Read about the fantastic 12-month projects we’ve funded through round 1 of the 2022-25 Wales and Africa Grant Scheme.
The Welsh Government Wales and Africa Grant Scheme, administered by WCVA, supports voluntary organisations throughout Wales that work with partnerships in Sub Saharan Africa.
All projects have made a tangible contribution to Wales’ delivery of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and we are thrilled to see small community groups and organisations from across Wales forging partnerships with groups from Ghana, Kenya, Senegal, Tanzania, Zanzibar, and Zimbabwe.
There’s still time to apply for the second round of funding – from £1,000 to £25,000. Deadline 4 November 2022.
Here are the projects we’ve funded in round 1…
UNDER £10,000
Birth registration project – Niokolo Network, Senegal
Where would you be without your birth certificate? This challenge faces children in Senegal. A survey by community-based Kamben found that up to half of all children in Niokolo-Koba National Park villages had not been registered at birth.
This has life-long consequences: they can’t go to school, access healthcare, find formal employment or even open a bank account.
We funded Wales-based Niokolo Network to work in partnership with Kamben to organise rural birth registration events, strengthen communication strategies in Senegal and Wales, and enhance active global citizenship. Learn more.
Post-COVID-19 support – The Moses Project Charity, Kenya
Two rural community schools in Endonyiosidai Kenya – meaning Bryn Hyfryd or Beautiful Hill – saw a sharp decline in pupil numbers as a result of the devastating impact of COVID-19.
We provided immediate financial support to The Moses Project Charity, which establishes and supports educational and cultural links between Wales and Kenya. They supported the community through short-term interventions, including addressing the water shortage and facilitating hygiene-related education, which then saw increased attendance at school.
UNDER £15,000
Supporting children with disabilities – APT for Social Development, Kenya
Of those children living with a disability in Kenya, some 70% live below the poverty line. Many of those living with severe physical disabilities do not have access to postural support equipment, which means they spend most of their time isolated, lying on the floor or in bed.
APT for Social Development received funding for the development and operating costs of two functioning, appropriate paper-based technology workshops in rural Kenya. These helped develop bespoke postural support devices from local low-cost materials and provided training to local therapists and workshop staff.
Glaucoma research and training – School of Optometry and Vision Sciences, Cardiff University, Ghana
Glaucoma is the leading cause of preventable irreversible blindness in Africa. That’s why we funded a team from Cardiff University’s School of Optometry and Vision Sciences to collaborate with the University of Cape Coast, UCC, to train and equip optometrists in glaucoma and trial a low cost, simple and sustainable solution to detect disease at an early stage in rural and poor communities.
UNDER £20,000
Malaria elimination – Aberystwyth University, Zanzibar, Tanzania
We funded scientists at Aberystwyth University’s Department for Geography and Earth Sciences, who have developed drone and smartphone technology in the fight to rid the semi-autonomous islands of Zanzibar of malaria by 2023.
The Aberystwyth-based scientists can find the water pools that malaria-carrying mosquitos use to breed, which means teams on the ground can then accurately map out the ones to treat, before the larvae turn into adult mosquitos and start spreading the malaria parasite. Learn more.
Kenya-Wales zoom school – Challenge Aid, Kenya
Despite some economic progress, an estimated 46% of Kenyans live in poverty, many of whom live in slum conditions.
Challenge Aid and their Schools of Hope offer children educational support by providing desks, chairs, lighting, text books and more. Our funding equipped six centres in Nairobi with laptops, projectors and screens for Zoom lessons conducted by volunteer teachers, here in Wales, including inset training for teachers as well as lessons for students.
Public storytelling project – Disability in Wales and Africa (DWA), multi-country
We funded DWA to organise ‘Share Our Story’, which will develop a public platform for deaf and disabled people from across Wales and Africa to discuss their experiences, ideas, and expertise when pursuing disability inclusive development.
£25,000 (MAXIMUM AWARD)
Burns management training for nurses – Interburns, Tanzania
Care of burn patients has advanced rapidly in high income countries. We helped fund this Interburns project in order to train five burn nurses in Tanzania, ultimately improving the quality of burn nursing in secondary and tertiary hospitals and allowing for wider dissemination of skills across the region.
Nutrition garden training for women – Chomuzangari Women’s Cooperative, Zimbabwe
Chomzangari Community is located in the Chivi District in Masvingo Province, Zimbabwe. A drought-prone area, women are largely responsible for the sustenance and general well-being of the household.
Our funding will support Chomuzangari Women’s Cooperative to expand an existing nutrition garden, address climate change issues and train 60 women in sustainable livelihoods. This includes both indigenous knowledge and modern-day farming techniques in land preparation and construction of greenhouses and goat houses.
FIND OUT MORE
You can find out more about the scheme and apply on our Wales and Africa page.