4th: Meet our new Local Partners!

ALG works on a daily basis with a local team in Mozambique composed by 6 Local Partners, one General Coordinator and 15 technicians and moms who ensure ALG’s work on the ground is efficient and reach the highest possible number of families. This year we had a few changes, partners wise, but the new “acquisitions” are amazing.

Sister Alice is the new Local Partner in S. Vicente de Paulo. She was born on the 14th of November 1974, in Maputo, and she is the youngest of 8 brothers. In 1997 she was admitted in the Daughters’ of Charity Congregation currently completing 17 years of religious life. She has a high school degree of primary teacher. In 2006 she took the degree of Education Planning, Administration and Management.

During her studies period Sister Alice was also Headmistress of SLM School (Manjangue), and taught at the Matola School. In 2010 she was transferred to the Xinavane School where she taught from the 1st to the 10th grade, also working as Educational Deputy Headmistress, and History and Portuguese Teacher for the 8th and 9th grades.

In November 2014 she arrived in Chokwé to be in charge of the SVP School, continuing the wonderful work of Sister Neusa. In 2015 ALG had a comprehensive intervention in the deprived school of SVP were it support projects to build family huts (such as Alberto’s under construction), after class support, technical courses and income generation initiatives, besides the 170 UPG Portugal sponsored children.

Sister Sidónia is responsible for the daily supervision of the HIV Day Care Centre in SLM, and welcomes 32 children affected by the HIV/AIDS virus. She was born on the 17^th of September 1991 in the Ile district, Zambezia province. Her parents Mário Alfândega and Eugénia Ovesse, had five children. The Sister was the second of the five. Her father is a farmer and her mother is a teacher.

Sister Sidónia began her studies in 2000 in the Santa Isabel School, having studied there from the 1st to the 7th grade. In this school she was several times considered the best of the class and of the whole school! She even was awarded prizes for being the child with the best grades and best presentation. Sister remembers she loved to study. She leaned to read and pray with her mother at a very young age.

The daily close work with the Local Partners allow us to consolidate our control policy for effective application of funds. We wish to break the poverty cycle in Xai-Xai, Chokwé and Chongoene in a transparent and efficient way, providing proximity and visible impact for the donor.

ALG has been offering this festive calendar to all ALG friends since 2011. This year you can also print a high definition version for only 1£!

Donate here

3rd: Aurélio is doing what he likes most – to be a child!

Aurélio is 3 years old and is one of the 32 children who attend the HIV Day Care Centre inaugurated in the end of 2013 with ALG support. Since he’s not yet in school Aurélio uses his time at the Day Care Centre doing what he knows best – being a child.

The children arrive at 7th where they are welcomed by Sister Sidónia. While he waits for breakfast, and after taking his medication, Aurélio plays in the patio with the other children, they all love the swings! After eating it is time for a few activities and crafts, and during this period they go, one by one, to have a shower. At 12h they all have lunch: chicken and rice, rice and beans, chima, pasta and sausages, always with fresh greens from the Centre’s farming plot. Afterwards everyone rests to charge up their batteries. In the afternoon Aurélio and the children in the Centre play a bit more, engage in a few more didactic activities and the ones attending school use this time to do their homework, always helped by Sister Sidónia or Atija: they tell stories, play some drums, make a few drawings or puzzles. For the afternoon snack they all have bread, yogurt, baby food or the cookies made by the Technical Courses Students and they resume their activities. After dinner Aurélio and all the other Day Care Centre children return home, to their families and prepare to return the next day.

At the SLM HIV Day Care Centre every children is special and receive the necessary care and tenderness to be able to grow in a dignified and happy environment.

The SLM HIV Day Care Centre is the youngest and most ambitious ALG project. In an area with a high disease incidence it provides specialized care to 32 HIV/AIDS infected children with future capacity for 50 children. It provides adequate nutrition, medication control and constant medical assistance. With£23.659 per year - £61/month per child in 2015 – we provide a more dignified and healthier childhood to seriously ill children.

ALG has been offering this festive calendar to all ALG friends since 2011. This year you can also print a high definition version for only 1£!

Donate here

2nd: Henriques’ dream “I want to save lives!

Henriques Ausendo Tivane, has 11 years old and he attends the São Vicente de Paulo School, in Chokwé, were he is integrated in the UPG Portugal Sponsoring Programme. He is a well behaved hard working student. He likes to read and write and his favourite subject is Portuguese.

In one of the ALG After Class Support classes taught in the beginning of the year by the local ALG volunteers, Cristiana Reis and Patrícia Mesquita, he was elected best student of the day after reading the story “Gisela Amarela” to his classmates. He coloured several drawings, made a dictation with no errors and made a beautiful drawing. For his commitment and enthusiasm on that day he won an award – a lunchbox!

Henriques’ dream is to be a doctor and work at a hospital. “I want to save lives” he confided to the local volunteers!

