firelight foundation annual report 2008

2008 ANNUAL REPORT

Our Mission The mission of the Firelight Foundation is to improve the well-being of children made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS and poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa. Firelight supports grassroots organizations that help families and communities meet the needs of their children.

Child-centered.

Family-focused.

Community-based.

Compared to previous years, this annual report is 65 percent shorter, cheaper, and greener, using recycled paper that minimizes post-consumer waste. This is partly due to our desire to minimize overhead costs and carbon footprint while maximizing funding to grantees, particularly during these diffi cult economic times.

It also refl ects our new approach of communicating with our audiences in diff erent and more eff ective ways. Over the next few months, we will focus on developing and expanding our website to serve as a rich information and communication hub.

To learn more about how our grantees used their grant funds, visit our website: www.fi relightfoundation.org

We believe that children hold the key to a brighter future for Africa.

We believe that real and lasting change begins at the grassroots.

We believe and invest in locally grown and owned sustainable solutions.

We know that small, well-targeted investments can make a big diff erence in children’s lives.

We inform, advocate, and work to infl uence funding fl ows to reach the grassroots.

Our grantees understand the needs of vulnerable children and families, and how communities mobilize to support them.

We understand the challenges that community-based organizations face and partner with them to strengthen their programs and provide better support to communities.

We have seen the success and impact of our approach on children, families, communities, and other funders over nearly 10 years of operation.CHILD

FAMILY

COMMUNITY

OUR APPROACH

2008 ANNUAL REPORT

The Way We Work

THE COMMUNITY NEED

Too few resources reach the vulnerable communities

that need them the most.

Community Action Impact

THE CBO RESPONSE (page 7)

COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS (CBOs):

• Raise awareness of the needs and rights of children

• Provide direct support to vulnerable children and families

• Build and strengthen community structures, including volunteer and caregiver networks to sustain the response

• Tap into external resources

• Advocate for improved government policies and greater access to services.

THE COMMUNITY SUPPORT SYSTEM (pages 8-9)

CBOs assemble and deploy resources, and strengthen the community support system by focusing their eff orts on the following three areas:

MEETING BASIC

MATERIAL NEEDS

PROVIDING

CARE, SUPPORT,

& PROTECTION

FACILITATING ACCESS TO

GOVERNMENT-

PROVIDED

SERVICESEducationMaterial AssistanceFood/Nutrition/AgricultureEconomic Strengthening Education

Healthcare/HIV

Psychosocial SupportChildren’s Rights

THE INCREASED WELL-BEING OF CHILDREN

Children have:

• Loving, caring relationships

• Regular, nutritious meals

• Warm, safe homes

• Regular school attendance

• Emotional and social development.

THE COMMUNITY RESPONSE

COMMUNITIES:

• Identify the problem

• Prioritize the unmet needs of children and families

• Tap into community solidarity to mobilize an informal support network and local resources

• Formalize eff orts by creating community-based organizations to strengthen the community response.

Firelight Interventions

THE FIRELIGHT RESPONSE (pages 10-11)

FIRELIGHT:

• Provides direct funding to community-based organizations (CBOs)

• Helps build CBO capacity to reach more vulnerable children and families

• Leverages organizational learning eff orts to:

• improve CBO programming

• fuel advocacy eff orts that increase resource fl ows to communities.

THE NEED (see page 6)

Heavy toll of HIV/AIDS

and poverty on children, families,

and communities

in Sub-Saharan Africa.

2008 ANNUAL REPORT www.firelightfoundation.org

2008 AT A GLANCE

Letter from the President & the Executive Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-5A Call to Action: The Need & The Solution . . . . . . . 6-7Our Accomplishments & Impact . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-9Our New Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-11Our Reinvigorated Brand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-13

GRANTEE PROFILES

Family-In-Need Trust: Meeting Basic Material Needs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-16Namwera AIDS Coordinating Committee (NACC): Providing Care, Support & Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-19Special Education Center of Janja:Facilitating Access to Government Services . . . . . . 20-23

REFERENCE

2008 Grants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-29CANADA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24KENYA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24LESOTHO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24MALAWI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25RWANDA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26SOUTH AFRICA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-27TANZANIA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27UGANDA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28ZAMBIA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28-29ZIMBABWE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

2008 Financial Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30-31Donors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32-34Support Firelight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35Boards & Staff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36

2008 Annual Report Contents

From the President & the Executive Director2008: A Year of Building on Strengths

In late September 2008, just as the global fi nancial crisis was beginning to unfold, Firelight staff members were visiting grantee community organizations in Malawi.

The irony was all too apparent: the staff of an American foundation emphasizing prudent fi nancial management to cash-poor but well-run grassroots organizations, while many large companies back in the United States had been acting with breath-taking recklessness.

Community groups in Malawi and across Africa are sometimes unjustifi ably categorized as “risky investments” by funders. But in our experience, they have been operating with a high degree of accountability and transparency while producing remarkably reli-able results and making a real diff erence in the lives of vulnerable children and families.

More than 20 years ago, in response to the mounting human suf-fering caused by HIV/AIDS and poverty, community members across Africa began to take action. They established community-based organizations to help children stay in school, get access to medicine, and receive help and guidance when their families were sick or under stress. These groups helped surviving parents, grandparents, and other caregivers increase their income so they could better care for their children.

It was this remarkable mobilization of communities in the midst of a worsening crisis, scarce resources, and shrinking safety nets that nearly 10 years ago inspired the creation of the Firelight Foundation.

Today, the global economy is in its worst shape in decades, making it even more challenging for organizations in Africa to meet the basic needs of children and families aff ected by poverty and HIV/AIDS. The United Nations estimates that nearly 400 million of the poorest Africans will see their incomes drop by 20 percent, to about 50 US cents per person per day.

While we’ve all been aff ected by the fi nancial crisis, it is clear that the hardest hit are those who are already poor and vulnerable. And this is where locally run organizations will make a bigger diff erence than ever before.

Over the past year, Firelight has been gearing up to increase our support to grassroots organizations even as our own endow-ment income and fundraising eff orts were severely tested by the fi nancial crisis.

We are proud that in 2008 we made 180 grants to community-based organizations in 10 Sub-Saharan African countries totaling about US$2 million and benefi tting nearly 100,000 children and 50,000 caregivers.

From a group in Rwanda that mobilized community, government, and international support for disabled children, to a community organization that helped combat stigma and discrimination against HIV-positive children and families in Malawi, Firelight grantees are working hard to make their communities stronger and build better lives for children and families. (Read more about our grantees on pages 14-23.)

BUILDING ON OUR STRENGTHS

With nearly a decade of experience supporting community orga-nizations, Firelight is recognized as a leader in getting resources to the grassroots, where they make the most diff erence for vulner-able children and families. Our mission, vision, and values remain grounded in respect for the power of community action to change children’s lives.

2008 ANNUAL REPORT www.firelightfoundation.org 5

FROM

THE PRESID

ENT &

THE EXEC

UTIV

E DIREC

TOR

Launched in the fall of 2008, our new strategic plan builds on our strengths, intensifying our grantmaking support and advocacy eff orts for greater impact, while decreasing our operating costs. (Read more about our new fi ve-year strategy on pages 10-11). We would like to highlight two points here that are critical to supporting the work of community-based organizations that are strengthening family and community care for children in need:

First, in the next few years, we will make a concerted eff ort to increase the upper limit of our grant sizes from US$15,000 to US$20,000, taking into account the absorptive capacity of grass-roots organizations. We also plan to lengthen our partnerships by several years. Larger grants over longer periods will enable these groups to plan better, build their programs, and reach greater numbers of children with vitally needed services.

Second, we will use the example of our own impact to convince those with larger resources to channel more of their funds to the grassroots. As a critical part of our new strategy, we have com-mitted ourselves to helping the U.S. government, foundations in North America and Europe, and U.S. faith-based agencies increase their understanding and support for community-based organizations in Africa.

To this end, Firelight has played key leadership roles in two child-focused networks: the Coalition on Children Aff ected by AIDS (CCABA, www.ccaba.org) and the Joint Learning Initiative on Children and AIDS (JLICA, www.jlica.org).

Both groups have succeeded in raising the profi le of vulnerable children within the AIDS community, establishing relationships with major AIDS funders, and presenting strong evidence on how well Firelight’s community- and family-based approach works for children aff ected by AIDS.

Moving forward, we will focus our own ‘learning agenda’ on analyzing what we and our partners know about the effi cacy of community-based organizations, sharing this knowledge widely through our networks with the aim of getting more resources to organizations directly serving families and children in need.

In concert with the launch of our strategic plan, we have changed our look to better refl ect the organization we have become over nearly 10 years. We believe that our new brand communicates vividly the optimism, resourcefulness, and resilience of the chil-dren, families, and communities with whom we work. We hope that it will help bring to the table new individuals and institutions committed to supporting vulnerable children and families through communities. (Read more about our brand on pages 12-13.)

THE ROAD AHEAD

You, our community of supporters, have helped make our vision a reality, and we are deeply grateful to you for that.

We are excited about the opportunities ahead and are committed to reaching more children and families than in years past. There has never been a more critical time to increase our investments in brighter futures for children struggling to grow up in the face of poverty and HIV/AIDS.

The investments we make now will not only help children today, but will also continue to make a diff erence in the long-run by supporting locally grown and owned solutions that can be sustained long after the current fi nancial crisis has subsided.

With gratitude and appreciation,

Kerry OlsonFounder & President

Peter LaugharnExecutive Director

THE NEED*

HIV/AIDS and poverty threaten the safety and survival of MILLIONS OF CHILDREN across Sub-Saharan Africa.

