All African (Self Help) Bazaar

Yale Service Tours - Yale Alumni Travel Programs, Community Development, Volunteer Work

2012-01-26T14:52:00.002-05:00

“A generation ago Sargent Shriver '38, a Yale alumnus renowned for his public service, gave voice to a new vision of global citizenship: that a single citizen could be as important as any institution; that it was possible to change the world one life at a time. His vision, of course, was the Peace Corps.”

Today the Yale Alumni Association keeps that vision alive with its Service Tours to help people around the world. Read more about it at the following link.

Yale Service Tours - Yale Alumni Travel Programs, Community Development, Volunteer Work

Anno's Africa

2011-11-09T20:07:00.005-05:00

ANNO'S AFRICA is a UK based charity that offers an alternative, arts education to orphans and vulnerable children in some of Africa’s most desperately deprived city slums. The children who have been participating( Cut) in our Kenyan programme live in the most appalling conditions, sleeping either on the streets or in corrugated iron shacks with no amenities, where often families of eight or more struggle to feed themselves on less than a dollar a day. Scavenging on rubbish tips in an effort to find something to sell so that they can cobble together enough for an evening meal is the way many of these children survive. They are prey to many illnesses: malaria, intestinal worms, pneumonia and other lung infections and of course the ever present threat of HIV / AIDS.

Anno's Africa:

'via Blog this'

Global Pulse | Harnessing innovation to protect the vulnerable

2011-10-04T13:23:00.006-04:00

The United Nations has launched a new project that may be of great value to many NGOs working to improve the conditions of communities around the Globe.

Global Pulse, is an innovation initiative of the UN Secretary-General, that allows for the analysis of patterns within big data and could possibly revolutionize the way NGOs and governments respond to economic shocks, disease outbreaks, and natural disasters around the world. You can find more information about this project at the online Forbes article: Data Philanthropy is Good for Business dated 9/20/11. Also, the United Nations has a Global Pulse web site [Link below].

In a nutshell, this initiative is working to “develop methods for harnessing real-time data to gain a real-time understanding of human well being.”

Global Pulse | Harnessing innovation to protect the vulnerable

Wherever the Need publishes its 2011 Summer Newsletter

2011-09-08T13:30:00.003-04:00

Wherever the Need has been doing wonderful work for years. Focusing on Water Resources, Eco Sanitation and other resource issues, they have been mindful and balanced Development with Ecological responsibility.

They have just released their Summer 2011 Newsletter, and it is work a look.

------------------------------------------

"If there is a holy grail with regard to sanitation, it is

finding a solution to the needs of the billions of people

who live in inner cities. Many live in slums and the cost

of infrastructure would be astronomical as water based

toilets are often regarded as the only option – although

where the water will come from is rarely explained

satisfactorily!" Quote for Wherever the Need Summer 2011 Newsletter.

2011 Summer Newsletter | Wherever the Need

From the Field: Community Engagement Inside Kibera (September 1, 2011) | Opinion Blog | Stanford Social Innovation Review

2011-09-07T13:17:00.001-04:00

The Bazaar has been following Rye Barcotte and Carolina for Kibera for over 5 years now, and this article: " From the Field: Community Engagement Inside Kibera" recently appeared in the Sanford Social Innovation Review

"It’s easy to look at global poverty alleviation work abstractly. I spend a lot of time reading about and debating the meaning of “social entrepreneurship,” “community engagement,” and other popular jargon of our field, far away from communities in extreme poverty. But it only takes a minute of visiting a small nonprofit in, say, Kibera, a Nairobi slum of 1 million people, to remind you that distance is the wrong reference point.
This spring, I met Rye Barcott on a book tour for his memoir It Happened on the Way to War: A Marine’s Path to Peace, and learned about Carolina for Kibera (CFK). Celebrating its tenth anniversary this year, CFK’s mission is to develop local leaders,
catalyze positive change, and alleviate poverty in Kibera. One of CFK’s core beliefs is that community problems require local solutions run by local leaders."

The rest of the article may be found at the following link:

From the Field: Community Engagement Inside Kibera (September 1, 2011) | Opinion Blog | Stanford Social Innovation Review

Business Daily: - Home |Mobile technology unlocks dairy farming potential

2011-08-23T16:50:00.002-04:00

By FRANKLINE SUNDAY (email the author)

On a typical day, Susan Wanjiru checks and replies to her emails, updates and checks off items on her appointment book before she starts work at a busy Nairobi hotel.

The young hotelier also receives a text message informing her of the progress of her small dairy farm in Kinangop. The message has come through an iCow application that is promising to change the way small holder farmers in Kenya manage their dairy cattle.

The iCow is a voice-based WAP enabled application that keeps farmers abreast of essential animal breeding and feeding methods through technology. A farmer can register his cows free of charge through the iCow portal and gets regular SMSs about the breeding and production patterns of the livestock.

Read more of this story at the following site:

Business Daily: - Home |Mobile technology unlocks dairy farming potential

Africa: Zambia to Host Land Policy Meeting

2011-08-22T20:40:00.003-04:00

By George Okore

LUSAKA----A stakeholder dialogue on land policy issues in Africa will held in Lusaka, Zambia from October 4-5, 2011 in Lusaka, Zambia.

The forum to address underlying transnational commercial land deals in Africa comes at time when many Western Super powers are promoting and perpetuating improper land acquisition and use, hence agricultural challenges and food crisis facing the continent. Former African colonial masters are land problems in many African countries including Kenya, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Somalia, Ethiopia among others.

