The programme involves a London-run organisation taking a group of 20 people from the African Diaspora (UK / USA) to Sierra Leone and Ghana for a two-week period in each country. The group will work with local grass-root entrepreneurs (with a particular focus on women and youth groups), share their diverse experiences with local groups of grass-root entrepreneurs interested in expanding or making their businesses run more effectively. The Diaspora group will be involved in training-of-trainers around business skills and also run business planning surgeries.
The objective of the programme is two-fold: 1. To create jobs through small and medium enterprises (SME) development, particularly for the youth of Sierra Leone 2. To enable people from across the African Diaspora to gain knowledge of local networks and invest in these local small and medium enterprises.
On their return, the group of 20 will continue to provide support for these, hopefully, burgeoning local businesses via emails and conference calls.
For more information, contact Christine Matambo on +44 (0)20 7587 3900.
Ex-teacher and author of “We Are Our Own Educators” and “Love Under the Mango Tree”, Valentino was the Founder and Principal of Josina Machel Supplementary School in Hackney from 1976 to 2002 specializing in African Civilization, English and Maths. The school had an average of 80 students every Saturday. He also provided counselling for parents and young adults.
Currently, retired, Valentino provides private one-to-one tuition in Maths and English for children and adults.
In the UK, African-Caribbean children - especially boys, are not achieving the level of education required to become contributing members of society. I believe that it is important for us to show them that we, as their family, are behind them, care about them and are willing to show our support for their efforts. I wish to make a small contribution to our children’s future.
Boost self-esteem Focus attention on education Improve communication skills Encourage a sense of accomplishment Offer opportunities for personal growth and self-expression Offer peer activity in a positive, supportive environment Recognize and celebrate success within the community Be a gateway to public speaking experience (winners) Encourage critical thinking
I invite children of African-Caribbean descent to submit an essay and will award cash (£50 to £500) to the winners.
The essays will be age specific (9-10, 11-13 and 14-16 years) and will be held at different locations around London in February 2006. The winners (first, second and third places in each age group) will be awarded in March 2006.
I would appreciate your financial support For your financial support or more information, please contact me at email@lornajones.net
This is a private initiative by Lorna Jones. (Not a charity.)
Saturday schools and other organisations working with children are doing commendable work often with very limited funds and receive little, if any, recognition.
I approached a number of such organisations and asked them to invite the children they work with to participate in the Essay Contest for Our Children. Those organisations that chose to participate were given the essay topics and have been invited to submit both the essays and information on their work.
Such information will be presented in the sections below as I receive them.
I am often asked for ways to get involved in the activities I am involved with.
There are thousands of ways to support others and what I am interested in might hold no interest for you. My response is always to examine the reason why you want to help and seek out areas that are genuinely of interest to you, research them thoroughly, make a decision and ACT on it.
As I come across them, I will print on this site programmes that I believe stand a good chance, if fully implemented, of having long-lasting, impactful results.
Disclosure: My particular area of interest is the Diaspora. While I acknowledge that there are many programmes in need of support, my interest in development issues has led me to believe that the way forward is through business-oriented initiatives with built-in self-sustainability that require a one-time injection of funds.
Since my return to the U.K. I have sponsored two little girls, from Uganda and Kenya, through Plan International. My greatest joy is in receiving regular, bi-annual updates on how “my girls” and their villages are doing, how the funds have been allocated and the achievements over the previous six months as a result of my financial contribution to Plan International. “My girls” often send me drawings or write to me personally.
While I now have a better understanding of the role that NGOs are playing in the Less Developed Countries, as well as some of the problems created by them, I choose to sponsor children as I can see the benefit they derive from their involvement with this organization.
For example, during my trip to Timbuktu in Mali (West Africa) in 2001, I was very touched to see, in the middle of the Sahara desert, a radio station that was totally operated by children. One of the children pulled me inside to show me how they put together their radio programmes and the topics they cover - from hygiene to AIDS. All the chidren I met were very enthusiastic about the programme and their role in it. At that very moment, I felt very proud to be a contributing member of this organization.
Mentoring two teenaged African-American boys: 12 and 14 years old!
During an evening class in San Francisco, I met an American woman who told me she was seeing a black man and his children hated her. She asked if I could spend time with them.
