NGOs – we & others

2006-06-01: L’argent des migrants: exploitation ou pouvoir potentiel ?
2006-06-03: Network of African Women Ministers and Parliamentarians REFAMP;
2006-06-04: Women’s Leadership Center, Brazil;
2006-06-05: Youthcare International;
2006-06-06: African Women Committee on Peace and Development AWCDP;
2006-06-07: Assistance Association for Political Prisoners – Burma;
2006-06-07: Shan Nationalities League for Democracy – Burma;
2006-06-08: Peace Journalism;
2006-06-09: REDEPAZ – Colombia;
2006-06-10: SSP Swayam Shikshan Prayog – India;
2006-06-10: The Huairou Commission;
2006-06-11: Self Employed Women’s Association SEWA;
2006-06-12: Mouvements paysans argentins: Terre, travail et justice;
2006-06-14: action aid;
2006-06-16: Survivors Associated – Sri Lanka;
2006-06-20: The Bilquis Edhi Adoption Centre – Pakistan;
2006-06-22: Intermón Oxfam;
2006-06-23: FEDEFAM – Fighting Against Forced Disappearances;
2006-06-24: Mouvements indigènes : entre néolibéralisme et gouvernements de gauche;
2006-06-26: AIFF / APEM – Mauritanie;
2006-06-28: A.D.D.F.E. – Mauritanie;
2006-06-29: Japan for Sustainability;
2006-06-30: The Human Rights in French.

See on our french blog the presentation about a new human rights website, Les Droits de l’Homme en français.

Mission: Japan for Sustainability (JFS) is a non-profit communication platform to disseminate environmental information from Japan to the world, with the aim of helping both move onto a sustainable path.

Japan for Sustainability launched its activities August 2002 to fulfill the mission stated above. We believe that information sharing and exchange will be a key to the shift toward a sustainable world. We hope to deliver our newsletters to as many people around the globe as possible to accelerate this shift.

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Linked with our presentation of Aïssata Kane – Mauritania.

Association Mauritanienne pour la Protection de l’Enfant et de la Femme, A.D.D.F.E.

Cette association a été créée le 12 décembre 1995, par un groupe de femmes de bonne volonté en vue de combler les lacunes et les insuffisances enregistrées dans les domaines des droits de la femme et de l’enfant en Mauritanie.

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Linked with our presentation of Aïssata Kane – Mauritania.

Association Internationale des Femmes Francophones (AIFF). Organisation de tutelle : Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) (France).

MISSION

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Trouvé sur RISAL, Réseau d’information et de solidarité avec l’Amérique latine.

Source : International Relation Centers – IRC – Programas de las Américas, 18 avril 2006.

par Raúl Zibechi – Après avoir obtenu des succès retentissants, les mouvements indigènes sud-américains se trouvent confrontés à de nouveaux défis – sur les plans institutionnel et étatique – auxquels ils n’ont jusqu’à présent pas trouvé de réponse. L’approfondissement des diverses expériences et l’échange entre organisations semblent être quelques-unes des possibles voies à explorer pour avancer.

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Linked with our presentation of Guadalupe Mejía Delgado – El Salvador.

Fighting Against Forced Disappearances in Latin America. (in espagnol here).

A forced disappearance consists of a kidnapping, carried out by agents of the State or organized groups of private individuals who act with State support or tolerance, in which the victim “disappears”. Authorities neither accept responsibility for the deed, nor account for the whereabouts of the victim. Petitions of habeas corpus or “amparo”- legal mechanisms designated to safeguard the liberty and integrity of citizens-are ineffective, and the kidnappers remain anonymous.

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Linked with our presentation of Achta Djibrine Sy – Chad.

Intermón Oxfam is a Spanish NGO, established in 1956. As a member of Oxfam International it works together with people in countries in the South to eradicate poverty and injustice. Intermón Oxfam is combining its efforts to those of the ten other member organisations of Oxfam International to achieve a greater effectiveness in its work.

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Linked with our presentation of Bilquis Edhi – Pakistan.

The Bilquis Edhi Adoption Centre of the Edhi Foundation, Pakistan, helps you to adopt an child. (See Adopting from Pakistan).

Bilquis Edhi and her husband Abdul Sattar Edhi who run the Edhi Foundation which simply cares for the cast-offs, the desperately poor, the injured and the crippled of Pakistani society. The sack baby was lucky.

