Digital Divide Data Newsletter – Anniversary Issue September 2006

Greetings!

Digital Divide Data is incredibly five years old! We’re celebrating this October and have lots of exciting news to share. We ended our fiscal year at the end of June with a profit, proving that our model of sustainability is working. Validating our success, we received our largest grant ever. We’ve been training new leaders for the future of our organization. And we continue to be inspired by the changes we’re making in the lives of our staff. We hope you enjoy our update and that you will join us in spirit, if not in person, to celebrate our Fifth Anniversary on October 21st in Phnom Penh.

Profile: Nountha Bouthavong, Operator, Vientiane , Laos

My name is Nountha Bouthavong . I am 22. I was born in Khammon Province , Laos . I have seven people in my family. My father is a farmer and my mother is a merchant. She sells vegetables at a small market. My family is poor.

Since I was seven years old, I began to help my mother to sell vegetables at the market. Sometimes, we lack foods and education. We don't have money to pay for school fees. So my brother and my sister need to drop out of school. Only me and my sister still continue to study. It makes me think really hard how to help my family to be better. So I begin to go many places to select all kind of vegetables to sell and to save money to pay for my school fees. Sometimes I go to house after house to sell vegetables. Sometimes I get to sell a lot and sometimes I did not sell it all. Most of the time when I get money I gave to my mother and sometimes I keep it to myself when it necessary.

In secondary school I had a big terrible problem come into my life. When I woke up on the day that it happened to me, my two legs cannot move at all. It makes me feel so sad. And I think that I cannot do anything and cannot go to school any more. My legs couldn't move for three months.

After three months it feels better because my mom use lots of traditional medicine to heal my legs. From there my legs can move and I need to use crutches to be able to walk around the house. After two months I can walk without crutches, but I cannot walk normal like before.

I went back to school to study until I finish secondary school. After I finish my secondary school I cannot continue because my parents did not have money to support me to study. And then I heard about a vocational school for disable people. So I decided to apply and study there. Luckily I get to study there. I chose to study Business Administration for three years. After I finish school there, I go out and find work to do. Many places I apply for work, but none of the companies take me to work. I heard about DDD. And I apply for volunteer and I am so lucky that I get to study at DDD.

When I study in DDD I get to improve myself a lot such as: computer typing, English and make a lot of friends. And luckily DDD let me work as a cleaner while studying. So it helps me on living cost and food. And then I passed the volunteer test. And now I am training to be an operator. I am trying hard to do the best I can to be an operator in DDD. So I will study harder to pass on training. If I get to be an operator at DDD I will work hard and study hard for my better future.

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DDD Makes a Profit

DDD is proud to announce that for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2006 we had a profitable year, breaking even on our business with client revenue covering our core operating costs. In addition, our valued donor support helps provide educational scholarships and other opportunities for our employees.

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SDC's Generous Grant Supports DDD

DDD has received its largest donation to date, a grant of CHF200,000 (USD160,000) from The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). DDD was recognized for developing young leaders with technology and management skills to support economic and social development in the Mekong region. SDC chose DDD for its ability to create jobs and build capacity through information communication technology.

These funds are being directed to a variety of initiatives, including:

The SDC operates under the Swiss Foreign Ministry and promotes, finances and participates directly in projects covering three main areas: a) tackling poverty by empowering people in developing countries through education, health care and other development programs; b) humanitarian aid; and c) providing development assistance to Eastern European and Central Asian countries transitioning to a market economy. The SDC is a prominent contributor to sustainable development efforts in the Mekong Region and supports numerous projects working to improve lives in these areas.

It was through a series of fortuitous events that Lak Souksavath , DDD Finance Manager, first met SDC Director Mr. Walter Fust on a bus ride in Columbo , Sri Lanka . Both were in attendance at the Global Knowledge Partnership's International Forum on Cross-Sector Partnerships in May 2006. For the length of the bus ride, they spoke about the work DDD is doing in the Mekong Region. Mr. Fust was immediately taken with Lak's description of DDD operations and social mission. At Mr. Fust 's urging, DDD submitted a proposal later that week. One month later, DDD received the wonderful news that the SDC would provide funding.

DDD looks forward to demonstrating the impact of this donation over time and hopes to see Mr. Fust and his team at this year's five-year anniversary event in October.