Did you know?

SIXTY-EIGHT PERCENT OF THE WORLD’S ADULTS LIVING

WITH HIV/AIDS and NEARLY 90 PERCENT OF THE WORLD’S

HIV-POSITIVE CHILDREN live in Africa south of the Sahara Desert.

More than 48 MILLION CHILDREN have been orphaned.

Of those, 12 MILLION have lost at least one of their parents to HIV/AIDS, and millions more have been made vulnerable by poverty and other causes, and face the pressures of caring for ill parents.

FIFTY-SIX PERCENT OF PEOPLE live on less than $1 a day. More than 60 PERCENT OF CHILDREN live in poverty.

Only 30 PERCENT OF CHILDREN are enrolled in secondary school.

ADOLESCENT GIRLS ARE 2 TO 4.5 TIMES MORE LIKELY to be infected with HIV/AIDS than boys of the same age.

CHILDREN ARE SIGNIFICANTLY LESS LIKELY to receive life-saving antiretroviral treatment than adults.

Families and communities bear approximately 90 PERCENT OF

THE COSTS AND BURDEN OF CARING for infected and aff ected children in the areas hardest hit by AIDS.

THE BASIS OF THE SOLUTION

A Call to Action

* Statistics have been drawn from “Home Truths: Facing the Facts on Children, AIDS, and Poverty,” the fi nal report of the Joint Learning Initiative on Children and HIV/AIDS (February 2009). JLICA is a two-year, in-dependent alliance of researchers, implementers, policymakers, activists, and people living with HIV/AIDS.

More than 80 PERCENT

OF CHILDREN designated as ‘orphans’ actually have a surviving parent.

Approximately 90

PERCENT OF ALL

CHILDREN AFFECTED

BY HIV/AIDS AND

POVERTY, including those who have lost parents, receive care and assistance from community-based organiza-tions and extended families.


A C

ALL TO

ACTIO

N

COMMUNITY ACTION:

Communities Changing Children’s LivesMillions of children and families aff ected by HIV/AIDS and poverty are assisted by small community-based organizations (CBOs) that work on a shoestring budget to help children stay in school and en-sure that they have food, clothing, shelter, and psychosocial support.

Communities themselves also bring an abundance of resources to helping vulnerable children and families, including volunteer and caregiver networks, vegetable gardens, and other local projects, as well as a strong sense of solidarity, trust, and resilience.

Even though communities and grassroots groups are the greatest source of support to children and families aff ected by HIV/AIDS, their meager resources are being stretched to the limit as the death toll rises and aff ected children and families are made even more vulnerable. One of the greatest obstacles that community groups face is that their work is under-recognized and under-funded.

Firelight Foundation seeks to address this gap. We are one of a very few foundations that partners with small CBOs eff ectively responding to the needs of children and families suff ering in the hardest hit areas of Sub-Saharan Africa. Over nearly 10 years of operation, we have seen that our approach works: building on the rich resources of African communities and strengthening local organizations leaves them better able to cope with the tremendous strains of HIV/AIDS and poverty.


Our Accomplishments & ImpactAT A GLANCE

SINCE 2000:

900 grants → totaling nearly US$10 million → reaching 330 community-based organizations → serving children in 10 Sub-Saharan African countries.

IN 2008 ALONE:

180 grants → totaling nearly US$2 million → benefi tting nearly 100,000 children & 50,000 caregivers.

Firelight’s grant “loss” rate is approximately 1 percent, mean-ing that we were able to verify that 99 percent of our grants were used for the purposes for which they were intended. Firelight grants are the fi rst external funding for more than 30 percent of our grantees. Firelight renews more than 80 percent of our grantees after careful assessment of their proposals. A majority of grantees go on to receive funds from other donors.

MEASURING OUR IMPACT

Measuring the impact of our grants and learning from our ex-perience with our grantees is a high priority for Firelight. We learn from the process of building grantee capacity, confi dent that greater organizational capacity leads to improvements in the lives and well-being of vulnerable children and families.

By documenting the experience of our grantees, we deepen our understanding of their development, and hone our ability to persuade other funders of the effi cacy of commu-nity-based organizations, thereby multiplying our impact. We employ strategies that minimize burdensome, formal report-ing from grantees while yielding valuable information about what works in building the care-giving capacity of families and communities, in providing direct services to families and children, and in assisting families to access government-provided services.

These inquiries have already yielded some interesting insights into what community-based organizations are doing and how they are doing it.

In the coming years, our goal is to use new and better meth-ods to systematically document the impact that grassroots organizations have on the well-being of children.

Another way we assess the impact of our grantees’ work is to evaluate the diff erence they have made in vulnerable chil-dren’s and families’ lives in seven major program areas.

Children living in poverty who lose a parent or other fam-ily member to HIV/AIDS have a wide range of material, educational, and psychosocial needs. Because children’s and families’ needs are so varied, the range of activities supported through Firelight grants is broad and falls into the following seven program areas:

Mee

tin

g B

asic

Mat

eria

l Nee

ds Material Assistance: Providing basic necessities, including

clothing, bedding, personal hygiene, and shelter.

Food/Nutrition/Agriculture: Supporting food production, feeding programs, and household food assistance for vulner-able children and families.

Economic Strengthening: Providing materials, skills, and knowledge to caregivers to help them generate income and strengthen household resiliency.

Pro

vid

ing

Car

e,

Su

pp

ort

& P

rote

ctio

n Psychosocial Support: Enhancing the caring relationships that meet the emotional, social, and recreational needs of children and help build life skills.

Children’s Rights: Building a supportive and protective environment that prevents and responds to violence, abuse, and the exploitation of children.

Faci

litat

ing

Acc

ess

to G

ov’

t S

ervi

ces Education: Holistic support helping children enroll, stay,

and succeed in school.

Healthcare/HIV: Extending primary health care, preventative care, and HIV/AIDS-related preventative and palliative care.

OU

R ACC

OM

PLISHM

ENTS &

IMPAC

T

Meeting Basic Material NeedsMalole Home-Based Care

Group (Zambia)

Started by community members to respond to the growing number of orphans and de-pendents taken in by caregivers in their area, Malole Home-Based Care Group works with community volunteers to identify vulnerable children and families, and provides them with ongoing support.

Trained in nutrition, home-based care, and counseling, the community members visit children and families to off er counseling and provide for basic material needs.

The group takes a dual approach of provid-ing immediate relief assistance while working with families to produce their own food and augment their income. Themselves aff ected by HIV/AIDS, the group members run a village savings and loan program to generate funds for Malole’s home-based care program supporting people living with HIV/AIDS.

The group used their Firelight grant to feed and clothe 20 orphans and 20 child-headed households living in extreme poverty. They also gave two piglets to each of the caregiv-ers, who agreed to raise them and ‘pay back’ one piglet to Malole, while selling the others to generate income. To improve their food security, Malole provided maize seed and fertilizer to 55 families so they could grow their own food and become self-suffi cient.

Providing Care, Support & ProtectionRob Smetherham Bereavement

Service for Children (RSBSC)

(South Africa)

Firelight grantee RSBSC off ers psychosocial support to bereaved children, especially those aff ected by HIV/AIDS. Given the lack of services in rural areas, RSBSC identifi ed the “need to look for creative ways to sup-port the community in helping children cope with their losses and changed circumstances.”

Play is a child’s natural mode of commu-nication, and RSBSC uses play therapy to help children work through their grief. They have developed a community-based model to raise awareness, build relationships, and provide therapeutic playgroups for children in rural areas.

RSBSC also helps adults deal with their own grief, which allows them to better address the needs of their children.

The program off ers training so that com-munities are able to provide bereavement interventions on their own. Staff members monitor the locally run groups and as-sist them in evaluating the impact of their services for several months before they exit the community.

Facilitating Access to Health ServicesBwafwano Community Home-

Based Care Organization (Zambia)

Firelight grantee Bwafwano (meaning “help-ing one another”) was started in response to the increasing numbers of HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis patients in an impoverished area of Lusaka.

High HIV-prevalence rates and limited public health facilities made home-based care a key strategy for bringing health services into households.

Today Bwafwano has grown to become one of the most far-reaching home-based care providers in Zambia, serving people living with AIDS and vulnerable children in both urban areas and rural settlements.

Bwafwano employs a team approach using more than 450 providers who specialize in care for the ill and dying, support for vulner-able children, and psychosocial counseling.

In addition, Bwafwano’s 37 Orphan and Vulnerable Children Community Com-mittees help mobilize and coordinate the community response.

GRANTEE EXAMPLES


GO

VERNMENT-PROVIDED SERVICES

SO

CIA

L PROTECTION SERVICES - HEALTH, E

D

UC

AT

ION

, L

EG

AL

CIVIL SOCIETY

CIVIL SOCIETY

CO

MM

UN

ITY

G

ROUPS

COMMU

NIT

Y M

EM

BE

RS

CHILDREN

FAMILY

CAREGIVERS

ECONOMIC CONTEXT

DONOR COMMUNITY

CULTURALCONTEXT

INTERNATIONAL POLICYMAKERS

CBOs

In late 2008, Firelight launched a six-month strategic plan-ning process. Nearing our 10-year anniversary of working with community-based organizations (CBOs), it was time to refl ect on what we had accomplished and to chart a clear path for the coming years.

Our fi ve-year (2009-2013) plan will guide us in leveraging our knowledge, good practices, and strong values to increase the fl ow of resources to the grassroots in order to improve the lives of even more children, families, and communities.

BUILDING ON OUR STRENGTHS

Our new strategy is built on three foundations:

1. Our core strength in funding CBOs and eff ectively getting resources to organizations working to reduce the vulnerability of children and families aff ected by HIV/AIDS and poverty.

