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Background Elephant Livelihood Initiative Environment (ELIE) is a registered local non-government organization, or not-for-profit, based in Mondulkiri, Cambodia. ELIE was founded in 2006 and started by providing free veterinarian care and mahout-orientated education to the families and communities that owned captive elephants throughout Mondulkiri province. In 2007, The Elephant Valley Project (EVP) was launched as an elephant sanctuary developed to create a home for injured, old or overworked elephants and is now ELIE's centerpiece for elephant welfare and conservation. This elephant sanctuary has been developed in close partnership with the local indigenous Bunong community of Pu Trom, and sits within their community forest. ELIE is unique in terms of its primary source of funding now comes from income generated by local and international visitors coming to experience the elephants as part of the ecotourism project at the EVP. Since 2006 the organisation has evolved and grown, with the development of EVP as an exciting ecotourism project, providing a sustainable financing mechanism funding all of ELIE's elephant care and welfare, community development and forest protection programs. ELIE's Vision "To improve the captive elephant's health and welfare situation by the development of an elephant sanctuary while providing province-wide veterinary care and associated social support programs for the Bunong people." Goals 1) To improve the health and welfare conditions of the captive elephant population of Mondulkiri 2) To develop a sanctuary for working elephants to rest and retire to in Mondulkiri Province 3) To conserve the wild elephants natural habitat 4) To provide employment and job based training to the Bunong community and mahouts 5) To support the local community to protect their forest and natural resources, the habitat of the elephants. 6) To identify the main pressures on the community and their forest, and provide community support programs to alleviate these pressures.
Taliin Tuurai or (Steppe and Hoof) is a non-profit organization which has been set up to help herders and their animals in Mongolia. From a total population of 3.2 million Mongolian people, only about 169,000 nomadic families remain today. Mongolian herders are one of the last group of the pastural nomads left on earth. For a millennium these nomads have lived on the steppes, grazing their animals on vast grasslands while passing their culture virtually unchanged from generation to generation. But today, their traditional lifestyle is under threat. Climate change, desertification and rapidly evolving economics inside of Mongolia are contributing not only to a dramatic reduction in herders and arable land, but also to the rapid migration of families away from their life in the countryside to the cities. For the last several decades thousands of herder families have moved to the cities. Life in the countryside can be harsh. A particularly bad winter, called a Dzud in Mongolian, is an extreme weather phenomenon which regularly results in massive livestock deaths which in turn forces herders to abandon their nomadic way of life to look for work in the cities. With already very high unemployment, job prospects in the capital city of Ulaanbaatar are very few, often forcing these once proud and independent people into poverty in the ger districts surrounding the city. The ger districts have almost no modern services like running water and basic infrastructure. Our goal is to try to save the unique traditions that are part of the Mongolian nomadic lifestyle. With our programs we are striving to preserve the unique tradition and culture that existed for so long in Mongolia while giving herders modern tools, services and training to make it possible for them to succeed in today's world.
Communities In Schools (CIS) is the nation’s leading dropout prevention organization, with a mission to surround students with a community of support empowering them to stay in school and achieve in life. For more than 30 years, CIS has connected needed community resources with schools. By bringing caring adults and a wide variety of services into schools to address children’s unmet needs, CIS provides a linkbetween educators and the community. The results of CIS’s model are that teachers are free to teach and students, many at risk of dropping out, have the opportunity to focus on learning. To help students stay in school, we identify and bring together in one place – public schools – all the resources and services available in the community that kids need to be successful. These services vary from one community to the next and from state to state and address specific needs such as academic support, mentoring, health care, family strengthening, career development, summer and after-school programs, alternative education models, and service learning. Today, the CIS network is comprised of nearly 5,000 passionate professionals working in close to 200 local affiliate nonprofits in 27 states and the District of Columbia, as well as 53,000 community volunteers, serving 1.2 million young people in more than 2,400 schools around the nation.
