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Dear Friends and Colleagues, I am formally announcing my resignation from SEARICE effective 1 July 2004 Ms. Wilhelmina “Ditdit” Pelegrina will assume the post of Executive Director. Ditdit, an Agronomist, has been the head of the Technical Assistance Unit (TAU) of SEARICE since 1998 and has been responsible for the overall coordination of our technical projects in the Philippines and other parts of Southeast Asia. A new Policy and Information team is being formed to take on the policy advocacy initiatives of SEARICE, initially with my guidance. The transition in leadership at SEARICE has been in the drawing board since June 2002 and the institutional mechanisms for the transition have been put in place since June 2003. I have signified my decision to move on to the SEARICE Board two years ago based on my realization that it is high time to pump in new blood and fresh leadership into the organization after spending 11 years here as staff (six years and a half as Executive Director). On a personal note, I have been yearning to spend more time with my daughter, who is now a little lady at six years old, to whom I have only been a part-time mother in her formative years (with lots of guilt and regret!). Intellectually, I really long to go in-depth on some policy issues that I have been working on through these years, a luxury that I cannot afford with my program and management functions at the helm of SEARICE. I would like to thank all of you for the opportunities that you have opened up and shared in making my life with SEARICE the best years so far in my experience in development work. The relationships that I shared with you and the knowledge and skills that I gained from you and with you have all shaped me into the person that I am today and helped me discover the best that I can offer for the people and the environment. The years of working with you on development issues that have deeply carved my passion and commitment have made me realize that each of us can make a difference, but only by working together can we possibly change the world. While I am leaving SEARICE, I will continue to work on the issues and advocacies that I have been so passionate about, and will continue to work in policy advocacy and lobbying, the particular area of work where I do believe I can contribute more towards making this world a better place for my daughter to live in. I do hope to continue engaging with you and the networks that I have been a part of, initially as an individual who is passionately committed to the cause, or later as part of another organization. I will be using my new personal e-mail account nethdano@pacific.net.ph starting 1 July 2004. For the transition phase, I will continue to use my current e-mail account with SEARICE until 31 July. Kindly send your personal messages to my new personal account. All official messages may be sent or copied to searice@searice.org.ph. Thank you very much for everything. I do look forward to continue working with you beyond SEARICE. Padayon (;-)Neth |