Community development

Programme “Come and do! You can!”
(Latvia / 02.01.2015.)

Under the auspices of the programme, “Come and do! You can!”, financial support was provided to actively working non-profit organisations in cities and rural areas, whose diligent work enriches the lives of neighbourhood residents and which provide support to fellow citizens in their hour of need. 

Financial support was available to Latvian societies, foundations and religious organisations, which:

• provide support to expectant mothers and young families;
• implement initiatives in their work that support and benefit society, health, lifelong education, culture and the surrounding environment;
• promote an active lifestyle and spending quality free time among various groups of residents;
• implement animal welfare measures;
• implement initiatives in various cultural fields using a creative approach;
• provide the necessary social services to residents in the local community to improve their quality of life.

Under the programme, “Come and do! You can!”, the Boris and Ināra Teterev Foundation awarded financing to organisations registered in Latvia, which collaborate on a stable and long-term basis with the local municipality and/or governmental body and/or local businesses, and whose operating goal is to develop diverse initiatives in support of the active and healthy life of the local community. The minimum grant sum awarded by the Foundation - EUR 700; whereas, the maximum sum - EUR 7,000. At least, 10% of the total project financing must be comprised of co-financing from a local municipality or another organisation or collaboration partner.

In 2013 and 2014, the Foundation awarded grants to 102 organisations, totalling almost EUR 225,000 each year, for the fulfilment of their visions. A similar amount of support, also in 2015.

Important! In 2015, the programme “Come and do! You can!” is ended. 

Projects supported under the programme "Come and do! You can!", 2015 (in Latvian).
Projects supported under the programme "Come and do! You can!", 2014 (in Latvian).
Projects supported under the programme "Come and do! You can!", 2013 (in Latvian).

Support for agricultural development in Guatemala
(Solola region, Guatemala / 02.01.2014.)

In 2014, the Boris and Ināra Teterev Foundation began a two-year collaboration project with the organisation Global Fairness Initiative, implementing a programme in Central America for the benefit of the Mayan community in the Solola region of Guatemala.

Native communities throughout Central America have historically fallen victim to an institutional process of disenfranchisement. Mayan communities in Guatemala are largely comprised of unregistered farmers, 60% of whose means of subsistence are extremely limited. Statistics indicate that in Guatemala seven out of ten members of native communities live in poverty. Uneven land and inaccessible roads have long accentuated the disenfranchisement of local inhabitants.

The agro-industrial development programme is intended to benefit 300 small farmers in 34 Mayan communities in the Solola region. Its objective is to expand agricultural and business methods with a view to ensuring a better result, better quality and more competitive products, as well as to help to register a large number of the region’s small farmers. Under the auspices of the programme, several workshops, training sessions and round table gatherings will be held with the parties involved, in order to encourage the transition from informal and dependent farms to sustainable businesses capable of building strong and effective partnerships.

Support for a leadership programme in the waste recycling field in Peru
(Lima, Peru / 02.01.2014.)

In 2014, the Boris and Ināra Teterev Foundation began a two-year collaboration project with the organisation Global Fairness Initiative, which is implementing a programme in the Peruvian capital city of Lima in partnership with another organisation Ciudad Saludable.

There are approximately four million people living in South America who recycle waste (they are usually referred to as “rubbish collectors”) and 86% of them live in total poverty. Although waste is an important economic sector in the market, which brings revenue from big companies, only about 10% of waste recyclers are formally registered businesses, which allows them to benefit from the existing social security system, because they are competitive in the paper, plastic or glass recycling market. In addition to the economy, waste is a major environmental and health problem, because it is often incorrectly processed with the result that chemical and biological pollution enters the environment.

The leadership programme in the realm of waste recycling will help thousands of rubbish collectors in Peru to develop leadership skills. Waste recyclers will receive support in establishing micro-enterprises, cooperatives and organisations so that they can improve waste recycling and gain access to markets with whose help they will be able to increase their incomes. Programme participants will receive the necessary training in developing waste recycling businesses, as well as the organisation, health and safety of workers, as well as engaging the public in promoting the culture of waste recycling. In addition, work will be done on devising strategies for drafting legislation that benefits over 100,000 rubbish collectors or recyclers.

Support for farming communities in Guinea-Bissau, Africa
(Guinea-Bissau / 14.05.2015.)

In 2014, the Boris and Ināra Teterev Foundation began a three-year collaboration project with the organisation Global Fairness Initiative, which in partnership with the UN Development Programme and the National Agricultural Producers’ Association is implementing a programme in the Republic of Guinea-Bissau in the region of Bafatá and Gabú, as well as in the district of Suzana.

