If we were all to redirect a mere 5% of the billions of dollars that we already spend each year on gifts, there would be enough to eliminate extreme poverty in about 15 years.
UEnd:Poverty. Gift different.
Catching Elephant is a theme by Andy Taylor
Friday Photo!!!!
A group of budding soccer stars smile for the camera in Rural Uganda.
Healthy Child Uganda has been working within remote communities to implement simple, inexpensive solutions that help to create an environment where kids can stay healthy enough to grow, learn and…. play!!!!
To learn more about some of the projects in rural Uganda, click here.
Project of the Week: Literacy training for African Women in Koinadugu, Sierra Leone
Project Snapshot
Total Cost: $5000
Lives Affected: 440
Dollars Raised: $2,802
Dollars Needed: $2,198
Women. They are one the most powerful and effective tools out there in the battle against extreme poverty. We are all becoming familiar with the concept that if a woman in one of the poorest places in the world is empowered with an education, there is an immediate impact on the well-being of her family: everyone gets healthier, more money gets saved, and the kids go to school. A community full of families like this – families that are employed, healthy, and educated - well, that is a community that is on it’s way to thriving.
This project, implemented by CAUSE Canada, is designed to improve the quality of life and standard of living for those families living in both the largest and the poorest district in Sierra Leone, the Koinadugu district. 25 women will have the opportunity to attend weekly literacy classes for an entire year. The classes focus on much more than just basic reading and writing skills, but also educate students about human rights, financial management and health matters. Additionally, the participating women each decide on a household investment to save for, and are given the incentive of having their savings matched one to one.
If you want to donate to this project, or simply learn more about it, click here.
Friday Photo
An elderly women sits weaving a basket out of palm leaves in the community of Tlamacazapa, located in the State of Guerrero, high in the mountains of central Mexico. If she works steadily, she will finish her project in four days. Although she herself has likely never left the village, her basket will sell for a few dollars in the streets of Mexico after one of the village men leave Tlamacazapa - sometimes for weeks - to do so.
Most of the women in Tlamacazapa are illiterate, and the female-run households are the very poorest of the poor in the community. Our partner organization Atzin, who works specifically in Tlamacazapa, has implemented the Women’s Education Program to empower these women to improve their own living conditions and those of the community.
To donate to, or simply learn more about this project, click here.
Project Of The Week: Seed Paddy Comes Out Trumps!
Project Snapshot
Total Cost: $4,650
Lives Affected: 80
Dollars Raised: $1,989
Dollars Needed: $2,661
Living conditions are very difficult in the Kiribamunagama village, part of the Karunegala District in Sri Lanka. This very poor area has just about 65 acres of Seed Paddy acres combined in storage, with most families having no land at all. Most of these families with almost nothing receive income support under the official ‘Poverty Alleviation Programme’, Samurdhi.
This village and region still remains poor due to high production costs and unstable prices given for the harvested crops. All farming must be done under supervision of local instructors and officials, and must meet quality standard minimums to be eligible for paid harvest. Most often this results in the farmers being in debt due to poor quality crops as a result of many hardships.
That is why this project, headed by ‘The Sri Lanka Centre for Development Facilitation’, is designed on using the funding received for this project to create a Revolving Loan Fund for the farmers to be able to afford the farming process. This should enable most of the farming families to farm efficiently, and as a result, produce quality crops for harvest to ensure that their fair return in pay is received.
To learn more about this project, click here.
Join the UEnd:Poverty movement and help change the world with a $5/month membership to U:Powered. Learn more by clicking here.
Friday Photo
A unique picture seen here of a group of villagers challenged with the daunting task of rolling large water tanks back home to their village. This is all part of a ‘Water Infrastructure’ development project headed by the ‘Bulungula Incubator’ organization in the Nqileni Village, South Africa.
To learn more about this project, click here.
Project of the Week: Lawra District Micro-Credit for Women
Project Snapshot
Total Cost: $13,500
Lives Affected: 300
Dollars Raised: $797
Dollars Needed: $12,703
This project is designed to empower the women of the Lawra District, in Ghana, through the improvement of their living standards. This is expected to help both them and their immediate families throughout the process.
Our friends at ‘FORDG’ (Friends of Rural Development Ghana) are implementing this project, and the plan is to provide the beneficiary women with micro-credit aimed at teaching them how to farm groundnuts. This economic assistance will help lead to well-balanced meals, improved health care, and the provision of basic needs for them and their children.
In the first year, they will be taught basic value-adding techniques using the groundnuts they produce, and the micro-credit shall be directed at enabling each beneficiary to cultivate one acre of groundnuts. The second year, the group of women are trained how to produce different things using the crop such as groundnut oils and cake. Aside from this, they will also be taught how to efficiently manage their resources since they are limited.
To learn more about this project, click here.
Join the UEnd:Poverty movement and help change the world with a $5/month membership to U:Powered. Learn how by clicking here.
Friday Photo
A group of women having a good laugh during story-time in the sub district of Bagerhat, Bangladesh. Most of these women unfortunately are widows due to Royal Bengal Tiger attacks upon their husbands while gathering resources from the Sundarban Rainforest. Our partners at ‘LEDARS’ are heading a project to ensure the security of the women’s livelihood and safety in the area.
To learn more about this project, Click Here.
Friday Photo
Here is a close-up of some children in Koinadugu, Sierra Leone, working away in school. This northern province of the country is benefiting from the ‘Igniting Imaginations through Library Learning’ project headed by CAUSE Canada.
To learn more about this project, click here.
Project Of The Week: Micro-Loans For AIDS Orphans Caregivers (Year 1)
Project Snapshot
Total Cost: $5,084
Lives Affected: 109
Dollars Raised: $3,629
Dollars Needed: $1,455
Our partners at ‘True Vision Ghana’ are heading a project in Wa, Upper-West Region, Ghana, to assist those caregivers who must take care of at least one AIDS orphan, aside from their family.
Northern Ghana is the most impoverished region in Ghana, and one of the most poverty-stricken areas in Africa. Most of the caregivers have multiple jobs already and do not have big enough profit margins to receive a loan from the bank.
True Vision Ghana hopes to engage these caregivers in the Economic Empowerment Program by giving them small 200 GHS (approximately 126 CDN) loans for a 1-year term with the purpose of starting or expanding a small business to generate income.
To learn more about this project, click here.
Join the UEnd:Poverty movement and help change the world with a $5/month membership to U:Powered. Learn how by clicking here.
Friday Photo
A picture of a couple of young children who will benefit from the ‘Child Learning Centre’ project. Our partners at ‘Atzin’ are heading this project, and it is located in Tlamacazapa, State of Guerrero, Mexico.
To learn more about this project, click here.
