Thank you to everyone who took the time to vote and comment on IDEX's project to help Coffee Farmers in Chiapas.

Unfortunately IDEX's project was not selected to become a finalist for the Green Mountain Coffee Roasters climate change competition. It was a highly competitive process with many inspiring submissions.

One of the benefits of having a public voting component was seeing the response to IDEX. We loved reading your comments. It is heartening to know that IDEX has so many loyal supporters, who believe in our mission.

The finalists for the grant are currently posted on Justmeans. You can review them, and vote or offer public comment through April 3rd. You can find them here.

Thank you!

Labels: Chiapas, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters

Senegal
Tense elections build-up ends calmly - IRIN – 23 Mar 09
Local elections took place in Senegal on the 22nd under widespread calm according to the country’s national electoral commission.

South Africa
Women Farm-workers Threaten Election Boycott - IPS – 28 Mar 09
Women from South Africa’s three Cape provinces have marched to parliament in Cape Town to denounce the country’s “slow and unbalanced” land redistribution programme.

Will Scaling Up Pre-Positioned Food Aid Save Time and Money? - allAfrica.com – 27 Mar 09
USAID is setting up several food aid warehouses around the world this year in an effort to respond more quickly to hunger crises. While other food-aid agencies may follow suit, some experts have raised concerns about its long-term viability.

Zimbabwe
IMF Hails Fiscal Reforms - allAfrica.com – 28 Mar 09
An IMF official stated that Zimbabwe has taken steps towards re-integration in the international financial system and potentially new loans for reconstruction. The country has recently received U.S $18.7 million from the World Band and Denmark to refurbish water and sewage treatment plants.

Tsvangirai Vows to Crush Land Grabbing - allAfrica.com – 28 Mar 09
PM Tsvangirai has ordered police to arrest people spearheading the new wave of farm invasions. Tsvangirai said on Friday that the invasions were impacting negatively on agricultural production and the economy in general.

MPs Press for Affordable Passports - allAfrica.com – 27 Mar 09
Outrage over high passport, birth, and death certificate fees has spilled into Parliament with MPs demanding reductions to make them affordable to all citizens.

Declining Food Prices Force Inflation Down - allAfrica.com – 26 Mar 09
Official figures showed a decline in month-to-month inflation for the first time since July 2006.

Turning Waste into Fertilizer - allAfrica.com – 27 Mar 09
Two NGOs teamed up with local residents in several Zimbabwe communities earlier this year and started up sustainable waste management programs. The program includes backyard composting and small-scale gardening.

Africa
Requests for Asylum Rise 82 percent, Says UN Body - allAfrica.com – 26 Mar 09
A UNHCR report said the number of people seeking asylum rose last year for the second year in a row, partly due to a significant increase in applications by people originating from Afghanistan, Zimbabwe, Somalia, Nigeria, and Sri Lanka.

Mining-Africa: Help Yourself, There’s Plenty - IPS – 27 Mar 09
Article talks about issues highlighted in a newly published report entitled “Breaking the Curse: How Transparent Taxation and Fair Taxes can Turn Africa’s Mineral Wealth into Development”.

Guatemala
Guatemala’s President Colom suspends official trip to address security crisis - Guatemala Times – 25 Mar 09
President Colom suspended his trip to a SICA meeting in Nicaragua after the latest killings of several bus drivers. Soldiers are reportedly patrolling the streets of Guatemala City and National police check points have been set up throughout the city as well.

Guatemalans haunted by violence - Prensa Latina – 30 Mar 09

Mexico
Mexico abstentions may plague polls - Prensa Latina – 30 Mar 09
CESOP forecasts predict abstentionism may exceed 70 percent in mid-term elections.

Mexico Unemployment at Record High - Prensa Latina – 25 Mar 09
Unemployment numbers for February reached a record rate of 5.30 percent of the economically active population, according to the National Institute of Geography and Statistics (INEGI).

Nepal
Long-term IDPs still living in poverty - IRIN – 13 Mar 09
Thousands of internally displaced persons, estimated to be between 50,000- 70,000, inhabit crowded slums in Katmandu and other cities.

