We launched our flagship agricultural program PALM OUT POVERTY (POP) in September 2008.   Thanks to the generous support of many we have planted 27,000 oil palm trees in Ghana.  The POP campaign has, and will continue to bring, many sustainable benefits to the local communities in which the palm oil trees are planted.  These benefits include:
• Hiring local labor – in the aggregate 700 agricultural jobs;
• Development of self-sustaining infrastructure including power generation, processing mills, and repair facilities;
• Development of large scale infrastructure including roads and bridges.
• Development of  social Infrastructure including schools, medical centers employee housing, and clean water;
• Development of  small and medium enterprises (SME) in local and regional economies;
• Lowering the  local cost of processed crude palm oil and palm kernel oil  – currently there are no large scale producers to meet local/regional demand;
• Teaching best practices for environmental impact and resource efficiency to neighboring smallholder farmers ;
• Establishing a model to support local farmers, assisting in building scale and assuring the community buyer that we will be a fair trade purchaser

In addition the POP campaign will provide long term support for program development and capacity building across the African continent in the areas of health, education and skills training/livelihood creation, clean water and micro-finance.  Thanks to your continuing support, in late 2010, we plan to expand cultivation of oil palm trees to Cameroon.

This fall we have are celebrating our second annual International Palm Out Poverty Week from September 28th through October 4th.   Please save the dates for this exciting weeklong festival to celebrate and raise funds for our POP campaign.

Bruce Wrobel 
Executive Director & Founder

Special Section on the New Economic Landscape of Africa

New York, NY, March 8, 2010 – As the landscape for economic growth on the African continent changes, All for Africa partnered with FORTUNE Magazine to tell this story.

The section represents the first time that FORTUNE has highlighted economic development on the African continent. The section features companies that are achieving success in developing natural resources, mobile telecommunications, finance, high-end agriculture and manufacturing; all with a focus on doing business with a comprehensive approach to sustainability and investment in local communities and social infrastructure.

One such example is told in the story of All for Africa, a New York based 501 (c ) 3 whose mission is to launch innovative projects that create sustainable local economies. All for Africa’s flagship program Palm Out Poverty was launched in September 2008. All for Africa, in collaboration with agribusiness company Herakles Farms, will fund the planting of 1 million oil palms in Ghana and Cameroon. The project will create hundreds of jobs and the revenues from the production and sale of the palm oil will be distributed to nonprofits and community level initiatives across the continent.

Companies throughout Africa are recognizing the value of doing business in Africa, and they are successfully accomplishing by partnering with local communities doing business in a way that is socially responsible and sustainable over the long-term.

All for Africa partners with the private sector to launch innovative projects that will help create sustainable local economies, thereby empowering African communities to better control their destinies. Our initiatives focus on health, education, skills training, clean water and micro financing on the continent of Africa.

For additional information contact Diane Laylin MacDonald at 212-351-0055 or download the PDF of the entire section HERE.

Dear All for Africa friends and supporters!

Thank you again for all your support in 2009.  With your continued support our Palm Out Poverty Initiative will allow 700 community projects/organizations in Africa to have greater long term impact by providing 30 years of operational funding. As we all know, many such projects/organizations constantly struggle to meet operational expenses thus affecting their stability and capacity to provide valuable services to the communities they seek to assist.  Our POP Initiative will avoid the “here today, gone tomorrow problem of philanthropic funding”

Last year All For Africa was able to award 11 beneficiary organizations trusts that will cover their operational expenses for 30 years.  These organizations were Georges Malaika Foundation (Congo), FACE AFRICA (Liberia),  Youssou N’dour Foundation (Senegal), Batonga Foundation (Benin), Christian Solidarity International (Southern Sudan), Little Sisters of St Francis (Uganda), Shine On Sierra Leone (Sierra Leone), The Zara Center (Zimbabwe), Miracle Corners of the World (Sierra Leone) and Our Reading Spaces (Kenya)

Let me share some thoughts about the POP Initiative from some of our beneficiaries

“The Palm Oil Trust that has really helped push the project forward. The security of knowing that our annual operating expenses, such as school maintenance, school supplies, curriculum elements, computer equipment, meals, etc. will be covered gives the organization a tremendous peace of mind in terms of the sustainability of the project. Thus, our focus can be placed on what matters most: development of a strong academic program and teachers, development of community skills and development of young minds, as opposed to fundraising. This assurance has been of tremendous influence in our subsequent fundraising efforts as the Palm Oil Trust stamps the project with longevity.” Noella Coursaris Musunka, Founder, George Malaika Foundation

“I believe there are two types of non-profits in the world. Those who have extensive resources and investments and those who are in an endless chase after donor dollars. Sadly, since we established four years ago, Youth Action International has been stuck in a position of being dependent on donor funding year after year. I’d like to see that changed, and the Palm Oil Trust through All for Africa presents the first major opportunity for us to do that.  With support from the Oil Palm Trust, YAI will become self-sustainable. Energies now used for an endless cycle of fundraising will go towards deepening and enriching our existing programs.”

