In a world where Not for Profit Organizations are often competing against each other for funding and publicity, it is so refreshing to feature a collaborative venture that worked so seamlessly and so successfully.
When Mom2Mom Africa recently collaborated with Global Forces, the result was absolutely amazing and inspiring!
Mom2Mom Africa, a Canadian not for profit organization, that I started not so long ago, funds the education of women and children in Tanzania. As of today, Mom2Mom Africa is providing quality education to 16 children and 5 young women in Tanzania. The primary goal of the organization is, and has always been, to raise funds to pay the school fees of each student, as well as to provide the basic school necessities including textbooks, writing supplies, lunch, and uniforms. In doing so, it was assumed that each student would be well-equipped to be successful in their studies. This was simply not the case. These students don’t have electricity at home, which is something most take for granted and rely upon in daily life.
They were studying under the dimmest of lights using kerosene lamps, which emit toxic fumes and cause countless burn injuries daily. It was not until I was approached by Kerstin of Global Forces that this situation, termed “energy poverty”, was brought to my attention.
Kerstin and her wonderful team at Global Forces offered to help each student in the Mom2Mom Africa program by bridging the gap between school and home in terms of educational success. While I was working to send women and children to school, Global Forces was working to eradicate energy poverty. When I was first approached by the organization, they were in the midst of raising funds to purchase solar lamps for students in Tanzania, and chose Mom2Mom Africa as their pilot project. After locating a supplier in Africa, Global Forces worked to purchase and deliver the solar lamps to the students. The impact of this venture on each of the students’ lives was incredible. Students were finally able to study at home enabling them to be more successful at school.
The partnership between Mom2Mom Africa (www.mom2momafrica) and Global Forces (www.globalforces.org) has been a huge success. I have learned so much about energy poverty and the impact it has had on the students within our program. This really speaks to the incredible value of collaborative efforts in the world of Not for Profit Organizations. Afterall, our intentions are all the same – to help those who may be struggling in a world that we all share. Collaboration benefits both the collaborating organizations, as well as those they are aiming to help. This joint venture is proof of that. Special thank you to Global Forces for bringing the issue of energy poverty to my attention and for working tirelessly to assist all students in the Mom2Mom Africa project!
This is an original World Moms Blog post by Alison Fraser from Canada.
Have you hear the term “Energy Poverty” before ?
Wow! That’s fantastic!! 🙂
I live in South Africa and we have the same challenges right here! Not only are there many people without access to electricity at all, but even those of us fortunate enough to have electricity have to contend with an erratic supply!! 🙁
Eskom (the parastatal organization which is the SOLE electricity producer for our country) has not made adequate provision for the increased demand for power, with the result that we often have “rolling blackouts” (in other words, entire areas of the grid are “switched off” for a couple of hours at the time, to ease the load).
Those solar lights are AWESOME!! I’d like to be able to purchase a couple myself before the blackouts start again!
Thanks so much!!! The program has been a huge success for these students!
Alison — how awesome!! What a great partnership and I love hearing more about what mom2mom Africa is doing!! I’m hooked!!
Jen 🙂
Thanks for all of your support Jen!
This is such a brilliant collaboration between two amazing non-profits! I love your process of how you found each other and made your idea better by doing so.