Making connections for a better world November 2009

A Tsunami of Tourism» PAGE 3

Mega Cities and Climate Change» PAGE 7

Taking action for disabilityCommonwealth People placing the Commonwealth firmly on the international agenda.

POSTER SPECIAL

Commonwealth women ski to the South Pole» PAGE 4Once you have read Commonwealth People please pass it on.

HUMAN& DEVELOPMENT

In September 2008 Sri Lanka’s Central Council of Disabled Persons developed a National Plan of Action, at a workshop, held in Negambo. It brought together the leaders of 24 disability organisations from Sri Lanka and one from Pakistan. The workshop was funded by the Commonwealth Foundation.

My disability – whose probleM?Participants saw the need to bring their Plan of Action into line with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. By signing the Convention, Commonwealth countries recognise that disability results from the interaction between persons with impairments (physical, mental, intellectual or sensory) and the barriers that hinder their full and equal participation in society.

our rights are huMan rightsThe UN Disabilities Convention is unique in being both a development and a human rights instrument. It is legally binding. Its purpose is “to promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities, and to promote respect for their inherent dignity.” Ratifying countries prohibit all discrimination on the basis of disability.

Disabled people “shall have effective enjoyment of the universal right to life,” on an equal basis with others. Disabled people must be recognised as persons before the law, and enjoy legal capacity. They must be able to own and inherit property, and have access to credit. They must have effective access to justice, on an equal basis with others.

a duty to actStates that ratify the Convention must take all appropriate measures to promote disabled people’s rights. This includes:• Takingaccountofdisabledpeople’srights

in policies and programmes• Eliminatingdiscrimination,stereotypes,

prejudices and harmful practices• Trainingandawareness-raisingthrough

media and education, including for health and legal professionals• Involvingcivilsocietyanddisabledpeople

when implementing the Convention.

specific groupsWomen and girls with disabilities are subject to multiple discrimination and realising their rights will take specific measures. Children with disabilities have the right to express their views and have them taken into account.

This is because the Convention is intended to prevent concealment, abandonment, neglect and segregationofpeoplewithdisabilities.Enablingthem to attain maximum independence means rehabilitation at the earliest stage: during childhood.

The Convention also has provisions on:• Freedomfromexploitation,violenceandabuse• Respectforhomeandfamilylife• Personalmobility• Expression,participationandaccess

to information• Education• Health•Work,employmentandstandardofliving• Culturallife,leisureandsport

Participation is important to identify specific needs, and to empower the individual. It is recognised in the Convention as a principle, an obligation and a right.

next stepsParticipants at the Negambo workshop aim to move forward with training, publicity and setting up a fund to support their Plan of Action – ensuring that women and youth are fully involved. The ultimate goal is for Sri Lanka to fully implement the Convention.

Debating DisabilityThat disabled people do not enjoy equal access to their human rights has been internationally acknowledged since the mid-1980s. The majority of people with disabilities live in poverty. For this 10% of the population society itself tends to be excluding, discriminatory, at best condescending, and ultimately disabling.

FOCUS

it’s sometimes said that the global economy is like an iceberg. Most visible is the formal economy but below the surface lies all the unspoken unformalised infrastructure which includes social care. and some of the most invisible carers of all are young people.

Because they care for other family members, young carers are often excluded from personal and social opportunities other young people might enjoy.Theyareoftenpoverty-stricken,isolatedandwithout appropriate policy support.

what’s in a naMe?In Kenya, the term “young carers” itself is not well known; mostly they are referred to as orphans and vulnerable children (OVC), which makes it hard for people to understand who they are, their concerns and their needs.

“Despite minimal recognition and the stigma attached to the loss of parents or guardians, young people have stood up as advocates for others who areunabletospeakforthemselves,”explainsHon.ElizabethOngoro,AssistantMinisterforNairobi.

In June/July 2009 Kenyan social workers active in the Commonwealth Organisation for Social Work (COSW), with funding from the Commonwealth Foundation, held four workshops in and around Nairobi.Oversixtyunder-21sfromKenya,Uganda andTanzaniatookpart,withtheaimsof:• Sharingexperiencesandgoodpractice• EstablishingnetworksofsupportinKenya

and the region• DraftingproposalsforMinistersinthe

three countries.

