Projects, Equipping, Centers, Events (PECE)
To date, VNS has facilitated IntegraCD Centers and projects in:
IntegraCD Center, Keningau, Sabah (East Malaysia):
Sustainable Future Thru’ Integral Community Development
Aaron and Laura Beh illustrate how IntegraCD works, “The center encourages low-income families to discern their problems and implement appropriate solutions.”
The Sabah Center encourages farms to be productive and ecologically balanced, conserving land and natural resources in a sustainable way.
IntegraCD Center, Sabah, East Malaysia
IntegraCD Center, Tiddim (Myanmar):
Sustainable Future Thru’ Integral Community Development
Around 70 percent of Myanmar’s live in rural areas. Since most rural people depend on agricultural productivity, IntegraCD concepts such as FAITH Garden (Food Always In The Home), Sloping Agricultural Land Technology (SALT) and Microenterprise Development are relevant.
Ngaw Khaw Suan, the Director of the IntegraCD Center, explained the vision, “Our people have deforested the mountains. Thus, the center demonstrates how SALT and reforestation can restore the land.”
Self-Reliant House, Tanah Abang, Sumatra (Indonesia):
Sustainable Future Thru’ Integral Community Development
The view of Sumatran mountains was majestic! There was no tourist but a group of Singapore and Indonesian volunteers working together to build a stand-alone house called Rumah Mandiri or the Self-Reliant House on top of a mountain. Indeed it was prime real estate—the eco-house situated on top of a mountain surrounded by other mountains and ginger farm.
Surrounding the Self-Reliant House is the vision. The vision is to inspire families to be proud owners of Self-Reliant Houses with bountiful vegetable gardens.
Self-Reliant House (Mongolia):
Sustainable Future Thru’ Integral Community Development
Victor began with a pilot project of the Self-Reliant House at Diary Farm, Singapore. Subsequently, Victor and his family went to Mongolia with the vision of empowering low-income families through the Self-Reliant House. It was indeed a challenge to build an affordable house that could protect the residents from winter. The Self-Reliant House has a greenhouse growing vegetables.
Nepal: Sustainable Future Thru’ Integral Community Development
In the context of warring regions, VNS bivocational staff is involved in peacebuilding projects. For e.g., VNS employs “Bless Another Family” as a means to build relationships among low-income families. “Bless Another Family” is an animal bank that loans goats and requires recipient families to pass on the blessings to other families.
Goats provide low-income families with fresh milk, meat, kids and income. Being hardy, goats are easy to maintain and breed. The objectives of “Bless Another Family” are:
n Providing an alternative source of income through livestock (if conditions are right).
n Passing the blessings to other families.
The recipient families attend goat workshops and follow the guidelines:
n The low-income family receives 3 goats (1 male kid & 2 female kids; at least 3 months old).
n The recipient family blesses another family by returning the 3 kids (1 male kid & 2 female kids) within 3 years.
Lahore, Pakistan:
Sustainable Future Thru’ Integral Community Development
Sajid Malik, based in Lahore, is laying the groundwork for a peacebuilding project in the outskirts of Lahore, Pakistan. The project involves setting up an animal bank that loans goats to low-income families. In the process, Sajid desires to engage the community leaders in peacebuilding efforts.
Colombo, Sri Lanka:
Sustainable Future Thru’ Integral Community Development
Led by a social entrepreneur, Upali, the center is involved in peacebuilding projects. Upali and five staff are in the process of being trained in peacebuilding and IntegraCD. To date, the Sri Lanka (and Pakistan) initiatives remain the most challenging for VNS.
Singapore: Constructed Treatment Wetland
The innovative project at Commonwealth Secondary School has been awarded the Watermark Award from the Public Utilities Board (PUB). The Minister of Environment, Dr. Yacob Ibrahim, gave credit to Vision Network for the partnership with the school. The constructed treatment wetland also won a Green Wave Award from Shell.
The constructed treatment wetland (CTW) is designed to treat graywater from a second-storey staff toilet. The treated water is reused for non-potable purposes such as irrigation. In this way, the school is able to reduce its water consumption.
When wetlands are destroyed, the livelihood of low-income families and communities also disappear. For e.g., low-income people harvest reeds from wetlands to make mats. When wetlands are being drained, the reeds also disappear, thus the loss of raw materials for making reed mats.
Promoting “Wetland As Poverty Alleviation”, VNS, a NGO, uses constructed treatment wetland (CTW) to treat and recycle wastewater. An environmentally sound alternative for treating wastewater, the CTW improves public health and standard of living. The CTW is an integrated system where water, plants, animals, microbes and the environment (soil, sun and air) interact together to treat wastewater. In addition, the CTW can function as an educational project, recreational space and has the potential of attracting eco-tourists.
Singapore: Shoes & Smiles
In Singapore, all school children should have at least a new pair of school shoes in each academic year. In the season of giving (Dec 2008), donors bought school shoes for children from low-income families.
A total of 367 new pairs of shoes were collected and distributed to 205 children, many of them were orphans. Through this project, team members received smiles from both recipients and donors.
