WHO WE AREThe Good Shepherd International Foundation is an Italian non profit organisationestablished in 2008 to support the missions of the Good Shepherd Sisters in thedeveloping world.

The Foundation is based in Rome and works in partnership with the Good ShepherdMission Development Corp. in USA and with the Good Shepherd partners in Africa,Asia and Latin America.

OUR GOALSEnsure economic and social justice for women and children who suffer fromviolence, abuse and exploitation worldwide.

Cancel the shame of human trafficking, a modern form of slavery.

Eradicate poverty through a fair and sustainable development.

Build a world of peace.

WHERE WE WORKAFRICA: Egypt, Senegal, Sudan, Kenya, Ethiopia, Angola, Mozambique, SouthAfrica, Madagascar, Mauritius, Reuinion.

ASIA: akistan, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Myanmar, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia,Vietnam, Korea, Philippines.

Middle East: Lebanon, Syria.

Latin America: Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Nicaragua, El Salvador,Colombia, Venezuela, Perù, Argentina, Paraguay, Brasil, Uruguay, Bolivia, Chile.

HOW WE WORKWe promote projects run by our global network of Good Shepherd partners basedin the developing countries.

We assess the needs of the local communities and plan our initiatives accordingly.

We fundraise for our local partners and apply for international grants from publicfunding agencies, private sponsors and NGOs.

We organise visits and promote the results of our projects to guarantee fullaccountability and transparency to our partners.

Taller San José, BoliviaEl Alto, Bolivia

UNITED IN GLOBAL SOLIDARITY

OUR PROJECTS FOCUS ON• Aid to women and children victims of abuse, violence, trafficking. We offer

shelter, legal and psychological counseling, training, assistance in finding a job.

• Community development through Income Generating Programs managed bywomen in areas affected by poverty and high unemployment.

• Social services in areas where local governments do not provide for the basicneeds of the population: healthcare, HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment,nutrition programs, orphanages, shelters for single mothers.

• Fair Trade Programs to help women and their families out of poverty throughhandcrafting work.

• Education and Vocational Training especially for girls and women at risk.

• Emergency relief for war refugees and victims of natural disasters.

• Education to Justice and Peace: campaigns, seminars, networking with localpartners; lobbying at national and international level on women’s rights andagainst human trafficking.

To support this initiative, The Good Shepherd International Foundation will collaboratewith Sharing Fair – an international network of solidarity constructed by the GoodShepherd Sisters for more than 20 years in Australia, USA, and Europe – to presenttraditionally hand-crafted products created at their international missionsat charityfairs, markets and other Fair Trade initiatives. The prime objective of Sharing Fair inItaly is to tell the stories and celebrate the work of the thousands of women that evenwhile living in adverse conditions of poverty, violence, and isolation still manage tocreate admirable handy-crafts by means of traditional techniques using raw ordiscarded recycled materials.For these reasons, their products tell stories and reflect their dignity, determination, andhope. Thanks to Sharing Fair, these women manage to break the cycle of poverty andmanifest their creativity and talents by believing in themselves and in a hopeful future.

“As an NGO in consultative status at the UN, we work towardthe realization of gender equality and we affirm the needto prioritize women and girls’ equal access to education, fullemployment and decent work.”

WWW.FONDAZIONEBUONPASTORE.ORG UNITED IN GLOBAL SOLIDARITY

Kipsongo slum, Kitale, Kenya Nong Khai, Thailand

ECONOMIC JUSTICEFOR WOMEN AND CHILDRENFor women and children in most parts of the world, poverty is the major enemy.Whether this poverty is caused by the behavior of governments or major globaleconomic players, by war and violence, by natural disasters, or by the corruptionof national leaders – the effect on the lives of the people is the same.

They suffer malnutrition, ill health, unemployment, illiteracy, homelessness, anxietyfor the future of their children. Women and children are the ones most likely to bearthe heaviest burdens of poverty.

Many countries with underdeveloped economies cannot offer social protectionto the most vulnerable who are unemployed or whose income is severely reducedbecause of the decline in the demand for unskilled labor, the soaring prices of foodand the loss of land, to name but a few factors.

On the other hand, globalization offers new possibilities for cooperation. GoodShepherd partners work in more than 70 countries to maximize these possibilities,providing economic opportunities and independence for women, access toeducation for children living on the streets or in remote rural villages.

