In response to the family separation crisis that has dominated the news, ICF announced a campaign to support immigrants and asylum seekers in our San Diego-Tijuana border community.
Immigration is at the forefront of our headlines, yet we rarely hear about the impact on our neighboring cities in Mexico, like Tijuana, where a robust network of grassroots organizations has been supporting migrants in transit and deportees for decades.
Thanks to the support of our donor community, over the past 8 weeks we have raised approximately $22,000 for two local organizations supporting migrants in San Diego: Casa Cornelia Immigration Law Center and San Diego Organizing Project.
Together with the $10,000 in grants from the Latina Giving Circle fund and $20,000 from a major donor, ICF has deployed $52,000 in support of immigrant communities in San Diego! We need your support for the important work that Casa Cornelia and SDOP are spearheading in San Diego. Their work is far from done.
On the other side, Tijuana's small but mighty network of civil society organizations has been welcoming migrants and deportees and making sure their basic needs are met. And now more than ever they need our help!
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July marks the month of homecoming to Barbuda. After Hurricane Irma devasted Barbuda’s housing and infrastructure, many of the 1600 residents who had stayed on the sister island of Antigua for work or schooling are expected to return home. They will find an island that remains severely damaged from 150mph winds that destroyed Barbuda in September 2017. For example, many homes are still without running water or power and the primary school is uninhabitable, requiring alternative learning spaces until a new school is built.
However, the people of Barbuda are strong and resilient. They work hand-in-hand with aid organizations to rebuild their island, one brick at a time. The Barbuda Recovery & Conservation Trust supports their work through diverse programming that includes education & tutoring, subsidized transportation, reconnecting houses to water and electricity, and working with the local community to build sustainable fish traps. To date, we have tutored over 40 students, connected 150 homes to utilities, subsidized ferry transportation for 150+ trips to Barbuda, and built 100 fish traps to improve local livelihoods.
Leon, pictured second from right, is a local fisherman from Barbuda. He lost all lost all fish and lobster traps during Hurricane Irma. Nevertheless, he was eager to return to Barbuda and make Barbuda a better, more resilient place. BRCT staff met Leon through our Fishers Livelihoods Recovery Program and hired him to spearhead the design and construction of sustainable fish traps. Over the past six months, Leon and his team built over 100 fish traps with biodegradable exits and 1-inch gaps to allow juvenile fish to escape and prevent unwanted fishing. These fish traps, coupled with on-going outreach with the Barbudan fishing community will strengthen local fish stocks and improve the island’s fisheries in the long-term.
As the Fishers Livelihoods Recovery Program, like many traditional aid and recovery programs, is nearing its end, we will continue to work with the people of Barbuda and local partners to identify most urgent needs and help make Barbuda more resilient. We want to thank our 530+ donors. Your continued support is needed and most appreciated.
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After the immediate basic needs were met and disaster response was in effect, ICF continued working with our grantees, local community foundations, and other funders in Mexico to identify opportunities to leverage funding and align our grantmaking with national-level reconstruction and rehabilitation strategies, prioritizing those that emphasize economic recovery, policy and advocacy work, and capacity building. Grants have included;
ICF is continuing to work with local and international partners to participate in higher level decision-making related to rebuilding efforts and development in Mexico, in order to identify and disseminate best practices and models across the country. Our goal is to promote the social reconstruction of communities through local community foundations and initiatives that promote the economic reactivation of the country by;
Key partners in these efforts were:
Documental Ambulante, A.C./Levantemos Mexico Campaign - Ambulante is launching two requests for proposals (RFPs); an Open RFP (for leaders, community foundations and nonprofits in the affected areas), and an Invite-Only RFP (for capacity building or "fortalecedoras sociales"). ICF’s grant to Levantemos will be sub-granted as part of both RFP processes, and ICF staff is participating in proposal selection process. We were part of the Technical Committee
After rigorously revising 134 applications, submitted to the Community Leadership (75) and the Emerging Social Actors (59) RFP, the results were:
Community Leadership will support grassroots and community organizations that are leaders in the effort to reconstruct communities at a local level. These organizations have experience in community engagement, in implementing projects or programs in the affected states, and have a focus on human rights.
Emerging Social Actors supports community initiatives and collectives which emerged as first responders in the aftermath of the earthquake. These are vibrant groups that emerged because of the emergency, have fostered engagement, built networks, commitment with the community, and have demonstrated leadership, innovation, and the potential to sustain a long-term project.
The projects began early June 2018.
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