Current Events meets Action: Term 3 NGO (Non-governmental Organization) presentation.
What is an NGO? An NGO is an organization that is not affiliated with any government organization and is usually applied to organizations that pursue a wider social aim such as promoting the interests of the poor, protecting the environment, providing basic social services, or undertaking community development.
Why?In our Current Events presentations we have seen many of the struggles and issues that people in Latin America are facing. Now it is time to start looking at some of the spaces of hope where people are working to make the world a more just place.
What do we have to do? Similar to the Current Events presentations, you will take turns presenting on your choice of NGO. Your presentations will still be marked /20.
You will be expected to answer the following questions in your presentation to receive full marks:
Who: are they?
Where:are they based (countries)? Are they/their directors based in North America, or are they a local ‘grassroots’ organization?
What:are some examples of projects they are working on
What: interests you about their work?
Where:do they get their funding from?
When: did they begin?
Organizations to choose from: You may want to use this list as a guide, but you are also free to choose an organization that I have not listed, as long as you run the idea by me first.
Madres de Plaza de Mayo(Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo): This is an organization of Argentine mothers whose children "disappeared" during the Dirty War of the military dictatorship, between 1976 and 1983.
CIPO –This is a support network that has a base in Vancouver, but which is originally from Oaxaca, Mexico. They are a support network for people involved in areas such as aboriginal cultural rights, sustainable community living, and resolutions to cultural and economic discrimination. www.cipovan.org
or http://www.nodo50.org/cipo/ourstory.htm (Mexican community)
Heifer International: This is an organization that works around the world in areas such as environmental and sustainable development. They have a particular way of working that is called ‘passing on the gift.’ http://www.heifer.org/
Homies Unidos: This is an organization that works in L.A. and El Salvador. They work with youth who have been involved in gang activity, and they work in areas of violence prevention and gang tattoo removal. http://homiesunidos.org/
HIJOS (Argentina and Guatemala) – this is a youth activist organization started by young people whose parents were killed or ‘disappeared’ in government sponsored violence. They focus on education and protesting inequalities and are known for their mural painting. Different websites in English, including: http://upsidedownworld.org/archives/guatemala/from-memory-to-resistance-children-bear-witness-hijos-celebrates-10-years-in-guatemala/, https://www.facebook.com/hijos.guatemala/
Esperanza Verde (Green Hope): This is a new wildlife rescue organization that is based in the Amazon basin in Peru. http://www.esperanzaverdeperu.com/
Witness for Peace: WFP is an organization whose mission is to support peace, justice and sustainable economies in the Americas by changing U.S. policies which contribute to poverty and oppression in Latin America: http://www.witnessforpeace.org/
CPT (Christian Peace Makers Team) This is an organization that seeks to promote a non-violent alternative to war, and seeks to be an international witness to some of the violence and injustice around the world. They received a lot of press recently when some of their members were kidnapped (and later killed) in Iraq. http://www.cpt.org/
School of the Americas Watch: This is an organization that is dedicated to observing the US ‘School of the Americas’ (now called the ‘Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation,’) which is a combat training institute for Latin American soldiers in the United States. Many of the soldiers convicted of committing atrocities in LA were trained here. http://www.soaw.org/
L’Arche/El Arca: L’Arche is an international movement that has many communities in Latin America. They are a community of people who work with those who have intellectual disabilities. It was founded by a well-known Canadian, Jean Vanier. http://www.larche.org/home.en-gb.1.0.index.htm
CCDA: An active organization that fights for the rights of indigenous Mayan campesinos (farmers) based in Guatemala - http://www.ccda.galeon.com/about.htm
UPAVIM - Women’s cooperative based in a marginalized neighbourhood of Guatemala city. They are dedicated to making and selling fair trade goods as a means of supporting their families and community. http://www.upavim.org/
Casa del migrante(‘House of the Migrant’) - These are people that provide support and housing for migrants who are in the middle of their journeys north to the US and Canada. Not much information in English. http://www.migrante.com.mx/
Amanecer (‘Dawn’) This is an organization that works with street children and impoverished families in Cochabamba, Bolivia. They provide shelter, food and education, amongst other things: http://amanecer-bolivia.org/
FAFG (Guatemalan Forensic Anthropologist Foundation) These forensic anthropologists are dedicated to bringing to light many of the details of Guatemala’s past. Much of their work is dedicated to excavating the mass graves of people killed during the Guatemalan genocide, and documenting who the victims were, and the manners of their deaths. http://www.fafg.org/
VIDA (‘Life’) This is an organization based in Costa Rica that works to promote and safeguard the biodiversity and rain forests of Costa Rica. http://www.vida.org/
KIVA:This is an organization that seeks to connect people around the world through a lending process. People who need small loans and people who have the ability to lend money are connected through this popular on-line resource. http://www.kiva.org/
CIDA (Canadian International Development Agency): CIDA is not an NGO, but rather is Canada’s agency for development assistance around the world. They are active in several countries in Latin America. http://www.acdi-cida.gc.ca/acdi-cida/acdi-cida.nsf/eng/NIC-5313423-N2A
Sí a la Vida: The project was founded in 1994 as a residential program for homeless street kids in Nicaragua. Their model has changed some over the years, but they continue to work with at risk children in the areas of Managua and Ometepe Island. http://www.asalv.org/index.php/about-si-a-la-vida
Casa Alianza (Covenant House): This is an organization that works with street children and homeless young people and defends children's human rights in Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Mexico. http://www.casa-alianza.org.uk/
Habitat for Humanity:This is an organization that seeks to eradicate homelessness around the world, and that partners with families all around the world who are in need of adequate housing. They partner with many groups in Latin America. http://www.habitat.org/intl/maps/lac_eng.aspx
Maya Pedal:This group takes old bicycles and develops bicycle technology. They make things such as water pumps, grinders, trailers and more. http://www.mayapedal.org/
Ñanta centre: This centre in Bolivia is a place that provides alternative education and support to children and youth who work on the streets. http://nanta.pagesperso-orange.fr/ingles/page01.htm
Wwoof (Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms): This is an organization that arranges for volunteers to travel to different farms around the world and learn about organic farming. It helps people share more sustainable ways of living, and wwoofers are active in a number of countries in Latin America. http://www.wwooflatinamerica.com/
Ak’tenamit: This is an organization that works with indigenous communities in rural Guatemala. They provide basic healthcare to many people in different Q’eqchi Maya villages, provide vocational education at a jungle boarding school campus, and help village handicraft cooperatives to sell their wares at fair-trade prices. http://www.aktenamit.org/
Chol-chol Foundation: This fair trade organization works with indigenous Chilean (Mapuche) artesans and focuses on raising awareness of issues confronting the Mapuche in Chile. http://en.cholchol.org/
Runa: This fair trade organization is based in Ecuador and works to connect producers and consumers with sustainable products from the Amazon (such as guayusa –intrigued? Read more). http://runa.org/
Fundación Mariposas Amarillas This is an organization that works with disadvantaged children and their families in Colombia. They provide things like education and childcare. http://mariposasamarillasco.wixsite.com/fmac
Yanacocha Rescue Centre: This a centre based in Ecuador that strives to protect the Amazonian wildlife. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Yanacocha-Animal-Rescue-Centre/112118762153552