We have reached more than 330 organizations in nine years by using an eff ective due diligence process; funding in amounts that small CBOs can absorb; and supporting more than just project costs to ensure that organizations can develop and mature over time and sustain their eff orts.

2. Our multi-faceted approach that recognizes that child development and well-being are shaped by inter-actions between the child, family, community, civil society, govern-ment, and global systems.

These actors form nested ‘circles of support’ in the ecological model of child development and well-being.1 Firelight has chosen to intervene at the CBO

level and support these organizations because they provide critical support to families—the most intimate and important circle of care for children.

3. Our theory of change articulates the key strategies of community level action that contribute to improving the well-being of vulnerable children.

These three strategies are: meeting the basic material needs of children and families; providing them care, support, and protection; and facilitating their access to government-provided services.

Over the next fi ve years, we will test, revise, and refi ne this theory both to improve our own programming as well as that of our grantees, and to use what we learn to leverage greater resources for communities.

Our New Strategy

1 Brofenbrenner, 1979. This highly intuitive model is familiar to civil society and government practitioners and planners, and is used in international agreements such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child.


OU

R NEW

STRATEGY

OUR THREE-PHASE MULTI-YEAR PARTNERSHIP MODEL

INCREASING COMMUNITY RESOURCES

Firelight will continue to put a large majority of its resources into making direct grants to CBOs in Africa. We are taking a long-range view to our partnerships in order to provide partners with increased stability for long-term planning.

We also plan to deepen our partner support by incrementally increasing grant sizes according to the organizational capacity of the grantee, especially at the exit phase to help partners prepare for “graduation.” We will increase the upper limit of our grant sizes from US$15,000 to US$20,000 as our fundraising permits.

A typical partnership in this new model would last about seven years, divided into three phases: an initial two-year introductory phase; a main three-year phase; and a two-year graduation phase.

We are also expanding our funding to support a community grantmaking strategy that will enable us to reach a larger num-ber of smaller organizations by building a funding pipeline that reaches directly into communities. The community grantmaking groups will also provide mentoring and support to other organi-zations that are in early stages of development.

We will also work to harness the power and voice of the com-munities that we serve by developing national-level advocacy strategies to give our partners a channel for bringing their experi-ences and perspectives to bear on national government policies.

OUR CAPACITY BUILDING PROGRAM

STRENGTHENING COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS

Our new strategy expands and standardizes our eff orts to strengthen the organizational and programmatic capacity of our partners by assisting them with their day-to-day management, planning, and evaluation. We strategically identify the needs of organizations at each stage of organizational development, and tailor our technical assistance accordingly.

Our goal is to provide all partners with technical assistance grants and targeted information and advice. We also plan to develop partner networks for peer learning, mentoring, and training, enabling our grantees to become stronger organizations that provide more eff ective services for children.

OUR NEW ‘LEVERAGE’ PROGRAMS: ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING, ADVOCACY & COMMUNICATIONS

CREATING AND SHARING KNOWLEDGE TO AMPLIFY OUR IMPACT

Our new ‘leverage’ strategy is geared toward expanding and increasing our impact by using our experience and the lessons we have learned to fuel our organizational learning, communica-tions, and advocacy eff orts.

The goals of our ‘leverage’ strategy are to raise greater aware-ness, understanding, and adoption of our approach to increase the fl ow of resources to grassroots organizations, where it can have the most positive impact on the lives of vulnerable children and families.

Our Organizational Learning Program employs a rigorous ap-proach to analyzing the data we have collected over the years and synthesizing our lessons into knowledge that will help us more eff ectively support our partners and will also assist our partners in improving their programs.

Building on the knowledge emerging from our learning eff orts, our Communications Program will seek to raise greater awareness and understanding of the effi cacy of our community-based approach.

Through our Advocacy Program, we will engage with govern-ment, philanthropic, and faith-based groups—who together contribute more than US$1 billion a year for children aff ected by HIV/AIDS—to help them channel their resources to increase the amount of funding and support reaching the grassroots.

Our Reinvigorated BrandFIRELIGHT’S BEGINNINGS

Kerry Olson and her husband, David Katz, founded the Firelight Foundation in 1999 to support children aff ected by HIV/AIDS and poverty. Olson has held a life-long commit-ment to service on behalf of children, starting with raising funds for children in need around the world when she was only seven years old. Since then, she has been a strong advocate for children, playing a variety of roles from early childhood educator to social science researcher.

As she was getting the foundation off the ground, Kerry, an artist in her own right, began thinking about the Firelight ‘brand’ and the core values, and emotions it should evoke.

She started by sketching logos, consulting Firelight’s closest supporters and advisers along the way, and eventually settling on a simple Marc Chagall-inspired sketch of a child’s face bathed in the light of a candle. The sketch visually conveyed the hope for a brighter future for vulnerable children.

“Firelight” was chosen as the name of the new foundation to refl ect this simple but powerful message.

THE NEW FIRELIGHT BRAND

As we were fi nalizing our new fi ve-year strategy, we em-barked on creating a new expression of our core identity. We were very fortunate to work with {akimbo}, a Chicago-based strategic marketing and design fi rm that devoted considerable time and energy to this process.

Unveiled a few months later, the new Firelight brand more vividly conveys our deep belief in the role of strong families and active communities in improving the well-being of children.

Although our visual expression has changed and our vision broadened, our strong values and mission remain unchanged. Hand in hand with our new strategy, our new brand refl ects our expanded vision of life-changing community action.

BUILDING ON OUR BRAND TO IMPROVE LIVES

We couldn’t think of a better time to put our new brand to work.

We hope that in reinforcing our expanded vision and new strategy, it will help us convince a new corps of supporters to support communities in Africa.

We hope that it will encourage audiences both old and new to come to us with questions and seek more information.

And fi nally, we hope that it inspires confi dence and optimism about how much can be achieved—even with very little—if we act together.


OU

R REINV

IGO

RATED BRA

ND

OUR COLORS

The earth-tone colors elicit the warmth and hope of a fl ame that progresses from dark to light and represents the hope that communi-ties working with families hold for the future of their children.

OUR NEW TAGLINE

Our new tagline simply, clearly, and power-fully communicates the priority we place on supporting the grassroots, where real change for children happens. It conveys the message that the community solidarity and desire for change that mo-tivates communities to mobilize and solve their own problems are the key ingredients of a long-term, sustainable approach to improving children’s lives.

WHAT OUR BRAND MEANS LITERALLY

Our new logo conveys the light of hope that emanates from a fl ame woven from three discrete but integrally connected parts: the child, the family, and the community. Together, the ‘child’, ‘family’, and ‘community’ pieces of the logo and the white paths that connect them symbolize the strong inter-connectedness, solidarity, and grassroots mobilization that lie at the heart of improving children’s lives.

FAMILY-FOCUSED

One of the fundamental beliefs that informs our work is that children grow best in families. Families are the most important source of care, support, and protection for children.

We believe in a family-focused approach because when you empower families, they can provide for children’s basic needs and nurture strong and healthy children, improving their lives both today and tomorrow.

The ‘family’ element is the same color as the ‘child’, signifying the unity and closeness be-tween a family and its children and the central role of the family in a child’s development.

CHILD-CENTERED

The bottom center piece represents the ‘child’ at the heart of it all, embraced by both the ‘family’ piece and the ‘community’ piece.

We believe that children are the key to a brighter future for Africa and that all children deserve a safe environment, adequate food, shelter, and health services, a sound education, and nurturing care.

Our approach is child-centered both because that is where the greatest need is, but also because that is where the greatest hope lies. Ensconced by the two protective elements that surround it, the ‘child’ piece of our logo conveys that centrality and hope.

COMMUNITY-BASED

We have chosen to channel our support to the community level because we believe that it will have the greatest possible impact on the well-being of children and their families. Communities provide a strong safety net of support for children and families in need, and community-based organizations are best placed to strengthen that safety net.

Our community-based approach is a direct refl ection of our grounding in the grassroots and our respect for and belief in the power of community solidarity. The ‘community’piece touches both the ‘family’ and the ‘child’ elements in signifi cant ways, and holds them together.

Key to the success of Family-In-Need Trust’s life-sustaining grassroots initiatives is the involvement of volunteers like Mrs. Machiwana, whose nickname is “Mbozha,” meaning “richness and generosity.”


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For young children in rural Rupise ward, in Zimbabwe’s Chimanimani district, the community vegetable garden is more than a verdant outpost in this often dry and dusty land.

The garden is a lifeline. Its beans, kale, carrots, tomatoes, and other vegetables supplement the children’s diets, helping pro-tect them from malnutrition and disease.

Started by community volunteers with support from Firelight grantee Family-In-Need Trust (FIN), the garden provides food for orphans and other vulnerable children who attend the local preschool.

“Many children were suff ering from malnutrition because of food deprivation,” explains Mary Machiwana, a leader among the Rupise community volunteers. A widowed mother of six in her 60s, she is caring for her two sons and her three grand-children following her daughter’s death. She supports herself and the children by selling vegetables and crafts.

The Rupise community garden is just one of dozens of FIN-supported, community-led eff orts aimed at meeting the basic needs of families aff ected by HIV/AIDS throughout the Chimanimani district in Zimbabwe’s eastern highlands. Key to the success of these life-sustaining grassroots initiatives is the involvement of volunteers like Mrs. Machiwana, whose nick-name is “Mbozha,” meaning “richness and generosity.”

