“I am because we are.”

The feeling of fraternity is giving life to a new community, one that offers us the opportunity to dream together.

Imagine a place of peace and service, in which everyone sees themselves as brothers and sisters. This is Ubuntu Nation. It is being built next to a refugee camp in Malawi, and it sparks hope, inviting everyone to live joyfully in a peaceful new world.

The refugee camp has existed for 24 years, despite being built as a temporary measure in a moment of crisis. There is not enough food to go around, and the vast majority of children and young people have no access to education. There are no job opportunities within the camp, and refugees are not allowed to look for work outside its borders.

Our goal is to offer vulnerable children, young adults, Malawians and all 38,000 refugees in the camp a better quality of life through peaceful coexistence in our proposed Ubuntu Nation. As we work to present them with this proposal, we are listening carefully to their responses. We have already bought the land, and our next step is to build schools and workshops.

Ubuntu is being created as an act of love, and all hearts willing to love are invited to be part of the community, learning and helping to build it. Everything in it is for the greatest good: from education, to nourishment, to job training and workshops, to deepening the Ubuntu mindset.

The creation of the Ubuntu Nation community center is being coordinated by Clarissa, a volunteer devoted to Malawi. In September 2018, she was inspired to join forces with Fraternity Without Borders. Her selflessness and devotion to helping others have been of great benefit to the local community.

The Ubuntu Nation project envisions a new reality for refugees around the world. Yes, we want to change the world. We invite you to join us in forming a single global community.

Sponsor this cause. Help spread the word. Be a volunteer. Together, let’s sow fraternity.

 

The Houses of Heart Campaign was launched by the FWB to raise funds to enable the construction, and renovation of refugee families’ homes in Dzaleka Camp, Malawi, where we operate with the Ubuntu Nation project.

OUR HISTORY

Garden of Butterflies is a non-profit organization that started in 2016 when Aline Teixeira, a hairdresser from a little town called Caculé in the arid lands of the state of Bahia in Brazil, heard about the story of Natalia, a four-year-old child with Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB). EB is a rare genetic condition that makes the skin so fragile that it will tear or blister at the slightest touch. 

Aline then started a campaign to raise money to pay for the much-needed and expensive treatment for Natalia. However, during that campaign she started to receive messages from other families asking for help. At that moment Aline felt in her heart the call to assist other children with EB. So in 2017 “Jardim das Borboletas” (Garden of Butterflies) was officially born.

In 2018, when Fraternity Without Borders embraced this project, there were 12 children being assisted by Garden of Butterflies. Today we have 67 children in 15 states of Brazil being assisted with dressing supplies, medication, nursing care, ostomy technicians, psychological care, doctor’s appointment, and better living conditions.   

THE REALITY

Epidermolysis Bullosa is a genetic, non-contagious condition in which the skin is extremely fragile and frequently blisters all over the children’s bodies, due to rubbing, scratching, the use of tape to cover existing wounds on skin, or even exposure to heat. In severe cases it can also affect the mucous membranes of the mouth, throat, and digestive tract. Children born with EB are often called “Butterfly Children” because their skin seems as fragile as a butterfly’s wing. Since EB has no cure, the treatment focuses on relieving  pain, wound care, and reducing the risk of complications.

Due to the frailty of the affected skin, special silicone dressing is required to  protect the blisters and promote wound healing. The reality in Brazil today is that the government does not normally cover many aspects of EB treatment such as dressings and medication. A box of four 20 x 50cm silicone dressing costs around Ca$175 dollars here in Canada while in Brazil the same box will cost around Ca$570. Considering that a child needs at least one box of dressings a day the total cost of dressings for just one child can raise to over Ca$17,000/month, making it impossible for low income families to afford proper treatment for their children. 

OUR MISSION

Fraternity Without Borders Canada has included in its mission supporting Garden of Butterflies by helping to provide the much-needed appropriate  silicone dressings to impoverished EB children in Brazil which will give them a chance for a better life.

