Panther Alier, team leader for the Winrock-implemented Building Responsibility for Delivery of Government Services in South Sudan (BRIDGE) program in Jonglei, South Sudan, is one who made it out safely — and has since returned to help develop the war-ravaged nation, which gained independence in 2011. Although he achieved success in the U.S., graduating Magna Cum Laude from Brandeis University, Alier always knew he would return home. He first joined BRIDGE, which is funded by USAID and builds the capacity of government to deliver essential public services, in 2009 as an intern in the U.S., and then moved to South Sudan to join the BRIDGE field team, helping to establish and train community groups to improve communication and interaction between citizens and government. He later rose to the position of Team Leader in his home state, Jonglei, when BRIDGE expanded operations there at the urgent request of state government.

Today, Alier is one of six former “Lost Boys” working for Winrock under difficult circumstances in South Sudan, laboring in partnership with citizens and government to rebuild and revitalize an under-developed nation. Looking back as BRIDGE winds down its fifth and final year, Alier reflected on his remarkable journey: “I leave behind strong principles of democracy cultivated in the process of forming Community Action Groups. … I chose to do my internship with Winrock International because of advice that it was a reputable organization. Indeed! Winrock is where ideas are put to work. From an intern to a Team Leader, I leave now as a mature professional.”

Winrock Helps Organize Forum to Further Clean Cooking Solutions
Winrock’s household energy team, in partnership with the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, co-organized the 2013 Clean Cooking Forum: Igniting Change, Sparking Markets and Fueling Adoption, last March in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Building on the success of previous Forums sponsored by the Partnership for Clean Indoor Air (and co-organized by Winrock and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency), the Forum brought together nearly 500 stakeholders to further the development and global adoption of market-based clean cooking solutions and drive innovations in research, market development, standards and testing, project finance, and policy development.

The five-day event featured speakers from more than 100 organizations and also included local site visits and cookstove demonstrations. Chef José Andrés, the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves Culinary Ambassador, launched a global chef corps to raise awareness about the need for clean cookstoves and fuels worldwide, in conjunction with other popular chefs from Cambodia, Kenya and India. The Clean Cooking Forum offered a firsthand look at the work being done locally in Cambodia through site visits to cookstove, biogas, solar, briquette, and women’s and children’s empowerment programs throughout the country. Winrock is proud to have played a part in bringing together experts from more than 60 countries around the globe to solve a problem that affects more than 3 billion people worldwide and kills approximately 4 million people annually.

Participating in the Forum were members of Winrock’s LEAF team and Winrock’s Nepal office. Winrock’s household energy team continues to build capacity and provide technical assistance with the U.S. EPA through workshops, webinars and study tours on topics related to improved cooking technologies and fuels. They share knowledge on best practices and equip participants with techniques and strategies they can employ to improve the quality, adoption, and scale of their work. Access Forum photos, videos, presentations, and more at this link.

Winrock-implemented MAVEN Project Helps Mali Seed Company
In West Africa, some of the lowest levels of agricultural productivity are in Mali, where the USAID-funded West Africa Farmer-to-Farmer program and associated Mali Agricultural Value Enhancement Network (MAVEN) project are working to improve productivity and reduce poverty. In April, one beneficiary of the programs, Maimouna Sidibé Coulibaly, hosted an official launch ceremony for the Faso Kaba Seed Processing Unit. Faso Kaba is a woman-owned seed business that provides more than 1,000 tons of seed to help feed Malian families.

During the launch event Coulibaly credited MAVEN — which is implemented by ACDI/VOCA and Winrock — for technical support that she said was critical for the orientation, development and promotion of her enterprise. “Thanks to the systematic interventions of [the] Winrock F2F/MAVEN Volunteer, I have transformed my traditional hand-made seed processing unit into a modern enterprise with much greater reach on national level,” she said.

“The volunteers helped me a lot. I was already involved in the business, but it was only after the volunteers came that I really understood,” said Coulibaly last November. “Now we are well known and distributing great quantities of seed.”

Approximately 300 people participated in the ceremony including USAID/Mali, the Ministry of Agriculture, the National Director of Agriculture, producers, agro-dealers, and processors. Two days later, during a field visit to Faso Kaba Seed Company USAID/ Mali AEG Team member, Baou Diané said, “Faso Kaba Seed Company remains a showcase of USAID/Mali intervention … towards the achievement of food security.”