KWO is an indigenous women’s organisation serving women and girls in our community in Burma and in refugee camps in Thailand.  

The Karen Women’s Organisation (KWO) currently has a membership of more than 70,000 women living in Karen State, Burma and in refugee camps along the Thai-Burma border. KWO is a leading indigenous women’s organisation working in protection and our programs directly serve women, girls, children, and the most vulnerable people in our community. We promote women’s leadership, gender equality and community ownership in all aspects of our work. KWO is active in four main sectors: Organising and Information Sharing Program, Education Program, Health Program and Social Welfare Program.  KWO is led and staffed entirely by women in our community. KWO participates in the struggle to stop all kinds of oppression of women and of children. We believe in a federal Burma, where all communities have gender equality, the protection and promotion of indigenous people’s rights, human rights, and justice. 


WHAT WE DO

Within our 4 program areas we provide: service delivery, advocacy, awareness raising, and capacity building threaded throughout our daily work and our funded projects. Our work varies from the delivery of hygiene kits for mothers with new-borns, conducting community health and nutrition education, to ensuring safe accommodation for women suffering violence, developing Women’s Protection Laws, to training young women from our Communities to become leaders. 

KWO believes that empowering women will help reduce human rights abuses and encourage an end to discrimination against women. We believe that women have a right to be properly represented in politics and society at large. And we believe that the whole community is better off when women play an equal role with men in decision-making. The 17 individually funded Projects which KWO currently implements in refugee camps and Karen State, run under our 4 programs, and have over 100,500 beneficiaries.

WHERE WE WORK
KWO lives and works in the 7 districts of Karen State, Burma which is in Southeastern Burma and in 7 refugee camps along the Thai-Burma border.

ORGANISING AND INFORMATION SHARING PROGRAM  - KWO’s Organising and Information Sharing Program provides services, advocacy and capacity building to support women’s empowerment, mobilize the community, and sustain the organisation. KWO believes that broad community and organisational education contributes to building a fair and tolerant civil society. We conduct training, events and activities around: women’s rights, indigenous rights, democracy, political awareness, a Federal system for Burma, child protection, human rights, project management, leadership skills, public speaking, financial policy and procedures, KWO policy, landmine awareness, etc.

The Organising and Information Sharing Program Co-ordinators are all Karen women who live in their communities. Work under this Program includes: to conduct community consultations to identify needs, share information in the community about the current situation, including through KWO publications, update KWO’s membership list, co-ordinate with the KWO Social Welfare Program to organize the distribution of humanitarian aid (food and materials) in emergency situations, oversee and monitor all funded KWO projects implemented in the area, arrange and attend meetings for KWO and our network, coordinate with other agencies on issues that affect the community, assist researchers and field trips for visiting individuals, advocate on behalf of vulnerable groups in the community, conduct individual and joint advocacy efforts on the local, national, regional, and international stage.  We currently implement 4 funded projects under this program.

EDUCATION PROGRAM 
KWO’s Education Program provides services, advocacy and capacity building to promote education in our community. We provide schooling where there are gaps in existing education mainstream services in the refugee camps, and in areas in Karen State. We particularly target girls in the community to ensure they have equal access to education, protection, development and care. We also place a significant emphasis on education that promotes and preserves Karen indigenous culture.

Our Education Program Co-ordinators are all Karen women and are part of the community. Every day they work to promote education, to identify children struggling at schools or at home and provide support to the family, and assist with school fees when possible. They monitor and support KWO’s funded education projects in their areas, visit all community schools and give encouragement to students and teachers. They conduct home visits and encourage parents to send children to school, and assist the poorest of the poor children to get into schools. They attend events organized by schools to share positive messages about the benefits of education for all. They meet with education leaders at all levels and advocate for inclusive education, improved child protection mechanisms, and the importance of girls education. We currently implement 7 funded education projects under this program.

SOCIAL WELFARE PROGRAM 
KWO Social Welfare Program provides services, advocacy and capacity building in all sectors of Karen society. We provide direct care and assistance to community members and we work to solve social problems in our community, particularly those that affect women. Due to the failure of Burma’s successive governments to provide care and security for the people, many ethnic groups, like the Karen, have established well-organised and high-functioning social systems. The KWO Social Welfare Program does a lot of the work that a free and democratic national government would normally be offering to the people.

Our Social Welfare Program Co-ordinators are all Karen women and live in their community. Their duties include: identifying and providing care to the most vulnerable members of the community including the elderly, people with disability or chronic illness, and families in trouble; providing assistance in emergencies; help to organize community events and ceremonies; home visits; build capacity and opportunity for women to earn income especially through traditional crafts; be advocates for the best interests of women in justice cases; fight for improvements in laws relating to women and child protection, justice system reform and better enforcement mechanisms both in the refugee camps and within Southeast Burma.

Overall our Program’s main area of focus is to prevent, and respond to Violence Against Women. Under the Social Welfare Program, and its funded project, we provide an enormous amount of training for women, for KWO leaders and staff, for local community leaders, and for the broader community. We currently implement 4 funded projects under this program.

HEALTH PROGRAM 
KWO’s Health Program provides services, advocacy and capacity building to promote better health in our community. Our Health Program activities address common community health issues, like nutrition and hygiene, and we focus on the health needs of women and of children. KWO collaborates with existing community health organisations to support local health workers, to care for patients and the community. We do not offer medical or clinic-based services ourselves.

