Linking Research, Advocacy and Media Work - Gates Foundation and Southern Africa Trust Colloquium
"Poverty is stubborn and can only be overcome through collaborative efforts. But to work together we must know what each other is doing and we must always think in terms of building value adding relationships between each other" said the former President of Tanzania, Mr Benjamin Mkapa at the colloquium on linkages between Research, Advocacy and Media work.
From the 5th of October 2010, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Southern Africa Trust convened a 2-day meeting at Movenpick Hotel in Dar es Salaam in the United Republic of Tanzania.
The objectives of the meeting were:
To share first-hand experience of doing pro-poor policy research, advocacy, and media work in Africa;
To critically reflect on the work that they are doing in relation to each other;
To learn from each other through the exchange of information, knowledge, needs, and mutual expectations for more effective outcomes of research, advocacy, and media work;
To develop conceptual frameworks and strategies for cooperation between research, advocacy, and media initiatives; and
To inform the strategies of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Southern Africa Trust in supporting linkages between pro-poor policy research, advocacy, and media work.
The meeting was a great success; participants advocated for holding more meetings of this calibre at national level so as to make meaningful impact on eradicating poverty. They also supported the idea of a shared way of working together.
FANRPAN Board Chairman is Awarded Southern Africa Trust Drivers of Change Award
Secretary General of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, Mr Sindiso Ngwenya, who is also the FANRPAN Board Chairman is awarded Southern Africa Trust Drivers of Change award in the government category.
Hon. Sindiso Ngwenya was awarded for his dedication to eradicate poverty through enabling access to broader markets by business. He was instrumental in bringing together the region's 3 economic blocs: COMESA, the East African Community (EAC), and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) into a tripartite association. This is resulting in the 3 communities rapidly working towards trading as a single market of about 600 million people, leading to more political stability and prosperity. He moved COMESA from being dormant to the implementation of a customs union. COMESA has 19 countries with a combined population of 430 million citizens. It offers its members and partners a wider, harmonised and more competitive market. He also promoted the development of many supporting institutions around COMESA. Civil society, business and the public have access to the COMESA secretariat and the Secretary General – an openness which has contributed significantly to its and his success.
Hon. Sindiso Ngwenya is a driver of change for African economic development. "His dedication to poverty eradication and equitable development in Africa through enabling access to broader markets by businesses in the region is commendable" said the Judges. Through his leadership, a future is being crafted out for Africa that looks promising.
The Drivers of Change to overcome poverty in Southern Africa were announced on Thursday, 28 October 2010 at a gala dinner held in Johannesburg, South Africa. The Drivers of Change award recognizes individuals or organizations from across the southern Africa Region that are making a real impact, especially in developing effective public policies and strategies, to overcome poverty. It is awarded in four categories: civil society, government, individual and business. The award has been established to hold up living examples of innovative practices, inclusive attitudes and effective processes that build social trust and create the best conditions to make a real and lasting difference in the lives of people living in poverty.
Recipients of the award in each of the four categories demonstrate:
Innovation in the strategies used to develop better public policy;
Policy work with a focus on making a real difference to the material conditions of people living in poverty;
Attentiveness to, and significance for, overcoming poverty and inequality throughout the southern Africa region; and
Inclusion of diverse voices, including voices of the poor.
SADC-CNGO in Solidarity with Swazi People
The Southern African Development Community Council of Non-Governmental Organizations (SADC-CNGO) expresses its deepest concern on the continued repression, suffocation of human rights and political freedom by the Swazi regime. We further express our solidarity with the people of Swaziland during the current and ongoing wave of struggles and campaigns to free themselves from the last Absolute Monarch that continues to impose itself on the people of Swaziland, denying them their constitutional and basic human rights.
The continued repression, violence, intimidation, arrest and detention of both Swazi and solidarity activists must be condemned without reservation. We must call on all citizens and social formations in the SADC region to practically express their solidarity in support of the campaign to free Swaziland from the Tinkundla Regime and push for the Constitutional Reforms that will usher in new political dispensation allowing free political expression and freedoms in line with the SADC Treaty and the Protocol on Politics, Defense and Security Cooperation. We further call on SADC to use the provisions of the Protocol to sanction the Tinkundla Regime to accede to a democratic dispensation for all Swazi people.
We are encouraged by the political resolve of the Swazi people for a final push for freedom during this campaign and protests, and in solidarity we shall strengthen our collective efforts to achieve your liberation. SADC cannot continue to cast a blind eye to the plight of Swazi people, and their complicity in these sufferings shall be judged.
Boichoko A Ditlhake (Mr)
Executive Director
Mavis Mathabatha Named 2010 DAFF Female Entrepreneur of the Year in South Africa
The Department of Agriculture, Forestry & Fisheries (DAFF) has awarded Mavis Mathabatha the 2010 DAFF National Female Entrepreneur of the Year in recognition of the contribution women are making in matters of food security through small and large-scale agricultural production. Ms Mathabatha is the founder and director of the Lammangata Moringa project in the Limpopo province.
In August 2010, Ms Mathabatha was named Top Commercial Processor at all levels within her province: Lepelle-Nkumpi Municipality, Capricorn District, and finally Limpopo, which made her eligible for the DAFF national awards.
Through support from the Southern Africa Trust, Sedikong sa Lerato is harnessing the nutritional and healing powers of the Moringa Oleifera tree to end malnutrition and food insecurity in rural areas of Limpopo. They disseminate Moringa seedlings to rural households, educate community members about personal nutrition and Moringa's benefits, and produce 100% All-Natural Moringa Leaf Powder - an unparalleled super-food and herbal supplement that meets many of the daily nutritional requirements for human health.
President of Namibia Awarded 2010 FANRPAN Food Security Policy Leadership Award
His Excellency, Hifikepunye Lucas Pohamba, President of Namibia, has been awarded the 2010 FANRPAN Food Security Policy Leadership Award. The award was announced in Windhoek, Namibia at the FANRPAN Annual Regional Policy Dialogue on Thursday night.
President Pohamba and his government have been instrumental in creating responsible fisheries policies in Namibia which have already been recognised by the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation in 2009.
