Annual update 2015 – 2016

RELief Education DEVelopment

OVERSEAS AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT FUNDED PROJECTS

Peru: business advice to poor women to help them establish profitable

micro-enterprises

This project takes place in the Valle de Cañete, a rural area on the

south west coast of Perú. In the past year the project focused on

providing specialised individual business and management advice

services to women who own informal small businesses. The project is

implemented by Promotoras de Obras Sociales de Instrucción Popular

(PROSIP) through Condoray Centre for the Professional Formation of

Women and in collaboration with Centro de Formación Empresarial

para la Mujer (CEFEM). 30 women from various villages in Cañete

participated in the project.

A business analyst conducted an audit of the women’s businesses,

identifying areas that needed improvement. The women then received

individual weekly coaching sessions in costs and expenses, cash

management, accounting systems and marketing. The women also

went on an industry visit, where they were given a tour by the store

manager. He explained marketing principles and how to make a

business successful—this motivated the women to bring about changes

in their own businesses.

Paraguay: women’s micro-enterprise program

Asociación para la Promoción de la Mujer Artesana y Obrera (PROMU),

in partnership with Reledev, runs a project which takes place on the

outskirts of Asunción in the Barrio San Antonio. The project seeks to

develop the economic and social skills of the women participants. It

also provides basic healthcare to men, women and children by way of

a mobile medical clinic. 600 men, women and children benefitted from

the project in the 2015-16 year.

Women attended workshops on making high quality artisan

handcrafted soaps, developing quality food products and learning to

crotchet various material items as well as giftware. They also received

individual mentoring sessions on self esteem, micro-enterprise

organisation, product development, costing and marketing. The women

who participated in the project established a cooperative for the

manufacture and sale of the best products—the cooperative has been

successful in selling clothes and other products with the proceeds

covering kitchen maintenance and administrative expenses. 520 men,

women and children received basic healthcare via the mobile medical

clinic. This was the final year of Reledev intervention in this project; it will

continue to be carried out by volunteers.

Reledev Australia Limited PO Box 224, Kingsford NSW 2032 Telephone (02) 9663 2628 ABN 60 104 524 843 www.reledev.org.au

Nicaragua: enabling poor rural women to obtain employment in the tourism and hospitality industry

through vocational training.

The main objective of the project which takes place in Diriamba, Carazo, Nicaragua, is to train women in

the areas of hospitality, sewing and dressmaking and entrepreneurship. In the past year it continued to

provide a means of income generation for women to earn a living and increase the personal well being of

their families. The project is carried out in partnership with Asociación para la Cooperación Educativa

Nicaragüense (ACOEN). 122 beneficiaries benefitted.

Women completed cooking and baking courses and participated in a work experience program with

several students gaining employment less than a month after graduating. The sewing and dressmaking

students are all successfully working in dressmaking. Entrepreneurship students learnt business skills and

were guided in formulating a business plan for their own businesses to know how to manage their micro-

enterprises correctly. All students also participated in English and computer classes. Capacity building of

ACOEN was also achieved through short courses for teachers and trainers.

Philippines: economic development for Filipino women experiencing social exclusion

This project is implemented in partnership with the Foundation for Professional Training Incorporated (FPTI)

and takes place in Central Visayas, Cebu, metro Manila and Calumba, Laguna. The main objective of the

project is to provide employment opportunities for women by way of vocational training and work

experience. 763 beneficiaries benefitted from the project in the past year.

Young women obtained qualifications in Hotel and Restaurant Services (HRS) through the Banilad Centre

of Professional Development (BCPD), as well as completing on the job training at hotel and restaurant

establishments in Cebu. Yolanda survivors and women from remote areas took part in short courses

(cooking, baking) to help them develop products and establish micro-enterprises. Women with a disability

were trained in short courses in bakery to assist them in establishing a livelihood. Teachers from remote

areas attended courses in technical vocational classes to prepare for the Philippine national educational

reform. Staff members across FPTI as well as industry partners were educated on FPTI’s Child Protection

Policy Code of Conduct (CPPCC). Past alumni were assessed on competency gaps in their skills and

mentored to implement an improvement to enable them to further their career.

Vietnam: December 28th—January 14th 2015/16

Nairana Study Centre has been in collaboration

with Reledev since 2004. Nairana provides

volunteer opportunities for young Australian men

by way of yearly workcamps, which aim to serve

people in need in developing countries.

A group of 39 young men made their way to

Vietnam where they spent time in Southern

Vietnam in a village called The Than My and a

village about 300 kilometres North-East of Ho Chi

Minh City called K’long. In The Than My village

various renovations were undertaken as well as

the building of foundations. In K’long three toilet

blocks were built as well as three small houses. Philippines: January 6th—16th 2016

Tangara School for Girls has been running service

projects to the Philippines since 2012. In 2015

Reledev signed an agreement with Tangara and

the project is now run in collaboration between

Tangara and Reledev. Service projects provide

young Australian women with the opportunity to

get involved in poverty alleviation activities.

15 students went to the small village of Balete

which is located on the island of Luzon,

approximately 92 kilometres south of Manila.

Volunteers taught first aid as well as computer

based training in resume writing and Microsoft

Publisher to girls from disadvantaged

backgrounds, repainted the exterior of the

school building, took food and relief items to

disadvantaged families, visited an orphanage

and nursing home as well as the paediatric ward

at the Philippines General Hospital. They also

worked with the Cancer Warriors Foundation to

provide support to children suffering from

cancer.

Dubbo: 5th—12th July 2015 and 17th—24th

January 2016

Creston College has been running local service

projects in Dubbo NSW in partnership with

Reledev since 2003.

21 women university students participated in

either the January or July project. Volunteers

provided holiday activities for young indigenous

children, working with members of Apollo House

and the Buninyong Community Centre to carry

out the activities. Through the Baptist Community

Centre volunteer program volunteers visited the

elderly to provide companionship and

conversation. The project has helped both

young and old alike to achieve stability and

alleviate loneliness.

Overseas and Australian service projects and work camps

Above: volunteers teaching first aid in the Philippines

Below: Dubbo volunteers with participants

Above: volunteers lay foundations in Vietnam

Reledev is accredited with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and receives a yearly grant

through the Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP), a long-standing program providing grants for

Australian accredited NGOs to undertake international development projects.

Reledev is a member of the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID) and is a signatory to

the ACFID Code of Conduct.

Donations to Reledev Australia Limited Overseas Aid Fund (OAF) are tax deductible

Other Reledev projects

DREAM (Developing, Rebuilding, Educating And Motivating)

The DREAM project is a new Reledev initiative which started in February 2016. The project assists refugees

living in Australia with their education and continuous personal development. This is achieved via

academic coaching in mathematics and English and Skills for Life Programs on self-confidence and job

search preparation. For the year ending June 2016 academic coaching took place in two schools;

Holroyd and Macarthur Girls High School in Western Sydney. The Skills for Life Programs will begin in

February 2017. The project is run by volunteers (university students and professionals.)

TFN (The Funding Network) project

On the 7th September 2015, Reledev participated in an event organised by AMP Limited and run by The

Funding Network (TFN). Reledev “pitched” for a proposed livelihood program in the Philippines whereby

women typhoon Yolanda survivors are provided with 4-week livelihood and micro-enterprise courses to

help them re-establish their lives following the disaster. So far over 21,000 survivors have “gradually”

recovered, but two years on there is a continued need for community based capacity building programs

that would increase the economic opportunities of families through skills training and pre-employment

assistance. $18,900 was raised during the pitch and the project is currently being carried out by Reledev’s

local partner in the Philippines, the Foundation for Professional Training Incorporated (FPTI).