Gifts For Change
How can gift-giving during the holiday season have greater depth?
This was the question we asked ourselves in One Sky. The rampant consumerism that defines the holiday season is born, in part, out of care for our loved ones. We give gifts as symbols of that care. Yet, sadly, the systems in which we purchase gifts don't tend to be sustainable or equitable. Gifts are bought from companies that continue to exploit and pollute.
Alternatives, however, do exist! One great alternative is to buy local, hand-crafted items, or to buy from Canadian companies that you know have taken steps towards greater sustainability. Those these are great alternatives and ones that we support... Although notice how as you buy local and from Canadian green companies, you are still investing primarily in our community and nation--a country at the top of the Human Development Index worldwide. Which is of course fine. Yet we wondered at One Sky how could our gift purchases support and invest in countries at the bottom of the Human Development Index?
Our answer to that question are Gifts For Change.
Every Gift For Change goes directly and completely to projects in villages in West Africa. These projects that have sought to "breakthrough" the status quo of how problems are conventionally addressed, by considering the systemic, interrelated factors that contribute to poverty. As such, they are seeking more effective, long-lasting, integral solutions to persistent challenges for human and environmental well-being.
These projects are carried out by African leaders that are part of One Sky's Leading From Within-Integral leadership for sustainable development project. That is to say, we personally know every single person involved in delivering these projects. We know (and are humbled by) their committment, their unwavering dedication to the most poor in their country, and their hope and inspiration for Nigeria to rise above its current state of poverty and environmental degradation. We know that your Gift For Change will make a difference. And we also respect the many other ways you may decide to bring greater meaning into your gift-giving this year, be it through our program or not.
If you are moved to do so, please check out our Gifts For Change. Read below for descriptions of the Gifts For Change, and go to our gift portal to purchase them.
Doing The Math: One hundred percent of your donation will go directly to these projects, and the Canadian government matches your gift with $3 for each dollar raised. So, for example, your $100 gift actually becomes a $400 gift for supporting sustainable livelihoods.
Click here to purchase a Gift for Change
HOW TO BUY A GIFT FOR CHANGE
There are three simple steps to buy a Gift for Change all of which you can do when you go to One Sky's Gifts for Change webpage. But first, take a read through these steps below, and be sure to peruse the gift descriptions below. Contact us if you have any questions.
Step 1: Choose your gift
Choose which gift you are going to give from one of the following options:
$10 Plant 10 trees in the rainforest
$25 Produce 10 HIV/AIDS handbooks in indigenous language
$50 Install one solar cooker to help villagers cook sustainably
$75 Provide one livelihood training workshop for youth
$100 Seed fund for Widows’ Empowerment
$150 Cow for the village
$ 50 Malaria medication to a family who cannot afford it (*NEW for 2011*)
See below for more details about each of these gifts.
Step 2: Choose the type of card you would like delivered.
You can choose to send your recipient a personalized e-card or hard copy card. Alternately, One Sky will send a personalized card on your behalf.
*Please note: To receive a hard copy certificate by Christmas, please donate no later than the 18th of December. After Dec 18th, please choose an e-card option.
Step 3: Fill out your personal details, the details of your ‘giftee’, and make your payment.
Fill out your personal details, and be sure to include the contact information of your ‘giftee’. Then click on the PayPal link to complete your purchase.
If you have any questions, email giftsforchange@onesky.ca and we will respond promptly!
Thank you for your contribution, and for supporting West African leaders to make important steps to achieve greater human and environmental sustainability.
With gratitude, The One Sky Team
Descriptions of One Sky’s Gifts for Change:
Plant Trees
Plant 10 trees in the rainforest for $10
Ninety percent of the rainforests in the Niger Delta have been lost, endangering the rare wildlife and plants that are found there, and contributing to the poverty of the people that have inhabited these forests for millennia. Animals, plants and people are increasingly being impacted by climate change. Planting trees in this region will reverse some of the impacts of severe deforestation and the impacts of climate change.
HIV/AIDS Handbooks
Produce 10 HIV/AIDS handbooks in indigenous language for $25
HIV/AIDS rates in West Africa continue to rise, however, much HIV/AIDS educational material is not available in local languages. By translating HIV/AIDS handbooks into the local languages, villagers will be able access the information and understand how to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS. For $25 you can buy 10 HIV/AIDS handbooks to be distributed to local villagers.
Solar Cooker
Install one solar cooker to help villagers cook sustainably for $50
Solar cookers help villagers with alternative energy sources for cooking so they don’t need to cut down the forests for their wood-burning stoves. While decreasing the impacts on the planet, villagers also learn about local issues of climate change and what actions they can take to support the health of their village and their ecosystem.
Youth Livelihood Training
Provide one livelihood training workshop for youth for $75
With few skills and opportunities for work, many West African youth are drawn into being hired for financial gains from corrupt individuals who use them to perpetrate election violence. By providing livelihood training to youth in beekeeping and snail farms, they are empowered to rise out of poverty and contribute meaningfully to the social and economic development of their regions.
Seed Fund for Widows’ Empowerment
Seed funds for Widows’ Economic development activities for $100
Through a microcredit program, women are trained and provided a seed fund to create and grow sustainable businesses, thus attaining financial independence. With proceeds from their businesses, widows will be able to provide for their children’s educational, health and welfare needs, contribute to community development, and promote gender equality and social participation.
Cows for Villagers
Buy a Cow for the village for$150 to save endangered monkeys and support the nutrition of local villagers
When you buy a cow, you support hunters to use alternative sources of protein. Traditionally, monkeys and other primates are hunted but now are endangered in the rainforests of the Niger Delta. With rampant protein shortages, villagers are being trained in how to raise and use cattle to feed themselves and their families. (A cow actually costs $750, so your contribution of $150 is approximately 1/5 of the total cost.)
Malaria Treatment
Give malaria treatment to families who can't affort it for only $50
Malaria puts over 3.3 billion at risk across the planet, and 1 in 5 children die of malaria in Africa (according to 2011 statistics from WHO). This year has seen a dramatic increase in malaria cases in southern Nigeria. One reason for this is that the rainy season has lingered for longer that normal due to unpredictable changes in weather patterns as the climate changes. Those rains have meant more standing water in puddles which harbour mosquito larvae. While some of our other projects address the systemic, long-term causes of climate change, this gift will respond to those in immediate need, some at the cusp of life or death. Your gift will be carefully allocated to those families most in need of assistance to get malaria treatment for their children. (Because this gift is new for 2011, it may take some time to add it to the options on the gift portal. If you are interested and don't yet see it available, please check back soon!)