Ethnic identity crisis gathers momentum - IRIN – 20 Mar 09
At least two major ethnic groups in the southeastern Terai region bordering India have joined strikes and protests in recent weeks against their classification in the new draft constitution as Madhesi, Nepal’s dominant ethnic group.

Bangladesh
Fears for social stability as migrant workers return - IRIN – 26 Mar 09
Layoffs and forced repatriation of Bangladeshi workers from the Middle East and Malaysia are increasing at an alarming rate because of the global financial crisis.

India
On a 50-km march to create awareness on water pollution - newKerala.com – 30 Mar 09
Environmentalist Balbir Singh Seechewal will be leading a march to bring more awareness to communities about the importance of safeguarding their water resources. The march will be divided into two phases; first phase, April 1-6 covering Punjab and the second phase to cover Rajasthan.

Labels: Newsflash

We start our extensive site visit to communities in Casamance, Senegal and communities in various underserved provinces in South Africa this Saturday, March 28, 2009. We will be visiting rural communities engaged in social change work in KwaZulu Natal, Limpopo, Eastern Cape, Gauteng and Western Cape. During this visit from March 28 to May 7, we will blog anytime we can access Internet to share all that we learn from grassroots communities and their leaders. Thank you for good wishes for our travels.

To celebrate 10 years of their work Betty sent all of Girl Child Network's funders and supporters a heart felt thank you.

IDEX is honored to know Betty Makoni and everyone at GCN and glad to have played a roll in your inspiring success. Thank you Betty and GCN for your hard work.

And to IDEX supporters we thank you for supporting GCN and our partners around the world.

Email from Betty Makoni - Empowered rural girl from Zimbabwe heads to Oxford University: GCN celebrates 10 years on 21 March 2009

From torn paper to laptop to email to technology to communication
From silent victims of harmful cultural practices to international advocates for girls rights
From speechless girls, to mouthful girls
From the smoky huts to five star hotels
From the dark potholed dusty roads of remote rural areas to lightful streets of Oxford, New York, Harare
From invisible past to visible present and future
From tearful songs to songs of empowerment
From verseless poetry to voiceful poetry
Girls are walking in the fullness of their potential
(By Betty Makoni, Unpublished poet and Founder of Girl Child Network)

Dear friends,
On Saturday 21 March 2009, Girl Child Network (www.gcn.org.zw) turns ten years. There is a girl who emailed me as below and I felt she summed it up well so well. Please note I removed her name from the original email but the rest of the email is in its original form and content.

“Hello Betty

I was at Tsindi Secondary School in Rusape, Manicaland in 2006. I just want to say a big thank you to you and the Girl Child Network Trust Zimbabwe. You helped me a lot not financially but with the sweet and advising words you said when you came to our School. Now I have grown knowing my rights, knowing I have to speak up and always view the sky as the limit.

Me being brought up in our small village and we did not have enough opportunities to do what other girls where doing, I used to look at myself like I am nothing and whenever we had sports and gatherings, I used to feel like I do not exist. Thanks to you I finally saw the potential, which was inside myself, right now as I write to you I am studying Nursing and Paramedic and I will be going to university in September, which is amazing. I will be going to Oxford University by the way and I give all the thanks to you because you made me realize I can do anything. I hope the GCNT is still going on no matter what happened or what happens back home.
Thank you very much and god bless!!!

I hope Mai Mvududu is still cheerful as she used to be.

Love you and take care.”

Personally I never imagined a situation where a rural girl would one day email from Oxford to say, “I finally made it.” I was used to seeing girls with dirty, torn uniforms, shoeless, rough feet and rough hands. My picture of girls in tears, overworked, married off, domesticated and raped made me worry a lot. Each time I looked at them I saw great potential erased by abject poverty. Now when I open my email box ten years down the line, I get messages that make me feel the world must relook empowerment programs for girls and replicate wherever, whenever, however they can use the Girl Child Empowerment Model by Girl Child Network.

I told girls in Canada many times that each time I fly to their country it is the voice of a male pilot that I hear and then I see many air hostesses serving food. Not that it is a bad thing to be an air hostess but we need the number of those pilots and air hostesses balanced in terms of gender.

We must not tire in our efforts in supporting girls so that we close on the gender inequality gap created by patriarchy in the world and according to me it does not matter whether one is in the north or south. It looks gender inequality and women empowerment needs to be addressed at a much earlier stage. Girls will be women but women will never be girls again and so we start now!!!!!!!!!!!!!