FIN was begun in 2004 after a census revealed that 55,000 children—nearly three-quarters of all children and half the to-tal population in the district—were made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS and poverty. The census also found that there were more than 700 households headed by children in the district.

Sobered by these numbers and motivated by his own experi-ence as an orphan, Jack Mukuru Bbabbie, then in his early 20s, founded FIN to help the children improve their situations and ultimately, to lead better lives.

One of the fi rst things that he learned as he started to set up FIN’s programs was that children living with terminally ill parents or who had lost parents to AIDS faced a host of wide-ranging problems, including malnutrition, low school attendance and high drop-out rates, and elevated mental, psychological, and emotional stress related to a lack of paren-tal care and nurturing.

Bbabbie started by involving traditional leaders and commu-nity members like Mrs. Machiwana in a community-planning process to identify the children’s needs that were of highest priority and to match them with the material and human re-sources in the community. It was heartening to see “a notable increase in the mobilization of local resources in every ward,” and in the number of volunteers who wanted to help the com-munity’s orphans and vulnerable children, he says.

Community committees identifi ed hunger—the result of food insecurity—as the most pressing local concern. Most fami-lies in the community struggle to grow the food they need. Erratic rainfall makes yields unpredictable. Zimbabwe’s economic crisis—all too apparent in the multi-million percent infl ation rate—leads to frequent shortages of the supplies farmers need as well as diffi culty purchasing them.

FIN began by helping community volunteers grow vegetable gardens throughout the district.

“These gardens have improved the supply of food avail-able year round to families aff ected by HIV/AIDS,” says Bbabbie. Some community gardens even produce a surplus now, which the committees sell to buy medicine and pay the fees needed to keep orphans and other vulnerable children in school, he says.

FIN’s involvement in community agriculture has broadened in recent years to include training in sustainable agriculture

Family-In-Need Trust (ZIMBABWE)

Improving Child Nutrition and Caregiver Income to Fulfi ll Basic Needs through Community Action

practices that make lasting improvements in the nutrition and health of local children:

• With help from FIN, 150 HIV/AIDS-aff ected families are now using drip irrigation to save water and labor as well as to boost yields in their household gardens.

• FIN introduced more than 1,600 family farmers to new bean seed varieties that can be produced locally, free-ing them from the expense of purchasing seeds and the uncertainty of supply.

• More than 80 farm families received training on soil and water conservation targeted for drier parts of the district to improve rain-fed agriculture. Farmers in some villages have already put in place in-fi eld water harvesting structures.

Small livestock projects are now part of FIN’s programs as well. In Rupise, Mrs. Machiwana’s local committee worked with FIN to distribute chickens to a number of the commu-nity’s most vulnerable families. Each family was given two chickens from an indigenous variety that breeds monthly. Families agreed to give the fi rst two off spring to another fam-ily aff ected by HIV/AIDS.

“Family-In-Need Trust made a big diff erence to our work by giving us the cash we needed to get started,” she says. “Fami-lies are now selling the chickens and eggs to raise money for medication, school fees, and food.”

Mrs. Machiwana’s committee is now considering launching a goat-rearing eff ort and will look to FIN for the necessary training once they are ready.

Committees in other communities have requested and re-ceived training and start-up funds from FIN in the following “livelihood” areas: soap making, candle making, tie-dying,bee keeping, goat keeping, and mushroom production. Although the activities are diverse, the goal is the same: empowering caregivers by helping them develop a self-sus-taining income source so they can better support the children in their households.

“In only a few years, Family-in-Need Trust has mobilized com-munity resources and strengthened volunteer networks to support the district’s vulnerable children and those who care for them through these ‘community-driven livelihood initiatives’,” says Aili Langseth, Firelight’s Zimbabwe program offi cer.

Community reviews held for all of the participating wards in Chimanimani district indicate that FIN’s activities are signifi -cantly contributing to improvements in health, nutrition, and the emotional and general well-being of orphans, she reports.

FIN’s training approach, which prepares community rep-resentatives to be trainers of peer groups, is proving to be an eff ective and cost-effi cient model for skills development that other organizations and communities are looking at with interest, she notes.

Over time, FIN has developed a holistic and community-based response to the special needs of households headed by children. In 2008, Firelight supported FIN’s eff orts to provide food packs, blankets, clothes, and medication to the district’s child-headed households. FIN’s trainers in livelihood initia-tives pay special attention to these youth to ensure they learn the skills they need to support themselves and the siblings in their care.

In Rupise, that special attention comes from Mrs. Machiwana and her committee of church-going women. On Wednesday afternoons, they meet to manage their activities and discuss future plans. On the weekends they meet with the children “to discuss problems aff ecting them and fi nd solutions and a way forward,” she says.

And supporting them in their work is FIN, which helps meet the basic needs of the district’s most vulnerable children to give them the necessary foundation to go to school, learn critical life skills, and build better futures for themselves.

By using a community-based approach, FIN has also man-aged to unify and mobilize an entire community around a pressing problem, ensuring that its members can continue to sustain their eff orts and help the many other children in search of better lives.


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A dozen years ago, when the Namwera AIDS Coordinating Committee (NACC) began holding village AIDS awareness rallies in southern Malawi, crowds of as many as 500 people would press together in a tight semicircle around the speaker.

“When we talked about the suff ering of the orphans, they’d nod their heads,” recalls Saeed Wame, NACC’s executive director. “But when we talked about how to stop the spread of AIDS, they would shake their heads and walk away.”

Often only a handful would stay around to listen, he remembers.

Misinformation abounded, explains Wame, who grew up an orphan in the Namwera area. Many believed AIDS was an invention of the government—a clever ploy to attract money from rich countries. At that time, traditional healers were claiming to cure AIDS while only treating the symptoms of secondary infections, such as shingles.

As many as 1 adult in 10 was HIV-positive, yet “there was wide-spread disbelief,” he says, shaking his head at the memory.

But the NACC persisted. They were determined to educate area residents, convinced that eff ective and sustainable local solutions require communities to fully understand HIV/AIDS and discuss it openly.

Their tenacity paid off . NACC, now a Firelight grantee-partner, has helped established Village AIDS Committees in 300 communities. These local groups channel the energy of more than 5,000 volunteers who provide care and support for 10,000 local children aff ected by HIV/AIDS.

“Slowly, by continuing to put the topic on the table, traditional healers and village chiefs began to talk and want to be part of the solution. As they understood the truth about HIV/AIDS,

Namwera AIDS Coordinating Committee (MALAWI)

Communities Providing Care, Support, and Protection to Children and Families

NACC’s 300 Village AIDS Committees channel the energies of 5,000 volunteers providing care and support for 10,000 local orphans and vulnerable children.

the community opened up their hearts to those aff ected by AIDS,” Wame says with satisfaction.

Currently those community-based solutions are as varied as the local needs across 300 ru-ral villages scattered among rolling hills that stretch from Lake Malawi’s southern shores to the Mozambique border. There are youth recreation clubs, home-based caregivers for the chronically ill, community child care centers, mobile HIV counseling and testing, vegetable gardening projects, vocational training for child household heads, and in-

come-generating initiatives for vulnerable households.

Formed by a group of concerned Namwera area leaders, including government offi cials, clergy, business people, poli-ticians and local chiefs, NACC’s deep local roots contribute to their success mobilizing action for children and families aff ected by HIV/AIDS. Their emphasis on local ownership is crucial to sustaining the caring relationships that provide chil-dren with the love and encouragement they need to thrive.

“We don’t plan in the offi ce and then go to the community and say, ‘Do this.’ It’s not like that,” says Wame.

Rather, NACC staff work with the local leaders who make up the village committees to analyze the root causes of local problems and explore solutions together.

“The village committees are in charge. NACC plays a sup-porting role,” explains Aili Langseth, Firelight’s Malawi program offi cer.

A growing body of research underscores the eff ectiveness of NACC’s approach, she notes. Local assistance for vulnerable children and families tends to be sustainable and continue over the long-term when village residents are concretely en-gaged and genuinely invested.

“The small, small community-based organizations can do wonders with the funding and training we provide,” Wame says. “They understand the issues on the ground. They are still there doing the work during rainy season when the roads are not passable, or when there is no electricity or telephone service. They are still working, visiting the children and pro-viding them counseling, whether all of the funding is there or not.”

A village elder describes the relationship with NACC in this way: “If all organizations had the same approach as NACC, I don’t think people would suff er the way they do. NACC is teaching us to care about each other and understand that this is our collective responsibility. Their role is in linking us community members to donors.”

Firelight’s partnership with NACC began in 2004 with sup-port for a livestock project designed to provide added income for families caring for orphans and other vulnerable children. Households identifi ed by their village committees receive three goats (one male and two females) plus training in animal husbandry at the cost of about US$100. The goats provide milk and meat, and are sold to generate income to cover the fees needed to keep the children in school. Each family who receives animals agrees to pass two female goats on to another family when their goats reproduce, repaying the loan and spreading the benefi ts throughout the community.

Wame’s eyes twinkle when he describes the diff erence the goats have made for families he knows. One widow, raising three children, told him that having the income from the

The small, small community-based organizations can do wonders with the funding and training we provide. They understand the issues on the ground.

SAEED WAME, NACC’S EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Saeed Wame, NACC’s executive director


goats was like having “her husband back” to provide for them. Another widow was able to improve her family’s diet and buy a bicycle so that her two children could fi nally attend primary school—located four miles away—on a regular basis.

So far, more than 600 families have received goats and train-ing through the revolving project. At a recent meeting, the village committees and families decided that the goat project no longer needed outside funds because it had become self-sustaining, Wame reports.

This sort of evaluation and refl ection is built into the relation-ship NACC has with the village committees. “We examine whether our eff orts are making any diff erence, then we revise together,” says Wame.

