Firelight Foundation Annual Report 2008 by Firelight Foundation

2008 ANNUAL REPORT

Our Mission The mission of the Firelight Foundation is to improve the well-being of children made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS and poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa. Firelight supports grassroots organizations that help families and communities meet the needs of their children. OUR APPROACH

We believe that children hold the key to a brighter future for Africa.

Child-centered.

We believe that real and lasting change begins at the grassroots.

Family-focused. Community-based.

We believe and invest in locally grown and owned sustainable solutions. We know that small, well-targeted investments can make a big difference in children’s lives.

COMMUNITY

We inform, advocate, and work to inﬂuence funding ﬂows to reach the grassroots. Our grantees understand the needs of vulnerable children and families, and how communities mobilize to support them.

FAMILY

We understand the challenges that community-based organizations face and partner with them to strengthen their programs and provide better support to communities.

CHILD

Compared to previous years, this annual report is 65 percent shorter, cheaper, and greener, using recycled paper that minimizes post-consumer waste. This is partly due to our desire to minimize overhead costs and carbon footprint while maximizing funding to grantees, particularly during these difficult economic times.

We have seen the success and impact of our approach on children, families, communities, and other funders over nearly 10 years of operation. It also reﬂects our new approach of communicating with our audiences in different and more effective ways. Over the next few months, we will focus on developing and expanding our website to serve as a rich information and communication hub. To learn more about how our grantees used their grant funds, visit our website: www.ﬁrelightfoundation.org

2008 ANNUAL REPORT

The Way We Work Firelight Interventions THE COMMUNITY NEED

Community Action

Impact

THE COMMUNITY RESPONSE

THE NEED (see page 6)

THE INCREASED WELL-BEING OF CHILDREN

Heavy toll of HIV/AIDS and poverty on children, families, and communities in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Children have:

COMMUNITIES:

Too few resources reach the vulnerable communities that need them the most.

• Identify the problem • Prioritize the unmet needs of children and families • Tap into community solidarity to mobilize an informal support network and local resources • Formalize efforts by creating community-based organizations to strengthen the community response.

• Loving, caring relationships • Regular, nutritious meals • Warm, safe homes

THE FIRELIGHT RESPONSE (pages 10-11)

• Regular school attendance THE COMMUNITY SUPPORT SYSTEM (pages 8-9)

FIRELIGHT:

• Provides direct funding to community-based organizations (CBOs)

THE CBO RESPONSE (page 7)

• Helps build CBO capacity to reach more vulnerable children and families

COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS (CBOs):

• Leverages organizational learning efforts to:

• Raise awareness of the needs and rights of children

CBOs assemble and deploy resources, and strengthen the community support system by focusing their efforts on the following three areas:

• improve CBO programming

• Provide direct support to vulnerable children and families

• fuel advocacy efforts that increase resource ﬂows to communities.

• Build and strengthen community structures, including volunteer and caregiver networks to sustain the response

MEETING BASIC

PROVIDING

FACILITATING ACCESS TO

MATERIAL NEEDS

CARE, SUPPORT, & PROTECTION

GOVERNMENTPROVIDED SERVICESEducation

Material Assistance Food/Nutrition/Agriculture Economic Strengthening

• Tap into external resources • Advocate for improved government policies and greater access to services.

2008 ANNUAL REPORT

www.firelightfoundation.org

Psychosocial Support Children’s Rights

Education Healthcare/HIV

• Emotional and social development.

2008 Annual Report Contents 2008 AT A GLANCE

Letter from the President & the Executive Director ... . ... . .. . .. . .. . . . ... .. ... .. .... 4-5 A Call to Action: The Need & The Solution ... ... . 6-7 Our Accomplishments & Impact . .. . . . ... .. ... .. ... .. 8-9 Our New Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-11 Our Reinvigorated Brand .. . ... . . . .. . .. . .. ... .. ... ... 12-13 GRANTEE PROFILES

Family-In-Need Trust:

Meeting Basic Material Needs .. . . . .. . .. ... ... .. ... 14-16 Namwera AIDS Coordinating Committee (NACC):

Providing Care, Support & Protection . ... ... .. ... .. 17-19 Special Education Center of Janja:

Facilitating Access to Government Services.. ... . 20-23 REFERENCE

2008 Grants . ... . ... . ... . ... . ... . .. . . . .. . .. ... .. ... ... 24-29 CANADA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 KENYA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 LESOTHO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 MALAWI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 RWANDA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 SOUTH AFRICA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-27 TANZANIA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 UGANDA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 ZAMBIA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28-29 ZIMBABWE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

2008 Financial Report ... . ... . .. . .. . .. . . . ... .. ... .. .. 30-31 Donors.. . ... . ... . ... . ... . ... . ... . .. . .. . . . .. ... ... ... .. . 32-34 Support Firelight .. . ... . ... . ... . .. . .. . . . .. ... ... ... .. ... .. 35 Boards & Staff .. . ... . ... . ... . ... . .. . . . .. . .. ... .. ... ... ... .36

From the President & the Executive Director 2008: A Year of Building on Strengths In late September 2008, just as the global financial crisis was beginning to unfold, Firelight staff members were visiting grantee community organizations in Malawi. The irony was all too apparent: the staff of an American foundation emphasizing prudent financial management to cashpoor but well-run grassroots organizations, while many large companies back in the United States had been acting with breathtaking recklessness. Community groups in Malawi and across Africa are sometimes unjustifiably categorized as “risky investments” by funders. But in our experience, they have been operating with a high degree of accountability and transparency while producing remarkably reliable results and making a real difference in the lives of vulnerable children and families. More than 20 years ago, in response to the mounting human suffering caused by HIV/AIDS and poverty, community members across Africa began to take action. They established communitybased organizations to help children stay in school, get access to medicine, and receive help and guidance when their families were sick or under stress. These groups helped surviving parents, grandparents, and other caregivers increase their income so they could better care for their children. It was this remarkable mobilization of communities in the midst of a worsening crisis, scarce resources, and shrinking safety nets that nearly 10 years ago inspired the creation of the Firelight Foundation. Today, the global economy is in its worst shape in decades, making it even more challenging for organizations in Africa to meet the basic needs of children and families affected by poverty and HIV/ AIDS. The United Nations estimates that nearly 400 million of the poorest Africans will see their incomes drop by 20 percent, to about 50 US cents per person per day.

While we’ve all been affected by the financial crisis, it is clear that the hardest hit are those who are already poor and vulnerable. And this is where locally run organizations will make a bigger difference than ever before. Over the past year, Firelight has been gearing up to increase our support to grassroots organizations even as our own endowment income and fundraising efforts were severely tested by the financial crisis. We are proud that in 2008 we made 180 grants to communitybased organizations in 10 Sub-Saharan African countries totaling about US$2 million and benefitting nearly 100,000 children and 50,000 caregivers. From a group in Rwanda that mobilized community, government, and international support for disabled children, to a community organization that helped combat stigma and discrimination against HIV-positive children and families in Malawi, Firelight grantees are working hard to make their communities stronger and build better lives for children and families. (Read more about our grantees on pages 14-23.)

BUILDING ON OUR STRENGTHS With nearly a decade of experience supporting community organizations, Firelight is recognized as a leader in getting resources to the grassroots, where they make the most difference for vulnerable children and families. Our mission, vision, and values remain grounded in respect for the power of community action to change children’s lives.

Launched in the fall of 2008, our new strategic plan builds on our strengths, intensifying our grantmaking support and advocacy efforts for greater impact, while decreasing our operating costs. (Read more about our new ﬁve-year strategy on pages 10-11). We would like to highlight two points here that are critical to supporting the work of community-based organizations that are strengthening family and community care for children in need: First, in the next few years, we will make a concerted effort to increase the upper limit of our grant sizes from US$15,000 to US$20,000, taking into account the absorptive capacity of grassroots organizations. We also plan to lengthen our partnerships by several years. Larger grants over longer periods will enable these groups to plan better, build their programs, and reach greater numbers of children with vitally needed services. Second, we will use the example of our own impact to convince those with larger resources to channel more of their funds to the grassroots. As a critical part of our new strategy, we have committed ourselves to helping the U.S. government, foundations in North America and Europe, and U.S. faith-based agencies increase their understanding and support for community-based organizations in Africa.

Both groups have succeeded in raising the proﬁle of vulnerable children within the AIDS community, establishing relationships with major AIDS funders, and presenting strong evidence on how well Firelight’s community- and family-based approach works for children affected by AIDS.

THE ROAD AHEAD You, our community of supporters, have helped make our vision a reality, and we are deeply grateful to you for that. We are excited about the opportunities ahead and are committed to reaching more children and families than in years past. There has never been a more critical time to increase our investments in brighter futures for children struggling to grow up in the face of poverty and HIV/AIDS. The investments we make now will not only help children today, but will also continue to make a difference in the long-run by supporting locally grown and owned solutions that can be sustained long after the current ﬁnancial crisis has subsided. With gratitude and appreciation,

Kerry Olson Founder & President

Moving forward, we will focus our own ‘learning agenda’ on analyzing what we and our partners know about the efficacy of community-based organizations, sharing this knowledge widely through our networks with the aim of getting more resources to organizations directly serving families and children in need.

2008 ANNUAL REPORT

www.firelightfoundation.org

Peter Laugharn Executive Director

FROM THE PRESIDENT & THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

To this end, Firelight has played key leadership roles in two childfocused networks: the Coalition on Children Affected by AIDS (CCABA, www.ccaba.org) and the Joint Learning Initiative on Children and AIDS (JLICA, www.jlica.org).

In concert with the launch of our strategic plan, we have changed our look to better reﬂect the organization we have become over nearly 10 years. We believe that our new brand communicates vividly the optimism, resourcefulness, and resilience of the children, families, and communities with whom we work. We hope that it will help bring to the table new individuals and institutions committed to supporting vulnerable children and families through communities. (Read more about our brand on pages 12-13.)