The High Level Forum on Land-Based Foreign Direct Investments in Africa comes at a time when recent discussions have focused on increasing demand of farmlands across the continent by both foreign and local investors. The meeting will explore and reach agreement and consensus on appropriate and concrete actions on how to address the issue of land based investments in the continent in an environmentally and socially responsible manner.

To read more, go to the following link:

Africa: Zambia to Host Land Policy Meeting

Medicines Patent Pool and Gilead Ink Agreement Making HIV and Hepatitis B Treatment More Available in Developing Countries.

2011-07-15T12:26:00.002-04:00

The Medicines Patent Pool Announces
First Licensing Agreement with a Pharmaceutical Company

London, 12 July 2011: Today the Medicines Patent Pool announces its first licenses with a pharmaceutical company, Gilead Sciences, to increase access to HIV and Hepatitis B treatment in developing countries.

Photo from Medicines Patent Pool web site

* * *

The Medicines Patent Pool and UNITAID joint press release is available here [pdf], and also posted below.

Questions and answers on the Patent Pool licenses are available here [pdf].

Per the Medicines Patent Pool transparency policy [pdf], the full texts of the licenses are posted below.

The main licensing agreement between the Medicines Patent Pool and Gilead is available here [pdf].

The amended and restated form is available here [pdf].

The form sublicensee agreement is available here [pdf].

Medicines Patent Pool and Gilead Licence Agreement / Current Licences / LICENSING / Home - Medicines Patent Pool

FHI helps to spread the word of about HPTN Study 052- Initiation of Antiretroviral Treatment Protects Uninfected Sexual Partners from HIV Infection.

2011-05-23T14:03:00.008-04:00

A very encouraging press release came out on May 11, 2011 from the HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) and was followed up by this posting by the Family Health International (FHI).

Cover of HPTN publication

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Initiation of Antiretroviral Treatment Protects Uninfected Sexual Partners from HIV Infection (HPTN Study 052)

FHI Statement on HPTN 052

May 12, 2011

Men and women infected with HIV reduced the risk of transmitting the virus to their sexual partners by 96 percent through early initiation of oral antiretroviral therapy (ART), according to findings from a large-scale multinational clinical study conducted by the HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN).

The clinical trial, known as HPTN 052, was designed to evaluate whether early antiretroviral use by an HIV-infected individual would reduce transmission of HIV to an HIV-uninfected partner and potentially benefit the HIV-infected individual as well. The trial is the first randomized clinical trial to show that treating an HIV-infected individual with ART can reduce the risk of sexual transmission of HIV to an uninfected partner.

HPTN is a global partnership dedicated to reducing the transmission of HIV through cutting-edge biomedical, behavioral, and structural interventions, largely funded by National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases with additional funding from National Institute on Drug Abuse and National Institute for Mental Health, at the US National Institutes of Health. FHI serves as the coordinating and operations center for HPTN. As the operations center, FHI is responsible for the scientific management of HPTN and facilitates and participates in HPTN leadership, scientific working groups, protocol teams, and the community engagement program.

"FHI is proud of our role as the Operations Center for HPTN in facilitating the HPTN 052 study," said Dr. Ward Cates, President, Research at FHI and member of the leadership of HPTN. "Treating infected individuals prevents transmission to their uninfected partner and benefits the individual. Armed with these findings, FHI can continue to contribute to the informed care and treatment and prevention of HIV through our global programs and intramural research."

HPTN 052 began in April 2005 and enrolled 1,763 HIV-serodiscordant couples at 13 sites across Africa, Asia and the Americas, the vast majority of which (97 percent) were heterosexual. An HIV-serodiscordant couple has one member who is HIV-infected and the other who is HIV-uninfected. In the study, the HIV-infected partner was required to have a CD4+ cell count (T cells) between 350-550 cells/mm3 at enrollment, and therefore did not require HIV treatment for his or her own health.

The investigators randomly assigned the couples to one of two study groups. In one group, the HIV infected partner immediately began taking a combination of three antiretroviral drugs upon study enrollment. In the other group, the HIV-infected partners began ART when their CD4 counts fell below 250 cells per cubic millimeter (cells/mm³) or an AIDS-related event occurred.

Throughout the study, both groups received HIV-related care that included counseling on safe sex practices, free condoms, treatment for sexually transmitted infections, regular HIV testing, and frequent evaluation and treatment for any complications related to HIV infection. Each group received the same amount of care and counseling. In addition, individuals who become HIV-infected during the course of the study are referred to local services for appropriate medical care and treatment.

The trial was slated to end in 2015; however, the independent Data and Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) recommended that the results be released as soon as possible. The DSMB concluded that it was clear that early initiation of ART by HIV-infected individuals with relatively healthy immune systems substantially protects partners from infection, with a 96 percent reduction in HIV transmission.

Study participants are being informed of the results. The study investigators will continue following the study participants for at least one year.

"This is excellent news," said Dr. Myron Cohen, HPTN 052 Principal Investigator and Associate Vice Chancellor for Global Health and Director of the Institute of Global Health and Infectious Diseases at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. "The study was designed to evaluate the benefit to the sexual partner as well as the benefit to the HIV-infected person. This is the first large randomized clinical trial to definitively indicate that an HIV-infected individual can reduce sexual transmission of HIV to an uninfected partner by beginning antiretroviral therapy sooner. HPTN recognizes the significant contribution that this study's participants have made to furthering the progress in HIV treatment and prevention. We are very grateful for their participation."

