http://www.exchangemagazine.com/morning ... 26016.html
Canadians Take Strides to Fight Global Poverty
OTTAWA - The 24th annual World Partnership Walk brought together tens of thousands of Canadians in seven cities across the country, Sunday, to fight poverty in the developing world. In Victoria, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, Kitchener and Montreal, walkers came out in record numbers and are estimated to have raised more than ever. Tallies will be announced after the Walk takes place in Ottawa and London on Sunday, June 1st.
An initiative of Aga Khan Foundation Canada (AKFC), the Walk's continuing success is a tangible sign of the commitment of individual Canadians to the alleviation of global poverty. All of the funds raised by participants (100%) go directly to international development programs, including health, education, rural development, and support for community-based organizations in Asia and Africa. Contributions to the Walk also help AKFC leverage additional support from major donors like the Canadian International Development Agency.
By participating in the Walk, Canadians are taking strides to fight global poverty, said Mr. Khalil Z. Shariff, CEO of AKFC. "Canadians have a tradition of caring about the world, which finds expression in the World Partnership Walk," he said. "The programs made possible by this event and its tens of thousands of supporters, both individual and corporate, are helping to enhance the lives and livelihoods of communities in some of the poorest and most isolated regions of the world." Since 1985, the Walk has raised more than $40 million to help alleviate poverty.
Notable guests attending this year's Walk included provincial Ministers Stan Hagen, Michael de Jong, from British Columbia; George Smitherman and Kathleen Wynne from Ontario; Mayors Sam Sullivan and Carl Zehr, from Vancouver and Kitchener, respectively. Distinguished leaders from business and academia included Yvan Allaire, Chairman of the Institute for Governance of Private and Public Organizations; David Anderson, President of the World Fisheries Trust; Mike Keenan, Coach of the Calgary Flames and Sandra McCallum, Professor Emeritus, University of Victoria.
This year, some 900 corporate sponsors were involved, including: Premium sponsor, the Nisku Inn; Premier sponsor, Industrial Promotions Services Ltd. (IPS); Platinum sponsors, Scotiabank and KFC Pirani Group, and Gold sponsors: RBC Foundation, Samco Printers Ltd., Pharmassist/IDA, Dynasty Furniture, Dynamic Furniture, Ecclesiastical Insurance, Destination Auto Group, Country Hills Toyota, Mayfield Toyota, Midtown Honda, T&T Honda, High River Toyota and Okotoks Honda, and BC 150. Our National Media Partners were The Globe and Mail and Asian Television Network.
Aga Khan Foundation Canada has been creating lasting and effective solutions to the challenges of global poverty for more than 25 years. As an agency of the Aga Khan Development Network, AKFC benefits from a unique global vantage point from which it undertakes a wide-ranging agenda of humanitarian work. <<
Join us next year!
Sunday, May 31st, 2009
(Sunday, June 7th in Ottawa & London)
www.worldpartnershipwalk.com
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Local woman selected; Sarnian will help combat poverty in Africa, Asia
Posted By TYLER KULA
A Sarnia woman has been selected to participate in a national organization's effort to combat poverty in eastern Africa and south and central Asia.
Heidi Carrubba, 25, is preparing to head to Tajikistan, a central Asian country situated north of Afghanistan.
One of 200 applicants in January for the Aga Khan Fellowship, she begins training Monday in Ottawa with 25 others for an eight-month placement.
"I'm really excited to work and live in a really remote region of the world and to have an opportunity to learn about a different culture and language," she said.
The Aga Khan Foundation supports "smart solutions" to poverty by relying on the ingenuity of the inhabitants.
"It's about finding ways for them to work themselves out of poverty," said Carrubba.
She will be in charge of evaluation: monitoring whether the impact of aid is genuinely increasing the quality of life for the people in Tajikistan.
A graduate from the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University, Carrubba first cut her teeth doing international humanitarian aid when she was a student at St. Christopher's Secondary School in Sarnia.
"I went to the Dominican Republic with the organization Rayjon," she said.
The group does short-term trips with high school students to developing parts of the world.
"So I went on a poverty awareness trip with them and that was my first time volunteering overseas."
Since, Carrubba has been involved with Global Youth Alliance, leading teams providing humanitarian aid in Macedonia and India.
She still sits on their national leadership advisory board.
