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Visit the FAWCO website

What is FAWCO?

The Federation of American Women's Clubs Overseas (FAWCO) is an international network of independent organizations whose mission is:

  • To serve as a resource and channel of information among its members
  • To provide a voice for American women abroad and to support the rights of Americans worldwide
  • and to contribute actively to the global community with a specific focus on education, the natural and human environment, multicultural understanding and international goodwill

Mission Statement approved by the delegates to the Athens Interim Conference, March 1998

FAWCO is a non-governmental organisation in special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

FAWCO and the FAWCO FOUNDATION - Two Organisations - One Goal

FAWCO - The Federation of American Women's Clubs Overseas, founded in 1931, is an international organisation of member clubs in cities round the globe linked in giving support and solving problems common to American women living in foreign lands and aiding women whose US citizenship rights are being restricted or ignored. A founding principle of the organisation holds that enlightened women, working cooperatively throughout the world, can do much to help achieve permanent international peace through building positive relationships within their host country.

The FAWCO FOUNDATION was established in 1967 to carry out philanthropic activities, charitable and scholastic programs with the support of member FAWCO clubs and individual benefactors. The Foundation was incorporated in Missouri as a non-profit corporation so that contributions would be deductible for US tax purposes. Originally FAWCO officers were the board directors of the Foundation.

Later they were FAWCO club members who planned, organized, raised funds and carried out projects for scientific, charitable, and educational purposes, and for prevention of cruelty to children. Long before setting up the Foundation, FAWCO donated money to relief projects and gave out scholarships.

The Foundation continues this work with an awards program for children of FAWCO members and members of FAWCO clubs as well as through the Relief and Development Fund, supporting long-term development programs selected by clubs themselves.

What Does A FAWCO Rep Do?

She communicates. She is the communicator between FAWCO Headquarters and your Club. The exchange of monthly information,- now mainly available from the FAWCO website,- combined with the FAWCO FORUM and special board mailings to Reps and participation in the annual conferences are what bond FAWCO clubs together.

AWA of Kenya and FAWCO – A brief history

AWA of Kenya has been a member of FAWCO since approximately 1987 when the first Kenya representative to FAWCO, Yoli, laid the ground work and started gathering information. 1989 thru March 1997 Nancy B. was the FAWCO Rep. By her regular attendance at the annual conferences and networking about Kenya, AWA Kenya benefited.

The 1995 FAWCO Conference was hosted by AWA Kenya, earning us valuable funds and a host of earnest friends in FAWCO. Resulting from this 1995 conference, funds were received to assist Rescue Dada (Okoa Dada) homeless girls’ rescue/training centre.

In early 1997 a joint fundraising project earned needed funds for both the FAWCO Foundation and the AWA Kenya Charitable Trust (A.C.T.). At the same time, an AWA Kenya member’s son was the recipient of an educational award from the FAWCO Foundation for his studies at Stanford University.

April 1997 thru April 2005 Barbel S. was the FAWCO Rep. Again, through conference attendance and by keeping in touch, your rep’s efforts benefited Kenya through projects assisted by AWA Kenya.

In 2003 a FAWCO Foundation grant was received to assist Hope House, a home for HIV/AIDS orphaned babies.

In early 2005 a FAWCO Foundation grant was received to assist AIC Girls Rescue Centre. May 2005 > FAWCO reps are long time members of AWA Kenya, Nancy B. (as above) & Jan C.

Your club’s FAWCO reps work hard on behalf of AWA Kenya. Development grants and educational awards have stringent guidelines and stiff competition (there are over 18,000 FAWCO members worldwide).

Donations that can also help YOU or those you care about!

AWA of Kenya members are invited, along with members of other FAWCO clubs worldwide, to make donations – Please contact your FAWCO Representatives for further information—

  1. in any amount, to the FAWCO Foundation to support both Educational Awards and Development Grants.
  2. Malaria-Mosquito Nets

The UN’s Millennium Goal is to eradicate Malaria. FAWCO has launched a campaign to purchase & distribute insecticide treated bed nets at a cost of US$5 each (approx Ksh 380/-).


  Ol Malo Eye Project

In March 2006, FAWCO donated US$ 3,000 to the Ol Malo Eye Project in Northern Kenya.

