Archive for category: Nonprofit Organizations and NGOs

Information and stories about nonprofit organizations and NGOs

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Ways to Get Involved: Eight Impactful Types of Advocacy Work

types of advocacy work
Advocacy can be done and acknowledged in many different forms. In simple terms, advocacy is the public support for particular causes and policies. The following list delineates eight types of advocacy work to help people worldwide, and some you can help with right from the comfort of your home. To support these programs and groups to continue their advocacy work, you can share their websites on social media, as well as donate and volunteer to their cause.

Eight Types of Advocacy Work

  1. Eastern Congo Initiative (ECI)
    Founded by Ben Affleck in 2010 the ECI works within the bounds of advocacy and public and private partnerships to help the people of the Eastern Congo. Its goals are to raise public awareness, promote policy change through the U.S. government, and help communities locally. Some of the types of advocacy work that ECI does daily are helping improve maternal and newborn health care, aiding the DRC security sector and creating more economic opportunities in the Eastern Congo.
  2. International Child Resource Institute (ICRI)
    ICRI is working to help improve the lives of children and families globally through education, empowerment, health care, children’s rights and community development. ECRI offers travel goals anyone can take so you can travel with a purpose. You can go to places such as The Great Wall of China, the Kakadu National Park in Australia and Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and help fundraise for IRCI along the way; everything raised through the trips goes directly to the organization’s programs.
  3. ONE
    ONE is an advocacy group that fights and alleviates extreme poverty and preventable disease through public awareness. Due to ONE’s specific type of advocacy work, the group has been able to help over 110 million people; ONE takes on issues in disease, agriculture, energy, maternal and child health, water and education.
  4. Aids Healthcare Foundation (AHF)
    AHF a nonprofit organization that helps people in over 39 countries fight against HIV/AIDS. Some of the types of advocacy work that AHF does include testing one billion people every year for HIV/AIDS, finding new cutting-edge medicine and discovering new ways to educate, treat and prevent further spread of the disease.
  5. Global Citizen
    Global Citizen is a movement that started in 2012 that aims to help fix the world’s most significant every-day challenges. Due to their types of advocacy work, Global Citizen has gotten over $30 billion in financial aid to help over one billion people worldwide; in addition, the organization gained 130 commitments and policy announcements from world leaders. Their ultimate goal is to end extreme poverty by 2030.
  6. Survival International
    Survival International works towards the global movement for tribal people’s rights. The goal is to help defend tribal people’s lives, protect their lands and allow them the autonomy to determine the course of their own futures.
  7. UNICEF: For every child
    UNICEF works in over 190 countries to help save children’s lives and defend their rights. The types of advocacy work UNICEF focuses on are education, child survival, child protection, equality for women and girls and innovation.
  8. Intern for The Borgen Project
    The Borgen Project offers five different types of internships which can be done right from home. The internships available are Public Relations/Marketing, HR, Writing, Journalism and Political Affairs. All of these internships can further help show the types of advocacy work both The Borgen Project and one intern can do.

With just these eight options, everyone has the opportunity to get and stay involved. Increased awareness and action can change the world, it’s just a matter of picking the cause you want to fight for.

– Amber Duffus

Photo: Flickr

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10 Most Important Facts About Search for Common Ground

John Marks
In an increasingly polarized world, it is becoming more and more common for individuals to be split on issues. Although this may not be negative, such binarization certainly has the potential to breed conflict. Search for Common Ground (SFCG) is a non-governmental agency that seeks to prevent violence that results from differences. Here are ten facts about Search for Common Ground that provide a better understanding of what the organization does.

