50th Anniversary
SPEECH BY FLORENCE DAVIS AT THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION
Speech by Florence Davis, accepting the 2010 Y.C. James Yen Citizen of the World Award on behalf of The Starr Foundation at the 50th Anniversary Celebration of IIRR on April 13, 2010 at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP in New York, NY.
Citizen of the World sounds quite grand.
But my most enduring memories of IIRR will be from a small corner of the world in the rural Philippines, where a number of us travelled to see the fruits of four years of hard work on the remote island of Ticao.
The program costs there have not been high; in fact, it is remarkable what little money was involved compared to most of Starr’s grants. The amount of patient labor and time involved, however, was noteworthy. It takes a while to gain a community’s trust, to get neighbors talking to one another, to let the community decide that they need to move out of poverty and to let the community determine the solutions they want to pursue.
This is not top-down work with handouts from 40,000 feet. It is painstaking, bottom-up work in which the community, to paraphrase the poet Machado, makes its own road by walking.
But the work on Ticao paid off. We saw bio-intensive gardens at schools where the children learn to build raised beds and to use compost—skills they take home to their parents. We sloshed out to a tilapia farm in the middle of a rainstorm, to see the fish fed with termite larvae from nearby tree stumps. We learned about a toddler supplemental food call Insumix, prepared using indigenous ingredients such as mung beans and tiny dried fish ground by hand and mixed with cooking oil and sugar, to halt malnutrition in children weaned too young.
The women in the community in particular, most without much in the way of formal education, took their role in the community development efforts seriously and came into town to make formal presentations to us, in their best clothes and their carefully practiced English.
We even had a basic IIRR tenet drilled home to us. The women wanted to replicate the Insumix project in neighboring village, but they needed to raise $44 for two hand-cranked food mills. Tony and I told the IIRR staff that we would donate the money. The staff turned us down, saying that it was important for the community itself to learn to find the money for its projects, perhaps from the government or from local entrepreneurship.
We finally convinced them that coming to the center of town to make a presentation to us was in the nature of a grant report and fundraising meeting—the sort I usually get to hear in the comfort of 399 Park Avenue. We told the IIRR staff that the community had earned this small recognition. Only then were we allowed to help out.
So, thank you all for this award, but the real credit goes to IIRR’s hardworking staff and dedicated board of directors, who keep this important work going.
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50TH YEAR CELEBRATION OF IIRR LAUNCHED IN PHILIPPINES
(SILANG, Cavite, Philippines - April 30, 2010) - The IIRR family, staff and IIRR friends, gathered last April 30, 2010 to launch the institute’s 50th year celebration. The launching, or kick-off event, is a tribute to the founder of IIRR, Dr. Y.C. James Yen and to those who have devoted their lives to advance the vision and mission of the rural reconstruction movement for the past 50 years.
Dr. Julian Gonsalves, Senior Program Advisor of IIRR gave the welcome address wherein he recalled the work of Dr. Yen and how he touched the lives of the rural communities. Marissa Espineli, Manager of Education and Training of the institute gave the “Pagbabalik Tanaw” (Looking Back) on the 50 years of IIRR’s work. She shared accomplishments and emphasized that each decade has its own distinct character.
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CELEBRATION BRINGS OVER 100 GUESTS TOGETHER TO HONOR 50 YEARS OF IIRR
(NEW YORK, United States - April 23, 2010) - IIRR gathered over 100 guests, including friends, former staff, and supporters, to celebrate the 50th Anniversary at a celebration hosted by Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP on Tuesday, April 13, 2010. IIRR honored The Starr Foundation and Cleary Gottlieb as 2010 Y.C. James Yen Citizens of the World. The award, named after the founder of IIRR, honors individuals or institutions that have shown their commitment to IIRR’s principles of rural development. Accepting on behalf of The Starr Foundation was Florence A. Davis, President of The Starr Foundation. Cleary partner Leslie B. Samuels accepted the award on behalf of Cleary Gottlieb.
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IIRR CELEBRATES THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF ITS ESTABLISHMENT IN THE US AND THE BEGINNING OF ITS PARTNERSHIP WITH CLEARY GOTTLIEB STEEN & HAMILTON LLP
(NEW YORK, United States - February 15, 2010) - The unique partnership between IIRR and CGSH dates back to 1960, when a partner of the firm, James G. Johnson, worked with IIRR’s founder, Y.C. James Yen, to launch the institute in the United States. The firm’s pro bono work for IIRR has grown steadily ever since. IIRR’s Board of Trustees has always included at least one active or retired partner of the firm and currently has three. The firm and its individual partners have made generous contributions of unrestricted funds to IIRR and have actively supported the Institute’s work for since 1960.
IIRR is grateful to CGSH for the longstanding and unique partnership of the two institutions and greatly appreciate the firm’s willingness to co-host the 50th Anniversary Celebration in April where IIRR will honor The Starr Foundation and Cleary Gottlieb as 2010 Y.C. James Yen Citizens of the World.
For more information on the 50th Anniversary Celebration on April 13, 2010 or to learn how to make a tax-deductible contribution in honor of this special occasion, please contact Scarlett Lopez Freeman at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Online contributions may be made here.
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LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS, STAFF, AND ALUMNI CELEBRATE IN FALL 2010
In October 2010, IIRR staff, alumni, supporters, and local people’s organizations gathered for 3 days of celebration in honor of founder Dr. James Yen’s ideals of rural reconstruction and the 50th Anniversary of IIRR’s establishment in the Philippines.
Video Link
While we celebrate the change we have inspired and pioneered in people-centered, community-led development, we also face increasing poverty, population growth, climate unpredictability, and need around the world. As we begin the next 50 Years, IIRR staff have re-dedicated ourselves to our Credo-
Go to the people,
Live among them,
Learn from them,
Plan with them,
Work with them,
Start with what they know,
Build on what they have,
Teach by showing,
Learn by doing,
Not a showcase, but a pattern,
Not odds and ends, but a system,
Not piecemeal, but an integrated approach,
Not to conform, but to transform,
Not relief, but release.
Please continue to support our fight against poverty by inspiring and empowering people to take action and improve their lives by donating today.