Our Health Program Co-ordinators are Karen women who live in their communities. Their work includes: to advocate for better access to health services, accompany patients to hospitals or clinics, organise village and stream clean ups, identify health needs of the most vulnerable people and provide support in the home, conduct health education campaigns in the community, share information with families about good health practices, encourage communities to set up kitchen gardens, organise access to clean drinking water, improve village sanitation and the use of built toilets, promote KWO’s key health messages for women’s reproductive health, improve access to safe sanitary materials for all women and girls, monitor any funded KWO Health projects being implemented in their area, educate parents about good nutrition and childcare, advocate for recognition of skilled Traditional Birth Attendants, and for birth registration and birth certificates for all children. We currently implement 2 funded projects under this program.

Karen Women's Organization

 The oldest, largest nonprofit legal org asserting and defending the rights of Indian tribes, organizations, and individuals.

Since 1970, the Native American Rights Fund (NARF) has provided legal assistance to Indian tribes, organizations, and individuals nationwide who might otherwise have gone without adequate representation. NARF has successfully asserted and defended the most important rights of Indians and tribes in hundreds of major cases, and has achieved significant results in such critical areas as tribal sovereignty, treaty rights, natural resource protection, and Indian education. NARF is a non-profit 501c(3) organization that focuses on applying existing laws and treaties to guarantee that national and state governments live up to their legal obligations.

The Native American Rights Fund is headquartered in Boulder, Colorado, with branch offices in Washington, DC, and Anchorage, AK.

NARF is governed by a volunteer board of directors composed of thirteen Native Americans from different tribes throughout the country with a variety of expertise in Indian matters. A staff of approximately 16 attorneys handles over 50 major cases at any given time, with most of the cases taking several years to resolve. Cases are accepted on the basis of their breadth and potential importance in setting precedents and establishing important principles of Indian law.

With credibility built over 50 years of service, NARF has become a respected consultant to policy makers and others engaged in drafting legislation. As a consensus builder, NARF works with religious, civil rights, and other Native American organizations to shape the laws that will help assure the civil and religious rights of all Native Americans. NARF attorneys, many of whom are tribal citizens, use their understanding of Indian legal issues to assist tribes in negotiating with individuals, companies, and governmental agencies.

Since NARF’s inception, Indian law has changed dramatically. It has become a recognized specialty with a well-documented body of statutes and case law. However, that has not made it a simpler field. In the 1970’s and the early 1980’s, courts were generally receptive to Indian rights cases. However, since the mid to late 1980’s, an increasingly conservative federal bench has made Indian rights cases more difficult to win. Combined with the huge cost of litigation—in time and in money—this means NARF and its Indian clients are always attuned to opportunities for negotiation, consensus, and settlement.

Native American Rights Fund

Indigenous-led organization for corazóstenibilidad -sustainability from the heart- & responsibly stewarding a Living World

As an educational, scientific research, and charitable organization, we are dedicated to collaborating with on-the-ground communities, community-engaged projects, and cultural-based approaches to sustainability to collectively facilitate a world based in respect, cross cultural trust, and reciprocity﻿.  

Roots And Routes Intercultural Collaborations

The American Indian College Fund offers support to American Indian students so they can stay in school and graduate.

The American Indian College Fund transforms Indian higher education by funding and creating awareness of the unique, community-based accredited Tribal Colleges and Universities, offering students access to knowledge, skills, and cultural values which enhance their communities and the country as a whole.

American Indian College Fund

NICWA is dedicated to the well-being of American Indian and Alaska Native children and families.

NICWA works to support the safety, health, and spiritual strength of American Indian and Alaska Native children along the broad continuum of their lives. We support tribes in building the capacity to prevent child abuse and neglect through positive systems change at the state, federal, and tribal levels. We are the most comprehensive source of information on American Indian and Alaska Native child welfare.

NICWA is a private, nonprofit, membership organization based in Portland, Oregon. Our members include tribes, individuals—both Native and non-Native—and private organizations from around the United States concerned with Native child and family issues. Together, our partners, board, and staff work to protect Native children and keep them connected to their family, community, and culture.

National Indian Child Welfare Association (NICWA)

First Nations Development Institute helps restore control & cultural stewardship of Native assets to Native Americans in the U.S.

Our mission is to strengthen American Indian economies to support healthy Native communities. We invest in and create innovative institutions and models that strengthen asset control and support economic development for American Indian people and their communities.

With the support of individuals, foundations, corporate and tribal donors, First Nations Development Institute improves economic conditions for Native Americans through technical assistance & training, advocacy & policy, and direct financial grants in five key areas:

Achieving Native Financial Empowerment
Investing in Native Youth
Strengthening Tribal & Community Institutions
Advancing Household & Community Asset-Building Strategies
Nourishing Native Foods & Health

First Nations is the most highly-rated American Indian nonprofit in the nation. Indeed, for the eighth year in a row, First Nations has received the top 4-Star rating from Charity Navigator — only 4% of the nonprofits it rates achieve this highest distinction for eight consecutive years. 

Founded in 1980, First Nations began its national grantmaking program in 1993. Through mid-year 2020, we have successfully managed 1,928 grants totaling more than $40.2 million to Native American projects and organizations in 40 states, the District of Columbia and U.S. Territory American Samoa.

First Nations Development Institute

NDN Collective is an Indigenous-led organization dedicated to building Indigenous power.

DEFEND
We must continue to defend our people, communities, and nations against negative resource extraction that poisons our people, pollutes our water, destroys our land, contributes to climate change and violates our human rights. Doing this through organizing our communities, making our voice heard, and utilizing a wide variety of tactics is imperative in shifting the political and financial systems that are impacting our communities.

