Nov2015 Nov2015Nov2015

Nov2015

PROGRESS REPORTS ON RECENT GRANTS 1 AIHHS 2 Bookaid International3 Clean Break4 Cecily's Fund Year Three5 Conscious Theatre 6 Family Holiday Association7 Hillel: The Right To Choose8 Health Poverty Action9 Innovation Africa / Kaputalambwe 10 Keshet Eilon Music Centre11 Krembo Wings12 Luthiers Sans Frontiers13 Milman Centre 14 NYCC ceramic studio Haifa15 Otherworld Year Three16 Possible Health 17 Project Pencil Case / Arakele18 Rabin Medican centre wig salon19 Re-Cycle20 Stitch Sainte Luce21 TAPA22 TrenchTown Reading Center23 Verbier Festival Academy24 Women For Women Kosovo

25 Wirral Toy Library

26 Zachar Bron Academy / Ellinor D'Melon

FLCF 2015-1a-01

THE ASSOCIATION FOR IMMEDIATE HELP TO HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS

YOUR GRANT

• CHF 50,000 was sent in July 2015.

• Another CHF 50,000 was promised (subject to report) at the November meeting.

• In addition, it was resolved that IF they get additional staff to help run the organisation a

further grant of up to CHF25,000 would now be discussed.

KEY POINTS ON PROGRESS AND ACTIVITIES SINCE JUNE

• The New Year was celebrated in style with a large communial festive meal for approx 300 people. The organisers have learnt make sure they always cater for an extra 50% due to people taking pieces of food home in their bags to have later).

• A group of Christian volunteers from Texas came and worked very hard for 3 weeks, doing heavy physical work such as renovations to people’s homes, installing disabled equipment, air conditioners and so on but the violence currently happening means this is unlikely to happen again soon.

• Many people have died, as you would expect, and the organisation was often the only company they had at their bedsides, in hospital or at home.

• Main regular expenditure in recent months has been on: • Homecare for people who need it, eg) recovering from operations • Medications not covered by the government (incl vitamins & meal replacement drinks) • Vouchers and grocery shopping with or for needy people • Transport (paying taxis when no volunteer can drive people to doctors appointments etc)

• Personal Story: It often falls to AIHHS to organise the funeral for someone, if they had no

known family members. Ione woman who passed away in August had once been a mandolin player and it was arranged to have a mandolinist perform her favourite song at the service.

AN ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT HAS BEEN FOUND: Started work at the end of June. She is a 27 year old with a BA in communications and is working full time, at least 8 hours per day. She is being paid ca 8,000 sheckels a month (≈ CHF 1,900) but her social security and employment taxes come on top of that as expenses.

Left: The big New Year celebration dinner and music in September.

Below: Grocery shopping and food deliveries.

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2FLCF 2014 2a 08

BOOKAID INTERNATIONAL

YOUR GRANT

CHF 21,415 in November 2014.

REMINDER FLCF have supported Bookaid’s work several times. This project was based in a remote part of kenya called Laipikia County. The focus was on increasing access to books for children at 14 primary schools where there were no libraries or book supplies at all, with special attention to helping them make the transition from their mother tongue (called Maa) to English, which is used at all secondary schools in the country. KEY POINTS ON WHAT HAS BEEN ACHIEVED SO FAR

• The Mother Tongue and English Education Project, located in Laikipia County, Kenya has successfully worked with 14 primary schools, directly benefitting over 3,900 children and their teachers.

• The grant given by FLCF has enabled provision of 5,500 books shipped from the UK for this project, worth an estimated £22,000 (31,600 CHF).

• The total number of books shipped (by matched funders) was just under 10,000. • Their report includes a full list of what the 9,697 books are, the titles and quantities of

each. • Customs clearance and transportation to Nairobi was managed by Bookaid’s main in-

country distribution partner, Kenya National Library Service. From there they were taken overland to the remote villages in Laikipia.

• FLCF’s grant also covered the cost of producing teacher librarian training materials, training 28 teachers as competent teacher librarians equipped with skills to manage books and promote reading.

• Permanent school libraries have now been established at 14 schools which before had none.

• This has led to regular use of books by 3,900 school students and a marked increase in reading.

• Early signs are that there is already a much improved transition from Maa to English (vital for students to go on to do well at secondary school, where English is the language used) now that children can learn to read from fun library boooks to take home instead of just copying from the blackboard in class.

FLCF 2014 2a 09

THE CLEAN BREAK THEATRE COMPANY YOUR GRANT

£15,000 (≈ CHF 22,000) in November 2014.

REMINDER Clean Break is a unique Theatre Company in London which was started by teo women whilst incarcerated in prison and now twenty years on has won many awards. Your grant was (as last year) towards the Short Course program the company runs for women with experience of the criminal justic ststem. KEY POINTS ON THE COURSES YOU HELPED FUND

• In the last three academic terms (September – December 2014, January – April 2015 and April – July 2015) Clean Break delivered four different courses over seven sessions as part of our Personal Development Programme, initially working with over 81 women with 58 women completing the courses.

• In the last year, in the entire education programme, we worked with 179 women with a history of

offending or assessed as being at risk of offending. Of women who came to Clean Break for the first time over the last year: o 83% had been in contact with the criminal justice system and the remaining 17% had been identified as a risk of offending due to specific factors (mental health or substance misuse). o 53% had mental health issues, and 71% were coping with substance misuse. o 100% of the women were unemployed and 66% had been unemployed for more than 3 years. o 48% of the women had no qualifications.

ONE MORE PIECE OF NEWS FROM CLEAN BREAK

A new play by Clean Break opened at the Soho Theatre in early October 2015, with a two week run.

When I went with my free ticket I did not expect to enjoy it much (thought it was my job to go) but this was one of the best pieces of theatre I've ever seen. A few reviews (right) show that other people more qualified than me agreed.

FLCF 2014 2a 09

THE CLEAN BREAK THEATRE COMPANY YOUR GRANT

£15,000 (≈ CHF 22,000) in November 2014.

REMINDER Clean Break is a unique Theatre Company in London which was started by teo women whilst incarcerated in prison and now twenty years on has won many awards. Your grant was (as last year) towards the Short Course program the company runs for women with experience of the criminal justic ststem. KEY POINTS ON THE COURSES YOU HELPED FUND

• In the last three academic terms (September – December 2014, January – April 2015 and April – July 2015) Clean Break delivered four different courses over seven sessions as part of our Personal Development Programme, initially working with over 81 women with 58 women completing the courses.

• In the last year, in the entire education programme, we worked with 179 women with a history of

offending or assessed as being at risk of offending. Of women who came to Clean Break for the first time over the last year: o 83% had been in contact with the criminal justice system and the remaining 17% had been identified as a risk of offending due to specific factors (mental health or substance misuse). o 53% had mental health issues, and 71% were coping with substance misuse. o 100% of the women were unemployed and 66% had been unemployed for more than 3 years. o 48% of the women had no qualifications.

ONE MORE PIECE OF NEWS FROM CLEAN BREAK

A new play by Clean Break opened at the Soho Theatre in early October 2015, with a two week run.

When I went with my free ticket I did not expect to enjoy it much (thought it was my job to go) but this was one of the best pieces of theatre I've ever seen. A few reviews (right) show that other people more qualified than me agreed.

