Bee-coming the Change with Mercy Hands Europe & IACO


Yas Comez
14 November 2023


As some of you may recall, we partnered with Mercy Hands Europe and IACO to fund a project that supported beekeepers and farmers in the Aleppo region of Syria. We are pleased to share with you that we will be continuing this partnership and have approved to provide funding for the second phase of this project!



Beekeeping was a traditional industry in Syria and Al-Bab district before the war, producing honey, royal jelly, natural wax and propolis. 10 years of conflict have led to the collapse of the local economy and significant population displacements, both within the country and to neighbouring countries. The many years of instability have provoked a decrease of bees in the region, as well as less biodiversity. Bee colonies have been destroyed or neglected, with an 86% decrease in many rural areas. However, thanks to a successful fundraising campaign and IACO's technical expertise in agriculture – they were able to successfully launch a beekeeping training project in Al-Bab from April 2022 to March 2023 for 50 beekeepers. Due to the amazing feedback they’d received on this project, Mercy Hands and IACO have decided to continue by training a further 50 people – which will equate to 100 trained beekeepers in total by the end of the second phase!

The next phase of this project will focus primarily on the functioning of the artificial insemination center for queen bees, more sustainable methods of bee feeding, and the importance of the biodiversity of flowers and plants (which are necessary for pollination and bee health). A greenhouse will also be made available to the farmers and beekeepers, to ensure they are able to cultivate flowering plants each season.

The project will impact 400 people’s lives directly, with 100 of the people being beekeepers and 300 who are local farmers that are currently practicing beekeeping and will benefit from the distribution of plants. The 100 beekeepers are comprised of 50 beekeepers from the initial first phase of the project, with the additional 50 becoming new beekeepers who will be trained. Within this secondary phase, Mercy Hands and IACO aim to obtain gender equality by ensuring that 25 of the 50 beekeepers are women. The project will also indirectly impact 20,000 people’s lives!




We’re delighted to be supporting another phase of the beekeeping project. Stay tuned for the latest updates!

