2020 Annual Report

Humanist Global Charity endured three major challenges in 2020, but we overcame them to raise our third-highest total in eight years of operation, approximately $90,000.

The challenges were:

• 1) Covid-19 crippled our fundraising in April, May, June - the pandemic hugely lessened contributions in those months.

• 2) We legally changed our name from Brighter Brains Institute to Humanist Global Charity. The switch confused some donors, and damaged our ability to raise funds via Facebook.

• 3) We expanded our services out of Subsaharan Africa into the world-at-large. This transition required 2-3 months - but we’ve already established fantastic new partners in India, Nepal, Philippines, and Turkey.

Below are nations we provided aid to in 2020, with a forecast of what we will fund in 2021.

UGANDA: HGC provided $15,354 to the Kasese Humanist Schools that we helped construct in 2015-2017 (BiZoHa, Kahendero, Rukoki); the majority of this was in orphan and needy scholar sponsorships. An additional $3,000 was given to two humanist scholars at Mbarara University of Science & Technology (Fatumah Namanda & Emmanuel Sseregundo) for their tuition payments. Additional support went to numerous entrepreneurial projects that often support humanist women’s collectives: these partners include Pearl Vocational Training College, Joy Women Group, Women’s Initiative Collective, and Basima Women’s Group. 2021: Our strategy will benefit the same causes. TOTAL HGC SUPPORT - $27,309

KENYA: Many of our favorite 2020 activities involved Kenyan humanists. We provided orphan tuitions, we funded a generator for our Popsicle machine in Kisumu, we bought a water tank for the HGC Fruit Orchard, we built a Cricket House, we gave scholarships to fifteen humanist women in college, we delivered Zoom training in conflict resolution / mediation to eight Maseno University scholars, and we supported on-campus humanist meetings. HGC SUPPORT: $9,647

DR CONGO: We provided a large amount of funding to Congolese humanists, but the vast majority of these funds were solicited from three other secular groups: Atheists Alliance International, International Association of Atheists, and Godless Engineers. Their funds, and ours, sponsored 50+ orphans, launched six Sanitary Pad factories, set up HGC Drug Store and AAI Internet cafe, and organized a two-day PTSD mental health clinic. HGC SUPPORT: $9,395

NIGERIA: HGC began 2020 with generous support for our KaZoHa Safe House in Abuja. The director of this project - Mubarak Bala - was arrested in April for ‘blasphemy’ and he’s been imprisoned ever since. We hope he will be released very soon! Other expenditures were World Peace Internet Cafe and HGC Ice Cream Factory, both in Maiduguri, HGC Mobile Book Store, Humanist Hotline, and HGC Tailor Shop - all in Minnah, and entrepreneurial and charitable assistance to humanists and women widowed by Boko Haram. HGC SUPPORT: $6,997

INDIA: We are now providing aid to 1-2 projects per month to humanists in the huge subcontinent. Initially we funded a Tamil widow and her two children - the atheist husband was assassinated by Muslim extremists. We also established an HGC Freethinkers Library in a Uttar Pradesh village, and we provided blankets, sanitary pads, self-defense classes, and food, to Mumbai slum-dwellers and adivasi (tribal people). HGC SUPPORT $4,850

KOSOVO: Working with Atheist Rescue Relief Balkans, we are helping the impoverished Romani (gypsy) refugees, with funds for goats, geese, food, hygiene products, and materials for wool-weaving. We are also sponsoring an Art Show to benefit LGBT youth. HGC SUPPORT: $2,397

GHANA: Our partner Alhassan Baako delivered vocational, educational, and therapeutic workshops to women and children in the “witch camps” near Tamale. We also offered science and vocational workshops to at-risk girls enrolled a secondary school in Cape Coast. HGC SUPPORT: $2,012

SUDAN: HGC funded three humanist women entrepreneurs with start-up funds for Tea & Coffee selling, plus we delivered funds to support meetings of Sudanese humanists. HGC SUPPORT: $1,663

NEPAL: Our very reliable partners - Atheist Republic Nepal - are working with us to distribute sanitary pads and school supplies to girls in remote mountain villages, plus we delivered gas canisters and kerosene to Kathmandu slum-dwellers, we distributed Vaginal Health information, and we helped sponsor an Atheist Video Contest. HGC SUPPORT $1,625

TURKEY: HGC supports a secular bookstore in Istanbul, four impoverished LGBT humanists in Konya, and an atheist trans man in Ankara. HGC SUPPORT $1,611

BRAZIL: We provided start-up funding to three groups of humanist women, for catering, embroidery, and making sandwiches. We also funded a community garden for an indigenous group near the Paraguay border. HGC SUPPORT: $1,348