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FLCF 2014 2a 13

CECILY’S FUND: END OF THREE YEAR PROJECT YOUR GRANT Each year (starting 2012) you gave them CHF 12,272. The last installment was in November 2014.

REMINDER This was a 3 year project which is just coming to its conclusion. You agreed back to pay the tuition fees of five young women in Zambia, all of them orphans as a result of the country’s widespread AIDS problem, to enable them to attend university, optain degrees in education and qualify as teachers. Zambia has very few female teachers.

REPORT FROM ZAMBIA AT THE END OF YEAR 3

• All five young women will complete their degrees this year. • It was explained at our last meeting that one girl failed her 2nd year exams and your support was

transferred to another who would have had to drop out for financial reasons. • The five are shown below, with the details of the courses they are completing.

• All are on course to graduate with good degrees. • The system in Zambia is such that at graduation all five will go on to guaranteed employment as

full time teachers in the country’s state school system. • The long term impact of this project goes far beyond these five young women – in a country where

female teachers are still extremely rare their presence in classrooms will make a difference to the next generation.

THIS IS A CASE STUDY TAKEN DIRECTLY FROM THEIR REPORT, ABOUT THE GIRL TOP LEFT:

FLCF 2014 2a 13

CECILY’S FUND: END OF THREE YEAR PROJECT YOUR GRANT Each year (starting 2012) you gave them CHF 12,272. The last installment was in November 2014.

REMINDER This was a 3 year project which is just coming to its conclusion. You agreed back to pay the tuition fees of five young women in Zambia, all of them orphans as a result of the country’s widespread AIDS problem, to enable them to attend university, optain degrees in education and qualify as teachers. Zambia has very few female teachers.

REPORT FROM ZAMBIA AT THE END OF YEAR 3

• All five young women will complete their degrees this year. • It was explained at our last meeting that one girl failed her 2nd year exams and your support was

transferred to another who would have had to drop out for financial reasons. • The five are shown below, with the details of the courses they are completing.

• All are on course to graduate with good degrees. • The system in Zambia is such that at graduation all five will go on to guaranteed employment as

full time teachers in the country’s state school system. • The long term impact of this project goes far beyond these five young women – in a country where

female teachers are still extremely rare their presence in classrooms will make a difference to the next generation.

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FLCF 2014 2a 14

CONSCIOUS THEATRE: TOUR TO EDINBURGH FRINGE YOUR GRANT

£10, 500 (≈ CHF 15,700) in November 2014. A cheque for £946 (unspent balance) has been received & will be brought to the meeting.

REMINDER This grant was a venture into experiemntal theatre – it allowed a small troupe led by a Clean Break graduate to take their challenging interactive show to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this Summer. KEY POINTS ON THE SUCCESSFUL TOUR

• The show was performed 3 times per day for groups of maximum 10 people at a time, every day between 15th and 22nd August 2015.

• The piece works by ‘adducting’ the audience blindfolded in a van from the meeting point in the city center and driving them to a mystery location.

• The organisation that made this possible including finding and paying for a location suitable for the piece – which had to have several rooms (they found a city farm which was perfect, and cheap) as well as accomodation for the core troupe of 10 people during this, probably the busiest Arts Festival in Europe.

• The report sent by the creator / director includes many testimonials from audience members. Here are two examples, sent by email by participants: “ I wanted to thank you again, personally, for this most interesting and thought provoking experience. I can't say it was enjoyable but it raised many issues for me, not least the question being invited to 'join the enforcers', I hesitated only momentarily, then became quite an enforcer myself! In retrospect, that made me very uncomfortable, because all internal questioning went out the window and I was quite surprised at my feelings of superiority”. “The most interesting original performance we took part in, that had us discussing the questions raised and the techniques employed, for hours. Meticulous planning and preparation were evident. Definitely worth signing up for this. Don’t miss it.”

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FLCF 2014 2a 02

THE FAMILY HOLIDAY ASSOCIATION YOUR GRANT

£9,980 in November 2014.

REMINDER Ongoing multi-year support for UK based charity which exists to allow families who could not otherwise afford it to take short breaks, holidays away from home with their children. Your grant this time was to go specifically to women and children who have experienced domestic violence and are staying in temporary accomodation or hostels as they try to rebuild their lives. KEY POINTS ON WHAT FHA ACHIEVED WITH YOUR GRANT THIS YEAR

• The application said that the grant would be enough to pay for 20 families to get a short holiday. • The report shows that in fact 36 families were able to go on holiday for the money you donated,

between Easter and the end of September 2015.

• A breakdown is shown in this table from their report:

• Of the 36 families, 20 stayed in a caravan by the seaside (of which the FHA owns several) and 16 went on other holidays, such as to child-centered resorts with play activities.

• There was an unspent balance of £465 due to cancellations when 2 families dropped out at short notice and they would like to carry this balance forward to use for the 2016 Easter holiday period.

• FHA’s report includes a selection of feedback comments received from these families, in their own words. Here are a couple of them: “It was wonderful to be away from daily struggles. It was priceless.” And, from one of the children: “I loved being away from home. I saw the sea. And I loved looking for bugs.“

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FLCF-2014-2a-07 & FLCF-2014-1a -03

HILLEL: THE RIGHT TO CHOOSE

YOUR GRANTS: CHF 25,000 in July 2014 towards the new Emergency Shelter in Jerusalem CHF 20,000 in November 2014 for the ongoing scholarship program

REMINDER FLCF has been supporting the work of this organisation for several years. They assist young people who decide to leave the ultra orthodox religious community and need help and support as they try to make new lives for themselves in the modern secular world. 1) REPORT ON THE NEW EMERGENCY SHELTER IN JERUSALEM • The funds sent by FLCF were automatically matched by the Ministry Of Welfare as

promised but this took longer than expected, as did finding the right property and the right insurance policy.

• The new emergency refuge opened in its doors on June 11, 2015 and began serving clients right away, with 8 ‘Yotzim’ – the word for people who leave the religious way of life, (5 men and 3 women) undergoing intake and taking up residence at the facility within the first two week of operation.

• It is currently full to capacity with 12 residents: Six women and six men, meaning both dormitories are fully occupied.

• The intention is for nobody to stay at the shelter for more than 6 months, with people being moved into private accomodation or into university as they begin to get settled into their new lives.

• This is the only place of its kind in the country, and the importance of this vital frontline work cannot be underestimated.

2) REPORT ON THE FURTHER EDUCATION SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM • For the year 2014-15, FLCF agreed to support 10 students by paying their tuition fees. • The total number of students Hillel have funded this year is 151, the highest ever so far. • The work is also more vital than ever, with the labor market becoming increasingly

competitive and the number of young people leaving the religious community with no useful qualifications at all is growing.

• On the next page you can read brief updatyes on all ten students who have received FLCF scholarships this past year.

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Below are updates from Hillel on the ten recipients of Fresh Leaf scholarship grants for 2014-15:

Shmuel Regev Shmuel is now a senior undergraduate student at The Jerusalem College of Engineering. He is studying for a B.Sc degree in Software Engineering. Shmuel completed the first semester of this year with a commendable grade average of 86 points. He largely attributes his success to the scholarship he received, which enables him to fully commit to his studies. For his final project, Shmuel is developing a web app titled Anyway, which presents data about car accidents on an interactive map and identifies dangerous locations that have a high crash frequency. A beta version of the app is available at Play Store:https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=il.co.anyway.app

Ella Gantz Ella completed the two year preparatory program at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem with honors, receiving a high school matriculation diploma and meeting the entry requirements to higher education. Her love for literature then led her to enroll in an undergraduate program in Literature and German Studies at the Hebrew University. She is enjoying her first year of the program very much, and is eager to succeed as she focuses on both writing, and her future plans to teach.

