Cause & Affect Foundation

Helping Seniors Regain their Dignity

2011-09-15T07:47:00.000-07:00

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL -- In the midst of poverty, all too often the senior citizens suffer the most, due to of their lack of income, medical access and opportunity. This is also true here in the favela shanty-towns of Rio de Janeiro, where tens of thousands of seniors struggle to survive. With a desire to make a difference, Cause & Affect first sought out a local non-profit organization already doing effective work to address the situation. Working with our wonderful local partner IBISS, we discovered Novo Olhar aos Idosos, which is located in the Vila Cruzeiros neighborhood we have been concentrating on this year, as seen in out last two blog reports.
SEE VIDEO HERE

This project trains social workers to visit 25 seniors in need on a weekly basis. Once a week, they arrive to take the senior to the doctor, to the market, to the bank or just spend time to provide companionship, as many of these people suffer from neglect and loneliness. For those that live with their families, the social workers help train these families to address the needs and wishes of their elderly family members.

When Cause & Affect expressed our desire to help, we visited several of the seniors and it became obvious there are MANY needs to address. Some of these people are living in sub-humane conditions, such as 84 year-old Dona Augusta (upper right), whose roof had sprung a nasty leak, soaking her bed and tiny home in water. The ensuing mold created a horrible stench and very unhealthy living conditions. We quickly had the roof repaired and as the video shows, Dona Augusta is happy to report her home and bed are now dry.

We also followed the lead of the Make-A-Wish project, granting her decades-long wish by buying her a plane ticket to visit her family in Bahia, in the Northeast of Brazil, as Dona Augusta had migrated to Rio 40 years earlier and had never had the money to visit her long-lost family. We put her on a flight for the first time in her life and as she explains in the video, once she took off into the blue sky, she just wanted to reach out and touch the clouds. Ah, the child reawakens...
SEE VIDEO HERE
For Dona Belinice, a 95 year-old woman very dear to our hearts, home improvement was also the major need, so we rebuilt her patio that had been destroyed years earlier by rain so that she can now sit outside and actually get some fresh air and sun.
For a woman confined to a dark little home, you can imagine what a refreshing joy it is to now be able to enjoy the outdoors. As she told us, "The sun brings life." Gospel, indeed. We also installed some hand-rails in her home so she can get in and out of bed and go to the bathroom without falling, as had happened numerous times earlier. As she blessed me (see video), the strength of her wonderful spirit was on full display.

For other seniors, we provided reading glasses and dental prostheses. Looking at the before and after smiles, it is obvious how much appreciated our assistance was in improving these wonderful seniors lives. Cause & Affect spent a total of $2,600 to address these many mini-projects. Special thanks to Peter de Jong, who visited the seniors' homes with us and passed along a very generous donation!

"Our society must make it right and possible for old people not to fear the young or be deserted by them, for the test of a civilization is the way that it cares for its helpless members."- Pearl S. Buck

Thank you to all of our wonderful donors. To help more seniors like this please give here.

Emergency Family Assistance in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

2011-07-09T14:38:00.000-07:00

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL -- Though our focus at Cause & Affect has been assisting pre-existing non-profits, in some cases, we encounter particular individuals and families in such dire need that we feel obliged to help. [ WATCH THE VIDEO HERE]
While visiting Vila Cruzieros, one of Rio de Janeiro's most destitute favela shanty-towns, we were introduced to Dona Rosangelina, a single mother of three who does not have the resources to feed her children. Since her documents were destroyed, she has not been eligible to receive even the most basic government assistance. Our first step was taking her to get replacement documents, so she will start receiving help in two months. But until then, it is imperative to help this family with the most basic necessities.
Dona Rosangelina earns only $50 a month ironing clothes, hardly enough to feed a family of four. With the assistance of our friend Tim Shirk, we jumped into action. Our next step was taking them to the supermarket to purchase food to fill their nearly-empty refrigerator. It is hard to believe that for most of her children's lives, this mother has NEVER been able to buy items we take for granted like fresh fruit or meat. Under normal circumstances, Rosangelina enters the supermarket with $7/week. Try feeding four hungry mouths with that! Over the course of two months, we have purchased $300 worth of food for the family. The kids, who were on the verge of malnutrition, now find it easier to concentrate in school and once their government assistance kicks in, the family will be able to maintain a more healthy diet. WATCH THE VIDEO HERE

In addition to food, we have provided some small improvements to help the family at large, such as a fan to ease the tropical heat and a used stove ($200) to allow the family to cook meals. We are also installing a showerhead ($100), so the family does not have to wash themselves out of a bucket.
As you can see from the video, the family is overjoyed to receive this emergency assistance that seemed to fall from the sky at the most crucial moment. Cause & Affect will be assisting more families facing especially desperate situations. IN this case, Tim Shirk stepped forward to contribute the money needed to keep this family from the brink; there are so many families faced with similar predicaments, so we can earmark donations to be directed to other families, which is a great way to pair more better-off families with some of those needing emergency assistance.

Thank you to all of our donors. Please pass this on and give here.

Helping Teen Mothers Achieve a Better Future In Favelas of Rio de Janeiro

2011-05-26T07:30:00.000-07:00

"What is your dream in life?" That is the first question these teen mothers hear when they walk in the door of the wonderful new project Cause & Affect has helped establish here in the favela shanty-towns of Rio de Janeiro. In a stark environment in which many of the life dreams of young women are permanently hijacked due to unplanned pregnancy, it is refreshing to hear 17 year-old Roberta reply, "I want to be a lawyer. I want to provide a bright future for my baby girl."

