Women's issues

Women remain perhaps the world’s greatest untapped resource. Among the many brilliant ideas on Changemakers for empowering them and helping them reach their potential, here are some proven success stories that use vastly different approaches. These initiatives were endorsed by expert competition judges and voted on by our global community of social change. We’ve got two more women-focused competitions coming up soon. Please be a part of supporting the innovators who enter them.

Carpets for Communities

Carpet for Communities, based in Cambodia, operates on the understanding that strengthening women is a solution to myriad problems, including human trafficking. By identifying families at risk of being forced to send their children to work or sell their children into slavery, and by intervening quickly, they solve many problems at once.

Founded by David Bacon, the organization trains the mothers to earn income by making rugs in their own homes, taking the economic pressure off the children and allowing them to attend school instead of working. Participation in the families’ economic life raises women’s self-esteem and raises the families’ standard of living.

This organization was a winner in the Ending Global Slavery: Everyday Heroes Leading the Way competition.

Men Can Stop Rape

A winner in the No Private Matter! Ending Abuse in Intimate & Family Relations competition, Men Can Stop Rape pioneered a new way of addressing sexual violence against women: engage those most likely to be the perpetrators by making them allies in the effort to reduce the incidence of rape in the United States.

Through school-based programs, public outreach, and social marketing, the organization emphasizes the role young men can play in reducing violence against women by inspiring them to create positive definitions of masculinity, strength, and manhood.

Let us play!

A lack of affordable sanitary pads in Kenya has kept many girls off the playing fields and out of sports entirely. Let Us Play! Worked with a start-up local business to provide cheap pads, made of locally-grown papyrus grass, to school girls.

This simple initiative, a winner in the Gamechangers competition sponsored by Nike, takes the fear of embarrassment out of playing sports. It also improves adolescent girls’ hygiene generally, boost school attendance, and raises self-confidence and awareness about their own bodies and reproductive health.

Many other competitions have honored winners that address women’s empowerment. Check out some of these too:

Building the Movement for Women’s Land Rights, winner in the Cultivating Innovation: Solutions For Rural Communities competition.

Small Steps, Big Leaps: Community led approach to water and sanitation, winner in the Tapping Local Innovation: Unclogging The Water And Sanitation Crisis competition.

Instant Birth Control, winner in the Disruptive Innovations In Health And Health Care: Solutions People Want competition.

STOP (Stop Trafficking and Oppression of Children & Women), winner in the How To End Human Trafficking competition.

Three Sisters Trekking, winner in The Geotourism Challenge: Celebrating Places - Changing Lives competition.

Rethinking Mental Health: Improving Comunity Wellbeing (Socio-economic Interface for violence Elimination).

Created on 08/18/2009 by SEIVE

 A dysfunctional family breeds future poor mental health and the disturbed mind originates from some form of violence. To improve community wellbeing we must end domestic violence. But domestic violence cannot be eradicated without placing men at the forefront of protecting women from violence since men are its main perpetrators.

About You

Organization: SEIVE Visit websitemore ↓↑ hide↑ hide

Section 1: About You

First Name

FR. PAUL

Last Name

OKOTH

Website URL

http://Under construction

Country

Uganda

Section 2: About Your Organization

Organization Name

SEIVE

Organization Website

http://under construction

Organization Phone

line+256-(0)45-447-9099 mob: +256(0)774764772

Organization Address

Socio-Economic Interfave for Violence Elimination (SEIVE), Plot 8, Budaka Close, Namakwekwe, Mbale. P.o.Box 2474 Mbale, Uganda

Organization Country

Uganda

Is your organization a

Non‐profit/NGO/citizen sector organization

Your idea

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Name Your Project

Rethinking Mental Health: Improving Comunity Wellbeing (Socio-economic Interface for violence Elimination).

Country your work focuses on

Uganda

Describe Your Idea

 A dysfunctional family breeds future poor mental health and the disturbed mind originates from some form of violence. To improve community wellbeing we must end domestic violence. But domestic violence cannot be eradicated without placing men at the forefront of protecting women from violence since men are its main perpetrators.

Innovation

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What makes your idea unique?

Several innovations exist in my idea.Firstly, it does not consider gender issues to be the commonly accepted concept:a women's issue.It is about men taking responsibility for their actions rather than women fighting for their rights.
Secondly,I (and my organization) hold that domestic violence is a behavior internalized in early childhood by the exposure of children to violence in a domestic context.We think that its removal in men requires psycho-social therapeutic approaches such as counselling and behavioral change methods rather than the currently predominant punitive measures alone.
Thirdly, the outcome of this approach is unitive rather than divisive for a couple.Male perpetrators of domestic violence do not return from prison angry and vengeful.Instead they get to understand their circumstances develop a true loving non-violent relationship with their spouses.
In addition men and women have found themselves closer to each other than ever before.Perhaps the most important novelty here is that many faces of domestic violence are addressed simultaneously. Hidden and less obvious forms of domestic violence, such as denial of sex and withdrawal of monetary support are confronted.It is an in-depth healing approach.
Because it is hard to attract men to join non-economic pursuits,the men end up in cooperatives, get socially integrated and are at the same time relevantly rehabilitated in their natural social environment rather than in correctional institutions that have little bearing to the sitz-in-leben in which they live.It is a new holistic methodology.

Do you have a patent for this idea?

Yes

Impact

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What impact have you had?

From a little known counselling program we are now overwhelmed by the public demand.We did not expect that we would receive so many clients a day; hundreds of phone calls.We did not know that our clientele would expand to cover all kinds of people with all kinds of problems: The childless couple,men living in dire poverty, the woman seeking help for her alcoholic husband,the couple that is looking for an answer to what makes them always fight, the sexually addicted husband,people who claim their homes are haunted by demons; the list is endless.when all was said is done,we encounter the everyday problems of families and communities at the very roots of community mental health.
Over the years we have from experience and study developed a workable and popular way of dealing with family issues by counselling.
Our work has gone beyond the borders of the country and continues to spread spontaneously from mouth to mouth.
More and more victims of domestic violence opt to come to us hoping to find a solution that will not force them to hand their violent husbands to the prisons. they do not want a divorce, they want a change in their spouses.
A wide section of the population is now involved: schools, faithbased groups,correctional institutions,women's organizations, human rights organizations,law enforcement and policy makers,Government and village comunities.Men are finally becoming part of the gender issues platform and taking their responsibility at all levels.

Problem

The main problem concerns is the elusive nature of domestic violence.Men return from prison sentences and continue to re-offend. Exposure of children to domestic violence creates future violent youth and adults.We wish to free society from this endless cycle of violence begetting violence. The world has not appreciated the power of peaceful non-violent forms of conflict resolution.We want to see an end to the death penalty, to ineffective punitive approaches to psychologically based problems.
In many parts of africa, the use of the cane in schools is still encouraged. where it is illegal, there are no measures to stop it completely.The effects of exposure to violence are little understood. Drug addicts, alcoholics,sex addicts, violent persons, all end up behind bars with little chances of true indepth healing.We question the current manner in which the roots of societal mental health are dealt with.Domestic violence happens in the most basic unit of society, the family, and is not different from a mini war.

Actions

We researched on why men are the main perpetrators of domestic violence.Results showed that most perpetrators had been exposed to domestic violence in their childhood. Local leaders help identify afflicted families and we offer marital counselling to both perpetrators and survivors.We rented an office,advertise in the media,get access to perpetrators in prison,get the police to identify more perpetrators and have lobbied the district Justice for counselling as a component of sentencing perpetrators.With the permission of the education office we address institutions on domestic violence.
We keep and study records of cases and counselling methods that worked or didnt work in specific cases.Our volunteers form peer pressure groups and work together in economically viable investments. Part of their profits help their victims and maintain our office and work. With a music band we march in streets and make peaceful demonstrations against brideprice during the 16 days of activism.We make referals of survivors and perpetrators to suitable programs and train men's counselors.

Results

More survivors are reporting abuse to our office and men in communities are becoming more sensitive to domestic violence.The presence of anti-violence groups of men incommunities keeps potential perpetrators in check.Women are feeling safer in the communities where we are present.We are receiving referals from all sectors of society, even by wives who fear court proceedings and dont want a divorce or loss of custody over their children.Men's cooperatives are springing up and poverty in families being alleviated. there is a clear decrease in the statistics of domestic violence.Ex-prisoners find easy to reach and attractive rehabilitation programs.We help re-integrate ex-perpetrators into new and productive lifestyles.Women's rights groups are finding it helpful to work with men.Gender issues are no longer solely a women's thing.There are now platforms for men and women to work together.

What will it take for your project to be successful over the next three years? Please address each year separately, if possible.

In the first year,men's cooperatives will have to be economically viable to enable volunteers to work against domestic violenc while simultaneously sustaining their families.Part of the profits from their common income generating activities is essential for the self-sustenace of the project, our office and work.Investment funds for such common enterprises would have to come from the volunteers themselves as well as donations from goodwill and well wishers.Through awareness seminars financial appeals can be made from the communities themselves.
Such funds would be spent on social education, awareness and sensitisation on issues of domestic violence at all levels of society; seminars for schools,law enforcement,political and civil administrators,faith-based groups,cultural institutions, social organizations, legal and economic systems.The support of law enforcement, political and civil administration is vital for the change of attitudes towards and policies on domestic violence.
In the second year,with adequate funds, violent and abusive cultural,political and traditional systems would have to be challenged through social campaigns.Mens groups would have to actively support and complement womens' groups that work against domestic violence.
In the third year society would have to be involved in comprehensively rejecting all forms of exposure to violence in general(such as capial punishment and war) and domestic violence in particular. At the grass roots and national levels, legal systems that do not take the nature of male perpetrated violence into account would have to be denounced and ammended.Active change would need to occur at all levels of social and political structure.Laws would need to be enacted against any exposure of children to violence and especially domestic violence. The nature, causes and effects of domestic violence in relation to community mental health would need to be taught as a mundatory subject in schools,universities and other institutions of learning and government would have to include in her budget funding for psycho-socio economic enterprises such as counselling and recovery centers for violent people, sex and drug addicts, alcoholics, refugees and other victims of her own violence-sustaining and regenerating culture.

What would prevent your project from being a success?

The quality, number and availability of domestic violence counselors determines the quality and degree of impact on mens attitudes. We would not succeed if we failed to fund the initial training of key personel. we would also fail if we did not penetrate the higher levels of social hierarchy since these effect changes in policy and laws and can use their financial and administrative advantage against us.
We would fail if we did not have income generating activities as these are essential for sustaining the commitment and involvement of men who will normally prioritise their need to earn a living for their families.

How many people will your project serve annually?

More than 10,000

What is the average monthly household income in your target community, in US Dollars?

$50 - 100

Does your project seek to have an impact on public policy?

Yes

Sustainability

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What stage is your project in?

Operating for 1‐5 years

In what country?

Uganda

Is your initiative connected to an established organization?

Yes

If yes, provide organization name.

Mifumi Project

How long has this organization been operating?

More than 5 years

Does your organization have a Board of Directors or an Advisory Board?

Yes

Does your organization have any non-monetary partnerships with NGOs?

Yes

Does your organization have any non-monetary partnerships with businesses?

Yes

Does your organization have any non-monetary partnerships with government?

Yes

Please tell us more about how these partnerships are critical to the success of your innovation.

Networking with NGO's are important for the effective spread and implementation of our methodologies.Our link with organizations that work against domestic violence adds a multiplier effect to our overall impact on society.We are able to share notes on types of cases, improve on our approaches and together have a stronger voice to impact on public policy. we have benefited much from skills specific trainings carried out by partner organizations. It is also important for us to maintain a referal mechanism that takes care of persons who would more suitably be taken care of by other NGO's. Collaborations that lead to wider demonstrations such as occur on the 16 days of activism are critical for our success in impacting on the public.
Because our men generally earn a living for their families we have to be linked with businesses that mutually benefit the organization and the business communities. Economically viable investments need the expertise of businesses that have been involved before us.
Partnerships with government are critical for influencing changes in public policy and amendments of unjust laws. There is need to enforce discipline where perpetrators initially resent us.

What are the three most important actions needed to grow your initiative or organization?

Firstly, we need to extensively change men's attitudes towards domestic violence and gender issues by making them responsible for protecting women against violence. This in turn requires widespread use of radio, newspaper articles and community seminars: thorough advertisement and publicity.
Secondly we must first have the men in our camp before we can do anything to them or get them to do anything for themselves. This requires attracting their interest and commitment by setting up attrative income generating projects for and with them, grouping them up in cooperative unions.

The Story

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What was the defining moment that led you to this innovation?

I noticed that one mentally disturbed lady spent much of her time apparently "caring for and consoling" another mentally ill lady.The "carer" made quicker progress and soon recovered.And then I experimented with other clients and deliberately got them to attend to people with similar problems. It soon became obvious that here was something important and unrecognized.Now I know it will take former male perpetrators of domestic violence to end domestic violence in other perpetrators. As an alcoholic I was subjected to many years of abuse at the hands of those who did not really understand chemical dependency.(dismisals, expulsions, humiliations,etc). I only began to recover at the hands of recovered alcoholics at the guesthouse, a treatment center in Rochester Mn, USA.Since then I have wanted to see other troubled persons get appropriate therapy and treatment.Punishment alone will not turn the violent perpetrator into a peace activist.

Tell us about the social innovator behind this idea.