DEVELOP
We must continue to develop Indigenous communities in a regenerative and sustainable manner based on our values and connection to land, culture and identity. We need to meet the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. We are doing this through regenerative community development, renewable energy investments and social enterprise development.

DECOLONIZE
We must continue to decolonize our minds, communities, and sovereign nations. The decolonization of our communities and people is directly related to our ability to prosper. Through the revitalization of our Indigenous ceremonies, culture, languages and life ways we will continue to strengthen our identity, and break free from the oppressive systems that disconnect us from achieving the healing growth and connection to spirit that is integral for us as Indigenous people.

NDN Collective 

Protecting sovereignty, preserving culture, educating youth, and building capacity throughout Indian Country since 1922.

Association On American Indian Affairs

AISES works to substantially increase the representation of American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiian, First Nations, Pacific Islanders, and other North American Indigenous in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) studies and careers.

The mission of the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) is to substantially increase the representation of American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, First Nations and other indigenous peoples of North America in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) studies and careers. AISES is the leader in STEM opportunity in Indian Country and has programs available for pre-college, college and graduate students as well as professionals. Members from over 200 tribal nations are represented within AISES, and AISES enjoys the support and partnership of corporate, government, academic, and tribal decision-makers.

AISES

Dedicated to Indigenous Peoples’ self-determination and the sovereignty of Native nations.

"In every deliberation we must consider the impact on the seventh generation to come."

The Seventh Generation Fund for Indigenous Peoples (SGF) is an identity-based non-profit/social profit organization dedicated to Indigenous Peoples' self-determination and the sovereignty of Native nations

Seventh Generation Fund for Indigenous Peoples

Protecting the rainforest and our climate by supporting Indigenous peoples.

Since 1996, Amazon Watch has protected the rainforest and advanced the rights of Indigenous peoples in the Amazon Basin.

Amazon Watch partners with Indigenous and environmental organizations in campaigns for human rights, corporate accountability, and the preservation of the Amazon’s ecological systems. Our work focuses on three main and interconnected areas: stopping the destruction of the Amazon rainforest, amplifying Indigenous rights, resistance and solutions, and advancing climate justice. Amazon Watch accompanies Indigenous, forest, and traditional peoples - the best stewards of the rainforest - in halting and holding accountable the major drivers of Amazon destruction, defends the Defenders, and amplifies Indigenous solutions to permanently protect the rainforest.

The Amazon is the world's largest terrestrial carbon sink and plays a critical role in regulating the global climate. Yet this global treasure is at great risk – already more than 20% has been deforested, and new fossil fuel extraction, mining, and large-scale development projects cause even greater deforestation and result in high rates of violence against Indigenous peoples and their territories. The harrowing truth is that the tipping point for the Amazon rainforest is here. Bold and immediate actions are necessary to avert ecosystem collapse and move us from the tipping point a turning point.

To this end, Amazon Watch accompanies Indigenous peoples to provide security to threatened Earth Defenders; provides solidarity funding directly to Indigenous partners for a holistic range of initiatives and immediate needs; amplifies Indigenous resistance and solutions to the public, policymakers, and media; and calls out the corporations, governments, and financial institutions responsible for Amazon destruction, with proven success.

The knowledge, cultures, and traditional practices of our Indigenous partners contribute greatly to sustainable and equitable stewardship of the Amazon and all of Mother Earth. Amazon Watch promotes Indigenous-led solutions, such as green development and autonomous solar power, and expands capacity for Indigenous leaders, especially women, to maintain their autonomy and sovereignty for the stewardship of their ancestral territories.

Amazon Watch

Navajo Technical University is a public tribal land-grant university in Crownpoint, New Mexico

Navajo Technical University, like all tribal colleges and universities, grew out of a prayer in the 1960s that envisioned all tribes moving toward self-determination by expressing their sovereignty and establishing their own institutions of higher education. It was as a result of this movement that NTU began as the Navajo Skill Center in 1979 to meet the immediate needs of an unemployed population on the Navajo Nation.

Students enrolled to learn the rudiments of a trade, graduated, and joined the workforce; however, it soon became clear that the students wanted more. In 1985 the Board of Directors changed the Skill Center’s name to Crownpoint Institute of Technology and in November 2006 the Navajo Nation Council approved changing the name to Navajo Technical College. In 2013, NTC became NTU - becoming the first university established on the Navajo Nation.

Today, NTU is one of the premier institutions of higher education in the nation, providing a unique balance between science and technology and culture and tradition. Much of what guides NTU’s success is our mission and our identity rooted in the Diné Philosophy of Education.

Navajo Technical University

CHILA seeks to provide quality healthcare to our Q’eqchi communities while respecting their cultural practices and traditions.

What are you supporting when you support CHILA’s mission?

When you support CHILA’s mission, you are saving lives
When you support CHILA’s mission, you are alleviating suffering
When you support CHILA’s mission, you are making magic happen…

There is a magic in seeing someone smile because they finally found someone who is listening.  There is magic in the relief that is felt when you help someone feel better.  There is magic when you connect and engage and show someone that you understand. 

CHILA is a non-profit health clinic in Chisec Guatemala and all of our services are offered free of charge to anyone who walks into our clinic.  We rely on supporters like you to help us provide the highest quality of care for the residents of Chisec and her surrounding regions and connect our patients to living healthier lives.  

