Sustainable Cotton Production Project

Location:
Village of Sitantoumou, Mali


Partners:
Plan Canada

Term:
Three years


Persons Affected:
~300 with direct subsidy; an additional ~500 with organization, training and pricing power.

Program:
Improving access to farming technologies and inputs (fertilizer, financing, agricultural machinery) to increase agricultural production and farmer incomes, while reinforcing the management and organizational abilities of the local Cotton Producers Cooperative (CPC). The increased capital base created within the CPC is intended to serve as a credit facility for the CPC members after the project’s completion, including a wider micro-finance mandate in the community.

Women's Village Savings and Internal Lending Project

Location:
Segou Region, Mali


Partners:
Care Mali

Term:
Three years


Persons Affected:
~50,000 (~6,000 women)

Program:
Technical and organizational capacity-building of 50 new village savings and loan associations (~1,500 members), including training in conservation agriculture techniques. Training of at least 6,000 women in applied literacy, basic financial skills and enterprise management. Business plan implementation for at least 200 micro-enterprises managed by women. Support to invest and participate in the creation of health micro-insurance schemes and/or other social enterprises.

Youth Economic Empowerment Project

Location:
Senegal


Partners:
Plan Senegal (with primary funding from Mastercard Foundation and co-funding from Michael Bowie of Calgary)

Term:
Four years


Persons Affected:
~30,000 youths between the ages of 15-25

Program:
Promotion of financial literacy and asset building through youth participation in low-risk Village Savings and Loan programs and pilot linkage possibilities to formal financial institutions. Provision of life skills training (including basic numeracy/literacy, financial literacy, IT, and others) to enhance participant chances of business success and to help facilitate a transition from youth to adulthood.

Strathcona Boys and Girls Basketball Program

Location:
Vancouver, British Columbia


Partners:
Strathcona Community Centre/Rotary Club of Vancouver Sunrise

Term:
Ongoing


Persons Affected:
~500 youths

Program:
An inner-city basketball program for boys and girls aged pre-K to Grade 12 in Vancouver with the objectives of providing a safe and positive environment for young athletes, as well as access to facilities, equipment and nutrition programs in Vancouver’s downtown eastside.

Vancouver International Film Festival

Location:
Vancouver, British Columbia


Partners:
Vancouver International Film Festival

Term:
Ongoing


Persons Affected:
~150,000 VIFF admissions per year

Program:
Africa Today Film Series (2010) highlighted both the diversity of a flourishing continent and its emerging cinema scene. Revolution + Employment On Screen (2011), a festival theme focused on personal empowerment, social activism and recent political upheaval.