WATCH THE SHORT VIDEO HERE WITH FOOTAGE FROM LAST YEAR'S BATTLE TO RETAKE THE COMPLEXO AND THE YOUNG WOMEN BENEFITING FROM THIS WONDERFUL PROJECT!

Sadly, without assistance from social programs like this, most of these young mothers drop out of school, and without an education or encouragement, depend on their family or government assistance to support them. Furthermore, many do not know how to properly care for their baby. Looking to address this problem, Cause & Affect visited some of these neighborhoods in search of a way to improve the situation. In Vila Cruzeiros (in Rio's impoverished North Zone), we found a wonderful program called Meninas Maes which was created by the amazing Brazilian-Dutch organization IBISS.

We soon learned that despite the success of this project, in the nearby Complexo de Alemão (a collection of 14 smaller neighborhoods), there are NO programs set up to assist teen mothers. For decades, this complex was controlled by drug cartels, but after after a bloody but necessary battle last year, was the neighborhood "pacified" and the drug dealers forced to flee. As a result, the government is finally able to deliver basic social services, such as health clinics, garbage collection and other programs. On the heels of this battle, faced with the brighter future in the Complexo, IBISS, Meninas Maes and Cause & Affect were able to establish an additional project in this neighborhood, which will help countless mothers (and their families) overcome this challenge! We secured a great new facility and jumped to action to prepare the space for the project to begin.

As always, Cause & Affect arrived and asked, "What are your immediate needs?"
The director Isabel Monteiros alerted us that the pressing need was to prepare the space for the project, as they already have social workers collecting girls to participate and materials to distribute. While not as glamorous as providing baby food or paying for life-changing surgeries, getting the doors open was the pressing need here, so we made their wish a reality. That is how our micro-philanthropy model thrives: addressing the local needs at that very moment. The $1,403 (2,217 Brazilian Reais) we spent covered cleaning materials, new windows and floor tiles (and installation in the new facility). In addition, we provided lunches for the new participants.

WATCH THE SHORT VIDEO HERE.

As the video illustrates, this project is essential in keeping these girls' hopes alive. Hope for a well-paying job so they can provide for their family, hope for a better education and hope for a better future. By empowering these young women and letting them see their true potential, we are helping them re-write their life stories. Thanks to your contributions, Cause & Affect has ensured a brand new start for these wonderful young women. Thank you!

Repairing Cleft Palates for Guatemalan Babies

2010-12-20T10:55:00.000-08:00

Approximately 1 in 700 children worldwide are born with one or both congenital facial deformities known as a cleft lip or cleft palate. In most developed countries like the United States, babies born with this condition are operated upon within the first 2-3 months after birth.
But here in Guatemala, most of the rural families are too poor to afford the surgery. As a result, their babies' cleft lips and palates go untreated, which in many cases leads to malnutrition and death, as the babies often have trouble breast-feeding. Those babies that DO survive are often marginalized from society and become outcasts in their villages. I have seen fully-grown teenagers that rarely leave their house or always wear a bandana in front of their mouth to avoid shame. What a sad reality knowing that for $200, their deformity can be easily corrected.

With that desire in mind, Cause & Affect searched out a Guatemalan organization that conducts this procedure for families in need. T.E.S.S. Unlimited, founded by Tessa de Goede de Ordoñez, locates babies in rural Guatemala whose families cannot afford the surgery. They bring them to a social-welfare clinic to be diagnosed and operated on by a team of Canadian doctors that volunteer their services for these (and other) operations. $200 covers the costs of transport, medicine, follow-up care, speech therapy and the surgical procedure. Based on the needs presented by T.E.S.S. Unlimited, Cause & Affect stepped in to sponsor the three babies whose surgeries needed to be funded.

As you can see from the video, it is incredibly easy and cheap to completely transform a baby's life and opportunities. Looking at the before & after shots, keep in mind just how far $200 can go.
In the holiday spirit, please contribute to wonderful projects such as this on our website. Simply click here to donate via Paypal or credit card. As you can see, every dollar goes a long way towards improving peoples' lives! Thanks for your continued support!

Continuing Fight Against Malnutrition in Guatemala

2010-11-23T06:36:00.000-08:00

WATCH THE VIDEO HERE.
Last year, we reported from Antigua, Guatemala where we addressed the epidemic of malnutrition in Guatemala. Our contributions were important in helping Guatemalan children recover from this condition, which manifests itself due to their family's lack of medical care and insufficient income. It is hard to fathom that half of the country's children suffer from chronic malnutrition - imagine if half of the kids you knew simply did not have enough sustenance to develop in a healthy manner!

Malnutrition manifests itself in stunted growth and lowered IQ scores. Half of Guatemalans are of Mayan descent and due to poor land distribution and a variety of other social, economic and political factors, most of these people live in abject poverty. In these indigenous areas, chronic malnutrition affects 80% of children under five years of age!
WATCH THE VIDEO HERE.

(When interviewed on Capture Your Flag program earlier this year, I spoke about the debilitating effects of malnutrition on childrens development and the most effective ways to address this epidemic. To watch the interview, click here.)