10 Facts about Search for Common Ground

  1. Search for Common Ground was founded by John Marks in 1982 in Washington D.C. His vision was to replace the dog-eat-dog mentality of the world with the premise that everyone is better off if we are all better off.
  2. SFCG is revolutionizing the way the world deals with conflicts. Through listening and cooperation, the company brings people together toward a common goal and away from conflict.
  3. They have 59 offices worldwide and work in the U.S., Middle East, Africa, Europe and Asia.
  4. Search for Common Ground is dedicated to upholding human rights. As a result, they served as a signatory for a delegation in Nigeria known as the Steering Committee of the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights Initiative.
  5. SFCG has a great global outreach program, as 795 thousand individuals volunteer with SFCG every year.
  6. Search for Common Ground has global initiatives such as “The Team.” This is a television series where soccer players must overcome their ethnic, social, religious and racial differences and use diversity to work together. This has proved to be an effective method to reach viewers as Richard Scudamore, the Chief Executive of the Premier League said, “football (soccer) is a remarkable tool which can break down barriers, foster understanding, and teach people valuable lessons on a wide range of social issues.”
  7. SFCG encourages cooperation in specific locations through dialogue, media and community work.
  8. SFCG has been successful in using dialogue to better relations. In one case, they transformed the reputation of police officers in the Terai region of Nepal through the Pahunch Project. This project invited Terai youth and police officers to play football and ask questions about one another. Notoriously there is tension among these groups, but afterward, one participant named Mamta said, “The football clinic has made my friends and me positive towards the police.” In fact, she even later decided to become an officer herself.
  9. SFCG created a video: L’Équipe to address gender-based violence. It revolves around the perspective of two African women soccer players that are victims of sexual violence. Despite their pain, the two women seek to better their situation and community. This is one of the many SFCG media tools that reaches 51 million people annually and provides encouragement for women to stand up against sexual violence.
  10. The Kpaika community within the Democratic Republic of Congo is a poor area that is prone to attacks from rebel groups. In response, SFCG organized the Secure, Empowered, Connected Communities (SECC) project. This project bettered communication within the community by establishing radio networks and emergency plans of action. As a result, the community has felt a lot safer and is more prepared for potential attacks.

Creating Change

These facts about Search for Common Ground do not encompass the entirety of the organization’s successes as a whole. To learn more about the organization or how to help, visit sfcg.org.

– Mary McCarthy

Photo: Flickr

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New Calls to Action from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
At the turn of the nineteenth century, German mathematician David Hilbert attended the International Congress of Mathematicians in Paris, and asked his colleagues a simple question: “Who of us would not be glad to lift the veil behind which the future lies hidden?”

In a call to action, Hilbert presented a set of ten unresolved problems, which if solved, would signal major breakthroughs in the fields of mathematics and science. Over a century later, Tthe Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation launched Grand Challenges in Global Health, an open innovation program inspired by Hilbert’s bold question.

Grand Challenges

Originally focused on 14 scientific challenges that could lead to breakthroughs in combating disease in the developing world, the initiative was relaunched in 2014 as Grand Challenges to reflect its broadened scope. Grand Challenges co-opts Hilbert’s approach and applies it to the world of philanthropy, inspiring innovators to come up with solutions to essential development problems and funding the best ideas.

Just as Hilbert expanded his original ten problems to a later published 23 this month, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is adding to the list. Sponsored by its Explorations program, Grand Challenges has outlined three new problems designed for early-stage ideas.

After submitting a two-page application, recipients receive $100,000 over 18 months to implement their visions. Here are three new calls to action from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

1. Reducing Malnutrition

One in three people worldwide suffer from malnutrition, which can have devastating ripple effects on health, cognitive development and productivity. This new challenge seeks to address three essential problems in the fight against malnutrition — making food accessible, affordable and appealing.

People suffering from malnutrition often live in places where nutritious food is hard to find, or is so expensive that they are priced out of a healthy diet. In other cases, people simply don’t know the vital benefits of eating nutritious food.

This challenge seeks solutions that work with existing food systems in low-income countries to improve people’s diets through food product development, processing, packaging, distribution, consumer education and marketing.

2. Combating Crop Disease

Pests and crop disease threaten the livelihoods of not only farmers, but the millions of people who rely on their harvests. Grand Challenges has identified the dearth of information on diseases and pests as an essential problem in responding to protect farmers’ fields.

This call to action seeks to harness the emerging research in data science, engineering, biology, chemistry, computer science and telecommunications to improve pest and disease surveillance in low-income countries so that smallholder farmers can mitigate their risks.

3. Improving Immunization

Each year, about 21.8 million children do not receive vaccines necessary to protect against serious infectious diseases. This year, at least 1.5 million of these children will die from diseases vaccines could have prevented. In a two-pronged approach, this challenge encourages innovators to find new ways to collect and use data, and develop efficiencies that improve existing immunization systems to work better for both health workers and patients.

Much like Hilbert’s problems, two of which remain unresolved to this day, identifying and implementing solutions to the problems facing developing countries remains immensely complex. These new calls to action from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation represent an important continuation of Hilbert’s legacy.