CURRICULUM VITAE OF FR PAUL OKOTH
• 2006-2009 Assistant pastor, St Austin’s parish, Mbale municipality, Archdiocese of Tororo. Assistant staff, radio Maria, Uganda, Mbale branch. Working on sound track for a film on domestic violence about to be released by Mifumi women’s project, Uganda.
• 2008 Won an Ashoka International fellowship award for placing men at the forefront of ending violence against women.
• 2005-2006 Assistant pastor, Budaka parish, Archdiocese of Tororo. Founded Socio economic Interface for Violence Elimination (SEIVE)
• 2005 Made presentation at Pan African conference on abolition of bride price, Kampala Uganda
• 2004-2005 Diploma in computer repair, Stratford Institute, Washington DC, USA
• 2002-2005 Attended BSC Chemistry lectures and piano pedagogy, Bucknell University, USA. Was Church Organist at sacred Heart parish, Lewisburg, PA, USA.
• 2000-2002 Guesthouse, Rochester Mn, USA, Member of the North American Catholic clerical association for chemical dependency and addiction therapy.
• 1999-2000 Parish priest, Situmi catholic parish, archdiocese of Tororo. Organist at National celebration of martyrs day(3rd June,2000) at Namugongo, Kampala
• 1994-1999 Parish priest, Gangama parish, Mbale municipality
• 1990-1994 O-level science teacher, St Pius X seminary, Nagongera, Tororo, Uganda.
• 1986-1989 BA Theological and Pastoral studies, Ggaba national Major Seminary, affiliated to Pontifical Urban University of Rome. Ordained Roman Catholic Priest. Pastor, sipi Parish, archdiocese of Tororo.
• 1985 pastoral exposure, Budadiri Parish
• 1983-1984 Diploma in theology, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda
• 1982-1984 diploma in philosophical and religious studies, Katigondo National Major Seminary.
• 1980, 1981 East African Advanced certificate of Education, Physics, chemistry, math, St Mary’s college Kisubi, Kampala
• 1976-1979 East African Ordinary certificate of Education, St Pius X Seminary, Nagongera, Tororo, Uganda.
• 1974,1975 Primary 6, primary 7 Kisoko Boarding school, Tororo
• 1971-1973 Primary 3, 4, 5 Rock view school, Tororo.
• 1969,1970 Primary 1,2 Elgon view school, Tororo
• 1968 Elgon view Nursery school, Tororo

How did you first hear about Changemakers?

Through another organization or company

If through another, please provide the name of the organization or company

Ashoka Global association of Social entrepreneurs (Ashoka)

PUBCON

Created on 08/16/2009 by snezana

Producing Green book on Community Mental health. Organizing Public consultations on Communiry Mental Health in Macedonia. Draft the strategy and proposals to the Government.

About You

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Section 1: About You

First Name

Snezana

Last Name

Chichevalieva

Website URL

Country

Macedonia

Section 2: About Your Organization

Organization Name

Organization Website

Organization Phone

Organization Address

Organization Country

n/a

Is your organization a

Non‐profit/NGO/citizen sector organization

Your idea

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Name Your Project

PUBCON

Country your work focuses on

Macedonia

Describe Your Idea

Producing Green book on Community Mental health. Organizing Public consultations on Communiry Mental Health in Macedonia. Draft the strategy and proposals to the Government.

Innovation

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What makes your idea unique?

tHERE WAs never held public consultation on mental health in the country. The Government has wrong perspective of public opinion on the issue and does not implement the right strategy approach in developing community mental health

Do you have a patent for this idea?

Yes

Impact

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This Entry is about (Issues)

What impact have you had?

So far the community mental health is not developing at all, resulting in outburst of problems of people with mental health.

Problem

The Government is not paying attention to the rising problems in mental health. It never has organized public consultation to screen the needs and situation in the area and to see what the population things about the scope of the problem, main issues and main resolutions to the problems. This has resulted in increasing of the number of people with mental illness and their families having problems (societal, economic,health, discrimination, e.t.c)

Actions

1. To draft a Green book on community mental health
2. To organize public consultations ( on line, public debates, interviews, e.t.c.)
3. To draft White book on community mental health
4. To propose strategy and legal changes to advance the situation.

Results

1. Upgrading democratic process in the country
2. Advancing human rights of the vulnerable population
4. Advancing the health of people, especially children and women
5.Decrease the cost of treatment of the mentally ill people (health savings)
6.Increasing information to the public
5. Orienting action towards expressed needs of the voulnerable population

What will it take for your project to be successful over the next three years? Please address each year separately, if possible.

2009: Setting up the seen:Built a full scale project,Train NGO to organize public consultations
2010:Draft a Green paper (book) on community mental health (situational analyzes), organioze and implement public consultations
2011: Draft a White paper (book) with opinions and reccomendations for further action, draft legislation/strategies that have to be amended, table drafts to the Government and make it public (publishing, web sites...)

What would prevent your project from being a success?

Not enough resources.

How many people will your project serve annually?

More than 10,000

What is the average monthly household income in your target community, in US Dollars?

$1000 - 4000

Does your project seek to have an impact on public policy?

Yes

Sustainability

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What stage is your project in?

Idea phase

In what country?

Macedonia

Is your initiative connected to an established organization?

Yes

If yes, provide organization name.

NGO VERITAS&VIRTUS Anti Violence Aliance

How long has this organization been operating?

1‐5 years

Does your organization have a Board of Directors or an Advisory Board?

Yes

Does your organization have any non-monetary partnerships with NGOs?

Does your organization have any non-monetary partnerships with businesses?

Does your organization have any non-monetary partnerships with government?

Please tell us more about how these partnerships are critical to the success of your innovation.

Partnership with the NGOs is crution for broad coverage of the population in Macedonia. Partnership with the Government provides for unlimited approach to the information regaRDING THE SITUATION, AS WELL A POLITICAL SUPPORT to realize the projects and propose advancements in the area.

What are the three most important actions needed to grow your initiative or organization?

1. Advancing human capital in mental health
2. Resource mobilizing
3. Advancing strong synergies among the stakeholders.

The Story

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What was the defining moment that led you to this innovation?

The defining moment was a few people escapes from the mental health hospitals which proved that they can not take appropriate care of these patients, and their families, crying for help, since they were not helped to care for their relatives in the community (safer) settings).

Tell us about the social innovator behind this idea.

I am working as a lawyer for more than 20 years now in the area of health and social issues. I was one of the founders of the mental health reform in Macedonia. I have drafted and proposed to the Government the Law on mental health , which was adopted, but never implemented. I also wrote a book on mental health reform, aiming to raise awareness of the preventive role of law in mental health and to advance community mental health.

How did you first hear about Changemakers?

Web Search (e.g., Google or Yahoo)

If through another, please provide the name of the organization or company

Keeping persons with mental illness at work by strengthening mind/body/spirit connections

Created on 08/13/2009 by dgioia

The introduction of mindfulness-based practices into a social enterprise business which employs persons with serious mental illness in order to increase job tenure which has been shown to be a difficult feat for most individuals with these diagnoses.

About You

Organization: Harbor City Services Visit websitemore ↓↑ hide↑ hide

Section 1: About You

First Name

Debbie

Last Name

Gioia

Website URL

Country

United States

Section 2: About Your Organization

Organization Name

Harbor City Services

Organization Website

Organization Phone

410 737 6701

Organization Address

110 Alco Place Baltimore, MD 21227

Organization Country

United States

Is your organization a

Non‐profit/NGO/citizen sector organization

Your idea

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Name Your Project

Keeping persons with mental illness at work by strengthening mind/body/spirit connections

Country your work focuses on

United States

Describe Your Idea

The introduction of mindfulness-based practices into a social enterprise business which employs persons with serious mental illness in order to increase job tenure which has been shown to be a difficult feat for most individuals with these diagnoses.

Innovation

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What makes your idea unique?

Harbor City Services (HCS) operates as a social enterprise -- it is a for-profit business with a social mission. They have operated successfully since 1987. Partnering with a social work researcher allows best-evidence practices to come into community settings in a timely manner since we know that many interventions, such as the one proposed, get to the people that need them most in an extremely delayed manner. This project would have immediate impact on the current and future employees of HCS and contribute to many positive social outcomes.

Do you have a patent for this idea?

Impact

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What impact have you had?

I have worked clinically in the field of severe mental illness. I care deeply for the restoration of functioning of each individual who has had their lives disrupted by the onset of these illnesses. When someone breaks their leg -- their ability to walk is restored through physical rehabilitation practices. When someone has a mental disorder which is less visible, we want them to be able to partake of evidence-based practices which restore functioning. As part of psychosocial recovery we need to continue to adapt practices which are offered to other populations (i.e. mindfulness) and make them available to populations (persons with serious mental illness) who might not have access.
My dissertation was on the meaning of work for young adults with schizophrenia and I have published extensively in this and related areas. I have national visibility and present at conferences and trainings. I also participated in a project around nutrition and wellness in a community mental health center in Baltimore. This met a need reported by the members of the mental health center and the information was very well recieved and utilized by the persons that attended the nutrition and exercise groups. I did a mindful eating exercise with one group and people really loved it.

Problem

The primary problem is that persons with severe mental illness do not have good job tenure (longevity). By adding mindfulness practices to the workplace -- longevity will increase.

Actions

John Herron wants to see this organization survive and thrive in order to help more individuals with severe mental illness have the opportunity to work competitively. Mr. Herron will soon reach retirement age and succession is an issue for Harbor City Services. He has partnered with the University of Maryland, School of Social Work, in order to bring visibility to HCS and to begin to plan for the sustainability of this organization. The project is relatively low cost to run and Mr. Herron has offered to make any of his business statistics and materials available to me in order to be able to talk about the results is a comprehensive manner.

Results

I expect that as the mindfulness practices are taught and used at HCS that they will be easily sustained by the employees and the agency. My hope is the pauses during the day will become as routinized as the morning wake. I feel that employees will feel supported, attended to and respected by these interventions.

What will it take for your project to be successful over the next three years? Please address each year separately, if possible.

Since there are basic and advanced mindfulness practices -- in year one we would focus on the incorporating the breathing breaks in to the work day. We would provide lunchtime education about the effect of this practice on one's body, mind and spirit. We will obtain narrative interviews from the individuals about their participation and their version of success.
In year two we will work on creating a dedicated space for mindful practices and bring in some experts to help with more advanced practices (e.g. yoga) that could further help the employees. In a warehouse there are few spaces that will serve this purpose but I feel that with the creativity of the CEO, administrative staff and employees that we will accomplish this task. In year three I would hope that we would be training the trainers and deciding how a new employee begins to understand the benefits of these practices. We will also have to trouble-shoot when things don't go well and try to keep the mindfulness practices going.

What would prevent your project from being a success?

With employee turnover or lack of sustained interest or leadership, we could see this project fail. Behaviorally, the incentive would be seeing less stress in one's life and less need to call in sick to work but we also might need other visual incentives -- certificates, use of videos, etc.
If Mr. Herron steps down we would hope that the new leadership would also embrace these practices even though employees are "on the clock" when they do them.

How many people will your project serve annually?

Fewer than 100

What is the average monthly household income in your target community, in US Dollars?

$100 ‐ 1000

Does your project seek to have an impact on public policy?

Sustainability

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What stage is your project in?

Idea phase

In what country?

United States

Is your initiative connected to an established organization?

Yes

If yes, provide organization name.

Harbor City Services

How long has this organization been operating?

More than 5 years

Does your organization have a Board of Directors or an Advisory Board?

Yes

Does your organization have any non-monetary partnerships with NGOs?

No

Does your organization have any non-monetary partnerships with businesses?

No

Does your organization have any non-monetary partnerships with government?

No

Please tell us more about how these partnerships are critical to the success of your innovation.

N/A

What are the three most important actions needed to grow your initiative or organization?

1) Leadership and knowledge transfer from Debbie Gioia, PhD who has had training in these practices from Center for Mind Body Medicine in DC and Contemplative Mind in Society to the staff and employees of HCS
2) Buy-in from the employees for this extension of their morning wake to other points in the day
3) Recognition from the social work and mental health scholarly community about the importance of a mindfulness initiative in the community that benefits job tenure for persons with serious mental illness

The Story

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What was the defining moment that led you to this innovation?

I have been personally changed by employing mindfulness techniques in the past 10 years. I suffered from anxiety and depression that sometimes caused me to be less effective in my work and personal life. I have read alot of mindfulness texts and articles and I teach this in my mental health practice class at the Universities of Maryland and Michigan. I was involved in a faculty scholars program at University of Michigan which exposed us to integrative medicine methods. In conversations with mentors they have suggested that it will take someone with lots of clinical mental health practitioner experience to develop these intereventions for use in the community.

Tell us about the social innovator behind this idea.

The main social innovator and developer of mindfulness practice initially for pain relief and then for other disorders is:
1)Jon Kabat Zinn, Professor of Medicine Emiritus at UMass, Amherst.
He has written two bestselling books: Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness (Delta, 1991), and Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life (Hyperion, 1994). He co-authored with Myla Kabat-Zinn Everyday Blessings: The Inner Work of Mindful Parenting, (Hyperion, 1997). Other books include Coming to Our Senses (Hyperion, 2005) and his most recent book The Mindful Way Through Depression: Freeing Yourself from Chronic Unhappiness, co-authored with J. Mark G. Williams, John D. Teasdale and Zindel V. Segal (Guilford, 2007).

How did you first hear about Changemakers?

Personal contact at Changemakers

If through another, please provide the name of the organization or company

Johns Hopkins School of Nursing

Volunteers In Psychotherapy

Created on 08/7/2009 by VolunteersInPsychotherapy

Volunteers in Psychotherapy (VIP) makes strictly private therapy available to anyone, regardless of their ability to pay or possession of health insurance. People earn their therapy in exchange for documented volunteer work they donate elsewhere, independently and privately, for the nonprofit, charitable or government agency of their choice.

