Women Peace Makers engages young people throughout Cambodia with on-site trainings and social media campaigns as part of its Gender and Peace Leadership Program. The program equips these young people with mediation and leadership training to promote peacebuilding and gender equality in their communities. Soeung C. Chhayheng is a 25 year old from Pursat Province who participated in the program. I used to be confused with the term gender as well as the definition of sex. I thought that gender meant elevating a girl’s rights or any type of activity where to allow women to get more opportunities than men....[ Read More ]

Partner Profile: Kampuchea Women’s Welfare Action (KWWA) Kampuchea Women’s Welfare Action (KWWA) is Pangea Giving’s newest partner in Cambodia. For 25 years, they have worked to improve the welfare of women, children, and vulnerable communities. Over the years, this work has included public health programs focused on family planning, HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment, and sanitation; capacity building for local farmers including the introduction of new agricultural technology; and projects focused on increasing women’s participation in local governance. Recently, KWWA has turned its attention to climate change. Cambodia is one of the world’s most vulnerable countries to climate change. Rising temperatures, more...[ Read More ]

Ibrahim was born in December 2008, the fifth child of his parents. When his father died, his mother remarried and went to live with her new husband leaving Ibrahim and his siblings in their home in the care of his then 15-year old brother. After Ibrahim’s mother died from complications related to childbirth, their maternal grandmother began to take care of the orphaned children. Life was very hard for them. To make matters even more challenging, Ibrahim is deaf. TADEC identified Ibrahim in 2014. Ibrahim was enrolled in TADEC’s hands-on Family Empowerment Program. Volunteers visited him at home as part...[ Read More ]

Guatemala is a country with a limited public education system. Too many children drop out by middle school due to geographically distant schools and difficulty paying for the basic necessities of attending. Knowing this context, three of us went to Guatemala on a Pangea Giving site visit in November 2015. We went to a poor urban area in Chimaltenango, where we were privileged to meet Hilda Vasquez. Hilda had been an adult literacy instructor in the community. Many of her adult students begged Hilda to teach their children who were no longer in school. At the same time, Hilda recognized...[ Read More ]

Knowing from our own experience that non-profit leaders often benefit from having a safe space to share experiences and coach each other in addressing challenges, members of Pangea’s Africa Pod asked some of our partners if they would find it useful to meet with one other. The answer was yes. So in 2016 we set aside a small amount from our grant pool to help our partners come together at the Dandelion Africa location near Nakuru, Kenya, in what we called the East Africa Leadership Forum (EALF). The intention from the start was that the forum belonged entirely to the...[ Read More ]

In 2018, Pangea Giving is excited to support a collaborative project grant between two long-term East African partners – SaCoDe and BIOGI. The idea for the Amagara Meza (“good health” in Kirundi) project was born at the East Africa Leadership Forum (EALF) in 2017. After meeting and learning from one another at the first EALF meeting in 2016, Francoise Nibizi of SaCoDe (Burundi) asked Ferdinand Wafula of BIOGI (Kenya) to present an introductory training following the 2017 EALF meeting in Bujumbura, Burundi. The 2-day training was held for 20 farmers in Gatumba (on the outskirts of Bujumbura) directly after the...[ Read More ]

Often these days we focus on the case for immigration reform and the plight of migrants trying to cross the border to make a life here in the United States. This conversation continues to grow in pertinence as recent months have seen a steep increase in individuals apprehended or deemed “inadmissible” at the U.S. - Mexico border. On May 16, Pangea Giving joined with local partners Seattle International Foundation (SIF) and Global Washington to sponsor an educational event that looked at youth migration from Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador from a different angle. Why do youth from these countries leave,...[ Read More ]

   

We are excited to introduce Nick Dreher, Pangea Giving's new Communications & Operations Coordinator. Nick comes to Pangea with great experience and a passion for global development work. You can reach him at nick@pangeagiving.org. Nick Dreher, Communications & Operations Coordinator Nick joined the team in May 2018. He comes to Pangea with experience working for organizations addressing diverse issues, including literacy, youth and sports, refugee advocacy and support, and community development. In these and other settings, Nick has worn the hats of teacher, coach, program coordinator, and communicator. He received his B.A. in International Studies from American University and his Master’s in...[ Read More ]

Building the case for investing in vulnerable youth from Central America’s Northern Triangle Whether it’s here in the United States, or back in their home countries, the fate of young people from across the Central American youth diaspora is the subject of much debate. In particular, it is those young people from Central America’s notorious Northern Triangle – Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras – whose future lies hanging in the hands of policy makers and politicians. This event offers a new look at the traditional narrative. A panel of leaders and experts from the region will take a deep dive...[ Read More ]