Nati Eisencotte Nati is now a senior undergraduate student at The Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design Jerusalem. He is currently working on his final project and designing an exhibition, which will be a culmination of his four year study experience. The exhibition is intended to create an unsettling space featuring biographical elements such as religious hymns and sounds of a Haredi doll combined with grotesque and mysterious sculptural elements. The objects varying in material, shape and essence, will communicate with each other, yet also challenge and undermine one another.

Yaki David Yaki expects to complete his undergraduate degree in Geological and Environmental Sciences at the Ben Gurion University this year. His academic achievements are impressive. He is currently enrolled in two advanced research courses in the framework of his study program, and was also accepted to the Ashalim Program for outstanding environmental science students and the Dkalim Program for outstanding graduate students in natural sciences – both also at Ben Gurion University. These programs engage students in research in their field of studies with faculty members. Yaki is presently weighing his options for next year. While he is an enthusiastic learner, he is also considering entering the industry at this time, in order to achieve a better understanding of his professional interests and future prospects.

Yossi Aleks Yossi is currently enrolled in a two year preparatory program (mechina) to fill gaps in his education and receive his high school matriculation certificate in order to enroll in undergraduate studies. His current course load includes: English, Social Sciences, Mathematics, and Bible Study. Given his background and the fact that his parents do speak English at home, Yossi finds English and Bible Study course elements easiest to navigate, and is considering how to apply them to possible teaching career options. Social Sciences and Mathematics he finds more difficult, but he is particularly invested in the latter as he is also considering, and would very much like to pursue, a degree in Engineering as an undergraduate. Recently a neurological issue caused Yossi to miss a full month of studies, setting him back quite a bit, particularly in math. In order to make up for lost time, Yossi has stopped working during the week (still working weekends) to focus completely on his studies

Yisroel Lieberman Yisroel is continuing his studies at the Open University, and is moving through his planned curriculum at an extremely accelerated rate. Having already accumulated 3 semesters worth of credits this year alone. He says: “My studies are great I'm enjoying each minute and I hope to finish next year.” This semester Yisroel’s course work in advanced mathematics includes probability and logic, einfi 2 and linearity 2. His plans are to finish his degree next year, and then to look into a move to the US or the UK for further studies at either Harvard or Oxford universities for a second degree in mathematics. Yisroel believes that currently, his grades are sufficient to make that a possibility.

Avi Petrov Avi Petrov, aged 26 first left the ultra-orthodox community six years ago, and has been a part of Hillel programming for most of that time. After completing military service in the IDF he also successfully completed his high school matriculation certificate exams, and entered into undergraduate studies in electrical engineering and electronics. Today Avi is in his third year of studies. He says: “With half of my studies now behind me, I'm very happy about my choice of field of studies and employment.” Avi feels great satisfaction and hopes to continue his studies, and complete them within the next two years. In addition to his coursework, Avi volunteers at a school for youth at-risk, and also mentors people also questioning their faith and ultra-Orthodox lifestyle. He also tutors youth in preparation for their high school matriculation exams. And currently is a night-staff counsellor at Hillel’s new emergency Shelter. Avi says: “I want to express great thanks to you dear donors. It is because of you that I can study without financial worries. I have great respect for that assistance.”

Roni Haya Englesman Roni is currently studying economics and accounting at Ben Gurion University. This is her second year at university, and she is in her own words: “…very glad that I had the possibility to study in an academic institution and a profession for life. I enjoy my studies and find them of great interest and satisfaction. The second year is more difficult for me and challenging but on the other hand I feel that I improved my learning skills and am able to overcome obstacles. I work for the center director of the university students. My hours are flexible and I am able to combine them during the week. Thank you very much for your contribution, it helps me succeed”

Benny Halevi Benny is currently in his first year of studies in Economics at Tel Aviv University. He is enjoying his studies very much, and enjoying exploring the social freedom of university life. He is extremely appreciative for the chance to pursue this path and grateful to both Hillel and the Fresh Leaf Charitable Foundation for the opportunity.

Dolly Eisenberg As previously reported, Dolly Eisenberg completed her fifth year of studies for a Doctor of Medicine (MD) at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. She was then accepted to a student exchange program in Barcelona at the Parc Tauli hospital. Upon her return to Israel this year, Dolly is enjoying a staj as assistant physician at Rambam Hospital. Salary is small, but she is gaining a lot of experience. She has also been student teaching anatomy and physiology at the Technion’s Department of Complementary Medicine. Over the past few months Dolly’s staj has her helping out at various departments at hospitals all over Israel, as she makes crucial decisions towards future specialization. The disciplines / departments she has or will survey include: Psychiatric, Neurology, Pediatrics, Gynecological, and Surgery. In extracurricular activities, Dolly is part of the Technion’s cheerleading squad.

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FLCF 2013 1a 05

HEALTH POVERTY ACTION YOUR GRANT

£14,500 (≈ CHF 21,000) sent in June 2015. That was the belated second grant of a two year project started in Summer 2013.

REMINDER FLCF agreed to help with a major two year project aimed at improving Maternal and Infant Health in an area of Sierra Leone called Northern Bombali, a poor and emote region with some of the worst maternal and infant mortality rates in the world.

KEY POINTS FROM THE PROJECT REPORT

• The Ebola epidemic in Sierra Leone has had huge consequences for the health system and society across the country.

• In the second half of 2014, many activities faced delays or temporary suspension due to safety concerns and the focus of the health system turning to the virus at the expense of other issues like maternal health. Issues included the inability to conduct activities based at facilities, restrictions on movement, restrictions on public gatherings (making large trainings impossible), and declining use of health services due to public fears of visiting facilities.

• During this time, work continued as much as possible, changing plans where possible to include Ebola-prevention education and precautions. At the same time HPA have also been conducting Ebola prevention activities peripherally in the area, such as setting up handwashing stations and conducting widespread training and awareness raising.

• Since the start of 2015, the situation has improved and activities were able to resume more normally, ahead, whilst precautions were still taken.

• To compensate for the delays caused by the epidemic, the project has been extended by 6 months beyond the original end date of June 2015 until the end of December. This is at no extra cost and all activities are still due to be completed as planned.

• Support has continued for 252 Maternal Health Promoters – like the women in pink below. These women who previously would conduct deliveries themselves but have been retrained to conduct referrals to health facilities and provide good health education to women in their areas.

• Referrals to the newly equipped hospitals and clinics that are part of this project have increased in recent months after dropping due to the epidemic (22,535 referrals in Jan-Jun 2015, up from 15,124 in the preceding 6 months).

• So despite the effects of Ebola, 5,000 more referrals were made than in the previous 12 month period. Of these women who have given birth in hospitals or clinics instead of at home, we can’t say for sure what number would not have made it without this innovative project.

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FLCF 2013 2a 15

INNOVATION AFRICA: KAPUTALAMBWE VILLAGE

YOUR GRANT

$50,000 in November 2013.