A Call to Action THE NEED* HIV/AIDS and poverty threaten the safety and survival of MILLIONS OF CHILDREN across Sub-Saharan Africa.

Did you know? SIXTY-EIGHT PERCENT OF THE WORLD’S ADULTS LIVING WITH HIV/AIDS and NEARLY 90 PERCENT OF THE WORLD’S

THE BASIS OF THE SOLUTION

More than 80 PERCENT OF CHILDREN designated as ‘orphans’ actually have a surviving parent.

HIV-POSITIVE CHILDREN live in Africa south of the Sahara Desert.

More than 48 MILLION CHILDREN have been orphaned. Of those, 12 MILLION have lost at least one of their parents to HIV/ AIDS, and millions more have been made vulnerable by poverty and other causes, and face the pressures of caring for ill parents. FIFTY-SIX PERCENT OF PEOPLE live on less than $1 a day. More

than 60 PERCENT OF CHILDREN live in poverty. Only 30 PERCENT OF CHILDREN are enrolled in secondary school. ADOLESCENT GIRLS ARE 2 TO 4.5 TIMES MORE LIKELY to be

infected with HIV/AIDS than boys of the same age. CHILDREN ARE SIGNIFICANTLY LESS LIKELY to receive life-saving

antiretroviral treatment than adults. Families and communities bear approximately 90 PERCENT OF THE COSTS AND BURDEN OF CARING for infected and affected children in the areas hardest hit by AIDS. *Statistics have been drawn from “Home Truths: Facing the Facts on Children, AIDS, and Poverty,” the ﬁnal report of the Joint Learning Initiative on Children and HIV/AIDS (February 2009). JLICA is a two-year, independent alliance of researchers, implementers, policymakers, activists, and people living with HIV/AIDS.

Approximately 90 PERCENT OF ALL CHILDREN AFFECTED BY HIV/AIDS AND POVERTY, including those

who have lost parents, receive care and assistance from community-based organizations and extended families.

COMMUNITY ACTION: Communities Changing Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Lives Millions of children and families affected by HIV/AIDS and poverty are assisted by small community-based organizations (CBOs) that work on a shoestring budget to help children stay in school and ensure that they have food, clothing, shelter, and psychosocial support. Communities themselves also bring an abundance of resources to helping vulnerable children and families, including volunteer and caregiver networks, vegetable gardens, and other local projects, as well as a strong sense of solidarity, trust, and resilience. Even though communities and grassroots groups are the greatest source of support to children and families affected by HIV/AIDS, their meager resources are being stretched to the limit as the death toll rises and affected children and families are made even more vulnerable. One of the greatest obstacles that community groups face is that their work is under-recognized and under-funded.

2008 ANNUAL REPORT

www.firelightfoundation.org

A CALL TO ACTION

Firelight Foundation seeks to address this gap. We are one of a very few foundations that partners with small CBOs effectively responding to the needs of children and families suffering in the hardest hit areas of Sub-Saharan Africa. Over nearly 10 years of operation, we have seen that our approach works: building on the rich resources of African communities and strengthening local organizations leaves them better able to cope with the tremendous strains of HIV/AIDS and poverty.

Our Accomplishments & Impact

IN 2008 ALONE:

180 grants → totaling nearly US$2 million → beneﬁtting nearly 100,000 children & 50,000 caregivers. Firelight’s grant “loss” rate is approximately 1 percent, meaning that we were able to verify that 99 percent of our grants were used for the purposes for which they were intended. Firelight grants are the ﬁrst external funding for more than 30 percent of our grantees. Firelight renews more than 80 percent of our grantees after careful assessment of their proposals. A majority of grantees go on to receive funds from other donors.

MEASURING OUR IMPACT Measuring the impact of our grants and learning from our experience with our grantees is a high priority for Firelight. We learn from the process of building grantee capacity, conﬁdent that greater organizational capacity leads to improvements in the lives and well-being of vulnerable children and families. By documenting the experience of our grantees, we deepen our understanding of their development, and hone our ability to persuade other funders of the efficacy of community-based organizations, thereby multiplying our impact. We employ strategies that minimize burdensome, formal reporting from grantees while yielding valuable information about what works in building the care-giving capacity of families and communities, in providing direct services to families and children, and in assisting families to access governmentprovided services. These inquiries have already yielded some interesting insights into what community-based organizations are doing and how they are doing it.

Another way we assess the impact of our grantees’ work is to evaluate the difference they have made in vulnerable children’s and families’ lives in seven major program areas. Children living in poverty who lose a parent or other family member to HIV/AIDS have a wide range of material, educational, and psychosocial needs. Because children’s and families’ needs are so varied, the range of activities supported through Firelight grants is broad and falls into the following seven program areas:

Meeting Basic Material Needs

900 grants → totaling nearly US$10 million → reaching 330 community-based organizations → serving children in 10 Sub-Saharan African countries.

Material Assistance: Providing basic necessities, including clothing, bedding, personal hygiene, and shelter. Food/Nutrition/Agriculture: Supporting food production, feeding programs, and household food assistance for vulnerable children and families. Economic Strengthening: Providing materials, skills, and knowledge to caregivers to help them generate income and strengthen household resiliency.

Providing Care, Support & Protection

SINCE 2000:

In the coming years, our goal is to use new and better methods to systematically document the impact that grassroots organizations have on the well-being of children.

Psychosocial Support: Enhancing the caring relationships that meet the emotional, social, and recreational needs of children and help build life skills.

Facilitating Access to Gov’t Services

AT A GLANCE

Education: Holistic support helping children enroll, stay, and succeed in school.

Children’s Rights: Building a supportive and protective environment that prevents and responds to violence, abuse, and the exploitation of children.

Healthcare/HIV: Extending primary health care, preventative care, and HIV/AIDS-related preventative and palliative care.

GRANTEE EXAMPLES

Meeting Basic Material Needs Malole Home-Based Care Group (Zambia) Started by community members to respond to the growing number of orphans and dependents taken in by caregivers in their area, Malole Home-Based Care Group works with community volunteers to identify vulnerable children and families, and provides them with ongoing support. Trained in nutrition, home-based care, and counseling, the community members visit children and families to offer counseling and provide for basic material needs. The group takes a dual approach of providing immediate relief assistance while working with families to produce their own food and augment their income. Themselves affected by HIV/AIDS, the group members run a village savings and loan program to generate funds for Malole’s home-based care program supporting people living with HIV/AIDS.

Firelight grantee RSBSC offers psychosocial support to bereaved children, especially those affected by HIV/AIDS. Given the lack of services in rural areas, RSBSC identiﬁed the “need to look for creative ways to support the community in helping children cope with their losses and changed circumstances.” Play is a child’s natural mode of communication, and RSBSC uses play therapy to help children work through their grief. They have developed a community-based model to raise awareness, build relationships, and provide therapeutic playgroups for children in rural areas. RSBSC also helps adults deal with their own grief, which allows them to better address the needs of their children. The program offers training so that communities are able to provide bereavement interventions on their own. Staff members monitor the locally run groups and assist them in evaluating the impact of their services for several months before they exit the community.

2008 ANNUAL REPORT

www.firelightfoundation.org

Facilitating Access to Health Services Bwafwano Community HomeBased Care Organization (Zambia) Firelight grantee Bwafwano (meaning “helping one another”) was started in response to the increasing numbers of HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis patients in an impoverished area of Lusaka. High HIV-prevalence rates and limited public health facilities made home-based care a key strategy for bringing health services into households. Today Bwafwano has grown to become one of the most far-reaching home-based care providers in Zambia, serving people living with AIDS and vulnerable children in both urban areas and rural settlements. Bwafwano employs a team approach using more than 450 providers who specialize in care for the ill and dying, support for vulnerable children, and psychosocial counseling. In addition, Bwafwano’s 37 Orphan and Vulnerable Children Community Committees help mobilize and coordinate the community response.

OUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS & IMPACT

The group used their Firelight grant to feed and clothe 20 orphans and 20 child-headed households living in extreme poverty. They also gave two piglets to each of the caregivers, who agreed to raise them and ‘pay back’ one piglet to Malole, while selling the others to generate income. To improve their food security, Malole provided maize seed and fertilizer to 55 families so they could grow their own food and become self-sufficient.

Providing Care, Support & Protection Rob Smetherham Bereavement Service for Children (RSBSC) (South Africa)

Our New Strategy level and support these organizations because they provide critical support to families—the most intimate and important circle of care for children.

In late 2008, Firelight launched a six-month strategic planning process. Nearing our 10-year anniversary of working with community-based organizations (CBOs), it was time to reﬂect on what we had accomplished and to chart a clear path for the coming years.

3. Our theory of change articulates the key strategies of community level action that contribute to improving the well-being of vulnerable children.

Our ﬁve-year (2009-2013) plan will guide us in leveraging our knowledge, good practices, and strong values to increase the ﬂow of resources to the grassroots in order to improve the lives of even more children, families, and communities.

These three strategies are: meeting the basic material needs of children and families; providing them care, support, and protection; and facilitating their access to government-provided services.

BUILDING ON OUR STRENGTHS

Over the next ﬁve years, we will test, revise, and reﬁne this theory both to improve our own programming as well as that of our grantees, and to use what we learn to leverage greater resources for communities.