Since 2015, Konnekt Association has been supporting young people - high school and university students - in their conscious journey of self-discovery. Our goal is to help the growing generation develop sufficient self-awareness and adapt to the dynamic changes of the labor market, so they can find their place and live a fulfilled and content life as adults. In addition to helping young people with career orientation, we also support adults in career changes, where self-awareness development, change management, and future planning are key elements. Our projects emphasize the inclusion of disadvantaged youth in our programs and voluntary work. The work of our association and all our programs are based on learning from each other, intergenerational inspiration, and personal connections. We believe in the importance of community and offline experiences, while also integrating the development of 21st-century competencies into our practices. Our mission is to reduce the number of young people who abandon their careers or are dissatisfied with them, contributing to a society built by ambitious adults who are stable in their values and self-awareness. To date, we have helped more than 6,500 young people find their path, both within and beyond Hungary's borders. We are proud to have worked with over 1,200 volunteers since our foundation.
Les Puits du Desert was born from a life-changing experience. During a humanitarian raid in northern Niger, our founder, Christel Pernet, was forced to make an emergency landing in the desert. For four days, she lived alongside local nomadic families, sharing their daily life. She discovered what it truly means to live without access to water: children walking sometimes more than 20 kilometers every day to fetch it, schools that were rare and difficult to access, and women exhausted by the burden of survival. This human shock convinced her that urgent action was needed. In 2004, she founded Les Puits du Desert, in partnership with the Nigerien NGO Tidene, to respond to the essential needs expressed by the communities themselves: access to clean water, education, health, and women's empowerment. Since then, our association has been working in the Agadez region with an approach rooted in proximity, listening, and co-construction with local populations. The mission of Les Puits du Desert is to sustainably improve the living conditions of nomadic and rural populations in northern Niger, particularly in the Agadez region. These communities, mostly Tuareg, face some of the harshest living conditions in the world: - No clean water: women and children often walk hours under extreme heat to fetch unsafe water. - Food insecurity: desertification and climate change make traditional livelihoods increasingly fragile. - Limited access to health: villages are often days away from the nearest clinic. - Barriers to education: nomadic children, and especially girls, are rarely able to attend school. - Economic marginalization: women have few opportunities to earn an income or gain autonomy. We believe that water is the first step toward development. It is the foundation for health, education, food security, and economic empowerment. But beyond water, our mission is to accompany communities toward long-term resilience and dignity. Since 2004, Les Puits du Desert has worked in close and continuous partnership with Tidene, a Nigerien NGO founded the same year by leaders from the Agadez region. This partnership, in place since the very beginning, is one of the pillars of our credibility and effectiveness in the field. Tidene brings local legitimacy, field expertise, cultural understanding, and the capacity to mobilize communities even in the most remote areas. Les Puits du Desert ensures fundraising, technical and administrative support, and accountability to international partners and donors. Together, we form a strong binational alliance that combines local knowledge and international solidarity. Every project begins with listening carefully to the communities. Tidene's teams organize meetings with village chiefs, elders, women, and youth to identify priorities. Whether it is a well, a school, or a health center, the decision always comes from the people themselves. During implementation, communities are actively involved: - Villagers contribute to site preparation, transport of materials, and support to technicians. - Women are trained in gardening, food processing, and small equipment maintenance. - Local management committees are created to ensure long-term operation of wells, schools, or gardens. This participatory approach guarantees ownership and sustainability: when people help build an infrastructure, they also take responsibility for protecting it. Beyond infrastructures, we invest in training and empowerment so that projects endure: - Training water committees in maintenance and spare parts management. - Supporting teachers and parent associations to strengthen education. - Equipping health workers with skills and tools to improve healthcare. - Helping women's cooperatives develop business strategies and improve production techniques. Each project thus becomes more than a structure: it is a lever of resilience and autonomy for entire communities. Thanks to Tidene, we ensure that all our projects are adapted to the local context and respect cultural traditions: - Schools include boarding facilities so nomadic children can study. - Wells