1. KENKKU
newsletter
2/2013
NEWS
Mongolian project partners
visit Finland
An update on the
Guatemala project
Ready, set, implement!
Would you want to become
an ETVO volunteer?
features
Development report on
Mozambique
Africa’s Next Top Model
The new KENKKU has taken the
lead
Development cooperation theme
week for Finnish student unions
draws nearer!

2. One of the important goals of the
visit was to prepare the
upcoming project. Our current
project is coming to a closure
in the end of next year, which
means that the next project
application must be sent to the
Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs
in May 2014. The goal of the
upcoming project is to increase
the self-sufficiency of the IEC in
order to make the organisation
less dependent on foreign
support. The aim of the project
is to establish a social company
in connection to the pre-existing
IEC (once we’ve settled the ins
and outs of Mongolian
legislation). Once established, the
company would on its part
support social development and
offer economic support to the
IEC’s other activities. During their
stay, our Mongolian visitors were
introduced to the Taito Group,
various handicraft works, a small
scale cheesery, the Central
Association of Women
Entrepreneurs in Finland and the
International Solidarity
Foundation (ISF), the last at
which we heard of the
organisation’s experiences of
cooperatives in developing
countries. These visits gave Odno
and Munjo ideas on how to
develop the work of the IEC and
views on different
entrepreneurship issues in
general. During the last days of
the visit we also assembled a
detailed schedule for the
planning of the project in order
to avoid any last-minute
preparations. Since their return to
Mongolia, Odno and Munjo have
already started the information
gathering for the new project.
We’re expecting to receive the
first project plan drafts in
October.
Johanna Ursin-Escobar
Representatives Odno and Munjo of the IEC (Information,
Education and Communication Centre) – SYL’s partner
organisation in the Mongolia project – visited Finland in
May. A traditional project monitoring trip is located in
the target country, but this time we decided to turn it the
other way around!
Mongolian project partners visit Finland

3. The official
schedule
left time
for some
chocolate
shopping in
Porvoo.
We introduced our Mongolian visitors to a small cheesery.

4. An update on the Guatemala
project
The development cooperation
project between SYL and AMEU
(Asociación Maya de Estudiantes
Universitarios) is running its
second and final year in the
mountain-covered central
Guatemalan department of
Chimaltenango. The goal of the
project is to strengthen the crisis
management capacity of the
Mayan communities in case of
natural disaster. The current
project is a follow-up of the
project from 2008–2010 and it
has stuck to its goal to reduce
deaths caused by natural disasters
through education. The practical
implementation of the project,
however, has included both
success and challenges. Our
efforts to prevent the risk of
natural disasters have included
combination of four methods:
training the Maya leaders, offering
scholarships to Maya students in
relevant fields of education,
establishing plant nursery
gardens, and arranging tree
planting days.
The training workshops for the
leaders of the Mayan communi-
ties have been
arranged in two project target
municipalities, in Tecpán
Guatemala and San Andrés
Itzapa. AMEU has expressed
gratitude for the wide
spectrum of participants, with
representatives of both
genders on a wide age
distribution and people from
the different areas of the
municipalities. One of the
most beneficial aspects of the
project is that the training
workshops have attracted local
decision-makers. Other positive
feedback shows that the
instructors have been
considered very competent.
The practical problems of the
training sessions relate to the
precise realisation of the
schedules dates, due to the
unpunctuality of some
participants. Other problems
include the lack of suitable
training venues in Tecpán
Guatemala.

5. AMEU has reported that the
scholarship holders are both
talented and committed to their
studies. In their April evaluation
report of their scholarship system,
AMEU stated that their system
has its flaws as well as it strengths.
One of the challenges has shown
to be that, for instance, only half
of the scholarship holders have
taken part of the AMUE events,
such as training workshops, due
to long distances. On the other
hand, some of the scholarship
holders have taken an active role
in AMEU’s work; some
environmental engineer students
have, for instance, participated in
establishing plant nursery
gardens.
The last avocado and peach farms
are now worked on according
to their farm cycles. During the
last third of the year, some 3000
peach tree seeds are going to be
planted. One of the positive
aspects of the tree nursery
project is that the participants
have realised the impact of
weather conditions on growing
avocado trees, and the avocado
project has actually been a
success in general. Another new
positive aspect is the growing
participation from the students of
local schools. Last spring
included one re-forestation day
on 12 May in Tecpán Guatemala.
Confirming the survival of the
tree plants of the re-forestation
project has however been subject
to some confusion. Municipal
foresters participate in
verseeing the plants, which
ncreases the significance of the
local political climate and the
work of single foresters for the
project.
SYL and KENKKU representatives
leave on a project monitoring trip
to Guatemala in October-
November. We are also working
on planning external evaluation
of the project.
Silja Palmujoki
AMEU Board Chairman
Marvin Guamuch (centre of
picture) observing the new
peach plants.