About You

Organization: Volunteers in Psychotherapy Visit websitemore ↓↑ hide↑ hide

Section 1: About You

First Name

Richard

Last Name

Shulman

Website URL

Country

United States

Section 2: About Your Organization

Organization Name

Volunteers in Psychotherapy

Organization Website

Organization Phone

(860) 233-5115

Organization Address

7 S. Main St., West Hartford, CT 06107

Organization Country

United States

Is your organization a

Non‐profit/NGO/citizen sector organization

Your idea

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Name Your Project

Volunteers In Psychotherapy

Country your work focuses on

United States

Describe Your Idea

Volunteers in Psychotherapy (VIP) makes strictly private therapy available to anyone, regardless of their ability to pay or possession of health insurance. People earn their therapy in exchange for documented volunteer work they donate elsewhere, independently and privately, for the nonprofit, charitable or government agency of their choice.

Innovation

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What makes your idea unique?

VIP is increasingly recognized as an ethical, innovative alternative to the problems of managed care and public clinics (managed care and public clinics save money by limiting access to therapy; insurers require therapist reports which undermine privacy, and documentation of psychiatric services may go to employers). Since everyone sacrifices and contributes to the common good through VIP, we are able to function as an independent nonprofit. We provide strictly private therapy outside of the problematic lack of privacy and external control of managed care (and its profit motive toward strict rationing of therapy) or the similar budget-induced curtailment of therapy in public institutions. Those institutions often provide treatment from a primarily medical model. Many psychotherapy clients are seeking a private and trustworthy haven for discussion of powerful secrets in their personal and family lives, which are the source of their distress, confusion and sometimes self-destructive patterns of living. Many local people come to VIP for assistance, since they know we won't pressure them to take medication as the primary form of help. Where institutional psychiatric treatment can at times be coercive, we sign contracts with VIP clients that put them in the driver’s seat. As consumers (volunteering to earn their sessions), they know that they maintain their autonomy, but can consult their therapist at whatever rate suits their circumstances, to make sense of difficulties in their lives. This also fosters a sense of trust and responsibility, with clear boundaries and maintenance of civil liberties.

Do you have a patent for this idea?

Impact

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What impact have you had?

380 individuals and families have earned over 3200 VIP therapy sessions. Local charitable and government agencies (hospices, schools, hospitals, soup kitchens, volunteer ambulance or fire corps) received 13,000 hours of volunteer work. This provision of a truly private haven for therapy, which our clients earn through community volunteering, is our primary mission. People with severely traumatic personal circumstances, who have been sexually abused as children, grew up in violent or substance abusing homes, people undergoing wrenching divorces, or who have fallen into destructive patterns with their children – now have a private place to rethink and resolve entrenched difficulties.

A Doctoral Dissertation study of volunteers from among VIP clients documented their high valuation of therapy services they’ve received, and the volunteering they did in exchange. Our clients’ willingness to keep doing substantial volunteer work (4 hours/therapy session) demonstrates evidence in their actions that speaks louder than what they might arbitrarily write in an evaluation.

We’d now like to catalyze a greater impact by exporting adaptations of VIP’s approach. Nationally, over 80 therapists, agencies or psychological associations have contacted us about borrowing from our model. We’ve done that number of consultations with each, pro bono, by phone. We're now signing a contract with the Lehigh Valley Psychological and Counseling Association [LVPCA], to give a "kick-off" continuing education presentation about VIP, and then to help them develop their own VIP-like service through ongoing consultation during the coming year. We've developed a listserv to assist these adaptations of VIP in other regions.

Problem

Millions of people have no access to therapy, are unable to pay for it, or have insurance which limits access to therapy or undermines privacy and client control. Psychotherapy has been curtailed and greatly rationed. Managed care companies have profited by supplying much less therapy to policy holders – often declaring it “not medically necessary.” In the decade leading to 1998, insurance-based mental health funding decreased by 54% (Hay Group, 1998). Access to psychotherapy was particularly severely cut; which trend has only grown. People with pronounced personal problems are less likely to be referred for therapy or to have access to it.

Privacy is undermined: Therapists are often required to send reports detailing clients’ personal lives to insurers. Employers may receive documentation of employees’ therapy involvement. People are justifiably reluctant to enter therapy, or to honestly explore embarrassing aspects of their lives with compromised privacy [Supreme Court: Jaffee v. Redmond].

Actions

Through the American Psychological Association, National Psychologist and in multiple places on the internet, VIP has published offers to assist other communities develop adaptations of our program. We've been featured in articles, interviews and other publicity in the New York Times, Psychology Today, NPR and in multiple professional media. We've sought regional and national funding to underwrite the export/adaptation of VIP's charitable service. We've already done initial, one-time consultations with over 80 therapists in different regions on a pro-bono basis.

Results

The initiative to export VIP is primarily aimed at helping others provide a similarly powerfully confidential and helpful therapy program in their region. We also see this effort as a way to develop a revenue stream to strengthen our local charitable service, much like the Community Wealth Ventures initiatives encouraged by Share Our Strength. Incipient community groups would also be required to contribute some matching funds toward the consultation they would receive from VIP. We would bill at a rate of $50/hr for our ongoing consultation as other community groups construct their organizations, and could help with "kick-off" events which describe the viability of the VIP model to local stakeholders -- as we've previously done with one community group (pro bono) already. (We've also given invited presentations to groups of therapists in Washington State, Boston, DC, NYC and a Midwestern medical school.)

What will it take for your project to be successful over the next three years? Please address each year separately, if possible.

A $5,000 grant would enable us to offer a competition to select at least 3-5 other incipient organizations who would receive a year's worth of consultation toward the implementation of their own charitable psychotherapy service. We envision each of them contributing $800-1000 toward the consultation (which they would be reimbursed through their own charitable fundraising as they attain nonprofit status), which sum would also evidence their own commitment toward construction of their particular organization, and would propel them toward their own fundraising. We are already contracting with the Lehigh Valley Psychological and Counseling Association, which has moderate resources which other communities might not have. We envision helping groups of therapists in each applying community to ally themselves with local stakeholders (therapists, academics, civil libertarian groups, privacy advocates, families who've reaped the success of constructive therapy in the past, ex-psychiatric patients, faith-based groups and org's with an interest in such a hard-working, community-building program, etc.) as well as local resources (nonprofit technical assistance programs, community foundations, United Ways, academic assistance through Business and Social Work departments, legal and accounting pro-bono programs) in order to construct their own Boards of Directors and organizations. We would guide them through this process, and would offer to help them publicize their local initiatives to garner resources. We would also help in construction of local "kick-off" events, documenting the viability of such a program through a presentation about VIP's model and their potential adaptation of it.

The first year might entail publicizing this competition and encouraging applications, followed immediately by selection of regional programs which would receive matching funds (and contribute their own), to begin consultation and catalyzing their inertia forward, based on their own resources and particular chosen adaptation of this service. These milestones should be easily accomplished in 1-2 years, with incipient programs functioning by the 3rd year.

What would prevent your project from being a success?

Of the 80+ therapists in other communities with whom we’ve consulted pro-bono, the major reason for not progressing is their own lack of local allies, resources and money in the effort to develop their own programs. Funding and publicity from this competition (Ashoka/RWJF) could help us to catalyze such regional initiatives -- giving them incentive to make alliances in order to receive matching funds that will help them to move forward. Their own subsequent (required ) contribution of seed money will further commit them to bringing their programs to fruition, with our consultative help.

Our existing initiative with the Lehigh Valley group (LVPCA) should further demonstrate the viability of such development.

We’ve succeeded despite many obstacles in the 10 years of VIP’s functioning. We started with no particular access to funding, but aided only by the enthusiasm of our Board (primarily psychologists, assisted by nonprofit specialists), their energy and persistence. The economic downturn may be difficult, but we’ve overcome such problems in the past.

We’ve been frugal in designing VIP. The volunteer contributions of our clients to local charities have been matched by the sacrifices of our board and therapists. The latter agree to receive less than half the average local fees (VIP pays $55 per session, up from $45 after 8 years). Our Board and director donated all administrative work, office space and local phone for 10 years, though now we’ve begun paying the Director an administrative salary of $9,000 yearly.

The ultimate reward has been the spirit of fair exchange that VIP engenders as everyone contributes to the common good in an efficient and hardworking charitable endeavor. Even more so, VIP preserves a haven where powerful and intensely personal concerns can be discussed and resolved – because of the privacy we provide, and the sense of mutual commitment that derives from the work and sacrifice of all involved.

How many people will your project serve annually?

101‐1000

What is the average monthly household income in your target community, in US Dollars?

Don't know

Does your project seek to have an impact on public policy?

Yes

Sustainability

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What stage is your project in?

Operating for more than 5 years

In what country?

United States

Is your initiative connected to an established organization?

Yes

If yes, provide organization name.

Volunteers In Psychotherapy

How long has this organization been operating?

More than 5 years

Does your organization have a Board of Directors or an Advisory Board?

Yes

Does your organization have any non-monetary partnerships with NGOs?

No

Does your organization have any non-monetary partnerships with businesses?

No

Does your organization have any non-monetary partnerships with government?

No

Please tell us more about how these partnerships are critical to the success of your innovation.

We don't have formal "partnerships" with nonprofits, but we’ve consulted with nonprofit legal and accounting assistance programs, have received training through several area foundations and technical assistance programs (fundraising, grant-writing, communications, publicity, etc.). We’ve cultivated connections with volunteer programs (hospitals, universities) to make VIP visible. We’ve developed ad-hoc alliances and initiatives with academic departments locally, producing lecture or film events to make VIP visible at minimal cost, and to build the legitimacy of our unique approach. We’ve also gained Board members from these academic alliances. We've also built connections with groups of ex-patients which have raised VIP's visibility as an ethical, non-coercive program.

Similarly, we’ve developed relationships that have brought us “in-kind” donations of fine stationery (from Southworth paper company on 4 occasions) to construct our own newsletters and brochures; donations of refurbished computers from corporations and the United Way, as well as paper-cutting and printing services – all in the effort to minimize overhead.

What are the three most important actions needed to grow your initiative or organization?

We’ve been successful in securing 69 grants from 30 (mostly local family) foundations, in order to offer our local charitable service for ten (10) years now. But we’ve not yet been able to develop regional or national funding in order to export VIP to the 80+ therapists who’ve contacted us in other locales. We already have a wonderfully functioning program locally. We have an ethic of frugality, minimal overhead and shared work from both VIP as an organization and from our clients. We have the respect of professional psychotherapists, of ex-psychiatric patients who are justifiably critical of the sometimes coercive and inhumane institutional treatment they experienced, and of our many other VIP clients (as documented in a confidential survey of volunteers from among VIP clients, done as part of Clinical Psychologist, Dr. Robert Hubbell’s Doctoral Dissertation). We’ve been honored as recipients of the 2003 award of the American Institute of Medical Education and the 2000 Award for Distinguished Psychological Contribution in the Public Interest of the Connecticut Psychological Association. We primarily need:

1) modest funding, such as this Ashoka/RWJF grant, which would help catalyze groups in other regions to take advantage of the competition for matching funds that we would immediately run, in order to gain access to our ongoing consultation. 2) Secondly, the visibility that our receipt of this Ashoka/RWJF award would bring would elicit interest from other therapists and communities who hadn’t previously heard of VIP’s approach. Some would be interested in bringing a VIP-like organization to their own communities -- and others would want to help us to do our work. 3) Third, receipt of such a heightened honor will undoubtedly bring other resources regionally and nationally, such as more publicity, offers of assistance, constructive suggestions and other resources, etc.

The Story

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What was the defining moment that led you to this innovation?

I had been working for roughly 10 years as a licensed clinical psychologist in a downtown Hartford psychiatric clinic (part of Hartford Hospital - Institute of Living) that primarily saw poor, uninsured people, many of whom originally came to us first through the emergency room, or had been referred from the local state psychiatric hospital.

Increasingly, people who sought psychotherapy were instead diverted into medication groups, or short term "educational groups" on a particular topic. This was a cost-saving measure, while also deriving from the increasingly biological perspective on "psychiatric disorders" of the heads of the psychiatric services. Almost every clinic patient was prescribed medication, no matter what their original preference.

By coincidence, two young women came to my clinic for separate "intake" interviews with me -- both within the same summer of 1995. Each of them individually confided to me that they had been sexually abused as a child, and that they thought that they were still greatly troubled and led their lives in self-destructive ways because of their pasts.

However, given the "managed care" procedures that had been instituted, both of them were blocked from the individual psychotherapy that they had been seeking. The insurer who would have underwritten their sessions both times indicated that they would not pay for such "open ended" explorations -- but instead, they would be happy to pay for these women to enter medication groups, or to take part in a time-limited psycho-educational group.

Research has documented the alarming frequency of child sexual abuse. Psychotherapists frequently learn, in the course of their work, that sexual or physical abuse, growing up in a home where a parent was frequently drunk or violent, or other upsetting, confusing of shame-producing secrets from someone's past can often be the root of problems which linger in that person's life.

Trustworthy and strictly private discussions about such sensitive topics, with an experienced, well-trained third party (psychotherapy), can be a powerful method of exploring and helping to resolve such problems.

The fact that third party insurance reimbursed psychotherapy has become increasingly inaccessible, and much less private, doesn't have to block people of modest means from access to therapy.

I constructed VIP together with two colleagues (clinical psychologists) whom I’d known for years. We had often shared major criticisms of the different hospital and clinic programs we’d worked in, which often made the requirements of psychotherapy (particularly privacy, voluntary participation and exchange or payment for services received) secondary to their own institutional needs.

We specifically designed VIP's "payment system" of volunteer work in exchange for psychotherapy for a number of reasons: it makes clear that the psychotherapy is voluntary, and is a fair-trade system in which someone is choosing to earn the help they are getting in exchange for help they give to others. It implicitly says to all VIP clients that they have something of value to offer to others. This is not a “hand out,” but instead is part of an exchange system in which everyone is sacrificing a bit and contributing to the common good (clients, therapists and VIP administrators). VIP clients feel they have earned their psychotherapy services through their own work. The volunteer work brings a sense of accomplishment, meaningful work, contribution to a good cause, and social interaction and community teamwork to VIP clients.

