Small Grants Program

In 2020 we received 17 proposals from 10 countries covering projects directed at improving the health and well-being of new-born infants during their first month of life.  This year we asked organizations who submitted promising proposals in 2019, but were not funded, to update and re-submit.  They were reviewed by our grant committee of health experts, who look for projects which employ innovative methods, and then award them $5,000 each which, especially in developing countries, is a small fortune. We were able to fund 6 grants in 5 different countries. Lessons learned ultimately benefit children everywhere.

Keep in touch, for you will be reading the reports of these projects in future newsletters and seeing them on the world projects map.

We Need Sponsors for More Projects

We are actively seeking sponsors for other projects that were reviewed and selected but are presently without funding. If you are interested in sponsoring a project, please contact us. Or if you are interested in investing in any of the ones listed here, we would be happy to hear from you and we would keep you updated about the progress.

2020 Innovative Small Grant Awards

  1. St. John’s Research Institute (SJRI), India    Implementing essential care through “Kangaroo Mother Care”
  2. Afya Bora Innovation, Kenya    Improve maternal and newborn health with “Mama” Birth Kits
  3. INMED Partnerships for Children, USA    Fighting Jaundice in Peru with the one-of-a-kind “Bilikit”  tool kit
  4. Golden Change Concerned Youth Forum (GCCYF), Nigeria    Stressing importance of hygiene and use of antiseptic Chlorhexidine
  5. Nnadozie Foundation, Nigeria    Promotes new-born health and cleanliness from the moment of delivery
  6. Karwemera United Women Association (KUWA), Uganda    Using Chlorhexidine Digluconate in the process of caring for umbilical cords
  7. SEEDS Trust, India   Addressing child physical welfare through an integrated, holistic approach

2019 Innovative Small Grants Awards

  1.  United for Youth Help, Tanzania  Preventing death in sickle cell infants caused by jaundice.
  2.  Jeevan Rekha Parishad, India  Controlled trial for managing sepsis in cyclone affected villages.
  3.  Women Health Initiative, Sierra Leone  “Saving Babies Project” using CPAP and Kangaroo mother care.
  4.  Kenya Medical Research Institute, Kenya  Student thesis concerning Antenatal care in Mandera County.
  5.  Bukoto Health Initiatives, Uganda  Preventing neonatal tetanus by early vaccination of potential mothers.
  6.  Better Health Care Organization, South Sudan   Using CHX (Chlorhexidine) for the prevention of cord sepsis in newborns.
  7.  Women Empowerment Program, Rwanda   Bubble CPAP and Kangaroo mother care to fight neonatal mortality.  Last funded in 2017.
  8.  Port Discovery, Baltimore, Maryland  Support Goslings, an early language and literacy program for NICU families.
  9.  Amity College of Nursing, India  Conducting evidence based research study to help prevent infant mortality.

2017 Innovative Small Grants Awards

  1.  Women Empowerment Program, Rwanda (funded in 2014-15) is saving the lives of newborns with BCpap and Kangaroo Care.
  2.  Grampari, India (funded in 2013, 2015), will continue the Tippy Tap program to teach hand washing.
  3.  Mission for Community Development MCODE, Uganda (funded in 2013) is doing some nutrition training and planting vegetable gardens.
  4.  Kodera Women Group KWG, Kenya (funded in 2008), will install Arbor Loo Toilets.
  5.  Health Education and Empowerment Heden, Nigeria (funded in 2006), has a plan to distribute
    an app for cell phones that will help with caring for children.

2016 Innovative Small Grants Awards

  1.  ACNN, New Guinea, Helping Babies Breathe eduactional program
  2.  Enactus, Togo, equipping new health centres with solar power
  3.  ARTS, Pakistan, Iodine Deficiency Disorder studies
  4.  Kipistra, Rwanda, promoting water and sanitation project
  5.  Grampari, India, continuation of Tippy Tap hand washing program
  6.  ACE, Kenya, establishing Centre for nutritional education and counseling for mothers

2015 Innovative Small Grants Awards

  1.  Grampari, India, (also funded in 2013) will continue the Tippy Tap program to teach hand washing.
  2.  Women Empowerment Program, Rwanda, (also  funded in 2014) will continue bcpap program to save newborns.
  3.  Youth for Social Change Org., Rwanda, are conducting a study to determine malnutrition and give nutrition training.
  4.  Nyakach Helping Hand Group, Kenya, plan to install water pumps and give hygiene instructions.
  5.  USAWA Development Initiatives, Kenya, will conduct a survey to determine main causes of disease in that area and then  work  to prevent them.
  6.  Education & Health for Economic Empowerment, Ghana, will promote child feeding and care practices.
  7.  The Iba Foundation, Nigeria, wants to publish comic books as a means of eradicating malaria.

2015 Humanitarian Grants

1. TDP, Sierra Leone, will install solar lighting and purchase a refrigerator for a community health center.

 

2014 Innovative Small Grants Awards

  1. Social Activities for Voluntary Efforts (SAVE), Bangladesh, will implement in 15 villages activities to reduce child and mothers’  mortality rates to save the lives of poor newborns and pregnant mothers through developing trained midwives.
  2. Under-Privileged People’s Development Organization (UPPO), Bangladesh, received at 2013 grant and this is a continuation of that project in which they installed 66 removable double-ring-slab latrines for 66 families. They will reach more families.
  3. Kossoye Development Program, Ethiopia, expects to use the funds for curriculum development, equipment purchases, and workshops for elementary school teachers and children on the subjects of gardening, nutrition, and personal height and weight measurement.
  4. Operation ASHA, Cambodia, seeks to screen children and their families, affected by tuberculosis, in one operational district, going door-to-door,  using “Contact Tracing App,” which they have developed. They will then provide treatment and counseling.
  5. Pamoja, Tanzania, will install a roof catchment and storage tank for clean water in 3 preschools to prevent enteric diseases. Then they will teach the importance of hand-washing using a jelly made from lemon and garlic.
  6. Tenwek Hospital, Kenya (with Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, USA) will conduct “Just-in-Time” training to maintain neonatal resuscitation skills after Helping Babies Breath, an evidence-based curriculum, intending to save over 95% of newborns who fail to breath at birth. Designed as a study, the organizers will collect data and determine results.
  7. Aguayuda, Colombia, recipients of a 2012 grant in which we helped them install a windmill or water collection, expect to use the funds to install Tippy-Tap hand-washing facilities for 600 children and families, and hold educational workshops on the prevention of water-related illnesses.
  8. Women Empowerment Program (WEP), Rwanda, will implement Bubble CPAP, a non-invasive ventilation strategy for newborns with respiratory distress. It delivers continuous positive pressure to newborns to maintain lung volumes during expiration. They will then introduce Kangaroo Mother Care, in which the infant will be cradled skin-to-skin with his/her mother.
  9. United Youth for Rwanda Development (URYD), Rwanda, will aim to prevent malnutrition in children with an innovative peanut called Rwanda Nut. Locally produced it is similar to the well-known Plumpy Nut produced in France.
  10. Mekong Delta Youth, Vietnam, will install innovative Floating Toilets, designed to float automatically during flood season, August to November, giving the families of the region safety from enteric diseases during those months.

2014 Humanitarian Grants

  1. Rural People Development Society (RPDS), India, Education
  2. Community Development and Empowerment Foundation (COMMDEF), Ghana, Breastfeeding