In view of the January 2011 announcement of the merger of Deutscher Entwicklungsdienst (DED) gGmbH (German Development Service), the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH (German Technical Cooperation) and InWent – Capacity Building International, Germany, GIZ Nepal recently conducted a sucessful GIZ orientation media trip with members of Nepal's prominent news dailies from September 6-9, 2011.

After the formal invitations had been despatched to ten of Nepal’s major newspapers and dailies, a positive response was received from seven partners, three of whom expressed their apologies. The respective editors then selected their nominees (Please see full list of journalists below). For GIZ, Mrs. Milu Shree Shakya (Senior Programme Officer, GIZ NEPAL) and Mr. Pradesh Khaling Rai (Programme Officer, GIZ INCLUDE) were responsible for the overall logistics and coordination of the visit between GIZ projects and the traveling media team.

Participants:  

1. Mr. Durga Khanal, Assistant Senior Sub-Editor, Kantipur Daily
2. Mr. Bhojraj Poudel, Karobar Daily
3. Mr. Chandra Shekhar Adhikari, Senior Reporter (Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, and Development, Annapurna Post
4. Ms. Rozina Nepal, Abhiyan – New Business Age
5. Mr. Chola Kanta Khanal, The Rising Nepal
6. Mr. Bishnu Prasad Aryal, The Himalayan Times
7. Mr. Manish Gautam, The Kathmandu Post
8. Ms. Milu Shree Shakya (Maskey), GIZ Nepal
9. Mr. Pradesh Khaling Rai, GIZ INCLUDE 

Aligning with the core priority areas – local self-governance and civil society, renewable energy and energy efficiency, and health and family planning – of the three afore-mentioned organisations (GTZ, DED, and InWent), the media orientation trip was planned in order to disseminate information about GIZ and its work in Nepal.

Objectives and Expected Results: Through the course of the media orientation trip, it was expected that:  

• The work and role of GIZ in Nepal, and more importantly, the January merger, will be widely disseminated to a greater national audience.
• The increasing level and scope of GIZ’s work in the country will be better and widely known.
• A sound relationship can be established with the major publication houses of the country so that GIZ’s work in Nepal can be facilitated with better media coverage and understanding in the future. 

The Orientation: The media orientation trip was divided in two parts; the first part comprised of a half-day GIZ orientation in the office premises in Sanepa, followed by a visit to CIM Returning Experts in Sagarmatha Dyeing Industry, a small scale dying Industry at Jorpati, Kathmandu where the expert has converted the diesel based boilers into the bio mass based boiler, and the second would be a four-day trip to the mid and far-western region of the country, visiting various GIZ projects.

Mr. Christoph Feyen (Programme Manager, GIZ Nepal Peace Trust Fund) gave a brief presentation on GIZ and its history and progress in Nepal. He covered the topics of bilateral cooperation between the governments of Germany and Nepal and discussed the work done by GIZ so far in its near-40-years in Nepal.

The seven-member journalist team was enthusiastic and eager to learn about GIZ and asked various questions to Mr. Feyen and Ms. Shakya. Ms. Shusmita Malla, Coordinator, Centrum fuer internationale Migration und Entwicklung (CIM), then spoke about the role and work of CIM in Nepal. She touched upon the issues of returning experts and the necessity that CIM and GIZ felt for qualified Nepali and non-Nepali experts to come and contribute in their native countries in their respective specialities. 

The first visit was to the dyeing industry in Jorpati, Kathmandu, where Mr. Sushim Man Amatya (CIM Returning Expert) briefed the media team about his role and his work in Nepal so far. Taking the team for a detailed tour around his facility, he spoke of the need to orient the local Industrialists about new technology advances in one’s businesses and the urgency that all concerned stakeholders needed to put in their respective commercial fields.

DAY I: Nepalgunj and Bardiya Districts, Sep 6, Tuesday

The trip started on a positive note as the Buddha Air flight to Nepalgunj took off in its planned time. Around an hour later, the nine-member team landed at Nepalgunj Raja airport where Mr. KK Singh (GIZ UDLE) was awaiting along with a convoy of three GIZ vehicles.

As the day happened to be a bandh (strike) called by the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) in response to an incident where some UML cadres had been wounded while trying to intervene in a case involving the alleged criminals and a local girl, further advice that blue-plated vehicles such as GIZ’s would not be a safe option for travel, and that private vehicles bearing the ‘PRESS’ tag would be a safer step arrived. The team then set out on its first visit to the Nepalgunj Municipality office.

