Albert Sinkoye runs a bicycle shop. Credit: Matt Pierce

This Father’s Day we are thinking about some amazing dads in Africa.  Dads like Albert, a shop owner; Peter, a conservationist, and Patrick, a farming entrepreneur.  Through training opportunities, a local wildlife organization, and a business grant—all supported by Aid for Africa members–these dads are building great futures for their families and their communities in Sub Saharan Africa.

In 2007 in Zambia, Albert Sinkoye took a training course offered by World Bicycle Relief to learn how to become a bicycle mechanic. He went on to get business training and has never looked back.  Albert is now the first WBR bicycle dealer in his area.  He sells new bikes and spare parts at his shop.  What’s more, with his new income, Albert started two more businesses– a shop that sells seasonal fruits and vegetables and a small real estate business. Albert is now supporting his wife through college, and he will be able to send his two children to school.

Peter Lalampaa educates Samburu villagers about Grevy's zebras.

As a boy in rural Kenya, Peter Lalampaa learned firsthand about the country’s rich wildlife resources while herding his fathers’ cattle.  He called the giraffes and zebras he encountered his “bush companions.” As he watched wildlife decline, he was determined to help conserve Kenya’s heritage.  Peter worked hard in school and achieved his dream.  He works as a field conservationist for a local nonprofit supported by Wildlife Conservation Network. Peter, who lost his father when he was still young, is the father of twins.  Given his passion for conservation, one might say he is a dad to Kenya’s precious wildlife, as well.

Patrick in front of his farm. Credit: Leah Newman

When Patrick Mutaka was young, he was forced to drop out of primary school because of a lack of funds and his need to help support his family.   Today, he is working hard to ensure a very different future for his own children.  Thanks to a grant from Village Enterprise, he is now a successful businessman in western Kenya, producing Irish potatoes and chickens for sale.  Patrick and his wife, who is currently pregnant with their third child, will be able to send all of their children to school and to ensure they finish.  Patrick is proud of his business and full of hope for his future and that of his children.

Hats off to these and all the African dads who are taking advantage of opportunities to build better lives for their families.

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Fistula surgery patient in West Africa. Credit: Worldwide Fistula Fund.

Can you imagine a pregnant woman you know going into labor, experiencing an unexpected obstruction, and having no medical personnel to help?  If she survived, she would, no doubt, have internal tearing that would leave her leaking urine and waste.  It’s called obstetric fistula.

Luckily for women in the U.S. and other developed countries, obstetric fistula was eliminated at the end of the 19th century.  But in developing countries, particularly in Africa, it is an everyday occurrence affecting more than two million women who live with obstetric fistula.  Fistula persists where women lack access to medical care and where malnutrition rates are high; poor nutrition leads to complications in childbirth.

Can we eliminate fistula?  Many think we can.  The United Nations has designated May 23 as the first-ever International Day to End Obstetric Fistula. This follows a decade-long campaign within the organization that has made real progress on ending the condition.  

The Campaign to End Fistula united more than 80 global organizations, including The Fistula Foundation, Worldwide Fistula Fund, and Family Care International—all Aid for Africa members–to prevent, treat and rehabilitate many thousands of fistula survivors throughout the world.

Patient awaits fistula surgery. Credit: Lawrence William, The Fistula Foundation.

The Fistula Foundation provides fistula care in almost 20 countries, half in Africa. It supports innovative approaches to that care, like a fleet of all-terrain ambulance vehicles that can transport patients in rural areas with no paved roads to hospitals for treatment. It uses traditional African teaching methods to reintegrate women who have received fistula treatment back into their communities in partnership with Aid for Africa member Tostan.

In 2012, the Worldwide Fistula Fund, which works in five African countries, opened a state-of-the-art fistula treatment center in rural Niger, West Africa, which serves the region.  The goal: cure 2,500 women of fistula in five years. The facility provides prevention and rehabilitation programs to help victims become economically independent.

As the first international organization committed to maternal health, Family Care International has been improving  the quality of maternal care in hundreds of rural health centers in Africa by educating and motivating village chiefs and religious leaders to support fistula care.

