GlobalGiving UK Progress Reports

Support Sustainability for Honduran Farmers: "Nuevo Amanecer Spring '09"

Shannon Gallagher — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 23:24:02 GMT

Friends of Agros,

Thank you so much for your continued support of Nuevo Amanecer!

The village and community at large has made great strides this quarter. In addition to completing trainings to diversify crops, the community of 14 families is making preparations to receive more families into the village!

Read more about the community’s development in the attached Spring update for the Agros village of Nuevo Amanecer. Every quarter, the Agros US office receives a progress report on each village on topics such as: Community Organization, Land Ownership, Housing and Infrastructure, Community Education and Training, and Sustainable Economic Growth.

Enjoy!

Attachments:

Nuevo Amanecer Spring '09 (PDF)

Support Sustainability for El Salvadoran Farmers: "San Diego de Tenango Spring '09"

Shannon Gallagher — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 23:16:28 GMT

Friends of Agros,

Thank you so much for your continued support of San Diego de Tenango! The community at large has made great strides this quarter -- from starting a new entrepreneurial hen project to instituting their first annual Health Day!

Read more about the community's development in the attached Spring update for the Agros village of San Diego de Tenango. Every quarter, the Agros US office receives a progress report on each village on topics such as: Community Organization, Land Ownership, Housing and Infrastructure, Community Education and Training, and Sustainable Economic Growth.

Enjoy!

Attachments:

San Diego de Tenango Spring '09 (PDF)

Support Sustainability for Guatemalan Farmers: "Villa Linda Spring '09"

Shannon Gallagher — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 23:05:54 GMT

Friends of Agros,

Thank you so much for your continued support of Villa Linda! The village and community at large have made great strides this quarter -- from cardamom projects, tilapia raising and more!

Read more about the village development in the attached Spring update for the Agros village of Villa Linda. Every quarter, the Agros US office receives a progress report on each village on topics such as: Community Organization, Land Ownership, Housing and Infrastructure, Community Education and Training, and Sustainable Economic Growth.

Enjoy!

Attachments:

Villa_Linda_Spring_2009_Update.pdf (PDF)

Support Sustainability for Nicaraguan Farmers: "Futuro del Mañana Spring '09"

Shannon Gallagher — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 22:53:07 GMT

Friends of Agros,

Thank you so much for your continued support of Futuro del Mañana! The village and community at large has made great strides this quarter.

A quote from one of the villagers after such progress is particularly poignant: '“I can’t believe that we are actually going to accomplish our goal. Only God knows all the sacrifices we have made, and it’s hasn’t an easy burden to carry. Luckily, we are in a community where we understand and support each other. It’s a comfort to me that soon we will be able to sleep in complete peace that we own our land."

Attached you will find the Spring update for the Agros village of Futuro del Manana. Every quarter, the Agros US office receives a progress report on each village on topics such as: Community Organization, Land Ownership, Housing and Infrastructure, Community Education and Training, and Sustainable Economic Growth.

Enjoy!

Attachments:

Futuro del Mañana Spring '09 (PDF)

Education for 900 Rural Girls in Burkina Faso: "Year-end school results"

Suzanne Plopper — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 22:10:01 GMT

The primary school girls supported by the Girls’ Education Project have done very well in school again this year. Eighty six percent of the girls in their final year of primary school passed government exams, qualifying them to continue their studies in middle school, compared to 70% of children in the general population passing these exams. Parents of girls supported through this project have been amazingly engaged which, along with NEEED’s encouragement, support and oversight, and of above all the girls’ hard work, has contributed to the girls’ success.

As a reminder, the project supports the first year of a village girl’s schooling and the purchase of a lamb, at a total cost of $90 through GobalGiving. The girl’s parents are responsible for helping her raise and sell her lamb each year thereafter to support all future educational costs for up to 13 years of schooling. This strategy encourages the parents to support their daughters’ educations in a way that they are able to (that is, once they have the initial donation of a lamb); and enables the project to use our modest funds to support a new group of 6 year-olds each year.

Demand for assistance with girls’ education continues to grow in neighboring villages. With your help, we hope to support an additional 300 girls to enter primary school next year.

With the help of donors from Germany, NEEED (the organization running the project in Burkina) has built two public secondary schools in the region in the past two years, and recently received funding to build a third. The addition of three public secondary schools in the region greatly expands the educational system’s capacity to ensure a secondary education to qualified students.

On behalf of NEEED and all the girls and their parents, we thank you for your past and continuing support which is crucial to the enabling these girls to go to school.

To quote Kofi Annan, former U.N. Secretary General: “There is no tool for development more effective than the education of girls”.

As always, we welcome your comments and/or questions.

