GlobalGiving Project of the Month Club

Dear Project of the Month-ers,

Here’s what Project of the Month has been up to:

June 2010 donations: $700 from 29 members Where it went: A Clean Solar Alternative to Kerosene Lamps, Nepal

In just one month, you provided more than: • Three solar lighting units for a student to study during evening hours; • Training for three people on repair and maintenance of solar units and three sets of tools for local repair and maintenance service centers; and, • Three households with a set (2 lamps and 1 solar panel) of solar lighting.

This means that you have: • Reduced fire hazards and environmental pollution-->improvement in quality of life and health (especially of children and women). • Provided better studying conditions and an increase in evening economic activity, not to mention a reduction in dependence on imported kerosene-->economic growth; and, • Helped reduce global warming-->a healthier earth.

Awesome. Thanks for being a part of this.

Next month's project:

Got World Cup fever? So do we! That’s why in July, Project of the Month will be supporting the project: Support Amputee Soccer in Sierra Leone.

The use of amputations as a weapon of fear and intimidation was a common practice during the 10 year civil war in Sierra Leone. Amputees live alarmingly below the poverty line and are forced to live as outcasts.

Amputee soccer is reversing the negative perception of amputee victims. Their success as athletes has transformed them from social outcasts to victors.

Score!

We’ll be in touch next month to let you know how Project of the Month made a difference for amputee athletes in Sierra Leone.

Links:

• A Clean Solar Alternative to Kerosene Lamps, Nepal Project Page
• Support Amputee Soccer in Sierra Leone Project Page

Thank you for joining GlobalGiving’s Project of the Month Club. You’re part of a special group of founding members of the club and we appreciate your commitment to this exciting new initiative!

Together, as the club grows, you—along with the club’s other members—will be creating a windfall donation each month to a high-impact project chosen because of its ability to make a real difference with the funds generated.

Here’s how you made a difference last month…

Last month’s Project of the Month: Educate a Girl, Educate a Nation—Sierra Leone Last month, The Project of the Month Club’s 15 members provided $350 in funding for Educate a Girl, Educate a Nation—Sierra Leone.

That gift provided enough funds for 3 girls to go to school for one year, and to throw in school supplies for 30 more girls.

This is an exceptionally high impact gift, because in Sierra Leone, school is far from a certainty for all children, but it’s especially uncertain for girls. By secondary school, girls’ attendance rates drop to only 19 percent.

And yet, educating a girl is one of the best investments you can make for the economic stability of families, communities and countries.

It is estimated that each year of secondary schooling a woman has prevents two maternal deaths per 1,000 women and increases the likelihood that her children will remain in school for up to half a year.

This month, your Project of the Month gift helped contribute to increasing the odds for at least 3 girls in Sierra Leone, the impact of which will continue for generations.

But don’t take our word for it. Below is a link to a video by Thomasia Smith, a Sierra Leonian girl helped by the Educate a Girl, Educate a Nation project, explaining in her own words what access to education has meant to her.

Thank you, Project of the Month Club, for helping change the lives of young women in Sierra Leone!

And now, for the next little earth changing idea you’re supporting…

This months’ Project of the Month: A Clean Solar Alternative to Kerosene Lamps, Nepal. This is an exciting, new, innovative project that is using an environmental intervention—replacing kerosene lamps with solar lighting—to positively impact not only the environment, but health, safety, and economic growth on the community and national level.

Read more about this project at the link below, and we’ll let you know next month more about how you and your fellow members of Project of the Month made a difference!

Thank you for your ongoing support and membership in Project of the Month, where you are truly making a world of difference.

Sincerely, Mari

Links:

• May 2010 Project: Educate a Girl, Educate a Nation--Sierra Leone
• Thomasia Smith explaining what school means to her
• June 2010 Project: A Clean Alternative to Kerosene Lamps, Nepal