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Action for Development assists communities in the achievement of their own development goals. In other words, it aims at ensuring a certain relief for the Afghan population through development programs. Our efforts are spent in ways that maximize the impact of any of our actions and we remain fully accountable to communities where our programs take place. The sustainability of any development program lies within the communities' acceptance of the change. For our action to produce lasting results, communities have to guide the use of resources and learn the managerial and technical skills to do so. This is why our approach is fundamentally community-based. We seek to provide fractured, new, or changing communities with opportunities to work together for a common purpose and the ability to undertake future endeavors of their own. Participation transforms communities into effective teams. Community involvement in project implementation, and interaction with development organizations leaves them more enabled, ensuring that subsequent programs have lasting effects. Community familiarity with the programs leaves them with expectations. These expectations drive the performance of future implementers and encourage them to engage in a process of learning. Thus the dynamics of development change. AfD also emphasizes collaboration with vertical programs and asks of other organizations what we ask of our team members - "How can we make sure that a wide range of health services are provided to people?" AfD believes that yields from separate but related development efforts are maximized through the integration and harmonization of programs. Today's efforts and resources should be used to enhance opportunities for a healthy and prosperous life. AfD is committed to helping Afghan communities according to their own development goals and to explore creative avenues to give Afghanistan Solutions for a Brighter Future.

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.

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.

The International Blue Cross is one of the world's leading non-governmental organisations, caring for people harmed by or at risk from alcohol or illicit drug use. Our project work in prevention, treatment & counselling and aftercare focuses primarily on young and vulnerable people, and on those in extreme poverty. Through carefully researched and targeted interventions we advocate for evidence-based alcohol policies at the national and international level. In doing so, we seek to draw positive and dignified attention to the issues faced by dependent people and their families. Our Vision: We see a world where all people can knowingly choose and live a life free of harmful addiction; a world where all people harmed by addiction have access to and can benefit from high quality and holistic treatment. Our Mission: We provide healthcare development support and promote holistic well-being; We prevent and reduce the harmful use of alcohol and illicit drugs and help mitigate the associated negative health, social, and economic consequences; We advocate for evidence and best practice-based alcohol policy formulation and implementation on the national and international levels. Alcohol and illicit drug misuse afflicts innumerous individuals and families. It also costs societies around the world billions of dollars in health and socio-economic costs. This growing burden is worthy of everyone's attention. The International Blue Cross constitutes a credible and renowned organisation driven by the values, the sort of professionalism, governance, and local community connections needed to effectively address this global challenge.

Too often grocery stores and restaurants find themselves throwing out food, when there is great need in nearby communities. MEANS Database modernizes food recovery in 48 states and the District of Columbia by connecting excess food to organizations and individuals who need it. Hunger lingers in the lives of the people it affects. In infants and toddlers, food insecurity is associated with failure to thrive, a devastating condition with consequences into adulthood (1). In early childhood, hunger is associated with diminished academic progress, more behavioral problems and unhealthy weight (2). By high school, it's linked with dropping out, and by early adulthood, with having children who also face hunger, the cycle starts over again (3). Food insecurity exists in every American demographic and geography, affecting every population tracked by the US Census. However, as it seems for every other social ill, the most rural, the most urban, and minorities in any location bear a disproportionate burden of the weight of hunger. While 12.7% of American families are food insecure, the rate for Black and Latino families are each about 20% (4). Jefferson County, Mississippi, is a study in these disparities: it has the highest percentage of black residents of any American county, and also holds the dubious distinction of having the highest rate of food insecurity in the United States, with nearly 38% of residents facing hunger (5). Meanwhile, while more than 42 million Americans rely on food pantries, soup kitchens and other emergency food providers to feed their families, the United States grapples with an massive food waste problem. Forty percent of the American food supply ends up in landfills, with perfectly edible meals being thrown away at all stages of production (7). Food is the single largest contributor to landfill and incinerator mass in the United States, choking the nation's air while 1 in 8 Americans face food insecurity (8). Further complicating this feast and famine dynamic is the uncomfortable truth that even programs meant to address hunger frequently end up wasting food. The issue we are tackling with MEANS is huge: we're trying to prevent food waste and adequately address the problem of hunger. The USDA reports that 48.1 million Americans live in food-insecure households, while Feeding America says that 70 billion pounds of food are wasted in the US each year (8). This task may seem daunting, but we know that through the use of innovative technology like ours, we can help to change the future of food recovery. MEANS (Matching Excess And Need for Stability) is an online communications platform for emergency food providers and their donors. On a desktop, laptop, tablet or smartphone, agencies create an account with MEANS, registering their contact information, location, the kind(s) of foods they are searching for, and the distance they are willing or able to travel to pick up those goods. Donors post their excess goods on MEANS, and the system emails and/or texts organizations nearby that need those goods. Our tool substantially reduces the communications gap between emergency food providers and their donors, preventing "donation dumping" on both sides. MEANS was designed to handle both traditional food donations, from grocery stores or caterers, and donations between emergency food providers. There is no charge for any of our organization's services, for nonprofit agencies or retailers. Citations: 1) Kersten, Hans B. and Bennett, David (2012) "A Multidisciplinary Team Experience with Food Insecurity & Failure to Thrive," Journal of Applied Research on Children: Informing Policy for Children at Risk: Vol. 3: Iss. 1, Article 6. 2) Jyoti, Diana F.; Frongillo, Edward A.; and Jones, Sonya J. (2005) "Food Insecurity Affects School Children's Academic Performance, Weight Gain, and Social Skills" The Journal of Nutrition vol. 135 no. 12 2831-2839. 3)"Changing the Picture of Education in America: Communities in Schools Spring 2014 Impact Report" (2014) 4) USDA (2015). "Food Security Status of U.S. Households in 2015" 5) Feeding America (2016). "Map the Meal Gap 2016" 7) Gunders, Dana (2012). "Wasted: How America Is Losing Up to 40 Percent of Its Food from Farm to Fork to Landfill" 8) Feeding America (ND), "Food Waste In America"