< Roueisset , Beirut, Lebanon Nong Khai, Thailand

UNITED IN GLOBAL SOLIDARITY

Good Shepherd partners run income generating programs, micro-finance and fairtrade projects since 1997 in cooperation with women living in poor communities,helping them break the cycle of poverty by using their skills and cultural traditionsto market and sell authentic crafts. These women gain economic independenceand justice for themselves through dignified work in cooperatives and associations.Many of these projects need help in opening or strengthening markets outsidetheir local areas.

With the support of a global network of partners we want to play our part in helpingglobalization work for the poor of the world.

HOW WE OPERATE• We improve access to basic services such as shelter, clean water, food, healthy

living conditions, literacy for women and children living in the poorest ruralcommunities and in the city slums of, to name a few, Sudan, Senegal, Angola,Mozambique, Kenya, India, Thailand, Myanmar, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua,El Salvador, Brasil, Chile, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador.

• We offer concrete opportunities to gain economic independence employingwomen in Income Generating Programs in Kenya, Bolivia, Mexico, Uruguay,Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Senegal, Thailand, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka,Philippines, Paraguay.

• Our micro-economic projects combine vocational training, micro-credit andmarketing to obtain long-term effects for the women and their families.

• We strive to widen and strengthen our fair trade markets for crafts producedby our partners in Philippines, Madagascar, Kenya, Thailand, Peru, Paraguay, Chile,Sri Lanka, Senegal, Mexico, India, Indonesia, Ecuador.

• We run protection programs for street and working children in Colombia, Chile,Peru, Ecuador, Brazil, Nepal and India, providing them with life skills, access toeducation and vocational training.

To all our partners we offer training, counseling and economic support to expandand improve their skills, develop creative ways of processing products, by gainingaccess to national and international markets so as to improve the incomes oftheir families.

“(…) having helped thousands of individual girls out of chronicpoverty through a wide variety of education, training andmicro-finance programs we affirm that time has come to havesystemic and structural change. A girl-centered, rights basedparticipatory approach to development is the way forward.”

Kangeta, Kenya

THE STORY OF LUCYone of the beneficiaries of the Kiondo Basket Weaving project in Embu, Kenya

Lucy has been married for fifteen years and she has enjoyed her marital rights until herhusband died. According to the traditional habits of Embu people, the brother of thehusband inherits his widow.

Lucy stood firm on her Christian values and nothing could convince herto compromise her faith for the sake of traditional culture. As a result, she was kicked outof her house together with her five children and her property was taken away by the brother-in-law. She went to her parent’s home and she was not accepted by her own brothers.Traditional culture dictates that women cannot inherit property from their parents either.She went to seek legal assistance, but at the same time she needed a shelter for her family.For more than two years her case has been carried forward.

Lucy rented a small to shelter her family of five, but she was unemployed. She had littlealternative to prostitution which she embraced without the consent of her conscience.She talks about it with a lot of pain and tears.

Lucy’s story is the story of hundreds of women in Karurina village, near Embu.

Thanks to the Good Shepherd Sisters’ “Kiondo basket weaving project” 10 of these womenhave now a chance to get training and credit to begin small businesses in basket weaving.

WWW.FONDAZIONEBUONPASTORE.ORG UNITED IN GLOBAL SOLIDARITY

WORK AGAINSTHUMAN TRAFFICKINGAND VIOLENCE ON WOMENAND CHILDRENThe Good Shepherd Sisters have a proven track record in working to eliminate thecommercial sexual exploitation of women and children in Europe, USA, LatinAmerica, Asia and Australia.

To reinforce its actions at the global level, the Good Shepherd Sisters haveestablished an NGO office at the United Nations which runs campaigns and advocacyinitiatives encouraging the international community to take concrete actions allowingwomen and children everywhere to enjoy their fundamental rights, free from all formsof commercial sexual exploitation.

We know that a significant portion of those who end up being trafficked originate aseconomic migrants, refugees and displaced people.

At present, human trafficking is a $10-billion-plus growth industry with estimatesranging from 700,000 to 2 million people (primarily women and children) traffickedinto slave labor or sexual exploitation annually.

Good Shepherd people’s approach to this phenomenon is based on the developmentof the whole person. Through various responses, according to specific needs anddifferent legal frameworks, our projects offer shelter, healthcare, education andtraining to victims of trafficking to effect positive and long-term changes in their lives.

