Give the chance to young women from Soweto, South Africa: KICK IT UP!” project will train 20 at-risk South African girls as journalists who will report on the competition of 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Young women in the impoverished townships of Soweto, South Africa, are still being left at a disadvantage as a result of their gender. While both girls and boys in Soweto are vulnerable to the threats of drug use, gang violence, and HIV, young women do not have access to the training and technological resources that could allow them to enter male-dominated fields such as journalism and athletics.

Global Girl Media has recognized that while these disparities present serious challenges, they also represent an opportunity to empower young women to become agents of change for their communities. In preparation for the upcoming 2010 FIFA World Cup, GGM has organized a program called “KICK IT UP!” that will train 20 at-risk South African girls as journalists who will report on the competition.

This project will ensure that one carefully selected girl is able to participate in “KICK IT UP.” This young woman will be selected from among the 230 students enrolled in Teboho Trust, an after-school program dedicated to ensuring at-risk young people complete their education. It will specifically fund her enrollment in a specially designed Global Girl Training Academy during which the participants will be put through a rigorous curriculum, combining modules on the rudiments of sound and ethical journalism with hands-on training. The project will also enable the chosen participant to become part of one of GGM’s “News Bureaus,” teams of four of the prepared girls, who will create unique videos, blogs, new media and print content during the World Cup. This media will subsequently be distributed through GGM’s cutting edge website so that an international audience can learn of Soweto’s challenges and triumphs as told from the perspective of twenty young women.

Now, you can check more pictures from the Bluefields Community and the project that will provides water filters to 50 families, so they have access to drinking safe water:

The families of the city of Bluefields do not have access to the resources they need to lead healthy, productive lives. Bluefields’ location along Nicaragua’s impoverished Atlantic Coast has left its residents struggling with their city’s isolation and limited basic infrastructure. Bluefields does not have any water or sanitation system. Most families access their drinking, cooking, and cleaning water from wells that are subject to runoff and bacterial infestations.

Sonalnagar Village: Our project will give them access to proper indoor sanitation facilities

This project will fund the construction of 10 indoor sanitation units throughout Sonalnagar, providing village households with access to proper indoor sanitation facilities. Local engineers will construct separate facilities for men and women, each with private toilets and soak pit (sustainable, rural sewage treatment) units.

This project will also allow the community members to regain the time they used to spend walking to the outskirts of the village for more productive activities, and drastically reduce the spread of disease. In addition, children will be able to attend school with fewer interruptions. Partner with Sonalnagar village to complete the Sonalnagar Sanitation project, and improve the health and well-being of the entire community.

Celebrate International Women’s Day 2010 with CARE!

Building on the success of the 2009 International Women’s Day event, A Powerful Noise LIVE, CARE is planning to bring together thousands of people in theaters across the country to celebrate, learn and take action to empower women and girls in the fight against global poverty in 2010.

On Thursday, March 4th, 2010 at 7:30pm, CARE will present Half the Sky LIVE in movie theaters nationwide. Inspired by the best-selling book from Pulitzer-prize winning journalists Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, Half the Sky LIVE will celebrate International Women’s Day with musical performances, celebrity commentary, and the world premiere of Woineshet, a powerful short film directed by Academy Award® Winner Marisa Tomei.

As featured on Oprah, CNN, and Dateline NBC, Half the Sky remains a New York Times bestseller and a critical favorite across the globe. With Half the Sky LIVE, you can watch the pages of Half the Sky come to life onscreen as Woineshet chronicles the struggles of a young Ethiopian woman who ultimately triumphs over sexual violence and discrimination.

Broadcast to theaters across the country, this one-night-only event – featuring the authors of Half the Sky, Dr. Helene Gayle of CARE, Melanne Verveer, Marisa Tomei, and other experts and celebrities, as well as musical performances by India.Arie and Angelique Kidjo – will motivate you to participate in the growing movement to empower women and girls in the fight against global poverty. Half the Sky LIVE is the perfect way to celebrate International Women’s Day together and stand in solidarity with women and girls all over the world.

Visit www.halftheskylive.com to watch the film trailer, find your local theater and purchase tickets (which will range from $10-12). Soon, you will be able to download a discussion guide and other tools to help you make the most of the event.

Become the Citizen Philanthropist of this project: 50 families will be able to safely store the water they need to meet their basic needs.

For eight months each year, the families of Jogad Village brave the harsh conditions of the Kutch desert to labor as salt farmers. There, villagers confront the desert’s dangers including poisonous animals and the effects of the scorching sun. However, the most pressing issue facing Jogad’s migrant workers is their struggle for sufficient water.

In the desert, Jogad’s villagers do not have consistent access to a safe drinking water. Families depend on the water supplied to the region by government tankards; unfortunately, these tankards cannot reach the commune of tents where Jogad’s villagers live. Instead, the community must pay for private vehicles to deliver their water. This expense represents a serious sacrifice for all of Jogad’s families, 95% of whom live below the poverty line.

Even their limited water supply presents issues for Jogad’s families as they lack a means of safely storing the little they receive. Women and children are forced to journey every day between 10-15 km to gather water for their survival. When there is none available, villagers resort to drinking anything they have, contributing to health problems and a loss of productivity.

