Annual Report2012
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ANNUAL REPORT 2012 poverty 1 together we are ending 2 poverty Dear Friends, What an extraordinary year 2012 was for CHOICE Humanitarian! We are excited to share this report highlighting your greatest accomplishments. Your generosity propelled the CHOICE team forward to its best year ever ending poverty around the world. Thank you! CHOICE Humanitarian’s successful model is based on villagers creating their own path out of poverty. This strategy is one of empowerment, rather than robbing people of the experience of bringing self-reliance into their own lives. With CHOICE, communities are engaged in a dignified ‘learn-by-doing’ process. As we seize every possible opportunity to accelerate the work of CHOICE, our overriding practice is to make every dollar count. We do this through one of our core principles of ‘linking and leveraging’ which establishes partners with individuals, corporations, governments, villagers, and other nonprofit organizations to multiply every dollar that comes through our door. Watchdogs such as GuideStar, Great Nonprofits, and Charity Navigator have all acknowledged our fiscal responsibility by awarding CHOICE their highest rating. This distinction places us among the top charitable organizations in the U.S. for being efficient and transparent in our work. Looking ahead, our goal is to continue and build on such great successes. In 2013, the CHOICE Venture Fund will begin investing in small to medium enterprises across the countries we serve. The focus is to create economic development opportunities that will unlock the cycle of poverty for thousands of people. We look forward to sharing our results with you and others that have helped build the strong foundation that is CHOICE. We are humbled by your confidence in us to make good use of your dollars. We take this responsibility with tremendous pride. Thank you for your continued friendship. We dedicate this report to you, because with you, ending poverty is possible. Warm Regards, Leah Barker CEO 3 leadership 4 together ending poverty network MEXICO Computers brought CHOICE and One Global Economy together (OGE). OGE improves lives through computer technology in 17 countries and shares with CHOICE a common vision of ending poverty. Thanks to OGE, CHOICE is harnessing the power of both the internet and youth groups. Yasmin Yepes is 18 living in rural Mexico. Her village has traditionally been without an educational system past primary school, making secondary education impossible. In light of this, CHOICE has developed a program establishing computer centers that provide and computer training. Yasmin and 32 other adolescents have turned this access to knowledge into real world startups like eco-tourism projects, beekeeping and goat breeding. PHOTO: Yasmin Yepes in Garbanzo. Leverage Partners: VCBO, Christopherson Travel, and Cisco facts MEXICO 33 villages choice contributions $183,000 8,600 people x 5 (approx. leveraged contributions) 24 projects = $915,000 value of all programs noted projects: 20% choice funds Community-based Organization Training 50% other NGO’s Goat Cheese Factories 22% village participation Goat Cheese Production Training 8% government Community Water Systems Latrine System Veterinarian Internship Program In 2012, CHOICE multiplied $183,000 in program funding 5x to create $915,000 in total program value through partnerships with other NGOs, village committees, and government agencies. 5 opportunity 6 together ending poverty common vision NEPAL After CHOICE training, Chandreshwar Village Development Council in Nepal mobilized eight villages and raised more than $300,000 to complete the first-ever college in Lamjung District. For many women in rural Nepal, the dream of acquiring an education after high school is often cut short. Amrita Dura, a young mother, says, “After high school graduation, I lost hope for the opportunity to continue my education. We don’t have access to that here in the village.” Answering Amrita’s call, dedicated Nepalese families have built and completed Sarvodaya College! This village-driven institution provides opportunities for women to earn degrees after high school. Amrita, now studying at the college, adds, “Now I can act on my dream to be a teacher in my village and bring change in the communities.” Leverage Partners: Peterson Family Foundation and Gopal Adhikari facts NEPAL PHOTO: Women building their path out of poverty. 1,000 villages choice contributions $181,000 275,000 people x 7 (approx. leveraged contributions) 48 projects = $1,267,000 value of all programs noted projects: Village Development Council Training 13% choice funds Beekeeping Micro-Enterprises 26% other NGO’s Trekking Route Cooperative 28% village participation School Construction 33% government Health Clinics Scholarships In 2012, CHOICE multiplied $181,000 in program funding 7x to create $1,267,000 in total program value through partnerships with 7 other NGOs, village committees, and government agencies. 