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Linked with our presentation of Shanti Christine Arulampalam – Sri Lanka.

Survivors Associated is an NGO engaged in holistic care of survivors of armed conflict in Sri Lanka.

Survivors Associated (SA) was established in 1996 to conduct psychosocial development activities at grass roots level in conflict areas. It is now active in the districts of Mannar, Vavuniya, Batticaloa and Ampara. SA works in border villages, Government controlled areas, and in LTTE controlled areas through secondary school educated young people from the areas, who are trained to work within their communities as psychosocial caregivers and in peace building.

E-Mail

History: Survivors Associated was established in April 1996 following a series of Needs Assessment Surveys among Survivors of War in Mannar, and Kalmunai. A group of concerned citizens from all walks of life came together to commence this organization.  Continue Reading…

Direct action to help via internet is proposed on action aid for fighting poverty together.

They write about themselves: ActionAid is a unique partnership of people who are campaigning for a better world. Find out what we do and how we work.

See what they do on this site, and take contact on this site.

Trouvé sur RISAL – Réseau d’information et de solidarité avec l’Amérique latine.

Source : Brecha, Rebelion, janvier 2006.

Par María Soledad Segura – Depuis la dernière décennie, dans les provinces du centre et du nord argentin, des organisations paysannes tentent de faire face à la menace d’expulsion de leurs terres et aux difficultés pour continuer à produire. A l’image des mouvements paysans du reste de l’Amérique latine, ils commencent également à envisager une réforme agraire intégrale et un modèle agricole alternatif.

Il y a encore de cela vingt ans, les terres sur lesquelles vivent et travaillent les petits producteurs agricoles d’Argentine – qui produisent pour leur autoconsommation ou pour le marché local interne – étaient considérées comme marginales. Cependant, avec les changements climatiques de ces dernières années, notamment en ce qui concerne l’augmentation des pluies, ces terres à faible valeur productive ont été revalorisées. De plus, au cours des années 90, le gouvernement de Carlos Menem [1] a mis en œuvre une série de politiques qui ont changé le modèle agraire établi, et ces terres sont alors devenues attractives. « A partir de 1991, par un décret “de nécessité et d’urgence“, tous les arrangements institutionnels qui avaient permis, au cours du XXe siècle, cette coexistence entre la petite unité agraire et la grande exploitation agraire et d’élevage ont été modifiés », soutient Norma Giarraca, chercheuse à l’Université nationale de Buenos Aires dans une interview publiée par la revue Desafíos urbanos.

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Linked with our presentation of Ela Bhatt – India.

Linked also with our presentation of Reema Nanavaty – India.

The group SEWA.org started small — a few thousand members — but these days, it’s the largest primary labor union in the country, representing a quarter of a million self-employed workers, from fruit vendors to stitchers to road construction workers. Members have formed trade cooperatives for various groups — like cattle raisers and cigarette rollers — to share resources and tackle common issues. Along with negotiating power, SEWA (which means “service” in Hindi and Gujarati) offers programs for health and maternity benefits. One of the group’s biggest coups was the 1974 creation of its own bank, where women can start a savings account with just a few rupees, or take out a small loan to grow their enterprise. These microfinancing opportunities are vital resources for women who previously would have had to resort to hawking their bangles or borrowing from gouging moneylenders. It also gives women a place to stash their savings, safe from the hands of husbands, sons and in-laws — in other words, a chance to be self-reliant.

Elaben Bhatt, SEWA’s founder and former secretary general, gives her perspective on poverty. She speaks of the struggle to break the cycle of subsistence, deprivation and survival that characterizes the life of the world’s poor, in particular women. She provides some answers: access to credit and productive resources, action, organisation and leadership. (Read the whole article on BBC world).

Appropriate technology for supporting micro enterprise: SEWA’s provision, training and capacity-building with ICTs at the grassroots level has helped in bridging the existing digital divide through the use of technologies appropriate to the needs of its members. It has shown that such technologies can support women working in the informal sector, bringing greater livelihood security to economically vulnerable households living in increasingly fragile environments … Having understood the effect of poor access to information on poverty, SEWA embarked on a journey to include ICTs within its work.

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Linked with our presentation of Prema Gopalan – India.

