A.W.P.E.D, under the Global Fund for Women, is a local feminine organization which supports woman, young girls and children in hard situation in South Kivu Province, the Eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The organization was created by the militants’ woman in October 16th, 1999 at Kiliba, City, Uvira Territory, DR CONGO. Their mission is to encourage the women autonomous efforts relative to the protection and the promotion of their human rights in general and to the improvement of their social, health and economic situation.

This grant will benefit Women that are victims of sexual violence living in Uvira city and villages around the city for the next 2 years. In Uvira city, there is no facility or center to provide these women with psychological care, which can teach these women skills like reading and writing, assure their socio-economic reintegration and help contribute to educating them about these women’s rights. Victims of sexual violence are only able to get medical care after they are abandoned by their families. These women are faced with rape and illiteracy, traumatization, poverty and rejection. Due to these horrible circumstances, this situation is often the cause of these women committing suicides.

The funds will be used to build and equip a women’s psychoeducational center in which victims of sexual violence will be able to learn to read and write, get psychological support and learn income generating activities and their human rights. It will also pay for the training and educational fees for women and girls over 2 years. Buy materials and tools which will be used in the women’s psych educational center, while also paying salaries to the center’s workers.

Haritika works with people whose lives are dominated by extreme poverty, illiteracy, disease and other handicaps. With multifaceted development interventions, Haritika strives to bring about positive change in the quality of life of the poor people of Bundelkhand, India.

Bundelkhand region is presently classified as a region with low agro-productivity, that has a lack of sustainable livelihood sources, a low literacy rate, recurring drought and stagnant economic growth. Agriculture has decreased due to the low yield, degrading soil, low aquifer level and low water retaining capacity that is due to rock and sudden climatic variation. This has lead to diseased livestock, lack of proper treatments, decreased human health, a weakening economy and frequent death/droughts. The proposed grant will benefit the two villages of ChakRamsagar and Nichroli of the district Datia MadhyaPradesh, India. Haritika is working with various intuitions to research the issues of Natural Resource Management, Agriculture and allied business support. This is to improve the productivity and sustainability of fruit and vegetable productions systems that meet market demand. In addition, they aim to develop new approaches to human capital development that is driven by technology dependent economic opportunity and entrepreneurship within the horticultural sector in various villages. These programs also help with workshops for training. A mobile based program for dissemination to farmers to help boost productivity, diversify crops and vary income. In rural production areas, a network of agro-entrepreneurs is setup to help the farmer with crop inputs and ICT based advisory for growing nutrient rich crops. For model vegetable farms, it is used for renewable energy, creation of model school, fruit orchard development and agriculture resource tools.

The project proposed will ensure improvement in the life of women and children’s education. The project will decrease cases of water-related diseases by 50%. Other health impacts specific to women include a reduction in urinary infections, reduced incidence of back pain by not having to carry water long distances, reduced mental stress, and less sick infants. The project will decrease the amount of time women spend collecting water. They’ll be reduced from 1-2 hours to 15-20 minutes. This will allow women to pursue other activities such as farming. This will result in a much better and sustainable life for women and their families.

African Girls Empowerment Network (AGE Network) was established in October 2015 as community based group with the primary focus to end child marriage and break barriers to girls’ education through support and community advocacy and also to empower those young women who are economically disadvantaged and victims of domestic violence, rape, teenage pregnancy and HIV/AIDS through woman2woman counseling, life skills, leadership training and micro credits to empower them economically. Their mission is to empower, support and protect the human rights of vulnerable African women and girls for our generation and most importantly, the generations next.

This project “Girls Empowerment Hub”, Odukpani, Cross River focuses on the issues affecting underprivileged women and girls, including girls who have dropped out of school due to child marriage and teenage pregnancy, victims of domestic violence, rape and those at risk of child marriage. Through vocational education and training for women, African Girls Empowerment Network, believes it can help build the capacity needed by creating a skilled workforce that could make enough income to support themselves and their families instead of forcing teenage girls into child marriage to settle their debts. Girls Empowerment Hub, Odukpani is also an opportunity for economically disadvantaged young women and girls, who are married as children and domestic violence survivors to have access to safe co-working spaces, collaborate with each other, learn about their bodies through sexual reproductive health & rights education and woman2woman counselling, acquire vocational skills including ICT and be financial inclusive in Cross River State Nigeria; this is because, despite the growing number of co-working space market in Cross River County, none of them cater to the need of young women’s bodily and economic rights. The fund will be used to set up Girls Empowerment Hub”, Odukpani LGA, Cross River, a resource center and safe space for underserved young women and girls in the 13 wards/communities of Odukpani LGA who are at risks of child marriage and those who have already dropped out of school due to child and early forced marriage, rape, teenage pregnancy and domestic violence to resuscitate and help them enroll back in schools or acquire vocational skills. The fund will cover the cost of setting up the center and vocational equipment including computers to provide ICT training/vocational skills, Adult literacy skills, entrepreneurship training/supports, mentoring and woman2woman counseling for young women and adolescent girls in the 13 wards/communities of Odukpani LGA Cross River. The fund will also cover the cost of the training staff, raising awareness on women’s economic rights and campaign against Money for woman child marriage practice in Cross River. This project will provide direct benefits for 12,000 vulnerable and underserved teenage girls every year in the hard-to reach communities of Odukpani LGA who are at risks of child and early forced marriage and for 5,000 young women every year who are child marriage/domestic violence survivors to resuscitate and help them meet their education and socio-economic needs. The project will provide a safe co-working space, resources and training including free ICT training, early incubation of female tech and media entrepreneur and vocational skills for 1,200 economically excluded young women including those who are victims of child marriage, teenage mothers and HIV every year to empower them economically. This will help to advance gender equality in women in tech and ICT entrepreneurship by empowering vulnerable and economically disadvantaged young women in Tech and media skills that will help them become financial and economic inclusive.