Adolescent Girls' Legal Defense Fund: "A Postcard from Adolescent Girls' Legal Defense Fund"

Michael Acton — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 18:49:41 GMT

Mike Acton and Christine Illanes are students who traveled throughout Africa and visited a number of GlobalGiving projects. On March 19th they visited "Adolescent Girls' Legal Defense Fund." When asked what they would tell their friends about this project, Michael said “It's a good project," while Christine said "Incredible: You need to see this!"

Mike writes:

We met with Carolina at the Equality Now Kenya office to discuss the organization and a couple of their projects in the field. The office was relaxed but full of activity. While Equality Now in Kenya understands the importance of project updates and the need to share the stories of the work they are doing in the field, the fact is that Equality Now Kenya is a branch of International Equality Now organization and much of the interaction between Equality Now and Global Giving occurs from the New York Headquarters.

Nevertheless, Equality Now Kenya is working on several projects including finding funding to assist disadvantaged women fight forced marriage, abduction, rape and mutilation. Due to the nature and location of their project as well as our compressed schedule, it was not possible to visit beneficiaries.

Christine writes:

Equality Now is an organization that funnels funding to grassroots, community groups that others would be unable to get donations. I spoke with Caroline Murithi, a program officer with Equality Now, who told me that her concern for women started young when she noticed that tragedy always seemed to follow girls and that when bad things happened to women it was always the women’s fault according to society.

She wanted to work for an organization that helped women's groups reach their potential. She views the largest challenges to be cultural and religious resistance, as well as a lack of general political will, against women’s rights and equality in Kenya.

Making footballs that can save lives in Africa: "A Postcard from Making footballs that can save lives in Africa"

Michael Acton and Christine Illanes — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 18:01:20 GMT

Michael Acton and Christine Illanes are students who traveled throughout Africa and visited a number of GlobalGiving projects. On March 19th they visited "Making footballs that can save lives in Africa ." When asked what they would tell their friends about this project, Mike said: “Great: They are making a difference," while Christine said "Incredible: You need to see this!"

Michael writes:

We visited the factory where Alive & Kicking Kenya makes most of its footballs/soccer balls. Joel picked us up early from our hotel and drove us out towards the airports where they employ about 40 people to make footballs with personalized messages. Most of these messages tell people ways to stay healthy (e.g. avoid HIV/AIDS & Malaria). The footballs are designed and produced wholly in-house.

While the organization creates and sells footballs, it is a non-profit organization and donates a large number of balls during their workshops. The office was covered in posters of Kenyan football stars dispelling myths about HIV/AIDS and explaining how to stay healthy.

The floor manager showed us how the footballs were made from start to finish. Due to the compressed nature of our visit, the only beneficiaries we visited were those who were making the soccer balls.

After visiting the factory floor, we spoke with Joel and the floor manager about Alive & Kicking Kenya. Unfortunately, the global economic situation has affected the number of orders given to Alive & Kicking. They have had to make some cutbacks in the production process. They work with their partner organization in the UK for strategic planning. Nevertheless they work hard at providing quality footballs that will promote healthy living to African children.

Christine writes:

Joel Kinuthia met me at my hotel and drove me out to see the factory where Alive and Kicking Kenya soccer balls are made. Joel told me that prior to Alive and Kicking, no one made soccer balls in Africa and that the synthetic ones that were imported were meant for grass, not the more common dirt fields in Africa. Therefore, Alive and Kicking makes soccer balls using natural materials that are hand stitched by employees.

The employees at Alive and Kicking are some of the people that the organization is helping by providing them with training and income. The other major beneficiaries are the children, since the main goal of Alive and Kicking is to get as many soccer balls to kids as possible by providing them at cost to other NGOs.

Using Solar Energy for Cooking Fuel in Kenya: "A Postcard from Using Solar Energy for Cooking Fuel in Kenya"

Mike Acton and Christine Illanes — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 17:27:18 GMT

Mike Acton and Christine Illanes are students who traveled throughout Africa and visited a number of GlobalGiving projects. On March 20th they visited "Using Solar Energy for Cooking Fuel in Kenya." When asked what they would tell their friends about this project, Mike said: “It's a good project," while Christine said "Great: They are making a difference."

Mike writes:

We visited the office of AfriAfya to test a survey for Global Giving. The office was quite spread out with a few desks. AfriAfya works on various projects including the one posted on Global Giving. We had a fantastic conversation with Sara regarding how the global economic situation is affecting funding for the non-profit sector. Ann is working in the financing section and told us that she decided to work with AfriAfya because she saw how much difference it made when people had access to information that they trusted.

