The Gift to Grandmothers is a grassroots organization based in Africa and has no political or religious divide characteristics. Since its foundation in 2007, the Gift to Grandmothers has remained proactive in business in offering emotional and financial support to grandmothers who live with dependants of the victims of HIV/AIDS such as orphans who lost their parents as a result of the epidemic.
In fact, the foundation’s governance principles are the fundamentals that protect the dignity of other providers, the society in which the corporation serves, civic officials, and the grandmothers in Kelowna living with HIV/AIDS orphans (Gift to Grandmothers par. 5).
With the view of reducing the impact of poverty as a result of HIV to the grandmothers of Kelowna, the foundation has managed to attain high quality services and remains relevant to the changing needs of these grandmothers who double up as the guardians of the HIV orphans.
However, due to the limited funding, the victim segment consisting of HIV/AIDS orphans has suffered limited financial support. Many orphans living with their grandmothers have not been reached by the foundation despite living like this for more than seven years.
In order to understand the inadequacies in the funding of the projects aimed at assisting grandmothers in Kelowna who live with HIV/AIDS orphans, it is critical to carry out intrinsic background research, establish current dynamics, and design the right remedy policy (Gift to Grandmothers par. 5).
The Gift to Grandmothers’ annual reports dwells on taking care of the grandmothers who live with HIV orphans. ThesThis report emhasizes on the significance of love, caring, provision of basic needs, and security acknowledged by the regional directors.
The report also dwells on HIV infection in a parent or guardian and how it is likely to put children at a glaring risk of total behavioral, emotional, mental, and social development of child physical and psychological aspects of growth when the parent demises.
These children are taken care of by the fragile grandmothers who have to assume the parental responsibility despite the absolute penury situation they are in (Gift to Grandmothers par. 5).
The report further explores the reactions of children affected by HIV infection at a tender age as likely to become victims of sexual abuse and may be obliged to coping strategies such as fear, lack of confidence, and trauma that have negative effects on their growth, as they lack the basic protection associated with parental care as it has to be offered by the grandmothers.
The report explains that these grandmothers are vulnerable to depression and even unending anxiety which are associated with poor physical and psychological development of children under their care (Gift to Grandmothers par. 5).
Though the Gift to Grandmothers Foundation has been in the forefront to offer financial related services to this segment of clients, the efforts have only created micro benefits since the number of grandmother living with HIV/AIDS orphans in Kelowna is more than the foundation’s annual budget of less than one million dollars.
In fact, according to government statistics, the report indicated that the number of grandmothers taking care of orphans as a result of HIV/AIDS has been increasing at 2% annually (Gift to Grandmothers par. 5).
The Gift to Grandmothers foundation is very specific in financial, moral and emotional responsibility to the grandmothers living with HIV/AIDS orphans. The partners and other agents of change who are interested in working with this foundation are expected to observe discipline in financial use and request. Any project within the foundation is subject to approval by the team of directors.
The website for the Gift to Grandmother Foundation is progressive in the intrinsic approach to offering charitable services to the grandmothers in Kelowna. Despite the fact that there is no picture of a grandmother in the foundation’s banner, the picture of African continent represents unity of purpose.
Besides, the lone tree in an expansive grassland may symbolize simple beginnings with great impact on an extensive region. In addition, the theme of an early morning symbolizes hope for a rising sun after the long darkness.
The sidebars with the options of “fund raising” and “how you can help” are meant to encourage the visitors to support the course after reviewing the “projects” and “events” for the worthwhile course.
Reflectively, the foundation’s website is well designed, simple, and very communicative to the goals since the information in it is very comprehensive but easy to understand and one can relate to at personal level (Gift to Grandmothers par. 5).
The Global Citizens for Change
The Global Citizens for Change Organization consists of a cluster of nine volunteer cooperation agencies within Canada. As indicated on the foundation’s website:
The “goals are to build a constituency of support for voluntary cooperation, to increase the profile of volunteer cooperation as an effective means of ending poverty, and to increase the collective and individual VCA capacity to engage overseas volunteers upon their return to Canada so that they become an identifiable force, taking action, and deepening awareness around issues of global poverty” (“Global Citizens for Change” par. 4).
This Canadian based supremacist organization targets local and international volunteering activities that are aimed at ending poverty. This organization holds several poverty eradication campaigns and offers voluntary services to agencies with the same initiative in and out of Canada. Reflectively, a challenging task in community development is to make a community a better place to live and grow.
Various community initiatives have been taken by the organization to make the Canadian society a better place in terms of lowering the poverty levels. In the process, the volunteers of this organization tackled widespread poverty related concerns ranging from drug abuse, alcoholism and theft among others (“Global Citizens for Change” par. 3).
However, due to inadequate emotional, financial, and psychological support from the organization, the impact has not been extensive (“Global Citizens for Change” par. 3).
Through the “get involved” policy initiative aimed at recruiting more volunteers, the Global Citizen for Change Organization has been able to give life guidance, financial assistance, realistic information, instructive tutoring, as well as participate in esteem building activities (“Global Citizens for Change” par. 3). The initiative is carried out within the entire Canada region.
Bacchi (2006), defines development assets framework as “40 common sense, positive experiences and qualitative that help influences choices young people make and help them become caring, responsible, successful adults,” (Bacchi 17).
This framework has proven to be a successful tool to the Global Citizen for Change towards developing the poverty eradication agenda in various region of Canada (“Global Citizens for Change” par. 2).
Among the notable benefits of the Global Citizen for Change Organization is that it operates within the optimal model since the main programs and stakeholders offer private logistical support to all administrative costs. Thus, almost all the donated and collected funds are often channeled to the primary projects.
The organization’s current budget accommodates free provision of social services, medical services, and other support services to the regions in and out of Canada (“Global Citizens for Change” par. 3).
As is common with most of the organization of its nature, the Global Citizen for Change Organization’s website is dotted with stereotyping pictures and images despite the central image of unity in diversity of different skin colors. Specifically, in the extreme left upper end, there is a picture of a black lady supposedly overjoyed by the donations presented by a white lady.
Besides, the slide show at the bottom of the organization’s website page captures the stereotyping images of poor people from the minority races. Despite the hype, there is little evidence of the success of the poverty eradication projects displayed in the organization’s website.
In fact, the picture painted is that the Canadians will redeem the poor blacks and the Indians from the dungeon of poverty without laying down a strategy for doing so (“Global Citizens for Change” par. 3).
Recommendation for the Zapatista movement
With limited space for peaceful demonstration and scope of constructive critic of the Mexican government, the movement should establish an economic wing that will liberate the poor economically. This wing should have its agents to address their concerns and ideologies through pushing for a regulated capitalism system rather than practicing capitalism at the periphery in its totality.
Through a structured organ of operation, the movement should have a channel for reaching its members and being part of every government by sponsoring persons of integrity to represent them. This strategy will ensure that the interests of Zapatista movement are taken care of by the government of the day.
Works Cited
Bacchi, Charles. “The Ethics of Problem Representation: Widening the Scope of Ethical Debate.”Policy and Society, 26.3 (2006): 5-20. Print.
Gift to Grandmothers 2007. Web.
Global Citizens for Change 2011. Web.