São Vicente de Paulo School After Class Support was a project to which these two local volunteers dedicated a great deal of their time during their visit in 2015. They were very successful in implementing the system of offering a symbolic gift to the most successful, assiduous and well behaved student of each day, thus motivating the children to be brilliant students. After Class Support gives children the enthusiasm of learning and the comfort of a well-deserved snack.

ALG After Class Support are educational spaces designed to support schoolchildren. The access is free and post-classes for deprived communities with low schooling rates. It is mainly composed by UPG Portugal Sponsored children, usually the more underprivileged children of the school/area in SLM, SVP and neighbourhoods in Chongoene Mission. These children have learning and sociability difficulties, usually they suffer from hunger and tend to abandon school. This programme seeks to improve their academic education and promote habits and interest for study to avoid future school abandonment.

For an annual cost of £1.824 ALG finances After Class Support in these two schools, benefiting 141 children in St. Luísa de Marillac and 160 in S. Vicente de Paulo. This project improves the education quality and promotes a higher interest to study, avoiding school abandonment by extremely vulnerable children.

ALG has been offering this festive calendar to all ALG friends since 2011. This year you can also print a high definition version for only 1£!

Donate here

1st: The lovely smile of João Gabriel!

João Gabriel is 13 years old. He lives with his grandparents and, like every other children of his age he loves to laugh, to play and football. He is with ALG since 2012 when he joined UPG Portugal Sponsoring Programme in Bungane. He wrote a loving letter to his Sponsors sent through our Local Technical Arnaldo.

“Hello dear sponsor, I am well, healthy and with my family. I loved your letter and also the image of Our Lady you sent me. I received a box with clothes I do not remember if it was in 2012 or in the beginning of 2013 and I also received a beautiful rosary with a book that I use in catechism. I lost the rosary this year in the spiritual retreat and I now I only have the book but I would like to thank you very much for sending me these gifts...

This year I passed my profession of faith and I always pray for the help you provide me. I’m still waiting for my school results. We already had our exams and I work hard but it is difficult! I wish you and your family all the best and a Merry Christmas to you too.”

Through our sister charity UPG Portugal that began its Sponsoring Programme in 2004 with 50 children. After 10 years the number of sponsored children rose to 850 in the areas of Xai- Xai, Chongoene and Chokwé. Each child is allocated to a sponsor and he/she is granted access to school and nourishment, through school meals our through a monthly basket for the whole family. Besides the material goods the sponsoring programme brings care and attention from loving sponsors to children in need. UPG Portugal Sponsoring Programme initiates a long term relationship between the children and the Portuguese speaking sponsors.

ALG has been offering this festive calendar to all ALG friends since 2011. This year you can also print a high definition version for only 1£!

Donate here

Happy Xmas from ALG!!

Download your Advent Calendar now for beautiful stories about YOUR Little Gestures. Only for 1£ https://mydonate.bt.com/charities/alittlegesture

Daily countdown on http://alittlegesture.blogspot.co.uk/

New Technical Courses in SVP

Last October ALG launched 2 new Technical Courses in SVP School, for an initial target of 25 children with turnover at the end of two months. The students of SVP School will now be able to learn Bakery and Arts&Crafts.

ALG Technical Education offers skills-based courses after school to youngsters in underprivileged communities and with low schooling rates. Children with learning and social difficulties, who usually abandon their studies, are provided with a free professional training that keeps them busy during the post-class period and provides them with skills for potential jobs. 

Hilário – One year as General Coordinator

This week it will be one year since Hilário has been working as ALG’s General Coordinator in Mozambique. The General Coordinator has a crucial role as ALG Partner providing a link between the Partners, on the ground, and the Headquarters in Portugal. Hilário tries to support all the Partners when they need and, at the same time, he facilitates the link with ALG on the ground. 

 His main functions are:

• To coordinate the actions of the several local projects and provide support through monitoring;
• To improve the implementation of UPG Portugal Sponsoring Programme and enable the relationship between the Partners and UPG Portugal;
• To support ALG and UPG Portugal in the implementation of programmes aimed to improve the quality of Education, Nourishment and Health for the Sponsored Children through the follow-up  of individual cases;
• To enable the implementation of Projects and support the Local Partners through monitoring;
• To enable the development of new projects based on the survey of information and on the needs of Local Partners and Technicians;
• To provide local entities a contact point in the organization and schedule regular meetings to keep them up to date with the organization’s activities;
• To follow-up any issue related with the organization.

ALG - Update on Funds & Volunteers

ALG has submitted audited Annual Accounts for 2014 with the UK regulator this week. We thank all donors and volunteers and give you an update of what all your generosity meant in 2014 and over the current year of 2015.

Our largest project in Mozambique: SLM School Feeding

• In 2014 we continued to work in six big poles of intervention in the impoverished south of Mozambique: EFI pre-school and EA school in Xai-Xai, ESC pre-school and rural communities in Chongoene, SVP and SLM schools in Chokwé. Our work, in cooperation with UPG Portugal  reached out 1’878 direct beneficiaries. This number is approaching 2'300 in 2015. 
  