Brofenbrenner, 1979. This highly intuitive model is familiar to civil society and government practitioners and planners, and is used in international agreements such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

IL SOCIETY

A SERVICES - HE

, L EG AL

TI CA

ION

EG I V E R

CIV CT

MMUNIT

AL TE

DONOR COMMUNITY

CBOs

CHILDREN

FA M I LY

CULTURAL CONTEXT

O G

P ROV I D E D S ER VI

SOCIET Y IVIL

N T-

YM EMBERS

2. Our multi-faceted approach that recognizes that child development and well-being are shaped by interactions between the child, family, community, civil society, government, and global systems. These actors form nested ‘circles of support’ in the ecological model of child development and well-being.1 Firelight has chosen to intervene at the CBO

E NM

ECONOMIC CONTEXT

We have reached more than 330 organizations in nine years by using an effective due diligence process; funding in amounts that small CBOs can absorb; and supporting more than just project costs to ensure that organizations can develop and mature over time and sustain their efforts.

1. Our core strength in funding CBOs and effectively getting resources to organizations working to reduce the vulnerability of children and families affected by HIV/AIDS and poverty.

CO M

Our new strategy is built on three foundations:

E H,

INTERNATIONAL POLICYMAKERS

OUR THREE-PHASE MULTI-YEAR PARTNERSHIP MODEL INCREASING COMMUNITY RESOURCES

Firelight will continue to put a large majority of its resources into making direct grants to CBOs in Africa. We are taking a longrange view to our partnerships in order to provide partners with increased stability for long-term planning. We also plan to deepen our partner support by incrementally increasing grant sizes according to the organizational capacity of the grantee, especially at the exit phase to help partners prepare for “graduation.” We will increase the upper limit of our grant sizes from US$15,000 to US$20,000 as our fundraising permits. A typical partnership in this new model would last about seven years, divided into three phases: an initial two-year introductory phase; a main three-year phase; and a two-year graduation phase. We are also expanding our funding to support a community grantmaking strategy that will enable us to reach a larger number of smaller organizations by building a funding pipeline that reaches directly into communities. The community grantmaking groups will also provide mentoring and support to other organizations that are in early stages of development. We will also work to harness the power and voice of the communities that we serve by developing national-level advocacy strategies to give our partners a channel for bringing their experiences and perspectives to bear on national government policies.

OUR CAPACITY BUILDING PROGRAM Our new strategy expands and standardizes our efforts to strengthen the organizational and programmatic capacity of our partners by assisting them with their day-to-day management, planning, and evaluation. We strategically identify the needs of organizations at each stage of organizational development, and tailor our technical assistance accordingly.

2008 ANNUAL REPORT

OUR NEW ‘LEVERAGE’ PROGRAMS: ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING, ADVOCACY & COMMUNICATIONS CREATING AND SHARING KNOWLEDGE TO AMPLIFY OUR IMPACT

Our new ‘leverage’ strategy is geared toward expanding and increasing our impact by using our experience and the lessons we have learned to fuel our organizational learning, communications, and advocacy efforts. The goals of our ‘leverage’ strategy are to raise greater awareness, understanding, and adoption of our approach to increase the ﬂow of resources to grassroots organizations, where it can have the most positive impact on the lives of vulnerable children and families. Our Organizational Learning Program employs a rigorous approach to analyzing the data we have collected over the years and synthesizing our lessons into knowledge that will help us more effectively support our partners and will also assist our partners in improving their programs. Building on the knowledge emerging from our learning efforts, our Communications Program will seek to raise greater awareness and understanding of the efficacy of our communitybased approach. Through our Advocacy Program, we will engage with government, philanthropic, and faith-based groups—who together contribute more than US$1 billion a year for children affected by HIV/AIDS—to help them channel their resources to increase the amount of funding and support reaching the grassroots.

www.firelightfoundation.org

OUR NEW STRATEGY

STRENGTHENING COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS

Our goal is to provide all partners with technical assistance grants and targeted information and advice. We also plan to develop partner networks for peer learning, mentoring, and training, enabling our grantees to become stronger organizations that provide more effective services for children.

Our Reinvigorated Brand FIRELIGHT’S BEGINNINGS

THE NEW FIRELIGHT BRAND

Kerry Olson and her husband, David Katz, founded the Firelight Foundation in 1999 to support children affected by HIV/AIDS and poverty. Olson has held a life-long commitment to service on behalf of children, starting with raising funds for children in need around the world when she was only seven years old. Since then, she has been a strong advocate for children, playing a variety of roles from early childhood educator to social science researcher.

As we were finalizing our new five-year strategy, we embarked on creating a new expression of our core identity. We were very fortunate to work with {akimbo}, a Chicago-based strategic marketing and design firm that devoted considerable time and energy to this process.

As she was getting the foundation off the ground, Kerry, an artist in her own right, began thinking about the Firelight ‘brand’ and the core values, and emotions it should evoke. She started by sketching logos, consulting Firelight’s closest supporters and advisers along the way, and eventually settling on a simple Marc Chagall-inspired sketch of a child’s face bathed in the light of a candle. The sketch visually conveyed the hope for a brighter future for vulnerable children.

Unveiled a few months later, the new Firelight brand more vividly conveys our deep belief in the role of strong families and active communities in improving the well-being of children. Although our visual expression has changed and our vision broadened, our strong values and mission remain unchanged. Hand in hand with our new strategy, our new brand reﬂects our expanded vision of life-changing community action.

“Firelight” was chosen as the name of the new foundation to reﬂect this simple but powerful message.

BUILDING ON OUR BRAND TO IMPROVE LIVES

We couldn’t think of a better time to put our new brand to work. We hope that in reinforcing our expanded vision and new strategy, it will help us convince a new corps of supporters to support communities in Africa. We hope that it will encourage audiences both old and new to come to us with questions and seek more information. And ﬁnally, we hope that it inspires conﬁdence and optimism about how much can be achieved—even with very little—if we act together.

WHAT OUR BRAND MEANS LITERALLY Our new logo conveys the light of hope that emanates from a ﬂame woven from three discrete but integrally connected parts: the child, the family, and the community. Together, the ‘child’, ‘family’, and ‘community’ pieces of the logo and the white paths that connect them symbolize the strong interconnectedness, solidarity, and grassroots mobilization that lie at the heart of improving children’s lives.

OUR NEW TAGLINE Our new tagline simply, clearly, and powerfully communicates the priority we place on supporting the grassroots, where real change for children happens.

OUR COLORS The earth-tone colors elicit the warmth and hope of a ﬂame that progresses from dark to light and represents the hope that communities working with families hold for the future of their children.

It conveys the message that the community solidarity and desire for change that motivates communities to mobilize and solve their own problems are the key ingredients of a long-term, sustainable approach to improving children’s lives.

CHILD-CENTERED

COMMUNITY-BASED

One of the fundamental beliefs that informs our work is that children grow best in families. Families are the most important source of care, support, and protection for children.

The bottom center piece represents the ‘child’ at the heart of it all, embraced by both the ‘family’ piece and the ‘community’ piece.

We have chosen to channel our support to the community level because we believe that it will have the greatest possible impact on the well-being of children and their families. Communities provide a strong safety net of support for children and families in need, and community-based organizations are best placed to strengthen that safety net.

We believe in a family-focused approach because when you empower families, they can provide for children’s basic needs and nurture strong and healthy children, improving their lives both today and tomorrow. The ‘family’ element is the same color as the ‘child’, signifying the unity and closeness between a family and its children and the central role of the family in a child’s development.

We believe that children are the key to a brighter future for Africa and that all children deserve a safe environment, adequate food, shelter, and health services, a sound education, and nurturing care. Our approach is child-centered both because that is where the greatest need is, but also because that is where the greatest hope lies. Ensconced by the two protective elements that surround it, the ‘child’ piece of our logo conveys that centrality and hope.

2008 ANNUAL REPORT

www.firelightfoundation.org

Our community-based approach is a direct reﬂection of our grounding in the grassroots and our respect for and belief in the power of community solidarity. The ‘community’piece touches both the ‘family’ and the ‘child’ elements in signiﬁcant ways, and holds them together.

OUR REINVIGORATED BRAND

FAMILY-FOCUSED

Key to the success of Family-In-Need Trust’s life-sustaining grassroots initiatives is the involvement of volunteers like Mrs. Machiwana, whose nickname is “Mbozha,” meaning “richness and generosity.”

Family-In-Need Trust (ZIMBABWE) Improving Child Nutrition and Caregiver Income to Fulﬁll Basic Needs through Community Action For young children in rural Rupise ward, in Zimbabwe’s Chimanimani district, the community vegetable garden is more than a verdant outpost in this often dry and dusty land. The garden is a lifeline. Its beans, kale, carrots, tomatoes, and other vegetables supplement the children’s diets, helping protect them from malnutrition and disease. Started by community volunteers with support from Firelight grantee Family-In-Need Trust (FIN), the garden provides food for orphans and other vulnerable children who attend the local preschool. “Many children were suffering from malnutrition because of food deprivation,” explains Mary Machiwana, a leader among the Rupise community volunteers. A widowed mother of six in her 60s, she is caring for her two sons and her three grandchildren following her daughter’s death. She supports herself and the children by selling vegetables and crafts. The Rupise community garden is just one of dozens of FIN-supported, community-led efforts aimed at meeting the basic needs of families affected by HIV/AIDS throughout the Chimanimani district in Zimbabwe’s eastern highlands. Key to the success of these life-sustaining grassroots initiatives is the involvement of volunteers like Mrs. Machiwana, whose nickname is “Mbozha,” meaning “richness and generosity.”