Your gift provides:
~Highest quality of primary medical care
~Medication and treatment for acute and chronic medical conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure, etc. 
~Diagnostic Tests such as blood tests, ultrasound, radiological exams, biopsies etc.
~Specialty Consults such as orthopedic, pediatric, oncology, surgical etc.
~Transportation to hospital and clinic visits in Coban (2 hours), Guatemala City (6-8 hours) and other locations
~Translator services 
~Monthly Diabetes Clinic

And so much more….

Your support does more than just provide medical services for the community.  Through educational opportunities, healthcare professionals and ancillary personnel are trained by CHILA to continue to provide care to their community in conjunction with telemedicine support with Dr. Smith.  By growing opportunities for the the local community, your support helps to strengthen their healthcare structure from within and helps to encourage local independence.

Access to healthcare is so much more than an open clinic door.  It is access to clean water, access to education, women’s rights and gender equity, food security, addressing domestic violence, access to functioning roads, transportation systems.  The health of a person is reliant on so many factors that are happening in a culture and in a community.  Your support is helping CHILA address the many issues that continue to affect health outcomes and access to healthcare in the Chisec community.  

COVID-19 response:

In March of 2020, CHILA just completed what would be, unknowingly,  the last annual dental and medical mission with Kindness in Action due to the pandemic.  2 weeks later, the COVID-19 pandemic was declared and the border was closed and just like that, our in-person clinics ceased operations for over a year.   Like all the countries in the world, COVID-19 hit the communities of poor and disenfranchised the hardest.  But the CHILA team of Chisec rised to the occasion.  The team immediately gathered all the reliable scientific information that was being presented and they were one of the first to organize educational videos on virus information and prevention, proper hand washing techniques, and self-care and mental health awareness during quarantine all in the Q’eqchi Maya language.  They organized seamstresses to mass produce masks for the community with proper distancing and mask wearing observed.  They put together and delivered PPE packs to the staff of the local Centro de Salud and delivered food parcels to those communities that were having hardships with food security.  Here is what your support is provided:

~Oxygen concentrator machines
~Oxygen delivery supplies such as masks, nasal cannulas, nebulizers
~Medications packs with Tylenol, steroids, cough medicine etc.
~Vaccination education and outreach with the local healthcare system
~PPE and disinfectant supplies


CHILA’s Mission:

~Provide high-quality primary care for the populations of rural Guatemala
~Strengthen and work with the existing community healthcare system
~Preserve Q'eqchi Maya traditions and incorporate traditional Maya herbal medicine as part of our treatment modality 
~Strengthen the activities of the local Women's Groups as partners in healthcare access
~Provide all healthcare in the native Q’eqchi Maya language
~Deliver excellence in healthcare no matter the ability to pay


Our History and Our Present:

CHILA was started by Brian Smith, MD in the town of Chisec, Guatemala.  Brian served as a member of the Peace Corps in the region and witnessed firsthand the lack of access to healthcare for the population in the area.  Once he returned to the United States, he changed his vocation from engineering to medicine.  He entered medical school and became a physician while concurrently traveling back and forth to Chisec to build and open a medical clinic.  CHILA has grown with the belief that no person should die or be denied healthcare because of where you were born.  After years of providing care to many people in the region, CHILA was recognized as a nonprofit organization in 2019.  

Currently, CHILA funds a small group of local medical professionals in Chisec who we pay to provide ongoing  and prescribed care for chronic and complex medical conditions.  Dr. Smith and a contingency of volunteer medical providers from the United States travels to Chisec several times a year to hold clinics in our Chisec location as well as a variety of villages in the region.  During these clinic days, we see cases of varying levels of complexity.  We are able to treat common ailments during these clinic days as well as establish longer term care plans for more complex and chronic issues.  We provide all these services with translators who can speak in the native Q’eqchi language.




Chila Inc

An urban Indigenous women-led community organization that returns Indigenous land to Indigenous hands.

Sogorea Te’ Land Trust cultivates rematriation.
Sogorea Te’ calls on us all to heal and transform the legacies of colonization, genocide, and patriarchy and to do the work our ancestors and future generations are calling us to do.

Sogorea Te' Land Trust

A non-profit organization that empowers & supports people of color & women small business owners in the under-served communities.

Synergy4WBO is a non-profit organization that is changing the future! By empowering people of color and women-owned small businesses especially in the underserved communities to be equally profitable, sustainable,and successful compared to their non-minority counterparts.
We provide one-on-one mentoring, professional coaching, educational opportunities, marketing support, and access to funding to members of our community. We help them to rise up and thrive beyond their unimaginable potential. 
Our members rate our overall program success at 4.6 out of 5.0 and in achieving direct growth and sustainability.

Synergy 4wbo Inc

The Center for World Indigenous Studies (CWIS) is a nonprofit which supports Indigenous peoples role in international affairs.  

As an independent, nonprofit [U.S. 501(c)(3)] organization, CWIS focuses on advancing Indigenous peoples' ideas, knowledge, research, education, and public policy for a wider understanding and appreciation the social, economic and political realities of Indigenous nations around the globe. Founded in 1979, and having obtained nonprofit status in 1984, CWIS helps ensure that Indigenous communities can safeguard their rights and resources.  CWIS does this by:
+ Facilitating nation-building through a global activist Indigenous think tank of volunteer Interns and Associate Scholars 
+ Integrating Indigenous healing systems into culturally competent public health care in partnership with the Center for Traditional Medicine
+ Bi-annually publishing the Fourth World Journal exclusively for advancing Indigenous research and academia
+ Managing the Chief George Manual Memorial Library, a digital repository containing over 100,000 documents and publications from Indigenous nations around the globe
+ Developing educational and training courses to advance Indigenous perspectives and enhance personal and professional opportunities on environmental justice, nutrition, integrative medicine, and more

Center For World Indigenous Studies

Serving immediate needs, supporting long-term solutions for strong, self-sufficient Native American communities.  

