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Mineke Foundation newsletter
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HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

The team and board of Mineke Foundation would like to sincerely thank you for the support we received in the past year. Because of our donors and volunteers, we were able to continue working to build the self-reliance of the people of Liberia.

We look back on an extraordinary year in which we overcame Ebola, started an active Women's and Kids Clubs, opened our office in Liberia and carried out two vocational courses. 75 participants passed the final exam. Of these, 90% percent are women, 75% have more than two children and most of them have not completed their high school education. The average age of our trainees is 36 years. With this training their future has become a little brighter.
 
We hope to count on your support in 2016 too and wish you happy holidays and a great new year!
 
On behalf of the Board and team of Mineke Foundation Netherlands and Liberia,

Tonia Dabwe

MINEKE FOUNDATION LIBERIA STARTS

In December, Mineke Foundation received her official accreditation as an NGO in Liberia. We are now an official foundation in Liberia too. This brings us many opportunities, such as possible collaborations with major international organizations, like USAID and the United Nations. It also allows us to start local fundraising.

We celebrated the accreditation with the official launch of Mineke Foundation Liberia on December 8, in the capital Monrovia. Many guests were present. People who support our work, but also important ministers and representatives from other NGOs. For Tonia Dabwe and her team, it was a day they have long waited for. They spent more than a year working on the preparations, which were delayed due to the Ebola crisis.

Tonia: "The accreditation marks the beginning of a new phase in which we can initiate new forms of cooperation, and increase the impact of our work. Through this, we can help more people become self-reliant and take responsibility for their own future."

The new status also has financial implications, because Mineke Foundation Liberia is now legally required to pay social security contributions and premiums for its employees.
The accreditation was attended by among others, the Liberian Minister of Gender Mrs. Julia Duncan-Cassell; country director of UN Women, Ms. Awa Ndiaya Seck; Country Director of UNFPA, Dr. Remi Sogunro; Country Representative of the IMF, Dr. Charles Amo-Yartey; and the Deputy Minister of Education, Dr. Romelle Horton. Read our full press release here

PARTY TIME AT THE VOCATIONAL COURSES 

The 75 trainees who successfully completed their vocational training pastry baking and soap making received official certificates. The ceremony also took place on December 8 in Monrovia and coincided with the conclusion of the third and final vocational course soap making.

For many trainees it was the first time they ever received a diploma. They entered the hall singing and dancing and there was loud cheering every time one of them was called forward to receive the certificate from Tonia. In order to illustrate how happy they were, the trainees had ´gowned´ Tonia in a traditional orange robe with matching headscarf.
 
     

NEW VOLUNTEER
BART

Bart will be responsible for our newsletters. He will also write the annual reports and edit pictures.

NEW VOLUNTEER
LUCE

Luce is our new social media volunteer. She will be managing all our social media in 2016. #Welcome

PREVIEW

Mineke Foundation wants to continue on the positive path we have embarked on. This means that we will be offering the existing vocational courses pastry baking and soap making, and the  entrepreneurship training again in 2016. Our ambition is to expand the courses with a computer training course.
 
We hope our Women's Club will grow. The club encourages greater self-awareness among Liberian women. The same goes for our Kids Club. Although Liberians are unfamiliar with after-school facilities, the influx of children is high. Every week there are 30 to 40 children present. In 2016 we will see if it is possible to find a more spacious facility.
 
Also, capacity building for our team in Liberia is high on our agenda. Computer training and educational training are badly needed.
 
And there are also some logistical obstacles that we want to deal with next year. They include a lack of own transportation means and unreliable electricity in our office in Liberia.

KICKSTART 2016

Will you support Mineke Foundation's work again in 2016? Kick start our work with a one-time year-end donation of €25. 
Thank you!  


DONATE


* If you live in the Netherlands, regular donations are tax deductible? Donate regularly
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Contact
Mineke Foundation Liberia
Behind New Hope Central Church
Dry Rice Market, Gardnersville
Liberia

Accreditation: MFDP/NGO/AC# 1576

Bankaccount:
IBAN - NL60 INGB 000.481.61.54 
 
Stichting Mineke Foundation
Jagerserf 19
3851 SM Ermelo
 
RSIN nummer: 820357686
Kamer van Koophandel: 08188102