Tell us about the social innovator behind this idea.

I’m Rich Shulman, a licensed clinical psychologist. I left my position at a local downtown hospital psychiatric clinic to found VIP after years of work there and in other adult and children’s psychiatric clinics.

After college, when I was deciding what graduate work to do, I left the US for the first time, working as a volunteer in a school for troubled kids in England, through “Community Service Volunteers.” For the two summers on either side of that experience I worked with troubled kids in the states in a summer camp program run by a social worker. I had planned to study Sociology in Graduate School at the University of Michigan, where I had been given a Rackham First Year Fellowship, but I transferred after one year to study Clinical Psychology, largely because of my volunteer work experience after college.

My family background was not academic or white collar. My father worked with small farmers shipping potatoes and other produce, in a small business now run by my sister. His father had worked in produce markets and my other grandfather was a tailor. They and my grandmothers, who worked with them in those small family businesses, had all come to America to avoid the persecution that lost them their families who’d stayed behind in Europe. There’s an old joke: What’s the difference between a psychoanalyst and a tailor? Two generations.

I like my work because you have meaningful conversations with people about secret concerns they have difficulty articulating and understanding -- private matters they wouldn’t discuss anywhere else. If trust, patience and good communication develops, you often end up discussing very real traumas and secrets they wouldn’t divulge in any other setting – secrets that drive people to drink and self-destruction, or to problems with their families or jobs.

VIP has allowed me and other therapists to do this good, meaningful work. We’d like your support so that we can help others who are already motivated to do similar work in their own communities.

How did you first hear about Changemakers?

Email from Changemakers

If through another, please provide the name of the organization or company

Yuting Lien (whom I didn't know) e-mailed me about this competition.

Social Responsibility: The Key to Wellbeing

Created on 08/2/2009 by relationalcenter

We want mental health care to address the problems that face whole communities through social action.  Thinking about mental health in terms of community wellness supports the underserved to advocate for better conditions, greater access to resources and care, and more influence in policy decision-making.

About You

Organization: The Relational Center Visit websitemore ↓↑ hide↑ hide

Section 1: About You

First Name

Mark

Last Name

Fairfield

Website URL

Country

United States

Section 2: About Your Organization

Organization Name

The Relational Center

Organization Website

Organization Phone

(323) 935-1807

Organization Address

5486 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90036

Organization Country

United States

Is your organization a

Non‐profit/NGO/citizen sector organization

Your idea

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Name Your Project

Social Responsibility: The Key to Wellbeing

Country your work focuses on

United States

Describe Your Idea

We want mental health care to address the problems that face whole communities through social action.  Thinking about mental health in terms of community wellness supports the underserved to advocate for better conditions, greater access to resources and care, and more influence in policy decision-making.

Innovation

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What makes your idea unique?

We consider mental health to be a function of how beneficial the relationships are between individuals and their environments. We define mental health care as a set of strategies to address the quality of fit among the multiple relationships that make up a person’s whole life space. Because we believe that what actually contributes to and sustains emotional challenges is systemic, we will not focus on changing behaviors. We believe that people behave in ways that reflect the quality of the relationships in their lives. Problematic behavior points to problematic relationships in the broader context. Extinguishing disturbing behavior without addressing the systemic problems they highlight puts the burden of responsibility solely on individuals. This only compounds emotional suffering.
We do not offer a medical model of care. Medicine is practiced to cure illnesses. While it is true that many problems that compromise mental health are due to organic or biological imbalances, the human suffering that accompanies those imbalances is not adequately addressed when treated as a sickness or a symptom. We believe in the power of medicine to support overall general health. But we do not believe that medicine alone will achieve health. We believe that health is a function of quality of contact. So our care services are aimed at supporting our participants to retrieve or create improved contact in the relationships most critical to their well-being.

Do you have a patent for this idea?

No

Impact

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This Entry is about (Issues)

What impact have you had?

The results of our 2008 consumer satisfaction survey yielded very positive results. Of the participants responding to the survey questions (25% of surveys administered in both English and Spanish), 33% agreed their experience at The Relational Center was very positive, while 58% strongly agreed. The majority of respondents were minorities (58%). The responses to the surveys included questions pertaining to how timely participants were contacted in response to their requests for service, how culturally sensitive their counselors were, the quality of listening their counselors demonstrated, how aware their counselors were of their needs, how much counselors encouraged them to take an active role in their care, and how well counselors addressed their main concerns. Additionally, the survey addressed issues related to how open counselors were to receiving feedback, how caring and transparent counselors appeared, and whether problems improved significantly within the time they had been working with their counselors. Across all of these domains, the average scores indicated a response midway between agreement and strong agreement. This provides a basis for concluding that the services at The Relational Center are very likely to successfully impact our participants in the way we have intended.

We conducted a similar survey among our trainees, requesting feedback about how effective the training has been in fostering higher levels of cultural competence, clinical skill and increased capacity to think in more complex ways about culture, class and context. We also asked trainees to comment on the quality of their experiences with trainers and supervisors. Again, across the board, the responses indicated a high probability that trainees are receiving the quality of training that we have intended to offer at The Relational Center.

Problem

The problem we are addressing is the lack of attention to systemic, cultural and environmental contextual conditions in the course of designing programs and services for underserved groups. In the area of mental health, interventions tend to be overly focused on individual issues. The result is a care plan that ignores community-wide challenges that, if unchanged, will continue to maintain individual human suffering. A medical model of mental health care--the standard model in our country--will always run the risk of distracting us from the more pressing contextual problems and challenges we must address.

Actions

In addition to individual counseling, The Relational Center offers a Community Action Group model for developing strategies that address the systemic problems leading to human suffering. By providing opportunities for our participants to collaborate with others with shared concerns, we are changing the conditions we believe are sustaining agony and suffering in underserved groups--disaffection, alienation, isolation, disempowerment, oppression. Creating opportunities for individuals to participate in community action is our approach to developing a culture of belonging, social responsibility, political activism and mutual care.

Results

The result of this model is a continuum of relatedness, a communal context in which a very diverse range of participants with a variety of challenges and disabilities can connect, get support, work together, develop projects, exercise their voices, make a difference in their worlds. As outlined above, our consumer satisfaction and trainee self-assessment results were very positive. While they do not guarantee that we are always hitting our targets, they do show a trend that we are heading in the right direction. Meanwhile, we will continue to encourage honest feedback, criticism and suggestions from our care services participants and our clinical trainees and organizational apprentices about how we can revise and refine the systems and processes on which we rely to carry out our mission.

What will it take for your project to be successful over the next three years? Please address each year separately, if possible.

The Relational Center is headed in the right direction. We are about 75% self-sustaining through program generated revenues and rely for about 25% of our budget on development funds. We do NOT accept government funding or health insurance reimbursements because we believe depending on these funding streams ultimately disempowers are participants and leaves us vulnerable to catastrophic economic changes (leading to contracts being pulled or policies reshaping the eligibility criteria for receiving further funding). What we need to be successful over the next 3 years is the capacity to preserve this funding philosophy--a culture of self-sustaining development. So far, we have seen that his is possible.

What would prevent your project from being a success?

What would prevent this project from success is the failure of our organization to sustain itself. Barriers to fund development and board development stand as threats to the successful implementation of our programs and services. Nevertheless, these are the very areas of vulnerability we are most focused on addressing over the next 3 years.

How many people will your project serve annually?

101‐1000

What is the average monthly household income in your target community, in US Dollars?

$100 ‐ 1000

Does your project seek to have an impact on public policy?

Yes

Sustainability

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What stage is your project in?

Operating for 1‐5 years

In what country?

United States

Is your initiative connected to an established organization?

Yes

If yes, provide organization name.

The Relational Center

How long has this organization been operating?

1‐5 years

Does your organization have a Board of Directors or an Advisory Board?

Yes

Does your organization have any non-monetary partnerships with NGOs?

Does your organization have any non-monetary partnerships with businesses?

Does your organization have any non-monetary partnerships with government?

Please tell us more about how these partnerships are critical to the success of your innovation.

The Relational Center has Memoranda of Understanding with three critically important community partners: 1) El Rescate; 2) Antioch University Los Angeles; and 3) University of Southern California. In every case, the agreements we have developed with our partners leverage their resources and wide support bases to contribute more to the communities we serve. In particular, our commitment to diversifying the mental health workforce and influencing care models to strive toward more community-driven, relational principles could not be achieved as widely and successfully as it now can as a result of collaborative projects with our partners. Sharing resources and building on synergy are resources just as important to our well being as our developed funds.

What are the three most important actions needed to grow your initiative or organization?

1) Identification of at least 3 well-connected candidates (with ties to high net worth individuals/corporations) appropriate for membership on our board of directors; 2) One or two sizable multi-year foundation grants for core operating support; and 3) Continued success with program implementation, development of community partnerships and solid evaluation outcome data.

The Story

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What was the defining moment that led you to this innovation?

The defining moment for me was when I realized that we are not slaves to the status quo. When we work together--as a community--it doesn't matter how much money we have or who will give us permission to try something new or different. What matters is that we are creative, that we have potential, that we can think outside the box. While it was daunting to imagine starting an organization with our professed mission, with no financial support to speak of and very little foundation other than the passion and dedication of a small group of people, I could see it. I could see the vision of something happening in spite of a lack of resources. I could see how reusable human energy could compensate for a lack of money.

Tell us about the social innovator behind this idea.

Mark Fairfield, LCSW, BCD, (Board Certified Diplomate in Clinical Social Work), holds an MS in Social Work from Columbia University and has completed four years of post-graduate clinical training leading to certification in Relational Gestalt Therapy. He has served as a faculty member at the Pacific Gestalt Institute, Clinical Director for Common Ground in Santa Monica, and is currently the Executive Director for The Relational Center. Mark’s private practice is in two locations, one on the West side and the other in the Miracle Mile area. Mark has trained and presented internationally and has published in journals and books primarily on the subject of groups, dialogue, harm minimization and deconstructing individualism.

How did you first hear about Changemakers?

Web Search (e.g., Google or Yahoo)

If through another, please provide the name of the organization or company

Wombtwin Survivors

Created on 07/31/2009 by Wombtwin

It is now clear to us that the loss of a twin before birth leaves a profound psychological effect on the surviving twin – the wombtwin survivor.  Few people realise that many intractable psychological problems and personality disorders may be related to the loss of a twin before birth.

About You

Organization: Wombtwin.com Ltd Visit websitemore ↓↑ hide↑ hide

Section 1: About You

First Name

Althea

Last Name

Hayton

Website URL

Country

United Kingdom

Section 2: About Your Organization

Organization Name

Wombtwin.com Ltd

Organization Website

Organization Phone

+44 (0) 1727761719

Organization Address

PO Box 396 St Albans Hertfordshire England AL3 6NE

Organization Country

United Kingdom

Is your organization a

Non‐profit/NGO/citizen sector organization

Your idea

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Name Your Project

Wombtwin Survivors

Country your work focuses on

United Kingdom

Describe Your Idea

It is now clear to us that the loss of a twin before birth leaves a profound psychological effect on the surviving twin – the wombtwin survivor.  Few people realise that many intractable psychological problems and personality disorders may be related to the loss of a twin before birth.

Innovation

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What makes your idea unique?

The psychological effect on the survivor of the loss of a co-twin before birth is a largely unexplored area of psychology and we have been exploring it since 2002. As far as we are aware, we are the first organisation in the world to work exclusively with wombtwin survivors. We have created a healing path for wombtwin survivors, in the form of 30 steps, published as an e-book, which has already proven helpful to sole surviving fraternal twins as a self-help scheme. We are working on another related scheme for sole surviving identical twins and a third for sole surviving multiples (triplets and more.) We are also planning a training course for therapists of all kinds in how to offer specific therapeutic interventions to wombtwin survivors. We have piloted several of these workshops with therapists and wombtwin survivors and with their help we are developing specialised psychodrama exercises. Some of our work overlaps with other various pre- and perinatal therapies but we focus solely on the loss of a twin during pregnancy or around birth, which makes us different. We have three published articles in professional journals so far and two publications, with three more books to come over the next three years. Therapists are beginning to diagnose wombtwin survivors, but there is widespread ignorance about the best kind of therapeutic intervention for this group. We intend to fill that gap with training courses and workshop manuals.

Research has revealed that one in eight people is a wombtwin survivor. Most of these co-twins die in the first trimester and in many cases the mother has a normal pregnancy and delivery. Consequently there are many millions of unaware wombtwin survivors around the world experiencing symptoms of psychological distress, which are often diagnosed as “personality disorders” and invariably, do not respond to psychological help. We intend to mount a worldwide public awareness campaign to put an end to this misunderstanding.

Do you have a patent for this idea?

No

Impact

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This Entry is about (Issues)

What impact have you had?

Over 1000 people have contacted us by email asking for help, which has been provided free of charge. 500 wombtwin survivors have completed our questionnaire. Our two books are being read by wombtwin survivors around the world. 300 people receive Gemini Voices, our email newsletter, 20,000 people have visited our websites and blog. We now have some individuals whose lives have been blighted for a lifetime who are now free of their psychological problems. To date our impact has been small and local but we are very new and disadvantaged by widespread skepticism from some professionals. At an individual level however these ideas are transformational and are slowly gaining ground.

Problem

The primary problem is the large number of wombtwin survivors in the world - six hundred million- and a lack of resources and manpower to reach them. (On avereage, for every twin birth there are ten wombtwin survivors born, and as 1% of the brths on the world are twins, that means that 10% of the world population consists of wombtwin survivors, with the numbers varying between countries.) We need a massive campaign to increase public awareness, backed with excellent and well-researched information.

