Counterpart International, Inc.

Program: Humanitarian Assistance

Program Description:

Counterpart responds to the basic needs of the poorest and most marginalized populations, donating medical supplies and equipment, pharmaceuticals, food, blankets, tents and other equipment.

Program Long-Term Success:

Since 1994, Counterpart has delivered more than $1 billion worth of humanitarian assistance around the world.

Program Short-Term Success:

The world watched nervously as Russia and the small ex-Soviet republic of
Georgia escalated into a full-scale military conflict. When political tensions
over the disputed region of South Ossetia erupted into armed conflict, more
than 120,000 people fled their homes to seek refuge primarily in the capital
of Tbilisi.
Counterpart International mobilized immediately.
The organization’s Georgia team, based in Tbilisi, was able to use existing
disaster response resources within the country to distribute urgently needed
supplies. Then it expanded its response through an emergency grant from
the U.S. Agency for International Development.
“We know the Caucasus region extremely well,” says Sergiy Khomchenko,
who directs Counterpart’s Community and Humanitarian Assistance Program
in the region. “We were very well prepared on the ground and have handled
many crises like this before.” Indeed, in the past year alone, Counterpart has
provided food, water, shelter, medical supplies and other assistance to victims
of the earthquake in Kyrgyz Republic, a winter emergency in Tajikistan and
floods in Western Ukraine.
In Georgia, within one week following a disaster declaration by the U.S.
Ambassador, Counterpart assisted in the coordination and distribution of
American humanitarian assistance. The U.S. Air Force’s largest cargo planes
delivered blankets, basic medical supplies, food, sleeping bags and field beds
where they were needed most. Counterpart continued to assist displaced
families well into September by providing mattresses—donated to the
Georgian Ministry of Refugees and Accommodation—to more than 2,400
people. To date, Counterpart has helped distribute several million dollars
in emergency aid to 30,000 internally displaced people around the capital.

Program Success Monitored by:

Counterpart's Data Warehouse allows users to address humanitarian needs by designing projects, acquiring donated items, managing their shipment and following up with recipients.

Program Success Examples:

• Counterpart International (Counterpart) was the proud recipient of the 2007 Katherine M. Swanson Equality Award as part of The Tech Museum Awards for their Data Warehouse tool used in response to deadly crises around the world.

• CHAP is nearing successful completion of its Sudan program, the Women and Girls' Education and Livelihood Support Program, funded by the State Department’s Bureau of Population Refugees and Migration (BPRM). In early 2009 Counterpart conducted a handover of construction projects, including boarding school facilities and water tanks, serving returnees who had been displaced from during the many years of civil war. 

  
  

Program: Institution Building

Program Description:

Our culturally adaptable approach has enabled us to work on three continents to build the institutional infrastructure for civil society and community development. To this end, we strengthen non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to be “values-driven businesses” that provide quality services, mobilize communities and advocate for their needs, and generate sufficient revenue to support their mission and sustain themselves. Counterpart’s support has given rise to thousands of successful community-level projects that have delivered better health care, enabled citizens to engage with their governments and brought communities together to prevent conflicts and address their shared priorities.

Program Long-Term Success:

Over the past 15 years, Counterpart has designed and managed a $170 million portfolio of civil society and community development projects to serve the needs of vulnerable populations such as women, children, people with
disabilities, the elderly and the unemployed.

Program Short-Term Success:

The women of Afghanistan remember secretly schooling their daughters at
home while the Taliban ruled. More than seven years later, on November
28th and 29th of 2008, 500 women from 33 provinces of the country met
at a National Women’s Council in Kabul to publicly present a declaration
to President Hamid Karzai who spoke to them for almost two hours.
Organized by Counterpart in close partnership with the Ministry of
Women’s Affairs and with funding from the U.S. Agency for International
Development, the Women’s Council was a ground-breaking event, marking
the first time in recent history that women from across the country came
together to voice their concerns to senior level government officials about
issues that most affect their lives. A participant spoke for all when she said,
“We are thankful to the organizers of this historic event which provided

Building on the outcomes of the Women’s Council, one provincial governor
invited 200 representatives to meet with him and further prioritize the
The Women’s Council is one of many efforts by Counterpart to promote
gender equity in Afghanistan. Other important steps include: engaging
Islamic scholars and religious leaders to promote women’s full participation
in society; training women’s organizations to effectively manage themselves
as well as design and implement projects that serve women’s priorities;
highlighting women’s achievements in the media; and supporting projects
that provide needed services to women and advocate their rights. Over
the past four years, Counterpart has provided more than $10.2 million to
organizations serving women.

Program Success Monitored by:

Surveys, media mentions, number of attendees at trainings.