AfriAfya's main goal in all of its projects is to use information and communication technology to improve the health of communities in Kenya We were unable to visit the project's field sites due to our very compressed schedule in Nairobi.

Christine writes:

AfriAfya is a great organization working in Nairobi, Kenya. They are like a mini Global Giving, identifying local/ community based organizations that need support and linking them with expertise and donors. I met with Sara Kinagwi and Anne Njeri, who both told me about the lack of information available to Kenyans and how that impacted their life.

Sara was a doctor originally, but saw that people were unaware of even the most basic healthcare information and were becoming sick through ignorance more than disease. Anne chose to work for AfriAfya because she thinks that information is more important than money since with information people can change their lives and make better choices.

Build a Home for People Living with HIV/AIDS: "News from Our Place-Coffee Bay"

Andrea Parmegiani — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 15:35:52 GMT

Dear Global Givers,

It is time for an update from Our Place-Coffee Bay, the center for people living with HIV-AIDS that we were able to open with your support.

We currently have approximately twenty children living with us, plus approximately ten adolescents and adults. All these people were no longer able to live with their biological families because of the consequences of poverty and AIDS. At Our Place they have become part of a new loving family structure where adults look after children as mother and father figures.

In addition to looking after our full-time residents, we are continuing to function as a community center offering free-meals, day care, counseling, and advocacy to the many people of the area who have been affected by the AIDS pandemic.

The children are on school holiday these days, but our kindergarten cafeteria is still open in order to provide healthy food to all the people who rely on Our Place for their sustenance. In addition to our residents, at least 15 children come to Our Place everyday to attend our kindergarten. Sadly, the biological families of these children are often too poor to feed them on a daily basis.

It is now winter in South Africa, and cabbage, spinach, and green peppers are some of the seasonal crops that we are now reaping from the vegetable garden that we started for the community. This project has made Our Place more self-sustainable by cutting down our operating costs. In addition, the garden is a very important resource for several families living in the area who are now able to work on the land. Thanks to the harvest, these people and their extended families can feed themselves with their work. As soon as our finances will allow, we will build some “vegetable tunnels” These are basic greenhouse structures that will help us generate a more abundant harvest. Each of these structures costs the equivalent of $700, and we need to build at least two in the area.

We also need to create an additional bedroom that would allow us to take in seven more children. In the area around Coffee Bay, the rate of HIV infection has reached apocalyptic proportions, and due to the conditions of extreme poverty that most people are forced to endure, the life expectancy is very low. Because of this, many children have lost their parents. Often, these children cannot be looked after by a member of their extended family because their aunts, their uncles, or grandparents might have also died of AIDS or they might be too poor to feed another mouth.

Since our last update, we have been able to build two more toilets, which we urgently needed, given the number of people who live and come to Our Place everyday.

We need to keep growing in order to meet the need for food, shelter, palliative care, and a caring family structure in the area. We need to strengthen our presence in Coffee Bay also because, by living with dignity, our people are role models in the fight against the stigma of HIV-AIDS in the community. Fighting the stigma is essential, as many of the victims of the pandemic are subjected to discrimination and abuse.

Thank you for making all this possible. Thank you from all of us, from the bottom of our hearts. And please, feel free to contact me. I will do my best to answer your questions.

Andrea Parmegiani

Rehabilitation of 360 Trafficked Child Laborers: "Annual Examination Results"

Manoj Sebastian — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 11:46:10 GMT

Give us a chance! We will prove we are the best!
(Kinshu Kumar, Former child labour)

25 children, mainly first generation school learners, aged between 8 and 15 years, under going rehabilitation in Bal Ashram, excelled in the annual examination of 2009, conducted by the Rajasthan State Board of Examination.
Kinshu Kumar former child labour rescued by Bachpan Bachao Andolan in 2002 from Mirzapur, UP, stood first in the entire school in the third consecutive year, with a percentage of 90.6.

Sothana government school is the nearby school of Bal Ashram where the children of government officials, teachers, business people and other well established people are getting education. Bal Ashram Children also study in the same school. But the children of Bal Ashram present impressive results and thus proved their strong will to achieve education and a strapping determination to excel in academics.

Out of several students who achieved distinction, one of the students, Manan Ansari, who was rescued from mica mines, Kodarma, Jharkhand by Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA, in 2007 and brought to bal Ashram for rehabilitation) has scored 80.27% in 7th Standard Final Exams.

“First position in my class is my sweet revenge to the trafficker and my former employer who put me in the slavery and darkness” Manan Ansari.