Last year, one of the ways Cause & Affect helped address this issue was by providing assistance to Casa Jackson, an amazing clinic that was created to house and rehabilitate babies that are severely malnourished. The babies receive around-the-clock care from medical professionals and are put on an intensive feeding schedule in order to regain their health. Once their weight has improved, their families take them home again and receive nutritional guidance as well as visits from social workers to assure the children develop in a healthy manner. Though the diapers and milk formula we purchased have been used up by now, the industrial blender we purchased is still being used around the clock to liquefy food for the older babies.

Upon our return to Guatemala to check up on Casa Jackson, we discovered the clinic still had some urgent needs to address, so we jumped to action. The first task was to buy new mattresses for the babies’ cribs, as the old ones had been donated a long time ago and since they were very thin, they were not very comfortable for the babies, nearly detrimental to their physical development. We sought out the thicker, sturdier variety and ordered 16 of them for the center. Our second task was to repaint the cribs, as the paint has been peeling off. Lastly, we were asked to provide curtains for the center, so as to keep the sun out of the babies’ eyes.
As you can see from the video, we bought the fabric, contracted a tailor to sew them and then hung them ourselves. For the paint, the curtains and the 16 mattresses, Cause & Affect spent a total of $1,283. I think you will agree the clinic is much better-off after our two visits!

Another follow-up project this year involved the welfare of a darling little boy named Jose Anavesca. When Jose was admitted to a social welfare hospital in Antigua (Obras Sociales) 18 months ago (see top photo), he was a year and a half old yet only weighed five pounds! He was close to death but in the last two years, he has fought back with force and his magical smile has broken the hearts of nurses, doctors and volunteers like my mother (see photos here).

The good news is that over the past two years, Jose has finally put on enough weight (now about 15 pounds) in order to go back to live with his family! For a boy that spent over half of his life in a public hospital, this home-coming is the greatest thing that has happened in his life! The downside is that Jose still faces health challenges. He was recently diagnosed with diabetes insipidus, which is caused by the inability of the kidneys to conserve water, which leads to frequent urination and pronounced thirst. If inadequate fluids are consumed, the large amount of water lost in the urine may cause dehydration and high sodium levels in the blood.
In order for Jose to be able to survive at home, he needs to take a special medicine on a regular basis and the sad fact is that his family cannot afford this medicine. So, in order to reunite Jose with his family, Cause & Affect has teamed up with a number of volunteers in order to raise funds to purchase the medicine to allow for Jose’s homecoming. We purchased $400 worth of the medicine which we presented to the family when they took Jose home.

Our projects here in Antigua were spearheaded by my mother, Linda Champagne, who has been volunteering at Casa Jackson and Obras Sociales since our initial visit in 2009. Now retired and living in Antigua, her compassion and devotion to the babies of Guatemala has served as a guiding light for Cause & Affect’s operations in Guatemala and we look forward to continuing our collaboration with her in the years to come.

Please help support wonderful projects like these through our website by donating here.
Thanks for your support! SPREAD THE WORD AND BE SURE TO CHECK OUT THIS AND OTHER CAUSE & AFFECT VIDEO FIELD REPORTS. HERE.

EMPOWERING AT-RISK YOUTH in Inner-city Chicago

2010-09-21T08:14:00.000-07:00

"HELP THEM MAKE A DIFFERENCE AND WATCH THEIR SELF-ESTEEM GROW"

--------------------->>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>WATCH THE VIDEO:
Being a product of Chicago's public schools, it saddens me to see how
gang violence and the drug trade is taking so many young lives in my hometown. With so many kids victimized by the violence and the hopelessness, I have been eager to find a way to make a difference on behalf of Cause & Affect.

WATCH THE VIDEO:
John Dudley is one of the "local heroes" I recently discussed in my interview on the "Capture Your Flag" program. As a social studies teacher at Collins High School in Chicago's rough-and-tumble Lawndale neighborhood, Mr. Dudley started the "Warriors With a Future" boys club. Now in their second year of operation, this group of at-risk youths have been engaging in service projects, tutorial programs and even traveled to New Orleans to help rebuild houses destroyed by Katrina flooding. Bravo!

--------------------->>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>WATCH THE VIDEO:
Before the school year let out last June, I spoke to the Warriors
about my philanthropy projects around the world. The boys were fascinated by the videos and stories; in fact, they took such an interest in the work, that they expressed a deep desire to engage in a similar project. We discussed the problems facing their community and decided to devote our attention to Pacific Garden Mission, a local homeless shelter. The boys designed the project: they called the shelter, set up our visits and explained our objectives. We met with the director in person to assess their immediate needs. When we were told about the budget shortfall and need for food supplies, we jumped into action and returned to order $1,000 worth of needed food. A few days later, the Warriors came in to volunteer. They helped make the food, set the tables and serve the food to the homeless people.

Once you watch THE VIDEO, you will see what a formative experience this was for the boys.
"I just wanted to show we care."
"It made me feel good about myself."

The homeless shelter and their hundreds of recipients benefited from our involvement, and the "Warriors with a Future" have been enriched beyond words. Overall, this domestic project was a huge success for Cause & Affect and everyone involved. Thanks for your support. Please help support projects like this by donating here.

NEW KITCHEN FOR CENTER AIDING MENTALLY AND PHYSICALLY CHALLENGED IN N. BRAZIL

2010-05-24T11:56:00.000-07:00

PROVIDING THE SUPPLIES TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Watch the video!

