And now about Uniterra and the MDGs

Last week I told you all about WUSC, the Canadian NGO with roots going back to the 1920’s that is supporting our volunteerism here in Ghana.  I want to flesh this out a bit by talking about the Uniterra Program, which is what Janna and I fall under (Uniterra 1 brought us to Malawi, this is Uniterra 2) and more broadly I want to speak about some of the higher level development goals that guide our work.

Uniterra is an innovative co-operation program between two Canadian NGOs, one from Ottawa (WUSC) and the other from Montreal (CECI). CECI  stands for the Centre for International Studies and Cooperation and they have been around since 1958.

Uniterra is a major Canadian program of international volunteer cooperation that helps reduce poverty and inequalities in 12 countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia.

Uniterra supports organizations in developing countries that work to improve living conditions in their communities. Its actions involve:

                  Equality between women and men

                  Economic development

                  Health, HIV and AIDS

                  Education (This is the sector Janna and I are under in Ghana)

                  Governance

Uniterra gives volunteers like Janna and I the means to take concrete action and to make a real difference by applying our skills and experience.

SINCE THE START OF THE UNITERRA PROGRAM IN 2004:

                  2,300 Canadian men and women have made the international leap as volunteers.

                  600 organizations in 13 countries have been supported in their development initiatives.

                  160,000 people in developing countries, 60% of them women, have enhanced their skills in various fields thanks to exchanges with volunteers.

                  470,000 people in developing countries have improved their living conditions, benefiting directly from the support of the program.

700,000 Canadian men and women have been made aware of development issues.

The five action areas mentioned above fit into the worldwide coordinated goal of achieving the Millenium Development Goals which 189 countries made a pledge to implement 12 years ago with a target completion date by 2015.  Unfortunately, if any of you do some further reading you can see that there is a long way to go with just over 3 years left.

Uniterra is a major transfer payment program aimed at achieving the goals of the Canadian government, and Canadian tax dollars through pursuing results that meet the aims of the Canadian International Development Agency.

I think it is a great program and Janna and I are really happy to be chosen to make an impact on reducing world poverty and improving gender equity.