This work built on a 2006 meeting organised by the UK government and in 2007 when two young Kenyan carershadmetwithBeverleyHughes,UKMinisterforChildren, Young People and Families.

to feel loved “It feels good to belong to a group where you feel accepted and loved,” said one workshop participant. “HenceforthIwillbeabletospeakoutwithcouragebecause I know I am not alone.”

Kenya is still recovering from the turmoil of 2008, which has made the work of trying to raise awareness all the more difficult. Also, the violence that broke out gave rise to a number of new young carers. Establishedin1994,COSWisforcitizensofthe

Commonwealth who are interested in supporting social work and social development. Its work includes human settlements, disaster response and promoting the code of ethics of the International Federation of Social Workers.

East Africa’s Young Carers

to find out if your country has signed and ratified the convention, and for other news, visit:www.un.org/disability or www.thecommonwealth.org/humanrights

Guides to the Convention can be ordered from:HumanRightsUnitCommonwealth SecretariatMarlboroughHouse,PallMallLondonSW1Y5HX,UnitedKingdomTel:+44(0)2077476423Fax:+44(0)2077476418E-mail:hru@commonwealth.int

The Commonwealth Foundation is grateful to theHumanRightsUnitfortheirassistanceinpreparing this article.

what is My country doing about it?

» Kenya

Daveanan Seekarie (in wheelchair) instructing trainees at NCPD in the craft of Bookbinding, Trinidad and Tobago.

COMMONWEALTH PEOPLE02

under the 2005 constitution the Kingdom of swaziland is an absolute monarchy. the monarch (his Majesty King Mswati iii) approves the prime Minister, approves the cabinet and can veto laws and dissolve parliament, though no longer rules by decree.

Under the tinkhundla electoral system, there is a parliamentoftwohouses.TheHouseofAssemblyhasup to 76 members, ten (including at least five women) appointed by the monarch, 60 elected by tribal or community committees and four women elected by the two houses of parliament (one from each region). TheSenatehasupto31members,withtenchosenbythe Assembly (including at least five women) and 20 by the monarch (at least eight women)...

The electoral system is intricate and there have been concerns about the participation of the 70% of Swazipeoplewholiveinruralareas.Aforwardstephad to be taken.That’swhySwaziland’sCoordinatingAssembly

ofNGOs(CANGO,established1983)decidedtodoa civic/election education project, funded by the Commonwealth Foundation.

can-go attitudeThe constitution provided for an independent judiciary and for human rights, including freedom of assembly and association, but it made no reference to political parties. In 2008 CANGO took the

view that: “Although it is still not clear if political parties will be legalised to contest political power, thecitizensneedtobeempoweredtounderstandthe legal issues regarding the elections, the role and responsibilities of voters, how to exercise the right to vote and the roles of elected officials in representing the interests of constituencies.” The project involved:• Developingaciviceducationguide• Selectingtrainers• Deliveringthetrainingtoaround1200people,

through five NGOs • Preparingpresskits,includinginformationintheSiswatilanguagefortwice-dailybroadcastonnational radio• Reachingouttospecificgroupssuchasthe

disabled, women and youth• BringingtogethertheCivilSocietyElectionsNetwork,andpartneringwiththeElectionsandBoundaries Commission.

CANGO started life as an umbrella body for NGOs working in primary health care, still a great concern inacountrywithoneofthehighestratesofHIVinfection (39.2% in 2006).

CANGO is heartened that the 2008 elections went ahead successfully without intimidation or fraud with queues of voters forming at dawn to wait patiently in the sun.

03November 2009GOVERNANCE& DEMOCRACY

Butthencameasecond,man-madecatastrophe. The disruption from the tsunami has been used as an opportunity to move local people off the land, making way for luxury tourism development.

“disaster capitalisM”Thyagarajan, a fisherman from Kerala, India explains: “The land which I owned had lots of coconut, and I was able to live with that. Now I have to go for casual work. I was not interested to sell the land. They bought the land on either side and put up a fence. And then they started to file false cases against me saying that I was breaking their fence. The agent was doing this because if I didn’t move he wouldn’t get broker fees. I was harrassed by them. At last I sold my land.”

There are many like Thyagarajan. Whole communities have been talked into selling by developers, only realising the consequences when it is too late. Developers have also been ‘privatising’ communal beachfront land by posting security guards. In Tamil Nadu, on India’s east coast, whole communities remain in temporary shelters while their homeland is sold: a prime example of what Canadian journalist Naomi Klein has called “Disaster Capitalism” (The Shock Doctrine, 2008).

dreaM destinationTourism Concern, a UK charity which fights exploitation in tourism and campaigns for more ethical, fairly traded forms of tourism, is working with local organisations to stop this process. Survivors and experienced civil society activists are sharing their knowledge to push for more just and sustainable land use.

