charge virale, un test CD4 et autres tests, et pourra commencer les ARV qu'après les résultats de ceux-ci.
    Ce qui reste maintenant, c'est d'être près de la famille pour la motiver et soutenir du côté nutritionnel et autres, car, il a été demandé à la famille de bien assurer l'alimentation de Bellefie, chose un peu difficile pour la famille, mais sa grand mère a promis qu'elle fera tout malgré sa situation socio économique, et bien vous aussi, vous pouvez la soutenir...Vous, c'est tout celui qui se sent disposer à assister cette fillette de 9 ans qui passe cette année en 3 ième primaire, malgré son état.
    Les examens exigés, à kasa vubu, on doit amener 10$, qui semble déjà être difficile à être trouver...
    A vous de réagir!
    La grand mère de Bellefie vous remercie tous pour ce que vous avez fait pour BELLEFIE!
    Qui, maintenant, est entre les mains d'un médecin.
    Alain DIBAKANGA
    RDCCOMPETENCE
  • irangbui

    Hi! Gaston, its refreshing to be always with you through this ning, the only stambling is the access, we ve poor network here yet thats not the wall that can keep all of us apart, we can feel your presence every time we do SALT and of course the ACP clap! LOL, you left the legacy behind in your short stay in Dimapur.

    irang here
  • Rachel mash

    Thanks! that is a very competent dessert!!!
    good to be in touch
    cheers
    Rachel
  • Rachel mash

    Dear gaston
    maybe you can do me a faviour, since I am not so technically adept///
    on our website www.fikelela.org.za there is the video, if you look under resources. are you able to load it?
    thanks
    rachel
  • Beate Jakob

    Hello Gaston,
    Nice to communicate this way! As to your question on SALT & PIRHANA: I am waiting for a follow up plan developed by Sue or Ricardo. I guess that Sue will circulate the minutes of the consultation and set up working groups. What do you think? Greetings, Beate
  • khorchi laurie

    bonjour!
    Merci pour ta réponse, tu es très positif et ton approche de ton travail après des populations de la RDC m'impressionne.
    J'avoue que quand tu me demande comment je pense contribuer à la Constellation je ne sais pas quoi répondre parce que je suis justement entrain de me poser cette question moi même, j'essaie de trouver ma place. Je sais que la constellation a besoin de bras pour agir, il me reste juste à savoir comment utiliser mes bras!
    Je suis encore étudiante et ma seule expérience dans le domaine social est d'avoir partager une soirée de ma semaine à nourrir des sans domicile fixe et d'échanger quelques paroles avec eux.
    Je sais que ce n'est pas rien, et je suis fière de l'avoir fais mais je ne sais pas comment m'y prendre pour aider des populations en Afrique ou en Asie. Je pense partir cet été dans le cadre d'une mission humanitaire mais je ne sais pas encore comment faire, à qui m'adresser, pour quelle mission? C'est encore beaucoup de question aux quelles je n'ai pas de réponse.
    C'est pour cette raison que j'essaie de lire le plus d'expérience possible et de savoir comment toi et les autres membres actifs de l'organisation on fait!
    Si tu as des conseils, des recommandations ou autre ça m'aiderais!

    Quant à la question concernant mon expérience face à la devise " trouver les forces avant de chercher les problèmes", je crains que mon expérience ne soit trop limité pour avoir dire si j'applique cela.
    Mais il est évident que de voir le côté négatif des choses avant d'envisager les points fort d'une situation ne permet pas d'avancer et pour trouver la force d'avancer et de se battre il faut trouver l'envie, et je crois que cette envie n'apparait que quand on relève la tête.

    Merci beaucoup en tout cas et j'espère pouvoir un jour apprendre toute sorte de danse aussi et de faire ce que tu fais!

    Laurie
  • khorchi laurie

    HI!
    Je suis étudiante en droit international humanitaire et je prépare un mémoire mais je ne sais pas trop sur quel sujet je peux le faire tout en restant dans le juridique.
    J'ai un peu parler avec jean louis Lamboray qui ma donné quelques idées, je le vois samedi soir, j'aurais surement l'occasion d'en parler.
    Je sais qu'avant d'agir au niveau international je dois m'investir au niveau national, mais je ne sais pas comment m'y prendre toute seule.
    Je me sent un peu inefficace, je n'ai aucune idée de comment aider les gens qui sont au prés de moi.
    j'aimerais beaucoup obtenir ton aide pour mes recherches et mon sujets de mémoire.
    Je te remercie de t'intéresser à ma situation et de répondre aussi rapidement.
    Je suis très heureuse de faire partie de la Constellation.
    j'espère pouvoir apporter autant qu'elle m'apporte.
    Je fais des connaissances que je n'aurais jamais faite auparavant. Je suis vraiment contente de prendre du temps chaque jour à lire les actualités concernant la Constellation et les avancés de chacun dans leurs expériences, ça me motive à agir!

    merci beaucoup!!!!!