This project will ensure that 50 of Jogad’s families are supplied with a 200-liter water tank with which they can safely store and distribute water. The funded tanks will be durable, light weight, and rust proof. They will not require serious maintenance and villagers will be able to easily transport them back and forth from the desert. Become the Citizen Philanthropist for this project and partner with Jogad’s salt farmers to ensure 50 families are able to safely store the water they need to meet their basic needs.

Refugee Health Service Project: An opportunity for healthier lives

Geographically, Block G in Meheba Refugee Settlement finds itself at a drastic disadvantage in terms of receiving health services. Located at the back of the camp and far from any clinics, the refugees of Block G feel isolated and under-served when it comes to medical attention.

When FORGE brought this community together to determine what they needed, the answer was clear: an opportunity for healthier lives. After an extensive needs assessment, the refugee project leader explains that, “the findings showed clearly that the population of all ages and classes suffered pain of lack of medical services.” Thus they designed the Refugee Health Service (RHS) project, which will enable patients who can’t make it to the nearest clinic to get basic medicines, allow pregnant women to get delivery assistance by trained midwives, and give children access to the care that they need. This project will help all 2,000 people in this block to live longer and healthier lives.

Subtanjalla is a district outside of Ica City, Peru where the majority of the population lives in extreme poverty. In 2007, the region was devastated by an earthquake and since then, Subtanjalla has never been fully rebuilt. In an effort to revitalize the district, Coprodeli has established an urban center in the district called San Antonio that includes proper housing facilities, a medical center, and a school.

Check the Citizen Effect project and see how you can make a difference:

http://citizeneffect.org/projects/san-antonio-staff

This project will fund the salaries of seven new staff for the education center’s 2010 academic year. By assisting with the operation of the new school facility (set to open in March 2010), these staff members will ensure the Subtanjalla primary school students receive quality instruction. Hiring additional staff is especially critical to meeting the needs of students who have largely not attended school since the earthquake.

Since its opening, the San Antonio Education Center has been holding classes in temporary rooms in the center’s chapel. The few teachers and staff who have assisted with the center’s operation have been forced to take on many responsibilities and as a result, have been unable to properly invest in any one duty. By enabling new employees to be hired, this project will allow the entire staff to become more effective and efficient. Teachers will improve their level of instruction while administrative staff assume the responsibility of coordinating non-academic tasks.

Families of farmers in the rural village of Nam Son are often unable to meet their children’s needs. The time-consuming and arduous labor their fields require leave parents struggling to find a means of caring for their children during work hours.

Check the Citizen Effect project and see how Herve R. is trying to make a difference and constructs a school for 40 children ages 3 to 6 in the village of Nam Son.

http://citizeneffect.org/projects/nam-song-kindergarten

There are no primary or secondary schools in Nam Son. Instead one inadequate room in the local meeting hall serves kindergarten students during half-day sessions. Unfortunately, this room lacks the space and equipment that are needed to accommodate all of the village’s impoverished children.

This project will fund the construction of a kindergarten facility that will ensure 40 young children have access to a safe and comfortable space where they can learn, grow, and achieve. Become a Citizen Philanthropist and partner with the families of Nam Song so that all of the village’s young children can begin the academic careers equipped with the resources to improve their futures.

Early childhood education in Block F of Meheba Refugee Settlement is practically nonexistent. With the nearest school over a two hour walk from this community, few of its children have had the opportunity to attend preschool, starting them off at an educational disadvantage very early in their lives. Because of these restrictions, the leaders of Block F have planned and proudly established the Mwangaza Education Centers, a network of services in the camp that will promote early learning through preschools and continued learning through adult education classes. As the name of the center, “Mwangaza” (“light”), suggests, this project represents hope and possibilities for a brighter future for these refugees.

Visit the Citizen Effect project and learn how you can be the Citizen Philanthropist and make a difference in peoples lives:

http://citizeneffect.org/projects/mwangaza-education-centers

The majority of children living in this remote area of Meheba Settlement have never had access to early childhood education. Preschool education offered through the Mwangaza Education Centers prepares children to succeed when graduates matriculate to Basic School. Lack of access to education and illiteracy are widespread problems among adults. Providing writing, reading and language education to adults in the community enables them to better communicate within their culturally diverse community and with people in their host-country, Zambia.

The village of Gamda Bramnia is facing a severe water crisis. Ongoing droughts have left the community’s 5,000 people with a seriously limited water supply. Although there was once a well available in the village, it is now dry. Families have no other option but to rely on a privately owned well located in the village’s outskirts. To gather sufficient water from this source, Gamda Bramnia’s women must make multiple trips back and forth from the well, forcing them to carry heavy pots for 3 to 4 hours each day..

Visit the citizen effect project to learn how Julius R. is trying to make a difference:

http://citizeneffect.org/projects/handpump-gamda-bramnia

This project will address the serious need for reliable water sources in Gamda Bramnia. It will fund the installation of two hand pumps, each of will provide 35 of the village’s families with access to a new, stable well. The wells will be constructed 1 to 2 kms away from each other so that their water can be used by as much of the Gamda Bramnia community as possible. Become the Citizen Philanthropist for this project and partner with Gamda Bramnia’s villagers to ensure they have two new sources of water for their daily use.