Education Camp in India and Bangladesh

Bangladesh—Despite legislation prohibiting the marriage of girls under the age of 18, arrangements forcing young girls to marry are still all too common in Bangladesh. 

Recent surveys suggest that as many as 20% of girls under the age of 15 are forced into marriage; due to the government’s limited capacity to regulate the laws prohibiting these offenses, it is often NGOs that step up to the task. Obvious consequences of early-age forced marriage include depriving girls the innocence of childhood and opportunities for social and economic independence; but marriage at such a young age can also pose serious risks to girls’ physical and mental well-being. 

Additionally, childbirth at a young age is often complicated and may cause damage to internal organs, leaving young mothers physically challenged and socially ostracized. 

FSD’s efforts to end girlhood marriage (observed by our traveling giving circle participants in 2010) have included supporting an educational camp designed to educate rural girls and their families about the negative aspects of child marriages. In our Jodhpur, India site, we are working with Vikalp to provide viable alternatives to forced underage marriage.

Change is gradual, as these societal norm are ages-old, but we are heartened to work with our community partners in these initiatives.

Nutrition in Nicaragua: A Community Takes Charge

In Ciudad Sandino, Nicaragua, fresh produce is a luxury that many families cannot afford. Strikingly, in this lush tropical nation whose climate facilitates agriculture of all kinds, people eat vegetables on average no more than five times per week.

In the communities surrounding Ciudad Sandino, the prohibitive price of vegetables has contributed to widespread malnutrition that can lead to cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes, and obesity. Silvia Elena, Director of Los Cumiches Pre-school in Ciudad Sandino, explains, “The children don’t have a healthy level of nutrition because of the economic conditions of the families. Sometimes they are unemployed, or their families are so big that it complicates their abilities to offer food and basic necessities to all members of the family."

Ironically, families in Ciudad Sandino have one unlikely resource with the power to improve nutrition: their trash. Biodegradable food waste and empty containers—common household byproducts—are presently being utilized for container gardens to grow nutritious vegetables and fruits. This spring, FSD interns Caroline White-Nockleby and Jamie Wozniak are working with NGOs MASINFA and Cantera to implement urban vegetable gardens to improve community nutrition. They, in conjunction with our community partner, MASINFA, are training 20 women in farming techniques to provide them with the skills to start their own agricultural collective.

Caroline describes the project as a collaborative effort and a genuine community investment. “I think of this project as not the forming of something from scratch, but simply the coming together of different resources that already existed: food waste, empty containers, knowledge, enthusiasm, need, labor, space. But when they are brought together, they create a whole greater than the sum of the parts. And so the project belongs to the communities involved; everyone feels ownership and personal connection.” MASINFA will soon begin conducting workshops that highlight the importance of home gardening as a means of food security, as well as show the community how to incorporate homegrown produce into traditional recipes.

Jamie is developing an urban garden project with Ciudad Sandino-based NGO, Centro de Comunicación y Educación Popular (Cantera). Her project, Vegetables for Children, will construct a demonstration garden at Los Cumiches Pre-school to provide an immediate source of nutrition for the students as well as serve as a model to parents for urban gardening at home. As neighbors come together to build home gardens, these techniques will be tranferred thoughout the community. “The children will gain the knowledge and ability to make their own vegetable gardens when they move out into their own houses. This will continue to cycle down through the generations, which will result in a healthier community with a higher level of food security here in Ciudad Sandino,” Jamie explains. These sustainable vegetable gardening projects will impact Ciudad Sandino for generations to come.

Both Jamie and Caroline understand the importance of inter-generational training for sustainable growth. To this end, they are both engaging students in the building of their demonstration gardens, involving youth in organic gardening methods that include natural pest control and composting. A local organization and longtime expert in agricultural training, Fundación Fénix, has been instrumental in educating FSD program participants and MASINFA in the agricultural techniques that have been implemented throughout Ciudad Sandino. By providing youth, their families, and community leaders with these urban garden trainings, MASAYA and Cantera ensure sustainable projects that lead to long-term outcomes—in this case, gardens that help feed a community and ensure its nutritional health.

Caroline has been working with members of two different communities in Ciudad Sandino—Transatlantico, a middle class neighborhood where the demonstration farm is located, and San Fernando, an underserved urban community. Her favorite moment of collaboration: …was when the technical expert tried to flip a tire inside out, which gives a better shape to plant in. The rubber was very stiff, and he was struggling a lot. A man from Transatlantico stepped in to help, and then a woman from San Fernando did the same. Everyone else was watching, calling out advice. After a few long minutes, the three of them shoulder-to-shoulder with hands, feet, and elbows pushing the tire, finally got it to flip. The entire group of 20 people started to clap and cheer. For me it was symbolic of the entire project so far, bringing many people together to make something constructive out of materials that are seen as trash.

Ciudad Sandino’s community effort to mobilize good nutrition through urban gardening methods is an encouraging example of what can be done with limited resources, exemplary knowledge sharing practices, and collective effort at the grass roots level—and how FSD’s asset-based approach can advance an entire community.