Sobered by these numbers and motivated by his own experience as an orphan, Jack Mukuru Bbabbie, then in his early 20s, founded FIN to help the children improve their situations and ultimately, to lead better lives. 2008 ANNUAL REPORT

Bbabbie started by involving traditional leaders and community members like Mrs. Machiwana in a community-planning process to identify the children’s needs that were of highest priority and to match them with the material and human resources in the community. It was heartening to see “a notable increase in the mobilization of local resources in every ward,” and in the number of volunteers who wanted to help the community’s orphans and vulnerable children, he says. Community committees identiﬁed hunger—the result of food insecurity—as the most pressing local concern. Most families in the community struggle to grow the food they need. Erratic rainfall makes yields unpredictable. Zimbabwe’s economic crisis—all too apparent in the multi-million percent inﬂation rate—leads to frequent shortages of the supplies farmers need as well as difficulty purchasing them. FIN began by helping community volunteers grow vegetable gardens throughout the district. “These gardens have improved the supply of food available year round to families affected by HIV/AIDS,” says Bbabbie. Some community gardens even produce a surplus now, which the committees sell to buy medicine and pay the fees needed to keep orphans and other vulnerable children in school, he says. FIN’s involvement in community agriculture has broadened in recent years to include training in sustainable agriculture www.firelightfoundation.org

GRANTEE PROFILE

FIN was begun in 2004 after a census revealed that 55,000 children—nearly three-quarters of all children and half the total population in the district—were made vulnerable by HIV/ AIDS and poverty. The census also found that there were more than 700 households headed by children in the district.

One of the ﬁrst things that he learned as he started to set up FIN’s programs was that children living with terminally ill parents or who had lost parents to AIDS faced a host of wide-ranging problems, including malnutrition, low school attendance and high drop-out rates, and elevated mental, psychological, and emotional stress related to a lack of parental care and nurturing.

practices that make lasting improvements in the nutrition and health of local children: • With help from FIN, 150 HIV/AIDS-affected families are now using drip irrigation to save water and labor as well as to boost yields in their household gardens. • FIN introduced more than 1,600 family farmers to new bean seed varieties that can be produced locally, freeing them from the expense of purchasing seeds and the uncertainty of supply. • More than 80 farm families received training on soil and water conservation targeted for drier parts of the district to improve rain-fed agriculture. Farmers in some villages have already put in place in-ﬁeld water harvesting structures. Small livestock projects are now part of FIN’s programs as well. In Rupise, Mrs. Machiwana’s local committee worked with FIN to distribute chickens to a number of the community’s most vulnerable families. Each family was given two chickens from an indigenous variety that breeds monthly. Families agreed to give the ﬁrst two offspring to another family affected by HIV/AIDS. “Family-In-Need Trust made a big difference to our work by giving us the cash we needed to get started,” she says. “Families are now selling the chickens and eggs to raise money for medication, school fees, and food.” Mrs. Machiwana’s committee is now considering launching a goat-rearing effort and will look to FIN for the necessary training once they are ready. Committees in other communities have requested and received training and start-up funds from FIN in the following “livelihood” areas: soap making, candle making, tie-dying, bee keeping, goat keeping, and mushroom production. Although the activities are diverse, the goal is the same: empowering caregivers by helping them develop a self-sustaining income source so they can better support the children in their households.

“In only a few years, Family-in-Need Trust has mobilized community resources and strengthened volunteer networks to support the district’s vulnerable children and those who care for them through these ‘community-driven livelihood initiatives’,” says Aili Langseth, Firelight’s Zimbabwe program officer. Community reviews held for all of the participating wards in Chimanimani district indicate that FIN’s activities are signiﬁcantly contributing to improvements in health, nutrition, and the emotional and general well-being of orphans, she reports. FIN’s training approach, which prepares community representatives to be trainers of peer groups, is proving to be an effective and cost-efficient model for skills development that other organizations and communities are looking at with interest, she notes. Over time, FIN has developed a holistic and communitybased response to the special needs of households headed by children. In 2008, Firelight supported FIN’s efforts to provide food packs, blankets, clothes, and medication to the district’s child-headed households. FIN’s trainers in livelihood initiatives pay special attention to these youth to ensure they learn the skills they need to support themselves and the siblings in their care. In Rupise, that special attention comes from Mrs. Machiwana and her committee of church-going women. On Wednesday afternoons, they meet to manage their activities and discuss future plans. On the weekends they meet with the children “to discuss problems affecting them and ﬁnd solutions and a way forward,” she says. And supporting them in their work is FIN, which helps meet the basic needs of the district’s most vulnerable children to give them the necessary foundation to go to school, learn critical life skills, and build better futures for themselves. By using a community-based approach, FIN has also managed to unify and mobilize an entire community around a pressing problem, ensuring that its members can continue to sustain their efforts and help the many other children in search of better lives.

Namwera AIDS Coordinating Committee (MALAWI) Communities Providing Care, Support, and Protection to Children and Families A dozen years ago, when the Namwera AIDS Coordinating Committee (NACC) began holding village AIDS awareness rallies in southern Malawi, crowds of as many as 500 people would press together in a tight semicircle around the speaker. “When we talked about the suffering of the orphans, they’d nod their heads,” recalls Saeed Wame, NACC’s executive director. “But when we talked about how to stop the spread of AIDS, they would shake their heads and walk away.” Often only a handful would stay around to listen, he remembers. Misinformation abounded, explains Wame, who grew up an orphan in the Namwera area. Many believed AIDS was an invention of the government—a clever ploy to attract money from rich countries. At that time, traditional healers were claiming to cure AIDS while only treating the symptoms of secondary infections, such as shingles. As many as 1 adult in 10 was HIV-positive, yet “there was widespread disbelief,” he says, shaking his head at the memory. But the NACC persisted. They were determined to educate area residents, convinced that effective and sustainable local solutions require communities to fully understand HIV/AIDS and discuss it openly.

2008 ANNUAL REPORT

Their tenacity paid off. NACC, now a Firelight granteepartner, has helped established Village AIDS Committees in 300 communities. These local groups channel the energy of more than 5,000 volunteers who provide care and support for 10,000 local children affected by HIV/AIDS. “Slowly, by continuing to put the topic on the table, traditional healers and village chiefs began to talk and want to be part of the solution. As they understood the truth about HIV/AIDS, www.firelightfoundation.org

GRANTEE PROFILE

NACC’s 300 Village AIDS Committees channel the energies of 5,000 volunteers providing care and support for 10,000 local orphans and vulnerable children.

The small, small community-based organizations can do wonders with the funding and training we provide. They understand the issues on the ground. SAEED WAME, NACC’S EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

the community opened up their hearts to those affected by AIDS,” Wame says with satisfaction. Currently those community-based solutions are as varied as the local needs across 300 rural villages scattered among rolling hills that stretch from Lake Malawi’s southern shores to the Mozambique border. There are youth recreation clubs, home-based caregivers for the chronically ill, community child care centers, mobile HIV counseling and testing, vegetable gardening projects, vocational Saeed Wame, NACC’s executive director training for child household heads, and income-generating initiatives for vulnerable households. Formed by a group of concerned Namwera area leaders, including government officials, clergy, business people, politicians and local chiefs, NACC’s deep local roots contribute to their success mobilizing action for children and families affected by HIV/AIDS. Their emphasis on local ownership is crucial to sustaining the caring relationships that provide children with the love and encouragement they need to thrive. “We don’t plan in the office and then go to the community and say, ‘Do this.’ It’s not like that,” says Wame. Rather, NACC staff work with the local leaders who make up the village committees to analyze the root causes of local problems and explore solutions together.

“The village committees are in charge. NACC plays a supporting role,” explains Aili Langseth, Firelight’s Malawi program officer. A growing body of research underscores the effectiveness of NACC’s approach, she notes. Local assistance for vulnerable children and families tends to be sustainable and continue over the long-term when village residents are concretely engaged and genuinely invested. “The small, small community-based organizations can do wonders with the funding and training we provide,” Wame says. “They understand the issues on the ground. They are still there doing the work during rainy season when the roads are not passable, or when there is no electricity or telephone service. They are still working, visiting the children and providing them counseling, whether all of the funding is there or not.” A village elder describes the relationship with NACC in this way: “If all organizations had the same approach as NACC, I don’t think people would suffer the way they do. NACC is teaching us to care about each other and understand that this is our collective responsibility. Their role is in linking us community members to donors.” Firelight’s partnership with NACC began in 2004 with support for a livestock project designed to provide added income for families caring for orphans and other vulnerable children. Households identiﬁed by their village committees receive three goats (one male and two females) plus training in animal husbandry at the cost of about US$100. The goats provide milk and meat, and are sold to generate income to cover the fees needed to keep the children in school. Each family who receives animals agrees to pass two female goats on to another family when their goats reproduce, repaying the loan and spreading the beneﬁts throughout the community. Wame’s eyes twinkle when he describes the difference the goats have made for families he knows. One widow, raising three children, told him that having the income from the

goats was like having “her husband back” to provide for them. Another widow was able to improve her family’s diet and buy a bicycle so that her two children could ﬁnally attend primary school—located four miles away—on a regular basis.

These revisions often lead to additional initiatives to solve newly identiﬁed problems. For example, chiefs recently have begun to establish new laws to punish property grabbing from widows and orphans following AIDS-related deaths.

So far, more than 600 families have received goats and training through the revolving project. At a recent meeting, the village committees and families decided that the goat project no longer needed outside funds because it had become selfsustaining, Wame reports.

“NACC could easily have developed a centralized approach to providing services to children en masse,“ reﬂects Firelight’s Langseth. “Instead they have made the work more sustainable by mobilizing Village AIDS Committees that can surround each child with community support.”

This sort of evaluation and reﬂection is built into the relationship NACC has with the village committees. “We examine whether our efforts are making any difference, then we revise together,” says Wame.

NACC is passing along their experience and know-how by providing management training to 24 other local nonproﬁts much the way families are passing along their goats’ offspring. And the results are similar: improved child and family well-being throughout the region.

