GlobalGiving In the Field

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This is Fatima, a modest woman that is impressively involved in women issues and employment in Diyarbakir and her peaceful mother Helima. They hosted us while we were in the area and overwhelmed us with their generosity and kindness. Between my broken Turkish, her few words of English and a dictionary we learned that at day she works at the hospital’s information center educating people about the dangers of smoking. And in the afternoons she volunteers for two cooperatives, a women’s kitchen, and a silk scarves production facility. Because of her soft demeanor and modesty, you’d never guess her accomplishments. Among working, volunteering, and taking care of her elder mother, she is attending university to study sociology! It seemed like she knew everyone in town and made sure to rally them up for our workshop! For the first few days we were in Diyarbakir she was consistently on the phone, and although we couldn’t understand most of what she was saying, we understood “GlobalGiving” “America” and “Mosafer” which means traveler. She took care of us, fed us, showed us around, and introduced us to everyone that could help. And her mother, stood by the door everyday to pray for us as we left to our meetings. I will forever be grateful for their hospitality and kindness

This is Fatima, a modest woman that is impressively involved in women issues and employment in Diyarbakir and her peaceful mother Helima. They hosted us while we were in the area and overwhelmed us with their generosity and kindness.

Between my broken Turkish, her few words of English and a dictionary we learned that at day she works at the hospital’s information center educating people about the dangers of smoking. And in the afternoons she volunteers for two cooperatives, a women’s kitchen, and a silk scarves production facility. Because of her soft demeanor and modesty, you’d never guess her accomplishments. Among working, volunteering, and taking care of her elder mother, she is attending university to study sociology!

It seemed like she knew everyone in town and made sure to rally them up for our workshop! For the first few days we were in Diyarbakir she was consistently on the phone, and although we couldn’t understand most of what she was saying, we understood “GlobalGiving” “America” and “Mosafer” which means traveler.

She took care of us, fed us, showed us around, and introduced us to everyone that could help. And her mother, stood by the door everyday to pray for us as we left to our meetings. I will forever be grateful for their hospitality and kindness

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In the Field visit to SALVEASERRA- Organic Gardens for Brazilians

Last year, Denise Maria Wargas Vieirareceived a greenhouse from SALVEASERRA and its project “Providing Brazilian Families with Vegetable Gardens”. Denise is the president of the Association of Small Organic Farmers of Valença, and is very involved in the organic movement in the area. Denise’s farm was an oasis after driving around the deforested, dusty, overgrazed fields of the region. It is a beautiful plot of land, with banana plants providing shade from the hot sun. For me, seeing farms like Denise’s always seems to be proof that small scale polyculture farms are so much more natural (and productive) than monoculture productions of sugarcane, banana, or soybeans.

Since receiving her greenhouse, Denise is able to produce seedlings and sprouts that she sells at the weekly market and to other small farmers in her organization. This not only enables Denise to generate more income, but also helps the other farmers because it saves them one month of work waiting for the seedlings to sprout. Before the greenhouse was built, Denise earned about Brazilian minimum wage every month. Now, she makes the equivalent of Brazilian minimum wage every week by selling her products and sprouts at the farmer’s market!

This project is extremely important as it complements the work of SALVEASERRA’s other project, “Trees and Education Protect Rainforest in Brazil” (http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/protect-brazil-rainforest/). This project’s goal is helping with the reforestation of degraded land outside of Valenca, Rio de Janeiro. On top of this, SALVEASERRA brings schoolchildren to a beautiful private reserve to appreciate the beauty of the nature and recognize the need to protect the Atlantic Rainforest. SALVEASERRA wants to move towards making community gardens as well as gardens for individual families. With this new addition to the project, communities surrounding Valenca can contribute to protecting the environment and producing fresh, healthy food. This will also give the children who participate in the Trees and Education project continuity in environmental activities.

The Atlantic Forest is a beautiful area of Brazil that is in danger of being completely destroyed. SALVEASERRA is working to protect this area of natural beauty, and appreciates your continued support in order to do this! 

