UEnd Blog

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.

Project Snapshot:

Project Cost: $ 5,500

Lives Affected: 5,000

Dollars Raised: $ 125

Dollars Needed: $ 5,375

Change for Children is teaming up with their partner organization, KIHEFO (Kigezi Healthcare Foundation), by assisting families/entrepreneurs in Kabale, Uganda, who have been affected by civil strife and HIV/AIDS.

This project was initiated as a response to the growing need for financial assistance required by extended family members having to take in orphaned children.

Many families living in the area simply need a helping hand in the form of a small investment for increasing agricultural production or enhancing entrepreneurial skills and abilities. 

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…

Project Snapshot:

Project Cost: $5,000

 Lives Affected: 200+

 Dollars Raised: $2,226

 Dollars Needed: $2,774

$5000 will enable 25 women in a village to take literacy classes for one year, including health, human rights and financial management training. Their savings are also matched for a household project.

This five-year project will improve the quality of life and standard of living for families living in marginalized communities through the promotion of

1)   Education

2)   Leadership

3)   Health

4)   Economic development

Students will be given the opportunity to accumulate savings in a formal financial institution during their participation in classes as part of financial training.

CAUSE Canada is an organization focused on the implementation of responsive, integrated community development in parts of the world where international assistance programs are under-represented.

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.

Snapshot

Project cost: $4,900

Lives affected: 2,640

Dollars raised: $377

Dollars needed: $4,263

The sorry state of most villagers’ teeth, both in terms of caries and gingivitis, attest to the real need for low cost dental services, oral hygiene education and better nutrition. There are various reasons for the deteriorated condition of people’s teeth:

1) Their level of poverty, which doesn’t allow them to receive dental care

2) A general lack of knowledge about oral health care

3) Increased intake of foods high in sugar content

4) Chronic exposure to metal toxins from water and soil

Atzin, an organization working in Mexico since 1997, has set up a dental clinic and have been training hygienists since then. Costs are kept low for regular adult visits and free for impoverished elderly and children under 13. Results have been excellent and Atzin looks forward to training more dentists and helping more people.

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 »

It’s World Water Day…

…And we have the pleasure of working with fantastic organizations doing great things around the world to help eradicate global extreme poverty. A few of our partners are specifically targeting water, making it easier for people to access clean, healthy drinking water. So we asked each partner 5 questions about their take on the current water crisis and what people can do to help.

(Part 3 of 3)

From Shelaine, who works with our partner Change for Children as they build water wells in in the Romano Village region of Sierra Leone:

What’s your take on the current water crisis?
Water is sacred – it is fundamental to life – and it is a human right. Management of this precious and threatened commons needs to be the responsibility of everyone and requires collective and cooperative stewardship.

How is your organization trying to help?
CFCA has made water a priority – by encouraging awareness and action here at home in addition to advocating for support for our southern partners. We work with schools who have really become water champions by learning, teaching and fundraising. The real life stories of our Nicaraguan partners really resonate with school kids – they hear about our project partners and examine water issues locally and they really get it – and they want to do something about it.  

What can WE (North Americans) do to help?
Start by being aware of your own water usage and your needs. Also we need to be stewards of this resource, to educate our children and our communities, to speak up …and simply not allow our water sources to be contaminated, depleted or commodified – and we need to apply this thinking to everyone, everywhere. Contributing to the Nicaragua Water Project is one way to make a real impact today and by demonstrating solidarity with people facing the crisis day to day.

Tell us something we don’t know about water.
For Canada, the average (per capita) daily domestic water use is 343 litres of water whereas in Nicaragua it is about 10 litres. The impact of a safe community well, locally managed is transformative -especially for women and girls who are often the ones charged with (and trapped by) the responsibility of finding water on a daily basis.

Who are some other people or organizations doing great things around water?
Locally, we have the North Saskatchewan Riverkeeper who’s mission is to ensure the north Saskatchewan watershed is safe for drinking swimming and fishing as well as informing citizens of their rights to clean waters.

