Category: News

We are thrilled to announce the launch of The Butterfly Effect initiative in partnership with CAMILLA.

This initiative will create a brighter future for 1,000 young girls and their families in the Bihar community through education and training to end critical issues affecting their safety, freedom and livelihood. CAMILLA’s key mission of the initiative includes ending child marriage and delivering education and training on human rights, nutrition and sanitation for young girls, aged 13 to 18.

With dreams as big as this, CAMILLA needed to kickstart it to ensure the best infrastructure and mentors were in place. Through the sales of special-edition scarves in CAMILLA boutiques across December and January, they generated $50,000, with 100% of all proceeds exclusively used to launch the initiative. 

This grassroots funding would not have been possible without the support of CAMILLA customers who have shared the journey with CAMILLA from day one. For this, we are so thankful, as are the girls whose lives CAMILLA customers will help change.

The next fundraising phase will be the biggest! As part of CAMILLA’s Indian collection, The Long Way Home, CAMILLA has created a special print for The Hunger Project. For every piece of apparel and accessories from The Butterfly Effect print sold, 10% of profits will go towards funding The Hunger Project’s adolescent girls program.

Camilla Franks wearing The Butterfly Effect print.

CAMILLA’s overall aim is to raise a combined contribution of $120,000 to invest in the bright future of participants in the program.

India has a special place in CAMILLA’s hearts. It is a place that they turn to for inspiration, for spirituality, for craftsmanship and for family. Their hope is that they can help navigate positive change within communities that have changed their lives, too. 

Find out more and shop The Butterfly Effect print here.

Three Epicentres in Africa have declared self-reliance – meaning the communities have demonstrated the confidence, capacity and skills to act as agents of their own development… an amazing achievement.

Mesqan Epicentre in Ethiopia –  An outstanding example of the progress made in the community is that the prevalence of diarrhea in children under 5 decreased by 37%, to only 7% of children, thanks to work by trained volunteers to raise community awareness and increase access to safe water and sanitation. Congratulations to our partners at Mesqan Epicentre and our team in Ethiopia!

Kiboga Epicentre in Uganda –  There was an 86% decrease in the proportion of households in extreme poverty since the time of construction. Congratulations to our partners at Kiboga Epicentre and the team in Uganda!

Zakpota Epicentre in Benin  – The Zakpota community in Benin have successfully reduced hunger by 96% in the past 4 years! Congratulations to our partners at Zakpota Epicentre.

When people are empowered to become the solution to their own problems they emerge as courageous, innovative, leaders who create sustainable and lasting changes in their communities.

Image credit: Johannes Odé

The Hunger Project Ghana is partnering with the Ghana Health Service (GHS) to train Community Health Nurses (CHN) as midwife assistants to address the shortage of midwives at Community Health Planning and Services (CHPS) compounds in three regions across the country.

Supporting rural women and young children is crucial to The Hunger Project’s work, and ensuring safe and adequate maternal care is at the top of our priorities. Ghana’s maternal mortality rate is among the worst in the world, with an average of 300-500 deaths per 100,000 live births, according to 2015 UN data. The shortage of midwives and health services puts pregnant women and their children at heightened risk of delivery complications and mortality.

As part of The Hunger Project’s holistic, women-centred, community-led development methodology, this project supports work in 15 districts across three regions in Ghana – Eastern, Volta and Central – with funding from the Else-Kronner-Fresenius Foundation over the next two years. Communities will work to improve maternal health by providing 24-hour maternal and childcare services in sub-districts to address the shortage of midwives.

Across The Hunger Project’s Epicentres in Ghana, community health committees assist in the operation of health clinics, which include pre and post-natal care services. The health clinics are an integral component of our overall Epicenter Strategy across Africa. During the first three quarters of 2017, over 2,300 women access prenatal care at one of our health clinics. More than 11,000 people accessed health services of any kind at one of our clinics.

To learn more about this initiative, see related press coverage here and here.

Post courtesy of The Hunger Project Global Office.

When we recently visited the health clinic in Bofel (a remote village in Senegal), the committee there told us that the most common complaint people came to see them with was the flu.

Before The Hunger Project led community discussions about the importance of using mosquito nets, the most common complaint had been malaria and diarrhoea.

Along with educational talks, The Hunger Project made sure nets were accessible to the community and developed an action plan in collaboration with our village partners to help transform sanitation levels, cleanliness, skills and education.  Now people are using toilets instead of practising open defecation.  Because human waste is no longer contaminating the streets of the village, the incidence of diarrhoea and the spread of other diseases has decreased.

Before The Hunger Project came to Bofel a year ago, there were only 13 toilets in the village.  As part of the action plan, another 19 were built.  32 out of 35 households now have toilets in them and the health of people in the village is ever increasing.

The local sanitation team conducts check-ups in people’s homes, where they monitor for open defecation. Once per week, they do a village clean-up day; taking waste far from the village, to be burnt and the ashes buried.  The village is much cleaner now and children can play without the risk of infection and illness. They are healthier than they have ever been, so they can go to school and become Boffel’s leaders for generations to come.

According to UNAIDS, more than 36 million people in the world are living with HIV/AIDS. It is estimated that half of those people are unaware of their HIV status.

In order to stop the spread of the disease, reduce the incidence of related deaths and remove stigma, it is essential that effective educational programs are widely accessible.

In Africa, our epicentre programs trained over 91,000 people in 2016 to understand HIV/AIDS and gender inequality issues. Through this training, village leaders like Alesia from Ghana (pictured), gain the knowledge and confidence required to reach out to people in their communities, encouraging them to seek help in the form of testing and treatment.

