Goodwill Ambassadors - Match Against Poverty

What projects are funded by the Match?

The first "Match against Poverty" in Basel raised 1 million Swiss Francs, which UNDP allocated to projects ranging from the creation of small businesses for women to the construction of sports centres for street children and the disadvantaged in Brazil, the Comoros, Guinea Bissau, Morocco, Namibia, Sri Lanka and Vietnam. The outcome of the Madrid match funded UNDP projects in Haiti. The match in Madrid took place despite a bomb alert three days earlier at the stadium in Madrid. It was turned into a solidarity event open to all and spectators were invited to make a donation when they collected their entrance tickets. The Match raised 200,000 Euros. The Match in Dusseldorf raised US$450,000 through net profits of ticket sales and distributed to projects in Ethiopia, Maldives, Burkina Faso, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo and Cuba.

In the Comoros, micro credit schemes allowed women to set up small businesses and improve their living conditions. Women participating in the programme had access to micro credit schemes to help them set up small businesses. The project trained 200 women in business administration and provided 100 female with financial assistance in order for them to manage their own business.

In Guinea Bissau, women were taught how to recycle plastic waste into crafts and art objects later sold for revenue. The project provided training to three separate women’s' associations located in Bissau, Gabu and Bafata to recycle plastic waste into artisanal and art objects which are then sold for profit. A similar project was executed in Benin with so much success that it won the IDEP award for 2002.

In Brazil, the “people theatre” in the Rio de Janeiro slum Cidade de Deus (City of God) was rebuilt through the NGO Crianza Esperanza to enable poor children and their families to have access to culture. This is the only open cultural space available in one of the biggest slums of Rio de Janeiro and it was inaugurated
by Ronaldo in January 2005.

In Namibia, 1,200 employees of 200 small enterprises, mostly women, were trained to better manage their business, get better access to credit and improve their position on the market.

In Vietnam, an innovative TV series on the MDGs mixing entertainment and education raised awareness among youth and engaged them into economic and social development activities. The TV series builds on the concept of a UN booklet “Thang's Journey” describing a young boy learning about the MDG’s and seeks to reach its young audience through a combination of entertainment and educational development information by using a group of Vietnamese celebrities who lend their fame to carry the story forward.

In Morocco, sports centres were built in lower-income communities, providing a range of physical activities for youth as well as training sessions for youth and adults on HIV/AIDS prevention, basic health, sanitation and preservation of the local environment.

In Haiti, 3.000 children of Cité Soleil, a shantytown in Port-au-Prince received didactic and scholastic material. Sanitations and health facilities were installed in the slums and jobs created for cleaning the environment and preventing infectious diseases.

In Sri Lanka, thousands of people benefited from water installation: deep wells, rainwater harvesters and irrigation systems. 44 community toilets and 75 sanitation facilities were installed. A home for the blind damaged by the tsunami was rehabilitated. 350 people received paid employment and construction training. The project was implemented the southern districts of Sri Lanka--Moneragala, Hambantota, Matara, Galle, and Ratnapura.

In Burkina Faso, handicapped women don’t need to beg anymore. The Association for the Handicapped Women’s Promotion (Association de la Promotion des Femmes Handicapées) provides them with an environment favorable to listening, exchanges, solving of handicapped-related problems, and also a framework to promote their rights. By the way of setting up of micro credit funds, women have lucrative activities in relation with the environment al protection such as the retrieval of plastic bags in order to produce crafts or the manufacturing of cushion and bed sheets.

In Colombia, 93 producers of guava - of whom 55% are women - strengthened their technique of guava’s production: they are trained to the irrigation mechanisms settled up and to the certification processes of the products. They can increase the productivity and the competitiveness of the guava’s production on the national market. Employments have been created in the steps of harvest and production to permit to fight against poverty in the area and improve the socio-economic living conditions of the population.

In Cuba, the convent Notre Dame de Belen, in the Old City of Havana, became a place for the realization of socio-cultural activities and rehabilitation for the local population. It’s a real living space of life where the elderly, the teenagers and the children meet, and a space for the handicapped persons and women. In this space, specialized cares are lavished to elderly and handicapped persons.

In Ethiopia, a music center for young blind people has been built and it offers a range of opportunities by the learning of music. The young blind persons can now take part of education programs in a playful way and increase their capacity to find a job.

In Democratic Republic of Congo, 40,000 inhabitants of the western province have an access to healthcare: inhabitants benefit now of a healthcare center. The access to the education is also improved: a primary school has been built for the 580 pupils, the 12 teachers and the 675 non-schooled children. This project contributes to the fight against the “school wastage”, the youth idleness and the improvement of the teachers’ living conditions.

In Bhutan, the project beneficiaries are poor households of remote communities of Athang Geog (sub-district) with particular focus on Olep minority group and the project is implemented with the Tarayana Foundation. Athang Geog is one of the most disadvantaged sub-districts of Bhutan in terms of access to road, market, education and health facilities. Thanks to the project girls and boys of Olep will have access to learning opportunities. It wills also enhanced vocational, arts and crafts skills of village producers with improved quality productivity and marketability and increase agricultural productivity and supplemental nutrition through diversification of agricultural products.