When I was invited by Marlou de Rouw over a year and a half ago to join the facilitation team for a blended SALT-CLCP course with the ASEAN Institute for Health Development (AIHD) in Thailand, I gladly accepted the invitation and looked forward to co-facilitating the course which would combine face-to-face learning events with…

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Dear friends,

Belated Happy New Year to you!

We hope that you have all been well and enjoyed practising SALT/CLCP in your HIV/AIDS- related work in the past year(s).  We suppose that you have accumulated experiences and lessons learned that you would like to share with others who work on HIV/AIDS issues around the world.  It’s great that in 2020 there…

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In mid-November I attended the Festival of Learning organized by the Asian-South Pacific Association for Basic and Adult Learning (ASPBAE) in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Unfortunately no member from the IndoCompetence team could participate in the event.

During the Festival of Learning, I had an opportunity to join an exchange visit to a local NGO, Lentera Sahaja – Perkumpulan Keluarga Berencana Indonesia (PKBI), which was the Youth Service Center of Indonesian Planned Parenthood…

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The three of us looked at each other with confusion when we heard that sentence said by Father Anastasio Roggero of the Church of Our Lady Glorious Infant Jesus of Prague.  Dusit and I were visiting the church this afternoon when somehow Dusit got to talk with the Father who was from Central Africa and who was excited to hear that we were from Thailand.  When he learned that Dusit was Catholic, he seemed very pleased and said “Come with me.  I have a gift for you”. Then he turned towards me…

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Last month I had an opportunity to attend the 10^th International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific (ICAAP10)  in Busan, Korea,  where several of our ACP/CLCP coaches and facilitators from different countries also attended.  Together we set up the Constellation booth to show off posters from several  Competence teams in Asia and distributed brochures and hand-outs.  I am attaching my summary report of my participation in the event including lessons learned turned into…

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Dear friends,



As another year is passing us by,

we'd like to thank you, sincerely and gratefully, for another year of

friendship, support, and inspiration, which have made it a meaningful year and

a memorable journey for us.  And we hope to continue the journey with you

in the year to come.  May 2011 be a great year of living, learning,

reflecting, connecting, and sharing for all of…

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After the Oxfam/Novib-supported visit of the Dutch team led by the Togetherness Foundation to learn about SALT and its application by the Interfaith Network on HIV/AIDS in Thailand, Norwegian Church Aid, and the Constellation in February, the Thai team conducted a 5-day return visit to the Netherlands in May to share the approach with more people and to explore with their Dutch partners how the process may be apply in the Dutch contexts.



The big challenge (and learning opportunity) for… Continue

For some time I had heard about the personal risk assessment exercise being facilitated with different groups in Guyana as part of the AIDS Competence Process (ACP), and I was curious to learn what it was like, how it was

facilitated, and how it fit in with the process. Fortunately I had an opportunity to observe it in action during my second visit to Guyana in late September.





It was during a SALT visit to the fire brigade near the lively Stabroek Market that I had the… Continue

Attachment 1 AAR on SALT Visits.docAttachment 2 Summarizing lessons learned, planning application and follow-up.doc

We’ve heard that the Constellation considers itself a midwife. How about the SALT facilitators who work with the communities as well as try to transfer the…

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As I was sitting at Georgetown airport, waiting for my flight, I overheard a guy some distance away saying on the phone “This country is very corrupt …”. I couldn’t help looking up at him and thinking, “The poor guy! He didn’t know what he missed!” I didn’t know what he had experienced while here and what ‘lens’ he’s been using, but obviously he must have been using a different…

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Today I had an opportunity to be a tourist and do some sightseeing in Georgetown, Guyana. Being Sunday, unfortunately all the churches, museums and handicraft shops I wanted to visit were closed. However, I came across a little piece of wisdom inscribed, on the 4 sides of a pole in front of a lovely building, by the Friends of Peace Pilgrim, Guyana Chapter, on 12 January 2004:…

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Dear friends,





As the year is ending, we would like to say thank you for your friendship, support, and sharing all through this year (as in years before, and hopefully through more years to come) and to send you our best wishes for the coming year.





Although Saskia Davis wrote Symptoms of Inner Peace back in 1984, we have just come across it and would like to share it with you as something to inspire you for the new year:





SYMPTOMS OF… Continue

In response to MariJo's request, here's the full concept paper excerpted in my previous blog. Hope other friends will find it useful as well. Let me know if you would like to get in touch with the event organizers and/or some participants of that event, and I'll be happy to provide some contacts for you.



Enjoy!



Usa



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Decent Care Values in Palliative Care Services

WHO - Office of Partnerships, Geneva





In many ways… Continue

Dear friends,



During 12-16 Jan.09 I had an opportunity to attend the WHO- Ford Foundation Global Consultation on 'Decent Care Values in Palliative Care Services' in Tunis, Tunisia. The experience was very interesting so I would like to share it with you.



I assume many friends in this virtual community are new to palliative care and decent care, just like me :-) So please allow me to start with the following excerpt from the consultation’s concept paper:



“The… Continue

Suriya and Prapan from the Thai Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS (TNP) - Upper North joined the ADB-NGOCompetence from the very beginning and have diligently attended all the learning events. Although at the beginning they were not sure how the AIDS Competence Process could be applied to the work of people living with HIV/AIDS and whether they would be able to learn sufficient skills to apply them. They were encouraged by the coaches to practice what they could after the kick-off workshop… Continue

I participated in the Philippines ADB-NGOCompetence National Learning Event in Manila during the past 2 days (15-16 Oct) and would like to share some of what participants said during the event:



"Why I'm here in this event? Because I fall in love with the AIDS Competence Process, especially the self-assessment" (Mickey, PRRM)



"ACP is the gift we give to ourselves, and to the community" (Eden, PNGOC)



"This is the most memorable seminar I've ever attended. Eastern… Continue