Present: B. Ousset (France), R. Lima (Brazil), J. Pandian (India), L. Tuomey (Ireland), P. Ehiagwina (Nigeria), T. Wilson (USA), E. Tsukamoto (Brazil), R. McGowan (Ireland), U. Mattfeldt (Germany) and B. Fabre (France/staff).

Guests: C. Nabuco (Brazil) and F. Brassil (Australia).

Minutes: B. Fabre (CGI staff in Paris).

OPENING PRAYER
Official prayers of the SSVP were used as Opening Prayers.

MORNING SESSION: PRESENTATIONS ON CIAD
The morning was reserved to presentations on the CIAD, its work methods and new strategy and vision, by President General, CIAD Chairman and CIAD Coordinator, followed by open discussion.

President General Renato Lima welcomed the new CIAD members and presented them, reminding that CIAD is where the core work of CGI is done. The members of the new Commission are very experienced Vincentians with valuable international experience and worldwide coverage.

The members will no longer be ‘Correspondents’ as in the past, the Commission will rather be a Consultant group in charge of approving or rejecting the projects, even though the members will keep a closer eye on the countries they come from or they are experts on:

These members are:

• Bertrand Ousset (France), former National President of France, Chairman.
  
• Renato Lima de Oliveira (Brazil), 16th President General.
  
• Thomas Joseph Pandian (Indian), General Vice President, former ITVP for Asia.
  
• Larry Tuomey (Ireland), Treasurer General, former VinPaz Member.
  
• Pius Ehiagwina (Nigeria), former ITVP for Africa, will be more specifically in charge of African projects – he will be more specifically in charge of projects from Africa.
  
• John Lee (Hong-Kong), former Vice President General for Structure, and former ITVP Asia – he will be more specifically in charge of projects from Asia.
  
• Ulrike Mattfeldt (Germany), Coordinator for Europe II and correspondent for Eastern Europe countries in former CIAD – she will be more specifically in charge of projects in Europe.
  
• Rose McGowan (Ireland); National twining officer for SSVP Ireland, and correspondent with English Speaking African country in former CIAD – responsible for Africa, together and in partnership with bro. Pius.
  
• Eduardo Tsukamoto (Brazil) – responsible for Latin America and Portuguese speaking countries.
  
• Terry Wilson (USA), former Strategic Planning officer for CGI – responsible for North America and Caribbean.
  
• Bruno Fabre (France), CGI staff member and CIAD Coordinator.

The Commission will meet twice a year – to limit costs -, in principle in March and September, close to CGI International Board meeting dates to take advantage of the presence of Board members who are also part of CIAD.

CIAD’s attributions

As a first important change, according to President General’s vision and strategy, CIAD’s scope of work is widened; whereas it keeps its historical responsibilities on “Aid” and “Development”, two additional fundamental areas of responsibility are added on:

- The structuration of weak National Councils to strengthen SSVP’s position and efficiency in countries where it is a challenge due to lack of material means, proper organization or formation.
- The expansion of SSVP in the countries where it is not present: this is part of President General Renato Lima’s ‘electoral promises’, as more than 60 countries of the world still do not have SSVP Conferences.

Work methods

The recent creation of the position of ‘Special project Coordinators’ within the international Structure, and next to the 12 ITVPs will ensure more professionalism, better preparation and better follow up of CIAD projects to put donors’ funds to the best use possible for the good of the poor. These ‘experts’ will assist all applying countries set up the most secure and feasible projects, ensure all aspects of project management aspects are dealt with when a National Councils submits a project to CIAD. They will also be following the project during and after their realization, to make sure they keep on the right tracks.

Their opinion and support will be required before projects come to CIAD and ITVP’s approval.

Apart from this important contribution, CIAD’s process of work will remain similar: budgeted and detailed projects are submitted to CIAD only through the National Council, and with ITVP’s approval. They are then reviewed and decided upon by CIAD during its meetings.

An ‘Executive Committee’ of CIAD is entitled to take decisions in-between meetings, in particular to deal with emergencies. Its members are: Bertrand Ousset, Thomas Joseph Pandian, Larry Tuomey and Renato Lima de Oliveira, assisted by Bruno Fabre.

Terms Of Reference / Guidelines

To clarify all this, CIAD members are now elaborating the “Terms of Reference’ of the Commission and a set of guidelines, which should be done through the first trimester if 2017 and spread around the National Councils, and to be released at CGI June 2017 meeting in Paris.

Overview of 2016 work

So far in 2016, € 1,065,000 have been spent by CIAD on 59 projects and interventions in 32 countries. Symbolically this is the first time in history CIAD spends more than a million euros. As 94% have been used for Disaster emergency relief and rehabilitation and only 6% on development projects, this is explained partially by three big projects that have been made possible by international generosity: our activities in Lebanon for refugees, as well as our response to natural disasters in Nepal and the Philippines.

