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For Immediate Release: G.R.O. Canada announces CRA registered charity status

Toronto, Canada - August 11th, 2010 –  Global Relief Outreach (G.R.O) is pleased to announce that  G.R.O Canada has now been registered as a Canadian charity. This announcement was first shared in front of over 100 G.R.O. supporters on August 11th at G.R.O.’s 2010 ‘Edge of Africa’ ethical photography event, held at the beautiful Gladstone Hotel in downtown Toronto.

‘Edge of Africa’ was a classy event and a great opportunity for G.R.O. to display and share personal stories of  hope and change in Lesotho, Southern Africa through the auction and sale of original photographs created by Basotho women as part of GRO’s ethical media project. Grassroots jewelry created by the GRO Lesotho artisans collective was also on display and available for purchase.


G.R.O. Canada seeks to support vulnerable communities in the developing world by providing sustainable social, health and education initiatives.  So far, G.R.O. Canada has supported the creation of The G.R.O. Foundation Lesotho in southern Africa, which has developed a large academic support portfolio for Lesotho teens and two sustainable social enterprise projects.

G.R.O. would like to thank the Gladstone Hotel, Industry Images and the Toronto Arts & Letters Club for their support in making their ethical photography and G.R.O. Canada launch event a success.  We would also like to thank all of our supporters who bid on silent auction pieces, purchased jewelry pieces, or who contributed financially to the ongoing support of social outreach programming in Lesotho.??About G.R.O.:

G.R.O. Canada is a registered Canadian charity based in Toronto, ON.  The organization is run by a committed group of volunteers, most of whom are international development professionals who have a combined 25+ years of experience in the field of international medical and social relief.
While G.R.O. Canada is a registered charitable organization, we do not view our work as an act of charity, but as the connection of vulnerable communities with Canadians committed to investing in positive change. More information on G.R.O. Canada can be found at www.grocanada.org.

Media Contact: Gen Scott  G.R.O. Canada Communications Officer 416.425.6220
Programming Contact: James White G.R.O. Canada Co-Founder/Director 647 922 0160

Posted under The Mission, The Movement

This post was written by jason.clark on August 19, 2010

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G.R.O. Q&A with Katiso ‘Mota

‘Ntate Katiso ‘Mota has been through a number of moves already in his time with G.R.O. Lesotho so we tracked him down to gather his thoughts on another day of moving furniture into an office larger than the last.

1) The G.R.O. Lesotho Staff recently moved into a new office - Congratulations! How was the move?

Moving to the new offices has always been what we have been expecting ever since from May, and so it was really good that we finally made it. However, it was one of the very tiring situations since only two GRO staff members were there (Me Rethabile and myself) to move all the GRO office items. We moved on a Friday and the other members had gone to an EXPO. As for the Artisans, all of them were there to share moving amongst themselves. We finally managed with the help of ‘Ntate Poka whom ‘Me Mapalesa (GRO Executive Treasurer) found for us to help with his truck to move some of the heavy staff.

2) This is not the first time G.R.O. has had to grow! How many times has G.R.O. moved over the past year? G.R.O. Lesotho has moved three times due to growth?

G.R.O Lesotho moved from a one roomed office space to two in the past year and recently moved to a three roomed office space due to extension of programs and increase in the number of staff member. A few days after we welcomed a new Volunteer from the US Peace Corps so our expansion is nowhere near over.

3) Now that you are all moved in how does it feel? Tell us how the officeswork with Bo ‘Me (the G.R.O. Artisans) beside you now?

Being closer to everyone is one of the most exciting things. There is that spirit of oneness and working towards the same goals and objectives. ‘Bo ‘Me are feeling so good and supported while at the same time we are able to monitor one another towards pursuing good things all the time. The general feeling is really so tremendous and we can see GRO moving higher and higher.?

‘Ntate Katiso ‘Mota is the LEAP Education Coordinator and was reached in Hlotse, Leribe, Lesotho.

Posted under Notes from Lesotho

This post was written by jason.clark on August 17, 2010

G.R.O. Q&A with ‘Me Rethabile Skundla

The G.R.O. Lesotho team has had a hectic past few weeks and getting a chance to sit down with Programs Manager ‘Me Rethabile Skundla has not been an easy task. With overseeing a change in office scenery to include a number of new offices and a work space for the G.R.O. Artisans along with participation in Lesotho’s World Population Day you can imagine on top of program oversight you can imagine how busy she has been. Here is another great G.R.O. Q&A with ‘Me Rethabile as she tells us a little about World Population Day.

1) G.R.O. Lesotho was recently invited to World Population Day - Can you please explain what the event was and how G.R.O. became involved?The World Population Day is held in August of every year and the Main Organisers and Sponsors are the Lesotho Ministry of Finance and Development planning. This year the WPD was held in Leribe and the Ministry asked G.R.O Foundation and other local initiatives, like Help Lesotho and World Vision, to assist with the organisation of the event.

2) Who attended the event from G.R.O. Lesotho?Most of the G.R.O. Lesotho team was in attendance as ‘Me Motseoa- Artisans Collective Coordinator, ‘Ntate Katiso - LEAP Coordinator, ‘Me Majoyce - Artisans Collective Project Leader, and myself were all there to support the event.

3) Why is it important to have events such as Population Day? Could you explain why is it important that G.R.O. Lesotho is involved in local and national events such as this one?Events such as the WPD are very important because this is when people come together and talk about issues that affect them. I can talk about the theme for the WPD event which was ‘Avoid Teenage Pregnancy, get educated and have planned families‘ this message was directed at the youth of Ha Khabo where it came to the realisation of the Government authorities that teenage pregnancy is increasing at a high rate. To address the issue G.R.O Lesotho developed the placards with different messages relating to the theme of the day and they were displayed during the Event.The G.R.O Lesotho’s involvement in this event is very important because our mission is to address poverty issues that affect people at the community level. As part of the schedule for that day, the three main NGO’s which included G.R.O Lesotho, was to have stalls where they will be informing people about their organisation. Although this particular item, did not materialise we had people asking privately what we do and they were very much excited that such programs exists in their districts.?

‘Me Rethabile Skundla is the G.R.O. Foundation Lesotho Programs Manager and she was reached in Hlotse, Leribe, Lesotho.

Posted under Notes from Lesotho

This post was written by jason.clark on August 17, 2010

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