President Pohamba of Namibia says:
"Our industrial fisheries will continue to develop in a sustainable manner. We are keen to capitalize on the gains we have made since independence, to greater benefits of all Namibians. The creation of the Namibian fisheries sector is a success story par excellence. Today, it is considered a model of rigorous management of one of the world's richest fishing grounds, which is still recovering from severe overfishing in the 1970s and 1980s. But it is also a story of government determination to make sure the bounty would be shared among as many citizens as possible, from illiterate villagers to middle managers to a new cadre of fisheries inspectors and patrol officers to businessmen and civil servants."
The FANRPAN Food Security Policy Leadership Award is given to individuals and organizations that have made lasting contributions through policy formulation and implementation, appropriate technology or innovation to food security in FANRPAN member states.
Dr Lindiwe Majele Sibanda, Chief Executive, FANRPAN, says:
"Africa is neither poor nor incapable of feeding itself, but it needs more fresh initiatives to promote food security, policy development and poverty alleviation. Visionary people such as President Pohamba help create policies for a food-secure Africa."
The fishing industry has grown to the extent that it is currently Namibia's second biggest export earner of foreign currency after mining (90% of national output is marketed for export). In 2005, Namibia harvested about 552,164 tonnes of fish. The final value of processed products (export value) that year was around US$376.0 million. In 2005 the sector contributed US$372.2.1 million to GDP, compared with US$97.8 million in 1996.
The fishing industry contributes 14,000 new jobs in a population of 1.7 million people. Many of these Namibian employees, whose remittances support with remittances whole villages in the populous north of the country.
The Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources, established in 1991, has had to build almost from scratch the full range of research and surveillance programmes that are the basic components of any fisheries administration, and the legal and regulatory framework to govern the fisheries sector. Since independence, Namibia has put in place three key strategies in fisheries policy:
Stock rebuilding: to rebuild stocks depleted by overfishing before independence.
Namibianisation: to redress the pre-independence foreign domination of the fisheries sector through integrating the fisheries sector into the Namibian economy and society so that the jobs and incomes generated from rebuilt stocks are secured by Namibians.
Empowerment: to ensure that the stranglehold on Namibian participation in the fisheries sector by a small section of the Namibian population at independence is not perpetuated, and to ensure that there is increasingly broad and balanced participation in the sector by Namibians of all backgrounds.
Since 2008, FANRPAN has awarded its FANRPAN Food Security Policy Leadership Award. Past recipients have been the President of the Republic of Malawi, His Excellency Ngwazi, Dr Bingu Wa Mutharika (2008) for exceptional leadership in steering Malawi out of food insecurity within a short period of time and the President of the Republic of Mozambique, His Excellency, Armando Emilio Guebuza, President of the Republic of Mozambique for spearheading Mozambique's recent Green Revolution.
The award, sponsored by FANRPAN and its partners, comes with a non-monetary prize related to furthering the recipient's efforts to ensure food security. These can include agricultural inputs, technology or equipment, learning tours and other capacity building opportunities.
Bizcommunity Freelancer Wins at SADC Awards
Issa Sikiti da Silva, a freelance journalist for Bizcommunity won an award in the Print Category of the SADC Media 2010 Awards for a story on cross-border travel in the SADC region. The article was published in the November 2009 edition of ChangeMudança.
ChangeMudança is a product of a partnership between the Southern Africa Trust and the African Monitor. The magazine disseminates information about regional integration and its role in pro-poor development in southern Africa. It also offers a fresh perspective to social and economic integration, profiling new approaches by government, business and civil society to address the regional dimensions of poverty at national levels as well as the poverty dimensions of regional integration.
Da Silva is one of the four laureates who were chosen as this year's winners by the SADC Regional Adjudication Committee (RAC) that met in Lilongwe, Malawi, from the 24 - 28 May 2010.
Mavis Mathabatha, the 2010 Female Farmer of the Year in the Limpopo Province
Mavis Mathabatha is the founder of Sedikong saLerato, a community-based organisation spearheading an innovative nutritional programme to reduce malnutrition and poverty amongst rural communities in Limpopo. In recognition of the successful Lammangata Moringa project, Ms Mathabatha has been awarded the following awards by the Department of Agriculture:
2010 Female Farmer of the Year, Category: Top Commercial Entrepreneur Processor, Lepelle-Nkumpi Municipality
2010 Female Farmer of the Year, Category: Top Commercial Entrepreneur Processor, Capricorn District
2010 Female Farmer of the Year, Category: Top Female Commercial Entrepreneur, Limpopo Province
These awards qualify Ms Mathabatha for the national award, which will be announced in the Eastern Cape on 28 August 2010.
Through funding from the Southern Africa Trust, Sedikong saLerato is planting Moringa trees in households and educating communities, small-scale farmers, traditional leaders, municipalities and government departments on its nutritional values.
The Moringa tree (also known as the 'miracle tree') is an indigenous plant found throughout Africa, India and the Middle-East. For centuries, it has been used as a food source and also for medicinal purposes. It is a sustainable crop which has immense potential to overcome poverty and hunger.
FANRPAN Annual High Level Regional Food Security Policy Dialogue 2010
This week, Namibia is playing host to the 2010 FANRPAN Regional Food Security Policy Dialogue, where over 200 policymakers, farmers, agricultural product dealers, scientists and non-governmental organisations from across Africa and the world will gather to address African priorities on food security and climate change and its impacts on agricultural development, natural resource management and rural livelihoods.
Food security in Africa is still only an aspiration. With one-quarter of the world's arable land, Africa produces only 10 per cent of its total global output. More than 265 million people are still chronically hungry, yet Africa is estimated to hold 60 per cent of the world's remaining uncultivated farmland.
Stagnant agricultural productivity is a constant battle in Africa, exacerbated by limited access to agricultural inputs, to water, to markets and to knowledge. The impacts of climate change add yet another obstacle in front of African farmers who are seeking to sustain themselves and their families. Developing countries stand to bear the brunt of climate change, while being the least resilient to extreme or erratic weather patterns, such as floods, droughts, salinity exposure and unpredictable rainfall.