"After experiencing travelling overseas and coming to understand what life is like in developing countries, I felt a responsibility to use my education for humanitarian issues," she said.
Carrubba will be operating a personal blog from Tajikistan at www.carrubbistan.blogspot.com, chronicling her exploits and reflecting on cultural differences between home and her new surroundings.
"I think it's really important for Canadians who travel to be sharing those experiences with those who are in Canada," she said.
She plans on communicating with some of her former high school teachers as well, to give some insight on cultural shifts they can in turn pass on to their students.
"I want to open these students' eyes to remote places in the world and what life is like there," she said.
Article ID# 1043738
http://www.theobserver.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1043738
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http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/ ... 5fd6ad1af3
Park walk to fight poverty raises $1.6m
Kent Spencer, The Province
Published: Monday, May 26, 2008
An international walk to fight world poverty raised $1.6 million yesterday in Stanley Park.
A volunteer for the World Partnership Walk said 8,000 people took part in the eight-kilometre walk around the seawall.
"It's been a good day," said Farid Damji. "The walk engages [many] Canadians in support of global poverty.
Participants warm up yesterday for the annual World Partnership Walk around Stanley Park to combat global poverty. About 8,000 people walked in Vancouver, raising $1.6 million.View Larger Image View Larger Image
Participants warm up yesterday for the annual World Partnership Walk around Stanley Park to combat global poverty. About 8,000 people walked in Vancouver, raising $1.6 million.
Jason Payne, The Province
"It's very celebratory. People are enjoying themselves and having a good day in the beautiful city of Vancouver."
The walk was started 24 years ago by a group of Vancouver women who wanted to make a difference.
It has since spread across Canada, where some 38,000 people were expected to participate in nine cities. Yesterday's Vancouver event was the most successful ever. The event has raised $46 million in total nationally since the walk began.
The walk is supported by the Aga Khan Foundation Canada, a non-profit development agency that brings cost-effective development to the world's poorest countries in Asia and Africa. Education, health care and rural incomes are the main beneficiaries.
[email protected]
© The Vancouver Province 2008
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http://news.therecord.com/News/Local/article/356107
May 26, 2008
Brent Davis
RECORD STAFF
KITCHENER
What impact can a relatively small group of people have on a problem as daunting as global poverty?
Can 600 people in Kitchener really make a difference in the lives of those half a world away?
The answer, quite simply, is yes.
Those people laced up their shoes and loosened their wallets yesterday as the fight against international poverty hit the streets around Victoria Park.
They were taking part in the World Partnership Walk -- a fundraising event for the Aga Khan Foundation Canada that began in Vancouver in 1985. And from little movements can come big things.
The annual walk now takes place in nine cities and involves thousands of people. Since its inception, more than $40 million has been raised. And 100 per cent of the funds raised by the walks go directly to development programs in Africa and Asia. Administrative costs are covered separately.
Organizers in Kitchener, hoping to raise $75,000 at this year's walk, got a big boost with a cheque for $25,000 from Toronto-based Ecclesiastical Insurance. This is the 16th time the walk has been held in Kitchener.
"We're lucky in Kitchener," said communications co-ordinator Basheer Habib.
"We have such a diverse community. People can relate to this event."
Walkers were joined by a host of politicians including Kitchener Centre MP Karen Redman and MPP John Milloy and Waterloo Mayor Brenda Halloran.
Events such as this remind Canadians of our prosperity and our responsibility to assist those less fortunate, Redman said.
Walk convenor Aleem Ramji told the crowd of his visit to a water supply project in Kenya, funded by the Aga Khan Foundation and the Canadian International Development Agency.
With piped water for the first time, incidents of waterborne disease in the village declined dramatically and children were healthy enough to attend school regularly. With a little financial help, communities like this are able to lift themselves out of poverty, Ramji said.
The Aga Khan Foundation's projects have helped nurses return to school to further their education and have seen 54,000 children enrolled in community-run preschools in three East African countries.
They've let 3,600 people, primarily women, receive literacy training in Afghanistan and have helped isolated villages in northern Pakistan realize a 300 per cent increase in per capita income.
The foundation does not operate in China or Myanmar, where aid organizations are trying to help residents cope with natural disasters.
"You are living proof that a better world truly is within walking distance," Ramji told those gathered.