By Yas Comez October 17, 2024
In January this year, the EA Foundation awarded £25,000 to the Refugee Council towards its Refugee Advice Project (RAP). Last month, our Communications volunteer Yasmin Comez accompanied EA Foundation's Director Georgina Awoonor-Gordon on a visit to the Refugee Council at their offices in East London. Here, Yasmin reflects on the visit and the impact of our funding.
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Our Continued Commitment to Under-served Communities Trustees are excited to announce funding of over £1.3m to new projects across the globe. Richard Bronze, Chair of the Board noted: ‘As Trustees, we remain inspired by the ongoing commitment of our funded partners across the globe, working tirelessly to address a multitude of social injustices. We continue to learn and grow through our partners and look forward to seeing the impact in the lives of the communities we work with.’ We are pleased to present a summary of our new funded partnerships: Able Child Africa Project Summary: Testing a new approach of focusing on parents of children with disabilities (CwD) to address the barriers they face Location: Kenya Grant amount: £49,084 For more information on Able Child Africa’s work, please visit: https://ablechildafrica.org/ ADD International Project summary: Piloting a Global Disability Leadership Academy for young disabled people to support their leadership journey Location: Uganda, Bangladesh Grant amount: £35,000 For more information on ADD International’s work, please visit: https://add.org.uk/ Afrikids Project summary: Delivering the 'Every Child in School' programme – a catalyst for education reform in the overlooked and marginalised communities of Northern Ghana Location: Ghana Grant amount: £27,867 For more information on Afrikids’ work, please visit: https://afrikids.org/ BE REEL Project summary: Providing education for women in Gambia, previously uneducated or with minimal education, to enable them to run microbusinesses to improve their self-sufficiency and contribution to family income Location: The Gambia Grant amount: £28,940 For more information on BE REEL’s work, please visit: https://www.bereel.org/ Chance for Childhood Project summary: Promoting Inclusive Education in Greater Accra Location: Ghana Grant amount: £75,547 For more information on Chance for Childhood’s work, please visit: https://chanceforchildhood.org/about-us/ Concern Worldwide Project summary: Building community resilience and sustainable community led solutions for improved access to safe water and natural resource management Location: Liberia Grant amount: £47,000 For more information on Concern Worldwide’s work, please visit: https://www.concern.org.uk/ Fields of Life Project summary: Improving sanitation and hygiene for over 19 thousand adolescent boys and girls across 32 schools and addressing barriers to accessing education for teenage mothers Location: Uganda Grant amount: £45,680 For more information Field of Life’s work, please visit: https://fieldsoflife.org/ Frank Water Project summary: Working with over 10 thousand people in the drought-prone Indian state of Maharashtra to support them in sustainably managing their limited water resources Location: India 18 Grant amount: £63,281 For more information on Frank Water’s work, please visit: https://www.frankwater.com/ Health Poverty Action Project summary: Enhancing the quality and accessibility of Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health services in the pastoralist communities of Dolobay Location: Ethiopia Grant amount: £37,943 For more information on Health Poverty Action’s work, please visit: https://www.healthpovertyaction.org/ Mercy Hands Europe Project summary: Establishing a dedicated healthcare and protection centre in the Qabbasin – Al-Bab area of Aleppo Governorate, with a strong focus on the well-being of women and children Location: Syria Grant amount: £49,558 For more information on Mercy Hands Europe’s work, please visit: https://mercyhandseurope.org/ Mumba Children's Project Project summary: Providing vulnerable school children, female youths and women of rural Zambia with a source of water, an income generating activity and source of nutrition, enabling them to become productive and self-reliant Location: Zambia Grant amount: £16,000 For more information on Mumba Children’s Project work, please visit: https://mumbachildrensproject.org/ Railway Children Project summary: Preventing 400 children arriving alone and vulnerable at two of Delhi’s major railway stations from slipping into street life Location: India Grant amount: £35,000 For more information on Railway Children’s work, please visit: https://www.railwaychildren.org.uk/ Shared Interest Foundation Project summary: Reducing the poverty levels of 75 economically vulnerable women with disabilities in Burkina Faso through establishing a sustainable, organic vegetable production enterprise Location: Burkina Faso Grant amount: £41,044 For more information on Shared Interest Foundation’s work, please visit: https://www.shared-interest.com/gb Smart Girls Uganda Project summary: Scaling training for 100 youth in non-traditional STEM trades and distributing 1,000 Solar Smart Bag ((menstrual hygiene kit/backpack) Location: Uganda Grant amount: £47,553 For more information on Smart Girls Uganda’s work, please visit: https://www.smartsgirls.org/ Smiling Through Light Project summary: Utilising digital innovation and implementation of Pay as You Go (PAYG) Solar Home Systems to rural communities in Sierra Leone through a network of female sales agents Location: Sierra Leone Grant amount: £30,000 For more information on Smiling Through Light’s work, please visit: https://www.smilingthroughlight.com/ Sophia Akash Foundation Project summary: Delivering inclusive and equitable training for 200 marginalised women to adopt sustainable farming practices Location: India Grant amount: £50,000 For more information on Sophia Akash Foundation’s work, please visit: https://www.sophiaakashfoundation.com/ Syrian Forum Project summary: Transformative project designed to uplift women in northwest Syria by equipping them with essential digital skills crucial for the modern workforce Location: Syria Grant amount: £49,000 For more information on Syrian Forum’s work, please visit: https://syrianforum.org/ Tackle Africa Project summary: Using the power and popularity of football to reach 1,000 adolescents and young people with the Sexual Reproductive Health knowledge Location: Zambia Grant amount: £40,065 For more information on Able Child Africa’s work, please visit: https://tackleafrica.org/ Their Future Today Project summary: Pioneering the first foster and alternative care/kinship centre for children currently in institutional care settings Location: Sri Lanka Grant amount: £50,000 For more information on Their Future Today’s work, please visit: https://www.theirfuturetoday.org/ UK for UNHCR Project summary: contribution to the Middle East Appeal Location: Middle East Grant amount: £20,000 For more information on UK for UNHCR’s work, please visit: https://www.unrefugees.org.uk/ United World Schools (UWS) Project summary: Strategic partnership - delivering quality education and expanding school infrastructure over three years Location: Madagascar Grant amount: £319,209 For more information on United World Schools’ work, please visit: https://uwsglobal.net/ WasteAid Project summary: Empowering marginalised and underserviced communities to recover the value of waste from within their communities and help lift themselves out of poverty Location: South Africa Grant amount: £45,000 For more information on Wasteaid’s work, please visit: https://wasteaid.org/ Women for Women International Project summary: Supporting 200 marginalised women in Plateau State to build pathways out of poverty via a holistic approach to tackling multiple social, economic, and cultural barriers to women’s progress Location: Nigeria Grant amount: £50,000 For more information on Women for Women International’s work, please visit: https://womenforwomen.org.uk/
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