As a part of the anniversary celebrations we have launched an appeal to raise money for new projects in each of the countries where we are active. These projects are outlined here, for more information please click on the project title or to make a donation please contact Ruth Turner on 01904 647799 or by email
Better Health for Women In Brazil’s Amazonian States
A Training Centre for People with Disabilities
Meeting the Needs of Mali’s Disadvantaged Young People
Providing Essential Medical Care and Rehabilitation Services
Children whose lives are affected by the poverty and malnutrition around them
have the right to extra help with education and social development. This is the
concept behind International Service’s Anniversary Appeal Project for Bolivia.
While many children work in developing countries, child labourers (those for
whom conditions of work prevent school attendance, good health and time for play
and rest) may not even get to school.
The reasons for this, and the solutions for one rural area, are what this
project is all about.
International Service has worked in Bolivia since 1978 and in the field of
support for
special needs children and the professionals who work with them. The focus of
this project in the municipality of Tiquipaya broadens our experience by looking
to include street children and child labourers in the target group for help and
support.
Children in Bolivia, like those in other very poor countries, face a range of
difficulties and hardships. One fifth of Bolivia’s children and adolescents must
work to bring family income to subsistence level. Over half of that group has
never set foot in a school or have abandoned any formal schooling.
The poor performance of children who do attend school is partly due to the
poverty and malnutrition that mark their lives. Physical and mental disability
occurs in about 10% of children, and special facilities, particularly in rural
areas, are far from adequate.
Nearly half the children in school are seriously
under-performing in rural areas of Bolivia.
Mainstream education is being strengthened and reformed as part of the country’s
Poverty Reduction Strategy. However, the needs of this whole range of children
with special needs - whether through disability, the need to earn money, or
simply through living on the streets - are not receiving equal attention.
With about 60% of the population of Tiquipaya, located in the Department of Cochabamba, living in poverty, malnutrition is high in the area, and there is a very low literacy rate. Add to this the difficulties of crop loss, soil erosion and a lack of productive infrastructure, and you begin to see why the children of the area are at special risk.
The municipality of Tiquipaya, together with local and community-based organisations and IS, will work to construct and run a Centre for Children at Risk. Children will receive support, special care and help to develop social skills. Appropriate assistance will be available to those children with special physical needs, but no distinction will be made between the children, creating a model of inclusivity.
As well as the establishment of a Centre for Children at Risk, the project
will take on two other important tasks. It will co-ordinate the work of other
organisations dealing with children in the area, offering a chance to share good
practice and learn from each other. In everything it does, the Centre will seek
the active participation of parents and families. In this way whole communities
will benefit immediately from the work of the project.
The project budget is £60,820 over two years. Of this £12,820 will go to constructing the Centre, for which land will be provided by the municipality. Furniture and educational materials account for £8,000, and two locally-recruited staff will cost £20,000. An International Service Development Worker will be recruited for the project, and £20,000 will go towards his or her travel, living and accommodation, training and insurance costs.
If you would like to make a donation to this appeal please click here
Women have the right to health care and information about maintaining their
own and their family’s health. This is the basic belief behind the Anniversary
Appeal Project from Brazil. Nearly one third of Brazil’s people live in poverty
while statistics place it as the world’s ninth richest country. The divide
between rich and poor is more extreme than in smaller, poorer countries. Rural
women, particularly those in the Amazonian States, are among the poorest.
International Service has worked through volunteer health professionals and
Brazilian health care providers in the Amazonian States for many years. Now we
have been asked by the Women’s Secretariat of the Rubber Tappers Council to help
them tackle one of the most difficult challenges: bringing information about
health and nutrition to the women living in the forests.
What is the Rubber Tappers Council? Founded in 1985 during the first national meeting of rubber tappers, the Council was formed to protect the forest and the people who depend on it from devastation by multinational interests. The grassroots movement represents a whole range of forest peoples, not just those who extract rubber. Fishermen, agricultural workers, women who collect babaçu (a variety of coconut), people who depend on other forest products: all benefit from the Council’s work to defend the historic rights of the people whose lives are linked to the forest.
