Welcome to ICOWorld!
 

ICO is founded on the premise that friends working together can harness the power of innovative ideas: Through the common goals of communities and volunteers around the world, ICO develops processes and community-led initiatives to advance education and alleviate poverty.

Editors Notes

Matt Gillard
Leader - External Communications
Centre for Communications and Marketing

In this issue of the ICO World Newsletter, we will be attempting to get you, the friends and team members of ICO, up-to-date on what our various initiatives across Latin America, Africa and Asia have been working on and accomplished, and, in some cases, what they need to continue to work towards a more sustainable global community.  From playing soccer in Bondo, Kenya to digging ditches throughout Nepal, join us in recognizing the fantastic accomplishments of the many Initiatives and Communities that ICO works with across the globe.

John Mitchell
President and Chair
InnovativeCommunities.Org Foundation

I would like to wish you a very warm welcome to the latest edition of ICO World. This is a new format which fits devices from computers to tablets and smartphones. This also enables us to keep you informed of the latest news in a really timely manner and is much easier to produce and publish in Mandarin, Swahili, Hindi, French, Spanish and English

As I write this message I see from our Online Accounts that we have raised $980,708.16 Canadian for our Worldwide Initiatives in a few short years. Every dollar went to the people in the community we serve, not a penny was deducted for overhead or corporate salaries. All those resources came from volunteers working together, no fundraising costs were deducted, ICO even paid the cost of the credit cards and bank charges. Our overhead costs come from our investment portfolio, not from donations. With prudent management of those investments we never have to ask either for people to contribute to our overhead.

If you donated $100 then that $100 went to the intended recipients and you could see live in the accounts transparently 24/7 where that donation went - to the people that need it and not to professional fund raisers etc. The people are our message, people are our communities, we believe in friendship, friendships that work together and friendships that can change the World. Over the next few months we are going to focus on community, what does that really mean? What is an ICO Community? Why are we named InnovativeCommunities.Org Foundation and not InnovativeInitiatives.Org Foundation?

Very shortly we will hit the $1 million mark, yes that is correct... 1 million dollars to the people of the Developing World to assist them with education, infrastructure and the tools to build a better life for themselves, their families and their communities. We also have a major Initiative in Canada which supports 22 people with persistent mental illness at risk of homelessness with safe housing and professional nursing. In addition we  also enabled a 24 small apartment complex for people with multiple issues of homelessness, addiction and mental health. This apparently was the first in Canada and the second in North America.

Some of the stories in this issue show just some of the many 40+ Initiatives in 13 countries and only show part of the over 10,000 people we have been honoured to serve and assist as Friends. We also will be highlighting the Run-For-Tomorrow (R4T) which is designed to support and encourage better health and involvement. Also from that R4T Initiative, donation proceeds will go to our new ICO Community Self-Sufficiency Fund to assist in bringing a better tomorrow for thousands of people Worldwide.

Without our dedicated pro-bono Team Members volunteering their time, their passion and humanity, their skills and resources, none of this would have been possible. I want to pay tribute to you, I want to thank you for the endless work you have undertaken, in difficult situations, without detailed corporate plans, with caring and with friendship, you made it happen and you were not paid! Many thanks to all those partners and donors who have so selflessly supported our people, again with kindness, consideration and commitment.

With my grateful thanks and in friendship

John
 

Run for Tomorrow

The R4T Big Run is fast approaching! More than 30 Countries will feel the collective clopping of world class marathon runners beginning September 15, 2013 in Ottawa, Canada. R4T is an ICO Initiative but most of the money raised will be donated to worldwide Heart and Stroke, Cancer, and Diabetes Initiatives, The 100 Mile Club and The Big Change Charitable Trust! ICO will be keeping a small portion to build our Community Self-Sufficiency Fund which will support our continued work around the World. 

News from our ICO Communities...

Sabrina Meherally
Leader - ICO Communities Group

Note from John:
Following my above welcome message theme - communities, it seems a very a good idea to introduce you to Sabrina Meherally. Sabrina is the Leader of the ICO Communities Group, has been with ICO for over a year and has led the ICO Tanzania Initiatives and also Leader of the Centre for Communications and Marketing. Sabrina has over the last few months been planning the organisational support for our Worldwide ICO Communities which by September will have some presence in 34 countries.

