MASHAV News

Memorandum of Understanding signed between the World Bank and MASHAV

A Memorandum of Understanding for cooperation between the World Bank Institute and MASHAV was signed in Washington in December, 2001. The Memorandum defines the areas of international cooperation between MASHAV and developing countries within the framework of the World Bank. According to the Memorandum a new area of cooperation is to be implemented: Global Development Learning Network, geared to ensure application of 21^st century technologies to bridge the digital gap between developing and developed countries, and to share information on development issues.

President of Senegal Mr. Abdoulaye Wade recently bestowed the honorary title of Knight of the Order of the Lion (Chevalier de l'Ordre National du Lion) on Yoram Zvieli in recognition of his contribution to the development of the Israeli-Senegalese Demonstration Farm project (east of the capital Dakar) and to the strengthening of agricultural cooperation between Senegal and Israel. The ceremony took place at the Ministry of Agriculture in Dakar in the presence of Ministry officials, the Consultant to the President Colonel Mbareck Diop and the Consultant to the Minister of Hydrology Mr. Abdoulaye Sene, who has supported the project from the beginning. The Minister of Agriculture, Pape Diouf, bestowed the award, praised Yoram Zvieli's work and mentioned his ability to work together with the rural community at the farm site in Keur Momar Sarr. The demonstration farm, he said, is the most outstanding example of the agricultural cooperation between the two countries. The Minister expressed his wish to expand cooperation and multiply the effect of the demonstration farm by establishing a training system next to it.

Yoram Zvieli expressed his heartfelt gratitude for receiving the honor, and stressed that the creation of the farm was not the work of just one man but a team effort in which many people took part. The Israeli Ambassador to Senegal, Shlomo Morgan, present at the ceremony, said that now is the time to strengthen the farm's infrastructure to turn it into a model for Senegal and the region.

Yoram Zvieli is the brother of Amnon Tsvieli - see the article in this issue, "Island Medicine."

The Israeli Embassy took part this last year, as every year, in the Zimbabwe International Book Fair 2001, in Harare in August. The Fair's first three days were dedicated to visitors from publishing houses, libraries and other organizations, and later on it was open to the public. The Israeli stand attracted many visitors, who asked questions on topics such as agriculture, religion, general and religious tourism, the situation in the Middle East and more. The stand was jointly tended by a Shalom Club member and the Israeli Embassy staff.

In an impressive and emotive ceremony, the elementary school, built in Adapazari by MASHAV and the American Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) with the collaboration of the Israeli Turkish-Descendents Organization and the Turkish Jewish Community, was officially handed over to the Turkish Ministry of Education. Participating in the ceremony were Turkish Minister of Education Mr. Bostancioglu; District Governor Mr. Sakarya; the Mayor of Arifiye where the school is located; Israeli Ambassador to Turkey David Sultan; Arie Arazi, Deputy Director General of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Head of MASHAV; Yaacov Abutbul, Deputy Director of Haigud - Society for Transfer of Technology; a delegation from the JDC USA and dignitaries from JDC Israel; and many others.

The Minister of Education stated that the school is a symbol of the friendship existing between Israel and Turkey, and it will educate generations of Turkish citizens who will be faithful to the legacy of Ataturk, the founder of the Republic and the "head teacher." The Minister expressed his gratitude for all the Israeli aid offered to Turkey following the devastating earthquakes that affected the country: rescue and health teams, the Israeli-built village in Adapazari and more. A visit to the school followed the ceremony. The building is very impressive in terms of its size, design and the quality of the building materials. The school, also equipped with a computer class and computer for the principal (all part of the donation) was admired by all. The day concluded with the delegations' visit to the village in Adapazari, where they were warmly welcomed.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Sen Award, created in 1967, is conferred on field officers who have made an outstanding contribution in their country of assignment. It is named after former FAO Director General Binay Ranjan Sen from India and is presented every two years during the FAO Conference.

The field experts honored this year are Jean Prosper Koyo, of Congo-Brazzaville, for his work in Burundi for 2000, and Menachem Lourie, an Israeli working in the Philippines for 2001. Mr. Koyo was selected for his achievements in sustainable environmental management in Burundi, and Mr. Lourie was recognized for his work to improve the livelihoods of nearly 3 million small farmers under the Philippines' Comprehensive Agrarian Reform program.

Lourie has been working in support of the Agrarian Reform Law as chief technical adviser to successive FAO projects in the Philippines since 1995. The projects, focusing on small farmers who have gained access to land for the first time in their lives, aim to improve incomes by encouraging farmers to grow crops which have markets identified by local agribusiness concerns. This means growing new crops using new technology, and to aid this effort Menachem Lourie organized a network of field staff, local government officials and the private sector.

