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Projects Funded

# 4744      2011 Northern Friends for Development (NFD)
GHANA
Keywords:
 Vocational Training
Description
 “Reducing the Phenomenon of ‘Kayayoo’(migration to cities ) in Ghana”VGIF funding will purchase sewing machines, weaving looms, tables and chairs, hair dressing cosmetics, to train 30 young women in basketry, hairdressing, dressmaking, ceramics and textile design.
Update
 

# 4812      2011 Women's Center
GEORGIA
Keywords:
 Trafficking in Women
Description
 “Prevention of Adolescent Trafficking in Internally Displaced Persons’ Communities”
Georgia is a source and transit for women and girls trafficked within the country and sent abroad for sexual exploitation. Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) from the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia are trafficked for the purpose of forced labor. In this third VGIF-funded project, the Women’s Center will conduct a campaign for awareness in the community through education seminars in 3 IDP camps. Teachers, doctors, housekeepers, young mothers and youth will learn about trafficking, risks of trafficking, human rights, and sexually transmitted infections. Through reaching out to many members within the community this information will reach 1,000 people helping to address the issue of trafficking and advocating for change in IDP camps. VGIF funding will facilitate the training sessions and the publication of booklets and posters.
Update
See also...
#2761, Women's Center, GEORGIA, 2007
#3805, Women's Center, GEORGIA, 2009
#my-1101, Women's Center, GEORGIA, 2011
 

# 4824      2011 Network Association of Youth organisation in Uganda
UGANDA
Keywords:
 Water
Description
 “Clean Water Education” Training for 60 women and girls in hygiene, clean water, and sanitation will be provided. Construction of water storage basins and educational materials are included.
Update
 

# 4856      2011 Association Alternatives pour jeune défavorisés
BURKINA FASO
Keywords:
 Literacy
Skills Training
Description
 “Empowerment of Women and Girls through Literacy and Skill Training in Nielga Village”VGIF will support a teacher’s honoraria for
literacy training and stipends for trainers in soap-making workshops for 25 teenage girls and 25 young women.
Update
 During this yearlong project, fifty women and girls successfully completed a Literacy and Skill Training. For 5 months, beneficiaries were taught basic skills in reading, writing and arithmetic. After a two-month literacy session, the women completed a six-day technical training in soap making, in which newly acquired literacy skills made the class easier.
 

# 4863      2011 Grassroot Development Initiatives
KENYA
Keywords:
 Skills Training
Description
 “The Mitaboni Women Empowering Project” 200 women and 100 girls will be trained in design and marketing of woven and carved
goods. Capital for groups will also be provided to purchase supplies.
Update
 Twenty-eight women and twelve girls were trained in marketing and design to promote local art products. Once trained, the women went out in their communities to teach 260 beneficiaries useful skills to develop their craft. Community groups were formed to collaborate together, and the women were trained on how to create the latest designs to compete in the local markets. An exhibition was held to promote sales of their weaving, carvings and sculpted crafts.
 

# 4864      2011 Gender Integrated Development Program (GIDP)
UGANDA
Keywords:
 MDG-HIV/AIDS
Small Business Development
Description
 Development Program (GIDP)“Improving Household Incomes and Nutritional Supplements among Rural Women Living with HIV/AIDS
and Girls with Disabilities in Pallisa District”Training sessions for 30 women with HIV/AIDS and 13 girls with disabilities will be
conducted to establish a poultry farm. Building materials, chicken feed, and vaccines will be purchased.
Update
 GIDP educated thirty women with HIV/AIDS and 5 girls with disabilities in poultry management and food security for their households with VGIF funding. The beneficiaries were actively involved with the construction of the chicken coop, daily feeding, vaccination; poultry waste management and marketing of eggs. In just three months, one woman reported that she had sold over 20 trays of eggs to the local market. By providing women with critical economic support as they combat HIV/AIDS, GIDP is helping to reduce the stigma of the disease.
 

