Missions

To carry out its cooperation initiatives in Ayamé and the surrounding villages, the Agency makes use of volunteers who provide their work free of charge in various fields: health, environmental, child protection. Some volunteers have been permanently resident in Ayamé for a long time, like Emi Massignan who, thanks to her consolidated experience and knowledge of the area, is an authoritative and effective interface with the populations and local authorities.

Other volunteers, based on their respective skills, are periodically sent on missions by the Agency for the implementation and monitoring of the various projects in which it is involved. In the annual reports of the President of the Agency (see documents and archive) and in the "History", year by year, of the Agency, the various missions are carefully illustrated.

Stays in Ayamé are aimed at activities of:

• medical support to provide specialist care to the local population and to assist the HGA healthcare staff, also involving them in professional development activities. This is the case of the periodic missions of ophthalmologists and dentists. The training courses for new graduates or trainees are also very useful and contribute to the functioning of the HGA, especially in times of shortage of Ivorian doctors and nurses.

  •  technical and technological support for the implementation of the works promoted by the Agency, for the development, modernization and maintenance of the health facilities of the HGA and in the neighboring dispensaries of the brousse (countryside-forest) and for the environmental remediation of Ayamé.

• relationship with local communities to assess their needs and agree on projects to address them, as well as with government institutions with which significant partnership agreements have been signed on health cooperation.

In the past, the Agency has also organized professional development courses in Pavia for the medical and paramedical staff of the Ayamé Hospital at various clinics of the San Matteo Polyclinic, with the support of the University of Pavia and the EDISU colleges in which they offered free hospitality.

The Agency makes the "Twinning House" available to the missions in Ayamé, built in 2000 with the co-financing of the Municipality of Pavia, which contributes annually to the operating and maintenance costs of the residence. The University of Pavia, through CICOPS, makes specific work-study grants available (also thanks to the "Cooperation and knowledge" initiative) in favor of undergraduate students who intend to gain training experiences in developing countries, especially in purposes of preparing degree theses. Young volunteers from the Agency were also able to benefit from this opportunity.