UEnd:Poverty Blog

Project Snapshot

• Lives affected: 1750

• Project cost: $10,000

• Dollars raised: $893

• Dollars needed: $9,107

Here is a project that might pull at your heart-stings. In parts of Bangladesh, men make a living working in the mangrove forests of Sundarbans; something they’ve been doing for centuries. However, these parts are also the habitat of Royal Bengal Tigers, which presents a real danger to the men. Thousands of men have been killed over the years and leave their widows to fend for themselves. (watch this short YouTube video about the relationship between Tiger and worker)

In most cases, these widows are seen as bad luck, often blamed for their husband’s deaths.  They also cannot marry again because of this labeling, are not welcome into their family’s homes, and chastised like this for the rest of their lives. Even the government wasn’t willing to help.

LEDARS, Bangladesh has stepped up to help these women by: setting up self-help and support groups for victims; lobbying against the government to improve human rights; teaching fishing techniques to improve food quality and boost commerce; training women to tailor clothes and create small businesses; setting up children’s learning centres and providing free education for victim’s children; handing out micro-finance loans to enable women to create businesses; and building better drinking water facilities and sanitation facilities.

This project needs your help.

Seriously, they are in need of $10,000 to fully fund this project. To date, they have raised only $893, leaving $9,107 left. We need to see this project raise more funds.

If you can, please help by:

1) Donating directly or by giving a gift card » HERE

2) Raising awareness of this cause by Tweeting it or sharing on your Facebook wall, this link: http://www.uend.org/dt/projects/82

3) Making this project your gift of choice for an upcoming birthday, wedding or special event (this can be a fun way to see major funding toward a project).

4) Joining U:Powered Membership for $5/month so we can continue to raise awareness and funds for projects like this.

LEDARS website: http://www.ledars.org/livelihood_security_program.php

UEnd was graciously invited to attend and have a presence at The SEED Event, held in Calgary on Sunday February 19^th. UEnd Founder and Executive Director, Jay Baydala also had a chance to speak to a captive audience of 1200 people.

So many thank you’s need to be given to SEED Event for donating proceeds of the event to UEnd and for allowing us to set up information tables, have a silent auction and have a handful of UEnd volunteers to roam and chat with attendees.

Also, a massive “thank you” goes out to Original Joe’s pub on 8^th Avenue, who donated 10% of every bill if patrons had a SEED Event ticket. Fabulous!

In total, UEnd raised over $1,800 in donations for our designated project – The Eco Stove Solution, and over $2,000 from the silent auction for our organization. Thank you!

Lastly, we’d like to give a HUGE shout out to our amazing volunteers who pour their hearts and souls into helping UEnd raise awareness and raise funds for projects and the organization. Thank you!

Amazing work being done by the Global Enrichment Foundation in Somalia. Like the Hoops for Hope project providing funding and gear for a female basketball team. Awesome.

Learn more about this project here: http://www.uend.org/dt/projects/165

Snapshot:

• Lives affected: 156

• Project cost: $4,100

• Dollars raised: $441

• Dollars needed: $3,659

Boraluwewa village in the Kobeigane Divisional Secretary’s Division in the Kurunegala District, Sri Lanka, has 30 families who work for a producer supplying coconut husk chips to an exporting firm in the district. There are several such producers but there is a large unsatisfied demand for these chips at present. There have been several groups of women who have been working on a piece rate basis for these large producers who have started producing chips on their own for these agents of the exporters with support from banks.

Today, a small team of entrepreneurs have gone out on their own. BUT, they need machinery and monetary support.

Check out our update from the field posted November 2011.

So what can you do?

Learn more about the project. Learn a bit about the South Asia partnership with Canada. Give as a gift card or share with a friend.

Want to do more?

We’re looking for cross-Canada representation. Interested in becoming a City Director for UEnd:Poverty? We’d love to hear from you. Contact us to learn more about making a difference in your city and the world.

Also, if all you can spare is $5 per month to help make the world a better place; that’s awesome. We’re looking for 5,000 people to help support UEnd operations by joining U:Powered for just $5 per month. Oh and you can win a trip to Africa. Learn more here.

Don’t you just LOVE this photo! It was taken at a Change for Children water well project in Sierra Leone.

And now you can give a LOVE-filled UEnd gift with our Valentine’s Day themed gift cards. What better way to say “I love you” than with the gift of ending poverty.

Give.

