annual report - Unity Foundation

ANNUAL R EP ORT

2014

2

Unity Foundation

TABLE OF CONTENTS EDITORIAL

04

OUR PHILOSOPHY

06

ONE PROGRAM, TWO LINES OF ACTION

12

PROJECT UPDATES FOLLOW-UP VISITS

08

26

SYNERGIES IN LUXEMBOURG

30

FINANCES 32 NEWS AND EVENTS

35

THANK YOU TO ALL WHO SUPPORTED UF IN 2014 UNITY FOUNDATION PRESENTS ITSELF CS

Community Schools

MFA

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

PSA

Preparation for social action

UF

Unity Foundation

42

44

Annual Report 2014

3

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

Dear friends of Unity Foundation, “Dreams become impossible because we do not dare to live them or persevere despite the obstacles.” UF refuses to give up on its dreams and, as you will read in this annual report, 2014 has allowed us to pursue our dreams and be a driving force of solidarity, development and independence for the local people of our projects. We are always in close contact with our local partners and beneficiaries, and we stay focused on the future by further investing in capacity building. We are committed to continue working towards increased access to education for all children in any given community. Our partners have accomplished a lot and it is with admiration that we are looking at the results. For

4

Unity Foundation

example the project in Malawi which is praised by the national authorities and its educational program is recommended as a best-practice model. Moreover, our partner in the Central African Republic has also been recognized and endorsed by a partnership agreement with the University of Bangui. All of our partners have done incredible work this year and we are proud to contribute to their projects. In April 2014, our foundation has hired a new person in charge of sensitization and public discourse, as it is also very important to us to develop knowledge and understanding of our actions and to increase awareness of our efforts towards sustainable development. In addition, we have been offering you a more attractive and efficient website since last year and we have consolidated our presence on various social networks. As 2015 is the European Year of Development, Unity Foundation joined a consortium of several Luxembourgish NGOs in July 2014 to implement some collective sensitization activities for young people and the general public in 2015. This is very much in line with our philosophy of showing the general public and our donors the importance of cohesive action and working together to achieve a common goal. Before concluding my editorial, I wish to express my gratitude for your generosity and support throughout the past year, because it is thanks to you that we have been able to honor our commitments. I would also like to thank our office staff for their loyalty in performing a variety of tasks as well as the members of our Board of Directors for their commitment. Every act counts, so does yours. Thank you for your support.

Fernand SCHABER President

Annual Report 2014

5

Together with our local partners, Unity Foundation has adopted a specific framework of development which acts as a guide and influences the way social action is approached and carried out. At the heart of this framework lie beliefs about the nature of human beings. These beliefs are Bahá’í inspired and universal in their nature:

OUR PHILOSOPHY

Man is a mine rich in gems of limitless potential: Such a view of human beings does not permit to regard people as helpless victims nor as passive recipients of aid. Rather, development work based on such a view tries to tap into the vast pool of capacities of local people and to empower them to become the protagonists of their own development. Coherence of material and moral dimensions of human beings: Development should not only be defined by material goals, e.g. the building of infrastructure, but should also take into account the moral aspect, in order not to risk reducing people to mere consumers of goods and services. Equality between men and women: In order for a community to develop, it is necessary that equality between men and women is achieved. At Unity Foundation, development is viewed as a process, the main protagonists of which are the people themselves, irrespective of the degree of material prosperity achieved by their nations. Development activity emerges from within a community and belongs to the people and institutions that are implementing the effort. While action is directed towards visible improvement of some aspect of life, the main concern of the projects is to develop people’s capacity to make decisions about their development and then to implement them. Unity Foundation only supports local NGOs who have a proven capacity to utilize funds effectively and the ability to interact well with outside donors.

