1. Community awareness and fundraising
2. Information Program (Educational material for Dutch primary schools)
3. Objective: Somali organization in the Netherlands
4. Seminars & Workshops

1. Community awareness and fundraising:

Our activities in Holland are mainly focussed on community awareness so as the community can take more active role in development programs financially as well as human resources. Effective and proper media are required to reach the above goal. HIRDA uses the following instruments:

• Website


• Newsletter


• Meeting, seminars and conferences

1.1 HIRDA Website and Network Forum

Information technology has numerous advantages and great applicability in all spheres of work and life. It brought revolutionary changes in every field of human life. Website information made more accessible to information technology. The degree and speed of communication with our team in the field as well as outside world has improved tremendously since HIRDA has setup the website.

1.2 Himilo Newsletter.

HIRDA published four issues in 2003. Every issue carries detailed information about HIRDA’s activities within the past three months and was sent to our members in the Netherlands.
Strong point: Still popular among our members in terms of information it carries.
Weak points: There were two main difficulties namely:

Editing

• Distribution.

1.3 Organizational Capacity Building and related activities

HIRDA had two capacity building training in 2003. One of the training was intended HIRDA UK team. We have invited the members of HIRDA UK to HOLLAND to give them the strategy and vision of organization. The other training was used as workshop for HIRDA members and activists. It was one day training concerns about fundraising and orientation of how every individual could take part the development projects.

Strong points: Get together HIRDA UK and HIRDA Holland and exchange ideas and views.
Weak points: UK team was not fully dedicated as HIRDA team in HOLLAND and they need further training and integration into HIRDA HOLLAND

1.4 Information Program (Educational material for Dutch primary schools)

1.4.1 Foreword

1.4.2 Objectives

• Collecting educative materials about Somalia for the Dutch primary schools


• Introducing Dutch children with Somali children of the same age, especially the way they live and how they get access to education.


• To raise the awareness of the Dutch people regarding the needs of development co-operation in the field of education.


• Connecting Dutch pupils with these of their age in Somalia by exchanging letters, drawings, and pictures and so on.

1.4.3 Working team.

The survey group that the organization put together at the end of 2002 consisted:
1- Mr. Dahir F. Ali - project-coordinator
2- Mrs. Ubah Halane
3- Mr. Abdulkadir Ruumi
4- Mr. Jamal Hashi,
5- Mrs. Wendy Wijnen

Later Mrs.Wendy Wijnen, a 5th grade teacher, joined the group but we are still searching for someone who teaches the last 2 classes of the primary school.

1.4.4 Video

We hired a cameraman from Mogadishu to reconstruct the story of a student of the Bardera Primary School (Abdi). The story is titled “moving for the sake of education”. This was a family moved from a village- Dobley 30 km north of Bardera in order to get school for their child. The story of Abdi was recorded capturing all his activities in school as well as outside school.

Abdi became a smart kid and attracted a lot of friends in Bardera. He was good in making handcrafts. He once made a toy in the form of a car for a friend. This friend later invited him and a couple of his friends to visit his family farm in Afjar, a small village in the neighborhood of Bardera.

One can see in the film several trees with fruits and vegetations such as papaya, mango, lemon, sesame and banana trees, sugar cane, beans and corn. The kids played and had a lot of fun in the farm.

1.4.5 Material Collection

In August Mr.Dahir F. Ali traveled to Somalia and purchased the following material from Mogadishu- the capital of Somalia.

Nr.	Material	Quantity	Comments
1	Somali incense	5 kg
2	Somali milk cans	6 pieces
3	Wooden dishes	3 pieces
4	Wooden spoons	50 pieces
5	Wooden combs	50
6	Somali hats	50	Printed text like: NOVIB, HIRDA,
7	Children clothes	5 pairs
8	Womens clothes	5 pairs
9	Mens clothes	5 pairs
10	Several kitchen supplies

All items and clothes hand made and few samples of smaller size were bought from some items not only because high cargo charges but also the package must fit the intended educational material in the school in the Netherlands. These materials should be displayed in the schools by our staff and there are also supplementary items which are part of this package.

1.4.6 Pending activities

• Text and workbooks
  After editing the tape text and workbooks will be made for 2 levels.
(Classes 5-6 and 7-8)

• volunteers Training
  The project will conducted by volunteers. These volunteers will by trained by a hired expert for this purpose. The expert will give the volunteers a proper instruction about the subject


• Testing the final product at 5 primary schools
  The first 5 schools, where the final product will be shown, will serve as a prove schools. The content of the material and the experience gained will be discussed. The opinions and suggestions of the schools will be taken into consideration and if needed the product will be adjusted accordingly.


• Distributing the materials to Primary Schools

The final product will consist:

Project brochure
Teachers manual
Narrative book about Somalia (2 levels). Children will recite sections of the book aloud in the classroom.
Assignments and exercises for the pupils (3 levels)
Pictures to watch
Pictures to colour
A video tape (moving for the sake of education)
Questionnaires about the tape (2 levels)
Material that shows the cultural aspects of Somalia

We are looking a partner and volunteers for realisation of second phase of this project.
2 Co-operation between HIRDA and other active Somali organizations in the Netherlands:

Objective: Somali organization in the Netherlands

HIRDA appreciates the co-operation with other Somali organizations in the Netherlands. HIRDA had a step forward in 2003. We have laid groundwork of co-operation with other five organizations such as:
1. SAMVAO
2. Iskaashi
3. SBSS
4. And Soneca
5. HIRDA
We formed board of committee that delegates the activities that these organizations do together. In 2003 we carried out together two activities namely:
1. Conference for “Role of women in peace process” Held in The Hague on 15th of June 2003.
2. Hadrawi peace march: Hadrawi was a leading elder statesman who travelled through out Western Europe and North America to promote peace in Somalia

Strong points:They successfully carried out the two programs.
They learned more each other and that created good working sphere
Easy communication between members
Weak points: At the beginning some organizations were skeptical about the whole program and thought that they were not better represented but that was removed at a latter stage when the members had more contacts.

