Today’s post is sponsored by CARE, but my love for their humanitarian programs is all my own!!!
Did you know that in 1945, CARE invented the CARE Package as a way for Americans to send lifesaving food and supplies to a Europe flattened by World War II? Now the term CARE package has become a synonym for the thoughtful gifts people send to far-away friends and loved ones. Learn more about CARE and the great work that they do! CARE is on a mission to fight poverty and they’re committed to empower women and girls. There are so many great things CARE does to make this world a better place and to help those that need it the most. Below I’ll share 3 stories that CARE has their hand in and hopefully we can help to make this world a better place also.
CARE Knows How to Make Mobile Phones into ATMs
For many rural communities in developing countries, banks are either unavailable, or too far away. In Tanzania, CARE partnered with Vodafone to start M-Pesa (M for mobile, pesa is Swahili for money), a mobile phone-based money transfer and microfinancing service which allows users to deposit, withdraw and transfer money using a mobile device. VSLA groups in rural communities began using their M-Pesa accounts on a weekly basis to store cash that otherwise would have remained in the group’s box. Not only more convenient for those who live a long distance from banks, M-Pesa is popular with savings groups that view the mobile service as a more secure option than leaving their funds in a safe box.
Just $25 buys a village savings and loan kit. Give a gift today!
CARE Knows How to Get it Done on Capitol Hill: Water for the World Act
After six years of advocacy, the Water for the World Act was passed in December 2014. This legislation will improve access to safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene for the 750 million people around the world who lack access to safe drinking water and the 2.5 billion people without access to toilets.
Since 2009, CARE has helped to inform the legislation and advocate for its passage, in partnership with a community of more than 80 NGOs and religious organizations who publically endorsed the bill. CARE applauds the tireless efforts of our partners, such as WaterAid, WASH Advocates, InterAction, World Vision, Habitat for Humanity, the Millennium Water Alliance, among others, who dedicated years of advocacy and communications to the issue.
CARE’s citizen advocates played a critical role, persistently communicating the importance of the bill with their congressional representatives, particularly as the bill confronted several barriers to passage in the last few days of this congressional session.
CARE has supported water, sanitation, and hygiene and water resources management activities for over fifty years and currently oversees more than 180 projects in both emergency response and long-term development in more than 40 countries. Our WASH work is focused on sustainability, equity, and coverage at scale, and is inherently cross-sectoral. There is no food security without soil moisture management, no nutritional improvements without safe water to drink, no stable ecosystems without vibrant watersheds, and no healthy schools without access to safe water and hygiene and sanitation facilities.
Be a part of changing policy for good. Join is for the CARE National Conference in Washington and let your voice be heard. Register here: http://careconference.org/
CARE Knows How to Get it Done on Capitol Hill
The need for food aid reforms in order to ensure assistance is reaching the most vulnerable in an efficient and timely manner is something CARE witnessed firsthand. We quickly dedicated ourselves to leading the call for reforms in U.S. policy on food aid. In 2006, CARE issued the White Paper on Food Aid Policy where CARE called for policy reforms that improved U.S. food aid assistance, including ending the harmful practice of monetization.
Monetization, the selling of U.S. food aid to generate cash for humanitarian programs, is inefficient, costly, and harmful to local markets. According to a government report released by the General Accounting Office soon after the White Paper, approximately 65% of U.S. food aid expenses are for the procurement, transportation, and management of the food aid. This approach greatly diverts from the immense need on the ground to reach as many survivors as quickly as possible. Because of this, CARE was one of the first organizations to take a principled stance by ending our involvement in monetization and advocating for policy change.
Following a long campaign for food aid reform largely led by CARE, the Farm Bill was passed in February 2014 and included significant reforms, including the ending of monetization and provisions in the spending bill. Due to these reforms, an additional 2 to 4 million people will receive emergency food assistance.
CARE worked closely with various partners and applied numerous strategies to achieve this huge victory. In addition to the influential White Paper, CARE collaborated with leading humanitarian organizations to form the Food Aid Reform Coalition to ensure a strategic approach and worked closely with allies in the U.S. government, including USAID Administrator Dr. Rajiv Shah.
CARE mobilized the CARE Action Network, a network of 245,000 U.S. citizens who fight against global poverty through local advocacy, and they generated over 51,000 letters and phone calls to their policymakers and took part in over 50 in-district meetings. CARE also cultivated advocates among influential leaders, including celebrity chefs and senior government officials, through our Learning Tours which highlight the importance of U.S. foreign assistance through visits to CARE programs in developing countries.
The passing of the 2014 Farm Bill illustrates the effectiveness of and need for strategic advocacy efforts to improve foreign assistance. We will continue to apply innovative approaches to achieve long-term policy changes that support the fight against global poverty and social injustice.
Be a part of changing policy for good. Join is for the CARE National Conference in Washington and let your voice be heard. Register here: http://careconference.org/
Here’s Your Chance to win $30 in Paypal Cash or Amazon Card and that’s click on this link: https://ooh.li/a832978 and tell me what story or stories touch you the most. Follow the instructions carefully on the Rafflecopter for your chance to win.
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56 Comments
Margaret Smith
I like the CARE knows how to duck a problem. Very interesting about raising ducks instead of chickens.