6

Unity Foundation

OUR CORE VALUES

UNITED IN SERVICE

LEARNING IN ACTION

STRIVING FOR EXCELLENCE

HONORING YOUR TRUST

CONTRIBUTING WITH JOY

Office of Social and Economic Development (OSED) The Office of Social and Economic Development was established in 1983 for the purpose of facilitating learning about social and economic development. The agency helps to strengthen institutional capacity in every country to promote Bahá’í development efforts by fostering and supporting action, reflection on action, study, consultation, the gathering and systematization of experience, conceptualization, and training. OSED has been our trustworthy and competent partner for many years. They are in touch with local grass-root NGOs implementing the development projects and monitor/ing their activities and progress. As some of these local NGOs gain experience and develop their institutional capacity, OSED suggests these potential project partners to Unity Foundation. Thus, we have the advantage of working together with local partners who have a positive track record, have demonstrated trustworthiness and reliability and have the capacity to cooperate with an external funding agency. OSED and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs act as two filters ensuring the quality and integrity of our projects.

Annual Report 2014

7

ONE PROGRAM, TWO LINES OF ACTION

Community Schools Community schools offer education for children living in rural areas and are exclusively managed by members of the local community. Teachers are systematically trained and encouraged to start a community school in their villages. Starting simple and small, schools are developed organically and according to the available local resources. Often the schools are started in remote rural areas, in which schools are far away or there are none. The work of our local partner organizations often starts with sensitizing the village about the importance of education. In a next step, individuals, often chosen by the local community, attend a systematic program of training to become teachers and are accompanied, with the support of others in their villages, to establish and sustain a community school. Generally, these schools start with one kindergarten class, but as it evolves, levels are added and new teachers are trained. From a simple beginning, these

8

Unity Foundation

schools gradually grow and evolve always according to the available local resources. Community participation and the resulting ownership is central to the project. The community is actively involved at all stages of the project and “owns” the project. Here are some examples of how this principle of participation is applied: the villagers themselves provide the construction materials to build their own school building; the parents pay a school fee which allows the teacher to withdraw a salary; the parents elect a school committee which acts as a link between the school and the villagers and which has the task of regularly consulting on the affairs of the school. Often the school committees become an informal institution to consult on the affairs of the entire community. The financial support of Unity Foundation for Community Schools mainly goes toward the management structure of the local partner organization, the payment of teacher training and the purchasing of various educational materials such as school books, etc. Currently, Unity Foundation supports three community school projects in the Central African Republic, Indonesia and Malawi.

Community Schools

Starting Date A3x

Number of Schools Number of Children Trained Teachers

Annual Report 2014

9

Preparation for Social Action The Preparation for Social Action program (PSA) offers high quality, practical education to the youth living in rural areas. The tutorial courses empower them to become promoters of community well-being by initiating e.g. schools, projects in public health, agriculture or environmental protection or start small businesses. Rather than a mere graduation title, this is an identity not ‘identity’, rather opportunity for them to take charge of their own material and moral development and to contribute to the transformation of society. For example, youth taking part in the program are initiating community development initiatives aimed at increasing sustainable agriculture production, improving the health of the ecosystems in their region, fostering the education of pre-school aged children, promoting health campaigns (e.g. against Malaria or chikungunya) or start income generating projects (e.g. raising and selling chickens). The first level of the PSA program comprises the study of 24 books that aim at developing the capabilities of young people in the areas of science, technology, language, mathematics and community development. The program is carried out in study groups, each consisting of

10

Unity Foundation

Preparation for Social Action

Starting Date Number of Groups Number of Students Trained Tutors

10 to 15 students and one tutor who meet about 20 hours a week. The groups’ activities, as they study together and carry out service projects and research in the community, are guided by these textbooks, which integrate knowledge from many disciplines to develop the capabilities of the students and to serve their communities and influence the direction and progress of the various processes of community life. The PSA program imparts an education of the highest academic standard, demanding rigor of study, which according to the many evaluations carried out, matches the finest programs in the world. Yet, what distinguishes the textbooks most is that they achieve such a high academic standard, while empowering, morally and intellectually, young people to become agents of change in their communities. Currently, Unity Foundation supports three PSA projects in Colombia, Kenya and Uganda.

