Affiliated Projects
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Nikibasika Learning and Development Project The mission for Nikibasika is grounded in the belief that the best way to provide sustainable support for a community is to enable the leaders of the future. We are committed to helping our children achieve their imagined futures, by providing education, shelter, food, medical care and housing until they are self-sustaining. We will support each of them with vocational training, university or the development of a business, to sustain themselves and be leaders in their communities. Four of the children are now in post-secondary learning, including two in university and two in vocational training. Many of the children had tragic early lives, involving war and violence, illness, poverty and abandonment. Now that they're at Nikibasika, they have a sense of home for the first time -- and we're helping them develop the sense that they can truly make a difference in their communities. To help the children learn how they can make this difference, we are partnering with community officials to create volunteer projects for the children. We also encourage the children to stay connected to their communities of origin wherever possible, by spending time with extended family and their home villages on holidays. On our most recent visit, we were reflecting on the incredible difference we see between the children when we met them (when they didn't even know how to hug) and now, where they stream off their porch yelling with joy and piling on us to greet us. Without the support of our donors over the past several years, these children literally could have starved. Some of them would have definitely ended up on the streets. But today, they realize what they have, and what their futures can be like, and they express tremendous love and gratitude to "the Canadians" as they call us (even though they know that their "village of support" is actually Canadian, British, Irish and American!). A volunteer group of four people in Canada manages the project and raises funds. CACHA provides oversight and accountability and enables us to provide charitable tax receipts to donors. Our Ugandan partner, Reach the Youth, provides us with on the ground support, acts as the employer of the Nikibasika staff in Kasese, and provides accountability for spending. Imani Vocational Training School Imani, like many African organizations, is often dependent on local and foreign donors to support its operations. Realizing that this is not a viable long-term model, the leadership of Imani have partnered with CACHA in order to realize the goal of complete self-reliance and sustainability. This is achieved through the implementation of small food- and income-generating activities that are operated by the school, as well as the ongoing construction of classrooms. A number of these projects have been implemented and are operational already: the garden has been irrigated, fish are being harvested from Imani's two fish ponds, pigs are being raised, and innovative inter-locking bricks are being produced and used for the school's ongoing expansion. The continued construction and development of these small businesses and classrooms will, it is hoped, eventually help Imani School completely eliminate its dependence on outside donor support, and thereby act as a model and example for other African organizations to follow. Prevention Through Empowerment (PTE) was founded in 2006 in affiliation with Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. Located at the base of Mt. Kilimanjaro in Moshi, Tanzania, the Pamoja Tunaweza Women’s Center, established through PTE in partnership with Canada-Africa Community Health Alliance (CACHA) and the Kilimanjaro Women Information Exchange and Consultancy Organization (KWIECO), opened its doors in April of 2007. Since its conception, the Pamoja Tunaweza Women’s Centre has assisted countless women in ascertaining their HIV status, coping with social and physical dimensions of illness, achieving financial independence, and asserting their legal rights. Pamoja Tunaweza’s mission is to provide individually-tailored support, counseling, temporary shelter and education to marginalized women suffering from poverty, gender-based violence or HIV/AIDS. Pamoja builds women’s capacity through business education and vocational training. Women are empowered through health and legal education, providing them the tools necessary to successfully overcome adversity. Besides assisting women who have been affected by the stigma of HIV/AIDS, Pamoja Tunaweza raises awareness of the disease by offering free medical treatment and HIV testing through a medical clinic, bi-annual medical caravans in rural areas of Kilimanjaro, and outreach initiatives in at-risk communities. Pamoja’s main goal is empowering women to be self-sufficient through health and education in the pursuit of personal growth, wellness and independence. For more information please visit www.tunaweza.org
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AFFILIATED PROJECTS