6. Ready, set,
implement!
A women’s group nursing plants as a part
of our Guatemala project.
The SYL Mozambique development cooperation project
has progressed from planning to implementation. The
project funding was affirmed by the Finnish Ministry of
Foreign Affairs last spring. After that we really got things
running both here in Finland and in Maputo. The project
will be carried out between 2013 and 2015 in six schools in
the vicinity of the capital city Maputo.
Now that our partner
organisation AFORTALECER has
finally started their practical
work, our Mozambique project
work group at KENKKU has had
their hands full. “We have
started planning report
emplates and the criteria on

7. which the project evaluation will
be based”, says country group
chairperson Henna Husso.“We’ve
also made plans regarding project
communication and produced
some project presentations for
various uses. Right now we’re
enthusiastically waiting for a
response report from
Mozambique to hear more about
their end of the project.”
“During spring, our project team
has had the chance to discuss the
upcoming volunteer
workers position and which
criteria the person should meet,
i.e. what kind of person the proj-
ect needs at the location and for
SYL’s part.”In other words; the SYL
Mozambique project has been
included in the KEPA South
volunteer program. The
application period runs out on 2
September.“This is a great
opportunity for both the project
and the volunteer,”says Husso.
Project focus on
pedagogical skills and
increasing the eagerness to
read
The Mozambican children have
poor reading and writing skills,
and the causes are numerous.
There simply aren’t enough
schoolbooks, there are holes in
the infrastructure of the schools,
the teachers lack proper
pedagogical skills, and the
parents are not putting effort in
the education of their children.
Even though the state is investing
in the educational sector e.g. by
building schools, all development
takes its time.
That is why the cooperation
project between SYL and
AFORTALECER aims to increase
the literacy of first and second
grade pupils by developing small
scale hard infrastructure (supplies
such as schoolbooks) and soft
infrastructure (improving
pedagogical skills and supporting
a culture of reading and learning).
The pedagogical skills of the
teachers hold an especially
important significance, as
Mozambican teacher students
often receive less education in
pedagogical skills in favour of
teaching subject contents. The
project will also include
cooperating with the parents in
order to improve their knowledge
on the importance of education.

8. ”Many children are currently
staying at home to look after their
younger siblings or because they
have to work,”Husso says. SYL
coordinator of development
cooperation Johanna Ursin-
Escobar agrees with her. ”We also
need to raise the children’s own
interest towards reading and
writing. This is why the project
includes launching storytime and
homework groups at the
participating schools.”
A project monitoring trip
is the pinnacle of a year of
reporting
Constant monitoring and
progress evaluation are important
parts of any project. But actually
visiting the location really
completes the monitoring work.
That is why SYL is sending a
KENKKU member off to Maputo
for a project monitoring trip.
The KENKKU representative will
be accompanied by Ursin-
Escobar. ”The goal of our first
monitoring trip to Mozambique
is to check how the project has
started: to see if the planned
activities have been carried out,
monitor new challenges and
check what needs to be adjusted,”
Johanna explains. ”We intend to
meet with as many project
partners as possible in order to
grasp a number of perspectives
on the project.”
KENKKU and ETVO current
issues
The autumn newsletter offers
greetings from Maputo and more
information on the new ETVO
volunteer!
http://kehitysyhteistyo.
syl.fi/2013/02/08/
mozambique/?lan=english
http://www.etvo.fi/kohdemaat/
afrikka/mosambik (in Finnish)
Henni Saarela

9. Would you want to become an
ETVO volunteer? Openings at SYL
projects in Mozambique and
Mongolia
Are you interested in development cooperation volunteer
work (6–12 months) in Africa, Asia or South America? Are
you skilled beyond your own needs? Do you want to learn
and experience something new and exciting? Apply for the
KEPA coordinated ETVO Finnish Volunteer Program. The
application period is open until 2 September 2013. Read
more at www.etvo.fi/english
SYL participates in the Finnish Volunteer Program ETVO by
sending two volunteers to Mongolia and Mozambique. For
additional information, please visit the ETVO website or ask
SYL Development Cooperation Coordinator Johanna Ursin-
Escobar (firstname.lastname@syl.fi).