Annual Report 2014

11

PROJECT UPDATES

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC | COMMUNITY SCHOOLS Continuously evolving in a context of crisis, AHDIEH Foundation was nevertheless able to maintain the activities on the ground throughout the different community schools. Despite the disruption, the school year was successfully completed in all the schools and the participation of teachers in training sessions demonstrates their enthusiasm and commitment. This year was also calmer regarding the political disturbances and the country is slowly finding its way back to peace, although there certainly remains

12

Unity Foundation

a lot to be done. The partners hope that this positive trend will continue. Some schools in the city of Bangui were reopened and in other regions some community schools operate without major problems. In late April 2014, 70% of the students of the project were back in school, which, given the circumstances, was particularly significant for the partner. The school at Batalimo received a government decoration for being the only school functioning in the region during the crisis. 2014 was marked by an important recognition of the efforts of our partner with the signing of an official agreement with the University of Bangui. This university supervises and validates all the trainings throughout the country. During the discussions that led to the signing of the agreement on 24th March 2014, the university authorities have shown strong interest in the nature of the activities of AHDIEH Foundation. With this agreement, all the staff members of our partner will be able to work under the banner of the University of Bangui. Moreover, media coverage of the signing of the agreement put a spotlight on the contribution of AHDIEH and their approach to the education of children and capacity development of the parents.

PROJECT DETAIL Phase II 2013 - 2017 35 schools 3099 students 156 teachers

BUDGET 2014 Total: €95,821 MFA: €63,880 UF: €28,941 Diddeléng Hëlleft: €3,000

THE PARTNER AHDIEH Foundation 2006 Recognized officially as an NGO

2010 1st collaboration with Unity Foundation

*On behalf of the beneficiaries of the project, we would like to express our sincerest gratitude to Diddeléng Hëlleft for their generous support towards this project.

Annual Report 2014

13

© Thierry Winn

INDONESIA | COMMUNITY SCHOOLS Since October 2000, Unity in Diversity Foundation, with the support of Unity Foundation, has been running an Educational Program for children in remote villages of the Mentawaian Island of Siberut in West Sumatra and in the District of Dairi in North Sumatra. The Program started with the establishment of 4 Education Centers. This number gradually increased to 15, providing today education to about 900 kids. As the third phase of our collaboration ended in 2012, Unity in

14

Unity Foundation

Diversity Foundation took the time to reflect, reevaluate their activities and reorient their efforts. As a result, now their vision is to work towards the development of self-sustaining communities. Our partner realized that this can only be accomplished if the communities are fully aware of the role they are to play, which is to fully support and gradually take ownership of the educational programs in their villages. In 2014, Unity Foundation renewed its collaboration with this partner by supporting a 4 year project aimed at empowering all Education Centers to become fully independent. Working now in this new direction, our partner has put a special emphasis on their sensitizing efforts by working and collaborating with parents, teachers, chiefs and local authorities. In this way, they are assisting the communities to take full ownership and to be able to provide for all costs related to their Education Centers (including the salaries of the teachers) thus aiming at full sustainability and independence from outside funding. Their new vision will allow them in time to expand the program to other regions of the country.

PROJECT DETAIL 2014 - 2017 15 schools 835 students 58 teachers

BUDGET 2014 Total: €159,984 MFA: €106,656 UF: €53,328

THE PARTNER Unity in Diversity Foundation (YBTI) 1996 Recognized officially as an NGO


Annual Report 2014

15

MALAWI | COMMUNITY SCHOOLS Since late 2011, Unity Foundation has supported the project of Bambino Foundation’s Community Schools in Malawi. Phase I of the project (20112014) was completed in November 2014, but in the second half of 2014, together with the partner, we began preparations for phase II which will run for 5 years from 2015 to 2019. At the beginning of the project Bambino Foundation started with 16 schools; within three years our partner empowered local communities and as a result there

16

Unity Foundation

are now 48 functioning community schools in Malawi, 117 trained teachers and over 2700 children attending pre-primary as well as first, second and third grade of primary school. In Malawi, the payment of school fees is an important indicator of such ownership. Today, at least 90% of the schools experience no problems with fee payments, as parents, teachers and other community members come up with innovative ways to sustain the education process of the children in their villages. The fact that Bambino Foundation has been recognized by the Government of Malawi as a leading organization in the field of early childhood education is outstanding and highlights the quality of this partnership. We are truly happy for Bambino Foundation because in a very short time they have managed to achieve a lot and were able to develop a clear vision of development with a spirit of service that is embedded within the entire network of community schools. It is apparent that the impact of this project is not limited to the education of children and teachers. Clearly, it extends to a broader, independent development process which can best be described as a “community building process”, during which a community learns to become the protagonist of its own development and find solutions to the various problems affecting their community.

