A new day is dawning in Mozambique.
After nearly many years of civil unrest, the small nation on South Eastern coast of Africa is starting to rebuild. The promise of limitless possibilities beams from the smiles of school children running to new or partially built schools. Unfortunately, these smiles often turn to tears as financial backers of many development projects are failing to meet their commitments. As the global financial crisis strikes panic in the hearts of funding institutions, money initially earmarked to help develop post war Mozambique has all but dried up. In response to the growing number of commissioned development projects losing financial backing, Celio Mondlane of Fundacao Joaquim Chissano and Minister of Education Dr. Zeferino Martins, have turned to social media to encourage wide spread investment in their county’s future as well as showcasing its success stories. Educate Mozambique is the blog platform where anybody can learn about and support education initiatives all over Mozambique. It is essentially a way of crowd sourcing new

Flag of Mozambique

 avenues of funding, empowering individuals with information about ways they can contribute. Now, instead of waiting for a massive check that may never come from a bank that no longer considers “charity” a priority, any number of concerned individuals from anywhere in the world can give a little bit of money or time to make a big difference in the lives of children in Mozambique.

Visit the site learn to more about how you can support Educate Mozambique!

Nelson Mandela's prison cell on Robben Island. Photo: Samantha Marx

On International Nelson Mandela Day, people all over the world are meant to spend 67 minutes doing something to benefit their community. Creative Consulting & Development Works has some ideas of how you can get involved in your community as well.

The man behind this day

Anti-apartheid activist and first democratic president of South Africa, Nelson Rholihlala Mandela,  is the inspiration behind this day, because even though he was jailed by the apartheid government for 27 years, he never saw his release from prison as time for revenge. After his release on 11 February 1990 he advocated peace, reconciliation and the rebuilding of the South African nation.

According to www.mandeladay.com Nelson Mandela gave 67 years of his life fighting for the rights of humanity. “All we are asking is that everyone gives 67 minutes of their time, whether it’s supporting your chosen charity or serving your local community.”

What can you do?

Creative Consulting & Development Works, as a research, evaluation and communications consultancy working in a development context, often deals with non-profit organisations and we would like to suggest that you volunteer to help some of them on Mandela Day or any other day of the year!

Mamelani Projects

Development Works conceptualised and facilitated a strategic planning workshop for Mamelani Projects in 2007. This Voluntary Association runs health education and youth development projects locally in various communities. Contact them on info@mamelani.org.zaor phone 021 448 2725.

Networking AIDS Community of South Africa

One of the Community Based Organisations in the NACOSA network.

NACOSA is a national civil society network of HIV and AIDS and TB role players, which includes NGOs, CBOs, FBOs and other developmental organisations, who seek to contribute to reducing the impact of HIV and AIDS.

Development Works did an evaluation for NACOSA of one of four components to the Global Fund Project, the Community Based Response to HIV/AIDS, as well as an evaluation of NACOSA’s 3-Tier Model, which comprises capacity building, networking and promoting dialogue.

You can contact NACOSA at info@nacosa.org.za or on 021 461 7348 and perhaps get involved in a Community Based Organisation close to you.

Adonis Musati Project

Recently, Development Works presented a Preferred Futuring workshop to the NGO for refugees, Adonis Musati Project. AMP provides clothing, blankets, food packs, medicine and toiletries to refugees and help them to compile and send out their CVs. They help refugees to access transport, accommodation and training. The Adonis Musati Project also has a halfway house for refugee children and single mothers.

You can help Adonis Musati by providing food or toiletries, volenteering to transport goods, assisting on week mornings in the refugee office, or making a cash donation. Contact AMP on 021 448 3348 or email Gayle at gayle@adonismusatiproject.org.

View the video below on the Preferred Futuring workshop that we conducted for the Adonis Musati Project as part of our Corporate Social Responsibility.