# 4887      2011 Joint Efforts for Youth, Uganda (JOY-UGANDA)
UGANDA
Keywords:
 Small Business Development
Description
 “Improving Household Incomes for Female Youth in Ndoodoo Village”100 at-risk female youths will receive household income and improved nutrition by the purchase of 100 bee hives, smokers, small tools, training fees, production of information leaflets, and meals during the training.
Update
 

# 4888      2011 Hope Foundation for Women and Children of Bangladesh
BANGLADESH
Keywords:
 Health
Description
 *Hope Foundation for Women and Children of Bangladesh “Village Nurse Project”A nursing educator, medical kits, and course
materials will be provided to train ten unemployed local women in basic healthcare skills to take to their villages. Follow up training
and medications are provided.
Update
 Nine women successfully graduated from the eight-month nurse-training program. The training curriculum was prepared by hospital trainers that reflected the mission of teaching women how to provide care in rural health centers. All the women had to pass a written, oral and practical exam to receive a certificate. Four of the women are currently working in rural health centers; four of the women were recruited to work in Hope’s medical center, and one women was recruited to work at a hospital nearby. The women attended seminars and refresher courses regularly and actively organized Mother’s Clubs (small groups of women in villages to meet and discuss current health issues) in their communities.
See also...
#2787, Hope Foundation for Women and Children of Bangladesh, USA, 2007
 

# 4912      2011 Nepal Association of University Women
NEPAL
Keywords:
 Health
Income Generation
Literacy
Description
 “Economic Empowerment of Disadvantaged Women in Rural Households”VGIF funding will provide training for 40 women and girls in literacy skills, healthcare, and income-generating opportunities.
Update
See also...
#0620, Nepal Association of University Women, NEPAL, 1996
#2744, Nepal Association of University Women, NEPAL, 2007
 

# 4914      2011 The Akilah Institute for Women
RWANDA
Keywords:
 Leadership
Description
 “Empowering Young Women with Practical Leadership Skills”VGIF will provide training materials for 42 young women, developing
leadership and language skills for project implementation in the hospitality and tourism industry.
Update
 A grant from VGIF sponsored the Empowering Young Women with Practical Leadership Skills project, which enabled students to create and develop social change projects, based on the needs of their own communities. Six groups of women developed projects in areas ranging from teaching their peers about family planning, to educating women about domestic violence, to eradicating malnutrition among children. The young women formulated ideas, planned and presented their visions, and launched the projects with support from Akilah. They established meaningful partnerships with community leaders, and strengthened their project research and design skills. The women are currently in the third phase of the project, which includes regularly visiting the projects they successfully implemented for monitoring and evaluation.
 

# 4918      2011 A Brighter Tomorrow for Africa
SIERRA LEONE
Keywords:
 Literacy
Small Business Development
Description
 “Sierra Leone Market Women Association: Empowering Women through Education and Training in Marketable Skills”Funding for six
trainers, tables, benches, blackboards, and supplies to provide literacy and business skills to 75 women and girls.
Update
 VGIF funds were used to provide literacy classes for adult females that were chosen as representatives from six markets across Freetown. Classes were held for three months and a total of ninety women participated in the trainings. During the classes, women successfully learned how to write their names and produce simple sentences. Basic calculations were also taught to the women to help improve their daily business transactions at the markets. More importantly, confidence developed in these women, and now they take it upon themselves to improve their literacy rate.
 