These revisions often lead to additional initiatives to solve newly identifi ed problems. For example, chiefs recently have begun to establish new laws to punish property grabbing from widows and orphans following AIDS-related deaths.

“NACC could easily have developed a centralized approach to providing services to children en masse,“ refl ects Fire-light’s Langseth. “Instead they have made the work more sustainable by mobilizing Village AIDS Committees that can surround each child with community support.”

NACC is passing along their experience and know-how by providing management training to 24 other local nonprofi ts much the way families are passing along their goats’ off -spring. And the results are similar: improved child and family well-being throughout the region.

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Where once these children were swept into orphanages or hidden away in shame, the Janja Center works to keep them at the center of their communities, involved in daily routines with responsibilities and expectations tailored to their potential.

ROSALIE NEZIEN, FIRELIGHT PROGRAM OFFICER FOR RWANDA


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The starter commanded “Runners to your marks!” as specta-tors at a northern Rwanda stadium for the Provincial Special Olympics applaud young athletes pushing themselves toward the fi nish line and their community toward greater accep-tance and inclusion of the disabled.

At the award ceremony, Christine Nyiramihigo wipes the ochre dust from her legs and stands to receive her silver med-al without needing her usual crutches, a testament to the care of her family and the support of the Special Education Center in Janja, Rwanda.

Formed in 2005 by community members from the Asso-ciation for Christian Education in Peace Values (APAX), the Janja Center provides schooling and therapy for physically and mentally disabled children from northern Rwanda’s Gakenke district.

Housed in a church-donated building, this Firelight Founda-tion grantee is the only special education organization of its kind in northern Rwanda. The Center’s location is so remote that Janja staff have to travel nearly 25 miles by slow pub-lic transport to access the internet from internet cafes in the region’s main city of Musanze.

Historically, disabled children have been among Rwanda’s most vulnerable, seen as a burden to society and a source of shame to families. The numbers of disabled children have increased in recent years, including survivors of the genocide and civil war of the 1990s, who often have lasting physical or emotional impairments from the horror and violence.

But new policies are providing an opportunity for change. Among other recent reforms, a 2007 law gives Rwanda’s dis-abled children the right to an education. The government’s

education ministry has also set special education as a strategic priority, with hopes for inclusive education in the future.

Despite a small budget and a short history, the Janja Center has nimbly formed alliances with government agencies and international organizations to quickly expand services for the region’s disabled children and advocate for full inclusion in their communities.

“Where once these children were swept into orphanages or hidden away in shame, the Janja Center works to keep them at the center of their communities, involved in daily routines with responsibilities and expectations tailored to their po-tential,“ says Rosalie Nezien, Firelight Foundation program offi cer for Rwanda.

Over four years, Janja Center programs have grown to in-clude daily classes and regular physical therapy serving nearly 150 students. Fifty-seven students from remote villages now live at the Center during the school year. The Center’s ex-tension workers travel throughout the district to bring regular physical therapy to another 322 children and training to their parents and caregivers.

By cultivating good relationships with government offi cials, the Center succeeded in getting the local district government to pay the salaries of 6 of their 14 staff and secured regular visits from public health workers for their students.

“District authorities, including the mayor, cannot drive through Janja without visiting the Center, regardless of the purpose of their visit to the area,” comments Center Director Mukankubana Domina.

The Janja Center’s headmistress is now seen as a local expert on child development and education, Domina reports. She

Special Education Center of Janja (RWANDA)

Mobilizing Community, Government, and International Services for Children with Physical and Mental Disabilities

is routinely invited “to participate in consultative meetings at the district as well as at the national ministry in charge of family promotion and the well-being of children and women.” Because of the Center’s visibility in the region, new organiza-tions frequently visit to learn from the Center’s methods.

Several international organizations have taken note of the Center’s accomplishments and lent support. The Voluntary Service Organization, a UK-based NGO, sent profession-als to help the Janja Center identify and register all disabled children in Gakenke district. The Dutch Liliane Fund sent personnel to train Center staff in physical therapy. Another nonprofi t provided wheelchairs to several dozen children.

With support from the Firelight Foundation, the Janja Center purchased a water tank to improve the children’s access to clean water. Firelight also funded solar panels to provide elec-tricity for the Center’s offi ce, dormitories, and classroom used as an evening study room.

One of the Janja Center’s biggest strides has taken place in the surrounding neighborhoods, says Director Domina. Disabled children do not experience stigma and are now regularly seen in public—at the market, church services, and community celebrations.

“People are slowly coming to understand the importance and potential of inclusive education,” says Domina, who credits the Center’s open houses, open-door policy, and awareness-raising campaigns for the growing attitudinal change.

Mainstreaming is one of the Center’s advocacy goals, and they off er teacher-training workshops on how to include children with special needs in mainstream classrooms. They have had some success with the children they reintegrated into public primary school after providing them with on-site education. “All eight students adapted easily into mainstream classrooms, making friends quickly and joining the other chil-dren in play,” says Director Domina.

The disabled students also had unexpectedly strong grades: all achieved passing marks.

Christine’s story with the Janja Center began long before her participation in the Special Olympics. At age 18, she came to the Center in 2005 with deformed legs and an intellectual disability. Her family had never been able to pay for medical care or send her to school.

The Janja Center advocated for Christine while provid-ing physical therapy and teaching her to read, write, and do simple math. Eventually they arranged for her to undergo sur-gery to straighten her legs at an orthopedic hospital in distant Rilima, Rwanda. Now she is studying tailoring at the Center in the hopes of supporting herself in the future. Without the Center’s far-reaching connections at multiple levels of soci-ety, Christine would not be holding a silver medal or taking measurements for her latest sewing project.

As the Special Olympics competition day ended and the crowds returned home to their cooking fi res for tea and supper, it was readily apparent that Christine and her fellow competitors have something in common beside their love of sport: each has a circle of support—parents, grandparents, siblings, neighbors, friends—to see them through challenges both on and off the fi eld. Bolstering those circles of support is the Janja Center, which has called upon the community, the government, and international organizations to share the weight of this challenge by helping disabled students access the basic services that they need.

In the neighborhoods surrounding the Janja Center, disabled children do not experience stigma and are now regularly seen in public—at the market, church services, and community celebrations.


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District authorities, including the mayor, cannot drive through Janja without visiting the Center, regardless of the purpose of their visit to the area.

MUKANKUBANA DOMINA, JANJA CENTER DIRECTOR

CANADA PEOPLE SERVED N/AThe Teresa Group, TORONTO $15,000

TOTAL (1) $15,000KENYA PEOPLE SERVED 1,682 children & 460 caregivers

Education, Self-Sustainability, and Improvement of Economy Development Group, KIAMBU

$15,000

Forum For Community Mobilization, NAIROBI $15,000Kibera Integrated Community Self-Help Programme, NAIROBI $10,000Mama Darlene Children’s Centre and Community Development Projects, TALA, KANGUNDO

$5,000

TOTAL (4) $45,000LESOTHO PEOPLE SERVED 7,425 children & 488 caregiversAnti Drug Abuse Association of Lesotho, MASERU $15,000

Botleng Support Group, MASERU $6,000 Hlalefang Makaota – Tebang, MAFETENG $7,000 Khutsong Sekamaneng Women in Action Against Poverty, SEKAMANENG $5,000

Lesotho Child Counselling Unit, MAZENOD $15,000 Lesotho Girl Guides Association, MASERU $10,000 Lesotho Save the Children, COUNTRY-WIDE $10,000 Lesotho Youth For Christ, MASERU WEST $10,000 Manyeloi a Manyane Day-Care Center, MASERU $8,000 Matelile Tajane Development Trust, MAKHAKHE’S $10,000 Mohoma Temeng, HA MPITI $7,500Nazareth Support Group, MACHACHE $8,500 Phopholetsa HIV/AIDS Support Group, MASERU $10,000 Society for Women and AIDS in Africa Lesotho, NATIONWIDE $14,000 Thetsane West Multi-Purpose Association, MASERU $10,000 Touch Roots Africa, MASERU $5,000 Touch Roots Africa, MASERU $1,900 Ts’osane Support Group, SEBABOLENG $15,000 Young Women’s Christian Association – Lesotho, SEBABOLENG $10,000

TOTAL (19) $177,900

Grants Awarded in 2008

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2008 GRA

NTS

Education

Psychosocial Support

Food/Nutrition/Agriculture

Healthcare/HIV

Economic Strengthening

Children’s Rights

Material Assistance

Grantee Program Areas

Firelight’s approach is to support programs and activities that respond to the needs of children, families, and communities in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Firelight grantees know that improving the well-being of children requires holistic and sustainable approaches tailored to local environments. As a result, they use Firelight funding to implement a diverse range of activities across several program areas:

MALAWI PEOPLE SERVED 18,479 children & 3,509 caregiversAction Hope Support Organization, NAMADZI $11,800AIDS Care Counselling Campaign Project, NSANJE $10,000Centre Against Poverty and Social Problems, BLANTYRE $10,000Chikwawa Diocese Health Commission, CHIKWAWA $10,000

Chikwawa Diocese Health Commission, CHIKWAWA $4,400Chilimba Women and Orphans Care Group, ZOMBA $8,000Community Health Environmental Care Trust, LILONGWE $12,000Community Youth in Development Activities, MZIMBA $10,000Eye of the Child, BLANTYRE $15,000Eye of the Child, BLANTYRE $5,014Eye of the Child, BLANTYRE $1,800Foundation for Community Support Services, KARONGA $10,000Imvani Women’s Support Group, MCHINJI $12,000Matindi Youth Organisation, BLANTYRE $10,000Matindi Youth Organisation, BLANTYRE $4,500Mchezi Community Based Organization, LILONGWE $10,100Mwanje Orphan Care and Home Based Care, CHIRADZULU $9,000Namwera AIDS Coordinating Committee, NAMWERA $10,000Namwera AIDS Coordinating Committee, NAMWERA $1,700