8 access together ending poverty dignity GUATEMALA Spectrum Healthcare shares the CHOICE philosophy of creating self- reliant families through access to healthcare. Together, we are proud to introduce the Nueva Concepción Hospital. The Nueva Concepción Hospital is a pioneer facility in the Polochic Valley, radically bolstering the health of communities and protecting future generations from easily preventable diseases. This has been the wish of Rosa Alta. Rosa lost several children in the past due to complications with her pregnancies. Something as simple as unattended dysentery, a situation easily remedied when treated, turned fatal because Rosa lacked access to a hospital. With children now grown, Rosa once worried that her daughters would also experience the same pain of losing a child. “I think the hospital is amazing. It will change the lives of my children and grandchildren,” says Rosa. Leverage Partners: Mayaniquel and Singular Humanitarian experience PHOTO: Mothers stand with pride outside of their new hospital. (SHe) facts GUATEMALA 17 villages choice contributions $216,000 13,600 people x 3 (approx. leveraged contributions) 27 projects = $648,000 value of all programs noted projects: Community Development Committee Training Family Gardens 35% choice funds Community Water Projects 54% other NGO’s Hospital Construction 10% village participation Adult Literacy Program 1% government Reforestation Project In 2012, CHOICE multiplied $216,000 in program funding 3x to create $648,000 in total program value through partnerships with other NGOs, village committees, and government agencies. 9 10 sustain together ending poverty gender equity BOLIVIA In 2006 the Leavitt brothers, Eric and Mark, took their families on a CHOICE Expedition to Bolivia. They helped the community of Las Piñas add a library to their primary school, which marked the beginning of a one-time experience turned into a lifestyle of humanitarianism. Due to the continued support of the Leavitt Family, now the villages are forming cooperatives, starting businesses and driving their own path out of poverty. Using the CHOICE leadership model, 70 members of a new dairy cooperative, most of them Aymara women, created a cooperative, a plan for action, and are executing it. To date, the cooperative has maintained a consistent milk supply with the local government purchasing some of their milk production for its school-breakfast program. Leverage Partners: Leavitt Insurance Group, Inter-American PHOTO: Members of the cooperative. Foundation, and Andes Fertiles facts BOLIVIA 485 villages choice contributions 128,000 162,000 people x 4 (approx. leveraged contributions) 33 projects = $512,000 value of all programs noted projects: 27% choice funds Community-Based Organization Training 19% other NGO’s Weavers Cooperative 46% village participation All-Purpose Training Center 8% government Eco Schools Family Greenhouses Community Water Projects In 2012, CHOICE multiplied $128,000 in program funding 4x to create $512,000 in total program value through partnerships with other NGOs, village committees, and government agencies. 11 12 self-reliance together ending poverty ownership KENYA Infant mortality, water borne diseases, and pregnancy complications are rampant in the Samburu district of Kenya. These easily preventable fatalities are due to lack of health facilities and trained health workers in rural communities. Enter the SIDEP Group. The SIDEP Group is a band of individuals that has funded the SIDEP Program (Samburu Integrated Development Program), which creates and trains governing health committees. Governing health committees provide a solid foundation of village buy-in, ownership and participation. With CHOICE’s guidance, village health workers have been trained in areas like community nutrition, hygiene, and prenatal and child health care. They are now seeing a decrease in the child mortality rate, pregnancy complications, and easily preventable deaths throughout the Samburu District. Leveraging Partners: US Synthetic and Hope Alliance PHOTO: facts KENYA 74 villages choice contributions $165,000 115,000 people x 4 (approx. leveraged contributions) 27 projects = $660,000 value of all programs noted projects: Community-Based Organization Training 26% choice funds Mariakani Dairy Plant 11% other NGO’s Village Health Worker Program 6% village participation School Construction 57% government Community Water Projects Scholarships In 2012, CHOICE multiplied $165,000 in program funding 4x to create $660,000 in total program value through partnerships with other NGOs, village