# 4941      2011 Rwenzori Women's Empowerment Centre for Community Development (RWECCD)
UGANDA
Keywords:
 Small Business Development
Description
 RWECCD) “Community Fuel Briquette Project”VGIF funds will be used to purchase equipment and train 20 women in the production and sale of fuel briquettes.
Update
 

# 4952      2011 Pledge Action International (PAI)
KENYA
Keywords:
 Small Business Development
Description
 “PAI Mwangaza Women’s Hot Oven Project” VGIF funding will provide machinery for a new bake shop: two baking ovens, branding
and design for marketing, licenses from the ministry of public health, and the purchase of initial baking supplies.
Update
 The Hot Oven Project currently benefits around 200 women. Currently the women are engaged to produce and market cakes and buns on a rotational basis. All the women take turns working in the kitchen, and all receive cash benefits from the profits. Also, the older members are provided with food security as a result of the baking ovens purchased by VGIF. In the future, several of the women will be employed to work their full time, and selection will be done based on interviews. The women overcame some obstacles earlier in the project phase due to weather and land disputes, but have worked endlessly to see the project through to the end.
 

# 4972      2011 PeerLink Initiative Uganda (PELI-U)
UGANDA
Keywords:
 Health
MDG-Reproductive Health
Description
 “Collaborative Effort in the Prevention of Teenage Pregnancy for Rural Girls Project”VGIF funding will be used for training workshops
on sexual reproductive health, sexual rights, and pregnancy prevention for 250 youth, teachers, parents and community members.
Update
 During the first phase of the project, a training workshop was conducted for one primary and secondary teachers, 100 parents and guardians and continued dialogues with community leaders. The goal of the training was to improve the parent/guardian’s role in their capacity to provide a supportive environment, and to provide teachers with skills to guide and protect young girls from avoiding teenage pregnancy. Community leaders were also called up to involve them in teenage pregnancy prevention. The second part of the project focused on following up with participants in schools and homes to learn about the progress of the student’s action plans create during the training workshop. The project’s success in working with various community stakeholders to help with teenage pregnancy prevention has been an enriching and impactful experience.
See also...
#4589, PeerLink Initiative Uganda (PELI-U), UGANDA, 2010
 

# 4996      2011 Project Education Sudan
SUDAN
Keywords:
 Education
Description
 “Ayak Anguei Girls’ Primary School Bunk Beds and Bedding”VGIF funding will help furnish two recently constructed dormitories for
104 girls at a girl’s boarding school, providing safe and secure sleeping facilities.
Update
 With support from VGIF, Ayak Anguei Girls’ Primary School partnered with Project Education Sudan to open temporary classrooms and access to clean drinking water for primary school girls in Konbek. VGIF ’s grant furnished two newly constructed dormitories at the primary school, which will house 182 girls. With dorms on campus, young girls do not have to travel far to attend school, and the dorms are a safe place for the girls. In May 2012, 27 girls graduated and 17 are moving on to secondary school.
 

# 4997      2011 Madura Trust For Community Development
INDIA
Keywords:
 Micro-credit
Small Business Development
Description
 for Community Development “Manufacturing Organic Compost Project” Five-day organic composting training for 30 women and girls
who will receive a revolving loan to generate income thereby helping to pay their children’s school fees.
Update
 VGIF aided the Madura Trust project to provide training in organic compost to thirty women in Tamil. The women received a revolving loan to produce organic fertilizers to sell to local famers engaged in organic farming. The 30 beneficiaries repaid a small amount each month to ensure that an additional 30 women could be given the same training in organic compost. The sales earned from the organic compost went towards school fees for the young girls of the beneficiaries. The women hope to continue their efforts through the revolving loan so other women can benefit from this project.
 

# 4999      2011 Women and child development charitable trust
INDIA
Keywords:
 Small Business Development
Description
 “Enhancing Disadvantaged Tribal Women with Entrepreneurial Skills for Sustainable Development”VGIF funding will be used to purchase materials needed for pickle making and fruit preservation to help 50 tribal women acquire income-generating skills.
Update
See also...
#1861, Women and Children Development Charitable Trust, INDIA, 2004
 

