Concern Blog
All the latest updates on our work from around the world.
Twestival 2010
Posted by Naoise Kavanagh in Concern Blog | 11 March 2010 |
0 comments
This year on Thursday 25 March, people in hundreds of cities around the world will come together for Twestival (or Twitter Festival).
According to Karen Gallagher, Head of Concern Northern Ireland:
All of us at Concern Worldwide are very excited to be involved with the second annual Twestival and would like to thank everyone involved across the world for helping to raise vital funds and awareness for our education programmes. Twestival is such a fantastic example of the difference that can be made when individuals join together to volunteer and take action.
So much more
Concern’s education projects bring real, long-term improvements to local communities, helping thousands of children to get access to a primary education and the chance of a brighter future. Thanks to the support of Twestival we will be able to do so much more. Watch our new education video.
- Visit our Twestival page
- Check if there is a Twestival event near you
Success for Women of Concern
Posted by Niall O Murchu in Concern Blog | 10 March 2010 |
0 comments
Our Women of Concern photography exhibition opened on 3 March 2010 to a packed house at the Gallery of Photography in Dublin’s Temple Bar.
You are missing some Flash content that should appear here! Perhaps your browser cannot display it, or maybe it did not initialise correctly.
Photographers
Kim Haughton, Brenda Fitzsimons and Marie McCallan were the exhibition’s featured photographers. They chatted with guests about their experiences in Ethiopia, Haiti and Bangladesh.
On the night
Nora Owen, Women of Concern ambassador and Concern Council member, opened the evening with a short speech. Bríd Kennedy, one of Concern’s regional directors, provided an update on the situation in Haiti.
Go see it
The exhibition is on display until 21 March. The Gallery of Photography is open Tuesday through Saturday, 11am to 6pm and on Sundays, 1pm to 6pm.
Prints for sale
Prints of images exhibited are available to purchase. If you’re interested in buying any of these prints, contact gail.williams@concern.net.
International Women’s Day 2010
Posted by Naoise Kavanagh in Concern Blog | 5 March 2010 |
0 comments
Every year on 8 March people celebrate International Women's Day. This year Concern Worldwide has a number of events to mark the day while highlighting the plight of some of the women we work with.
One billion people go to bed hungry every night. The majority of these people are women, despite the fact that they produce the majority of food in developing countries. World’s hungry
Women are largely responsible for growing, buying, selling and cooking food, as well as feeding their children and families, yet women make up 60% of the world’s hungry. Because when times are hard, they eat last and least.
We believe that poverty and inequality are so closely linked that one cannot be tackled without addressing the other.
Tags:
Bringing clean water to rural Tanzania
Posted by Isla Gilmore in Concern Blog | 15 February 2010 |
0 comments
As a city girl, it’s hard for me to imagine life without water coming from the tap. Many people, however, do not have this luxury. Earlier this month, I met a woman whose life has been changed thanks to Concern’s water programme in rural Tanzania.
Struggling to keep up
She lives in Biharamulo District, which is in Kagera Region close to Rwanda. The houses here are spread out and many essential services, including the water points, are far away. It’s a long way from the coast and major cities, it doesn’t rain much and it’s lagging behind in development. Many villagers live in extreme poverty.
Hadija is 32 and has been ill for two years with high blood pressure. She has six children to take care of and has struggled to manage her family and work.
Life has changed
She told me about how life in the village has changed since the water point was improved.
“The water was very dirty before; we drank it and we got diarrhoea.” Hadija was unable to walk to fetch clean water as it was a four-hour round trip from her house. Her children spent around seven hours a day collecting water. As a result, they performed badly at school and are currently two years behind other children their age.
The new water point has reduced the trip to just half an hour.
My children now have time for other activities. They attend tuition for two hours after school. They learn maths and English. Before, this was impossible.
Women and children benefit the most
Hadija faces problems most of us never have to experience. For women and children in rural areas, the impact of clean water is incredible. For Hadija’s children, it is life-changing. “I hope they can go on to secondary school,” she said, “and then who knows what else they can achieve.”
Our water programme
Concern and its partners continue to help people like Hadija by providing clean drinking water in northwest Tanzania. We also train community members to manage and maintain the water points. Villagers source materials for construction and help to build them. This gives them ownership, and we believe it means they will last over time.
Good man Harry!
Posted by Alan O Reilly in Concern Blog | 11 February 2010 |
0 comments
Since the earthquake in Haiti, many amazing people have come forward to fundraise in aid of Concern’s Haiti appeal. Just one example is six-year old Harry from Bray, who has raised over €4,000!
A lifeline for farmers in Tanzania
Posted by Isla Gilmore in Concern Blog | 11 January 2010 |
0 comments
In November last year, I saw an emergency intervention – the very heart of Concern Worldwide’s work.
Distributing seeds
The European Commission (EC) has funded Concern to distribute seeds, giving farmers a chance to grow again this season. Many of the poorest farmers had no seeds to plant. Without assistance they would be hungry again this year. I played my part in securing the funds from the EC, so I was eager to see my contribution first hand.
All too familiar
We drove a couple of hours north from Iringa Town to a village called Kehorogota. I watched the villagers unload the bags of maize seeds from the truck. They waited patiently to sign their forms and weigh out their 5kg of seeds. They know the procedure too well. They already received food aid from the government last year. If the rains are poor again, they may receive it this year as well.
Tags:
30 years in Tanzania
Concern recently marked its 30th anniversary in Tanzania. I’ve just spent a week in Iringa, the first area Concern worked in the country, to see how things have changed in this time.
Before Concern arrived, some parts of Iringa had no trees at all. They were cut down to make room for collective farms in the 70s during the socialist era. People didn’t know they should also plant trees. By the early 80s, entire areas were deforested. Repeatedly, I hear the phrase “it was like a desert.”
No trees, no rain, no food
Without trees there was no rain. Without rain, crops wouldn’t grow. With the entire rural population dependent on farming, this led to extreme poverty. Children were visibly malnourished and unable to attend school. As Concern staff witnessed, it was a desperate situation.
Fruits and vegetables
Thanks to Concern, villagers received seedlings to plant, and gradually the land began to sprout back the forests. Concern encouraged people to plant fruit trees and establish a small vegetable garden next to each house. The result was a valuable and reliable source of healthy food which reduced labour for women.
Tags:
Women farmers make themselves heard
Posted by Naoise Kavanagh in Concern Blog | 23 December 2009 |
0 comments
Rose Mubita, Chairperson of the Mongu District Farmers’ Association in Zambia, attended the launch of Concern’s new report on women farmers in the UK. This is her account of the experience:
I travelled from my village in Western Province, Zambia for the launch of Concern’s Women Marginal Farmers Report. I was my first time in the UK, it was exciting to visit London and talk to decision-makers about how they can support women farmers.
Importance of smallholder farmers
It was a busy few days. I gave a presentation alongside Gareth Thomas, UK Minister for International Development, in Parliament. I was pleased to hear him acknowledge the importance of smallholder farmers, recognising the difficulties poor women farmers face:
Concern Worldwide’s campaign has kept the focus and attention on the poorest most marginalised of these farmers. The majority of these women...We agree with Concern’s analysis that smallholder farmers, if properly supported, have the potential to grow food to feed their families, support their community and ultimately contribute to broader national growth and trade.
Shared experiences
I met lots of different people, including UK farmers and discussed the differences between farming in our countries. I even got the chance to share my experiences with the Zambian ambassador to London.