Alesia, and her fellow ‘HIV Animators’, run workshops within their communities where they educate people about the causes and effects of the disease. They explain how gender inequalities fuel HIV infection rates and how HIV/AIDS can not only be treated but also prevented. ‘HIV Animators’ empower people with the understanding that they can put an end to the spread of the disease within their own communities.

The UN General Assembly holds a vision of moving toward ‘zero new infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths’. By providing education, prevention strategies and treatment in highly affected communities we move closer to this vision. We see attitudes toward the disease change, stigma dissolve and a decrease in newly infected people.

Health clinics within our Epicentre communities are providing essential vaccinations to protect children against life-threatening diseases that are entirely preventable.

Without vaccination, tens of thousands of children die every year from diseases like malaria, pneumonia, diphtheria, meningitis, whooping cough and more.

In Benin alone, approximately 30,000 children die every year from diseases that could have been prevented through vaccination, access to medical care and proper nutrition. Village leaders, like Fatimah, visit surrounding communities to talk to families about the importance of visiting health clinics when their children and family members fall ill.

She says – ‘Not many people believe they will find quality care so close time home. Most people wait, hoping their medical complaints will disappear, or until they are very ill. When that happens, they are often beyond our help. This is really sad.’

The first 1,000 days of a child’s life are critical in determining their long-term health. When they are vaccinated, treated for malnutrition, diarrhoea and dehydration, they not only survive, they are given the chance to grow into strong, healthy members of their community.

Developing awareness around the importance of vaccinations and disease prevention is integral to saving lives and developing self-reliant communities free from hunger.

As village leaders like Fatimah spread the word, more and more people come to visit the centres and receive medical treatment. As they witness the positive benefits of vaccination and medical screening, their mindset toward health care changes and they develop a vision for a future free from disease and hunger.

Women’s roles as village council (Panchayat) leaders are transforming the way people live in India. Although they often have much adversity to overcome – due to social conditioning and attitudes around gender – women are emerging as powerful leaders motivated by a desire to provide better lives for their families and communities.

When women are empowered with skills and knowledge, they act as change agents – creating opportunities to improve life and participate in the positive development of their community. The training they receive through our programs allows them to realise their full potential and instils the confidence required to approach local governments with authority. As such, they develop voices that are heard in public forums and generate the support of the people.

Through the Panchayat, they interact with people who can assist them in creating the changes they prioritise, such as –

• Ensuring all children (particularly girls) have access to an education
• Ensuring quality healthcare is available and accessible to all
• Installing clean water systems and sanitary facilities to meet basic human needs
• Addressing violence and inequality against women – so that all may live to their fullest potential

Elected women, like Geeta (pictured below), carry with them a deep sense of pride and responsibility to act in the best interests of all. By taking time to speak with people in their villages – including those previously left out of the development agenda – they find out what is truly wanted and needed and act on it.

 

“I draw determination from my heart, from within…I feel I’m not a regular woman – I’m a special woman! I am proud to be elected as the President of my local council area. I won by 1,500 votes because I took the time to speak to people in my community about what they wanted.” – Geeta Rao – An Elected Woman Representative trained by The Hunger Project in India.

The pathway to self-reliance is paved by unity, information and empowerment. When people living in hunger and poverty are inspired by a united vision of a healthier future, and when they are educated to understand how they can achieve this, the wheels of change begin to turn. When people are empowered to become the solution to their own problems they emerge as courageous, innovative, leaders who create sustainable and lasting changes in their communities.

Developing a united vision is imperative in order to achieve self-reliance. When people have grown up, only ever knowing hunger and poverty, the idea of a better life can seem impossible. By conducting workshops such as our Vision, Commitment and Action Workshops – where we reached almost 200,000 people, through 6,243 workshops, across 10 countries in 2016 – we empower our village partners to understand that a better life is possible for them.

Local volunteer leaders are trained to develop action plans aimed at driving their communities forward. They run workshops and visit people of their villages, sharing visions and educating them on issues they’re directly affected by, such as –

• Food shortage and farming – Families learn to grow food to provide for their families. Farmers learn agricultural techniques that increase their yields – including pest control and resilient crop storage through times of drought.
• Healthcare – people are encouraged to visit medical facilities for health check-ups, testing and treatment. They learn about the health conditions that affect them and how diseases can not only be treated but also prevented. As such, stigmas attached to certain health conditions begin to dissolve and healthier communities emerge.
• Clean water and sanitation – people are educated to understand the importance of accessing clean water and using sanitary facilities. Village animators are empowered to approach local governments to see that toilets, water pumps and filtration systems are installed within their villages.
• Women’s equality – women are empowered with an understanding of their legal, educational, marital, reproductive and property rights. They are encouraged to stand up for themselves (and each other) in the face of discrimination and inequality.
• Education – children (particularly girls) are encouraged to attend and stay in school longer. Families are taught to understand how taking girls out of school limits their future opportunities and independence. Functional adult literacy programs are offered for those who missed out on early education.
• Government Partnerships – village leaders are taught to form partnerships with local and international governments, traditional leaders and other relevant authorities, in order to act on behalf of the united vision of the people.

By taking a grassroots approach – where village leaders steer the changes within their communities – widespread support is garnered. As belief systems begin to change, new ideas and behaviours arise, and positive outcomes result. Self-reliance transpires as communities continue down this path of growth and improvement at all levels.