3 Seminars & Workshops

HIRDA has participated many conferences and seminars in 2003 in the Netherlands. These workshops were very useful to HIRDA because it was a good opportunity to come in contact with other organisations and exchange ideas. The seminars and workshops were held in different part of the country namely: Here below we list the workshops that HIRDA participated in 2003.

3.1 Forum Seminar

Notes
This one day seminar which was participated by several volunteer organisations, which majority of them were naturalised Dutch citizens, who are doing aid and development work in their original countries. It was particularly advantageous to exchange ideas and learning from each other’s mistakes and successes.
The most important part of this seminar was remittance, since the Diaspora migrants send financial remittance to their home countries which created localised prosperity.
Migrants and their extended families who have remained behind invest in the local economy by setting up family companies which in turn high of living standard.

3.2 Effective Fondswerving en Projectmatig Werking

Notes
COS Noord Holland provided this course and it had an objective of teaching volunteer organisations how they could organise effective fund raising activities. Creative fund raising activities, making clear correlation between the necessity of the project and the fund raising activities were some of the subjects, which were presented during this course. After this course it was clear to us, that a good communication is intrinsic to any kind of fund raising activity. Whether, contributors may be members of the foundation or external organisations or individuals.

3.3 SMS Weekend training

Notes:
The training was intended for African self organizations in the Netherlands. The objective of the training was:

• meeting each other, exchanging information and experiences


• To compile inventory list of the goals and needs of each organizations as well as all organizations as a one body


• Explore the possibilities of cooperating and to develop collective activities in the future

3.4 FURUM’s training

Notes
This training was participated by representatives and managing committee of 14 other volunteer organisations. As stated in title this training had aim of giving the managers and active members of those organisations behaviour skills. One of most important substance of the training was to give participating individuals tips and presentation skills, such as gaining interpersonal communication abilities. Learning these skills will be enable managers of volunteer organisations to create a conducive environment for good communication and efficient within their organisations.

3.5 Time Management Training

Notes
In light of efficiency utilisation of our volunteer’s valuable time, it is imperative to have a time management skills. Reflecting from that, we have enlisted to participate this one-day training. Maximising organisation’s efficiency regarding time is one of most import attribute that volunteer organisation such as HIRDA could have, as all of members are not paid for their effort. Dividing organisation’s activities into several working lines, and assigning individuals for those activates was one of techniques gained by participating this training, which later applied into the organisation’s structure.

3.6 Vrouwen networkingdag

Notes

Spoken subjects of this day were:

• Poverty among women


• Immigration and domestic violence


• Women as peace advocates


• International Women mobilisation

3.7 Vice Versa – debat

In this debate participating organisations were asked to discuss effect of international development co-operation has on the immigration. Whether it reduces number of immigrants from developing countries. Another import subject discussed in that debate was, how international aid and development organisation could stimulate structural use of ever increasing remittance money. The out come of this discussion was varied as its remit, some of participants propagated, that there is a role to be played by international organisation in remittance money. While others suggested, it is almost impossible to bring large sum of remittance money for structural purpose. As far as concerning the impact of international development cooperation on immigration, it was all agreed that creating a better economic structure and more stability in developing countries could reduce the number of immigrants.

3.8 The role of women in peace building

Notes:
The objectives of the conference are:
• To share and deepen the knowledge of participants on the basic concepts of peace building in the context of sustainable development.
• To identify the role of women in peace-building and in the promotion of a culture of peace in the Netherlands and in migrant women’s countries of origin.
• To share peace-waging strategies and to focus primarily on women’s contribution to a culture of peace, and to make women’s initiatives and potential for peace-building and conflict prevention more visible.
• To strengthen migrant women’s peace efforts and active participation in promoting just and lasting peace in their countries of origin.

3.9 Expert Meeting Migration, Globalisation and Development

Notes:
The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 changed the course of public discourses on migration as they left an important mark on the immigration history worldwide. Based on the premises that migration is 'of all times' a natural phenomenon and the 'missing link' in globalization process, the expert meeting set out to provide a through discussion on the pro's and con's of migration by concentrating on the impact on development in 'receiving and 'sending' countries. Therewith the meeting provided for a more objective discussion of migration issues in order to counter the subjective and politically initiated discussion following the ' September 11' attack and the may 2002 general election in the Netherlands.

3.10 FORUM Executive Training

Notes:
The volunteers’ phenomenon appears to become more and scarcer as a result of the increase of individualism in today’s society. The increase of individualism is the main reason why a lot of people became helpless within their own society. For that reason the role of volunteers become more and more important.
The positive impact of the forum was:
1. What are the motivations of volunteers?
2. What improvement can you deliver as volunteer?
3. What is the difference between actively engaged volunteer and non-actively engaged volunteer?

3.11 FORUM Debate

Notes:
The purpose of this meeting between immigrant women organizations was to exchange ideas and experiences. The most important purpose of the forum was getting together between women of different organizations in cordial atmosphere of learning and respecting each other. During this week a prospect of working together in projects as a group took a kick off start.

The following topics were addressed:

• Fair integration: integration for natives and immigrants


• The roll of female society in the globalization of Holland.


• Attracting and engaging volunteers for the organization


• Diversity


• Self management: How could one stimulate females to become a complete member of the Dutch Society?

Strong points: we have built more networking than any previous years
Weak points: Human resource. Some workshops and seminars were held working day and we couldn’t attend since most of staff works.