South African Women’s Month August 2019 has been very productive for World Merit South Africa since it is Women’s Month in their country! We are very proud to highlight these reports from Emmanuelle Tshala and Sinolonwabo Xhonti who have so brilliantly expressed the issues women are facing in their country and presented many amazing projects World Merit South Africa have put together to tackle these issues. In South Africa, August is widely known as women’s month. This is a month where attention is drawn to the plight of women in this country and various campaigns are launched in order to further the female agenda. Like in many other parts of the world, women in South Africa are a significantly marginalized group. This marginalization presents itself in various forms such as high rates of gender-based violence, income inequality, poor access to positions of power and lack of access to basic needs such as sanitary towels. Although this all paints a grim picture for the stat

Social Impact Media Awards As part of the World Merit Day 2019 celebrations, we launched a global challenge in partnership with SIMA! SIMA is the most renowned global curator in the social impact community, providing independent films to academic and global social justice industries around the world. SIMA aims to promote sustainable social change , therefore this year SIMA partnered up with World Merit to give the World Merit community the opportunity to partake in the Social Action Media Awards 2019! SIMA created seventeen films and documentaries, each linked to one Sustainable Development Goal (SDG).  For the challenge, our members were required to host a screening , organize a panel discussion and to log the event on the World Merit Impact App. The challenge was a great success with hundreds of people around the world watching educational films, inspiring action towards the SDGs.  Each Impact recorded has positively inspired, educated and mobilized support for

World Humanitarian Day Today is a day for celebration and a chance to recognise all the good work going on in the world. World Merit wants to recognize and thank all changemakers taking action across the globe to create a more positive future for everyone! However, we must recognize also that despite all the hard work of change-makers across the globe, we still have a long way to go in achieving our sustainable development goals. In this article, I would like to highlight a story reported to world merit in February which here at World Merit HQ was a true eye-opener to the realities of discrimination and violence some people suffer daily. Here is Peter and Lan’s Story… The World Merit team in Blantyre to raise awareness and take action against the immense maltreatment of Aboriginal people in Malawi. It took a huge amount of courage to highlight this topic, but it certainly had a great impact in bringing the discrimination and targeting of Albinos in Malawi t

World Merit Day 2019! In 2014 the United Nations officially marked the 24th of July as “World Merit Day”. On the inaugural World Merit Day, a huge launch and celebration was held in Liverpool, UK. Over three thousand young people from around the globe came together to pledge their commitment to transforming our world by 2030. Leading figures from business, politics and human rights, including Sir Ken Robinson and Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai , were keynote speakers and became new World Merit ambassadors. Each year since 2014, World Merit Day has grown and spread around the world, with councils and members celebrating in unison. The 24th of July is a day to reflect on the impact that has been made throughout the year, and also a time to strategize for the future. Many councils got together and had a celebratory meal, some also went on the radio and television to advocate for World Merit and the SDGs. For some, it was ‘business as usual’ as they continued creat

SDG 4  Quality Education is an “everybody” goal. When I was in college, I was studying film-making. I had aspirations to either become a documentary film-maker or work in commercial media. One day, towards the last two months of my college education, I decided to sit in on a presentation being made by an NGO working in the education sector. While I went in with no expectations, I have to say now, that this one presentation (and what followed) changed my life.   In that one hour, I learnt about the educational crises in my country. I soon realised that the biggest reason why I was sitting in a fancy college room attending a presentation while someone equally or more capable, talented or bright was perhaps in a slum with no real hope or plans for their future; was because of where I was born. I was born in a family who believed in me and encouraged me as much as they could, to educate myself. Within that one hour, something had changed within me. I had decided that

Dear World Merit friends, It was 6 years ago today that World Merit was officially launched in the Houses of Parliament on the banks of the River Thames in London, England. It is also the anniversary of Marlou Cornelissen, who is today celebrating an impressive 6 years of work and dedication to our organisation and its cause. It is therefore a particularly poignant day to officially welcome Marlou in her new capacity with us; World Merit Charity Board is excited to announce the appointment of Marlou as our new CEO. Marlou was born in the Netherlands and moved to Liverpool, UK in 2013 where she continues to reside along with her husband Jeroen and their daughter James. Marlou joined World Merit in its very early days and has been the heart and soul of the organisation. Prior to joining World Merit, Marlou obtained a Masters Degree in Health Economics, Policy and Law with a minor in Global Health. She is also the Founder of Run for Life, a Dutch charity that has raised over €300,00

Dear World Merit There is always a time to refresh and renew, and though sometimes it is very difficult to initiate, the time is now. It is difficult because you love and enjoy something that you know must grow and thrive beyond you. It is certainly time for that change in World Merit, and so it is with fond memories of the past and excitement for the future that I tell you that I am no longer the leader of the organisation; the time has come to hand over the role as World Merit moves into a new phase. Thank you so much for your vibrant support over the years, but as founder, I am lucky to have a position that will happily mean I get to stay somewhat involved - in a more ambassadorial role. The first thoughts of World Merit came in September 2011, with our first brand launch and website in March 2012. The seven years since have introduced me to many young leaders around the world. I have enjoyed the work you have led through World Merit in places like South Africa, Indonesia, India

3.1 By 2030, reduce the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100,000 live births 3.2 By 2030, end preventable deaths of newborns and children under 5 years of age, with all countries aiming to reduce neonatal mortality to at least as low as 12 per 1,000 live births and under-5 mortality to at least as low as 25 per 1,000 live births The joy that every expectant couple, family, or community has when a woman gets pregnant is suddenly turned into sorrow and mourning when the woman dies during pregnancy or childbirth, or when the baby dies. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the five major causes of maternal mortality are haemorrhage, sepsis, complications of abortion, eclampsia, and obstructed labour. In Ghana, an ultrasound scan is routine for all pregnant women but one major challenge is the lack of scan machines The few machines we have are only found in the district hospitals only and hence pregnant mothers are expected to travel from the villag

Sustainable Development Goal 3, “Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages” is our thematic focus this month. We are calling on all members to take action in your community to tackle health-related issues. 3.7 By 2030, ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health-care services, including for family planning, information and education, and the integration of reproductive health into national strategies and programmes Since 1986, in Burundi, the operational budget for control of sexually transmitted diseases and AIDS is almost all financed by foreign aid. However, there have been large amounts of administrative delays and inadequate human resources to distribute the allocated budget. In 1992, the number of new cases of AIDS was 4000 for adults and 1500 for children. Estimated numbers for 1997 are 9000 and 3700, respectively. The estimated 1992 HIV prevalence rate was 15% for urban and semi-urban areas and 1-2% for rural areas. There are like