Sometimes most of the pieces are in place to change people's lives - but ONE thing is lacking.... This was the case when Cause & Affect arrived at Projeto Afeto in Pipa in northern Brazil. Founded by a wonderful former teacher named Tania, this center provides physically and mentally-challenged kids with a place where they can: 1) Receive medical treatment (mostly from doctors providing free services) 2) Learn and play (most kids would just be locked in their homes) 3) Receive enriching educational support from professionals 4) Get a hot, nutritious meal every day.

Watch the video!
The only part of this puzzle that was lacking was the last one, as the center had recently been moved to a location that offered a lot of outdoor space for the kids but lacked one important feature: a kitchen! So, when Cause & Affect arrived and asked what their needs were, it was a no-brainer! "I can't believe you are here asking me this! We have no means to feed these kids right now and were hoping to somehow raise the money needed to buy a new kitchen." As the video shows, we jumped into action and just like Oprah and her dream kitchen, we headed to the nearby city and purchased the refrigerator, stove, blender, pots, pans, plates, silverware, etc. needed to cook hot lunch for 40 kids a day. A few days later, when everything had been delivered and installed, our fully-functional new kitchen was in operation. Now, everyday, these kids (all of whom come from very poor families) are receiving a nutritious hot meal everyday at Projecto Afeto. All this for just $1,200!
Why? Simple - because of generous donations from people like you!
Please continue to fund the important work of Cause & Affect by donating here.
From the wonderful children of Pipa and from C&A, thank you!!

Brazilian Capoeira as a Tool to Aid Childrens Development

2010-04-16T14:29:00.000-07:00

CAPOEIRA INSTILLS DISCIPLINE & SELF-CONFIDENCE!!
Cause & Affect recognizes the importance of promoting art, music and sports as a way to improve the social and physical development of children around the world.
Here in Brazil, capoeira represents the perfect mix between all three!

Originally brought by the African slaves to Brazil, capoeira was once prohibited by colonial slave-owners uncomfortable with the sight of their slaves "preparing for battle." As a result, the slaves adapted the art form, setting it to music and trading elements of fighting for dance. Today, capoeira is recognized as one of Brazil's most important cultural traditions; since people of all ages, genders and ages participate together, it's an important means to foster childrens social development.
On the northeastern coast of Brazil in Pipa, Rio Grande de Sul, a wonderfully-run community project uses capoeira instruction as a way to keep local kids off the street,
while training them in this martial art/dance that has become such an integral part of Brazilian culture. C&A assessed their needs and jumped into action! As the video shows, the instructor, director and kids were in need of mirrors to help refine their technique and improve their practice.
Cause & Affect contracted a company to install them and just a few days later, the capoeira studio at Projeto Das Criancas (Children's Project) was complete!
As the professor told me, "Capoeira is much more than a sport; it provides much-needed discipline for these kids, many of whom come from broken families." Seeing the smiles on the kids' faces and watching them display their skills with pride, it is obvious that
this $915 will go a long way towards helping these 40+ kids achieve a positive self-image, while exercising in a wholesome, culturally-enriching activity.
Your donations make a difference - you can aid the cause by clicking here.

Supporting Challenged Kids in Rio's "City of God"

2010-03-27T14:11:00.000-07:00

WATCH THE VIDEO FIELD REPORT HERE
Here in a shanty-town of Rio de Janeiro called Cidade de Deus ("City of God"), life for the 40,000 residents of is a daily challenge, as they are faced with a lack of jobs, medical attention and high food prices.

Even more challenging is the plight of the physically- and mentally-challenged kids in the favela.
Thankfully, some local heroes founded a community center to provide education, nutritious food and a nurturing environment for these kids, providing them with the mental and physical stimuli they need to develop in a healthy manner. Cause & Affect traveled to this favela shanty-town (now well-known due to the highly-acclaimed 2003 film City of God) in order to provide material and financial support to this wonderfully-run project.

Laura Muniz helped found the Projeto Resgate ("Rescue Project")
over ten years ago and now receives financial support from the wonderful Dutch-Brazilian organization IBISS. As she explains, "Since most kids here come from single-parent homes, these physically- and mentally-challenged children are often locked into their homes when their mothers go off to work. We provide them with a healthy environment and thanks to our physical therapists and teachers trained in dealing with kids with their conditions, we are able to help the kids improve their condition and also help their parents understand and deal with their childrens' disabilities."

Cause & Affect arrived to discover that the facilities of the center were in need of a serious make-over, so with $730, we were able to re-paint the walls and purchase a wide variety of art supplies for the project. Thanks to Aspire Inspire, we also distributed 50 backpacks to the kids of the project and the adjoining pre-school.

With the help of donors like, you Cause & Affect is creating positive change in places like City of God. To help the cause, please donate on-line here.

Saving Kids from Drug Trafficking in Rio's Favela Shanty-towns

2010-02-10T07:36:00.000-08:00

WATCH THE VIDEO HERE
Rio de Janeiro is known for its pretty beaches, carnaval excitement and sultry lifestyle. But for millions of Rio's residents that reside in the favela shanty-towns, life is a daily challenge as inhabitants struggle to earn a living and provide for their families.