About HIV Prevention Trials Network

The HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) is a partnership between scientists and communities around the world to develop, evaluate, and implement cutting-edge biomedical, behavioral, and structural interventions to reduce the transmission of HIV. HPTN uses randomized controlled clinical trials, designed and conducted according to the highest scientific and ethical standards, to identify the best combinations of interventions for the populations at highest risk of HIV infection worldwide. HPTN is largely funded by NIAID with additional funding from NIDA and NIMH, at the NIH.

About FHI

FHI is a global health and development organization whose science-based programs bring lasting change to the world's most vulnerable people. Since 1971, FHI has worked with 1,400 partners in 125 countries, forging strong relationships with governments, diverse organizations, the private sector and communities. By applying science to healthcare programs and clinical research, FHI is helping countries make measurable progress against disease, poverty, and inequity—improving lives for millions.

###

For more information, view the HPTN press release (May 11, 2011) or visit www.hptn.org
Media inquiries:

Matt Matassa

703.647.1909;

mmatassa@fhi.org

FHI - Initiation of Antiretroviral Treatment Protects Uninfected Sexual Partners from HIV Infection (HPTN Study 052)

MinnPost - Addressing Africa's book famine: The impact is immeasurable

2011-05-22T23:09:00.003-04:00

This editorial by Ambassador James Kimonyo’s appeared in the MinnPost.com website on May 11, 2011 and was posted on the Books For Africa web site.

H.E. Ambassador James Kimonyo

Addressing Africa's book famine: The impact is immeasurable

By Ambassador James Kimonyo | Wednesday, May 11, 2011

I come from a family of eight in Rwanda. We worked very hard to get an education growing up. We shared books with other households and families. Sometimes we waited a week to get a book back that we had loaned out and sometimes we were lucky to get the book back the day before an examination. And so it goes for millions of schoolchildren in Rwanda and throughout Africa. We have many problems on our continent, but one of the most serious is our book famine.

As Rwanda and other countries make progress over the next 20 years, human capital and education will be the key ingredients. The only way we can transform our country is through education. Our strategy is to create a knowledge-based economy. That is our vision. There is nothing better than having books for our students to help us achieve that objective.

A container of books from St. Paul-based Books for Africa will be shipped to my country in the next couple of months through the work of Peace Corps volunteers and Ambassador W. Stuart Symington. That's 22,000 books for our children. The container will also include books for a law library donated by Thomson Reuters to help us educate young law students, build democratic institutions and develop the rule of law.

I recently visited St. Paul, where I attended a number of events sponsored by Books for Africa. I was impressed with the generosity of the people of Minnesota who donated more than $80,000 last month to help pay for books that will be sent to Rwanda and other African countries. Our people thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

For one purpose only

The West often sends money and military weapons to Africa and other developing nations. While well-intentioned, sometimes that aid ends up in the wrong hands with serious negative consequences. But books for children and for law students can only be used for one purpose and that is that is to educate. That is soft power at work in the field. A small amount of money invested in the United States is turned into thousands of books — which, in turn, are shared by millions of young people in my country and around the continent. That is a small price to pay to help us build and develop our countries.

The impact of a book in the hands of a child in my country is immeasurable. I hope that the people of Minnesota and the rest of the United States will continue to understand that concept. Your understanding and your generosity make a huge difference.

James Kimonyo is the ambassador of the Republic of Rwanda to the United States.

MinnPost - Addressing Africa's book famine: The impact is immeasurable

Books For Africa

Kabissa – Connecting people and organizations for Africa

2011-05-18T22:23:00.001-04:00

Six years ago this month I wrote about Kabissa helping folks in Africq manage the digital age. And from the looks of things, they are still going strong.

Kabissa (our name means completely in kiswahili) is a volunteer-led non-governmental organization founded in 1999. We help African civil society organizations to put Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to work for the benefit of their communities. We do this by providing an online platform where people and organizations working in Africa can showcase themselves and connect with each other for peer learning and information sharing.

Network connecting people and organizations for Africa | Kabissa

AMREF | AMREF’s New Partnership with Open University

2011-05-11T20:36:00.000-04:00

AMREF continues to find new and innovative ways to improve healthcare in Africa. The Press Release below appeared on April 13, 2011.

AMREF is pleased to announce a new and exciting partnership with the Open University (UK).

Africa has a serious shortage of health workers and many have little or no formal training; yet, they are the ‘front line’ of health care across Africa.

Recognising a mutual belief that empowered, well-trained and well-supported health workers (including doctors, nurses, clinical officers, midwives, and community health workers) are critical to the development and success of African health systems, AMREF and the Open University will soon be embarking on a partnership to train health workers through distance learning.

The partnership was formed after recognising the common goals and ambitions of AMREF and the OU:

AMREF, Africa’s leading health development organisation, provides training for health workers in 33 African countries, equipping them with the necessary skills to address their countries’ biggest health issues; from HIV/AIDS, to antenatal care, malaria, waterborne diseases, cervical cancer to cleft palate repair. Committed to providing the best, most relevant service possible, AMREF is an expert in curricula and Human Resources for Health (HRH) development. Using an array of training methods; from classroom-based, to print-based distance learning courses to eLearning and online trainings, AMREF brings training opportunities to those who need it the most.