Our two fold mission: To harness the power of dance and dance movement therapy to heal, empower and transform individuals into active citizens and change makers. To build the ecosystem for DMT for Change across Asia and create leaders and changemakers in the field, especially from underprivileged communities. KS's work addresses three Sustainable Development Goals: Gender Equality, Eradication of Poverty and Good Health and Well Being.The core of KS's work takes place in community settings. This consists of the conducting of Dance Movement Therapy (DMT) sessions for survivors of trafficking, survivors of sexual violence, people with mental illnesses and other marginalized communities. The NGO has created a unique, culturally contextualized module of DMT known as Sampoornata (fulfillment). KS's DMT-for-change model redefines a survivor's relationship with her/his body and helps her/him to overcome trauma, guilt, and shame. Sampoornata is designed to be a vehicle for empowerment: DMT process enables them to form a vision for their life and live with confidence and positivity. Along with this KS has developed its dance based module on sexual and reproductive health and rights that aims to install positive gender relations amongst adolescents. In this way, KS is contributing to the Sustainable Development Goal of Gender Equality. Women and girl children are empowered to overcome social stigma and restrictions and make independent choices. By encouraging women and girl children to seek employment, KS contributes to the Sustainable Development Goal of eradicating poverty. Another way in which the NGO contributes to this goal is through its 'childhood to livelihood approach'. Through this approach, individuals who have gone through the DMT process and who want to take it up as a profession go through a two-year Training of Trainers (TOT) programmed, after which they can be employed as Dance Movement Therapy practitioners. In this sense, they use the arts for economic progress. Additionally, the participants of the TOT programme go through capacity building, from which they get a range of skills that enable them to be employed in various other jobs. Most importantly, the TOT programme creates a new set of change makers from amongst the community. KS contributes to achieving the Sustainable Development Goal of Good Health and Well Being, not only by helping individuals overcome their trauma but also by working in community, institutional care and Health Care Settings. KS conducts DMT in marginalized communities, mental hospitals for people living with mental illnesses. . The activities and aims of the DMT sessions are specially modified to suit the clients. Sampoornata has contributed greatly to developing services that help expand our understanding of mental health and aid in the development of cost effective, sustainable services that are less intrusive and easy to replicate across populations. WORKING POPULATION: Kolkata Sanved believes that everyone has the right to live a life of dignity. Often there are many structural barriers that deprive marginalized communities of this basic entitlement. Therefore Kolkata Sanved aims to reach out to these communities to ensure their rights. This includes Working with children, youth and adolescence: Childhood is a period with potential the potential to influence developmental outcomes. KS work's work with young people include helping them optimal development outcomes. KS works with all categories of young people. Its general well being program is aimed at children in general whereas its direct intervention programs are aimed at children who are at risk. Groups falling within this category are 1. Children and youth living in: Red light areas Railway platforms Rural and urban slums Government and NGO-run shelter homes Children in conflict with Law School children 2. Working with survivors of trafficking exploitation and violence: Most survivors of violence undergo intense trauma, KS helps to empower survivors through their trauma based interventions so they can reclaim their lives. This works on fulfilling the goals of gender equity and good health and well being. In lieu of their work KS found that a lot of violence happens in the context of gender based discrimination. For this purpose KS launched the module on sexual and reproductive health and rights that enables adolescents to work towards the goal of gender equity. This unique model uses dance as a tool of education and awareness. 3. People living with mental illness (PLMI): KS works with people living with mental illness to help in the process of their recovery. Through its general well being program KS ensures PLMI are able to gain the life skills necessary for reintegration. 4. Secondary stakeholders and beneficiaries include, care providers, academy participants, researchers and stakeholders within the government sector. KS also reaches out to other civil society members through campaign.

