Thank you!

During 2016, three evaluations were carried out to assess children’s social and physical development, and children needing attention were provided with support including home visits by a school psychologist. Four workshops were delivered to 150 parents on child development, positive parenting, family violence prevention and conflict resolution. By the end of 2016, all but two children were meeting social and developmental milestones. These efforts are turning the tide for children from migrant families in Bolivia’s poorest rural areas around La Paz, Cochabamba and Sucre.

CFTC established a Winnipeg office to support increased Indigenous nutrition programming capacity in western Canada, thanks to a four-year pledge of $1 million from the Slaight Family Foundation. By the end of 2016, we had built relationships with new partner communities in Saskatchewan (Beardy’s & Okemasis First Nation, Onion Lake Cree Nation and Muskeg Lake Cree Nation) and Manitoba (Garden Hill and Waywayseecappo First Nation). These programs are harnessing the resources of the community to expand land-based and nutrition education, and involving youth, elders, teachers and parents in sustainable, culturally-relevant, community-directed change.

Ethiopia continued to experience its worst drought in 50 years. Smallholder farmers with access to irrigation systems and agricultural training fared better, including 3,500 families who received your support through the Market-led Improved Livelihoods in Eastern Amhara Region (MILEAR) project. In 2016, 24 communities installed ponds, micro- and small irrigation systems, and received supplies and training to sustain them. The project’s outstanding impact was recognized in late 2016 by local and regional governments with a first-place certificate for overall achievement, partner cooperation, and community contribution.

Uganda is a powerhouse for women’s livelihoods. In Masindi District, a women’s VSLA generated enough income to donate supplies and equipment to build a new school, “paying it forward” to the community while contributing to urgently needed educational infrastructure for the area’s primary school children. These demonstrations of community impact are testament to the sustainable social change that CFTC donors are making happen in Uganda and in other partner communities where SHGs and VSLAs are also thriving.

The Forum on Aquaculture Development in Northern Ghana, organized by CFTC and local partner ACDEP, with funding from Global Affairs Canada, gathered more than 100 experts, policy makers, donors, NGOs and fish farmers to explore aquaculture’s potential. The conclusion was unanimous: aquaculture has vast potential to lift smallholder farming communities and the country overall to new heights of economic development. Your support for aquaculture has brought a sustainable source of protein and income to 16,000 food insecure children, women and men in northern Ghana. Not only are families benefitting from the nutrition and income offered by “cage fishing,” but communities are gaining regional and national recognition for their aquaculture innovation.

Gender equality training is a crucial part of building capacity, productivity and income among smallholder farm families – not to mention social and economic equity. By the end of 2016, 1,657 women were benefitting from training and increased access to livestock and land. Your support has helped MILEAR exceed its gender equality targets, which stipulate that: 1) training is provided to both husband and wife within targeted households; 2) both women and men formally agree that assets are owned jointly or by the woman alone; and 3) training sites and demonstration plots are selected to be accessible to women and recognize their dual reproductive and economic roles.

Your support advanced new work on girls’ rights to safety and education in Uganda. One of CFTC’s local partners introduced a “safe spaces for girls” pilot program – a community-led strategy that brings girls together with facilitators to discuss issues such as sexual and reproductive rights, health and hygiene, child marriage and child trafficking, and more. Local partner UCOBAC aims to establish 20 groups to reach every girl in CFTC-supported primary schools.

Thank you! You empowered families in La Paz to implement innovative new models for growing fresh, nutritious food. Urban agriculture, now adopted by more than two-thirds of families in the project area, has resulted in a notable increase in access to and consumption of vegetables; a decrease in the proportion of carbohydrates and meat in diets; increased knowledge about organic production; and new ways for communities to share their experiences, such as tasting fairs and community activities carried out by youth groups.

In mid-2015, education was at risk for children in Kpachelo and surrounding villages. Their primary school had been seriously damaged as a result of settling over a fault line, and students were forced to attend classes outside, exposed to heavy rains and dry winds. This jeopardized enrollment, and led to high rates of absenteeism and poor learning outcomes. By the start of the 2016 school year, the new six-unit classroom, with a new playground
and new latrines, had already contributed to increased attendance and better quality education for children from kindergarten through the primary grades.

The launch of the Natoaganeg Community Food Centre represents an important and vibrant next step towards community-led, sustainable food security for the residents of Eel Ground First Nation in New Brunswick. Thanks to your generous support, the food centre began this month to provide drop-in healthy meals to community members in need and host a larger, more accessible food bank. The Natoaganeg community garden is also thriving in its new space, providing a focal point for land-based education, and for celebrating a healthy relationship with food and community.

Celebrations on National Farmers’ Day in Ghana on November 4, 2016 were extra special for some CFTC project beneficiaries. Gladys Gbanupuo and George Puoteng, both from Lawra, Upper West Region, won the Best Female Farmer and Best Overall Farmer awards respectively. The RESULT aquaculture group in Bon Gurigo, Upper East Region won the Best Aquaculture Group award. National recognition for these farmers is helping to spread the word about specific innovations that are improving food security and income for project beneficiaries, and have the potential to do the same for northern Ghana’s smallholder farming population more broadly. Thank you!

During 2016, CFTC worked to influence public policy on issues related to child hunger and poverty, smallholder agriculture and climate change, and full economic and social inclusion for women. In June, we participated in Global Affairs Canada’s International Assistance Review, and later in the year we joined the Aid4Agriculture Coalition to advocate for a significant Canadian investment in sustainable agriculture and climate change adaptation for smallholder farmers, especially women. By December, we had participated in numerous campaigns and symposia, raising our voice on behalf of the world’s poorest and most marginalized people – including the more than one billion children who live below the poverty line around the world. We extend our heartfelt gratitude for your support, compassion and commitment to our mission throughout the year!