AMURT's center is situated just at the edge of the artificial lake of Bissiri, deep in the country side of Burkina Faso, 45 kilometers south of the capital, Ouagadougou. The land was donated by the people of the community, who hope it will spur development and help provide the basic necessities of life.
AMURT's involvement in the North Tongu District of Ghana's Volta Region started in 1990 in Mafi-Dekpoe with an educational campaign to combat the Guinea Worm menace. After employing meetings, house visits and theatre, the AMURT team soon realized that the best way to help the people would be to provide safe drinking water. A dam built by the Russians in the 1960's for agricultural purposes held enough water for a project to serve the ten villages. AMURT was able to build a water treatment plant using the slow sand filter technology to purify the dam water.
Recognizing that peer educator groups have a tendency to disband once a project ends or funding dries up, AMURT integrated income-generation activities into the mission of the Komango peer educator group as a pilot program to bolster their longevity. The group started small by selling sausages and porridge at youth-organized soccer tournaments, in addition to their normal responsibility of discussing HIV prevention with people attending the events.
The focus of the Center is to serve the impoverished rural villages of Barlovento through education, health, agriculture and cooperatives. Due to a legacy of slavery, poverty and unemployment, most of the Afro-Venezuelan villagers suffer from low self esteem and lack of opportunities to develop their potential.
AMURT in partnership with Kinder Not Hilfe and Catholic Relief Services run ten Child-Friendly Spaces in Port-au-Prince for 4,000 children. The purpose of the centers is to help children affected by the earthquake restore normalcy and improve overall well-being in their lives with psychosocial and educational support. Besides psychosocial, educational, and creative activities children in the Child-Friendly Spaces program receive nutritional biscuits in addition to a hot meal of rice, beans and vegetables.
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