Tag Archives: Fund a Project

A Garden of Opportunity in Ecuador

Posted on April 22, 2013 | Comments Off

By Kate Andrews, ChildFund International writer

On Earth Day and every day, ChildFund approaches its work with one overall mission in mind: helping communities become self-sufficient. That’s why we work with local partner organizations and provide training to community members wherever we go — so they’ll be able to succeed over the long term, allowing ChildFund to assist others in need.

Ecuador garden

A community member gives a tour of the garden.

In northern Ecuador’s Pichincha province, 200 families need a helping hand. ChildFund’s goal is to help them start and improve fruit and vegetable gardens, a program that will not only feed children but also set their families on the path to self-sufficiency. This Fund a Project, started in February, will provide vegetable and fruit seedlings, agricultural supplies and educational workshops. Our goal is to have 200 gardens in the region by August, which will directly help 750 children and 500 youth.

Ecuador garden

A garden’s bounty.

This is where your help comes in; our goal is to raise $42,600 by August. Children in this region of Ecuador sometimes suffer from undernutrition, and families often don’t make enough income to cover basic needs. A thriving home garden will provide families with a diverse supply of vegetables and fruit — instead of just corn, the most common regional crop — and give them the chance to sell the excess crops, increasing the family’s income by an estimated 30 percent.

With greater income, children will have more educational opportunities, and parents will be able to provide the basics: health care, clothing and bedding. In northern Ecuador, a garden represents hope and independence.

Will you help fund this project?

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Posted in In the Field

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ChildFund Supporters Pool Resources to Change the World

Posted on December 13, 2010 | Comments Off

by Virginia Sowers, ChildFund Community Manager

About a year ago, ChildFund launched Fund a Project to spotlight several pending projects around the world that, when funded, would improve the lives of children and their communities.

The idea was to provide an easy way for donors to contribute a little or a lot toward their favorite project, whether that was helping build playgrounds, grow community gardens or establish a goat herd. Banding together these groups of donors—whose individual members will probably never know each other—have fully funded eight projects to date.

Let’s celebrate their successes:

Ten donors chipped in a collective $2,685 to provide dairy goats to rural Kenyan families. The goats are a sustainable, renewable resource, providing much-needed supplemental nutrition for children.

In Zambia, $41,083, contributed by six people, is providing bed nets and malaria education to significantly reduce the incidence of this deadly disease.

Five supporters gave a total of $2,857 to provide water pumps benefiting 15 families in rural regions of Timor Leste. The pumps will offer better access to a clean-water source.

Twelve donors put up $28,400 to build community health huts in Senegal to help combat malaria and HIV/AIDS.

Thirty-six supporters raised $25,000 for wells and water pumps for the Busia district of Uganda. These fresh water sources will reduce waterborne diseases and make water more accessible to 600 people.

In South Dakota, $5,682, donated by 33 people, will be used to grow six community gardens, improving the nutrition of some 200 children.

Four donors united to provide $25,670 for a community risk-prevention program to help children on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota.

To expand the successful Pamoja child-nutrition project in Kenya, nine supporters gave $18,648. The expanded program will supplement the nutritional needs and reduce the levels of malnutrition in preschool children within the Mukuru settlement.

Amazing things are happening for children through ChildFund’s Fund a Project. Won’t you join us?

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Donors Join Hands to Fund Projects for Children

Posted on March 4, 2010 | 2 Comments

by Virginia Sowers
Community Manager

It’s amazing what people can accomplish when they work together.

In just three months, 22 generous ChildFund supporters have raised $62,588 to reduce malaria in Zambia, feed malnourished children in Kenya and bring fresh water to rural communities in Timor Leste.

These supporters likely will never cross paths, but they all shared a common quest through Fund a Project, which identifies critical needs in ChildFund program countries.

For the project in Nambala, Zambia, five ChildFund contributors and one major donor have put up more than $41,000 for malaria prevention and education. The program will significantly increase the number of treated bed nets in Nambala. A much larger trained force of malaria agents will also educate households on prevention and management.

