Final Phases of Construction at Youth With A Vision Center
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 Along with many humanitarian organizations right now, we at NextAid are feeling the impact of the economy and have made some programming adjustments to adapt to these challenges. Since
2005, NextAid has been working in partnership with Youth With A Vision
(YWAV) in Dennilton, South Africa to build a community center to benefit orphaned and vulnerable children. In this time, we have built over 12 earth-friendly structures and improved the existing 9-acre site with trees and food gardens. Due to fund-raising challenges and YWAV's desire to be self-sufficient, NextAid
decided to re-evaluate the initial vision of building a larger village
that would require long-term involvement and major funding. We are currently in the process of transferring the land to the South African-based organization YWAV and their South African board to manage the project autonomously. We are proud of what NextAid and YWAV have
achieved so far with the help of wonderful volunteers, donors, interns
and board members.
This four-year partnership allowed us to build the community center,
help YWAV grow their capacity, and introduce other potential partners
and funding opportunities to YWAV.
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| Kawangare Street Children and Youth Project. |
 With the upcoming completion of the Youth With A Vision Community Center, NextAid
is excited to begin work on multiple smaller scale projects. Over the past year, NextAid has been raising funds to break ground on the first of these, the Kawangware Street Children and Youth Project (KSCYP). We are very pleased to announce that phase one of construction will begin in October!
This remarkable organization is a locally created and managed business
started by former street kids to provide positive opportunities to get kids off
the streets in their community- a slum bordering Nairobi.
 KSCYP strives to get youth off the streets by providing a productive and positive environment and a chance at self-sustainability. KSCYP produces custom silk screened gift bags and cards from recycled paper to sell to the safari tourism industry. The profits enable them to not only generate an income for themselves, but most importantly, to take care of the community's orphaned or
vulnerable children.
NextAid is proud to create small-scale sustainable solutions to assist KSCYP's rapidly growing business.
 The organization is in need of a larger and improved physical space to carry out its activities. At present, there is no adequate space to host other project activities such as community trainings, youth feeding programs, and child care or recreation. NextAid and KSCYP's goal is to build one large building to include an open plan room for business workshop and programs, office space and a small store to provide room for more youth participants. Other building plans include a sheltered patio area to accommodate young children's feeding and recreation, a cooking area, sink basin for washing and compost toilets.
Thanks to a small grant from the Foundation for Sustainability and Innovation, generous private donations and funds raised through our partners at Go Campaign, we have the funding to get this initiative underway!
Help us continue to raise funds for this project, over $25,000 is still needed for phase 2 construction! Please considering making a donation.
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A NextAid Partner Organization - CSAfrica
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NextAid is a founding member of the Coalition for a Sustainable Africa (CSAfrica), a collaboration of 15 Los Angeles non-profit organizations offering sustainable solutions for grass-roots initiatives to empower the people and communities of Africa.
This summer, CSAfrica began a new project, Turning Namibia's Schools Green. In partnership with the Namibian Government, GAWA, and the Go Campaign - CSAfrica began creating Green Zones in 43 Schools in Windhoek, Namibia. The first phase of the project launched a contest for the first 15 schools to receive 25 citrus trees each. Organic gardening will be included as a second phase early next year, as both the trees and food grown from these plantings are officially mandated by the Namibian Government and will also be included in the Nations' official national education curriculum.
Keep up with this project, and other CSAfrica projects at www.csafrica.org
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Current State in Africa
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US Says African Farming has Role in Green Push
The US Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, said in Kenya at the beginning of the month that Africa can boost global efforts to curb emissions through the absorption of greenhouse gases by developing its farming sector. He said environmental improvement from Africa is possible thanks to plants and trees that have the capacity to absorb emissions, and an increase in the amount of fuel produced from crops. Vilsack advocated that U.S. firms unable to stay within greenhouse-gas thresholds at home invest in African farming projects to offset their emissions. Full story here
Gordon Brown Backs Free Healthcare for World's Poor
 British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has offered to help some of the world's poorest countries to make healthcare free - starting with pregnant women and children - in a push to widen access to doctors across Africa and Asia. The UK's Department for International Development (DfID) has pledged to spend £6bn on health by 2015. Britain plans to make free healthcare in developing countries one of its key campaigning issues in the run-up to the G20 meeting in
Pittsburgh. Full story here
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Call to Action - Peace Advocacy
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TAKE ACTION: Take a moment to write a quick email or letter to your computer and cellphone companies.
Congo has played host to the world's deadliest conflict since World War II. More than 5.4 million people have died from the ravaging effects of war and its aftermath. Today, eastern Congo is caught in an epidemic of appalling sexual violence, as militias use rape as a military tactic to destroy communities and exert control over natural resources. The conflict has been marked by cycles of escalation, and the international response has been wholly inadequate.
 Mining could be the engine of Congo's peaceful development. Electronics companies should pressure their suppliers to ensure that the minerals for their products do not originate in mines that fuel the war and corruption, and allow independent audits to prove it (conflict-free). This would change the incentive structure away from violence and illegality toward security and rule of law in Congo. Only when it becomes more profitable to exploit the minerals legally will there be sufficient incentive for peace in Congo.
Resources: www.enoughproject.org .// www.raisehopeforcongo.org
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