When Aline, the founder of Garden of Butterflies, was asked about what motivates her to keep going with her mission, her answer was, “It is the smile that each child gives when they are embraced by the project. That is what we want to show —The beauty that exists in each child with EB.”

Together we can provide a life full of care, smiles, love and hope for our Butterflies. 

Became a sponsor and be part of this movement of love.      

If you would like know more about our project Garden of Butterflies please contact:

Teresa Torres

Garden of Butterflies Coordinator

butterfly@fraternitywithoutborders.ca                     

The Reality

We arrived on the Island of Madagascar in February 2017, and encountered families living in extreme poverty, suffering from hunger and thirst, and with no hygiene. The only water available was from the puddles of dirt water from the rain and many of them would stay weeks without a meal.

Due to limited access to water, the population are not able to grow food, drink clean water, or keep appropriate hygiene. Therefore, leading to severe levels of malnourishment, dehydration, severe neuro-motor development delay, and diseases such as Taeniasis, Neurocysticercosis, Tungiasis, among others.

Our Actions

UNIT 1 – THE FIRST COMMUNITY CENTRE

We have opened two Community Centres in the city of Ambovombe. The first one, where the FWB’s headquarter in Madagascar is located, assists young children who used to be on the streets begging for crumbs. In addition, none of the assisted children were attending school due to the lack of access to school supplies and uniforms.

They now receive regular meals, hygiene care and participate in recreational and cultural activities. We also have bought school supplies, uniforms, and enrolled 357 children in public schools.

Furthermore, we have built two dental offices and volunteer dentists are bringing healthy smiles back to kids and adults of Madagascar.

Before FWB, many of Ambovombe’s children didn’t know what a toothbrush was. We have collected toothbrushes and toothpastes and taught them and their mothers about basic dental hygiene. Local multipliers were also trained to guide the community on how to maintain their oral care once the volunteers have left. 

FIELD OF PEACE

With help of volunteers and people of the community we have built, in a larger area, the second FWB Community Center, called Field of Peace. 

We are now assisting 3,000 people per day, mostly children and mothers with food and clean water. There, they are also able to brush their teeth, take showers and wash their clothes.

A health care clinic has also been built in the site to attend to the community. An average of 500 consultations and treatment per month are done by volunteers and health professionals travelling to Madagascar during humanitarian missions. 

Also, a pharmacy supported by donors was created to provide free medication to all those who are treated in the clinic.

Due to the high incidence of severe malnourishment, specially amongst children, a nutrition center has been set at Field of Peace. With help of health providers, we are bringing vitality of children and adults that suffered with severe malnutrition.

 

 

FRATERNITY CITY

After seeing so much need, new dreams of fraternity arose. A campaign for the construction of Fraternity City was launched, and with funds collected we were able to shelter 100 families previously living in extreme poverty in the villages of Ambovombe, on Madagascar Island. 

Today, all the families sheltered in the Fraternity City are able to cultivate their own food, have access to clean water, and are able to work at the workshops. Five workshops are available: soap, bio-charcoal, sewing, bakery, and sisal crafts.

In a system of co-op, families work together in those workshops and farming the land. The goal is to create a sustainable way of living giving the opportunity to those families to support themselves.

Fraternity City will continue to evolve to accommodate a new and improved health clinic, dentist office, pharmacy, physiotherapy clinic, and a school. Our goal is to uphold the lives of families living in extreme poverty giving them the hope of a better future nurturing the fraternity values in all of us.

DANILO FARIAS SCHOOL

On a visit to the Island, professional dancer Danilo Farias saw the need for children education and access to school. He left behind his dancer career in Italy to dedicate himself full-time assisting those children in Madagascar.

In 2013, Danilo decided to move to Madagascar island and by reaching out his family and friends he was able to find the resources to open the Danilo Farias School, enabling regular classes for children from north of the Island.

Fraternity Without Borders has become a partner in this project since 2017 and together we have built new classrooms, expanding education opportunities for children and young people.

In the school year of 2019, the Danilo Farias school had registered over 600 children. Becoming a sponsor, we can do much more together.