COMMUNITY HEALTH, HOUSING AND SOCIAL EDUCATION (CHHASE), TAMIL NADU Background Community health, housing and social education (CHHASE) NGO is involved in social work for Scheduled castes, Scheduled tribes, other backwards classes and under privileged. Team of youth, who have passion in social service and compassion towards the sufferings of the disadvantaged sections of the society, came together and formed CHHASE. Our team have clear insight in the socio-economic, education, health and environment issues faced by the downtrodden, under privileged and marginalized segments of the communities. CHHASE NGO India is a non-governmental, non-profit, social service voluntary organization working for an integrated development of women and children of downtrodden segment of the society. CHHASE NGO believes that all human beings are equal and has the right to have good health, shelter, food and minimum standard of living. CHHASE NGO has touched new heights by Regular Activities to fulfil the mission of organization. Our executive committee oversees all the organization's efforts. The committee meets regularly to ensure that all of our teams perform efficiently and to facilitate cross-functional connections. CHHASE NGO have excellent staff, volunteers & members, who are dedicated, are available for any social cause (s) always. They are our real strength to carry the noble cause of uplifting the downtrodden. CHHASE NGO was registered in the year 2001 under TN Societies Registration Act, 25 of 1976. It is also registered under the FCRA, 12A & 80G of Income Tax Exemption Act, 1961. CHHASE NGO is completed due diligence norms and listed with CREDIBILITY ALLIANCE, & GUIDE STAR INDIA. CHHASE NGO has been collaborating with foreign donor agencies, corporate, national donor agencies both governmental and non-governmental towards making meaningful interventions for the cause of poor and needy sections of the society.

Originally founded in downtown LA as an orphanage, our initial mission was simply to provide safety to children who had no home. In time, our mission expanded to also focus on the well-being of our clients and caring for the mental and emotional health of children who were increasingly coming to us as a result of abuse or neglect. Having grown to an agency caring for nearly 8,700 children and family members annually across five counties, we now strive for permanency – a permanent, loving home – for all those in our care. These three pillars; safety, well-being and permanency provide the framework for all of Five Acres’ current programs and they will guide our steps in the future as we continue seeking even more effective means of caring for children and families in crisis. For over 129 years Five Acres has been committed to preserving successful childcare programs and developing innovative services for children and families in crisis. With over 100,000 clients served since its founding in 1888, Five Acres currently cares for 8,700 children and families annually, across five counties including Los Angeles. Safety For over 129 years, children’s safety has been one of our priorities. Five Acres works to address and heal the trauma that effects children and their families so that children can grow safely and thrive within a loving family Well-being Healthy families are more likely to remain intact and enjoy a greater level of well-being. Five Acres believes families stay together when they are provided with essential prevention and intervention resources for success Permanency Five Acres actively strives to provide a sense of belonging by connecting children to caring adults with safe, permanent and loving families. With strong stability and the chance to stay in a loving home, children are able to rebuild their sense of belonging and grow.

The Artolution is a community-based public art organization that seeks to ignite positive social change through creative, participatory and collaborative art making. We facilitate projects around the world that connect diverse peoples in order to address challenges that they face daily and in the future and to develop common social objectives. Our projects bring together children, youth, families, artists, educators and community groups. Our founding objective is to address critical issues related to conflict, trauma, and social marginalization by cultivating sustainable initiatives that promote reconciliation, healing and community empowerment. Our process empowers artists, youth, and communities to be agents of positive social change, explore critical societal issues, and create opportunities for constructive dialogue. Artolution collaborative art projects engage youth and communities that have faced social exclusion and trauma, including refugees, street youth, the incarcerated, people with physical and mental disabilities, and young people living in areas of violent conflict or extreme poverty. These projects have been organized and facilitated in partnership with local artists and educators, grassroots community groups, schools, religious centers, museums and international institutions in over 20 countries across Latin America, Africa, Australia and New Zealand, North America, the Middle East, Europe and South Asia. We utilize visual public art mediums such as mural art and community sculpture, as well as street performance genres including dance, theatre, and music. In our workshops, participants explore important community issues. Supported by us, they collectively decide on the subject and content of the artistic production, culminating in the collaborative creation of works of public art. Through this process, we emphasize the building of positive relationships among participants, skill-building, the sharing of knowledge and the encouragement of community creative activism.