Open discussion:

Follow up: one of the issues that are challenging CIAD is the follow up of projects: especially in the case of development projects, once a project is ‘launched’, it is very difficult for CIAD to follow it up and expertise it. Aside to the work of ‘Special Projects Coordinators’, the idea of using external independent institutions to expertize them has been submitted to the Commission. Whereas the benefits of the solution are obvious, it raises a set of issues of questions, among which funding is of importance. CIAD will be investigating the possibilities and costs of this kind of interventions.

The funding of CIAD in general is also an issue, and more with its new widened attributions.

Starting from the observation that CIAD’s mainly receives funds after specific appeals launched in case of natural or human disasters, and hardly for development purposes or for smaller scale or less media covered catastrophes, one of the possibilities CIAD is working on is to include more flexibility in the way appeals are launched and funds are affected, or asking countries to do so which would have the double interest of avoiding funds ‘sleeping’ on accounts and giving CIAD more liberty to cover its attributions.

This could be done through the newly created ‘FIS’, Fund for International Solidarity.

FINANCIAL UPDATE

Larry Tuomey reported that there is an amount of 2,762,877 euro currently available to CIAD in restricted accounts which may be summarized as follows :

FUND FOR INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY : Euro 1,107,462

The make up of this amount (which arises from appeals made by the CGI) is Nepal/Vanuatu (956,761), General Disasters (84,927 ), Iraq (40,789 ), Hurricane Matthew (24,985)

SPECIFIC FUNDS (country restricted) : Euro 1 655 415

Africa ( 62,741), AMERICAS (338623), Asia ( 1 253 949), Europe (101 )

Details of the make up of the individual country funds are set out in the papers.

The three most significant balances are Philippines ( 1 035 829), Haiti ( 286 171),Lebanon ( 200654)

AFTERNOON SESSION: CIAD ORDINARY MEETING

FUNDS SENT BETWEEN MEETINGS

This meeting is the first one of the new CIAD, since the installation of the new President General. As last meeting took place in July, a number of emergency actions and projects have been supported by the Commission since then.

Emergencies:

Tanzania: 3,000 euros in September after earthquake – no report has been received yet.

Sudan: 3,000 euros in September after floods – no report received yet, but international financial rules have made very difficult for the funds to reach this country. Actually, after several unfruitful tries, we have no confirmation have reached their destination yet.

Sri Lanka: 3,000 euros in September after floods – report promised soon

Angola: 3,000 euros in September to fight dry spell – A good report has been received; CIAD funds have been completed with $ 1,500 raised locally and have allowed to distribute food baskets to 90 households in three different communities.

Iraq: € 2,500 euros were sent in November; the report is awaited, although we have been informed that the funds have been received properly, which is already a challenge not easy to overcome.

Haiti: € 2,500 were sent in November after hurricane Matthew hit the country. For the moment, we have no feedback from the national Council.

New Zealand: € 3,000 have been sent in November as a matter of solidarity after an historically strong earthquake took place.

Costa Rica: After hurricane Otto hit the country, as well as an earthquake almost simultaneously, € 3,000 were sent in December.

Indonesia: The usual emergency procedure was used and € 3,000 have been sent last week after the earthquake.

Lebanon: an anonymous US Foundation has funded last year – up to October – a wide action of SSVP Lebanon for Iraqi and Syrian refugees in Lebanon. We have confirmation that the grant will be renewed. Nevertheless, funds will only be available in January, and CIAD has decided to send 14.560 USD to cover 2 months of meals for Iraqi elderly refugees, allowing bridging the gap and avoiding that the activity has to stop.

Projects:

Burundi: CIAD had approved in March a € 33,000 reconstruction and water system rehabilitation project in two phases. As usual, the release of the second phase was subjected to the submission of a report on the first phase. As we received the report in September, the balance of € 15,000 were thus released in October so that they do not have to wait for CIAD’s December meeting to start the second phase.

Nepal: the reconstruction programme of SSVP Nepal after the earthquake of 2015, in collaboration with Caritas as stipulated by the government, has been delayed for administrative and legal reasons, but has finally been able to kick-start in early November. 50% of CIAD’s commitment to this huge programme, allowed by worldwide Vincentian solidarity, have thus been released: € 382,000.

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SUBJECTS FOR DISCUSSION

Angola:

Angola has submitted a Water and Sanitation project, consisting in bringing water to 600 families aimed at providing clean potable water, and at being used for farming in a drought affected area. This is following the emergency help provided by CGI to provide food to drought affected people, and this intent to solve the problem is remarkable. Angola has recently proved to be reliable and responsive.

The amount requested to CIAD is € 7,000 out of a global budget of € 9,500. The rest of the amount is raised locally, which is also to be stressed. The Commission thus approved the request and will provide with the full requested amount of € 7,000.


Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso has submitted two ‘systemic change’ oriented projects.