Partnership With Native Americans is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization committed to championing hope for a brighter future for Native Americans living on remote, isolated and impoverished reservations. Collaborating for nearly 30 years with our reservation partners, we provide consistent aid and services for Native Americans with the highest need in the U.S.

Much of our work centers around material aid, educational support and community-based services. PWNA also connects outside resources directly to reservations through its distribution network and reservation partnerships. We care about quality of life for Native Americans and respect their self-determined goals for their tribes.

The only Native-serving charity to work in hundreds of reservation communities year-round, our service area is concentrated in 9 priority states and encompasses Pine Ridge, Rosebud, Navajo and other high-need reservations. Scholarships are offered nationwide to eligible Native students.

Partnership With Native Americans

SPIO is building Pacific Islander presence in higher education and professional fields through free digital resources.

Pacific Islanders remain underrepresented in higher education, professional fields, and in the media today. Often limited in opportunities in their home communities, Pacific Islanders need resources and support to pursue higher education, secure professional positions, and access economic opportunities. Now, with the COVID-19 pandemic and its disproportionate effect on Pacific Islanders and other communities of color, these resources are more essential than ever to foster a thriving, inclusive Pacific Islander community rooted in cultural heritage. 

South Pacific Islander Organization (SPIO) is a 100% volunteer and youth-led nonprofit founded in December 2018 by four Stanford alumni who believe in democratizing Pacific Islander access to higher education and economic opportunities, globally. They came together in response to the lack of cohesive Pacific representation in higher education, professional fields, and in the media.

SPIO's current international Advisory Council and Board of Directors leverage a diversity of expertise across government, corporate, higher education, and nonprofit fields which fuel their inclusive, cross-collaborative, and metrics-driven strategic plan.

SPIO's strength lies in its inclusive vision, international network, community-building capacity, digital reach, and online following. Some of their highlights to date include establishing a 501(c)3 within 6 months of incorporation, reaching over 50,000+ organic international website views in 2 years, and launching 6 digital programs accessible worldwide. 

South Pacific Islander Organization

501(c)3 Charity since 2004. We Nurture & Help Grow Ideas into Programs about Community Activism & Social Movements seeding CHANGE.

HELP US GROW LOCAL COMMUNITIES
AFTER TIMES OF CRISIS THERE IS A RENAISSANCE

We Nurture, Support, and help Grow Ideas, Entrepreneurs & Creatives into programs and projects all about Community Activism and Social Movements that Cause CHANGE. We focus on Educating & Creating Seeds of Change through Human Driven Movements & causes that inspire & uplift.

Our target areas of Focus include The Arts & Humanities, Education, Self-Reliance, and Freedom of Traditional Indigenous Expression of Spirituality & Culture, including revitalization of Tribal Art, Ceremonial & Spiritual Awareness.

CRISIS RESPONSE TEAM
We Provide Emergency Services during times of crisis or need with focus on heavily impacted areas first, on any Federally designated Tribal lands, and then any and all surrounding areas of service as needed.

Starlight Projects Foundation

We accelerate the success of local, regenerative communities that exist in harmony with the lands & waters that sustain us.

“Come into this canoe to explore a supreme, unknown journey that we
are going to take together. I am sure it will be beautiful, because we will
begin to understand one another.” —Wa’xaid, Cecil Paul

At times of great crisis it is stories that help us prevail. Stories of hope, stories of connection, stories about what works. It is stories that can transform how we see the world, and how we engage with it and each other.

Magic Canoe’s mission is to build a bioregional movement across Salmon Nation through storytelling. From the North Slope of Alaska to the shores of California, our interconnected story initiatives work to accelerate the success of local, regenerative communities that exist in harmony with the lands and waters that sustain us.

At the heart of this movement are people at the edges—in places often far removed from centers of power: rural and Indigenous communities whose importance is typically undervalued. But edges are innovative and diverse, holding profound stocks of human and natural capital resources which can lead a bioregional shift towards regenerative practices. After all, it is in the edges where myriad innovations began— off-grid solar, permaculture, microcredit, mobile payments, the Internet, and health breakthroughs to name just a few. Shifting resources and attention to the edges is an essential step in addressing climate change and cascading systems failure.

Magic Canoe supports edge communities in sharing ideas of importance to them. We provide resources to discover stories for and by neighbors connected through purpose and place. Amplifying traditionally under-shared stories and storytellers from the
edge reshapes the dominant narrative in our bioregion towards a future of reciprocity, celebration and local solutions.

Our name and inspiration comes from Wa’xaid, Cecil Paul, a Haisla and Xenaksiala elder who—against enormous odds, and with many partners—forever protected the Kitlope from logging. During this quest, Wa’xaid imagined a “magic canoe,” a metaphysical vessel with room for everyone who wanted to join his journey. Wa’Xaid asked the founders of Magic Canoe, our organization, to keep this idea alive, even after he left on another great journey after his time on Earth.

Magic Canoe

Our mission is to conserve and distribute seeds for future generations through seed conservation, education, and collaboration.

The Path is a non-profit organization housed on a 40-acre property in Estancia, New Mexico, where Grandmother Flordemayo’s Seed Temple and Sacred Temples for Humanity are built and cared for with your help. Thank you for your contribution and blessings of the day to you.

