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COOPERATION & DEVELOPMENT
AFGHANISTAN
In 2001, in response to the refugee tragedy in Afghanistan, and thanks to Professor Muhammad Yunus, President of the GRAMEEN BANK of Bangladesh, pioneer in providing microcredits to the poor, World in Harmony initiated its collaboration in a project to help Afghan refugee women. GRAMEEN's partner in Afghanistan, Women for Women International, was entrusted with the project, while GRAMEEN TRUST monitors the use of our donation to ensure it reaches the Afghan refugee women for whom it is destined. The objective of this program is to create and support income-generating projects for rural and urban widows, single mothers, women heads of households, and returnees who have recentlyº resettled in their homes after 23 years of war in Afghanistan and, thus, have been deprived access to education as well as economic opportunities.
ALBANIA
In 1993, we donated a bread-bakery unit with a daily production capacity of 2.5 tons of bread, for those belonging to all religious communities in the village of Dervitsiani.
In January 2005, a feasibility study was undertaken for an irrigation project to supply drinking water for the village of Himara was financed byWorld in Harmony. Upon finalization of the preparatory phase of the well-drilling project, the out-break of civil unrest and unstable political conditions prevented its implementation.
BANGLADESH
In December 1989, donation of 72 pregnant Holstein-Friesian heifers and 1,000 doses of pedigree bovine breeding material to the Savar Livestock Farm.
ECUATORIAL GUINEA
The cost of a generator set was financed by World in Harmony in 2006 for the Virgen del Carmen “HOLA-HOLA” school in Campo Yaoundé, Malabo, with a student body of 400 students from the ages of 4 – 13, for the operation a fresh-water well and thereby ensure the supply of potable water for the students.
INDIA
In 1986, negotiations between World in Harmony and the Federal Government of Germany resulted in the donation of 1,000 surplus Holstein-Friesian dairy cows for their integration into India's large-scale crossbreeding programs, carried out by the National Dairy Development Board (N.D.D.B.) of India (called Operation Flood).
In 1986, donation of 30 tons of powdered milk to the N.D.D.B. to be dispensed among poor families. A total of 400 Holstein-Friesian dairy cows were distributed, in different stages, among the members of the dairy cooperatives of the N.D.D.B., primarily to poor widows.
In November 1989, 1,500 doses of pedigree bovine breeding material, a gift of the Regional Government of Cantabria (Spain), were donated to the N.D.D.B.
In October 1991, 2,500 "lungis" (typical Indian robe for men) and 2,500 "saris" (typical dress of Indian women) were distributed to destitute people (Christians and Muslims), in the region of Tamil Nadu, South India.
In May, 1999, a joint project was initiated with ASHRAM INTERNATIONAL, in the village of Thirumullaivogal, near Madras, entitled Enabling the construction of 15 self-help, low-cost row houses, focusing on two basic components: self-help shelter and the empowerment of women.
In 2006, World in Harmony initiated the TAAC Project (Thandlam Ayurveda Agricultural Cow Protection), with the purchase of 6 cows in the village of Thandlam. A cow shed was built to house 20 cows with an area behind reserved for the cultivation of fodder. Two people were contracted permanently to look after the cows and to manage the activities of the project. In 2008 and 2009 we continued our support of TAAC by providing employment to the Thandlam community in the south of India which involved:
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1.The cultivation of nuts, turnip and watermelon.
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2.The cultivation and the sale of Ayurvedic medicinal plants.
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3.The protection of cows and the sale of their milk.
JORDAN
In 1991, a donation consisting of 1,370 kilos of seed for agricultural produce (beet, spinach, cabbage, pea, bean, tomato, cucumber, and melon crops), and 211 kilos of seed for the cultivation of sweet corn, onion, cauliflower, green pepper, watermelon, and lettuce, was made to the Noor Al-Hussein Foundation.
The Cow Breeding Scheme or Quality of Life Project, under the direction of the Noor Al-Hussein Foundation, commenced on September 14, 1992, in Qanieh Village. World in Harmony made an initial donation of 10 prime pregnant cows, accompanied by 10 tons of concentrated forage, representing a three-month supply of livestock feed to cover the needs of the animals until they began to produce milk. In February 1994, an additional 10 heifers were purchased for 10 families living in the villages of Al-Bassa and Iraq Al-Amir, together with a three-month supply of livestock feed.