What does the Rubber Tappers Council do? Included in the aims of the Council are:
The Women’s Secretariat of the Rubber Tappers Council works with the rural women in all eight of the Amazonian States, Amazonas, Pará, Acre, Amapá, Rondônia, Roraima, Tocantins and Mato Grosso. The specific aim is to help them recognise their rights and to encourage them to find greater security and well-being for themselves and their families. This involves many things: extending economic activity, improving diets through growing a greater variety of foods, a better understanding of basic health care.
The women of Brazil, like women in many other developing countries, earn less and are more frequently unemployed than are the men. Assisting women, particularly in rural areas, is an investment in the well-being of the whole population: women are the main carers of children and families. Many rural women have little knowledge of basic health issues, including the functioning of their own and their children’s bodies. They may have no idea of their rights concerning health care.
International Service plans to begin work with the Women’s Secretariat to strengthen their ability to respond to this need. Working through community meetings, workshops and educational materials, the project plan is to bring health information in ways that are accessible and relevant. Transportation costs are an important part of the budget, given the extent of the Amazonian States: some women are reachable only by plane.
An International Service development worker who is a qualified health professional will be sought to work with the Secretariat. The project budget is £55,000 over two years. Transport costs account for £4,000 of the total; local staff costs, £11,000. Meetings and workshops will account for £20,000 of the total amount. The remaining £20,000 will go toward the provision of the volunteer health professional’s recruitment, living and travel costs.
If you would like to make a donation to this appeal please click here
People with disabilities have the right to earn their living and be included in productive society. That is the basic belief behind the Anniversary Appeal Project from Burkina Faso in West Africa. Of the country’s population of 10 million, one million are living with a disability. The struggle to survive is very difficult. People with a disability are often excluded from social, political and economic activities.
International Service has worked in close co-operation with Burkina Faso’s network of agencies concerned with the rights and opportunities of people with disabilities for several years. Our partner organisation FEBAH (Federation of Burkinabé Associations for the Promotion of Disabled People) has developed a plan to establish a Training Centre to extend appropriate vocational training to many more of Burkina’s disabled people.
What is FEBAH? Established in 1992, FEBAH is an umbrella organisation linking about 250 smaller groups of people with disabilities. Many types of disability are represented: sight and hearing impairment, motor and mental disabilities. FEBAH’s aims are extensive and visionary as well as practical.
They include:
What will the FEBAH Training Centre provide?
The Centre aims to provide training in appropriate skills and give people with
disabilities the chance to earn a living for themselves and their families. As
well as this, the Centre will provide the opportunity for people to meet and
mix, build up confidence and share experiences. Fewer people will resort to
begging on the streets, a benefit to the whole country.
How will the FEBAH Training Centre operate?
As with most of the organisations for people with disabilities in Burkina Faso,
the Training Centre will be run by disabled people themselves. Through
consultation with a number of groups, FEBAH has decided that the initial skills
training will go to trainers who can then carry out further training in the
rural areas, reaching people who are isolated.
An awareness programme is planned to help people to understand the causes of disabilities. This is for two reasons. Some disabilities are preventable through better health awareness. There is much misunderstanding and prejudice about the causes of disability, and this, too, needs to be tackled.
Skills training and literacy work will form the core of the Centre’s programme. Metalwork including bicycle and plough repair work and the production of kitchen and farming equipment will be taught. Arts and crafts skills include the production of chairs, shoes and other leather items, tables and clothing. Basic literacy classes will be held as the Centre develops and a small shop will be established as one outlet for the goods produced. The project budget is £56,500 for three years. Initial capital costs amount to £35,800, including £13,000 for the building and equipping of the metalwork room, £5,000 for the arts and crafts room and provision for the training room, shop, office, toilets, vehicle and perimeter wall. The remaining £20,700 will cover yearly costs for all training, a Centre manager and watchman and vehicle servicing.
If you would like to make a donation to this appeal please click here
Disadvantaged Young People Children and young people have the right to education and skills training that will prepare them for productive adult lives. This basic belief is behind the Anniversary Appeal Project from Mali in West Africa. Over 46% of Mali’s people are under 15 years old and UNESCO statistics confirm that school enrolment is well below the average for Sub-Saharan Africa. This, together with Mali’s overall level of poverty, mean that the number of children living and working on the streets of Bamako, Mali’s capital city, continues to grow.
International Service has worked for four years with some of the groups involved in supporting vulnerable children and young people who leave home to work in cities. Now J&D (Jeunesse et Développement: Youth and Development) has asked International Service to help them establish a centre for disadvantaged young people where vocational skills, as well as social and educational activities, can happen.