Growing a Wood - Growing Community - Growing Knowledge and Understanding 10 years - 10,000 children - 10,000 trees This is a conservation project that has its eye set firmly on the need for future environmental stewardship. Planetary conservation and protection of biodiversity needs more champions than ever before and the young people in our society are the decision-makers of tomorrow. With a growing disconnect between young people in urban communities and the natural environment, it is more important than ever before to put them at the heart of environmental projects. We have formed a COMMUNITY of 25 local schools, youth groups, volunteers and businesses working in partnership together and with specialist environmental organisations. Our aim over the decade 2012-2021 is to involve every young person in our community in creating new woodland, somewhere to relax, to enjoy, to learn. Once the 12-acre wood is complete, tree planting will continue through partnerships with local landowners as we plant outwards from Harmony Woods creating green corridors that link to nearby woodland and copses. We offer regular volunteering in nature for all irrespective of age or ability and offer training in green crafts, including coppicing, constantly striving to grow the volunteer base both in numbers and capacity. The first 5 years were spent establishing the project; the second 5 years is about realising its potential, a major part of which is to support 6 of our 25 schools to develop programmes of outdoor learning linked to arts and science and based on the wood that their students are helping to plant. We are currently fundraising to employ an education officer, fund outdoor learning programmes led by local artists and convert a pair of steel containers into an off-grid woodland 'Cabin', an all-seasons base for volunteers and a teaching space for all, connecting people to nature and local heritage.

WomenSafe serves people across the gender spectrum who experience sexual violence, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking Hotline Services – Through a 24-hour hotline, we provide crisis intervention, problem-solving assistance, safety planning and emotional support. Advocacy Services – We offer information and referrals to all community resources over the phone and in person. Advocates offer support, advocacy and referrals related to the Relief from Abuse Order, family and criminal court processes when it’s related to domestic and sexual violence. Advocates will accompany survivors to the hospital to offer support and advocacy when receiving medical attention following an act of sexual or domestic violence. Systems Advocacy – We work to change the multi-system barriers that support violence against women. Our goal is to create systems that support safety, dignity and wholeness in the lives of everyone in our community. We do this through individual advocacy, community collaboration and participation in statewide policy making. Underserved Communities Outreach – WomenSafe provides targeted outreach to the smaller, less populated towns throughout Addison County and Rochester. This includes outreach to migrant workers and other immigrants. Language Line interpretation services are available for hotline callers with limited English proficiency. Language Line provides interpreters for 170+ languages. WomenSafe can also arrange for in-person interpreters. Our advocacy services are free and confidential, regardless of citizenship status. Support Groups – We offer drop-in support groups for survivors of domestic and/or sexual violence. Childcare is available with advanced notice. Call our hotline for specific days and times or for more information. Supervised Visitation & Monitored Exchanges – When a partner separates from an abusive partner, it is often a time of increased risk for the parent and children. The Supervised Visitation Program @ WomenSafe (The SVP) provides increased safety for children and parents during supervised visitation and monitored exchanges. Services are provided by a trained monitor in a safe, impartial and child-friendly environment. For more information, please call The SVP directly at 388-6783. Community Education – We offer trainings, presentations and awareness activities on topics related to domestic and sexual violence to schools, community groups, businesses and other organizations and professions. Sample topics are: healthy relationships, sexual harassment versus flirting, effects of domestic violence on children, and child sexual abuse prevention. Presentations are individually tailored to meet the needs of the audience

The Idjwi Island Education Fund is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with the mission of providing a better school for children in the village of Buhumba on Idjwi Island in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Idjwi Island, located in Lake Kivu on the eastern border of the DRC, has seen a dramatic increase in its population in recent years, much of which is the result of refugees fleeing violence in Rwanda and the DRC. A substantial number of these new residents are children, including many orphans. Approximately 400 children attend the existing primary school. This makeshift school is overcrowded, has a leaky roof, and does not provide desks or even books for the students. In 2009, Them Nyamunongo, who grew up on Idjwi and now works in Washington, D.C., returned to visit family on the island. During his stay, he gave gifts to children that he met in Buhumba. As he spent time with the children, he learned about the extremely poor conditions at the school, including how it has become overcrowded due to the increase in refugees and orphans. The children told him that their true wish was for a school with a roof so that they were not sent home every time that it rained. When Them returned to Washington, D.C., he and his wife, Safi, approached a friend who is a director at a local preschool. From this meeting in late 2009, the Idjwi Island Education Fund was formed. In just over eighteen months, the Idjwi Island Education Fund has obtained property in Buhumba for the new school (which was donated by Them's family), met with and conducted a needs assessment with the director of the existing school, and provided some interim support for the facilities at the existing school. The Fund has recruited a board of directors that includes professionals with experience in international development and project management. The Fund has also conducted a series of fundraising events through which it has raised more than $15,000, in gifts ranging from $20 to 1,000, from more than 100 different donors. With this foundation in place, the Fund is intensifying its efforts on the design program for the new school, interviewing representatives of other non-governmental organizations with experience with similar projects in the region, and identifying local organizations to collaborate in the building process. The ultimate goal of this effort is to provide improved facilities, desks, books, and a safe-haven for more than 400 primary school children in this isolated community.