As part of this work, the Commonwealth Foundation supported a study visit for young Sri Lankan activists in their twenties to learn from their counterparts in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. At the heart of human rights work is access to information; the Sri Lankans learned methods of monitoring and documenting abuses. They received three days of theoretical teaching, as well as visiting the affected communities.SumeshMangalassary,anIndianresearcher,

policy analyst and campaigner said of the visit: “We need to learn from each other. This is the starting point of a big dream: a regional network of groups working on tourism related issues.”

The tsunami in December 2004 was the biggest natural disaster in modern history. Some 230,000 people lost their lives, many more their homes and livelihoods. Many survivors along the coasts of India and Sri Lanka used to fish to earn their living, farmed close to the sea or relied on low scale tourism.

A Tsunami of Tourism Two Cheers for “Aid Effectiveness”When people talk of “aid effectiveness” they areoftenreferringtothe2005ParisDeclarationon the issue – signed by donor countries of the OECD(OrganisationforEconomicCooperationandDevelopment) as well as developing countries and multilateral institutions.

learn the lingoThat agreement focused on five principles: Ownership – Developing countries must lead their own development policies and strategies. Alignment – Donors must line up their aid firmly behind these country strategies. It should not be “tied” to donor objectives. Harmonisation – Donor’s development work should be better coordinated. Managing for Results – A focus on the end result of aid, the tangible difference it makes in poor people’s lives. Mutual Accountability – Donors and recipients ofaidbeingaccountabletoeachother,tocitizensand parliaments.

offering an alternativeCivil society has also established its own Aid EffectivenessForum,currentlysteeredby18NGOs.They met in Ghana in August 2008, ahead of the HighLevelForumonAidEffectivenessinSeptember.Funding from the Commonwealth Foundation ensuredthatparticipantsfromNigeria,Malawi,Uganda, Kenya and South Africa could attend.

According to the Ghana Forum on Aid Effectiveness(andmostothercivilsocietyforummembers), the Paris Declaration is at best about reducing the costs of giving aid. It is weaker on women, youth, debt reduction, decent work, the environment and human rights – in short, the ingredientsofpro-poorpolicy.

This chimes with other Commonwealth voices. As far back as 2006, in his letter to the G8 group of industrialised economies, then Commonwealth Secretary-GeneralDonMcKinnonwarned,“The focus to date on implementing the Paris Declaration onAidEffectivenesshasbeenmoreonimprovingthe efficiency of aid and agency processes, and less on the substance of aid effectiveness such as gender equality and harmonisation of development co-operationwithtradepolicies.”

Quantity as well as QualityFor Commonwealth Finance MinistersmeetinginStLucia in October 2008, what was important about aid was its quality and quantity; they repeated the call for donors to fulfill their commitments – to allocated 0.7% of income to aid, to doubletheiraidby2010and to double their aid to Sub-SaharanAfrica.Onlythen will civil society be dissuaded...

Developing Democracy

For more information and to see what action you can take, please visit www.tourismconcern.org.uk

04 COMMONWEALTH PEOPLEPOSTER SPECIAL

Commonwealth women

(UK, Brunei Darussalam,

Cyprus, Ghana, India, Jamaica,

New Zealand, Singapore) gather

in the remote wilderness of

Arctic Norway. Selected from

over 800 applicants, they have

never experienced extreme

sub-zero temperatures before.

One woman per country will

be selected for the final team

that will ski to the South Pole,

a 40 day expedition aiming to

arrive on Yew Year’s Day.

We need a jolt sometimes to realise that what we know isn’t necessarily all there is.”

05

The Commonwealth Foundation funded women from Ghana and Jamaica to travel to Norway for snow training.

November 2009

(Not just) Screen goddessesFilmisagrowingandvibrantmeansofcommuni-cation.AllovertheCommonwealth’s53countriespeople are watching and making films. There are notablesuccessstoriessuch“Bollywood”(Mumbai,India) which is now producing the most films in theworld.MorerecentlyNigeriahasseentherapiddevelopment of its video industry, meeting demand at home and increasingly for international and diaspora markets.

but who’s in the director’s chair?Since the early days of cinema, film making and distribution has been dominated by a handful of countries. People in developing countries have struggled to see their own stories on the cinema screen, and to take those stories to a wider world. People in developed countries have been denied knowledge of other cultures. Women especially, are still an excluded voice: only 6% of film directors and12%ofscreenwritersarewomen.

