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Poverty Alleviation Projects
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2008 Projects
JANUARY |
FEBRUARY |
MARCH |
APRIL |
MAY |
JUNE |
JULY |
AUGUST |
SEPTEMBER |
OCTOBER |
NOVEMBER |
DECEMBER
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January 2008
$5,500 was given to SAACID, based in Australia, to implement their soup
kitchens in Somalia ($3,800 came from regular member dues and one member, so
moved by the project, added another $1,700 gift to the total!). SAACID
currently operates soup kitchens at ten sites within Mogadishu, the capital.
As of the end of January 2008, SAACID has served well over two million hot
meals to the starving people of the city. Our grant will fund approximately
24,000 meals. A key feature of the SAACID soup kitchens is that they are
open to any and all who need a lifesaving meal-without favor to gender, age,
or clan affiliation. This generosity of spirit has led to immense support
from all sectors of the public and resulted in no conflict at any of the
sites. The kitchens provide one cooked meal per day to those wanting it. The
meal consists of maize; a soup including lemon, garlic, Somali spices,
tomato, onion, and salt; and a banana. Our funds will contribute to the
overall cost of the project, which includes the salaries for the soup
kitchen workers (displaced people actually in the camps); supplemental items
like firewood, water, and transportation costs; and of course, the food
itself. Read more.
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February 2008
$3,800 was given to Children's Cup to implement four camps for AIDS orphans and other vulnerable children in Swaziland. The Kingdom of Swaziland's official report on HIV/AIDS estimates the number of its AIDS orphans to have been about 32,000 in 2001, 70,000 today, with a likely increase to more than 120,000 by 2010. AIDS orphans are marginalized without access to
food, shelter, and many other social services. Our grant will enable four children's camps, each running two or three days, over the next six months. Between 1,200 and 1,500 kids will be served by the camps. Our grant will fund rental of the venue, transportation, take-home hygiene kits, food, and supplies for crafts, sports, and other recreational activities. Camp activities include group games, contests, singing, skills instruction, health and AIDS awareness lessons, sports, and
appearances by local personalities. The camps also provide a training opportunity for kids with leadership abilities so they can go to other areas and schools to encourage other children to have hope and excel in life. Read more.
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March 2008
$3,700 was given to the Maun Homeopathy Project to administer homeopathic remedies to people living with HIV/AIDS in Botswana. The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS estimates that between 260,000 and 350,000 people in Botswana live with HIV, including an estimated 14,000 children under 14. Approximately 120,000 children there have been orphaned by AIDS. The Maun Homeopathy Project uses homeopathic treatments to relieve the ill-effects of trauma, shock, and grief among those impacted by AIDS deaths; improve physical and emotional health of HIV positive patients; and reduce distressing symptoms and side-effects of other AIDS treatments. Homeopathic remedies are made from natural sources, mostly plants, minerals, and metals, which undergo a process of potentization. Homeopathy is safe medicine without risks of addiction, toxicity, or side-effects. It is a holistic system of healing which has been used globally for centuries. Read more.
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April 2008
$3,700 was given to Caring for Cambodia to help teach health, hygiene and AIDS prevention to students in their schools at age-appropriate levels through the use of educational films. We funded the acquisition of three portable DVD players, three extra batteries, three projection screens, three LCD projectors, and fifty blank DVDs. As a result of this project, health and hygiene information will be passed on to some 5,000 students, 85 staff members, and student siblings and adults in the community making our possible reach for this project more than 15,000 people. The Cambodian Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports has put health, hygiene, and AIDS prevention into its curriculum at all levels. Unfortunately, they have not given their teachers all the tools necessary to impart this information to their students. The teachers often do not understand these basic issues enough themselves to teach them properly and completely. When children learn to take care of their health and hygiene they are ill less often and can attend school more regularly. They are less likely to get severely sick, including contracting life-threatening or life-taking illnesses. Read more.
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May 2008
$3,700 was given to the New Hope Rural Community Trust in India to satisfy a
variety of needs including acquisition of a washing machine, a refrigerator,
screens and doors at the hospice and dormitory, lockers for the children's
belongings, wheelbarrows and maintenance tools, and purchase of special
medicines as needed. In India kids confront painfully dire circumstances as
they try to endure each day. They live on city streets and in railway
stations, surviving by begging or sorting through trash for recyclable
plastic to sell. They are often sent from their rural families who
mistakenly thought city life was filled with opportunities for their
children. They are orphaned by parents who died of AIDS, and are runaways
from frightening backgrounds including poverty, starvation because of
drought, or parental abuse. New Hope cares for children who are disabled,
have Downs syndrome, cerebral palsy, HIV, and a variety of physical or
mental challenges. Hundreds of children will benefit from our support
immediately and for years to come. Read more.
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June 2008
$3,710 was given to Evan Taylor, a Peace Corps volunteer in Mali, to
undertake a significant water, sanitation, and health project in Mali. Evan
is currently residing in the village of Faragouran, which has 2,700
residents, but also provides access to services for more than 14,000 people
from 11 smaller villages nearby. The Faragouran health clinic, for instance,
serves 600 people per month, more than half of whom are experiencing
complications from malaria. Water and sanitation issues present real health
problems for the community. Broken water pumps to raise potable water leaves
women traveling longer distances on foot to retrieve useable water for their
families or drawing up dirty well water for human consumption. Large wells
are uncovered and children fall into them. There are inadequate facilities
to dispose of wastewater, leading to dirty standing water throughout the
community. Our support will enable: training of villagers in water pump
maintenance; construction of 60 soak pits for better sanitation and cleaner
water; repair of a solar powered pump; construction of two clothes washing
areas with waste water pits; covering of large open wells to protect
children; and conversion of the clinic refrigeration system to allow proper
storage of vital vaccines. Read more.
