I wanted to start The G.R.O Foundation to let the people of Lesotho accomplish realistic goals in their own lives.  While working in the developing world, I found it so important for long term success to give the majority of responsibility and creative control of projects to the actual people in these countries, as they know how to best run the projects.  When we established The GRO Foundation we purposefully sought to set it up to enable committed groups of people the ability to make a positive change in their own communities.  We focus on providing resources and support when needed that they could not have obtained due to their economic or social situation.  By focusing on community led development you assist communities in strengthening from the ground up…this is the vision of The G.R.O. Foundation.

By Greg Felsen

Posted under The Vision

I have worked for the past two summers in Lesotho as both a teacher and public health intern. Throughout my time there, I was able to have many conversations with youth about their dreams and hopes for the future. In particular, I remember one of my first days in Lesotho where I had the chance to travel to a remote village with a physician from the pediatric AIDS clinic where I worked. The physician was going to the village to give medical records back to the family of a young girl who had died of tuberculosis.  The doctor and a social worker then proceeded to test the siblings, the grandmother, and stepmother all for HIV.  Thankfully, their tests all came out negative.  Many people came from around the community to be tested too once they heard that someone from our clinic was there.  We hung out with the children of the village afterwards and spoke with two of them who were about 12 years-old.  They were in their last year of primary school. They said they want to be nurses when they grow up, but then we also found out that their families did not have enough money to send them to high school (only primary education is covered by the government of Lesotho).  Without a high school education, there was no way that these children could fulfill their dream of becoming nurses.  I was deeply saddened by this and wanted desperately to find a way to get these girls to high school. And I regretted ever having taken my own opportunities for granted.

These youth and thousands of others like them have been on my mind for the past few years and I have thought about how much a scholarship fund could do to help fulfill the promise of Basotho youth. I am so thankful for the new G.R.O. Foundation Scholarship Challenge and for the Gifts of Hope campaign. There is a dire need for funds to pay for such things as school fees, books, and computer literacy training. Giving through the G.R.O. Foundation initiatives will allow so many Basotho children that are full of potential reach their goals of moving beyond poverty and becoming what they once could only dream of.

Basotho children are wonderfully creative and talented. Day to day you can see interesting contraptions that they make to play. Anything from cars made out of wire, to instruments, to their own modes of transportation. As a teacher, I also always found my students so eager to learn. And if given an opportunity to flourish with an education, they will surely thrive.

By Sophie Kim, G.R.O. Volunteer

Posted under The Movement

Working and living in the community of Leribe I met so many people who were committed to improving their lives.  I worked with students selling apples trying to make enough money for school fees, women struggling to feed and support their families with no income, and grandmothers overwhelmed by the burden of caring for their orphaned grandchildren.  Seeing this first-hand and knowing that with just a little bit of support and encouragement, these committed people could have the opportunity to change their lives for the better.  Working with James, Greg and the community members, The G.R.O. Foundation was borne.  The G.R.O. Foundation is a vehicle, an opportunity and the hope for the Basotho people which supports local solutions to local problems.

One of the most unique things about The G.R.O. Foundation is that the Basotho people have ownership of the projects – the projects have been selected by our local project leaders as projects that are beneficial to their community.  I see my role as supporting our local project participants and they manage and expand their projects, providing advice and guidance to build their capacity.

By Jean Margaritis

Posted under The Vision

In a country like Lesotho there is no shortage of talent, commitment, passion or belief. There is a distinct lack of resource, the funds and capacity needed to put plan into action, inspiration into actuality.  During my time at Tsepong clinic in 2005-2006 I met so many people in our community that were in need of support, that had dreams of a better life but no real opportunity to achieve them.  I spoke to so many students, mothers, grandmothers and community leaders about the concept of hope – about that unexplainable quality that makes some people bravely face incredible obstacle.

Life in Lesotho is not easy.  Despite the incredible ability and inner strength of so many of the people I met, the realities of extreme poverty and the ravages of the AIDS pandemic make even the simplest of dreams an incredibe struggle.  The vision of The G.R.O. Foundation was and is to connect these inspirational people to the resources and support that they need in order to make their dreams a reality.

In Lesotho, The G.R.O. Foundation has been incorporated as a non-profit organization where committed community groups and individuals can work together co-operatively to ensure that their separate projects succeed.  They can share resources, ideas and talents in order to support each other and benefit the community as a whole.  We have sought to ensure that project ownership in Lesotho is, and always will be, locally controlled, locally organized, and locally led.

The G.R.O. Foundation in Canada seeks to support the work in Lesotho by procuring the funds needed for project work, but more importantly by creating a movement of committed individuals that will increase awareness and advocacy about the situation in Lesotho.  Since I returned from Lesotho in 2006 I have been inspired to see a shift in the mentality of ordinary people in Canada.  People are finally beginning to see the realities of global poverty, AIDS, injustice and genocide.  They are starting to ask the right questions, most commonly “What can I do to support these people?”.  The vision of The G.R.O. Foundation in Canada is to give these individuals, committed to engaging in the developing world, an outlet for their inspiration, beliefs and passion for change.  One individual, when given the opportunity, can absolutely impact the lives of our global brothers and sisters in crisis.  We are seeking to provide an opportunity for that partnership to flourish, for people in North America to directly and significantly impact positive global change through simple acts and collective endeavors.

Social change has always been driven by small, committed groups of individuals - and our hope is that with every person that joins the G.R.O. movement we can provide more substantial support to our project partners in all parts of the world.

Posted under The Vision

It’s never been easiser.

The G.R.O. Foundation is excited to launch it’s 2008 Gifts of Hope campaign. Check it out at www.grofoundation.org.

This year, honor your mother, your brother, and your best friend by giving them a gift of hope.  Instead of giving your mom that yellow scarf you’re not sure she’ll like, how about sending an African student to school in her name instead?  What if you gave an unemployed woman in Africa a chance a starting her own business and put your sister’s name on it?   Or give chickens to grandmothers for that person you have no idea how to buy for.  Check it out. This year - go with something unique - go with something special - and go with something that keeps on giving.  This year, give hope.

Visit our new secure, online shopping cart.  View the .pdf version here. Happy shopping!

Posted under The Movement