The Global Fund For Children

Washington, DC – Parul Sheth, the executive director of Shaishav Trust, a GFC grantee partner located in Bhavnagar, India, was able to visit GFC’s office to share Shaishav’s incredible work in ensuring children’s rights. Parul is currently in the US as a Hubert H. Humphrey fellow—a fellowship that GFC helped her to get. At GFC’s [...]

“Many times I have told the story about the boys with guns in their hands, stopping our car and wanting to talk to me,” says Sakena Yacoobi, director of the Afghan Institute of Learning (AIL). “Although I was afraid, I got out of the car.”

Yacoobi was used to fear—since 1995 she had been bringing educational opportunities to women and girls in Afghanistan, and for years she operated directly in conflict with the Taliban government.

In the height of monsoon season in northern Bangladesh, a young girl runs to the riverbank near her village. Her regular school building is closed due to floodwaters, but a different kind of classroom awaits her—one that floats.

“A boat school is the combination of a school bus and schoolhouse,” says Mohammed Rezwan, executive director of Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha and the social entrepreneur behind its mobile boat schools.

They live in slums, on train platforms, and on the streets. They work on fishing docks and in marketplaces and as domestic servants. They are migrants, moving with their families between villages and the city. These are Mumbai’s uncounted and undocumented children, and they are everywhere—except in school.

Door Step School is trying to change that.

Washington, DC – She said her mom was her inspiration to pursue an education when education for girls was looked down upon. In 2004, along with a few of her peers, Sana Sohail founded GFC grantee partner Chanan Development Association (CDA), a youth-led organization in Pakistan dedicated to supporting the active participation of youth and [...]

Delhi, India – “I want to make sure that Sankalpam is always a loving and safe home for my children,” said Sumitra Mokkapati, misty-eyed, as she shared her goal for Ankuram with me during a GFC-sponsored organizational development workshop in Delhi. Sumitra is the executive director of Ankuram Woman and Child Development Society, a community-based [...]

Lahore, Pakistan – “India is winning,” said the first person I saw after getting off the plane in Lahore. I had just landed after a tough flight from Delhi, and I didn’t quite understand what she meant. Earlier that day, our plane had been diverted to Multan after being unable to land in Lahore because [...]

Kathmandu, Nepal – In August 2010, the US government suspended the adoption of children from Nepal. Nepal is in the midst of changing its adoption laws to address the United States’ concerns regarding unreliable and fabricated documents establishing the status of orphaned and abandoned children. Until the new laws and policies are firmly in place, [...]

Dhaka, Bangladesh – Whether in the context of a personal, career, or social enterprise, finding a good match is one of the critical ingredients for full realization of goals. With the mushrooming of NGOs, the options for social investment partnerships are many, and vetting to find the right partner is important and requires expertise and [...]

Kathmandu, Nepal – Spending time with Indira Ranamagar, the director of GFC grantee partner Prisoners Assistance Nepal (PA Nepal) is refreshing. She is constantly advocating for children’s causes wherever she goes and whenever she gets a chance. She founded PA Nepal in 1990 to advocate for prison reforms in Nepal. The organization’s holistic approach incorporates [...]