By offering competitive, accessible grant opportunities aimed at pre-targeted problems, the Grand Challenges program is spurring innovation to lift the veil over a better future.

– Whiting Tennis

Photo: Flickr

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Looking from All Angles: Fighting Poverty with Humanity Unified

Looking from All Angles: Fighting Poverty with Humanity UnifiedRwanda seems to be the focus of many humanitarian organizations, yet the job never seems to be done. After a conflicted history culminating in genocide, its citizens have been left impoverished and in desperate need of support from all walks of life. The country is home to around 11.6 million people and is landlocked by the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, Burundi and Uganda. Organizations like Humanity Unified are enhancing their approaches to fighting poverty to improve the lives of those that live here.

Flashback to How It Began

Rwanda has long been an ethnically divided country. The citizens were faced with a brutal civil war and genocide in 1994 that left more than 800,000 dead. This conflict also caused an extreme economic downturn that left survivors in ruin.

The Borgen Project had the opportunity to interview Maria Russo, founder and executive director of Humanity Unified. She was a travel writer and her husband a web developer and photographer; they combined their talents to create the organization. Russo says she “became interested in international development, particularly in the areas of women’s issues as pertaining to gender inequality, education for women and girls and global food security”. The organization they created uses a variety of approaches, with a focus on women, to combat poverty globally and specifically in Rwanda.

A Big Picture Approach

Russo states that the goal of Humanity Unified is “empowering communities to rise above poverty through education, food security programs and economic opportunities.” It does this through a varied program that includes partnering with local NGOs to accomplish tasks and employing a team directly in Rwanda because, as Russo says, “this creates a greater sense of trust between our team and the communities we work with”.

Humanity Unified invests in women in several ways, beginning with education. Its education programs include specific focuses on human rights, business, literacy and health. They specifically target women because they are ten times more likely to use this education to better their communities. The organization also collects donations to provide food security to rural communities that are commonly neglected by aid programs. Lastly, it provides economic opportunities through business, leadership and vocational training. Several communities of rural women farmers have benefited from this training as well through positive masculinity for their male partners.

Proven Success

So far, Humanity Unified’s methods have proven effective. Eighty-five percent of women said their lives had changed since becoming involved with these programs, 96 percent were able to purchase health insurance for their families, and 96 percent reported that violence against women had decreased within their communities. The organization also works to connect personally with these women in what they call a “humanist approach”. They make visits to Kigali, the country’s capital, where women tell them of their specific successes and the ways in which their individual lives have improved.

The hope is that the organization will only expand in 2018. Russo elaborates that “the goal for 2018 is to continue to support the women in their entrepreneurial endeavors and provide education on how to properly run a small business”. With the support of donors, volunteers, local NGOs and the people themselves, Humanity Unified will be able to accomplish these goals.

– Megan Burtis

Photo: Flickr

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Feedie and the Lunchbox Fund Fight Childhood Hunger in South Africa

“Feedie” and The Lunchbox Fund Fight Childhood Hunger in South AfricaAccording to the Lunchbox Fund, 12 million South African children under the age of six are living below the poverty line. Unsurprisingly, this means that a fifth of households in South Africa experience continual hunger.

This has daunting consequences. Lack of adequate nutrition can cause growth stunting. In fact, 27 percent of children under the age of five have stunted growth in South Africa. In many cases this is irreversible. Malnutrition causes not only physical damage but mental deterioration as well. It negatively affects children’s learning ability and capacity to concentrate. When the top priority of a household is to fulfill hunger, and it struggles in doing so, the importance of school drops to a negligible level.

An app and a nonprofit have partnered to fight this problem and reduce childhood hunger in South Africa.

Feedie

Feedie is an app that allows food lovers to share photos of their meals on social media pages. However, this is not just any food photography app. It allows foodies to take their love of photographing food to a humanitarian level.

With the app, people can upload photos of their meals at participating restaurants, and that restaurant will donate 25 cents to the Lunchbox Fund, which provides lunches for impoverished South African schoolchildren. There are approximately 100 participating restaurants, including Del Posto, The Spotted Pig and La Esquina in New York.