Let’s hope that the first International Day to End Obstetric Fistula will lose its designation in the not-too-distant future. 

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In the first four months of 2013 alone, some 270 rhinos were killed– more than the number killed in all of 2012.  Last month, poachers slaughtered all of the rhinos remaining in Mozambique’s Limpopo National Park, which in 2002 contained about 300 of them.  If the killing continues at this pace, all of Africa’s remaining black rhinos and nearly all of its white rhinos could be wiped out.

Rhinos are killed for their horns, which are believed in many Asian cultures to possess curative powers. But rhino horn is primarily keratin—the same substance that forms our hair and nails—and scientifically proven to have no medicinal properties whatsoever. 

Conservationists have been working throughout Africa to protect and save the African rhino.  Anna Merz, one of the founders of the Kenyan-based  Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, an Aid for Africa member, was one of the first, and likely the first rhino conservationist.  Anna Merz has been described as the “Jane Goodall of rhinos.” Her efforts helped double the population of black rhino in Kenya during the last decade.  Merz died last month at 81, but the commitment to the rhino that she inspired at Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, in the surrounding communities, and in the world will continue.  

May 5 is Cinco de Rhino—a day to spotlight the rhino and to raise awareness of the world’s diminishing rhino population.  It’s a day to celebrate the African rhino, dispel the myth of rhino horns, and commit to save the species.

 What can you do to help save the rhino? Help ensure the world understands that the only place a rhino horn belongs is on a rhino by sharing this story and your thoughts.

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Alice Monje is realizing her potential and "leaning in."

With the recent launch of Sheryl Sandberg’s book, Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead, discussion of the value of women in the workforce has blossomed. It’s clear women make great entrepreneurs—something the women of Africa have known for centuries but is often overlooked.

Sandberg encourages women to realize their potential in the workplace with all the resources at their disposal to help achieve their goals. Resources in Africa are far less accessible, but when they are, women take full advantage, and the results further support Sandberg’s refrain: Women in the workforce are great for business.

 In its 2012 report on gender equality, the World Bank found that working women are important contributors to their families and communities and may in fact be better in business than their male counterparts. For example, in Burkina Faso, simply re-allocating agricultural resources from men to women resulted in a 6 percent increase in production. 

We’ve seen results from Aid for Africa members like Women’s Microfinance Initiative. Since the Initiative made its first loan in 2008, women in East Africa have been “leaning in.” Take Alice Monje, for example. Alice, a mother of nine living in Buyobo, Uganda, was struggling to provide for her family. Through a small loan from the Women’s Microfinance Initiative, Alice started and grew a successful poultry business and created supplemental income by diversifying to include agriculture. Now, smiling modestly, Alice describes her family as “well off.” Taking a page from Sandberg’s book, Alice took advantage of the resources made available to her, which empowered her to achieve financial independence and stability.

While Africa may seem light years away from Sandberg’s Silicon Valley, her message about support for women in business may be just as relevant to women of Africa. Aid for Africa members Women’s Microfinance Initiative, the Akilah Institute for Women, and The BOMA Project, provide African women the opportunity to use their natural business sense to better their communities, support their families, and pave the way for future generations of female entrepreneurs.

Want to “lean in” to support the women of Sub Saharan Africa who are building better lives for themselves, their families and communities.  Here are some things you can do:

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Phoebe Amoaka is in her second year at Ashesi University in Ghana.

Phoebe Amoako– A Passion for Education Realized   

Phoebe Amoako grew up in Tema, Ghana, a port city in the southeast of the West African country.  One of three children raised by a single mother, Phoebe has always had a passion for learning. In her early school years it was for math and geography.

After graduating with distinction from Aburi Girls’ Senior High School, she was admitted to Ashesi University in Accra, Ghana. Phoebe’s university scholarship is supported by the Aid for Africa Girls Education Fund.

Now in her second year at Ashesi University, Phoebe loves debate and is a wiz at computer programming, something she did not know before she entered college. “Fortunately, the liberal arts curriculum that Ashesi offers made me realize that I had an interest in computer science,” she said.  When she graduates, she expects to put what she has learned to work helping others.