Nkhotakota AIDS Support Organization, NKHOTAKOTA $15,000

Ntcheu Network, NTCHEU $8,000Peace in God Organisation, SOCHE BLANTYRE $12,000Rumphi HIV/AIDS Education Awareness Program, RUMPHI $10,000

Salima HIV/AIDS Support Organization, SALIMA $10,000The Federation of Disability Organizations in Malawi, BLANTYRE $15,000Tutulane AIDS Organization, CHITIPA $14,800Umoyo Community Based AIDS Support Organization, DOMASI $5,000

TOTAL (27) $255,114

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RWANDA PEOPLE SERVED 15,172 children & 1,408 caregiversAction pour le Développement du Peuple, KIGALI $15,000

Association Bamporeze, KIGALI $10,000Association Benimpuhwe, Centre Familial Mu Rugo, KIGALI $10,000Association des Jeunes Orphelins Rwandais, KIGALI $10,000Association des Orphelins Chefs de Ménages, KIGALI $4,320

Association Ihorere Munyarwanda, KIGALI $15,000Association Inkoramutima, KIGALI $10,000Association Tuvuge Twiyubaka, NYAMAGABE $9,200Association Ubumwe Saint Kisito, RUHENGERI $10,000Association Urukundo Rw’Imana , KIGALI $10,000Centre Presbyterien d’Amour des Jeunes, KIGALI $10,000Christian Initiative of Education for Sustainable Peace and Development, KIGALI $10,000Commission Chrétienne de Lutte Contre le SIDA, GISENYI $10,000Communauté des Potiers du Rwanda , KIGALI $15,000Diocèse Catholique de Cyangugu/Amajyambere-Iwacu Association, CYANGUGU $10,000Fair Children/ Youth Foundation, MUSANZE $10,000Les Enfants de Dieu, KIGALI $1,900Let the Little Children Come to Me, Rukira Village, HUYE DISTRICT $10,000Oeuvre Humanitaire pour la Protection et le Développement de l’Enfant en Diffi culté, BUTARE

$10,500

Solidarité Femmes 3x3, KIGALI $10,000Special Education Center of Janja, RUHENGERI $9,200

TOTAL (21) $210,120SOUTH AFRICA PEOPLE SERVED 7,992 children & 2,469 caregiversAssociation François-Xavier Bagnoud, South Africa, HOUGHTON $10,000Batho Ba Lerato, BLOEMFONTEIN $10,000Bethlehem Basic Training Project, BETHLEHEM $10,000Children's Rights Centre, DURBAN $30,000Diketso Eseng Dipuo Community Development Trust, BLOEMFONTEIN $15,000Ekupholeni Mental Health Centre, JOHANNESBURG $10,000Family Literacy Project, DURBAN $15,000Grahamstown Hospice, GRAHAMSTOWN $3,500HIV/AIDS Awareness Project and Youth Development, BRAAMFONTEIN $10,000Ikamva Labantu, CAPE TOWN $15,000Lulisandla Kumntwana, SIBHAYI $15,000Ramotshinyadi HIV/AIDS Youth Guide, RAMOTSHINYADI $15,000Rob Smetherham Bereavement Service for Children, PIETERMARITZBURG $14,700

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2008 GRA

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SOUTH AFRICA CONTINUED

Thandukuphila Community Based Organization, EMPANGENI $10,000Tholulwazi Uzivikele, KWANGWANASE $10,000Tlamelang-Sediba Home Care Centre, MAFIKENG $10,000

TOTAL (16) $203,200

TANZANIA PEOPLE SERVED 11,970 children & 4,097 caregiversAfrican Youth Connection, MOROGORO $13,500

AIDS Outreach Nyakato, MWANZA $15,000

Baraka Good Hope Orphan’s Development, MWANZA $10,000

Centre for Youth Development and Adult Education, UVINZA $13,100

CHAMAVITA, LUSHOTO $10,000

Christian Youth Network, TABORA $10,000

Church of God, Arusha Branch, ARUSHA $9,000

Community Development and Humanitarian Association, MWANZA $10,000

Development Services Foundation, KIGOMA $10,000

Elimu, Michezo na Mazoezi , DAR ES SALAAM $15,000

Huruma Shule ya Watoto Wenye Ulemavu, MWANZA $10,000

Lake Nyanza Environmental and Sanitation Organization, MWANZA $15,000

Makete Support for People with HIV/AIDS, MAKETE $12,000

Mara Widows Development Group, MUSOMA $15,000

Masasi Peoples Umbrella Organization, MASASI-MTWARA $10,000

Matumaini Mapya, BUKOBA $10,000

Matumaini Mapya, BUKOBA $3,900Muungano Community Based Organization, MUSOMA $10,000

Pemba Children's Club, PEMBA $10,000Tanzania Women of Impact Foundation, KISARAWE AND KIBAHA DISTRICTS $10,000

Teens Against AIDS, DAR ES SALAAM $15,000

The Mango Tree Orphan Support Trust, MBEYA $11,600

The Pemba Island Relief Organisation, CHAKE $9,950

Tujikomboe Group, MOROGORO $10,000

Tumaini, MWANZA $8,400Women Emancipation and Development Agency, KARAGWE $9,800

Yatima Kwa Wazazi, MOSHI $12,500

TOTAL (27) $298,750

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UGANDA PEOPLE SERVED 5,387 children & 723 caregiversAction for Children, APAC DISTRICT $10,000Friends of Christ Revival Ministries, BUSIA $10,000Friends of Orphans, KAMPALA $19,000Kyetume Community Based Health Care Programme, MUKONO $15,000St. Francis Health Care Services, JINJA $15,000

TOTAL (5) $69,000USA PEOPLE SERVED N/ACARE USA/Better Care Network, NEW YORK $30,000Grantmakers Without Borders, BOSTON $8,000

TOTAL (2) $38,000ZAMBIA PEOPLE SERVED 16,593 children & 32,331 caregiversBwafwano Community Home Based Care Organisation, LUSAKA $15,000Care For Children in Need, LUNDAZI $15,000Chikanta Community Schools Development Project, CHOMA $15,000Children in Distress, Kalomo Central FHT, KALOMO $15,000Chintelelwe Health Education and Livelihood Programme, NDOLA $14,800Community for Human Development, LUSAKA $15,000Community Youth Mobilisation, KABWE $10,000Community Youth Mobilisation, KABWE $1,700Families for Children Project, NDOLA $12,200Fountains of Light, LUSAKA $13,400Initiative for Sustainable Rural Livelihood, CHIBOMBO DISTRICT $12,500Kabwata Widows and Orphans Community Society, NDOLA $17,500Livingstone Anglican Children’s Project, LIVINGSTONE $15,000Lupwa Lwabumi Trust, Chirundu, Kapiri Mposhi, CHAZANGA $10,000Malole Home Based Care Group, MALOLE $10,000Malole Home Based Care Group, MALOLE $1,100Monze Mission Hospital/Buntolo Drop-In Centre, MAZABUKA $13,800Mphatso Development Foundation, NYIMBA $10,000Mulumbo Early Childhood Care and Development Foundation, LUSAKA $15,000Network of Zambia People Living with HIV/AIDS - Mansa Chapter, MANSA $15,000Pazesa Horticultural Community, CHIPATA $10,000People’s AIDS Response through Vital Education and Networking Foundation, MANSA

$15,000

Power of Love Foundation, LUSAKA $10,000Ray of Hope for Orphans, LIVINGSTONE $4,900Rescue Mission Zambia, LUSAKA $20,000Rural Child, KITWE $12,500Silelo Community School HIV/AIDS Support Group, LIVINGSTONE $8,000The Media Network on Orphans and Vulnerable Children, LUSAKA $10,000

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2008 GRA

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Titukuke Rural Community Development Association, PETAUKE $10,000Tusa Munyandi Association, LIVINGSTONE $10,000Welfare Concern International, LIVINGSTONE $13,100Young Women’s Christian Association - Western Region, Zambia, MONGU $10,000Youth for Change, LUSAKA $10,000Zambian Association of Child Care Workers, LUSAKA $2,000

TOTAL (34) $392,500

ZIMBABWE PEOPLE SERVED 12,616 children & 3,368 caregiversChiedza Community Based Orphan Welfare Organisation - CCBOWO, MUTARE $15,000

Child Protection Society, HARARE $15,000Child Protection Society, HARARE $5,000Esandleni Sothando, PLUMTREE $15,000Family-in-Need Trust, MUTARE $15,000Girl Child Network, CHITUNGWIZA $5,000Gwai Grandmothers’ Group, MBERENGWA $10,000

Ingalo Zomusa Orphan Care, GWANDA $15,000Island Hospice and Bereavement Services, HARARE $15,100Justice for Children Trust, HARARE $2,400Justice for Children Trust, HARARE $1,200Loving Hand, BULAWAYO $15,000Masvingo Community Based HIV and Vulnerable Children Organization, MASVINGO $10,000Maunganidze Kindhearted Children’s Organisation, CHITUNGWIZA $10,000New Hope Foundation, CALEDONIA FARM $10,000Ray of Hope Zimbabwe, MUTASA $10,000Sesithule Vamanani Caring Association, CHIREDZI $18,000Shingirirai Trust, MABVUKU & TAFARA $15,000Sibambene AIDS Programme of the Archdiocese of Bulawayo - Sikhethimpilo Centre, MAPHISA

$19,000

Simukai Street Youth Programme, MUTARE $2,300Women Empowerment Group, HARARE (EPWORTH) $10,000Youth For A Child in Christ, BULAWAYO $15,000Youth in Development Trust, MUTARE $10,000Zimbabwe Parents of Handicapped Children Association, Bulawayo Branch, BULAWAYO

$15,000

TOTAL (24) $273,000

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180TOTAL NUMBER OF GRANTS IN 2008

TREASURER’S NOTE

Firelight Foundation awarded 180 grants totaling US$1.97 million during our 2008 fi scal year (October 2007–September 2008), bringing our nine-year cumulative total to about US$10 million in grant awards.

