The Global Fund For Children

Aware Girls | Pakistan

Wherever you may be as you read this, it is probably not in a village in Serbia, or on the plains of Tanzania, or in a refugee settlement in Lebanon. These places can be hard to imagine, but this is where our work happens—in parts of the world that most people never get to see. We go to these places and find strong, innovative organizations that are helping children be safe, healthy, and educated, even in the most challenging circumstances.

As we begin a new year, we are committed to sharing these places—and the courageous organizations and children we find there—with you. Our new website attests to this promise: you can go on a virtual site visit, search our interactive map, and read the latest updates from our travels. As GFC staff, we are constantly in touch with our grantee partners—we see children in their communities, and we hear about the issues they face and the needs they have. We witness the full range of our grantee partners’ work and the courage of the people involved. It is our hope that the new site helps you share in this experience.

Another way we’re sharing our work is through events in Washington, DC, and across the country. When our grantee partners have the opportunity to meet face-to-face with our community, it’s a jolt of energy and inspiration for everyone. In December, we were honored with a visit from Michelle Karshan, founder of grantee partner Li, Li, Li! in Haiti. Our friends in DC heard firsthand how Li, Li, Li!’s storybook reading sessions have helped create jobs, promote literacy, and provide safe havens for children living in tent camps. Two years after the earthquake, as debates intensify about where all the resources have gone, we are very proud that we can show just how our grants—given directly to nonprofits in Haiti—have supported real needs in the country.

Later this month, friends in New York and DC will meet with Gulalai Ismail, founder of Aware Girls. Working in remote areas of Pakistan, Aware Girls empowers young women and girls by giving them access to education, reproductive health resources, and employment opportunities. We’ll hear about Pakistan’s complicated sociopolitical environment, how it affects individual communities, and how Aware Girls is helping vulnerable girls to tackle these challenges. Other events are scheduled throughout the year in New York, the Bay Area, Dallas, and Chicago. Let us know if you want more information.

You’ll also want to save the date for our annual gala on May 10. We’ll highlight and celebrate our grantee partners’ work and officially launch the Maya Ajmera Sustainability Awards. Most importantly, we’ll be bringing together people who are essential to our success—our donors. You make it possible to get critical support to children in Haiti, Pakistan, and 76 other countries around the world. We thank you for your generosity, and hope that the faces and voices of those you have helped will continue to inspire you throughout the year.

My best,

Kristin Lindsey

GFC LAUNCHES NEW WEBSITE!

We are pleased to announce the launch of our brand new website! Our new online home is all about showing our work—you’ll learn how grassroots grantmaking works, meet the community-based organizations we partner with, and hear stories about their challenges and successes. We are motivated by inspirational stories every day, and through this site we hope you will be, too.

Here are some highlights to get you started:

• Virtual Site Visits: Join our program officers as they visit grantee partners around the world. Tour the facilities, meet grassroots leaders, and see the children we serve.

• Blog: Read our latest blog posts to find out what’s happening on the ground as our staff visits new and potential grantees.

• Get Involved: Find out how you can make a difference in the lives of vulnerable children worldwide.

• Interactive Map: Explore our interactive map to see where we work and what our partners do.

If you have any questions about our site, we’d love to hear from you. Please contact us.

RAISING GRANDCHILDREN TO BE GLOBAL CITIZENS

Roz and Victor Leviatin

Like most grandparents, Victor and Roz Leviatin love to give their grandchildren birthday gifts. But they have found a way to celebrate birthdays without contributing to a pile of games and toys that may fall out of favor by the following year. For each birthday, the Leviatins make a gift in the child’s honor to The Global Fund for Children.

“When our children were young, we spent a year traveling,” Roz says, recalling their time in Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, India, and Tanzania. Their children still love to travel, so when Roz and Victor set out to find a child-centered organization for the birthday gifts, they knew they wanted one with a global focus.