June 12-16, 2006, Grassroots Academy, Women Building Communities Amid Rapid Urbanization and Decentralization, Vancouver, Canada. Contact Sandy.

June 19-23, 2006, World Urban Forum , Vancouver, BC, Canada. Contact Marnie, or Nola Kate.

For both see also this Website, or also this mail Info.

Download two pdf texts: past, present and future, and partnership.

The Huairou Commission was created:

To promote the institutional transformation needed to engender local community development and governance. To develop and implement a global plan of action to ensure accountability of governments and international agencies to the commitments made to grassroots women (national to global). To strengthen and promote ongoing dialogue, strategic alliances and power-sharing among grassroots women, local authorities, parliamentarians, private sector representatives, academics, policy makers, and their associated networks (local to global).

Also:

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Linked with our presentation of Prema Gopalan – India.

SSP, Swayam Shikshan Prayog, a Self Learning Network of Women, brings women to the centre of development process, enabling grassroots women’s collectives to access and manage resources so that they can gain entry in governance, says Ms. Prema Gopalan, its Founder and Director … Swayam Shikshan Prayog (SSP) seeks to bring women and communities of the poor from the margin to the mainstream of the development processes. SSP is located in Mumbai, with resource teams in eight districts that partner with grassroots women’s groups and local self governments across the states of Maharashtra and Gujarat.

Today SSP is building capacities for peer exchanges, ICT, networking, advocacy and partnerships on savings and credit, livelihood options, local governance at grassroots, participatory monitoring of basic services, community led water and sanitation and disasters linked to development …

… Prior to 1998, SSP was initiated as an informal network on women’s economic empowerment, which included small and medium grassroots groups and organisations in rural Maharashtra. The idea was to develop collectively a menu of practical learning tools that facilitated women to understand the transition in rural economies. The network assisted cross border learning from thrift and credit groups by Samakhya in A.P through a series of study tours and workshops in 1989-90. As a result, twenty-five organizations began to form savings and credit groups in Maharashtra.

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Linked with our presentation of Ana Teresa Bernal – Colombia.

The National Network of Citizen Initiatives for Peace and Against War REDEPAZ:

Ana Teresa Bernal’s organization REDEPAZ is strengthening the peace movement in Colombia by bringing together peace organizations of youths, women, and indigenous groups to form a strong and cohesive voice. United, these organizations are setting a common agenda and creating their own solutions to Colombia’s problems instead of waiting for actors of the armed conflict to do so. For nearly four decades, Colombia has been in the throes of armed conflict, with guerilla groups, the army, paramilitary groups, and drug cartels waging war with each other. For young people, survival often means enlisting with armed groups, thereby swelling their ranks and ensuring the continuity of conflict. As frustration grows with the unceasing turmoil, growing numbers are favoring violent options, making it increasingly urgent for concentrated efforts to keep the focus on nonviolent resolutions. But citizen peace initiatives have been solitary, scattered, low-impact efforts, and civil society has been excluded from negotiations and general discussions on the conflict. REDEPAZ provides the critical missing piece in the search for peaceful solutions to Colombia’s problems: a vehicle to engage the citizen sector. It has facilitated crucial linkages allowing a mass movement demanding peace and resisting violence, and forcing politicians and armed groups to pay attention. It has held public referenda where children and adults have had a chance to officially vote for peace, compelling political parties to include the peace mandate in their agendas, stimulating negotiations between warring factions, and moving the corporate sector to take a stand against violence. REDEPAZ has enabled the citizen sector to establish its presence at the negotiation table.

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Linked with our presentation of Kamala Sarup – Nepal.

Peace Journalism is an independent monthly e-magazine, registered in New Jersey. Chief Editor: Kamala Sarup. They write: Peace Media believes in a free press and is an independent e-magazine. Peace Media will be happy to accept any criticism, suggestions, help or contributions from freelancers. Peace Media advocates for Peace, Human security, and true Democracy. No one can impose on us or force us to publish any article or interview that is essentially propaganda against human security or national security.

Peace Media e-magazine is founded on the belief that educating people on conflict resolution is an important step in reducing world turmoil. We believe that the role of the media is to raise a voice against injustice and fight violence. We support peace, democracy and development in societies undergoing crisis and change. We also believe that the media play a strong role during the peace negotiation and social reconstruction processes. Peace Media strengthens journalism in all areas of conflict. Its activities include training and dialogue with members and readers and providing information to media professionals.