This issue of ICO World is focussed to our Community Initiatives, the next issue will focus to our ICO Communities and the involvement of those communities in ICO and the involvement of the local people in the governance and direction of their ICO Communities. We are a community of friends working together to make a better tomorrow. More soon on these exciting developments...

ICO is founded on the premise that friends working together can harness the power of innovative ideas: Through the common goals of communities and volunteers around the world, ICO develops processes and community-led initiatives to advance education and alleviate poverty.
 

ICO In Latin America

ICO Guatemala Communities News

The San Pedro School Initiative

With the support of the San Pedro Education Initiative, 12 students who would not be able to go to school without extra support at home, get that chance.  Specific needs for support are determined by ICO World volunteer, Javier Navichoc in Guatemala. Younger students receive additional food support so that they may continue their schooling, rather than work to support their families. Other students are in high school and receive school fees and supplies as well as transportation allowances.
Initiative Team Leader: Margaret Gray

Chaquijya Secondary School Initiative

The Chaquijya Secondary School support was requested by our volunteer in Guatemala, Jesus Toc.  ICO World was able to fund the salaries of four teachers and enable the school to start in the village of Chaquijya. Fifty students are now going to secondary school in this village thanks to this amazing program.
Initiative Team Leader: Margaret Gray

The Loma Linda Organic Garden

When the rich land used by The Loma Linda Organic Garden was appropriated for buildings, ICO World and other generous partners paid for a new plot. Without the managers and their organization, Asociacion ASODILL, the pesticide-free and vitamin-rich fruits and vegetables--available at affordable cost to the villagers from their own lands--would be impossible. Currently, funds are needed to hire workers to clear and dig the land and build trails, as well as to purchase organic fertilizers. Most importantly, salaries for the managers must be found to keep this project vibrant.
Initiative Team Leader: Luisa Ditmar

ICO In Africa

ICO Kenya Communities News

ICO Football Initiative

The ICO Football Initiative provides orphans and other vulnerable children opportunities to play soccer, which encourages and empowers positive community development. "Together We Can!" football tournaments in Bondo, Kenya this past March and June saw the involvment of 500 male and female youth who enjoyed nutritious snacks, water, uniforms, equipment and prizes. Project expansion is underway!
Initiative Team Leader: Jenna Hussein

ICO Tanzania Communities News

Learning Activities Book Initiative

Every Friday, these activity books bring learning to life. Inspired by the children’s enthusiasm for learning-games, the Tanzanian community, in cooperation with the initiatives team, developed a learning activities book to teach subjects, such as math and vocabulary, through play.
Initiative Team Leader: Sabrina Meherally

The House of Learning Organic Poultry Initiative

The goal of this initiative is to develop a social enterprise that can help to alleviate the operational costs of the House of Learning. The free education these vulnerable children receive is invaluable in strengthening this communitiy. Profits from the sale of fresh eggs and chickens will develop other social enterprises, such as a boarding school. On Aug. 12, 2012, the Tanzanian Initiatives team held a fundraiser at the Starlight Casino featuring local entertainers, and were able to raise over $5000 for the Poultry Farm to compensate for economic circumstances that inflated the original cost projections of the project. We're happy to say that  we have reached our goal and the project is complete!
Initiative Team Leader: Sabrina Meherally

ICO Uganda Communities News

Bula Children's Home Initiative

Bula Children's home provides a safe and nurturing environment for 27 orphaned and vulnerable children in Uganda. Basic short term needs, such as food, clothing, shelter, healthcare and education, are essential to achieve the long term goal of the Bula Children's home initiative--to become a self-sustaining entity.
Initiative Team Leader: Heather Hanrahan

Uganda Dance and Capoeira

8 different locations, including childrens' homes and resource centres in Uganda, receive free Breakdance and Capoeira classes on a weekly basis. The love of dance is brought out through talented and dedicated teachers of Capoeira Senzala Uganda and Breakdance Project Uganda. This class is now up to about 100 students.  The picture above shows some of the older boys and their teachers showing off their moves.
Initiative Team Leader: Jess Dexter