Actions

We now have a patron and a volunteer who is rebuilding the website. We hold our second open Space event and AGM in October 2009. We seize every opportunity to increase public awareness of this issue. We are receiving regular donations. We are planning to create sister organisations in USA, Belgium, Germany and Portugal with may more to come. A new book is being prepared with three more planned.

Results

We expect to have at least three sister organisations in place by the end of 2010. We will have increased traffic to our website to 100,000 hits. We will have a presence on as many social networking sites as we can find. The new book will be published and we hope reviewed widely. We will have piloted a therapists training weekend in the UK by the end of 2010.

What will it take for your project to be successful over the next three years? Please address each year separately, if possible.

2010

Money to publish new book of the Wombtwin project written by Althea. Book completed and published by June 2010.
Volunteer to revamp website and connect Wombtwin.com top as many social networking sites as possible - by Aprl 2010.
Money to pay for further analysis of 500 questionnaires. August 2010.
A volunteer Membership Secretary to increase membership.

Sister organisations created in Belgium., Portugal Ireland Germany. Money to help set them up.

Funds to create an illustrated book for young wombtwin survivors, also publication and marketing.

Venue needed for local healing groups to pilot long-term self help

2011

Funds to take Althea Hayton to the APPPAH conference in California, USA and set up West USA organisation.

Funds to take Althea across the USA to set up central and eastern USA organisations.

Funds for illustrated childrens book for Wombtwin survivors aged 9-13

Funds and financial support to Althea Hayton to write and publish The healing path paperback book.

2012

Funds and activity to get Althea onto the UK conference circuit.

Funds to create pilot training course for therapists.

Activity to seek accreditation from a local university for this course.

Funds and activity to create documentary film about wombtwin survivors.

make documentary

What would prevent your project from being a success?

A lack of manpower. At present we have few staff and need to expand, but the first step is to create the information. This depends heavily on Althea as the author of the books, so support for her is crucial. We need funds badly. A lack of funds wont stop us but will keep us very small.

How many people will your project serve annually?

1001‐10,000

What is the average monthly household income in your target community, in US Dollars?

Less than $50

Does your project seek to have an impact on public policy?

Yes

Sustainability

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What stage is your project in?

Operating for 1‐5 years

In what country?

United Kingdom

Is your initiative connected to an established organization?

Yes

If yes, provide organization name.

Wombtwin.com Ltd

How long has this organization been operating?

1‐5 years

Does your organization have a Board of Directors or an Advisory Board?

Yes

Does your organization have any non-monetary partnerships with NGOs?

Does your organization have any non-monetary partnerships with businesses?

Does your organization have any non-monetary partnerships with government?

Please tell us more about how these partnerships are critical to the success of your innovation.

We would wish to have a partnership with mental health organisations, but we are not yet in a position to offer them much.

What are the three most important actions needed to grow your initiative or organization?

1. To increase public awareness of the existence and psychological characteristics of wombtwin survivors
2. To make good quality information available worldwide
3. To establish local membership groups in as many places as possible.

The Story

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What was the defining moment that led you to this innovation?

I am a qualified counsellor and worked for seven years locally with clients of all kinds. A female client with MS was particularly resistant and difficult. I had discovered two years previously that I am a wombtwin survivor - my twin brother was miscarried - and I had discovered that this new knowledge set me on a pathway to healing and greatly improved well being. I realised that this client was also a wombtwin survivor and she was very receptive to this new idea. My supervisor was very critical and regarded the use of this idea as unprofessional. Convinced that I had something useful, I resigned and took a three year sabbatical to research this idea. In this time I was able to formulate an hypothesis that wombtwin survivors constantly re-enact the loss of their twin and this is the root of their psychological problems.

Tell us about the social innovator behind this idea.

I am the social innovator I suppose, but these ideas rest on the notion of prenatal psychology, a science that began with Otto Rank in 1924 and which has expanded enormously since ultrasound studies of un-born babies have become so common. It is now abundantly clear that our neural networks are created in embryonic life and the impression of experiences and events at that time remain as a cellular memory. Prenatal psychotherapy is in itself an innovation, but to consider that the survivors of a "vanishing twin" pregnancy experience some kind of psychological effect because their twin died is rarely mentioned in the literature. I have had to work alone on this for a long time but as a writer I can do that. I am now retired and have plenty of time and energy for the work ahead. I have created the organisation Wombtwin.com Ltd so that this work can be rooted in ways that do not depend on me. It is no longer a one-man show and the team is expanding slowly. An increasing number of healed wombtwin survivors are beginning to make their story known and are becoming evangelists themselves, much to my relief!

How did you first hear about Changemakers?

Through another organization or company

If through another, please provide the name of the organization or company

The Association of Pre- and Perinatal Psychology and Health

Hip Hop Loves Foundation

Created: 07/22/09 by Rene John-Sandy

Location

main
United States
37° 5' 24.864" N, 95° 42' 46.4076" W
See map: Google Maps

Hip Hop Loves Foundation mission is to educate underpriviledge people globally though Hip Hop's Positive and and Unfiying  attributes. That will be accomplished by using techology, workshhops and seminars and facilate an exchage outreach from the United States and abroad. Rio , Brazil is the first destination in November 2009.

Women Farmers as a Key to Rural Development

Created: 07/16/09 by andrea boston

A sisterhood of farmers in West Bengal, India has organized a movement giving women a rightful claim to the land. Women are among the most vulnerable communities affected by rural poverty, but with the help of SRREOSHI, this disadvantage is about to change.

Winning Solutions for Rural Poverty

Created: 07/14/09 by andrea boston

Congratulations to the winners of the Cultivating Innovation: Solutions for Rural Communities collaborative competition!

LEO - Low Earth Orbit - HPHP - Human Powered Helicopter Project

Created on 07/6/2009 by leo_hphp@yahoo.ca

LEO: an airborne cycle for personal, sport & public transportation. As bicyclings Wright Brothers are Changemakers of a generation, LEO is a record-setting, environmental, hovering inspiration born of da Vinci's sketches/memory & handed to us to enter Igor I. Sikorsky's competition: http://vtol.org/awards/hph.html

About You

Organization: LEO - Low Earth Orbit - An End to Poverty Visit websitemore ↓↑ hide↑ hide

Section 1: About You

First Name

a

Last Name

b

Website

Organization

LEO - Low Earth Orbit - An End to Poverty

Country

Canada

Section 2: About Your Organization

Organization Name

LEO - Low Earth Orbit - An End to Poverty

Organization Website

Organization Phone

5148452654

Organization Address

Montreal, Quebec

Organization Country

Canada

Your idea

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Are you a traveler or travel company?

Yes

Name Your Project

LEO - Low Earth Orbit - HPHP - Human Powered Helicopter Project

Country your work focuses on

n/a

What is the likely impact of your idea? (150 words max)

Earth impact: from bicycle enthusiasts to an airplane industry, from E=mc² to breakthroughs in science & technology in far less time & even less time from Burt Rutan, Richard Branson & Dr. Peter H. Diamandis to a thriving 'public' space industry & FROM ACROSS TIME, Leonardo's drawings flew into teamLEOnardo's hands, to inspire travel starved minds & bodies exhausted by imposing immigration rules, to ignite human awareness of our ability to reverse climate change. With help from our hp-friends, Greg @ http://www.pedaltheocean.com/ & Marcelo @ http://xof1.com/ LEO educates through imagination by turning history's wrongs into rights, by saying 'YES WE CAN' to a human-solar powered future. As “Earthlings”, we need to take transportation into our hands; as adults, we need to leave a legacy of following through with childhood inspirations/innovations &/or life-dreams! LEO, impacting HEARTS, MINDS & BODIES beyond age, gender &/or past failures in another’s hand is our…DREAM IMPACT!

Why is promoting global travel and engagement important? What makes your idea innovative? (200 words max)

Global (or further than yesterday) travel is the cornerstone upon which all nations (dreams) were built. Through thick & thin, engagement was the tool through which Intellectual Property could be shared, benefiting everyone involved. Centuries of innovation with Chinese hovering toys have circumnavigated Earth, inspiring American dreamers (Canadian, USian, Mexican), giving flight to countless conversations & innovations in aeronautical design. Naturally, our mission/our flight plan, is… the freedom to hover & roam… LEO is our seed of innovation on the wing! Next, we plant/partner LEO with eco- & geo-tourism & development projects to encourage global tourism; to offer a new & very important perspective of the land where “the people live” & to personally engage humanity with the most natural & pleasing resource available, to flying creatures; the beauty & fragility of our planet, from above! It’s teamLEOnardo’s dream that it’s important to you, that LEO’s… DREAM AWAKENS!

Describe Your Idea

LEO: an airborne cycle for personal, sport & public transportation. As bicyclings Wright Brothers are Changemakers of a generation, LEO is a record-setting, environmental, hovering inspiration born of da Vinci's sketches/memory & handed to us to enter Igor I. Sikorsky's competition: http://vtol.org/awards/hph.htmlLearning from all who have tried/died trying: http://www.humanpoweredhelicopters.org/sikorskyprize/index.htm pledge to innovation. Wonderful: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caHCbuh_Yyc Thanks Prof Naito!

What would it take to launch or spread your idea? How much would it cost to make your idea a reality? (150 words max)

Reality? HISTORIC EVENT! LEO prepares to win Sikorsky's Competition. The human & solar powered (public) transportation dream is realized as the healthy choice for billions. A change in human being/mobility requires new immigration laws. Earth from above, in Condé Nast Traveler’s 2nd article, PedalLEOtour2010: raising the ‘travel bar’ to hovering above GREEN, helps to sustain a human powered (helicopter) industry. Global relations change. After dreaming up a ‘far-fetched-flying idea’ my Wright Brothers must have wondered if bicycles would be ‘sustained’ by 'twittering, innovating or recycling' their inventions. SO, sustaining LEO is in the hands of the hungry! The REALITY is the cost of life! With an ability to willingly cross borders, LEO announces the beginning of the END of POVERTY. Later, we upgrade LEO with a solar-electric engine giving older people a new way to explore retirement/a new life, encouraging youth to stay healthy & young. LEO's REALITY…POVERTY’s END…DREAM LAUNCH!

Describe your work as a social innovator (150 words max)

As Earthlings our work is so innovative, it is not yet well known worldwide, but greatly received in local regions. Our seed/kind of grassroots innovation comes from (35+) years of travel experience between the mates of teamLEOnardo. From Los Angeles to Nepal, Alaska to South America, India to Europe and Australia to Japan & many more places/routes in between, our unique brand of social innovation begins, where our birth places end - sowing in us all an indigenous nature to roam - free from the ignorance of borders in our new global village, Earth! In teamLEOnardo's workshop, the sound of social innovation is in the voices of contributors visiting their investment from time to time, where helping out gives them a "hands on" experience of home/hand-made fun, education & community supported activity! The PedalLEOtour2010 will be LEO's way of giving back to all the 'global villages' visited along the way. For teamLEOnardo, social innovation is giving LEO your 'two cents' by reserving a pilot's seat in your name with comments & suggestions, by pitching in where LEO needs help, & by reminding others to stay tuned for Hover Day. VOTE for your FREEDOM, earthling, thank you! DREAM SHARED!

Please send me more information about Conde Nast Traveler and special offers

Yes, I would like more information about Conde Nast Traveler and special offers.

Nouvelles Perspectives pour la Promotion de l’Alphabétisation (N.O.P.P.A.L)

Created on 06/24/2009 by tmbaye906

 

About You

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Location

Project Street Address

Project City

Project Province/State

Project Postal/Zip Code

Project Country

n/a

Your idea

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Country your work focuses on:

Website URL

What stage is your project in?

Please select one

YouTube Upload

What is the average monthly household income in your target community, in US Dollars?

Please select one

Name Your Project

Nouvelles Perspectives pour la Promotion de l’Alphabétisation (N.O.P.P.A.L)

Describe Your Idea

Innovation

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Describe your idea in fewer than 50 words.

What makes your idea unique?

What is your area of work? (Please check as many as apply.)

What impact have you had?

Describe the primary problem(s) that your project is addressing.

Describe the steps that your organization is taking to make your project successful.

Impact

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What will it take for your project to be successful over the next three years? Success in Year 1:

Success in Year 2:

Success in Year 3:

Do you have a business plan or strategic plan? (yes/no)

What are the three most important actions needed to grow your initiative or organization? STEP 1:

What are the three most important actions needed to grow your initiative or organization? STEP 2:

What are the three most important actions needed to grow your initiative or organization? STEP 3:

Describe the expected results of these actions.

What was the defining moment that led you to this innovation?

Tell us about the social innovator behind this idea.

How did you first hear about Changemakers?

This Entry is about (Issues)

Sustainability

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What would prevent your project from being a success?

Financing source

If yes, provide organization name.

How long has this organization been operating? (i.e. less than a year; 1-5 years; more than 5 years)

Does your organization have a Board of Directors or an Advisory Board?

Does your organization have any non-monetary partnerships with NGOs? (yes/no)

Does your organization have any non-monetary partnerships with businesses? (yes/no)

The Story

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Does your organization have any non-monetary partnerships with government? (yes/no)

Please tell us more about how these partnerships are critical to the success of your innovation.

How many people will your project serve annually?

What is the total number of employees and total number of volunteers at your organization?

What is your organization's business classification?

Please select one

Have you received funding from any of the following groups? (Please check as many as apply.)

MARIA MOTHER OF CHARITY RELIEF HOME

Created on 06/24/2009 by Mary Lusambo

ALLEVIATING POVERTY IN MY COMMUNITY THROUGH EDUCATION EMPOWERMENT BY OFFERING FREE EDUCATION  AND INTRODUCING COMMUNITY SURVIVAL SKILLS FOR THE VULNERABLE.

