Connie O’Halloran, Overseas Development Officer
Funding via Misean Cara to Spiritan-led overseas development projects in four countries amounted to just under €900,000 for 2018.
Brazil: The Centro de Capacitação de Juventude works with youth to strengthen civil society through community action initiatives. It seeks to combat poverty and social exclusion of young people, and promote their social awareness, political participation and integration in Brazilian society. Strengthening civil society organizations opens up new horizons for young people who are trapped in a vicious circle of poverty and exclusion.
Ethiopia: The Gama Gofa projectaims at poverty-reduction, increased income and capacity-building, seeking to enhance household food security via improved crop and livestock production. The Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) project in the hinterland of Arba Minch seeks to address the lack of clean water, reduce the incidence of water-borne disease, and improve food-production. It has built gravity-driven water-supply systems, provided improved seeds, and introduced improved breeds of cattle, sheep and chickens. Women’s rights are addressed by savings & credit associations, intensive training in basic business/functional literacy, and providing ‘seed capital’ to start a business.
Kenya: Tangulbei Divisional Medical Programme provides primary health care to semi-nomadic Pokot people in a remote area which is often inaccessible during the rainy season. Services comprise a fixed outpatient clinic and state dispensary, and mobile clinics to eight locations. Monies sourced separately have funded the construction of a maternity clinic. Users pay a small fee and pay for drugs.
Claude Academy School in Silangwa, East Pokot offers quality pre-primary and primary education to the Pokot community. The primary school began in 2010 with Standard 1. By last year it had produced impressive results in national exams at Standard 8 level. Parents and the Ministry of Education are very encouraged by the results. 317 children, a very even mix of boys and girls, attend.
In Wenje Division, households now have substantial access to solar energy which provides clean drinking water and powers irrigation schemes. 14 villages have been supported to each have a peace-building committee that addresses resources-based conflict between the farmers and the pastoralists.
Sierra Leone: In 2017 parts of Freetown experienced large-scale flooding. Misean Cara funding provided livelihood support to women, affected by mudslides and floods, so as to re-start economic activity. The project aims to empower 150 women to establish sustainable income-generating activity. It supports female-headed households and women engaged in petty trading or in vocational training.
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