PHILIPPINES- HISG is working with an organization in the Philippines to provide free vocational training to unemployed men and women from rural villages.  The Filipino government is also involved with this project, providing room and board for people in the vocational training.

The training program offers courses in electricity, woodworking, agriculture and animal husbandry for men, and cosmetology and dressmaking for women.  There are a total of 76 people enrolled in the classes.  Along with the coursework, the students are taught the importance of self-discipline, a good work ethic, time management, and punctuality.  The program will also help with job placement when the classes are finished.

This project represents a turning point in the lives of these men and women.  One man who has just a fifth-grade education described the difficulties of trying to provide for his wife and eight children.  He is now enrolled in carpentry and construction classes and is grateful for the opportunity for a better life.

The vocational training is directed at changing social and economic conditions in the rural villages of the Philippines.  To learn more about HISG's vision for transforming communities, please click here.  If you would like to get involved with this project, please contact us.

NOUAKCHOTT, MAURITANIA- HISG has partnered with an organization in Mauritania to provide literacy and sewing classes for women.  In a previous Pulse Report, we outlined the details of the sewing project, as well as the tremendous poverty in Mauritania, where many families eat ground bone because meat is too expensive.

The literacy classes have trained 35 women in basic arithmetic, reading, and writing.  In Muaritania, 60% of the adult population is illiterate.  This is especially problematic for women, who are often cheated out of money at the market because they cannot add or subtract. 

There is an immense need in Mauritania and HISG has partnered with an organization to work with the people there to change not only their economic situation but also their bleak outlook on life.  The literacy classes are a step in the right direction for these women.  If you would like to partner with HISG on this project or others like it, please contact us.

NYALA, SUDAN- HISG has established an office in the Darfur region of Sudan to serve the enormous needs of the people affected by the conflict there.  The office is located in the city of Nyala, where HISG staff members have spent extensive amounts of time initiating several different humanitarian projects during the last 18 months.

HISG's relief programs in Darfur include providing clean water to the Internally Displaced Persons camps, adult and child education initiatives, AIDS awareness programs and several others.  One of the community development projects is a guest house (pictured) that houses HISG's Nyala office.  The guest house offers safe, comfortable lodging to the growing number of non-government organizations and aid workers that are based in Nyala.  It also provides all western amenities like satellite television and dining services, and will soon be able to offer internet access.

The Nyala office will oversee HISG's ongoing humanitarian projects in Darfur, and will identify new ways to help the people of Sudan.  The office will also develop ways to implement HISG's model for Holistic, Integrated, Sustainable Transformation into community development programs.  To read more about HISG's 2008 Darfur Initiative, please click here.