    LAURIE
  • abiola bobb

    THANK YOU GASTON YOU AND THE OTHER PEOPLE MAKE ME FEEL REAL HAPPY AND NOW I CAN GO ON WITH MY LIFE
  • abiola bobb

    SALT REALLY DO ADD FLAVOUR TO LIFE
  • Korey Anthony Chisholm

    SALT just don't add flavor to like is adds new meaning. Thanks for the comment, i know the group very well and how to work with them, as a young member of that community, i used my experience, understanding and my relationship with them to guide the process, understanding the participants helped a great lot, I must say thanks you for guidance and the tools to effectively doing the session
  • Abbas Mancey

    Hey Gaston. We are no longer friends but brothers now… what a trip this has been, I was commenting to a friend that this workshop was such a reconnecting of souls. And yes maybe we have been friends from time past, this was a reconnection! It was great participating, these sessions in so many ways makes me a better facilitator. Thanks for your kind words and imparting of wisdom and experience Gaston. It was great sharing this time with you, and learning with and from you :)

    Best rgds,
    abbas
  • Rituu B. Nanda

    Its a Gaston special on Ning today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  • Ryon Rawlins

    Hi Gaston, please translate what MUKALAYI UMBA Toussaint said on the blog i posted.
  • Rituu B. Nanda

    Inspired by Gaston edition last week:-)
  • angela singh

    hey Gaston how are how is salt working in congo
  • Marion

    Thank you Gaston !! See you in Chiang Mai :)
  • Matthew Boland

    Hey Gaston, good to see you here too. Was nice to hear from you guys last Thursday from the Congo, hope you are doing well and see you soon.

    peace
    matt
  • Rituu B. Nanda

    Peace competence...I like it-:)
  • Snehansu Bhaduri

    Thanks for your inspiration!
    I shall be in touch with you after 11th June to start discussion.
  • Dewi Rahmadania

    wow..,tenkiu my brother G...!
    last nite eky,Lulu and friends give me some suprais.,
    they come to my house at 12 o'clock..!
  • YERUVA ANTHONY REDDY

    Thanks for the nice words Gaston. You are welcome to Andhra pradesh and India. We are trying to facilitate community to community learning through onsite mentoring. It is unique approach and we hope that it works.
    We have identified a strong pool of 20 community MSM & Female Sex worker community members and ten mentors and trained them on the importance of collectivization and community mobilization strategy. These thirty members have been divided into ten groups. Each group visits 3-4 implementation site of targeted interventions and provides handholding support to the CBO to manage the Targeted interventions. We intiated this process three months back and so far it is working out well. In addition to this with Ritu's support we are starting SALT approach in one of the CBOs i.e Nari Saksham. If it works we have scope to expand to this 42 TIs in Andhra Pradesh.
  • Jiji Joseph

    Hi Gaston,
    warm greetings..
    How goes your life in Africa? I heard that you have relocated.... I am currently with a peace movement here in Dimapur... I would like to know more about the peace competence that you are undertaking ..

    Have a nice day

    jiji
  • Vichet LOK

    Hi Gaston: Thank you so much for your comment. Actually, we are doing the SALT and Self Assessment within CHED team. In the progression so far so good. We will back to Phnom Penh on this Friday.
  • Willemien Dorresteijn

    Heej!

     

    Wat fijn dat jullie het goed hadden in duitsland! De laatste 2 jaar ben ik een paar keer bij retraites van opendharma geweest (opendharma.org) en die hebben me heel veel goed gedaan. Heel inspirerend ook - ze hebben ook geleide meditaties op hun website voor als je nieuwsgierig bent.

    Grappig dat je het kaartje nog had, stond vast iets liefs op ;)!

     

    Veel liefs en wellicht tot woensdag!

    Willemien

  • Rituu B. Nanda

    A warm welcome to Peace competence group! Look forward to learning from you Gaston.
  • Sylvia Jacobi

    Beste gaston,

    Natuurlijk , kunnen we nederlands praten hoor. we hebben afgelopen week een training gevolgs van Boris, April en Autry. Het was een geweldige training hoor. ik hoop dus veel meer te leren  en om dus Saltyyyyy te zijn

  • Rituu B. Nanda

    Welcome to the Asia Pacific competence group, Gaston! You have vast experience of working in Asia Pacific. I look forward to your sharing.
  • Basikila Wa Mputu Paul

    Bonjour Gaston,

    Désolé de vous répondre après tant des jours passés: d'abord je n'étais pas habitué au site life competency et ensuite, je suis confronté à une charge horaire me permettant de me concentrer sur cette opportunité nouvelle d'améliorer mes compétences en matière de communication pour le développement. J'espère que notre connexion va se développer d'avantage et que nous pourrons partager tant d'expérience au bénéfice des populations cibles de nos programmes/projets respectifs

  • Maizy Tan

    Hello Gaston, I heard so much about you from both Gloria and JL :)
    Thanks for your kind compliments and your opinion of Gloria which I agree totally. Will love to meet and
    learn from you the art of facilitation one fine day. I had an 
    Inspiring and fruitful week with JL when he was in S'pore.
    We are Beyond were very blesses by his presence and sharing.