GRANTEE PROFILE

2008 ANNUAL REPORT

www.firelightfoundation.org

Where once these children were swept into orphanages or hidden away in shame, the Janja Center works to keep them at the center of their communities, involved in daily routines with responsibilities and expectations tailored to their potential. ROSALIE NEZIEN, FIRELIGHT PROGRAM OFFICER FOR RWANDA

Special Education Center of Janja (RWANDA) Mobilizing Community, Government, and International Services for Children with Physical and Mental Disabilities The starter commanded “Runners to your marks!” as spectators at a northern Rwanda stadium for the Provincial Special Olympics applaud young athletes pushing themselves toward the ﬁnish line and their community toward greater acceptance and inclusion of the disabled. At the award ceremony, Christine Nyiramihigo wipes the ochre dust from her legs and stands to receive her silver medal without needing her usual crutches, a testament to the care of her family and the support of the Special Education Center in Janja, Rwanda. Formed in 2005 by community members from the Association for Christian Education in Peace Values (APAX), the Janja Center provides schooling and therapy for physically and mentally disabled children from northern Rwanda’s Gakenke district. Housed in a church-donated building, this Firelight Foundation grantee is the only special education organization of its kind in northern Rwanda. The Center’s location is so remote that Janja staff have to travel nearly 25 miles by slow public transport to access the internet from internet cafes in the region’s main city of Musanze.

But new policies are providing an opportunity for change. Among other recent reforms, a 2007 law gives Rwanda’s disabled children the right to an education. The government’s

2008 ANNUAL REPORT

Despite a small budget and a short history, the Janja Center has nimbly formed alliances with government agencies and international organizations to quickly expand services for the region’s disabled children and advocate for full inclusion in their communities. “Where once these children were swept into orphanages or hidden away in shame, the Janja Center works to keep them at the center of their communities, involved in daily routines with responsibilities and expectations tailored to their potential,“ says Rosalie Nezien, Firelight Foundation program officer for Rwanda. Over four years, Janja Center programs have grown to include daily classes and regular physical therapy serving nearly 150 students. Fifty-seven students from remote villages now live at the Center during the school year. The Center’s extension workers travel throughout the district to bring regular physical therapy to another 322 children and training to their parents and caregivers. By cultivating good relationships with government officials, the Center succeeded in getting the local district government to pay the salaries of 6 of their 14 staff and secured regular visits from public health workers for their students. “District authorities, including the mayor, cannot drive through Janja without visiting the Center, regardless of the purpose of their visit to the area,” comments Center Director Mukankubana Domina. The Janja Center’s headmistress is now seen as a local expert on child development and education, Domina reports. She

www.firelightfoundation.org

GRANTEE PROFILE

Historically, disabled children have been among Rwanda’s most vulnerable, seen as a burden to society and a source of shame to families. The numbers of disabled children have increased in recent years, including survivors of the genocide and civil war of the 1990s, who often have lasting physical or emotional impairments from the horror and violence.

education ministry has also set special education as a strategic priority, with hopes for inclusive education in the future.

is routinely invited “to participate in consultative meetings at the district as well as at the national ministry in charge of family promotion and the well-being of children and women.” Because of the Center’s visibility in the region, new organizations frequently visit to learn from the Center’s methods. Several international organizations have taken note of the Center’s accomplishments and lent support. The Voluntary Service Organization, a UK-based NGO, sent professionals to help the Janja Center identify and register all disabled children in Gakenke district. The Dutch Liliane Fund sent personnel to train Center staff in physical therapy. Another nonproﬁt provided wheelchairs to several dozen children. With support from the Firelight Foundation, the Janja Center purchased a water tank to improve the children’s access to clean water. Firelight also funded solar panels to provide electricity for the Center’s office, dormitories, and classroom used as an evening study room. One of the Janja Center’s biggest strides has taken place in the surrounding neighborhoods, says Director Domina. Disabled children do not experience stigma and are now regularly seen in public—at the market, church services, and community celebrations. “People are slowly coming to understand the importance and potential of inclusive education,” says Domina, who credits the Center’s open houses, open-door policy, and awarenessraising campaigns for the growing attitudinal change. Mainstreaming is one of the Center’s advocacy goals, and they offer teacher-training workshops on how to include children with special needs in mainstream classrooms. They have had some success with the children they reintegrated into public primary school after providing them with on-site education. “All eight students adapted easily into mainstream classrooms, making friends quickly and joining the other children in play,” says Director Domina. The disabled students also had unexpectedly strong grades: all achieved passing marks.

Christine’s story with the Janja Center began long before her participation in the Special Olympics. At age 18, she came to the Center in 2005 with deformed legs and an intellectual disability. Her family had never been able to pay for medical care or send her to school.

In the neighborhoods surrounding the Janja Center, disabled children do not experience stigma and are now regularly seen in public— at the market, church services, and community celebrations. The Janja Center advocated for Christine while providing physical therapy and teaching her to read, write, and do simple math. Eventually they arranged for her to undergo surgery to straighten her legs at an orthopedic hospital in distant Rilima, Rwanda. Now she is studying tailoring at the Center in the hopes of supporting herself in the future. Without the Center’s far-reaching connections at multiple levels of society, Christine would not be holding a silver medal or taking measurements for her latest sewing project. As the Special Olympics competition day ended and the crowds returned home to their cooking ﬁres for tea and supper, it was readily apparent that Christine and her fellow competitors have something in common beside their love of sport: each has a circle of support—parents, grandparents, siblings, neighbors, friends—to see them through challenges both on and off the ﬁeld. Bolstering those circles of support is the Janja Center, which has called upon the community, the government, and international organizations to share the weight of this challenge by helping disabled students access the basic services that they need.

MUKANKUBANA DOMINA, JANJA CENTER DIRECTOR

2008 ANNUAL REPORT

www.firelightfoundation.org

GRANTEE PROFILE

District authorities, including the mayor, cannot drive through Janja without visiting the Center, regardless of the purpose of their visit to the area.

AT ION PSY -SO CS UP P NU TR ITI ON HE ALT H/H IV EC OS TR EN GT H CH ILD RE N’S R IGH MA TS TE RIA LA SST

ED UC

Grants Awarded in 2008 CANADA PEOPLE SERVED N/A The Teresa Group, TORONTO

$15,000 TOTAL (1)

KENYA PEOPLE SERVED 1,682 children & 460 caregivers Education, Self-Sustainability, and Improvement of Economy Development Group,

$15,000 $15,000

KIAMBU

Forum For Community Mobilization, NAIROBI

$15,000

Kibera Integrated Community Self-Help Programme, NAIROBI

$10,000

Mama Darlene Children’s Centre and Community Development Projects,

$5,000

TALA, KANGUNDO

TOTAL (4)

LESOTHO

PEOPLE SERVED

$45,000

7,425 children & 488 caregivers $15,000

Anti Drug Abuse Association of Lesotho, MASERU Botleng Support Group, MASERU

$6,000

Hlalefang Makaota – Tebang, MAFETENG

$7,000

Khutsong Sekamaneng Women in Action Against Poverty, SEKAMANENG

$5,000

Lesotho Child Counselling Unit, MAZENOD

$15,000

Lesotho Girl Guides Association, MASERU

$10,000

Lesotho Save the Children, COUNTRY-WIDE

$10,000

Lesotho Youth For Christ, MASERU WEST

$10,000

Manyeloi a Manyane Day-Care Center, MASERU

$8,000

Matelile Tajane Development Trust, MAKHAKHE’S

$10,000

Mohoma Temeng, HA MPITI

$7,500

Nazareth Support Group, MACHACHE

$8,500

Phopholetsa HIV/AIDS Support Group, MASERU

$10,000

Society for Women and AIDS in Africa Lesotho, NATIONWIDE

$14,000

Thetsane West Multi-Purpose Association, MASERU

$10,000

Touch Roots Africa, MASERU

$5,000

Touch Roots Africa, MASERU

$1,900

Ts’osane Support Group, SEBABOLENG

$15,000

Young Women’s Christian Association – Lesotho, SEBABOLENG

$10,000 TOTAL (19)

$177,900

ED UC AT ION PSY -SO CS UP P NU TR ITI ON HE ALT H/H IV EC OS TR EN GT H CH ILD RE N’S RIG MA HT TE S RIA LA SST

MALAWI PEOPLE SERVED 18,479 children & 3,509 caregivers Action Hope Support Organization, NAMADZI

$11,800

AIDS Care Counselling Campaign Project, NSANJE

$10,000

Centre Against Poverty and Social Problems, BLANTYRE

$10,000

Chikwawa Diocese Health Commission, CHIKWAWA

$10,000

Chikwawa Diocese Health Commission, CHIKWAWA

$4,400

Chilimba Women and Orphans Care Group, ZOMBA

$8,000

Community Health Environmental Care Trust, LILONGWE

$12,000

Community Youth in Development Activities, MZIMBA

$10,000

Eye of the Child, BLANTYRE

$15,000

Eye of the Child, BLANTYRE

$5,014

Eye of the Child, BLANTYRE

$1,800

Foundation for Community Support Services, KARONGA

$10,000

Imvani Women’s Support Group, MCHINJI

$12,000

Matindi Youth Organisation, BLANTYRE

$10,000

Grantee Program Areas Firelight’s approach is to support programs and activities that respond to the needs of children, families, and communities in Sub-Saharan Africa. Firelight grantees know that improving the well-being of children requires holistic and sustainable approaches tailored to local environments. As a result, they use Firelight funding to implement a diverse range of activities across several program areas:

Matindi Youth Organisation, BLANTYRE

$4,500

Education

Mchezi Community Based Organization, LILONGWE

$10,100

Psychosocial Support

Mwanje Orphan Care and Home Based Care, CHIRADZULU

$9,000

Namwera AIDS Coordinating Committee, NAMWERA

$10,000

Namwera AIDS Coordinating Committee, NAMWERA

$1,700

Nkhotakota AIDS Support Organization, NKHOTAKOTA

$15,000

Ntcheu Network, NTCHEU

$8,000

Peace in God Organisation, SOCHE BLANTYRE

$12,000

Rumphi HIV/AIDS Education Awareness Program, RUMPHI

$10,000

Salima HIV/AIDS Support Organization, SALIMA

$10,000

The Federation of Disability Organizations in Malawi, BLANTYRE

$15,000

Tutulane AIDS Organization, CHITIPA

$14,800

Umoyo Community Based AIDS Support Organization, DOMASI

Food/Nutrition/Agriculture Healthcare/HIV Economic Strengthening Children’s Rights Material Assistance