But there are signs that the tide is turning, not least with technological changes reducing costs and offering alternative platforms for distribution. A growing variety of international film festivals are widening the distribution possibilities.BirdsEyeViewisthefirstmajorwomen’sfilm

festival in the UK. The 2009 event ran for nine days inMarch,with70eventsinLondonandcinemasacrossthecountry.Itreachedanaudienceof11,000.The Commonwealth Foundation supported women film makers from developing countries to attend. It also supported a screening of three films:• “Goddesses”directedbyLeenaManimekalai,

India, 2007;• “RasStar”directedbyWunuriKahiu,

Kenya/South Africa, 2006;• “TheVegetarianSuperMachine”directedbyCamille

Selvon Abrahams, Trinidad and Tobago, 2007.

hits and MissesAccordingtocriticTamsynDent,LeenaManimakalai’saward-winningdocumentary“Goddesses”givesanentirely different perspective of Indian women then the traditional one we are used to seeing.

“This documentary looks at the lives of three women; Lakshmi, a professional funeral singer and

canny businesswoman; Krishnaveni, a grave digger who is given the abysmal task of taking unclaimed bodies in whatever state and burying them with herownbarehands;andsea-goingfisherwoman,Sethuraku, who was given a man’s profession by her uncle in order to survive and support her family. These women are incredible: hilarious, cunning and strong.Theyeachdisplaypowerintheirownself-awareness and assertiveness.”

Moreinformation,includingshortvideosonBirdsEyeView Festivals (2008 and 2009) can be accessed from www.birds-eye-view.co.uk.

Roadmap for growthThevastmajorityoftoday’scitizenssurvivebywork-ing in the “informal” – unregulated economy: 92% of people in India, and 28m migrant workers in the developingworldalone.Meanwhile,unequaltradeliberalisation favours manufactured goods rather than primary commodities and trade barriers cost developingcountries$100bnayear,twiceasmuchasthey receive in aid. This makes it hard for developing Commonwealth countries to overcome debt.

TVET(TechnicalandVocationalEducationandTraining) has emerged as an important strategy for changing this picture to produce a workforce that can breakoutofthepovertytrap.A1999studyofnearly100countriessuggeststhatSub-SaharanAfricacouldhave added several percentage points to its growth rates, had it invested more in girl’s education and women’s formal sector employment. There are 30m children outside school and in the workforce worldwide (two thirds of them girls). So what are themostpromisingapproachestoTVETdelivery,particularly for women and girls? What curriculum innovationshaveworked?HowcanTVETinstitutionsmake globalisation work for them?

teaM tvet These were some of the questions tackled in December 2008 by CAPA, the Commonwealth Association of Polytechnics in Africa, at their conference in Banjul, The Gambia. Seventy participants from eight African countries took part. A grant from the Commonwealth Foundation ensured the participation of seven international delegates, five of them women.

MultiplierCAPAhasamembershipof120institutions;itimpacts10,000teachersandinturnastudentbodyof250,000.Thismakesitamajorplayeralongsidethe Association of Commonwealth Universities, the Commonwealth of Learning and the 28 providers of the Commonwealth Diploma in Youth Development Work. All of these networks are using information

and communications technology to embrace Open and Distance Learning (ODL).

Tertiary education institutions are recognised as key partners in the Commonwealth Plan of Action forGenderEquality;andtheCommonwealthPlanofActionforYouthEmpowerment.TheCommonwealthstresses the importance of women’s technical education not only for employment, but also for enabling women to shape political and economic policy. Governments make promises, but to deliver they must turn to skilled technicians.

Joining Hands for Peace swift response“Until very recently, we in Ghana have enjoyed relative interfaith peace in comparison with neighbours such as Nigeria, The Gambia and Sierra Leone,”explainsHisRoyalHighnessTogbeKwameAkoto V. “This was shattered in late 2008 when violence broke out between traditional worshippers and Christians in my area (Tanyigbe, Volta region).

“A traditional masquerade was unmasked by some Christian adherents – which was felt to be a violation. For their part, the Christians felt the masquerades disrupted their outdoor worship. There were injuries and a number of churches were burnt down; it took the intervention of us community leaders to stop the conflict spreading.”