The Lunchbox Fund

The Lunchbox Fund is a nonprofit that focuses on childhood hunger in South Africa. They work to provide a daily nutritious meal to orphaned and poor school children in townships and rural communities in South Africa. They believe that food insecurity should not inhibit children from achieving a basic human right: going to school.

The Lunchbox Fund has created a menu revolving around nutritious foods that children love, including maize, rice, lentils, beans, samp, gravy, soya mince, porridge, soy milk, 100 percent juice, peanut butter and vegetables. These meals have been approved by the Nutrition Information Centre at the University of Stellenbosch, ensuring that they contain adequate amounts of macronutrients and micronutrients that are essential to healthy brain and body development.

They work in all nine provinces and are dedicated to providing daily lunch meals to schoolchildren yearly. The Lunchbox Fund has calculated that 4,719,480 meals are necessary to feed vulnerable children in all provinces. They aim to reach four million children that do not receive government food subsidies at school.

Successes and Donations

The Lunchbox Fund has been feeding children since 2005. Since its birth, it has served an impressive 14.4 million meals. Just in 2017, 4.9 million meals were served. Even more astounding is that 25,000 children receive meals every day.

Schools that have nutrition programs tend to see higher academic achievement among students. Attendance and academic retention increases when children can focus and look forward to eating a fulfilling meal. Schools partnered with the Lunchbox Fund can expect to experience these trends.

Every cent that is donated goes toward fighting childhood hunger in South Africa. Impressively, if the average amount of money that Americans spend weekly on groceries ($151) were donated, it would feed three students for an entire year. This illustrates the huge impact that an inexpensive meal can have on a child’s health and education. The success of the Lunchbox Fund can serve as a model to help children at risk of hunger all over the world.

– Mary McCarthy

Photo: Flickr

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5 Nonprofits Helping Women and Girls in Nigeria

5 Nonprofits Helping Women and Girls in Nigeria

Traditional religious and cultural beliefs have hindered the growth and development of women and girls in Nigeria. Often faced with opposition, this particular demographic does not have any support. As the economy of Nigeria continues to worsen, many programs that aid women and girls are likely to be cut. However, most remain strong and continue to provide assistance to Nigerian females through various institutions. These are five nonprofits helping women and girls in Nigeria.

Kudirat Initiative for Democracy

Based in Lagos, Nigeria, Kudirat Initiative for Democracy (KIND) works on projects focused on eliminating barriers for women’s public participation in social, economic and political development and ending violence against women.

KIND is just one of the many nonprofits helping women and girls in Nigeria by providing them with the information and skills needed to take part as service leaders at all levels of society.

One of KIND’s leadership programs, Kudra, is offered at higher institutions of learning in Nigeria. This program works with young women at universities, supplying them with leadership tools and life-building skills. These young women are encouraged to engage in changing their communities through community engagement, building businesses and mentoring others, thereby boosting the development of a generation of women leaders in Nigeria.

Wellbeing Foundation Africa

The Wellbeing Foundation Africa is a maternal, newborn and child health group in Africa, noted for being one of the first established nonprofits in Nigeria and the backbone of the larger Wellbeing Group.

Through strategic collaboration with preeminent global providers of maternal and child health products, with the hopes of sealing the cracks in health infrastructure, Wellbeing Universal Health organizes the expedition and accessibility of life-saving supplies to expectant and new mothers in Africa.

Working to Advance Science and Technology Education for African Women (WAAW Foundation)

Founded in 2007, WAAW Foundation is an international organization that works to enhance the pipeline of African women entering the science and technology workforce.

WAAW Foundation’s STEM strategy underlines how the use of computer science, technology and programming can be used to solve the energy and clean water crisis occurring in Africa through the use of an integrated inquiry-based learning experience.

They are able to give girls an opportunity to seek STEM training while also introducing them to technologies that use available resources to solve massive issues in their own local communities.

Women in Management, Business and Public Service (WIMBIZ)

WIMBIZ is a Nigerian nonprofit created by individuals who recognized a major issue of few women in leadership roles in workplaces and businesses.

This organization helps women manage the many conflicts they face in the workplace by motivating them to achieve their potential and be meaningful contributors to economic development. Its goal is to increase the success rate of women entrepreneurs and progressing the number of women in senior levels at corporations and empowering women to secure leadership positions in management, businesses and public service positions.