$5,000

2008 ANNUAL REPORT

$255,114

www.firelightfoundation.org

2008 GRANTS

TOTAL (27)

AT ION PSY -SO CS UP P NU TR ITI ON HE ALT H/H IV EC OS TR EN GT H CH ILD RE N’S R I GH MA TS TE RIA LA SST

ED UC

RWANDA PEOPLE SERVED 15,172 children & 1,408 caregivers Action pour le Développement du Peuple, KIGALI

$15,000

Association Bamporeze, KIGALI

$10,000

Association Benimpuhwe, Centre Familial Mu Rugo, KIGALI

$10,000

Association des Jeunes Orphelins Rwandais, KIGALI

$10,000

Association des Orphelins Chefs de Ménages, KIGALI

$4,320

Association Ihorere Munyarwanda, KIGALI

$15,000

Association Inkoramutima, KIGALI

$10,000

Association Tuvuge Twiyubaka, NYAMAGABE

$9,200

Association Ubumwe Saint Kisito, RUHENGERI

$10,000

Association Urukundo Rw’Imana , KIGALI

$10,000

Centre Presbyterien d’Amour des Jeunes, KIGALI

$10,000

Christian Initiative of Education for Sustainable Peace and Development, KIGALI

$10,000

Commission Chrétienne de Lutte Contre le SIDA, GISENYI

$10,000

Communauté des Potiers du Rwanda , KIGALI

$15,000

Diocèse Catholique de Cyangugu/Amajyambere-Iwacu Association, CYANGUGU

$10,000

Fair Children/ Youth Foundation, MUSANZE

$10,000

Les Enfants de Dieu, KIGALI

$1,900

Let the Little Children Come to Me, Rukira Village, HUYE DISTRICT

$10,000

Oeuvre Humanitaire pour la Protection et le Développement de l’Enfant en Difficulté, BUTARE Solidarité Femmes 3x3, KIGALI

$10,500

Special Education Center of Janja, RUHENGERI

$10,000 $9,200

TOTAL (21)

$210,120

SOUTH AFRICA PEOPLE SERVED 7,992 children & 2,469 caregivers Association François-Xavier Bagnoud, South Africa, HOUGHTON

$10,000

Batho Ba Lerato, BLOEMFONTEIN

$10,000

Bethlehem Basic Training Project, BETHLEHEM

$10,000

Children's Rights Centre, DURBAN

$30,000

Diketso Eseng Dipuo Community Development Trust, BLOEMFONTEIN

$15,000

Ekupholeni Mental Health Centre, JOHANNESBURG

$10,000

Family Literacy Project, DURBAN

$15,000

Grahamstown Hospice, GRAHAMSTOWN

$3,500

HIV/AIDS Awareness Project and Youth Development, BRAAMFONTEIN

$10,000

Ikamva Labantu, CAPE TOWN

$15,000

Lulisandla Kumntwana, SIBHAYI

$15,000

Ramotshinyadi HIV/AIDS Youth Guide, RAMOTSHINYADI

$15,000

Rob Smetherham Bereavement Service for Children, PIETERMARITZBURG

$14,700

AT ION PSY -SO CS UP P NU TR ITI ON HE ALT H/H IV EC OS TR EN GT H CH ILD RE N’S R I GH MA TS TE RIA LA SST

ED UC

SOUTH AFRICA CONTINUED Thandukuphila Community Based Organization, EMPANGENI

$10,000

Tholulwazi Uzivikele, KWANGWANASE

$10,000

Tlamelang-Sediba Home Care Centre, MAFIKENG

$10,000 TOTAL (16)

TANZANIA PEOPLE SERVED 11,970 children & 4,097 caregivers African Youth Connection, MOROGORO

$203,200

$13,500

AIDS Outreach Nyakato, MWANZA

$15,000

Baraka Good Hope Orphan’s Development, MWANZA

$10,000

Centre for Youth Development and Adult Education, UVINZA

$13,100

CHAMAVITA, LUSHOTO

$10,000

Christian Youth Network, TABORA

$10,000

Church of God, Arusha Branch, ARUSHA

$9,000

Community Development and Humanitarian Association, MWANZA

$10,000

Development Services Foundation, KIGOMA

$10,000

Elimu, Michezo na Mazoezi , DAR ES SALAAM

$15,000

Huruma Shule ya Watoto Wenye Ulemavu, MWANZA

$10,000

Lake Nyanza Environmental and Sanitation Organization, MWANZA

$15,000

Makete Support for People with HIV/AIDS, MAKETE

$12,000

Mara Widows Development Group, MUSOMA

$15,000

Masasi Peoples Umbrella Organization, MASASI-MTWARA

$10,000

Matumaini Mapya, BUKOBA

$10,000

Matumaini Mapya, BUKOBA

$3,900

Muungano Community Based Organization, MUSOMA

$10,000

Pemba Children's Club, PEMBA

$10,000

Tanzania Women of Impact Foundation, KISARAWE AND KIBAHA DISTRICTS

$10,000

Teens Against AIDS, DAR ES SALAAM

$15,000

The Mango Tree Orphan Support Trust, MBEYA

$11,600

The Pemba Island Relief Organisation, CHAKE

$9,950 $10,000

Tumaini, MWANZA

$8,400

Women Emancipation and Development Agency, KARAGWE

$9,800

Yatima Kwa Wazazi, MOSHI

$12,500 TOTAL (27)

2008 ANNUAL REPORT

$298,750

www.firelightfoundation.org

2008 GRANTS

Tujikomboe Group, MOROGORO

AT ION PSY -SO CS UP P NU TR ITI ON HE ALT H/H IV EC OS TR EN GT H CH ILD RE N’S R I GH MA TS TE RIA LA SST

ED UC

UGANDA PEOPLE SERVED 5,387 children & 723 caregivers Action for Children, APAC DISTRICT

$10,000

Friends of Christ Revival Ministries, BUSIA

$10,000

Friends of Orphans, KAMPALA

$19,000

Kyetume Community Based Health Care Programme, MUKONO

$15,000

St. Francis Health Care Services, JINJA

$15,000 TOTAL (5)

USA PEOPLE SERVED N/A CARE USA/Better Care Network, NEW YORK

$69,000 $30,000

Grantmakers Without Borders, BOSTON

$8,000 TOTAL (2)

$38,000

ZAMBIA PEOPLE SERVED 16,593 children & 32,331 caregivers Bwafwano Community Home Based Care Organisation, LUSAKA

$15,000

Care For Children in Need, LUNDAZI

$15,000

Chikanta Community Schools Development Project, CHOMA

$15,000

Children in Distress, Kalomo Central FHT, KALOMO

$15,000

Chintelelwe Health Education and Livelihood Programme, NDOLA

$14,800

Community for Human Development, LUSAKA

$15,000

Community Youth Mobilisation, KABWE

$10,000

Community Youth Mobilisation, KABWE Families for Children Project, NDOLA

$1,700 $12,200

Fountains of Light, LUSAKA

$13,400

Initiative for Sustainable Rural Livelihood, CHIBOMBO DISTRICT

$12,500

Kabwata Widows and Orphans Community Society, NDOLA

$17,500

Livingstone Anglican Children’s Project, LIVINGSTONE

$15,000

Lupwa Lwabumi Trust, Chirundu, Kapiri Mposhi, CHAZANGA

$10,000

Malole Home Based Care Group, MALOLE

$10,000

Malole Home Based Care Group, MALOLE

$1,100

Monze Mission Hospital/Buntolo Drop-In Centre, MAZABUKA

$13,800

Mphatso Development Foundation, NYIMBA

$10,000

Mulumbo Early Childhood Care and Development Foundation, LUSAKA

$15,000

Network of Zambia People Living with HIV/AIDS - Mansa Chapter, MANSA

$15,000

Pazesa Horticultural Community, CHIPATA

$10,000

People’s AIDS Response through Vital Education and Networking Foundation,

$15,000

MANSA

Power of Love Foundation, LUSAKA Ray of Hope for Orphans, LIVINGSTONE

$10,000 $4,900

Rescue Mission Zambia, LUSAKA

$20,000

Rural Child, KITWE

$12,500

Silelo Community School HIV/AIDS Support Group, LIVINGSTONE

$8,000

The Media Network on Orphans and Vulnerable Children, LUSAKA

$10,000

AT ION PSY -SO CS UP P NU TR ITI ON HE ALT H/H IV EC OS TR EN GT H CH ILD RE N’S R I GH MA TS TE RIA LA SST

ED UC

ZAMBIA CONTINUED Titukuke Rural Community Development Association, PETAUKE

$10,000

Tusa Munyandi Association, LIVINGSTONE

$10,000

Welfare Concern International, LIVINGSTONE

$13,100

Young Women’s Christian Association - Western Region, Zambia, MONGU

$10,000

Youth for Change, LUSAKA

$10,000

Zambian Association of Child Care Workers, LUSAKA

$2,000 TOTAL (34)

$392,500

ZIMBABWE PEOPLE SERVED 12,616 children & 3,368 caregivers Chiedza Community Based Orphan Welfare Organisation - CCBOWO, MUTARE