Open University is a world leader in modern distance learning and has recently launched the Health Education and Training (HEAT) programme in Africa. This ambitious programme aims to train 250,000 Community Health Workers (CHW) over the next five years through providing distance learning modules to increase their skills and capabilities. The HEAT programme is now piloting in Ethiopia, but is ready to be taken to other African countries, and has the flexibility and potential to be adapted for use by midwives, doctors, nurses, and other health workers.

Recognising this shared commitment to increasing Human Resources for Health (HRH) in Africa, through this new partnership AMREF and OU will share experience and expertise, working together to develop, implement and manage distance training programmes for mid-level and community health workers. AMREF and OU will collaborate in submitting applications for joint funding, build partnerships with organisations with similar goals, and work together to roll out OU’s HEAT programme beyond Ethiopia.

“We believe that this collaboration will take AMREF’s innovative e-learning, m-learning and broader distance learning interventions further afield in Africa”, says Peter Ngatia, AMREF’s Director of Capacity Building.

“We hope to dramatically assist in the global effort to scale-up training of Human Resources for Health to ensure countries have the right numbers and competencies required for quality health delivery and attainment of the Millennium Development Goals.”

More about AMREF's work training health workers across Africa

More about Open University's Health Education and Training (HEAT) programme

AMREF | AMREF’s New Partnership with Open University

The True Size of Africa

2011-05-06T13:07:00.000-04:00

The Serpentine Gallery had an exhibit of maps. And among those maps was this one created by software engineer Kia Krause.

Click the link below to go to the Serpentine Gallery site. There you can click on the link that will enlarge the image so that you will be able to read the accompanying data.

This is something to think about when considering the relevance of Africa in a global context.

Edge - Serpentine Maps Marathon

Congolese Students and Survivors Use ICTs to Prevent the Spread of Violence

2011-01-10T16:25:00.007-05:00

This is an article that first appeared a few months ago, but because so few items appear on English language sites on the internet, in thought that it would nice to post this.

By Azur Développement for APC

BRAZZAVILLE, Republic of Congo, 27 October 2010

Five different organisations in the Republic of Congo (Brazzaville) are receiving small grants as part of the APC Women’s programme’s – Take Back the Tech! to fight violence against women project. Female students, women and girls who have survived violence and abuse will learn how to use different technologies to signal cases of abuse, build awareness around their experiences and help support others victims. Read more about these innovative projects, which will be taking place until March 2011.

TAKE BACK THE TECH! FUND WINNERS IN THE REPUBLIC OF CONGO

Association Dynamique Plurielle in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, will work with 250 female 1st to 3rd year high school students from Savorgnon de Brazzaville High School to fight against sexual harassment in schools by involving teachers and school management. It will organise awareness meetings on the Portella and Potignon Acts, which prohibits relationships between teachers and students and protects minors, during which they will screen video testimonies from survivors of abuse. During the project, students will also send alerts about sexual harassment cases via SMS by the students; and a “listening cell” of the organisation at the high school will actively respond. Educational information about the laws will be sent to 250 students; and trivia questions via SMS and MMS will be sent out participants. Winners will be awarded free internet browsing tickets for the best answer. Students will also be trained on how to use the internet to teach and train others. They will also be sensitized to online privacy and security issues when surfing the internet and using mobile phones.

Association Femmes Solidaires in Brazzaville will train fifteen young mothers infected with HIV/AIDS and survivors of violence in counselling so they can provide psychological support to their peers. Awareness-raising sessions will be held on human rights, targeting 50 women and young mothers infected with HIV/AIDS. Ten of them will be trained in basic computers skills, internet browsing and searching, and writing articles and blogs to document the experiences of violence by HIV-positive women and girls. Radio shows that broadcast the testimonies of these survivors of violence will be produced with the assistance of female journalists and members of the organisation. These radio programs will be reproduced on CDs and distributed to other organisations for their advocacy and educational activities, and uploaded to the internet.

Jeunes Infrastructure et Développement (CJID) will work to reduce violence against women and girls in Kinkala, an area that was affected by armed conflict until 2003, through awareness and education on ICTs. Twenty female soldiers and policewomen will be sensitised about violence against women. Around100 survivors of violence will be reached by this project; from which 35 will be trained in basic computer skills and internet use. They will create a listening space for survivors at their office, and provide mobile internet access to the people of Kinkala, especially young students. The project will also produce video testimonials with a team of survivors of violence, which will be screened at awareness meetings and shared with other organisations. There will also be an SMS contest for the best testimonies, and a moderated blog will be put in place to give voices to the project beneficiaries on the web.

Comptoir Juridique Junior will work with 200 students in the Mpaka Secondary School and the OCH Technical High School in Pointe-Noire to fight against and prevent sexual harassment in schools. Their actions will involve teachers and school management. Students will send alerts on cases of sexual harassment via SMS, and different measures will be taken after a consultation. Competitions for testimonies by survivors of violence via SMS and MMS will be held with 200 students, and the best testimonies will be awarded with training on the use of the internet for learning purposes. The project also educates students on privacy and security online when surfing the internet and using mobile phones. A network of students from both institutions will be created before the end of the project.

Handicapés Sans Frontières in Pointe-Noire will gather some sixty female journalists, women and girls with disabilities to educate, denounce, and find solutions to end violence against them, as well as help them break their silence. The organisation will hold awareness sessions on women’s rights and how to fight violence against women in the media and women’s circles for those with disabilities. They will be trained in basic computer skills and the internet in order to communicate about violence through blogs, photos and mobile phones. They will learn how to record sounds with mobile phones, how to take and upload photos and how to upload video and audio to the internet. Women and girls with disabilities and survivors of violence will also use the internet to advocate for a space where they can express themselves. Female journalists involved in the project will present radio and television programs that demonstrate the magnitude and call for action on violence against women and girls with disabilities.