The municipality office bearers, accompanied by GIZ UDLE staff members, notably Mr. Ramesh Shrestha and Mr. Pashupati Nath Jha (GIZ SUNAG), heartily welcomed the traveling contingent with a warm smile and reassurances about their safety. A detailed presentation later, the Q&A session started. The media team asked questions about the municipality’s partnership with GIZ, how the partnership had evolved in time, and how it had reaped into greater fruits of success. All concerned municipality office bearers spoke about the various roles and contributions of GIZ, especially in the areas of long-term strategy and financial and technical assistance for the development of the municipality.

In view of the bandh and the news that other neighbouring areas were also affected, the possibility of traveling to the two project sites of Sano Shree and Jamuni sub-health post was discussed by the traveling group. The Jamuni health post visit was then decided to be the safer option and the group resumed its journey. The drive took about two hours through rough roads and ditches, but finally, the tiredness of the journey was soon complimented by the warm smiles in the faces of the locals of the Jamuni community. The health post officials had gathered members of the community for the media team visit and after a short explanation about the health post’s history and its partnership with GIZ, the interactions between the two groups started.   

DAY II: Dang and Butwal Districts, Sep 7, Wednesday

After the eventful first day of the trip, the group got up early for breakfast and then left for Dang, a three-hour ride away, to visit the Sangram cantonment, where Mr. Yadav Ojha (GIZ STTP), had already prepared the cantonment officials for the media visit. This visit was with the fifth division of the Dhirga Smriti Brigade where Commander Hira Lal Chaudhary and Vice-Commander Sabin Pokhrel were waiting.

The overall history of the Sangram cantonment and GIZ STPP’s (Support of Measures to Support the Peace Process) contributions were then jointly given by Mr. Chaudhary and Mr. Ojha. The Maoist commanders were elusive in their praise of GIZ’s support in infrastructure development as well as other vocational trainings, such as language and computer classes and health education trainings. The interaction between the journalists and the Maoist officers went well with multiple queries being posed to the combatants who answered with their characteristic cautiousness.

The team was then taken around the camp by the two commanders to oversee the computer classes and the huge storage tanks that GIZ had helped build. The journalists were then able to see first-hand the nature and depth of GIZ’s contributions to making the lives of the cantonment as smooth as possible. Commander Chaudhary apprised the team that the two tanks had a capacity of almost 30 thousand litres of water, and that the joint GIZ-Sangram cooperation had resulted in many underground water pipes being constructed.

The visiting journalists also inquired about the level of interaction between the inhabitants of the cantonment and the local community. Vice-Commander Pokhrel asserted that joint community activities were regularly taking place and that the two parties worked mutually on various other social activities. A sudden, strong rain meant that the traveling team could devote more time with the Maoist students during their English language class. The journalists were thus able to talk personally with the students (who were of all ages, from early teen to middle aged individuals), who informed that the classes were going well and that they still desired to learn from new books and courses.

The next visit of the day was with Nari Jagaran Kendra, a partner cooperative of GIZ INCLUDE, in Tulsipur, Dang. Mr. Janak Singh, (GIZ INCLUDE) was present at the Nari Jagaran office with the office bearers, a group of women who had founded the cooperative around 10 years ago. The visit was short and brief and the journalists were able to learn how the cooperative was started by a group of women who wanted to do something apart from their household chores and started a dairy cooperative. Their partnership with GIZ INCLUDE had only been a year and half and the fruits of the partnership were gradually being seen, as the cooperative had begun to find more members and more market opportunities.

As the interactions between the cooperative staff and the journalists progressed, it was felt by all that the interventions of GIZ INCLUDE had been relatively new and that it was too early for the impacts to be measured. The group was now prepared to make its final journey for the day - to Butwal – which, in the grim, rainy weather, and the endless whispers of the bandhs around, now seemed to be ages away. 

DAY III: Butwal, Nawalparasi, and Chitwan Districts, Sep 8, Thursday

An early morning meeting was held with the District Milk Producers’ Cooperative Union (DMPCU) in Butwal, a partner cooperative of GIZ INCLUDE. The introductions were facilitated by Mr. Shashidhar Parajuli, (Programme Coordinator, INCLUDE) and the DMPCU started with an orientation about its history and partnership with INCLUDE. The general consensus during the interactions was that milk collection, processing, marketing, and distribution were vastly different areas in the milk value chain, and that while progress on one was impressive, the negative downturn of the marketing and production side still negated the earlier progress. The DMPCU highlighted INCLUDE’s interventions in terms of market exposure and networking, along with their financial and technical support, but also derided the lack of state support in terms of greater market mobility and sustainability for traditional farmers.

The on-site visit at the DMPCU’s facilities went well, as the huge processing plants/machines, bought with support from INCLUDE, were on full working display. The media team was then able to see how the milk is collected and processed and finally prepared for transport (delivery). The interactions between the two parties were constant and lively.

