Populations, aging and money

Two colleagues have done a literature review on the Information needs of health care workers in developing countries with a focus on Africa. Their damning conclusion: “Health care workers in developing countries continue to lack access to basic, practical information to enable them to deliver safe, effective care.

Networklearning’s Key Information Sheet on Advocacy – what is it, why is it important and the 10 steps to success – is now available in Arabic (3-page PDF). » Download directly from the Library Simple Devices to Assist the Physically Disabled is a manual of drawings of simple aids for the physically handicapped that can be made anywhere. There is now a version with Arabic introduction and notes (59-page PDF). The pictures themselves are self-explanatory. » Download directly from the Library

We appreciate it’s not always easy to find everything on our site so here’s a quick guidance: All our manuals (Word and PDF documents) can be found in the Library . Tip: to find a particular title, instead of scrolling through the whole list you can use the ‘Library Themes’ menu which appears at the left of the library page. All our other resources (articles and links to information) are categorized into NGO Fields and NGO Skills . To locate all the info on a specific keyword, it’s quickest to use the searchbox (located at the right on every page). Difficulty downloading from the Library? Depending on your own browser settings, when you click on ‘Download’ the document may open in your browser window instead of being downloaded to your hard disc. If this happens, you can save the PDF to a location of your choice via the browser menu (File > Save As) Does this solve your problems? If not, please contact us.

At Networklearning we have been watching events in the Middle East unfold over the last six months – a sometimes uplifting, sometimes sad story, with its ending still unclear. But what shines out is that our sisters and brothers in the region are fighting for more democratic governance and more ability at the grass roots to influence events. Our small contribution: » New Arabic language edition of Interviewing and Counselling at the Grass roots . » We also have an updated edition of An Introduction to Human Rights in the Middle East & North Africa – a Guide for NGOs available in both English and Arabic. » For more Arabic language manuals and resources, see our Arabic page

Social Centre for Humanitarian services, Agriculture and Environmental Protection (SCHAEP) development program [ History ] [ Purpose ] [ Objectives ] [ Activities ] [ Partners ] HISTORY OF THE ORGANISATION Liberalization in Cameroon’s economy has led to the abandonment of farmers to unscrupulous market forces – forced to buy expensive farm inputs and sell their produce at giveaway prices. SCHAEP was launched as a capacity-building organization to assist farmers in Kumba to control, manage and benefit from the proceeds of their labour. As members of the community living the experience, the following problems were diagnosed by SCHAEP’s working team: Lack of organization amongst the farmers and hence poor communication. Poor sales of agricultural products due to lack of common markets. High cost of farm inputs as a result of individual purchase as opposed to less costly group purchase. Farmers’ reluctance to modernize traditional farming methods. Inability to resolve boundary problems amicably. Poor management of the farms’ hard-earned proceeds. Lack of knowledge re diversification of resources to generate more income at the end of production season. Rapid population growth due to migration from other villages for fertile lands. Poor hygienic conditions both at home and on the farms. PURPOSE OF THE ORGANIZATION (MISSION) SCHAEP aims to teach, train and organize the farms into common initiative groups through which they can better manage their agricultural products to their benefit. SCHAEP further seeks to empower the farmers physically, morally, and financially so that they can later on solve their own problems. OBJECTIVES To assist communities in the villages by building their capacity on how to live and work in common initiative groups, in order to strengthen their bargaining position over sales of their produce and purchase of farm inputs. Train members of common initiative groups in the need for good governance and accountability. Educate the common initiative groups on individual management of resources. Teach the farmers nutrition and hygiene. Establish a school outreach program on environmental protection through tree planting and formation of clubs. Advocate and lobby for programs that will help the public and members of common initiative groups. Give assistances to widows and their children. Increase farm yields and raise the standard of living. PLANNED ACTIVITIES Create more common initiative groups in the village and neighbouring villages. Inform members of the market trend of their produce. Plant trees in schools. Train farmers on management, leadership and accountability in running and managing a common initiative group. Support widows and their children in vocational institutions. Carry out vision education in the community and schools. COLLABORATION WITH OTHER INSTITUTIONS SCHAEP works with farmers irrespective of race, colour and religion, and with quarter and village heads, which are auxiliary of government. SCHAEP volunteers are available to other organizations for further training. SCHAEP also seeks volunteers to work with its programs.

Big business, with its pursuit of profit at all costs, creates some huge problems in society. Such as poisoned environments, factories run with slave labour… and the process of globalisation is spreading them everywhere. So what can the little person do? Just this: make a conscious choice not to participate – and actively search out better alternatives. Because while the world is awash with stuff we don’t need, we definitely do need more ethical entrepreneurs. And, at the same time, conscious consumers. A nice example is Sanchi Bags, recently started up in India with the vision to promote the use of eco-friendly products and empower women. The idea is that the fashionable bags – including ones for laptops and tablets – will attract youth into the “go green” movement and become trendsetters across generations. The bags are made from locally-sourced biodegradable material and, most importantly, manufactured in their own households by suburban and rural woman homemakers. You can connect with Sanchi via their facebook page www.facebook.com/sanchibags