How can you help? Visit the project page to donate today!

http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/provide-vegetable-gardens-for-families-in-brazil/ 

How else can you help? SALVEASERRA is very excited that they were chosen for Neutrogenea’s Wave for Change campaign, but they need your votes! Vote today at http://www.neutrogena.com/category/wave+for+change.do

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Postcard from the Bitame Lucia School

This is our last site visit in Cameroon!  It’s hard to believe we’re done already—as amazing as the whole trip has been, the visits we’ve had with NGOs have really been the highlight for me.  Just one workshop and two meetings left before we head back to the US.  Anyway…

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When I met Alima, she marched right up to me to say hi while other children ran yelling around the playground during recess.  She is eight years old, she said, and likes school very much.  I asked what her favorite subject is, and she didn’t even hesitate—“Math!” she shouted, throwing her hands in the air.  Why?  “I have a twenty out of twenty,” she replied proudly.  Further conversation was halted by the mob of kids nearly bowling me over to see my camera.

Alima is one of about fifteen children ages 5-10 coming to the Bitame Lucia School for free classes during summer vacation, where she’s learning English, math and French as well as arts and sports.  It’s a rare opportunity: without this school, most of these kids would probably be working on their families’ farms or walking along busy roadways selling candy or soda to motorists.  Instead, we saw them listening attentively to their English teacher and enthusiastically raising their hands to be called up to the board.  

The school is run by the Cameroon Association for the Protection and Education of the Child (CAPEC), which partners with the US-based organization Develop Africa.  Ajomuzu Collette Bekaku, Founder and Executive Director of CAPEC, says she started the organization to address a whole host of injustices against children.  “I grew up in a community where children suffered alone,” she says.  CAPEC works on education, child labor, child marriage, orphanages, leadership, and soon disease prevention.  In order to make the Bitame Lucia School as accessible as possible, it’s cheaper than average and many students are on scholarships.  Collette also wants to give the kids opportunities they wouldn’t have otherwise, so every now and then she organizes an educational outing, such as to the zoo.

Collette spends all her time reaching out to international organizations and donors to give her kids the best opportunities possible, and is grateful for everything that’s come to the Bitame Lucia School through GlobalGiving.  Recently, the roof of the school caved in during a rainstorm, and GlobalGiving funds were available to repair the damage just in time for vacation classes to begin.  She hopes someday some of the donors will come visit the school!

Just before we left, we visited the main classroom again and Collette asked the children if they wanted to thank the people in the other countries who helped them rebuild the roof.  “THANK YOU!!!” they hollered in unison.  Then they went back to sounding out the words on the blackboard.

You can support all the kids at the Bitame Lucia school by making a donation here!

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Bitame Lucia School Dreams of Computers for Their Students

It was impossible to leave Bitame Lucia School without a huge smile on my face. Right outside the hustle and bustle of the country’s capital, the children had a beautiful view, space to play, and new friends from all over the world to learn from. 

Although regular school is not currently in session, the Cameroon Association for the Education and Protection of Children (CAPEC) is currently running a lively summer school for free. With little to no summer activities available or affordable for children in these parts, most would be selling food or trinkets on the streets instead. 

Above: All of the summer students, volunteers, and teachers! 

Right now, there are four summer volunteers from around the world, in addition to two Cameroonian teachers—an excellent teacher-to-student ratio by any standard! 

Above: One of the summer students

French is the language to learn if one wants to advance in Cameroonian society, but parents are still aware that English is the key to success in the world outside. Hence, this school is instructed entirely in English. Many of the children are on scholarships, and for those who can pay, the tuition is very affordable. The classrooms are spacious, and had more than enough room for all of the maximum of 30 students per class.

Above:  This young boy isn’t letting his severely poor eyesight stop him from learning English! Bitame Lucia School makes sure that he doesn’t get left behind.

Money raised through GlobalGiving provided the school with a shiny new roof after the old one collapsed during a rainstorm. Many of the children here are only able to attend thanks to GlobalGiving donors like yourselves! Children here are presented with an amazing array of opportunities and support: a uniform, some school supplies, an annual field trip, after-school activities, mentoring and counseling, and even opportunities to become pen pals with students in the UK! 

Above: Alima, the proud holder of a 20/20 average in Math! 

Ultimately, CAPEC’s dream is to acquire computers and install internet access for their students.The solar panels would enable them to have a reliable power supply while allowing them to save costs. CAPEC has not been able to acquire enough funding for the solar panels or computers yet, and is anxious for the day when their students have access to their very own lab. We have visited several schools in Cameroon, and met teachers struggling to teach their students the computer skills they need without even an electricity supply. Cameroon is phasing in a computer science section in their national exams, and schools like Bitame Lucia are desperately trying to keep up. 

Check out the adorable thank you video above, featuring Collette, the founder of CAPEC, and some of the children! 

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Take a look at CAPEC’s other project, here. 

How you can help: Donate to “Help Optimize Educational Opportunities - Cameroon” or “Provide Solar Technology & Computer Training”! 

