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Empower the Blind and Visually Impaired in Africa through assistive Technology

PlanetRead is a registered not for profit with the simple vision of a reading planet - a planet where everyone can read and has access to interesting and affordable reading opportunities in native and other language(s). We contribute to literacy worldwide by innovating and implementing simple, scalable, and cost-effective solutions, especially using mass media and information technologies.

"Perspektywya Education Foundation (Fundacja Edukacyjna aPerspektywya- in Polish) is an independent, non-profit national organization established June 1st, 1998 to promote and support education. It plays an important role on the domestic scene actively promoting quality of education, diversity and equality. The Board of Foundation consists of present and former rectors of Polish universities and other outstanding public figures interested in the development of higher education in Poland.

The Smiles Forever mission is to break the cycle of poverty by vocationally training young indigenous women to be dental hygienists in Cochabamba, Bolivia. We recognize women as the first socialization factor in the family. Enabling them to become financially self-sufficient, we are both creating female community leaders and bettering the lives of their children. Students give back to their community by providing free dental care at the school, burn center and rural communities.

The Appropriate Technology Collaborative creates sustainable technologies that promote economic growth and improve the quality of life for low income people worldwide. We design, develop, demonstrate, and distribute affordable technologies. Working in collaboration with local talent and other nonprofits (NGOs) we create solutions that are culturally sensitive, environmentally responsible and locally repairable in order to improve the quality of life and reduce adverse impacts on the environment.

The Purple Feet Foundation is a 501c3 non-profit organization focused on getting students to think about their future. Each summer we host the thinc Program - a week-long residential experience for underserved middle school students from urban school districts.

Winrock International is a nonprofit organization that works with people in the United States and around the world to empower the disadvantaged, increase economic opportunity and sustain natural resources. Winrock matches innovative approaches in agriculture, natural resources management, clean energy and leadership development with the unique needs of its partners. By linking local individuals and communities with new ideas and technology, Winrock is increasing long-term productivity, equity and responsible resource management to benefit the poor and disadvantaged of the world.

The mission of AAI is to build hope and empower communities afflicted by armed conflict and severe poverty. We believe that peace, security and respect for human dignity are inseparable. Our goal is to develop programs as sustainable models that can be replicated globally. Our people-to-people initiatives integrate health, education, arts and livelihood as a basis for mediation. By building Hope, we overcome the hatred propagated by terror organizations. The success of these cost-effective models shows that empowering impoverished and conflict-plagued communities strengthens international security, stability and peace.

WE CARE Solar promotes safe motherhood and reduces maternal mortality in developing regions by providing health workers with reliable lighting, mobile communication, and blood bank refrigeration using solar electricity. The Problem Maternal mortality worldwide accounts for more than half a million deaths a year; 99 percent of these occur in underdeveloped countries. For every maternal death, at least 20 women suffer severe complications from childbirth. Major causes of maternal death include obstetric hemorrhage, obstructive labor, eclampsia, and sepsis. These emergencies cannot always be predicted, nor are they always preventable. However, with prompt, appropriate and reliable medical care, they are unlikely to result in loss of life. Sporadic electricity impairs the operation of surgical wards, delivery wards, essential hospital equipment, and hospital communication devices. This compromises the ability of health workers to provide safe, appropriate and timely medical care. Labor and delivery nurses cannot quickly notify on-call physicians of emergencies. Midwives and physicians are forced to make treatment decisions without the benefit of necessary diagnostic tests. Obstetric procedures and emergency surgeries are conducted under grossly suboptimal conditions, and can have tragic consequences. Our Background Co-founder Dr. Laura Stachel went to Northern Nigeria in 2008 to study ways to lower maternal mortality in state hospitals. She witnessed deplorable conditions in state facilities including sporadic electricity that impaired maternity and surgical care. Without a reliable source of electricity, nighttime deliveries were attended in near darkness, cesarean sections were cancelled or conducted by flashlight, and critically ill patients waited hours or days for life-saving procedures. The outcomes were often tragic. Laura wrote to her husband, Hal Aronson, a solar energy educator back in Berkeley, California. Together, Laura and Hal co-founded WE CARE Solar to improve maternal health outcomes in regions without reliable electricity. Hal designed an off-grid solar electric system for the hospital Laura was studying, targeting the maternity ward, labor room, laboratory and operating theatre. A Portable Solution Hal created a suitcase-sized prototype of the hospital solar electric system so Laura could show Nigerian hospital workers the LED lights, headlamps and walkie-talkies planned for deployment. When Laura returned to Nigeria toting the "solar suitcase," her Nigerian colleagues immediately grasped its significance and began using this kit to charge headlamps and walkie-talkies while they awaited the larger solar installation. In addition, hospital employees introduced Laura to clinicians in outlying health facilities who begged her to bring solar lighting to their own clinics, too. Our five-year goal is to serve 5 million mothers in remote areas by deploying 10,000 Solar Suitcases to health care facilities around the globe.