# 5000      2011 Rwanda Association of University Women
RWANDA
Keywords:
 Literacy
Description
 “Reach the Illiterate Women”VGIF will facilitate classes for illiterate women who have never attended school, providing teacher
training honoraria and a supervisor to teach basic reading and writing skills.
Update
 In Rwanda, 315 women were enrolled in literary classes to help improve their reading and writing skills. Originally 250 women were the targets, but the community interest level called for more classes to be held. Groups of 25 women were selected based on common interests and met approximately six hours a week. The attendance rate was an overwhelming 93% due to the flexibility in classes offered at different times for the women. Most of the women who completed the course are now able to write their names, simple words, and read signs and words in newspapers. More importantly, women developed the confidence to work towards achieving literacy. Most of the husbands are very supportive of their wives learning how to read and write, and many stay home with the children so their wives can attend class. The women also formed relationships with other members in their class and have encouraged other women in the community to participate in such courses.
See also...
#2997, Rwanda Association of University Women, RWANDA, 2007
 

# 5012      2011 BIBBO WOMEN'S ASSOCIATION IN DEVELOPMENT (BWAD
UGANDA
Keywords:
 Agro-business
Description
 This second funding from VGIF is an expansion of the cooperation of women in BWAD in organic farming and animal husbandry.
Construction of additional pigsties will afford more room for the growing amount of pigs they have since the completion of their first
project in 2010 which focused on breeding. Pig waste is used to fertilize vegetable gardens, most notably their banana plantation
and is a sustainable, cost effective way to nourish their garden. A training manual on how to manage pigs and farm organically will
be created for members and available as a reference within the community. Funding from VGIF will support construction of pigsties,
medicine for pigs, feed, training materials and a training workshop
Update
 The second funding from VGIF has provided women with training workshops on piggery. A total of 68 women were trained in both piggery and vegetable growing while 27 youths were trained in vegetable/organic farming and maize growing. The women were trained in the construction of pig houses, which was a challenge in the beginning, as culturally, construction is not seen as part of the woman’s role. The on-site visit from one of our volunteers proved to be helpful to the organization, as suggestions and ideas were shared with the group. The group has hired someone to stay overnight and watch the pigs, to prevent people from stealing their product. In the future, the group hopes to make sausages to sell in the local market.
See also...
#3880, BIBBO WOMEN'S ASSOCIATION IN DEVELOPMENT, UGANDA, 2009
 

# 5020      2011 Forum for African Women Educationalist (FAWE Ghana Chapter)
GHANA
Keywords:
 Education
Leadership
Description
 “Empowering Girls in the Nsaba Educational Circuit Through Clubs”
FAWE plans to establish 3 girls’ clubs to empower young girls in 3 schools in the Nsaba Educational Circuit in Akuapem, Eastern region of Ghana. VGIF funding will support the purchase of books for the girls’ clubs and the inaugural ceremony for the clubs.
Update
 

# 5021      2011 Medicine for Mali
MALI
Keywords:
 Health
MDG-Reproductive Health
Description
 “A Midwife to Supervise and Teach Village Birth Attendants in Mali”
Previously funded by VGIF in 2009 this second project will employ a midwife who will oversee maternal and child health within the
region, especially in the critical areas of prenatal and family planning. From their previous grant, matrons have been trained in
danger signs in delivery by the district health office. The goal of the project is to continue to improve the number of healthy births
and healthy mothers. The supervision and training by the midwife will enable the matrons to safely conduct births in their villages in
future years. This program will serve as a model to the national ministry of health in Mali. VGIF funding will exclusively support per
diem and transportation of the midwife to local villages.
Update
 Medicine for Mail, which was previously funded in 2009, has added a new element to its maternal and child health mission. The expanded project aims to increase the number of healthy births and healthy mothers in a remote area of Mali, home to over 8,000 inhabitants. VGIF funds enabled one midwife to visit the eight TBAs trained under the first grant and provide regular oversight and support for their work in the remote villages. As a result of this project, more pregnant women came for pre-natal visits and there was a rise of women delivering in the village maternity center instead of at home. The midwife will continue to oversee the TBAs, provide ongoing training during monthly visits and work with the Attendants to find additional ways to improve healthcare for pregnant women.
See also...
#4207, Medicine for Mali, MALI, 2009
 