are strategically placed along pastoral transhumance routes. - Women's income-generating activities are designed to fit daily responsibilities while fostering empowerment. All decisions are taken jointly by Les Puits du Desert and Tidene. Projects are co-written, budgets reviewed together, and monitoring carried out both locally and internationally. This dual governance guarantees transparency for donors and coherence with the realities on the ground. We are convinced that sustainable development cannot be imported from outside; it must emerge from within communities themselves. In twenty years of action: - 345 wells and boreholes built, providing tens of thousands of people with clean water. - 13 schools constructed, offering an educational future to hundreds of children. - Health infrastructures established, improving access to care for isolated populations. -16+ women's cooperatives created, reinforcing women's role in the local economy and society. Our work is made possible thanks to the support of numerous individual donors, companies, foundations, and institutions in France and internationally. We maintain trusted relationships with our partners, based on financial transparency, regular reporting, and rigorous monitoring of impact. These partnerships are essential to transform ideas into lasting achievements. Our vision is simple yet ambitious: - To ensure that no family lives without safe water. - To enable every child, especially girls, to go to school and dream of a better future. - To give women the means to earn a living and be recognized as full actors in their communities. -To build resilient and autonomous communities capable of facing the challenges of climate change, poverty, and isolation. In short, our mission is not only to build wells, schools, or clinics. It is to build hope, dignity, and opportunities in one of the most challenging regions of the world.
OBAT Helpers works for the welfare, support, and rehabilitation of displaced and stateless people by providing programs to alleviate the daily suffering and burdens of thousands of Urdu speaking people (known as "Biharis") who are stranded in makeshift camps in Bangladesh. OBAT Helpers implements projects in education and vocational training, self- empowerment through micro-financing, health care with clinics, drinking water, proper sewerage, and emergency relief projects. The Biharis have been stranded in Bangladesh since it achieved independence from Pakistan in 1971. Referred to as, astranded Pakistanis,a this community was supposed to be repatriated to Pakistan after the two countries separated but most of them could not due to political complications. They are presently citizens of nowhere, unclaimed by either country and marked by the UNHCR as refugees, yet deprived of the rights of refugees. They still live in the camps/slums that were supposed to serve as their temporary shelter forty years ago. This population is scattered across sixty-six camps which house around 300,000 people. Anyone visiting these camps would see a family of 7-10 people sharing a living space of 8x10 ft.; open sewers and overflowing drains; a single toilet or two for one hundred or so people; innocent six or seven year olds who should be in schools, working for a living; high-infant mortality rates due to absence of medical facilities; lack of clean drinking water; terrible or no sanitation facilities and nothing but abject poverty. OBAT Helpers is the only organization in North America which is committed to helping the Biharis to become self-reliant and empowered through proper education, health care and micro financing projects. OBAT started with providing help to one camp in 2004, and now, it is improving the lives of people in more than 30 out of the total 66 camps, after just six years. This is almost half of the total number of camps in Bangladesh.
Join Bridge to Türkiye Fund, where we connect grassroots communities around the world for a brighter Türkiye—transforming goodwill into impactful programs that improve lives. A culture of giving and civic involvement is a part of our heritage. Bridge to Türkiye Fund (BTF) was founded in 2003 by a few like-minded Turkish-Americans and friends of Türkiye with the simple desire to give back. BTF is founded on citizen-based, democratic and secular principles and encourages all to contribute to the educational welfare of less fortunate children in Türkiye. Based in the Triangle area of North Carolina, BTF grew all across the US over two decades, with many regional giving circles, and today has individual donors and supporting communities in all parts of the globe. Our focus areas are: Enabling equality and equity in education Improving physical and mental health with an emphasis on future generations Disaster relief, recovery and resilience Preservation of natural life and enivronmental sustainability Our simple and shared vision is to unite people and give back as a community. It is an organized attempt to leverage individual diaspora resources who believe in the power of investing together for education and building better futures for disadvantaged youth in Türkiye. BTF maintains a portfolio of carefully vetted Turkish NGOs and localized projects to accomplish its mission. This makes it possible for BTF’s donors to support great causes simply and safely from abroad. For more information, visit our website or reach out at: info@bridgetoturkiye.org.
