Meaningful Volunteer welcomes two more staff members to the team

Meaningful Volunteer is delighted to announce the arrival of two new staff members to the team.

Anne Eichmeyer has taken on the role of marketing manger and will be responsible for getting as many volunteers as she can to Meaningful Volunteer's placement locations.

Anne is a Midwestern native; she was born and raised in Minnesota and received her Bachelors in Social Work and her Masters in Social Work, with a focus in Social Policy from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Anne led a student campaign against genocide in Darfur, advocated for international fair trade, and learned extensively from her travels and volunteerism in Ghana, Southeast Asia, and Central America, as well as throughout the United States.  She has also advocated extensively with and for the developmental disability community and is passionate about women’s rights. 

Currently Anne is the Housing Coordinator for three homeless shelters that serve families and single women in Madison, Wisconsin

Megin Alvarez is also joining us as our Canadian Coordinator.  She will be coordinating volunteers in Canada, organizing fundraisers as well as helping Meaningful Volunteer to obtain charitable status in Canada.

Megin was born in Cavite in the Philippines and was raised in Canada.  Megin has the best of both countries.  

With a social science background she has been working with the Ministry for Children and Family Development and Vancouver Aboriginal Child and Family Services Society (VACFSS)  in British Columbia for the past twelve years.  

She's involved in the foster care system in Canada and has developed numerous community programs in Cavite specializing in child advocacy and female human rights.

Marketing Manager Position Now Open for Applications

Meaningful Volunteer is delighted to announce that applications for the new Marketing Manager position are now open.

You can download the full job description from here.

The successful applicant will be responsible for all of Meaningful Volunteer's marketing with the overall goal of bringing in as many volunteers as possible.

The job will initially be voluntary and require about 2-3 hours of work a week.  The position will become a paid position as the organization grows.

The Marketing Manager will be given a monthly budget to work with.

Meaningful Volunteer employs on the basis of skill.  No distinction will be made for gender, age, ethnicity, religious affiliation, or sexual orientation. 

Applications close of the 7th of May 2010.

Please send a covering email about why you want the position to malcolm@meaningfulvolunteer.org

New Program: The Malaria Operation

Meaningful Volunteer is delighted to announce the launch of the Malaria Operation. 

The Malaria Operation takes a systematic approach to reducing malaria in Buyaya - our initial target area. 

Every step of the process is covered: All the way from raising sponsorship money with which to buy the nets, through to follow up visits to ensure the nets are being used correctly. Check out the full process here. 

Malaria accounts for 53% of all deaths in Buyaya and we are going to do our best to reduce that figure. 

Contact Meran Chang - our volunteer coordinator for more information. meran@meaningfulvolunteer.org

 

Meaningful Volunteers Representing on International Women's Day

March the 8th marks (the 99th!) International Women's day.  Meaningful Volunteer has always been a strong supporter of women's rights through initiatives such as hundred or so ladies who earn money through the Meaningful Shop, and the dozens of female health volunteers who have been trained through the Project Lifecycle program .

On International Women's Day, Meaningful Volunteer has three wonderful female volunteers representing on the island of Romblon in the Philippines.  One is working with the Payawpao Orchids to expand the Meaningful Shop program, one is expanding the Project Lifecycle to another six or so villages, and another is working hard on environmental issues through Project Mangrove.

And let's also take this opportunity to acknowledge our wonderful staff: Eden Navia who runs things in the Philippines, Scarlet Nabwire who runs things in Uganda, and Meran Chang our volunteer coordinator.

Grassroots Uganda representing in Korea

The Wild Women’s Performing Arts Festival is a regular event in Korea to raise more money for the Korean Women’s Association United! This year the event took place on Saturday February 27th as part of the run-up to International Women’s Day on March 8th. The night will featured a fresh list of performers, poets and dancers, as well as a silent photography auction, raffle and much more! 

Grassroots Uganda - part of the Meaningful Shop initiative - had a booth at this years event raise about $US900 for our wonderful ladies in Uganda!

Malcolm Trevena also gave a talk about the Project Lifecycle - Meaningful Volunteer's fertility program on the island of Romblon in the Philippines.  Project Lifecycle focuses on getting a 100% natural family planning method in the hands of local people who are denied modern contraception due to religious norms and financial reasons.

Project Lifecyle Featured on IRH Home Page

The Institute of Reproductive Health (IRH) is based at Georgetown University and is the create of the SDM method - the natural family planing method used by Meaningful Volunteer as part of its Project Lifecycle program.

