January 2012
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Rejecting Ethnic
“Naming things, breaking through taboos and denial is the most dangerous, terrifying and crucial work. This has to happen in spite of political climates or coercions, in spite of careers being won or lost, in spite of the fear of being criticized, outcast or disliked. I believe freedom begins with naming things. Humanity is preserved by it.”
— Eve Ensler
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October 2011
6 posts
WatchInspiration from the Buduburam Refugee Camp via Chief Boima. We’ve has this on repeat for the past week.
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WatchCongratulations Leymah Gbowee and President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf on winning the Nobel Peace Prize! You are both a source of incredible inspiration for us.
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September 2011
2 posts
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Women and Water: Infographic →
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Putting Graphics to Good Use
Here’s a tumblr we’ve just discovered: Afrographique We love the succinct data displayed in beautiful, easy to access graphics.
August 2011
3 posts
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decibels of charity
Check out all the photos from The Kitchen Show on our facebook page and keep updated with our progress on twitter!
First of all, thank you to everyone who came out Saturday night to support SCHEFO at The Kitchen Show. You’re awesome! Your enthusiasm, compassion, and generosity were inspiring, as was the rate at which you drank dry our supply of Brooklyn Brewery beer. Cheers!
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July 2011
1 post
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Confronting Ourselves
Recently the SCHEFO team spoke with Sinem Bilen-Onabanjo of FAB Magazine about our work in New York and on the Buduburam Refugee Camp. During the interview, she posed a question concerning the apparent apathy of Ghanaian youth to the serious issues within their own communities. What did we think were the best ways to generate interest in community issues and increase volunteerism?
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June 2011
3 posts
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Ashoka Founder wins Spanish Nobel
This morning The Ashoka Foundation announced that its founder, Bill Drayton, had won the Prince of Asturias Prize in International Cooperation, Spain’s highest honor and Nobel Peace Prize equivalent.
Ashoka recently awarded The SCHEF Organization a seed grant towards running The Kitchen Project, a holistic space for single mothers and their children who have been forced...
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May 2011
2 posts
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SCHEFO awarded grant from Ashoka
In November the SCHEFO New York team entered our Buduburam Kitchen Project into Ashoka’s Youth Venture / Be a Changemaker Challenge. The competition took place over the following months, culminating in a presentation before a panel of judges who reviewed over 20 teams. The judges selected the Kitchen to be one of 5 international projects funded, awarding us 1,000 USD towards running the...
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April 2011
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March 2011
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February 2011
8 posts
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Notes from the Field: Kelsey Vala
The people of Buduburam are frustrated: they are frustrated that they are constantly suspended in a state of waiting, whether it is waiting for a job to come around, waiting to go back to Liberia, or waiting for an opportunity to leave Buduburam for a life abroad where hard work is rewarded.
Kelsey Vala is a new member of the SCHEFO team, working as an intern on...
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WatchHere you can see a video version of the power point presentation given at the University of Pennsylvania panel on Business and Social Good. For more photos from the event, visit our facebook page!
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The Future of Fair Trade in America
At last night’s Fordham Social Entrepreneurship Panel, the moderator posed the question of where we thought the Fair Trade movement would be a decade from now. Some panelists responded with enthusiasm, referencing the success of the organic movement and drawing a parallel between the zeitgeist that brought concern for the environment to the forefront of American social...
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WatchWe love TED Women - the branch of TED Talks that deals directly with gender relations on a global and local scale. In this talk Sheryl Sandberg examines the numbers behind women in C-level jobs around the world. Even the non-profit sector is dominated by men.
“As the COO at the helm of Facebook, Sheryl Sandberg juggles the tasks of monetizing the world’s largest social networking site...
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January 2011
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Get to know our Kitchen Project Staff
Rebecca M. Wheh Martha S. Johnson Marvis Tweh
Janet Kai Semiria H. Kortu Florence Daniel
Markula G. Ledlum Pauline Nah
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WatchYasmin Ogale, NYU in Ghana student, coordinated with our wonderful interns Carolyn Conant and Sunila Chilukuri to produce this short video about SCHEFO for E-TV in Ghana.
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Running the Nutrition Program
On January 13th through 15th, The SCHEF Organization ran a Nutritional Certification Program for our ten the Kitchen Project staff on Buduburam. The program began with breakfast each morning followed by a seminar or workshop, then a communal lunch that the women cooked together as a hands-on means of learning about nutrition and sanitation in the Kitchen. Our...
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Notes from Buduburam, part I
SCHEFO staff member Camilla Hermann is at Buduburam for two weeks to check in on our projects, update communication structures, and maintain the connection between our New York and Ghana bases. Camilla will be posting regularly about the work she and other SCHEFO staff members are doing on the camp.