FSD's Global Service Trip with students from University of Maryland

Adam Eads, FSD's former International Programs Officer led a Global Service Trip of University of Maryland students and attended a summit of our program directors in Jinja. At the same time, he was fortunate to meet with governmental leaders, including Uganda’s Vice President—and thus gain a wide-view approach to current challenges and assets alike. Here is his full report:

"This was a unique opportunity to support our present interns and NGOs in the field—people whom I greatly admire. As our discussions took place, I saw light bulbs go off constantly—above all of our heads. I have to say as well that this trip totally reinforced my commitment to the GST approach. This was in many ways a model FSD project. The UMD students profited from several months of classroom activity leading up to the trip, so they were absolutely prepared to make the very most of this experience. In just a few (long!) days of work, we were able to construct three energy-saving cook stoves, three water harvesting tanks, and several tippy taps. We also planted a couple dozen fruit and lumber trees, which will help augment the community’s agricultural and financial sustainability.

The stoves were made using resources solely from the homes where we were building them. Mud, grass, homemade bricks and banana tree trunks were all that was needed to construct a stove that will cut wood fuel usage in half, and essentially eliminate inhalation of smoke from cooking. I was personally very impressed with how simple this model was to construct, but more importantly it was great to be a part of passing along this knowledge to the people of the village. The same learning mode was used in teaching the community how to refine the building of water tanks. In many ways, these projects are archetypes of the FSD sustainable approach, and it was absolutely inspiring to see this knowledge transfer in action.

The ‘face time’ with our programs team was phenomenal. We spent hours discussing the challenges and highlights of each program, and how to make current field practices better through streamlined internal communication, as well as building support among NGO partners—and there are about 25 of these at each site. Adam also observed the importance of political affiliations and regional bonds in Uganda. Mr Ssekandi is originally from the village where we were working and had heard about the projects we had supported there over the past several years. He allowed our group use of his compound to meet for lunch each day, and made a trip from Kampala at the beginning of the week to meet the group of Maryland students. It was an exciting opportunity for the students and I think Mr. Ssekandi really appreciated the opportunity to see first-hand the progress being made in his home community."

FSD supports Likoni Community Library in Kenya

In Kenya, over 1.7 million children still remain out of school, the majority of whom are street children living in slums or in marginalized pastoralist communities. Informal or alternative basic education is viewed as "second class" education, and does not receive the recognition or acceptance required to be optimally effective.

While Kenya did implement universal primary education—meaning that eight years of schooling are provided free—additional costs of uniforms and books prevent many from attending school. Families who are able to pay for these primary school costs (and forgo the opportunity cost of not having their children work) often can not afford the fees to pay for secondary school. Secondary schooling, which properly equips children for the next level, is extremely expensive and rarely accessible in under-served areas. At the root of the problem is a drastic decline in education funding and social services by the Kenyan government and international donors.

The poor education system and subsequent idleness of these adolescents create a dangerous combination that frequently leads to drug abuse, early pregnancy, crime, and other at-risk behaviors. Similar to education, a decline in spending on social services has led to minimal care available to children who have been orphaned, leaving them highly vulnerable to exploitation and disease.

Hatua Likoni is equipping Likoni's first library, which provides students with a place to study, read, and take computer classes. FSD is pleased to support Hatua Likoni, a community-led NGO dedicated to helping young people from poor families gain the skills and credentials they need to continue to and benefit from Kenya's growing economy.

Hatua Likoni has worked tirelessly to construct and equip Likini's first-ever community library, to provide students with a much-needed facility for self-study and education. Our grant of $1,000 will support Hatua Likoni in its quest to further education, including preparation of students for university, in this deserving community.

Foundation for Ecological Security (FES) and FSD - Saving energy, growing micro-economies in India

In India, over 260 million live in poverty. The poor are plagued by high levels of unemployment, low levels of income, and significant debt. Many are trapped in this financial position. They rarely can offer collateral against their loans and therefore are continually denied access to formal credit institutions. Even when loans are awarded, high interest rates and unrealistic repayment schedules leave families unable to escape the poverty cycle.

FSD partners with locally run organizations in Udaipur and Jodhpur who work with women to create financial "self-help groups." These groups enable women to build savings and credit, and form linkages with banks. The organizations also coordinate meetings to encourage women to participate in management level activities and provide workshops that focus on skills training. Microentrerprises arise from these trainings.


FSD also supports programs that educate the poor about local bank policies and works to establish revolving funds for those in need. With continuing help and financial support, these micro-enterprise/micro-finance NGOs can empower the poor through education, training, and micro-loans that will drastically improve their financial possibilities.

One of the projects FSD and our partner, the Foundation for Ecological Security (FES), have been working together is to reduce dependence on fuel wood for the rural population. The project is just the first of a wide range of sustainable energy technologies to be built and sold by local entrepreneurs. Efficient cookstoves can reduce cooking fuel wood needs up to 65% while also providing a variety of other positive health, economic, social, and environmental impacts for the community in and around the Sanctuary.

FSD intern Carlyn Johnson worked around the Kumbhalgarh Wildlife Sanctuary in the Rajasthan state of India -- and led a pilot program to implement 30 fuel-efficient cookstoves as a potent energy-saving measure as well as an income-generating project for these villagers. 

It is a Win-Win -- Preserving biodiversity while providing micro-entrepreneurial opportunities.