The Ol Malo Trust is delighted to announce that Julia Francombe, the founder of the Trust, is to be awarded the 2006 Humanitarian Rose Award for Social Entrepreneurship, bestowed by The People’s Princess Charitable Foundation, Inc.

This award is in recognition of Julia’s tireless work to improve the lives of the Samburu people of Northern Kenya and to create economic sustainability for the Samburu community, particularly its women and children.

Julia will receive her award at The Humanitarian Rose Gala on November 4th, 2006. This unprecedented evening, which celebrates the charitable legacy of the late Diana, Princess of Wales, is to be held within The Royal State Apartments at her former home, Kensington Palace. This historic event will convene 170 philanthropists, celebrities and government officials to celebrate fervent humanitarian dedication.

The Ol Malo Trust thanks you for your support of Julia and the work she is doing, and invites you to join her at Kensington Palace on November 4th, 2006 as she receives her award.

Please find further details of the Award, the Gala and the People’s Princess Charitable Foundation Inc. at the following address: www.changingtheheartoftheworld.com. If you would like to purchase a ticket to the Gala, please do so directly off the website. The purpose of sending you this announcement is to inform you of Julia’s achievement; although we would be delighted if you could accept this invitation, please do not feel in any way obliged or pressurised to do so.

Ol Malo Charitable Trust
Committed to the survival and protection of Samburuland and its nomadic people
P.O. Box 1195, Village Market – 00621, Nairobi;
Tel: 020 7123107 / 0733 741119 / 0722 756301
E.mail: info@olmalodesigns.com;
www.olmaloeyeproject.com; www.cafonline.org; www.olmalodesigns.org (under construction)  


Dear FAWCO members,

Our President Celeste Brown promised you a new Subscription List that will directly connect you and all members of your local Club to the latest information from FAWCO. Timely and
insider news about various aspects of FAWCO’s work, including the activities and research of our Committee Chairs, UN Liaisons, US Liaison and The FAWCO Foundation will now be sent to you via our regular Newsletters and the newly-established “Bulletins”. The FAWCO Board wants to encourage more communication with our entire FAWCO membership. We are promoting the Subscription List because it will regularly offer your Club members the information they want to hear from FAWCO’s well-informed volunteer work force.

You must sign up first!
Go to http://www.fawco.org/cms. Please create your own personal username and password if you haven't already done so, and keep them in a safe place for future reference. Fill out the Registration Form and submit it. Once approved, you will be given the opportunity to select the Newsletters and Bulletins you would like to receive in your own personal Inbox. If you have already registered for some of our Newsletters, log in at http://www.fawco.org/cms and click on "Subscriptions" in the User Menu to look through the list of new Bulletins and make your selections. This is your chance to give feedback to FAWCO workers because it signals a definite interest to them and at your request, they will send their Bulletins directly to you.

The FAWCO Board advises all members of FAWCO Member Clubs to subscribe to the three main newsletters:

  • monthly FAWCO News-in-Brief,
  • quarterly Connections (Letter from Headquarters)
  • and the semi-annual FAWCO Forum.

You are also encouraged to subscribe for your Bulletins of choice that reflect your own areas of interest.

We are excited to kick off this new era of FAWCO communications! Help us to get as many of your club members to register and subscribe so that they can personally take advantage of the important work that FAWCO does.

Kathleen Simon                                                             Marline Holmes
1st Vice-President for Communications                           3rd Vice President for Committees
vp-communications@fawco.org                                        vp-committees@fawco.org



VOTE VOTE VOTE

YES, YOU CAN VOTE IN USA ELECTIONS WHILE LIVING IN KENYA

Whether you live in the USA or not, as an American Citizen voting is your right. 

Important to Note

You do not need to maintain any form of residence address in the USA to register to vote. 

“Your legal state of residence for voting purposes is the state or territory where you last resided immediately prior to your departure from the USA. This applies to overseas citizens even though you may not have property or other ties in your last state or territory of residence and your intent to return to that state or territory may be uncertain.”  Further, “some states allow children of US Citizens overseas who are US citizens but who have never resided in the U.S., to claim one of their parent’s legal state or territory of residence as their own. Check out the State by State instructions.”

