Beyond Aid Project

Friday, 09 January 2009 16:54

Increasingly we do realize that aid is not the answer to Africa’s poverty and under development. It will be hypocritical to call for immediate self-sufficiency however; the process towards securing stability and sustainable wellbeing must begin.

The Centre for Development Partnerships has initiated Social Enterprise for Sustainable Development (SESCOD), an initiative geared towards building sustainable communities BEYOND AID through earned income strategies.

This is a learning opportunity for CDP and lessons learned would be made available to benefit of other NGOs.

Research has shown that Non Profit organisations deliver more “AID” than the entire UN system and therefore cannot be side stepped in the pursuit of the development agenda. Incorporating sustainability as a key feature in our development efforts is critical.

The process of transforming nonprofits in Ghana and West Africa to operate and generate the required capital to carry out their mission based on sustainability through social entrepreneurship has began.

A Helping Hand

Monday, 07 August 2006 11:17

My name is Natalie Perkins and I am the Project Resource Co-Coordinator for CUSO, a Canadian based NGO. I work directly with one of their affiliates, Christian Rural Aid Network, obtaining funding and co-coordinating projects.

My job is to raise funds from various sources. It is imperative that I submit persuasive proposals that would guarantee donors financial support.

In January 2000, CAFWA (now CDP) /GAPVOD kicked of their Beyond Aid Sankofa Back to Basis workshop, which I attended. The series of workshops enhanced my existing writing skills and taught me new techniques in effective proposal writing.

The instructors lectured us on strategic planning, various aspects of fundraising as well as proactive techniques. In the strategic planning section of the workshop, the instructors explained the different facets of planning a project, including scheduling issues and contingency plans.

After completing the workshops, I became confident in my proposal writing skills. Out of the 11 proposals submitted over the past two years, 10 have received funding. The largest of the projects totaled approximately $30,000 US Dollars. This was for the Sanka Water Project, which will give pipe borne water to the people of Sanka, a village in the Central Region.

Without the CDP/GAPVOD Fundraising workshops, it would have been very difficult to write the proposals and gather funding for these projects. I am grateful to the knowledgeable Professors, workshop facilitators and staff of CDP/GAPVOD for their role in giving me the proper tools to help CRAN succeed.

Thanks CDP/GAPVOD for helping CRAN!

by Natalie Perkins.

Harnessing Youthful Energy in Mataheko

Monday, 07 August 2006 00:09

The game of football is an important tool for harnessing youthful energy for good. Members of the Real Progress Football Club made up of young, talented and dynamic street kids, will testify to this. The Club was established by Real Progress, a community based organisation working towards unearthing the talents of the youth in the Mataheko community and its environs. Over the months since its establishment, real talents have been discovered and are being nutured.

These kids are provided the opportunity and tools to put their untapped talents into good use and in the end, this will providesthem a means of livelihood.

The Real Progress Football Club is currently running a program for over 30 teenagers living in the Mataheko and Dansoman area. Training and playing kits are provided with resources from philanthropic individuals who have identified with the cause and are willing to be a part of it.

Real Progress Organisation seeks to establish partnerships with NGOs that share in their vision of using soccer as a means of fighting and reducing poverty.

The target is to increase the number of street kid beneficiaries from 30 to 100 by the year 2007 and to touch a million lives by their year 2010.

Real Progress is planning to start community based soccer academies in the year 2007 to cater for as many street kids as possible.

One such beneficiary of the Real Progress Soccer Programme, 16 year old George Williams idolises black stars defender John Mensah and posseses as much talent and promise. His desire to play professional football explains his commitment, descipline and hard work. He said "I want to become like John Mensah one day and play for my lovely country at the world cup".

That is a big dream that should not be allowed to die.

Real Progress takes these kids seriously and have enrolled a few on an free IT education programme to acquire additional skills for life.

This is definately a laudable initiative worth supporting.