As part of its work towards achieving the Millennium Development Goal #3 (MDG3), the Association for Progressive Communicaitons Women’s Networking Support Programme (APC WNSP) is providing a small grants fund for projects working with women, technology and raising awareness about violence against women in over 30 communities. Funds from the MDG3 grant are going directly towards supporting over 60 local, primarily community based organisations to implement projects that use ICTs to end violence against women and building their capacity to do so.

The Take Back the Tech! fund is a part of the APC women’s programme Take Back the Tech! to end violence against women project, which falls under the APC’s work towards achieving the third Millennium Development Goal on equality for women. A total of $20 000 dollars have been disbursed to twelve country partners for redistribution to local and grassroots organisations that are working with women and ICTs.

Photo by l’Association des Femmes Solidaires: Survivors of violence undergo training and counseling in Brazzaville.

Original version of the story

Association for Progressive Communications

DR HAWA ABDI FOUNDATION

2010-12-30T12:42:00.009-05:00

Dr. Hawa Abdi, a physician and hospital administrator in Somalia is currently getting a lot of attention because she was recently named one of Glamour Magazine’s “Women of The Year,” (along with her two daughters, who are physicians as well) for 2010. Not only is Dr. Abdi a health care provider, but she also has created a camp for internally displaced peoples in Somalia on her own 1,300 acre farmland near the hospital. She has also created the The Dr.Hawa Abdi Foundation.

The mission of The Dr.Hawa Abdi Foundation is to ensure that no treatable condition shall ever be an obstacle to health. Through a combination of foundation programs and social activism, we will work to guarantee that quality healthcare is available to underserved populations in the Somali and around the East Africa. Furthermore, it is our goal to promote health and healing not only by providing quality medical and preventative care, but also by creating treatment environments that foster hope.

According to a brief biographical statement on one of the web pages, of the Foundation, Dr. Abdi is a “living hero.”

Dr.Hawa Abdi, a living hero before the eye of thousands of IDPs a mother, a leader of hope and prosparity,an inspiration and the couragious woman,the founder of the Dr.Hawa Abdi Foundation and the first woman to run and oparate a private hospital in somalia the first doctor and the list never end.
Abdi received her medical training in Kiev, Ukraine, during the 1960s with the help of a Soviet scholarship. At the time, Somalia was allied with the Soviet Union, while its archrival and neighbor Ethiopia was a partner of the United States. (In an abrupt Cold War reversal, a Marxist regime came to power in Ethiopia in 1974 and Somalian dictator Mohamed Siad Barre switched loyalties to the U.S.)
After completing her studies, Abdi returned and opened her clinic; soon the practice drew clients from all over the country, and even abroad. She was one of Somalia's first female gynecologists.
She married, raised three children, invested in hundreds of acres of farmland and had enough left over to purchase a beach getaway.
After Siad Barre was toppled in 1991 and Somalia descended into clan-based civil war, Abdi struggled to keep her clinic independent. One day, she says, soldiers with the HAWIYE clan swarmed the facility, looking to kill or capture patients from the DAROT clan.
"You will have to kill me first," she recalls telling the armed fighters. They left and never bothered her again. Abdi opened her private clinic for women and children in 1983. But when the government collapsed eight years later, she threw open her doors to all, treating victims of shootings, malnutrition and a string of epidemics.
As word of her generosity spread, the needy flocked here. More than 15,000 families currently live on her land. She offers treatment, clean water and whatever food she can spare. Nowadays, few can pay, but no one is turned away.
Abdi acknowledges that after 25 years, she dreams of escaping this place. "I'm tired," she says, sighing. "Sometimes you lose hope, you feel depressed. I've been here so long." [Bio here.]

More details about the Glamour Women of the Year Award can be found here.

On December 15, 2010, The New York Times ran an opinion piece by Nicholas D. Kristof that highlighted her work that took her from running a one room clinic in 1983 to managing a 400 bed hospital today. That article may be found at this link.

DR HAWA ABDI FOUNDATION

ANOTHER STORY OF VISION

2010-12-19T17:56:00.009-05:00

Photo from SIC website

Dr. Matthew Craven had a vision. He earned his B.A. in Economics from Stanford University in 2001. That year he also got his first exposure to global health during a month he spent teaching HIV prevention seminars in Tanzania. While in Tanzania he witnessed the ineffectiveness of the existing healthcare delivery systems, especially to rural communities. He returned to Tanzania the following year and co-found Support for International Change (SIC), a non-profit organization working with the government to limit the impact of HIV in underserved communities through expanded access to education, testing, and treatment.

Dr. Craven also started SIC’s global health leadership training programs, which aims to develop a new generation of leaders for the field. He served as Executive Director of SIC for the next five years, first based in Tanzania and then in the U.S.

In 2008 Dr. Craven earned his M.D. from the Stanford University School of Medicine.

SUPPORT FOR INTERNATIONAL CHANGE

Their Mission
To limit the impact of HIV/AIDS in underserved communities and to train future leaders in global health and development.

Their Vision
SIC believes that the HIV/AIDS crisis creates both an imperative to act and an opportunity to learn. We envision a world where HIV/AIDS no longer limits length or quality of life or reduces the social or economic development of communities, and where young people learn the skills to address the health crises of future generations.