The president of Micronesia's Soccer Association, Dr. David Rutstein, informed the Israeli Embassy in Canberra of the establishment of the Association's Internet site. At the site - www.fsmfa.org - Israel appears as the Soccer Association's sponsor. Dr. Rutstein expressed once again his gratitude for soccer coach Shimon Shenhar's mission that contributed to raising the level of soccer in Micronesia (see article in Shalom 2000-1).

MASHAV course coordinator Rachel Yosepov traveled in September, 2001, to El Salvador for a working visit specifically to observe the practical achievements of a MASHAV course taking place at the time. Within the framework of Israel's assistance to El Salvador following the two earthquakes that devastated the country in 2001, six Salvadoran professionals were chosen to participate in MASHAV's international course on "Development of Micro-Regions and Rural Settlement Areas." The course's first stage took place in Israel, at the Weitz Center for Development Studies in Rehovot. A month-long second practical stage took place in the La Paz District of El Salvador itself, with the participation of the six Salvadorans and Weitz Center Gabriel Bechar, team leader responsible for planning of agriculture, Esther Khavous, architect responsible for physical planning and services, and Ran Afek, engineer responsible for planning of tourism. This micro-region, mostly rural, is divided into four municipal areas, with a population of about 123,000, and is located some 40 km from the capital, San Salvador. The region was severely damaged by the earthquakes, with more than half of the public buildings destroyed or seriously damaged.

As part of their course requirements, the participants assessed the situation in the region and presented a number of project proposals geared to achieve improvements in the areas of agriculture, industry, tourism, education and infrastructure. The main goal was to generate a change in the region's physical planning, to encourage close cooperation between the Mayors of the four municipal areas and to plan joint activities, such as the foundation of a technological school to serve the whole region.

Rachel Yosepov participated as MASHAV's representative in the course's closing ceremony. Also present were El Salvador's Minister of Agriculture, the Deputy Minister for Housing, the Mayors of the four districts and many other dignitaries. After the ceremony, the course participants and MASHAV's experts presented their recommendations and projects.

During her visit, she also met with Jose Jaime Sotelo Salcedo, from El Salvador's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Rafael Antonio Caceres, in charge of the scholarships, and Mr. Carlos Palacios, a member of El Salvador's Planning Committee. The members of the El Salvador Shalom Club prepared a festive reception on the occasion on Ms. Yosepov's visit.

(Reprinted in part from The Jordan Times of January 6, 2002)

Nicosia (AFP) - Israeli and Palestinian doctors met on this east Mediterranean island Thursday in a rare joint initiative to combat child hearing loss as a way of restoring trust in the strife-torn region.

A dozen specialists from Israel, Canada, Jordan and the Palestinian territories met in Nicosia ... for a two-day seminar on preventing genetic hearing loss.

"The process is politically symbolic," His Royal Highness Firas Ben Raad told AFP.

"This is a region which has been suffering from a metaphorical loss of hearing, and we hope our efforts will get people to listen," he added.

The Prince chaired the Cyprus government-sanctioned meeting of theMiddle East Association for Managing Hearing Loss (MEHA). It is only the third meeting held since MEHA was founded in 1998.

It is viewed as one of the few projects which actively engages Israeli, Jordanians and Palestinians on a professional level...

(Dr. Arnold Noyek, of the University of Toronto, Canada, Chairman of the Canada International Scientific Exchange Program [CISEPO], envisioned and initiated this project, to which MASHAV offered support in training activities.)

On the night of December 29, 2001, a fire broke out in a fireworks store in downtown Lima, killing some 300 people and leaving hundreds of injured. The next day Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres spoke with President of Peru Alejandro Toledo, expressing Israel's sorrow and concern at the tragic loss of life and Israel's desire to send medical aid. By December 31^st a medical team, under the auspices of MASHAV, comprising two Israeli doctors whose specialty is burns, left for Peru, taking with them medical equipment to perform operations.

Dr. Eyal Vinkler, Head of the Burns Unit of Sheba Hospital, and Dr. Yosef Haik, Deputy Head of the Unit, helped treat victims and performed operations and, accompanied by the Minister of Health and his deputy, visited local hospitals treating burn victims from the tragedy, where they were able to provide some advise on treatment to doctors.

The medical equipment was donated to Loayza Hospital. The President of Peru spoke to the nation in a live television and radio broadcast, praising Israel's rapid and generous aid, and invited the Israeli doctors to visit the presidential palace to thank them personally.