This was the beginning of a fascinating and challenging experience for me in spending time in a rough part of Oakland where I would go every other Saturday to pick up the boys and take them out to discover different parts of San Francisco. We did a variety of activities in the East Bay as well as in San Francisco. One of the activities that stand out the most for me was watching them discover San Francisco. They particularly enjoyed riding the Cable Cars. They were not less keen to discover restaurants and spend time in libraries.
I have decided not to include photos of the boys as I have lost contact with them and do not have their permission to publish their photos.
San Francisco (1994-1996)
“Big Brothers and Big Sisters” a national organisation that matches children with adult mentors (www.volunteerinfo.org/bigbro.htm)
After waiting for nearly a year to be fully accepted onto this programme as the organisers, quite rightly, checked me out thoroughly including references from the and, I was finally matched with a lovely 12-year old African-American girl whom I saw every other weekend or so for a few hours. This was an amazing experience. I particularly remember inviting her to my apartment, writing out the ingredients to make quiche, purchasing all ingredients to make quiche from scratch, returning home and together we both made our own quiche side by side – including the pastry – a totally unheard of concept to her!
She was impatient to see the finished product as she could smell it. However, persuading her to taste it was a challenge as the only food she liked was junk food from only two well-known junk food restaurants. We ate half of the quiche I made with a salad and took hers (untouched) home.
Although she said she liked it, her mum loved the quiche and many times after that date asked me for more.
This Essay Contest for Our Children is entirely funded by Africans in the Diaspora – from the Caribbean, U.K. and the U.S.A.
With the goal of raising the £1,625 required to make up the prizes to Our children, I personally invited individuals within the African Diaspora whether they would be willing to support a London child of African descent.
A very special THANK YOU to all those below who have unselfishly chosen to make a financial contribution to the Essay Contest for Our Children.
Philly - Thank you for your prompt support - just as you said you would.
USA - You truly are amazing for such generosity.
SoberSimian - Although we've never met, Thank You.
Marius - A man of his word.
Anon - Thank you so much for sharing what your religion teaches about the value of giving.
Natasha - Thank you.
Pam alias Ms Vincy - on the beautiful island of St. Vincent. Thank you for being so generous.
Joseph -- A special Thank You.
Panel Judges
Judges came from a variety of backgrounds across the Diaspora. They all have one thing in common: their desire to participate in the educational development of Our children.
One example of the schools participating in the Essay Contest for Our Children is Vuka Afrika which, though strictly not a Saturday school, has a focus on education.
Activities
1. Consist of African dance and drama workshops for the young people and provide them with an opportunity to expres themselves through dance, music and drama.
2.Work in partnership with an existing Saturday school that supplements the young people’s educational needs especially when they are preparing for Statutory Assessment Tests (SATs, GCSEs)
3.Provide support and information for the young people’s parents/carers to better their understanding of the British educational system and enable them to take an active part in their children’s education.
4.Encourage the young people to actively participate in these workshops with the aim of producing their own material and doing dance performances to audiences in the .
5.Encourage and provide opportunities for the young people to learn more about their history, culture, traditional values and mother languages.
Programme
Education
oSupport young people’s education by teaching the major subjects Maths, English and Science from Foundation through to Key stages 1, 2, 3 and 4.
oProvide mother tongue lessons in Ndebele, Zulu and Shona.
oProvide an opportunity for adults to access the resources of the Saturday school e.g. learn key skills andhow to confidently utilise the computer.
oSupport young people and their parents/carers with other educational needs like transition from primary to secondary school.
oProvide information and support to parents to enable them to take an active part in their children’s education e.g. support with homework, working in the school and supporting in class with reading and becoming a member of the schools governing body.
Children
oDevelop more social skills, self awareness and confidence in their day to day lives.
oDevelop learning skills so as to maximise their educational potential.
oIncrease knowledge, understanding and appreciation of their history, culture, language and traditional values.
oDevelop an understanding of issues that affect them as young people and learn ways of coping with life’s challenges.
oIncrease and learn new creative talents in music and dance.
Theatre, Music and Dance
oDrama with an African theme
oTraditional African dance e.g. gum boot dance and isishikisha
While living in San Francisco, I took an evening class in International Relations and after reading “Storm Signals" by Kathy McAfee, I contacted ART (Agency for Rural Transformation) in Grenada and asked to visit them.
