January 2007-October 2008: Salabwek Progress Report. Click here to read more

May-July 2008: Salabwek Progress Report. Click here to read more

January-April 2008: Salabwek Progress Report. Click here to read more

October-December 2007: Salabwek Progress Report. Click here to read more

November 2007: Doc to Dock ships medical equipment to Kenya. Click here to read more

July-September 2007: Salabwek Progress Report. Click here to read more

August 2007: SVQF Board Visits Salabwek community in Kenya. Click here to read more

April-June 2007: Salabwek Progress Report. Click here to read more

January-March 2007: Salabwek Progress Report. Click here to read more

November 2006: Salabwek Primary School Profile. Click here to read more

The Initiative

In an unprecedented partnership with Free The Children, SVQF has fully funded a community development project for the Kipsigi tribal community of Salabwek in the Narok South District of Kenya’s Masai Mara region. The project’s components consist of the construction and furnishing of 8 one-classroom schools, construction of community clean water sources, provision of essential health care services and medical supplies, and establishment of an alternative income program.

Undertaken in full partnership with the local community through Free The Children, the project will flow direct and indirect benefits to approximately 1800 children and adults. Access to clean water and health care services will help prevent debilitating disease. The provision of a sustainable source of income will strengthen family livelihoods and enable the families to send their children to school. The schools themselves will educate over 900 children, and Free The Children will ensure that at least 50% of the students are female. The immediate improvements in health and social services coupled with the long-term economic development initiatives will enable the community to independently maintain an improved standard of living and continue with locally-driven and sustainable community efforts once the project is completed.

SVQF is proud to “Adopt a Village“ with Free The Children, which was founded in 1995 by international child rights activist Craig Kielburger when he was only 12 years old. Today, it is the world's largest network of children helping children through education. Since its inception, Free The Children has affected the lives of over 1 million youth around the world in 40 countries through its innovative education and development programs. Free The Children and Craig Kielburger have been recognized on several occasions for their excellent work, receiving the World's Children’s Prize for the Rights of the Child in 2006 and three nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize. Free the Children’s “Adopt a Village” program delivers holistic community development to children and their families in rural, marginalized communities. Sustainability is a central element of all Free The Children programs; integral to the Adopt a Village model is the creation of local mechanisms that enable the community to support programs, services, and facilities into the future.

The Initiative

Every day, over 7,000 tons of unused medical equipment are discarded by American hospitals due to overproduction, procedural excess, and regulatory requirements.  Doc to Dock collects, sterilizes, and redistributes this equipment to underfunded medical facilities and health clinics around the world.  As a result of learning about Doc to Dock’s admirable work, SVQF has pledged broad support for the organization and its goals.  SVQF held a fundraiser benefiting Doc to Dock, and is funding one shipment of medical supplies worth an estimated $400,000.

The Initiative

SVQF’s commitment to education has led to a long-term partnership with Students of the World (SOW), which sends university students around the world to film and photograph the implementation of practical solutions to economic, environmental, and social issues.  SOW has documented projects in Brazil, India, Mexico, Ethiopia, Israel, Kenya, Benin, Thailand, Tanzania, and New Orleans, where the students learned first-hand about pressing global concerns and returned to their campuses and communities to educate and inspire others.  Sanam Quraishi is the Executive Producer of SOW’s documentaries, which premiere at the Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting.  SVQF has furnished equipment and travel expenses, and regularly holds multimedia exhibitions showcasing the students’ work

The Initiative

In partnership with Committee for Democracy in Information Technology (CDI), SVQF has committed to fully funding a school in the City of God, one of the most impoverished and violent slums in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.  In addition to offering training in digital literacy and civic education, the school will launch community-owned micro-enterprises.  The school is expected to train nearly 500 at-risk youth and adults in information technology skills and civic education, allowing them to improve their job prospects and return the benefits to their community.

Through its network of 840 learning centers throughout South Africa and Latin America, CDI provides information and communication technology and education to underprivileged populations whose economic and social disadvantages are exacerbated by the technological divide.  CDI’s learning centers, which are established in partnership with local grassroots organizations, are self-sustaining and managed by community members.  The curriculum integrates technical education with civic education, empowering students to take the skills they acquire into their communities to address local challenges.

CDI has received over 40 international and national awards.  In 2006, CNN chose CDI as one of the world’s three Principal Voices in Economic Development, along with Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus and Professor Jeffrey Sachs.  CDI was founded in Brazil by Rodrigo Baggio, who has been named by the World Economic Forum as one of the world’s 100 Young Global Leaders and by Time Magazine as one of the 50 Leaders in Latin America who will make a difference in the Third Millennium.