REMINDER Solar energy project for a village in rural Malawi. Project was supposed to completed in full by the end of 2014 but problems were discovered during a field visit to the village in April 2015. COMPLETION OF THE PROJECT AND CONCLUSIONS LEARNT FROM IT

• The village now does have all the things it was promised: There are lights in the classrooms and the teachers homes, as well as a functioning solar powered pump to the well and a working refrigerator in the clinic, for storage of vaccines and medicines.

• In addition, after several requests, Innovation Africa have now replaced the 5 batteries at Ndaula Clinic (focus of a previous grant from FLCF) meaning that the clinic does now again have light.

• It has not been possible to ascertain exactly how much of the grant from FLCF was spent on achieving these things and how much went on administrative costs at Innovation Africa in New York or indeed was diverted into other projects.

• It is possible that this program was just badly managed, or that the organisation ran into financial

difficulties for some reason and had to halt their work without notifying doners. In any case, the experience of working with this organisaion will not be repeated and it is my hope that in the future we can try as far as possible to cut out the middle man when trying to achieve fairly simple but important work such as this. An example of such a proposal will be included in the shortlist for this next meeting.

These photos from Kaputalambwe are from September 2015. They show the lights have been installed to the headmaster's office at the school, to the teacher's houses and to the clinic

Pictures on right show the new water pump being tested. It works now.

The last piece was the new refrigerator for the clinic, now in place and working though no photos.

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FLCF 2014 2a 03

KESHET EILON 2015 YOUR GRANT

CHF 25,000 in November 2014

REMINDER Ongoing multi-year support for music center in Northern Israel. This year was their 25th anniversary and your grant was increased to help them fund the special events to celebrate this. REPORT FROM KESHET EILON AT YEAR’S END

• The 2015 Summer Mastercourse ended on 13th August. • Below are the four young musicians who received FLCF scholarships this time: • Left to Right:Shiry Rashkovsky (UK/Israel), Tabea Frei (Switzerland), Hyun Jae Lim (South Korea)

and Se Tcoi (Russia/South Korea).

This year, the Summer Mastercourse highlighted the graduates of Keshet Eilon over the years. Special events to celebrate the 25 year landmark included:

• The course began with two festive concerts featuring several graduates of the Mastercourse. The first concert featured talented violinist Keren Tanennbaum together with an ensemble, and the second featured violinists Sergey Ostrovsky (Israel), who returned to Keshet Eilon this year as a faculty member; Esther Yoo (USA) and Sayaka Shoji (Japan) – all successful and well-known artists who perform on the world’s most important stages.

• There was a Gala Keshet Eilon concert in the Opera House, Tel Aviv • Attendance at the Mastercourse of the Moskovia Chamber Orchestra, which is based entirely on

graduates of Keshet Eilon, led by Maestro Eduard Grach, a senior member of the Keshet Eilon Mastercourse faculty.

• The course this summer also highlighted Keshet’s connection with their neighbors in the Arab sector in a successful collaboration with the Polyphony Educational Center based in Nazareth, founded and led by musician Nabil Abud Askar with the goal of bringing young Jews and Arabs together through the study and performance of classical music:

• Keshet Eilon accommodated the Polyphony Orchestra in their new dormitories during the first few

days of the 2015 Mastercourse. • Eight of the students were accepted as full participants for the remainder of the course. The

Polyphony Orchestra gave 2 concerts of its own during the course, and it appeared together with the full Keshet Eilon ensemble in the grand finale of the gala concert in Tel Aviv.

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FLCF 2014 2a 05

KREMBO WINGS: A NEW BRANCH IN AKKO CITY YOUR GRANT CHF 25,000 in November 2014.

REMINDER Krembo Wings is a youth club for children with disabilities, active all over Israel. Your grant was to enable them to open a brand new branch. The location is a city called Akko, which has a very mixed demographic.

REPORT FROM AKKO

• This project has taken quite a lot longer than inially planned but they are finally on course to open the new center this month (opening day is 11th November, so it will be up and running by the time of our meeting).

• Your CHF 25,000 was matched by the Israeli Government, as promised, though it took them months to send their payment.

• The team of young leaders who will do the day to day running of the club and its

activities have been selected and trained. They are a mixed group of arab and jewish young people (18 to 24) exactly as Krembo Wings had hoped.

• The branch will operate on Wednesdays in the Beit Hyman Community Center which is located in a mixed Arab-Jewish neighborhood of the city.

• They are still adding to their group of youth counselors who will work at the centre – recruiting at Arab and Jewish high schools.

• They have a large list of members with special needs waiting for the activities to begin.

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FLCF 2014 1a 01

LUTHIERS SANS FRONTIERS

YOUR GRANT

£8,418 (≈ CHF13,000) received in July 2014.

REMINDER

In June 2014 you agreed to fund a 4 week mission to Haiti, enabling volunteers from LSF to pass on their expert skills in stringed instrument repair and maintenance to staff at major music schools in Haiti and to deliver a large amount of supplies and tools. As intended, the jouney took place in August 2015.

KEY POINTS FROM LSF’S FINAL REPORT

• Approximately 100Kg of tools and equipment was brought from the UK. Mostly donated some bought. • Three expert lutheirs took part, all unpaid. The team was led by Robert Cain, teacher at The Newark

School of violinmaking. • The teaching consisted of intensive training programmes in the repair and maintenance of stringed

instruments at 3 leading centres for classic music education. • In total, 12 trainee luthiers from 8 music programmes in 5 geographical areas were taught. • Leader of the project reports that the students applied themselves well and learned a lot in a short time,

and says that they should now be able to perform a valuable service to their home schools. • Teaching was carried out on instruments brought along by the students and host Schools. Many

instruments and bows were put back into playing order during the programme

• A detailed spreadsheet of expenditure and scanned receipts are on file. • The airfares were higher than planned but on-mission expenses were lower than budgeted as the

accommodation was provided by our hosts and in-Haiti transport expenses were less than expected. • There is a surplus of £318 (CHF 480 at today’s rate). This can be returned to FLCF or held over for the

next mission to Haiti which LSF anticipate will be in late 2016.

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FLCF 2015-1a-06

THE MILMAN CENTRE, HAIFA YOUR GRANT

CHF 10,000 in July 2015

REMINDER The Milman Centre is the most important specialist centre in Israel for the diagnosis and care of of children and young people with Autism Spectrum disorders. This grant took the form of a simple shopping list of items, all of them tools to help children with communication problems express themselves. REPORT ON HOW THE NEW EQUIPMENT IS BEING USED

• The 4 iPads on their grant application ‘shopping list ‘seemed surprising at first but the report says that they have proved their worth already:

• Quoting directly from their report: “ In order to allow children with ASD (Autistic Spectrum Disorder) with Low Functioning Autism and severe mental deficiency who unable to speak we purchased iPads & communication boards. The IT equipment purchased with your generous help is aimed to be used by children who cannot develop verbal communication with friends and other people. We match the right aids to the cognitive and motoric capabilities of the child.

By pressing the bottom of the Communicator it enables the children who cannot speak to "speak up" and express in a certain way their desires. Working with a TouchChat application for iPad enables us to use grid communication tables with the support of vocal output which translate words and sentences, for a full communication with non-verbal children.”