Building on crisis talks, in January this year the Commonwealth Foundation funded a workshop for thirty media professionals, community and faith leaders from Ghana – also The Gambia, Cameroon, Nigeria and Sierra Leone. The meeting was spearheaded by Ghanaian NGO Royal Care and Support,ofwhichKingAkotoVisExecutivePresident.The main goal was to create a network capable of keeping interfaith dialogue going on a continual basis.

respect and understanding“Respect and Understanding” and interfaith dialogue have become Commonwealth watchwords inrecentyears.In2007ahigh-levelCommissionchairedbyNobelPrize-winnerProfessorAmartyaSenreleased a report on the issue, “Civil Paths to Peace.” Inresponse,CommonwealthHeadsofGovernment,meeting in Uganda agreed to extend the conflict prevention side of their work – with young people, women, education, and the media as priority areas.

The Commonwealth Youth Programme held consultations on the issue in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and the Pacific, and peacebuilding be-camethethemeoftheCommonwealthYouthMinistersMeetingin2008.

Reporting to another prominent Ghanaian, Kofi Annan,theUNfoundin2005that“Relativelycheapinvestments in civilian security through police, judicialandrule-of-lawreform,localcapacity-building for human rights and reconciliation [and for] public sector service delivery can greatly benefit long–term peacebuilding...Failure to successfully implement such programmes will result in youth unemployment and fuel the development of criminal gangs and violence and ultimately a relapse into conflict.”(UNSecretaryGeneral’sHighLevelPanel on Threats, Challenges and Change)

06 COMMONWEALTH PEOPLECULTURE

Audienceatthe2009BirdsEyeViewFilmFestival,BFISouthbank.London.

Young men complete part of their metal work course in Northern Uganda.

Goddessesdir.LeenaManimekalai

07COMMUNITIES& LIVELIHOODS

how to spot a MegacityThe Commonwealth’s megacities are Delhi, Mumbai,andKolkata(India);Karachi(Pakistan);Dhaka, (Bangladesh); Lagos (Nigeria); and London (UK).Someofthesearegrowingat4-5percentannually. Nine new megacities are emerging in India and Pakistan.

built environMentThis is a huge human development challenge. The world’s slum dwellers increase in number by 25millionayear:peoplewithlittleornoaccesstoproper sanitation, education, healthcare, or the formal economy. In the longer term the land and water use, enegy efficiency and carbon footprint of these settlements will determine whether humankind can develop sustainably – or will “reap the whirlwind” of extreme climate change. Today, cities are responsible for three quarters of greenhouse gas emmissions.AccordingtoNickyGavron,formerDeputyMayor

of London, “Leadership from national governments is crucial in tackling climate change, but when it comes to practical action on the ground, cities are centre stage.”

visionariesInNovember2008,150leadersfromgovernment,civilsocietyandbusinessmetatXochitlaEcologicalPark,Tepotzotlan(Mexico)todiscusstheissue.TheCommonwealth Foundation funded NGO leaders from India, Pakistan and Nigeria to take part. UsingMexicoCityasanexample,participantsexplored the challenges and opportunities presented by rapid urbanisation, and discovered what kind of leadership skills are needed to bring about sustainable solutions.LEADInternational,theorganisers,havebeen

trainingmid-careerprofessionalssincetheRio EarthSummitof1992.“Youcanalwaystellwhenthere’sacadreofLEADpeopleinanorganisation,”saysMauriceStrong,UndersecretaryGeneralat the United Nations. “It changes that organisation. It gives it a new life, new energy and frankly, new relevance.”RtHonMichaelMeacherMP,theformerUK

MinisteroftheEnvironmentagrees:“Weneedleaders who can inspire people; who are well informed on the issues; who are committed andmotivated.LEADisexactlytherightkindoforganisation.”