The potential for agriculture to boost rural livelihoods, reduce poverty and underpin other sectors of the economy is well established. Agriculture is the most important source of livelihood throughout Africa, accounting for more than 70 per cent of total employment. And 65 per cent of that figure is made up of women farmers.
Agriculture must be viewed as a vital force in our global mission to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), especially since the World Bank has calculated that agricultural growth is at least twice more effective at reducing poverty than growth originating in any other sector.
And Africa's agricultural sector has the potential not only to feed its own people but to become the breadbasket of the world. It is estimated that Africa produces only 10 per cent of the world's crops despite representing roughly 25 per cent of land under cultivation. Africa also has 60 per cent of the world's uncultivated arable with the potential for African yields to grow in value more than three-fold by the year 2030, from $280 billion today to $880 billion.
To achieve this, agricultural tools and knowledge must be made accessible to farmers to increase their yields and adapt to new climate scenarios. Africa needs its own agricultural revolution built on technology and innovation, and facilitated by a conducive policy environment aligned with the needs of African farmers.
Critical Thinking Forum - 'We Are Not Listening To the Youth'
Young people could play a key role in bringing development to Southern Africa, but their voices are largely ignored. This was the consensus of a Critical Thinking Forum co-hosted this week in Johannesburg by the Mail & Guardian and the Southern Africa Trust.
The forum focused on the question: are we tapping into our region's youthfulness, or failing future generations? It coincided with the launch of a study on youth and violence in Southern African Development Community countries, compiled by Volunteer and Service Enquiry Southern Africa (VOSESA) and the Southern Africa Trust. The study analysed challenges facing young people in South Africa, Mozambique, Swaziland, Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The report said that the "youth are the source of both real stability and positive transformation", but that not enough is invested in them.
"We are not listening to those voices long and hard enough to address their needs," said Clayton Peters of the National Youth Development Agency. Helene Perold, executive director of VOSESA, agreed: "Health, education and social systems focus on adults."
Chilufya Chanda, a member of the Southern Africa Youth Movement, eloquently summed up the mood of younger forum participants when he said: "The status of the youth is disillusionment. They are rebelling against a system that has left them at the periphery." Chanda urged young people in Southern Africa to challenge the status quo. "Manipulate the system to get to the centre of it," he told the audience. Peters appealed to the younger generation to be more proactive. "Show up and demand change!" he said.
Through a grant from the Southern Africa Trust, VOSESA researched on the impact of youth violence in southern Africa, which they compiled into a Youth Violence and Civic engagement in Southern Africa report. VOSESA is a non-profit, non-governmental organisation which conducts researches to provide up-to-date information on civic service and volunteering in southern Africa.
The overall aim of the research was to develop a body of knowledge on youth risk, with particular reference to youth violence and crime. This was done to provide evidence based information to inform policy development, raise awareness on youth violence, and encourage prioritisation on innovative interventions against youth violence.
The report gives an overview of the scale and magnitude of youth crime and violence in selected countries in Southern Africa, the population constituting youth at risk in SADC and identification of immediate causes of youth violence and the underlying drivers. It also articulates on gender-based perspectives on the incidence of youth violence in the region.
The summary and full versions of the report are available for download. Click here to download
Food Gardens for the Blind
With support from the Southern Africa Trust, GADRA is working on gardening projects with visually impaired people in the poor townships of Grahamstown in South Africa. Their aim is to improve livelihood of blind people by making food available to their families as well as endow them with opportunity to generate income.
Grahamstown Area Distress Relief Association (GADRA) is a non-profit organisation that seeks to distribute food, provide clothes and education in the town of Grahamstown. A major part of their work involves music, sewing, computer training and bee-keeping projects with visually impaired people.
The blind people were depressed and traumatised by various calamities; their failure to fulfil their obligation as breadwinners of their families, seclusion from society because of their physical handicap and isolated cases of HIV and AIDS infections. Moreover, cows and goats invaded and destroyed produce from their gardens, thwarting all efforts to venture into horticulture projects
The initiative successfully set up gardens at the GADRA Centre and at the homes of the benefactors to produce onions, tomatoes, carrots, beetroot, potatoes and cabbage. Beneficiaries are now endowed with running water facilities and security fences at their homes. They enjoy transport facilities between the centre and their homes too.
The garden projects immensely boosted the self esteem of blind people in the poor communities of Grahamstown. Their families now enjoy nutritious food and they now generate income from selling the produce within their communities.
Africa Identity Week - 25-29 May 2010
A dialogue named "Africa Identity week" is in progress in Maputo, Mozambique where a combination of seminars, screening of documentaries and workshops are used to trigger discussions about the African identity. The main objective of the "Africa Identity Week" is to reflect on how the dialogues between the past and the present contribute to strengthen the African Identity and build reference for an African Vision of the Future.
Speakers at this high level dialogue include Paula Mojane, Trustee for the Southern Africa Trust; Neville Gabriel, Executive Director for the Southern Africa Trust; Ndaba Mazanane from Africa's History, Politics and Social Relations; and others.
Expected outcomes of the meeting include:
A space for dialogue where the new and old generation of Africans, inside and out of Africa, come together openly to share ideas about the New Vision of Africa;
Strengthened vision of Africa free of epidemics, corruption, greed and poverty;
Optimistic discourses and attitudes of Africans, in the continent and Diaspora, regarding the future of the continent and its peoples;
Restored sense of agency, self-esteem, common identity within diversity of the people;
Continued dialogue about the future of Africa, based on the reflection of its ancient and contemporary history;
Establishment of endogenous initiatives that can support the economic and social development of the continent, with a focus on youth and children; and
A development of an African perspective of development.
The Southern Africa Trust supported Centro de Aprendizagem e Capacitação da Sociedade Civil with USD10, 000 for this initiative.
Get involveled in the Africa agenda!
On 05 May 2010, the African Monitor in collaboration with Southern Africa Trust held a citizen consultation on development priorities for Africa 2010 and beyond. The workshop was attended by 26 participants drawn from various grassroots organisations and Non Governmental Organisations from the Southern African region. The year 2010 also marks the 5 year countdown towards meeting the MDG targets. African governments and the rest of the global community are reviewing progress towards meeting these targets.
