Projects Update # 2909 - The Women's Health Project - Yunnan, China

Yunnan Institute of Development - Funded 2007 The Yunnan Institute of Development, located in Yuxi Prefecture, Yunnan Province aims to improve awareness and practices related to nutrition, reproductive and maternal health, child development, and HIV/AIDS. A survey conducted in the area prior to starting the project highlighted some startling results. The Daxi villagers, for example, are malnourished due to myths about nutritious foods available locally and their habit of eating only 2 meals a day with no breakfast, too little fruits and vegetables, very little protein, and foods with high sugar content, especially for the children. The local health authorities revealed that people from the village only go to the hospital for serious birth delivery problems. It is a common belief in the area that transporting a pregnant women brings bad luck to the vehicle transporting her. The Institute launched a training program, once a month for several months and funded by VGIF, directed at several problem areas: nutrition (including nutrition for expectant mothers and their babies), child development and children's diseases, HIV/AIDS and STDs, maternal health and reproductive health, and women's organs and their diseases. Selected men and women from area villages will be trained in these disciplines and be called Community Health Workers. The picture above shows a participant at the nutrition seminar happily receiving a prize after answering questions correctly. After the first seminar, the future CHWs feel confident about what they have learned and are willing to take the challenge of teaching everyone in their own villages.

Louise McLeod

Retiring Virginia Maynard

For those who know Virginia, you know she is dedicated, trustworthy and thorough. It was Virginia who obtained our consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council. It was Virginia who, as soon as the Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the UN (CONGO) began accepting NGOs with affiliation at the Department of Public Information, signed us up as the first member! Virginia has always watched out for VGIF's interests at the UN, and was tapped by CONGO, first as a Vice President for 3 years, and then as Treasurer of the CONGO Foundation for 8, overlapping with her VP service for the first year. Virginia steps down in December when new officers take over the reins of CONGO, and after 10 years of continuous, dedicated service, we owe her our gratitude for keeping VGIF visible and active with CONGO. Her service has been tireless and seamless. It has meant that CONGO continues to function as a viable coalition at the UN in New York. Thank you, Virginia, from all of us. Your untiring, and never retiring, service is remembered and appreciated.

Leslie Wright   VGIF UN Representatives Committee Convener

Panel on the Millenium Development Goals includes VGIF

VGIF participated in a panel sponsored by UNA-USA’s Council of Organizations on November 8th as part of their monthly UN Briefing Series. The event titled “Halfway There: A Progress Report on the MDGs” focused on achievements and challenges with particular attention to two of the MDGs. Vicki Assevero of Millennium Promise focused on the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger (MDG 1) through their initiative of Millennium Villages operating in 79 villages across 10 countries in sub-Saharan Africa addressing problems of hunger, disease, inadequate education, and lack of safe drinking water. VGIF Executive Director Fay Kittelson presented information on the issue of improved maternal health care (MDG 5) and the daunting challenges embedded in the economic, social, religious, and cultural inequalities that make access to health care at all levels an endemic problem for women. Fay spoke on the history of VGIF-funded projects dealing with maternal health care with particular attention to recent projects in Nigeria, China, and Bangladesh that have made significant strides to improve prenatal and obstetric care for women and their children in rural areas. The afternoon panel concluded with a Q & A session.

Fay Kittelson   Executive Director

Membership News

The Development, Membership and Marketing Committees are going to try a new pilot approach with an annual fund and a major donor appeal for the 2008 contributon cycle. It will include two requests a cycle, a thank you acknowledgment for all levels of giving, a conference call meeting and other methods recommended by the three Committees.

Claire R. Stein   Convener Membership Committee

It Happened at the Midterm Meeting

The Board of Directors took the following actions at the Midterm Meeting on Saturday, October 27th: Revised VGIF's staffing as of January 1, 2008 to make Fay Kittelson the Executive Director, and to hire Zoë Kelly-Nacht as a half time grants assistant, effective immediately; Directed the establishment of a permanent Human Resources Committee to oversee and evaluate the staff and directed the president to appoint members to this committee; Directed the president to appoint a committee to locate a new office for VG's use in advance of the demolition of the Marble Collegiate building scheduled to occur within the next two years; Made recommendations for 40th anniversary activities in 2009; Approved the 2008 budget as proposed; Established deadlines for nominations to be submitted to the Nominating Committee, bylaws amendments to the Bylaws Committee, and articles for the semi-yearly VG Update and monthly VG Flash; Approved a Membership/Marketing/Development Pilot Project for the 2008 calendar year that will revise nomenclature and process for fund-raising.

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