Danielle D
CARE KNOWS HOW TO BEAT POVERTY WITH DONUTS is a very interesting idea and very helpful overall!!
Janet W.
I visited and liked the CARE Knows How to Prevent Malaria With Goat Poop story. Interesting and touching how they came up with a way to prevent malaria.
Julie Wood
I like that CARE Knows How to Light the Night in Places Without Access to Electricity. They are helping provide Solar lamps to the People of Rwanda that have no electricity! This is awesome!
Sandy Klocinski
CARE Knows How to Beat Poverty with Donuts touches me the most
Amanda Sakovitz
I like the How to Play with Pandas story. I think the WWF is the best cause there is.
Elena
I like the CARE knows how to bring light to places without electricity story
Megan Ryan
I like the panda story for CARE
Anca
I like CARE…they help so much and bring happiness
Kelly D
I like the Case of Cow Envy Changing an entire village story.
Thomas Murphy
I like the CARE Knows How to Play with Pandas story.
Natalie
I visited and I love that CARE knows how to beat poverty with donuts! I love that story.
Dawn Andrews
I loved the ‘CARE Knows How to Prevent Malaria With Goat Poop’ story; it shows that a natural and readily-available resource can easily be used to prevent diseases that can be fatal.
Melissa Greco
The story about the ducks (“CARE Knows How to Duck a Problem”) touched me the most. I love animals, I have a dog of my own. Hearing about the duck rearing really warmed my heart.
heather s
The CARE knows how to play with pandas is good
Geoff K
I loved reading about “The Bead Game” to fight gender-based violence and the stigma in some cultures against female newborns. What a simple but powerful tool against misunderstandings and ignorance!
Brittney House
I really liked the panda story.
harolde
CARE Knows How to Tap Into Wellsprings, but they are all great stories!
Roxanna.L
i like CARE…they draw smile everywhere and this is awesome
Nikolina
Story about HOW TO Save Lives With PINK BED SHEETS touched me the most….
Chris Stockford
CARE knows how to bring light to places without electricity story
HS
I like the Doughnuts Defeating Poverty story from MASUMBA, Malawi.
Ann Fantom
I liked the CARE knows how to bring light to places without electricity story
Alaina Brown
how to make fog drinkable
Debbi Wellenstein
The story that touched me the most is CARE Knows How to Play with Pandas.
PuffyBiggler
The story that touches me the most is the turning fog into water in Ecuador. That is amazing. Thanks for the giveaway!
Travis
Thanks for supporting the giveaway.
Meghan Malicoat
I would say, CARE Knows How to Get it Done on Capitol Hill:Water for the World Act.
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Taketha N
I really enjoyed the story about the CARE for pandas !!
Sarah Hayes
How to make fog drinkable is a great one
Alexandru Rusu
I like CARE Knows How to save wildlife of panda bears
Denise L
The story of Kallani’s cow is inspiring. I love hearing stories of women empowering themselves!
Charles Raisor
I like that CARE knows how to make fog drinkable.
Anna
CARE knows how to make mobile phones into ATMs is a really interesting concept, I love what we can do with technology
John Thuku
I liked the case of CARE helping to bring light to places without electricity.
Jessica
I liked Care’s panda story.
Barbara Montag
I’m most touched by real life stories.
thank you
Cheryl
I was touched by the story “CARE Knows How to Convince Mothers-to-be in Peru to Seek Out Clinics with Pink Sheets”.
Sydney
What an incredible organization! I did not know of all of their work before this post. My favorite was switching to having people raise ducks. What a a practical solution to a problem!
CR Williams
My fave was CARE KNOWS HOW TO SAVE LIVES WITH PINK BED SHEETS.
steve weber
I like CARE…they help so much
Becky Moore
My fave article is : CARE Knows How a Case of Cow Envy Changed an Entire Village
Ashley C
The story about the World Wildlife Fund touches me the most. Its very true that we need to make sure and invest so we have food for our future.
Laura J
I was very touched by the CARE Knows How to Advocate: Water for the World Act! So hard to think that 2.5 billion people without access to toilets! And the 750 million people around the world who lack access to safe drinking water! Two things we take for granted!
Robyn Bellefleur
I really like the Doughnuts Defeating Poverty story from MASUMBA, Malawi.
kyl neusch
like the panda story for CARE
Melissa
i love CARE knows how to bring light to places without electricity.
Carol Godfrey
I found the Play with the Pandas very touching!
Erica B.
I like the panda story.
Daniel M
CARE knows how to bring light to places without electricity
Lisa V.
The CARE Knows How to Advocate: Water for the World Act touches me the most.
Elle P.
I like the story CARE Knows How to Play with Pandas and I definitely support the WWF.
Angela Cisco
Care knows how to play with pandas touched me the most.
Sarah L
CARE KNOWS HOW TO MAKE FOG DRINKABLE
Thanks for the contest.
Carolyn Daley
All of the stories are touching in their own way. I like the CARE Knows How to Advocate: Water for the World Act because I believe everyone has the right to safe drinking water. According to this story, the legislation that was passed in December 2014 will provide around 750 million people access to safe drinking water.
Stephanie Larison
The HOW TO PLAY WITH PANDAS story touched me the post!