Exodus Volunteer in Tijhza, Morocco

Peter Florence, a regular volunteer at our project in Tijhza, Morocco, gives a guided tour of the school where volunteers are working in conjunction with Baraka Community Parternships.

Baraka Community Partnerships April Update

Zambia

Since our last update, we have been focusing much of our energy on our mosquito nets campaign. To date, we have distributed 750 nets, with more to be distributed when one of our volunteers, Sian Roberts, visits Zambia in May. So far, the funds have been raised for 800 mosquito nets and we hope to reach a target of 1000 before she sets off from her home in Toronto to distribute the nets in the Chikumbi region of Zambia. Thanks Sian!

For our mosquito nets campaign, we have partnered with Against Malaria, who match our donations net for net. We are hoping to raise the funds to reach our target of 3500 nets by the end of the summer, which combined with Against Malaria's contribution would result in a total of 7000 nets to be distributed by us in the Chikumbi region.

Follow this link to find out more and to donate:

http://www.AgainstMalaria.com/baraka

Morocco

A testament to the lasting impact of being a Baraka volunteer, our upcoming May trip to Morocco (in conjunction with Exodus travel company) has been oversubscribed! As a result we have more money than planned for our project in the Atlas Mountains village of Tijhza, and most of the volunteers for the trip are returnees.

Some of the activities that we have planned for the trip include refurbishing the homes of the elderly and poor, painting a school classroom, clearing up rubbish with local children, planting 180 trees with the Forestry Commission and local government, completing the water tower started last October and more.

For more about volunteering opportunities please visit our site: http://www.barakacommunity.com/

Baraka Community Partnerships February/March Update

Baraka has had a busy couple of months, with lots to update you on since our last post!

First and foremost we are delighted to announce that Exodus have decided to officially launch our projects in Chikumbi and Chawama in Zambia as part of their Responsible Tourism Holidays- check us out at: http://www.exodus.co.uk/responsible-travel/our-projects/zambia-project.

The partnership will help increase awareness about our work and hopefully generate further interest for future volunteers and donations; something that we have already witnessed in Morocco after that project was launched with Exodus.

Zambia

This month saw the completion of the much-needed Borehole in Katuba, signifying Baraka’s expansion into the rest of the Chikumbi region. The Borehole itself will hopefully reduce diarrhoea-related diseases in the village and lessen the burden of woman and children walking to and from other, farther, water sources. A picture of the borehole can be seen below...

In other news, school attendance in Kasalu has increased yet again, to 115 students, an impressive 10% increase since we first started there. This is a feat that was no doubt helped by the installation of school desks and cupboards that had been previously funded by Baraka, and the donation of a solar panel and convertor by Exodus, so as to offer evening education. This solar panel also provides Kelvin with the opportunity to earn extra money towards project-related expenses, through the recharging of mobile phones.

Additionally, this month hopes to see the distribution of the next round of malaria nets. The physical distribution of the nets has been aided by the training of two villagers in Malaria and health awareness. They have already started to visit with other villagers, advising them on good health practices. Within the next couple of weeks they will be visited by the district health inspector who will evaluate their work and distribute the appropriate materials to diagnose malaria.

With the help of Kelvin, we have identified several other projects that merit the help of Baraka and its donators in Chikumbi...

• an entrepreneurship training programme for girls
• a footbridge to cross the Mwembeshi stream which will aid pupils and villagers in their everyday lives. As Kelvin points out...

“When the rains are heavy school children from Kasalu village and other surrounding villages stop going to school for fear of getting drowned or washed downstream by the strong current”

• The completion of the school in Katuba
  

Morocco

Next month will see Baraka’s first sold-out volunteer trip with Exodus, bringing £750 to the project in Morocco immediately, with possibly more for the long-run.

One of the operations that we will be doing out there is a medical clinic for the village for both treatment and education, which will be run by one of our board members, Liz Varughese, with the help of three nurses who are volunteers from the Exodus group. It will be the first time anything like this has been done in Tijhza, and we hope to identify some long and short run projects to help with healthcare in the village.