# 5028      2011 MADRE
NICARAGUA
Keywords:
 Health
Water
Description
 “Liwa Mairin/Women Waterkeepers Project”
As many as 80% of Nicaragua’s indigenous people do not have access to clean drinking water, resulting in waterborne illnesses, a leading cause of death, particularly for children. Women and girls are responsible for the provision of clean water to households and for maintaining water ecosystems in indigenous cultures. MADRE and their local partner, Wangki Tangni, work with indigenous women and girls to promote sustainable clean water in three communities: Waspam, Kururia and Kisalaya. This project will reduce litter at water sources through community clean-up days and public education as well as clean and repair latrines. The indigenous tradition of water system management will be preserved through training on management, hygiene and health. Grant monies will be used towards public education, maintenance and repair of wells and latrines, and capacity-building workshops.
Update
 

# 5030      2011 Rain for the Sahel and Sahara
NIGER
Keywords:
 Education
Income Generation
Description
 “Women Mentoring Girls in Niger: the Learning and Earning Loop”
The mission of RAIN is to work with nomadic and rural peoples of West Africa to improve their lives through education, income-producing activities, agriculture, and water security. The average girl in Niger attends school for only three years. These figures are even lower for the nation’s rural and nomadic children, who are less likely to attend school or be literate. This project proposes a mentoring program in a school in the Tilaberi region of Niger in which 5 mentors will teach and counsel 30 girls for the school year. Mentors spend the school day with the students once a week during the school year. In addition to the mentoring program, RAIN seeks support for the development of a women’s cooperative business through which volunteer mentors will support their community mentoring program. Depending upon the region, this business will be grain grinding, a herding program, or an artisan cooperative. Funding from VGIF will support academic tutoring for students and women’s income-generating enterprises.
Update
 

# 5042      2011 Association For Women Empowerment (AFWE)
GHANA
Keywords:
 Technology Training
Description
 “Community Information and Communication Technology for Brave Girls”
This project proposes to create a platform to train 200 young girls in school in information and communication technology at the high school level. Adding a technology component to their education, making computer software available, will help young girls pass their Basic Education Certification Examination and prepare them to pursue science and technology program at higher education levels. The training center will be established through funding by VGIF and sustained through the Parent Teacher Assocation (PTA). The PTA will pay a development levy and contribute to yearly maintenance and repair of computers and accessories.
Update
 

# 5043      2011 Project Baobab
KENYA
Keywords:
 Small Business Development
Description
 “Entrepreneurship Training for Kenyan Youth”
Project Baobab is an NGO whose vision is to educate and empower Kenyan youth to become successful small business entrepreneurs. A majority of youth enrolled in Project Baobab have few opportunities and this project aims to provide skills necessary to become self-sufficient through successful microenterprises. This 16 week training will provide education on gender empowerment, decision-making, assertiveness, and communication as well as entrepreneurial skills such as planning, implementing and managing a small business, marketing, accounting, risk management, legal issues, and business ethics. The goal is to equip 200 young women with the tools and resources necessary to achieve an entrepreneurial vision. Funding from VGIF will support a portion of the training and mentoring efforts.
Update
 

