Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA Appeal

Date: 08 November 2005

Union Aid Abroad - APHEDA urgently needs to raise $20,000 so we can continue to fund some of our crucial projects which are having such a positive impact on working families in developing countries.

With the generous support from donors in the past, Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA has been able to train people in building skills such as carpentry in Aceh and East Timor, small business training for women in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, farming skills training for ex-combatants in the Solomons and Bougainville, agricultural training for households in the Gaza Strip, health services for refugees on the Thai-Burma border and for women in rural Vietnam, and HIV education in the workplace with unions and organisations in PNG, Cambodia, the Philippines, South Africa and Zimbabwe. Through your generosity and through the commitment of our project partners who deliver the training in these countries, we have been able to make a significant impact on the lives of approximately 15,000 working people and their families over the past year.

In past years, the Government's overseas aid arm, AusAID, has been a substantial source of our funding for our overseas projects. However, recent times have seen almost all funding from AusAID being redirected. This means we are now being forced to close or downsize important projects, which are vital in improving the lives and living standards for many communities and working families.

The skills training which leads to employment or extra income earned can change lives. One family in Cambodia reports that they are now able to educate all four of their children, not just the eldest, thanks to the domestic fish production project. In East Timor, over 1,200 rural women can now read and write, and the tailoring and sewing skills training helped many families to survive when the rains failed and crops withered last year.

In this Appeal, we are hoping to raise $20,000 to help continue three projects, which we consider to be of great importance. otherwise these projects will need to be scaled down and fewer families will benefit.

Description of Three Projects

1. Skills training for women in Cambodia

Since 1985, Union Aid Abroad - APHEDA has assisted projects in 10 Cambodian provinces in three areas: (a) vocational skills training, (b) agriculture, forestry and fishery, and (c) women's health, HIV and nutrition. Over 80,000 Cambodians have been trained, most of them women, many of whom were heads of households due to the Khmer Rouge genocide.

A current AusAID-funded project is teaching skills training in 7 provinces, and domestic fish production in 5 provinces. When this project finishes in 2006, we will have to cut back to training in just 2 provinces.

2. Community Radio in East Timor

With high levels of illiteracy and few families able to afford TV, radio is an essential source for news and information in East Timor. Union Aid Abroad - APHEDA has been assisting Radio Rakambia for five years. The station is run entirely by volunteers, and they broadcast a mix of news, current affairs, discussion forums and entertainment for 16 hours a day. They also have a mobile broadcasting unit, and visit rural areas to present the concerns and voices of the people outside the capital,Dili.

Radio Rakambia have recently been asked to vacate their current rented premises, so they need $14,500 to buy the bricks, windows, doors and soundproofing material to build their own studio. Volunteers will provide the labour for the construction.

3. Skills training for disabled youth in Vietnam

This project works with the Vietnam Women's Union in Hai Duong Province to provide vocational skills training for 30 disabled young people (15-25 years old), many of whom are next-generation victims of Agent Orange, to enable them to either earn some income or gain employment. The aim is to help them with the skills needed to establish their own small businesses, especially in handicraft production, which will allow them to earn a small income and assist their integration into society.

All our evaluations show that skills training for women can have a powerful effect on their families' lives. Data shows that even a small increase in disposable income from selling in the village or town market the clothes they make or fish they grow can allow these women many more options in life and opportunities for their children.

Hai Duong is in the north of Vietnam near the coast, and is near the tourist centre of Ha Long Bay, so there is scope for the sale of handicraft production to both domestic and foreign tourists as a source of income. When you are buying presents for your loved ones this festive season, please also consider giving a present to some of the world's poorest. Working families in Australia showing solidarity with workers in developing countries sends a powerful message of hope. Click here to donate today!

For further information

Contact:	UAA-APHEDA
Union:	APHEDA Union Aid Abroad
Phone:	(02) 9264 9343
Fax:	(02) 9261 1118
Email:	office@apheda.org.au
WWW:	http://www.apheda.org.au

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