The Seed Temple is the realization of Grandmother Flordemayo’s original vision of a place where the sacred heritage seeds would be protected for future generations. It has existed since 2012 and has served as a source of seed for the local area, such as the Estancia Seed Library, as well as for many individuals in New Mexico and elsewhere. The many gatherings on the site have involved educational classes, sharing of seeds, and celebration of the spirituality carried in the seeds. Kindly note, we do not sell or otherwise monetize the seeds themselves.

Now more than ever it is important that we protect and increase our heritage seeds for the future and for our communities. Much of the diversity of seeds is being lost as fewer people are planting the original seeds, as modern agriculture has turned to genetically modified and patented seed to produce our crops.

The seeds in our collection have come from numerous donations of samples of traditional varieties of corn, beans, squash, grains, vegetables, and herbs. The Seed Temple is designed as a controlled environment that protects the viability of the seeds stored. From the Seed Temple, many kinds of seeds from our collection have been sent to volunteers who have helped grow and increase them, to keep them strong and to provide a stock source to distribute to others. Working to preserve these seeds gives us a sense of purpose and unity and fosters the relationships in community which are our true wealth.

The mission of The Path is to conserve and distribute seeds for future generations. We meet our mission through seed conservation, education, and collaboration with other organizations.

The Path

We're building a global movement to empower the Sudanese people through innovative programs as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

We’re passionate about ending the crisis in Sudan in our lifetime. Here’s how we work: 

STORYTELLING & MOVEMENT BUILDING
We create documentary films, photography exhibits, and events that mobilize people around the world to raise support for Sudanese-led programs.

EDUCATION &  HEALTHCARE
We invest funds raised in Sudanese heroes and institutions to empower their education and healthcare work. And they make the big program decisions, not us.

GRASSROOTS ADVOCACY
We design grassroots campaigns that equip activists in our home state of Tennessee to engage their communities and political leaders on issues concerning Sudan.

WHERE WE WORK
We focus on the Nuba Mountains region and nearby Yida Refugee Camp. This isolated area sits near the border of Sudan and South Sudan. All of the stories we tell are from this beautiful, but oppressed corner of Sudan. 

The Nuba Mountains are home to roughly 100 African tribal groups who have lived there for over 2,000 years. The approximately 1.3 million Christian, Muslim, and traditionalist Nuba people live mostly in harmony together. 

Sadly,  the Nuba way of life has been in danger for decades. Sudan’s military and extremist regime officials have long viewed the Nuba people as a threat to their iron-fisted rule. The military and their paramilitary allies have committed two genocides in the region since the 1990s. A fragile ceasefire has been in place since 2016, but war clouds still loom over the Nuba Mountains today.

Learn more: https://operationbrokensilence.org/our-work

Operation Broken Silence

To foster a more peaceful society Terrawatu works in Tanzania creating self-sustainable projects rooted in indigenous communities 

Who We Are

Celebrating 20 years this year, Terrawatu is an NGO based in Tanzania that works with local communities to create sustainable development projects, and educates about the importance of environmental conservation, reforestation and the cultivation of plants for both medicinal and nutritional purposes. Our success lies in our ability to unite time-tested ancient wisdom with up-to-date science so that the needs of communities are met appropriately and efficiently.

The founders of Terrawatu – Dr. Tanya Pergola, an American sociologist and Lekoko Ole Sululu, a Tanzanian Maasai elder – share a love for Tanzania’s land, rich cultures, and its people. Saddened by the ‘brain drain’ and desire of so many young Tanzanians to leave their country in search of perceived ‘greener pastures’ the founders set about to do what they could to educate and improve the livelihoods of Tanzanians in and around the Arusha Region. There had to be a way to preserve and conserve the precious landscapes and wildlife, the indigenous cultures, medicinal plants, and foodstuffs while at the same time helping to develop economies and businesses in such a way that people would be proud to stay in-country while serving as an example for other communities around the world.

Terra = ‘earth’ in the Italian language         Watu = ‘people’ in the Swahili language

The vision of Terrawatu from day one has been to bridge indigenous and modern wisdom. When Terrawatu built traditional classrooms in schools, computers with Internet access were a priority. When health clinics were constructed, they served as integrative medical facilities, providing treatments combining both traditional healing with modern medicine. Project staff is primarily from the local community, and external funding is for initial project implementation. Terrawatu's measure of success for its projects is self-sustainability. 

Terrawatu is registered in both Tanzania and in the United States as a 501c3 (EIN 26-0212786). Projects are based and directed out of our office in Arusha, Tanzania, East Africa. Fundraising and volunteer coordination are based out of our Miami, Florida office. There is an all-Tanzanian Board of Directors, an American Board and an International Advisory Council.

What We Have Done

Terrawatu is dedicated to creating and implementing sustainable development projects that make a viable difference. All of our projects and activities emerge out of in-depth discussions with local communities regarding true priority intentions and needs.

Not everything we have tried has worked. And some projects turned out to be much more challenging, and expensive, than originally planned. At Terrawatu we take these 'lessons learned' to heart, work to establish new paths forward and add to our expertise in future endeavors.

In the two decades since our founding, Terrawatu is proud of many successes in the areas of education, health, environmental conservation and women's empowerment. Successes visible to the eye include: construction of multiple classrooms, school kitchens and computer labs; reforestation of village lands; and development of orphanages. Successes not so visible to the eye include: improved formal education, decreased incidents of malaria, empowered women and healthier communities.

