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The Global Fund for Children: Trusting in the Power of Local

FRIDAY, MAY 12, 2017
Time:	8:00 AM Continental Breakfast 8:15 AM Program

The World Affairs Council's panel topic on May 12 is: "Trusting in the Power of Local: A Working Model for Transforming Lives." 

The Global Fund for Children says, "For more than 20 years, the Global Fund for Children has been quietly transforming the lives of children and their families around the globe. Our 'secret sauce'? A unique approach to working with stakeholders from the ground up. Join us for an in-depth discussion with Marijana Savić and Bahati Kanyamanza, key players in their organizations' success, and hear firsthand how GFC's unique model builds the capacity of civic leaders and their organizations to enrich the lives of the most vulnerable members of society: children."

GFC's mission is explained on the agency's website: "At The Global Fund for Children, we transform the lives of children on the edges of society—trafficked children, refugees, child laborers—and help them regain their rights and pursue their dreams. In other words, we do all we can to let kids be kids—no matter what their circumstances. Since 1997, we’ve reached nearly 10 million children worldwide."

For this breakfast meeting in the Council offices on Friday, May 12, the GFC speakers will include:

• Neil Ghosh, The Global Fund for Children Executive Vice President;
• Marijana Savić, founder and director of NGO Atina, Belgrade, Serbia; and
• Bahati Kanyamanza, co-founder COBURWAS International Youth Organization to Transform Africa (CIYOTA), Kyangwali, Uganda'

Mr. Ghosh says that the GFC "finds and invests in innovative grassroots organizations that serve the world’s most vulnerable children—street children, trafficked children, refugees—in more than 50 countries worldwide. GFC supports these organizations with financial resources, management training, capacity building and technical assistance to help them achieve their vision, become sustainable and reach even more children in need."

Headquartered in Washington, D.C., GFC has offices in London, Hong Kong and India.

According to the Global Fund for Children, Belgrade has become "a main transit point and resettlement location for Syrian families fleeing war." But, it reports, "Because women and children are particularly vulnerable and at risk of abuse and exploitation during times like these, NGO Atina has stepped up to assist." (Atina, founded in 2004 by Marijana Savić, provides "long-term, direct assistance to women and children who are victims of trafficking and sexual or labor exploitation.")

CIYOTA founder Bhati Kanyamanza works to improve education for young people, focusing recently on "providing quality education for marginalized girls." CIYOTA’s programs are said to have helped more than 5,000 young people not only receive quality education but also to be trained "in active nonviolence, entrepreneurship, and leadership, both in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo."

Learn more about the GFC at globalfundforchildren.org.