“Following our vision of the inclusion we believe that every person has the right to live in dignity, as equal members, within the greater community. One of the basic aspects for full life is the right to express one's opinion and to choose a free choice. In order to enable children with ASD with low functioning who cannot talk there are today resources and many instruments for the development of alternate communication to support them to express basic desires and even feelings (how they feel today, do they feel comfortable, when to go to the toilet, do they love the song that they are listeners and more), and to choose choices with respect to their body (what to eat, what to wear, weather to participate in one activity or another). “

A personal story: Bar is a child who can't talk and cannot even use his hands. He refused to arrive to our activities for several days and with the help of a Go Talk Button he was asked some questions such as: Is something disturbing him or someone from the personnel. Bar chose the answer of someone from the staff, later all names of the staff were recorded and Bar is asked to choose who he loves and who not, and so a program was built for him in which he worked with people he preferred.

13

FLCF 2014 2a 06

NYCC HAIFA: NEW CERAMIC CENTRE YOUR GRANT

CHF 60,200 in November 2014.

REMINDER FLCF agreed the above grant to fund the creation of a new Ceramic Centre with all necessary equipment at the Neve Josef Community Center, a major provider of social and educational services located in an economically depressed part of Haifa, in Northern Israel. REPORT AT THE END OF YEAR ONE

• The new Ceramic Centre is fully equipped and open. It looks very good, state of the art and inviting.

• There is a question about the future : How it will succeed in being self-financing, how it will survive without requiring ongoing donations from charitable bodies:

• The business plan presented showed that it would take 100 people each paying 370 NIS (91CHF) a month to fund the operation of the social programs and the center as a whole.

• The current number of paying users seems to be 19 (see tables below) • The tables showing enrollment of paying members below, and the update letter on the following

page show that the project leader has worked very hard to get to this point, the business plan and the sustainability side of the peoject remain something of a problem and the future of the centre is therefore unknown.

• These ‘negative’ aspects are being included in the report here because it may be something to

bear in mind for the future: When making major capital investment (in equipment, or building something for instance) it is vital to try to understand how the project will sustain itself in the future. Sometimes this might mean including a certain amount of the budget for salaried staff, or making sure the applicant has set aside funds for publicity.

14

CoursesintheHaifaCenterofCeramicsandArtfromJune2015course date Costper

courseinshekels

Noofparticipants

Communitycourses date Costpermeetinginshekels

Noofparticipants

8meetingsummercourse:handbuilding

June-July2015 800 9

8meetingsummercourse:beginners

June-July2015

800 4

8meetingsummercourse:throwing

June-July2015 1000 6

Summercourseforpensionersandwelfarepeople

July–August2015

30 6

Yearlycourseforpensionersandwelfarepeople

FromNov2015

30 ?

YearlycourseforEthiopianwoman

FromNov2015

30 ?

Courses2015-16–nofinallistofparticipantsyetWheelthrowing Starts:2Nov,14

meetings1,400 ?

CeramicjewelryandJudaica

Starts3Nov,28meetings

2,800 ?

Handbuildingadvanced Starts3Nov,28meetings

2,800 ?

Handbuildingbeginners Starts3Nov,28meetings

2,800 ?

Wheelthrowing Starts:4Nov,14meetings

1,400 ?

Children4th–5thgrades:Frompenciltoclay

Nodate,12meetings

720 ?

Openstudio:daystobedecided:3hours110

DearNadine,

Attachedaretwochartstoshowactivitiespastandinthefuture,intheceramic

center. Atthemomentweareworkingintensivelytoregisterpeopleintoouryearlycourses

whichwillopenatthebeginningofNovember.Thisisnotaneasytask–tofindthe

rightchannelofcommunicationtopotentialstudents.WemountedaFacebook

campaignreaching17,630peoplebutonlyonepersonphoned.Weadvertisedon

the“cityMouse”newspaperwebsite.Theyweresupposedtoshowa“banner”

advertisingouropendayonwed.7October–noonesawitandnoonecontactedus

(itwassupposedtoreachhundredsofthousandsofpeople)soweshallnotpay

untilafewthingsareclarified.

Therefore,theonlywaywehaveatthemomentis“wordofmouth”.Ihaveateam

offaithfulvolunteerswhoarespreadingthewordamongstfriendsandfamily.The

participantsofthecommunitycoursescomefromthesurroundneighbourhoods,the

participantsforouradultclassescamefromfartheraway,fromthe“Carmel”.We

areaskingthemtotraveltotheothersideofHaifaandcometoaloweconomic

neighbourhood–andwearesucceedinginthistask!!Becauseweareofferingtop

classtuition(allteachersarefromprestigiouscolleges)andexcellentfacilities. Nadine,tobehonest,Iamfacedwithtwotasks:tosetupaceramiccenterwiththe

moneythatyourfoundationdonatedtothecommunitycenterandtorunforafew

months–thisIdidandIamverypleasedwiththeresult.

Inaddition,becauseofthefoundingconceptofthecenter(topromotecreativity

andthinkingskillsaswellascraft)andplusthelayoutofthecenterwithlaboratory,

largeplasmascreen,whiteboard,Ihopewecaninterestre-trainingcoursesrunby

thegovernment.

However,withalltheseendeavors,gettingthisceramiccenterupandrunning,Iam

onmyown.ThemanagingdirectorofthecommunitycenterShimonIfrah,isvery

supportive,andhelpsinanywayhecan,aswellasgivingthecentermaintenance,

electricity,anduseofhisstaff.ButitisahugeundertakingandsometimesIfeelthe

effortistoomuchforme.TheworrythatImustfindincometostaffthecenterin

thefuture,isverygreat. Ishallsendyouajumbomaillinkofavideoofthe3day“happening”forthe

community. Bestwishes, Janet

These photos are from the Intel clubhouse workshop held on 3rd May , before the official opening has taken place.

Neve Yosef Community Center

FLCF 2014-2a-06 Granted CHF 60,200 in November 2014

Creation of a new Ceramic Art Center In Haifa

Reminder of who they are

• The application was submitted by Janet Gino, an educationalist and ceramicist who received support previously for the promotion of an arts eduction program she designed.

• The NYCC in Haifa is one of the leading community centers in Israel. The management there agreed to provide the rooms for the new center if she (via FLCF) provided the cost of all equipment and installation.

What you agreed to fund

• The application was for two rooms at the NYCC to be transformed into a new ceramic Center, with ten

pottery wheels and a kiln, plus to cover the costs of the first year of its operations. • The plan is for fee-paying users of the center to generate enough income for the social side of their

courses (for low income users and therapeutic purposes) to become self-sustaining.

Key points on progress so far and changes to the original plan

• There was a significant change of plan: Mrs Gino decided to change the location within NYCC from the original rooms offered, and instead to take over what was the NYCC’s ballet and dance studio.

• The managemet at NYCC agreed only on condition that she would organise and pay for the relocation of the dance studio, moving it to another location in the building and providing flooring, mirrors etc.

• The room she now has is very light and airy and is on the ground floor instead of the basement – it is a far superior space for the project.

• As a result of this extra cost, despite having found many ways of getting the best value for money, savings of arroximatey CHF10,000 had to be made in the actual project, including the following:

o There are 8 pottery wheels instead of the intended 10 o The kiln, instead of being a ‘front loading’ model as initially hoped, will be a top loading one. o The three community based programs (for non fee paying users) will now be taught by the same

woman who will run the center day to day (not Mrs Gino) instead of by external teachers. Latest update as opening day draws near

• The plan is for the opening ceremony to take place shortly before our meeting, around 20th May. • The kiln and the wheels are not yet there. They are awaiting delivery. • On 3rd May, the studio held its first event – using clay as medium a group of youngsters who are menbers

of a club run by the computer company Intel came to the center for a class caled ‘from 2D to 3D’. Looking to the future

• Whether or not the Ceramic center succeeds in its goal of being self-financing remains to be seen: The business plan presented showed that it would take 100 people each paying 370 NIS (91CHF) a month to fund the operation of the social programs and the center as a whole.