The Foundation is pleased to again support the work of WfWI in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI).  The organization was founded by Iraqi-American humanitarian and entrepreneur Zainab Salbi in response to the horrific atrocities committed against women in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the war.

This grant funding would benefit WfWI target population of ‘marginalized’ women in the KRI. WfWI’s program targets women who have limited access to resources, including single heads of household and widows. These women are often survivors of gender-based violence, victims of human rights violations, whose lives have been shattered by conflict through the loss of family, loss of property or displacement. Specifically, this grant will support the training of 700 Syrian and vulnerable host country Iraqi women in Daratu, Erbil. The funds will be used to accomplish the following: Deliver a social and economic empowerment program to 700 marginalized women in the KRI: In this second year of operation in KRI, WfWI will enroll 700 women from Daratu, Erbil in our training in December 2018. Comprised of Syrian refugee and vulnerable host country Kurdish women, project beneficiaries will be chosen based on WfWI’s tested criteria that ensures that we reach those most marginalized, based on social, economic and conflict-related vulnerabilities. WfWI’s baseline data from the first group of women in the 12- month program in the KRI reveal that their lives were typified by hardship and lack of opportunity when they joined the training: 100% of women were living below $1.90/day poverty line, while only 7% of women were earning an income and 27% had no formal education. We expect that target beneficiaries in this second year will align with this profile. Once selected and enrolled, women will come together in classes of 25 to build immediate support networks and have access to a safe space as they complete WfWI’s core curriculum. Regular classes will enable groups to form tight social circles of support—breaking isolation and promoting cohesion and trust between women from the Syrian refugee and Kurdish host communities.

The economic empowerment component of the program will train women in the following areas: (i) numeracy skills for those who need it; (ii) benefits of saving, basic household budgets, and opportunities for income generation; (iii) business basics, credit, entrepreneurship, planning, selling, and bookkeeping; (iv) working in a group or cooperative, collective decision-making; and (v) formal and informal savings and access to financial services. WfWI will also provide women with nine months of market-based vocational training. WfWI is currently running further market assessment to determine vocational tracks, matching demand and profitability with women’s capacities, interests and assets. Under the social empowerment component, women will be trained on health and wellness, their rights and decision making, and social networks and safety nets. This training will also include gender-based violence awareness and prevention. Finally, each woman will receive a monthly training stipend of $10 that she may use to meet family needs or begin saving towards her future.

The evidence from our own programs with women across conflict-affected countries as well as from development leaders such as the World Bank and the OECD show that investing in women’s empowerment, even in these fragile contexts, promotes sustainable growth, reduces poverty, and has a range of positive outcomes for families and communities. This is because women contribute their tremendous skills to social and economic domains, and extend any gains they make to their households, investing in education, healthcare, nutrition and assets – the building blocks of thriving societies. Our holistic approach provides women with vital skills, knowledge and resources to build self-reliance in the key areas of health and wellbeing, livelihoods and saving, rights and decision-making, and support networks.

The Foundation is pleased to support Center in the Square’s effort to promote the sciences and fun learning experiences to the public education system. Center in the Square is visited by over 500,000 patrons annually, all of which have the opportunity to become educated through their free atrium and rooftop spaces, used in the Get Schooled! Program. In addition to this, the Get Schooled! Field Trip Program invites students to tour the facility and to learn with their qualified staff in a unique environment. Children learn in a multitude of ways, through reading, listening, playing, discovering and more. Center in the Square is an “outside of the textbook” resource for teachers, students, and the general public. They assist teachers with SOL compliant tours of atrium’s aquariums, coral lab, and green rooftop spaces. Being an educational resource is very important to them, and they are always striving to provide the most innovative, fun experiences possible.