What is J&D?
Founded in 1993, J&D is a national organisation working to enable young people
to develop their potential: through community development, the provision of
education, employment opportunities, greater self-confidence and leadership
skills. It is a type of work that is desperately needed in a society where
poverty alone may force young people onto the streets to earn money from a young
age. It is a common sight to see young children leading blind relatives along
the streets, dashing between cars at traffic lights to clean windows, selling
cigarettes or other items, shining shoes or simply begging.
The “Bamako Declaration”
In a groundbreaking venture, J&D organised an international consultation in
November 2000 bringing together street children and those working with them from
four West African countries. After nine days of discussion and debate, the young
people spoke for themselves about their hopes and needs for the future. The
resulting “Bamako Declaration” guides the work of J&D. The Declaration calls for
a better understanding of the needs of children within families and local and
national government and for the voices of children to be heard.
What will happen at the Centre?
The Centre will be open to all young people, but will cater particularly to the
needs of those young people who already feel “different” or isolated. The aim is
for the Centre to provide:
Two ideas central to the project are co-operation with other organisations and management by the young people themselves. The Centre will work with other organisations in the area such as schools, health clinics and savings banks to gain access to basic services for young people. Links with local trades people who are willing to offer training opportunities and eventually employment will also be developed. Young people themselves will play a key role in the running and management of the Centre, which will be staffed by J&D workers.
The project budget is £55,000 over two years. Of this, £15,000 with cover the rent, running costs and activities of the Centre. Local staff salaries will take £12,000; £3,500 will be spent on capital costs: furniture, sports and games equipment and arts and crafts materials. A fund of £4,500 will be earmarked to assist small business initiatives, employment and training schemes devised by the young people. An International Service Development Worker will be employed to build J&D’s capacity as a lobbying and advocating for the needs of disadvantaged children, and £20,000 will go towards those recruitment, living and travel costs.
If you would like to make a donation to this appeal please click here
People caught up in hostilities have the right to medical care after injury, including physical and psychiatric rehabilitation. This is the belief behind the Anniversary Appeal Project from our Palestine Field Office. Access to medical care and to rehabilitation after injury for Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip has always been limited. The current crisis has increased the numbers of people suffering serious injury and trauma, and the one rehabilitation hospital functioning in Gaza needs urgent repairs and renovation to help it meet this need.
International Service has worked with partners in the West Bank and Gaza since 1979 and has recruited development workers with skills in human rights law, art therapy, agricultural development and much more. As the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories becomes increasingly difficult, the challenges faced by ordinary Palestinians trying to live out their daily lives increase. Travel is severely restricted by Israeli check points; daily activities such as shopping and going to school are restricted by curfews. Our partners in Palestine struggle to provide services and support in conditions that change from day to day.
What is the El Wafa Medical Rehabilitation Hospital? Founded in 1996, El Wafa is a non-governmental Palestinian hospital and the only rehabilitation hospital in the Gaza Strip offering in-patient medical rehabilitation services for people coping with physical disabilities caused by head and spinal cord injuries, fractures, strokes and other conditions. In its six-year history the hospital has over 6,500 patients, the great majority of them out-patients. Ground-floor facilities where most out-patients are in the process of renovation. Now El Wafa hopes to establish an “Assistive Technology Unit” with a range of equipment to speed up the rehabilitation process and improve the quality of life of many patients.
Since the start of the second Intifada and the increase of injury caused by incursions into occupied territories, El Wafa has provided rehabilitation services without cost to those caught up in violence who could not afford treatments. Because of travel restrictions, people living in Gaza South are unable to reach El Wafa Hospital in Gaza City. The hospital’s “outreach programme” goes directly to patients in that area whenever possible. What is an “Assistive Technology Unit”? Assistive technology enables people with injuries and disabilities to accomplish daily tasks, increasing their independence and greatly improving their quality of life. This technology can speed the rehabilitation process, improve a person’s capacity to learn, communicate and even become financially self-sufficient.
Some examples of assistive technology are:
The project budget is £55,000. Work can be done as soon as funding becomes available. This work will help El Wafa better cope with the 80 patients each day, on average, who come for treatment.
If you would like to make a donation to this appeal please click here