From 1999 we have supported thousands of girls in Zimbabwe to transform from perceived victims to leaders and many now walk in the fullness of their potential. Girl Child Network turns 10 on 21 March 2009. We have every reason to celebrate our achievements and please join us!

Tomorrow in Chitungwiza a high-density suburb of over one million people, girls will celebrate their 10th anniversary and Stembile Mabhena, former National Girls Executive Secretary General and current representative of girls on the board will give a key-note address and spell out the next vision for Girl Child Network from 2009 to 2019. Girls will march from our offices in Zengeza 4 to Makoni Shopping centre.

Throughout the year many events will take part formally and informally where Girl Child Network will share the Girl Child Network Model within and outside Zimbabwe.

The whole world has supported GCN morally and financially.

But mostly our story was made possible by all of you.

Thank you all on behalf of girls in Zimbabwe and tomorrow is a big day for us all.

Betty Makoni

IDEX is proud and delighted to be part of your work and wishes everyone at GCN a very Happy Birthday.

Labels: Betty Makoni, empowerment, GCN, Zimababwe

Patrociña’s community is one of 15 currently receiving support through APROSADSE's Agroecology Program, which provides loans and training to groups and individuals for income-generating projects, such as livestock rearing. These are lucrative options for families with limited access to arable land. The program also promotes group savings and facilitates monthly technical assistance to each group.

At her neighbor’s urging Patrociña attended a meeting sponsored by APROSADSE. The more she learned, the more it became clear. If she took a loan to buy a cow the milk could both provide her 5 growing children with much needed nutrition. With the income from leftover milk she could send her children to school. And if you were to ask Patrociña about her dreams, she would be quick to tell you. What she wants most in life is to see her children go to school.

Few cars make it down to El Carmen, Patrociña’s tiny community of 30 families. There are no paved roads. Patrociña has a long and dusty walk to market in San Martín Jilotepeque. Even there staples like eggs and milk and fresh produce are often too expensive. Her family lives on a small, arid plot of land in a 2-room house, the walls patched together with maize stalks and steel plates.

Patrociña never envisioned she would be able to support her family on her own. But through a combination of small loans and technical training in livestock rearing, she has discovered an innate sense for business.

In her group meetings, Patrociña is always the first to speak up; ready to share how she is maximizing her original investment. First, she sold her original cow. With the proceeds, she paid back her loan and bought another cow. She was able to sell that cow and buy a bull, which she calculated would yield an even higher profit at market.

Her children are growing strong on the milk they have to drink. Plus her cow is also providing enough milk she can sell it to neighboring families. And, as she will proudly tell you, she can now afford to purchase uniforms, school supplies and pay for tuition for her 3 eldest school-age children.

Patrociña is not content to stop there. Her entrepreneurial spirit has encouraged her to expand her micro enterprise by making cheese. She has also begun to use organic and free fertilizer (from her cows) for her two plots of the local chayote squash. In a short time, she has watched her income grow from zero into a steady stream.

Though her new life is busier than ever, Patrociña finds time to attend health-training workshops at APROSADSE’s main office and returns motivated to extend her newfound tips in nutrition and family health to the rest of the women in her community.

Give to support women like Patrociña on GlobalGiving through March 27, 2009 and your donation will be matched.

Photo credit: Marlon García

Labels: APROSADSE, GlobalGiving, microcredit, Sustainable Agriculture

Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe Prime Minister Tsvangirai hurt in crash AP- 6 Mar 09
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s wife was killed and he suffered injuries in a two-vehicle crash near the capital on Friday.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AF_ZIMBABWE_TSVANGIRAI?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2009-03-06-19-30-49

Thousands Stranded As South Africa Shuts Refugee Camp - allAfrica.com – 5 Mar 09
The South African government has ordered the refugee camp in the border town of Musina be shut down, reportedly stranding some 4000 Zimbabweans who were being sheltered there. The Department of Home Affairs has further ordered all shelters to be broken down and burnt. Home Affairs officials deny this account stating that alternate arrangements had been made for some of the displaced people.