Like Manan, there are students who, despite past circumstances, proved their spirit and will to excel in life, their names are as follows:

Student Name   Class   Percentage   Rank/position
Kinshu Kumar   8th   90.6   1st
Amarlal   8th   84.22%   2nd
Manan Ansari   7th    80.50%   1st
Virendra Singh   6th   76.05%   2nd
Sandeep Kumar   6th   75%   2nd
Banti Kumar   8th   71.11%   4th
Dhara Singh   9th   72%   3rd
Kailash kumar   7th   72%   2nd
Billu Kumar   5th   66.28%   1st
Mukesh Kumar   5th   65.71%   2nd

Puran kumar Banjara,    Omprakash Gurjjar, Suman kumar, Abdulsalam, Nittu kumar, Pradeepsen, Abdul Malik, Mo. Samsur, Rakesh Sada, Suresh Kumar, Rahul dube, Pradeep Mehata, Shankar Kumar, Bhupati Kumar, Vishal Kumar,

The Head master of the Sothana Public School said that Kinshu, Amarlal, Manan and all the Bal Ashram children did extremely well in the examination and the school is hoping that these children will perform better in the future. He also added that “we are very proud of these children and have increased the prestige of the school with their results and raised the bar higher”.

Bal Ashram Director Mrs. Sumedha Kailash appreciated all the above children with awards and gifts. During the award ceremony she said that “Bal Ashram is proud to have these children in the Ashram and I am confident enough that theses children will do much better in the future”. She also valued the efforts of Bal Ashram staff who helped the children to achieve such good result.

All the above children had a traumatic past and have a terrible story of humiliation, torture and bondage to share the world. The aura of Bal Ashram gives them back their childhood without a burden but with a lightness of freedom and this resulted a better academic performance.

Help Provide Health Care and MicroCredit, Cameroon: "June 2009 update"

Anna Bebou OSANG — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 03:32:04 GMT

July 3, 2009

Dear Friends,

First of all thank you for supporting us ever!

We have some quick news to share. In June 26 - 27, we visited 3 communities. We exchanged ideas and learnt a lot about each other.
We meet a challenging case - disability from birth now age 17 always in napkins.

We had fruitful discussion with teachers, women groups and community leaders and; got our first 8 (2 single mothers and 6 Children) beneficiaries for our project. They benefited from a health care coverage scheme for a year through a mutual health fund.

Thank you once again for all your support. Do let us know if you like this feedback.

Thank you,

With regards,
Anna Bebou OSANG.
Head of Gender Unit

Mobilising grassroot carers in Kenya to bring hope: "Riders for Health update on Kenya"

Astrid Jenkinson — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 13:11:19 GMT

With the support of GlobalGiving, Riders has been able to donate motorcycles to Busia and help mobilise their carers. This means that visits by health workers to outlying communities have increased from 50 to 200 a week.

“I feel very happy, honoured, and privileged to have a motorcycle. It motivates me to serve my community whole heartedly,” said Karoline Kemunto Apiga, a home-based care provider from Busia.

Links:

http://www.riders.org

Attachments:

Riders for Health Kenya July update (PDF)

Supplying Critical Water for Haitian Hospital: "Haiti Water Project"

Hugh Tozer — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 12:57:16 GMT

In January and March 2009, volunteers worked with hospital staff to complete the installation of the new water well and disinfection system. The well increased the water supply to the hospital by six times. Initial water quality tests indicate that the water is hard (similar to the existing well), and contaminated with high levels of nitrates. The nitrates are probably from the wastewater cesspools located on the hospital grounds. The water can be used for utility purposes, which constitute the greatest demand, but it can not be used as drinking water by infants. Nitrates can interfere with the oxygen carrying capacity of blood in babies. The current plan is to install two distribution systems, one for drinking water and one for utility water.

Attachments:

Water_Supply_Report__7_July_2009.pdf (PDF)

Immunization for Tribal Children and Young Mothers: "I have seen kids dying of Tuberculosis Meningitis..."

Ms. Deepti Ameta — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 07:09:00 GMT

July 7, 2009

Dear Friends,

Greetings from Seva Mandir, India!

The monsoon has been delayed here. Farmers have made their fields and are waiting for the rains. People grow maize during rains. Also they grow some vegetables in their farms as the water is plenty during monsoon; but only if it rains. Past two years have not been very good in terms of rains. So this year we need the rains badly.

Recently, I had seen two young kids (around 1 and half years old) in the city hospital. Both were suffering from Tuberculous Meningitis. Tuberculous meningitis is Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection of the meninges—the system of membranes which envelops the central nervous system. It is the most common form of CNS tuberculosis.

Both kids were from village and were born at home. They didn’t receive the BCG shot, which is given at birth in most cases or can be given until the infant is a month and half old to prevent cerebral tuberculosis.

