All posts by Michael Sabrio

Albania, bicycles, Sewing Partners

Albania Update

by Ened Mato
Spring 2015 InGear

It has been a frenzy driven period for us. In between the activities we are organizing many society projects and we are preparing for many more.

Kidical Mass ride in Tirana
Kidical Mass ride in Tirana

I am more than happy to tell you about Kidical Mass, which is a younger version of Critical Mass, and it has been a success for parents and children alike. The weather here is also very harsh on bikers but as soon as it gets a bit warmer and a bit less rainy we will return with this project as it was a wonderful occasion for parents to spend time with their children while doing something fun along the way. There was a significant participation in our last events in the year 2014 and we are constantly told how eagerly people await the return of these events in 2015. Participation was enabled by the many and many children’s bikes you sent us, and we really hope to draw attention to these bikes because not only they are (probably) the most entertaining gifts for a child but also the healthiest.

Planting trees at a local landfill in Albania
Planting trees at a local landfill in Albania

I must thank you for the sewing machines. We are currently putting them to use in a small project for a small economic empowerment of families in the north of Albania, where conditions are difficult to live and survive. As soon as we get some results and individual perspectives of the project, I’ll let you know and maybe we can include those in the newsletter.
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Also I want to tell you of a very important project for us. We are currently totally engaged to make it work. With the sales of the last 2 months from the bikes (and of months ahead) we are working to plant 1000 trees near a landfill site called Sharra, with the hope of a better environment for the adjacent villages and the general area where the fumes from the landfill make living hard. “Plant Your Tree” and Ecovolis have the motivation to make this work. Phase One is three days away with a first step of 1000 trees, and based on the participation we get we are going to plan and go all the way until we hit the target of 1500 trees (and who knows how many more later). Soon enough I’ll have some photographic material to send to you so you can also give impressions and include it in the newsletter.

There have also been smaller scaled projects but with a considerable success upon drawing attention of the public towards a greener living in general and biking in a more specific manner.

Best regards,
Ened

bicycles, Nicaragua

EcoBici, Rivas, Nicaragua

by Carla Bello Mejia
Spring 2015 InGear

During the year 2014 EcoBici received two containers of bicycles for a total of 1062 bicycles, 971 of which were sold from January to December. During the first half of the year sales flow was very good but from July to November sales dropped greatly.

This year EcoBici will increase slightly outlays for wages which is due to the increase of wages mandated by the Ministry of Labor. It is mandatory to increase wages and social insurance and the top rate assumed by the employer is 16%, just as the payment of social benefits is increasing (compensation for years of work, vacation, thirteenth month). The importation taxes on the bicycles have increased also.

It is for all these expenses the bike’s price increases, but it is still sold at attainable prices for the population. Local shops are selling new bikes but of poor quality and quite high prices. It is true there are shops that offer very good bikes but their costs are very high for poor people in Managua, so they always prefer to come to Ecobici because bikes have good quality and good prices adjusted according to your income.

We believe and are sure that it is always important to send bicycles. People need access to a good bike for commuting to their workplaces and students to their schools. We hope P4P will have successful collections so that we may receive three containers of bicycles in 2015.

That’s why we deeply thank everyone involved in P4P collections for their work and dedication of their time to this cause that has sent bicycles to Rivas. Thanks, Thanks.

bicycles, Moldova, Peace Corps

Reporting from Moldova

by Carol Stadden, Peace Corps Volunteer
Spring 2015 InGear

Greetings from your roving Moldoveneasc Peace Corps volunteer reporter.

Moldovan teens out for a ride
Moldovan teens out for a ride

It is the middle of winter in Grozesti but that does not stop people from riding their bikes. Many of the roads are impossible to navigate with a bike but the main road, which has been under construction since I arrived, August of 2013, is almost complete! Many of the boys who helped to repair our shipment of bikes were part of the road construction crew. They would ride their new bikes to and from spreading stones and pouring tar this past summer. I know because I saw them on the days that I took a group of younger boys and girls to participate in a different “Hill Challenge” each week. Now that the kids had bikes with gears, they could actually ride their bikes up all the hills that surround our village. You cannot go more than 2k before you hit a steep incline. We crowned a “King and Queen of the Hills”. They were not awarded a polka-dot jersey but instead a bicycle gear pouch and inner tubes—compliments of the P4P shipment we received in June!

Taking his granddaughter to kindergarten
Taking his granddaughter to kindergarten

Fifteen of the bikes were sold to an enterprising Moldovan who will use them to improve tourism in the country. He helps pensioners rent out their vacant homes. He hopes the bikes will add more interest for potential tourists if they are placed at some of these “Hai la Tara” rentals.

