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AirCares website
Thanks to our expansive communication infrastructure, we are in the ideal position to work for the less fortunate in our society. We do this via AirCares.
How does it work? Well, it’s very simple: as a Flying Blue member, you can donate Award Miles to AirCares, which are then redeemed for cash by KLM and put to good use with charities. In this way, targeted help is given to specially selected aid organisations, which in turn do everything to improve the lives of less fortunate children in our society
GET IT DONE
GET IT DONE is a global community that uses social media to create, promote and support small-scale development projects around the world. The organisation acts as a link between grassroots basic human needs projects and individuals worldwide, creating personal connections between supporters and project owners.
Small local organisations and individuals can submit a project to the platform, from a clean drinking water programme to a new school construction project.
GET IT DONE and KLM share the common goal of connecting pragmatic and genuine people - and together making a difference.
Since January 2012, GET IT DONE has been an official AirCares project of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. One of the ways KLM supports GET IT DONE is by mobilizing its vast social community.
For more information please visit http://www.getitdone.org/partners/klm
MKI – Medical Knowledge Institute
Medical Knowledge Institute is an international non-profit health care organisation that focuses on education and information provision. MKI believes that health care is a human right and, under the slogan ‘Prevention through Education’, strives with conviction towards achieving a clearly defined goal: to improve the living conditions of the people of southern Africa through providing education and information to the local population and service providers in the area of health care.
By collecting and sharing knowledge, the people learn more about health and health care, thus reducing the numbers of victims of preventable diseases. This is also important for the youth. The death rate of children below five years of age suffering from diarrhoea is 13%; girls and young women are susceptible to serious infections during menstruation; and babies are still born HIV positive. MKI’s mission is to prevent these situations, and it thus now runs Prevention through Education.
The funds required for this important work are primarily obtained from donations. Another source of income that contributes to MKI’s success is sales from an exclusive series of jewellery by YOELL®, an MKI established project. The jewellery is hand-made by women living with HIV in South Africa. MKI is located in Oostvoorne, the Netherlands, and in Cape Town, South Africa.
For further information please see www.mkifoundation.com
“I am well aware of the wonderful work MKI is doing. I have witnessed some of their projects with my own eyes, and I am proud to be associated with them. My friend Dr. Harold Robles, the founder and president of MKI, has the passion and dedication of a missionary.”
ArchbishopEmeritus Desmond Tutu
Member of MKI’s Board of Advisors
Aflatoun
Aflatoun believes that poverty can be reduced by educating children about money , their rights and social responsibilities. In doing so, they are empowered to become agents of change in their lives. In view of that, Aflatoun teaches children how to save through individual or group savings accounts with local banks and microfinance institutions. At the same time, children set up social and financial enterprises that positively affect their communities. The small profits earned are invested in additional community projects, school outings and school materials. The Aflatoun curriculum has already empowered over 800,000 children throughout the world. Aflatoun works together with local social, corporate and governmental sectors to ensure that the programme is implemented and supported at a local level. In this way, the Aflatoun message can be effectively passed on to all children, everywhere.
For more information: www.aflatoun.org
OELA
Youngsters in Brazilian slums are given the chance to work towards a brighter future thanks to OELA (Oficina de Escola de Lutheira de Amazônia). Sounds like music to your ears? You’re quite right, because that’s exactly what they do: make music and musical instruments! In one of the slums of Manaus, OELA runs a training institute where youngsters learn how to make musical instruments … and play them! To help them build towards a better, sustainable future, the children also get a broader training comprising psychological support, theatre activities, communication workshops and information on the environment. OELA believes in sustainable development. It intends to develop a semi-industrial product range for stringed instruments, in addition to setting up a trade in FSC-certified timber. OELA is supported by the Dutch organisation for development cooperation ICCO.
For more information: www.icco.nl
Wings of Support
Wings of Support is a private initiative that was set up by KLM and Martinair employees. In countries to which KLM and Martinair fly, the organisation supports children in dire need of proper housing and education. The purpose of the Wings of Support organisation, which is made up of 80 volunteers, is to improve the living circumstances of these children within their own environment and in a sustainable way. Since its foundation in 1998, Wings of Support has supported more than 300 projects worldwide.
For more information: www.wingsofsupport.org
Doctor2Doctor
Good medical care is not always available in many parts of the world. In Kenya, around 12 million people depend on only one teaching hospital that lacks sufficient financial funding, medical personnel and equipment. This is why the VU University Medical Centre in Amsterdam initiated Doctor2Doctor. As part of this project, the VUmc frequently sends doctors, nurses and medical technicians to Kenya where they conduct surgical procedures, train local medical professionals, and explain how to use the medical equipment that has been flown in. The VUmc also invites Kenyan doctors to the Netherlands to acquire knowledge and experience here that they can then share with their colleagues in Kenya. Kenya Airways and KLM Health Services are closely involved with Doctor2Doctor: ten kidney dialysis machines and a large team from the VUmc were flown to Kenya at no charge for example.
For more information: www.vumc.nl (in Dutch)
Close the gap
Close the Gap is a Belgian non-profit organisation set up in 2003 to reduce the digital gulf between developed and developing countries. The organisation does this by collecting used computers from large companies and making them available for reuse in developing countries across the world. These computers help people in poorer countries to access information on the Internet and provide them with the opportunity to communicate via the Internet. The computers are primarily used for educational purposes.
For more information: www.close-the-gap.org