Like most foundations, Firelight saw its endow-ment seriously aff ected by the economic downturn in 2008. It is worth noting, however, that other foundations increased their support to Firelight by US$1.3 million from 2007 to 2008—a good deal of it in multi-year grants.

In spite of challenging economic conditions, we have continued to strengthen our programs and staffi ng according to our new strategic plan, in order to promote long-term growth in the funds we can provide to community organizations in Sub-Saharan Africa.


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2008 Financial Report

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION

2008 2007 as restated ASSETS

Current Assets 11,982,456 13,957,784 Property and Equipment, Net 128,939 134,809 Other Assets 6,000 6,000

Total Assets 12,117,395 14,098,593

LIABILITIES

Accounts Payable 146,978 161,267 Grants Payable 1,362,950 1,228,094

Total Liabilities 1,509,928 1,389,361

NET ASSETS

Unrestricted 8,930,466 11,978,596 Temporarily Restricted 1,677,001 730,636

Total Net Assets 10,607,467 12,709,232

Total Liabilities and Net Assets 12,117,395 14,098,593

STATEMENT OF ACTIVITIES

2008 2007 as restated REVENUE AND SUPPORT

Support from Individuals 492,355 937,910 Support from Foundations 3,194,404 1,866,522 Revenue from Investments -1,489,384 1,594,017

Total Revenue and Support 2,197,374 4,398,449

EXPENSES

Grants Awarded 1,970,496 2,184,935 Program Services 1,677,401 1,301,551 General and Administrative 538,111 266,197 Fundraising 112,195 146,027

Total Expenses 4,298,203 3,898,710

Change in Net Assets -2,100,829 499,739

NOTE: 2007 revenue has been restated to include an additional individual pledge of $200,000.

Donors

INDIVIDUALS

Shane Adler

Stacey Anderson

Matthew & Carol Arozian

Judy Astone & Donald Patten

Jennifer Astone

Russell & Anne Ayers

Roger & Carolyn Ayers

Catherine Bacon

Lauren Bala

Robert Bardin & B. Lyndall Callan

Nicholas Barthel

Isaac Bempong

Marci Berman

Lisa Berry & Leslie Johnson

Deborah Bryant

Keyna Bugner

Patrick & Linda Bujold

Tom & Lore Burger

Rose Campbell

Rita Carter

Peter & Denise Castro

Paula Clupper

Steven Corbato & Susan Bratton

Janet & Bill Cornyn

Alan Crystal & Marilyn Uzan

Joanne Csete

Joshua Dankoff

Jennifer Delaney

Ann & John Dizikes

Mary Lee Duff

Marjorie Ebright

George Ehrhardt

Debra & David Evans

Robert & Sarah Feinerman

Terri Fette

Hasanna Fletcher & Dane Ryan

Doug & Janine Fullmer

Betsy Gaiser

Aviva Garrett & David Doshay

Vivian & Dominique Gettliff e

Yoine Goldstein

Sally Goodis

Robert Graff am

Marcy Haberkom

James Hayes

Esther Hewlett

Tricia Hill

Becky Holtzman

Laura Hyams

Alisonn & Razvan Ianculescu

Dana & Loreen Jackson

Janet Jaff ke

Herbert & Joy Kaiser

Edward & Jeanette Katz

Dave Katz & Kerry Olson

Sally Klein

Daniel LaPenta & Janice Paran

Mary Lee & Ernest Kilton

Elizabeth Lewis

Mike Lowrie

Ali MacGraw

Gina Annette & Alejandro Marotta

James & Teresa Matetich

Anne McCarten-Gibbs

Anne McDonough

Monica McHenney & Peter Kessler

Elone Miller

Stanley & Eileen Miller

Tammy & David Moody

David Morrell

Joyce Murata

Karen Anne Murray

Peggy Newell

Suzanne Newsome

Nathaniel Owings

Peggy & John Overcashier

Jim & Sandra Palmquist

Ana Carvalho & Elena Pereira

Cynthia Phillips

Marilyn & Edwin Pollock

Nick Pratt

Sharon Pratt

Sophie Reynolds

Robert Rhodehamel

Ruthann Richter & Jay Hammer

Allen Robel

Teresa Roberts

Janet Rossi

Emily Salcido

Danielle L. Sanchez-Witzel

Pradee Sindhu & Marie-Francoise Bertrand

Thomas & Tania Schlatter

Sally Scott

We are grateful to all of our donors for their generosity and continued support. Their commitment to Firelight makes it possible for us to support communities and families in Sub-Saharan Africa who are working to improve children’s lives.


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Jon Singletary

Thomas Skibo

Pete & Sally Slicer

Joanne Smalley

Jane Smith

Robert & Tammy Snyder

Suzanne Staver Adams

Juniper Stein

Jennifer Stenson

Malay & Beverley Thaker

Hariharan Thangarajah

David Tremblay

Randy Trigg

Beth Verhey & Daniel Toole

Carol Ward

Howard Ward

Jim & Judy Warner

William Watson

Audrey Webb

Jessica Weiss & Vladislav Luskin

Kyle Wipp

Ellen Wiss

David Wittbrodt

Mary Yoo

Mark Zaplin & Richard Lampert

BUSINESSES

Alpert & Alpert Iron & Metal, Inc. (Los Angeles, CA)

Doma Café and Gallery (New York, NY)

Rubio’s Fresh Mexican Grill (Carlsbad, CA)

CHURCHES

Temple United Methodist Church (San Francisco, CA)

The First Presbyterian Church (Charleston, WV)

SCHOOLS

Chadwick School (Palos Verdes, CA)

Gideon Hausner Jewish Day School (Palo Alto, CA)

Louisiana School (Natchitoches, LA)

GIFTS IN HONOR OF

Jennifer AstoneBy Judy Astone & Donald Patten

Linda MartinSally Scott

Judy AstoneBy Janet Rossi

Kyle & Gina BrownBy Terri Fette

David Murray BryantBy Sally Scott

Cheryl CascianiBy Sally Scott

Louise DeCormierBy Yoine Goldstein

Daniel LaPenta & Janice ParanMary Lee Duff

Dean & Marilyn DizikesBy Ann & John Dizikes

Maya DulayBy Hariharan Thangarajah

Titia & Billy EllisBy Sally Scott

Britt EhrhardtBy George Ehrhardt

Julia FeinbergBy Elena Pereira & Ana Pereira

Carvalho

Roscoe FinkelBy Danielle L. Sanchez-Witzel

Dr. Grace GoodellBy Sally Scott

Jim HayesBy Anne McDonough

Dave HerzogBy Anonymous

Hazel HimelsteinBy Danielle L. Sanchez-Witzel

Cilla HinesBy David Tremblay

Dave Katz & Kerry OlsonBy Laura Hyams

Edward & Jeanette KatzPeggy & John Overcashier

Airie LindsayBy Sally Scott

Linda MartinBy Jennifer Astone

Sharon NewsomeBy Suzanne Newsome

Kristin Olson & Kevin KrugerBy Jennifer Delaney

Owen Augustus QuayleBy Nick Pratt

Anonymous

Doug & Sarah RiversBy Robert Bardin

& B. Lyndall Callan

Julia & Alex SamwerBy Evelyn Polesny

Sally ScottBy Matthew and Carol Arozian

Cheryl Talley-Moon & Bob Moon

By David Morrell

Luke TollinBy Danielle L. Sanchez-Witzel

Ben WexlerBy Sally Goodis

GIFTS IN MEMORY OF

David Murray BryantBy Deborah L. Bryant

KentBy Janet Jaff ke

MaryBy Roger & Carolyn Ayers

Irma WardBy Howard Ward

American Jewish World Service

Bridgeway Foundation

California Community Foundation

Caris Foundation

Cars 4 Causes

Elton John AIDS Foundation—UK

Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies Contribution Fund

Lehmann Family Foundation of the Jewish Community Endowment Fund

Nike Foundation

New Field Foundation

Silicon Valley Community Foundation

Robert N. & Florence Slinger Fund at the Community Foundation of Santa Cruz County

The ELMA Foundation

Tsadik Foundation

FUNDS & FOUNDATIONS The Cradle Project

Launched in June 2008 by founder Naomi Natale to benefi t the Firelight Foundation, The Cradle Project mobilized hundreds of volunteers and raised about US$75,000. Designed to raise awareness and fi nancial support to assist orphans and vulnerable children, the historic art installa-tion auctioned many of the 500 exhibited cradles—several beautifully captured in The Cradle Project Book.

DONOR FOCUS

Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF)The Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF) began funding Firelight in 2006 based on a shared belief that community-based organizations are best placed to develop practical, sustainable, and life-changing solutions to meet the needs of vulnerable children in their communities. “We are con-vinced of the value of supporting grassroots organizations and appreciate the diligence with which Firelight undertakes this role,” said Anne Aslett, Development Director at the Foundation.