Information about Voter Registration and related can be obtained by:

1- contacting your AWA Kenya FAWCO representative, or
2-  searching the Federal Voting Assistance Program website: www.fvap.gov

 Information on issues, positions and candidates can be found on the following websites:

www.democratsabroad.org  (e-mail:info@democratsabroad.org) and www.republicansabroad.org  (e-mail: chairman@republicansabroad.org)


CONVENTION ON INTERCOUNTRY ADOPTION

 

On the morning of December 12, 2007, Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs Maura Harty deposited the United States’ instrument of ratification of the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-Operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (the Hague Adoption Convention) at a ceremony in The Hague.  Her remarks at the ceremony are available on the CA intranet site, as well as on the CA public web site, www.travel.state.gov, under the “Speeches and Remarks” section.

The United States is now a full member of the Hague Adoption Convention, which will enter into force for the United States on April 1, 2008, and will govern intercountry adoptions between the United States and the over 70 other Convention member countries in accordance with the provisions of the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 (IAA).  

For more information on U.S. obligations under the Hague Adoption Convention and IAA, please review the “Intercountry Adoption” section of the CA intranet and internet websites.  You will also find there a link to the Final Rule on Consular Officer Procedures in Convention Cases published in the Federal Register on 10/30/07.  9 FAM is currently being updated to provide procedural guidance to posts that will be processing Convention IVs after April 1, 2008.

 


 

A recent notice from the Social Security Administration Office, US Embassy, London:

 

MEDICARE SCAM

 

Medicare covers medical services only performed in the United States.

Recently, some Social Security retirees have been contacted and told that if they enroll into “Ambassador Care” that Medicare will extend its coverage overseas.  This is not true. 

We believe that Ambassador Care uses a United States address for billing purposes and tries to bill Medicare as if services were performed in the United States.  The bottom line is that Medicare does not reimburse for services performed outside the United States.  This company is using deceptive practices and has been referred to the Office of Inspector General for possible prosecution.

 


 

THE FAWCO FOUNDATION  2008 DEVELOPMENT GRANTS PROGRAMS

HAVE BEEN ANNOUNCED AND WE ARE PLEASED TO INFORM YOU

THAT AWA Kenya’s NOMINATED PROJECT

 

ANGELS OF HOPE PEACEFUL HOME FOR CHILDREN

IS THE RECIPIENT OF THE 2008

AROUND THE CORNER, A WORLD AWAY DEVELOPMENT GRANT

SPONSORED IN PART BY THE AWC OF LUXEMBOURG

 

The recipients were announced at this morning’s session of the FAWCO Conference in Seoul, Korea.   Elsie Bose, Chair, FAWCO Foundation Development Grants Chair.

 

The grant winners for each of the 8 US$3,500 Development Grants are:

 

A PLACE TO LEARN   sponsored in part by Barcelona Women’s Network

The Primary School Project nominated by AIWC Casablanca

Location:  Assumer,Morocco


AROUND THE CORNER, A WORLD AWAY
sponsored in part by the AWC Luxembourg

Angels of Hope Peaceful Home for Children nominated by AWA Kenya

Location:  Nairobi, Kenya     Visit their website at http://www.angelsofhope.co.ke/

 

CRITICAL HEALTH CONCERNS sponsored in part by AWC Basel

Heart to Heart nominated by AWC Shanghai

Location:  Shanghai, China

 

EFFECTS OF VIOLENCE sponsored in part by AWC The Hague

Mayday! Mayday! Nominated by AILO Florence

Location:  Carei, Romania

 

ENDING HIV/AIDS sponsored in part by AWC Auckland

Grandma-2-Grandma nominated by AWC Stockholm

Location:  Tanzania, East Africa

 

AW OF SURREY FEED THE WORLD

Food for Refugees nominated by AWO Greece

Location:  Athens, Greece

 

AWA OF VIENNA HOPE THROUGH EDUCATION

Scholarship Fund for Girls nominated by AWG Languedoc-Roussillon

Location:  Manila, Philippines

 

SKILLS FOR LIFE co-sponsored by AILO Florence and AW of the Eastern Province

Women for Girls-The Mill Project nominated by AIWC Genoa

Location:  Manila, Philippines

FAWCO Conference 2007