Monthly Archives: May 2011

Private: Who are the people behind the programs?

News & Updates

With so many charitable organizations at work in the US and abroad, do you ever stop and think, “Who am I actually helping, and how?” OIC International’s mission is to teach women and men how to improve their lives. Our goal reaches beyond providing for immediate needs, but instead seeks to empower people in the skills needed to provide for their families and improve their communities. Just a few of OIC International’s programs in Africa and Haiti are:

• Liberia HANDS: Liberia Health, Agriculture, Nutrition Development for Sustainability – combating the food gap and nutritional deficit in Liberia’s most food insecure areas.
• Nigeria EDC: Nigeria Entrepreneurship Development Center – providing sustainable employment-generation and business development services to disadvantaged, at-risk women and youth.
• Ethiopia: Adolescent Reproductive Health Education & Skills Training – combining reproductive health education and awareness with vocational skills training for vulnerable youth in Ethiopia.

cocina11

Francisca Tettey Uordzorgbey, the head culinary instructor in OIC Ghana’s vocational training school, knows firsthand about the transformative experience of OIC International. Francisca first came to OIC Ghana as a trainee in the culinary school. After graduating, she built a life for herself and her family as a well-respected chef, working in the kitchens of Ghana’s finest restaurants before returning to OIC Ghana, this time as a teacher. She continues to train her students in local and western-style cuisines, helping them develop a strong foundation to build bright careers in Ghana’s booming cuisine industry. As a former student and now teacher, her relationship with OIC International spans over 30 years, a testament to how the work we do empowers lives.

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When you support OIC International, you are directly supporting programs that help people end poverty in their lives and communities.

Thank you,

Crispian Kirk

To find out more about these and other OIC International programs, visit our website at www.oici.org

“The Continued Human Crisis in Côte d’Ivoire”

News & Updates, Updates

We want to share the following update with you, which we received from Mr. Eliah Kassi, Executive Director at OIC International, Côte d’Ivoire:

“The war has caused many people currently [to be] displaced throughout the country. Currently just for the city of Bouake where OIC-Côte d’Ivoire is located, we [have] registered more than 15,000 people displaced by war. These people have all abandoned [their homes] and in their flight[,] came to seek refuge in Bouake. With the help of local authorities and NGOs we are currently register[ing] them in an [effort] to help them. For now, their needs are mainly in food, clothing, and other basic necessities.”

As many of you no doubt know, Côte d’Ivoire has been embroiled in a long and costly political crisis. Despite the capture of president incumbent Laurent Gbagbo by Alassane Ouattara’s forces, the humanitarian and economic impact from this month of violence will only get worse. During the months of the political impasse, nearly one million Ivoirians have been displaced with hundreds of thousands fleeing to neighboring countries. Côte d’Ivoire, whose poverty level has gone from 10% in 1985 to nearly 43% in 2008 according to the World Bank, will endure struggles long after the eyes of the international media and community have turned away.

costa-marfil

OIC International, however, has been working in the country since 1986, and we will continue our tireless efforts to help Ivoirians surmount the current crisis and to flourish in the future. We are working closely with the UNDP to support displaced persons, through a new priority implementation area for the city of Bouake, called early recovery, which seeks to “identify projects to revenue initiatives that can enable people displaced by war to take charge themselves.”

We will keep you updated on the struggles in Côte d’Ivoire as well as the recovery efforts by OIC-Côte d’Ivoire.

Thank you for your continued support. To make a donation to support our work in Côte d’Ivoire and other OIC International initiatives, visit oicinternational.org.

Sincerely

Your OIC International team

What does Green really mean?

News & Updates, Updates

“Go Green!” “Be Green!” We have all heard this call to action many times. Community Supported Agriculture, “farm-to-table” freshness, sustainable agriculture, and certified organic are the newest popular themes in American culture. But in many parts of Africa and in Haiti, “green” agriculture is more than just a theme. It is the means by which families and communities are fighting poverty, surviving and making a living.

Women are responsible for 60-80 percent of food production in developing countries, in addition to the work they do raising children and managing their households. The work is far from easy. With limited resources, tools and seeds, not to mention sometimes poor soil quality, these strong, intelligent and determined women-farmers must fight everyday to feed their families and support their communities. While we may desire that “farm –to-table” freshness, the women-farmers we work with depend on it.

OIC International invests in the lives of these women to help families and communities rise out of poverty. Although there are no easy solutions to poverty, supporting the matriarch of the household creates an environment for the entire family to thrive. She not only teaches her children the skills she has learned, but also invests her earnings into her family’s and community’s well-being. You can help these women by making an investment in their future. OIC International has the tools and resources to teach women how to farm, and you can support OIC International with its programs in Africa and in Haiti.

