COPE | International Programs

		Ethiopia Housing Ethiopia currently has an acute shortage of housing, a national problem that is growing worse as refugees from Sudan, Darfur and Somalia seek safety. We partnered on the formation of an Ethiopian real estate development company and a construction company that is currently building 463 attractive and affordable houses and condominiums on a 50,000 sq. meter tract of land that we helped to obtain at low cost from the government. Individuals and families will own these houses and condominiums under a public-private financing plan. The next phase includes more affordable housing that will be owned by low income occupants.
The public sector problem (housing shortage) is addressed by private sector activity (real estate development and construction companies guided by business plans) that is self-sustaining (earning money, not getting handouts) and creates jobs (employment is essential for a democracy to function). This contributes to strengthening democratic government, curbing autocratic tendencies, and counteracts extremism (which relies on poverty, ignorance, and disenfranchisement). We work in partnership to put effective systems in place in order to achieve tangible, long-term results. This is sometimes called "entrepreneurial philanthropy," "soft diplomacy" or "social entrepreneurship" but it's the program concept, not the name of the program concept that's important.
		Physical Rehabilitation System We are partnered with the Higher Institute of Health Sciences to develop a comprehensive college curriculum and training program in Yemen that will award baccalaureate degrees in rehabilitation disciplines (physical therapy, occupational therapy, etc.) and serve as the basis for a national certification program for practitioners. A multi-level, public-private system approach is being used to build a sustainable, indigenous capability to deliver comprehensive rehabilitation-related services down to the district and village levels in underserved areas.
		Physical Therapy Scholarship In order to guide the formation of this indigenous capability, we placed a very talented Yemeni physiotherapist at Marymount University in Arlington, VA for a Doctor of Physical Therapy program and sponsored his education. Now Virginia board certified, upon completion of field work he will return to Yemen to guide the national program with a focus on pediatrics, and the academic program to train physical therapy practitioners. He was on the Dean's List at Marymount.
		Urgent Pediatric Surgery Sometimes we are also asked to help people who have no place to turn. This was one of those situations. Aissata Toure lives in Mali with her mother Khady and father Djibril. Her heart disease was discovered when a murmur was investigated and a hypertrophied and enlarged right ventricle with subpulmonary stenosis was discovered. She needed a relatively uncomplicated but expensive heart surgery to correct this fatal condition, but her family did not have any way to obtain the required funds. Moms on the Hill (a Washington, DC organization) asked us to find a way. We did. According to the surgeon, Aissata received her operation just in time: she would have died within two months had the operation not been performed. Why did we help Aissata Toure, a little girl who lives in a country far away? Because someone needed to help her, and someone asked us, and because we thought we could make a difference. You have opportunities to help people in your family, your community, and our world. We think you can make a difference, too.
		Rahman Rahman was 14 years old and living in an abandoned military bunker in Albania when journalist Neely Tucker wrote a Knight-Ridder news article about him. Rahman had virtually no formal education and spoke no English. We helped Indianhead Scouting BSA bring Rahman to St. Paul, Minnesota where he enrolled in school and was taken care of by a committed group of people. Rahman subsequently completed his high school diploma and learned construction skills under our sponsorship and returned to Albania with his diploma and skills.
		Small Dams Water affects every sector of populations in arid parts of the world, from health and economics to education and women. We bring together public sector and nongovernmental organizations to build or rebuild small dam systems that are environmentally neutral and are typically constructed and maintained by farming cooperatives and villages.
Numerous orphans suffer from malaria, asthma, and malnutrition. The boy in the photo is holding his breakfast.		Orphanages Dar Ayet al-Ayetem Orphanage and M. Saleh Orphanage now shelter more than 2,100 orphans in Yemen; children appear at both orphanages every day and are turned away. We believe these children and Yemen will benefit if capabilities are developed for the orphanages to provide better health care, education, and training. We shipped a complete dispensary and a dental suite that were donated by the International Medical Equipment Collaborative for Dar Ayet, and a dispensary for the Saleh orphanage. We want to restore running water, install a kitchen, and provide beds for the children who now sleep on the floor at Dar Ayet, and provide education materials, a copier and washing machines to the Saleh orphanage.
The patient in the photo has lost part of his right foot, parts of his toes and fingers, and he cannot blink his eyes.		City of Light Leprosarium The City of Light Leprosarium was established by Mother Teresa. This 130 bed facility admits 400 patients and provides 23,800 outpatient treatments per year. The center also controls the case registry, with approximately 700 new leprosy patients per year. We shipped City of Light a 40-foot container of surgical and clinical equipment and supplies from the International Medical Equipment Collaborative, but more needs to be done. Our goals are to strengthen the capabilities of the center, enable outpatient and prophylactic services at the district level, upgrade City of Light, and fund additional caseworkers.
Photo of Mahram Bilqis by the American Foundation for the Study of Man		Cultural Resources and Community Development We are discussing a program with World Bank for community development based on cultural resources. The program will build sustainable organizations to preserve cultural sites and develop them for research, education, and tourism. Our part of the program will focus on training, organization, indigenous business development, and employment for the local population. We are partnered with the American Foundation for the Study of Man, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that is excavating Mahram Bilqis, the largest pre-Islamic temple on the Arabian Peninsula and the most important site of the Kingdom of Saba (Sheba). Mahram Bilqis serves to illustrate the common foundations and connections of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, all of which worship the God of Abraham (Ibrahim). The site, numerous references to Bilqis (the Queen of Sheba), and conversations between Bilqis and Solomon are recorded in the Old Testament and the Quran. We operate in places that need assistance and are not always safe or easy. We have no illusions about what we do and where we are doing it. We live in the real world: seven Spanish tourists and two Yemeni were killed at this site by al Qaeda terrorists in 2007.