By empowering oneself, enriching relationships, and embracing innovations, we provide a safe space for communities and champion the iniingatan, inaalagaan, at inaasikaso experience. A thought leader that inspires people to empower and affirm their self-worth to create ripples of positive change. LoveYourself Inc. (LY), is a community of volunteers which has been successful in reaching out to the key affected population of HIV and AIDS. It was established in 2011 with a mission of embracing and nurturing one's self-worth to inspire others to do the same and create ripples of positive change in the community and a vision of becoming a model community, empowering and affirming the self-worth of youth and MSM in the Philippines. LY has been the home of many innovative and new approaches to reach key populations such as Project Preppy (Pre-exposure Prophylaxis), LoveYourself Caravan/PBSR, Smart-Safe-Sexy Continuum of Care Approach Project (3S) and Introduction of the First Community Run Testing and Treatment Facility (4S) Project, #SafeSpaces Condom Promotion and Distribution Program Victoria by LoveYourself, the first Transgender Health and Wellness Community Center in the Philippines and most recently - introduction of HIV Self Screening (#SelfCare) in the Philippines to name a few. LY has several innovations in the pipeline, such as expansion of #SelfCare, #ChampionCommunityCenters and other innovations especially with the challenges in the time of COVID19 pandemic like XPress Refill and iCon (telemedicine). LY partnered with DOH-RITM in many innovative programs such as 3S (Smart Safe and Sexy) where the power of volunteerism is harnessed by creating "change agents" from the community reaching other members of the community through awareness and encouraging high risk clients to take ownership of their sexual health by regular testing every 3-6 months if negative and early treatment if positive. LY has a long and fruitful partnership with Pilipinas Shell Foundation since 2012, it has has grown and developed with PSFI supporting LY through technical assistance, logistics, finances, and overall management of LoveYourself Community Centers. LoveYourself Inc. is proud of its 10 LoveYourself Branded Community Centers, 2 Private Clinic and manages 30 Champion Community Centers safe space for young and working population who are engaging in risky behavior. For the LY community centers, having a cumulative rate of 150-200 clients daily with 12-14% reactive rate, the centers contributes to 42% of all the newly diagnosed PLHIVs reported in Metro Manila and 20% in the whole country for since 2016 to present proving that LY has a strong understanding of the Philippine context with regard to HIV and AIDS and key populations (MSM, TG, YKP and PWID). These efforts demonstrate a tremendous impact in bridging the gaps in the HIV continuum of care, with the objective of scaling up HIV testing and linking the newly diagnosed PLHIVs to treatment and care, eventually leading to reduced incidence of loss to follow up. Since its launching, LY Anglo as the main treatment centers and the rest of the 6 as satellite centers has already diagnosed over 40,000 clients yearly. Of the total number of newly diagnosed PLHIVs, 7,300 were enrolled to LoveYourself Anglo treatment while the remaining were referred to RITM or other treatment hubs for enrolment making LY the second highest PLHIV clients enrolled facility. LoveYourself Anglo is currently being positioned as the first ever community run one stop shop - having prevention-to-treatment services. It aims to create a social enterprise-self-sustaining model. LY has gained momentum in its implementation of the Philippines Business Sector Response to HIV (PBSR) and School Caravan Programs with PSFI. To date, 650, companies have been engaged through advocacy, 250 companies have been assisted in the drafting of their HIV in the workplace policy, over 100,000 people reached through HIV 101, 84,945 people tested and got their results, 4,190 (6.34 %) reactive and those confirmed were linked to treatment hubs and social hygiene clinics for further work up in preparation for treatment. 90 employee-trainers trained for HIV 101- Peer Education Training, and 68 received Basic Voluntary Counseling and Testing training. PBSR is a member of 7 Local AIDS Councils in the Cities of Manila, Quezon, Caloocan, San Juan, Batangas and Puerto Princesa. On another note, with its goal to reach the Youth to promote awareness and reduce stigma and discrimination, Caravan program has reached over 110 schools and universities testing more than 10,000 young people in the last 4 years. In the last quarter of 2014, the LY started work on community system strengthening through human rights and advocacy programs under the guidance of the ISEAN HIVOS, the regional partner of LY by engaging new blood through numerous fora and peer meetings and activities