- International Projects -
- AFRICA -
HEALING BEGINS AT HOME - THE JULIA BURKE INFIRMARY
The building of The Julia Burke Infirmary
If you are a parent, you have most likely awakened late in the night to the sounds of a sick and crying child. You worry and fret, and possibly you have even made the trip to urgent care. Imagine this same scenario, only you are a parent in Mazabuka, Zambia. You awaken in your mud hut, and you are worried; there is no electricity, no running water. The nearest medical officer is a four hour walk from your village, so you prepare to carry your sick child to the doctor.
When you begin your walk on a dirt road, the temperature is already 85 degrees early in the morning. There is always the chance of rain, several inches in an hour, and you have nothing but a shawl to protect your sick child. If it rains, the dirt road will become a quagmire and difficult to walk upon. Once you have seen the doctor, you walk back to the village, hoping that the medicines will work and you will not need to return.
The Julia Burke Foundation in partnership with the Woodward Academy, in Atlanta, Georgia has changed the lives of the people of Mazabuka forever. Now, the people can walk to see a doctor in fifteen minutes. The people of Mazabuka are immensely proud of their new clinic; the Minister of Health was impressed and children beamed at the dedication ceremony.
I did nothave the pleasure of knowing Julia. But I have learned that Julia was a person who was involved and a person who wanted to make a difference in the world. I think Julia would be very proud of this clinic. It will change the lives of literally thousands of people over the years. The future is looking bright for the children and community of Terranova. Thank you Julia, and thank you to The Julia Burke Foundation.
- George Dietz, Assistant Principal, Woodward Academy
For more information, visit: www.terranovacoffee.com and www.woodward.edu
2009 JULIA BURKE FOUNDATION HELPS BUILD THE JULIA BURKE INFIRMARY IN ZAMBIA
First baby born at The Julia Burke infirmary
The Julia Burke Foundation has taken great pleasure in partnering with the Woodward Academy to help construct the new Julia Burke Infirmary and staff houses at the Terranova School located on the Terranova Coffee Estate in Zambia.
Woodward Academy in Atlanta GA, has adopted Terranova School in a sister school program and has helped provide Terranova School with much needed text books, computers and reading materials. This year, the combination of fundraising efforts by Woodward Academy and The Julia Burke Foundation grant have helped build a new infirmary. George Dietz, Assistant Middle School Principal at Woodward Academy, recently wrote to us:
“I know you must hear things like this all the time, but this grant will literally change the lives of thousands of individuals in this community more than you can possibly know. The impact for these people would be the same as if you had made a multimillion dollar donation to a hospital in the states. The infirmary insures that we will now have an adequate facility to test the children as well as adults, and treat the people if necessary.”
Obviously, coffee is not the only thing cared about on the Estate. Terranova coffee wouldn’t be around today if it were not for the thousands of folks employed to pick their famous coffee. On the farm you can find a school, and a clinic both dedicated to enriching the lives of these workers. A portion of the sale of Terranova coffee goes to maintaining the school and the clinic. In addition, the Estate contributes heavily to the wildlife management of the Lower Zambezi National Park, as well as Chikankata Hospital run by The Salvation Army. Chikankata is one of Africa’s leading AIDS research facilities.
For more information, visit: www.terranovacoffee.com and www.woodward.edu
Children beam at the dedication ceremony
2008 JBF HELPS PURCHASE WEAPONS CUTTING SHEARS FOR USE IN ANGOLA
HALO has identified a need around the world – and in Angola specifically – for efficient and permanent disposal of large stocks of unwanted weapons. This is especially important in countries where peace has been established, and the reminders of war detract from that peace.
Currently, workers use shears designed for the scrap metal industry to dispose of weapons. These shears are difficult to transport to the remote regions of the world that need them, and they are also inefficiently designed. To solve this problem, HALO collaborated with a Scottish engineering firm to develop a more efficient pair of cutting shears. These new shears will be powered using a hydraulic feed, rather than by electricity, and have blades designed specifically for WAD.
The Foundation and the U.S. Department of State have given matching grants for the purchase of two pairs of the new mobile weapons cutting shears. This grant has come in time for Angola’s countrywide voluntary disarmament campaign in the first half of 2008.
For more information, visit www.HaloUsa.org
New hydraulic weapons cutting shears
2007 WATER PURIFICATION IN ETHIOPIA
Collecting and treating water near Gondar, Ethiopia. Photo by Daniel Crapper.
The Julia Burke Foundation is pleased to partner with Population Services International for a clean water project in Ethiopia. Currently, there is an outbreak of acute diarrhea in Gondar, and our project will provide free treatment of up to 650 million liters of water to local families. For more information about Population Services International, go to www.psi.org
2008, 2004 PROJECTS WITH THE POLUS CENTER IN ETHIOPIA
The Ethiopian Self-Empowerment Project's goal is to assist grassroots disability organizations in building their capacity to effectively implement their own, individual projects and to identify the common needs of persons withdisabilities in order to allow them to become independent.
