Communities 1st

The GRM Communities 1st initiative was established in 2004 (known as the GRM Development Fund) to provide financial assistance to activities and causes worldwide that help people create a better future for themselves and their communities.

To date, we have donated over AUD 500,000 to a range of activities and initiatives which build on the strengths of communities to respond to identified issues and which enhance or expand the skills, capacities and assets of the local people.

For further details on the eligibility criteria and how to make an application, please read the Communities 1st Application Guidelines.

If you have further questions, please email Anne Burns at anne.burns@grminternational.com.

Read about some of our Communities 1st recipients below.

Family Support Centre - Solomon Islands
April 2008
The Family Support Centre (FSC) was set up in 1995 in Honiara the capital of Solomon Islands to address the high incidence of gender based violence (domestic violence, child abuse and sexual abuse) in the nation. The Centre offers support to families and individuals over the age of 15 who experience gender based violence and abuse, through counselling and legal advice and assistance, training and community awareness, and a resource library. The Centre is committed to improving the quality of life in Solomon Islands (SI) by promoting awareness of women and children and people’s right to live in peaceful, non- violent and non-abusive families, and support to empower individuals to make decisions that allow them to enjoy safety in their lives. During the ethnic crisis between 1998 and 2000, the Family Support Centre was the only local NGO which continued to provide services in constrained and difficult situations, predominantly providing support to women who were victims of gender based violence occurring during the social unrest. However, the centre also offered their confidential and non judgmental services to a range of others affected by the conflict including militants and police officers.

Communities 1st is providing support to the Centre in its quest to help address gender based violence in the Solomon Islands. The grant is to cover:

• Awareness raising workshops in 5 provinces of SI;
• Printing of FSC information leaflets on the legal issues on maintenance for married women and their children, marriage, matrimonial property, affiliation and child maintenance for unmarried mothers, protection and restraining orders, separation, making an application, divorce, what is the law and custody to and access of children; and
• General client support (for women who need to come in from the provinces to access support and services, food, accommodation, clothing).

Western Province (Munda Human Rights Workshop)
One of the awareness raising workshops was held in Munda (Western Province of SI) in October 2007. The purpose of this workshop was to address the problem of domestic violence, child abuse and sexual assault which was increasingly happening in most urban and rural communities and to address the lack of information about the issues the centre addresses and the work of the centre.

Other activities are either in progress or have been planned and the updates will follow.

The volunteers were part of a ten week program running from December to February which saw three groups work with local communities on projects in Bonga Bonga and Meriu (Southern Tongoa Island), Itakoma and Matangi (Northern Tongoa Island) and Tassariki (Moso Island) communities.

Each group worked on a construction project, the focus for this program being education. Volunteers and community members worked hard and made significant progress on four school classrooms and a teacher’s house, all of which are now close to complete and will be finished by communities in coming weeks.

In addition to the construction projects, each team worked on several small team projects, where they identified issues of concern to the community and worked with local counterparts to address some of these issues. As a result of one of these projects there is now a kindergarten running in Tongoa, with a newly trained teacher – there had not been one operating there since 1998. Other projects included sexual and reproductive health workshops for youth and parents, local tourist bungalow promotion and a waste management program.

$500K Milestone Reached in Communities 1st Giving Program
With the recent donation to the Youth Challenge Rural Outreach Program in Vanuatu, the Communities 1st fund reached the milestone donation of AUD 500,000 (over USD 400K, over ₤200K). This represents donations to a variety of more than 30 community development initiatives around the world. GRM would like to thank everyone involved in sourcing ideas, implementing and administering the progams.

Mohau Centre Pre-school, Pretoria
May 2007
Communities 1st has donated A$18,000 to the Mohau Centre in Pretoria. The Centre developed a structured and organized pre-school programme in order to meet the intellectual needs of the 3-5 year old children infected and affected by HIV/AIDS. The funds donated by GRM have allowed renovations to be carried out including:

• Breakthrough to provide a door opening in between 2 classrooms;
• Painting the entire area;
• Stripping and sealing floors;
• Providing shelving for the educational equipment;
• Renovating tiles in the adjoining bathroom and toilet and painting the area; and
• Fixing the playground fencing, and cleaning the playground area, planting new lawn.

A trained pre-school teacher has now been appointed and the centre is now able to provide an appropriate stimulation programme for the children in their care.

The monies donated by Communities 1st has enabled the orphanage to procure equipment such as beds, cots, mattresses, water boiler, freezer, desks, benches and stools.

Currently, the OBS centre takes care of 35 children, from the ages of 0 - 18 (maximum) years. A new centre is under construction with the capacity to accommodate 100 children.

GRM Donates Two Classrooms to San Miguel School, East Timor
January 2007
GRM Communities 1st has donated USD 11,800 to the San Miguel School, East Timor (Timor-Leste), for the purpose of building two classrooms, including construction, materials and labour. Construction is now underway.

Business and Professional Women's Club of Port Moresby
January 2007
Communities 1st has given AUD 5000 ($1000 per year for 5 years) to the Business and Professional Women’s Club of Port Moresby to assist them in assisting girls to meet the cost of school fees where their parents are unable to meet the cost.

GRM has donated AUD 25,000 (approx. USD 19,000) for the preparation of promotional and educational material including posters and brochures, advertising on radio and in newspapers, in addition to workshops and field demonstrations. We expect that through this education programme, whole communities will have their health improved and avoid the effects of Konzo, a disease caused by eating flour with high cyanide levels.

Solomon Islands Artists Support Program
January 2007
GRM has committed AUD 24,000 (approx. USD 18,000) to re-establish the Solomon Islands Artists Organisation, to support artists and promote production and marketing of Solomon Islands art. The program aims to contribute to the national cultural heritage, foster cultural and artistic development and facilitate economic development and employment growth. The funds will be directed towards purchasing artists materials, organising exhibitions and creating a workshop and gallery in which artists can work and exhibit.

Fest 'Napuan
October 2006
GRM has donated AUD 35,000 (approx. USD 26,000) to Further Arts and the Fest’Napuan Association to support Vanuatu arts and music, thereby providing cultural opportunities for local youth. The annual Fest'Napuan is the biggest event held in Vanuatu each year, attracting over 30,000 people over four nights. It is also one of the most important regional music events held in the Pacific Islands. The funding will be directed towards rehearsal studios, musical equipment and instruments.

Communities 1st has donated AUD 30,000 to CARE Australia
October 2006
Communities 1st has donated AUD 30,000 to CARE Australia for its Pakistan-India Earthquake relief efforts. Around 5 million people were affected by the massive earthquake which occurred on 8 October 2005. More than 87,000 people have died, and more than 3 million were left without homes. GRM's donation will assist CARE in delivering essential supplies including winterized tents, plastic sheets, blankets, shawls, metal buckets, water storage tanks, woollen jackets and hygeine kits, and following the emergency relief effort it will help CARE continue its poverty-fighting work in Pakistan and India.

GRM Donates to Mahube Care Centre for HIV/AIDS Patients, Pretoria
July 2006
“Communities 1st, a GRM Initiative” has donated ZAR 62,175 (approx. USD10,000) to fund a bed in the Mahube Care Centre, Pretoria. The financing of one Care Centre bed will enable the Centre to provide medical care and support for AIDS patients who are either homeless or ostracised due to their health status.

Little Mountaineers, Serbia
July 2006
The Communities 1st Initiative has purchased a range of camping equipment and outdoor clothing to help a mountaineering and outdoor activities club for refugee, orphaned and disadvantaged children in Serbia.