The recent sexual health survey that Meaningful Volunteer released and the work that has been done has been featured on the IRH homepage.  Check it out here.

1 Mar 2010 

New Computer Program Added

The RYE School computer study program has proved to be very popular in Uganda.  We are always getting having local people in Buyaya wanting to join our classes.  Most of the people know of computers, but have never actually seen one let alone used one. They do know that they are the way of the future and are very keen to learn.

With this is mind, Meaningful Volunteer has added a new computer studies class in Buyaya.

Meaningful Volunteer welcomes Meran Chang to the team

Meaningful Volunteer is delighted to announce the appointment of Meran Chang as the new Volunteer Coordinator for Meaningful Volunteer.

We were overwhelmed at the number of responses we got for this position!  So many wonderful and capable people applied for this job.  It was a tough task choosing the best applicant, but Meran's positive attitude, her experience in Africa and Asia, and her professionalism saw her rise to the top.

Meran will guide people from their hesitant first steps ("I want to volunteer, but don't know how."), to empowered volunteers making a meaningful difference in the lives of the less fortunate.

Here's a quick word form Meran herself:

Hello to all Meaningful Volunteer supporters!

Since Meaningful Volunteer first formed in 2008, I have been closely followed the organization and the great work the staff and volunteers have accomplished.  Since then, I been amazed over and over again by the real change MV brings to the communities it serves.  I am very excited to serve as the new Volunteer Coordinator and am happy to help grow Meaningful Volunteer.

Sexual Health Survey Results Released

A Sexual Health Survey was recently completed by Meaningful Volunteer as part of its Project Lifecycle initiative.  The results can be downloaded here.

The survey focused on family planning trends and contraception awareness of the local woman of various barangays (villages) on the island of Tablas in the Romblon province.  The barangays targeted were: Dona Juana, Binongaan, Lusong, Cagboaya, and Dubduban .

The local health care workers were trained for the distribution of the surveys to ensure an accurate accumulation of data without too many outside variables. Each Health Care Worker performed a mock interview with Eden Navia the district manager of Meaningful Volunteer to ensure the questions were asked correctly and that all relevant information would be gathered.

The surveys were conducted randomly throughout several villages to a wide range of women; ensuring accurate statistics could be produced.

The surveys were gathered, the results helping to determine efficient distribution and effectiveness of the SDM beads natural family planning method.

The follow-up interviews were made with the previously trained Health Care Workers, to test them regarding their knowledge of the SDM beads, offer revised information and answer any questions they may have come across during their implementation of the family planning method in their own villages.

Full training in the use of the SDM method was given to the healthcare workers at a late date.

Meaningful Volunteer (www.meaningfulvolunteer.org) is a 100% non-profit volunteer placement organization.  It has successfully set up in the Philippines and has recently expanded into the parish of Buyaya in the Sironko district in eastern Uganda. 

Project Lifecycle aims to provide couples of the island of Tablas in the Romblon Province of the Philippines with a cheap contraceptive method that works within the region's religious norms.

Many female Filipinas are denied basic family planning services due to financial difficulties, lack of education and religious choices.  Meaningful Volunteer started Project Lifecycle to give Filipinas access to a 100% natural, cheap contraceptive method.

The Cycle Beads are based on the SDM (Standard Days Method) of birth control.  It was developed by Georgetown University based in Washington D.C.  

Cycle Beads help to reduce the average family size.  The smaller family size you have, the more money you have for things such as food and education.  Poverty goes down as family size goes down. The Cycle Beads are 95% effective if used correctly.

The necklace has a small rubber ring that is moved around the necklace one day at a time.  The rubber ring starts on the first day of the women's menstrual cycle.  If the woman has sex on the "brown bead" days, then she will almost certainly not get pregnant.

A Meaningful Volunteer Competition and Cool Prizes

Meaningful Volunteer is about to launch some exciting new programs in Uganda and we need your help!  

Shown below are the programs that we currently have in development and are set to be launched in the not-too-distant-future.   

Cool programs need cool names and this is where we need your help!  Come up with a groovy program name and a catch phrase for the programs shown below and email your suggestions to coolprograms@meaningfulvolunteer.org.  We'll choose the best of the bunch and then release them for online voting.  The winning entries will get a cool Meaningful Volunteer t-shirt.

The RYE School is an especially cool program name and it is the type of thing we are looking for.