$15,000

Child Protection Society, HARARE

$15,000

Child Protection Society, HARARE

$5,000

Esandleni Sothando, PLUMTREE

$15,000

Family-in-Need Trust, MUTARE

$15,000

Girl Child Network, CHITUNGWIZA

$5,000

Gwai Grandmothers’ Group, MBERENGWA

$10,000

Ingalo Zomusa Orphan Care, GWANDA

$15,000

Island Hospice and Bereavement Services, HARARE

$15,100

Justice for Children Trust, HARARE

$2,400 $1,200

Justice for Children Trust, HARARE Loving Hand, BULAWAYO

$15,000

Masvingo Community Based HIV and Vulnerable Children Organization, MASVINGO

$10,000

Maunganidze Kindhearted Children’s Organisation, CHITUNGWIZA

$10,000

New Hope Foundation, CALEDONIA FARM

$10,000

Ray of Hope Zimbabwe, MUTASA

$10,000

Sesithule Vamanani Caring Association, CHIREDZI

$18,000

Shingirirai Trust, MABVUKU & TAFARA

$15,000

Sibambene AIDS Programme of the Archdiocese of Bulawayo - Sikhethimpilo Centre, MAPHISA Simukai Street Youth Programme, MUTARE

$19,000

Women Empowerment Group, HARARE (EPWORTH)

$10,000

$2,300 $15,000

Youth in Development Trust, MUTARE

$10,000

Zimbabwe Parents of Handicapped Children Association, Bulawayo Branch,

$15,000

BULAWAYO

TOTAL (24)

$273,000

180 TOTAL NUMBER OF GRANTS IN 2008

2008 ANNUAL REPORT

www.firelightfoundation.org

2008 GRANTS

Youth For A Child in Christ, BULAWAYO

TREASURER’S NOTE

Firelight Foundation awarded 180 grants totaling US$1.97 million during our 2008 ﬁscal year (October 2007–September 2008), bringing our nine-year cumulative total to about US$10 million in grant awards. Like most foundations, Firelight saw its endowment seriously affected by the economic downturn in 2008. It is worth noting, however, that other foundations increased their support to Firelight by US$1.3 million from 2007 to 2008— a good deal of it in multi-year grants. In spite of challenging economic conditions, we have continued to strengthen our programs and staffing according to our new strategic plan, in order to promote long-term growth in the funds we can provide to community organizations in Sub-Saharan Africa.

2008 Financial Report STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION 2008

STATEMENT OF ACTIVITIES

2007 as restated

ASSETS

2008

2007 as restated

REVENUE AND SUPPORT

Current Assets

11,982,456

13,957,784

Support from Individuals

492,355

937,910

Property and Equipment, Net

128,939

134,809

Support from Foundations

3,194,404

1,866,522

Other Assets

6,000

Revenue from Investments

-1,489,384

1,594,017

Total Assets

12,117,395

14,098,593

Total Revenue and Support

2,197,374

4,398,449

Grants Awarded

1,970,496

2,184,935

Program Services

1,677,401

1,301,551

LIABILITIES

Accounts Payable

146,978

161,267

Grants Payable

1,362,950

1,228,094

Total Liabilities

1,509,928

1,389,361

NET ASSETS

EXPENSES

8,930,466

11,978,596

General and Administrative

538,111

266,197

Temporarily Restricted

1,677,001

730,636

Fundraising

112,195

146,027

Total Net Assets

10,607,467

12,709,232

Total Expenses

4,298,203

3,898,710

Total Liabilities and Net Assets

Change in Net Assets

-2,100,829

499,739

12,117,395

14,098,593

2008 ANNUAL REPORT

NOTE: 2007 revenue has been restated to include an additional individual pledge of $200,000.

www.firelightfoundation.org

2008 FINANCIAL REPORT

Unrestricted

Donors We are grateful to all of our donors for their generosity and continued support. Their commitment to Firelight makes it possible for us to support communities and families in Sub-Saharan Africa who are working to improve childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lives. INDIVIDUALS

Janet & Bill Cornyn

Becky Holtzman

Joyce Murata

Shane Adler

Alan Crystal & Marilyn Uzan

Laura Hyams

Karen Anne Murray

Alisonn & Razvan Ianculescu

Peggy Newell

Joanne Csete Joshua Dankoff

Dana & Loreen Jackson

Judy Astone & Donald Patten

Jennifer Delaney

Janet Jaffke

Ann & John Dizikes

Herbert & Joy Kaiser

Peggy & John Overcashier

Jennifer Astone

Mary Lee Duff

Edward & Jeanette Katz

Jim & Sandra Palmquist

Russell & Anne Ayers

Marjorie Ebright

Roger & Carolyn Ayers

George Ehrhardt

Dave Katz & Kerry Olson

Ana Carvalho & Elena Pereira

Catherine Bacon

Debra & David Evans

Sally Klein

Cynthia Phillips

Lauren Bala

Robert & Sarah Feinerman

Daniel LaPenta & Janice Paran

Marilyn & Edwin Pollock

Stacey Anderson Matthew & Carol Arozian

Robert Bardin & B. Lyndall Callan

Suzanne Newsome Nathaniel Owings

Nick Pratt

Terri Fette

Mary Lee & Ernest Kilton

Sharon Pratt

Hasanna Fletcher & Dane Ryan

Elizabeth Lewis

Sophie Reynolds

Isaac Bempong

Doug & Janine Fullmer

Mike Lowrie

Robert Rhodehamel

Marci Berman Lisa Berry & Leslie Johnson

Betsy Gaiser

Ali MacGraw

Ruthann Richter & Jay Hammer

Gina Annette & Alejandro Marotta

Allen Robel

Nicholas Barthel

Deborah Bryant Keyna Bugner Patrick & Linda Bujold Tom & Lore Burger Rose Campbell Rita Carter Peter & Denise Castro Paula Clupper Steven Corbato & Susan Bratton

Aviva Garrett & David Doshay Vivian & Dominique Gettliffe Yoine Goldstein Sally Goodis

James & Teresa Matetich

Teresa Roberts

Anne McCarten-Gibbs

Emily Salcido

Anne McDonough

Danielle L. SanchezWitzel

Janet Rossi

Robert Graffam

Monica McHenney & Peter Kessler

Marcy Haberkom

Elone Miller

James Hayes

Stanley & Eileen Miller

Esther Hewlett

Tammy & David Moody

Thomas & Tania Schlatter

Tricia Hill

David Morrell

Sally Scott

Pradee Sindhu & Marie-Francoise Bertrand

Jon Singletary

David Wittbrodt

GIFTS IN HONOR OF

Thomas Skibo

Mary Yoo

Pete & Sally Slicer

Mark Zaplin & Richard Lampert

Joanne Smalley Jane Smith Robert & Tammy Snyder Suzanne Staver Adams Juniper Stein Jennifer Stenson Malay & Beverley Thaker

BUSINESSES Alpert & Alpert Iron & Metal, Inc. (Los Angeles, CA) Doma Café and Gallery (New York, NY) Rubio’s Fresh Mexican Grill (Carlsbad, CA)

Hariharan Thangarajah

CHURCHES

Randy Trigg

Temple United Methodist Church (San Francisco, CA)

Carol Ward Howard Ward Jim & Judy Warner William Watson Audrey Webb Jessica Weiss & Vladislav Luskin Kyle Wipp Ellen Wiss

By Judy Astone & Donald Patten Linda Martin Sally Scott

Judy Astone By Janet Rossi

Kyle & Gina Brown By Terri Fette

David Murray Bryant By Sally Scott

Cheryl Casciani By Sally Scott

David Tremblay

Beth Verhey & Daniel Toole

Jennifer Astone

Louise DeCormier By Yoine Goldstein Daniel LaPenta & Janice Paran Mary Lee Duff

The First Presbyterian Church (Charleston, WV)

Dean & Marilyn Dizikes

SCHOOLS

Maya Dulay

By Ann & John Dizikes

Chadwick School (Palos Verdes, CA) Gideon Hausner Jewish Day School (Palo Alto, CA)

By Hariharan Thangarajah

Titia & Billy Ellis By Sally Scott

Britt Ehrhardt

Louisiana School (Natchitoches, LA)

By George Ehrhardt

Bridgeway Foundation California Community Foundation Caris Foundation Cars 4 Causes

By Elena Pereira & Ana Pereira Carvalho

Roscoe Finkel By Danielle L. Sanchez-Witzel

Dr. Grace Goodell By Sally Scott

Jim Hayes By Anne McDonough

Dave Herzog By Anonymous

Hazel Himelstein By Danielle L. Sanchez-Witzel

Cilla Hines By David Tremblay

Dave Katz & Kerry Olson By Laura Hyams Edward & Jeanette Katz Peggy & John Overcashier

Airie Lindsay By Sally Scott

Linda Martin By Jennifer Astone

Sharon Newsome By Suzanne Newsome

Kristin Olson & Kevin Kruger By Jennifer Delaney

Owen Augustus Quayle By Nick Pratt Anonymous

Doug & Sarah Rivers By Robert Bardin & B. Lyndall Callan

Julia & Alex Samwer By Evelyn Polesny

Sally Scott By Matthew and Carol Arozian

Cheryl Talley-Moon & Bob Moon By David Morrell

Luke Tollin By Danielle L. Sanchez-Witzel

Ben Wexler By Sally Goodis

GIFTS IN MEMORY OF David Murray Bryant By Deborah L. Bryant

Kent By Janet Jaffke

Mary By Roger & Carolyn Ayers

Irma Ward By Howard Ward

The Cradle Project

FUNDS & FOUNDATIONS American Jewish World Service

Julia Feinberg

Lehmann Family Foundation of the Jewish Community Endowment Fund Nike Foundation New Field Foundation Silicon Valley Community Foundation Robert N. & Florence Slinger Fund at the Community Foundation of Santa Cruz County

Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies Contribution Fund

The ELMA Foundation

DONORS

Elton John AIDS Foundation—UK

Launched in June 2008 by founder Naomi Natale to beneﬁt the Firelight Foundation, The Cradle Project mobilized hundreds of volunteers and raised about US$75,000. Designed to raise awareness and ﬁnancial support to assist orphans and vulnerable children, the historic art installation auctioned many of the 500 exhibited cradles—several beautifully captured in The Cradle Project Book.