For children here, there exists another challenge: staying alive. Lured by the glamor of gym shoes, money, status and girls, local kids are being wooed into the drug trade, sometimes as young as 8 years old. With only 4 hours of school per day, kids are left out on the street, often with nothing to do but get involved in the alluring drug trade. 12 year-old with a .357s are an all-too-common sight on these streets, as kids lack positive role-models to encourage them along a more healthy, wholesome path. The violence of the drug trade, coupled with the heavy hand and quick triggers of the local police, has created a situation in which "an entire generation of impoverished Brazilian youth is being decimated."

Luckily, in many of these favela communities, there is hope. Local community centers provide these kids with a safe haven while teaching them skills and providing them with the stimuli needed to keep them off the dangerous streets. With high rates of malnutrition and broken homes, it is essential to these kids' development to provide them with a place where they can go after school to learn, play and eat nutritious food.

In an effort to provide safe haven for more of these children,
Cause & Affect has supported two of these successful projects.
1) Terra Encontada is a neighborhood in the Jardim America favela located in the Northern Zone of Rio and home to about 5,000 inhabitants. When a Dutch organization IBISS arrived to help a decade ago, they asked the parents and kids what was their most important request. The answer was unanimous: a soccer field where the kids could play futbol, exercise and get off the dusty, dangerous streets. In the years since, a soccer coach has been hired to give formal lessons and a team created that competes with other local favelas. With their minds focused on soccer, these kids look up to their coaches and the project staff. A few of the kids told me about friends of theirs that took the other path; all too often, the friends died violent deaths once they became involved with the drug gangs.

Upon our visit, C&A could see the field had fallen into disrepair. Due to years of wear and tear, coupled with heavy rains, much of the field had washed away and had been inundated with frequent flooding. Seeing a direct way to assist, we swooped into action, first hiring workers to clean out the clogged drainage pipes. We then contracted a huge truckload of sand to be delivered to provide that powdery-soft field the kids enjoy. Next we bought new soccer balls and nets for the goals. Beyond these cosmetic improvements though, we wanted to find a way to increase the access to this field. Much to the delight of the project directors (and the kids), we decided to install four strong lamps to allow the kids to play at night. Now, thanks to the $1,500 C&A invested to improve this field, hundreds of kids can stay off the streets and instead play well into the night in a safe, wholesome environment.

2) Cinco Bocas, located in the Braz de Pina neighborhood, is infamous for its drug wars and homicides, often at the hand of the local police. But a percussion project here is changing the lives of many of these kids. The local community center here, founded by locals and supported in part by IBISS as well, provides day care to over a hundred kids. In addition, many of the adolescents in the program take part in an amazing drumming project. They are trained in the rich art of Brazilian percussion and as this video shows, they are incredibly skilled! They have toured in Holland a few times, which gives these kids a real boost of confidence and inspires them to devote their lives to this project. As the video shows, these kids know that their lives have been transformed - it is powerful to see firsthand!

Cause & Affect loves this project but When we watched the older kids playing with their incredibly genuine smiles, we could see the younger ones looking on in awe. It was clear that these positive role models needed to be encouraged to pass along their skills and wisdom to the younger kids. We asked the Director why more younger kids weren't involved and she replied, "There is one simple answer: we can not afford the drums needed to teach them." Acting upon this need, we compiled a "wish list" and headed to the instrument store to purchase the $1,500 needed to expand the project to 50 additional kids. We delivered the drums, set up the classes and for $30 per kid, young lives are being spared from the violence of the drug trade.

Mission accomplished. As the video illustrates, 5o of the younger kids are now a part of the project and the teenagers are very enthused to act as teachers and role models for this "new generation of Brazilian drummers."

As one 18 year-old told me, "We have been so lucky to have this life-changing opportunity. Now we can give back by teaching the little kids."

So simple, so true. Once again, Cause & Affect's micro-philanthropy model proves its efficiency. We do the background research, make field visits, choose a project to assist, find the most effective way to make a difference and then act quickly to purchase the supplies or contract the service needed to directly impact peoples' lives. FIND A CAUSE & AFFECT A CHANGE - this is the C&A mantra and once again, we see it's success.

SPECIAL THANKS TO LYONS TOWNSHIP HIGH SCHOOL IN LA GRANGE, IL!
BY CHOOSING CAUSE & AFFECT AS THEIR CHARITY OF THE YEAR, THEY WERE ABLE TO RAISE OVER $3,500 TO SUPPORT THESE PROJECTS! WELL DONE! GO LIONS! (C&A is looking for more schools to participate in the program.)

Harnessing Micro-credit for Guatemalan Women

2010-01-13T06:31:00.000-08:00

In order to start a business or improve one's financial well-being, people need access to banking services and credit. Sadly, the vast majority of poor people in the world lack this access to credit.

Recognizing this shortcoming, visionaries like Muhammad Yunus have developed micro-credit institutions (like his Grameen Bank in Bangladesh) that have gone on to help millions of families climb out of poverty. In many cases, these "micro-loans" (often just a few hundred dollars) are coupled with business training classes to allow local entrepreneurs to create and run their own business.

In September, Cause & Affect Founder Adam Carter was invited to speak at a Micro-credit Symposium at the College of Lake County (CLC). (Excerpts from his speech included in Field Report video). Joined by CLC Alum and C&A President Tim Summers, Carter explained to students and faculty why this development approach has become so widely embraced throughout the developing world. He then invited students to participate in funding a micro-credit project, urging them to raise money so they could see micro-credit in action.