Program Success Examples:

In 2009, Counterpart received the USAID-funded Global Civil Society Strengthening Leader with Associates (GCSS LWA) award, leading a consortium of world class organizations in the implementation of civil society, media development, and program design and learning activities. This initiative provides a unique opportunity to enhance learning and innovation, disseminate best practices around the world to implementers and thought leaders and document a body of knowledge about what works best in a particular country and cultural context.

Program: Natural Resources and Environment

Program Description:

Counterpart’s economic and natural resources programs use a communitybased approach to help develop sustainable businesses. By addressing both the economic needs and natural resource goals of specific communities, we are able to deliver tailored training and assistance. This approach helps communities foster economic development that can be sustained over the long term—and not only preserves, but enhances cultural and natural resources at the same time.

Program Long-Term Success:

Coral Gardens is a proven and effective approach to marine conservation. Through integrated programming that includes community engagement and  coral restoration, Coral Gardens  improves reef health and fisheries production, increases food security and  enhances economic livelihoods.
Success of Counterpart’s Coral Restoration Activities:
10 years of research gathered and analyzed
36 pilot projects established in 8 countries spanning the Caribbean and Pacific

Program Short-Term Success:

Techniques – Flexible to different environs; sturdy and resistant to wave action and predation; and, can grow naturally into a reef structure.  Counterpart’s methods are aligned to the new scientific understanding that restoration and propagation should occur in same environ as donor colony.

Growth & Mortality rates – Counterpart’s technique demonstrates 10 times more biomass generated during a 3-5 year project than other practitioners. Mortality rates are on par with other techniques.

Cost benefit analysis – Counterpart’s program has a very low cost with high results.  Materials can be sourced locally.  Technique is low tech, easily learned, replicable and scalable.

Program Success Monitored by:

Program Success Examples:

Program: Food, Nutrition and Health

Program Description:

Counterpart’s agriculture and economic development programs focus on
helping existing local businesses and farmers better meet the demands of
the marketplace, and in so doing, thrive. Through small loans, training and
association building, farmers and entrepreneurs have better access to
more lucrative markets, and are better able to meet demand for their goods.
In many cases, these efforts not only improve local economies, but also
increase access to safe, affordable and diverse supplies of food.

Program Long-Term Success:

The Global Agriculture and Economic Growth Division has a global staff of about 150 and a portfolio of 20 programs valued at approximately $120 million. Most of our activities are concentrated in West and Central Africa, scattered among food security, agriculture and economic development projects in Senegal, Mauritania, Ghana, Niger and Cameroon.

Program Short-Term Success:

In a country plagued by droughts and suffering rising rates of malnutrition,
10 women in the Podor region of northern Senegal decided to improve their
community’s options. With a grant from Counterpart International, made
possible through the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food for Progress
program, the women started a mill that produces enriched flour made from
peas, sugar, peanuts, millet and corn.
The women learned about Counterpart at a rural entrepreneurship workshop
organized under the Food for Progress project. Counterpart’s support allowed
the mill, known as NSAMM, to boost its flour output and to expand its
production to include cereals. Counterpart also helped NSAMM’s owners
acquire modern equipment and upgrade existing flour milling machinery.
NSAMM Manager Rougiatou Mar says that her region has benefited
significantly from Counterpart’s help. Counterpart enabled four members
of the mill to learn how to design business plans, she says, and how to
improve hygiene practices at the mill. Counterpart also helped NSAMM
employees comply with government regulations, enabling the mill to
produce affordable flour at a volume, quality and standard to meet demand
in the local marketplace. The training and technical assistance helped
NSAMM improve its packaging and marketing—and as a result, the mill
has hired six new full-time employees.
The impact on the local communities is clear: affordable nutritious food
is now available, more people are working and a new business has become
sustainable. As for Mar, she happily looks forward to working with
Counterpart to help her break into regional and national markets.

Program Success Monitored by:

number of people fed, amount of food distributed

Program Success Examples:

• In Niger, Counterpart is supporting 40 communities to protect wetlands from the advance of the desert through green fencing and re-vegetation to stabilize sand dunes. In an additional 60 communities located in arid areas, Counterpart is assisting smallholder farmers to establish integrated agro-forestry plots that restore soil fertility, increase yields and generate supplementary resources such as fire wood, Arabic gum and wild fruits. 
• In Senegal, Counterpart supported a women's association to improve their ability to cultivate, transform, package and market local rice produced in the Senegal River Valley. Over a 3-year period, association members improved the calibration of rice into specific sizes for more consistent packaging, set up a rice processing unit, sold a total of 60.5 MT of rice through marketing at a local agricultural fair, and developed new relationships with commercial traders to sell their rice.