Il Ngwesi, Kenya – Several years ago Haliburton residents were introduced to some young Maasai people from Il Ngwesi in north central Kenya through a Canada World Youth exchange program. In early 2006, we traveled with colleagues to Africa for eight weeks (the first of many trips) to investigate how best to initiate work on HIV/AIDS. We visited Il Ngwesi before returning to Canada. The leaders of Il Ngwesi invited us to help them “get HIV/AIDS under control in their community”. This led to the launch of the ongoing “Listen to the Drumming” campaign, in collaboration with ICA in Canada and Africa, to help Il Ngwesi bring mobile volunteer counseling and testing to the residents of these remote villages, and develop care and treatment systems to support those infected or affected by HIV/AIDS. The overwhelming success of this initiative to date has brought Il Ngwesi and the project to the attention of the Kenyan Ministry of Health and efforts to expand and replicate the approach are well underway.

View this 5-minute video for a more in-depth view of the Il Ngwesi project and how it is making a difference, and download the attached brochure that describes the project.

Ngororero, Rwanda – Through Proliteracy in the US, International Family Literacy programs have been piloted in several countries which are primarily focused on the development of very young children through the informed efforts of their parents and siblings. In Africa, village mothers know very little about how to encourage their child’s early development and the affect this has on learning throughout life. They are eager that their children have the best possible chance in life, and so are keen to participate in this program. In Rwanda we are working with Umuhuza, a small NGO that is managing the ongoing implementation of the program in Ngororero.

Programs have also been piloted successfully in India and New Mexico and efforts are currently underway to find a First Nations community in Canada that would welcome the introduction of a similar initiative.

For more information about these projects, please visit the Proliteracy website or download the most recent Newsletter.