TWB Features ASAP Africa's Hema Soni

In their latest newsletter Teachers Without Borders have chosen the feature Hema Soni, one of the teachers currently working with ASAP Africa in Zimbabwe as part of our Improving Math Education in Primary School Project. To read more about Hema click here.As part of her personal belief system, Hema shares:"I believe that volunteering is essential to humanity, when we volunteer with love and compassion we strengthen our inner spiritual core and it brings out the best in us. We not only develop an understanding of our fellow human beings but of ourselves too. I believe that charitable organizations can and do more to improve the lives of the most disadvantaged people in our world than even governments."

To read more about the TWB's partnership with ASAP click here.

Autumn Newsletter

Click here to read ASAP's Autumn Newsletter.

Double Your Donation Impact

TODAY ONLY, your donation will be matched through Global Giving.
Please give generously!

Making a difference?

There are two approaches to evaluating the impact of our social investments. “Metric-heads” believe that quantitative measures are the only conclusive method while “Story Huggers” know that figures and facts can never tell the whole story.
At ASAP we KNOW that ASAP’s Village Savings & Lending projects have improved the household security and helped over 35,000 families rise out of poverty in Zimbabwe. We have documented this using both methods. Tracking each savings club’s fund growth and increases in household assets doesn’t tell the whole story. Through “Most Significant Change” stories, we also look at those individuals whose lives were transformed in unexpected and often amazing ways.

To join a discussion about program evaluation click here.

The Zimbabwe Situation

With the upcoming presidential election next year, Zimbabwe is once again a country in crisis. For an extensive and up-to-date website containing news, views and links related to ZIMBABWE Click here.

ASAP has continued to assist families in Zimbabwe since 1994, through drought, economic collapse, cyclone and political turmoil. With your continued interest and support, we know that together we will continue to change lives by empowering women and improving education during the challenges ahead.

ASAP Africa Summer Newsletter

Click here to read ASAP's summer newsletter.

I came across this article in my Google Alert this morning - a rare but not unprecedented move towards the indigenization of resources that reminds me of many of the issues I experienced while traveling in Mongolia.

JR

Greetings contributors, readers, and all of those involved with ASAP Africa!

My name is Jimmy and I will be interning here for the next couple of years as part of my work for the Emory University MDP program, so I would like to take this opportunity to come out of the shadows and say hi.

Hi!

Although I don't know much about Zimbabwe, I am very eager to learn and excited to be a part of all the wonderful work being done by ASAP. Look to the blog regularly for updates about our programs and events as well as news from the field.

Until next time, here is a link to an interesting story from Guardian.co.uk about how two wheels changed a woman's life in Harare.

Enjoy!

Jimmy

ASAP Welcomes James Ramsey

Welcome to James Ramsey, who will be working with ASAP through the Master's in Development Practice (MDP) Program at Emory University. The MDP program combines hands-on learning and field experience with rigorous training in a broad range of academic disciplines with a goal of achieving sustainable development in the face of global poverty, political and ethnic conflict, a degrading natural resource base, and irreversible climate change. To read more about this program at Emory click here.

James Ramsey graduated from the University of Oklahoma where he studied International and Area studies with a concentration in East Asian Studies and Japanese language. After graduation, he first taught English in Akita, Japan through the JET program and then at the University of Oklahoma's CESL. James is currently an ESL teacher for Lutheran Services of Georgia, an organization offering resettlement services to refugees in the Atlanta area. He became interested in development during his time in Japan, where he did volunteer work for Room To Read - a non-profit that raises money to construct schools and provide scholarships for girls throughout Asia and the Indian subcontinent. While at Emory, James will be interning with ASAP Africa. His research interests include human rights, natural resource management, and education.

Heroes Day Celebration

Today, August 8th is Heroes Day in Zimbabwe. This holiday, similar to Veteran's Day here in the US, is the day celebrated to honor the heroes of the nation who have sacrificed their life or have done something great for the nation. To read more about the history of this holiday click here.

You can be an ASAP Hero! Click here to learn more.

Grant Announcement for Education in Zimbabwe

ASAP is proud to announce a new three year grant from the Flora Family Foundation to support the Improving Math Education in Primary School (IMEPS) project in Zimbabwe. Sixty one schools are involved in this project to improve math skills in the eastern district of Manicaland. To read more about this project click here.