The next stop was at Ramgram Municipality in Nawalparasi District, where GIZ UDLE had scheduled a meeting. Mr. Arun Shrestha (GIZ UDLE) and the Municipality office bearers presented a short introduction about the municipality’s history, achievements, and progress, and most notably, its partnership with the GIZ UDLE programme. Fliers and brochures were also handed out to the visiting contingent.

The municipality was very keen on taking the media team to its field, a village nearby where they could see first-hand the work and progress of the joint GIZ-Ramgram Municipality partnership. The media team were particularly active during this field session as they could meet and interact with around 100 village members who shared their life struggles and also their hopes of the joint GIZ-municipality partnership. The field session took some time, and as it was raining as well, the trip was delayed for a while.

The next visit was to the ZFD Civil Peace Programme where Anne Dirnstorfer and her theatre group were waiting for the traveling group. Under the previous DED programme, the Civil Peace Programme was initiated to help the Government of Nepal in the on-going peace process. Ms. Dirnstorfer led a team of enthusiastic young people in a lively theatre show where they stimulated the audience into conflict negotiations and settlements. The group then quickly rehearsed their programme for the media team and also asked the media team and other members of the audience to intervene and act their part in conflict negotiations.

The last visit of the day was to the Cooperative Promotion Center in Chitwan, a partner of GIZ INCLUDE. As it was a strike in Chitwan, the travel had been gradual and cautious. Chairman Hari Poudel himself had driven a distance of 22 kms from his house to the cooperative office to meet with the media team, and his office bearers had to leave because the strike meant that vehicles would not be easily available. Mr. Poudel orientated the media team about the origin of the Cooperative Promotion Center and divulged the details of GIZ INCLUDE’s help in facilitating and fostering the union of almost 600 primary and secondary milk and poultry cooperatives. He also spoke that similar methods of cooperative promotions had been undertaken by GIZ in the districts of Butwal and Rupandehi but a harmonious unity had not been possible with the various partners. As the visit had taken place in the dark hours of the evening, the meeting was short and brief. The travel and visits had taken its toll on the traveling team, and they were more than relieved to be in the warm confines of their hotel rooms by 8:30 p.m. 

DAY IV: Chitwan District and Back to Kathmandu, Sep 9, Friday

When the overall media trip itineraries were being planned, it had been decided that the last day should be as light as possible. It had also been envisaged that the heavy travel and visits of multiple places could also prove to be quite heavy and burdensome on the traveling journalists. A half-day recreation programme had then been planned for the final day of the trip

The travel back to Kathmandu had one more objective still to accomplish – a visit to the Shaktikhor cantonment in Chitwan. Ms. Sushma Bajracharya, GIZ STTP, who had already orientated the media team about the sensitivity of the cantonment issue and the need to be politically sensitive during their interactions, during the first day’s orientation at GIZ head office, Sanepa, had already arrived, along with two other staff members from STTP.

Janak Bahadur Khadka, Deputy Commander of the PLA (People’s Liberation Army) Third Division at Shaktikhor, started off proceedings by welcoming the media team. The GIZ team and the media team were seated in opposite sides with the Maoist commanders in the middle of the room, so as to facilitate a better exchange of communication between all parties. Mr. Khadka started off with the history of infrastructure development in the cantonment and other vocational trainings started by GIZ STTP, and how the trainings and infrastructure development had helped the inhabitants in the cantonment.

In both the cantonments visited by the media team (Sangram and Shaktikhor), GIZ has been providing trainings on tailoring, carpentry, Certified Management Accountancy, electrical wirings and fittings, and plumbings, along with infrastructure development. Mr. Khadka was aware of GIZ’s contribution in both cantonments and expressed his desire that GIZ would continue to help the Maoist cantonments during this ‘sensitive’ period.

“The Government promised much but delivered little after the Comprehensive Peace Agreement was signed in 2006,” Mr. Khadka said, before adding, “Very few stayed the course, but GIZ did.”

The media team was then able to visit a health post in the vicinity of the cantonment where GIZ had also provided health trainings to select individuals on the basis of their educational backgrounds. A bullet-wound survivor, Mr. Shree Bahadur Khadka, also spoke of the contribution of GIZ towards extracting his wound which now made movement easier for him. The interactions between the high-level commanders and the media team as well as with the others went well.

Word had arrived that a landslide had occurred in the highway of Nagdhunga (a town nearing Kalanki) which meant that all traffic had to be curtailed and only one side could be driven in. GIZ’s drivers then decided that the fastest route to Kathmandu would be via Dakshinkali and then Kirtipur, which meant that the overall journey would be shortened by almost 40 kms. The team finally arrived in Kathmandu at around 9:30 p.m. and exchanged each other’s contact details before heading on to their respective ways.  

(Coming Soon - Members of the media team share their thoughts about the trip, and their articles in their respective national dailies)