So what are you waiting for?  Get your thinking caps on and send those entries in!

Competition closes on March the 1st.

Fashion Project

There are a bunch of talented ladies in Buyaya just dying to be given the chance to shine.  The Fashion Project plans to gives them that chance.  Here's our plan in brief:

• Purchase several pedal powered sewing machines
   
• Bring in a trainer (volunteer?) to teach the ladies tailoring
   
• Come up with a cool fusion of African and Western fashions
   
• Get feedback on the fashion
   
• Build towards the very first fashion show in Sironko!
  We'll have a catwalk, a sound system, a video crew, lots of press (hopefully!) and a bunch of Ugandans of all shapes and sizes strutting their stuff!
   
• Release the label online

The idea with this project is gradually build the hype as the pieces fall together with the fashion show being the highlight.

All profits go back to the tailors.

Malaria Project

Malaria accounts for 53% of all death in Buyaya Everyone of those deaths is unnecessary and preventable.  The Malaria Project aims to tackle the problem head on.

We are currently developing a Malaria Education Pack. This pack is designed to be taken into a village by a volunteer.  The pack contains:
 

• A Malaria Education Kit
  This will be used the volunteer to educate the village on malaria.  It will contain exercises for the villagers to work through and check lists to make sure they are well informed.

• 20 or so treated mosquito nets
  We feel 20 is a good number for an education group.  The kit can be deployed many times for villages with more than 20 residents.

• A GPS Unit
  The GPS unit allows us to track exactly where the nets were distributed.

• Distribution  Processes
  It is important that we only distribute the nets on a per sleeping site basis.  Some Ugandans will inevitably try to work the system and try to get more than one net so that they can sell the other one.  Checks and balances need to be put in place to ensure a fair distribution.

Our long term plan is to get all 1,161 residents in Buyaya under a malaria net!

This is a project especially close to Malcolm's heart as it almost finished him!

HIV Project

According to the census Meaningful Volunteer conducted, only 0.46% of the residents are HIV+.  This is incorrect.  This is due to many reasons:

• Stigma
  HIV+ people are stigmatized in Buyaya
   
• Shyness
  Due to the stigma and mzungus (white people) conducting the interview, the interviewee is likely to become shy and not reveal their own status.
   
• Not knowing
  Some people just did not their status.  Many of them wanted to, but just lacked the means to find out.

The HIV project is wide ranging.  As a first step we will test everybody who wishes to know their status.  We will have a Ugandan HIV/AIDS counselor on hand to inform the newly HIV+ people.

We'll then move into support mode and look to get as many people as we can onto ARV medication.  (ARVs slow down the progress of HIV.)  This is not as easy as it sounds.  The ARVs need to be taken with food (a huge problem in itself) and regular checkups with doctors is a must.

Another aspect is HIV/AIDS education.  Or more to the point, removing HIV/AIDS misinformation and then reeducating the people.  Most Ugandans know that wearing a condom while having sex will prevent HIV, but there are so many misinformed opinions out there.  For example, one man refuses to wear a condom because he heard that they cause cancer.

An HIV education kit is currently being designed specifically designed for Buyaya.  

The guest house in Sironko will be used as a free (or low cost) condom pick-up point.  The condoms will be specially marked so that locals do not just on-sell them to pharmacies.  

Human Rights Project

The Ugandan election is coming up in early 2011.  These are likely to get violent as various groups squabble for power.  The election will be "democratic" and fully deserving of the quote marks.

A first step to claiming your democratic rights is to be aware of what your rights are!  

An human rights education kit is currently being planned for Buyaya.  This kit is aimed at various age groups and is designed to be taken from village to village to small groups of people,

Coffee Project

Meaningful Volunteer will soon purchase an acre of land in Buyaya for about $US 1,800. This will be the start of a two year project to produce a fair-trade coffee brand (we really need your help here to come up with a cool name for the coffee brand!).

We will issue 1,000 shares.  Locals can then buy shares in the land for - say - $1 a share.  The profits from the coffee will be distributed on a per share basis.

We want to produce top quality coffee.  This will require careful management of the land and the use of best practise coffee growing techniques.  

The end product will be sold online and companies will be targeted (as opposed to individuals).  

Coffee does not have a good fair trade reputation, and it is hoped that is we can make a top quality fair trade coffee that is in coffee percolators in businesses around the world, then it will have a positive impact on many Ugandans.