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Site Visit #1: Zartonk-89, Providing education and human rights training to working children and youth

In a country where income inequality is high and child labor is common, Zartonk-89 seems to be one of the only Armenian organizations that is trying to protect and empower child workers in the country.   Zartonk-89 is a small NGO that focuses on protecting and educating Armenian child workers. So how did it start? In 2005, they launched a widespread campaign asking children to simply call them and tell them their problems. In the span of 2 months, they received 380 phonecalls, with more than a quarter of these being from children and parents concerned about exploitative and hazardous labor conditions.

Zartonk helps these kids by getting them into a school where they can not only receive general education and learn their rights, but also earn money and learn a specialized trade. The school they partner with is called Mghitar Sebastatsy. We had never heard of a school of its kind. Students are trained in one of a variety of skills, ranging from hair styling to biology and animal care. Tuition is $30/month, with this fee waived or reduced for many families who cannot afford it. For the students that Zartonk-89 enrolls, the school forgives half of their tuition, with Zartonk-89 paying the rest, plus the cost of materials. About 20% of the students also work for pay in jobs within the school, promoting a strong work ethic and keeping them out of more hazardous forms of labor.

We were able to tour the school, and while most students are on summer vacation, we met some who were working on campus to earn money over the summer. We came across 3 teenage boys, being supervised by one of their teachers, working on clearing rocks for the construction of a new building. “What do you want to do when you graduate?” we asked. One future doctor who was college-bound, and two jewelers, specializing in gold-work. We then toured the vocational teaching rooms and were able to see some of the jewelry made by past students, which was truly impressive!

Carpet weaving room

One student working at his summer job in the library

Zartonk is a small project, run by a passionate team of committed volunteers. We hope that it continues to thrive and expand its work to all of the child workers in Armenia!

Shahd and I with Silva, Zartonk founder (2nd from the left), two volunteers, and a staff psychologist 

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Education Fights AIDS (Maroua, Cameroon)

It is often said that in reality, it is not HIV/AIDS that kills—it is stigma that does. It is because of stigma that people are afraid to get tested, ashamed to admit their status or to seek treatment, and embarrassed to even talk about the realities of the epidemic. Stigma isolates people, strangles discussion and spreads the virus. The dream of Education Fights AIDS (EFA) is for “the idea of stigmatization to be completely erased.” 

EFA was founded by Drew, a Peace Corps volunteer and two Cameroonians named Alim and Adama. Their goal is to empower youth aged 15-35 who are affected by HIV/AIDS by helping them to create associations. Each one is unique and has their own activities, but they all share three primary goals: empowerment, education and enterprise. These associations are given technical assistance, training and some funding by EFA, but ultimately they want them to be completely autonomous and independent entities. EFA also runs a peer education program, in which they train members of the associations to go back into their communities to “sensibilize” people—which means to educate them in order to remove the stigmatization and discrimination that surrounds HIV/AIDS. 

Above: Albert Jumbo (Left), Sali Aïssatou (Center), and Hamidou Djïjuï (right). Hamidou talked about how he had no friends after he found out about his HIV-positive status. Now, he is the president of the associations’ Coordination Committee. 

EFA is a model example of an organization that responds directly to the needs of the people they serve. The first association was already being formed when they asked for Drew’s help, and EFA was only formed because of the need for a legal entity when donations started coming in from friends and family. EFA’s mission is to support and serve the needs of the associations as the communities see fit—they listen, then act, and that is what has made them so successful.  

Each peer educator we met were passionate about their personal transformations and about their work. Each individual had a unique story, but they all had a common thread: thanks to EFA and to the associations, they were transformed from a lost, humiliated and hopeless person to a confident and passionate advocate who is respected in their communities. 

In these associations, HIV-affected youth find a second family and a newfound purpose in life. Youth who were once kicked out of their homes after finding out their HIV status were now invited back as favored children after proving that they could be productive members of society, thanks to their associations’ income-generating activities. Now, parents approach EFA directly, asking them to help their HIV-positive children—something that was entirely unheard of just a few years ago.

Before, I could not even look at myself in the mirror. Now, I am not afraid to present myself, and I tell my story with my face uncovered. - Sali Aïssatou (watch her video here)

Sali did not have a choice when she was married off at the age of 13. She found out she was HIV+ a year after her husband died of AIDS. At the time, she didn’t know much about HIV—she was taught about it in school but she thought that it was “only for prostitutes, and that married couples were spared.” This is exactly the kind of stigmatization that she now fights against. She is currently the president of her local association and is determined to allow her daughters to marry who they want, when they want—no matter the social pressures. 