The Aid for Africa Girls Education Fund is dedicated to helping young women like Phoebe achieve their dreams of education. The fund supports member charities that provide scholarships for girls and young women to attend school – from primary school through college – so that they gain control over their futures.

Ashesi University is a private, nonprofit college in Accra, Ghana. Its mission is to educate a new generation of ethical and entrepreneurial African leaders by cultivating in its students critical thinking skills, concern for others, and courage to lead in new ways. Founded just ten years ago, Ashesi University was an African initiative with a bold vision.  When Phoebe graduates, she will join a small but growing number of women with college degrees in Sub Saharan Africa.

The Aid for Africa Girls Education Fund is part of a larger dialogue about access to quality education worldwide. By contributing to the Fund, you can empower young women like Phoebe to fulfill their potential.

The absence of clean water affects everyone, but children suffer the most.  Contaminated water leads to water-borne disease and death, particularly for children under the age of five. Older children often can’t attend school because they are burdened with collecting water from sources far from their homes.  On World Water Day, March 22, we highlight some of Aid for Africa members working to change this. 

 Charity: water has made safe water accessible for more than 1 million people in Sub Saharan Africa. Through its well projects, World Hope International has helped more than a half million people gain access to clean water. H2O for Life which teams US schools with schools in Africa, has brought clean water and sanitation to schools in eight Sub Saharan African countries.   A Glimmer of Hope Foundation has funded more than 2,000 water projects in Ethiopia alone, where more than half of Ethiopia’s 75 million people suffer from water-related disease.

Want to read the full study?  Click here.

Wabiwa's life was transformed by fistula surgery. Credit: Laurence William, The Fistula Foundation

Every March 8th, International Women’s Day, we acknowledge the struggles and successes that women encounter worldwide. This year’s theme focuses on violence against women, which takes many forms—physical, sexual, psychological and economic—all constituting violations of fundamental rights and human dignity.

As in other regions of the developing world, African customs and traditions, poverty, and a lack of access to education contribute to inequalities that suppress half of the population—its women.  When half the population is stifled, everyone loses.   

Author-activists Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn put it well when they titled their book about the plight of women in the developing world Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide. Their writings and film show that with a little initial support, women can transform their lives and the lives of their families, communities, and countries. Now, a social media interactive game allows players to step into the shoes of women to get inside the challenges and choices they face. Through this role-playing, Kristof and WuDunn are taking their message to new audiences and showing them how specialized medical treatment, education, or small loans can make women’s lives better and how investments in the right solutions and organizations can help achieve these successes. 

Women in West Africa singing about human rights. Credit: Tostan

Aid for Africa members The Fistula Foundation and Tostan have been recognized in Half the Sky for helping to change the status quo. By providing women with life-changing surgery to repair debilitating childbirth injuries, The Fistula Foundation has transformed the lives of women who have been shunned by society and abandoned by their families. Tostan, which means “breakthrough” in the West African  Wolof language, has created a development model that challenges the status quo and fosters social transformation within communities. Tostan has empowered, not just women, but entire villages, encouraging education for girls, financial independence for women, and protection of the rights of women and girls.

The world officially recognizes International Women’s Day only once a year, but Aid for Africa members celebrate women and girls every day.

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Scientists have just released new research that documents a 62 percent decline in the forest elephant population of Central and West Africa. The research adds to the evidence that the end may be near for the African elephant in the wild. (See our blog  Will African Elephants be Extinct in Ten Years?) Perhaps this study will weigh heavily on the discussion of a ban on ivory trade among countries of the international agreement to protect animal and plant species in Bangkok to this week.

In the study published Monday in the journal Plos One, we learn that the forest elephant of Central and West Africa–one of two species of African elephant–is headed toward extinction.  The savannah elephant, found primarily on the savannah’s of East and Southern Africa, is the better-known of the two species. During the last decade these gentle giants of the forests have been sacrificed to human expansion, increased hunting, and a lack of policing by governments. The demand for ivory in Asia, mentioned in Aid for Africa’s blog last week, is intensifying this decline.