In Kenya, ChildFund’s successful Pamoja nutritional support program will continue and expand to the Mukuru informal settlement in Nairobi, thanks to the generosity of a major donor and 10 contributors who gave more than $18,000.

The program will supplement the nutritional needs and reduce the levels of malnutrition in preschool children within the settlement. Funds will also cover the costs of transporting and distributing the supplement, employing cooks to properly prepare foods for the children and monitoring children’s progress to ensure the reversal of malnutrition.

In Timor Leste, children will no longer have to walk up to 40 minutes to reach a source of potable water and then carry a supply home to their families. With more than $2,800 from five contributors, ChildFund will be providing a nearby source of clean water for approximately 15 rural families. Without such long treks for water, children will have more time to study, play and help with other family chores.

All three projects should be under way this spring and summer.

More worthy projects await funding. So, what else can we do together?

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First ‘Fund a Project’ Funded

Posted on December 29, 2009 | Comments Off

by Cynthia Price
Director of Communications

Wow! Two weeks into ChildFund International’s Fund a Project, and one of the projects is already fully funded. Thank you!

In Timor Leste, children and families have to walk for up to 40 minutes to reach a water source for potable water. So, one of our priority projects was water pumps for these rural families. The cost was $2,857 and thanks to you, it’s now funded.

Water pumps for Timor Leste.

Installing water pumps within or near the communities is about much more than ending the trek to get water. It means that the children and families will have access to water that does not make them sick, cutting down on diseases that can be deadly.

It means that children won’t spend their time walking to get water and won’t be so tired. Ultimately, this means that it will be much easier for children to go to school, to interact with other children, to learn and grow.

And that’s only one project. Eight other projects remain to be funded. As these projects are funded, new ones will take their place. Each project requires thousands of dollars to make them happen. For those of us who want to make a difference, but aren’t able to make a large one-time donation, Fund a Project is perfect.

Each person gives what he or she is comfortable with contributing and, collectively, the donations add up to fund the project. It’s a great way for a few, or many, of us to come together to support a program and bring it to life.

The barometers on each of the projects are moving. I gave to the playgrounds in Afghanistan, which is now about 1 percent funded – a start. I’d love to see the barometer move up more quickly. I may have to give up one of my weekly coffee runs and help inch the barometer closer to “funded.”

How will you make a difference?

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ChildFund Launches Fund a Project

Posted on December 15, 2009 | 1 Comment

by Cynthia Price
Director of Communications

I’ve been working for ChildFund for a little over a year, and I’m impressed by those donors who can help a community by building a school, supplying a water pump or providing materials for a health hut.

These are significant contributions that usually require several thousand dollars to make them happen. How fortunate we are to have these individual donors.

For those of us who want to make a meaningful contribution but may not have the resources to do so individually, ChildFund has developed a collective tool, Fund a Project.

Children in Afghanistan have few safe places to play.

It’s a great way for a few or many of us to come together to support a program and bring it to life. I’m drawn to the playground equipment for parks in Afghanistan. I can’t even imagine what life is like for those children, but how incredible will it be for children to have a place to play and forget about conflict?

A little more than $50,000 is needed for the playground equipment. I’ve made a $10 donation to get the project started. With the help of others making similar donations, it won’t be long until the children in these Afghanistan communities are having fun on a playground.

If you’re also looking to make an impact, consider helping provide water pumps for rural families in Timor Leste or supplies for community gardens in the United States. The water pumps cost $2,800 while the community gardens are $7,000.

The two most expensive endeavors of Fund a Project are malaria-prevention programs in Zambia at $41,000, and a global youth employment and livelihood initiative for $100,000. They are both worthy goals for collective efforts.

I like the idea of funding a program that positively impacts children. And I like knowing that I’m doing it with many others, even though I will probably never meet them or know who they are. But that’s OK because we all want the same thing — a better world for these children.

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