PROJECT DETAIL Phase I 2011 - 2014 49 schools 2,759 students 124 teachers

BUDGET 2014* Total: €14,332 MFA: €9,555 Ville de Luxembourg**

€3,777

Municipality of Pétange UF: €1,000

THE PARTNER Bambino Foundation 2010 Recognized officially as an NGO


* Budget for the transition between phase I and phase II (2015 - 2019). ** In 2014 we received two generous donations; 15 367 € from Ville de Luxembourg and 10 000 € from the Municipality of Pétange. The remaining 11 590 € of Ville de Luxembourg as well as the amount donated by the Municipality of Pétange will be used for the project’s phase II.

Annual Report 2014

17

COLOMBIA | PREPARATION FOR SOCIAL ACTION This second collaboration with FUNDAEC started a year ago in the the departments of Sucre and Cordoba. These departments are known to have been affected by decades of armed conflict, causing internal displacement among other things. Being aware of this reality, FUNDAEC has been working in that region for more than 8 years, helping build the capacities for development in the population. On the occasion of a short visit from one of FUNDAEC’s representatives, we also had the opportunity to have fruitful

18

Unity Foundation

consultations with Ms. Sarah Anjo and Mr. Frank Mertens from the Luxembourgish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and updated them on the development of the project. In the course of the project’s first year, the number of groups, students and tutors has almost doubled. At the same time, our partner has put a lot of emphasis on strengthening the capacities of coordinators and the organizational structure of the project to ensure its growth and effective follow up. The coordinators have also placed great emphasis on having each group organizing service activities every three months. This has allowed the students to apply what they are learning in order to better the well-being of their communities and families. A special emphasis has been placed on the agricultural practices. The groups that are more advanced are also being encouraged to think about ways in which they can generate income through small production projects which they can carry out as a group. We feel extremely privileged to have the opportunity to support an organization which for more than three decades has explored an approach to development that enhances the capacities of youth to become agents of positive social change. This project constitutes one of the largest PSA projects supported by Unity Foundation over the course of five years.

PROJECT DETAIL 2013 - 2018 32 groups 318 students 29 tutors


THE PARTNER Fundación para la Aplicación y Ensenañza de las Ciencias (FUNDAEC) 1989 Recognized officially as an NGO


Annual Report 2014

19

COSTA RICA | PREPARATION FOR SOCIAL ACTION In 2014, the MFA agreed to an extension and to award the remaining portion of the budget of 38 824 euro in order to close this 5-year preparation for social action (PSA) project. This project has achieved some amazing results, such as the exemplary ownership of the project by the community and the national prize of Energy/Globe 2013 for the renewable energy aspect of the project, to only name a few.

20

Unity Foundation

Our collaboration with our partner in Costa Rica hereby comes to an end in 2015 as the project will be supported by other donors. We would like to express our gratitude to ACEM for this friendly and most of all efficient partnership and we will stay in close contact with them.

PROJECT DETAIL 2009 - 2014 8 schools 60 students 30 tutors


THE PARTNER Asociación para la Ciencia y la Educación Moral ACEM 2005 Recognized officially as an NGO


Annual Report 2014

21

KENYA | PREPARATION FOR SOCIAL ACTION In 2014, our local partner Mwelekeo continued its activities in the field based primarily on the things they have learned over the past year. Like this, communities who are already involved in the program were able to advise the organization on how to get other communities interested and involved. Regarding the receptivity of communities, Mwelekeo also recognized the need to make further efforts in raising awareness

22

Unity Foundation

about the program. Many communities unfortunately still saw the partner as a charitable entity, an idea that is still entrenched in the minds of people. The major challenge was therefore to explain to communities that the program aims at strengthening the capacity of individuals, communities and local institutions so that they can gradually “take charge”. That being said, the involvement of other communities is evolving well and more and more members of the local communities volunteer to get involved in the activities related to the program. In June 2014, MWELEKEO had the pleasure to hand over diplomas to 39 students, who have successfully completed the program over the course of two and a half years.