Forest elephants are critical to a healthy forest ecological balance.  They eat fruit and spread large quantities of seeds throughout their territories.  They also clear small areas of the forests, which allows other species to thrive. Because these elephants live in remote areas, counting them has been difficult.  This multi-year research included tracking elephant dung to learn their fate.  Dung deposits declined steadily during the study period.

The study calls for increasing forest elephant protection in parks and reserves and reducing human encroachment.  But ending the international demand for ivory is key.  Let’s hope that as the delegates to Bangkok debating a ban on ivory trade are paying attention.

What can you do to help save the African elephant? Help ensure that that the world is talking about this horrific genocide by:

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So far, 2013 is off to a terrifying start. In early January, the global community was outraged when Kenyan officials discovered an entire family of 11 brutally slaughtered elephants in Tsavo National Park. Yet, the market for ivory continues to expand, fueling sophisticated, well-armed gangs and militias that often overpower the efforts of local government and conservation groups.

Whole families of elephants have been killed by poachers in East Africa. Photo: Jennifer Winter

If the experts are right, we have fewer than 10 years before poachers have eliminated African elephants from the wild. It’s no surprise that governments and conservation groups alike are banding together to find solutions to save these majestic creatures. On March 3, the U.S. and 176 countries, all members of an international agreement to protect animal and plant species, will meet in Bangkok to negotiate a renewed ban on the ivory trade.

The current ban, which was enacted in 1989, was initially successful in curbing illegal trade of ivory, and elephant populations slowly recovered from rampant poaching in the 1980s. But later amendments to the agreement allowed “one-off” sales of stockpiled ivory to Japan and China. The sudden influx of legal ivory created high demand in Asia and sparked a new rush for illegal ivory. Many representatives who will attend the Bangkok conference hope they can reinstate the full ban on ivory trade.

While Battle for the Elephants might not be easy to watch, its message is clear: time is running out for the African elephant. Global organizations, including Aid for Africa members Wildlife Conservation Network, Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, and Friends of Africa International are working with communities and governments in Africa to save the elephants. These efforts, together with those of the countries attending the Bangkok conference, suggest our elephant friends just might stand a chance.

 What can you do to help save the African elephant? Help ensure that that the world is talking about this horrific genocide by:

• Sign our pledge to save Africa’s elephants from extinction.
  
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• Learning more about our member organizations—Wildlife Conservation Network, Lewa Wildlife Conservancy USA, and Friends of Africa International—who are working locally in Africa to save the elephants.   

Sisters from the Dondi leprosy village in Angola receive educational support from American Leprosy Missions.

It’s a disease associated with Biblical times—leprosy.  But even today, leprosy affects 3 to 4 million people around the world, many in Africa.  Some 250,000 people contract the disease each year.  Aid for Africa member American Leprosy Missions is the oldest and largest organization working to eradicate the disease and to support those who live with it.  Donald McNeil reports that eradication of leprosy just might be possible, thanks to a new test developed by scientists in Brazil.

Leprosy, known officially as Hansen’s disease, is a bacterium that kills nerves in fingers, toes, and other appendages and eventually leads to the loss of the extremities and to blindness.  Unfortunately, age-old superstitions about leprosy persist, and people who have the disease are often cast aside by society and pushed into a life of poverty and disability.

Once leprosy is diagnosed, it can be treated.  But discovery usually comes too late to prevent permanent damage, according to Bill Simmons, president of American Leprosy Missions.  The new test is quick—it takes less than ten minutes, is inexpensive, and can detect the disease before symptoms appear.  “We’re definitely excited about this,” Simmons told McNeil.

American Leprosy Missions supports local programs in several countries. It provides treatment for the disease and programs such as disability-prevention training, scholarships, nutritional support, micro-credit loans, job training, health education, stigma reduction, surgical training, and much more.  Learn more about its work on leprosy and Buruli Ulcer, which is caused by a bacterium related to leprosy.