REI Impacts the World

By Wendy Moore, Director of Communications, REI HQ

“The miracle is not that we do this work, but that we are happy to do it.” REI staff around the world heartily agree with Mother Teresa.

Since 1992 REI has sent resident staff and short-term professionals to emerging nations. These are some of the most underdeveloped countries, and we seek to understand what they need most and how to bring them those resources. We aim to come alongside them to help transform their strategic sectors and leaders, whole communities and their nation too.

How We Do That

We recruit highly qualified professionals who are looking to use their skills and degrees to bring meaningful impact to the world.

And with an office in Singapore now, we have increased our potential to recruit well-trained professionals even more. We are excited about partnering with Singaporeans to fill the over 30 open positions REI has across Asia and northern Africa, bringing a transformative contribution to each of our target countries.

Holism

We can’t provide for practical needs without addressing people’s personal experience. So, we aspire to develop the whole person in all aspects of life: professional, social and personal. We accomplish this by bringing long-term staff and short-term volunteers who provide professional skills, equipping them with practical training, and who learn the language and culture, offering mentoring and the exchange of perspectives and understanding.

For example, in Darkhan, Mongolia, REI staff teach English in a university to medical students who need this training to access cutting-edge medical knowledge. Through this professional context, our staff develop trusted relationships, inviting students into their homes where they discuss a variety of topics and exchange ideas, all while developing proficiency with the English language. Often these relationships have the opportunity to grow into mentoring where students develop beyond academic learning in the classroom.

Gary and Scarlett (left and right), REI's Mongolia Country Leaders, with students (middle) from Mongolia in their home

Training Trainers

We train leaders in strategic sectors who then train others. Whether long-term residents or short-term volunteers, REI doesn’t bring in professionals simply to do things or get something done. REI brings in professionals to train nationals in their chosen profession (medicine, business, education, education or engineering). Our objective is to equip these national professionals to train others, bringing tangible and sustainable development to whole communities and eventually their whole nation.

For example, REI staff and volunteers have worked in Vietnam for more than 25 years. In this time, we have brought in doctors and nurses serving a variety of specialties. But in the very early days, our medical professionals could only observe surgeries and procedures, sometimes knowing that if they could intervene, they could improve the outcomes. Then the Vietnamese doctors and nurses began to ask for specific training, some even coming to the U.S. for training through REI’s Exchange Fellowship program. These medical professionals have returned to Vietnam to train others, making remarkable advancements over time. In 2019, we were privileged to receive an award from Vietnam’s government, recognizing REI for its development work and ranking our contribution second only to the World Bank.

Dr Walter Lee, an REI volunteer from Duke University, training on how to use a new mobile device for detecting neck and throat cancer at the National Otorhinolaryngology Hospital (NOH) in Vietnam

Working with Governments and Institutions

The work of REI is diverse in each nation where we focus. Through education and medicine, business and agriculture, our highly skilled staff are working in Africa and across Asia. To do this most effectively and see optimal outcomes, REI works directly with governments and institutions, establishing memorandums of understanding (MoUs) that provide the framework for a sustainable partnership. This allows REI staff and volunteers to work directly with key leaders and influencers.

For example, our country leader in Malang, Indonesia has signed two MoUs – one with a government ministry of agriculture and the other three with two different universities. Three new REI staff are currently finishing up their training in the U.S. and preparing to deploy to Malang before the end of the year. Each of them will have a specific role and contribution within these partnerships. REI looks forward to helping the nationals develop new skills that will help them bring their communities to new levels of development and sustainability.

Jake Fettig (REI's Indonesia Country Leader) signing a collaboration agreement with the Center for Standardization of Citrus and Subtropical Fruits (CSCSF) within Indonesia's Institute for Agricultural Instrument Standardization (BSIP)

REI’s vision going forward?

We don’t just want to bring practical and professional skills. We want to see people filled with hope. We don’t just want to see their communities and nation developed. We want to see each person’s life transformed. Even though the places where REI works are hard and underdeveloped, there isn’t anywhere else in the world REI staff would like to be.