| Overview of Who We Help |
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 Where CEN Works CEN works in communities within developing countries. These communities face extreme conditions – isolation, poverty, or recent civil unrest – yet are in a position to take advantage of the power of information and information technology to address challenges they face. The communities where we work are extremely poor by American standards. For example, 45% of the residents of the Brazilian Amazon – where CEN is currently focusing most of its energies – earn less than US $2/day. Nepal, where we've also recently started to work, is one of the poorest nations in Asia, and over half of the population over 15 years old is illiterate, including 74% of women. Economic opportunities in both areas remain very limited. Unlike relief organizations that focus on meeting people's most basic needs, however, we are not currently working with the poorest of the poor. CEN focuses on helping people who are one rung up the ladder of poverty: people who are still very poor by Western standards but who have most of their basic needs met, such as basic nutrition, improved levels of child mortality, and at least basic health care. CEN Focuses on the "Second Poorest of the Poor" This next "tier" of the poor, which is estimated to number well over one billion people worldwide, are often overlooked but also have the right to aspirations for themselves and their families and are in a better position to apply the skills and resources that CEN offers. Furthermore, if the majority of the population is fighting for even its basic survival, few have the energy or resources they need to improve education or pursue more strategic income-generation opportunities. CEN looks beyond people's day-to-day survival and helps empower them to make long-lasting and sustainable improvements to their communities and lives. Where We Work Currently we are primarily working with three communities in the Brazilian Amazon and one community in Nepal. In Brazil, CEN's cCLEAR program works in the communities of Maguary and Suruacá, which lie along opposite shores of the Tapajós River, about 75 km upstream of the Amazon River. The third Brazilian community where we have worked, Xixuau, lies in a pristine portion of the Amazon, in the far southern part of Roraima State. We also have some involvement in neighboring communities throughout the region. Recently we've also begun a relationship with the village of Rivan-6 (HumdhiLampata) in Nepal through our participation in the Youth Action Nepal Workshop Pilot. Expect more updates about this community in the near future. We invite you to browse through this section to learn more about the communities where we work, including the challenges they face and what they are doing to overcome these challenges. |