Thanks to Liz Clark, the Alpha Alpha Pi Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa, a local women's group and the rest of the CLC team, the students were able to raise over $1,300! C&A took this money down to Guatemala to fund a micro-credit loan for Santos Dominga Chiroy García de Camajá, a single mother that lives in the El Quiche region of Guatemala. Santos Dominga, like most rural Guatemalans, is an indigenous Mayan that has been completely excluded from conventional banking institutions. Without access to credit or banking services, she is left on her own to support her five children. She and her family live in a delicate balance, as she is left tending to the fields all day and also preparing food for her children. All she can rely on is her meager onion crop, which does not provide enough income for her to address the food, educational and medical needs of her family.

But, with this micro-loan (administered through our local partner, a very-highly reputable micro-credit institution called SHARE Guatemala), this hard-working mother will be able to purchase additional inputs in order to increase the yield of her onion crop. She will also be able to purchase supplies to weave baskets, using her skills to foster her entrepreneurial spirit. Her older children will be able to assist her in this income-generating opportunity. The loan will be repaid over the course of 12 months, at which point the money will be re-generated into another loan for the next worthy recipient.

Yes, it is that simple! American students learn about the wonders of micro-credit, they raise money to alleviate poverty and they are able to see the fruits of their labors through Cause & Affect's work in action. Meanwhile, in the middle of Guatemala, a family is provided with the means to pull themselves out of poverty. A family has more food, access to educational opportunities and money for medical treatment. Everyone wins. [C&A is looking for other colleges and universities to participate in this sort of program, so please e-mail any leads.]

Keep those donations coming - every dollar is instrumental in changing lives for the better!
Donations can be made on-line here. ¡Muchas Gracias!

C&A Sister School Program Officially Launched!

2009-12-18T12:27:00.000-08:00

As part of C&A's Sister-School Program, we have paired up a high school in the states with a school in rural Guatemala!

After students from Peninsula High School in San Bruno raised money, Cause & Affect delivered these funds, as well as their letters and photos, to their Sister School in Patzun, Guatemala.

Agua de Dios, a small private elementary school in this indigenous region provides students with a much better education than the local public school, which is overcrowded with students and under-staffed with teachers, many of whom often miss school for no reason. Unlike the public school, which is home to a lot of drugs and violence, Agua de Dios is a safe sanctuary for the children of Patzun to learn, play and enjoy their childhood.

Upon our visit to Agua de Dios, the students thoroughly enjoyed the pinata celebration, as well as seeing the letters and photos from their California sister-school. The students will continue to correspond with each other in order to deepen cross-cultural understanding.

With the money raised, Agua de Dios will purchase 25-30 desks for their students. Hopefully, the students, faculty and parents at Peninsula will be able to raise additional funds for Agua de Dios in the near future, as the school is in dire need of more classrooms and supplies. C&A is accepting more schools to participate in the program, so please contact us for more information.

Restoring Hope After Mudslide in El Salvador

2009-12-11T15:06:00.000-08:00

Due to an inundation of rain from Hurricane Ida, a giant mudslide barreled down the Chicontepec Volcano in central El Salvador. It gathered mass and speed until it collided with the tranquil town of Verapaz, crashing into the city and swallowing nearly everything in its path: homes, animals, cars and over twenty of the town’s inhabitants. (To add insult to injury, many of the victims had already lost their homes in years past due to earthquakes and floods that have repeatedly struck the region.)

In an effort to provide humanitarian assistance, Cause & Affect arrived in the distressed region in search of the most effective way to help.

After speaking with the local mayor and relief professionals, we discovered that most of the victims’ day-to-day humanitarian needs (food, water and medicine) were already being addressed by the government and other organizations. We were also informed that residents from outlying areas, while affected by the same mudslide, were often out of the relief loop.

1) We discovered Don Luciano Montano, an 80 year-old man whose shack had been destroyed by the torrent of mud that engulfed him and nearly carried him away to his death. El Anciano (“the old man”) as locals call him lives all alone with no savings to fall back on. Widowed and maimed by a sugar-mill accident, he has had his home destroyed by two earthquakes in years past. Today, he scrapes by on whatever manual labor he can find, a most punishing existence for a frail, elderly man.

Once we got to know this gentle soul and recognized his determination to somehow survive despite his apparent helplessness, Cause & Affect jumped into action. With the encouragement (and utter disbelief) of Don Montano, we built the old man a new house. Wasting no time, we immediately bought the supplies and called upon his helpful neighbors for their volunteered time for construction. Two days later, our hard-working and wise old friend cried as he thanked Cause & Affect for rescuing him. Most incredibly, we built the entire house (albeit a very simple one) for a grand total of $300. As you can see, Cause & Affect finds the most DIRECT form of giving with the donations we receive! I urge you to watch this inspiring 4-minute video.

2) Working in association with the local Peace Corps office, we met the Dimas family. On the fateful night of the mudslide, Dona Priscilla Dimas lost her mother, two grandmothers, her grandfather and her 8 year-old son Kevin. Her home and all her belongings were completely destroyed. Since many Peace Corps volunteers had stayed with this family in years past, Cause & Affect is spearheading a fund-raising drive amongst Peace Corps volunteers (past and present) and their friends and families to try to assist the Dimas family, as they will need to build a home in a safer part of town. We produced this video, which is being distributed through the Peace Corps network and also started the aid with a $100 donation towards food and medicine for the remaining members of the family.

