Global Fund for Children

Today, on International Day of the Girl Child, we reflect on the words of our Vice President of Programs, Corey Oser, "Now more than ever, our world needs girls’ power. The power to organize, speak out, challenge authority, mobilize communities, and change social norms. When we fund and uplift girls and their visions for a more just world, anything is possible." In this blog, Corey shares six key lessons for funders supporting girls. These insights highlight the importance of girl-led leadership and creating spaces where their voices can be heard. Swipe through the graphics for the key lessons and read the full blog to learn how we can all support girls in shaping their futures: https://bit.ly/3YlT4l2 #IDG2024

🚨 Emergency Appeal: Support for Children in #Lebanon 🚨 Lebanon is facing one of the most dangerous crises in its history. Over one million people have been displaced in the last month, and #children and young people are among those most affected. In response, Global Fund for Children has launched an Emergency Response Fund to provide urgent support to our partners on the ground. Since 2005, GFC has partnered with local organizations in Lebanon to help children and families. Today, our community-based partners are directly impacted by the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. We stand in solidarity with them, supporting their efforts to meet the urgent needs of their community. Help us make a difference. Together, we can provide relief and solidarity! 🔗 Support our Emergency Response Fund: https://bit.ly/3zS3waH

Last week I had the opportunity to facilitate in a Healthy Masculinities convening hosted by GFC and its partner organisations in Liberia and Sierra Leone. It was a fun, inclusive space full of deep and powerful reflections. Art and play allowed us to share personal experiences in a unique way and generate connections between participants. Some of the main learnings from the convening were: 1. Gender roles and stereotypes linked to patriarchal masculinity are deeply harmful , as they fuel and normalise gender-based violence and, at the same time, deeply damage the physical and emotional health of boys and men. 2. Men must make a real commitment to break cycles of violence and promote healthy masculinities based in care and co-responsibility. This is not a concession, it is an act of justice and promotion of human rights. 3. Promoting healthy masculinities is not a workshop or an activity. It is a transformative process that begins with individuals and then needs to be translated into social and political changes that promote community well-being. At GFC, we will continue to support our partners so they can effectively promote healthy masculinities within their families and communities. Thanks to Amé Atsu David, Bundie Kabanze 💡International Development Professional and the Africa team for making this collaboration possible. And thanks to our partners for giving us hope every day. - La semana pasada, tuve la oportunidad de facilitar en un encuentro de masculinidades sanas organizado por GFC y nuestras organizaciones socias en Liberia y Sierra Leona. Fue un espacio divertido, inclusivo y lleno de reflexiones profundas y poderosas. El arte y el juego nos permitieron compartir experiencias personales de manera única y generar conexiones entre los participantes. Algunos de los aprendizajes principales del encuentro fueron: 1. Los roles y estereotipos vinculados a la masculinidad patriarcal son profundamente dañinos , ya que alimentan y normalizan la violencia basada en el género y, al mismo tiempo, dañan profundamente la salud física y emocional de los varones. 2. Los hombres debemos comprometernos verdaderamente a romper ciclos de violencia y promover masculinidades sostenidas en el cuidado y la corresponsabilidad. No es una concesión, es un acto de justicia y promoción de los derechos humanos. 3. La promoción de masculinidades sanas no es un taller o una actividad. Es un proceso transformador que empieza en los individuos para traducirse posteriormente en cambios sociales y políticos que promuevan el bienestar comunitario. Desde GFC, seguimos apoyando a nuestros socios para que puedan promover masculinidades sanas de manera efectiva al interior de sus comunidades. Gracias a Ame David, Bundie Kabanze y el equipo de Africa por hacer posible esta colaboración. Y gracias a nuestros socios por llenarnos de esperanza todos los días.

Our #community-based partners are at the center of everything we do. 🤍 We help these #leaders create real, lasting change by pairing #flexible, #trust-based funding while we listen to the knowledge, experience and opportunities that their communities bring. "Long-term partnerships help local organizations grow in a healthy way and run sustainable programs. This leads to good and long-lasting changes in communities." Get to know our partners: https://bit.ly/3NdVzQa

This will be good! If you are a funder curious about what it takes to be more flexible and trust-based, this is for you. The team will share what's worked, and what hasn't. #shiftthepower #flexiblefundingworks #trustbasedphilanthropy

📲 [Upcoming] Webinar! Join us on Thursday, October 24th at 2:00 pm GMT/10:00 am EDT as we host a virtual dialogue for #funders and #INGOs to discuss the practical ways of operationalizing #flexiblefunding to community-based organizations. 🔗 Learn more and register here: https://bit.ly/3XKMeoY

A delight to see Global Fund for Children #PEAK (Partnerships to Educate All Kids) initiative Zambian partners constantly collaborating to advance peer exchanges, foster knowledge sharing, and drive collective impact in education.

🎙 [New Podcast]: GFC Board member, Marijana Savic, speaks with Brooke Dunefsky at Charity Talks. Maya, leader of NGO Atina, GFC Global Board Member, and a long-time community-based partner, joined Charity Talks to discuss Atina's work surrounding human trafficking and its advocacy work surrounding #gender justice. Give it a listen: https://apple.co/3zReo8C

When girls are excluded from decision-making spaces, it results in policies that don’t reflect girls. Simple as that. Last weekend, girls gathered in protest of the Summit of the Future held by the United Nations to tell leaders exactly what they want for their future. What they said at mala.la/3TJTKOy.

We are really excited to welcome you all to our abode at Tostan!! I am personally excited to create space for discussions around the depth and breadth of intergenerational learning and healing, shifting funding paradigms and donor (re)learning in the complex waters of service and social change. Art as therapy, funding realities for young (and not so young) innovative social change catalytic endeavors, the de(re)construction of the donor learning agenda in a localized framework, impactful collaboration within a scarcity based competitive environment, the art of communication...These are some of the topics we will not only discuss but put into collective action & learning. Our goal this year is not only to share, but also to provide tangible, technical, functional and relational tools for resilience (mental, physical, individual, community and organizational) And we could not have dreamt it without our partners, including, but not limited to, The Wellbeing Project, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, YIELD Hub, Global Fund for Children, Vitol Foundation, Partenariat de Ouagadougou Grand Challenges Canada Tostan's women prison project So welcome to our young (and not so young) guests, agents of change, challenge and hope! We can't wait to see you! Wear comfortable shoes, we dance a lot at Tostan. :-)