Megacities and Climate Change

For the first time in history, more people are living in cities than in rural areas. The UN forecasts that today’s urban population of 3.2 billion will rise to nearly 5 billion by 2030, when three out of five people will live in cities. Although most of the growth will be in “small” cities of 1-2 million inhabitants, there are also the “Megacities” – metropolitan areas with over 10 million.

as commonwealth people goes to press, we anxiously await the united nations climate change conference, to be held in copenhagen, denmark, in december 2009.• InMay,CommonwealthHealthMinistersfocused

on climate change at their annual meeting in Geneva,Switzerland,andcalledonCommonwealthHeadsofGovernmenttoforgestronginternationalclimate change arrangements that will support the smallest, poorest and most vulnerable regions.• InJuly,Secretary-GeneralKamaleshSharmatoldCommonwealthMPsgatheredintheUKthattheworld is looking to parliamentarians to work in committee, to vote budgetary resources and to support action at national level.• Septembermarkedthetwentiethanniversay ofaCommonwealthwake-upcall.‘ClimateChange:MeetingtheChallenge’wasa1989studywhich concluded that the world’s poor would be the “main victims”. In the annual Commonwealth Lecture this year, Terry Waite called climate change “priority number one”.

responding to criticisMAll eyes are on international air travel as one of the largest and fastest growing sources of the climate change gas, carbon dioxide. In 2003 the industry, with support from the UK government, set up The Travel Foundation, an independent charity, to try and understand, manage and take effective action on sustainable tourism. Six years on, they have a full programme of activities with projects in thirteen countries.

This year the Commonwealth Foundation joined forces with them to support a study visit, aimed at spreading sustainable farming practices from The Gambia in West Africa to Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean.

“Gambia is Good” (GIG), a model farm which sold almost £80,000 of produce to hotels and restaurantslastyear,hasbeenparticularlysuccess-ful in working with youth and women farmers developing new crop varieties and strands that are resistant to climate change and drought.Micro-gardeningisanotherinnovative

production technique which focuses on growing crops on simple tables using local resources such as rice hulls, ground nut shells, or gravels as a soil replacement.TheGAMHORTMicro-gardening Project is aimed at alleviating poverty and food insecurity among vulnerable communities in peri-urban,urbanandruralareasofTheGambia. The150beneficiariestargetedincludehouseholdwomen without access to land, unemployed youth aswellaspeoplelivingwithHIVandAIDS.

travel broadens the MindHavingvisitedGIG,RebeccaBainesofTobago said, “The trip not only brought new ideas to me butitwasalsoalessoninhistory.Exchanges should be encouraged as the lessons learned cannot be obtained through reading a document.”

FOCUS

Countdown to Copenhagen

» cliMate change

November 2009

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Cover image SIERRALEONE,FreetownThe Single Leg Amputee Sports Club play football on the beach.

Photographer:SvenTorfinn,2005© Panos

The Commonwealth FoundationMakingconnectionsforabetterworld

Funded principally by Commonwealth governments, we work to make civil society organisations stronger, so that they are inabetterpositiontosupportcitizensandgovernments.We work in four programme areas: culture, governance & democracy, human development and communities & livelihoods.Grant-givingisavitalpartofourwork.Ourgrantsenable organisations to learn from and be inspired by the work of other organisations.

We bring people together. We make people’s voices heard. We encourage sharing of knowledge and learning.

The views of the contributors to Commonwealth People do not necessarily reflect those of the Commonwealth Foundation © November 2009

08

Friends of the Commonwealth supports projects that strengthen livelihoods and give people a voice in determining their own future. Friends are ordinary people, just like you, unified by a desire to provide the knowledge skills and opportunity for disadvantaged people around the world to help themselves.

Taking action for those in need

Help make a difference Join us today

Membershipisfreeandopentoall.Toreceive regularFriends’e-newsletterupdatessimplysign up online or use this form. You’ll receive exclusive briefings and reports, event invitations, product discounts, opportunities to network and also to support the work of Friends and its partner organisations.*

* Some of these benefits are currently only available within the UK

Although Friends is a relatively new organisation, it already has Chapters in a number of Commonwealth countries and is planning to establish many more. Getting in touch with your national chapter couldn’t be easier.WritetoPaulEaston,FriendsoftheCommonwealth,MarlboroughHouse,PallMall,LondonSW1Y5HY oremailusatfriends@commonwealth.int

Many people in Commonwealth countries are unaware of their rights, or are prevented from demanding them. Opportunities to help themselves are a distant dream and the cycle of poverty remains unbroken, generation after generation.

Before I had nothing, but after attending the training from Pemba my life has changed. I have used the knowledge to start my own henna painting buisness. The income I get helps me to care for my family and send my children to school.”

Fatma Hamad Fatma took part in a women’s livelihoods project as part of the Pemba Panorama outreach programme, supported by Friends of the Commonwealth.

Friends of the Commonwealth support projects that have lasting impact, helping people around the Commonwealth exercise their rights to live in peace, to work and care for their families and to speak freely without fear of persecution.