I took unpaid leave from my job and spent 10 days shadowing the staff at ART in the area of advocacy, medical, educational and – my area of particular interest – micro-finance. One of their projects involved helping a prospective recipient of a small business loan to complete his business plan to set up a chicken coop business. At that time the organization loaned a maximum of £2,000.
On a visit to one of their villages, Belle Isle and neighbouring Apres Tout, I asked the local village representative what I could do personally to help them. He told me there were 500 children between the two villages but there were no books.
Armed with my book project, I returned to San Francisco and using my own funds over the next few months, I set about buying and reading books suitable for black children that would help in their development and honour them. Within six months, I had a number of boxes of books and Mrs. E. P. an extremely generous woman kindly offered and paid all the costs to have the books shipped to Grenada.
ART paid for shelves to be built to house the mini library in the local community centre.
Post script:
During my trip to in November 2004, while in Belle Isle, I learnt that Hurricane Ivan had destroyed the books and the building that housed the library. As of January 2006, due to lack of funds and materials, the building still has not been repaired. Pending investigation my goal is to replenish the library.
I choose to live my life in accordance with certain values which I hold dear which give my life purpose, meaning and a sense of ownership. Below you will find how I live those values.
Live my Purpose
Knowing what makes me come alive is vital as it sustains me against negativity from others about how I choose to live my life. I am at my best when serving others whom I believe appreciate my small efforts. As a result, I have chosen not to wait until conditions are perfect to embark on ways to help others. I do what I can from where I am and when I can. My very greatest joy is to visit a country, find a need and fill it.
I live on Purpose daily, through daily meditations, my focus on health to working on my projects, to choosing to live a simple life free of distractions and outside influences.
Wellness
As we age, we reduce our physical activity which often results in unhealthy weight gain and an increased probability of mortality. Our body tells us when it is in a state of dis-ease. The response is to increase cardiovascular fitness, strength, coordination, flexibility at the same time that we supplement our diets to remain fit and healthy for as long as possible. I plan on living a long and healthy life and am willing to work, now, to ensure that my life will be as enjoyable as possible.
I practice prevention and choose to have a balanced life by getting quality, relaxing sleep, having access to clean, energized water and pure air in my home, having more energy by reducing stress, having a balanced nutrition.
For many years, exercise has played a prominent role in my life: from running, white-water rafting, desert survival school, kayaking, living naked alone on an uninhabited island off Australia, skiing, hiking and climbing. I now play squash a few times a week for at least an hour, walk as quickly as possible everywhere I go, often in weighted walking shoes, and always run up stairs.
Although I never diet, I am very particular about what I eat: no biscuits, fizzy drinks, crisps, chocolate, caffeinated drinks, very little alcohol (cranberry juice is my usual bar tipple), little meat, yet lots of organic fruits and vegetables most days. I try, but struggle, to drink enough water daily; however, at home only drink filtered water, supplement my diet with high grade multivitamins and do not eat in between meals. I willingly pay the extra costs for having good quality ingredients.
Personal Responsibility
I strongly believe that I, alone, am responsible for me and that there are consequences for all my actions. While we are all faced with similar situations, I might choose not to react to the same situation as my neighbour. I also believe that everything happens for a reason and I try to learn something from all situations.
As far as possible, I choose not to wait for any body - government or others - to do for me what I can do for myself. This ranges from my choice of lifestyle to how I relate to others, how I spend my time and what I feed my mind and body.
I also welcome challenges and try to learn from my mistakes and failures in order not to repeat them which leaves room for more new experiences.
Knowledge – through Education
It is vital for us all to remain vigilant, informed, inquisitive and willing to question authorities, other individuals and established views in order to find our own way in life.
I believe that there is nothing more insidious than the constant barrage of images of others whose sole aim is to convince us to emulate certain traits, behaviours or brands. This has contributed to medical and psychological disorders like bulimia as well as the inferiority complex of certain members of society resulting in the denial of their culture in order to be liked by the majority.
There is another way. It comes from within and is nurtured through a constant quest for knowledge followed by the application of that knowledge. For many, this is the challenge – the Action Step. I choose to take that step… ACTION for me means I Act On.