About You

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Location

Project Street Address

Mungwi Road

Project City

Kasama

Project Province/State

Northern Province

Project Postal/Zip Code

+260/10101

Project Country

Zambia

Your idea

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Country your work focuses on:

ZAMBIA

Website URL

What stage is your project in?

Operating for 1-5 years

YouTube Upload

What is the average monthly household income in your target community, in US Dollars?

<$50

Name Your Project

MARIA MOTHER OF CHARITY RELIEF HOME

Describe Your Idea

ALLEVIATING POVERTY IN MY COMMUNITY THROUGH EDUCATION EMPOWERMENT BY OFFERING FREE EDUCATION  AND INTRODUCING COMMUNITY SURVIVAL SKILLS FOR THE VULNERABLE.

Innovation

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Describe your idea in fewer than 50 words.

EMPOWER THE VULNERABLE SOCIALLY, ACADEMICALLY, ECONOMICALLY, POLITICALLY AND SPIRITUALLY SO THAT THEY COMPETE FREELY IN ALL LIFE CHALLENGES.

What makes your idea unique?

MY IDEA IS INDIGENOUS AND I AM DIRECTLY INVOLVED IN COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION.I AM PART OF MY COMMUNITY AND SO I AM ABLE TO INTERACT FREELY WITH THE TARGET GROUP AND GET THE FIRST FEEL OF WHAT AFFECTS THEM. I RELY ON WHAT I HAVE IN THE HANDS TO ACHIEVE WHAT I HOPE FOR.

I BELIEVE IN LOVE AND SELF CONVICTION WHEN DEALING WITH THESE SOULS AND I AM THEREFORE ABLE TO HELP THEM JOYOUSLY.

I HAVE MANAGED TO MAKE GROW THE CHARITY WITHOUT ANY KIND OF SUPPORT FROM EXTERNAL OR INDEED INTERNAL SOURCES. I HAVE MANAGED TO PRODUCE BREADWINNERS ALREADY WHO ARE AN ENCOURAGEMENT TO THIS NOBLE CAUSE.THIS IDEA HAS ACHIEVED ALOT.

THE SCHOOL HAS INTRODUCED AN ADULT LITERACY CENTER WHICH HAS SEEN A GOOD NUMBER OF PARENTS ENROLLED INTO DIFFERENT GRADES. THEY HAVE LIKED THE IDEA AND THEIR ACADEMIC RESPONSE IS POSITIVE.

WE ARE RUNNING OUR LESSONS USING AN EASY LEARNING TOOL CALLED"BREAKTHROUGH TO LITERACY". THIS IS A SYSTEM WHICH EMBRACES LEARNING IN A VERNACULAR LANGUAGE. THIS MAKES READING AND WRITING VERY EASY EVEN WHEN IT IS INTRODUCED IN AN OFFICIAL LANGUAGE.
BOTH ADULT PUPILS AND THE REGULAR PUPILS HAVE FOUND THIS TYPE OF LEARNING TO BE VERY INTERESTING.

What is your area of work? (Please check as many as apply.)

Children & Youth , At risk youth , Behavioral issues , Boys' development , Child care , Child exploitation , Child labor , Child protection , Early childhood development , Education , Education reform , Girls' development , Mentorship , Play , Youth development , Youth leadership , Development & Prosperity , Adult education , Business , Communications , Community development , Consumer protection , Corporate social responsibility , Economic development , Employment , Energy , Fundraising , Globalization , Housing , Hunger , Income generation , Information technology , Infrastructure , Labor , Mentorship , Networking , Poverty alleviation , Rural development , Scholarships and grants , Social Enterprise , Sustainable development , Technology , Rural , Water , HIV/AIDS , Recreation , Sports , Substance abuse , Human Rights & Peace , Abuse and violence , Child exploitation , Civil rights , Conflict resolution , Gender equity , Human trafficking , Hunger , Indigenous cultures , Intercultural relations , Men's issues , Racial equality , Security , Tolerance , Vulnerable populations , Women's issues , Public Participation & Engagement , Citizen participation , Citizen sector , Corruption , Cultural preservation , Ethics , Intergenerational relations , Law , Mentoring , Public policy , Social work , Spirituality , Sports , Transparency , Volunteerism , Women's Issues , Youth leadership.

What impact have you had?

GREAT IMPACT AS I SEE SOCIAL, SPIRITUAL AND ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATION IN THE LIVES OF MY TARGET GROUPS.

Describe the primary problem(s) that your project is addressing.

POVERTY ALLEVIATION

Describe the steps that your organization is taking to make your project successful.

EMBARKED ON A SCHOOL PROJECT WHICH OFFERS FREE EDUCATION TO THE VULNERABLE CHILDREN AND ADULTS.
LINKING THE PROJECT WITH POSSIBLE FUNDING AGENCIES WHO SHALL HELP US GROW STABLE INCOME GENERATING ACTIVITIES.

Impact

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What will it take for your project to be successful over the next three years? Success in Year 1:

INTRODUCTION OF A MODERN BOARDING FACILITY ACCESSIBLE BY FEE-PAYING STUDENTS AS AN INCOME GENERATING ACTIVITY ALSO BENEFITING PUPILS WHO CAN NOT ACCESS THE SCHOOL DUE TO THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THE SCHOOL AND THEIR HOMES.

Success in Year 2:

INTRODUCTION OF A SKILLS TRAINING CENTER EQUIPPED WITH WOOD/METAL WORKSHOP MACHINERY, SEWING MACHINES, KNITTING MACHINES ETC.. FOR SERVICING THE VULNERABLE BUT INDIRECTLY ACTING AS AN INCOME GENERATING ACTIVITY.

Success in Year 3:

INTRODUCTION OF MODERN SOCIAL AMENITIES WHICH SHALL ATTRACT MANY FEE-PAYING PUPILS TO THE SCHOOL THEREBY BROADENING THE INCOME BASE FOR THE GOOD OF SELF-SUSTENANCE.

Do you have a business plan or strategic plan? (yes/no)

NO
THE DUTCH STUDENTS AT WORLD SCHOOL ARE DEVELOPING A BUSINESS PLAN AND A PROJECT PROPOSAL FOR US.

What are the three most important actions needed to grow your initiative or organization? STEP 1:

COMPLETE THE CONSTRUCTION AND FURNISHING OF THE SCHOOL INFRASTRUCTURE IN ORDER TO EXPAND THE SCHOOL INTO A FULL FLEDGED SCHOOL.

What are the three most important actions needed to grow your initiative or organization? STEP 2:

EQUIP THE SCHOOL WITH MODERN EQUIPMENT SUCH AS SCIENCE AND COMPUTER LABORATORIES IN ORDER TO EXPOSE OUR PUPILS TO FULL TECHNOLOGY AND ALSO ATTRACT MANY FEE-PAYERS WHO ARE THE MAIN SOURCE OF OUR INCOME.

What are the three most important actions needed to grow your initiative or organization? STEP 3:

ELECTRIFY THE SCHOOL SO THAT THE PUPILS WILL BE ABLE TO CONNECT TO THE GLOBAL NETWORK THROUGH INTERNET FACILITIES AND ALSO SEE THE PUPILS ACCESS MODERN EDUCATIONAL EQUIPMENTS WHICH NEED THE USE OF POWER(ELECTRICITY).

Describe the expected results of these actions.

EXTEND THE LEARNING OPPORTUNITY TO AS MANY VULNERABLE CHILDREN AND ADULTS THEREBY ERADICATING POVERTY IN MANY LIVELIHOODS.

What was the defining moment that led you to this innovation?

I GREW UP IN THESE COMMUNITIES AND MY PARENTS STRUGGLED TO GIVE ME AND THE REST OF MY FAMILY MEMBERS THE HUMBLE EDUCATION THAT WE HAVE TODAY. I HAVE PERSONALLY TESTED POVERTY AND SO I KNOW ITS IMPACT IN UNEXPLAINABLE TERMS.

Tell us about the social innovator behind this idea.

THE SOCIAL INNOVATOR BEHIND THIS IDEA IS THAT POVERTY WHICH HAS STRICKEN MOST HOMES IN MY COMMUNITY CAUSING YOUTHS TO RESORT TO SOCIAL VICES SUCH PROMISCUITY, THEFT,DRUNKENNESS AND THEREBY BRINGING FORTH INCURABLE DISEASES SUCH AS HIV/AIDS, SHALL BE REDUCED.

How did you first hear about Changemakers?

I FIRST HEARD ABOUT CHANGE MAKERS THROUGH "TEACH A MAN TO FISH" WHO SENT ME AN INVITATION TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS COMPETITION.

This Entry is about (Issues)

Sustainability

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What would prevent your project from being a success?

LACK OF INCOME GENERATING ACTIVITIES AND LACK OF INFORMATION LEADING TO POSSIBLE FUNDING AGENCIES.

Financing source

N

If yes, provide organization name.

N/A

How long has this organization been operating? (i.e. less than a year; 1-5 years; more than 5 years)

1-5 YEARS

Does your organization have a Board of Directors or an Advisory Board?

YES

Does your organization have any non-monetary partnerships with NGOs? (yes/no)

NO

Does your organization have any non-monetary partnerships with businesses? (yes/no)

NO

The Story

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Does your organization have any non-monetary partnerships with government? (yes/no)

YES

Please tell us more about how these partnerships are critical to the success of your innovation.

THE ZAMBIAN GOVERNMENT IS A STAKEHOLDER IN ALL EDUCATION RELATED BUSINESSES. IT ACTS AS A REGULATORY BOARD THROUGH THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND IT INSPECTS ALL BUSINESSES TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY ARE IN CONFORMITY WITH THE SET RULES AND REGULATIONS.
GOVERNMENT ALSO SUPPORTS THE SCHOOLS BY ISSUANCE OF PRACTICING CERTIFICATES AND WHICH ARE AUDITED ANNUALLY. THEY ALSO PROVIDE US WITH TEACHING AIDS LIKE BOOKS(READERS) AND THEY INVITE US TO EDUCATIONAL WORKSHOPS AND SEMINARS.

How many people will your project serve annually?

100-1000

What is the total number of employees and total number of volunteers at your organization?

1 PRINCIPAL
1 SENIOR TEACHER
12 TEACHERS
5 CDEs

What is your organization's business classification?

Non-profit/NGO/citizen sector organization

Have you received funding from any of the following groups? (Please check as many as apply.)

Designing for Better Health: Simple Solutions Nudging Extraordinary Change

Created: 06/22/09 by andrea boston

A simple piece of cloth or a heap of compost can redirect the course of a community's health and wellbeing. 

No More Dead End Scores for Kenyan Kids: Building a WISERBridge to Secondary School

Created on 06/3/2009 by WISER

WISERBridge promotes equal access to higher education by improving primary students’ academic outcomes through remedial student revision courses, targeted teacher professional development, streamlined benchmark assessments, collaboration between students, parents and educators, and an incentivized pay system.  WISERBridge enforces accountability to student performance, empowering students, teachers and parents through its vision.

About You

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Location

Project Street Address

P.O. Box 51

Project City

Muhuru Bay

Project Province/State

Nyanza

Project Postal/Zip Code

40409

Project Country

Kenya

Your idea

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Country your work focuses on:

Kenya

Website URL

What stage is your project in?

Operating for less than a year

YouTube Upload

What is the average monthly household income in your target community, in US Dollars?

<$10

Name Your Project

No More Dead End Scores for Kenyan Kids: Building a WISERBridge to Secondary School

Describe Your Idea

WISERBridge promotes equal access to higher education by improving primary students’ academic outcomes through remedial student revision courses, targeted teacher professional development, streamlined benchmark assessments, collaboration between students, parents and educators, and an incentivized pay system.  WISERBridge enforces accountability to student performance, empowering students, teachers and parents through its vision.Unlike many educational programs, WISERBridge does not focus on resources like textbooks to increase educational outcomes.  Instead, it focuses on the interaction between the key people involved in education, the teachers and the students.   Our main goal is to raise the KCPE exam scores to a 275 average by November.  Given a comprehensive baseline examination in January as a mock KCPE, students in Standard 8 scored a 193 average out of 500 possible points.  By the end of the first term in March, students increased their average on another comprehensive, mock KCPE assessment to a 230 average.  In only one term, Muhuru Bay is almost half way to their goal of a 275 average, an increase of nearly 20%.  WISERBridge has spawned other ideas for development within the division.  Since communities in Muhuru Bay are held accountable to specific quantitative goals, many find innovative ways to improve the standard of education in the community.  For example, in order to increase the amount of time students are able to revise at night, parents and schools have invested in solar lighting.  The attitude of students, parents, and educators in the primary schools has shifted from hopeless to inspired, with educators and students competing against one another and working incredibly hard to achieve specific, measurable goals.  

Innovation

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Describe your idea in fewer than 50 words.

WISERBridge promotes equal access to higher education by improving primary students’ academic outcomes through remedial student revision courses, targeted teacher professional development, streamlined benchmark assessments, collaboration between students, parents and educators, and an incentivized pay system. WISERBridge enforces accountability to student performance, empowering students, teachers and parents through its vision.

What makes your idea unique?

Unlike many educational programs, WISERBridge does not focus on resources like textbooks to increase educational outcomes. Instead, it focuses on the interaction between the key people involved in education, the teachers and the students. Master teachers at each primary school are provided with a supplemental incentive for teaching extra hours to prepare students for the KCPE exam. At each of the 11 primary schools now involved in the program, 7-8 extra hours of instructional time are added to the school week for Standard 8 students, with a heavy focus on the core subjects that will help students in secondary school – English, Mathematics and Kiswahili.