  

• On Funds Raised, the year was a bit slow with £59’070 raised, down 32% from 2013. Most income in 2014 was derived from Charity Races like our hugely popular Royal Parks Half Marathon, Gift Aid and Regular Donations. Funds raised year to date in 2015 are at £77'682. We are having bumper years in Grants towards School Feeding, Pre-Schools and HIV. It is a super competitive area where we received £25k to date and guaranteed £44k so far hooray! 

• On Funds Sent to Mozambique, a total of £51’080 was sent in 2014 to local operations (vs an historic peak of £71’350 in 2013). Our funding supported projects in Poverty Relief (10% of funds), Infrastructure (2%), Education (82%) and Sustainability (5%). The SLM School Feeding project became the Charity’s largest project feeding 800+ children every school day. This split has continued throughout 2015, with School Feeding still the largest now followed by the new SLM HIV Centre for 32 children, costing in 2015 £27’179 and £23'659 each, respectively. So far we sent £57’620 in funds over 2015.

• On Admin Costs, we try hard to sustain the Charity’s goal of between 90-95p per pound received applied locally. The ALG team at headquarters continued to employ no paid staff and is composed in full of volunteers. Admin costs were payment of runner fees on the Royal Parks HM, followed by food costs at the now recurrent ALG Quiz nights (one coming before YE come and join us!). This resulted in 94p per pound donated available to be applied in local projects.

On Other Areas, we were happy to witness an increase in the supporter and volunteer base, with the creation of especially driven ALG Ambassadors. All of you support the work of the 3 Trustees Joana, Patricia and Sara, advised by Board Member João. 

In Mozambique we hired our first ALG Local Coordinator Hilário Langa, a hardworking young uni scholarship student that helps us gather and monitor all the info from the six Local Partners.  

A new ALG website was under development for both ALG UK and UPG Portugal. 

We noted a high dependency on two one-off sporting events (32% from RPHM and JPMC) on which so many of you participate. New initiatives were developed such as easyfundrasing, crowdfunding and the ALG Quiz slowly diversifying the income base. We are always welcoming new ideas so please help us grow more!

The Charity started 2015 in a healthy financial position with cash funds of £55’630. We continue to be very present on the ground with our 5 Local Partners and our Local Coordinator. A UPG Portugal senior management team visited the local projects for one month in April 2015 and in October 2015. ALG Chairman Sara visited the operations in May 2015 and came back with a full heart from the newly inaugurated projects of the SLM HIV Centre, a Brick Production facility and an IT center in Chongoene.

Reports from our Local Partners continue to show enthusiasm for our programme, recognition and often gratitude from the beneficiaries and, more importantly, a marked improvement in the quality of life of the children and their families under the Charity’s intervention area.  

THANK YOU!

JOANA, PATRICIA & SARA

Happy Birthday Patrícia!

Patricia moved to London in 2000 to work in Investment Banking. After eight years covering areas ranging from equity research to leveraged finance, she left the industry to pursue other interests.

Today she devotes much of her free time, accumulating the functions of ALG Treasurer and relationship with the regulator Charity Commission, apart from the usual task of Fundraising.

"We all have time and love within us to give to those who need it most. The ALG allows us to see the direct impact of our help. It’s also very gratifying to see the explosive growth in recent years. There is still so much to do that it is sometimes difficult ease up ... but slowly with small gestures we can make a better world!"

ALG promote Gender equality!

Are you looking at the inclusion of girls in “A Little Gesture” programmes? In many African countries girls are treated as “2nd class category” and neglected when it comes to education, food, etc. If a family has a limited resources, they would prioritize these resources for boys first, only later for girls. Is there any way you are looking at this “gender equality” aspect in your programmes and your spending? Do you know how many girls as opposed to boys are benefitting from the programme? 

Gender equality is a key forward looking focus for us. In the last 2 years, we have increasingly asked partners that when new children were added it was our strong preference that these were girls. It is widely recognised that girls have more difficulty to progress as they are the ones collecting water, doing household chores, working in the farms, taking care of siblings and the house, especially if they become orphans. They are also the most vulnerable ones because of early pregnancy. We do recognise however that the layer of the population where we operate is equally disadvantaged for boys and girls and therefore the local partners have trouble selecting out the boys. Our split is roughly 50/50, and it may vary by project. 

Having said that, and because our success rate tends to be lower with girls, we are looking at a few initiatives to increase our focus in girls. We have literacy programmes which are attended 99% by girls, our income generation projects are directed mostly at girls, we are looking at the potential to support former girls students that want to return after having a family and also at creating community groups that can support girls in the difficult years to avoid abandonment.

The programme we raised for in the royal parks is a key one for school retention for girls as providing feeding in school goes a long way in parents allowing kids to stay in school.