Hollywood star ‘shocked and saddened’ by plight of Zim Refugees - allAfrica.com – 4 Mar 09
Actor Matt Damon, who recently met with some Zimbabweans who have fled to the town of Musina in neighboring South Africa, is calling on regional and international leaders to take action. It is estimated that thousands are crossing the border every night into South Africa where they encounter a dangerous journey as well as overflowing refugee camps filled with asylum seekers.

Migration Stifles Agric Production - allAfrica.com – 28 Feb 09
Report published by the Zimbabwean government discusses how migration to find off-farm work is affecting the town of Chiredzi and other farming communities around the country.

South Africa
One-stop 72-hour process to legalize Zimbabweans IRIN – 6 Mar 09
Service for undocumented Zimbabwean migrants in an enclosed military base outside Musina could help ease tensions after the South African government closed a refugee reception center in the area.

Minister Warns Land Reform Beneficiaries - allAfrica.com – 5 Mar 09
Land and Agriculture Minister Lulu Xingwana warned yesterday that her top officials would enforce a “use it or lose it” policy to ensure land-reform beneficiaries ran productive farms.

Tshwane Metro Closes Refuge Camp - allAfrica.com – 3 Mar 09
The Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality has closed down the Klerksoord site situated north of Pretoria. The last of the 382 people were removed from the camp on Sunday. The UNHCR reportedly arranged accommodations for 282 of those and provided some funding for the remaining 100.

Nepal
Cop slain, two killed: Riots rule, curfew on in Chitwan - eKantipur- 7 Mar 09
Tensions escalated in the Ratnanagar Municipality of Chitwan district last Friday after two people were shot during demonstrations, both men died from their wounds. A curfew has been imposed for an indefinite time.

Nepal's 'confined women' want change BBC – 4 Mar 09
Local group is campaigning to reform and educate communities regarding the practice of confinement, known as chhaupadi; a practice that in part separates mother and infant from family for eleven days after the birth of a child.

Nepal peace at risk as Maoists' plan hiring fighters - Reuters- 3 Mar 09
A former Maoist rebel commander said on Tuesday the group plans to recruit thousands of fighters, a move that observers say could endanger a 2006 peace pact.

Bangladesh
Cairn abandons Bangladesh oil field exploration rights - Reuters- 5 Mar 09
British oil firm Cairn Energy and its partner Australia’s Santos International have abandoned their rights to explore oil and gas in an onshore block of Bangladesh deeming the area to be commercially unviable.

Jitters over Bangladesh Initial Public Offering (IPO) delay - BBC.com – 4 Mar 09
Mobile phone operator Grameenphone is awaiting government approval to raise funds in the country. Article discusses the Village Phone Program’s socially beneficial attributes for the rural communities.

India
India’s Iron Lady rearrested a day after release - Reuters – 9 Mar 09
Human rights campaigner, Irom Sharmila, was arrested on Monday after refusing to end a hunger protest against the anti-terror law.

School education in rural India - Times of India – 23 Feb 09
Government initiatives to provide access to primary education may be underway, but issues of equity, quality, and access remain areas of concern particularly in rural schools.

Mexico
Mexico allows GM corn for experiments - Associated Press-6 Mar 09
Mexico is changing its laws to allow the planting of genetically modified corn for experimental reasons.

Guatemala
Murders Cloud Guatemala Women's Day - Prensa Latina -6 Mar 09
Guatemalan Human Rights Office Ombudswoman for women's rights, Ana Gladys Ollas, attributes the high rate of crimes against women that go unpunished to a weakness in investigations process and the courts failure to take action against these crimes.

Labels: IDEX NewsFlash

IDEX is applying for a $200,000 multi-year grant for our partners in Chiapas, Mexico who grow organic coffee.

Vote for IDEX and ask friends, colleagues and family members to vote as well.

We'd love to know what you think about our submission so please vote and leave a comment.

Be sure to vote for other ideas, although ideally in 1 of the other 3 categories!

We have until March 21 to get as many votes as possible. Please take 1 minute to help us raise $200,000.

Thank you.

Labels: DESMI, Justmeans

Bangladesh
Bangladesh mutiny ends after tanks enter capital - Associated Press - 26 Feb 09
Border guards have surrendered their control over the overtaken headquarters in Dhaka Thursday after tanks were sent in. At least 18 people were killed when some 2,000 guards seized their headquarters to protest poor pay and conditions.