Special thanks to my mentor Marc Gold of 100 Friends for leading the path in helping so many elderly people in need around the world.

Thank you for all of your generous donations - you can see the positive change taking place! To give, simply click here.

For those interested in some culinary adventures, C&A Chairman Adam Carter is a guest-blogger for Beyondthekitchen.com, and writes here about pig's head soup.

Helping Honduran Shanty-town Without Medical Care

2009-11-30T15:12:00.000-08:00

Honduras has the 2nd worst public health system in the Western Hemisphere. Off the northern coast on an island called Roatan, I discovered a shanty-town community called La Colonia that was founded by refugees from Hurricane Mitch that destroyed these peoples' communities over ten years ago when tidal waves washed away their homes and their farmland. Seeking to settle somewhere with higher ground and jobs, they moved to this tropical island. But life in La Colonia is a daily struggle.

WATCH FIELD REPORT HERE! and our first field report from Guatemala here.

Atrocious economic conditions, a lack of educational opportunities and medical problems have left the 4,000 residents of La Colonia mired in poverty. With scant resources from the government, the people here are left to fend for themselves. Sanitation is absent, schools are overloaded (only 1 in 4 kids here go to school) and the only public health clinics are severely overcrowded and under-manned. Imagine going to a clinic without running water or any medicine!

Fortunately, an American nurse named Miss Peggy Stranges, while down in Honduras in 1998 doing humanitarian work after the destructive Hurricane Mitch, recognized the need and acted upon it. What started as a make-shift operation in her kitchen has grown into the two-story Clinic Esperanza addressing pediatrics, maternal health and more. Over 250 foreign volunteers (such as doctors from the states) volunteer at the Clinic annually and the only paid employees are Hondurans, such as the two Honduran doctors, nurse and dentist on staff. Much of the medicine is purchased with World Health Organization (WHO) discount or donated from foundations. Many supplies are donated by tourists that come through Roatan (famous for its gorgeous beaches and coral reefs) but due to the recent political crisis, tourism has been down, which is what led to the current shortage. We are confident that the holidays brings more generous foreigners to aid the clinic.

Having helped rebuild homes after the Hurricane back in 1999 while living in Guatemala, I was saddened to see people still victimized by this storm a decade later. Fortunately, Cause & Affect was able to make a difference. We learned about the current shortage of respiratory and diabetic medicine, so we delivered a $1,200 Micro-Grant to allow them to purchase these needed medications. Be sure to watch the video to see personal accounts about the importance of this clinic for this downtrodden community - their words speak louder than mine.
Thanks to all of our donors - as you can see, your money goes a long way!
To make an on-line donation, simply click here.

Tackling Malnutrition in Guatemala

2009-11-18T09:32:00.000-08:00

VIEW FIELD REPORT VIDEO HERE
Guatemala, a stunningly beautiful country renown for its volcanoes, picturesque colonial cities and rich cultural heritage is beset with a wide variety of social, economic, educational and health problems. One of the most serious issues is malnutrition, as the country suffers from the third highest rate of chronic malnutrition in the world, ranking below only Yemen and Afghanistan. For a country with such fertile land, this sorry statistic speaks volumes about the level of corruption, inequality and uphill fight faced by this country’s poor population. This problem is especially acute amongst Guatemala’s indigenous Mayan population, which make up over half of the country’s population. Due to their political exclusion and economic marginalization, over 75% of these Mayan people live below the poverty line, and as a result, often have trouble feeding their children. The ridiculously high fertility rate here does not help matters; without access to family planning or contraceptives, indigenous women give birth to an average of over 6 children and half of Guatemalan women are mothers by the time they reach 19 years of age!

Though it requires decades to reverse these worrying trends, Cause & Affect Foundation is committed to using our resources to create positive change today in the most direct manner possible. C&A Founder Adam Carter spent the last month volunteering with several children’s hospitals and non-profit organizations in the country and decided upon a course of action.

First, we worked alongside a local center that provides food and shelter for homeless families that have nowhere to turn and no other source of nourishment. A local contact has agreed to further assist this shelter by providing breakfast for the 80 -100 people that visit on a daily basis. (This comes to $600 a month or $20 a day, which is about a quarter per meal).

Second, we assisted Casa Jackson, a clinic for malnourished babies from the region. Babies suffering from malnutrition are referred to the clinic by social workers, orphanages or parents unable to provide enough food for their babies. Babies are brought in and treated for their ailments and put on a nutritionally-balanced diet, being fed twelve times a day to regain their strength. Once they have overcome their malnutrition, they are returned to their families, who are them counseled about proper nutrition and childhood rearing. In assessing the project’s needs, we were alerted that the clinic was in dire need of 4 items: powdered milk, diapers, an industrial blender (to make the formula) and a food processor (to blend fruit and vegetables). Cause & Affect immediately went to the market and purchased all four for a total of $500.

Thirdly, we traveled to the remote rural Mayan communities surrounding Lake Atitlan. In association with Feed the Dream and Los Amigos de Santa Cruz, two NGO’s that do amazing work addressing pre-natal nutrition and care, feeding centers and community gardens, Cause & Affect came face-to-face with families in dire need of help, such s the ten children that were orphaned when their mother recently died in childbirth. We discovered that there is no system in place for families like this facing food emergencies to obtain assistance in a timely manner. In order to address this pressing need, we created the Cause & Affect Emergency Malnutrition Fund with a seed grant of $500. Our local partners at Los Amigos de Santa Cruz will be distributing powdered milk, fruit and vegetables to these especially desperate families and reporting back to Cause & Affect on their progress.