then providing capacity building, monitoring and tracking outreach workers and grooming them to develop their own program in their respective locality, bringing about the birth of the several community based organizations such as Project H4 in Puerto Princesa, who eventually opened a community center called Amos Tara and forged a long-term partnership with DOH IV-B MIMAROPA. In the area of Advocacy, LY has created several efforts in making sure that their efforts to raise the bar in the HIV continuum of care such participation in the PNAC consultations on the revision of RA 8504 and approval of the new law RA11166, technical assistance with the development of SOGIE tool kit and Trans Health module. LY continues to develop advocacy materials and communication strategies to address and respond to issues and needs of the times. Protect the Goal Campaign and #StayNegatHIVe Campaign with Rappler and Dentsu focusing on stigma and discrimination reduction that were launched recently received seven national and international awards for campaign effectiveness and impact such as the Boomerang and Anvil Awards. In 2016, the partnership also implemented several regional campaigns such as TestMNL with APCOM and very recently a project with UNAIDS and 2015 Miss Universe Pia Wurtzbach - the #Live2LUV campaign. In 2018 LY is chosen as the sub recipient of the Philippine Global Fund ACER program where in LY is asked to develop and establish 15 community centers which is based on the LoveYourself community centers model. The community-based organization partners are provided support for their operational costs outreach and refurbishment of the community centers. Each community centers offer a sexual health prevention package including HIV testing and STI testing for free. Some of the community organizations have doctors and offer treatment at the same time while others are referring clients to Social Hygiene Clinics in their locality. In 2018 also, LY in partnership with Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations (AFAO) implemented the Sustainability of Key Population Programs in Asia (SKPA). It has a goal of providing not just community system strengthening but also introducing advocacy, campaigns, innovations, and support towards sustainability of the services of CBO partners. LY creates national programs and campaigns on awareness and promotion of combination prevention, treatment as prevention and other innovations. A recent example is the National HIV Prevention month last July-August 2020 gathering almost 5 million impressions and reach online through the SKPA Philippines Grant. AIDS HealthCare Foundation Philippines (AHF) also partnered with LY this year to the present to augment in outreach, events and treatment of indigent PLHIVs. In 2019, due to the very high incidence of anxiety disorders and depression among the young LGBT community. LY decided to create its own mental health program called Flourish by LoveYourself. Flourish aims to provide counseling and life coaching to people with mild depression and anxiety. Flourish offers life coaching and group counseling to our clients. In partnership with Mental Health Ph, a local CBO, LY also has created campaigns on mental health. Aside from the group counseling program, LY initiated self-help programs such as music therapy, art therapy, poetry reading and other forms of coping support for people in distress. In 2020 LY was chosen as the sub recipient of the Philippine Global Fund PROTECTS with PIlipinas Shell Foundation as its PR. LY is asked to scale up its CHAMPION COMMUNITY CENTERS initiative by creating a total of 34 Champion Centers and CBO. The community-based organization partners are provided support for their operational costs outreach and refurbishment of the community centers. Each community center offers a sexual health prevention package including HIV testing and STI testing for free. Some of the community organizations have doctors and offer treatment at the same time while others are referring clients to Social Hygiene Clinics in their locality. LY has also led KP specific initiatives including the TG activations with Medical Professionals, School Administrations, etc.; for YKP, LY spearheaded a myriad of activities involving Sangguniang Kabataan (Youth Federation), Schools, and other youth lead CSOs; for PWIDs, several learning group sessions and consultations has also been done specifically in Cebu City. LY was also assigned to provide the Administrative and Human Resource including payroll of 380 field staff and community center officers hired for the project. In 2021 LY was selected as a grantee of Meeting Targets and Maintaining Epidemic Control (EpiC) is a global project funded by the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which is dedicated to achieving and maintaining HIV epidemic control. LY community centers operations are supported by this grant.
