The Web Women Giving Circle is presently raising money and donations for CARE, a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty. We place special focus on working with poor women because, equipped with the proper resources, women have the power to help whole families and entire communities escape poverty.--Joeann Fossland, Web Women Giving Circle Leader
Site Feed
 RSS Feed
|
Jun. 11, 2008
 When Cyclone Nargis pounded the southeastern coast of Myanmar on May 2-3, CARE was there to help. The U.N. estimates that the storm, which devastated the capital city of Yangon and important rice-growing areas of the Irrawaddy Delta, has claimed more than 100,000 lives and left 2.4 million people severely affected.
We were well-positioned to respond to this emergency, with more than 550 staff who have worked on projects in Myanmar for more than 14 years. To date, we have provided clean water, food and emergency supplies to more than 125,000 people around Yangon and throughout the Irrawaddy Delta. But many survivors remain in hard-to-reach areas in desperate need of help. We are using a system of small trucks, motorcycles and traditional wooden longboats to transfer supplies from Yangon into the delta across wooden bridges, mud-clogged roads and narrow waterways.
"The destruction in these areas is shocking, but you can see that people do have coping strategies," said Chris Northey, CARE's emergency team leader. "These local communities and the survivors are actually a part of the relief response. But we still need to reach more of them."
To support our efforts, CARE created the Myanmar Cyclone Response Fund with the goal of raising $10 million to carry out a four-year comprehensive response to the disaster. Contributions to the fund will help support CARE's lifesaving work with cyclone survivors in the coming weeks and months as well as longer-term efforts to rebuild lives and livelihoods in cyclone-affected communities.
Oct. 22, 2006
© 2002 CARE/ A John Watston
About half of the world's population — nearly 3 billion people — lives in poverty, on the equivalent of less than $2 a day. These people do not simply lack financial resources. They struggle each day to keep hunger and disease at bay. Basic opportunities to improve their lives are frequently beyond reach.
The factors that keep people living in poverty are complex and interwoven. That's why CARE does much more than feed the hungry. We work alongside families and communities to understand the greatest threats to their survival and to help them find lasting solutions to their problems.
Through its Victories Over Poverty campaign, CARE is supporting integrated programs that include emergency relief, post-emergency rehabilitation and recovery, and long-term poverty-fighting projects. Whether it's teaching new farming techniques, training teachers or helping improve access to health care, CARE works with communities to create solutions that last.
Reducing Poverty: Proof is in the Numbers
Last year, CARE's programs directly improved the lives of more than 31 million people in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. Tens of millions more benefited indirectly from CARE projects that confronted poverty in their communities.
- Poverty is not having access to clean drinking water or adequate sanitation systems. Last year, CARE helped 3 million people in 34 countries gain access to clean water and sanitation, reducing time spent gathering water and illness caused by poor hygiene.
- Poverty is a lack of accessible, affordable health care information and services. In 2002, almost 10 million children in 26 countries benefited from CARE's child health projects, reducing their vulnerability to disease.
- Poverty is not being able to produce enough food to feed your family. Last year, CARE's programs helped train more than 1.5 million farmers in 43 countries in activities relating to agriculture and natural resource management, increasing crop yields while conserving the environment. --CARE
 Help CARE score more victories over poverty! Donate here.
Oct. 9, 2006
Copyright 2004 Evelyn Hockstein Polaris safe water
About half of the world's population — nearly 3 billion people — lives in poverty, on the equivalent of less than $2 a day. These people do not simply lack financial resources. They struggle each day to keep hunger and disease at bay. Basic opportunities to improve their lives are frequently beyond reach.
The factors that keep people living in poverty are complex and interwoven. That's why CARE does much more than feed the hungry. We work alongside families and communities to understand the greatest threats to their survival and to help them find lasting solutions to their problems.
Through our Victories Over Poverty campaign, CARE is supporting integrated programs that include emergency relief, post-emergency rehabilitation and recovery, and long-term poverty-fighting projects. Whether it's teaching new farming techniques, training teachers or helping improve access to health care, CARE works with communities to create solutions that last.
Reducing Poverty: Proof is in the Numbers
Last year, CARE's programs directly improved the lives of more than 31 million people in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. Tens of millions more benefited indirectly from CARE projects that confronted poverty in their communities.
- Poverty is not having access to clean drinking water or adequate sanitation systems. Last year, CARE helped 3 million people in 34 countries gain access to clean water and sanitation, reducing time spent gathering water and illness caused by poor hygiene.
- Poverty is a lack of accessible, affordable health care information and services. In 2002, almost 10 million children in 26 countries benefited from CARE's child health projects, reducing their vulnerability to disease.
- Poverty is not being able to produce enough food to feed your family. Last year, CARE's programs helped train more than 1.5 million farmers in 43 countries in activities relating to agriculture and natural resource management, increasing crop yields while conserving the environment. --CARE
Help CARE score more victories over poverty! Donate here.
Oct. 5, 2006
Copyright 2006 Sarah Buchanan/CARE
Vocational training in CARE's Humanitarian Assistance for the Women of Afghanistan (HAWA) program began as part of a food distribution program that started when the country was still under Taliban rule. In 1996, seeking to empower the women who participated in the program, CARE began training widows to knit and make brooms - traditional crafts that were allowed by the Taliban. Since that time, the program has grown to include a wide range of other vocations. With patience, CARE has been able to overcome Afghan society's deep-seated resistance to allowing women to work.