10. Development report on
Mozambique
Mozambique is one of Finland’s
long time partners in
development cooperation. The
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
supports the development of
Mozambique especially in the
fields of agriculture and
education and by
strengthening the democratically
elected government. Finland’s
support to Mozambique
consists of budget support, bilat-
eral projects and by
supporting civic society projects.
SYL has initiated a project in
Mozambique to promote child
literacy together with a local
project partner, AFORTALECER.
Currently a fifth of Mozambique’s
budget is made up from foreign
support. What effects have
development cooperation
brought in Mozambique?
Mozambique declared itself
independent from the colonial
power of Portugal in 1975, but
the country suffered from a civil
war from the very beginning of
its independence all the way
to 1992. As the civil war was
brought to an end, the
conditions in Mozambique
stabilised and in just two decades
the country has witnessed some
major development. One of the
country’s greatest achievements
is the remarkable investments
made in education. In 1990, only
44 per cent of children started
school, whereas in 2012 already
90 per cent of school-aged
children were going to school.
There has been clear
improvement in the education of
girls, despite the statistics
showing that girls are still less
likely to start school than boys.
Aside from starting school, there
is also room for improvement
in actually graduating, as many
pupils drop out of school to
get married or to support their
families. Developing education
is important in order to ensure
long-term economic
development. The stable political
environment, good
administration of the national
economy, and a number of
structural reforms have all
supported the country’s
economic growth, leading to an
increase of 7.5 % in 2011, during

11. the global financial crisis. Despite
a general reduction in poverty,
welfare has not spread evenly
across the country. Agriculture
employs almost 80 per cent of the
workforce, but is not very
productive. Besides the
improvements in education and
the economic growth, the
country has succeeded in
developing its healthcare sector.
Life expectancy is rising,
currently being 51 years for
women and 49 for men. There has
been a decrease in child
malnutrition and the
accination programs have
reduced child mortality rate. A
constantly growing part of the
population are provided a safe
living environment as proper
sanitation becomes increasingly
common – however only 19 per
cent of the population currently
has access to improved
sanitation. One of the challenges
of Mozambican healthcare is the
widespread HI-virus. 11.3 per cent
of the population is HIV positive,
whereas the general infection rate
of an average low income country
is 2.4 per cent of the population.
HIV prevalence, however, has not
increased since 2007, so there is
hope of the epidemic slowing
down.
In just two decades, Mozambique
has succeeded in rising from the
ruins of conflict towards
ncreasing welfare, and in creating
the base for long-term
development. There’s is still a lot
to do, as Mozambique’s position
on the human development
index 2012 was 185 – out of a
total of 187 countries.
References:
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Finland’s development coopera-
tion with Mozambique. http://for-
min.finland.fi/public/default.aspx
?contentid=80372&nodeid=1536
9&contentlan=2&culture=en-US
global.finland. Mozambique. (in
Finnish & Swedish) http://global.
finland.fi/public/default.aspx?no
deid=15790&contentlan=1&cultu
re=fi-FI
The World Bank. Mozambique
Overview. http://www.worldbank.
org/en/country/mozambique/
overview
The World Bank. Data. Mozam-
bique. http://data.worldbank.org/
country/mozambique
UNDP. International Human
Development Indicators. Human
Development Index (HDI) value.
http://hdrstats.undp.org/en/indi-
cators/103106.html
Kaisa Oikarinen