PROJECT DETAIL Phase I 2011 - 2014 25 groupes 299 students 29 tutors

BUDGET 2014* Total: €10,095 MFA: €6,730 UF: €3,365

THE PARTNER Mwelekeo Organisation 2007 Recognized officially as an NGO


* Budget for the transition between phase I and phase II (2015 – 2018).

Annual Report 2014

23

UGANDA | PREPARATION FOR SOCIAL ACTION In 2014, our Ugandan partner Kimanya-Ngeyo continued the capacity building of tutors, coordinators and students to enable them to become effective promoters of well-being in their communities. In order to help tutors better understand their role in the program, Kimanya-Ngeyo increased the spaces for reflection while paying close attention to a good balance between the frequency and

24

Unity Foundation

quality of conversations. These areas have proven useful to help tutors to reflect on their actions and how these actions affect their own progress and that of their group. The majority of tutors have really familiriazed temselves with the program material and they have developed their ability to better analyze the realities of their communities based on the information they gather from the population. Moreover, they have gained confidence, which is reflected in their meetings and consultations with the different members of the community. Sharing experiences among tutors, coordinators and students is very helpful by generating fundamental questions that advances their learning. Depending on the degree of involvement, it seems that PSA students who actively participate in these meetings to exchange and reflect together are more involved and benefit more from the practical activities (i.e. children’s classes). Of course, the project also faced difficulties and some PSA groups have unfortunately been dissolved in 2014. This is also part of the learning process of the partner, because through analyzing the reasons for drop-outs, the partner can better understand how to sustain future groups.

PROJECT DETAIL Phase II 2012 - 2016 107 groupes 1042 students 111 tutors


THE PARTNER Kimanya Ngeyo 2007 Recognized officially as an NGO


Annual Report 2014

25

FOLLOW-UP VISITS

Malawi Community schools offer high quality education It was truly inspirational to visit some of the 48 community schools located in the northern part of this beautiful country in September 2014 together with our local partner-organization “Bambino Foundation”. For many children, mainly in rural parts of Malawi, community schools are the only chance to have access to pre-primary and primary education. But community schools offer more than access to education, they offer high quality education. We asked Bambino Foundation how it achieves this quality: First, our partner puts a lot of emphasis in training the teachers. The 4-week training course is continuously improved and followed-up by refresher courses. Second, Gambino Foundation accompanies the newly trained teachers through regular visits during which the teacher received feedback and coaching sessions. Third, the local teachers regularly meet and exchange their challenges and share their success stories, thereby facilitating learning from others’ experiences. Fourth, attention is given to train a sufficient number of teachers so that the number of students in one class is kept manageable. The fourth point is maybe the most important feature leading to high quality education: the teachers regard their profession as a service for their community. This service attitude motivates the teachers to give their best and to continuously improve their skills. Bambino Foundation also starts to provide inclusive education in the community schools and trains the teachers to achieve the necessary skills to educate children with special

26

Unity Foundation

needs. Their hard work has not only been recognized by the different communities that benefit from the program, but also by the governmental institutions, which highlights their projects as a “model of best practice that all the pre-schools should follow in Malawi.” We feel humbled by the way Bambino Foundation is able to organically grow the number of community schools and at the same time offer a higher quality of education than students receive in the government schools.

Annual Report 2014

27

PSA in Kenya A bright future ahead! In some of the most beautiful rural areas of Western Kenya, in the regions of Tiriki West and Matunda Soi, our local partner Mwelekeo Organization is doing amazing work with the Preparation for Social Action (PSA) program. In October 2014, we had the pleasure of spending a few days with them to gain insight into the significant progress that they have been making over the past few years. We could clearly see that PSA is a practically oriented program that tackles many of the most relevant challenges in young people’s lives. The PSA program has therefore the big advantage that it provides them with a solution of which they are the main protagonists.