Stand to End Rape Initiative

Stand to End Rape Initiative is a youth-led nonprofit organization advocating against sexual assault by offering prevention methods and psychological services for survivors. They advocate for rape survivors who find it difficult to speak out because of social stigma and also utilize varying platforms to teach the communities sexual violence and abuse.

With these five nonprofits helping women and girls in Nigeria, the opportunity for other organizations to contribute their resources toward addressing social problems will hopefully alleviate societal issues within this specific demographic.  

– Zainab Adebayo

Photo: Flickr

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Ripples Foundation Making Major Waves in Rural Africa

Ripples Foundation Making Waves in Rural AfricaSmall but mighty, the British nonprofit Ripples Foundation has been making waves in the fight against extreme poverty in Africa’s most rural communities. It provides the training and funding necessary for otherwise disenfranchised women to gain skills in the trade of their choice and to start their own businesses.

Through mentoring, the program allows women the chance to present their own business ideas. In addition to the training they receive in their trade, the women are also introduced to the fundamentals of bookkeeping and finance to help ensure their businesses will flourish independent of the program’s intervention.

Once a business plan is honed and deemed feasible, the foundation provides the women with a start-up loan to get their venture off the ground. As the business grows and becomes self-sufficient, the loan money is paid back and is used to sponsor another woman’s entrepreneurial goals, creating the profound ripple effect which earned the foundation its namesake.

The businesses run by these women cover a broad range of skill sets and services such as fisheries, cocoa butter, coconut oil and black soap production. Most recently, Ripples has been educating women in sustainable farming practices for which they are given two years of training. To facilitate their earning potential, Ripples created the online store Akomi Trading where many of the goods produced by the women can be purchased. All the proceeds go directly back to the women, which allow them to provide for their families.

Ripples Foundation grew from the charity BME Concern, an organization dedicated to delivering sustainable development programs to minority groups within the U.K. Today, the foundation has expanded to have offices in Africa as well as the United States.

Despite having a small core team, which relies heavily on the work of their volunteers, the foundation currently supports a staggering 6,500 women in Ghana, Cameroon and Nigeria. Today, with many African women surviving on less one dollar a day, most of the program’s participants can experience the peace of mind of a steady paycheck for the first time in their lives. Though the Ripples Foundation is small, its impact cannot be overstated.

Though their women enterprise project is at the heart of everything they do, the Ripples Foundation also offers rich programs in the areas of youth empowerment and medical care. At its core, Ripples Foundation strives to empower women and cultivate the confidence they need to harness their skills and earn an income. They rely on the hard work and determination of women to make the program a success. The idea is, if you teach a man to fish, he will eat for a lifetime. As the organization’s website states, “We encourage self-reliance as we do not give handouts, we give a hand up.”

– Micaela Fischer

Photo: Flickr

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A Nation in Need: How to Help People in Tajikistan

How to Help People in TajikistanTajikistan is hardly at the forefront of many Westerners minds when it comes to global poverty. This landlocked and mountainous nation, nestled in the heart of Central Asia, is often forgotten about, but it requires assistance just as much as many other developing nations around the globe. For those interested in how to help people in Tajikistan, opportunities do indeed exist, largely in the form of NGOs working on the ground.

32 percent of Tajiks live below the poverty line, a rate significantly higher than its Central Asian neighbors. The nation is by far the most economically deprived in the Central Asian region, and its problems are frequently compounded by its unstable economy and geopolitical situation. More than one million Tajiks work in Russia and other ex-Soviet republics, leading 50 percent of the country’s GDP to be reliant on remittances. Additionally, its rarely-policed border with Afghanistan has led to pressure from Al-Qaeda extremists in its most remote corners.

How to help people in Tajikistan is reliant on the NGOs and aid organizations that operate there. Save the Children (STC) has had a presence in Tajikistan since 1992. Around 10 percent of school age children are currently absent from the education system. STC works to ensure Tajik children are in full-time education, especially girls. They have also made strides to protect the large homeless child population in the capital, Dushanbe, and have paid special attention to orphans. Consider donating or volunteering for STC to join them in their efforts.

The U.S. government has also joined the fight against poverty in Tajikistan. USAID has implemented the Feed the Future initiative, which assists farmers in achieving the crop development they need to sustain their families and communities. Thousands have achieved a more secure and sustainable relationship with their land as a result. USAID has multiple opportunities for American citizens to join them in their work. Volunteers are accepted on various projects both at home and abroad, and they are also eager to build partnerships with businesses and organizations to further their mission.

