The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
Since 1997, IDEAS has been working around the world to transform the lives of the marginalized, lost and forgotten by meeting their physical, intellectual, social and spiritual needs. In 2000, 189 nations agreed to combine efforts to also work toward meeting the needs of the world's poorest.
"The MDGs represent a global partnership that has grown from the commitments and targets established at the world summits of the 1990s. Responding to the world's main development challenges and to the calls of civil society, the MDGs promote poverty reduction, education, maternal health, gender equality, and aim at combating child mortality, AIDS and other diseases.
Set for the year 2015, the MDGs are an agreed set of goals that can be achieved if all actors work together and do their part. Poor countries have pledged to govern better, and invest in their people through health care and education. Rich countries have pledged to support them, through aid, debt relief, and fairer trade." http://www.undp.org/mdg/
Find out how IDEAS is working towards these goals:
Goal: To drastically reduce the number of people
who struggle daily for survival
- Job Creation: IDEAS is committed to developing businesses that train and employ those in the local community. Currently, there are successful IDEAS businesses in Egypt, China, India, Kazakhstan, Mauritania and Djibouti.
- Nutrition Education: IDEAS Associates work directly with local communities teaching them about proper nutrition and hygiene. A large program is currently underway in India.
- Agricultural Training: One of IDEAS' largest projects is the Central Asia Harvest Project (CAHP). The CAHP comes alongside local farmers and provides training on grafting, soil rotation, planting and pruning to yield maximum harvests. Marketing and sales training is also provided.
Goal: To provide every child
the opportunity to go to school
- Teacher Training: IDEAS Associates provide training for national teachers in India. Higher education training is available in Kazakhstan.
- Curriculum Development: New curricula are being developed regularly to meet the needs of children around the world.
- New School Buildings: Together with partner organizations, IDEAS has created over 90 new schools within India and China. These schools are currently educating over 20,000 students with a goal of reaching over 200,000 students in the next 15 years.
- Teacher Staffing: IDEAS Associates are teaching students within schools in India, China and Morocco.
- Special Needs Education: New educational programs are forming in Tunisia and Lebanon for special-needs children.
Goal: To ensure that women and girls
are given opportunities to improve their quality of life
- Women's Empowerment: In conjunction with partner organizations, IDEAS Associates have helped form the Dalit Transformational Project in India. One component of this project educates, trains and empowers women to own their own businesses and addresses such issues as healthcare and child development.
- English Language Training: Oasis Books and English Language Center in Mauritania, an IDEAS-run business, offers language classes specifically designed for women.
Goal: To reduce child mortality
from preventable causes
- Medical Care for Children: IDEAS Associates serve as physicians, nurses, physical therapists and nutritionists in places such as Mauritania, Bangladesh and China.
- Women's Health Education: Specific training is provided for women's health issues, including pre- and post-natal care, proper hygiene and nutrition. Projects addressing these issues can be found in the Philippines, Bangladesh, Mauritania and India.
Goal: To ensure that women
have safe pregnancies and childbirths
- Medical Care for Women: IDEAS Associates serve as physicians, nurses, physical therapists and nutritionists in places such as Mauritania, Bangladesh and China.
- Women's Health Education: Specific training is provided for women's health issues, including pre- and post-natal care, proper hygiene and nutrition. Projects addressing these issues can be found in the Philippines, Bangladesh, Mauritania and India.
Goal: To fight against preventable diseases
and to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS
- HIV/AIDS Education: Educational seminars and community training on AIDS prevention and treatments are underway in India, China and the Philippines.
- Medical Care for Preventable Diseases: IDEAS healthcare professionals in Bangladesh educate and care for patients with preventable diseases, such as malaria, tuberculosis and typhoid. The Clinic of Hope in Mauritania is treating a growing number of patients with diabetes.
- HIV/AIDS Hospital: A new HIV/AIDS hospital just opened in Dharmapuri, India, one of the largest AIDS populations in the country. IDEAS Associates serve as administrators.
Goal: To create healthy communities
with access to clean water and agricultural produce
- Water Purification and Filtration: Clean and accessible drinking water has been installed in such places as Sudan and China and purification techniques have been implemented in Mauritania.
- Sustainable Agriculture: Improved farming techniques and training are transforming communities in Kazakhstan and organic coffee growers in the Philippines are learning new ways to care for the environment while also marketing and selling their produce.
Goal: To partner with like-minded organizations to help transform lives into communities of contagious hope
- Current Partnerships: IDEAS currently partners with over 20 like-minded organizations who seek to transform lives and communities physically, intellectually, socially and spiritually.
- Future Partnerships: IDEAS is looking for organizations, congregations or individuals who want to work together toward meeting needs and transforming lives.