Nationally (and globally), The Council of Canadians has been one of the strongest voices in the campaign to address water issues.

In Nicaragua, our partner organization Centro Humboldt is amazing in their effective and holistic approach to the water crisis in Nicaragua – from working with rural communities on access and management to advocating for laws to stop water privatization.

To learn more about the Romano Village water well project, to donate, or to give as a gift card to someone, click here.

It’s World Water Day…

…And we have the pleasure of working with fantastic organizations doing great things around the world to help eradicate global extreme poverty. A few of our partners are specifically targeting water, making it easier for people to access clean, healthy drinking water. So we asked each partner 5 questions about their take on the current water crisis and what people can do to help.

(Part 2 of 3)

These answers are from Thomas who is working in Haiti with PAIDEH. (please pardon the rough translation from French to English)

What is your take on the current water crisis?

Today is great pleasure of my answer with your questions. The problems of water is a crisis in the world. Water is a life but without it we can’t live. But now we live in a bad situation in the world because of water. Water is very important for everyone but there are 2.5 millions of people who can’t find the best of water for drinking. if we want to avoid the problem of water in the world. We want to work hard. For example Mozambique and in several countries in the world. But we know when someone drink a bad water he can die a day. The bad of water can give death. Every day the girls use water for drinking, cooking and washing you see water is very important for everyone in the life. So, l see the crisis of water is a big problem for us in the world. But on the current of water crisis l worked and l ‘am working.

How is your organization trying to help?

My organization‘s working hard in Haiti to see how we can help the Haitian people who live in bad situation because of water for example, the cholera gave many deaths. Today my organization has many activities for the Haitian people around the problems of water. Now we are working and to help them and help the people to some information the problem of water. We work with them how we can avoid the problems they can find in the water. But now PAIDEH needs the partners who can help us to realize the projects. As the problem of water is a big problem for us. We need someone or partners who can help us.

what can we [North Americans] do to help?

If we want to help the north Americans we need to work together because the problems of water is for us. We need to work all the time or work hard.

Tell us something we don’t know about water

We don’t know how we can up the problems in the water. But we do many things where the others can’t do that. We make the knowledge with the practice of technology and we make treatment of water at home.

To learn more about PAIDEH and the work their doing on the ground in Haiti, to donate or give a gift, click here.

It’s World Water Day…

…And we have the pleasure of working with fantastic organizations doing great things around the world to help eradicate global extreme poverty. A few of our partners are specifically targeting water, making it easier for people to access clean, healthy drinking water. So we asked each partner 5 questions about their take on the current water crisis and what people can do to help.

(Part 1 of 3)

From Rejane, who works with the Bulungula Incubator in Xhora Mouth region for the Eastern Cape of South Africa:

What’s your take on the current water crisis?

The Bulungula Incubator serves the Xhora Mouth area in the Eastern Cape of South Africa that was part of the Transkei, designated as a black Homeland by the previous Apartheid Government. All Homeland areas were neglected by the government, and today they continue to suffer from inadequate basic infrastructural development. Government provision of water infrastructure is non-existent. There is no piped water at all and no access to potable water of any kind provided by government. The only access to water that community members have is the natural water springs, which are compromised by animal and bacterial contaminants. When we first began our work in the area, the child mortality rate from diarrhea was equivalent to the worst in the world. A typical spring – all the community has access to for water

How is your organization trying to help?

Through our fundraising campaigns we have managed to drill 3 boreholes for access to ground water and have installed water tanks for rain water harvesting. This serves an area with a population of about 6000 people. The approximately 500 households in the area now have some, though still inadequate, access to potable water. Because the chief livelihood in the area is subsistence farming, access to water for irrigation is also essential. Our water campaigns have included educational workshops about water usage and harvesting. We have recently facilitated a pilot household water filter project run by researchers and scientists from the Council for Scientific Research (CSIR).

What can WE (North Americans) do to help?

1) Fundraising for organizations that can implement water infrastructure and educational development programs.