12. Africa’s Next Top
Model
For better or for worse,
phenomena will continue to
spread in our global world. This
time we’re talking about the
spreading of a top
phenomenon’s in western youth
culture, the Next Top Model fran-
chise, which is now spreading its
message to Africa. As the series
20th season comes to an end in
the United States, the same
franchise takes up one of its
many first seasons in Africa.
The many pros and cons of this
could surely be analysed to bits,
but one thing is certain; I doubt
there will be any shortage on
applicants.
Africa’s Next Top Model will be
both produced and hosted by
Oluchi Orlandi, a high end
supermodel herself. Oluchi
comes from Nigeria where she
was“found”when she won the
Face of Africa pageant in the age
of 17. After the competition,
Oluchi moved to New York to
work and paved her way to
becoming an international
supermodel by covering the
front pages of magazines such
as Elle, Vogue Italia and Sports
Illustrated.
The audition tour starts in
August in Mozambique and
continues through seven
countries; Angola, Ghana, the
Ivory Coast, Kenya, Namibia,
South Africa and of course Oluchi
Orland’s native country Nigeria.
The show, however, will be shot
in South Africa and is sponsored
by South African Tourism. Other
partners of the show include
Oluchi Orland’s own company,
LuLu Productions, and one of
the biggest media houses, yet
to be revealed. Africa’s Next Top
Model is expected to be the next
big thing in beauty, fashion and
unique character stories in both
television and fashion. We’ll just
have to wait and see about that.

13. http://www.hautefashionafrica.com/blog/
http://www.antmafrica.com/
Henna Husso

14. The new KENKKU
has taken the lead
Yet another autumn term, yet another KENKKU line-up. The
KENKKU advisory board will see some member changes in
the beginning of September. Some of last year’s members
will continue throughout this period as well, but the
majority of the board will consist of new members.
The new KENKKU advisory board representatives for
2013–14 are Marleen Wierengan (AYY), Elina Eronen (JYY),
Sini Ylimarto (JYY), Noora Stenholm (HYY), Meeri Väänänen
(HYY), Sanni Isometsä (TYY) and Lyydia Mäkinen (TYY). This
year’s continuing members are Henna Husso (AYY), Salla
Mäkelä (TYY), Anna Kärkkäinen (JYY), Nora Stenius (HYY)
and Silja Palmujoki (HYY). The KENKKU advisory board of
SYL will continue to be chaired by the SYL Executive Board
Member responsible for development cooperation issues,
and the SYL Development Cooperation Coordinator will
function as the board’s secretary.
Johanna Ursin-Escobar

15. Development cooperation theme
week for Finnish
student unions draws nearer!
This year’s development cooperation theme week will concentrate
on employment and development. What are the working conditions
like in developing countries? Could I sign up for a job in a developing
country? The theme week is arranged on 7–12 October 2013. More
information about the program will be released during September
– follow your own student union’s mailing lists and website for more
info.
Johanna Ursin-Escobar
Spring 2013: Planning the upcoming development cooperation
theme week – going through volunteer roles and duties with the
coordinators.

16. SYL DEVELOPMENT
COOPERATION IN A
NUTSHELL
• Through our development
cooperation work, SYL aims to
promote educational equality and
social justice and strengthen the
fundamental principles of a civil
society in the partner countries.
We also aim to increase student
awareness of development
issues and their will to take global
responsibility.
• The roots of SYL’s work in
development cooperation go way
back to the 1950’s: In the 1950’s,
SYL development cooperation
was limited to small scale activity
in Europe. In the 1970’s,
development cooperation grew
from small projects to
longer-term and more organised
cooperation as the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs started supporting
the development cooperation of
NGOs.
• The SYL 2010
development policy strategy
defines the focus of our work in
development cooperation on
education and training projects.
The central criteria of our work
call for sustainability and
responsibility, transparency and
openness, mutual learning and
interaction, and project
ownership and agency in the
target area.
• In 2013, SYL is involved in
development cooperation
projects in Mongolia,
Mozambique and Guatemala and
arranges a joint development
cooperation theme week for all
Finnish student unions.
• All SYL projects are funded
by the Ministry of Foreign Affair’s
support to development
cooperation. SYL pays a 15 %
share of the costs of foreign
projects, out of which half is
covered by volunteer work. The
financial share of that 15 %
consists of the optional
development cooperation fees

17. collected from Finnish students.
• The SYL development cooperation projects are administered
by KENKKU, the Development Cooperation Advisory Board of SYL,
together with the SYL Executive Board Member responsible for
development cooperation issues and the SYL Development
Cooperation Coordinator. KENKKU consists of representatives from
the different student unions.
• You can read more about SYL’s work in development
cooperation at http://kehitysyhteistyo.syl.fi/english
• You are welcome to support SYL’s work in development
cooperation by making a donation of your own choosing to our
fundraising account (IBAN FI04 8000 1501 45 DABAFIHH)
Fundraising permit:
Date issued and implementation area: 4.4.2013–31.12.2014 All of
Finland except Åland Islands
Permit number: 2020/2012/4867
Anna Kärkkäinen