Rural Tajiks in the nation’s remote areas also receive support from groups such as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). Its agricultural financing facility is helping alleviate the crushing debt faced by many agricultural communities due to uncertain crop yields. A 25 million euro investment through the Tajik Agricultural Finance Framework (TAFF), set up by EBRD, has allowed farmers access to purchasing the crop of their choice, diversifying production and allowing for more economic stability. The EBRD also accepts volunteers, as well as businesses interested in partnering with non-profits that work in the Central Asia region.

These organizations offer the most salient answer for how to help people in Tajikistan. Through participating with these organizations, those interested in alleviating the crushing poverty experienced by many Tajiks can make a tangible difference.

– Jonathan Riddick

Photo: Flickr

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Advocacy Organizations Around the World

Advocacy Around the World

Solving global concerns, such as poverty and hunger, are impressive goals that can only be met by multiple forms of assistance. The Borgen Project is an advocacy organization that works with the United States government and population to support efforts to alleviate global poverty. Advocacy is one form of assistance that works behind the scenes of nonprofit initiatives. It does not require the mobilization of volunteers to build schools or send money to help communities develop better healthcare systems. Advocacy organizations, like The Borgen Project, “bring about change through public awareness and activism.”

The following five nonprofit advocacy organizations, based out of different countries around the world, campaign on behalf of certain global concerns. Each one illustrates the global importance of advocacy assistance programs and lends insight into various causes that are important to different communities. These advocacy organizations work with governments and populations to bring awareness to worldwide concerns such as human rights, poverty and education.

Take a look at the different faces of advocacy organizations and the ways advocacy is implemented in different countries.

Survival International

Survival International is a U.K.-based nonprofit that supports the rights of tribal communities around the world. According to the website, it is “the only organization that champions tribal peoples around the world.” This organization brings awareness to the genocidal violence, slavery and racism that affect tribal communities by “publishing information about (their) problems, supporting projects in their communities and lobbying for their rights in international forums like the U.N.” It has changed the way the world views the tribal population and brought awareness to the over 100 tribes around the world who refuse contact with the outside world.

One of the most recent articles published on the Survival International website examines the plight of the Indians of Brazil who are at risk of disease as a result of the invading deforestation workers. Additional publications assess the reality of forcing development on tribal communities and broadcast the respect these tribal communities receive from the communities around them. Although their land ownership rights are recognized in international law, it takes an organization like Survival International to encourage the world to respect these “off the grid” communities.

VENRO

VENRO is an umbrella organization, based in Germany, that is comprised of multiple development and humanitarian aid non-governmental organizations (NGO). Its members are comprised of NGOs which represent aims of “achieving justice in globalization, in particular, eradicating global poverty.” VENRO creates an environment for its members to meet and “work towards realizing human rights and conserving natural resources.” VENRO is an advocacy organization that advocates for its members’ interests in the political sphere and raises public awareness for its causes.

Its publications are comprised of agendas and reports on topics spanning from global development and sustainability to education and global justice. Along with advocating for the member NGOs, VENRO also has 14 working groups that monitor important developments in areas of disablement in developing countries, global learning and climate change. VENRO is an overlapping organization that functions as Germany’s own unifying NGO collaborator.

World Federation of the Deaf

A Finland-based nonprofit, the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD) supports the rights of the worldwide deaf population. This advocacy organization supports the human rights of the deaf population on a global scale because it believes that sign language is a gateway to their success. Its goal is to achieve “equality through sign language for 70 million deaf people worldwide.” Its three main focuses are in empowering its members, advocating for the deaf population worldwide and ensuring greater accessibility for the deaf.

The WFD believes that a “world that is more conscious of deaf people’s needs in a world where deaf people contribute as equals.” It works with organizations around the world like the Mongolian National Association of the Deaf to support equality and human rights for the deaf. The WFD collaborates with the U.N., international organizations and governments to promote the importance of sign language to equal treatment, opportunities and accessibility for deaf people.

VITA Animal Rights Center

In recognition of the animals around the world suffering from cruelty and maltreatment, the VITA Animal Rights Center (VITA) is an animal protection agency that advocates against animal abuse. This Russian-based nonprofit is currently encouraging countries around the world to ban the use of animals in circuses. It focuses on the global treatment of animals as well as “campaign against cruelties to animals by lobbying the responsible organizations, carrying out peaceful actions and spreading publications.”

