Nov 23, 2016 Bulletin (Nov 23, 2016)

Most of us will never have to worry about what will happen when our loved one comes home at the end of the day or if we will get a peaceful sleep that night. We don't understand what it feels like to be consumed by fear about our physical and emotional safety and yet afraid to reach out for help. Whether the bruises are visible on their faces or reflected in their eyes, women and children who come to Monarch Place Transition House in New Westminster need refuge and support at a crisis point in their lives. Your support helps them to re-establish their lives and find a future of hope, peach and safety.

A resident commented, "Monarch Place has changed my life and I am looking forward to a new beginning."

The Citizens Foundation Pakistan/Canada

The Citizens Foundation Canada (TCF) was established in 2005 with the objective to provide quality education to less privileged children in Pakistan. Their aim is to work towards building a network of well wishers and volunteers for TCF all over Pakistan. TCF is a registered charity. TCF's unique model, comprising of several key elements, has proved crucial to its success. These elements include purpose built campuses, careful location of schools within walking distance of the target population, all female faculty, transport for teachers, emphasis on constant teachers' training, strong supervision of performance and accountability, low overheads, financial transparency and a single-minded focus on core mission to educate the less privileged children of Pakistan. TCF Canada has raised donations for 53 schools with a student population of 4,900.

Tulbagh Community Project, South Africa

Tulbagh is a beautiful farming village about a 90 minute drive from Cape Town. It is located in a pristine valley, yet due to high unemployment and the seasonal nature of farm work, poverty affects the community dramatically. The community is faced with issues such as poverty, drug and alcohol addition, HIV/AIDS, high dropout rates at schools and early pregnancy. There is, unfortunately, a serious lack of resources to address these problems. Even in the face of the difficult reality of life in Tulbagh, the people are committed to improving their situations and ensuring their children have the opportunities to realize their goals and dreams. Tulbagh Community Projects focuses on providing resources and support to assist community members in addressing the issues around them. The core projects include soup kitchens run by single-parent families, sport equipment centres' and educational support for youth. Not only have these projects been able to support the community with the difficulties they face, but they have become a trusted part of the community's identity. Hope is now shining brightly in this valley, as community members can work together for the future of their children.

Orphans in the Ukraine

Orphans in the Ukraine is reaching epidemic proportions. Communities such as Lviv, Nadvirna and Ivano Frankivsk are overwhelmed with displaced families from the Eastern Ukraine due to war. In one region alone, over 600 children have been placed in orphanages through loss of parents or economics. Parents cannot look after their children and either abandon them entirely or leave them in the orphanage while they attempt to gain employment and housing. Others whose parents have been victims of the fighting in Eastern Ukraine are left without any other support and must be institutionalized. These children include those with special needs. Providing the basics such as clothing, nutritional foods, bedding, furniture and medical supplies is essential to the lives of these children. A mobile service provides assistance to street children. This services drives through these communities looking for gathering places of children living in the streets without care. The service provides hot food, first aid, consultation, encouragement, understanding and advice.

Amarok Society, Bangladesh

One in three children today are illiterate. Despite significant efforts, this number is growing - a serious and dangerous situation. Building new schools is clearly not working; we must find new ways to reach the poorest children in the world. These children, like their parents, are growing up trapped in poverty in mega-city slums, where virtually all population growth is forecast for the next 30 years, although overlooked by international development. These slums are certainly not overlooked by extremists who use them as prime recruitment grounds. Uneducated people have no developed capacity to analyze the promises or judge the actions of extremists, and desperation and despair are easily manipulated into intolerance.

Amarok Society teaches illiterate mothers, renting next-door slum dwellings as schools. Each mother then teaches five neighbourhood girls and boys what she has learned every day. By placing the mother at the centre of change, Amarok Soiety teaches thousands of children whose future is now full of promise and hope. Women who were once confined to house-slavery are now viewed as the leaders of change that they are. With each school costing $10,000 to operate for a year, every child is receiving education for only $74/year with families at the heart of their education.