OUR PARTNERS
In our 10 years of existence, we have experienced all kinds of partners and projects. We are proud of each organization’s dedication to solving critical problems in our communities and improving human well-being.
Current partners
Previous partners and projects
We have jointly run many successful projects with UNICEF Finland and had the privilege of working with our family companies, other foundations and other families. Here are some examples of those projects:
PROJECTS PREVIOUSLY SUPPORTED IN FINLAND
The Eva Ahlström Foundation has supported Children of the Station and SOS-Children’s Villages Finland in their work in Finland. Children of the Station works preventatively to create a healthy dialogue between adolescents and adults. The core mission of Children of the Station is to support the safe growth of children and youth, enable their and their families’ well-being, and inhibit social exclusion. The organization operates projects such as the Walkers Youth Café.
SOS Children’s Villages helps the most vulnerable children and adolescents in Finland — and the world — and works to enhance the well-being of families with children. They strive to give all children the opportunity to live as normal a childhood as possible, in a family and in a safe environment.
Additionally, the Foundation has supported work against domestic violence and diaconal work in Finland through donations to organizations such as Folkhälsan (www.folkhalsan.fi), and shelter homes in Pori and Helsinki (www.ensijaturvakotienliitto.fi) and Noormarkku parish.
PROJECT WASH (Water, Sanitation& Hygiene) IN MADHYA PRADESH,
INDIA 2011-2014
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The Eva Ahlström Foundation, together with UNICEF Finland and Lindström supported UNICEF India to strengthen and scale up WASH in School programme in the state of Madhya Pradesh. UNICEF provided technical support to GoMP, to accelerate equitable and sustainable access and use of safe water and sanitation facilities in schools, combined with the adoption of critical hygiene behaviours.
Innovative WASH-in-Schools approaches demonstrated in 150 schools and Anganwadi Centres as “model WASH schools”, benefited about 25,000 school and pre-school children and around 15,000 families. These demonstrations were very successfully used as a learning to influence government to scale up WASH in Schools in the state, using their own resources and institutional mechanism. The positive outcomes of the implementation of this project are not only seen in the 150 target schools but much beyond, at the state level. This project hugely influenced the Government’s priority to create a healthy learning environment in schools. It paved the way for the effective implementation of Child Friendly WASH components (as per the Right to Education act) across the State. Furthermore, the current Finnish NatCom supported project helped improve the enrolment rates of children in selected project schools (based on field report received from Guna and Shivpuri), especially of adolescent girls when reaching puberty, due to the improved, functional, child-friendly and gender-sensitive WASH facilities. Madhya Pradesh is one state where key components of project WASH in schools was included in the monitoring system of the Government’s Education Department. This model has been much appreciated by Government of India with a request to all states to replicate the same. The local government of Madhya Pradesh thereafter allocated 102 M USD for the implementation benefitting 10 million children.
WATER AND SANITATION PROJECT (WASH) IN RAJASTHAN, INDIA 2014–2017
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The WASH project was piloted in 750 schools in two regions, Udaipur and Dungarpur. 93,000 children from 30,000 families benefited including tens of thousands of teachers. The model has also been copied by other regional authorities with a further 28,000 children being reached. The WASH project in Rajasthan and its positive results have convinced the local authorities so far to contribute over $4m (2015) to rolling out the results to other schools in the region. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s campaign ”Clean India - Clean Schools” has similar aims and it is hoped that around 60,000 schools in Rajasthan will be able to benefit from the WASH-package, consisting of hygiene education, toilets, clean water and water racks. The pupils are then given the task of spreading their knowledge to their families and their local communities. This has been proven to be the most effective way to disseminate knowledge. The Eva Ahlström Foundation was able to contribute to the project thanks to an earmarked donation of a total of €200,000 from Ahlström-Munksjö Abp over 2014-2017
THE HAND IN HAND PROJECT IN ODISHA, INDIA 2015-2017
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This project has focused on the village of Bhasma in the district of Sundargarh, Odisha region. The overall goal of the project has been to improve the lives of the village’s nearly 5,000 inhabitants through a so-called Village Uplift Program The program aims to abolish child labour through persuading parents of the importance of sending their children to school to ensure a better future. The project also provides villagers with training in business, finance and marketing as well as giving them access to microloans. It is mostly women who receive this kind of help for starting small family businesses. Other activities included in the Village Uplift Program are health checks, training in basic hygiene and information on citizens’ rights.
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The overall goal of the project has been to improve the lives of the village’s nearly 5,000 inhabitants. Local residents have been recruited and trained as volunteers to drive the development forward when the project has come to a close. The project was realised thanks to an earmarked donation of c. €25,000 from Ahlström-Munksjö Abp.
THE HAPPY-PROJECT FOR DISABLED CHILDREN IN VIETNAM 2016-2019
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The August Ludvig Hartwall Foundation, the Eva Ahlström Foundation and the Paulig family support UNICEF’s work for disabled children in Vietnam through ”Inclusive education for handicapped children in Vietnam”. This project ran for three years and cost €35,000 per year per contributor, making a total of €105,000 per year. UNICEF’s main aim in its work on behalf of disabled children is to secure the earliest possible diagnosis for children with physical and mental disabilities. Early years and school education should be of high quality, support should be made available to all and as many children as possible should have access to inclusive education in order to develop into productive members of society.
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An important objective is to tackle the stigma attached to physical and mental disabilities. Many Vietnamese believe disabilities to be a punishment and a sign that the person has done wrong in a previous life, with disabled people consequently being the subject of great stigma. As a result, disabled people are often excluded from society, do not attend school and are not welcome at family gatherings. Through better information and improvements in the laws, it is hoped that society in Vietnam as a whole will become more inclusive. The official measurement of disability in Vietnam is narrow and does not include a number of learning disabilities or delayed development. Only children under 16 are included in the statistics for children. In spite of the narrow definition, the number of disabled people in Vietnam is above average. One contributing factor is the poison Agent Orange which the USA used during the Vietnam war. The poison causes health problems for many generations.