Regional funders meet to improve aid in southern Africa
A convening of southern Africa funders was held on 30 April 2010 at Wanders club in Johannesburg, South Africa to discuss grant making in the region. Attended by representatives of Ford Foundation, Southern Africa Trust, Trust Africa, Oxfam GB, OSISA, HIVOS and Southern Africa Aids Trust, the meeting shared overviews of their programmes, projects, strategies and challenges for greater aid harmonization.
"We need to be more purposeful about regional grant making – and that includes learning about what's being done" says Alice Brown of the Ford Foundation during her welcome remarks.
Speaking at the same Forum, Neville Gabriel said 'strategic grant making approaches are required to end poverty in the region. Interventions at sub-regional level can make an impact on regional responses e.g. cross border initiatives'
The meeting spoke at length about regional identity and solidarity mechanism while embracing the concept of multi-country dynamics.
Focussing on the linkages and the way forward, an agreement was made to continue meeting regularly with greater collaborations on different projects to promote the development of Southern Africa and beyond.
Communities Engage in Upland Rice Production to End Extreme Poverty
With the support of the Southern Africa Trust Amka-Kazinga is working with smallholder farmers in Missenyi and Kagera regions of Tanzania on projects to reduce extreme poverty through upland rice farming. Missenyi and Kagera regions have a population of over 11,000 people, with the majority being small scale traditional farmers who use hand tools for agricultural activities and depend on banana as staple food.
The initiative is working to lessen dependency on banana production as the main source of livelihood for people in the area. Over and above improving food security, the project has increased income and created employment opportunities for young people and women living in the area. The primary objective of upland rice farming in Missenyi and Kagera is to reduce extreme poverty and hunger at grassroots level by the year 2011.
Before the project, smallholder farmers in the two regions were faced with land infertility, attacks on banana plants by diseases, lack of environmentally friendly techniques to farming as well as poor farming practices. Food production had also declined due to HIV/AIDS prevalence in the area.
MIAGI's 10 Years Anniversary Celebrations!
JHB Linder Auditorium, on 1 May @ 20h00 - MIAGI Youth Orchestra & Youth BigBand
Sasha Mäkilä (conductor, First Assistant Conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra), Steve Dyer (saxophone soloist)
This concert is the culmination of the annual MIAGI Youth Orchestra and Youth BigBand (MYO & MYBB) course at HeronBridge College. The 117 MYO & MYBB members are young musicians between 15 and 25 years of age from all strata of South African society. There is no cost to individual participants who have been selected.The stunning MYO & MYBB in concert is an opportunity not to be missed, at least not if you believe the feed-back from their sold out performance at the Berlin Konzerthaus during a highly successful tour to Germany in August 2009.
Summit of Regional Apex Organisations
Leaders of the Apex organisations in Southern Africa drawn Fellowship of Christian Councils in Southern Africa (FOCISSA), Southern African Development Community Council of Non Governmental Organizations (SADC-CNGO) and the Southern African Trade Union Coordination Council (SATUCC) met on the 29th and 30th of March 2010 in Gaborone, Botswana to foster close relations amongst churches, NGOs and trade unions in the region.
This Summit of Regional Apex Organisations reflected on the key challenges facing the region and the SADC as an institution, and also noted with concern:
The deepening poverty, inequalities and social injustices.
The negative impact of the global economic crisis and climate change.
The lack of democracy and good governance as well as violation of human rights in some.
Member States particularly Swaziland, Madagascar and Zimbabwe.
The painfully slow implementation of the Global Political Agreement in Zimbabwe and the Peace Accord in Madagascar.
The shrinking space for civil society for mobilisation and participation in development initiatives in some Member States.
The negative impacts of the Economic Partnership Agreements on national economies and regional integration
The Summit therefore called upon SADC to:
Recognise and fully engage the people of the region and civil society in the process of regional integration and development and also ensure that SADC National Committees are established and functioning effectively in all Member States.
Ensure implementation and enforcement of protocols and other commitments made by SADC Member States and Secretariat.
Scale up the fight against poverty, injustices and inequalities in the SADC Region.
Enforce the implementation of the Global Political Agreement by all Parties in Zimbabwe and Peace Accord in Madagascar.
Urgently engage the Kingdom of Swaziland in order to ensure that the people of Swaziland enjoy the right to associate and ensure the rights and freedoms to participate in political activities.
The Summit of Regional Apex Organisations concluded by reaffirming their commitment to collaborating in hosting the 6th Civil Society Forum to be held in Namibia in August 2010 and they look forward to the participation of SADC in the event.
Support for displaced Islanders
Between 1967 and 1973, the US and UK governments forcibly removed the people of the Indian Ocean's Chagos Archipelago to make way for the development of a US military base on the island of Diego Garcia. (The base gained attention recently in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq as a launch pad for long-range bombers and as an alleged secret US detention site.)
The two governments deported approximately 1,500 people, known as Chagossians, to the western Indian Ocean islands of Mauritius and Seychelles, located 1,200 miles away. According to some reports, the displaced people received funding of around £650,000 from the British Government, but most individuals received nothing and with no resettlement plan, thousands of Chagossians quickly ended up living in poverty, mainly in slums in Mauritius.
Many Chagossians have committed suicide.
In 1976, a British government official admitted that Chagossians were 'living in deplorable conditions,' but three decades later, most Chagossians (currently more than 5,000 individuals) remain impoverished in Mauritius and Seychelles. In 1997, a World Health Organisation-funded report found that most Chagossians were, 'still housed in tin shacks in the disadvantaged slums' of the Mauritian capital, Port Louis, 'without regular incomes and without real practical access to education or health care.'
Since the late 1990s, the Chagossians have struggled, protested and held hunger strikes to gain the right to return to their homeland and receive compensation to finance their return to the Chagos Islands. Yet, even though the British High Court found in favour of the Chagossians in November 2000 and ordered that they be allowed to return to the Chagos Islands (but denied compensation in another ruling in 2003), the UK Government enacted a Royal Decree, overturning the High Court's November 2000 decision. The Chagossians returned to the High Court in December 2005 to contest the Royal Decree and are currently awaiting a ruling. They are also involved in ongoing lawsuits against the US Government.