THE PHILIPPINES: Working with HAPI, we assisted the agricultural efforts of the indigenous Aeta people, by providing them with funding to plants coconut trees, purple yams, and avocado trees. We also provided funds to hungry children in a Manila slum. HGC SUPPORT: $1,350

ZAMBIA: We established partners here, and helped them with funding for a lap top, a HGC Egg Farm, a rice-selling business, and a Microfinance business. HGC SUPPORT $949

PAKISTAN: We delivered support to atheist food vendors in Karachi, and to Ex-Muslim Pakistani refugees in Europe who are affiliated with AAAP - Atheists and Agnostics Alliance Pakistan. HGC SUPPORT: $507

USA: HGC helped an Ex-Mormon LGBT from Brigham Young University, and we provided a food processor, for free nutrition classes, to a food coop in West Oakland, California. HGC SUPPORT: $505

CAMEROON: Working through local nonprofit ESARDEF, we provided vocational baking and catering workshops to at-risk girls. HGC SUPPORT: $383

MOROCCO: HGC delivered funds to support English classes in a Marrakesh secondary school, and we started an HGC Snail Farm in a nearby village, operated by a non-religious Berber widow. HGC SUPPORT: $372

COLOMBIA: We gave start-up funds to a humanist woodcarver in Cali. HGC SUPPORT: $366

SOUTH AFRICA: HGC delivered entrepreneur funds to an atheist leader who wants to start a recycled furniture business. HGC SUPPORT: $336

HAITI - We provided food to children a secular primary school. HGC SUPPORT: $305

ETHIOPIA: HGC provided technical equipment for online learning to the Awra Amba humanist community. HGC SUPPORT: $305

RWANDA: We provided funds to a refugee from Burundi, to start a phone service business. HGC SUPPORT: $103

SRI LANKA: We provided funds to our SE Asia advisor, Rishvin Ismath. HGC SUPPORT: $97

MEXICO: We delivered funds to a nonprofit in Mexico City, that provides education to refugee children from Central America. HGC SUPPORT: $60

TUNISIA: We provided funds to our advisor here, to inform us of secular activity in his nation. HGC SUPPORT: $42

MALAWI: We provided funds to an advisor here, to inform us of economic conditions and secular activity in his nation. HGC SUPPORT: $33

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INTERNSHIPS: HGC provided 31 internships to college students and selected high school students in 2020. The internships were in Africa Development, India Development, and Wealth Redistribution; they were 6-8 weeks long and offered throughout the summer. The interns established new HGC partnerships in seven nations; they wrote nine interviews and fifty-five essays, they produced two videos, designed and published an entire e-book, and co-organized a Conflict Resolution workshop. Four of them remain on staff as directors of Africa and India projects.

BOOKS: We published numerous ebooks in 2020. Prominent among them is FIX OUR FUTURE: Generation Z Essays on Wealth Redistribution by the internship class. Two additional books are a collection of Critical Thinking reports, and “Atheist Limericks & Cartoons” - co-produced with our friends at THE FREETHINKER.

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2021 GOALS —

AFRICA: HGC will continue to operate vigorously in Uganda and Kenya; we have numerous humanist partners in both nations, especially Kenya where we will start a “Maseno University Peace Center” providing mediation and other services to scholars. Our activity in Nigeria and Ghana will likely be reduced, in Zambia and Morocco it will hopefully increase, in Cameroon it will stay about the same; we hope to start activities in Malawi and Swaziland; activities in South Africa and DR Congo are suspended until reports or sent in, or inspections take place.

ASIA: HGC is very happy with its partners in India, Nepal, and Turkey - we anticipate increasing our project activity there. We would also like establish partnerships in Myanmar, Indonesia, Mongolia, Iraq, and Iran. A big year-long project might focus on delivering sanitary pads to girls in remote mountain areas.

EUROPE: We are happy with our contacts in Kosovo, working to help Romani and LGBT. We will maintain support here, and we would like to expand to Albania, and Moldava.

CENTRAL & SOUTH AMERICA & CARIBBEAN: We experienced enormously difficulty wiring money to Brazil and Colombia. If we continue in SA, it will probably be in Peru. We are interested in working in the Caribbean, ideally in Grenada or Barbados.

USA: We would like to operate in Appalachia, but we haven’t found reliable humanist allies there. We will continue to work with Ex-Mormon LGBT in Utah, and perhaps with impoverished groups in other regions.

LGBT: We are presently helping ex-religious LGBT in Turkey, Kosovo, and USA. We might connect with other LGBT groups - in Tanzania, and Albania.

INTERNSHIPS: We will continue our internship program - many of the interns continue to work with us as valuable volunteers and staff members.