Embrace International Foundation - Program Accomplishments 2019 / 2020
Guatemala
Embrace works with CIPECADI (www.cipecadi.com) in Guatemala to improve the quality of life for children living with disabilities. In December of 2018, Embrace enabled CIPECADI to distribute Christmas hampers to all of CIPECADI’s client families. The mothers and children were deeply appreciative of this much-needed support.
In March of 2019 Paul Carrick, Embrace’s co-founder, went to Guatemala to assist CIPECADI with a board development initiative. The main thrust of Paul’s work was to help develop the group’s capacity to fund-raise within Guatemala. Additionally, Paul worked with senior staff at the organization to explore the idea of having CIPECADI start a social enterprise. This enterprise would help to offset the organization’s ongoing operational expenses. The idea was / is to have the group open a physiotherapy clinic that would serve the needs of CIPECADI’s clients and generate revenue by charging non-clients for professional physiotherapy services. Embrace allocated funds to conduct a feasibility study for this project. However, as of this writing, this initiative remains a work in progress.
In late November of 2019 Paul and Bev Carrick went to assist CIPECADI with logistical support in the running of this charity’s annual fund-raiser. During the UN’s week designated to honour people living with disabilities, CIPECADI holds an annual footrace through the streets of Antigua, Guatemala. This 5 K event attracts over 300 runners, captures national media attention, and raises several thousand dollars for CIPECADI. Following this year’s race and post-race clean up, Embrace and CIPECADI staff went to work on planning the distribution of Christmas hampers for the mothers of special needs children registered with CIPECADI. In December 2019, 80 hampers were distributed to mothers and their special needs children. The hampers included important stables like: rice, beans, cooking oil, coffee & tea, hand soap, laundry detergent and a wee bit of Christmas chocolate. Embrace paid for the entire cost of this program.
In 2019 the Rotary Club of Canmore choose to support Embrace in assisting CIPECADI with the construction and equipping of a Montessori-style classroom. The equipment that the Rotary Club’s grant paid for made it easier for CIPECADI’s physiotherapists, language therapists and special education teachers to serve the most challenged of the organization’s young clients. The Rotary grant for this initiative was $5,600.
In addition to the ongoing activities mentioned above, Embrace undertook an emergency food distribution in June of 2020. Tragically, people living with disabilities within the Developing World are often marginalized and frequently live in poverty. The COVID-19 pandemic has driven millions of people from poverty to extreme poverty. CIPECADI families that were barely coping before the COVID crisis fell into extreme distress. Embrace, in close collaboration with CIPECADI, organized an emergency food distribution and helped out approximately 60 families in dire need. This initiative was observed by a local merchant who was so moved by the efforts of Embrace and CIPECADI that he has taken up the challenge of continuing emergency food aid for the most destitute of the CIPECADI families for the duration of the pandemic.
Uganda
In the fall of 2019 Embrace received confirmation that the organization’s application to Global Affairs Canada and the Manitoba Council for International Cooperation’s Fund for Innovation & Transformation (FIT) had been approved. This was an exciting development for Embrace. It meant that the organization would be able to conduct cutting-edge research in Sub-Saharan Africa to determine if self-directed e-learning would improve both the cognitive (math, literacy, etc.) and non-cognitive abilities (confidence, sense of self-esteem, level of aspiration) of primary school students. It would also enable Embrace to see if including special needs students in this e-learning initiative would foster an enhanced spirit of inclusion for children living with disabilities within the broader school community. This grant was for approximately $213,000.
In mid-February of 2020 Embrace received the project funds from FIT. These funds were transferred to Uganda and Paul and Bev Carrick left for East Africa to oversee the critically important first few months of this project.
During the first two weeks of March the staff of Kyaninga Child Development Centre (KCDC), distributed a baseline survey to approximately 1,000 elementary school students in the Fort Portal region. As previously mentioned, this survey will give both Embrace and KCDC a sense of both the cognitive and non-cognitive skills of the students. At the end of the school year KCDC will once again be subjecting the same grade 5 and 6 students to this survey. Hopefully, this will tell us if making self-directed computer-based e-learning available to these students has a positive impact on their cognitive and non-cognitive abilities, and, if including special needs children in the study leads to a respectful spirit of inclusion for children living with disabilities.
In order to carry out the aforementioned work, Embrace purchased approximately 185 computer tablets, 7 iPads and 7 computer servers (RACHELs). The plan is to equip each of the 7 research schools with approximately 25 computer tablets and one iPad. Each school will also be receiving a server that acts as a local Wi-Fi network. These servers are called “RACHEL Plus” and are loaded with a huge amount of educational material for both children and adults. iPads are included with this project because they are particularly good at enabling children with disabilities to take advantage of this e-learning opportunity.
Despite the unexpected challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, the majority of the computer hardware has been purchased and has safely arrived in Uganda. Distribution to the designated schools, however, has yet to take place. This will occur when the Ugandan Ministry of Education reopens the nation’s public schools.
In late March of 2020 the Embrace International Foundation made a $5,000 USD loan to a registered not-for-profit goat dairy in Uganda. The work of this dairy was detailed in the Embrace Spring e-newsletter of 2020. This dairy provides employment to disabled persons and donates funding to KCDC enabling them to employ three professional staff. These individuals are university graduates with expertise in assisting children living with disabilities. This loan will be paid back to Embrace prior to the end of this fiscal year.
Canada
In partnership with the Rotary Club of Canmore, Embrace provided a Sensory Room for Canmore’s elementary school. This specially equipped room provides autistic children with a respite from the noise and, for autistic children, the chaos of the hallways. Currently, there are approximately 300 students attending the school and about 25 to 30 students regularly use the room. Some students may use the room 3 or 4 times in a single same day. The average duration for a "visit" to the room is anywhere from 10 to 15 minutes. The school administration and faculty love it. In truth, some of the teachers sneak quick visits to the room to help them cope with difficult days. However, the primary users of the room are autistic, ADHD or behavioural challenged students. A side benefit to the room is that a disruptive student can be escorted to the room and the remaining students have a calmer classroom environment.
The total cost of this initiative was $7,500. The local school board contributed $2,500, the Canmore Rotary Club contributed $4,000 and Embrace made up the $2,500 shortfall.
Going Forward
In 2021 Embrace is hoping to complete the FIT program. Additionally, Embrace would like to build upon its partnership with KCDC and expand its work with special needs children in Uganda. In Guatemala, it is hoped that Embrace will be able to assist CIPECADI in securing additional funding from alternative sources and increase the numbers of children living with disabilities within its program. Tragically, the number of special needs children throughout the Global South continues to increase. In collaboration with government funders, private donors and Southern partners - Embrace hopes to significantly increase the number of children living with disabilities that receive professional care and are registered with social service agencies. The ongoing work of championing both the rights and worth of special needs people will continue.