Their Approach
SIC was founded in August 2002 with the dual goals of limiting the impact of HIV/AIDS in Tanzania and training future leaders for global health and development. In the rural communities where we work, poor infrastructure and widespread poverty limit access to HIV testing and prevention services, and leave people living with HIV socially and physically isolated from care. Public clinics provide VCT and antiretroviral medications in urban centers, but lack of information, stigma and the costs of transportation all represent barriers to access and leave these services beyond the reach of Tanzania’s rural majority. As a result, HIV transmission continues, few people are tested in the villages and many of those living with AIDS die without accessing treatment.

In response to this crisis, SIC currently works in rural villages in northern Tanzania, offering a comprehensive set of community based services to combat HIV/AIDS. SIC supports a Community Health Worker (CHW) Program, a Peer Educators (PE) Program in secondary schools, community-based health awareness campaigns, and mobile Voluntary Counseling and Testing (VCT). With a few pilot programs, in conjunction with the district hospitals, we support mobile ARV clinics.

In addition to these community level interventions, SIC offers structured service-learning programs for international and Tanzanian volunteers. During our eight and twelve week programs, volunteers add capacity to our work, primarily by serving as teachers in our awareness campaigns. Hundreds of student volunteers have passed through our programs since 2003. Many have gone on to graduate or professional training in related fields, to found other organizations, or to other leadership positions in global health and development.

KOFI ANNAN GUIDES AGRA FOR A GREENER TOMORROW

2010-05-17T10:20:00.005-04:00

AGRA’s integrated programs in seeds, soils, market access, policy and partnerships and innovative finance work to trigger comprehensive changes across the agricultural system. Our programs also strengthen agricultural education and extension, address the issue of efficient water management, and strive to involve and train youth.

AGRA’s programs and partnerships work for comprehensive changes across the agricultural system to benefit smallholder farmers, the majority women. Integrated programs in seeds, soils, market access, policy and partnerships, and innovative finance are transforming subsistence farming into sustainable, viable commercial activity.
AGRA’s programs also work to strengthen agricultural education and extension, train youth, develop rural infrastructure, improve efficient water management and enable smallholder farmers to adapt to and mitigate climate change. All of our programs pay special attention to the women farmers who produce the majority of Africa’s food. AGRA programs seek to empower women with full and equal access to finance, land security, extension services and new agricultural tools and technologies.
From Africa’s high-potential breadbasket areas, to broader and more challenging environments, AGRA’s integrated programs are making a difference. One example is found in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania, where 700,000 smallholder farmers produced a record maize harvest in 2009, helping to feed drought-stricken regions of the country.

Mr. Kofi A. Annan, former Secretary-General of the United Nations, Chairs AGRA’s Board. A team of distinguished African scientists, economists and business leaders guide its day-to-day work. With a budget of close to US$400 million, as of June 2009 AGRA had approved 116 grants valued at US$83 million in 14 countries. Grantees operate across the agricultural value chain, laying the basis for the kind of comprehensive, integrated change needed by Africa’s smallholder farmers.
----------

Learn more about AGRA at the link below:
AGRA

Youth for Technology Foundation

2010-04-19T21:46:00.004-04:00

Youth for Technology Foundation (YTF) is an international non-profit organization that seeks to bridge the digital canyon among disadvantaged communities in developing countries, starting with the continent of Africa. The vision of Youth for Technology Foundation is to foster wealth creation, reduce unemployment and create self-sustaining communities by providing marginalized people in rural communities with the technology tools, training and resources to enable them to realize their greatest potential.

Technology - even in small amounts- is helping developing nations and communities overcome tradition totake leaps forward. YTF recognizes that access to information holds the key to the empowerment of marginalized people, particularly youth and women.

-------------------------

The above is the logo and introduction to Youth for Technology Foundation posted at their website. You can learn more by going there.

Italian official condemns Haiti earthquake relief as 'vanity parade'

2010-01-27T17:29:00.004-05:00

The Bucharest Herald ran this story illustrating that many question the primary motives of many organizations and governments who have rushed (with great flourish) in to help Haiti in the aftermath of its most recent horrific disaster.

The picture posted from the Bucharest Herald story shows what appear to be combat ready soldiers in front of an American flag and poses the question: :"Why do these American soldiers need to be combat as they try to assist Haiti?"

Guido Bertolaso, the head of Italy's civil protection service, who is quoted in this story stated that the large US military mission in the country was not entirely helpful.

The story can be found at the link below.

Italian official condemns Haiti earthquake relief as 'vanity parade'

FUGEES FAMILY'S COACH MUFLEH WINS COMMON GROUND AWARD

2009-10-26T14:42:00.008-04:00

Photo from Fugees Family website

Fugees Family came to my attention because it's founder, Luma Mufleh is receiving an award from Search For Common Ground, another non-profit engaged in making the world a better place. Coach Mufleh and her story - and the story of the Fugees Family can be found on the websites listed below. But here briefly is a short statement from the Fugees Family website that explains what it is doing.

FUGEES FAMILY, INC. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization devoted to working with child survivors of war. We build upon the power of soccer to galvanize these kids by giving them the support and structure they need to realize their vast potential. Five years ago, Coach Luma Mufleh started a Fugees team to provide refugee boys with free access to organized soccer. Since then, our programming has grown to include year-round soccer for 86 boys aged 10-18, after-school tutoring, a private academy, and an academic enrichment camp.