Financial Wealth
The bedrock of western society is money which, as a form of exchange, makes the difference between eating and not and although it is not essential, I believe that next to breathing, as the saying goes, “good people do good things with money and bad people do bad things with money”. I choose to be in the former group. I also believe that money is simply an item of exchange and it is my responsibility to provide for myself. As such I should have as much money as I can - providing that I am not hurting anyone and am not involved in anything illegal or immoral.
I have my own part-time business which first and foremost helps me to live a healthy life by only using first-rate health products – and without any side effects; and secondly allows me share with those who are open and interested in making lifestyle changes and are willing to invest in their health.
I sell jewellery and beautifully decorated knives, forks and spoons and other items made by women in the Philippi township in Cape Town. My purpose is to help these ladies to provide for their families and would appreciate your support.
I am currently researching the marketing of a product that will allow students in Less Developped Countries to support themselves financially while being in business for themselves. The product has the potential to have wide appeal in the West.
Live Simply
The environment is a phenomenal instrument for sustainability, providing us with water and other natural resources that our bodies need to function.
I chose not to waste water or food and, as an avid recycler, treat recycling as an art form!
I choose not to feel resentment of others’ success as I did not accompany them on their long, winding and bumpy road to success and, therefore, don’t deserve to share in their success. I choose to congratulate them.
Food Security Through Sustainable Agriculture (Uganda)
In December 2001, I travelled on a cultural trip through to Timbuktu in Mali, West Africa. During the trip I saw a need for a school in the Dogon area. On my return home to the, I presented my idea to raise funds to build a school to some extremely generous Nikken friends and distributors (www.nikkenuk.com) who donated approximately £3,000!
However, due to increasing prices of raw materials as a result of wars (according to my contact at the UN) and some challenges and concerns about getting information from my contact on the ground in Mali, I decided not to pursue this project.
Although I felt disappointed that I had failed to raise sufficient funds to build the school, I was uncomfortable with having the money sitting in a bank account while I tried to raise the remaining funds. After much deliberation, I decided that the money raised would be of more benefit to others if it were to go towards a suitable project that would benefit from a small financial injection.
I contacted Plan International and chose a programme that was in need of funding and donated all funds raised specifically for this project. These funds were used to support a food security programme in Uganda (see below).
The following documents, the description of the programme and the acknowledgement of my contribution, were provided by Plan International. I also have a follow up document on this programme available.
To all my Nikken friends, this is your doing. Thank You for your generosity.
Food Security Through Sustainable Agriculture (Uganda)
Plan International
Plan is a child-centred community development agency seeking to enable family and communities in 45 of the world’s poorest countries to make a lasting improvement to the lives of their children. Our vision is of a world in which all children realise their full potential in societies which respect people’s rights and dignity.
Plan strives to achieve lasting improvements in the quality of life of deprived children in developing countries through a process which unites people across cultures and adds meaning and value to their lives by:
·Enabling children, their families and communities to meet their basic needs and to increase their ability to participate in, and benefit from, their societies
·Building relationships to increase understanding and unity among people of different cultures and countries
·Promoting the rights and interests of the world’s children
Project Background
Uganda is a mountainous, landlocked country that stretches along the equator in the heart of the African continent. The country has a turbulent post-colonial history with the dictatorships of Idi Amin (1971-79) and MiltonObote (1980-85) claiming over 400,000 lives. Although has since achieved a measure of political stability and is highly fertile and rich in natural resources, it faces huge development challenges resulting from armed conflicts, high poverty levels, high population growth, heavy reliance on subsistence agriculture and political corruption. The country has been particularly badly affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic with an estimated 5% of the population thought to be HIV positive. Uganda is currently ranked 158th out of 174 nations in teh UNDP Human Development Index.
Plan has been working in since 1992 supporting mainly rural development projects in the central provinces of Luwero, Tororo, and Kamuli, where this project is based. Most households in the region are dependent upon subsistence agriculture for their livelihoods and rapid population growth has produced growing pressure upon scarce natural resources.Approximately 90% of families in Kamuli live off less than 2 acres of land using traditional farming techniques which do not provide families with enough food to last them to the next harvesting season. Over half the families in the Plan area consume less than the Food and Agriculture Association’s recommended intake of 2,000 calories a day and malnourishment is common among the young with 29% of children under 5 years age suffering from stunted growth.