EJAF supports projects that empower people infected, aff ected, and at risk of HIV/AIDS to alleviate their physical, emotional, and fi nancial hardship and enable them to improve their quality of life and live with dignity.

In 2008, EJAF supported nearly 30 Firelight grantees in Lesotho, Malawi, South Africa, Tanzania, and Zambia. As just one example, EJAF funding helped the Chilimba Women and Orphans Care Group in Malawi evolve from a small, volunteer-run group to a professionally staff ed and managed organization. Chilimba’s development has allowed them to signifi cantly expand their services and to reach many more women and children aff ected by HIV/AIDS and poverty.

DONOR FOCUS

Nike Foundation: The Grassroots Girls Initiative (GGI)Nike Foundation launched the Grassroots Girls Initiative (GGI) in June 2006, partnering with the Firelight Foun-dation and fi ve other organizations. Grassroots organizations bubble up practical, innovative solutions to the problems girls face, but are often unable to secure adequate and consistent funding. GGI works to resolve this by providing long-term support to grassroots organizations to empower adolescent girls by implementing programs, conducting advocacy, and strengthening their organizational and programmatic capacities.

Girls are the most powerful source of change in this work and GGI is an example of direct investments in what many are now calling the ‘Girl Eff ect’—the social and economic change brought about when girls have the opportunity to participate.

In 2008, Nike Foundation supported 25 Firelight grantees in several countries—groups like the Livingstone Anglican Children’s Project in Zambia; Elimu, Michezo na Mazoezi in Tanzania; and the Women Empowerment Group in Zimbabwe. Over the years, our partners have become increasingly aware of the specifi c needs of adolescent girls—noticing when girls are markedly absent in school, community activities, and public life, and integrating programming for girls into their work. Firelight’s GGI-funded grantees have had a signifi cant positive impact on girls’ lives, ensuring that they have access to health, education, social protection, and programs and spaces that support their development and empowerment.

The work of the Nike Foundation is supported by Nike, Inc. and by signifi cant investments by the NoVo Foundation, which has enabled the exponential impact of the Girl Eff ect.

Sir Elton John on a project visit to a community center funded by the Elton John AIDS Foundation in South Africa. Photo courtesy of the Elton John AIDS Foundation.

“ If we are really committed to building a new fi nancial architecture for the countries of Africa, we must invest in girls today. This critical investment in human capital development will bring about necessary structural change and game-changing economic benefi ts.” LISA MACCALLUM,MANAGING DIRECTOR OF THE NIKE FOUNDATION


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EVERY DOLLAR COUNTS IN AFRICA*:

$1 equips one child with school supplies for an entire school year.

$10 can provide one family aff ected by HIV/AIDS with a monthly pension.

$250 supplies gardening equipment and seeds to fi ve school gardens, which provide nutritious food and income to vulnerable children and families.

$500 provides training and small loans to help 50 vulnerable households start small businesses and better care for their children.

$1,000 covers all costs for 30 teachers and caregivers to attend a training workshop to learn how to provide life-changing psycho-social support and care to children who have lost their parents and are suff ering from extreme grief, stress, and depression.

FOR $1 PER CHILD*:

Empilweni (South Africa) provides individual and family therapy, group support, and sports programs to hundreds of bereaved children and adolescents.

Community Youth in Development Activities (COYIDA) (Malawi) is building a Youth Resource Center that will off er HIV/AIDS education, a reading and computer library, and sports facilities anticipated to serve 5,000 children and youth in the coming year.

Now more than ever, our work depends on the generosity of donors like you, who appreciate the remarkable diff erence that grassroots orga-nizations make in the lives of vulnerable families and children.

As a result of the economic downturn, the needs of children aff ected by HIV/AIDS and poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa have never been greater. The good news is that our funding is now stretching even farther to make a real diff erence in children’s lives.

Contributions to community-based organiza-tions have life-changing impact on children’s lives. They are often the diff erence between a meal before bed or sleeping on an empty stomach, and enable children to attend school, opening opportunities for a brighter future.

We hope that you will continue to support Firelight, or if you are new to us, that you will consider joining our circle of dedicated donors.

HOW TO GIVE

DONATE ONLINE (securely): www.fi relightfoundation.org. You can make a one-time gift or arrange for an automatic monthly donation.

SEND A CHECK TO: Firelight Foundation, 740 Front Street, Suite 380, Santa Cruz, CA 95060.

SHARE STOCK: Stock may be transferred to Firelight via Northern Trust Bank.

Support Firelight

*Costs refl ect specifi c grantee programs and vary by region and by year.

* Firelight funding is able to stretch as far as it does because grassroots action mobilizes community volunteers and resources.

A warm welcome to new Advisory Board member, Howard Kasiya.

A trained clinician who has served as HIV/AIDS Programme Manager at the Evangelical Association of Malawi (EAM) since 2003, Kasiya is responsible for coordinating the responses of local area churches to HIV/AIDS.

Kasiya established the fi rst Hospital and Community-Based HIV/AIDS Program in Malawi, as well as the fi rst HIV/AIDS program targeting youth, called the “AIDS TOTO CLUBS,” a model later adopted by UNICEF for youth programs in Malawi.

He was also jointly responsible for developing a community-based HIV/AIDS counseling model focused on involving families and encouraging community participation. The Malawi Ministry of Health now uses a manual on care counseling that Kasiya authored to provide counseling guidance and training.

Boards & Staff

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Kerry Olson, Founder & President

David Katz, Vice President

Debra Evans, Secretary

Nancy Shallow

The following lists are current through September 2009.

ADVISORY BOARD

Geoff Foster, MDConsultant, Family AIDS Caring Trust (FACT)

Mulugeta GebruFounder & Executive Director, Jerusalem Children and Community Development Organization (JeCCDO)

Stefan GermannWorld Vision International—HIV and AIDS Hope Initiative

Wairimu MungaiProgram Director, WEM Integrated Health Services (WEMIHS)

Linda Richter, PhDExecutive Director, Child, Youth, Family, and Social Development, Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC)

Cati VawdaDirector, Children’s Rights Centre (CRC)

We are deeply grateful to retiring Board member, Jennifer Delaney, for her commitment and wide-ranging support to Firelight over the years, and we wish her well in the next phase of her career.

Recently appointed to the U.S. Assistant Secretary of Health & Human Services post, Joan Lombardi made important contributions to Firelight’s work, despite her brief Board tenure.

Howard Kasiya. Photo by Anne-Marie Rosche.

VISITING SCHOLARS

Cyprian MaroExecutive Director, Elimu, Michezo na Mazoezi (EMIMA), Tanzania

Maxwell MatewereExecutive Director, Eye of the Child, Malawi

Lorraine SherrProfessor, Head of Health Psychology Unit PCPS, Royal Free and UC Medical School UCL

Susan Wilkinson-MaposaIndependent Consultant

STAFF

Peter Laugharn, Executive Director

Amee Chapman, IT Systems Engineer

Janice Cook-Silva, Executive Assistant

Suzana Grego, Director of Communications & Advocacy

Sarah Kerlin, Development Assistant

Desiree Kosciulek, Organizational Learning Associate

Aili Langseth, Program Offi cer

Jennifer Lentfer, Head of Capacity Building

Scott J. Pietka, Grants Administrator

Zanele Sibanda Knight, Director of Programs

Scott Staub, Director of Development

Cheryl Talley-Moon, Human Resources & Offi ce Manager

We are grateful to the following former staff members for their service and dedication:

Jennifer Anderson-Bahr, Senior Program Offi cerJoanne Csete, Director of Programs & Interim Executive DirectorJim Hayes, IT ManagerAnne Holmes, Director of DevelopmentLauren Maher, Senior Program Offi cerRon Maysenhalder, Finance ManagerSuzanne Newsome, Development AssistantRosalie Nezien, Program Offi cerGwendolyn Pogrowski, Finance Offi cerAnne-Marie Rosche, Program AssociateZoe Rowlandson, Executive Assistant

VOLUNTEERS

Judy Astone

Michael Hall

Aviva Longinotti

Bob Moon

Every child, regardless of race, creed, country, or other factor is raised in a supportive family and community, in a safe environment, with adequate food, shelter, and healthcare, and a sound education.

Children’s rights are recognized, protected, and upheld, as an integral part of human rights.

The strengths of children and families are recognized and their voices are valued and heard.

Community solidarity—one of Africa’s strengths and assets—is widely recognized as vital to eff orts to improve children’s well-being in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Communities take action to address issues that aff ect vulnerable children and families.

There is a widespread belief and corresponding investment in community-based organiza-tions as a strong and growing facet of civil society.

Governments, donors, nongovernmental organizations, community-based organizations, communities, and individuals work together to guarantee children’s sustained quality of life.

There is global awareness and eff ective action to address the severe impact of HIV/AIDS and poverty on Africa’s children.

Our VisionFirelight envisions and works toward a world in which:

Copyright © 2009 Firelight Foundation. All Rights Reserved.

Design by J Sherman Studio LLC.Printed and bound by Community Printers, using 100 percent recycled paper.Direction by Suzana Grego.Writing and editing by Suzana Grego, other Firelight staff , and Paola Scommegna.Photos by Joop Rubens.

Firelight Foundation

740 Front Street, Suite 380Santa Cruz, CA 95060 USA

Tel: +1.831.429.8750Fax: +1.831.429.2036

info@fi relightfoundation.orgwww.fi relightfoundation.org

firelight foundation annual report 2008

Documents

community solidarity

community responsecommunities

community structures

needs of vulnerable

community support system

rights of children

vulnerable communities

unmet needs of children