Arctictis Binturong Conservation is the only association in the world, entirely dedicated to the study and protection of a charming little Southeast Asian mammal: the binturong. Very little known and under-studied by scientists, everything about it remains to be discovered. We work both in Europe, North America and in the field in Asia to promote, inform, raise awareness, transmit, study and protect this fascinating animal. We have two main branches. One is in France where everything debuted in 2014. The other main one is in Palawan, in the Philippines. There is also two other smaller branches in England and a really new one that is in development in the United States of America. Studying the ecology and behavior of the binturong to create an appropriate conservation program, using this new knowledge to promote its image and raise public awareness of the importance of nature: these are the main challenges that our association tries to meet every day. Right now we have two programmes in the Philippines: - the Bearcat Study Programme (BSP): The overall aim of the project is to improve knowledge of the ecology and behavior of the binturong, as well as discovering the true status of its population in Palawan. Our scientific studies combine photographic trapping and radio-tracking to obtain vital information for the creation of an appropriate conservation program. - the From Awareness to Actions for Nature Conservation (AANC): Through our actions, we aim to raise public awareness of the importance of protecting nature and the biodiversity that surrounds us, also by promoting the image of the binturong. Because raising awareness is protecting! Below, more details on the different projects: BSP: Since 2017, the goal of the "Bearcat Study Programme" is to improve knowledge of specific aspects of the ecology and natural behavior of the binturong. The final goal will be to estimate the distribution and the size of the binturong population on the island of Palawan. This knowledge is crucial for the establishment of a conservation program perfectly adaptated to the needs of the species. Because in the end how can we protect something that we don't know? As a result, the studies we have set up focus on three themes: - Studying interactions between the binturong and the forests of Palawan, - Studying eating habits and social behaviour of the binturong in Palawan, - Studying the size of the vital area of the binturong in Palawan. To succed in our research, we are curently trying to track a wild individual and put a GPS-equipped transmitter collar on it. This will enable us to collect key data on the binturong's behaviour and the use of its territory, using data from photo trapping and the radio collar. All the results of our studies are or will be the subject of scientific publications, most of which are freely accessible. Since 2023, photographic traps have been installed in a protected area in the center of the island to highlight the binturong's preferences in terms of micro-environment. The data are still being acquired. The aim is to repeat this protocol in other parts of the island. This will enable us to assess the characteristics common to the areas in which the binturong is most frequently observed. This will also help us to categorize Palawan's different habitats according to their suitability for the binturong's needs, and the characteristics identified may enable us to rehabilitate different kind of environments suitable for the binturong. Since 2024, we have also reinstalled camera traps in our first study forest, located further to the northeast of the island. The aim is to analyze the impact of typhoon Odette in 2021 on the binturong's population and thus study their resilience. AANC: Our planet is currently facing a number of threats such as the pollution (air, water, soil), the deforestation or the climate change. Because of that, we believe that we need to take initiatives. Indeed, as Robert Swan OBE said, "the greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it". Whether it's our consumption of energy or food, there are many examples to show that we can choose to act on a daily basis more respectfuly of the Nature. Because there's only one, it is important to protect our planet. This program has two main aims: - Sustainably reach out to as many people as possible, of all ages and backgrounds. Generating curiosity about the biodiversity that surrounds us also means realizing its importance. Indeed, we are dependent on Nature and its proper functioning. By becoming aware of our impact, we can all act positively to counter the threats facing our planet. - Generate concrete actions for the protection and conservation of the environment with the initiation to zero-waste, to the concept of consumption actors (choose local food and seasonal for example), planting trees of local species or a more eco-friendly consumption of water and electricity. Last year, we created an environmental education program for primary schools. Thus, since November 2024, we have been organizing weekly classes at the Irawan primary school. The programme comprises 5 themes: Environment, Contamination and waste; Environmental protection; Environmental quality; Climate and natural phenomena; Natural resources. Through this project, the objectives are to raise awareness of environmental issues, to provide an understanding of natural systems, to develop and diversify skills related to the environment (waste reduction, energy efficiency...), as well as promoting sustainable lifestyles. The aim is to extend this programme to more schools. We would also like to train teachers so that they can independently pursue environmental awareness actions. In the same spirit as the World Binturong Day, celebrated every year on