One kid became blind because of the disease and was struggling with high fever. The other kid was severely malnourished and his brain was partly damaged; it is not known what imparity he had developed. Both kids were not able to feed on their own.

I spoke to their care-givers and they both reported of not being aware of the effect of the vaccines. One of them also said “since the place where the Government vaccination does take place, is quite far for me to walk to and also because I have never went out that far on my own”.

A couple of days after my talk to her, I heard that one of the kids died. I was very sad. The vaccination is free from the Government but has a poor reach to many places.

Seva Mandir run immunization camps take place within the village and at a central location where women can walk to, easily holding their children in their arms. Also, the camp takes place at a fix time and date each month.

The birth attendant (traditional birth attendant in the village supported and trained by Seva Madnir) reminds everyone about the camp a day prior. She also explains the community about the immunization and its benefits.

The vaccination is so important. It can save little children from six deadly diseases including Tuberculous Meningitis. These diseases are preventable.

I would like to thank you from all of us here at Seva Mandir, for being there for us in this important mission. Together we are reaching out to many more kids and saving their lives.

Thank you once again. Please do let me know if you have any comments on this feedback or questions.

With warm regards,

Deepti
deepti@sevamandir.org

Tsunami Recovery in Five Coastal Villages, India: "Change the way you change lives, thank you :)"

Dr. Claudine Dussert — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 15:55:33 GMT

Under this reconstruction project, our priority is to rebuild destroyed homes, helping refugees find a decent place to live, providing them with clean water, medical care, and opportunities to make a living.

Project also supports a shelter for disaster affected and homeless girls in Santhome near Chennai where the key goal is to help them graduate from high school and learn a trade.
This component of the project has been particularly successful in 2008.

Thanks to GlobalGiving donors and other funding, project was also able to repair 5 homes and to rebuild 4 homes for victim families in Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

To promote better results overall in 2009 we work closely in partnership with the dedicated Indian Non-proft Charity Jeevana Samridhi (Life in Abundance) very active in Southern India.

In this way, we ensure that each dollar received is properly used and has a positive impact. We are making schedules of tasks, list of services provided and of beneficiaries at village or shelter level, and we monitor construction progress every 3 months in coordination with Jeevana Samridhi.

Many poor families still need help for home rebuilding while staying in good health and earning a living. Donor feedback would be highly appreciated on how they believe we could do a better job.

Thank you to help these families fight poverty and adversity to build hope and peace, and to help us make new progress together on reaching soon project goals.

Pictures:

Tsunami Recovery in Four Fishing Villages, India: "Children smile again to life"

Mary — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 14:47:52 GMT

Under this project progressing well and nearing completion, our priority continues to be post-disaster recovery, clean water, medical care, earning activities, and sending children to school.

For efficient results we continue to work with success in partnership with the reliable Indian Non-proft Charity Jeevana Samridhi (Life in Abundance) in Kochi, Kerala. They are also present in Tamil Nadu.

How do we work at village level or at refugee camps? For example, when a abandoned child is identified for the program of assistance, the first step is to protect the child by bringing him/her in a place where he/she can be taken care of in a family-like environment. See pictures 1,2,3 below in that order for the case of twin sisters Tanemozhi and Kanemozhi who were left homeless, hungry, sick and in despair after the tsunami in Tamil Nadu. Now an aunt is taking care of them with our support. They smile again to life.

Project is targeting about 425 people in four villages. Fishermen have already resumed their productive activities thanks to the generosity of many GlobalGiving donors and friends. Many children and poor families still need help. Thank you to help them and help us complete together all key actions of this project towards its initial goals.

Pictures:

Provide Bicycles for Poor Students in India: "Give the Gift of Hope"

Bernie — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 13:59:19 GMT

Who are the most destitute children in India?
The answer is: those poor children who cannot go to school.
The result?
Needless suffering.

As we are gearing up to provide 100 more bicycles this summer at $75 each to allow children --boys and girls-- to go to school in the poor coastal areas of Kerala, India, you can now give them the gift of hope.

Through your generous support, past and present, children like the ones on the pictures below can hope for a better life of dignity. They won't need to submit themselves to exploitation and depradation.

Thank you for your prayers and continued support or new gifts.

Pictures:

IMGHappyVillageChildren161.jpg (JPG)

Healthcare for 1,500 high-risk pregnancies: "Filling the site!"

Susan Dix Lyons — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 13:31:10 GMT

Hola, Supporters!

Just want to share with you the latest view of our construction site. The laborers have completed digging and have been filling the site with select material, dirt that will give solid compacting. Looks good, huh?

Thanks for your continued support. You are essential to our progress! Share our work with your friends and family so that we can meet our financial goal!

Hope you're having a great summer.

