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Rose Charities Canada. 2025 Annual Letter from Chair

Letter from the Chair of Rose Charities Canada

December 2025

Greetings and a Happy New Year to all our volunteers, supporters and friends of Rose Charities Canada. Despite all the turmoil in the world Rose Canada projects have continued to grow and flourish during the
past year. Particular themes that stand out are education enrichment and a developing core of environmental activities in a number of projects.


The schools we support have gone beyond the basic requirements and focused on enhancing curriculum, learning and teaching. In Uganda we have had a very successful partnership with Red Earth
Organization in Uganda which has helped motivate and train teachers in Future Diplomats School and Stand Tall. The result has been a transformation in the children’s experience of learning. From Stand
Tall’s year end theme of “Not Growing Bigger, Growing Better” to Uno a Uno in Ecuador’s “NewExperiences and Steadfast Learning” the schools and educational centres have become models of whatevery child needs to maximize their potential.


In addition, the sponsorship programs for students in higher education have shown what can be achieved with the right support. Many of these Smiles (Uganda) students are in degree courses such as
pharmacy, nursing and business studies with the prospect of careers in their fields.


In Nepal the emphasis is on helping marginalized young women access education. In particular, married
women who dropped out of school due to commitments at home have now been able to return to their ducational studies and further their career opportunities.


Other schools in Rose are also helping young women with their education in what might seem a smallway but in fact is crucial to school attendance. Supplying sanitary wear to teenage girls (St Vincent’s in
Zambia and Partners in Ethiopia) means they can continue with their schooling each month.


Interest in the environment is a developing area within Rose. There are a number of projects now that have some “greener” element in their activities. In Zambia the successful tree planting program has deepened and gone beyond just planting seedlings to developing community resilience. Education inree care continues to be the key to success.” (Malambo) There is also some research being conducted
to look at alternative ways of generating income other than depending on firewood and charcoal in rural areas. Garden training workshops were provided this year to students in two schools.


The Nepal program is supporting low-income students in an Eco-friendly agricultural program that will provide them with climate friendly skills in farm management.

Uno a Uno (Ecuador) is hoping to support students on a water-quality training course run by the Open Classroom Ecological Clubs in an effort to maintain clean waterways from agricultural run-off or mineral
extraction.


Of course, in addition to the projects mentioned above we have many more that are involved in education, healthcare and community development. Safe Motherhood (Guatemala) which has beenrunning for 23 years has trained 1401 comadronas(indigenous midwives) and others to provide betterbirthing outcomes for women in rural areas unable to access maternal healthcare. In Uganda a uccessful Malaria project which quickly assesses for and treats malaria in children at school means
fewer days of absences. This program which started in one school, has now been replicated in three
others.


Please take a moment to look at our website to see the full range of programs that operate under Rose
Charities Canada. rosecharities.ca


Also, this year, due to a very generous donor, we have been able to provide small grants every 6 months to projects to enhance their program activities. Examples of these have included scholarships for higher education, equipment for the opening of a Maternal Health Clinic (Partners in Ethiopia), installation ofartificial turf for a sports arena Stand Tall), a water filter for a hospice (Vietnam), support for a Trek and
Treat Eye program (Nepal), small business skills for women (Afghanistan), and financial assistance for much needed dental care for children and youth (Haiti).


To conclude, the board of directors and I would like to thank you all for the support you have given to Rose this year in whatever way you can. Without this contribution we could not continue with the important work that we are doing in various parts of the world to alleviate people’s suffering.


Wishing you all a very Happy New Year and continued great outcomes for Rose.

Maggie Francis
Chair, Board of Directors
Rose Charities Canada
December 30 th , 2025

Africa, Central America, Education, Emergency Response, General interest, Haiti, Health Education, Healthcare, Income generation

Rose Charities Canada achievements 2024!

Chair Year End Letter

October 31 st 2023 to November 1 st 2024

A Happy New Year to volunteers, friends and supporters of Rose Charities Canada! We thank you for all your assistance this year -in whatever way that has been– in enabling us to continue working with
people in need across the world.


Our projects have encountered numerous challenges in many of the countries they operate in – factors often unsurmountable and out of their control. Extreme poverty is the number one issue in most
countries bolstered by violence (including gender-based violence), internal conflict, political instability, government corruption, high inflation, and blackouts (Ethiopia, Zambia). Alongside this is the impact of climate change that has been seen, for example, in flooding (Nepal) and in drought (Zambia). Moreover, there is the brutal and ongoing oppression of women in Afghanistan that restricts basic rights such as
education, employment and having a voice to express opinions.


It is hard to see some “light” in these situations and believe that a small amount of help can make a difference. But we can assure you it does and, moreover, gives hope for many individuals and communities. The leaders and volunteers in our projects are putting into action the sentiments of NkosiJohnson (12-year-old AIDS activist who died in 2001) when he said “Do all you can, with what you have,in the time you have, in the place you are.”


It is in the individual stories that we hear about the impact of this“compassionate” action and thedifference it makes in peoples’ lives.
At one of the annual Soccer Camps in the Haiti Children and Youth project a young man who wasparticipating suddenly disappeared after a few days. It was later discovered that he was in severe pain with an inguinal hernia. Arrangements were made by the project for him to receive surgery and follow up care including a ride to and from school so as not to miss classes.

In a training visit to Guatemala by the Safe Motherhood team the benefits of their classes were highlighted in the following story “the day after we taught the technique to help birth a baby with the umbilical cord wrapped around the baby’s neck, we heard one of our students excitedly share that she used the technique with great success at a birth during the night”.


We had hoped this year to send some funds to Afghanistan to set up small scale education classes for elementary school girls. However, this was deemed too much of a risk when the Taliban further restricted any schooling for girls. But to try and “do what we can” the funds will now be used for women to learn some basic skills to develop a small business (sewing, food items) and provide for their families.

An aspect of our education projects worth highlighting has been the importance of going beyond the basic curriculum of learning in schools. Many of the projects working in school settings are providing
enrichment and encouraging creativity with music and art classes, dancing, visits to museums and galleries, playing sports and other games, cooking, going swimming, and adding fun to standard teaching. Our projects are dedicated to helping children thrive despite the environment they find themselves in.

There has also been an exciting initiative in Zambia (Malambo) to provide environmental education for children in several schools with a focus on sustainable practices including tree planting to combat the impact of climate change. To highlight the scope of the projects and their achievements, I am attaching a summary of the outputs for 2023 to 2024. The range of activities is extensive reaching into the unique needs of a particular community. Renovations to schools, enrichment programs, school supplies, soccer camps , homework classes, scholarships from K to University, provision of water filters for clean water, the completion of a Maternal Care Centre, eye care for remote communities in Nepal, birthing skills for rural midwives in
Guatemala, the production of a video raising awareness of sexual violence against girls in Uganda, a school based malaria project providing rapid diagnosis and prompt treatment in Uganda, and tree planting in Zambia. The numbers of recipients are not necessarily the important factor. Some are higher than others but, more meaningful, is the impact of these activities on the life of an individual. “Doing what we can with what we have”.


We look forward to another year of inspiring and creative approaches in the work of our projects. This could not be achieved without the dedication and commitment shown everyday by the volunteers in the field. On behalf of the Board of Directors we thank you all again for your steadfast support in allowing the projects to grow and be a beacon of light in a time of global instability.

Best wishes

Maggie Francis
Chair, Board of Directors
Rose Charities Canada

January 5 th , 2025