Self Help Africa
Encyclopedia
Self Help Africa is an international charity that promotes and implements long term rural development
projects in Africa
. It was established in mid-2008 following a merger between Irish agency Self Help Development International and the UK agency Harvest Help - both of which were set up in the wake of African famines in the mid-1980's. Both agencies had worked for nearly 25 years, seeking long term solutions to the problem of famine and food insecurity in Sub-Sahara.
The agency has its headquarters in Portlaoise, Co. Laois, Ireland
, and UK offices in Shrewsbury
. It implements long term rural development projects in nine countries in Africa - Ethiopia
, Eritrea
, Malawi
, Kenya
, Uganda
, Zambia
, Ghana
, Togo
, and Burkina Faso
, both directly and through local partners.
The focus of the organisation's work is on empowering rural African communities to grow enough food, and earn a sustainable livelihood.
Self Help Africa now employs close to 300 all local staff in its African countries, and works also with close to 20 local NGO partners.
Self Help Africa is the very first Anglo-Irish development agency. Self Help Africa works in partnership with local government institutions and with local communities on all of its programmes.
Alongside measures designed to improve food production, the organisation works to support activities that can mitigate, and help Africa's rural poor to adapt to the effects of climate change.
Programmes also promote farming as a business, support women as entrepreneurs, seek to improve access to health and education, conserve the natural resources, and build the capacity of rural African communities so that they can meet the challenges that they face.
Self Help Africa seeks to integrate HIV/AIDS, gender equality
, and natural resource conservation into all of its programmes. Self Help Africa is one of five Irish development agencies in receipt of multi-annual programme funding through the Irish Government's Irish Aid programme.
It is also the recipient of funding from the European Commission, from US AID, and from a variety of trusts, foundations, other institutional donors, and the general public.
Self Help has won several awards for its excellent and informative website, including an Irish Golden Spider for 'Best Charity Web Site' in 2004, and an Annual Digital Media Award 'Best Information Web-Site' in 2007.
Self Help Africa is active in raising donations from the Irish community, including recent campaigns in Kilkenny, Roscommon, Wicklow, Mayo, and Limerick.
In November 2009 Self Help Africa was formally launched in the United States by former Irish President and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson
.
The same month the organisation collaborated with international development agencies Concern Universal, Find Your Feet, Development Fund of Norway and FARM-Africa to publish 'Climate Frontline - African Communities Adapting to Survive', which was launched in Dublin by Irish Environment Minister John Gormley
, at the EU in Brussels, in London, and in several African capitals. The publication sought to lend a voice to rural Africa, and show how the rural poor were already adapting to survive in a changing climate. The launches were arranged in advance of the COP 15 summit on Climate Change in Copenhagen.
Rural development
Rural development in general denotes economic development and community development actions and initiatives taken to improve the standard of living in non-urban neighbourhoods, remote villages and the countryside...
projects in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
. It was established in mid-2008 following a merger between Irish agency Self Help Development International and the UK agency Harvest Help - both of which were set up in the wake of African famines in the mid-1980's. Both agencies had worked for nearly 25 years, seeking long term solutions to the problem of famine and food insecurity in Sub-Sahara.
The agency has its headquarters in Portlaoise, Co. Laois, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, and UK offices in Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire, in the West Midlands region of England. Lying on the River Severn, it is a civil parish home to some 70,000 inhabitants, and is the primary settlement and headquarters of Shropshire Council...
. It implements long term rural development projects in nine countries in Africa - Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
, Eritrea
Eritrea
Eritrea , officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. Eritrea derives it's name from the Greek word Erethria, meaning 'red land'. The capital is Asmara. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast...
, Malawi
Malawi
The Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Its size...
, Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
, Zambia
Zambia
Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
, Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
, Togo
Togo
Togo, officially the Togolese Republic , is a country in West Africa bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, on which the capital Lomé is located. Togo covers an area of approximately with a population of approximately...
, and Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso – also known by its short-form name Burkina – is a landlocked country in west Africa. It is surrounded by six countries: Mali to the north, Niger to the east, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Côte d'Ivoire to the southwest.Its size is with an estimated...
, both directly and through local partners.
The focus of the organisation's work is on empowering rural African communities to grow enough food, and earn a sustainable livelihood.
Self Help Africa now employs close to 300 all local staff in its African countries, and works also with close to 20 local NGO partners.
Self Help Africa is the very first Anglo-Irish development agency. Self Help Africa works in partnership with local government institutions and with local communities on all of its programmes.
Alongside measures designed to improve food production, the organisation works to support activities that can mitigate, and help Africa's rural poor to adapt to the effects of climate change.
Programmes also promote farming as a business, support women as entrepreneurs, seek to improve access to health and education, conserve the natural resources, and build the capacity of rural African communities so that they can meet the challenges that they face.
Self Help Africa seeks to integrate HIV/AIDS, gender equality
Gender equality
Gender equality is the goal of the equality of the genders, stemming from a belief in the injustice of myriad forms of gender inequality.- Concept :...
, and natural resource conservation into all of its programmes. Self Help Africa is one of five Irish development agencies in receipt of multi-annual programme funding through the Irish Government's Irish Aid programme.
It is also the recipient of funding from the European Commission, from US AID, and from a variety of trusts, foundations, other institutional donors, and the general public.
Self Help has won several awards for its excellent and informative website, including an Irish Golden Spider for 'Best Charity Web Site' in 2004, and an Annual Digital Media Award 'Best Information Web-Site' in 2007.
Self Help Africa is active in raising donations from the Irish community, including recent campaigns in Kilkenny, Roscommon, Wicklow, Mayo, and Limerick.
In November 2009 Self Help Africa was formally launched in the United States by former Irish President and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson
Mary Robinson
Mary Therese Winifred Robinson served as the seventh, and first female, President of Ireland from 1990 to 1997, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, from 1997 to 2002. She first rose to prominence as an academic, barrister, campaigner and member of the Irish Senate...
.
The same month the organisation collaborated with international development agencies Concern Universal, Find Your Feet, Development Fund of Norway and FARM-Africa to publish 'Climate Frontline - African Communities Adapting to Survive', which was launched in Dublin by Irish Environment Minister John Gormley
John Gormley
John Gormley is an Irish politician. He was the leader of the Irish Green Party from 2007 to 2011, and was a Teachta Dála for the Dublin South East constituency from 1997 to 2011. He served as Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government from 2007–11...
, at the EU in Brussels, in London, and in several African capitals. The publication sought to lend a voice to rural Africa, and show how the rural poor were already adapting to survive in a changing climate. The launches were arranged in advance of the COP 15 summit on Climate Change in Copenhagen.