Girawa partners with like-minded organizations around the world to support nature-first education. We are proud members of regional and global networks advancing environmental learning and action. These partnerships help us grow stronger across Asia, Africa, Europe and South America, while staying grounded in the communities we serve.
The Foundation of Goodness
The Foundation of Goodness was established in 1999 and has worked extensively following the 2004 tsunami, that devastated the lives of thousands of Sri Lankans, to develop a one of a kind holistic rural community development model.
Today the Foundation of Goodness delivers a wide range of programmes to over 35,000 beneficiaries every year from 500+ villages in the South, North and East of Sri Lanka, free of charge, via its 20 empowerment divisions: Business Skills and Enterprise, Women’s Empowerment, Special Needs, Language and Arts, Sports Development, Medical, Dental and Psychosocial Support, Children and Youth Development, Environment and Water, Rural Welfare & Development and Village Heartbeat Empowerment Centres.
The Foundation of Goodness also provides opportunities for volunteering and has established its own Sustainable Income Generation avenues.
Since 2020, we have been working with the Foundation of Goodness to disseminate planetary health education to all of their Village Heartbeat Empowerment Centres, with lessons designed by our founder Dr. Anusha Seneviratne.
Our collaboration began at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, with classes addressing how the SARS-CoV2 coronavirus and other zoonotic diseases emerge, how viruses cause illness and how children can protect themselves with basic hygiene measures. This was followed by classes on topics such as nutrition, mental health and how plants contribute to our survival.
The FOG have since developed an annual Planetary Health programme for their centres in collaboration with Girawa.
Clube Saúde Planetária Lins
Clube Saúde Planetária Lins – São Paulo is a branch of the Saúde Planetária initiative developed by the Planetary Health Research Group based in the Institute of Advanced Studies at the University of São Paulo (USP), serving the Lins district of São Paulo, Brazil. Clube Saúde Planetária Lins is led by Lucas Sulino Fernandes has been appointed by the USP Planetary Health Research Group as National Ambassador for Planetary Health.
The group partners with the ABPEducom Lins Nucleus, UNILINS (University Centre of Lins), UNISALESIANO (Centro Universitário Católico Salesiano Auxilium) and FATEC (Faculty of Technology of Lins) to create a population mobilization campaign to preserve human health and the environment. The campaign includes topics such as Covid-19, Dengue, Afforestation – Seed cultivation, Selective Collection and Solid Residues.
Education is disseminated through videos, Podcasts, brochures, and pamphlets. The group has also hosted webinars featuring leading researchers from Lins on their panels. Girawa is working with Clube Saúde Planetária Lins-SP by providing educational material on topics such as COVID-19, mental health, nutrition, plants, air pollution, vaccines, and climate change.
Clube Saúde Planetária Lins-SP is translsting the material to Brazilian Portuguese and disseminating them to educational institutions in the community of Lins, with the aspiration to expand to other parts of Brazil in the future.
Núcleo Regional Lins-São Paulo
The “Núcleo Regional Lins-São Paulo” was created by ABPEducom (Brazilian Association of Researchers and Professionals in Educommunication) in 2019. The ABPEducom is a scientific-cultural, interdisciplinary, national, non-profit institution, aiming to bring together researchers, professionals and students who have EDUCOMMUNICATION and/or their elements and constitutive processes as their object of interest.
The institution promotes the development of the concept and practices in Educommunication, enabling, in one of its main activities, training in interface of Communication and Education. The proposal is to promote transversal actions, in which the subjects involved are protagonists of changes and social transformation, favouring communicative ecosystems open, democratic, diverse, critical and creative dialogue.
The “Núcleo Regional Lins-São Paulo” of ABPEducom is coordinated by Joelita Palmeira Rocha, a postgraduate student in Educommunication at UNILINS University Centre.
Since 2021, we have been working with the “Núcleo Regional Lins-São Paulo ABPEducom” to implement educational projects on planetary health with youth, through Educommunication practices. Beginning with the project “imprensa jovem” in a community in Lins city during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The “imprensa jovem”, running activities with Girawa educational material on topics COVID-19 and vaccines, the youth created videos explaining how to protect themselves from COVID-19. Regarding the topics mental health, nutrition, plants, air pollution, and climate change, youth created newspapers and fanzines with articles about planetary health and the contribution with the SDG – Sustainable Development Goals.
Based on our experience with the project “imprensa jovem” in 2023 we launched the Planetary Health Youth Club Project, aiming to contribute to the construction of the Network of Next Generation Leaders in Planetary Health through Educommunication practices.