Although HAWA offers a variety of training options, poultry and livestock remain the most popular because they provide a steady income and allow women to work near their homes. Gul Ghamai, a 30-year-old mother of five living in Kabul, recently received a pregnant milk cow through the project. Previously, she could only afford milk for her children every few months. Now Gul Ghamai has almost two gallons of milk per day to sell to neighbors and give to her children. "My children are healthier now than they have been in a long time," she reports. "I lost a child to disease and malnutrition two years ago and hope that I will never have to endure that heartbreak again. Now that I can provide for my family I feel better about the future." Taking care of the cow is a family endeavor, with older children helping to feed the cow and look after the calf. Gul Ghamai's 13-year-old son Samiullah collects grass on his way home from school and enjoys taking the cow out to graze in his free time. "When we got the cow I can't explain how happy I was," Samiullah says. "It was as if we had a new luxury car."
While women in Afghanistan still face many challenges, women like Gul Ghamai are proof that a little assistance can empower women to help themselves and their families. HAWA's vocational training has not only provided women with the ability to earn a living, but also given them life skills and introduced them to a support network of other women. "I was alone for so long," says Sahera, "but now I have help. I know that what I am doing now will make better lives for my children."--CARE
Help CARE empower women. Donate here.
Oct. 3, 2006
Categorized in: Water Advocacy
© 2001 CARE/Josh Estey
Women must manually collect water in some areas of the world. In many areas they are exposed to violence and animal attacks when walking to remote water sources and finding places to defecate. Lack of safe water means an additional burden for women who are responsible for looking after sick children and family members.
Lack of sanitation requires that some women wait until dark to relieve themselves outside. Imagine the discomfort of a woman suffering from diarrhea who has to wait for hours.
Help CARE bring safe drinking water and sanitation to the rest of the world! Donate here.
Sep. 27, 2006
The tragedy of September 11, 2001, left an indelible mark on all Americans. For some, 9/11 was a catalyst to reach out to others who were hurt by conflict. The Beyond the 11th Foundation, founded by two American women who lost their husbands in the disaster, is working with CARE to help widows in Afghanistan work together to make a new life for themselves and their families after decades of war and oppression.
© 2006 CARE/Sarah Buchanan
 Since the fall of the Taliban, women in Afghanistan have struggled to regain their social status and rights. Sahera (shown left) knows this challenge all to well: In a culture where men are the decision-makers and bread winners, her quality of life fell sharply when her husband was killed by a mortar shell in one of the country's recent conflicts. On her own with five young children and her mother-in-law to support, Sahera had few options to feed her family. But through a project supported by the Beyond the 11th Foundation and several others, Sahera has joined more than 2,500 widows who have become self-sufficient by raising poultry.
The initiative, part of CARE's Humanitarian Assistance for the Women of Afghanistan program, provides women with chicks, feed and training to help them earn their own livelihood and care for their families. Since joining the program, Sahera has been able to earn income by selling eggs, and the diets of her children have improved as they are able to eat fresh eggs every day. The extra money means Sahera's daughters can attend school for the first time. Sahera also attends CARE-supported literacy classes and takes part in a savings and credit group. "Before I started in the program, I could not read," Sahera explains. "Now I can read the signs in the market and help my children with their schoolwork."
Sahera's success mirrors that of over 4,000 widows who have completed vocational training through the HAWA program. Offering courses in tailoring, carpet weaving, food processing, cosmetology, driving and leather making, among others, HAWA provides the neediest Afghan women with income-generating skills to support themselves and their families. Nine-month literacy courses are provided for illiterate women, who make up the majority of participants. Savings and credit groups allow the widows to pool their funds, giving them access to loans for small businesses and teaching them how to manage money. --CARE
Help CARE empower women. Donate here.
Sep. 10, 2006
The crisis in Darfur, Sudan, has rightly captured the world's attention. But another emergency is taking place in Uganda, Sudan's southern neighbor, where a forgotten war has been raging for more than two decades. In camps like Tetugu, in northern Uganda, CARE's work with women is helping to ensure the health and livelihoods of families displaced by conflict.
© 2003 Ami Vitale/CARE
 As if reading off a ledger, Anna Okot can rattle off every crop she has planted recently, how much she earned on the harvest and how she spent the income. "When CARE gave us bean seed, I was able to sell the harvest for 50,000 shillings (approximately $30) and buy household items. I also got tomato seeds; that harvest brought me 20,000 shillings and I bought a goat. I sold my cabbage harvest for 15,000 shillings and bought a small radio. I have planted cowpeas, as well; with that money I paid school fees for the children."
This 47-year-old mother of six arrived in Tetugu camp three years ago. "When I came from my home, I had nothing," Anna says. Like millions of others in northern Uganda, Anna and her family fled their home because of fighting between government troops and the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). It's a battle that had been raging for nearly 20 years, and the toll of the feud is heaviest on families of poor, rural farmers — families like Anna's. With land their greatest asset, being forced off it leaves these families with scarce opportunities to feed themselves or earn enough cash to buy items such as clothing, soap or school supplies.
Anna certainly felt the burden of meeting her family's needs when she arrived in Tetugu. She was not alone. "When families were displaced by the war, we realized women could not rebuild all by ourselves. We needed to work together to earn some money," says Anna.
Anna helped form and now chairs a 40-member group called Lacan Kwitte, "A Poor Person Struggles." When CARE began working in Tetugu, we sought the support of groups like Anna's; we believed these women had the most to gain from projects to increase food production, and they had clearly demonstrated an interest in working together to improve life for their families. CARE worked with several women's associations in Tetugu to distribute seeds and tools, and cows for plowing fields more efficiently. The women also got training in small-scale savings and loan management and general leadership skills. -- Gretchen Lyons for CARE
Help us so that we can write more success stories! Donate here.
|
Submit Feedback
Blogs Homepage
Featured Entries
Recent Entries
Recent Comments
Tags
My Starred Entries
Create A Blog