2) Question the South African government about its commitment to communities in remote rural areas, like ours, that are still without access to decent potable water.

Tell us something we don’t know about water.

Comparison of water usage in a Canadian household vs. a rural South African

Household:

The average household in our area uses about 40 litres of water per day for washing, cooking and drinking. According to the Ministry of Environment of Canada, the average Canadian household uses 343 litres per day. (source: http://www.ec.gc.ca )

A typical North American household usage breakdown (excluding drinking and cooking): North American Household Daily Use (over 300 litres)

Activity/Water used
Shower 15-30 gallons (57-114 liters)
Brushing teeth (water running) 1-2 gallons (3.75-7.51 liters)
Shaving (water running) 10-15 gallons (38-57 liters)
Washing dishes by hand 20 gallons (75 liters)
Washing dishes in dishwasher 9-12 gallons (34-45 liters)
Flushing toilet 5-7 gallons (19-26 liters)
(Sources: Famighetti, Robert, ed.The World Almanac Book of Facts1995, p. 192; Gale Book of Averages, pp. 91-94.)


In the villages in our area, there is no running water and therefore no showers or flushing toilets. A typical household daily water use breakdown:
 
Xhora Mouth Area Household Daily Use (under 50 litres)
Activity Water used
Bucket Bath 20 litres
Brushing teeth 1/4 litre
Shaving 0 litres (dry shaves)
Washing dishes by hand 10 litres
Washing dishes in dishwasher 0 litres (no dishwashing machines!)
Flushing toilet 0 Litres

A local belief about water

The Xhosa people believe that when someone gets the call from the ancestors to become a traditional healer, they go to live in the river for a time. They have a replica of their homestead underwater. When they emerge, they come out painted white and then embark upon the training in traditional spiritual and healing arts. Ordinary people are not able to see them in their underwater homes only other spiritual leaders are able to do so.

Who are some other people or organizations doing great things around water?

Tapini – a German student organization that has helped to fundraise and encourage volunteers to assist us with water infrastructure development. http://www.tapini.org/index.php?id=98&L=1

Rotary Gistel Belgium – fundraising assistance for our Water Infrastructure Program
Thank you!!

To learn more about the Bulungula Incubator’s Water Infrastructure project, donate or give a donation as a gift, click here.

Tomorrow is UN World Water Day. And UEnd has decided to create a guide for the uninitiated. Most people believe that their water habits don’t need to be changed. UEnd begs to differ. There are a number of things one can do without too much effort to observe this significant day all without venturing too far from the couch.

Jay Baydala, Founder and Executive Director of UEnd states “Water is something we in Canada can take for granted. The reality is hugely different. Did you know that the average Nicaraguan uses 4 litres per day. Yet the UN says 5 litres are needed per day for basic survival. Compare that to the average Canadian using 343 litres of water everyday. You don’t have to be a mathematician to figure out that is an awful lot of “survival”. The fact is two billion people in the world do not have access to clean water and 80% of the disease in the world is caused by dirty or polluted water. I hope that inspires you to make a few changes in your daily actions.”

Here are some ways ways that you can make a few changes and help some of those two billion people:

• Drink filtered tap water not bottled water
• Flush the toilet only when it is really needed.
• Turn off the tap when you brush your teeth or washing the dishes
• Get a rain barrel and use that to water your garden. Water your grass less or replace your grass with something more sustainable like a ground cover.
• Educate yourself about water at the following sites: http://www.fao.org/nr/water/index.html, http://www.unwater.org/
• Give to a project that brings clean water and sanitation to the developing world

UEnd has a great list of projects that can be found on our website. They range from sanitation projects in Haiti to water for kids in Sierra Leone to a solar irrigation project for a cooperative farm business that is the main economic engine for the community in remote South Africa.

Jay says “it is really very easy to do something for World Water Day. You can do something for the local water supply or you can bring water to people that have never had what we take for granted. The bottom line is you really have to do something.”