Roz says they also wanted their donations to be used efficiently, and to go to people who are in serious need of assistance. When they came across The Global Fund for Children via an Internet search in 2008, they knew they had found the right fit. Roz enjoys talking to her grandkids about what their gifts are used for, such as schools, healthcare, shelter, and emergency relief.

“It’s very concrete information for the kids,” she says. The grandchildren love seeing their names printed in the annual report each year and enjoy learning about the children their gifts have helped.

By spreading out their donations over the year—as opposed to making one large donation—the Leviatins find it easier to make room in their budget. They also contribute based on each child’s age, with the amount increasing as the children grow older. This helps them grow their giving over time without suddenly straining their bank account.

“I don’t think of us as big donors,” Roz says, though she is often pleasantly surprised when she adds up the donations at the end of the year. “We just love the idea.”

We are grateful to Chance, Cole, Neve, and Samuel for sharing their birthday gifts with children all over the world, and to Victor and Roz for giving creatively and generously.

CHECK OUT A POWERFUL VIDEO

Click here to view video!

Photo journalist Tiana Markova-Gold takes you on an in-depth look at our grantee partner Kudirat Initiative for Democracy (KIND) in Lagos, Nigeria.

In addition to providing invaluable financial support to our grassroots grantee partners, we maximize our investments with services that strengthen these fledgling organizations. Services include nominating innovative leaders and groups for prestigious awards, connecting partners to a global network of law firms, convening peer-to-peer Knowledge Exchange workshops, and helping to find fresh sources of funding. As you can see, these efforts are paying big dividends.

On January 12, in recognition of the two-year anniversary of the earthquake in Haiti, Komisyon Fanm Viktim pou Viktim (Commission of Women Victims for Victims) (Port-au-Prince, Haiti) was featured in The Huffington Post and on PBS’s NewsHour for its progress in combating sexual violence in tent camps. KOFAVIV works to address the psychological and direct medical needs of former child slaves and rape victims in Haiti.

Li, Li, Li! | Haiti

Li, Li, Li! (Port-au-Prince, Haiti), a reading-out-loud program for children displaced by the January 2010 earthquake, was also featured in The Huffington Post for its transformative work in serving vulnerable children and the community.

In a video interview, Time Magazine tells the inspirational story of grantee partner Nyaka AIDS Orphans Project (Nyakagyezi, Uganda).

Shining Hope for Communities (Nairobi, Kenya) received a $750,000 grant this month from Newman’s Own Foundation for its girls’ school in Kenya. Shining Hope for Communities combats extreme poverty and gender inequality in Nairobi’s Kibera slum.

Akili Dada (Nairobi, Kenya) was also recently awarded a large grant—$100,000—from Google.org. Akili Dada was founded in 2005 to serve as a leadership incubator for empowering the next generation of Kenyan women leaders by making strategic investments in high-potential adolescent girls from underprivileged families.

The children at Karm Marg’s children’s home (New Delhi, India) have teamed up with legendary singer Sting and his wife, Trudie, to promote their unique handbags made of elephant dung and banana fibers. Proceeds from the bags go to Karm Marg.

Performers from Tiny Toones (Phnom Penh, Cambodia) are going on tour to raise money for their organization and to tell their stories through dance, rap, music, and acting. An article in The Sydney Morning Herald describes how Tuy Sobil, Tiny Toones’ founder, turned his life around and built an organization that empowers street children to live healthier, more productive lives.

New grantee partner Mariposa DR Foundation (Cabarete, Dominican Republic) won the first ever Global Giving Girl Effect Challenge. Other grantee winners include Shining Hope for Communities, Nyaka AIDS Orphans Project, and Afghan Institute of Learning. Mariposa DR Foundation works to ensure access to free and quality education, promotes HIV/AIDS awareness, and provides a safe environment where adolescent girls can build confidence and receive leadership training.

The Washington Youth Choir (Washington, DC) took the stage along with Justin Bieber, Jennifer Hudson, and other top names to perform for the Obamas at “Christmas in Washington.”