The grant will be used  would be used to help fund new innovative approaches (like augmented reality) to the Get Schooled! Field Trip Program and to offer discounted pricing to the schools that need it the most in this area. Roanoke City Public Schools have some of the lowest scores on Schooldigger.com in the entire state of Virginia. With nearly 6,800 elementary students, they have the ability to impact thousands of children’s lives for the better. They would like to offer a drastically reduced Get Schooled! Field Trip rate for elementary students within Roanoke City Public Schools. Since school funding has been decreasing over the years, a reduction in cost for these schools would make a big difference as to whether or not they can visit Center in the Square. Evaluation forms will be emailed to teachers (and for their students) after they visit Center in the Square and experience Get Schooled! A comment box will also be set out for the general public. Attendance counts will also be taken for each aspect of The Get Schooled! Field Trip Program.

Their goal is for all children to have memorable learning experiences that carry well into their adult years. Center in the Square offers an 8,000 gal. saltwater tank full of amazing fish (like Nemo), an Amazon River tank, two jellyfish tanks, a predator tank, a turtle tank, green rooftop spaces, and so much more to the public at no charge. Adults and children of all ages can visit Center in the Square’s atrium and rooftop spaces MondaySunday any week of the year. To further enhance these educational environments, they’ve created The Get Schooled! Field Trip Program to help teachers with an SOL compliant resource unlike any other in the region. With funds from The Kathryn B. McQuade Foundation, they can sustain this resource, expand upon it, and offer a reduced rate to the Roanoke City Public Schools, serving thousands of low income students. Their goal is for all people to have the same opportunities for education at the Center in the Square.

The Foundation is again pleased to support the work with Immigrants i the Southern Nevada area.  According to the U.S. Census, it is estimated that 22% of the Las Vegas residents are foreign born immigrants. For these people, navigating the immigration system is complex and without proper assistance and/or representation can negatively affect their status in the country and/or delay their inability to obtain the proper employment documents needed to work in the country. Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada’s Immigration Services (CCSN) goal is to assist these vulnerable individuals by educating them of their rights in this country as well as assist them with applications for benefits under the laws of the United States. It also represents individuals in immigration proceedings, as well as assists those who are seeking administrative relief, such as immigrant minors and battered women.

One hundred percent (100%) of the people they serve in Immigration Services are low-income immigrants who cannot afford the legal assistance through the private bar. In their fiscal year 2018, it is estimated that 40% of the people served are women and children and 5% are homeless or marginally homeless (persons residing in half-way houses).

Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada’s Immigration Services (CCSN) has transformed lives by assisting these vulnerable individuals obtain self-sufficiency and stability in the United States by helping them obtain benefits such as employment authorization, asylum, permanent residency, Temporary Protective Status (TPS) or citizenship. The Immigration Services uses the LawLogix database to track cases as well as statistical information. For the purpose of this project, this database will be utilized to measure the total number of people assisted with breakdown of women and children. In addition, they also provide outcomes of cases assisted such as: the number of people granted citizenship/naturalization, lawful permanent residency, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), temporary protective status, consular processing and asylum. CCSN ensures that the people that they serve are provided with services that achieve economic self-sufficiency and empowers them to become productive members in our community through immigration assistance.

With the hostility shown to many immigrants we are pleased that organizations are there to help them through this very difficult process.

The Foundation is pleased to award a grant to Fonkoze, USA.  this organization is new to the Foundations support.  Fonkoze was founded in 1994 by a group of Haiti grassroots organizations that wanted to empower the rural poor in Haiti. They choose to focus on Haitian women, who are considered the poto mitan (“backbone”) of the Haitian economy. 44% of households in Haiti are headed by single women, and they dominate the landscape of small commerce.-Fonkoze is a family of three institutions that work together to achieve a collective mission. The 3 arms are as follows: -Fonkoze is is the 501c3 arm for funding raising, technical assistance and outreach. -Fonkoze Financial Services (SFF) – is their microfinance institution. – Fonkoze Foundation – provides health and education services to their microfinance clients. Fonkoze is most well known for their microfinance services. SFF is the largest microfinance institution in Haiti and has a double bottom line; it aims to lift families out of poverty while operating in a financially self-sustaining manner. SFF offers loans from $50-$100,000, with an average loan size of $300. With over 44 braches, SFF also offers checking and saving accounts, currency exchange, payroll processing, and money transfers.

The Ti Koze Program is designed to reinforce clients’ resilience in the face of shocks and crises they encounter. The program looks to support microfinance clients with decision-making skills in the sectors of health, disaster mitigation, business, and others. At full scale, the program will reach over 60,000 clients in all SFF branches. Unfortunately the Fonkoze Foundation has been unable to consistently provide this program to all their clients, mainly due to financial constraints. The program was designed to train Center Chief’s to facilitate the Ti Koze discussion. In order to increase the efficiency and scale of the program, Fonkoze Foundation will partner with SFF to enable loan officers to deliver the program moving forward.