Whilst their ongoing legal battles have become well-known in recent years, particularly in Europe and the USA, the Chagossians are still living on the fringes of society in the Seychelles and Mauritius.
With a grant of USD 10,000, the Southern African Trust has committed assistance to the Chagos Refugee Group funding the IT infrastructure and website development needed to strengthen their regional and international communication campaigns, as well as the development of a childcare facility at the group's training and resource centre at Cassis in Mauritius.
IPS Africa's Countdown 2015
The Southern Africa Trust partnered with IPS Africa on a project to provide independent journalism and analysis on progress towards achievement of MDGs in Southern Africa. The stories published focused on giving voice to the poor and communicating the needs of the people in order for decision makers to design policies that talk to people's aspirations. The articles were translated into Swahili, French and Portuguese covering the following thematic areas
Migration and protection
Finance, Trade, Investment and Growth
Health
Governance, development and human security
With the Countdown 2015 Newsletter, IPS Africa by way of insightful reportage, commentary and analysis measured successes and failures in quest of eradicating extreme poverty and hunger. It focused on the achievement of universal primary education, promote gender equality and women's empowerment, reduce child mortality, improve maternal health, and combat HIV/Aids, malaria and other diseases as well as ensuring the environmental sustainability and development of a Global Partnership for Development
Their website averaged 70,000 hits every month, successfully promoting the coverage of MDGs throughout Southern Africa.
Connect Africa Zambia Develops Best For Purpose ICT And Logistics Infrastructure
Connect Africa is a social enterprise that promotes ICT entrepreneurship in deep rural communities that still face communications infrastructure challenges. Supported by the Southern Africa Trust, they are currently working with the Zambian government to develop a rural ICT and logistics infrastructure. Connect Africa first deployed a rural communications trial in central Zambia's Mumbwa district in April 2009, installing six shared-access satellite phones in a school, health clinic, the Zambian Wildlife Authority office, a village beer hall and two roadside kiosks.
We believe that ICTs, whether it be a single village mobile phone or classroom of broadband-enabled netbooks, are an indispensable tool for digital inclusion and socioeconomic development. Affordable and accessible ICTs empower people to learn, create and share knowledge. However, access is yet unavailable in large parts of Africa, particularly in rural and under-privileged areas.
The locations in or near official government-owned facilities will not only increase demand for communications services, but will also facilitate the efficient running of government services. Connect Africa's infrastructure is a gateway for various government departments, private-sector and non-profit organisations to deliver their respective services directly to the rural people of Zambia.
The first six Connect Africa entrepreneurs in Zambia were selected and trained in 2009, in close cooperation with the traditional leaders of each community, to maintain and operate the community phones. The Connect Africa model has shown that it is the rural people and communities themselves who should determine what communications and service levels are needed and sustainable in the long run.
Connect Africa has also partnered with MTN Zambia to roll out the MTN community phone network across the country. MTN provides SIM cards and community phones, while Connect Africa supplies netbooks and printers. The infrastructure and service levels will increase as demand grows.
Throughout 2010, Connect Africa is integrating new technologies into its model to extend its scale and reach- rolling out WiMax networks, renewable energy alternatives and community phones that allow for SMS functionality and mobile money transfer services. Connect Africa is also continuing its series of workshops, which aim to coordinate efforts between different government departments, private sector companies and NGOs. These workshops are designed to address rural service delivery issues at policy level, in line with the Southern Africa Trust's own objective to influence policies to end poverty.
Zapiro wins the 2009 MISA Press Freedom Award
Supported by Southern Africa Trust, the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) has awarded the 2009 MISA Press Freedom Award to South Africa's celebrated and award-winning cartoonist Jonathan Shapiro, better known as ZAPIRO. This is in recognition of his contribution to media freedom and freedom of expression in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region.
Zapiro, who was chosen from nominations made by MISA National Chapters in 11 SADC countries, says the award recognises the cartoon industry as serious media work and is thus an award to all cartoonists in Africa. Zapiro is a common feature in South Africa's media where his work is published by leading newspapers including the Mail and Guardian as well as The Sunday Times.
MISA's annual Press Freedom Award recognises the work of individuals or institutions for making significant contributions to the promotion of media freedom and freedom of expression in the SADC region. The MISA awards have been held in partnership with Southern Africa Trust since 2007.
The Mail & Guardian makes a mark in the region
The Southern Africa Trust has partnered with the Mail & Guardian newspaper since 2006 to bring news of both the incidence of, and initiatives to end poverty in the southern Africa to its readers. Initially a monthly and then weekly, southern Africa page has become a regular feature in the newspaper.
Through this partnership, the Mail & Guardian has so far featured 68 articles. Some of these articles have been syndicated and appeared in other publications in the region and beyond. Other organisations in partnership with the Trust have also been featured in the same articles.
The Mail & Guardian is widely regarded as being the foremost development newspaper in southern Africa. Its partnership with the Trust has helped to:
grow the newspaper's readership in the region
increase the profile and credibility of organizations while simultaneously developing a bank of documented articles and photos for the Trust and its partners for use by others
strengthen the impact of the policy influencing work of its partners
raise the level of debates about regional issues amongst the newspaper's readership,
contribute to the development of a regional perspective and a regional identity amongst the newspaper's readership – which includes many decision and opinion makers in all sectors of society, especially in South Africa but increasingly across the region.
Over the years, the partnership has through the Investing in the future- Drivers of Change Awards profiled innovative practices to overcome poverty in southern Africa, with the 2009 awards honouring the President of Malawi His Excellency Bingu wa Mutharika for decreasing poverty in Malawi from 58 down to 42%.
Africa-wide Civil Society Preparatory Meeting for 7th WTO Ministerial Conference
The Africa Trade Network (ATN) held a meeting of African trade unions, farmers groups, faith-based groups, women's organisations, non-governmental organisations and representatives of governments, parliaments, and social movements, in Cape Town, South Africa, from 1-3 October, 2009. Jointly hosted by the Economic Justice Network, South Africa, and the Third World Network-Africa, the meeting discussed strategy towards the 7th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in November/December 2009, and came to the following understandings.