• Marketing and awareness raising was only started in mid April which is somethig of a concern. • FLCF will be kept updated about how the activities and the finances of the new center evolve.

!! !!

FLCF 2015-1a-07

THE OTHERWORLD PROJECT: YEAR THREE

YOUR GRANT

£19,575 (≈ CHF 29,000) in June 2015 (final year of a three year program)

REMINDER Touring theatre and immersive play space that moves around the south of England, designed especially for children with developmental disabilities and special needs. REPORT ON WHAT HAS HAPPENED SO FAR IN YEAR THREE

• At the time of our last meeting, Otherworld was still in the middle of its Year Two tour, with the theme of Underwater World (year one was Outer Space)

• Year Three has just with a whole new theme – this time it’s “CloudForest” , a rainforest jungle atmosphere, leafy and full of animals etc.

• The space also offers bespoke interactive puppets and creatures such as flying foxes, a panther and snake that allows children/ young people to go inside and manipulate its arms proving new opportunities for play and creativity.

• The build team have designed a new environment adapting some of year two’s environment into a rain forest well as developing new structures and elements, including projections, light effects and soundscapes.

• The puppets that they’ve chosen to design and work with include insects, reptiles, big cats, birds, monkeys and bats.

• The musicians have written new sound tracks and songs for use within each performance/ workshop.

• The first 5 day block took place in mid October (6 ‘shows a day, with groups of up to 20 children in each group, depending on how much supervision they need).

• The tour is already fully booked out, and they will reach more children than ever before.

• There are not yet at time of writing any photographs they can sent me of the first few shows of the Year Three tour, but they have sent a couple showing elements of the new design, including this very impressive giant glow in the dark frog.

15

Above row: The hospital complex where the construction is going on, two pictures of the construction process of Earthquake – proof foundations & walls.

Right: A photo from the first C-section (performed this year) and some of the newly trained community health workers.

16 FLCF 2015 1a 08

POSSIBLE HEALTH: EXPANSION OF THE BAYALPATA HOSPITAL, NEPAL YOUR GRANT

CHF 48,560 in July 2015

REMINDER Possible (formerly called Nyaya Health) is a nonprofit healthcare company that delivers high-quality, low-cost healthcare in rural Nepal. FLCF have helped them twice before, since an introduction via FourLanterns. This grant is helping themwith a major infrastructure expansion, building new accomodation and larger clinical spaces at the Bayalpata hospital which is their main operational hub. REPORT FROM THE CONSTRUCTION PROJECT IN RURAL NEPAL

• Phase I of the expansion plan has focused on building new staff housing and dormitories, expanded Outpatient Department and other services buildings (storage and supply).

• As of October 2015, they have completed all site clearance for staff housing blocks and staff dormitories, preparing a foundation for rammed earth walls, to withstand future earthquakes within the region.

• With all foundation work completed by August 2015, the team has begun laying stone masonry and concrete for the support beams for the staff housing and dormitories, which they anticipate to be completed by December 2015.

• Additional groundwork to install a water reservoir tank, boundary fencing, and retaining wall has also been completed in this phase to support housing needs of key clinical staff.

• All electrical wiring is expected to be completed by early February 2016.

FLCF 2014 2a 11

PROJECT PENCIL CASE & THE ARAKELE VOCATIONAL TRAINING CENTRE

YOUR GRANT

£16,625 ( ≈ CHF 24,500) in November 2014.

REMINDER This grant is allowing 30 young women in Addis Ababa to become qualified as seemstresses / tailoring whilst also getting academic tuition so they can re-take their end of school exams. The grant was applied for and delivered by Project Pencil Case, whom FLCF have supported before and it is the director of PPC who is overseeing the project for us and reporting back. The work, the training of the young women, goes at a place in Addis Abbabna called the Arkelele Vocational Training Centre. REPORT AS YEAR’S END APPROACHES

• The scholarship girls selected in December 2014 have now completed their Arakele training and academic night school tuition. The students all passed the government’s COC (Occupational Competency and Assessment Certification), an internationally recognized level of attainment.

• The students are now working on their final design Arakele project in preparation for the Graduation Fashion Show event.

• The Graduation Event and Fashion Show will have taken place on 9th November, at a hotel in the city. That’s just a week before our meeting, so photos can’t be included here. The pictures at the bottom of the page are of a previous group of graduates of the same course.

• The academic tutorial classes the students received prepared them to retake their failed exams from last school year to enable them to continue with their studies this year - in addition to their Arakele Vocational Training certificates:

• 86.7 percent of the students improved their grades overall from attendance of these tutorial classes and these girls were able to proceed to the next level of their school (70.0 percent) and college (16.7 percent):

• 5 students passed 12th grade to enter university • 21 students passed 10th grade to enter 11th grade

• Although the remaining 4 students did not achieve the necessary academic grade required to

proceed to the next level of school or college, their level had improved sufficiently for them to gain entry into government provided further technical training. This was due to their combined academic grade and passing of their Arakele Vocational Training exam.

• Uniform production for PPC students is underway – those students who cannot afford uniforms have been selected from area schools, measurements of each student taken and materials purchased. (The uniforms are in production and PCC will send photos of the finished garments along with the graduation images).

17

The salon at the Davidoff Center was started in 2007 by hair stylist and cancer survivor Eli Ben Zikri, who still heads the volunteer team.

18FLCF 2015-1a-09

RABIN MEDICAL CENTRE: THE HAIR SALON FOR CANCER PATIENTS

YOUR GRANT

$30,000 (≈ CHF 28,500) in July 2015

REMINDER The Rabin Medical Centre is one of the largest medical institutions in israel and houses the Davidoff Cancer centre, the country’s leading specialist service. Inside the Davidoff is a unique hair salon for people undergoing chaemotherapy. FLCF agreed to help this salon stock up on high quality wigs for which they have a great demand and which are supplied free to those in need. REPORT ON PROGRESS SINCE FUNDS RECEIVED

• The salon is an entirely volunteer run service and the utility bills are all paid by the hospital but high quality wigs are very expensive, costing around $500 each.

• The salon serves around 800 women and girls each year, on average 10% of them children.

• The grant of $30,000 was requested to pay for 60 new tailormade wigs. • So far (writing about 4 months into a 12 month project) the report states that:

“50 wigs were ordered and received at the cost of 75,000 NIS (about $19,500) in Aug. 2015. About 30 of them have been fitted and provided to cancer patients.

An additional 30 wigs were ordered from China and are expected to arrive before the end of November. First payment in the sum of $3,610 was paid for these wigs.

FLCF 2014 2a 16

RE-CYCLE: BIKES FOR ARFICA

YOUR GRANT

£10,661 (≈ CHF 15,700) in November 2014.

REMINDER Re-Cycle, based in the UK, collected unwanted bicycles, puts them in good condition and ships them to carefully chosen partrner organisations in Africa along with tools and training in bicycle maintenamce. FLCF have helped them twice before. REPORT ON WHAT HAS HAPPENED SO FAR

• This grant was to fund a shipment of bikes ( a contained=r full of approximately 400 bicycles plus tools and spare parts) to a place called Glad’s House, in Mombassa Kenya.