The Fugees Family provides a space for the kids to heal and meet others like them, from different countries, who have been through similar experiences. The players might begin by regarding one another with distrust or even hostility. By conducting drills with various players grouped together and enforcing an English-only policy at all times, the kids learn to cooperate. Africans and Asians, Northern and Southern Sudanese, Muslims and Christians, Sunni and Shia Muslims - they all play on the same team, finding their commonalities instead of focusing on their differences. Their bonds make them more secure in their own identity and more capable of acclimating to the mainstream.

The Fugees Family works to afford our kids equal access to the educational opportunities others in their age group have, helping them to acquire the social and academic skills necessary to succeed. Our goal is for the players to work hard and graduate from high school with a plan for college, technical school, or job training. We are committed to an approach that takes the whole individual into account: we are consistently involved in all areas of the kids' lives, we set high expectations on and off the field, we foster a familial atmosphere, and we have fun.

FUGEES FAMILY

SEARCH FOR COMMON GROUND'S STORY ABOUT COACH MUFLEH

SEARCH FOR COMMON GROUND

PLAY SOCCER

2009-10-22T01:17:00.005-04:00

Image from Play Soccer web site

The PLAY SOCCER grassroots community says that its program aims to make the world a better place for children and youth who master and enjoy playing soccer/football while learning health, physical and social development life skills.

BID NETWORK: LOOKING FOR DEALS

2009-10-15T19:29:00.007-04:00

Photo from BiD Network web site

BiD Network has proudly announced that the Access to Clean Energy Challenge was launched on October 1st of 2009. The Access to Clean Energy Challenge is a business plan competition for entrepreneurs that deliver access to clean energy in developing countries, and is being organized by BiD Network with the support of E&Co, GVEP , Barclays, Jump up and FMO.

On its web site Bid Network gives ground rules for the competition:

“Clean energy comprises: wind, solar, biogas, hydro, liquefied petroleum gas, biomass and energy efficiency. Non-renewable energies are not excluded but the approaches to energy production, usage or financing should focus on established, affordable, reliable technologies that move communities up the energy ladder towards cleaner, more modern forms of energy.

“As with all the Challenges, participants submitting plans will receive feedback and support in the writing of their business plans. Winners will receive an actual investment and their business plans will be presented to more than 100 potential investors.”

In addition to the main competition, there is a “sub” competition which is only open for East African countries called: Access to Clean Energy Challenge East Africa. This Challenge is focused on the following countries: Kenya, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania & Uganda.

The BiD Network states that it is an “online marketplace for business in developing countries. It is an online community of thousands of entrepreneurs, experts and investors from all over the world with a common aim: to stimulate business opportunities in developing countries.”

The BiD Network:

1. Makes SME business plans visible

2. Links entrepreneurs to finance and expertise

Ambitions of the BiD Network Foundation:

Establish several decentralised national BiD Challenges in developing countries

Bring more entrepreneurs into the BiD Network (start-up and established businesses)

Engage hundreds of professionals from companies and NGOs as business coaches

Move from a ‘prizes-only format’ to one providing loans and investments

Develop an online investor-to-entrepreneur lending facility

What moves us

The Private sector is the backbone of any economy. It is of key importance for economic development and poverty reduction in developing countries. But two significant problems arise in this context:

The ‘deal- flow’ problem: over large geographical distances it is hard to find, identify and verify good business propositions in developing countries. Quality business plans are ‘hidden’ and so are entrepreneurs to implement them.

The ‘missing middle’ problem. There is a financing gap between $5.000 and $500.000 (where microfinance stops and commercial finance starts) for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries.

Our mission is to tackle these two problems. We have created the BiD Network and the BiD Challenge to support SMEs in developing countries.

Our objective

To contribute to sustainable economic development by stimulating entrepreneurship in developing countries

We try to achieve this by

Stimulating small and medium sized entrepreneurship to create jobs and raise income in developing countries.

Engaging professionals, investors and organisations offering them the opportunity to directly contribute to poverty reduction through SME development in developing countries.

Inspiring people that business and poverty reduction can go hand-in hand.

What is the BiD Challenge?

The Business in Development (BiD) Challenge is the first international business plan competition for entrepreneurship and development. The BiD Challenge offers entrepreneurs worldwide the opportunity to develop and execute business plans that improve living standards in developing countries at a profit.

What can the BiD Challenge offer you?

Entrepreneurs: access to a worldwide platform to make your business plan visible; receive professional feedback and assistance from business coaches; get exposure to a network of investors, experts and business partners and a chance to win prize money.

Companies & NGOs: the opportunity to share the competence and expertise network of your organisation with thousands of entrepreneurs in developing countries. Engage your employees, invest in SMEs and get a network, market insight and possible return on investment.

Professionals: the opportunity to make a difference by sharing your business expertise with entrepreneurs as a coach, screener or jury member. Enjoy a wonderful experience, broaden your market insights and possibly get a stake in a change-making business.

Clean Energy Challenge East Africa

THE BID NETWORK

William Kamkwamba: 14 year-old Energy Innovator

2009-10-01T20:03:00.006-04:00

William Kamkwamba, a 14 year-old Malawian secondary student won international fame and admiration for having self-built a windmill in Masitala, a small hamlet where he lived with his family. Building the windmill with materials obtained from a local junkyard, bicycle parts and blue gum trees, he was able to power the electrical appliances in his family's house.