Susan

Pictures:

Filling it up (JPG)

Fighting Trauma in Kenya: "Educational Sigh Of Relief"

Nancy Waweru — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 11:53:45 GMT

Members of VAP have successfully accomplished their first goal of donating school supplies to the traumatized kids of Calvary primary school based in Kiambiu slums.
It was joy and jubilation for these kids who received a sigh of relief as their thirst for education was receiving

Attachments:

Trauma_GG_PR.doc (DOC)

Making footballs that can save lives in Africa: "Mid-year Reflections and Beyond"

Isabel — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 10:45:29 GMT

The month of June was full of activity for us here at Alive and Kicking Kenya. Apart from distributing over 150 balls to children’s homes and organizations such as Heshima Kenya, and Carolina for Kibera, we have availed balls to various charitable sports initiatives around the country, including the Kenya Homeless World Cup, and the Support Activities in Poverty Eradication & Health (SAIPEH)/Sporting Chance International football tournament in Mumias, Western Kenya.

We also had the pleasure of hosting Leah Ambwaya; the local GlobalGiving evaluator last month. Transparency is important to Alive and Kicking Kenya. As such, Leah’s visit was very much welcome for it will not only give you, our donors open feedback on our activities, but it will also provide us the opportunity to learn and improve as we strive to achieve our goals.
…..

World Cup 2010 – Celebration or Sham?

As exciting as the month of June was, July promises to be even more exciting as we embark on a ‘Penalty Kick Challenge’. In exactly one year, the FIFA World Cup will be hosted in Africa for the first time but sadly this global extravaganza may come and go without positively influencing the lives of young Africans who have been affected and are increasingly vulnerable to infectious diseases. It is in recognition of the latter and the fact that thousands of young children in the slum and rural areas of Kenya continue to use balls made out of plastic bags and string, that Alive and Kicking Kenya aims to promote health as well as land more balls in the hands of children who have never played with a real ball before, let alone owned one during our ‘Penalty Kick Challenge’ starting this month.

Through mini-football clinics to be held around the country, we aim to deliver sport-based health education as well as enable young aspiring footballers in the country, like millions around the world to have fun playing with balls that last. During the clinics, children will receive free football tips administered via unique coaching drills designed to inform them about HIV/AIDS. What’s more, children who sign up for the clinics will get the opportunity to take a penalty kick (at reasonable range of course) for a chance to win and own their very own football. Basically, if they can aim it, kick it and score it, they get to keep it!

Your support this month will therefore go a long way in changing the lives of Kenyan children through football as we count down to the World Cup. Not only will it enable more children around Kenya to have quality, informative footballs to call their own, but it will also provide them the opportunity to exercise their fundamental right to play as well as raise their HIV/AIDS awareness. No donation is too small to help us make the 2010 World Cup more meaningful to the lives of Africa’s poor.

Pictures:

Adolescent Girls' Legal Defense Fund: "AGLDF Update"

Catherine Brandli — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 19:31:00 GMT

Zambia
In July 2008, the Attorney General of Zambia filed a notice of appeal in R.M.’s case but no brief on the grounds for appeal has been filed. The AGLDF continues to monitor this situation and will provide legal support should the government appeal move forward.

To support R.M.’s case and to respond more strategically and collectively to issues of abuse of girls, the AGLDF’s Zambian consultant convened a coalition of Zambian organizations that were working to address issues relating to violations of the rights of girls (the “Coalition”). The Coalition is working to coordinate efforts to better meet the needs of girls. Additional progress made includes the Ministry of Education asking Equality Now/the AGLDF and Coalition members to help in drafting guidelines to prevent violence against girls in school.

Ethiopia
Our second case addresses the practice of abduction and rape to coerce marriage in Ethiopia. Typically, a girl is abducted by a group of young men and raped by the man who wants to marry her, who may be someone she knows or a total stranger, which is what happened to Woineshet Zebene Negash at age 13. Luckily, her family supported her through the ordeal, and she was not forced to stay with her abductor, but in many cases, the family consents to a marriage because a girl who has lost her virginity is socially unacceptable to another man.

In 2003, Woineshet’s rapist was convicted and sentenced to ten years imprisonment and his accomplices sentenced to eight years for abduction, but all were subsequently released on appeal. Woineshet further appealed to no avail and the file was closed by the Cassation Bench of the Oromia Supreme Court in December 2005. Advocacy efforts by the Ethiopian Women Lawyers Association (EWLA), supported by an international Equality Now campaign begun in 2002, led to Ethiopia abolishing the law in 2005 that provided for exemption from punishment in cases of abduction and rape if the rapist subsequently married his victim.