Kimmie Weeks, Founder Youth action International

You can continue to support us by donating to our Palm Out Poverty Intiative.   Your donation of $20 will plant one oil palm tree. This oil palm tree will generate $20 of revenue every year for 30 years.  Your donation keeps giving !

Have a great 2010 !

Bruce Wrobel

Founder & Executive Director,  All For Africa

Thank you All For Africa supporters for wonderful 2009.   With your support we are making a great strides with our  Palm Out  Poverty Campaign.

Here is an update on the progress if our oil palm trees.

In 2008 All for Africa planted the first oil palm seeds in Ghana, West Africa. These seeds represented the first crops in All for Africa’s campaign to plant one million oil palm trees on approximately 17,000 acres of land in Africa. These germinated seeds or seedlings were planted in Nkwanta district in the Volta region.

These seedlings were planted in small black polybags. The polybags were kept well watered prior to the commencement of planting. This stage is known as the pre-nursery stage. These polybags were put under a shelter for 3 months. After 3 months, these plants were moved from the shelter to the field replanted into larger polybags in a specially prepared field nursery. The batches of seeds that were planted in October 2008 will be planted in their permanent field locations in the next few months.

In 2009 All for Africa in collaboration with its corporate partner, SG Sustainable Oils have managed to plant an additional 150,000 seeds at our Volta region location. The first production of palm oil is scheduled for the 4th quarter of 2012.  To date the nursery operation in Ghana has created nearly two dozen jobs.

In 2009, we also had a successful International Poverty Week.  The week was marked with various  fundraiser events  in New York city and around the country.  We were have also grown our Associate board.  We  are pleased to announce that we have five new Associate  board members.

In 2010 we look forward to All For Africa ’s feature in  Fortune Magazine in March,  the monthly Africa After work mixers, All for Africa’s participation in the New York marathon and  International Palm Out Poverty  Week !

Thank you again for a wonderful 2009.  Happy holidays and prosperous New Year

Bruce Wrobel,

Executive Director

“I traveled to the Congo with All For Africa grantee Noella Coursaris Musunka and Khaliah Ali, daughter of Muhammad, to attend the ceremony where the first stone for the Georges Malaika Foundation school was to be laid. Our trip also happened to coincide with the 35th Anniversary of Khaliah’s father’s fight versus George Foreman (The Rumble in the Jungle). I knew that the moment would be extremely significant for Noella and the GMF team after all of their hard work publicizing and raising funds for the school.  I didn’t realize, however, how significant the moment would be for the rest of those present.

“We arrived at the grounds quite early that Tuesday morning after a journey through villages and small townships. I was wholly expecting to be the first person there, but as our jeep pulled up, I mistook the school site for something else – a construction zone or a circus! There were cement workers making final preparations for the laying of the stone. There were village school children lining up and rehearsing their performances. There were local musicians in traditional costume singing as loudly as humanly possible. And in the middle of it all were Noella and Alexander, both running around like mad!

“Anyhow, the ceremony was a resounding success. Hundreds of people were in attendance including Governor Moise Katumbi. The ceremony was filled with joy and one could clearly feel the tremendous gratitude that the village of Kalebuka has for Noella and the entire GMF team. To see their faces of love was to feel the heart of the Congo.  Khaliah, the Governor and the other special guests were overwhelmed by GMF’s spirit of self-giving. I, myself, am extremely grateful to the GMF team for making this personal experience possible for me. And of course, none of this would have been possible without All for Africa!”

Sanjay Rawal

All for Africa was founded by the principals of Seacom. Seacom is the first fiber optic cable to bring high-speed internet to East Africa. The 17,000 km fiber optic cable went live on Thursday July 23, 2009 connecting South Africa, Mozambique, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia,  Uganda, Burundi and Rwanda to India and Asia as well as Europe and the rest of the world.

“Today, is a historic day for Africa, and marks the dawn of a new era for communications between the continent and the rest of the world. Our tireless efforts of the past 24 months have come to fruition, and we are proud to be the first to provide affordable, high quality broadband capacity and experience to East African economies,” said Seacom CEO and All for Africa Board member Brian Herlihy.

The commissioning was marked with a live telecast by Tanzania President Jakaya Kikwete in Dar es Salaam with the media in Kampala, Maputo, Johannesburg, London and Marseille. President Kikwete explained that, until now, East Africa was the largest stretch of unconnected coast. “No more satellites,” he enthused, referring to the expensive way in which Tanzania connected internationally, prior to the launch of Seacom.

The cable will increase Africa’s bandwidth by 1000%.  Seacom is discounting the cost of bandwidth by 85% from current satellite rates making the internet affordable to many Africans.  In addition, Seacom is providing nearly free capacity to universities, schools and research centers making distance learning practical and affordable.

Seacom, All for Africa and its additional founding partners Sithe Global and Global Alumina, develop and implement successful projects that fit the goal of  fostering a growth of the middle class across the continent.  These projects are unprecedented in scale, creating infrastructure, developing capacity and providing for long-term sustainable growth in both for profit and not for profit sectors.