• Glad’s House is a charity offering acomodation, food, education and activities to street children in the city.

• They successfully sourced, quality checked and packed 400 bikes ready for shipping to Glad’s House by the end of August and the shipment of bikes only arrived in Mombassa in early October 2015, later than expected.

• Each shipment of bikes that they send to Glad’s House generates an income for their project. This helps them to care for and support over 1,000 street children every year.

• The centre has its own bicycle repair hub and it trains young people as mechanics, so they can earn a living working shifts in the Glad’s House bicycle repair shop.

• Because this particular shipment has only just arrived, they cannot report in detail on what it

has achieved.

• However, as an outline, the report from Re-Cycle explains that “income from one the most recent shipments achieved the following impact: · Paid for the foster care for seven children, giving them security and a place to call home · Paid all the first aid costs for the children (usually about 100 children per month need medical care) ·Paid the salary costs for 10 staff (social workers and ‘house mothers’ in the foster care) · Paid for the living costs for seven young men moving to independent living, and · Contributed to the cost of providing 400 hot meals per day over a year. “

19

FLCF 2015 1a 02

STITCH SAINTE LUCE, MADAGASCAR

YOUR GRANT

£16,000 (≈ CHF 23,500) in June 2015.

REMINDER This project, based in in rural southeast Madagascar, is about empowering women and increasing incomes through harnessing and marketing their emboidery skills to make beautiful products which can be sold to tourists, online and for export. KEY POINTS ON WHAT HAS BEEN ACHIEVED SO FAR THIS YEAR Project Stitch Sainte Luce was established in 2012 to tackle the combined issues of livelihood diversification and women’s empowerment through training in embroidery skills. FLCF’s grant this year was for Phase Three of the project, aimed at increasing the women’s ability to turn their skills into incomes for themselves their families and the wider community.

• During May-July, the members of Project Stitch Ste Luce completed four modules of business

skills training in sales, studio management, stock management, book keeping and and quality control. The women were asked to rate their skills out of 10 for each of the modules, before and after training and the table below left shows a marked improvement in all subjects.

• The total sales figures for all women so far this year show an increase on last year but the

figures do look tiny, when converted into CHF: The average income generated by each woman so far in 2015 is just CHF 35 each (72,000 madagascan Ariary) .

• Even though this seems tiny to us, the report states that: “Associate embroiderers have seen a

positive impact on their household circumstances: they are able to buy food and clothes and have reported feeling positive about being able to contribute to the household or family. Associate embroiderers reported being able to give ‘coffee money’, a Malagasy way of describing a gift of money to someone who needs it more than you do”.

20

FLCF 2015 1a 10

TAPA: THE STRANGE STORY OF THE GRANT THAT NEVER HAPPENED..

YOUR GRANT (WHICH WAS NEVER SENT)

• In June FLCF agreed to send $10,000 to TAPA (less than what they asked for and with a resolution that it would be the last time)

REMINDER

• The Teresa Academy of Performing Arts is an arts activity club for children with special needs

in Long Island, New York. • They was first introduced by FourLanters and went to successfully re-apply twice more for

funds towards their annual Summer Camp.

WHY THE GRANT WAS NEVER SENT

• After the June meeting every successful applicant was sent the usual paperwork to complete so they could get their money: The terms and conditions, the bank details questions and the grant acceptance letter to sign and return.

• TAPA got one reminder, after which the director wrote back to say that she would get it done but then she never did, and never got in touch again until..

WHAT HAPPENED NEXT WAS A THANK YOU LETTER AND REPORT ON SUCCESS

• A large envelope arrived in early September full of details from the successful Summer Camp, with photos and a heartfelt letter of thanks for FLCF’s support over the years, acknowledging that this grant was the last and saying thank you for everything.

21

22FLCF 2015 1a 11

THE TRENCHTOWN READING CENTER YOUR GRANT $20,000 (≈ CHF 15,700) in June 2015 (with agreement of a repeat June 2016 if all is well.

REMINDER

FLCF have been supporting this unique place in a very poor and notoriously violent dangerous part of downtown Kingston for several years now. The grants you’ve given have made it possible to bring the children a wide range of imaginative fun creative learning experiences which would simply not have been possible otherwise.

A FEW HIGHLIGHTS OF THE MONTHS SINCE JUNE’S GRANT

There have been extremely difficlult conditions for the center these past few months, including a severe drought and an upsurge in violence in the area. Despite everything, the centre remains open as it always has. • SATURDAY ARTS CLUB: program is going strong with the arts room filled to capacity every week. • SUMMER SCHOOL: A Total of 66 children took part, divided into 3 classes acording to age groups. Three

weeks of intensive activities every day except Sundays. Special study subject this year was Sub Saharan Africa: Animals, habitats, climate etc.

• DAY TRIPS: Including Natural History Museum of Jamaica and aa Rotary Club dinner where children read their own poems.

• HEROES FROM HISTORY PROJECT: Celebrating special Jamaicans from the Island’s history, each child chose an individual hero and create and present to peers; Poems. Research, Stories, Illustrations. Celebration day on 18th October, parents invited to see kids perform .

• SPECIAL ARTS PROJECTS: ORIGAMI, BEADING WORKSOPS, BAG MAKING, FLOWER MURAL • Right now the children are preparing for this year’s COMMUNITY SPELLING BEE competition which will

take place on Oct 25th. 5 groups. 84 Spellers. Ages 5- 16 yrs. Practiced in groups - creative language arts. There will be Breakfast, Lunch and a snack for all.

These are some pictures of children at the centre posing to say thank you - with a framed copy of the photograph we took at our last meeting (on the balcony in Weggis in June) !

22

The TrenchTown Reading Centre Lower First Street • Kingston 12 • Jamaica

Education Centre & Community Library Non-Profit • No Fee Fresh Leaf Foundation Dear Members of the Board, On behalf of the children, the community, our partners and everyone involved with the Centre, we wish to extend our deepest appreciation for your continued support and very generous Grant. Your funding affords us the ability to broaden the scope of our programs, activities and events. The ‘Fresh Leaf’ photograph was received with great enthusiasm and is on the wall by the front door. The children are immensely curious about these wonderful people who continue to reach out, facilitating the Centre to provide so many varied learning and life experiences, bringing light to their everyday and giving them hope for their future. I wish to thank you so very much for making it possible for me to continue my three annual trips to Jamaica from Vancouver, Canada. I stay for 4-5weeks each trip. These lengthy stays are crucial as they give me time to ensure delivery and ongoing development of programs, training staff and keeping in touch with the community.This is the first time I have received assistance with travel expenses. Without your help it would have become impossible for me to continue to make these trips which are vital to keeping the Centre's 20+ year legacy alive and growing. Were faced with extreme challenged in the past four months. This year ‘s drought was much more severe than last: In our area, from the last day of Summer School, there was not a drop of water for 8 days! The government offered no assistance or advice in any way. Many could not afford bottled water so were drinking cheap bags of flavoured sugar water, becoming dehydrated in the extreme heat. Children spent many hours searching, lining up and carrying water. With no water to wash hands Infectious diseases were spreading. We always have hand sanitizers and although I was off the Island was able to arrange for 5 litre bottles to come every few days. For the first time in 10 years gun violence reared it’s deadly head in a few block radius of the Centre.. Our neighbourhood has worked hard to create a peaceful and safe environment but some youths, new to the area, began targeting others. When couldn’t find their intended targets they fired randomly. Tragically, in one instance, killed a toddler who was standing by her gate, in another a young mother was shot as she walked with her child. Despite these very daunting challenges, our coping measures; providing drinking water, hand sanitizers, closing before dark and walking the children home coupled with our reputation the Centre remained open and vibrant, providing hope, safety and, continuity to the children and the community. We are relieved to report that the water is flowing and police and community have restored the peace. Thank you again for providing the means and encouragement for the Centre to keep the children’s minds active and their interest in learning and trying new experiences keen. Their joy for life expanded and growing their best selves. Most Sincerely, Roslyn Ellison October 27th, 2015

A few photos of activities between June and now. The special focus at this year's Summer School was Sub-Saharan Africa – animals, climates, habitats etc.