Guinea-Bissau is a state in West Africa (a former Portuguese colony, which gained its independence in 1973). By way of comparison, its total area amounts to 55% of the territory of Latvia and it has a population of 1.7 million inhabitants. Currently, the gross national income per capita of this African state amounts to just 6% of the equivalent figure in Latvia and its agricultural communities are the poorest. The representatives of these communities are unable to fully utilise their social and political rights. Living in extremely limiting conditions, they cannot gain access to government services and are unable to maintain a good quality of life.

The goal of the programme is to make crop cultivation more effective on rice, Indian nut and onion growers’ farms, as well as to reduce market barriers for small farmers, giving the poorest farms the opportunity to develop production and helping them to establish sales structures for the products they produce. This will allow these farms to better utilise the opportunities offered by the market and to increase their incomes, thus aiding their subsistence.

This programme will improve the return on investment of 3,000 farms, which will improve their productivity and the quality of products they produce, providing them with technical assistance and introducing financial mechanisms that support investments in production with added value. Programme activities will include: training, formation of production and processing sites, provision of support in building partnerships with financial institutions, and partnership building to support the production sector at national level.

In the first project, during the 2014 operating year, despite significant political changes the formation of state governance structures, several activities were carried out under the auspices of the programme including the purification of paddy fields contaminated with salt water, training for small farmers in farm diversification and in ways and means of increasing their harvest and improving their watering systems. A close partnership has evolved with the federation of rural women’s organisations APALCOF.

Schools for children living in brick kilns in Nepal
(Nepal / 14.05.2015.)

In 2014, the Boris and Ināra Teterev Foundation began a two-year collaboration project with the organisation Global Fairness Initiative, which, in partnership with the organisation Brick Clean Network, is introducing a programme among communities of Nepalese brick kiln workers living in the Kathmandu Valley.

The goal of the project is to provide basic education to at least 400 children who live and work in five brick kilns through the implementation of alternative education programmes, forming a bridge between the brick production season and the official school teaching year. Children will be provided with school transport, teaching materials and other items they need for school.

Obtaining a basic education gives the children of brick kiln workers future growth opportunities from an educational, economic and social aspect, ultimately offering them the chance to choose better living conditions.

With the increase in the population of Nepal and state urbanisation, construction has not only become Nepal’s third biggest economic sector, but is continuing to grow. High demand for construction materials has resulted in the formation of brick kilns and the need for cheap labour.

Although working conditions in the kilns are arduous, they do provide work for thousands of poorly qualified workers. During the brick production season from May to September, families of workers and their children move to live in the brick kilns. Out of 175,000 kiln workers, approximately 35% are school-aged children and adolescents, who work in quite poor and somewhat dangerous conditions, and often miss school, because of their need to work to subsist.

In April 2015, Nepal, including the Kathmandu Valley, was hit by a devastating earthquake. Our collaboration partner Global Fairness Initiative is ascertaining the consequences of this earthquake in the project implementation sites. Currently, some of the project’s activities have been suspended. In their place, efforts are being made to quickly establish homes and schools that are safe for living and education, so that Nepalese citizens from temporary sanctuaries can return home before the start of the annual rainy season. Then implementation of the educational project will restart on a full-scale basis.

Community philanthropy development programme 2012 - 2017
(Latvia / Talsis District Foundation Valmiera District Foundation / 01.02.2012.)

Objective – to strengthen and develop the concept of community philanthropy in Latvia/the Baltics, providing support for the development of existing community foundations and initiatives aimed at establishing new community foundations in Latvia’s regions.

Under the auspices of the programme, the Valmiera District Foundation and Talsis District Foundation operate as training bases and consultants offering advice on organising inhabitants’ forums and establishing new community foundations. In addition, financial support is provided to assist the operations of existing community foundations, as well as their development in accordance with special terms and conditions subject to competitive procedures. This support also aids the development of the mutual and international collaboration of community foundations and the exchange of their respective experience and best practices at Baltic level. Moreover, these community foundations are also given the opportunity to broaden their horizons and knowledge both in the West and the East, parallel to which, they are implementing educational measures aimed at developing understanding and skills in the realm of philanthropy.

In implementing the programme, the Boris and Ināra Teterev Foundation is collaborating with the community foundation movement. This unites Latvia’s community foundations in order to encourage philanthropy and the participation of residents in the development of their communities. The community foundation movement is the national centre of competences in the realm of community philanthropy. 

Support for the operation of the women’s disabled persons’ association “Aspazija” in Riga and at its branches in 11 regions of Latvia 2011/2013
(Riga / 01.08.2011.)

Project goals - to establish broader collaboration with "Aspazija’s" regional branches, ensuring the successful work of people with physical disabilities at the "Saulgrieze" retail outlet in Riga’s Central Market.