With our shipment of 475 bicycles we also received about 70 sewing machines. All but 10 were distributed throughout the community. These 10 were earmarked for a sewing class at the high school. I recently helped the French professor write a grant for equipment to create a modern sewing classroom. We won the grant and will soon have sewing tables, fabric and thread, storage bins, mannequin, excellent lighting, a laptop, printer/scanner, and projector and screen. The class has started and the children are very excited. We were pleased to find that 6 boys were eager to take the class stating that they would like to design clothes someday. We will not only teach sewing and design techniques but entrepreneurial training as well. We want to give choices to the children who will not study at university after graduation. With the skills they learn in the sewing class they could possibly start their own business!

Migration is a huge problem for this country; we want to see the youth stay in Moldova. With the completion of the road this summer, I expect to see even more bikes out and about than ever before. So many people ride bikes in our village now that a sign was erected to warn incoming traffic. Isn’t it great! Bun Ziua!

Albania, bicycles

PASS/Ecovolis: P4P Partner in Albania

Employees at a bike-sharing kiosk in Tirana
Employees at a bike-sharing kiosk in Tirana

PASS (Programii Alternativave Sociale Stimuluese, Social Stimulating Alternative Program) was established in 2002 with the goal of encouraging community action and raising public awareness of local social and environmental issues in the Albanian capital city of Tirana. PASS activities include operating a Welcome Center for families in need, involving local residents in resolving community problems through its Volunteer Action Movement, supporting the AKSES Program to foster the education and employment of rural youth, aiding the transition from school to work through the Employment Office, and facilitating youth community engagement through the Civil Youth Project.

With help from Pedals for Progress and the George Soros Open Society Foundations in Albania (OSFA), PASS established a Tirana Community Bicycle program, including the bike-sharing program Ecovolis.

Ecovolis

Kidical Mass in Albania
Kidical Mass in Albania

Ecovolis (EcoBike) is a bike-sharing program created by PASS in Tirana, Albania. Ecovolis promotes ecological transportation by giving Tirana cleaner air, adding a civic European practice that helps in the economic, social, and environmental development of our community.

Not only will Ecovolis provide jobs for workers maintaining and managing the bicycles, but the bikes themselves will help reduce the social and economic isolation of suburban and rural communities by providing dedicated transportation from the margins of Tirana to the center. An additional effect of the program will be to raise awareness among citizens of the bicycle as a fun, healthy, and environmentally sound method of transportation.

For more information:

  • Click here to see a P4P report on Ecovolis from July 2012.
  • For a P4P report on the bike program in its early days (April 2011), click here.
  • Click here to see the Ecovolis facebook page.
  • This blogspot on Ecovolis has great photos of the bikes and the people who work on them.
bicycles, Guatemala, Sewing Partners

FIDESMA: P4P Partner in Guatemala

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FIDESMA is the Fundación Integral de Desarrollo Sostenible y Medio Ambiente, Foundation for Sustainable Development and the Environment. With headquarters in San Andrés Itzapa, Chimaltenango, Guatemala, FIDESMA was founded in 1998 and has five major programs: agricultural micro-credit, natural medicine, job skills and training, bicycles and environmental conservation, and health and special education for people with physical disabilities.

FIDESMA was started when Margarita Caté de Catú, the current president of FIDESMA, wanted to organize against the problems facing her community. Ms. Caté de Catú and 150 other women struggled to create the foundation with financial support from the Leadership Council.

This non-profit organization is non-political and non-religious and therefore the majority of our financial assistance comes from other non-profit organizations. Our primary role in Guatemala lies in development. FIDESMA helps the community become more self-sustainable and for this reason we distribute financial assistance (in our micro-credit program) and show the community prospective job opportunities. We hope that they will then be able to have their own business, thereby contributing to the rest of the Guatemalan economy.

 
Bike Race at the grade school in San Andrés Itzapa in honor of
Guatemalan Independence Day with bikes from FIDESMA!

 

FIDESMA is one of fifteen organizations of FEDENMURG (la Federación de Mujeres Rurales de Guatemala), a national, democratic association that promotes social development. The women members fight for the rights of rural women throughout Guatemala, along with bringing awareness to the preservation of the environment.

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The FIDESMA sewing course teaches women how to make all types of clothing. Lourdes Santiso Salizar was one of the first graduates of the sewing course in 1999 and now has her own women’s clothing business specializing in wedding gowns. Click here to see a report on Lourdes from the Fall 2006 InGear newsletter.

fidesmaGuatemala_shampoosm

FIDESMA’s natural products courses teach local women how to use natural plants to make shampoo and soap to sell in the local market. Grupo Mujeres Integrados en Accion has 10 members that work weekly to make aloe shampoo and soap. Ana Maria Guch is one member who is a widow with 8 children who supports her family from the sale of their natural products. Click here to read more about the shampoo production process.

fall2006GuatDSC01314mujeresMayaSmallColor

The Mujeres Maya (Mayan Women) Kaqchiqoel from Santa Caterina Barahona received a micro-loan from FIDESMA in 2001 to start their traditional weaving business. Click here to read a 2006 InGear article about the Mujeres Maya. Click here to read more and see samples of their work.

