Typhoon Haiyan Relief Campaign

In response to the devastating typhoon that occurred on November 8, 2013 in the Philippines, Isa Mundo Foundation has launched its Typhoon Haiyan Relief Campaign.

We have chosen to partner with the Canadian Red Cross due to the organization's global reach and its ability to mobilize effectively to provide humanitarian relief in places affected by natural disasters.

In addition, the Canadian Government is matching all funds donated dollar-for-dollar until December 8, 2013 for the relief effort.  We are encouraging all our members, supporters and funders to consider giving to this cause.

To donate through Isa Mundo Foundation, visit our website at www.isamundo.org and click on the Typhoon Haiyan Relief Campaign banner for more information.

Thank you, Salamat po.

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Typhoon Haiyan

Typhoon Haiyan, one of the strongest storms ever recorded, struck the Philippines on the morning of November 8, 2013.  The typhoon carried wind with gusts of up to 200mph (320km/h).

Eight days after the typhoon made landfall, more than 3,600 people have been confirmed dead with the number expected to rise each day.

According to UNICEF, assessments show an estimated 11.5 million people in need of support in 36 provinces. Some 544,600 people continue to be displaced, with about 70 per cent in 1,215 evacuation centres and the rest in host communities or makeshift shelters such as schools.

Although a huge international aid effort is under way, widespread infrastructure damage is hampering efforts to distribute it to some areas.  Health experts have warned that the worst-affected areas are entering a peak danger period for the spread of infectious diseases.

The Isa Mundo Foundation will be launching the Tyhoon Haiyan Relief Campaign to send funds and much needed aid to the Philippines. We will look to partner with an international aid agency in the coming days and begin our fundraising effort.

We hope all our Isa Mundo members and friends will support the rebuilding of communities most affected by this natural disaster.

*** Photo courtesy of Red Cross ***

Project Somos

Isa Mundo Foundation was able to meet with Denis Knox, one of the Board of Directors for Project Somos.  Isa Mundo's Director and Founder, Paul Lorilla, learned about the work of Project Somos through the St. George's Academy group who also sent volunteers to Guatemala to support construction of various infrastructure and facilities.

Project Somos is currently working to establish a village for abandoned and orphaned children in Guatemala near the town of Tecpan.  The Village will have seven family homes with Guatemalan Foster Mothers raising a household of children.  The goal is to create an eco-sustainable environment that will use alternative power, have organic agriculture and orchards. They also hope to establish Social Enterprises to provide long-term financial sustainability to support the village.

Paul learned that Project Somos' vision to improve access to education aligns well with Isa Mundo Foundation's support of providing basic primary education for all. Denis invited Paul and the Isa Mundo team to visit Project Somos in the future to see first hand the work being completed in Guatemala. We hope to travel and complete a project site visit with Project Somos in 2014.

To learn more about Project Somos and its team, visit www.projectsomos.org

CASA Connor

We wanted to update everyone about a new facility being constructed in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico in partnership with Pasitos de Luz.

Pasitos de Luz (PDL) is a non-profit organization providing services to children with disabilities and their low income families. Isa Mundo Foundation visited PDL back in 2009 and we partnered with Meryln Power to install solar panels in 2010 to help reduce the cost of electricity and allow children to benefit from a heated pool and therapeutic bath.

PDL currently serves about 140 children but can only support a small number on any given day due to the size of their current building.  CASA Connor is partnering with PDL to build a new facility that will serve the increasing demand in the area.  The new site will be 15,000 square foot and began construction in 2011.

CASA Connor was established by the Caring Abroad Society of Alberta, and by family and friends of Connor Vanderveen. Connor is a young man who passed away in October 2011 from Hunters Syndrome—a genetic degenerative disease with a terminal diagnosis.  To honor the life of Connor, his family and friends decided to assist PDL to construct a larger facility and provide much needed services to children with disabilities in the Puerto Vallarta area.

To learn more about CASA Connor visit their website at www.casaconnor.org

International Year of Water

The year 2013 has been designated as the International Year of Water Cooperation.  The initiative is being coordinated by UNESCO and recognizes that cooperation is essential to strike and to use water as an instrument of peace. Water is a shared resource and its management needs to take into account a wide variety of conflicting interests. This provides opportunities for cooperation among users.

"Promoting water cooperation implies an interdisciplinary approach bringing in cultural, educational and scientific factors, as well as religious, ethical, social, political, legal, institutional and economic dimensions."

One of things we often take for granted in Canada and in those in other developed countries, is our continuous access to clean and safe water sources. According to Environment Canada, our country is home to roughly 7% of the globe's renewable freshwater, making it the third-largest water supply in the world.

Globally, 783 million people, or 11 per cent of the global population, remain without access to an improved source of drinking water.  United Nations report that "these sources include household connections, public standpipes, boreholes, protected dug wells, protected springs and rainwater collections."

Isa Mundo Foundation is supportive of the approach of the Water Project as we also believe that:

• Lack of clean water has serious effects on student's academic performance and attendance rates.
• The sickness caused by dirty water saps people's energy to do much of anything and poor health leads to poor producetivity
• Access to water leads to food security.
• Without clean water, the possibility of breaking out of the cycle of poverty is incredibly slim.

To learn more about the importance of access to clean water, visit the Water Project at http://thewaterproject.org/

World Indigenous Peoples Week

Cultural Survival and First Peoples Worldwide are dedicating this week to FPIC – Free, Prior and Informed Consent.  This initiative is a lead up to International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples, celebrated annually on August 9th.

FPIC dictates that corporations, governments, and NGOS must include Indigenous Peoples in the planning and implementation of all development projects on traditional land, and obtain their consent before beginning a project, including respecting their right to say no to such projects.

Isa Mundo Foundation support open discussions and creating a forum where Indigenous peoples will have opportunities for their voices to be heard and contribute to drafting policies that impact their day to day lives both in the present and future.

For the past 40 years, Cultural Survival has worked with Indigenous Peoples globally to protect their languages, cultures and traditional territories.  To learn more about the organization's work, visit the the Cultural Survival website.

Bon Voyage to Big Mountain Youth Society

The Big Mountain Youth Society (BMYS) is one of Isa Mundo Foundation's newest partners in 2013. A group of students and teachers will be travelling to Ara, Indonesia, a small village on the island of Sulawesi to help a local community develop a media and technology centre for school children.  BMYS's students have been fundraising for computers and other materials to help make the project a reality.

The BMYS is a not for profit youth organization founded by the Directors of Little Mountain Learning Academy. Their purpose is to give back to the global community through social action.  The BMYS describes their goal as having: 

"students learn about social justice, the anti-oppression framework, and how to become globally and critically aware leaders of their generation. The program aims to give students the chance to learn beyond the confines of classroom curriculum and walls"

Isa Mundo Foundation donated various school supplies to this project to lend our support and to establish a partnership that we hope would carry over to future projects led by BMYS.

To follow the BMYS group, click on their Big Mountain Youth Society Blog.