VITA campaigns against intensive farming, fur production, tests on animals, atrocious entertainments and the problem of the growing stray population around the world. It also supports a vegan/vegetarian lifestyle. VITA partners with international organizations like the Fur Free Alliance, the World Society for the Protection of Animals, the Born Free Foundation and Cruelty-Free America. It is the “voices for the voiceless” and works with multiple member-based organizations as Russia’s own animal rights organizations in order to initiate change. VITA’s publications feature the efforts Russia has made to change animal treatment and highlight alternatives to animal cruelty. It also promotes events like the “Celebration of Ethnic Fashion ‘Animals are not to wear!'”

Canadian Lawyers Association for International Human Rights

Canadian Lawyers Association for International Human Rights (CLAIHR) is a Canadian-based organization that campaigns for international efforts that support human rights. It is an organization with a unique member base that includes international human rights lawyers, criminal lawyers, civil litigators, law professors, non-legal professionals and students. CLAIHR focuses on two main areas of advocacy: Friends of the Court and events that highlight particular areas of development and landmark days like International Human Rights Day. It partners with organizations like the International Law Students Association and the Child Soldiers Initiative. The event-based advocacy focuses on unifying a population with a common interest in supporting human rights internationally.

CLAIHR’s Friends of the Court is an initiative that allows members to intervene with the Canadian court as amicus curiae or “friend of the Court”. When a Canadian court considers an international human rights issue, CLAIHR “provides perspectives on international human rights issues triggered by the litigation.” In combination with its events that encourage discussion and collaboration among members and the community, CLAIHR works with Canadian courts to augment the impact on human rights.

Every one of these advocacy organizations has a website to help promote various causes. Learn more about the importance of advocacy by visiting the websites of these organizations and examining the advocacy organizations near you. Advocating for a cause can mean the difference between its success and failure. If there is a cause that you are passionate about, consider advocating for it by promoting it online and in your community. There is more to supporting a cause than just raising money: sometimes the most effective action can be spreading awareness.

– Eliza Gresh

Photo: Flickr

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A Few Successes: Education in Mauritania

Education in MauritaniaTerrorism, corruption, slavery and poverty. These are some of the significant issues that plague most of the African continent. Some of the lowest education and literacy rates can be found in Africa. One of the primary ways a country can help its citizens and begin to climb out of poverty is by providing education. Despite enormous political and economic challenges, one nation is doing this: Mauritania.

Mauritania is a country of about 3.7 million people in the northwest corner of the continent, sharing borders with places such as Mali and Algeria. Given its geographical location and proximity to unstable countries, Mauritania faces egregious challenges both outside its borders and within them. This has undoubtedly made the pursuit of education expansion and overall poverty alleviation measures difficult to implement effectively.

The overall literacy rate in the country suffered a decline between 2000 and 2015. This is clearly a result of failed policies by the government to provide education for its people. When compared to its neighbors, Mauritania spends the least amount of GDP per pupil. The fact that its neighbors suffer from similar if not worse conditions than Mauritania makes this even more absurd.

However, in 2014, the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), a nonprofit fund dedicated to improving education systems in developing countries, began funding a new program in Mauritania. This new program is designated the Mauritania Basic Education Sector Support Project.

There has been a myriad of successes since implementation, most notably the 101 teachers certified under the Teacher Training Initiative curricula and the construction of 10 middle schools in rural areas. This project is continuing to provide training for administrative support staff as well as distributing pedagogical kits to students and schools.

In 2017, The Underrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization teamed up with the Association of Volunteers Against Illiteracy to improve education in Mauritania. This partnership sought to target specifically the Haratin minority by constructing two schools in the city of Nouakchott.

The project was a success, having provided education to over 70 women and children in just under four months. In addition to the school buildings themselves, the Education Spells Freedom project provided a bathroom facility, rugs and school supplies in order to improve the experience of attendees.

The challenges facing Mauritania will not be overcome quickly or easily. Education in Mauritania is a key starting point in the process of improving the lives of Mauritanians. The Education Spells Freedom project and the GPE program in the country should serve as a guide for future nonprofit organization initiatives regarding education in Mauritania and beyond.

– Daniel Cavins

Photo: Flickr