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July 2008
$3,600 was given to Esperança to fund training for two new health care workers in different villages in Mozambique. Each of these community health advisors will remain in the village for three years until the community has graduated from the "Family Preservation Program." The two community health workers will lead classes on HIV, malaria, and cholera prevention; they will
work with families to track progress, ensure tools (malaria nets and chlorine) are being used properly, and watch for emergency situations where children or adults must be transferred to the central hospital. Thousands of people will have improved health and a better chance of survival as a result of this grant Mozambique is one of the poorest countries on the planet, ranked 172 out of 177 countries on the United Nations Development Programme's Human Development Index. Read more.
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August 2008
$3,600 was given to Creating Hope International to support two learning
centers in Herat, Afghanistan: the Sufi Abad Center and the Rabaat Kashmir
Center. Our funds will be used to purchase paper, chalk, books, notebooks,
heaters and fuel for winter, floor covers, and markers; additionally, we
will underwrite vehicle fuel and maintenance costs for supervisors to travel
to the Centers, as well as the salaries for teachers, guards, and cleaners.
We will be underwriting the operations at these two centers for the next six
months. The Sufi Abad Center is in a poor area of Herat city, where students
usually walk over two miles to attend the school. Our grant will assist the
49 students there (32 female), in gaining an education in literacy (both
English and Arabic) and computer classes. The Rabaat Kashmir Center is
located in an area where teachers had worked without receiving any salaries
previously. This Center serves 97 students (50 female). Read more.
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September 2008
$3,600 was donated to Millennium Relief and Development Services to purchase an ultrasound machine and table for their clinic in Yemen. With our support, they can monitor pregnancies, determine how far along pregnancies are, and see if there are increased potential risks. At the moment they have to refer some patients for an ultrasound to private clinics, which is expensive and most women can't afford it. Now they can receive the vital care they need free of charge. The biggest cause of death for women between 15 and 40 in Yemen is related to giving birth. Since mothers don't have a healthy diet, and often are anemic due to worm infections, recurrent diarrhea, and insufficient quality food intake, they are at much higher risk of having complications like low weight babies, prolonged labor, infections and bleeding. As a result of this, maternal and infant mortality are high. Read more.
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October 2008
$4,100 was donated to Concern America to support its project to address the rising incidence of HIV and AIDS in Mozambique’s largest Province, Niassa, through community-based interventions. We will provide bicycles to enable outreach work in the most remote regions of Niassa. Each bicycle is purchased locally, and therefore will have affordable parts easily available for upkeep and repair. This month’s $10 Club grant is coupled with an additional $500 from the High Five Club (a group that has launched in England, copying our successful model, but using £5 per month, www.highfiveclub.co.uk). According to 2005 statistics, the estimated percentage of adults (ages 15-49) living with HIV/AIDS in Mozambique was 16.1%; of these adults, it is estimated that 60% are women. Since October 2000, Concern America has worked in Niassa to address the rising incidence of HIV and AIDS. They have trained over a thousand HIV and AIDS education activists, created the Associação Conhecimento é Poder (Knowledge is Power Association, a locally-staffed and locally-run HIV and AIDS prevention training organization), organized grassroots responses to HIV and AIDS through an ever-expanding number of Equipas da Vida (Life teams), and brought together communities, organizations, and government institutions to increase access to and improve the care of people living with HIV and AIDS. Read more.
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November 2008
$3,600 was donated to Outreach for World Hope to provide bucket kit
irrigation systems to 50 families in Guatemala. The basic equipment
consists of two poles and a crossbar which holds a 5 gallon bucket one
meter off the ground. The bucket, which must be filled once each day, drips
water into the ground by way of a hose connected to a 100 foot buried
irrigation tape with small holes along it, allowing water to seep into the
ground. Long term drought and famine have plagued the region causing the
highest rate of child malnutrition in Central America. Our funds will
provide the "Bucket Kit" drip irrigation hardware, hoses, irrigation
tape, shovels, fencing materials, seeds, and fertilizer. We will be able to
provide two buckets per family. High calorie, vitamin rich vegetables such
as squash and potatoes, and high protein black beans will be grown by this
method. Read more.
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December 2008
$3,700 was given to One Acre Fund to provide the bundles of seed and
fertilizer necessary for 37 Rwandan families (with more than 140 children
in those families) to plant new, more profitable, crops. Roughly three out
of four adults in Rwanda are classified as subsistence farmers. However,
only one-fifth of households are considered to be "food secure". One
Acre Fund field officers first organize women’s groups in a rural area.
The field officers then make small loans of farm inputs like seed and
fertilizer (no cash is given; the loan is made “in-kind”) to these
groups and provide educational services to them. Upon harvest, the field
officer collects a single repayment, and assists farmers in marketing their
harvest. Read more.
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