Above: Thérèse Pehlem 

Thérèse Pehlem, 32, has been a member of her association since 2006. She described her feelings when she found out she was HIV-positive: I had no hope, I was alone, I was stuck, I was lost. I told myself that life was over. Now, she is not only a peer educator, but a trainer of peer educators: I used to be scared, but now, put me in front of a church, a crowd, a whole community! They ask me left and right to talk about my experiences! When I asked her if she could say something in a video (above), she leaped at the request, ready to talk, and it was clear that this was where she excelled and shined—speaking about HIV to teach others. 

Albert Jumbo, 36 years old, has been a member for 5 years (watch his video here). Having lost his wife to AIDS just a year ago, he raises four young children on his own. When he first found out he was HIV+, he told himself that he would just sell all his things, and live the rest of his life in isolation and idleness: I didn’t care about associations, and I didn’t even want to be near these people… but now I’m a peer educator, and I’m not even scared of sensibilizing a whole church congregation!

It was truly inspiring to hear about the personal transformations of the individuals we met, and they were so vibrant and passionate that it was almost hard to believe that they had once lost all hope. Amazingly, not a single member of all of EFA’s associations has passed away in the past two years—a testament to the life-changing effects of EFA’s associations. 

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How you can help: Donate to their project called “Providing HIV Services to 1,000 Cameroonian Youth”! 

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Waza National Park

During the rainy season, Waza National Park is officially closed.  Or, as our guide put it, “closed in the books.”  But apparently that doesn’t stop people from going up to visit, including us.

Waza National Park is about 120 km north of Maroua, which amounts to about three hours’ drive along roads so bad the drivers occasionally just veer off onto the dirt shoulder for a little while.  It’s near the narrowest part of the Extreme North region, very near Nigeria and Chad, and the road is full of huge laden trucks bound for N’Djamena across the border.  Usually it’s the best place around to see big animals: there are elephants, lions, giraffes, hippos, monkeys, antelopes, and a slew of other species.

It turns out there is a very good reason why Waza is closed during the rainy season.  When it’s dry, the Extreme North is practically desert—there’s very little water anywhere.  In Waza this means all the park’s animals have to go to one of three or four available watering holes, so it’s easy to find them.  But in the rainy season water is everywhere, so the animals scatter across the 1,700 km2 and your odds of seeing any are low. 

That was probably a good thing, though, because the pickup truck we’d hired turned out to be on its last legs and kept breaking down in the middle of the park.  We had to get out and push!  Thank goodness we didn’t see any lions.

What we did see: lots and lots of giraffes!

Also a wide grassy landscape and watering hole.

Our guide searches for signs of nearby animal life—no such luck, dommage.

Pousssez!  Poussez!

Standing up in the back of the pickup is fun, but be sure to duck when branches come flying by at 30mph!

The road between Maroua and Waza is lined with tiny villages made up of small circles of thatch and clay huts.

 

On our way back the pickup really did give out for good, turning a three-hour drive into a five-hour one… kids in the nearby village thought this was hilarious.

Long day!

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Children from one of the communities outside of Valenca, R.J. that Roberto, from SALVEASERRA, is working with.  The children are completely adorable! Find out more about this terrific project that brings groups of public school children to see remnants of the Mata Atlantica rainforest and teach them about protecting the environment!  Contribute today at http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/protect-brazil-rainforest/

Children from one of the communities outside of Valenca, R.J. that Roberto, from SALVEASERRA, is working with.  The children are completely adorable!

Find out more about this terrific project that brings groups of public school children to see remnants of the Mata Atlantica rainforest and teach them about protecting the environment! 

Contribute today at http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/protect-brazil-rainforest/

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Danise, one of the beneficiaries from SALVEASERRA’s project about providing vegetable gardens to families in Brazil.  Just look at the size of this radish.  It was delicious! What to help Denise and others produce organic food for market to provide for their families?  Check out the project’s site on GlobalGiving! http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/provide-vegetable-gardens-for-families-in-brazil/

Danise, one of the beneficiaries from SALVEASERRA’s project about providing vegetable gardens to families in Brazil.  Just look at the size of this radish.  It was delicious!

What to help Denise and others produce organic food for market to provide for their families?  Check out the project’s site on GlobalGiving!

http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/provide-vegetable-gardens-for-families-in-brazil/