[email protected]
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AKF 2008 Walk and others events
AKDN - Nurjehan Mawani - Kindergarden - Kyrgyz
29 May 2008 AKIpress
The first Central kindergarten of Kyzyleshme was officially opened today in the presence of Deputy Governor of Osh oblast, Aziza Turdueva, Deputy Minister of Education and Science, Anatoliy Ivannikov, Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) Representative for the Kyrgyz Republic, Nurjehan Mawani, and Akim of Chonalay rayon, Abdimanap Myrzabekov, representatives of local administration, parents, teachers and other guests, AKDN told AKIpress.
“The opening of a new kindergarten is a very special event. It is a moment of pride and hope for the parents, teachers and the whole community. It symbolizes a collective commitment to the future and we are very pleased to be partners in this initiative,” emphasized Nurjehan Mawani, the AKDN Representative for the Kyrgyz Republic.
The Mountain Societies Development Support Program (MSDSP KG) of Aga Khan Foundation started its Early Childhood Development (ECD) program in this village in 2005 by establishing the first satellite kindergarten within the secondary school. There had been no access to ECD in this village prior to this. As a result of the partnership between MSDSP and the community, 15 children were able to have access to early childhood education for the first time.
This partnership has broadened with the construction of the first Central kindergarten providing access to 120 children of pre-school age in the village. Funded by AKF and supported by community contribution (both labour and monetary), MSDSP KG spent almost 2.5 million soms on the construction of the Central kindergarten and provision of equipment, learning materials and other supplies. As part of the ECD program, the training of kindergarten teachers has already been implemented.
Now the new Central kindergarten of Kyzyleshme village will enroll 80 children and together with the satellite kindergarten will provide access to all 120 children in the village. The shift system model pioneered by MSDSP KG will double the coverage of the number of children who need access to ECD. This initiative also ensures that children from disadvantaged families are provided with equal access to this program.
“The opening of a new kindergarten is a very special event. It is a moment of pride and hope for the parents, teachers and the whole community. It symbolizes a collective commitment to the future and we are very pleased to be partners in this initiative,” emphasized Nurjehan Mawani, the AKDN Representative for the Kyrgyz Republic.
On the basis of a Memorandum of Understanding signed in April 2006 between the Ministry of Education, Science and Youth Policy and Aga Khan Development Network, Aga Khan Foundation continues to support the development of the education sector in Kyrgyzstan. By the end of December 2007, AKF had completed the construction or rehabilitation of 17 central and 33 satellite kindergartens in Osh and Naryn oblasts. AKF also engages in the training and upgrading of skills of both teachers and kindergarten supervisors which stress innovation and interactive methods of learning.
The first Central kindergarten of Kyzyleshme was officially opened today in the presence of Deputy Governor of Osh oblast, Aziza Turdueva, Deputy Minister of Education and Science, Anatoliy Ivannikov, Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) Representative for the Kyrgyz Republic, Nurjehan Mawani, and Akim of Chonalay rayon, Abdimanap Myrzabekov, representatives of local administration, parents, teachers and other guests, AKDN told AKIpress.
“The opening of a new kindergarten is a very special event. It is a moment of pride and hope for the parents, teachers and the whole community. It symbolizes a collective commitment to the future and we are very pleased to be partners in this initiative,” emphasized Nurjehan Mawani, the AKDN Representative for the Kyrgyz Republic.
The Mountain Societies Development Support Program (MSDSP KG) of Aga Khan Foundation started its Early Childhood Development (ECD) program in this village in 2005 by establishing the first satellite kindergarten within the secondary school. There had been no access to ECD in this village prior to this. As a result of the partnership between MSDSP and the community, 15 children were able to have access to early childhood education for the first time.
This partnership has broadened with the construction of the first Central kindergarten providing access to 120 children of pre-school age in the village. Funded by AKF and supported by community contribution (both labour and monetary), MSDSP KG spent almost 2.5 million soms on the construction of the Central kindergarten and provision of equipment, learning materials and other supplies. As part of the ECD program, the training of kindergarten teachers has already been implemented.
Now the new Central kindergarten of Kyzyleshme village will enroll 80 children and together with the satellite kindergarten will provide access to all 120 children in the village. The shift system model pioneered by MSDSP KG will double the coverage of the number of children who need access to ECD. This initiative also ensures that children from disadvantaged families are provided with equal access to this program.
