Despite many setbacks, Malambo Grassroots continues to meet the needs of our rural communities in Southern Province, Zambia, thanks in part to our big-hearted donors. In 2021, Zambia experienced two new waves of COVID and is in the midst of a third (the omicron variant). We distributed hundreds of masks and soap to villages and schools and we’re now organizing vaccination clinics.
Our partner school recovered from a fire in May that destroyed its chicken incubator, a vital income-generating project. In November, the head teacher’s convent home was broken into and she lost many tools (like her laptop) that help her do her work. A few generous donations will increase security.
We planted over 300 more tree seedlings (fruit and native species) to provide food and mitigate climate change in the region. We’re excited to start a new solar project and installed panels, batteries, and lights in the homes of 28 elders.
Through scholarships, supplies, and food, we continue supporting students of all ages.
We feel incredibly grateful to work with the local Tonga people, who inspire and amaze us daily with their talents, perseverance, and resilience. We wish you all a healthy and peaceful holiday and new year.
Supporting grassroots development in Zambia: www.malambograssroots.ca Or follow Malambo Grassroots on Facebook
The Guatemalan Safe Motherhood Project continues to make progress, in spite of the pandemic. We in Canada have been in bimonthly contact via Zoom with our Guatemalan teammates. Because of travel restrictions, teaching in other communities has been replaced with a new clinic, providing prenatal care to local pregnant women and holding prenatal discussion groups, as well as addressing topics beyond pregnancy and birth, including breastfeeding, alcohol and other substance use disorders, domestic violence, nutrition, and supporting teen mothers.
Here in Canada we’ve been having a meeting every 5-6 weeks with a primary focus on trying to find corporate sponsors as well as granting foundations. Our long-term goal is to expand our training courses with more teams. We hope to be able to travel to Guatemala once again in the fall of 2022. Our team will be able to train a number of further trainers to bring our hands-on course to many more remote areas, so as to make a larger impact in fewer years. The need remains huge and more trained teams are needed in order to impact the lives of so many marginalized, poverty-stricken families (primarily indigenous) in Guatemala. With persistence, further funding will allow this.
Rose Charities Haiti Children and Youth Project’s extensive local grassroots contact in the area has ensured a penetration of response rapidly to street level. Wherever possible local materials and purchasable items are being acquired which not only assist with those who have lost homes and assets but also helps to support and recover the local economy.
Assistance continues to be focussed on the Les Cayes region which was one of the worst to be affected by the quake and subsequent storm damage. Local team members move around the area recording the needs of individual families and groups and feeding the information back to the organizers who assist with materials, food or even cash.
Often in these situation, while supplies and materials may be available there are a great number of small needs which prevent their usage. Such simple items as cooking oil or cooking apparatus itself can make a huge difference. Tarpaulins, tool (for livelihood) replacement, some money to pay for medications (cash is always carefully monitored and followed up, but remains a hugely important assistance vehicle, often overlooked in such situations).
Rose Charities has a 20 year plus history of disaster relief in all parts of the world . Always it is noticed that with all natural disasters, while the focus of the media soon moves away other world issues, the deprivation and suffering continue for months into years. It is one of the principles of Rose Charities to remain helping for as long as resources area available and/or needs remain. This has been achieved time and time again. Indeed it was the terrible Haiti Earth Quake of 2010 and subsequent cholera outbreak which established Rose Charities program(s) in Haiti in the first place and from which Haitian Founder Jean Lubin and his wife Terri, run their incredible Rose Children and Youth program now within the earthquake zone.
Donations very gratefully received and go (as described above) directly to the needy in the affected zone, with almost zero (and mostly local so into local economy) admin costs.
At 8.29am on Saturday 14th August mainly south-western Haiti was hit by a 7.2 Richter scale magnitude earthquake. The Rose Haiti Children and Youth Program in the Lavalee-Jacmel area was less affected (some buildings/homes damaged but not collapsed and no deaths) and there has been considerable damage in the areas significantly shaken by the quake / in several areas on the south-west arm of the country. To date 7000 injured and around 1500 deaths. To compound problems a tropical storm (Cyclone Grace residual) has struck the area bringing still more hardship to the homeless and carrying the risk of flash floods with the large quantities of rain it is bringing.