The Movimento de Saude Mental Comunitaria do Bom Jardim (MSMCBJ) was initiated in 1996 as part of the outreach of the Comboni Missionaries in the Northeast of Brazil. MSMCBJ seeks to improve the lives of the people of the economically impoverished peripheral regions of Fortaleza, primarily the area of Grande Bom Jardim. To imagine a mental health project in a peripheral neighborhood like Bom Jardim, where the majority of people live in at-risk circumstances - in which extreme poverty, violence, a lack of housing and basic sanitation, street children, and unemployment predominate - is to believe that, even within pain and suffering, we can harvest flowers. That is, personal and social realities can be transformed. The challenge that MSMCBJ has been overcoming throughout its years of community action has been to demonstrate that, through the Community Systemic Approach, working with people's self-esteem results in greater self-awareness, which empowers people to create paths of liberation, thanks to the sense of participation and co-responsibility that MSMCBJ activities favor. The Movimento de Saude Mental Comunitaria do Bom Jardim welcomes the human being, respecting their bio-psycho-socio-spiritual dimensions, promoting the development of their potential, through the restoration of human rights and cultural values, with the goal of improving the quality their personal, interpersonal, and community relationships, for the promotion of the gift of life. We welcome and accept all people, despite their social class, race, religion, gender, or age; We stimulate the development of quality personal, group, community, social, and ecological relationships; We believe in the diversity of cultural roots as a principle on the strengthening of identity for the liberation and development of the human being; We exist within and are nourished by a loving spirituality in the search for personal and social integration and liberation; We offer a space for affective listening as an essential therapeutic instrument for the awakening and development of life; We participate in the development of human potential with the vision of autonomy and co-responsibility in the construction of the project of life; We value and recognize the talents of the individual, encouraging transparent and affective relationships as an opportunity for personal and professional growth; We believe in a work relationship that encourages the overcoming of conflicts as a form of maturing and growth; We encourage the awakening of a new consciousness that cultivates the essential values of love, peace, and justice; We gladly welcome partnerships that help to realize these life-restoring actions.

Provide training and equipment for renewable energy sources in low-income communities and developing nations.

Mission To encourage girls of any age of any background to consider and pursue math and science-related studies and careers by introducing them to the world of science in fun and exciting ways Objectives To increase the number of women in math and science occupations (science, math, engineering & technology = STEM) To create a network of girls so that they meet one another and form future friendships that will encourage them to reach their potential To create a link between girls and real scientists and mathematicians so they can explore dreams and possibilities for the future To provide an outlet for professionals, with particular emphasis on females in math, science and technology fields, to work together, meet one another and contribute to this worthy mission To booster self-confidence of girls and women, especially those who may not have positive influences or economic advantages Vision We envision a balanced world where girls from any nation, any background and of any age know they have the possibility and choice to enter the world of math, science and technology and to realise that their future is full of possibilities