Dear Friends:

The current crisis in the Middle East has brought to mind the work of our partner in Lebanon, Association du Foyer de l’Enfant Libanais. AFEL has been our grantee partner since 2004, when we funded a pilot program to prevent juvenile delinquency among Lebanese youth under our Distinctive Needs of Vulnerable Boys portfolio. Of the 27 participants, most of whom were boys, 19 passed their end-of-year exams and 6 were admitted to government schools. We renewed the grant in 2005 and recently gave AFEL emergency funds. Before the current conflict, AFEL, based in the Beirut suburb of Sin el-Fil, served nearly 1,000 orphans and 200 broken families through such activities as literacy classes, youth clubs, and summer camps.

We worry and grieve for all the innocent victims of this current conflict. They remind us of other children and youth around the world who are also suffering due to conflicts, natural disasters, poverty, ill health, malnutrition, and HIV/AIDS.

Although summer in Washington, DC, is hot and humid, the world’s leading male tennis pros gathered here for the 13th Legg Mason Tennis Classic. I was invited to join them at the All-Star Celebrity Reading Room as they read the Global Fund for Children book Let the Games Begin to more than 50 children. Reading the book were tennis pros Andy Roddick, James Blake, and Paul Goldstein. The event was presented by Legg Mason and the Washington Tennis & Education Foundation. Legg Mason also gave the children copies of the book.

I am pleased to introduce you to the first issue of our online newsletter, @work. It will be published quarterly, with special editions in between. 

The last six months have been very exciting as we gear up to go to scale. We gave more than $850,000 in various grants in spring 2006. This brings the total grants we gave to grassroots groups in the 2005–2006 fiscal year to nearly $2 million.

Through our Books for Kids project, we have started giving 17,000 of our books to children and youth in the developing world and in regions in conflict. This is courtesy of a $50,000 grant by Oprah’s Angel Network in honor of Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel. Soon after the award was announced on television, Credit Suisse gave us $20,000 to distribute an additional 2,600 books worldwide.  

We have a new website, www.globalfundforchildren.org. When you visit it, you’ll find stories of how our grants have helped children and youth worldwide, a streamlined online bookstore, and a weekly roundup of news about children.

You’ll also read about our new partnership with Tea Collection, which created a special line of children’s T-shirts and bodysuits emblazoned with “for little citizens of the world.” You can find these clothes in retail stores all over or online. When you purchase these products, 100 percent of the sales will go to GFC.

Recently, Charity Navigator again gave us its highest award (four stars). Only 12 percent of the nonprofit organizations it rates are able to maintain this exceptional rating two years in a row.

Finally, please join me in welcoming our new team members: Elsa L. Fan, program officer for Asia; Melissa Hobson, operations manager; Adlai J. Amor, senior communications officer; and Solome Lemma, assistant program officer for Africa. Joining us for the summer is Tammy Phan, our second recipient of the William Ascher Fellowship. Tammy will soon be a senior at Stanford University, where she is studying human biology and economics.

As we prepare to make another round of grants, which we estimate will top $1 million, I’d like to thank you once again for your continuing support.

My best,
Maya Ajmera



GFC Receives Grant from Oprah’s Angel Network
If you’ve watched The Oprah Winfrey Show recently, you know that Oprah’s Angel Network gave us a grant of $50,000 as its way of honoring Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel. The segment ended with a video clip showing our books. Thanks to the Angel Network’s generosity, we will be able to distribute 17,000 Global Fund for Children books to children and youth living in poor countries and in regions in conflict.
[read more]

Going to School in India Wins Award
The acclaimed intercultural magazine Skipping Stones recently gave Going to School in India a 2006 Skipping Stones Honor Award. The accompanying review states that “this inspirational book is highly recommended for its colorful photos of the children, their schools, the regions where they live, and even the food they eat.” [read more]


New Book Celebrates Families
Our latest children’s book, My Family, celebrates with beautiful color photographs the tenderness and meaning of families. Families come in many different sizes and shapes, but for children all around the world, being part of a family means belonging.

My Family is authored by Sheila Kinkade and illustrated with photographs by Elaine Little. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, former lieutenant governor of Maryland, wrote the foreword. [read more]

GFC Awards Over $850,000 in Spring 2006
Our grantmaking program continues to grow, with more than $850,000 awarded in spring 2006. The majority of this consisted of 73 program grants to community-based organizations in 40 countries. [read more]

Indonesian Groups Get Grants for Quake Work
We gave emergency grants in early June to two Indonesian grassroots organizations working to address the immediate needs of children and youth affected by the May 27 earthquake that hit central Java. [read more]

From Senegal's Streets to Art
Abdul Ba of Dakar, Senegal, is a talented 18-year-old who sells his paintings and saves the money to invest in his own studio. Just 14 months ago, his life was very different. Abdul’s parents could no longer afford to send him to school, so he dropped out and spent most of his time hanging out on the streets with a group of directionless and, in some cases, violent young men.
[read more]

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© 2006 The Global Fund for Children