International development spotlight: progress, partnerships, and promising impact

Since announcing our 2024 International Development grants last spring, we’ve been inspired by the momentum, adaptability, and commitment shown by our partners on the ground.

In May 2024, the Peter Gilgan Foundation announced 19 grants to Canadian charities working globally to advance maternal and child health and empower women and children through education. These grants reflect our continued focus on Sustainable Development Goals 1, 3, 5, and 6, and were guided by our refined strategy:

• In our Maternal and Child Health portfolio, we prioritized WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) as a critical, underfunded lever to reduce maternal and child mortality.
• In our Education and Empowerment portfolio, we prioritized support for women smallholder farmers, recognizing their potential to drive economic resilience, improve nutrition, and strengthen communities.

Over the past several months, we’ve seen these strategies come to life through powerful, locally driven efforts.

What we’re seeing in the field

Across the projects we’ve supported, several themes are emerging:

• Locally led, community driven: Grantees are centering local leadership in program design and delivery, with communities actively shaping and pulling in the support they need. This bottom-up, demand-driven approach is building stronger buy-in and long-term sustainability.
• Layered interventions: Projects are integrating services—combining WASH with maternal care, or agriculture training with financial literacy—to maximize outcomes.
• Flexibility and responsiveness: Organizations are navigating complex challenges, from climate disruptions to economic shifts, with resilience and creativity.

Grantee progress highlights

Here are just a few of the organizations that have shared updates on their work so far:

• Acts for Water is actively working to provide clean water access, latrines, and hygiene and sanitation education to communities in the Ibanda District of Uganda, helping over 14,000 people achieve better health outcomes. As of January, three of five targeted communities have met open defecation-free certification, 100% of school latrine construction milestones have been achieved and they are ahead of schedule in building taps throughout the communities to increase reliable, safe access to clean water.

• SOS Children’s Villages is working in the Baidoa region of Somalia to reduce climate-related poverty and hunger among internally displaced families by introducing climate-smart farming technologies that enable participating women to generate sustainable livelihoods. As of February, the project is already seeing exciting results. The greenhouses have been built, trainings completed, crops planted and harvested. Since the start of January, 1,256 kg of cucumbers have been harvested, generating $1,507.20 USD in revenue, enabling each participant to bring home about $100 more per month as well as enough fresh produce to feed their families.

• Canadian Physicians for Aid and Relief (CPAR) is implementing an integrated WASH and permaculture project in Malawi, including the construction of rainwater harvesting tanks, latrines, and small gardens. WASH and permaculture trainings are well underway for 2,000+ students and teachers, and latrine construction is actively in progress—often drawing curious onlookers from the student body. The project’s impact is already reaching beyond the schools. Alice, a mother from nearby Mkoloweko Village, shared, “I no longer need to go to the market—I simply harvest fresh vegetables from my backyard garden.” With the skills she learned through the program, she now feeds her family and earns income by selling surplus produce.

We’re proud to stand behind these organizations and the thoughtful, ambitious work they’re doing in communities around the world. Stay tuned—we’ll be sharing more stories and insights from this portfolio in the months ahead.