1. The Australian Volunteers for International Development (AVID) program is an Australian Government initiative.
This flyer has been developed by Australian Red Cross,
a delivery partner for the AVID program.
Connecting people, changing lives, reaching our region.
Australian Red Cross has sent 25
volunteers to support eight partner
organisations in Bhutan since 2013.
Together, our partners and volunteers
have strengthened:
• Education, making high-quality
education accessible to children
with special needs
• Health, improving access to good
quality health services
• Agriculture, helping to conserve
natural resources whilst contributing
to sustainable socioeconomic
development
AUSTRALIAN RED CROSS
AVID PROGRAM:
Achievements
in Bhutan
“The nurses here are very hard
working - the workload is more
than three times more than
other district hospitals and they
have to work really hard with
the knowledge they have. So
it’s good to have the volunteers
here… better education in these
specialised areas [operating
theatre recovery, neonatal and
adult intensive care] will benefit
our hospital and our patients.”
- Nursing Superintendent Tandin Pemo, Jigme
Dorji Wangchuck National Referral Hospital
Photo: Australian Red Cross/Mareike Guenchse
“There is lots of interaction between
the teacher and the student so even
the students are coming forward
to ask questions … I can see lots of
child-centred learning, which I feel
is so important.”
- Mr Nyendo, Principal, Bhutanese middle
secondary school
Photo: Australian Red Cross/Mareike Guenchse
Key achievements
Education
In Bhutan, the Australian Red Cross
AVID program partnered with seven
schools, one tertiary institution and the
Ministry of Education.
• Australian volunteers supported
teachers to improve their skills,
knowledge and ability to design,
implement and evaluate special
needs education programs.
• Our partners developed improved
processes to support children with
special needs as they transfer to
independence and with referral to
other support systems available in
Bhutan. This work is ensuring that
students with special needs can
access the services they require.
• In early 2015 we collaborated
with the Career Education and
Counselling Division of the Ministry
of Education to help strengthen
and enhance counselling programs
in schools.
• At the tertiary level, through
our partnership with the Royal
Institute of Management, Australian
volunteers have trained and
educated a range of beneficiaries,
from civil servants to young
undergraduates and postgraduates.

2. The Australian Volunteers for International Development (AVID) program is an Australian Government initiative.
This flyer has been developed by Australian Red Cross,
a delivery partner for the AVID program.
Connecting people, changing lives, reaching our region.
Agriculture
Our partnership with the Ministry
of Agriculture aimed to conserve
natural resources whilst contributing
to sustainable socioeconomic
development. A focus area of this
work was supporting the Department
of Forests and Park Services and the
Food and Agricultural Regulatory
Authority to develop and implement a
balanced approach to natural resource
management.
• The Forest Fire Management
Program has developed stronger
organisational structures and
systems, which will enhance
delivery of programs and services
into the future. An Australian
volunteer has supported staff to
develop a community awareness
program that educates people
about fire prevention, preparation,
response and recovery,
while Community Forest Fire
Management Plans are also being
developed. It is hoped this support
Health
The Australian Red Cross AVID
program supported clinical staff across
different areas of government hospitals
and national public health programs
in Bhutan to enhance their capacity to
deliver vital services.
• Australian volunteers supported
Jigme Dorji Wangchuck National
Referral Hospital to improve
services and patient care in a
range of areas including dialysis
and operating theatre recovery
nursing. The hospital also had its
first haematologist, an Australian
volunteer, who supported local
doctors to analyse and report on
patient data for more accurate
diagnosis. This support also
enabled critical procedures such as
blood and marrow transplants to be
performed.
Photo: Australian Red Cross/Mareike Guenchse
“The community awareness
program is a very good initiative,
without active participation from
the people management of forest
fires by the department alone is
not possible.”
- Village head, Mewong Geowg, Thimphu
will contribute to reducing the
number of forest fires and protect
Bhutan’s forests, a priority of the
Bhutanese Government.
Thank you
Australian Red Cross is proud of
the strong relationships we have
developed with our partners. These
relationships have been built on
the foundations of respect, trust
and a shared vision of sustainable
development in the health, education,
and agriculture and forestry sectors
of Bhutan through the coordination
and support of the Royal Civil Service
Commission.
We thank Australian DFAT Post in India
for their continued support along with
the 25 Australian volunteers sent to
date and Country Manager Ms Yeshey
Lhaden. We wish Scope Global well as
the new delivery partner for the AVID
program in Bhutan. The continued
commitment and cooperation of our
partners will ensure that the AVID
Program can maintain its promise
of capacity development and
enhancement to benefit the people of
Bhutan in the future.
Gerard Witham
Regional Manager, Asia
– Australian Red Cross AVID program