Selected by the headteachers to lead these revision courses, teachers are then kept accountable to the student results through a pay for performance metric. Teachers are expected to help their students grow a specified amount of points each term, and in turn, are rewarded when students achieve these measurable outcomes. While there have been several experiments to see the effects of pay for performance in Kenya, the focus on specific quantitative results, differentiated by the scores at the different primary schools, is unique. In addition, WISERBridge provides access to remedial revision courses for all students registered in Standard 8. There are no restrictions as to age, gender or geographic location. Thus, every child or adult enrolled in Standard 8 receives an ample opportunity to increase their performance.

Most importantly, WISERBridge has spawned other ideas for development within the division. Since communities in Muhuru Bay are held accountable to specific quantitative goals, many find innovative ways to improve the standard of education in the community. For example, in order to increase the amount of time students are able to revise at night, parents and schools have invested in solar lighting. The attitude of students, parents, and educators in the primary schools has shifted from hopeless to inspired, with educators and students competing against one another and working incredibly hard to achieve specific, measurable goals.

What is your area of work? (Please check as many as apply.)

Children & Youth , At risk youth , Boys' development , Education , Education reform , Girls' development , Youth development , Youth leadership , Development & Prosperity , Community development , Economic development , Poverty alleviation , Rural development , Scholarships and grants , Sustainable development , Urban development , Rural , Urban , Health education , HIV/AIDS , Wellness , Human Rights & Peace , Civil rights , Gender equity , Men's issues , Vulnerable populations , Women's issues , Men's Issues , Transparency , Women's Issues , Youth leadership.

What impact have you had?

While the implementation of WISERBridge is only five months old, it has had an incredibly and measurable impact in the Muhuru Bay community. Our goal is to raise the KCPE exam scores to a 275 average by November. Given a comprehensive baseline examination in January as a mock KCPE, students in Standard 8 scored a 193 average out of 500 possible points. By the end of the first term in March, students increased their average on another comprehensive, mock KCPE assessment to a 230 average. In only one term, Muhuru Bay is almost half way to their goal of a 275 average, an increase of nearly 20%. In fact, one school increased their students’ average 71 points from their original baseline scores of the same children. And this is only after three months of intensified review. While the same jump in growth is not feasible for the next two terms, a 275 point average was an unthinkable number just five short months ago. Because of this growth, 100% of the girls selected to become a part of WISER are expected to be from the Muhuru Bay community.

In addition to these outcomes, there are numerous immeasurable outcomes that demonstrate the impact of WISERBridge. Attitudes toward education, school culture, collaboration amongst primary school teachers, and primary school competition have all been affected in a positive way by WISERBridge. While teachers are motivated to help their students perform with transparent outcome, and they are in direct competition with other primary schools, there is also a sense of shared responsibility amongst the teachers in the community. They realize that the goal is to increase the academic average and rigor in all of Muhuru Bay. This sense has even urged leaders in the community to monitor the results of their local schools, encouraging the entire community to play a part in increasing the academic standard for primary students in Class 8.

Describe the primary problem(s) that your project is addressing.

In the beginning, WISERBridge was created as a supplemental program to address the problem that our larger organization, WISER (Women’s Institute for Secondary Education and Research) was having in finding qualified candidates for our secondary school for girls. Currently, only 5% of girls in Muhuru enroll in secondary school. Most are forced into early marriages without hesitation; funds for secondary school are given to boys in the family or are even just used to survive. If a girl acquires the funds for secondary school, it is often through prostitution, where women are seen as selling their bodies to feed their mids. In fact, most girls in Muhuru Bay do not achieve the 250 point average required to even enter secondary school. The average for Muhuru Bay last year was only a 213, the lowest in all of Migori District, and arguably one of the lowest in the country.

Muhuru Bay is not unique, however. According to a speech made on 18 February 2009 about the enrolment rates of children in schools, President Kibaki of Kenya stated, “At secondary level, the net enrolment rate stands at 25.2 percent for boys and 23.2 percent for girls." While Kenya suffers from a low net secondary enrolment as a country, in hardship areas like Muhuru Bay, the problem is much worse. Thus, in order for girls to even qualify to enter the doors of a secondary school like WISER, an institution rearing to be one of the best secondary schools in the country, we needed to increase the academic rigor of the community. The headteachers and administrators of the 9 public primary schools in the area and the Executive Director of WISER created the idea for the program, WISERBridge.

Describe the steps that your organization is taking to make your project successful.

What makes WISERBridge a successful program is that all important steps were designed and implemented from the key stakeholders and community members in Muhuru Bay. In addition, WISERBridge is always soliciting feedback and adjusting course based on this feedback in order to make it as effective as possible. Most importantly, every step is taken carefully so as to ensure that it is moving students towards making substantial academic outcomes. The steps that have been involved in these ongoing processes are as follows:

1.) Initial Brainstorming of Program – Critical thought and strategic thinking took place between master teachers, educators, community officials such as chiefs and divisional officers, and WISER Board members to make the program as simple and effective as possible with a limited amount of resources. The focus became on the people involved in the program, with two-thirds of the budget going directly to the supplemental payments of the teachers. From these ideas, the WISERBridge determined its quantitative and qualitative goals as well as its strategic plan.

2.) Acquiring SEED Funding – In order to acquire the $10,000 USD needed to fund the initial year of the program, a grant was written and fulfilled through the Goldman Sachs Foundation.

3.) Organizing Logistics - The basic components of the program consist of 7 hours of extra instructional time, before or after school with a heavier focus on English, Mathematics and Kiswahili, the subjects that students score the lowest in. The WISERBridge Director and headteachers also coordinated: the creation and distribution of streamlined assessments, differentiated schedules of instructional time for each of the nine primary schools in the area, the distribution of additional resources, the pay for performance metrics, a handbook of teacher and student expectations.

4.) Investing Teachers and Students – WISERBridge gauged the best way to invest teachers and students in the program, providing positive reinforcement for the teachers with the pay for performance metric. Teachers receive a food allowance that increases term to term if their students reach benchmark goals. Students receive awards for improvement and performance based on their end of term exam results. Awards range from solar powered flashlights to movie viewings in town, and have proven extremely effective in increasing student motivation. In addition, they also participate in “student exchanges,” in which they visit the highest performing primary school in the division so that they are motivated in achieving.

5.) Increasing Rigor in the Classroom – After logistics and investment were secured, the WISERBridge Director focused on the rigor in the classroom, ensuring that lessons are organized, relevant and effective, teachers are following schemes of work, teachers are engaging students in lessons, assessment data is utilized from formative assessments, and students have ample time for independent work. Teachers are scored on a 3-point rubric for each of the topics above by both the WISERBridge Director and other educators that observe the lessons.

6.) Increasing Parental Awareness and Involvement – Parents are given opportunities to learn more about WISERBridge and their students’ performance. They are invited to awards ceremonies, receiving awards for their children’s performance. In addition, several schools have increased parental involvement through the use of their school committees, inviting parents for informational sessions on WISERBridge, the KCPE, and scholarship opportunities for secondary school.

7.) Continually Increasing the Effectiveness – WISERBridge realizes that it is still a new organization and it encourages formal and informal feedback from the community. Teachers continually fill out surveys to provide concrete feedback, the WISERBridge Director solicits direct feedback from each headteacher and deputy weekly as well. WISERBridge then uses this feedback to adjust course when things are not working or can be made better. For example, when teachers were complaining that their food supplement was not enough for the amount of time and effort put into WISERBridge, our program responded immediately, using a focus group to uncover the idea of a pay for performance type system. In addition, when students at the two lowest schools seemed discouraged after the first end of term exam, the WISERBridge Director met with these schools to create action plans for students and teachers to become reinvested in the program. One of the reasons that WISERBridge has been so effective is because it has been successfully incorporated into each of the schools in a different way. It adapts and adjusts course based on the schools’ needs instead of following a rigid model.

Impact

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What will it take for your project to be successful over the next three years? Success in Year 1:

While WISERBridge has already demonstrated an impact in its first few months, we need to ensure that teachers, students and other stakeholders are continually invested in meeting the goals of the first year. Goals for 2009 are as follows:
1.) Increase KCPE exam scores by an average of 82 points for the Standard 8 students in Muhuru Bay primary schools. (This is a 42% increase, with the beginning measurement being a baseline examination, in which the average score was 193 points out 500. If students in Muhuru meet their goal, they will have increased to a 275 average.)
2.) Ensure that over 70% of admissions to WISER are from the local community.
3.) Build measurement tools that increase data-driven instruction in the community to increase the awareness of academic standing for the students, parents, and teachers and to increase the level of rigor exhibited by the students.
4.) Ensure the success of a Teacher Resource Center and student study centers so that teachers and students are empowered with the tools to increase KCPE exam scores.
5.) Increase collaboration between and among teachers, students, parents and administrators in the community.
6.) Ensure the program’s self-sustainability through entrepreneurial endeavors and businesses.

Because WISERBridge is already funded until January 2010, we are focusing exclusively on these goals to ensure its success.

Success in Year 2:

In order for WISERBridge to continue its success in its second year, teachers, students, parents, and administrators need the tools to increase the rigor and standard of education in the primary schools. To be successful in Year 2, WISERBridge must continue to promote equal opportunities for girls and boys to advance to higher levels of education. While part of this goal involves continually improving KCPE exam scores for Standard 8 students, WISERBridge also aims to narrow the “gender gap” in the primary schools in Muhuru in the following ways:
1.) Expand WISERBridge to other upper primary classes (Classes 5-7), utilizing differentiated goals for particular grade levels that are meant to increase rigor in the classroom, benchmark successes, and invest students in performing at higher levels.
2.) Professionally develop teachers with technology training, expert seminars, school visits, and other means to improve the quality of instruction.
3.) Assist schools with entrepreneurial endeavors that will help them to generate extra income for student groups, materials, teacher incentives, and other investments.
4.) Increase communication, collaboration and competition amongst the primary schools in Muhuru Bay.
5.) Create opportunities for students in Standard 8 to receive funds for secondary schooling.

WISERBridge relies on a $15,000 USD budget that will also need to be fulfilled through WISER NGO donations, outside grants, and income generated from small business endeavors.

Success in Year 3:

In Year 3, WISERBridge must focus on tightening all of the programmatic initiatives set out in Years 1 and 2. While Year 3 may have different quantitative goals, it will still follow along the same vision as set out from the beginning. Most importantly, Year 3 must ensure the shift in funding from external sources to internal sources. Our goal is to have 75% of funding come internally from within the schools, with 25% coming from outside sources, mostly to fund the salary of the WISERBridge Director.

Do you have a business plan or strategic plan? (yes/no)

Yes, we have a strategic plan for the next 3 years. We also have strategic plans for 2009 and for each term within 2009 in order to ensure progress to our long-term and short-term goals.

What are the three most important actions needed to grow your initiative or organization? STEP 1:

Shift the funding from external, grassroots donations to internal sources, with funds coming directly from the schools themselves. In order for this project to be sustainable without the support of the WISER NGO and school, it is essential that schools develop entrepreneurial initiatives to help them secure funding for their individualized needs of the program. By doing so, they will be able to expand the program in ways that they see fit for the school. Several schools are interested in launching such entrepreneurial intiatives and are acquiring venture capital to do so. We are helping them to seek small loans or venture capital grants from organizations such as SolarAid and Caleb Bank to get them started in this process.

What are the three most important actions needed to grow your initiative or organization? STEP 2:

Include an additional motivational factor in the program by providing greater opportunities for students to gain scholarships for secondary school. While WISERBridge motivates students with a clear, measurable goal, it has been difficult for students to see beyond primary school simply because of secondary school fees. Working in conjunction with the businesses that WISERBridge wants to include in each of the primary schools, we also think it is vital for primary schools to provide its students with greater opportunities for secondary school in the form of scholarships. Because the average salary earned in Muhuru Bay is around 80 KSH ($1 USD) per month, funding secondary school is not an option for many families. If primary schools are able to incentivize the students with monetary support, however, this could increase student motivation and lead to even higher academic outcomes.

What are the three most important actions needed to grow your initiative or organization? STEP 3:

Continually increase the effectiveness of the program, proving its feasibility so that it can serve as a model for other high-need communities in Africa. In order to do so, it is important for the program to grow programmatically and achieve the goals and results expected in its first two years. This is an action that is already ongoing, but is of utmost importance. Teachers are solicited for feedback consistently and thoughtfully, and adjustments are continually made to ensure the program is working. Programmatic changes that are occurring include the expansion of WISERBridge to all upper primary classes, increased amount of resources for students and teachers, increasing parental involvement, and increasing the rigor in the classroom.

Describe the expected results of these actions.

If schools are able to fund the project internally, they will be able to expand the program in ways that they see fit for their school. For example, schools that are extremely isolated from any roads or markets can help fund fieldtrips for students to travel to such areas in order to gain more exposure to the outside world. This will help with student motivation and teacher motivation, thereby driving up student results. As mentioned, schools will also be able to fund scholarship programs for its primary students. This motivates students to perform, and gives them a concrete way of acquiring the funds desperately needed to attend secondary school.

By tightening the programmatic elements already in place, we expect that the academic outcomes of the students will continue to rise. After proving its success over two full school years, WISERBridge could be an effective model for other hardship areas to utilize in Kenya and throughout Africa.

What was the defining moment that led you to this innovation?

In May of 2008, our WISER Board realized that while we were building a secondary school for girls, very few of the girls in our community would even qualify to enter the doors of WISER. Worried that we wouldn't be able to serve the very population we were building a school for, I had a brief conversation with one of the headteachers of a nearby primary school, Senye. When I asked him what the solution he thought we needed to raise the admittance of girls in secondary he suggested the idea of "bridging" them from primary to secondary school through a supplemental program. Hence, the idea for "WISERBridge" was born.

Tell us about the social innovator behind this idea.