Tsadik Foundation 2008 ANNUAL REPORT

www.firelightfoundation.org

DONOR FOCUS

Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF) The Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF) began funding Firelight in 2006 based on a shared belief that community-based organizations are best placed to develop practical, sustainable, and life-changing solutions to meet the needs of vulnerable children in their communities. “We are convinced of the value of supporting grassroots organizations and appreciate the diligence with which Firelight undertakes this role,” said Anne Aslett, Development Director at the Foundation. EJAF supports projects that empower people infected, affected, and at risk of HIV/AIDS to alleviate their physical, emotional, and ﬁnancial hardship and enable them to improve their quality of life and live with dignity. In 2008, EJAF supported nearly 30 Firelight grantees in Lesotho, Malawi, South Africa, Tanzania, and Zambia. As just one example, EJAF funding helped the Chilimba Women and Orphans Care Group in Malawi evolve from a small, volunteer-run group to a professionally staffed and managed organization. Chilimba’s development has allowed them to signiﬁcantly expand their services and to reach many more women and children affected by HIV/AIDS and poverty.

DONOR FOCUS

Sir Elton John on a project visit to a community center funded by the Elton John AIDS Foundation in South Africa. Photo courtesy of the Elton John AIDS Foundation.

Nike Foundation: The Grassroots Girls Initiative (GGI) Nike Foundation launched the Grassroots Girls Initiative (GGI) in June 2006, partnering with the Firelight Foundation and five other organizations. Grassroots organizations bubble up practical, innovative solutions to the “If we are really committed problems girls face, but are often unable to secure adequate and consistent funding. GGI works to resolve this by to building a new financial providing long-term support to grassroots organizations to empower adolescent girls by implementing programs, architecture for the countries of Africa, we must invest conducting advocacy, and strengthening their organizational and programmatic capacities. in girls today. This critical Girls are the most powerful source of change in this work and GGI is an example of direct investments in what investment in human capital many are now calling the ‘Girl Effect’—the social and economic change brought about when girls have the development will bring opportunity to participate. about necessary structural change and game-changing In 2008, Nike Foundation supported 25 Firelight grantees in several countries—groups like the Livingstone economic benefits.” Anglican Children’s Project in Zambia; Elimu, Michezo na Mazoezi in Tanzania; and the Women Empowerment Group in Zimbabwe. Over the years, our partners have become increasingly aware of the specific needs of LISA MACCALLUM, MANAGING DIRECTOR OF adolescent girls—noticing when girls are markedly absent in school, community activities, and public life, and THE NIKE FOUNDATION integrating programming for girls into their work. Firelight’s GGI-funded grantees have had a significant positive impact on girls’ lives, ensuring that they have access to health, education, social protection, and programs and spaces that support their development and empowerment. The work of the Nike Foundation is supported by Nike, Inc. and by significant investments by the NoVo Foundation, which has enabled the exponential impact of the Girl Effect.

Support Firelight Now more than ever, our work depends on the generosity of donors like you, who appreciate the remarkable difference that grassroots organizations make in the lives of vulnerable families and children. As a result of the economic downturn, the needs of children affected by HIV/AIDS and poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa have never been greater. The good news is that our funding is now stretching even farther to make a real difference in children’s lives. Contributions to community-based organizations have life-changing impact on children’s lives. They are often the difference between a meal before bed or sleeping on an empty stomach, and enable children to attend school, opening opportunities for a brighter future.

EVERY DOLLAR COUNTS IN AFRICA*: $1

equips one child with school supplies for an entire school year.

$10 can provide one family affected by HIV/AIDS with a monthly pension. $250 supplies gardening equipment and seeds to ﬁve school gardens, which provide nutritious food and income to vulnerable children and families. $500 provides training and small loans to help 50 vulnerable households start small businesses and better care for their children. $1,000 covers all costs for 30 teachers and caregivers to attend a

training workshop to learn how to provide life-changing psychosocial support and care to children who have lost their parents and are suffering from extreme grief, stress, and depression. *Costs reﬂect speciﬁc grantee programs and vary by region and by year.

We hope that you will continue to support Firelight, or if you are new to us, that you will consider joining our circle of dedicated donors.

FOR $1 PER CHILD*: Empilweni (South Africa) provides individual and family therapy, group support, and sports programs to hundreds of bereaved children and adolescents.

HOW TO GIVE DONATE ONLINE (securely): www.ﬁrelightfoundation.org. You can make a one-time gift or arrange for an automatic monthly donation. SEND A CHECK TO: Firelight Foundation, 740 Front Street, Suite 380, Santa Cruz, CA 95060. SHARE STOCK: Stock may be transferred to Firelight via Northern Trust Bank.

*Firelight funding is able to stretch as far as it does because grassroots action mobilizes community volunteers and resources.

2008 ANNUAL REPORT

www.firelightfoundation.org

SUPPORT FIRELIGHT

Community Youth in Development Activities (COYIDA) (Malawi) is building a Youth Resource Center that will offer HIV/AIDS education, a reading and computer library, and sports facilities anticipated to serve 5,000 children and youth in the coming year.

Boards & Staff The following lists are current through September 2009.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Kerry Olson, Founder & President David Katz, Vice President Debra Evans, Secretary Nancy Shallow

We are deeply grateful to retiring Board member, Jennifer Delaney, for her commitment and wide-ranging support to Firelight over the years, and we wish her well in the next phase of her career. Recently appointed to the U.S. Assistant Secretary of Health & Human Services post, Joan Lombardi made important contributions to Firelight’s work, despite her brief Board tenure.

ADVISORY BOARD Geoff Foster, MD Consultant, Family AIDS Caring Trust (FACT)

A warm welcome to new Advisory Board member, Howard Kasiya.

Mulugeta Gebru Founder & Executive Director, Jerusalem Children and Community Development Organization (JeCCDO)

A trained clinician who has served as HIV/AIDS Programme Manager at the Evangelical Association of Malawi (EAM) since 2003, Kasiya is responsible for coordinating the responses of local area churches to HIV/AIDS.

Stefan Germann World Vision International—HIV and AIDS Hope Initiative Wairimu Mungai Program Director, WEM Integrated Health Services (WEMIHS) Linda Richter, PhD Executive Director, Child, Youth, Family, and Social Development, Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) Cati Vawda Director, Children’s Rights Centre (CRC)

Kasiya established the ﬁrst Hospital and Howard Kasiya. Photo by Community-Based HIV/AIDS Program Anne-Marie Rosche. in Malawi, as well as the ﬁrst HIV/AIDS program targeting youth, called the “AIDS TOTO CLUBS,” a model later adopted by UNICEF for youth programs in Malawi. He was also jointly responsible for developing a community-based HIV/AIDS counseling model focused on involving families and encouraging community participation. The Malawi Ministry of Health now uses a manual on care counseling that Kasiya authored to provide counseling guidance and training.

STAFF Peter Laugharn, Executive Director Amee Chapman, IT Systems Engineer Janice Cook-Silva, Executive Assistant

We are grateful to the following former staff members for their service and dedication: Jennifer Anderson-Bahr, Senior Program Officer

Suzana Grego, Director of Communications & Advocacy

Joanne Csete, Director of Programs & Interim Executive Director

Sarah Kerlin, Development Assistant

Jim Hayes, IT Manager

Desiree Kosciulek, Organizational Learning Associate

Anne Holmes, Director of Development

Aili Langseth, Program Officer

Lauren Maher, Senior Program Officer

Jennifer Lentfer, Head of Capacity Building Scott J. Pietka, Grants Administrator

Ron Maysenhalder, Finance Manager Suzanne Newsome, Development Assistant Rosalie Nezien, Program Officer

Zanele Sibanda Knight, Director of Programs

Gwendolyn Pogrowski, Finance Officer

Scott Staub, Director of Development

Anne-Marie Rosche, Program Associate

Cheryl Talley-Moon, Human Resources & Office Manager

Zoe Rowlandson, Executive Assistant

VISITING SCHOLARS

VOLUNTEERS

Cyprian Maro Executive Director, Elimu, Michezo na Mazoezi (EMIMA), Tanzania

Judy Astone

Maxwell Matewere Executive Director, Eye of the Child, Malawi Lorraine Sherr Professor, Head of Health Psychology Unit PCPS, Royal Free and UC Medical School UCL Susan Wilkinson-Maposa Independent Consultant

Michael Hall Aviva Longinotti Bob Moon

Our Vision Firelight envisions and works toward a world in which: Every child, regardless of race, creed, country, or other factor is raised in a supportive family and community, in a safe environment, with adequate food, shelter, and healthcare, and a sound education. Children’s rights are recognized, protected, and upheld, as an integral part of human rights. The strengths of children and families are recognized and their voices are valued and heard. Community solidarity—one of Africa’s strengths and assets—is widely recognized as vital to efforts to improve children’s well-being in Sub-Saharan Africa. Communities take action to address issues that affect vulnerable children and families. There is a widespread belief and corresponding investment in community-based organizations as a strong and growing facet of civil society. Governments, donors, nongovernmental organizations, community-based organizations, communities, and individuals work together to guarantee children’s sustained quality of life. There is global awareness and effective action to address the severe impact of HIV/AIDS and poverty on Africa’s children.

Copyright © 2009 Firelight Foundation. All Rights Reserved. Design by J Sherman Studio LLC. Printed and bound by Community Printers, using 100 percent recycled paper. Direction by Suzana Grego. Writing and editing by Suzana Grego, other Firelight staff, and Paola Scommegna. Photos by Joop Rubens.

Firelight Foundation 740 Front Street, Suite 380 Santa Cruz, CA 95060 USA Tel: +1.831.429.8750 Fax: +1.831.429.2036 info@ﬁrelightfoundation.org www.ﬁrelightfoundation.org