We would like to extend a special thanks to Henry Gartor, who has provided us with free internet...
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December 2010
5 posts
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The Changing Landscape of Communication
One of the daily challenges we face at SCHEFO is sustaining communication between our Buduburam and New York Offices. The frequent electricity outages, low-bandwidth internet, and unreliable cell phone service all contribute to regular headaches for both teams running fundraising campaigns and projects respectively. This is why we are so excited for two new technological innovations that will help...
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SCHEFO Celebrates Human Rights Day 2010
Women work two-thirds of the world’s working hours and produce half of the world’s food, yet they earn only 10% of the world’s income and own less than 1% of the world’s property.
Today we celebrate the Defenders: those people who have committed to act against human rights violators and to act for the protection of all people. The values of universal Human Rights are at the...
why you should know about: BOUNCING CATS
On December 16th at 7pm, you can find SCHEFO and our beautiful BUDU clothing and jewelry items at an amazing awareness-raising event: the screening of Bouncing Cats. Here’s a little bit about the documentary to wet your palate:
“Uganda has been called one of the worst places on earth to be a child. In the South, children face the threat of poverty and disease. In the...
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BUDU Limited Edition Jewelry
The latest item in our Limited Edition series: the African Mask Necklace. Hand made on the Buduburam Refugee Camp in Ghana by the Women of Destiny vocational school, this gorgeous piece is one of a kind!
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This beautiful item was made by Markula Ledlum, a single mother and member of SCHEFO’s Buduburam Kitchen Project. The...
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BUDU Limited Edition Jewelry
The second item in our limited edition series: a gorgeous long necklace with hand-crafted stone bead pendant. Buy now at our online store and support the single mothers on the Buduburam Refugee Camp in Ghana!
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This necklace was made by hand by Nancy Tarlue, the head of Women of Destiny vocational school....
November 2010
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Holidays the Fair Trade Way
This holiday season, searching for the perfect gift just got easier!
Our BUDU fair trade fashion initiative supports both the women of the vocational schools on Buduburam as well as the single refugee mothers struggling to make ends meet. The gorgeous, hand-made, one of a kind jewelry and clothing items are on sale at our online...
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WatchThis holiday season, give a fair trade gift from the BUDU fashion initiative, hand made by women on the Buduburam Refugee Camp in Ghana!
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Launch of Clean Up Campaign
The latest news from Buduburam is grim. While Haiti receives millions of dollars in doctor services and supplies in response to its cholera outbreak, no such help exists for the forgotten refugees on Buduburam. Keith Kortu, Director of SCHEFO, reports on the situation on the camp.
“Poor sanitation on the Buduburam Refugee settlement is the root cause of the malaria and cholera outbreak. This...
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WatchGET READY FOR SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP WEEK 2010! NOV. 15-21 THE WORLD GATHERS TO SUPPORT AND ENCOURAGE YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS
“It has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things, who have carried us up the long rugged path toward prosperity and freedom”
- Hillary Clinton, US Secretary of State
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October 2010
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Where a Woman Belongs: Sirleaf's Success
Liberia belongs to all Liberians, not just a fraction of the population. It takes Liberians to build Liberia.
When we saw the recent New York Times article spotlighting Liberia’s President, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, and her efforts as the first woman on the African continent to govern a nation, we were excited for obvious reasons. Although The SCHEF Organization is active on the Buduburam...
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My First Impression of Buduburam
SCHEFO’s intern Carolyn reflects on her experience in the camp.
When I first applied for the internship position with SCHEFO at the Buduburam Refugee Camp, I really had no idea what to expect. I had googled some pictures of the camp and had images swirling around in my head from Blood Diamond, but those images were...
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Next Decade to Focus on African Women
It is no accident that as things heat up in the world (literally) and global crises happen with increasing frequency, our zeitgeist focus on women intensifies worldwide. The women of Africa in particular have taken a daring stand. Last Monday saw the launch of African Women’s Decade (2010-2020) with a week long conference focusing on forming a grassroots approach to gender equality and...
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BLOG ACTION DAY 2010: WATER
Unsafe water and lack of basic sanitation cause 80% of diseases and kill more people every year than all forms of violence, including war.
On the refugee camp, there are few sources of clean drinking water. Most of these are dried up and no longer function to serve the refugee population. The issue of safe drinking water is one that effects billions and is responsible for 42,000 deaths...
WatchThe SCHEF Organization joins change.org for BLOG ACTION DAY 2010
Ensure that women are a part of peace negotiations and all post-conflict decision making institutions worldwide - SIGN THE PETITION!