In other news, the village will finally see the building of the new water tower which is due for completion by the summer. It will help the village during the hot summer months when there is often a shortage of water. Also, the football goals which were contributed by Baraka have been installed on the village pitch.

Baraka have identified several other initiatives to help the Tijhza village, among these include tree planting, a pre-school, child/woman’s club and bee keeping.

For more information about Baraka Community Partnerships and volunteering opportunities please visit our website: http://www.barakacommunity.com/

Exodus Offers Responsible Tourism Trips to Tijhza, Morocco

A small amount of intrepid tourists find their way to Tijhza, but there is still the sense of a bygone era when passing through the village, especially considering electricity arrived only a few years ago. Although our intentions started with helping the Tijhza School, our project has now evolved to help the village and the wider community thanks to continuous donations from visiting Exodus clients. This project offers support to the Berber children and villagers of Tijhza Village by focusing on essentials that many take for granted, such as health care, education and a sustainable income.

The above quote is from an excellent write up about volunteer travel opportunities in Morocco with Exodus – the UK's leading exponent of responsible travel. Exodus is fully supportive of our projects offering both logistical and financial support. In fact, Baraka Community Partnerships designs itineraries for special volunteer trips, and Exodus Travels Ltd administers them. This way, responsible travellers can confidently book trips with an ABTA registered travel operator with over 35 years' experience in running adventure group tours worldwide.

So, if you're looking some fun the the Moroccan sun with a healthy dose of volunteering to a worthwhile cause, consider visiting the Atlas Mountains village of Tijhza, Morocco with Exodus in 2010. Their next trip will be in April.

Visit www.exodus.co.uk for more details.

Click here for the link to their Morocco Tijhza Village Project article.

Baraka Community Partnerships Update: August 2009

PE Lessons in Kasalu, Zambia

Here’s a brief update to fill you in on all the good things happening with Baraka Community Partnerships. Please visit our website for more information and feel free to contact us at info@barakacommunity.com.

ZAMBIA

There's plenty of good news to share with you about our work in Zambia this month! Our Against Malaria campaign to provide mosquito net to the residents of Kasalu, Zambia was a massive success! In less than a week, we were able to raise the funds for each home in Kasalu to have a net! Thanks so much to everyone who donated. Of course, why should we stop there? We have now moved on to the greater goal of making sure every family in the whole of Zambia has access to a mosquito net. Helping out on this front is London boutique bakeshop Bea's of Bloomsbury. All this week, Bea's is offering to pay for one mosquito net for every set of six cupcakes sold. What a delicious way of donating to a good cause.

More about our Against Malaria campaign:

http://barakacommunity.blogspot.com/2009/08/beas-of-bloomsbury-fights-malaria-with.html

http://www.againstmalaria.com/baraka

In other Zambia related news, Kasalu has seen school attendence shoot up to more than 100 students. This is a fantastic achievement for a non-state supported school in a remote village. Kasalu's women's scone making group (32 members strong!) has diversified and are now selling recently harvested ground nuts at nearby markets. The village vegetable garden that was created with the help of our friends from Exodus Travel is thriving! There are more than 15 villagers involved in the cooperative. Some of the food is sold and some of it goes to feed the children at school.

More about Exodus Travel:

http://www.exodus.co.uk/

MOROCCO

Things are progressing well in the community of Tijhza. Tourists are starting to find out about the village and our involvement there from Lonely Planet's Morocco guidebook! Here's what one recent Tijhza visitor (who decided to volunteer her time after reading about us in Lonely Planet) had to say:

Just wanted to let you know that we had a fantastic time in Tijhza. What a beautiful place! Thanks for your help and the information you provided in advance. At the end of a week ... we really didn't want to leave.

There's plenty more volunteer activity lined up for the next few months! Find out how you can volunteer your time and have a bit of adventure with us:

http://barakacommunity.com/volunteer_trips.htm

LAOS

Our relationship with Community Learning International is coming along nicely. CLI’s commitment to providing opportunities to children in need fits incredibly well with our ethos. With CLI, Baraka will build a school in the village of Kokneu. Being within reach of the town of Luang Prabang, working here will increase the possibility of organising volunteers. Already, we have raised more than fifty percent of the money required to build the school!