The conditions in Zimbabwean schools are particularly challenging today, as teachers salaries are very low and wage negotiations have not produced the desired results. Following the latest increases, teachers now earn US$320, up from US$160 per month. During the last decade of economic collapse, communities have been paying teachers incentives to keep them motivated. The recent move by the Ministry of Education to stop these incentives have also had a negative impact. To read more click here.

Recently the Minister of Education in Zimbabwe, David Coltart, has stated that the West is partly to blame for the economic decline in Zimbabwe over the past decade. To read more click here.

Teaching in Zimbabwe is a Struggle to Survive

There are 15,000 vacant teaching posts in Zimbabwe. Despite reports that thousands of Zimbabwean teachers, who had left the country at the height of the economic crisis are returning, this number appears to be increasing. To read more click here.
Poor salaries contribute to the problem and recent wage negotiations have not produced results. Teachers report that feeding a family on their currently salary of about $200/month is impossible. To read more, Click here.

It is under these conditions that ASAP Africa in Zimbabwe continues to work with dedicated, selfless teachers to improve the teaching and learning of math in Primary School. To learn more about this project click here.

ASAP + Teachers Without Borders

ASAP Africa in Zimbabwe is excited about a new partnership with Teachers Without Borders. TWB will be linking math teachers to ASAP's Improving Math in Primary School Project. If you are a math teacher, (or know of one) that would like to share skills and knowledge with teachers in rural Zimbabwe, click here to learn more about this volunteer opportunity.
To learn more about the IMEPS Project click here.

Food vs. Fuel

A new $600,000,000 ethanol plant will bring much needed development to Manicaland province. To be located in Chisumbanje, South of ASAP's base in Mutare, the plan has many people questioning the non-monetary, human costs. To read more click here.
Where is Chisumbanje?

A Celebration of Success

Last week ASAP Africa and Plan International celebrated the success of their three year Village Savings & Lending project partnership in Zimbabwe. At a field day near Mutare, 100s gathered to learn more about this phenomenally successful project that helps families gain self-reliance. Click here to learn more.

3rd Annual A Harvest of Hope

Attending this unique Home & Garden event will support ASAP and features one-of-a-kind found,re-purposed and artistic items,FREE sustainable-living workshops and more… If you are near Newport Beach CA this week-end, don't miss the opportunity to attend!
FRIDAY, JUNE 3rd
11 - 5
SATURDAY JUNE 4th
10 - 5
SUNDAY JUNE 5th
12 - 4
For more details click here.

My Skills, My Money, My Brighter Future in Zimbabwe

ASAP Zimbabwe's Country Director in Zimbabwe is proud to share learning from ASAP's Out of School Adolescents Project partnership with Catholic Relief Services. At the invitation of CRS, Regai shared his team's success stories of empowering girls with organizations from around the world during the launch of the publication, "My Skills, My Money, My Brighter Future in Zimbabwe" at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. last week. Click here to read the report.

New Partnership with Plan International

ASAP Africa is proud to announce a new three year partnership with Plan International that will see the expansion of ASAP's work with Village Savings and Lending (VS&L) nation-wide in Zimbabwe. Since 2001, when The McKnight Foundation funded ASAP's first VS&L project, ASAP has helped over 30,000 families improve their household income and increase their self-reliance through this rural micro-finance project. To learn more about VS&L click here.

Food Security in Southern Africa Improving

Since 1985, the Famine Early Warning Systems Network project analyzes a variety of data, such as market prices of food, precipitation and crop failures to predict when and where food insecurity will occur, and issues alerts on predicted crises. FEWSN reports the overall food security situation in southern Africa for the 2009/10 marketing year was favorable, with a regional cereal surplus of 476 000 tonnes compared to a deficit of 1,78 million tones registered in 2008/09. To read more click here.

In Zimbabwe, about 1.7million people are estimated to be food insecure during the current peak lean season running from October through February. To read more about the situation in Zimbabwe click here.

In the southern regions of Malawi, where ASAP works, mid-season dry spells have caused crop failures. To read more about the situation in Malawi click here.

ASAP Spring Newsletter

Click here to read ASAP's spring update.