The AGLDF and EWLA, continue to aid Woineshet in her pursuit of justice. In 2007, we filed a complaint with the African Commission on behalf of Woineshet arguing that the Ethiopian government’s failure to punish Woineshet’s rapist is a violation of its obligations under the African Charter. Currently, at the request of the Ethiopian government, we are negotiating an amicable settlement on Woineshet’s behalf with the Ethiopian government.

FGM in Kenya
Finally, the AGLDF is monitoring the case of a young Maasai girl who bled to death after being subjected to FGM in Kenya. The circumciser and the girl’s father were arrested and are facing manslaughter charges. This may be one of the first prosecutions of a circumciser and a parent in the Maasai community. The AGLDF retained a lawyer to help the prosecution bring a successful case (public prosecutors in Kenya are often not lawyers themselves), and we will follow the case until a judgement is rendered. It will become an AGLDF case if there is an acquittal of the parent and the circumciser because the girl indisputably died as a result of undergoing FGM, and an acquittal would show that the FGM law is not being properly implemented and enforced and the case would continue to appeal.

Potential New Cases
Equality Now staff is actively looking into violations of girls’ rights and potential cases for the AGLDF in the following countries:
• FGM in Mali
• Intimidation and violence in Swat, Pakistan and denial of right to education
• Incest in Yemen

Promote Sustainable Agriculture in Chiapas, Mexico: "Why Sustainable Agriculture Matters"

Gillian Wilson — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 19:04:59 GMT

Our latest report from the field is about two female agroecology “promoters” in the Pinebetal community in Municipality of San Cristóbal de las Casas. Along with their families, these women are practicing sustainable agriculture and sharing their skills with others thanks to your continued support.

They share their experiences on a variety of sustainable agricultural methods, such as:
•   Diversified crops: On the plots they are growing corn, bean, potato, turnip, pea and coriander crops, as well as peach trees. In the backyard they sow coriander, radish, turnip, cabbage and oat seeds. The promoters say that “working with agroecology is part of being healthy. If you have a range of different crops it means your diet is varied; you’re not just eating corn and beans, but other kinds of foods too”.
•   Soil recovery: “We came from the hot lands, where a lot of corn grows because of the climate there. When we came here, the land was barren and badly degraded. We talked about it and said (we would have) to get working on soil conservation, but it was just an idea. A short time later we started work. Now we only buy corn every two months, but before it only yielded two hundred kilos per hectare, and now it’s a thousand”. The starting point for this thinking is to work on soil conservation, so that the other tasks of incorporating organic materials and fertilizers prove to be more effective.
•   Use of fertilizers: The families in this community make various types of solid and liquid organic fertilizers. By applying these organic fertilizers and conserving the soil, production has increased from 200 to 1,000 kilos per hectare.
•   Use and conservation of native seeds: Corn, bean, vegetable and fruit seeds are native to the region. Year after yearm they perform seed selection with the aim of conserving them; these seeds, as well as being used locally, are shared with other promoters from other communities.

Send Rural Girls to School in Zimbabwe: "Reaching Over 60,000 Girls"

Gillian Wilson — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 18:56:14 GMT

Our most recent update from GCN comes directly from its founder, Betty Makoni.

Business in the high-density suburb of Chitungwiza in Zimbabwe came to a halt on March 28th when hundreds of girls marched in celebration of their 10th Anniversary. Chitungwiza is a high-density suburb east of Harare and this is the place where Betty Makoni and the first ten students (many who are in different parts of the world now pursuing their careers) launched GCN’s first girls club.

To date, more than 60,000 girls are believed to be members of the Girl Child Network and thousands of girls have been transformed from perceived victims into survivors and then leaders. There are over 700 girls clubs in Zimbabwe and the network has 80% of its members in remote parts of the country.

17-year-old Stembile Mabhena who is GCN’s Secretary General and girls representative on the board, delivered the keynote address. Meanwhile, Betty Makoni delivered a speech to girls in Zimbabwe and urged them to do whatever in their capacity and empowerment skills they acquired over the past 10 years to continue the vision and mission of Girl Child Network where their activism is critically needed.

She reassured girls that all efforts are being made to keep poor and orphaned girls in school and support girls empowerment program. An impassioned appeal has already been made to the donor community to continue to allocate resources to girl child empowerment programs.

Meanwhile, GCN communications has also opened a congratulatory book where many girls and GCN stakeholders continue to pour in their messages. Thousands of girls have thronged GCN offices across the country to pass on messages since many cannot access the Internet. It is reported many girls in their respective clubs have organized activities at club level to mark the 10th Anniversary.

Many events to mark GCN 10th anniversary will be ongoing throughout the world and GCN supporters based in California, including IDEX, met in April to congratulate GCN.

