News

Development Award 2006

In mid November, HAI hosted a gala evening to present the inaugural HAI Development Award.  Numerous high profile guests attended the dinner including his Excellency Mr Mohammed Hamzah Thayeb, Ambassador of Indonesian and of course the guest of honour, award winner Pak Fakhrurrazi (Fakhrul), village facilitator from the Local Governance and Infrastructure for Communities in Aceh project (LOGICA).

MC for the evening, Simon Ernst admitted his exuberance at a LOGICA team member having won the award, knowing firsthand the energy required to be part of such a project.   In addition, the presence of the entire LOGICA management team at the dinner added to the occasion of the evening.

In presenting the Award HAI’s Managing Director, John Wurcker said, “A large proportion of our activities are now facilities and programs which act as efficient and effective conduits of aid, utilizing local systems and resources.   One manifestation of this is the fact that of the thousand or so people who work for HAI, around 800 are locally engaged staff.”

“This award was conceived by HAI because we wanted to acknowledge the invaluable contribution made by our local project staff.  It was developed in consultation with our project team leaders, each of whom welcomed this formal avenue to recognize and reward those staff who have displayed an outstanding commitment to their respective project”.

Mr Hamzah Thayeb gave an eloquent speech, rightly pointing out that this night was to recognize the efforts of all locally engaged staff employed by HAI throughout the region.  Mr Thayeb was particularly proud that the award had gone to a fellow Acehnese.

Pak Fakhrul’s diminutive figure and quietly spoken manner held the audience spellbound, as he spoke about the experiences of his community through conflict and the tsunami and the responsibility he feels to assist them recover.  Pak Fakhrul feels honored to receive such an award and hopes the knowledge he will gain from the training will further benefit his community in Aceh.

As part of his award prize, Pak Fakhrul will be returning to Canberra in February to undertake a work placement with pre-determined community groups.

Besides an overall winner, two other outstanding finalists received acknowledgement for their contribution.  Mariz Paz Limpo from the Philippines-Australia Community Assistance Program was selected due to her commitment to improving the lives of communities within the high conflict area of Muslim Mindanao.  Luis Eleazar, from the Southern Philippines Irrigation Sector Project demonstrated a more intellectual route as he marketed lessons learnt from the project to the broader international community.