March 2006

You are currently browsing the monthly archive for March 2006.

Travel Opportunity for Youth

March 17, 2006 in Horizons works in partnership with by admin

HORIZONS OF FRIENDSHIP
YOUTH DELEGATION
JUNE 19 – 29, 2006
PANAMA, CENTRAL AMERICA

This summer, Horizons of Friendship will organize a youth delegation to Panama in partnership with its two local counterparts. Youth will travel to Panama for 10-days and participate in a series of workshops and educational activities, while visits to and meetings with community development organizations will be arranged. There will also be a ‘hands-on’ component to the program where participants will spend time working as volunteers to support community development projects.


Participants will travel to Panama and stay at the Interamerican Cooperative Institute (ICI) study and living centre located in the heart of Panama City. This unique opportunity offers participants a chance to acquire a solid understanding of global issues and the opportunity to learn directly about grassroots development projects. Meanwhile, visits to important cultural sites and recreational activities will be included in the agenda.

Interamerican Cooperative Institute (ICI) has forty years of experience and recognition in Latin America as an adult education centre, training leaders of organizations of marginalized peoples. The Institute was founded by Rev. Harvey Steele S.F.M. from Glace Bay, Nova Scotia. Each year ICI runs a series of courses and workshops to train representatives of popular organizations in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Teaching Mothers is an organization that protects children’s rights and enhances skills development within neighborhood environments. It also cultivates women’s capacity to protect and nature young lives and establishes an alternative education process for poor children with participation by the family. They work in communities living in poverty in seven provinces of Panama.

Horizons of Friendship is an international development agency working to support community development projects and citizen participation initiatives in Central America and Mexico since 1973.

The total cost for the program is $2,300, it includes:

√ Air Fare
√ Meals
√ Accommodations
√ Educational Materials
√ Country Exit Fee
√ Transportation in Panama
√ Translation
√ Entry to Cultural Sites
Application Deadline: April 30, 2006

Requirements:
§ Age 15-19 years old;
§ Curiosity and open mind;
§ Ability to listen and respond thoughtfully;
§ An interest in social justice issues;
§ A commitment to share experience upon returning to
Canada.
(Limited spaces)
Two adult coordinators will travel with the group at all times.

REQUEST AN INFO PACKAGE & APPLICATION FORM TODAY!
please contact: Jessica Farias
Tel. 1-888-729-9928 Ext. 24
Email: jfarias@horizons.ca

Chiapas Delegation

March 14, 2006 in Media Releases by admin

Travelling Helps Local Residents Understand Canadian Aid

(Cobourg, ON) A group of four local Northumberland residents; who were part of a 21-person delegation; returned last month from visiting community development projects in Chiapas, Mexico which receive support from a Cobourg agency. Horizons of Friendship’s annual educational delegation provided an opportunity for Northumberland residents to understand how Canadian aid operates at the local level and the positive impact it is having for the people of Chiapas, the poorest region of Mexico.

The trip included a one-day meeting with an agricultural cooperative operated by 16 families. The cooperative has received training, materials and financial support from one of Horizons’ local partners in Chiapas, allowing the cooperative to diversify their products, move towards organic practices and market their crops more effectively. As a participant on the tour, Terry Bell resident of Rice Lake learned “how hard life is for the indigenous people” who are subsistence farmers and have historically struggled against discrimination and military occupation. At the same time Mr. Bell understood that “Canadian organizations like Horizons of Friendship are in a real way trying hard to help people to help themselves and should be proud of what they have accomplished”.

Horizons of Friendship is an organization with over 30 years of experience and is grounded in the community. It works to support initiatives in Central America and Mexico designed to look at the root causes of poverty and local alternatives that empower people. On Saturday March 18th, Kay Whitton; a Cobourg resident who also travelled to Chiapas, will speak about her learning experience during a community International Women’s Day Celebration organized by Horizons of Friendship, the YMCA Northumberland, and Northumberland Services for Women, at Trinity United Church 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm. Everyone is welcome.