To implement these objectives, we perform research on peace and conflict resolution, conduct a regular media watch to analyze mainstream and alternative media, and network with allied organizations around the world. We develop and disseminate information on the prevention and peaceful resolution of conflicts through meetings, written articles and research. Peace Media publication requires your help.

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Linkedwith our presentation of Khun Htun Oo – Burma.

The Shan Nationalities League for Democracy is a political party in Myanmar (Burma), representing the interests of the Shan minority. At the last parliamentary elections (held 27 May 1990), the party won a clear representation, became the second party in parliament, but parliament was not allowed to convene. The SNLD is closley allied to Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD). This article about an Asian political party is (on wikipedia) a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. (See wikipedia).

May 17, 2006 (DVB) – The U.N. undersecretary-general for political affairs, Ibrahim Gambari who is arriving Burma on Thursday to press the country’s ruling military junta to restore democracy and respect human rights, is meeting with the National League for Democracy (NLD) leaders on Friday. The meeting is only to be between Mr. Gambari and the NLD central executive committee (CEC) members who are currently not under detention, and it is not clear whether Gambari would be allowed to see Aung San Suu Kyi, a NLD leader told DVB. The meeting will be held at the hotel where Mr. Gambari is planning to stay, on Friday evening and they will be discussing the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and U.N. resolutions on Burma. The NLD leader added that as it is a meeting with the first U.N. envoy to visit Burma in more than two years, he was unable to tell more of the details on the meeting and their hope in advance. (Read the rest of this article on Democratic Voice of Burma).

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Linked with our presentation of Khun Htun Oo – Burma.

Excerpts: … The AAPP has been assisting political prisoners and their families since we set up our association in March 2000. The AAPP has also been campaigning with international Burma groups for the release of all political prisoners. The AAPP is also systematically documenting the military regime’s oppression of democracy activists. According to our record, it is clear that the current military regime has been prejudicially cracking down on political organizations and activists in Burma … 80 ethnic political prisoners, more or less, who have been in prison since around 1983, during the time of the Burma Socialist Program Party led by General Ne Win, still remain in prison. Additionally, several political prisoners, who were arrested in 1988 or 1989, are still in prison … Such kinds of imprisonment are intended to set an example and indirectly threaten others in ceasefire groups not to speak out against the SPDC and the current NC. Now, when the MI warns activists not to criticize the current NC, they say to look at Khun Htun Oo and others as an example … (Read the rest of this 8 page pdf text).

Linked with our presentation of Specioza Kazibwe – Uganda.

AWCPD was established in 1998 to increase the effective participation of women in peace and development processes on the continent. The committee seeks to support the networking of women’s peace-building mechanisms in Africa and to identify, articulate and seek ways and means of addressing women-specific expressions of conflict. Adress: c/o Organization of African Unity, P.O Box 3243, Addis Ababa , Ethiopia (See unoy.org and scoll down).

See more on this 112 pages pdf-text about African Peace Building Toolkit.

Excerpt: … African women’s long search for peace culminated in April 1998, upon the establishement of the African Women Committee on Peace and Development which was announced by the Secretary General of the OAU after consultations with the Executive Secretary of the ECA during the opening ceremony of the International Conference celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the ECA.

The Committee is made up of sixteen members and its originality is that it combines members nominated by government with members appointed in their personal capacity and members selected from African women NGOs.

Appointment of members is through submission of candidacy and selection takes into consideration among other things , the proper representation of the five OAU regions. Members serve for a period of three years.

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Linked with our presentation of Frederick Akhelumele – Nigeria.

Linked also with our presentation of Some reports on Africa and Education.

Youthcare International is a non-profit, charitable organization that has been established to promote education and vocational training among young Africans. In August 2002 Mr. Akhelumele purchased 5.4 Acres of land in Ebhebe Quarters – village located in Nigeria’s Edo State. There he began the construction of the first Youthcare International Education Centre. So far three buildings are under construction and have now reached an advanced stage of development. This will serve as a model for subsequent projects which Youthcare International will establish throughout the African continent. (Read more on this page).

And: We are in need of volunteers who would like to help at the Ebhebe Education Centre. If You have some training in the following areas please contact us. Child Education; Computer Training; Music Education; Health Care; Farming; Carpentry; Sewing and Fashion Designing. (See here).