As per usual, Rose Charities takes every measure to assist in areas where it already has involvement utilizing local staff and resources to minimize the logistics and high cost of flying in special personnel and materials. Its long term (since the 2010 Haiti Earthquake) presence means that the staff have a huge, nation-wide network of grassroots contacts who know exactly what and where aid is needed and are able to deliver it. This a model which has worked with incredible cost-effectiveness to provide real, ground-level one-on- one assistance to many parts of the world.
Jean and Terri Lubin, founders of Haiti Children and Youth and two of the most experienced, active and dedicated members of the Rose Charities Canada team are currently implementing aid efforts. Jean is Haitian and Terri has spent many years in the area.
The main damage, while not affecting Haiti Children and Youth, is nevertheless very close to the region where it operates (equally South, only further West). The team is well placed to provide assistance.
Rose Charites Canada is supporting the SFH (Disaster Aid Canada) efforts to provide emergency materials and provisions for the disastrous B.C. wildfires which have been sweeping the province in the wake of record high temperatures ( 40 – 47 deg) .
Having experienced weather temperature of 47 degrees (117 def F) the town of Lytton in S.Central B.C. was almost entirely annihilated by fire which moved with devastating speed and ferocity and resulted in two fatalaties.
SFH was quick to send urgently needed materials such as clothing, sleeping bags etc.
Rose Charities Canada has sent funds for the Rose Nepal Programs Group under Ms Sarala Adhikari to urgently supply around 3000 medical masks, primarily for people in the Pharping area with a focus on kids. While the protective benefits of mask wearing have become well appreciated in the area, simple lack of having them has been impeding their usage. Great work Nepal Group !
Since 2916 Dr Andrew Macnab’s (Rose Charities Canada / Rose Uganda Support Group) amazing schools based malaria abatement program in Uganda has been delivering outstanding results. The highly endemic disease accounts for thousands of missing days of education in a young population desperate to attain the maximum benefit from school attendance. Teachers are trained to recognize early symptoms and then confirm them with a simple and relatively cheap kit test. Artemsia based drugs (as approved by the WHO ) can be then started immediately in situ, and, being quick acting, take effect early to reduce the childs convalescent absence period from days to possibly only hours. (https://academic.oup.com/ije/article/45/6/1759/2670325 )
Children, teachers, parents all love the program and its success has been attested to now for the last 5 years. A huge success for Uganda, Rose teams but above everything the kids and their families !
With the start of summer and mid 2021 approaching, as always we hope that all is well with you and yours.
We have not written for several months because, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the past several months have been fairly quiet for the Haiti Children & Youth Project.
COVID-19 & PROJECT ACTIVITIES
Last year when the COVID-19 pandemic started, our team of volunteer leaders followed the Haitian health authority’s COVID prevention guidelines and temporarily stopped project activities involving group gatherings except for project committee meetings. Miraculously the number of COVID-19 cases were low in Haiti so last summer the Haitian government allowed groups of people to start meeting again with masks on at markets, schools, churches, etc. Even so, our Haitian leaders chose to wait until this past January 2021 to resume group project activities.
Last month, in May, several cases of the COVID-19 variant from Brazil were reported in Haiti with some associated deaths. Consequently, near the end of May the Haitian government requested the population again limit social / group gatherings and wear masks in public. Then on June 1st the government announced a 15 day “lock down” to hopefully stop the virus from continuing to spread. Online news reports that the Astrazenica vaccine may eventually be offered in Haiti.
EDUCATION SUPPORT
Providing financial assistance to support the education of elementary and secondary school students is the only project activity which has continued throughout the pandemic. Haitian schools reopened last July 2020 and students were able to finish the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year from July to October then start the 2020-2021 school year last November. We are extremely thankful that the project was able to help pay the 2020-2021 school fees for 159 students with significant need, orphans and others from single parent or very low income families.
The positive impact this education support has for each student hits home with a recent story from an orphan who received her first education bursary from the project. When talking to one of the project leaders this student mentioned that this year she does not have to worry when the school administration starts following up on unpaid school fees and begins to send students home who are unable to pay the remaining balance. She expressed relief and gratitude that, with her school fees fully paid, she is one of the “privileged” children in the school who will be able to complete the whole academic year.
