REI desires that its work be authentic, holistic, and sustainable. Our 60+ long-term staff and countless volunteers sincerely care about the people and nations among whom they serve, and they are committed to excellence, integrity, and authenticity.
Currently, REI’s staff and volunteers work in seven emerging nations in three regions of the world: Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. Learn more about how REI is “building people to build nations” by reading our country profiles below!
Note: Click on the country name to read a brief description of the country on Wikipedia.
The REI-Cuba initiative began in 2000 at the request of Dr. Louis E. Shomette (JD), who had previously been involved with REI-Vietnam. Given the political realities of US-Cuba relations, REI has encountered enormous obstacles in the development of its programs.
Nevertheless, from 2000-09, REI establish a medical exchange program with Calixto Garcia, Central Habana, and Hermanos Ameijeiras Hospitals. Work was performed in Otolaryngology, Dermatology and Orthopedics. This program is currently on hold pending the reissuing of authorization by the United States to conduct this program.
Benito Lauzurique, a Spanish national and REI volunteer, continues to represent REI in Cuba through his work in the prison system with the Prison Ministry Program, where he mentors and trains prisoners in life skills and job skills in preparation for their eventual reinsertion into society.
REI has several resident staff members working in Djibouti City, developing human resources in partnership with local organizations, such as the University of Djibouti and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Country Directors Tom and Rachel Jones are joined by Hannah Cowell, and Ethan and Annie Chan.
REI Djibouti focuses primarily on helping the French-speaking Djiboutian people improve their English language skills so its service-based economy can grow. At the University of Djibouti (UD), Djibouti’s only institution of higher learning, REI provides English Language educators to fill the teaching gaps in UD’s English program. REI has played an important part in helping this institution train the next generation of teachers and professionals. Through REI’s partnership with UD, UD has opened an institute for English proficiency, has become an English proficiency testing center, and has started to pursue becoming an English teacher certification institution.
REI is also involved in helping to strengthen the local populace in business, sports, emergency food distribution, material donations, and microfinance. REI staff members have also partnered with another development organization to distribute 8,000 kits of school equipment to children.
However they serve, the REI Djibouti staff is on a mission to build human capacity, affecting their communities for the better and promoting the exchange of ideas, culture, and resources.
REI’s staff member in Cairo, Egypt, a retired Arizona businesswoman, has served with REI since 2008, and has a rather unique role with REI. Although she works primarily with women coordinating quilting clubs as a form of micro-business, and teaching infant care to new mothers, she also works with both genders, offering training in photography and serving the urban poor in Cairo’s famed “Garbage City.” Her work has garnered the praise of local religious and civic leaders, and she has won several national awards for her stunning photography.
Agricultural Economist Charles Nicholson (PhD) and his wife Katie live and work in Malang, Indonesia, partnering with international business professional David Webb and his wife Lynn. They work to alleviate local poverty and preserve local mango groves through establishing a new industry for producing and marketing dried mangoes, pineapples, and papayas. So far the venture has created 30 jobs. They partner with local groups of farmers to produce the dried fruits, thereby addressing a surplus of fruit in the area, doubling the income of the farmers involved in the project, and preserving local resources, such as land and mango groves. The product was launched successfully in domestic markets, and REI’s staff has plans to launch the product in international markets in the near future. They have established a new manufacturing company to support this endeavor, PT SunRei Food Products, all for the development of national human resources, for the preservation of natural resources, and for the benefit of the local economy.
REI’s work in Kazakhstan has varied over the years, depending on assessed needs. REI staff members teach English to nationals and Russian and Kazakh to expatriates. They have provided micro-loans and business training in rural villages (ORKEN, a Kazakh nonprofit organization begun by REI staff, contains the Community Development Department, the Kazakh / Russian Language Center, the Linguistic Research and Publications department, the English Language Center, and the Human Resources Development department). All these services are offered to nationals and expatriates in their area.
REI has worked in Laos since 2006, led by REI President and CEO, Roderick Beidler, and resident staff Dr. Craig and Patsy Kent. Craig is developing a general surgery training program, with the goal of training hundreds of Laotian surgeons. Patsy Kent, a certified English Language teacher – teaches English and medical English. Roderick teaches courses in Executive Leadership and Management to hospital department heads and key hospital administrators from hospitals throughout the capital city, Vientiane. REI volunteers, under the leadership of Dr. Jackie Ho, offer training in basic sanitation and hygiene, development of pediatric treatment protocols, quality improvement and quality assurance, neonatal resuscitation, and basic and advanced neonatal oxygen therapy to the hospital’s pediatric doctors and nurses. As word of REI’s outstanding training has spread, additional local hospitals have asked to be included in the training provided at Mittaphab Hospital.
REI has served in Vietnam since 1992 making it our oldest and most established program. Since its beginning, over 360 professionals from nine nations have served with REI-Vietnam, including 22 staff members who have lived in Hanoi for one or more years. During this same time-frame, nearly 80 Vietnamese professionals have been brought to the United States as “REI Fellows” for observational training fellowships. Our REI staff professionals serve in such fields as English Education, Teacher Training, Medicine, Social Work, Agronomy & Veterinary Sciences, and Business. The single factor that links our projects and staff together is our unwavering commitment to invest in Vietnamese professionals and future leaders by emphasizing professional excellence within an environment of deepening interpersonal relationships. To learn more about REI in Vietnam, visit their website here.