“With the support of private persons, such as Landeshauptmann Waltraud Klasnic, Lions Club Graz, junior high school Hausmannstätten, Caritas Graz, for example, was it possible to finish the elementary school in Ebhebe Uromi and we are able to open the school in September. Unfortunately, we are still need of your assistance to enable us purchase school chairs and tables for our students and teachers. To buy desks and tables and to open the school we need an amount of € 2.400,–. Please visit our Gallery to see what we have done”, Youthcare International writes on its web.

Mail-address.

Linked with our presentation of Rosiska Darcy de Oliveira – Brazil.

Linked also with our presentation For a fair sharing of time – Brazil households.

The Inter-American Development Bank soustains the Women’s Leadership Center, Brazil (Nov 1996). The objective of this technical cooperation is to enhance the quality and effectiveness of women’s leadership and the ability of women to act as agents of change in all spheres of public and civil life in Brazil. The program will support the creation of a women’s leadership center that will train women in leadership skills and build a national network of women leaders.

The program will include components to: (a) establish the center; (b) design and execute a classroom and distance training program for participants from all parts of Brazil, representing a broad sample of women from different levels of society; (c) develop and implement an interactive electronic network with resource people and information regarding women’s issues; and (d) systematize and disseminate the program model within and outside Brazil.

The program will finance the purchase of program, dissemination materials, course supplies, equipment for the center, computer equipment (45 PCs), hardware and software, and library supplies (books and videos). (Read the rest on iadb).

Linked with our presentation of Grace Antonia D’Almeida – Benin.

Linked also with our presentation of UNFPA.

REFAMP was created with a view to promoting greater access by African women to decision-making posts. Through this network, women ministers and parliamentarians decided to unite and form a pressure group to defend the interests of women and ensure the promotion and protection of their rights, improve their living conditions, and work towards sustainable peace and development.

REFAMP’s sub-regional conference on women’s role in the prevention and management of conflicts in West Africa was held in Conakry from the 24th to the 26th of January, 2000. The purpose of the conference was to give the women of the sub-region the opportunity to express their concerns, sharee their experiences and exchange ideas so as to devise strategies and co-ordinate their activities towards the prevention and management of conflicts. FAS and the AWCPD participated in the conference.

The outcome of the conference was the Conakry Declaration and Plan of Action. The Declaration recognised the need for the protection of civilian populations, re-establishment of public order and disarmament, social reintegration, repatriation, and re-adaptation of refugees and respect for human rights and democracy.

At the end of the meeting, they launched a sub-regional network known as UREFAMP/ECOWAS.

ECOWAS = Economic Community of West African States.

Trouvé sur RISAL – Réseau d’information et de solidarité avec l’Amérique latine.

Source : Ecoportal.net, décembre 2005.

Par Gustavo Castro S. – Les ouragans, les tempêtes et les catastrophes naturelles qui s’abattent sur le monde ont accéléré la pauvreté non seulement dans les pays du Sud mais aussi dans ceux du Nord eux-mêmes. La Chine, l’Inde, le Salvador, le Mexique, le Guatemala, les Etats-Unis, parmi beaucoup d’autres, subissent des « phénomènes naturels » jamais vus. Mais ces catastrophes naturelles sont aussi le résultat de catastrophes politiques et économiques. Plus de trente années d’un modèle de production et de consommation néolibérales qui nous a conduit à une consommation excessive de papier, d’eau, d’énergie électrique, de produits chimiques, etc., qui a provoqué la déforestation que l’on sait, l’interruption et l’altération du cycle de l’eau. Le protocole de Kyoto est arrivé trop tard et la disparition de la couche d’ozone et le changement climatique provoquent déjà de grands ravages qui accélèrent la l’émigration de pays pauvres vers les plus riches.

Le plus ironique est que les migrants, fruit de l’expulsion que génère le modèle économique de production et d’exploitation capitaliste, se concentrent dans les pays responsables de la politique qui les a obligés à quitter leurs propres foyers pour être doublement exploités. Ils perdent maisons, terres, famille, culture et, comme si cela ne suffisait pas, une grande partie de leurs maigres revenus, en les envoyant à leurs familles dans leur pays d’origine.

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