A heartful thanks all of our friends and supporters who voted for FACE Africa during the All for Africa Trust of the Month competition. I am so humbled by the outpouring of love and support.

When I first found out FACE Africa was nominated for the All for Africa Trust of the month, I was beyond excited and honored to be nominated with organizations like BATONGA Foundation and Shine on Sierra Leone, both of which are doing amazing work in Africa. But I knew we needed to do everything we could to win. $30,000 per year for operational expenses for the next 30 years is a tremendous sum! It will not only allow us to strengthen our capacity – human resources, systems, and infrastructure both here and in Liberia, but will also put us in a better position to carry out our mission and focus our other donor funds on core activities.

The trust from All for Africa will cover almost 100% of our operational expenses including wages for 17 staff members, rent, transportation, phone charges etc. This cost saving of $30,000 a year will allow FACE Africa to install two more water purification systems a year.

FACE Africa’s current focus is Water and Sanitation. According to UNICEF, consuming contaminated water or not having access to clean water causes over 80% of all illnesses in developing countries. Unpurified water causes diarrhea, dysentery, cholera, and typhoid fever among other diseases leading to mortality among children, the elderly and infirm. Nearly 90% of deaths from diarrhea-related diseases in children below 5 years old are due to unsafe water and sanitation. More than 1.5 million children under the age of 5 die from diarrhea annually because they either consumed unsafe drinking water or do not have adequate availability of water for hygiene purposes. In Liberia, years of civil war left the country’s infrastructure in ruins and for the majority of Liberians, ground water fetched from wells, streams, or rivers remain the primary source of drinking water.

To address this problem, we are installing water purification systems in Liberia based on a solar-powered nanoporous membrane.  The system is intended to be used in areas with poor quality feed waters such as surface water or ground and no conventional water purification technologies. The membrane known as Skyhydrant  can produce up to 20,000 liters of drinking water per day.  The system is sustainable: it can last up to seven years, requires minimal maintenance, and no additional power or conditioning chemicals.  Installing one Skyhydrant costs between $15,000 to $19,000 and our goal is to install three to five Skyhydrants per year in communities in Liberia, with a focus on schools, slums and orphanages. FACE Africa has began the installation of a Skyhydrant in small community in Bardnersville, Liberia with a population of 400-650. The system will fulfill the clean water needs of this community for more than five years.

I encourage all of our friends and supporters to bring the same excitement and vigor they brought during the voting process and purchase trees for the FACE Africa trust. Purchasing one tree is only $20, which automatically translates into $600! A great return on your investment.

Saran Kaba Jones

Executive Director, Face Africa

All for Africa Advisory Board Member and Actor Gbenga Akinnagbe talks about his involvement with All for Africa. In his latest movie project Gbenga stars in the action film “The taking of Pelham 1 2 3″ with Denzel Washington and John Travolta. The interview was conducted by Corey Fresh; host of the weekly Radio Show the Big Corey Fresh Show in New York.

All for Africa Board Member and BET’s Chief Correspondent Jeff Johnson talks about his involvement as a Board Member of All for Africa. The interview was conducted by Corey Fresh, host of the weekly Radio Show The Big Corey Fresh Show in New York May 2009.

The show host, Big Corey fresh, blends music with an entertaining format built on years of actively listening to his audience. It provides the right mixture of music, sound advice, celebrity interviews and news that cater all generations. For more info please visit www.godbrothersonline.com

Shine On Sierra Leone, a human service foundation that provides education, mentoring and nutritional support to schools in Sierra Leone constructed a school building using earth bags.  It was constructed using materials easily accessible to all -flour or rice bags and earth (cement, clay and sand) and a thin layer of top cement. Construction of the earthbag building was transformational for all involved. The building was made without power tools, but instead hand made tools. It is extremely strong, aesthetically beautiful, has permanent furniture (desks) and will be here for 1000 years. The idea was to use materials that are easily accessible to locals.

At first, the workers laughed at the idea of "building with bags" and very quickly, they became excited and took ownership in a way that brought the village together in an unprecedented way. They asked us if they could name the building "Unity Building" because all of the tribes felt united and that they were essential. The roof is traditional, as the intended dome shape took some getting used to in the village. However, due the huge success of this building, they now want build the first eco-dome village in Sierra leone. The dome will make the buildings very, very affordable, as the roof is usually the most expensive part. We are now looking to make the village a purely sustainable environment by installing permaculture. Photos of the new building were shown to the Vice President’s wife and she called meetings with everyone at the statehouse to see this slideshow. The statehouse (government), Unicef and Ministry of Education are thrilled with the design and have been taking back to back meetings to discuss using it as a template to rebuild Sierra Leone and its schools.
Thank you for All For Africa your support ~ financially and otherwise to make this possible, this is truly amazing!
The hole left by the removal of earth will be converted in to fish pond for the school by the Ministry of Agriculture!

Author Shine On, Tiffany