Bangladesh hunts for mutiny leaders - Aljazeera.net – 1 Mar 09

Nepal
India, Nepal set to construct dam - Times of India- 1 Mar 09
India and Nepal are set to establish Pancheshwar Development Authority for the construction of a storage dam on the Mahakali River at the boundary of Uttarakhand and Nepal. Eighty percent of the catchment area will be in India and the rest in Nepal.

The Magic of Letters - Npr.org – 15 Feb 09
Essay from Chameli Waiba, a Nepali woman living and working for the betterment of her community expresses what powerful a tool literacy has been in her life.

India
Farmers Rally in Delhi - La Via Campesina – 24 Feb 09
Some 50 thousand farmers from several states rallied in Delhi. Farmer representatives met with acting PM Pranab Mukharji at Jantar-Mantar to present a memorandum related to the farmer’s issues.

South Africa
Neglected Group Has HIV/Aids Support - allAfrica.com - 27 Feb 09
The Perinatal HIV Research Unit at Soweto’s C.H. Baragwanath Hospital has started a program called Health4Men that will address services towards under-served populations, including men who have sex with men that may not identify themselves as part of the gay community.

Farmers Using 'Dop System' Face Up to R1 Million Fine - allAfrica.com – 27 Feb 09
Western Cape farmers who pay their workers with alcohol instead of giving them a monthly wage can be fined up to a R1 million under the Western Cape Liquor Act.

Zimbabwe
Mugabe: White farmers must leave - Aljazeera.net – 1 Mar 09
President Mugabe has urged the last remaining white farmers to leave the country in a speech delivered during his 85th birthday party.

4- Regional ministers seek donor help for Zimbabwe - Reuters- 27 Feb 09
Southern African finance ministers agreed on Friday to push for donor help to rebuild Zimbabwe from economic collapse.

Economy: Using the Rand Makes Zimbabwe 'South Africa’s Province' - IPS – 24 Feb 09
Negotiations are taking place between Zimbabwe and South Africa to decide whether Zimbabwe will implement the use of the rand, joining the country into the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

Remittances Saved the Country From Collapse - allAfrica.com – 20 Feb 09
Foreign currency remittances from Zimbabweans living outside of the country-excluding hand-to-hand transfers- were expected to double in 2009 from an estimated US$361 million in 2008 according to IFAD projections. The number of Zimbabweans who have left the country because of the high unemployment, hyperinflation, and humanitarian crisis is estimated to be over 3 million.

Mexico
Mexico Prez hopes to quell drug violence by 2012 - AP -27 Feb 09
Mexico’s President Felipe Calderon disputed U.S fears that the government is losing control of the country and expressed that the increased violence is a sign of that the cartels are feeling the pressure from nationwide military and police operations.

Press Release: IACHR Condemns Murder of Indigenous Leaders in Mexico - Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (OAS) - 24 Feb 09
The IACHR condemns the murder of Raúl Lucas Lucía and Manuel Ponce Rosas in the State of Guerrero Mexico. The two men, president, and secretary of the Organization for the Future of the Mixteco People and active members of the Me´phaa Indigenous People organization, were accosted on February 13 and later found murdered.

Guatemala
Guatemala Arms Act Still Being Debated - Prensa Latina- 28 Feb 09
Legislators continue to debate over details of the controversial Arms and Ammunition Act. If passed, this would be the first successful reform of arms law since 1989.

Anniversary of Guatemala’s Memory of Silence and Day of Dignity for the Victims
Guatemala Times – 25 Feb 09
Wednesday marked the 10-year anniversary of the presentation of the report: "Guatemala: Memory of Silence". Relatives of victims and survivors gathered to commemorate the establishment of Dignity Day for Victims of the civil war.

President Colom delivers housing for Stan Victims in Guatemala - Guatemala Times – 23 Feb 09
President Alvaro Colom visited several highland communities where one hundred and forty houses where handed over to families affected by Tropical Storm Stan. Houses are located in San Francisco el Alto, Totonicapán; Chimaltenango and Champerico, Retahuleu.

Labels: IDEX NewsFlash

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