We hear it all the time: “How do I know my money is going to good use?” Well, we’ve mandated that we share with you every project that has succeeded or hit a milestone or needs more help. Here we’d like to share with you 12 projects that have seen a major change in their outcome since they started:

1) While only 23 families were targeted to benefit from the original project proposal, 37 families have accessed the micro-credit revolving fund (loans totaling over $6000). Visit this project to learn more: http://www.uend.org/dt/projects/140

2) Tony Zelaya, a Miskito youth from the community of Tuburus in the BOSAWAS rainforest is a perfect example of someone who could have benefited from having a high school in his community. Here’s why: http://www.uend.org/dt/projects/137/

3) Change for Children’ Manager of Int’l Projects, Lorraine Swift, travelled to Nicaragua in July 2011, where she met with project partners to launch “Food in the Forest” initiative, and Miskito youth video conferenced with North American kids about the farming challenges they face. Read more: http://www.uend.org/dt/projects/136

4) Since May 2011, KIHEFO, Change for Children’s partner organization in Kabale, Uganda, has held 2 workshops focusing on improving nutrition in the context of food security and has seen many take part in micro-credit programs. Learn how it’s helped: http://www.uend.org/dt/projects/139

5) Although these micro-loans for AIDS orphan caregivers have seen huge success, learn why some haven’t been able to repay their loans: http://www.uend.org/dt/projects/142

6) So many great things happening with the Holistic Home Improvements project in Sierra Leone : http://www.uend.org/dt/projects/64

7) How amazing. High attendance rates and good participation in the literacy classes are yielding very positive learning results including a 92% pass rate: http://www.uend.org/dt/projects/60

8) Fantastic rates of borrowing and repayment in the Peace Through Business Development project in Sierra Leone: http://www.uend.org/dt/projects/67

9) Great things are happening for these women in Gautemala as they learn about leadership and businesses: http://www.uend.org/dt/projects/61

10) Five more classes in five more communities were started in 2011, helping women learn to read: http://www.uend.org/dt/projects/62

11) 316 participants learned basic business skills and received their first $65 loan to grown their business: http://www.uend.org/dt/projects/65

12) Great news coming from CAUSE Canada’s Holistic Improvements project in Honduras that will make you smile: http://www.uend.org/dt/projects/63

Project Snapshot

Lives affected: 80

Project cost: $12,447

Dollars raised: $55

Dollars needed: $12,392

Project Description:Classes are offered in family planning, pre/post natal care, exclusive breastfeeding, menopause, nutrition and first aid, as well as financial planning, budgeting, and saving. Students have the opportunity to save money while enrolled in classes. Once they graduate, these savings are matched one to one for up to $100 per student. This money is applied toward a project or item benefiting families or community.

Lives changed
Sierra Leone: Of 89 women participating in the Koinadugu district,Mary stands out. Through this program, she learned about household sanitation and new ways to care for the health of her children. Through the savings match program, she saved money to invest in her palm oil business. She has seven children and a small business to run, but still finds energy to be involved in rebuilding the village’s water system by restoring the dilapidated dam and pipelines.

Guatemala: Cleofa Tomas Perez lives with her husband and ten children in Tulilen,the poorest municipality of Guatemala. Cleofa’s participation in classes has not only affected her life and given her hope, but has uplifted the lives of those around her. “When I go home, I share what I learn in class with my whole family and my neighbours. I don’t want to just listen, I want to do it.”

What you can do? Check out this project’s Page on our website to learn more about it. You can also give a gift card to someone on behalf of this project (say, for Valentine’s Day?) or you can give directly.

Cheers!

Oh Carla… so happy!

Follow Carla’s adventures as she bikes Africa to End Energy Poverty: www.carlabikesafrica.com

Project Snapshot:

Lives affected: 350

Project cost: $7,424

Dollars raised: $408

Dollars needed: $7,016

Twinning is about establishing formal linkages for the purpose of deriving benefits in terms of social, economic, educational and political development of beneficiaries involved. The pilot twinning project established by Healthy Child Uganda in partnership with Faculty of Development was about attaching a student to a village and with the help of a health trainer and the Village Health team, there would be consistent interaction right from needs assessment, planning, design and implementation of an intervention to address the challenge identified. This was a fruitful initiative that provided students with the opportunity of experiencing the process of development in a real life community setting. 

The one year period of engagement with the community enlightened the students to the reality that once a community is mobilized and empowered to benefit from the opportunities in their environment, they can give birth to sustainable initiatives with minimal support from government.

What you can do

Check out the Students For Change project and learn more about why you might be interested in supporting it, giving a gift card or donating directly.

Friday Photo

Micro-Credit For Families Of Malnourished Children

As part of Change for Children’s Agriculture & Micro-Credit to Combat Infant/Child Mortality Project, the micro-credit loans component has the potential to make lasting and sustainable change in the region.

Visit this project http://www.uend.org/dt/projects/140

Give $5 as a gift card to a friend http://www.uend.org/dt/gifts/new?project_id=140#