# my-1101      2011 Women's Center
GEORGIA
Keywords:
 Domestic Violence
MDG-Gender Equality or Empowerment of Women
Description
 “Social and Cultural Integration of Ethnic Minorities and Promotion of Gender Equality”
First Year: Establish a regional Aziri minority women’s legal rights advocacy network. Small-scale initiatives will increase capacity and raise awareness among community, government officials, media, and regional NGOs. Activities will focus on capacity building of local NGOs, youth empowerment through education, development of brochures on legislation in the Aziri language. Establish a Consulting Center with a hot-line for judicial consultation.
Second year: Improve and strengthen the legal and social climate through advocacy and education of human rights and gender equality measures approved by the State Minister for Reintegration and included in the National Advocacy Plan for Tolerance and Civil Integration.
Third year: Create minority women’s movement for the protection of their rights. To reach this goal, the organization plans to create a Minority Women’s Rights Network, using mass-media for training and the publication of articles.
Expected results are to build a national minority women’s legal rights protection system.
Update
 During the first year, four trainings were held in various districts that included 75 women in which the trainings prepared volunteers to visit Azerbaijani families and disseminate information about The Governmental National Plans on domestic violence, trafficking and National Advocacy Plan for Tolerance. The training also included sessions on topics including divorce, pregnancy, and rights and responsibilities of a spouse. After the training, volunteers participated in a door to door approach in which 175 families were visited by volunteers who distributed brochures on legislation and provided information about services including a hotline for women to call and receive consultation. The Women’s Center also reached out to local journalists and provided trainings for them, so they could be better informed about Georgian Legislation and the health issues affecting ethnic minority women. The Women’s Center also took initiative to train and work with local NGO representatives (32 people) in order to provide adequate and effective information about topics that were related to their work. The NGO’s received 100 samples of books translated into Azerbaijani that could be distributed to women in the community.
See also...
#2761, Women's Center, GEORGIA, 2007
#3805, Women's Center, GEORGIA, 2009
#4812, Women's Center, GEORGIA, 2011
 

# my-1102      2011 Ntankah Village Women Common Initiative Group
CAMEROON
Keywords:
 Agro-business
Description
 First Year: The centre will give women vocational training in agriculture, mushroom, small livestock and poultry development and production. This will ensure household food security as well as ensure steady incomes from increased agricultural yields. The training will be in the form of intensive short courses of two to three months with the award of certificates or nine months course leading to the award of vocational diplomas. These diplomas will prepare women for the job markets in agriculture and livestock production or equip them for self employment.

Second year: within the second year, the students for the diploma course will be fully on course. Practical work will go into full swing in terms of small livestock production. Broiler and layer day old chicks will be acquired, brooded and fattened while the broilers are sold, the layers will continue to the point of lay. When egg production starts, an Incubator/Hatcher will be purchased so as to enable the centre start the production of day old chicks both for sale and for fattening at the centre. Additionally, the piggery section will now be established with the construction of five wooden pens measuring 4Mx3M that will house the breeding stock of nine pigs. These pigs will be bought at the age of seven months and will be fattened for two months and bred. These will produce piglets for sale by the end of the second year together with the chicks and fertile eggs.

Third year: In the final year of funding, emphasis will be placed on feed ration formulation using locally available feed ingredients. To effectively carry this out, feed ingredients have to be processed using a grinding mill as well as a mixer. To ensure sustainability, the balanced feed produced will be used to feed the animals at the centre which will substantially cut down on commercial feed costs.Once optimum rations have been designed for the various classes and species of animals, the feed will be sold to livestock producers. This will raise revenue to continue project activities following the final year of funding.
Update
 After receiving authorization from the Regional Delegation of Employment to begin their activities, enrollment of trainees began in July 2011. Twelve women and three men signed up and classes began classes on various subjects including housing management, health and sanitation, managing pregnant pig females, advantages of poultry keeping and feed production. Also, a 1300 bird capacity poultry house was constructed using local materials such as mud blocks, wire mesh and wooden poles. The house was divided into ten pens- each capable of holding 130 birds. In addition, five grower pigs (four females and one male) and 500 day old chicks were purchased. By the end of February 2012, two of the mother pigs had delivered seven and nine piglets’ respectively. The chicks were purchased for brooding and fattening as part of practical experience for the trainees. The first batch of trainees graduated in February and they were awarded certificates. Seven women and two men graduated from the program.
See also...
#3276, Ntankah Village Women Common Initiative Group, CAMEROON, 2008
 
# my == multi-year project
(MDG==One of the 8 UN Millenium Development Goals) >> learn more
(FGM==Female Genital Mutilation)