The neo-liberal policies implemented in our countries over the past decades and reinforced by the rules of the WTO have wreaked havoc on our economies and lives. Those policies are also responsible for the on-going global financial and economic crises that have devastated our countries. The same policies form the essence of the proposals currently on the table in the WTO's current Doha Round of negotiations for further trade liberalisation and deregulation.
If completed on the current terms, the Doha round will aggravate the problems of our economies. It will also take away the very policy instruments needed (and being applied) to address the current crises and to prevent similar crises in the future.
Contrary to proclamations such as those of G20 governments and officials of the WTO, a speedy conclusion of the Doha round is not an appropriate response to the global crises. In fact, the scale, sweep and impact of these crises demand the exact opposite: at the very least, the Doha negotiations must be suspended as governments face up to the full dimensions, impacts and implications of the crises.
The DRC's new national civil society platform
In May this year, DRC civil society groups organised the first national symposium to agree on the framework for a Civil Society National Platform. They wanted this structure to engage in a new partnership with the government and international partners around policy issues and to assess aid effectiveness and its impact on the DRC's development.
165 participants from all national CSO groups (including women's organisations, faith-based organisations, human rights groups, and trade unions) attended this highly successful initial gathering. Delegates also included officials from government, multilateral institutions, and the donor community.
Supported by the Southern Africa Trust, the two-day symposium allowed for wide-ranging views to be heard and an agreement was reached on the following:
The Civil Society National Platform will be an open space where members regularly exchange views and where they put in all their specific skills, means and resources to act and speak as one voice on national and regional issues.
There is an urgent need to involve the civil society sector in the policy dialogue process countrywide and government must encourage their participation, through establishing effective mechanisms.
The poor effectiveness of international aid, based on the Paris' Declaration principles, calls for a participatory approach for its improvement.
Request for proposals: South Africa HIV and AIDS Response Fund
The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) invites proposals from South African organizations that are able to demonstrate an excellent track record in the provision of HIV and AIDS services.
The goal of the Fund is to contribute to the reduction of HIV and AIDS incidence and prevalence, and its impact on women, boys and girls in South Africa through a human rights-based approach and supporting gender equality. The purpose of the project is to provide targeted support to South African initiatives to address HIV and AIDS in a gender responsive manner and contribute to the implementation of the HIV & AIDS and STIs Strategic Plan for South Africa 2007-2011.
The 2009 FANRPAN High Level Regional Policy Dialogue
The Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN) will on 1-4 September 2009 hold their Annual Regional Stakeholders Dialogue in Maputo, Mozambique. The theme for this year's dialogue is "True Contribution of Agriculture to Economic Growth and Poverty Reduction in Southern African countries". The Policy Dialogue presents an excellent opportunity for the Southern African region to dialogue on researched case studies from different countries on the theme, based on the various forward and backward linkages between agriculture and other sectors.
'Miracle' Tree project reduces malnutrition and poverty in Limpopo Sedikong sa Lerato - a Limpopo based and women led community organization is spearheading an innovative nutritional programme which is already reducing malnutrition and poverty amongst rural communities.
The Moringa tree (also known as the 'miracle tree') is an indigenous plant found throughout Africa, India and the Middle-East. For centuries, it has been used as a food source and also for medicinal purposes.
The Southern Africa Trust has partnered with Sedikong to roll-out a US$20,000 project to plant Moringa trees in households and educate communities, small-scale farmers, traditional leaders, municipalities and government departments on the nutritional values of the Moringa tree, as it holds great promise as a sustainable crop that can overcome poverty and hunger.
According to Mavis Mathabatha, founder of Sedikong, using the Moringa tree's products has already reduced malnutrition amongst the 350 orphaned and vulnerable children which the organization supports.
"Before we started, malnutrition was very prevalent," she said. "But since we've started adding Moringa to the children's food, we've seen remarkable results - the children no longer suffer from malnutrition."
She went on to say that thousands of rural community residents in Limpopo are living below the poverty line and the social welfare grants and pensions that particularly women and pensioners receive, are insufficient to cover essential food items such as meat and dairy products. "Many people only eat meat once a month - on the day they receive their grants or pension. This is not enough to survive and be healthy on."
Moringa is one of the few plants on earth that contain all the essential amino acids required for human protein synthesis and is one of nature's richest sources of vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants. The nutritious leaves grow quickly and surprisingly, contain complete proteins which are rare in a plant.
Containing 2 times more protein than yoghurt, 4 times more calcium than milk, 3 times more potassium than bananas and 4 times more iron than spinach, it is little wonder Moringa has been dubbed 'miracle food'. Moringa trees are drought resistant and can be grown in a wide variety of poor soils. Nearly every part of the tree has beneficial properties and it is also proving an excellent source of animal feed for small-scale farmers.
In several developing countries, Moringa is used as a micro nutrient powder to fight indigenous diseases.
The African Grantmakers Network is launched
After years of careful planning, preparations, consultations and meetings, the African Grantmakers Network (AGN) was launched in Accra on 15 July 2009 at a meeting convened by the African Women's Development Fund, TrustAfrica and the Kenya Community Development Foundation—and attended by key African grantmakers. AGN's main function will be to change the narrative of Africa as helpless and hapless, tilt the balance of stories, and increase the visibility and knowledge of Africa.
The AGN will also:
Serve as a platform for peer learning and good practice to enhance good standards and practices;
Ensure an amplification of local voices in development discourse and African perspectives in global platforms;
Reinforce the tradition of African philanthropy;
Advocate for long-term and sustainable mechanisms and resources, including investments and endowments for philanthropic institutions in Africa;
Serve as a reference point for Africans in the Diaspora and a point to affirm the identity of African philanthropic institutions;
Cultivate good relations with other civil society formations in Africa and increase networking for effective advocacy around the aid agenda and the legal environment, including the tax regime; and
Conduct pertinent research, capacity building and advocacy roles.