Very Truly Yours,

Crispian Kirk

Global economists are all saying the same thing: Women-farmers are a key ingredient in ending poverty. By making a donation to OICI International, you, too, can be a key ingredient in ending poverty. Go to www.oici.org to help.

 

Ways to Help Japan

News & Updates, Updates

Like us, you have most likely heard about and seen footage of the triple disaster that struck Japan on March 11, 2011. Following a magnitude 9.0 earthquake (the fifth largest recorded since 1900), northeastern Japan was struck by subsequent tsunamis with waves measuring up to 33 feet tall, wiping away homes and buildings, and devastating whole cities and towns.

The death toll has climbed to over 8,000 and with more than 10,000 individuals still missing, it will continue to rise. Over 400,000 survivors have been displaced and are living in temporary shelters, where food, water, heat and electricity are running low. Finally, the threat of nuclear emergency continues as workers race to stabilize conditions at the Fukushima Daichi power plant.

While OIC International does not work in Japan, we remind you that international support and solidarity, which you have demonstrated many times through your support of OIC International, always make a difference in an otherwise dire situation. Please consider donating towards relief efforts in Japan, to help make a difference. There are many options available:

You can easily donate $10 by simply texting any of the numbers below, and $10 will automatically be added to your phone bill.

Text “REDCROSS” to 90999 (American Red Cross)

Text “JAPAN” to 50555 (Global Giving)

Text “JAPAN” or “QUAKE” to 80888 (Salvation Army. You must reply “yes” to the automatic thank-you message)

Text “JAPAN” to 20222 (Save the Children)

AMERICAN RED CROSS-

http://american.redcross.org/

site/PageServer?pagename=ntld_main&s_src=RSG000000000&s_subsrc=RCO_NewsArticle

AMERICARES

http://www.americares.org/whatwedo/emergency/japan/japan-earthquake-tsunami.html

GLOBAL GIVING

http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/japan-earthquake-tsunami-relief/

SAVE THE CHILDREN

https://secure.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.6617251/k.7E71/

Donate_to_the_Japan_Earthquake_Tsunami_Children_in_Emergency_Fund/

apps/ka/sd/donor.asp?msource=wellpaqkf311

SALVATION ARMY

https://donate.salvationarmyusa.org/site/c.tvI3IeNUJsE/b.5760419/k.2CB3/

Donate_Now/apps/ka/sd/donor.asp

?c=tvI3IeNUJsE&b=5760419&en=5eJzHIOjF4IIJSNmG3JEIUMDJoKRJXNyGjIRJVOuEgLLJWOIF

INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL CORPS

http://www.groupon.com/deals/international-medical-corps (buy vouchers of $5, $10, $25)

Japan Red Cross/ Unicef /Save the Children — pay with Google Checkout

http://www.google.co.jp/intl/en/crisisresponse/japanquake2011.html

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Crispian Kirk

 

Remembering Grace Sullivan

News & Updates, Updates

It is with great sadness that we report the death of Mrs. Grace Banks Sullivan, who passed away peacefully on March 15, 2011 in Scottsdale, Arizona. Mrs. Sullivan was the wife and life partner of OIC International’s founder, Reverend Leon H. Sullivan.

In his book Moving Mountains, Reverend Sullivan described his wife as thus:

My wife “Amazing Grace” whom I could never credit or thank enough shared my vision and my struggles, walking with me every step of the way. As a mother, wife and helper, she has no equal… For all important things achieved in this world, there are those who pay a special price, and this is true for Grace Sullivan. No one will ever know the sacrifices she made in standing by me and helping me with all the things I have attempted to do. As I zigzagged across America and the world it was Grace who maintained a home, cared for our children, and in untold ways made it possible for me to continue on… Neither I nor the world will ever be able to repay the debt that we owe to Grace Sullivan. Without her, the things we were able to achieve would never have been done.

Born in Maryland in 1924, Mrs. Sullivan graduated from Beaver College with a B.A. in Government and History and an M.A. in Education and Leadership. She founded and developed the Philadelphia Miniversity, an education program for adults that required no educational prerequisites, and also served on the boards of the Public Broadcast System, the William Penn Foundation and the International Foundation for Education and Self-Help (IFESH).

Mrs. Sullivan is survived by her three children, Julie, Hope and Howard, as well as seven grandchildren, Charlie, Leon, Chelsea, Elisabeth, Grace, Matthew and Saige.

On behalf of OIC International and our affiliates around the world, we are deeply saddened by the loss of Mrs. Grace Banks Sullivan. Please join us in remembering and honoring Mrs. Sullivan, who as an initial and longtime supporter of self-help was integral to OIC International’s mission and work.

Sincerely,

Crispian Kirk