By tackling the pressing issue of Guatemala’s malnutrition from three angles, we have shown just how far a small amount of money can go. In this case, we accomplished the three objectives with only $1,000.

As we say, “Find a CAUSE & AFFECT a change. It’s that simple.”
Special thanks to Phi Theta Kappa’s Illinois Region - their contribution was well-spent!
Please visit website and blog for more information of make an on-line donation here.

Cause and Affect Assists Chicago Inner-city Music Program

2009-10-17T21:50:00.000-07:00

Cause & Affect launched their first state-side initiative by supporting the P.A.U.S.E. Program, which provides music instruction for Chicago inner-city public school children in a wonderfully-run after-school project. P.A.U.S.E., which stands for Positive Action Using Self Expression works with teachers from Chicago's New Music School to teach these young eager students with music instruction. "Music inspires so many of our children to reach their highest potential, however budget cuts in inner-city schools often prevent students from learning anything about music." Cause & Affect has helped provide supplies for the students from Rock Prep School (located in Austin neighborhood) and is working with local partners to provide more support as the kids are very excited about their musical future. Their rendition of "Mary had a Little Lamb" was sensational! We will check back with progress report with a follow-up visit in the spring.

Rockin' Wrigley Tour Fundraiser

2009-09-29T10:20:00.000-07:00

Cause & Affect founders Adam Carter and Tim Summers hosted
our 1st Annual Behind-the-scenes Private Tour of Wrigley. The event was a blast and we raised great money for Cause & Affect in the process! Our donors loved hanging out in the Cubs' clubhouse and dugout. Apps & drinks at Rockit Bar & Grill were great as well. Special thanks to Billy Tokyo for donating his amazing Wrigley print.

C&A Multi-Media Benefit a Super Success!

2009-09-29T10:01:00.000-07:00

Many thanks to all our 150 friends that made Saturday's Multi-Media Benefit such a huge success for Cause & Affect! We raised nearly $2,000 for the projects we will be supporting in Latin America, which means out little "night out" will drastically improve the lives of those less fortunate. That's what its all about! Thanks to all bands, volunteers and participants, including Jesse Golfis, Christophe from Molotov Kartel, Justin Santora and Lee Greenwich Clothing.

C&A Chairman Leads Micro-credit Symposium

2009-09-18T12:52:00.000-07:00

Adam Carter addressed an auditorium of attentive students as the Keynote Speaker at the College of Lake County's "Step Out of Poverty" event on September 15th. In his speech, Adam briefed students and faculty about the origins, importance and logistics of micro-credit in the world today, which has allowed millions of people to pull themselves out of poverty by providing them with access to credit to start a business. Cause & Affect partnered with the college, the Phi Theta Kappa chapter, the Latino Alliance and a local women's group to raise money to fund a micro-credit loan for a group of women entrepreneurs in rural Guatemala. Adam will travel there in October to deliver the funds for the micro-credit loan in association with SHARE Guatemala. Adam was joined by Cause & Affect founder (and College of Lake County Alum) Tim Summers.

C&A Chairman as Keynote Speaker

2009-08-11T11:37:00.000-07:00

Adam Spreads Cause & Affect Message as Keynote Speaker at Academic Honor Society Regional Convention
Speaking to a few hundred college students at the Phi Theta Kappa's Regional Convention, Cause & Affect Chairman Adam Carter showed his documentary from his African humanitarian trip and explained to these eager college students the ways they can single-handedly improve their communities and the world around them. Many thanks to the organizers and attentive students! He has already planned a fundraiser with the Lake College PTK Chapter for September, an event that will finance a micro-credit loans for Guatemalan women entrepnreneurs!

Adam Aids Benefit to Prevent Human Trafficking

2009-07-26T14:43:00.000-07:00

Cause & Affect Chairman Adam Carter spoke about his foundation's efforts to address the human trafficking epidemic that results in 800,000 people being illegally transported across international borders every year. The Chicago Mosaic "Traffick Jam" raised money for successful organizations that are addressing this worrying problem in countries such as Nepal, Cambodia and Vietnam. Adam and the rest of the panel of speakers provided first-hand accounts of this practice as well as practical solutions to curb the practice. Many thanks to our friends that came out to support the cause!

Cause and Affect Soft Launch Soirèe

2009-05-26T14:06:00.000-07:00

The soft launch of Cause & Affect Foundation recently took place at our spring soirèe at Primitive Gallery here in Chicago. Thanks to all of our supporters, our pre-launch fundraiser was a huge success. The music of Opposition Party was incredible, and the delectable treats and cocktails did not disappoint. Guests were able to see Adam's documentary that recounts his African humanitarian trip and were also entertained by magicians and tarot card readers.
Special guest Marc Gold, who is Founder of 100 Friends and Adam's mentor, was also in attendance, fresh from his appearance on NPR's Worldview program, in which he mentioned the exciting news of the launch of Cause & Affect Foundation!

Thank you all for your donations and attendance - the funds raised will undoubtedly create very positive change for hundreds! It is wonderful to see old and new friends unite behind this wonderful cause. See you soon!