What We Are Doing Now

Like many NGOs, 2020 encouraged us to pull back from our daily activities and take a big picture view of our work. We decided to focus less on getting people prepared to move into increasingly congested towns in search of rapidly disappearing jobs, to focusing more on helping people feed their families more directly. The 'Chakula na Dawa Usalama Project' was born in late 2020. Meaning “Food and Medicine/Health Security” in Swahili, the project embraces several activities including a permaculture farm, medicinal plant cultivation, upgrades to kitchens and diets, and health and well-being education. 

While we continue to oversee computer labs and mobile education activities at our partner schools, we intend to collaborate with the amazing content providers existing in Tanzania and simply help provide the infrastructure.

With our twenty years of experience, Terrawatu is sought out by local orphanages, schools and community organizations to consult on their developing projects.

Our Vision / Our Dream 

Demonstration/model village – a thriving village where people from around the area can visit and learn permaculture techniques, moringa cultivation and processing, cooking techniques using fuel-efficient kitchens, new recipes marrying indigenous and modern ingredients and techniques, traditional medicine cultivation and use, small business development (e.g. beadwork, handbags, artisan kitchenware, farmer's market). The schools, health center and orphanage in the village are at the highest standards to nurture the next generation. The concept is villagers teaching villagers, in their language, Swahili, and meeting eye to eye to experience what works. 

Our Potential Impact

This model village will first impact the local residents who are part of this project. In Mkonoo village itself, over a thousand men, women and children will see immediate improvements in their livelihoods.

We are creating a template / greenprint for surrounding communities in Tanzania. Many have described the entire continent of Africa as ‘leap-frogging’ technology by going directly from communicating at the local market to mobile phones (bypassing landline phones). With many families in America and Europe now setting up small farms at their homes and switching to renewable energy, communities in Tanzania can ‘leap-frog’ over unsustainable farming practices, more deforestation and unhealthy foods and diets. They can go forward by harnessing the wisdom of their ancestors, manifesting the vision of Terrawatu.

Call To Action

Immediate funds are needed for fencing, permanent water, kitchen construction, storerooms, workshops, and overall development of our model villages. Budget to fully manifest Our Vision/Our Dream is one million USD.

ROI – Knowing you have made a difference in keeping proud Tanzanians in their country, building a better future, for this East African nation while providing a model that can be replicated in other communities around the world. 


Terrawatu

National Urban Indian Family Coalition is a nonprofit organization focused on arts, culture, or humanities. It is based in Seattle, WA. It received its nonprofit status in 2017.

National Urban Indian Family Coalition

Running Strong is building up the next generation of Native American leaders and strengthening Native communities.

Running Strong for American Indian Youth

We're a nonprofit black cat rescue located in Asheville, NC committed to spreading the magic of black cats.

We're a North Carolina nonprofit and federal 501(c)(3) black cat rescue located in Asheville, NC. Black cats are the most euthanized animal in US shelters and they need the additional support of organizations like us that specialize in finding them their forever homes.

We do not have a physical facility; instead we operate as a foster-based rescue. This means that every cat and kitten brought into our rescue is given every chance to thrive in a home environment with one of our experienced foster parents. This is helpful because it cuts down on the stress of being in a cage in a shelter, which allows us to get to know each kitty's personality and help them to get adopted faster.

We currently offer rescue and TNR services in and around Buncombe County and we frequently work with other local organizations to spread the magic of black cats in our community and beyond.

Binxs Home For Black Cats Co

The very heart of what we do, as our organization began with the Mirning tribe’s presentation of a white feather to Julian. 

Today, we respond through advocacy and assistance with conservation of native lands and support of artistic endeavors that promote the preservation of culture.

The harmony of our natural world lies in the balance between Mother Earth and her inhabitants. With respect for the wisdom and experience of the Indigenous people who have loved and cultivated the land for thousands of years, we can together conserve our shared resources for future generations to come.



The Preservation of Indigenous Cultures

Build Up, Inc. (“BUI”) is a nonprofit capacity builder that supports the leadership of women and people of color.

Build Up, Inc. (“BUI”) is a nonprofit capacity builder that supports the leadership of women and people of color and incubates and fiscally sponsors charitable projects and organizations that work with under-resourced and invisibilized communities around the world. It is a member of a federated group of companies comprised of Build Up Advisory Group, The Campbell Law Firm, and Build Up, Inc. and focused on transforming life outcomes for vulnerable and marginalized communities. 

A. Nicole Campbell founded BUI to work only with people and projects that pursue brave, social change. We want to interrupt cycles of poverty, injustice, and inequity and problem-solve with marginalized and vulnerable communities. As you can imagine, we envision what is possible and work hard to achieve it together. 

Our Mission

BUI empowers women and BIPOC-led organizations building bravely to bring about sustained improvement in the well-being of historically invisibilized communities by acting as a fiscal sponsor, convener, and connector and providing capacity-building resources. 

Our Vision

To bravely facilitate and support socio-economic change and equity around the world to ensure that historically vulnerable communities are removed from the margins.

Build Up, Inc.

The mission of the Center for Native Health is the reduction of health and education disparities for Indigenous communities.

The Center for Native Health (CNH) is guided by two Cherokee principals Duyvktv and Tohi which combine to form an Indigenous structure for understanding health and wellbeing. As stated, the vision for the Center for Native Health is the reduction of health disparities for Native communities through engagement in the preservation and respectful application of community held knowledge. This statement encompasses all actions that center someone and their relationships in a positive way, including the arts. To disrupt the lasting effects of historical trauma we look for projects and activities to revitalize and strengthen traditional Cherokee culture as a form of both individual and collective healing.  