28

Unity Foundation

In the past four years, Mwelekeo has managed to train 29 tutors and has seen 39 people graduate from the program. They have divided their activities into three working units, two in Tiriki West and one in Matunda Soi. Their organization has developed in a way that they now have one main coordinator and three assistant coordinators who carry out the work. During our visit, we had the pleasure to meet quite a number of young adults with a clear vision for their future. They do not talk about leaving their local community, even though a lot of youth tend to move to the city to find work. In fact, by following the PSA program, they find work in their own region, be it in agriculture or teaöhing, for example, while making a contribution to the well-being of their community. When visiting the community of Boyani, we had the pleasure to meet Joseph Livoi. He is a former participant and now active PSA tutor. He told us that thanks to the PSA program, he learned to effectively plan his agricultural activities. He has a beautiful piece of land and now feels like he is finally contributing to the community by having short and long-term agricultural project as well as being involved in the mobilization and sensitization of his local community. This sense of purpose can be seen in many students, graduates and tutors of the PSA program, who are ready to assist their community in their development by developing and using their own capacities. Having the possibility to mobilize and get involved in their communities leads these young people to come up with a clear vision of not only their own future, but also that of their families and communities. Our collaboration with Mwelekeo will continue with the second phase of the project from 2015 - 2018 and we are looking forward to seeing their efforts and activities develop further.

Annual Report 2014

29

SYNERGIES IN LUXEMBOURG

Luxembourg’s NGO Circle of cooperation Within the network of the “Cercle des ONG” in Luxembourg, UF has participated in various activities and programs offered by the Cercle, including the annual general assembly and a training on the use social networks, among others. UF also maintained its relationships with organizations active in the field of education, not to mention the active involvement within the Board of Directors of the association Diddeleng Hëlleft. In April 2014, the Cercle invited NGOs and other actors of the Luxembourg civil society to an open discussion forum. The objective of this forum was to create a space for discussion and possible collaborations for campaigns in Luxembourg in 2015, the European Year of Development, with the slogan “our world, our dignity, our future”. Out of this arose the initiative of a group of six NGOs, including UF, who are developing a campaign to raise awareness of the second millennium goal, namely access to education.

30

Unity Foundation

Radio ARA On June 25th, Thomas Hueck and Yves Wiltgen had the pleasure to present Unity Foundation during a short live interview on Radio ARA’s Freshly Squeezed Breakfast Show. During this interview, we were able to promote our Summer Table Set Campaign as well as talk about our vision of development, our two lines of action and give some experiences from our local partners. The way in which development work is carried out largely depends on the view one has on human nature. Radio Ara provided us with the opportunity to share with their audience our belief that it is the right of everybody to be the protagonist of their own development. At Unity Foundation we are convinced that in order to guarantee sustainability, it is essential for communities to be empowered to take charge of their development. We want to thank Lisa McLean, Sam Steen and everyone else at Radio ARA for the opportunity to present Unity Foundation on their station, and we hope we can work together again very soon! You can listen to the interview here: https://soundcloud.com/unity-foundation/radioara1

Annual Report 2014

31

FINANCES

OUR INVESTMENT IN PROJECTS In the last 4 years we invested over

2 million

euros

in a development program consisting of 2 types of projects: Community schools and Preparation for Social Action

Expenditures in Projects 2011

€651,269.73

2012

€518,405.88

2013

€521,772.78

2014

€587,365.42

TOTAL

€2,278,813.81

€700,000.00 €525,000.00 €350,000.00 €175,000.00 2011 2012 2013 2014

The figures include the support received from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

32

Unity Foundation

Project Expenditures per Country 2014

Indonesia

Colombia

€149,518 25.5%

€122,289 20.8%

Costa Rica €38,824 6.6%

Kenya €15,720 2.7%

Central African Republic €128,164 21.8%

Malawi €7,956 1.4%

Uganda €124,895 21.3%

Support received from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Co-Financement All our projects are co-financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Without the generous co-financing policy we would not be able to support so many wonderful projects. Administrative fees The Ministry reimburses some part of our administrative costs.