An added consequence of these pressures is the increasing devastation of the area’s rich natural environment. Kamuli is one of ’s main suppliers of charcoal and hard timber and the rate of deforestation is growing steadily as people attempt to improve their household income and search for additional farmland to cultivate crops. Whilst these actions are understandable given the extreme poverty within the district they are also storing up big problems for the future. Deforestation causes soil erosion and creates imbalances in the local eco-system which will make it even more difficult for local communities to make a living from the land. This creates a vicious circle as can be seen in the illustration below:
Project Summary
The current project will attempt to address these problems through a community-based environmental sustainability programme. The project will first identify 500 families to participate in the programme with emphasis given to female-headed households and those living with HIV/AIDS. In women often play a leading but unrecognised role in agricultural related activities and their voices are rarely heard in decisions around resource management.
These families will participate in an education and training programme delivered by the local partner Africa Network 2000 that will raise awareness about the vital link between environmental degradation and poverty. The programme will be based around the following practical activities that will improve the ability of households to practice ecologically sustainable management enterprises:
·Soil erosion control and fertility management
·Establishment of fruit nurseries as an erosion prevention tool and method of improving family nutrition
·Vegetable growing as a means of diversifying income and improving nutrition
·Gender balanced work schedules and the importance of involving women in decisions regarding land use, income generation, energy conservation and nutrition
·Importance of a nutritious and balanced diet
·30 Participants will also be trained in peer-to-peer education methods that will enable them to train other farmers.
Farmers will then be encouraged to adopt the new methods of farming. Participating households will be provided with all the necessary technical assistance and farm inputs (such as new crop varieties, farming tools, fruit and vegetable saplings) will be provided on a revolving basis.These inputs will be ‘loaned’ to the farmers through the project committee and paid back to the community in-kind once the harvest is gathered.
Project Benefits
·500 households in Kabuli district to benefit from training in sustainable environmental management leading to improved productivity and diversification into fruit and vegetable production
·All household members, but particularly children, to benefit from improved nutrition through a diet that contains both fruit and vegetables
·Local economy to benefit from increased household incomes and additional produce delivered through the project
·Local environment to benefit from erosion control, improved soil fertility management and a reduction in the rate of deforestation
Sustainability and Local Involvement
Plan recognises that poor women, men and young people are in the best position to identify and articulate their needs. This project has therefore been developed through an existing community development committee made up of women, men and young people selected by the local community.The committee identified the aims of the project and will be responsible for all aspects of the project’s delivery from planning and implementing the activities to monitoring and evaluation. Plan’s role will be to support and, where needed, provide technical assistance to this process in partnership with Africa Network 2000, a local organisation which has experience in supporting community development projects and will deliver the training programme.
The project is supported by local civic leaders and the Ugandan Ministry of Agriculture and will promote community-initiated by laws to limit and reduce tree cutting and erosion. The main risks include the weather which could make growing conditions difficult in the event of a prolonged dry spell and the HIV/AIDS pandemic which could reduce productive labour needed for agricultural production. Contingency for these will include the production of a more diverse range of crops to reduce weather dependency and the creation of a labour pool through the project committee to support households experiencing difficulties at harvest time.
Fruit nurseries are an important erosion reduction tool and means of improving family nutrition.
Received from Plan International
From: Blake, Rosemary Sent: 28 January 200515:30 To: Lorna Jones Subject: Thank you
Dear Lorna
I thought I would drop you an email to let you know that the £3,550 you told me about has just arrived into our bank account.
We are delighted that you chose to benefit Plan's work with this donation. Please pass on our sincere thanks to all the other donors who so generously contributed. I can assure them that the money will gratefully be received by Plan who are working with 500 Ugandan families and their children to improve the supply of food through sustainable environmental management. I have attached more information on the project, should you wish to pass it on.
I will be happy to provide a short update on the project in approximately 6 months time, upon completion of the project.
If you or any of the other donors would like to drop in and visit us, to learn more about our work with children and their families, please don't hesitate to give me a call.
Once again, on behalf of all the children and families we work with thank you for support.