During the summer of 2008 more than 60 Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians community members, health professional, regional university members and other interested parties across WNC met to discuss the need for an organization that could help address the numerous health and education inequalities amongst Indigenous populations broadly and more specifically the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. The result of these conversations was the creation of a a non-profit, autonomous Center with initial funding coming from the Cherokee Preservation Foundation. 501c3 status was awarded in the summer of 2009 with additional by-laws detailing a 12-member executive board. Currently, this board consists of 11 members who are enrolled in one of the three federally recognized Cherokee Tribal Nations and one member who is an Endowed professor at Western Carolina University. 

From its creation CNH has looked for ways to partner across communities to integrate community held knowledge into the everyday practices of health and education professionals. In 2010 The Center helped facilitate a series of conversations and workshops between medical clinicians and EBCI elders to dialogue about ways to better situate cultural knowledge and traditions into medical care in various facets. That same year, Wake Forest Medical School and CNH partner to develop the Medical Careers and Technology (MedCaT) program into a multi-faceted summer camp and program to promote post-secondary and careers in Medical professions for Native youth. MedCaT was expanded in 2015 as a year-round program to create a pathway for students, specifically American Indian and Appalachian Rural, that addresses the above-mentioned barriers through integration of cultural education into the traditional health and biomedical science curriculum and teaching paradigm.

The Center has also invested its energy into the preservation of Traditional Ecological Knowledge in the EBCI community by partnering university professionals and Elders in the community to discuss the importance of plant relationships. The first “Medicine Walk” was held in Fall 2011 in the Snowbird community at the Junaluska Museum with Elders Onita Bush, Tom Belt and TJ Holland. Subsequent years saw the Center continue these activities in and around the EBCI community to great success serving as bridge between western health care facilities and practices with community held practices in the EBCI. During this period the Center has supported important programming to promote this integrated knowledge such as the Rooted in the Mountains Symposium at Western Carolina University. 

In 2019-2020 CNH underwent transition as Trey Adcock (ᏣᎳᎩᎯ ᎠᏰᎵ, enrolled Cherokee Nation), PhD was named the new Executive Director. Dr. Adcock is an Associate Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies and the Director of American Indian & Indigenous Studies at the University of North Carolina Asheville. Having Applied for a Racial Equity Grant, DogWood Health Trust announced that The Center of Native Health would receive a 25K grant to support a Cherokee Doula project, update the CNH website and to provide professional development for the new Executive Director.

Continuing CNH’s track record of carrying out successful projects and grants, in the past year alone CNH has been awarded over $1.1 million dollars in funding to strengthen and expand the MedCaT program in partnership with Wake Forest Medical, WCU and the EBCI. This program is close to celebrating ten years of successful stewardship of Native and 1st Gen Appalachian students into health fields through higher education. In addition, over the past twelve months CNH has hired a full-time staff member, a legal team, engaged in Board Training in collaboration with the National Paideia Institute, undertaken strategic planning and have secured close to 20K in donations. CNH has more recently received over $100,000 in grant applications to support programming around the revitalization of Cherokee mothering practices, to develop a ᎠᏏᎾᏏ  ᏃᎴ ᎠᏙᎴᏆᏍᎩ  “asinasi  nole  adolegwasgi”: Cherokee Potters Master Apprentice Program and to bring key stakeholders together to discuss best practices for land conservation and use across WNC. Land is life! Through these efforts we are deepening our belief in preserving and proliferating Cherokee culture to strengthen individual and community health. In addition, The Director of Programming has completed a NC Non-profit leadership certificate program and the Executive Director will be completing a Duke University Leadership in Non-Profit Certificate program in June 2022.


The Center For Native Health Inc

Clean water initiative providing low-tech water filter solutions in Guatemala through community collaboration and empowerment.

Water 4 Life Global Inc. is a 501c3 non-profit based in California and currently working on the ground in Guatemala. Our clean water initiatives include the distribution of water filter technology, collaboration on biological water treatment plans and contributions towards the reforestation of Lake Atitlán. We are here to teach, train and empower local Guatemalans to take this project into their own hands. Through planting the initial seeds, we can create a self-sustaining program that will last generations.

The greater vision of Water 4 Life Global is nothing less than the availability of clean drinking water that is easily accessible and sustained for many years. Our team envisions a life free of water-transmitted diseases, water toxins, malnutrition, and environmental damage, in a country that maintains each of these issues as very viable threats to the communities and ecosystems.

Water 4 Life Global Inc

Community Through Colors is a nonprofit organization focused on disaster preparedness, relief, and community development

Community through Colors, Inc started in 2016 as a group of people using art, volunteerism, and open dialogue to spread hope and awareness of the similarities between all humans, despite geographical or cultural boundaries. That initial project showed many of the values that run deep within the human species and make us all members of one community. 

Founded in 2017 in response to the devastating Atlantic hurricane season across the Caribbean, Sail Relief Team Project’s mission is to bring disaster relief and preparedness to remote, isolated, and under-served coastal communities. We address three core needs – Response, Recovery, and Resilience – to preserve life in times of emergency and rebuild communities in the aftermath. Sail Relief Team operates on volunteer work, grants, and donations from supporters.

Sail Relief Team operates a volunteer house and small-scale sustainable farm in Vieques, Puerto Rico, home to La Finca de Hamberto and educational project AVES (Apoyo en  Vieques para la Educación y la Sostentabilidad). 

La Finca operates as a learning farm, hosting educational seminars, assisting others with at-home gardening and livestock raising, and preparing for natural disasters through food security. Currently, 95% of food on Vieques is brought from mainland Puerto Rico by ferry.

