Rooftops Canada

Today is !

The International Day of Cooperatives recognizes the achievements and contributions of cooperatives worldwide in promoting economic and social development, empowering communities, and advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Rooftops Canada, with its longstanding history in the cooperative housing movement, celebrates this day as an important marker for global efforts to build sustainable and equitable communities. Working with extraordinary local partners, we’re able to support people living in poverty, especially women, to secure their rights to live in peace and dignity.

Together, let's continue supporting cooperative housing for sustainable and dignified living environments.

Learn more about Rooftops Canada: www.rooftops.ca

Learn more about : https://www.un.org/en/observances/cooperatives-day

Rooftops Canada is growing! We are looking for someone who is passionate about fundraising, communications and donor engagement. Please see our website for details on the Fundraising and Communications Officer position: www.rooftops.ca. Application deadline: June 19th

Rooftops Canada Rooftops Canada works with Canadian and International partners to help thousands of families in the Global South secure affordable housing in sustainable communities

Our Spring Newsletter is out!

To read more, go to https://www.rooftops.ca/change-to-news-and-stories

Rooftops Canada has extended the deadline for our Young Professionals International Placements in Angola, Kenya and Uganda.

Are you a Canadian citizen or Permanent Resident? Are you between the ages of 18 and 35? Looking to make a positive impact?

Explore our Young Professional Opportunities! Go to https://www.rooftops.ca/opportunities

Today is Earth Day!

Did you know that the global south, which holds the majority of the world’s population is unequivocally more vulnerable to climate change than the Global North? This is owing to widespread poverty, income inequality and its heavy dependence on climate-sensitive sectors, including the agricultural sector.

Through the Women’s Spaces project, Rooftops is assisting our partner, Mazingira Institute in Kenya to combat food insecurity, caused by climate change, by providing training related to farming practices growing nutritious food and rearing animals. This program builds on the knowledge and skills required by women to establish their own business, achieve stable income and feed their families.

To learn more about the Women’s Spaces project: https://www.rooftops.ca/
Interested in contributing to the Women’s Spaces Project? Go to: https://www.rooftops.ca/donate

Today is !

Every year, on March 22, we recognize, reflect, and respond to the ever dire global water crisis.

This year’s theme is Water for Peace. Water has the power to create peace or spark conflict.

More than 3 billion people worldwide depend on water that crosses national borders. Yet, only 24 countries have cooperation agreements for all their shared water.

As climate change impacts increase, and populations grow, there is an urgent need, within and between countries, to unite around protecting and conserving out most precious resource.
We can foster harmony between communities and countries by uniting around the fair and sustainable use of water.

Rooftops Canada’s Board of Directors is seeking skilled and passionate individuals as it enters an exciting and transformative phase. We are currently looking for two new Board Members to replace out current vacancy, one from CHF Ontario and the other from CHF Canada.

This is a unique opportunity to be part of a dynamic period of change and growth at Rooftops Canada. As a board member, you will play a crucial role in guiding our organization through this pivotal transition.

Our board is composed of members with a diverse array of skills and experiences, representing different Canadian cooperative, housing areas and members at large. We are currently seeking to enhance this skillset. In our current recruitment, we’re interested in candidates who specialize in one or more of the following areas:

1. Finance (A CPA, CA designation or equivalent is a significant asset)

2. Fundraising

Director expectations include the following:

- Attend board meetings and Annual General Meeting (every 2- 3 month)
- Commit to a 3-year term as Director.
- Take a position on at least one of the Board committees: Governance and Strategic Directions, Finance and Fundraising, and Communications and Marketing.
- Dedicate at least 10 hours a month to Board committees and activities.
- Digital Proficiency: computer and technology skills for efficient electronic communication and document preparation, as this is primarily a virtual role.
- Assist with fundraising efforts to fuel continued growth of Rooftops Canada
- Approve the annual budget, audit reports and review activities as presented in the financial reports.

Skills:

- Previous involvement on a Board of Directors is an asset
- Demonstrated professional, executive or leadership experience and accomplishments in business, government or the non-profit sector
- Knowledge of international development funding
- Experience in strategic planning
-Experience in fundraising
- Strong understanding of financial reports and/or experience in non-profit accounting
- Board Meetings are conducted in English and therefore the successful candidate will need to be proficient in English

How to Apply:

To apply for the position of Board Director, please forward by April 15th, your CV and Letter of Interest outlining your skills and experience to the Board Governance Committee Rooftops [email protected] along with;

-Two nominators (from co-operative housing organizations, either Quebec or Ontario)

-Short bio

-Digital photo

Successful candidates will be contacted by a member of the Board for interviews.