Recent Developments in Zimbabwe: Update for Funders: August 20, 2009
At the 2009 Africa Grantmakers' Affinity Group (AGAG) Annual Retreat, a Member Interest Group (MIG) about Zimbabwe was formed. To support the Zimbabwe MIG, AGAG hosts a Zimbabwe Listserv and is presenting the August 2009 Conversation With/Dialogue On (CWDO) conference call entitled Recent Development in Zimbabwe: Update for Funders.
Join Briggs Bomba, Director of Campaigns- Africa Action and Cynthia Ryan, Principal- Schooner Foundation as they provide an update for funders on the current situation in Zimbabwe. The call will give a historic overview, map the current funding landscape, detail the current situation on the ground, and outline what the funding gaps are.
The Africa Grantmakers' Affinity Group (AGAG) is a membership network of foundations that are currently funding in Africa or are interested in funding in Africa.
AGAG was established as a forum where funders can share information and work together. AGAG activities are designed to promote increased and more effective grantmaking in Africa through sharing information and building knowledge.
Call for Nominations: MISA Press Freedom Award
The Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) is inviting nominations for its annual MISA Press Freedom Award which is brought to you in conjunction with Southern Africa Trust. The award, with a cash prize of US$2,500, is given to honor excellence in journalism.
South Africa Liaison Office (SALO)
The Trust gave US$250,000 to the project, The Zimbabwe Conflict: an obstacle to regional integration and development, which aims to bring attention to how the Zimbabwe issue is an obstacle to regional integration and development.
This project succeeded in stimulating policy dialogue and debate amongst a variety of regional and international stakeholders and SADC policy makers. Whilst SALO itself says it is too early to gauge whether the project has had a direct impact on the SADC's positive shift on the Zimbabwe issue, several important stakeholders have acknowledged the efforts of the project, including leading Zimbabwe civil society activists and representatives of the South African government, governing party and international diplomats.
This initiative used two channels to mobilize civil society; both directly through activities which targeted civil society and also through the Zimbabwe Solidarity Forum (a South Africa-based civil society forum). These channels mobilized civil society, amplified its voice and increased civil society's influence on public opinion and policy makers, highlighting the need for decisive action by SADC governments to end the violence and electoral problems, which have prolonged the crisis in Zimbabwe.
Further, the project provided a platform for players such as the World Bank, Wits University, UNISA, the EU and the South Africa government to debate the threat Zimbabwe poses to the region's goals and integration process.
Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition (CRISIS)
The Trust supported the project Displacement of Zimbabweans - implications for the Region with a grant of US$150,000 to clearly identify the extent and effects of displacement of Zimbabweans into the SADC region, in particular, the impact on poverty alleviation efforts.
CRISIS used three innovative methods to draw attention to the plight of displaced Zimbabweans and used these to lobby for change in the Zimbabwe situation:
They amplified the voices of displaced Zimbabweans and the poor communities in the countries that were hosting them, using arts, drama and radio coverage at SADC conventions in Zambia, Botswana, Malawi and South Africa.
They increased understanding of how the Zimbabwe government's policies were deepening poverty, not only within Zimbabwe but also in the region, though engaging with parliamentary members of several SADC countries and through the Botswana media.
They supported increased lobbying efforts of regional civil society groups, by using and disseminating evidence gathered in this project, resulting in:
The South African Department of Home Affairs in South Africa extending the number of days required for Zimbabweans seeking asylum;
Refugee International using the project's findings to express the gravity of the Zimbabwean situation to the United Nations and the SADC;
Churches in Mozambique working on a strategy to engage the faith-based community and the Mozambican government on the Zimbabwean situation; and
The Botswana Council of Churches lobbying their country for a 90-day renewable visa for Zimbabweans fleeing that country.
Regional coverage through SADC Calling
Southern Africa Trust supported the Southern African Broadcasting Association's SADC Calling programme with US$30,000 to engage grassroot voices in sustainable development through first hand reporting on issues directly affecting them. The project has been successful with increased field reporting. An enabling environment has been created for the poor to be engaged in policy making.
Speak up, you're through
It is estimated that only about four million of Zambia's 11.7-million population are able to use cellular phones as a means of communication, whereas much of the population in rural areas remains largely unserviced by the three commercial mobile-phone service providers. Thanks to satellite antennas and solar panels, the remotest areas in Zambia are being connected.
Plate forme Nationale des Organizations de la Société Civile de Madagascar
The lack of a coherently organized civil society that has the ability to engage with policy makers on issues of poverty reduction in Madagascar is seen as a major root cause of the problems in the country.
The Southern Africa Trust began supporting a broad-based coalition of civil society organisations in Madagascar in November 2008, with a grant of US$100.000 to strengthen their coordination at a national level, especially to engage in developing and implementing effective poverty reduction strategies. The funds are being used to strengthen civil society participation in the policy development, implementation, and monitoring structures of the Madagascar Action Plan (MAP), which is the country's new poverty reduction strategy.
The project will allow the voices of the poor to be considered in policy development in Madagascar. It will also increase the knowledge base, coordination, and visibility of civil society organisations in poverty reduction.
In the current situation in Madagascar, it seems that this kind of support given by the Southern Africa Trust is urgently needed. "This platform is proving to be an important forum for civil society organisations to develop and communicate not only a response to the current crisis issues, but to the underlying poverty-related causes of the crisis" said Ashley Green-Thomson, the Southern Africa Trust's Grants Manager.
Under a seal of quality
Johannes Mkhari is a content man. A senior guide at Motswari Private Game Reserve in Timbavati, Mkhari and his colleagues are beneficiaries of a tourism concept that embraces the globally recognised fair trade principles. As a member of Fair Trade in Tourism in South Africa (FTTSA), the reserve recognises ethics of fair wages, sustainable environmental practices, improved social services and investment in local economic infrastructure. Responsible tourism is changing lives.
Seeds of the future
Inadequate education campaigns about genetically modified crops undermine the farmers' ability to make their voices heard. Genetically modified crops could play a major role in helping Africa feed itself; and yet there may be safety concerns associated with them. Biowatch conducted workshops to inform small scale farmers about the pros and cons of using genetically modified crops.
