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Dear Friends:
I was touched by the messages from so many of you in response to the New York Times story about Mark Kwadwo, one of the indentured child servants in the fishing industry in the Lake Volta region of Ghana, and our support of APPLE, a grassroots anti-trafficking group working with children in this region. The article shocked many of our supporters who also were heartened to hear that The Global Fund for Children and APPLE (Association of People for Practical Life Education), our local partner, are making a difference in the lives of these very vulnerable young people.
Recently we have seen the media spotlight the horrific problems of child labor in other countries and on other continents. Five months ago, another New York Times story alerted us to the plight of young people working as stone crushers outside Lusaka, Zambia. When we visited the area last month, we were discouraged that we could not find a grassroots organization working directly with these children. But change is possible now that our grantee partner, Tasintha Programme, will be expanding its work to support children who are stone crushers.
Our on-the-ground investigations are making sure that the grassroots groups we help are legitimate and innovative, whether they are cited by the media or not. Our program officers travel to remote places and their journeys are often difficult. If you read our blog, On the Road, you will get a flavor of their experiences and a sneak preview of some of the exciting groups they discovered that we hope to support starting spring 2007.
As this holiday season begins, I am once again thankful for your support of our work helping hundreds of children and youth around the world. This fall, we awarded over $1.1 million in grants to 95 grassroots groups in 47 countries. This is a 43 percent increase in value over the grants we gave in fall 2005.
We look forward to further expanding our reach next spring by awarding $1.5 million in grants to innovative grassroots groups throughout the world.
To realize this goal we need your support. You can help by:
*Donating online
*Purchasing Tea Collection's clothing for the little citizens
of the world where 100% of the proceeds benefit GFC
*Buying Global Fund for Children books.
Thank you for your belief in our work and in our shared vision of a world where all children can grow up to be productive, caring citizens of a global society.
May this holiday season bring peace, joy, and hope to you and your loved ones.
My best,
Maya Ajmera
Since 1997, your support has enabled us to give 1,147 grants valued at more than $6.1 million to 239 grassroots groups in 64 countries. More than 1 million children have benefited from our work.
[make an online donation]
We have partnered with Tea Collection, a socially responsible company based in San Francisco, CA. Tea produces clothes for the little citizens of the world (and their mothers). The income from an exclusive Global Fund for Children line supports our work. [buy clothes]
Our collection of 20 titles under the Global Fund for Children Books brand has won 27 awards and honors since 1997. We have 300,000 books in circulation and we estimate a readership of 1 million people. A portion of the royalties from these books support our grantmaking program. [buy a book]
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Photo Credits (from top):
© Shawn Malone (Guatemala),
© Tea Collection,
© The Global Fund for Children