To join an OG program, participants pay both a Membership and Program Fee. A big chunk of the Membership Fee goes into OG’s Community Contribution Fund, which we use to support our partners on the ground. It is kept completely separate from Program Fees so that we be sure every dollar is being used to support our local partners and their community projects and initiatives.
Every year, we get lots of amazing project proposals from our local partners who are trying to tackle a variety of challenges in their communities. Funds are then distributed strategically in order of priority. One cool part of the Community Contribution Fund is that when you visit our partners on an OG program, you’ll get to learn about and even lend a hand with some of the ongoing projects and initiatives that you helped support with your Community Contribution! It’s just one more way that we’re trying to spark a groundswell of change-makers.
Every month, we collaborate with one of our partner organizations who could use a little extra help with a project or initiative in the moment. This allows us to support our partners throughout the year – even when we’re not travelling or visiting their corners of the world.
Right now, we are asking for support for our partners in El Estor, Guatemala who have been forced to flee due to the military state of siege. Friends and family of our partners are currently being arbitrarily detained. We are in solidarity with the women of Lote 8 and Q’eqchi’ people of El Estor, and support their justified action to peacefully protest in defense of the rule of law in Guatemala, to defend their human rights, the environment, their lands and communities against the illegal and destructive mining operations of Solway/CGN.
Funds raised will be used to help those who have fled, provide communication devices for those that have been lost or illegally confiscated, mobilize human rights activists to try and reach El Estor to bear witness and more. To learn more, visit https://rightsaction.org/.
We are looking to raise an additional $500 USD to provide emergency assistance to the land and human rights defenders in El Estor, Guatemala. If you are not able to donate, please contact or send a letter to any or all of the following contacts. You can click on any of these contacts to auto-generate an email to send to them.
San Juan La Laguna, Guatemala
San Roque de Cumbaza, Peru
Delhi, India
Port-au-Prince, Haiti
In 2009, Kelly joined the first West Africa medical program. The program was designed to examine the response of development organizations to the real healthcare needs of Ghanaians on the ground. It was then that Kelly witnessed the consequences that result from the lack of open communication between international NGOs and local institutions in developing countries.
Appalled by the deteriorating state of healthcare, Kelly decided to take action. A year later, Ghana Medical Help was founded using Community Contributions as an acute solution to alleviate the significant basic medical equipment needs in the most northern regions of Ghana.
Ecosphere is a social enterprise that focuses on creating sustainable livelihoods linked to nature conservation and the cultural preservation of the communities found in Spiti. Not only does Ecosphere commit to the development of the place, people, and resources of their specific region, but also to the outside world with whom they wish to share their rich and natural world.
Using Community Contributions, OG has helped to build greenhouses in collaboration with the local community and artisans that provide a sustainable, year-round source of fresh fruits and vegetables in this remote region. Building greenhouses has had a tremendous impact on quality of life in the winter months; from access to vegetables to providing enough warmth to wash oneself, as well as generating income for villagers, the greenhouses are incredible additions.
Pacux is a small community on the edge of Rabinal in Guatemala. It is home to families who fled the Rio Negro massacres which took place in 1980-82 or were forcibly relocated to make to make way for the Chixoy Hydroelectric Dam. The people in Pacux are refugees, survivors, and the descendants of massacre victims. They live on a small sliver of land and struggle to generate sufficient work, grow enough food, and heal from longstanding traumas. Nevertheless, they are dedicated to rebuilding their livelihoods through collective action, sustainable agriculture, and critical education.
Community Contributions helped fund a water well and drip irrigation project which, together, sustain the production of fruits and veggies for the community. The project is maintained by an ambitious group of youth from Pacux who also use the space as a school for practical education in agroecology.
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