The first project is a motorcycle maintenance training programme for 10 orphans to get them out of poverty and give them a way to earn their living. The training will take place in motorcycle maintenance workshop and will result in an official diploma. The budget covers fees, tools, and a ‘installation kit’ handed over to them at the end of their training. SSVP will deal with the follow up of the training and installation. The budget requested amounts to € 6,345, with an added local participation of € 700 (more than 10% of the global amount), which is greatly appreciated by CIAD.

The project is approved by the Commission, and CIAD will send € 6,345.

The revision of the second project from Burkina Faso is postponed to a further meeting, as it lacks some information and details, and is not yet supported by the ITVP. This pig rearing project is not rejected and CIAD will keep an eye on it.


Central African Republic

Central African Republic is a country living in a terrible poverty and violence situation, with no media coverage and seriously neglected by the international community. The Society is providing all the assistance it can in displaced people camps, and has proved to be efficient and serious in this kind of activities.

They have come up with a request of € 33,000, out of a global budget of € 35,000 – once again, local participation is to be underlined and reckoned- to provide people displaced by war with basic assistance: more than 8,000 beneficiaries (750 households) are to be distributed vital basic products – food & hygiene and cooking equipment, sleeping facilities and warm clothing.

The CIAD recognize the absolute need of this kind of activity, even though they might appear as ‘a drop in the ocean’. The Commission accepts to fund the whole project and will send € 33,000 in two lots of 50%; the second phase will be sent as soon as a documented report on phase 1 is provided.


Malawi

Malawi is faced with hunger, as a result of the alternation of drought and floods.

The Vincentians have identified 45 households they wish to provide with food for a year (4 distributions planned). The global budget is € 33,280, out of which € 22,280 is requested to CIAD and € 10,000 is provided by Ireland, their Twin.

Whereas it is conscious that this is important as ‘people are hungry’, the Commission wishes to state that it is somehow reluctant to fund this kind of ‘non-ending’ project with no sustainable proposal. The CIAD thus commits to funding € 12,000 to be sent in two instalments of € 6,000. This will be reassessed in close collaboration with Ireland after the second phase is conducted, but the Commission members feel CIAD cannot support this kind of activity on a long term basis.

The Commission wishes to urge Malawi to try to raise local funds on the one hand, and to seek self-sustainable activities on the other hand.


South Sudan

South Sudanese SSVP is remarkable for its capacity to conduct a wide number of efficient projects and programme helping the local community, providing development projects as well as education, or formation activities.

The National Council has requested – just for this year, as funding is secured for following years – support for their ‘be in hope project’ that was created in 2014. This is a programme for street children, taking care of meeting their basic needs such accommodation, food, care, clothing, access to education. The request is for € 12,000 out of a budget of € 61,051 also supported by SSVP England and Wales and other contributors.

The CIAD accepts to fund the € 12,000.


Uganda

Uganda is faced with a constant flow of refugees from neighbouring countries and is striving to assist them in the camps as well as the local population highly suffering from hunger outside the camps.

SSVP Uganda wishes to provide thousand s of people with food for immediate relief, as well as with seeds to maximise food production by the beneficiaries themselves. Almost 50% of the global budget is made of the seeds distribution: CIAD appreciates this effort to give a long term, sustainable dimension to the process, although members would have appreciated to see a local participation, and encourage SSVP Uganda to strive to raise funds locally.

The Commission thus decides to fund the requested € 12,150.


Lebanon

As it is well known, Lebanon is receiving a great number of refugees from Iraq and Syria in particular (estimate of 1.5 million refugees in a 4 million inhabitant country). Like they did last year, the Vincentians wishes to offer a Christmas present to 100 Iraqi children they are taking care of and ask for CIAD support up to US$ 6,000.

The Commission decides to support the project and will send $ 6,000 (approx. € 5,775).


Philippines

CIAD has been supporting for the last three years SSVP Philippines’ global assistance programme to Typhon Haiyan victims ‘Rebuilding Lives’. Part of it is an educational programme, supporting fully the scholarships of 100 college students and 400 High School students. This covers school fees, uniform, material and meals. As this global programme has been previously approved, the request to CIAD is ‘only’ the release of a new instalment, for the second semester of the third year. Given that SSVP Philippines feedback and reporting is satisfactory, CIAD accepts the release of the (approx.) € 48,100 (PHP 2,500,000).

Requirements

Brother Renato Lima asked to brother Bertrand to prepare a draft of “Terms of Reference” of CIAD (with the 4 goals) and of CIAD members, besides a CIAD Manual of Procedures and guidelines to help the Special Projects Territorial Delegates to support CIAD in its activities ad duties. This will be one of the core issues of the agenda of next CIAD meeting, together with CIAD funding.

DATE OF NEXT MEETING

28th February or 1st March, 2017

CLOSING PRAYER

Bertrand Ousset – CIAD Chairman