WISERBridge itself is a true community project, being formulated from meetings and brainstorming sessions with government officials, headteachers, teachers, WISER Board members, and students. The social innovator behind the project is the community, and it has been so successful so quickly because of this.

WISER, however, is an organization that was founded from a partnership between a Duke University professor, a Duke student, and me. I am currently the Director of the Institute for Gender, Poverty, and Development at Egerton University, and I grew up in the Muhuru Bay community. In fact, I am the only woman from Muhuru Bay to ever earn a university degree, and I am the only person from Muhuru to earn a Philosophical Doctorate. I do not want to be the anamoly. Together with this community partnership, I am ready to make a systemic change and sustainable impact in Muhuru and Kenya.

How did you first hear about Changemakers?

I first heard about Changemakers through a friend.

This Entry is about (Issues)

Sustainability

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What would prevent your project from being a success?

Even a teachers’ strike in Kenya could not stop it from being a success! Key organizers of the program must believe in its vision and have a sense of possibility that this program can change the standard of primary education in Africa. If key organizers are not convinced or not invested in the project, it is difficult to motivate educators, administrators, and community members to invest in it as well. Just like any great teacher invests her students in the work that is being done in the classroom, the key organizers must also lead the stakeholders in WISERBridge to continually believe in, support, and work hard to achieve the goals of the project.

Financing source

Yes

If yes, provide organization name.

WISER (Women's Institute for Secondary Education and Research)

How long has this organization been operating? (i.e. less than a year; 1-5 years; more than 5 years)

1-5 years

Does your organization have a Board of Directors or an Advisory Board?

We have a Board of Directors.

Does your organization have any non-monetary partnerships with NGOs? (yes/no)

Yes.

Does your organization have any non-monetary partnerships with businesses? (yes/no)

Yes.

The Story

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Does your organization have any non-monetary partnerships with government? (yes/no)

Yes.

Please tell us more about how these partnerships are critical to the success of your innovation.

Our partnership with SolarAid, Kenya has been critical in providing our community with affordable lighting for classrooms, homes, and churches. In addition SolarAid is also providing macro solar installations at two of the primary schools in the area, giving them the venture capital necessary to start small businesses at their schools. In this way, these schools will be able to start funding their WISERBridge programs without the help of the WISER NGO.

Because our WISERBridge Director is affiliated with Teach For America, we also have a fantastic partnership with staff members of this U.S. NGO. Teach For America has provided many of the ideas and instructional materials utilised in teacher seminars, and following its focus on measurable outcomes has been crucial in the success of WISERBridge.

Our partnership with the local government in Kenya has been crucial to our success. All of the four local chiefs and the divisional officer of Muhuru Bay have been instrumental in promoting WISERBridge at each of the local schools. In addition, councilors, the area education officer, opinion leaders, and even the local Member of Parliament in Nyatike Constituency have all recognised WISER as a leader in educational development in the community of Muhuru Bay, and Nyanza and in general.

Several small businesses have also partnered with WISER in order to help provide materials and resources for the WISERBridge classrooms such as printer ink, paper, textbooks, and other office supplies. One of the largest business partners is called the YSE (Young Social Entrepreneurs), which donates 15% of its proceeds directly to WISER. This partnership was started in the community by the youth leadership and has been an incredibly monetary support network in Muhuru Bay.

WISER also partners with numerous partner schools in the U.S. that are invaluable in terms of providing volunteer support, monetary support, and ideas for the school itself. They also volunteered within WISERBridge classrooms, helping to increase the rigor and expectations of the students in Standard 8.

How many people will your project serve annually?

For the first year, our project serves 400 students, with access given to all students in Standard 8. We also serve 42 teachers. If you include the families of the students and the impact that this will have in the community, we indirectly serve 36,000 people in Muhuru Bay. By 2010, we aim to also include standards 6 and 7, which is 1500 students in the community. With expansion to other communities in Kenya or Africa, this project could serve millions of students throughout the continent annually.

What is the total number of employees and total number of volunteers at your organization?

150, mostly consisting of volunteers.

What is your organization's business classification?

Non-profit/NGO/citizen sector organization

Have you received funding from any of the following groups? (Please check as many as apply.)

United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) .

Ancient Perspectives Teach Modern Day Health

Created: 05/29/09 by Anonymous

When it comes to reproductive health, the right approach for an independent working woman in the city is not going to work for an indigenous mother of five in a tightly knit rural village. Diana Damien knows.  She has been developing strategies for teaching reproductive rights and improving reproductive health in Chiapas, Mexico, where for years, women’s health initiatives have failed. 

Voices of Youth Pittsburgh Prayer Wheels

Created on 05/27/2009 by pageks

“Pittsburgh Prayer Wheels” is a youth-driven project. A group of CAPA HS students as “Youth Voices of Pittsburgh” will involve the city’s youth in the creation of public artworks that give voice to their ideas and allow for community reflection on them.

About You

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Location

Project Street Address

1307 Sherman Avenue

Project City

Pittsburgh

Project Province/State

PA

Project Postal/Zip Code

15212

Project Country

United States

Your idea

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Name Your Project

Voices of Youth Pittsburgh Prayer Wheels

Describe Your Idea

“Pittsburgh Prayer Wheels” is a youth-driven project. A group of CAPA HS students as “Youth Voices of Pittsburgh” will involve the city’s youth in the creation of public artworks that give voice to their ideas and allow for community reflection on them.Through neighborhood and virtual forums, workshops and a blog site, all youth would be invited to voice their ideas and concerns. Traveling studios and on-line submissions would permit the participants to translate their voices into visual references, or “sketches”. These “sketches” could contain symbols, words, drawings, poems, etc., and would be incorporated onto the surface of multiple rings.   Referencing the Tibetan prayer wheel, these rings would be assembled to make large “prayer wheels”, will be fabricated in aluminum and recycled materials, all sustainable, and would be installed along the city’s rivers. The cylinders will rotate as they are touched, allowing for an immediate multi-sensory experience with the work and encouraging a contemplative response to the youths’ diverse ideas. 

Innovation

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What is your idea? What makes your project innovative? Why is it important?

The goal of innovation is positive change, to make someone or something better. This project is innovative in that it infuses an Eastern Traditional Object with Contemporary Western Youth voices, with young people collaborating for positive change. In a world growing increasingly smaller, yet seemingly more divided, it is important that young people develop skills to communicate their ideas in a team setting and in a visual language, across cultures. We also hope to harness wind, water, or solar energy to power a continual rotation of the Youth Voices Prayer Wheels. As the Tibetan tradition states, the more the wheels rotate, the more positive energy is released.

Impact

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What will be the impact of your idea?

Plugged in, signed on, down-loaded and thinking – this project initiates on-line and real-time collaborations between neighborhoods, schools, youth groups, artists, community members, professionals, and cultural institutions to establish a forum for the Voices of Pittsburgh Youth.

This project creates a forum for the youth of our area to voice their concerns and ideas. In many circumstances teenagers are considered to be threatening and it is imperative that they are allowed a safe, considerate, and appropriate place to state their opinions.

Through the project’s website and blogspot, anyone can analyze and respond to their opinions, ideas, voices and concerns.
The blogspot will become the arena for the dissemination of information and place for open creative dialogue. At the on-site forums and workshop the youth will make art that reflects their own take on the issues about which they are most concerned. They will create this piece. We, as adult artists, will only help to facilitate the final design.

While the Voices of Youth can develop over the Internet, it is also imperative that the participants become receptive to new ideas as well as develop their individual pursuits. The spinning prayer wheels allow for a collaborative collage of ideas. It is our responsibility as adult artists to suggest and mitigate the final results.

There can be virtual exhibitions of submitted work as well as exhibitions in related communities. We feel that we can incorporate many voices in many areas with our idea.

What will it take to launch your idea? How will you secure community support and youth participation?

We are all adjunct art instructors at CAPA High School and therefore have a very willing pool of talent to draw from. We also have built strong collaboration partnerships with The Andy Warhol Museum and The Mattress Factory.

The project will be launched by the CAPA HS “Community Art Ambassadors” who will create a website and blog for the project, send out e-vites, create Facebook events, and contact the city papers. Additionally, solicitations will be made through the Pittsburgh Public and Private Schools teacher networks.

Libraries and other safe havens would be the sites for the forums, while the traveling studio could take place at parks, youth centers (such as Sarah Heinz House), The Warhol Museum, The Mattress Factory, or schools.

The website and blog will document and record the process and disseminate the schedule of forums/workshops and will include a digital exhibition of works in progress.

The construction of the cylinders would become community events.

The $25,000 budget will cover costs of art materials, casting expenses, stipends and honorariums.

We would pursue additional funding through donations of materials.

This Entry is about (Issues)

Sustainability

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We are looking for ideas from people who can make them happen. Tell us about yourself or your team.

Karen Page has received many awards including an NEA Visual Arts Fellowship, a PA Council on the Arts Crafts Fellowship, and a Surdna Art Teacher Fellowship.
- MFA (Kent State University), BFA (Syracuse University)

Carley Parrish has been awarded multiple public art commissions as well as grants for staging hot metal pours with young people.
- BFA (University of NY at Buffalo)

Shannon Pultz, a member of the art collective, Art Club2000, has exhibited in NYC, Europe and Mexico.
- Previous Editor of the English edition of the art magazine, Flash Art International.
- BFA (The Cooper Union), Art K-12 certified

We are all art adjunct instructors at CAPA HS (Textiles, Sculpture, and Printmaking respectively). We bring to this project our many years of experience as teaching and exhibiting artists. Our commitment is evidenced by our daily dedication to artistic expression, education, and specifically problem-solving through the creative process as we work with and empower youth to realize their artistic voice.

Please join us for the closing reception of our students’ exhibition at Eastside Gallery, May 29 from 6-9pm.

Global Art Expeditions

Created: 05/21/09 by gina paoli

Location

main san francisco
United States
See map: Google Maps

Best idea to spread imaginative creative constructive community developement around the world, not just in developing nations but at home where we have similar social issues and poverty.

great work.

good luck

Gamechangers: Change the game for women in sport

Created: 05/21/09 by Christopher Heald

Building on the success of the first "Sport for a Better World Competition," Nike and Ashoka Changemakers join forces once again to launch "GameChangers: Change the Game for Women in Sport."

Community Activism Travel by Art Aids Art

Created on 05/21/2009 by ArtAidsArt

About You

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Location

Project Street Address

6 Gaba Street

Project City

Khayelitsha

Project Province/State

Western Cape

Project Postal/Zip Code

Project Country

South Africa

Your idea

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Name Your Project

Community Activism Travel by Art Aids Art

Describe Your Idea

Innovation

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Are you a traveler or a travel company?

Travel company.

Tell us your idea. What makes your idea innovative?

While the demand for socially conscious tourism is growing, existing programs don’t take full advantage of experiences before, during and afterward. Art Aids Art’s sustainable tourism model – Community Activism Travel – is unique in engaging travelers and their home communities from the moment a trip is planned, transforming an individual’s excursion into a shared experience benefiting a network of active learners.

Meet our traveler, Ella. Instead of traveling solo to South Africa, Ella takes her community “with her.” Before departure, Ella reads her assigned learning materials. She shares insights, solicits questions and receives input from her Travel Team, a supportive group of friends, family and local school children (recruited with Art Aids Art’s help).

Once she departs, Ella stays in touch through video blog entries, creating a “virtual travel” experience for the Travel Team. Ella takes part in education and small business projects at Home in the ‘Hood, a thriving community center, working side by side with residents of Khayelitsha, and gaining a deep understanding of their entrepreneurial efforts to alleviate poverty. Returning home, she now acts as a Global Advocate.

Impact

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What is the likely impact of your idea?

Art Aids Art is transforming travel into a catalytic experience for economic development, community education, and international exchange. Travelers become Global Advocates by engaging deeply with a particular community during their visit and return home as social entrepreneurism ambassadors.

As a Global Advocate, Ella represents Khayelitsha with understanding and vision. She shares her experience with the Travel Team at a homecoming fundraiser party, introducing them to Khayelitsha’s handmade art (shipped by Art Aids Art). The group brainstorms about local venues at which to market the products. Ella visits the school classes that followed her trip and brings letters from their sister school in Khayelitsha. With her return, Ella has generated income for and deepened relationships with the Khayelitsha community, while creating opportunities for ongoing communication and collaboration.

What would it take to launch or spread your idea?

Art Aids Art has been developing Community Activism Travel since 2003, building relationships with schools, collectives and tourism operations. In 2008, after 3 years of fundraising and collaboration, Art Aids Art opened Home in the ‘Hood Community Center in Khayelitsha, the first such American-led project in the Western Cape. Four microbusinesses (Finalists in Intuit’s Small Business Competition), including a tea shop, art boutique, tour service and bed and breakfast, will launch by year’s end.

A multimedia South Africa curriculum is being created for elementary and high schools, to be utilized by Global Advocates. With the exception of a website and second tour van, all elements are in place. Cost: $15,000.

Given demand for responsible tourism, and the relational nature (word of mouth marketing) of the U.S. portion of the program, we plan for sustainability and expansion.

This Entry is about (Issues)

Sustainability

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Describe yourself as a social innovator.

On our last day in South Africa in 2002, my colleague and I met remarkable teachers at a center for malnourished children and, being educators, provided them with literacy training. Inspired by the teachers’ responsiveness, we returned to Khayelitsha township to collaborate further, bringing luggage filled with their requests: children’s books and black dolls.

Upon leaving, our luggage was again full: this time with beaded dolls purchased to support Khayelitsha parents earning a living through beadwork. We hosted a party, selling the dolls and sending profits to secure the artists a workspace -- a shipping container, which they converted into a studio.

Now we travel through our non-profit, Art Aids Art, not only to teach, but to promote economic development. In the U.S., we sell at private homes (no overhead!) and from our website, earning thousands of dollars for Khayelitsha artists.