For more information:

Volunteer Opportunities — Rooftops Canada Board of Directors: CHF Ontario & CHF Quebec Description: Rooftops Canada Board of Directors is seeking skilled and passionate individuals as it enters an exciting and transformative phase. We are currently looking for two new Board Members to replace our current vacancy, one from CHF Ontario and th...

Today is !

World Social Justice Day recognizes that social development and social justice are indispensable for the achievement and maintenance of peace and security within and among nations and that, in turn, social development and social justice cannot be attained in the absence of peace and security, or in the absence of respect for all human rights and fundamental freedoms.

Social justice is at the heart of what we do at Rooftops Canada! We believe and strive for women to achieve their equal rights to land! We do this by addressing systematic barriers, working with community leaders and providing skills for women to make empowered decisions.

On World Day of Social Justice, let’s stand united for equality, fairness, and human rights.

Find out more https://www.rooftops.ca/womens-spaces-project

We have extended our deadline to apply for the YP Overseas Placement!

Interested in partaking in a placement as a YP? Rooftops Canada is currently hiring for 4 positions to participate in our 6-month YP Program.

The placement positions include:

-Database Administration Officer with Mazingira Institute (Nairobi, Kenya)
-Communications Officer with Shelter and Settlements Alternatives Uganda (Kampala, Uganda)
-Gender, Land, and Housing Research Officer with Socio-Economic Rights Institute (Johannesburg, South Africa)
-Communications Officer with Development Workshop Angola (Huambo, Angola) *Working knowledge of Portuguese language an asset

Each YP will spend six months overseas in addition to a mandatory pre-departure and re-integration of approximately one week each (virtual or hybrid).

Rooftops Canada will provide the funds for the following:

A modest living stipend that covers accommodation, utilities, local transport, meals, and incidentals (Rooftops Canada will determine the specific amount based on considerations such as the cost of living in placement locations).

-Return travel from the places of residence in Canada to the placement city and visa costs
-Overseas health insurance and vaccination expenses.

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE POSITIONS GO TO: https://lnkd.in/eszP2x7U

TO APPLY: https://lnkd.in/eb6ygdur

👋 Judy, Brian and Laureen!

Women's Spaces partners Shelter and Settlements Alternatives and Mazingira Institute are at the second session of the UN-HABITAT assembly in Nairobi, Kenya this week. Pop by the booth to meet the team and to learn about our collective work to secure women's rights to land and livelihoods!

https://unhabitat.org/governance/un-habitat-assembly/second-session-2023

Representatives from cities around the globe share success stories, best practices and challenges in UPA integration:
Sam Ikua from our Women's Spaces Project implementing partner in Kenya, Mazingira Institute, spoke at ‘Urban and peri-urban agriculture for resilient, sustainable and inclusive food systems’ a side event hosted by the RUAF Global Partnership, at the 4th UN Environment Programme Global Conference of the One Planet Sustainable Food Systems Programme

Read the recap and watch the recording here:
https://www.fao.org/in-action/food-for-cities-programme/news/detail/en/c/1637979/

Mazingira Institute RUAF Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) UN Environment Programme Rikolto

Urban and peri-urban agriculture for resilient, sustainable and inclusive food systems | Food for the cities programme | Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations On 25 April 2023, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), RUAF Global Partnership on Sustainable Urban Agriculture and Food Systems, Rikolto, and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) co-organized a side event during the 4th Global Conference of the Sustainable Food Systems Programme. The...

"What would you want us to know about women in informal settlements?"

Check out this short film from our Women's Spaces partner SERI in South Africa who worked with the Slovo Park informal Settlement to host a consultation focused on the gendered challenges women face in terms of tenure security, access to basic services, participation as well as livelihoods within the settlement.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4f1T7eGoGtQ

Women's Spaces - Slovo Park Consultation SERI partnered with the Slovo Park informal Settlement to host a Women’s Spaces Consultation. The day long consultation focused on the gendered challenges an...

Time is running out! ⏰✈️
Apply now to these amazing opportunities to work with our partners in Kenya, Uganda and Angola!
https://www.rooftops.ca/volunteers

As we reach our one year milestone, the Women's Spaces Project Steering Committee spent a week in Johannesburg, South Africa to share project updates, learn from each other’s experiences and to strengthen our relationships.
Big thank you to the SERI team for hosting this important convening!

Rooftops Canada is pleased to welcome Lizette Zuniga to the role of Interim Executive Director. Lizette brings more than 20 years of leadership experience in housing and international development within the non-profit and for-profit sectors, including more than 15 years with Toronto Community Housing and predecessor companies. Lizette is an Architect has an Executive Management Program and related graduate degrees from the University of Toronto and York University.