MEXICO
Between 1997 & 2000, in collaboration with the Mexican NGO, Association Programa Compartamos,World in Harmony contributed to an Income-Generating Project consisting of the creation of a community association (women’s cooperatives) composed of 35 low-income women living in the Yucatán Peninsula, who receive financing (in the form of loans, in four-month cycles, proceeding from a revolving-fund) which enable them to develop cottage industries (i.e. the production of handicrafts) and carry out small crop cultivation, thereby increasing their families’ income.
MOZAMBIQUE
In 1990, 15 manually operated corn mills were purchased for the families living in the transit camps in Boane (Maputo).
SOMALIA/LIBERIA
Donation of $40,000 to the Spanish Committee of UNICEF, for a well-drilling project carried out in Somalia and Liberia in 1993.
VIETNAM
In September 1991, World in Harmony financed a project conceived and realized by the Centre for Applied Physics and Scientific Instruments in Hanoi, for the manufacture of portable, solar-powered lamps for the rural population.
In 1992 in collaboration with the Vietnam Women's Union, a revolving-fund was created to assist 300 families, representing an initial investment of $16,000, for the purpose of carrying out a vegetable cultivation project for poor women.
Initiation of the Dairy Development Project, in 1993, in Hanoi, in cooperation with the Vietnam Women's Union and the National Dairy Development Board (N.D.D.B.) of India. Thanks to the goodwill and professional expertise of the N.D.D.B., a training course was held at the headquarters of the N.D.D.B. in Anand (India) in November 1993, co-financed by WORLD IN HARMONY, for four Vietnamese experts: 1 agricultural engineer; 1 engineer specialist in cattle-raising, 1 engineer specialist in food industries; and 1 engineer specialist in cattle-raising and veterinary services. Upon their return from Anand, they provided training to poor, rural women, many of whom were usually the sole providers of their families, to teach them how to properly care for their dairy cows. Once trained, a dairy cow was then "sold" to the women at a symbolic price. The milk supply is destined to cover the needs of their own families, while the remaining amount is processed at the dairy cooperative and sold at local markets. Start-up of the dairy project began with the founding of the Harmony Cooperatives of Ba Vi, by means of an initial donation of 50 dairy cows to 50 cooperative families. A total of three cooperatives have been founded, Hai Hoa I (1993), Hai Hoa II (1996), and Hai Hoa III (1997), in the Ba Vi district.
Contribution of $10,000 in 1995 to the Huongkhe Branch of the Vietnam Women's Union in the Province of Hatinh for the project: Establishment of a Training Center for Invalid Women and Children.
In 1993, 20,000 doses of high pedigree breeding material, received from the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, and in June 1995 20,000 doses, a gift from the Regional Government of Cantabria (northern Spain), were donated to the Harmony Cooperative of Ba Vi to improve the livestock herd.
Donation of a Toyota Land-Cruiser Refrigerator Truck, with a loading capacity of 800kg., and a 12-seat passenger van, was made to the Harmony Cooperatives of Ba Vi in September 1995.
In 2000, a donation of $21,600 was made to the Vietnam Women’s Union for the purchase of an additional 20 dairy cows for the Harmony Cooperatives of Ba Vi.
In 2003, Phase II of the Dairy Development Project was signed between World in Harmony and the VIETNAM WOMEN'S UNION, with the objective of making the best use of Ba Vi's potential for raising milk cows, thereby assisting farmers in hunger elimination and poverty alleviation. Ba Vi has plentiful land and manpower resources: almost all households have from 500 to 4,000 m2 of land for grass planting. Also, Ba Vi has a tradition in raising milk cows, thereby attracting many milk producers and processors.
In 2008, funds were sent for the construction of 2 biogas systems for the treatment of waste and the production of organic gas to the Ba Vi Cooperative.
ZANZIBAR
In 2004 and 2005,World in Harmony made an important contribution to the water supply and waste management project which the ZANZIBAR WOMEN’S CORPORATION (ZAWCO) is carrying out, to overcome disease and hardship in 12 remote villages (affecting between 20,000 to 30,000 people) on the Pemba and Unguja islands, which compose Zanzibar. The objectives include the improvement of sanitary conditions and health of the inhabitants through projects aimed at water treatment, effective waste management, and economic support via microcredit projects for women.