Thank you to those who contributed to our 2020 Annual Appeal! Thanks to the generosity of 31 members of our community, we were able to raise $21,387 to support our grant partners in the coming year. May 2021 be filled with hope and joy for all of you!

Ms. Fong Chompey​ is one of the inspiring women of Weaving Women Leadership for Change (WWLC), a Women Peace Makers' program that supports emerging women leaders in civil society in Cambodia. The program provides the tools and space for these women to come together to learn, explore, inspire, celebrate and share about themselves and their leadership challenges. Ms. Chompey currently serves as the deputy head of Cambodia Indigenous Women Working Group (CIWWG). She belongs to the Jarai indigenous group, located in Ratanakiri, Cambodia. She works mainly on women's rights and environmental issues through advocacy, research, facilitation, and mobilization of Indigenous...[ Read More ]

Oliver and his wife Abby are among our newest members, having joined Pangea in late 2019. Despite their "new-ness" as members of our community, Oliver has a deep knowledge of Pangea, and they have brought new energy to our work, particularly in the East Africa Pod. Learn more about Oliver and Abby and their involvement with Pangea in our second edition of Why Pangea Now. Why are you a Pangea member? I see this as a two-part question. The first part is: why give? Growing up, I looked up to Bill Gates as a role model. He spent the first...[ Read More ]

Patricia celebrating a recent birthday in Poipu, Hawaii. We are launching a new blog feature, Why Pangea Now. In each of these short interviews, Pangea members will share their experience with Pangea and why Pangea's work is important to them. Thank you to Patricia McInturff, Board Secretary and Pangea member since 2014, for volunteering to share her Pangea story. Why are you a Pangea member?  Mission and model—I love the international mission of Pangea.  I have done some HIV/AIDS work in Zimbabwe and Zambia and seen firsthand what a significant  impact a small amount of money can make to grassroots...[ Read More ]

In 2019, Women in Sustainable Enterprises (WISE) became one of our newest partners. WISE was founded to address economic uncertainty and sexual exploitation of women fishmongers in wetland villages around Lake Victoria by promoting environmentally sustainable enterprises that empower women and strengthen the community.  The short video below highlights WISE's mission and some of the beneficiaries of their Girl Advocacy Leadership Series (GALS) project, which aims to empower adolescent girls and young women at risk through leadership development and training on advocacy and financial literacy. This project was funded by Pangea in 2019 and 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3P7zAXf5LTI&feature=youtu.be Due to COVID-19, the...[ Read More ]

Partner Perspectives series https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0kU3Scx1eY&feature=youtu.be On November 12 we had a conversation with several leaders from MUSOR, a Pangea partner working in Oaxaca, Mexico, one of Mexico’s poorest states. They work to end gender discrimination and create a culture of peace. They discussed how they they are inventing new means of connecting with and educating student populations in the time of COVID-19. MUSOR presentation slideshow Gender Equity and Education in Mexico Mexico is one of the most dangerous countries in the world for women. Violence against women and teen pregnancy are among the highest in the world—issues that have been exacerbated...[ Read More ]

Women Peace Makers work to change norms around gender and end violence against women in Cambodia. Their projects including training women in active non-violence, engaging young people in dialogue on the roles of gender and ethnicity in Cambodian society, and producing thought-provoking and creative artistic projects to expose these issues in Cambodia. One of their recent projects is a short film and music video called Chamnang. Chamnang is a ballad song inspired by the women who Women Peace Makers has supported and aims to raise awareness on gender-based violence against women especially during the Covid-19 pandemic where home is no...[ Read More ]

When Ann Wajiru graduated from high school, she knew that she faced many challenges to realizing her potential. In rural Rongai country, Kenya, women are sidelined from positions of leadership in economic and political spheres. Local cultural beliefs confine women to the roles of wife and mother and limit their voice in local leadership. These cultural norms are reinforced through gender-based violence and a lack of pathways to positions of leaders for women.  Playmakers Theatre CBO seeks to challenge these cultural inequalities through their Wezesha Dada (Empower a Woman) project, funded by Pangea Giving. The project seeks to empower young...[ Read More ]

a part of our Partner Perspectives series https://youtu.be/2RUn5zFoZ1k COVID-19 is having a significant impact on rural communities in Kenya's Rift Valley. The situation is testing the capacity of local organizations to respond to urgent community needs and to continue to address the social issues they have been focusing on for years. On October 6, 2020, we welcomed two of our grant partners who are grappling with these issues. Wendo Aszed from Dandelion Africa and Michael Kamunya from Playmakers Theatre discussed how they are pivoting to meet the challenges of the pandemic and the opportunities that are emerging in the process....[ Read More ]

Many of the communities we support have suffered from the coronavirus pandemic and lockdowns that have closed economies and school systems. Our partners have been responding to address the evolving needs of these communities. Taa'Pi't, our partner based in San Pedro la Laguna, Guatemala, has started offering educational programs on nutrition and health through local television programs to reach families social distancing at home. The programs are offered in Spanish and the local language, Maya Tzutujil. You can read about the programs in the July newsletter from Taa'Pi't Director Juan Manuel, which we share below. (muchisimos gracias to Pangea member...[ Read More ]