“The opening of a new kindergarten is a very special event. It is a moment of pride and hope for the parents, teachers and the whole community. It symbolizes a collective commitment to the future and we are very pleased to be partners in this initiative,” emphasized Nurjehan Mawani, the AKDN Representative for the Kyrgyz Republic.
On the basis of a Memorandum of Understanding signed in April 2006 between the Ministry of Education, Science and Youth Policy and Aga Khan Development Network, Aga Khan Foundation continues to support the development of the education sector in Kyrgyzstan. By the end of December 2007, AKF had completed the construction or rehabilitation of 17 central and 33 satellite kindergartens in Osh and Naryn oblasts. AKF also engages in the training and upgrading of skills of both teachers and kindergarten supervisors which stress innovation and interactive methods of learning.
http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/new ... 926890d033
Weekend walkers help end poverty and feed the hungry [Extract]
Roger Collier, The Ottawa Citizen
Published: Monday, June 02, 2008
Despite a cool wind and light rain, there was a whole lot of walking going on yesterday in Ottawa.
One group supported the fight against global poverty, another walked to combat world hunger. A third group laid sneaker to asphalt for the ambiguously titled "Walk for Values."
The Choir of Joan of Arc Academy, comprising pint-sized singers in blue-and-green plaid, opened the World Partnership Walk in Confederation Park at 11 a.m. with the national anthem. Between 600 and 800 people participated in the walk, run by the non-profit development agency Aga Khan Foundation Canada to raise money to improve the lives of the poor in Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
"It's a great cause," said first-time participant Emma Blakely, who completed the five-kilometre loop along the Rideau Canal with her cocker spaniel, Rita.
Environment Minister John Baird delivered a message from the prime minister, and Ottawa Councillor Rick Chiarelli extended a greeting on behalf of Mayor Larry O'Brien, who was attending a conference in Quebec City. Guest of honour Huguette Labelle, chancellor of the University of Ottawa, also took to the stage to encourage the walkers.
"World poverty is an epidemic and, like any epidemic, it can be dealt with if there is a will to do so," she told the crowd.
Before the noon start, an organizer announced the fundraising goal of $200,000 for the Ottawa event had been met. The Aga Khan Foundation also runs walks in eight other cities, from Montreal to Victoria.
In its 24-year history, the World Partnership Walk has raised some $40 million, which has gone toward improving health care and education, and increasing rural incomes, in the developing world.
"Ending poverty is fundamental to creating world peace," said event convener Aly Alibhai. "It's poverty that has led to so much of the strife in the world today."
© The Ottawa Citizen 2008
Weekend walkers help end poverty and feed the hungry [Extract]
Roger Collier, The Ottawa Citizen
Published: Monday, June 02, 2008
Despite a cool wind and light rain, there was a whole lot of walking going on yesterday in Ottawa.
One group supported the fight against global poverty, another walked to combat world hunger. A third group laid sneaker to asphalt for the ambiguously titled "Walk for Values."
The Choir of Joan of Arc Academy, comprising pint-sized singers in blue-and-green plaid, opened the World Partnership Walk in Confederation Park at 11 a.m. with the national anthem. Between 600 and 800 people participated in the walk, run by the non-profit development agency Aga Khan Foundation Canada to raise money to improve the lives of the poor in Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
"It's a great cause," said first-time participant Emma Blakely, who completed the five-kilometre loop along the Rideau Canal with her cocker spaniel, Rita.
Environment Minister John Baird delivered a message from the prime minister, and Ottawa Councillor Rick Chiarelli extended a greeting on behalf of Mayor Larry O'Brien, who was attending a conference in Quebec City. Guest of honour Huguette Labelle, chancellor of the University of Ottawa, also took to the stage to encourage the walkers.
"World poverty is an epidemic and, like any epidemic, it can be dealt with if there is a will to do so," she told the crowd.
Before the noon start, an organizer announced the fundraising goal of $200,000 for the Ottawa event had been met. The Aga Khan Foundation also runs walks in eight other cities, from Montreal to Victoria.
In its 24-year history, the World Partnership Walk has raised some $40 million, which has gone toward improving health care and education, and increasing rural incomes, in the developing world.
"Ending poverty is fundamental to creating world peace," said event convener Aly Alibhai. "It's poverty that has led to so much of the strife in the world today."
© The Ottawa Citizen 2008