We look forward to watching the success of this program.

The Foundation is again proud to partner with R&W for a 4th year in support of the Rise Program.

R&W was established in 1999 in Morris County, New Jersey. Their mission is to provide young adults who age out of the foster care system in New Jersey with safe housing, educational support, case management, counseling, and life skills in order to empower them toward self-sufficiency. The founders of R&W felt that without adequate education, job training, and basic life skills, aged out foster youth face a much higher risk of homelessness, unemployment and incarceration than their peers.

The Grant will be used to help with expansion costs of their Union County Rise program. Roots & Wings was able to open an additional apartment in May of this year and are currently working on one more apartment to open in September. Roots & Wings is working towards opening a fourth Union County apartment in the fall of 2018, which will be a 3-bedroom unit for females. This will provide safe housing to an additional 3 aged out foster youth for a period of 2 to 4 years while they receive intensive services and work towards complete self-sufficiency.

Clients of R&W range in age from 18 to 24, split 50/50 between women and men. R&W accepts referrals from any county in New Jersey without regard to race, ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation. In order to be eligible for residential services, clients must be in the process of aging out of the New Jersey Foster Care system or must have already aged out. Their mission and the mission of the Foundation are aligned in that R&W provides the appropriate education and skills training needed to break the cycle of poverty and crime. By addressing their client’s serious social, educational, financial, and health issues in a comprehensive manner, R&W provides their clients a real chance to succeed in life.

The Foundation is happy to again support the West End Center.  This grant will support their Capital  Campaign.

West End Center is, and has been for nearly 40 years, a key service provider that promotes success for disadvantaged children. With appropriate support, disadvantaged children will graduate from high school, obtain job skills or graduate from college, and become contributing members of their community who live fulfilling and self-directed lives.

West End Center enrolls approximately 150 school-aged children each year (grades K-12). Over 75% of the children live in poverty, and 75% live in single parent households. The average income of the families hovers around $20,000. Over 95% receive some form of public assistance. 87% are black, 6% biracial, 3% Hispanic, and 45 white. Over 21% have an identified special need for which they are receiving medical or educational services. Largely, the children served by West End Center are living in intergenerational poverty that will continue to self perpetuate without support from the community to help them achieve a more positive future.  Specifically, their program seeks to improve academic skills by providing STEM education, reading classes, and tutoring; to develop social skills and leadership skills using the evidence-based program, Peacebuilders, and to promote wellness through nutrition education and a variety of physical activities.

West End Center moved to its location at 1226 Patterson Avenue in 1992. Nothing more than routine maintenance has been undertaken in the intervening twenty-five years. The Center’s space has always been simple and spare, and it has endured hard use by thousands of children. The facility needs updating with the kitchen and restroom facilities in most in need of renovation and are, in fact, on the verge of being unusable. Inspectors from the fire department, the health department, and child care licensing have all encouraged renovation, and the fear is that at some point, the facilities will not meet the standards of the inspections.

West End Center’s mission and its goals align with the foundation’s goals of providing education and skills training to children to break the cycle of poverty. They have been doing that for nearly forty years, but in order to keep providing such a valuable program, they will need funding to bring their facilities up to par.

The Foundation is pleased to again support the YWCA Central Carolina’s Women in Transition program.

YWCA Central Carolinas has been an important part of the Charlotte community since 1902, investing in the lives of women, children and families and working toward racial justice for all.  Women In Transition (WIT) s the primary comprehensive transitional housing program in the greater Charlotte area serving single women who have suffered homelessness. They can house up to 66 women at a time on their Park Road campus, where participants receive case management services, have access to their fitness center, educational workshops and social activities. Women can participate for up to 18 months while they gain the skills and resources necessary to attain and maintain permanent long-term housing. Last year, 83% of women who participated for four months or longer exited the program into permanent housing, successfully moving from a situation of instability to one of security.

WIT served a total of 107 women last year. Eligible participants earn less than 50% of area median income and have suffered homelessness. Last year roughly 72% of participants were African American 24% Caucasian, 2% as American Indian or Alaska Native, 1% Asian or Hispanic/Latino and their ages ranged from 18 to 74 years in age. From a studied conducted by UC Berkeley/Harvard, Charlotte ranked dead last (50th out of 50) among major cities in terms of economic stability. This means if you born to a low-income family in Charlotte, your chances of escaping poverty are less likely in Charlotte than any other major city in America. WIT specifically works to lessen this probability and gives women a chance obtain permanent housing and jobs.