This is made possible, in the first place, by helping them grow towards a sense of self-worth, by treating psychological traumas and illnesses (especially for women withHIV/AIDS), then developing literacy and professional skills as well as providing daycare for the women’s children and for orphans.

Our partners run programs worldwide raising awareness of violence and abuse byhelping women to improve their health, by informing them of their reproductiverights, and by challenging the traditional customs that are harmful to them, such aschild marriage and dowries.

With the support of our global network we wish to play our part in offering concretealternatives to break the cycle of trafficking and abuse of women.

< El Alto, Bolivia

“Adopting short-sighted economic and educational policies that arenot protective of dignity and human rights prevents societies fromachieving the goal of gender equality and the empowerment of women.”

UNITED IN GLOBAL SOLIDARITY

HOW WE OPERATE• We build shelters to offer better access to healthcare, psychological and legal

support, education and training for a larger number of women who leave prostitution.

• We offer training and micro-credit to start small business to women seekingsources of income alternative to prostitution.

• We offer access to medical services for women and children with AIDS/HIV aswell as orphans of AIDS.

• We offer training and micro credit to women living in rural villages to start upsmall trade and income generating activities to avoid leaving their towns orcountry and being trapped into trafficking and slavery.

• We offer legal and psychological assistance to women and children victim ofdomestic violence.

• We run advocacy campaigns to inform girls and women in the poorestcommunities about civil rights to free their lives from violence, domestic abuse,harmful traditional practices and discrimination.

• We support associations of women and cooperatives to take an active partin the social and political life of their communities.

WWW.FONDAZIONEBUONPASTORE.ORG UNITED IN GLOBAL SOLIDARITY

THE STORY OF C., FROM THE PHILIPPINES

My story began when I was 17 and I ran away from home and entered the sex trade inOlongapo. It was through the bar visits of the Good Shepherd Sisters’ organization TW-MAE-W that I have been sought out. I was convinced to attend courses at their drop-incentre and before long I agreed to apply for the second phase of the program in Quezon City.I realized how lucky I was to be given a chance like this.

I was determined not to go back to prostitution ever again. I told myself no matter what Ihad to undergo, there was something for me in this organization.Although there were times when I felt like quitting, I held on. In 1992, I was given a chanceto be a Group Aide. From then on more blessings came my way.For instance, I received a scholarship to finish high school and attend college. Then I tooka driving licence and training in computer and acupressure.

I was among the 24 girls that attended the NGO Forum onWomen in Huairou, China, in1995. No less than Queen Fabiola and her Belgian entourage graced our presentation.We received a standing ovation. In 2004, I spoke at the World Social Forum in Mumbai,India. I gave public testimony that building “Another World is Possible” based on myexperience at TW-MAE-W which thought me that another world for the sexually exploitedand abused women is possible.I spoke with great confidence on behalf of women who had passed from darkness to light.

Roueisset, Beirut, LebanonChiang Rai, Thailand

Nong Khai, Thailand Kitale Shalom Farm, KenyaManila, Philippines Nong Khai, Thailand

HOW CAN YOU HELP?• Sponsor a project in a country you are particularely interested in.

We willl send you regular updates, pictures and reports.

• Make a DonationWe are a non profit organisation registered in Italy and in US.

You or your company can get tax deductions for your gifts.

You can send a donation by check or bank transfer to our Italian account:Account Holder: Fondazione Internazionale Buon PastoreBank: Popolare di Sondrio - International Account in EuroIT 36 D 05696 03207 000006805X22 - Swift Code:POSOIT22International account in USDIBAN: IT 36 D 05696 03207 VARUS 0006805 - Swift Code: POSOIT22

If you are based in US you can send money to our US account:Account Holder: GS Mission Development Corp.U.S. Bank 721 Locust St. Louis, MO 63101Account Number: 152307766658 - SWIFT Code: USBKUS44IMTRouting Number: 081000210

• Shop online onwww.handcraftingjustice.org or www.thetradingcircle.com

• Offer Your Time as a VolunteerJoin one of our programs where your skills are needed the most.

• LegaciesRemember us in your will.

Find out more on: www.fondazionebuonpastore.org

CONTACTSFondazione Internazionale Buon Pastore ONLUSVia Raffaele Sardiello, 2000165 ROMA, ITALIATel. +39 06 66179101 Fax. +39 06 66418864cristina.d@gssweb.org