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Training Leaders for the Future

For six weeks beginning this past July, the DDD office in Vientiane , Laos hosted the third DDD management training program, held in conjunction with the first SPURS (A Sustainable Partnership for Upscaling and Replicating IT-Enabled Services Businesses) training. The training covered lessons in strategic plan development for achieving organizational goals.

The nine training attendees included a total of seven managers from DDD local offices as well as two representatives from the Horizonlanka Foundation in Sri Lanka as part of the SPURS program.

The training provided participants with an opportunity to relate on management issues and to share work experiences in a constructive setting. It was a wonderful chance for DDD staff in particular to be able to meet together from each of the offices and engage in productive discussion on management issues. The formal training workshops were held each morning. In the afternoons, trainees participated in an internship program with resident staff of the Vientiane Office. Shadowing staff members from Finance, Human Resources, Operations and General Management, trainees engaged in hands-on learning and had a chance to apply lessons from the training.

David Paulson , Finance and Accounting Consultant for DDD, coordinated and led the training. Many DDD employees, volunteers and professionals provided guest lectures, including Board Chairman, Michael Chertok ; Vice President of Sales, Luisa Perticucci ; General Regional Manager, Mai Siriphongphanh ; Director of Operations, Jeremiah Marble ; Human Resource Assistant ( Laos ), Metta Thippawong ; Engineers Without Borders volunteer, Kitty Lo; and Finance Director, Lak Souksavath .

The following topics were covered:

The training was a great success, providing participants not only with useful management tools but also a fun and rewarding experience of working with people from different cultures and backgrounds. Training leader, David Paulson , also organized several social activities for the group including a kayaking trip in Vang Vieng , Laos , a tour of rural communities outside of Vientiane , and various sporting activities.

“It was a very helpful training. I learned hard and soft management skills. I was really excited to be in mixed-nationality class like this,” said Sopheap Im , Branch Manager of DDD's Battambang Office.

Not only a forum for sharing ideas and learning about one another, the members of this year's SPURS training gained valuable experience in successful and effective management.

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Celebrate Our 5th Anniversary this October

This October, Digital Divide Data (DDD) and guests will celebrate its fifth year of helping disadvantaged Laotians and Cambodians build brighter futures. Celebrations will be held in Laos and Cambodia , home to DDD offices as well as the UNESCO World Heritage sites, Angkor Wat and Luang Prabang .

New and old friends alike are invited to join us for an Anniversary Gala Dinner on the evening of October 21 st in Phnom Penh , Cambodia . Mark this date on your calendar and let us know if you can join us.

Along with the anniversary gala, DDD is organizing a 10-day tour of Laos and Cambodia .   This grand tour will include a visit to the renowned temples of Angkor constructed by Cambodian Kings over the course of over 600 years.

The group will attend performances and meet with members of Cambodian Living Arts (CLA), an organization working to restore and support the traditional arts. During the Khmer Rouge regime, practice or cultivation of traditional music and dance was forbidden. CLA's students and masters will share with you live traditional music, Cambodian dance and shadow puppet performances by candlelight.   

In Laos , guests will visit the beautiful riverside city of Luang Prabang , which has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its traditional architecture illustrating an elegant fusion of European colonial style and urban Lao design. It is the former royal capital of Laos and the country's current religious center. On a peninsula at the junction of the Mekong and Khan Rivers, Luang Prabang offers visitors a unique atmosphere, natural beauty and ancient temples.  

Another important highlight of this trip will be visiting DDD offices and meeting our employees. Guests will have a chance to meet the individuals whose lives have been changed by DDD and to experience what daily life is like in the DDD workplace.

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Other News:

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About DDD

Digital Divide Data (DDD) is a social enterprise established in July 2001 to create jobs and educational opportunities in developing countries by providing outsourced data services to business and public sector customers. DDD is established in the U.S. as a 501(c )3 organization, as well as organized as a non-governmental organization in Cambodia . Our business employs disadvantaged individuals, including people with disabilities, landmine and polio victims, orphans, and abused women.

DDD relies on the support of individuals and institutions to supplement its revenue from client work and ensure that we achieve our social mission. Contributions of any amount are helpful and greatly appreciated.

Sponsor one of our operators here