ICO Rwanda Communities News

Widows’ Households Initiative

This initiative works to rehabilitate dilapidated adobe houses in order to eliminate serious health hazards and reduce difficult labor.  A metal roof, water catchment system, eco-stove, breeding cages for rabbits, raised bed gardens and health insurance support the fundamental needs in this community--specifically, they help to sustain the widows' strength and health, which then allows her to better raise her children.  150 houses a year are completed for just $160 each.
Initiative Team Leader: John Jordan

Orphans Education Initiative

This initiative mentors 30 vulnerable or orphaned kids each year by teaching them skills to rebuild the widows’ houses. In doing so, they earn $80 to pay for one of three terms a year at boarding high school and the initiative pays the rest.  With these practical skills, plus their education, they develop the capacity to sustain themselves and their siblings.  In a world where most people are forced to focus solely on surviving, these kids prosper through community service.
Initiative Team Leader: John Jordan

Eco-stove Initiative

Last year ICO put 3,500 efficient, smoke-free stoves into Rwandan homes, thereby virtually eliminating the #1 cause of both the epidemic of respiratory sickness and the horrendous burns to children that would occur because of the use open cooking fires.  We have created 4 self-sustaining enterprises that make the stoves from local clay and sell them for $5 each, which results in fuel-wood expenditure savings of over 50%.  The Eco-Stove initiative produces steady jobs for locals and our students and a dramatic reduction in severe health problems through sustainable technology – this is truly the ICO ideal!
Initiative Team Leader: John Jordan

Beekeeping Initiative

Our beekeeping collective of 40 families has built modern hives, multiplied their colonies and increased their harvests.  Finally, they have a cash crop up there in the hills that is allowing them to invest in animals, children’s education and health care.  Working together, they are building equity in a supply system that serves great demand in high-end markets.
Initiative Team Leader: John Jordan

ICO Ethiopia Communities News

Gish Abay Kindergarten Initiative

The Gish Abay School Project in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia is developing strategies and raising funds to furnish this school with all of its many needs, including basic school supplies, equipment and staff.  We hope to create and implement income-generating projects to be launched in the vicinity of the school, such as a fruit and vegetable garden, or a market place and cafe--something in which the children and their parents might become usefully engaged, and use as a means to improve the livelihood of the school, the community and its people.
Initiative Team Leaders: Jeremy Hespeler-Boultbee & Sabrina Meherally

ICO In Asia-Pacific

ICO Nepal Community News

Nepal Irrigation Initiative

Through community engagements, villagers decided health and education were their top priorities. They knew that better irrigation would increase crop yield, and that the increased income therefrom could be used for education and health-related needs.  Specifically, repairs to a bridge section that was wiped out by a landslide began in June of 2012; without this irrigation bridge repair, the year's harvest would have been impossible. Our Nepal ICO World members and the villagers repaired the irrigation bridge enough before the monsoon season for it to be of use. With much debate, the villagers decided to buy the rice seeds, despite still being unsure that the bridge section would be completed because of the monsoon weather. This year's Dasain and Tihar festivals have begun and another harvest has arrived, demonstrating the huge benefits of hard work and your donations.
Initiative Team Leader: Brad McLoughin

Read more

...above all, we are Friends working together

Appreciation

Ben is often the first point of contact when people are looking to join Innovative Communities as volunteers. As the Leader of the Centre for Team Members, he is responsible for the Recruiting and Human Resources Administration of Innovative Communities worldwide. He has been an invaluable member of the ICO team for 1 ½ years and is thankful for the experience and the amazing people he has met.

Ben recently graduated from Camosun College with a BBA in Human Resources Management and Leadership. In his spare time he likes to listen to music, watch movies, read, exercise, sing/play guitar and act.
THANK YOU BEN!

Evening To Inspire

October 19, 2012 Youth Entrepreneur Society (YES) raised funds for the BC Children's Hospital Foundation. ICO was a proud sponsor of this event and our very own Philip-Bisset Covaneiro was a speaker! YES will announce the final dollars raised at the wrap up event on November 6th. Nice work and a big 'thanks' to all who were able to take part!

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