Three Global awards for GCN have also been announced. California-based Wisdom In Action will honor Betty Makoni with an Unsung Hero award while the World Children’s Prize has announced that 13 year GCN Publicity Secretary Lisa Bonongwe is part of the Child Jury that will select 2009 child rights decade hero. Ashoka recently released a statement that Betty Makoni has been selected as one of the Young Global Forum Leaders for 2009 and this is expected to take GCN to greater heights.

Looking ahead, many girls in Africa have joined girls in Zimbabwe and this year countries like Tanzania and Ghana are on course to replicate the Girl Child Empowerment Model.

Fight HIV/AIDS and Build Lives in South Africa: "Meeting Monique"

Gillian Wilson — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 18:53:00 GMT

Through their support groups, PWN continues to address such vital topics as treatment literacy, accessing health care treatment, preventing the spread of HIV/AIDs, fighting stigma, and leadership training for outreach coordinators.

Beyond the day-to-day activities, PWN’S director Prudence Mabele continues her impressive advocacy efforts. She is very visible and well connected which greatly serves the organization’s members as opportunities arise beyond PWN’s core planned activities. For example, she was part of the national planning process to fight AIDs and she generally schedules all of PWN’s activities so that they are synchronized with broader movements (health rights campaigns, violence against women awareness raising activities, TB testing offered by allied groups etc.). Having been a part of the national AIDs planning process, she is abreast of all of the medical trials going on in Johannesburg that group members can access if they wish to be a part of the newest possibilities for treatment. And she has liaised with a social worker that is training the PWN groups on grief and loss counseling.

And, as you’ll see below, a recent site visit in April by IDEX program officers to one of PWN’s support groups gives a great sense of life in the townships and how your generous gift continues to provide meaningful services for many women and their families:

“We first went to the township of Wattville to meet with one of the groups supported by Positive Women's Network (PWN), located an hour away from downtown Johannesburg. Wattville is home to approx 100 to 150 families. The support group has 57 members

Right now, the main challenge that people face here is unemployment. Many families have had to depend on social grants provided by the government, but these barely cover rent and food.

Monique, a support group member of Wattville since 2002, shared with us how difficult it has been to find a job. She joined the support group to be part of a women's group in her township. A year later, she tested positive for HIV during her pregnancy with her fourth daughter. Pregnancy is a common way for women to find out that they're HIV-positive. Because she was already part of the support group she knew the importance of coming out as an HIV-positive woman. Not hiding that you are HIV-positive is empowering and can raise awareness that it is possible to live positively and without shame. That Monique was motivated to do this speaks to the great support system PWN has cultivated for hundreds of women like her.

Every Thursday, Monique brings her daughters to the support group meetings. She wants them to be aware of HIV, especially since they are young women. And young women living in townships have a high probability of being raped. This is a harsh reality in South Africa, where a woman is raped every 18 seconds and where HIV is an unfortunately part of so many lives.

The main activity of this support group is treatment literacy. HIV-positive women learn how to access treatment and the importance of continuing with treatment. The group is also attending workshops to learn how to start additional support groups and how to counsel each other.

Pictures:

Prudence (left) and Monique (JPG)

Support women farming sustainably in rural Nepal: "Building Cooperatives"

Gillian Wilson — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 18:37:39 GMT

Our latest update from ASHA expands on their work written in previous updates. We are happy to report that there are now 5 women’s groups being helped with your support. They hold monthly meetings to discuss issues of money management and other important issues pertaining to health, social matters, and group concerns.

ASHA staff provides valuable assistance in helping groups to organize and moderate the meetings. The staff has also provides ongoing technical assistance in addition to monitoring the group’s activities (such as seed-saving, planting, preparation of manures, etc.) The groups have improved their collective knowledge and skills regarding conservation, utilization, storage, and management of the seeds. Their capacity for group management and teamwork has been nothing short of impressive. And in a true democratic spirit, the groups have also reformed as part of a yearly process to provide leadership opportunities for all participants.

The monthly collection from group members for the group savings fund, which takes place during the meetings, has continued to be successful tool for savings. One group recently decided to construct a community center that would work double-duty as a place for group meetings and as a collection center to store their produce. With their group’s saving fund, the group members were able to construct 2-room building. The women collected locally available materials such as stone sand, stone, wood, etc. ASHA assisted minimally by providing roofing materials.

With your support, these women’s groups have been able to carry out activities that have enhanced their knowledge and skills and empowered them economically. The women have also been empowered in other ways. As group members, they have reported that they are more valued in the community and their status has improved within the family. With their regular savings, they themselves can make decisions for buying clothes, food, children’s school fees, and other family necessities.