Justice and Peace Commission of Kigoma Diocese
The violent conflict in the DRC’s Kivu region again raises the prospect that a region in conflict will not develop out of poverty. But overcoming the volatility in Kivu and the surrounding region requires more than bringing an end to the current fighting and providing immediate humanitarian relief. It needs a sustained effort to address the underlying causes of the resurgence of the violent conflict. It needs ongoing work by community based groups, person by person, to transform the conflict into the possibility of peace and development.
The Southern Africa Trust supports the Kigoma Justice and Peace Commission’s programme of cross-border peace for development, being implemented by seven Justice and Peace Commissions across three countries in the conflict region: DRC, Tanzania and Burundi. Working across borders with communities in all three countries, this project is strengthening local communities in the region to prevent and resolve conflicts in a peaceful manner and to reintegrate refugees and returnees through reconciliation efforts. By doing this, the programme is working to transform the potential for further violent flare-ups in the region into the possibility of sustained development in the long term – so that the violence happening in Kivu now is prevented from recurring and spreading.
Skillshare International
Humankind has produced handcrafts since pre-historic times and today, thousands of people throughout the SADC are involved in craft production. Trade in crafts has great potential as a strategy for poverty alleviation and job creation and could significantly contribute towards improved livelihoods and regional integration. However the craft industry has not yet realized its potential and the opportunities for regional and international trade in crafts are only starting to be explored.
The study on Regional Crafts and Access to Markets (2007) was commissioned by Skillshare International with financial support from the Southern African Trust. The study not only gives a detailed overview of the SADC craft industry’s potential for poverty alleviation and job creation, but it will also be used to lobby for increased regional trade and access to markets for the craft industry.
Skillshare International works to reduce poverty, injustice and inequality and to further economic and social development in partnership with people and communities throughout the world. Learn more about their work on www.skillshare.org
The United Nations Climate Change Conference in Poznañ
FANRPAN is participating at the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP 14/CMP 4 which began on the 1st of December 2008 in Poznan.
A six member delegation to the United Nations Climate Change Conference is led by FANRPAN CEO, Dr. Lindiwe Majele Sibanda
Malawi looks at ways to speed up NEPAD priority programmes
A two-day NEPAD national stakeholder workshop in Blantyre, Malawi on 16-17 July brought together heads and senior level officials in government departments, universities, civil society organisations, private sector and partner organisations as part of a NEPAD initiative that is being implemented in seven SADC countries.
10th Anniversary National Poverty Hearings
In July and August National Poverty Hearings will be held in the 9 provinces of South African, to provide a platform for all South Africans affected by poverty to share their stories, and call for justice. All South Africans living in poverty are invited and welcome to participate in this process.
Khanya College Johannesburg Trust
Khanya College is an NGO with a long history of working with social movements and ex-perience with anti-xenophobia work. With the understanding that the attacks against foreigners were largely driven by poverty and desperation, the immediate need was to protect the migrants. Through the Social Movement Indaba, Khanya embarked on a series of political engagements with communities to build solidarity and understanding across national lines.
MISA Press Freedom Award
The Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) would like to congratulate Professor Fackson Banda of Rhodes University for winning this year’s MISA Press Freedom Award. A Zambian Professor of Journalism and Media Studies, Professor Banda is one of the most outstanding academics of his time, having carried out extensive research, written numerous reports.
Mining companies' community consultation processes flawed
A call for open and honest consultation to bridge divisions between mining companies and affected communities has been propagated by stakeholders from business, communities and nongovernmental organisations. Nongovernmental research foundation Bench Marks on Wednesday reported that the community consultation processes...
Decisive action approach A workshop held recently in Johannesburg encouraged delegates to share their experiences in the struggle to eradicate poverty in Africa.
Turning the tide The enclosure presents the most shade one can find in the sun-drenched village
of Luangwa Boma in Zambia. Two Baobab trees nestle together, offering relief to the fishermen who come out of the river.
Imaginary Borders
Consider this hypothetical case: a Malawian-born, 18-year-old crosses rivers, mountains and borders and ¬finds himself in South Africa's gold mines. He gives his all for more than ¬five decades until his body sags at almost 70.
Seasons of Hunger The Breede River Valley in the Western Cape is known as a fertile farming area that hosts internationally renowned vineyards, picturesque fruit orchards and tourist farm stalls, but a visit to Ashton's Zolani Township quickly scrapes away the lush veneer to reveal the reality of unemployment, poverty and hunger for many of its inhabitants.
Comfort for the poor Every day at work I am confronted by the faces, voices and sounds of the homeless of the inner city of Cape Town. They gather early in the morning at the St George’s Cathedral soup kitchen for a warm meal — for many their only meal of the day
Rating the impact of Aids
The measure of devastation brought by HIV/Aids may be impossible to quantify in human and financial terms but, using tools such as the Household Vulnerability Index (HVI), it is possible to begin measuring the effects of the epidemic on households and communities.
Faith, funding and the poor
I recently had the opportunity of being part of two interesting discussions that have been bearing on the debate about whether faith based organisations have the capacity to influence policy and, more generally, the religion-state relationship in South Africa..
Inspiring Journalists to Soldier on
In a region that is plagued by injustice and media violations, the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) Press Freedom award cannot be a better inspiration to those scribes with a passion of getting the news to the people.
Regional Call to Participate in Strengthening Civil Society Voices to Influence Policies in the Context of HIV and AIDS
At the start of 2007 SARN, COMBOCO and LANFE entered into a partnership supported by the Southern Africa Trust.
Welcome to our EPA Project
Linking CSOs in Southern Africa Mthente Research and Consulting Services has been granted generous funding by the Southern Africa Trust
Networks as Forces of Change and Advocacy in Southern Africa
Over the recent years, there has been a steady increase in the number of civil society organisations (CSO) networks working in various fields.
SADC: think like a region
The 2007 Africa Competitiveness Report — a joint effort of the World Economic Forum, the World Bank and the African Development Bank— identifies low overall competitiveness as one of the main obstacles to maintaining high growth levels across the African continent.