the second Saturday of May, we set up, throughout this month, a series of events aimed at raising awareness among different audiences within schools, universities and local communities. On this occasion, various educational and awareness-raising activities are developed to highlight the binturong, inform about the threats facing it and, more generally, promote an awareness of environmental issues. Particular attention is paid to the concrete solutions and actions that everyone can undertake at their own level, in order to contribute to the preservation of biodiversity and the environment. Outside of this month, we also organize awareness-raising activities in schools, universities, local communities and at events related to the environment. In France and in England, our educational and awareness branch is based on the same missions. In the Philippines our main idea is really to work with the local communities, the government and the general public to raise actions for the protection of the environment and biodiversity in Palawan and in the same way the preservation and the conservation of the binturong. Our team in both Filipino and French and we think it is also one of the most important part of our project. This is how we work to study, raise awareness and protect our little protege, the binturong.
Sistema Cyprus is a social-music orchestra and choir programme established in 2017. Sistema Cyprus provides accessible music education to the children and young people of Cyprus, including migrants, refugees and disadvantaged children and young people, and ensures that these disadvantaged groups are respected, recognised, and included in the society. Sistema Cyprus is an El Sistema inspired social action music programme that was first founded in Venezuela in 1975. Currently, Sistema Cyprus operates in Nicosia and Larnaca and engages 200 children and young people in orchestra, choir and community music activities, through the work of 15 professional musicians, 20 musician volunteers and the support of 80 program support volunteers. Sistema Cyprus expertise includes community music education and musical instrument teaching to vulnerable populations through a methodology that is adjusted to the model of developing a learning environment based on safety, inclusion, and equality. Finally, Sistema Cyprus is an expert in training young people to use music for promoting social inclusion for refugee, migrant and disadvantaged children and young people. Sistema Cyprus works to educate and empower marginalized populations, providing them with opportunities for social inclusion and broadening the visibility of their success stories. Through our social music programme, we strive to offer a better life opportunity to marginalized children who are often feeling unwelcome from belonging to the society that they live in. El Sistema and other related El Sistema programs offer free classical music education that gives impoverished children and youth all over the world the opportunity for personal development. Sistema Cyprus is focused on the personal development of its participants focusing primarily on empowerment and reaching their potentials. Through the formation of orchestras and choirs, El Sistema acts as a superb model, reaching children and young people to many of the world's underprivileged neighbourhoods. Our main activities include daily practice of instrumental learning, orchestra and choir rehearsals where every child or young people is in Sistema Cyprus for 5 hours per week. In addition, we organise 3 concerts every year where the students of Sistema Cyprus present their work to thousands of people in Cyprus. Finally, we offer trainings for musicians twice per year on how to use music as a tool for social inclusion and social integration. Our theory of change: A city, a country, a world where there is "no longer oppressor nor longer oppressed, but human in the process of achieving freedom" (Paolo Freire). With only 2 year of existence Sistema Cyprus has established major achievements. Sistema Cyprus established important collaborations and has been entrusted by organisations that supported their actions in every manner such as UNCHR Cyprus, US Embassy in Cyprus, Nicosia Municipality, European Cultural Foundation, the Global Leaders Program and the Carnegie Hall in New York . The most important achievement is the collaboration with three universities in Cyprus (University of Nicosia, European University Cyprus and Frederick University Cyprus) that provide academic scholarships to the students of Sistema Cyprus. This achievement further develops Sistema Cyprus students' opportunity to dream and set high goals for their life. Sistema Cyprus is an International Partner of Carnegie Hall in New York implementing the "Lullaby project" in Cyprus, where brings together vulnerable new moms and pregnant women with artists in order to compose specialized lullabies for their babies. Sistema Cyprus is also a partner of the Global Leaders Program which empowers a rising generation of change-makers in music to transform lives and communities through an innovative nine-month Executive Graduate Certificate in Social Entrepreneurship, Cultural Agency, Teaching Artistry, and Civic Leadership. Led in partnership with nine top universities and think tanks including Harvard, Georgetown, McGill, Johns Hopkins, and Duke Universities, and a world-class faculty that includes two Nobel Laureates, the Program is offered annually to a select Cohort of 40 of the most promising emerging talents from around the globe. In July 2020, Sistema Cyprus contribution to society and specifically the Executive Director, Dr Nikoletta Polydorou has been awarded by Her Majesty the Queen Elizabeth II with the Commonwealth Points of Light Award.
