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Welcome to your monthly e-news update from AbleChildAfrica.
May has been an incredibly busy time for all the staff and our partners and so there is lots to write about! This month we bring you news from our UK office, our new partnership with Whizz-Kidz, our new strategy and Theory of Change and an update from our partner USDC in Uganda.
As you know, we really value our supporters and would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your continued support for AbleChildAfrica and all the work we do.
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AbleChildAfrica's new Strategy 2013-2016 and Theory of Change
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AbleChildAfrica is proud to launch its 2013 - 2016 Strategic Plan. The document outlines what activities AbleChildAfrica will be doing in the coming years, why we need to do what we do and importantly what difference we will make to the lives of disabled children in Africa. It also reviews how we achieved against our last 5 year Strategic Plan and also how we monitor what we're doing to ensure we are having a genuine impact.
The strategy will focus AbleChildAfrica on continuing to support grass-roots organisations in Africa to achieve their goals of empowering and enabling disabled children in Africa to access their rights and have the best possible chance of reaching their full potential. We will also increase our advocacy work in the UK and on the international stage, positioning ourselves as the leading organisation focusing solely on disabled children in Africa.
The strategy is accompanied by the AbleChildAfrica Theory of Change which clearly sets out the change we want to see in the world, how we go about effecting this change and the assumptions or evidence behind our chosen strategies. It's articulated in the Wheel of Change, see the full image here.
You can download our Strategy and Theory of Change here.
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Spotlight on a Partner- USDC Uganda
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AbleChildAfrica and our Ugandan partners USDC are delighted to announce the start of a new and innovative project in Uganda funded by the UK Department for International Development.
AbleChildAfrica and USDC will also be working in partnership with the Child to Child Trust, an organisation founded in 1979 who have been working globally to promote child-centred, active learning approaches that engage children on health and development issues.
The project focuses on three districts of Uganda, Adjumani, Nebbi and Lira, areas that were severely affected by the civil war. The project focuses on bringing Inclusive Education to some of the most marginalised children using the Child to Child approach.
Children will be empowered to identify and engage with out of school disabled children in their communities. They will then work alongside families, teachers and communities to lobby government and advocate for inclusive education to be a priority issue and one that is mainstreamed across national primary education services.
Jane and Katy will be travelling to Uganda this month so look out for their stories from the districts in next month's newsletter!
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New Partnership with Whizz-Kidz
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AbleChildAfrica is in the early stages of an incredibly exciting partnership with UK focused disability charity, Whizz-Kidz.
Like AbleChildAfrica, Whizz-Kidz feel that children and young people should guide what the organization is doing and play an active part in advocating for the changes that affect their lives. Whizz-Kidz are pioneers in this sense, in that they have an active Kidz-Board that represent the voices of the young people that Whizz-Kidz support.
The Kidz-Board, made up of 12 members, will be supporting AbleChildAfrica to develop a Board in Kenya, that will represent the children and young people that we support in Africa. The two boards will initially meet later in June to discuss how to take the partnership forward, before embarking on a series of exchange visits and activities. The two Boards' will explore how being young and disabled impacts on them and whether there are many differences to being disabled in the UK and in Africa. We are exploring how best to capture all the exciting activities from the partnership and have secured funding to make a documentary to capture the young people's journey - watch this space!!!
To read more on our new partnership please visit our news page.
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Vodafone World of Difference
introducing Anas Dakaoui!
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Anas has been working with AbleChildAfrica on the Vodafone World of Difference Programme over the past four months. He has been busy researching and drafting a Disability Mainstreaming Toolkit to support our work with other organisations. Here Anas tells us a little about what he has learnt and what he has been working on during his time with AbleChildAfrica.
''I can't believe how quickly time goes...one quarter of my assignment with AbleChildAfrica is over. I finished my first deliverable (the overview of the disability mainstreaming toolkit) and looking now for the more chunky bits. One thing is constantly on my mind, will the user of the toolkit understand my words and ideas ? Will the toolkit be simple and user friendly? Will my ideas influence and inspire organisations working with/for disabled children? Ultimately if this toolkit contributes in improving the life of one disabled child only, then my job is done.''
To read more about the work Anas is doing, please visit the news section of our website or check out Anas' blog.
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A huge thank you to our fantastic team of Marathon runners who together raised a whopping £56k to support AbleChildAfrica's work with some of Africa's most vulnerable children.
Two of our runners, Peter Higgin and Felix Barrett from the ground-breaking London Production Company PunchDrunk raised an incredible £6,500 between them. Here they share an insight on what it was like to train, fundraise and run for AbleChildAfrica this year:
''It had long been an ambition of ours to run the London marathon and, as with anything like this, the longer you talk about it in front of friends and family, you find it isn't too long before you need to stop talking and take action. So in 2012 inspired by olympic fever and watching the London marathon, we decided to take the plunge. We soon found out about AbleChildAfrica through a mutual friend and before long had been signed up to the marathon fundraising team.
Training for training started in August and training proper started in January!
Fundraising efforts began in January too, regular email updates and a pub quiz fundraiser boosted our efforts and after initial worries that we might not hit our target with 2 weeks to go before race day funds started flooding in and we passed our target.
The process was a great way of finding out more about AbleChildAfrica and the work of the charity and we will definitely now remain firm supporters. We had great support from ACA, friends, family and on the day the people of London.
The whole experience was one of the most memorable achievements and something we both feel incredible proud of and one we'd definitely do all over again."
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Get Involved!!
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Would your child's school be interested in linking with a school in Africa? Would they value a visit from an AbleChildAfrica team member (and official 2012 paralympic torch!) to learn more about life in Africa and disability? If so, we would love to hear from you!
LONDON TRIATHLON We have one team place left for the Triathalon!  This event is a favourite every year and we continue to get great feedback from those who join up to create a relay team! This year's event is earlier than normal- the 27th/28th July so don't delay!!
If you are interested in getting involved with AbleChildAfrica please get in touch by emailing amber@ablechildafrica.org.uk!
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Thank you for taking the time to read about our work in this issue. Your contributions are essential and if you would like to donate to AbleChildAfrica's general fund please
set up a standing order or make a one-off donation or Text 'ABLE11 £2/ £5 /£10' to 70070.
We would also love to hear from you. Feedback on our newsletters and comments/questions about our work are always welcome. Finally, don't forget to follow us on Facebook and Twitter for real time updates.
Sincerely,
Jane Anthony
Executive Director
AbleChildAfrica
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