NEW JACMEL PROGRAM (see photos below)
Last fall the Haitian committee leaders became aware of several orphans in the city of Jacmel which is a half hour drive southwest of the project office and work in Lavalee. Orphans in the city are often originally from a smaller community in the nearby countryside. When a child’s parents die a friend, family member, or another individual in the city offers to take in the orphan even if they themselves have their own children to care for and/or have limited resources. Many of the people who help care for the orphans are motivated to do so by their faith in God.
Our Haitian leaders proposed expanding the project to support orphans in Jacmel as well as other vulnerable children and youth in the city. This past January they started a program with two small groups: one of nine children age 10-15 years old (4 boys and 5 girls) and another of sixteen youth age 16-21 years old (10 boys and 6 girls). Every few weeks the children and youth meet together for social and educational activities. A nutritious snack is always served. The project has had the funds to also provide a full meal on four occasions. Each of the 25 participants in this new Jacmel program received a school bursary for their 2020-2021 school year fees.
A close friend of Jean’s in Jacmel offered a place to hold this new program. The meeting place is a great resource for the program attendees as they are free to visit two project leaders there outside program hours. We are still in the process of raising funds to rent this location but so far two local Haitian citizens have each made a financial contribution towards the rent.
With sincere appreciation for your interest and support,
Rose Charities Canada is supporting the Rose Charities Nepal Program Group in assisting an urgent local initiative, along with other groups and individuals to provide an oxygen unit for the Manmohan Hospital. The program to date has already raised around 50% of the required NPR 60 lakh (appx CAD65,000) allowing equipment already to be ordered (oxygen production, cylinders, beds etc, as well as ambulance refurbishment).
At the time of writing, Sars-Cov-2, having spread in from India is ravaging Nepal. Resources are strained to beyond their limits and at the end of May 2021 there were over half a million cases with some 8000 deaths. One of the essential treatment methods prevent death, the use of oxygen, has been made almost impossible give to to the majority of covid sufferers due to the overwhelming demand depleting supplies. Ref https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/may/10/hopeless-situation-oxygen-shortage-fuels-nepal-covid-crisis
The Government is doing what it can but itself has limited resources to spare amid the numerous other national demands from the pandemic.
Manmohan Memorial Community Hospital. Dakshinkali
Dakshinkali, in the Pharping community lies on the southern edge of the Kathmandu Valley, an area containing apprximately 2.5 million people or some 8% of the entire population of Nepal The Manmohan Memorial Community Hospital in Dakshinkali town provides a vital role in serving the people both of the local areas and its surrounds. Its services however have been overwhelmed by the current pandemic.
Manmohan Memorial Community Hospital doing its vital work for the poor
Rose Nepal ‘Buhari’ trainees. Advanced education for women
‘Buhari’ means married women / daughters in law. This is the name that Rose Nepal gives to its advanced education program for women. It is well documented that women’s education is one of the most effective parameters in advancing communities in all areas in almost every parameter index, from health, poverty reduction, peace and Rose Nepal promotes these strongly in it Buhari program. The program operates from the rural Pharping area of the Kathmandu Valley. Notable (see image) is Sushima Thapa magar, one of the best achieving students to date from Kopu Village close to graduating in Engineering and Architecture. She will be the first female Rose-Engineering graduate from this small community.
Sponsorships in the Buhai Program and run at around CAD 600 per student per year which include both tuition (CAD 300 appx) and living / course material costs.(CAD 300 appx) It is hard to find an initiative of better value as it creates both a active, involved and hugely needed future for the student herself, as well as a panoply of secondary benefits for her family, community, region and country. Partial assistance (ie covering a proportion of the costs at any level) are equally welcomed and will be pooled by Rose to complete the amount for a full Buhari Scholarship.
Despite many setbacks, Malambo Grassroots continues to meet the needs of our rural communities in Southern Province, Zambia, thanks in part to our big-hearted donors. In 2021, Zambia experienced two new waves of COVID and is in the midst of a third (the omicron variant). We distributed hundreds of masks and soap to villages and schools and we’re now organizing vaccination clinics.
We feel incredibly grateful to work with the local Tonga people, who inspire and amaze us daily with their talents, perseverance, and resilience. We wish you all a healthy and peaceful holiday and new year.
and mid 2021 approaching, as always we hope that all is well with you and yours. 
