In March 2007, AAI commenced a medium term capacity building rural healthcare project in Timor-Leste sponsored by Oilex Ltd. Working with the Ministry of Health and local healthcare providers , AAI is assisting with the provision of healthcare to those rural and very remote communities throughout the mountainous regions of TL, who have limited capability to access appropriate standards of healthcare. AAI are training healthcare providers in selected topics including Maternal and Child Health, Public Health and Health Information Systems. Additionally, AAI are supporting outreach primary healthcare programs ensuring the curative and preventative health is being delivered to those most in need.

This unique healthcare project for AAI is allowing volunteer healthcare professionals to support our regular fulltime staff in Timor-Leste and allows volunteers adequate flexibility in selecting their volunteer placements well in advance. Volunteers are exposed to a range of international health problems and a variety of interesting tropical diseases.

Click here to read more about our Timor Leste program.

In February 2007, AAI completed a highly successful series of courses to prepare humanitarian workers for overseas missions. The courses included an Introduction to Humanitarian Assistance Operations, Hostile Environment Awareness Training, Cultural Awareness and Psychological First Aid training. A number of students from these courses have now been deployed on humanitarian missions with AAI to Timor Leste. As a result of the demand for humanitarian training, AAI will soon be implementing online courses from its website.

Click here to read more about AAI Training on our website.

AAI has enhanced its website to make it a lot more informative and user friendly. The images section has been significantly improved and a number of sections have undergone a redesign. A big thanks to Matt Morrison and his team from Mintleaf Studio and also to Paul Piaia, aka The Scorpion, for his updating and continual improvements.

Click here to view our new website.

After successfully completing 12 months of emergency relief and recovery humanitarian operations in Jogjakarta after the May 2006 earthquake, AAI continues to remain in Jogjakarta which has now been established as our regional office. This office also serves as an emergency operations centre with the ability to monitor and respond to future disasters and emergencies in the region.

AAI continues to have strong links with communities in Java and has been active in identifying continuing needs in the earthquake affected areas. AAI have a number of project proposals currently being reviewed by donor agencies and hope to be an active part of the Indonesian community for a long time to come.

Click here to read more about our programs in Java, Indonesia.

AAI has now proudly published a high quality journal design as a focal point and reference source for the professional humanitarian. Titled “The Humanitarian Journal”, this publication contains articles on such issues as the UN Cluster System, NGO's and the military, preparing for a mission and Australia 's new White Paper on Overseas Aid. AAI would like to thank the efforts of its many contributors.

Click here to access an electronic copy of The Humanitarian Journal.

AAI's Volunteer of the Quarter has been awarded to Heather Lorenzen who works in our Timor Leste program. Heather is a Nurse Practitioner from Portland in the United States and specialises in family health. Heather was instrumental in implementing AAI's rural healthcare project and she was able to reach many remote health facilities to provide valuable training.

Heathers abilities to negotiate hurdles and travel out to the remote areas in very difficult conditions plus her ability as a leader were well noted by AAI management.

Congratulations and well done Heather for your commitment in assisting those people in greatest need.

AAI's long term emergency humanitarian response nurse and Timor-Leste Health Coordinator, Sasha Poll, recently left Timor-Leste this month after becoming seriously ill. Sasha has been instrumental in developing AAI's project in Timor-Leste and achieved good results working in difficult conditions.

Our thoughts and prays are with Sasha and we hope that she recovers quickly. Those of you who are friends and previous colleagues of Sasha's may want to send her a short note. Please forward to info@aai.org.au and we will pass it on for you.