More about Community Learning International:

http://www.communitylearninginternational.org/

FUNDRAISING

Thanks all those generous people helping us achieve our goals! We couldn't do it without you!

- Our Sunday Brunch Fundraiser in July raised £300 and introduced the ideas and ethos behind BCP to a number of interested people.

Here are some video highlights:

http://barakacommunity.blogspot.com/2009/07/video-highlights-from-our-sunday-brunch.html

- Our friends at Blue Leisure are organizing a series of rowathons over the six months to help us create awareness and raise money for our projects. As things progress, we'll be sure to keep you posted!

More about Blue Leisure:

http://www.blueleisure.com/vebo/

- Speaking of Blue Leisure, our summer BBQ with Blue Leisure managed Thamesmead School Sports Centre is coming up on Saturday the 5th of September.

Learn more about this fun event and how you can get your tickets:

http://barakacommunity.blogspot.com/2009/08/thamesmead-school-summer-charity-bbq-in.html

Make sure to visit this blog again soon! We're posting more and more about our projects and activities all the time.

For more information about Baraka Community Partnerships, please visit our website:

http://www.BarakaCommunity.com

Baraka Community Partnerships Update: July 2009

One of Baraka's sponsored Football teams in Lusaka, Zambia. This team is called - believe it or not - Manchester United.

Here’s a brief update to fill you in on all the good things happening with Baraka Community Partnerships. Please visit our website for more information and feel free to contact us at info@barakacommunity.com.

Morocco

Funding for a new water tower in the Atlas Mountain village of Tijhza has been secured! Just in time too as we have been informed about residents recently having to go more than a week without running water in their homes.

Find out more about how we help the people of Tijhza:
http://www.barakacommunity.com/morocco_projects.htm

Laos

Our relationship with Community Learning International is coming along nicely. CLI’s commitment to providing opportunities to children in need fits incredibly well with our ethos. With CLI, Baraka will build a school in the village of Kokneu. Being within reach of the town of Luang Prabang, working here will increase the possibility of organising volunteers. Already, we have raised more than fifty percent of the money required to build the school!

Find out more about Community Learning International:
http://www.communitylearninginternational.org/

Zambia

Our work in Zambia is coming along swimmingly with developments at both our projects improving!

In Chawama, we have developed a good relationship with a member of the board for Chawamaa Sports Academy. As the programme manager for this academy, he’s been most helpful providing us with a list of references that may prove fruitful in assisting us to inspire and entertain the community’s at-risk children through sport whilst raising awareness of the dangers of AIDS, alcohol and drug abuse, and promoting general health awareness, education and social integration.

Similarly, things are moving forward for the Chikumbi Community Centre where recent initiatives to educate the villagers on the dangers of AIDS, malaria and drug abuse have proven successful and popular.

Find out more about how we help people in Zambia:
http://www.barakacommunity.com/zambia_projects.htm

For more information about Baraka Community Partnerships, please visit BarakaCommunity.com.

Baraka Community Partnerships

A Baraka sponsored school in Morocco

So, what is Baraka Community Partnerships and what are we all about?

Well, Baraka Community Parternships is a small (very small!) charity involved with three projects: tow in Zambia and one in Morocco. We concentrate our focus in the fields of education, medication and the environment and aim to work with and alongside communities in determining what their needs and goals are and how we can help acheive them.

We have done quite a few things so far such as helping renovate schools, providing cleaner water and medical care, initiating energy saving schemes, tree planting, providing educational, sporting and clothes supplies, building toilet blocks and more. We have many more aspirations but want to make sure everything we do is done at the right time and the right pace and, thus, not to upset the status quo in the communities where we work.

So there’s a little info on what we are all about. Watch this space for some updates here and there, or check out our website at http://www.barakacommunity.com/

Andy Mckee

Baraka Community Partnerships Project Coordinator