€338,606 87%

€50,791 13%

Co-financing

Administrative fees

TOTAL: €389,397

Annual Report 2014

33

Where our donations come from FUNDRAISINGS CAMPAIGNS | 4.2% €10,454 ASSOCIATIONS | 4.7% €11,801 MUNICIPALITIES | 12.5% €31,162 CORPORATE | 12.8%

€31,719

INDIVIDUALS | 65.8%

€163,635

TOTAL

€248,771

Annual Audit As a longstanding tradition, Unity Foundation’s accounts are audited annually. This audit is performed by Deloitte.

34

Unity Foundation

NEWS AND EVENTS PARTNERSHIPS

Beneficiaries of Microsoft’s Corporate Citizenship program Our motivation to continue supporting our local partners in a more efficient and professional way is ever increasing. This is why in 2014 we were very grateful to be counted among the happy beneficiaries of Microsoft’s social responsibility program. “Microsoft is proud to work with more than 50,000 nonprofits around the world every year to provide them with affordable access to the technology they need to support their work in local communities”. Microsoft, through the services of SOCIALware, their local partner for Benelux, was able to support Unity Foundation with software donations valued at about 3000 euro. This allowed us to update and renew our IT infrastructure while redirecting significant savings to support our partners in the field. Kannerwelt In 2014, our collaboration with the daycare center for school children “ Kannerwelt “ continued. In the context of their initiatives to sensitize the kids about some of the challenges that other children experience in countries like the Central African Republic, the children of Kannewelt organized a small exhibition of drawings and paintings. These were proudly presented for sale on the occasion of an open day, which counted with the presence of their families and a delegation from Unity Foundation. The sale resulted in 463 euros, which the children and teachers presented during a check remittance. Our delegate had the joy of conveying them our gratitude on behalf of our Central African partner, who was very touched by this beautiful initiative.

Annual Report 2014

35

Shop and give: our partnership with Lux’Charity In 2014, we were thrilled to announce our new partnership with Lux’Charity, a worldwide online charity shop which allows you to sell and buy luxury goods, while a donation is being made to support our partners worldwide. When we met the Lux’Charity team, we were impressed by their positive attitude and the commitment of the founder to their mission: “To integrate in the economy a new model of responsible consumption for the field of luxury and art”. Our first appearance in a mobile app: thank you KinoLux! It is always a joy to discover the innovative ways in which friends of Unity Foundation show their support to our cause. If you live in Luxembourg or the greater region and you like going to the movies, there is a very good chance that you are one of the 12.000 users of Pascal’s app KinoLux. Pascal offered to donate a space in the landing page of his app to help us bring awareness about our cause. We were thrilled about his initiative and our first appearance in a mobile app! His generous support has enabled a new audience to discover Unity Foundation and the projects that we support.

36

Unity Foundation

CREATIVE FUNDRAISING In 2014 we were overwhelmed by the number of creative initiatives! Ferran used his passion for extreme sports as an opportunity to create awareness and an online fundraising campaign. His friends over at Berganti school near Barcelona, got inspired and created their own “Solidarity Race”.

Ambre, Chiara, Emma and Pauline showed us how the betterment of the world can be accomplished by one act of kindness at a time, and no one is too young or too old to contribute. When the girls decided to give up all presents and used the occasion of their 8th birthday to fundraise for other children, they also inspired others. Following in their footsteps, two best friends Sam and Kevin, also gave up presents when turning 8 and celebrated instead by mobilizing their friends and family to donate in our favor.

Annual Report 2014

37

As part of their service projects, the junior-youth group from Differdange organized a bake sale. This wonderful initiative is yet another proof of the selfless desire of young people to be agents of positive change. In 2014 we also had Yoga, Taekwondo & Thai Massage workshops organized as an occasion to raise funds. Within the Maltese unit at the European Court of Justice, Marita, Stephania and Chris put together an event on a Saturday afternoon, donating all the proceeds in our favor. Likewise, Isabel Thill, manager of Yogalof, organized a Charity Yoga Class to support Unity Foundation.