The mission of OBLF is to bring basic English comprehension and Computer skills to children attending the mass schooling system in India, to provide them an equal opportunity to gain meaningful employment on reaching adulthood. The foundation works as a partner to the state government and adopts state run/public elementary schools in India. In a country with a billion plus population about 70% of 200 million children who are in elementary schools attend public schools. Reports have told us year on year about the massive learning deficit in the public schooling system. Some of the issues this system is plagued with are poor content, teacher absenteeism, learning by rote and very poor teacher ratios. The foundation uses the existing infrastructure of public schools mainly in remote rural areas. The children in the adopted schools are divided into levels/groups based on their English skills (and not according to age). The foundation has designed its own child friendly syllabi for each level and uses laptops and tablets (technologies these children have never been exposed to) and other fun filled teaching techniques to teach. The foundation's strategy is to train and employ semi-educated rural women on a part time basis (this doesn't disturb the rural ethos) to teach in the adopted schools. These women whom we call coordinators are mainly homemakers and live in the rural communities where the adopted schools are. Every adopted school has several children divided into three levels (Junior, Middle and Senior), a few coordinators to do the teaching and urban volunteers who take ownership of the school and mentor the coordinators and supervise the work being done in the school. Children undergo baseline assessments at the beginning of the school year and then another assessment at the end of an academic year. We also assess a small number of children who attend the schools but are not in the foundation's School Adoption Program. Children who are in the program have consistently performed way better than the ones in the control group.
Cordem rebuilds communities from its core: THE WOMAN; Accompanying and empowering her transformation from the heart. How do we do it? We make this possible through a comprehensive program that is divided into two areas: Cordem offers scholarships for high school, technical and undergraduate level to exceptional women and who, due to economic impediment, have not been able to start or continue their studies. In order to ensure an integral growth, the beneficiaries have psycho-emotional accompaniment. This support is given to provide a wide range of tools, from coping skills to empowerment, as well as learning professional skills. Scholarship holders receive an integral formation to increase the success rate and have a larger impact in their personal lives creating a social change. Why do we mean when we say that women's education rebuilds society? When it comes to Mexico, women have less access than men to education, which has effects, not only in their economic participation, but in most areas of their lives (ENDIREH 2011). In average, the level of education in Mexico for women is 3 of secondary school (INEGI 2015) and only 6% of women have a professional education (World Bank 2007). Women suffer due to the lack of education, coupled with the lack of emotional support and integration into the labor market, which perpetuates the violence and poverty in which they live, increasing their condition of gender vulnerability. Worldwide they represent 70% of the population in poverty, which is the cause and consequence of violence. This phenomenon impoverishes their families, communities and societies, affecting their productive capacity and perpetuating the cycle of poverty (Amnesty International, 2009). According to the Aspen Institute & Bernard van Leer Foundation (2016) a good education is the key to a better life and a more solid economy. Individual income increases by 10% for each educational year that a person attends. For a country, increasing the average of higher education for one year can increase up to half a percentage figure to the GDP.