| We have programs in 5 areas:
Clean Water Development
Women's Economic Development
Education
Health and Medical
Animal Projects and Improved Nutrition
Clean Water Development
Dirty contaminated water is responsible for a myriad of health problems including dysentery and malaria. Women and children walk miles each way carrying heavy buckets and containers of water and taking hours that could be spent in other more profitable ways. Animals share the same water sources as humans, doing neither any good. During the dry seasons, water supplies are inadequate or non-existent in many villages so that both people and cattle go thirsty.
All these problems are being addressed by Global Partners water projects. Whether it’s a new dam in Arkaria, Tanzania or a new water collection system for Matata Hospital in Uganda, or nine local water spigots for the village of Loliondo, Tanzania, we work together with our partners to build and maintain clean water systems vital for health and wellbeing. Back to Top
Women's Economic Development
Women in Africa bear many heavy burdens: illiteracy, lack of skills and training, long hours of backbreaking manual labor, and the ever-present specter of HIV/AIDS. In addition, most traditional cultures value women less than men and give the women no voice in making decisions that directly concern their futures.
Global Partners is proud to support numerous women’s cooperatives and other women’s community groups in their quest for economic independence and the right to participate in making decisions that affect their lives and wellbeing. An excellent example of one of these partners is the Pastoral Women’s Council in Tanzania which concerns itself with the whole range of difficulties facing women and has developed numerous innovative solutions. Global Partners works with the PWC to support zero-grazing cattle projects which give women their own cows and enable them to educate and support their children. The PWC has also developed microfinance lending schemes to benefit its members in further developing their economic status, literacy programs, training sessions in business and management, and the creation of a satellite communications system to link even the most isolated of its members to the world-at-large.
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Education
Education is the pathway to the future. Adequate education for both sexes at all levels is one of the foundations for sustainable development. However, thousands of children, especially girls, do not progress any further than the primary school level, putting them at a grave disadvantage in the world of technology, international commerce, and research and development. The school buildings themselves often lack doors, windows, and desks. They are over-crowded with a hundred children in one classroom, sitting directly on the floor, sharing a few precious textbooks. Teachers are under-trained and ill-prepared to deal with subjects demanded by new global technology.
Education is one of the most important areas for Global Partners for Development. In 2004, ten new classrooms were built by local people with Global Partners support. The children in many villages like Lengijave, Tanzania, have desks to sit at and books to read. Through the Marlene Assell Memorial Scholarship program, almost 150 girls this year were able to continue on to secondary school and markedly improve their chances for better employment or opportunities for more advanced education. There are adult literacy programs which break down the barriers to better jobs and greater self-development. Besides the area of academic training, vocational programs teach useful skills and enable many to start their own businesses like the Kimlea Women’s Cheese Cooperative which supplies wonderful cheese to hotels and restaurants catering to tourists.
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Health and Medical
Too many people in Africa die of diseases that are rare in modern medicine. Although we think of HIV/AIDS as the major threat to people’s lives, the age-old scourge of malaria still accounts for thousands of deaths each year. Children die of minor illnesses that normally would not be fatal. Ill-supplied and ill-equipped hospitals and clinics cannot keep up with the demands made on their services. Needles are used and reused without sterilization. Medicines are lacking or too expensive for a poor farmer’s family to afford.
Dozens of projects that receive Global Partners for Development’s support are designed to improve both the treatment of illness and the medical delivery system in East Africa. Matata Nursing Hospital in Kenya offers prenatal care and support to new mothers and their babies. Clinics and dispensaries, like Godber Village Clinic, Kenya, provide outreach services to remote communities increasing knowledge about HIV/AIDS and its prevention and treatment which saves hundred of lives each year. Each year more and more people are treated and receive vital education about the prevention of disease that will save future lives.
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Animal Projects and Improved Nutrition
Diseases of malnutrition kill thousands and sap the strength of hundreds of thousands of people in East Africa. Many families see milk or eggs only during a major celebration. Protein, so vital for growth and development, is lacking in many rural areas.
Animal projects are a core area for Global Partners for Development. Since 1989, zero-grazing projects involving cows, camels or goats, have provided meat and milk for thousands of villagers and a new way of life for the people themselves. Some of Global Partners earliest projects involved the women’s cooperatives of Bugarama and Kirima which are now self-sufficient and which mentor other groups as they start zero-grazing projects. Zero-grazing is a technique which increases milk yields as well as preserving the environment. The key to the success of these projects is the passing-on of the living gift of the first-born female offspring to another member of the cooperative. When all members have received their own animals, the group reaches out to other groups and passes on the gift to them. This simple act has ensured the nutritional health of thousands of children who now have the strength for attending school and studying, for performing their chores, and for playing and sports.
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