Since 2011, Hotel International in Clervaux and Hôtel de la Sûre à Esch/Sûre have been one our loyal partners, giving their customers the opportunity to add a donation in our favour to their check-out bill at the end of their stay. All these initiatives combined have allowed us to spread our message and raised about 14000 euro! In the name of all the beneficiaries of our projects, we can’t thank you enough!

38

Unity Foundation

EVENTS ING marathon In 2014, Unity Foundation was present at the ING marathon thanks to the Linklaters team of 52 runners, the result of a collaboration that has started 3 years ago. For every kilometer that each runner made, Linklaters donated 5 euro, thus raising 5250 euro.

Our presence at the “Help” exhibition On May 15th 2014, the Luxembourg City History Museum inaugurated the exhibit “Help!”, which was organised in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the First Geneva Convention and the centenary of the Luxembourg Red Cross. One part of the exhibition space was dedicated to other NGOs in Luxembourg. This provided us with another opportunity to inform the public about the projects we support and about our vision of social and economic development.

Annual Report 2014

39

World Market in Dudelange As every year, Diddeléng Hëlleft and the city of Dudelange organize the World Market. This initiative provides a space for many associations to interact with new people and sell artifacts from around the world. Thanks to the dedicated efforts of our volunteers, Unity Foundation was present selling Persian food, which has become already a tradition for the World Market. Table set campaign After the success of our 2013 Table Set Campaign, we decided to launch a summer tableset campaign. This campaign would not have been possible without the invaluable partnership of the 51 participating restaurants across Luxembourg!

40

Unity Foundation

End-of-year brunch On Sunday, 30th November 2014, we had the pleasure of welcoming our donors, partners and friends to our end-of-year brunch. It was an informal event where people had the opportunity to meet the whole UF team and hear a little bit about the progress that has been made by our partners in the field over the course of the year.

Annual Report 2014

41

THANK YOU TO ALL WHO SUPPORTED UNITY FOUNDATION IN 2014

1. MUNICIPALITY OF BETZDORF 2. MUNICIPALITY OF PÉTANGE 3. MUNICIPALITY OF STRASSEN 4. DIDDELENG HËLLEFT 5. HOTEL INTERNATIONAL CLERVEAUX 6. JUNIOR YOUTH GROUP DIFFERDANGE 7. KANNERWELT 8. LINKLATERS 9. LIONS CLUB AL LËTZEBUERG 10. YOGALOFT

42

Unity Foundation

2

1

4

3

– 6

5

Thank you! – 7

9

8

10

Annual Report 2014

43

UNITY FOUNDATION PRESENTS ITSELF Unity Foundation was created in Luxembourg in 1980 as a “Public Utility Organization”. In 1991, Unity Foundation was granted the official status of a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Unity Foundation in numbers

Active in

4

7

Countries

Office employees

More than

2

20

lines of action

Colombia, Costa Rica, Community Schools Kenya, Malawi, Uganda, and Preparation for Central African Republic Social Action

Years

of experience and collaboration with local partners

The board of directors

Fernand Schaber President

Abbas Rafii Vice president

Paola Dumet-Fusco Administrator

44

Unity Foundation

Claude Wiltgen Treasurer

Angela Roldán Administrator

Paul Arbab Administrator

Serge Thill Administrator

Sound and transparent financial management - Strict accounting controlled by GT Fiduciaire - Annual accounts audited and certified by Deloitte Audit s.àr.l. - Founding member of the association “Don en Confiance” - Tax relief for individuals and businesses - Regular information on the use of funds.

In order to keep up the good work, we are counting on your support!

Accounts:

IBAN LU39 0028 1030 9750 0000 BIL IBAN LU03 1111 1326 8384 0000 CCP IBAN LU33 0019 3755 0535 4000 BCEE

A big thank you to all the people who make it possible for us to keep our activities going!

Your donations are tax deductible.

Unity Foundation

17, Allée Léopold Goebel L-1635 LUXEMBOURG T: 25 26 20 | E: [email protected] Read about everything we do on www.unityfoundation.lu Editing: Layout: Printing: Texts and photos:

Unity Foundation 19gale Design & Multimedia Image Center Unity Foundation

Annual Report 2014

45