Over the next six months, Lizette will be guiding Board and staff through strategy and vision, overseeing operations and long-term planning, and will ensure a smooth succession to permanent leadership renewal.

What's New — Rooftops Canada Welcome to our eBulletinWe hope you are all well and safe. These are very challenging times, but the pandemic has reminded us again of the importance of home especially in Sub-Saharan Africa where we focus our efforts. We want to share some of our recent highlights and wish you better times ahead. ...

Using an urban farmers agriculture and food system database to increase women’s livelihoods in Nairobi.
Applications due April 14.
Visit https://www.rooftops.ca/volunteers for full details

Mapping as a tool to secure land rights in Angola.
Applications due April 14.
Visit https://www.rooftops.ca/volunteers for full details

Deepening the understanding of the complex intersectional issues of race, class and gender in the formal South African property system.
Applications due April 14.
Visit https://www.rooftops.ca/volunteers for full details

Raising awareness among local authorities, courts and police, elders, religious and customary leaders to promote positive action on women’s rights to land, housing and livelihoods in Uganda.
Applications due April 14.
Visit https://www.rooftops.ca/volunteers for full details

So pleased to be working with SSA which is helping grow participatory governance at the local level. Over time this will bring new approaches to ensuring gender equal access to land and housing. We are partners with SSSA in the Women's Spaces project, cofunded by Global Affairs Canada.

Wonderful to see the progress that SSA is making with our Women's Spaces project in Uganda.

Rooftops Canada is proud to support SSA's transformative work in Kamuli, Uganda. Thanks also to our funding partner, Global Affairs Canada.

The community paralegals are volunteers that have been trained by SSA. They will assist women and community organizations with land and housing rights issues. This work is part of our Women's Spaces Project which is co-funded with support from Global Affairs Canada.

SSA developed a handbook that will be used by community paralegals to execute their work while dealing with challenges faced by the community in the field. Rooftops Canada

We are very proud to be working with Samuel Ikua, winner of the 2022 BBC Food Chain Global Youth Champion Award. Samuel is the Project Manager responsible for our joint Women’s Spaces Project with Mazingira Institute in Nairobi. He is working with municipal urban agriculture extension officers, urban farmers and many other stakeholders to increase women’s access to land and other resources for urban food activities. He is pictured here with Diana Lee-Smith, consultant at Mazingira Institute. See: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3gg1RPC3wvtZWVW4p8b4YmF/the-food-chain-global-youth-champion-2022-samuel-ikua

Our amazing Women’s Spaces project partner in Uganda, Shelter and Settlements Alternatives, have just completed training 30 volunteer paralegals in Entebbe and Kamuli Districts. Women in Uganda face huge barriers in securing equal rights to land and other productive resources. The paralegals will work with women, community groups and local authorities to raise awareness of women’s legal rights and challenge discriminatory beliefs and traditions. This is a critical task of the Women’s Spaces project and an important step for Ugandan women to take positive action. Engaging men as paralegals will also help confront harmful attitudes and deeply entrenched patriarchal structures.

Global Affairs Canada is our major funding partner for Women’s Spaces, but we must also raise $500,000. You can help at: https://www.rooftops.ca/donate See our new project newsletter to learn more about the Women’s Spaces project in Angola, Uganda, South Africa and Kenya.https://static1.squarespace.com/static/6053a3a229c38d645f200961/t/639b1e12560a6c59985cba90/1671110168888/RC+DIReport+FINAL+2022+12Dec+8x11.pdf

Our Women’s Spaces partner, Development Workshop Angola (DWA), is working in Huambo Province in three rapidly growing municipalities. Over the past few months, 500 people participated in neighbourhood and village sessions to examine Angola’s land law from a gender perspective. They also reflected on the consequences of customary practices which often limit women’s access to land especially in cases of inheritance. One of DWA’s main objectives for the project is to advocate for laws and practices that ensure women’s equal land rights and take precedence over discriminatory local actions.

Global Affairs Canada is our major funding partner for Women’s Spaces, but Rooftops Canada must also raise $500,000. Please consider making a donation at: https://www.rooftops.ca/donate

Rooftops Canada and its partners have been very busy starting up our Women’s Spaces project. The first in-person meeting of all the project partners recently took place in Nairobi, Kenya. We reviewed project implementation and shared common themes and synergies that tie the project together. One of the highlights was meeting members of a group of 68 farmers who live in the Kibera slum, and farm on land owned by the railway. Our Women’s Spaces partner, Mazingira Institute, will work with these industrious women to help secure their use of the land to improve household incomes and nutrition. Global Affairs Canada is our major co-funding partner for Women’s Spaces.