Women with disabilities in Ethiopia are very vulnerable from a combination of both gender discrimination and the stigma associated with disabilities. A delegation from the Polus Center traveled to Ethiopia to meet with individuals with disabilities. Using the information gathered from this meeting, the Ethiopian Self-Empowerment Project has been established. The Women with Disabilities National Association of Ethiopia and the Moon Leprosy Cooperative are part of this project. The overwhelming need for immediate assistance by many of the persons with disabilities interviewed is painfully evident.
While the Polus Center remains committed to working with the associations toward addressing long-term needs and implementing demonstration projects, the need for daily sustenance needs to be addressed.
The Julia Burke Foundation grant will help provide emergency, short-term assistance for basic survival which includes food, shelter, and health-care while the Polus Center continues to work toward providing sustainable income-generating opportunities.
For more information about The Polus Center, go to www.poluscenter.org
2006 MICROLOAN PROJECT IN KENYA
Our Kenya project is operated by Kiva (meaning "agreement" or "unity" in Swahili) (www.kiva.org) and the Women's Economic Empowerment Consort (WEEC), and funded loans for 100 of the very poorest women including Masai tribeswomen who traditionally raise cattle and who need to buy cattle for breeding and/or for dairy products.
2006 MICROLOAN PROJECT IN MALAWI
In Malawi, one of the poorest countries in Africa, we sponsored three new "village banks" offering loans to as many as 150 women. These banks offer a safe and profitable place to accumulate savings, group support for personal empowerment, life insurance, and credit cards, and are operated by the Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA). These loans funded new businesses, including tailoring, hair salons, pharmacies, food sales, small-holder agriculture, transportation and crafts. For more information about FINCA, go to www.villagebanking.org
2002 PROJECT WITH THE HALO TRUST IN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
The funding provided by the Foundation allowed HALO to access areas in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi. The HALO Trust undertook plans to conduct an assessment of the humanitarian mines situation in the Central African Region. Initially the assessment was to focus on the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Burundi. However, in reaction to events during this period, the survey encompassed Central African Republic (CAR) as well. The survey has had a great influence in HALO’s strategic planning for its own operations, and has been extremely useful in the briefings the HALO regularly gives to major mine clearance donors. A peace agreement, between the warring parties was signed on July 30, 2002 and the process of withdrawing troops by Zimbabwe, Rwanda, and Uganda has begun.
Over the course of 2002 HALO has been monitoring the situation in the Great Lakes. Given that considerable headway has been made towards peace in both the DRC and Burundi, HALO will be deploying a mission to the Great Lakes Region in order to assess the impact of mines and UXO.
For more information about the above photos, and to see videos and more information about The HALO Trust, go to www.halousa.org
CLEARING MINES SO
CHILDREN CAN PLAY IN SAFETY
“Every day in a child’s life is a day of new advantages and
discoveries. Any child might fall down and scratch their hand
or foot, but this is common in life and, as we say, it will heal
before they are married. But such dangers as cluster bombs
and other munitions pose can result in the loss of a hand or
a foot or even a life, which will change the child’s life forever.
Before the clearance we were scared to let our children play
beyond the playground. Thanks to HALO and The Julia Burke
Foundation we now can be sure that our children’s lives are
safe and nothing serious poses a danger to them. Their happy
and smiling faces are
the warmest thank
you, which we would
like to pass to HALO
and The Julia Burke
Foundation.” These
are words of Marine
Gevorkyan, a mother
and teacher in Jabrail Village in
Nagorno Karabakh.
The HALO Trust, the staff of
HALO Nagorno Karabakh, and
the people of Nagorno Karabakh are profoundly grateful to The Julia Burke
Foundation for its generous support. The benefit in terms of lives and
limbs saved is incalculable. HALO was pleased to present letters of thanks
from the President and Prime Minster of Nagorno Karabakh to Marilyn
and Jerry Burke.This year, The Foundation is
supporting HALO’s important new
program in Zimbabwe. Similar to
the citizens of Nagorno Karabakh,
Zimbabweans live with explosive
remnants of war, which threaten
injury and death, and block access
to valuable land for farming. The
urgency of the issue was highlighted
by a recent accident when a 16-year
old boy lost his leg to a landmine The
Julia Burke Foundation has provided
critical start-up support to assist HALO
with the survey of this land and to lay
the strong foundation upon which
HALO will train and deploy hundreds
of local deminers in 2012 and 2013.
HALO would like to thank The
Julia Burke Foundation for its longstanding
commitment to a minefree
world. Where The Julia Burke
Foundation has cleared minefields
and battlefields, farmers are now
planting their crops, homes and roads
are being rebuilt, and children play,
secure in the knowledge that their
next step will be a safe one.
For more information about the above photos, and to see videos and more information about The HALO Trust, go to www.halousa.org
