MADRE End of Year Report

Check out MADRE's End of Year Report.

MADRE in Kenya: Women's Wheels: Bicycles for Rural Development

Vivian Stromberg, the executive director of MADRE, recently traveled to Kenya to meet with their sister organization.

She writes:

When I was in Kenya, I spoke with our partners at the Umoja Women's Group about their most urgent needs. We talked about the backbreaking work of hauling drinking water from a distant river everyday. We talked about how far the nearest health clinic is and what it's like to watch a sick child die because you can't carry them there in your arms. We talked about the relentless drought that has decimated Umoja's traditional herding economy, leaving many families with no income at all.

We talked about these problems - and then we talked about what to do about them.

The women of Umoja know that times are tough even in the US. They know they have your support, but that these days, you're probably stretching to give what you can. So we figured out how to do more with less.

The solution: bicycles. And not just any bicycles - load-carrying bicycles that are designed to carry extra passengers and heavy jugs of water.

With durable, motor-assisted bicycles, the women can:

* bring drinking water to their families without sustaining the spinal injuries that plague them now
* drive sick and elderly people to the health clinic
* earn income by providing taxi services to tourists at the nearby wildlife reserve

By supporting MADRE's newest initiative, Women's Wheels: Bicycles for Rural Development, you can help the women of Umoja meet three urgent needs with one great bike.

To find out more, check out MADRE.

Bikes for Indigenous People in Kenya

From MADRE:
Reliable transportation for Indigenous Samburu women in Kenya

MADRE is supporting women in 8 Indigenous Samburu communities in rural Kenya (including Umoja) by providing providing load-carrying bicycles. With these specially designed bikes, the women can transport sick or elderly people to the doctor, haul drinking water for their families, and earn income from taxi services.

Working with Worldbike and a local bike shop in Nairobi, MADRE will provide one motor-assisted pedicab for each of 8 communities.

The vehicles are built to carry loads on the rough terrain of rural Kenya and withstand travel on dirt roads. These unique, non-factory-built vehicles will each cost $1,200.

To find out more about MADRE or the bike initiative, check out their site.

End the Embargo: Normalize Relations with Cuba

Sign the petition.

From MADRE:
"We are calling on the Obama administration to fulfill a promise for change. For almost fifty years, the United States has waged a fierce battle against Cuba - a battle that has done untold harm to the country's civilian population and their families in exile.

The embargo must end. It has always been, and continues to be, a clear violation of human rights and international humanitarian law. By preventing Cuba from importing needed food, medicines, replacement parts for water treatment plants and other critical infrastructure, the US has caused sickness, hunger and preventable deaths.

President Obama has said that he’s in favor of allowing unlimited family travel and remittances to Cuba. He also included provisions in last month's spending bill that ease some of the newest travel and trade restrictions enacted under the Bush administration. While these are steps in the right direction, we urge an immediate and complete end to the embargo, passage of pending legislation in the House and Senate (H.R. 188, H.R. 847 and S. 428) that would allow unrestricted travel, and a normalization of diplomatic relations.

Tell President Obama, your Representative and your Senators to normalize relations with Cuba and extend the hand of friendship to the Cuban people."

Sign the petition.

MADRE: Seven Reasons to Oppose a Troop Surge in Afghanistan

These are seven points highlighted by MADRE as to why we should oppose a troop surge in Afghanistan.

From MADRE:

"1. More troops will mean more civilian casualties.
2. More troops will not resolve the crisis.
3. A troop surge has already been tried—and it failed.
4. Rampant abuses of Afghan women’s rights cannot be eliminated by force.
5. US troops are backing an unpopular, corrupt government
6. US Troops are Undermining Humanitarian Operations
7. Most Afghans Want the US Out"

For the article in its entirety, visit MADRE.

Demand a Withdrawal of US Troops from Iraq Now

From Vivian Stromberg, Executive Director, MADRE:

"In the US, we rarely hear the story of the war in Iraq told from the perspective of women who live there. So what are Iraqi women saying on the sixth anniversary of the US invasion? The same thing they've been saying since 2003: end the occupation now. Polls consistently show that a majority of Iraqis want US troops out.

This week marks six years since the US invaded Iraq. In that time, women have not only faced mounting violence--they have also organized a movement to confront US occupation and violence against women.

The women of Iraq are creating the foundation on which a peaceful and just future will be built. It's time our administration starts listening to them.

Help us tell President Obama that now is the time for change."