Children have enjoyed the 2010 FIFA World Cup and if 1GOAL succeeds they will enjoy the benefits of education even more. Photo: UK Department for International Development

We have almost reached the end of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Tomorrow Germany and Uruguay will battle it out for third place and on Sunday we will finally know who is going home with the cup when the Netherlands and Spain go head-to-head.

So much has happened in this past month! Just read through the blog entries we wrote every day to remember it all. In one of our first blog pieces we wrote about the 1Goal campaign, the charity supported by FIFA. Since we first blogged about it, the campaign has gone from strength to strength with many celebrities adding their voices to the cause of ensuring education for all.

On Sunday, before the final 2010 FIFA World Cup match kicks off, President Zuma will hold a summit on education which is to be attended by African Heads of State and Government, senior officials of the United Nations and African Union, celebrities and football stars.

What is 1GOAL?

According to www.join1goal.org 1GOAL:Education for All, “is a campaign that tends break the violation of children’s rights to education by using the power of football to ensure that education for all is a lasting impact of the 210 Fifa World Cup”. The aim of this campaign is to use the World Cup to focus attention on education so that 72 million children can have access to education by 2015.

The idea for the campaign started with the drafting of the Millennium Development Goals. Two out of eight goals involve eradication of poverty through education by 2015. The campaign was officially launched at Wembley stadium-UK by Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan on 6 October 2009. 9-year-old Gugu Ngubane, from South Africa was the first person to sign up for the campaign.

Who supports this campaign?

1GOAL gives a bright future to little soccer fans. Photo: Media Club South Africa

Many well-known faces can be seen supporting the campaign. Among the people who linked up via satellite for the launch was President Jacob Zuma, President John Atta Mills of Ghana, former UK prime minister Gordon Brown, President Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapetero of Spain, Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende of the Netherlands, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd of Australia, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and FIFA President Sepp Blatter.

Other people who are making a big difference towards the success of this campaign includes some of the biggest names in football, such as Pele, Rio Ferdinand, Cristiano Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane, and Alessandro del Piero. Shakira doesn’t just have a beautiful voice, she also supports1GOAL and she believes through this campaign every children can have a chance to fullfill their dreams and live up to their full potential through education. Other celebrity supporters include Matt Damon, Jessica Alba, Bono, Kelly Roland and Mick Jagger, to name but a few.

You can also become a supporter by signing up on their website or by SMSing 31970 (if you are in South Africa). The video below shows why this campaign is important. This is the difference that an education can make in the lives of two women born on the same day.

Bafana Bafana are following in Madiba's footsteps by being positive rolemodels for the youth of South Africa. Simphiwe Tshabalala scored the opening goal of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Photo: Media Club South Africa

If Bafana Bafana were not the heroes of millions of South African children before, their performance this weekend in the 2010 FIFA World Cup has surely cemented their status as rolemodels.

Simphiwe Tshabalala of Bafana Bafana scored the first goal of the tournament and the team eventually drew 1-1 with Mexico.

It is heartening to see that the players are truly being positive rolemodels. Teko Modise and Matthew Booth are for instance endorsing the Brothers for Life campaign on national television. Brothers for Life encourage safe sexual relationships and respect for and protection of women and children. Watch the Matthew Booth video by clicking here.

Matthew Booth also endorses one of the official charities of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, called 1GOAL. This campaign is bringing together footballers, fans, charities, corporations and individuals to lobby and achieve the ambitious aim of ensuring education for everyone in the world. As many as 72 million children in the world are currently denied the chance to go to school.

Proceeds from the Kick-off Concert for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, held last Thursday in Johannesburg went to this charity and another called “20 Centres for 2010”, which aims to build 20 Football for Hope Centres to promote public health, education and football in disadvantaged communities across Africa.

You can also upload a video of yourself doing the “Waka Waka”, the dance that goes with the official 2010 FIFA World Cup Song, sung by Shakira, to You Tube to create awareness for the 1GOAL campaign. See Shakira’s video about this below.