Life in a township in South Africa is very difficult. There is no social service. The ladies at the
Philippi community micro-business project work as a cooperative.They do not want hand-outs.Instead, they have chosen to work in order to provide for their families.They make jewellery to a very high standard, decorative dolls in traditional African dress, decorate silver spoons and other serving utensils.It is a pleasure to see them work on their individual pieces – all together, yet working separately.
Any sales I am able to send them will be received with so much gratitude.Know that by purchasing a product from the ladies of
Philippi you are helping them to look after their families by providing a product that people want as opposed to getting handouts.
If you want to know which of the ladies make the item you bought, just ask and I’ll point her out to you on the photo.They really are lovely ladies who just could not understand that I was from England.They were convinced I was from the U.S.I spent the good part of a day with them, but even as I was leaving they still thought I was from the U.S.
They are such warm, friendly people who have no other means of income.I was impressed with the quality of their work as well as their worth ethic.
After paying for the food for the children I bought one sample of a few items that particularly interested me.
If there are any items you would like as a gift for yourself or for somebody else, please help me to help the lovely ladies of
Philippi.
Necklace
Well-crafted, made with hematite and almost-transparent pink beads.The colours look beautiful on brown skin and match a surprisingly wide number or colours, blending beautifully with almost any outfit.
Serving spoons
Beautifully decorated silver spoons, using brightly-coloured beads. A thoughtful gift for anyone.
Bowl
Decorated in pinks, yellow, blue, red etc. I use mine to hold my tall kitchen instruments.It will brighten any kitchen.
The ladies make a variety of other products, but these were my favourites.
Warning: This photo might be a huge departure from the usual photos you see in the propaganda press about Africans. The happy pose masks some amazingly sad stories of illness, death and depravation.
The orphans in this township are not institutionalized; instead, they are integrated into the community and are cared for by anyone who is able to help out when they can. However, health care workers stay in contact with the children and check up on them on their rounds in the township. A lovely lady, 68 years young, is effectively mum to 7 orphans, two of whom have HIV/AIDS with one on ARVs. A California friend of the American church group paid to have a house built for her and the children. I could not take a photo out of respect for the surrounding - how do I put this – extremely humble dwellings.
For two hours every Friday the children meet as a group at one location and spent time with a group of Americans who started and operate the programme.
On the Friday that I was there the following was what I observed. On arriving at the building, the children are given a peanut butter sandwich (I don’t remember if they were given a drink). They then worked on scriptures from both the English and local language Bibles, broke up into two large groups and worked on a skit “How to be a good leader” and “How to be a bad leader”. After performing their skits they discussed lessons learnt then came the fun time! Playing with balloons which we all blew up using a machine!
They then put the balloons away for the following week and left with a bag of food. Each of these bags cost US$6 and contain rice, dried milk, millet and locally eaten items, peanut butter, and other foods to sustain the children for one week.
I gave the organization enough money to purchase food parcels for 35 children. Two friends in the U.K. and the U.S.A. who knew of my trip to Cape Town contributed to this.
Four new orphans hesitatingly joined the programme while I was there.
Normally, I would not associate with religious groups on such projects. However, on this occasion I was unable to find a non-religious organization engaged in working in a township with children and with a business programme that maximizes women’s skills to allow them to support their families. These two projects are run by a group of American Christian evangelists from California - Bridges of Hope.
Caution: Townships can be very dangerous places. I did not simply turn up, which is usually my style when I travel, but was invited by a well-known and well-respected organization with a lot of local community, and elder, support. The focus here is they are respected by the people who live in the township if not by outsiders – which is vitally important for security. I was also warned that if it was unsafe for me to go to the township on the Friday I was scheduled to arrive the visit would be cancelled. I was also given strict security precautions to follow.
I was impressed with what I saw that this group is doing in Philippi with the children, the women and their support of the medical facility. I was given a tour of the meagerly-supplied medical facility and learnt that hundreds of people walk for hours every day to get to the medical facility in the hope of being seen to be a doctor. Hundreds more are turned away every day, but those lucky enough to be accepted daily often arrive with no food and have nothing to eat until whatever time they are seen by the doctor and return home. The medical facility closes its doors after admitting the first 100 people daily. Every day, Bridges of Hope make soup for everyone who is accepted to be seen by staff by the hospital.
For more information, visit: www.bridges-of-hope.org
Activities