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Jorge Luis of San Andrés Itzapa uses his bicycle from FIDESMA to sell ice cream in the outlying villages. He averages about 20km everday on his bicycle riding from 5am to 5pm. He is able to support his wife and 7 children from the money he makes selling ice cream. Click here to see more of his story.

P4P’s 100,000th bicycle went to FIDESMA in 2006! Click here to read more about the bike, its journey, and Mateo Patzan, the happy recipient.

P4P’s 150,000th bicycle went to FIDESMA in 2017!! Click here for the whole story.

Yemen

International Relief & Development Organization: Our Work in Yemen

IRDlogo
Unified only in 1990, the Republic of Yemen remains a strongly traditional society. However, tribal and regional rivalries, divisive political leadership, an influx of refugees from various countries, and the influence of al-Qaida linked terrorist cells have made it difficult for the country to develop socially and economically. IRD has been working in Yemen since 2009 to support communities to identify and discuss the underlying causes of conflict, promote community participation and activism, improve health and hygiene, assist refugees and asylum-seekers, and provide third-party monitoring for donor-supported infrastructure improvements.

THIRD-PARTY MONITORING

IRD provides on-site physical verification of various World Bank-financed infrastructure projects to ensure they comply with specifications as well as social and environmental guidelines. In 2014, IRD will deliver at least 500 inspection reports. The work includes a community monitoring component and trains staff from the Government of Yemen on how to process and effectively use field data submitted by the field engineers and community monitors.

WATER, SANITATION & HYGIENE

In Hodeidah, IRD improves the health of vulnerable communities by increasing access to improved water sources, including generating potable water through home-based and school-based collection, storage, and treatment. In schools and communities, IRD is promoting improved hygiene through awareness and behavioral change campaigns and sanitation infrastructure improvements. In selected regional schools and villages, IRD work with school leaders, local community leaders, and parents through formally organized elected water management committees to apprise them of the importance of school and community water supply and sanitation. The committees develop management, maintenance, and community financing plans to improve the quality and quantity of clean water along with community and school sanitation conditions. IRD is also addressing the emergency WASH needs and enhancing the resilience of approximately 54,000 people.

In the remote eastern desert regions of Hadramout and Al Mahrah, IRD increases access to water, improves healthy hygiene practices, and enhances livelihood resiliency for nomadic and pastoralist families. Residents in these areas experience frequent droughts and recurrent conflict, which exacerbate food insecurity and malnutrition, stress already weak water and sanitation systems, and create vulnerability to health crises. IRD is working with these communities to build water reservoirs (known locally as karafans) to provide clean, local sources of water for both human and livestock consumption and to promote healthy hygiene practices. Karafans, a well-known resilience strategy and a cost-effective form of rainwater harvesting, can provide communities with clean, local, and reliable source of water, even during periods of drought. The 15 karafans will be constructed and 15 water management committees will be established to manage them, serving 13,000 people.

SUPPORT FOR REFUGEES

IRD strengthens the self-management capacity of the Somali refugee community, Yemen’s largest refugee community and, since 2011, refugee communities from Ethiopia, Iraq, and Eritrea. Through targeted trainings for refugee committees and sub-committees, IRD builds their capacity to cope with the country’s ongoing civil unrest. IRD-supported community leaders, outreach workers, and volunteers organize the displaced communities to inform them of their rights as refugees and to address their emergency needs, especially those of the most vulnerable. Having demonstrated its emergency response capacity and humanitarian drive, IRD is now responsible for managing UNHCR assistance programs for vulnerable urban refugees.

COMMUNITY THEATER

Since 2009, IRD has used community grassroots theatre continuous to help Yemeni communities openly discuss and think of ways to address the underlying causes of community conflict. Using a nationally known theatre troupe in five targeted governorates, radio and media campaigns, and focus group discussions, IRD educates rural Yemeni audiences about the country’s transition process and disseminate messages on key transition and governance issues. The project promotes civic education on issues such as voter registration, conflict resolution, decentralization, constitutional processes and reforms, peaceful election processes, and the importance of women’s involvement in political processes. Through this grassroots approach, the project also gathers data on citizen’s concerns in the targeted governorates and shares them with key local, regional, and national stakeholders.

Retrieved from http://www.ird.org/our-work/by-region/middle-east/yemen on 2 November 2014 by Internet Archive WayBackMachine.

International Relief & Development (IRD) website.