These pictures are of one of the Saturday Arts Club projects this Summer (the children made their own shoulder bags (stamped with 'adinkha' symbols, a traditional artform of the Ashanti people from Africa).

The were a lot of elephants (including rainbow ones and ones made of hand prints)

22

Right: LCF's grant allows the center to provide afternoon snacks as well as a hot lunch for everyone at Saturday Art club.

FLCF 2014 2a 01

VERBIER FESTIVAL ACADEMY 2015

YOUR GRANT

CHF 21,000 in November 2014.

REMINDER

Ongoing multi-year suppoprt in the form of scholarships for six world class young musicians to attend the annual Summer masterclasses during the Verbier Festival.

REPORT FROM THIS SUMMER’S VERBIER ACADEMY

• The Festival Academy took place July 12th to August 3rd . • This year, 1,114 candidates from 62 countries competed for the 32 available positions in the

Academy. • The musicians who received FLCF funded scholarships this year were these:

• None of the young artists above had never attended Verbier before. • William Hagen won the Prix APCAV. • Each of the 32 Academy instrumentalists played in at least one chamber music group during their

visit to Verbier as part of the Chamber Music Programme. Chamber Music is one of the most important activities in the Academy and each group rehearsed very regularly over the course of the three weeks and received at least six masterclasses or coachings for their group.

• The chamber music programme was once again led by the legendary Gábor Takács-Nagy.

23

FLCF 2014 2a 04

WOMEN FOR WOMEN INTERNATIONAL YOUR GRANT

CHF 38,411 in November 2014.

REMINDER This project is about giving women in Kosovo the help they need to start and run successful agricultural businesses. 108 women have organised themselves into 5 co-operatives, combining their skills, achieveing higher production levels and better bargaining power when selling their produce to exporters. KEY POINTS ON PROGRESS AT THE END OF YEAR ONE BUSINESS TRAINING COMPLETED: • During the first six months of the project, WfWI provided advanced business plan training to

leaders of the 5 cooperatives: Dredheza e Malit, Lule Vera, Lirishta and Mjedra e Gaçkёs. • The training included sessions on how to prepare a business plan, how to deal with contracts,

how to negotiate with buyers etc. • The business plans start from April /May of 2015 and it will be possible at our next meeting for

me to report on how close they came to their projections. • All 5 collectives are now registered businesses with their local municipalities. • Only one collective so far uses a computer for its book keeping, the others still use paper

notes. This si ssomething that will change as incomes are generated. FIRST HARVEST SUCCESSFULLY PRODUCED AND SOLD: • The grant supplied seedlings, irrigation systems, polytunnels and tools for each of the

cooperatives. The land used is land which belongs to the women themselves or their familes. • Three diferent products have been grown: raspberries, strawberries and white beans. These

were chosen carefully, after studying data on reliability, transport and profit margins. • For the raspberries, which is the most profitable crop and the one grown over the largest

proportion of the women’s land, first real year of significant production will be 2016 (due to the nature of the plants) but the small harvest from this first year went well.

• The women have planned that in the second year they will increase the surface of their plantation up to the double size, using their own their seedlings.

• The same raspberry plants should yield fruit for the next 15 years. • The report shows positive feedback from the buyers (exporters) who have collaborated with

the Women’s Marketing Cooperatives so far. They seem eager to continue these collaborations in the future as it’s much easier to deal with one large coordinated group of producers, rather than with many individuals.

24

FLCF 2015-1a-12

THE TOY LIBRARY AT HOMESTART IN WIRRAL YOUR GRANT

£9,204 (≈ CHF 13,160) in July 2015

REMINDER The ‘home-start’ center in Wirral (near Liverpool) is a place where families below the poverty line come for help and advice in lookinga fter their young children. It runs a Toy Lending Library to give children a chance to enjoy toys they would not otherwise have acess to, with a special collection for children with learning disbilities or other special needs. FLCF’s grant was to allow them to buy a large collection of new toys for the library, and pay a very small salary to someone to manage the lending service (incl deliveries of larger items). REPORT FROM THE TOY LENDING LIBRARY FOUR MONTHS IN

• In August they purchased a large and carefully chosen selection of new toys for families to access, introducing toys that focus on particular skills and areas of development to extend learning.

• They have currently got over 200 toys on loan to families, ranging from small items to large things for outdoor play.

• The toys serve many functions, from play and education to helping parents spend time together with their children in a fun and supportive way.

• Since the grant, and the purchase of many toys specially for children with disabilities, they have been able to help families from further afield, through new connections with local disability charities and special schools.

• The most popular toys are the sensory toys which are suitable for babies and children with complex needs so they have now purchased a few of the same toys to avoid families waiting too long.

• With partnership working amongst the teams who are involved, such as physiotherapists and occupational therapists, they are also able to demonstrate to families recommended ways in which toys should be used for the each individual child with complex needs.

• This simple grant seems to have made a big difference, creating a valkuable and well used community resource.

Feedback from families from their report: ‘The range of toys is a little overwhelming at first, as it is like being a kid in a sweet shop. We enjoy coming along to pick a new toy to loan; it’s a reward for C at the end of the week.’

‘It’s so good being able to loan toys for T as I get a little disheartened if I am providing her enough to meet her needs, but the staff at the Hub always have really good suggestions what toys to loan and how to use the toys differently to provide a variety of sensory experiences for her. I watch how they use them in the group and introduce it at home.’

25

FLCF 2015 1a 03

ELLINOR D’MELON VIA ZAKHAR BRON ACADEMY

YOUR GRANT CHF 30,000 in June 2015

REMINDER The money was sent to the Zakhar Bron Academy but intended directly to help one student, Ellinor D’Melon, a very talented young violinist whose family were in great financial difficulty.

COMMUNICATION DIFFICULTIES WITH THIS PROJECT

• It has always been difficult for Amanaksa to communicate with the man at the Academy who is handling this grant for us and for Ellinor. Some of this is a language issue and some seems to be that he is vey busy.

• Unfortunately despite having asked 4 times for a simple update for this report we have been unable to get a response from him before having to print.

• Ellinor herself has sent several very friendly chatty emails telling us about her experiences over the past few months, her trip to Russia and her most important converts etc but at present we do not know whether all of the money has already been transferred to Ellinor’s family or how it might be being used.

• A question which I hope we might discuss at the meeting:

Perhaps a project like this (if it is still intended to continue for another two years as discussed in June) which does not originate from Amanaska’s work but rather from contacts of board members – maybe it could be dealt with in a different way, directly by FLCF and not via this channel.

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