For more information about Horizons of Friendship work:

Jessica Farias
(905) 372-5483 Ext. 24
info@horizons.ca- www.horizons.ca

International Women’s Day

March 8, 2006 in Resources by admin

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY MARCH 2006: CONDITION OF WOMEN IN CENTRAL AMERICA AND MEXICO

Gender inequity remains prevalent within Mesoamerica societies as throughout many regions of the world. Women are relegated to the roles of taking care of the needs of their families and are strongly discouraged from being independent and actively participating outside of the home. Within conditions of abject poverty whereby half of the population of Central America live on less than $2 per day women in particular are hard-hit by a deepening economic crisis. Women continue to be discriminated against in the home, school and workplace, and are victims of violence.

Gender inequity is about power – with women having less power over their own lives and their environment than men. Promotion of gender equity entails recognizing the need for women to have more control over their own lives(empowerment) and to participate in all aspects of society. Basic to achieving gender equity is to work with women and men on understanding the underlying causes of gender inequity such as social conditioning and to explore together means to promote equitable power relations between men and women on all fronts.

The process of awareness-raising and subsequent changes in attitude and behaviour takes time as successful transformation involves a personal acceptance and commitment. For organizations working with people living in poverty it is thus essential that the staff are themselves familiar with and have espoused gender equity as a personal and institutional goal. They are then able to effectively promote greater equity within communities. Horizons of Friendship is committed to working with local people to improve the lives of both women and men and has thus undertaken this process of capacity building in gender perspective with partner organizations in Mesoamerica. Along with OUR PARTNERS we believe that the first step for organizations to undergo its own awareness-raising process and to become well versed in the methodology of how to foster positive change among grassroots populations and incorporate gender equity into all their program activities.


Horizons of Friendship Supports Gender Equity and Women’s Rights

STRENGTHENING PARTNER CAPACITY IN GENDER EQUITY WORK (Regional Project)
18 partner organizations are involved in a three-year program to develop a stronger integration of gender perspective in our work. Components of this project include analysis of partner’s operation to identify strengths and weaknesses, training on gender theory and methodology, application of gender equity principles in the organizational structure and program work, and documentation and sharing of experiences. Partners attended a training workshop in July and are enthusiastically applying new skills.

Bruce Cockburn Joins Kingston’s Writers & Friends

March 8, 2006 in Events, Writers & Friends by admin

Bruce Cockburn Joins Kingston’s Writers & Friends April 23rd ! In Special Horizons’ Benefit for Central American Communities.

Kingston’s Friends of Horizons are delighted to announce that this year’s 10th Annual Literary Afternoon on Sunday April 23rd at City Hall will feature outstanding writers Edeet Ravel and Linda Diebel and one of Canada’s best known and internationally respected artist humanitarians– musician, songwriter and activist Bruce Cockburn.

Edeet Ravel, peace activist and writer, is a novelist whose works, set against the background of the Israeli Palestinian situation, have won great acclaim. Her new novel is Wall of Light, nominated both for the Giller and the Commonwealth Prize.

Linda Diebel, Amnesty award winning international affairs journalist is a former Washington bureau chief for the Toronto Star and correspondent in Latin America. Her novel Betrayed is about the assassination of popular Mexican human rights lawyer Digna Ochoa

Bruce Cockburn, has been a multi Juno award winning recording artist for over 35 years, and is a member of the Order of Canada. He is the 2006 winner of the inaugural Humanitarian Award to be presented at this spring’s Junos by the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.

Writers & Friends begins at 1:00 p.m. with readings, music, gourmet fare from some of the region’s finest kitchens, book signings and a grand silent auction of gifts, services and art. Funds will help address problems caused by continuing drought and critical food shortages in El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Guatemala and Mexico compounding hardships for impoverished communities hard hit by hurricanes and mudslides last fall.

Tickets available from Novel Idea, Tara Foods and Chez Piggy in Kingston (numbers are limited!). For more information call 613 546- 9199; for credit card orders call 1 888-729- 9928.

Horizons of Friendship is a non-profit, international development organization whose goal is to help Central American and Mexican communities meet their basic needs as expressed by the people. For information call 1 888-729-9928.