William had to drop out of school because his family could not afford the tuition that amounted to about $80.00 U.S. After leaving school, he decided to build the windmill for his family. He taught himself how to

construct the energy device by looking at photographs and reading a book from the nearby library.

Picture frm librarything.com

There are plenty of stories about William Kamkwamba on line and in the media but this video below from the TED Foundation is a good place to hear him tell his own story.

TED

THE CIVIL SOCIETY DECLARATION AS AN OUTCOME OF THE CIVIL SOCIETY FORUM

2009-09-09T18:44:00.007-04:00

From November 25 - 27 there was a CIVIL SOCIETY FORUM held in DOHA, QATAR. The Doha NGO Group on Financing for Development (DNG) issued a "Civil Society Declaration" in response to that forum and concluded:

"In the face of the multiple crises, we urge governments to take the side of women and men workers, farmers, youth and children to promote environmental sustainability by taking an alternative economic path. We, 250 national and international civil society networks, representing millions of people from around the world, therefore call for change in Doha that puts effective development, poverty eradication, human rights, gender equality, decent work, and environmental sustainability at the fore."

The DNG expressed why they felt the need to issue its Declaration when they stated:

"Today the world is consumed by an urgent series of crises: energy, food, climate, and finance that not only threaten the realization of the MDGs and the lives and livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people, in the North and the South, but also the stability of the world’s economies. The Northern governments and financial system are responsible for the current crises, but the costs and the impacts are paid for by the entire world, and by the poorest countries in particular. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization $30 billion are required every year to eradicate poverty. Trade negotiations have reached a stalemate. Persistent gender inequalities reflect and are related to all these structural imbalances in the global economic system; thus it is urgent to include a gender perspective into all policies, at all levels and sectors, as well most Northern countries are falling far short of meeting their aid commitments. Overcoming these crises requires decisive action and leadership from the global community. To date however, such leadership has been sorely missing."

The entire Declaration can be read online at the CIVIL SOCIETY DECLARATION

WATER.ORG: THEIR HEADS IN THE CLOUDS AND THEIR FEET ON THE GROUND

2009-08-31T21:02:00.007-04:00

[This information has been taken directly from the web site of Water.org; and more information may be found at its web site by following the link at the end of this posting.]

Photo from Water.org

About Water.org

Co-founded by Matt Damon and Gary White, Water.org is a nonprofit organization that has transformed hundreds of communities in Africa, South Asia, and Central America by providing access to safe water and sanitation. Water.org traces its roots back to the founding of WaterPartners in 1990. In July 2009, WaterPartners merged with H2O Africa, resulting in the launch of Water.org. Water.org works with local partners to deliver innovative solutions for long-term success. Its microfinance-based WaterCredit Initiative is pioneering sustainable giving in the sector

Projects

Since its inception in1990, Water.org had helped hundreds of communities in Africa, Asia, and Central America gain access to safe water and sanitation. All of the projects we support are self-sustaining, with organizational and financial structures in place to allow communities to independently operate and maintain them. Projects have an active water committee governing the operation of the water system, and users paying a water bill to cover the costs of operating and maintaining the water system.

Below are links to countries where we have active programs. If you have any particular questions about our work, please contact us using the Information Request Form.

Africa

Ethiopia. Our program in Tigray, Ethiopia is serving 32,000 people in 76 communities and six schools. Tigray is a region in northern Ethiopia that borders on Sudan. Tigray is often one of the regions that is hardest hit by drought and crop failure.

Ghana. Program activities in Ghana take place in the Volta and Upper East regions, located in the southeast and northern parts of the country, respectively. Activities include community-based water, sanitation, and hygiene education programs.

Kenya. Water.org is working in the Kisumu region of Kenya. Located on the equator, Kisumu’s climate is hot all year. Much of Nyanza Province, where Water.org is working, is semi-arid and is subject to severe drought. Most people obtain their drinking water from Lake Victoria, seasonal rivers and streams, and hand-dug wells. All of these sources are contaminated. Women and children walk up to six kilometers each day to haul water, a task that can take three hours. Water is not only contaminated at its source but also from the way it is transported and stored.

Asia

Bangladesh. In Bangladesh, Water.org offers both grant and WaterCredit programs, and is addressing safe water needs in both rural and urban areas. Our urban program focuses on the slums of the capital city, Dhaka. Our rural program is located in Rajshahi and Manikganj Districts.

India. Water.org’s program in India provides safe drinking water and adequate sanitation facilities to the families living in five states - Andhrah Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, and Tamil Nadu. Water.org offers both grant and WaterCredit programs in India.

Philippines. Water.org’s program in the Philippines began in 2003 with a project in Barangay Villahermosa.

Central America

El Salvador. Water.org has completed two rural water and sanitation projects serving over 1,200 people in the communities of Caulote and Las Americas. These communities are located in the department of Cuscatlán, located approximately 20 miles northeast of San Salvador. The new water systems in El Salvador are spring-fed pumped systems.

Guatemala. Our projects in Guatemala are located in the department of Quiché. Quiché is in the Western highlands of the country. Because of the high prevalence of mountain streams in the Guatemalan highlands, all of our water solutions in Guatemala are spring-fed gravity flow systems.

Honduras. Water.org has helped more than 40 Honduran communities build their own safe water systems. Our program in Honduras focuses on the Departments of Lempira and Intibuca, in western Honduras. The once heavily forested Departments now suffer from deforestation. This has led to extreme depletion of the local water tables, forcing women and children to walk long distances to collect water for their families.

WATER.org