The Association for Community Empowerment Solutions (ACES) is a left-of-center education and human rights nonprofit working in Haiti, Colombia, and several African nations. In addition to its work in women’s literacy, much of its activity is focused on sexual- and gender-role education with an emphasis on opposing stigma surrounding menstrual cycles and ending forced or adolescent marriage. ^{1 2} In January 2024, this group was recommended for special consultative status by the United Nations‘ Non-Governmental Organizations Committee. ³

Activities

Association for Community Empowerment Solutions curates an online Sustainable Development Goals Resource Library. This is a compendium of articles, blog posts, and research papers related to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals program. Sources include groups such as the World Bank  ⁴ and Brookings Institution, a left-leaning think tank. ⁵ Contents are organized by sub-goals and then grouped by continent. ⁶

It also runs the Gender Equality Data Collaborative, a tool for other nonprofits to track ideas and submit survey data relating to gender ideas and women’s rights. This tool is aimed at groups working in similar areas to ACES, especially in the areas of reproductive rights and adolescent marriage. Its Data 4 Equality portal allows nonprofits to upload and download this data. It also hosts an in-kind grant competition for groups or individuals willing to assist its Data 4 Equality program, providing them with ten free hours of consulting services. ²

ACES also offers remote internships. The internships are unpaid but require a 12-hour weekly commitment with a 2-hour weekly virtual meeting, stretching over the course of six to nine months. ⁷ Its YouTube channel hosts conversations between its founder, Linda Jackson, and several guests who support its mission. The roster of guest speakers includes Christina Kwauk of the Brookings Institution, who spoke on the importance of young girls’ education and the disproportionate impact of climate change on young women. ⁸

At the opening session of the 2024 meeting, the UN Non-Governmental Organizations Committee recommended the Association for Community Empowerment Solutions for special consultative status. ³

Programs

ASK 4 Girls Clubs

Activities Skills and Knowledge (ASK4Girls Club) is an education initiative for young African women. It has been promulgated in Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, and Malawi, with an emphasis on women’s equality and “sexual and reproductive health and rights.” The program typically consisted of two sections. The first was an education section dealing with sex and reproductive education, and gender roles in general. It contained topics about consent to marriage, and sugar daddy awareness to prevent girls from being manipulated by older men. The second section taught the girls basic sewing skills through making pouches they could sell, menstrual pads, and constructing menstrual bracelets that help them track their monthly reproductive cycles. ACES sells these bracelets on its website. ⁹ These sections were preceded by a survey gauging local ideas about women’s rights and sexual mores. ¹

Teaching Adolescents to Thrive

The Teaching Adolescents to Thrive program encompasses all of ACES other educational methodology in the areas of sex- and gender-role education. It also adds a human rights program, which revolves around instructing youth in the principles of the United Nations’ Universal Declaration on Human Rights. In one activity, students were asked to imagine an unpopulated island and to describe the ideal laws and structure they would introduce once the island was peopled. They were then asked to compare their laws with the U.N.’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights to see how well they aligned. ^{10 11}

Pads for Learning

Citing a lack of available menstruation products as a cause of school truancy in some areas, ACES launched the Pads for Learning program, which provides feminine hygiene tools and education to young girls in Africa. ¹²

Seeds4Seeds

Seeds4Seeds is a food insecurity program. Its pilot program launched in Uganda, where it provided rice, beans, and corn seed to twenty-four farmers. ¹³

Leadership

Linda Jackson, founder and CEO of the Association for Community Empowerment Solutions, is the former U.S. liaison to the United Nations’ Economic and Social Council. She also worked as the U.S. liaison to the organization Joy for Children Uganda, the dean of students at the Beddow School, and an instructor at the College of Southern Maryland. ¹⁴

1. Jackson, Linda B. Hassan, Mohammed T. “Bringing a Holistic Approach to Girls Education…” ACES. Accessed February 26, 2024. https://www.acesworld.org/our-impact
2. ACESWorld. How to Apply for and Win a Data4Equality Grant.” Youtube. February 3, 2023. Accessed February 26, 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZV8zpbhqVac
3.  “Opening its 2024 Session, Non-Governmental Organizations Committee Recommends 72 Entities for Consultative Status, Defers Action on 58 Others.” United Nations. January 22, 2024. Accessed February 26, 2024. https://press.un.org/en/2024/ngo964.doc.htm
4. Quraishi, Fatima Anjum. “Reducing Poverty and Promoting Peace in the Horn of Africa.” World Bank. March 15, 2023. Accessed February 26, 2024. https://blogs.worldbank.org/trade/reducing-poverty-and-promoting-peace-horn-africa
5. Kharas, Homie and MacArthur, John W. “A Purpose-Driven Fund to End Extreme Poverty by 2030.” Brookings. April 5, 2023. Accessed February 26, 2024. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/a-purpose-driven-fund-to-end-extreme-poverty-by-2030/
6. “Sustainable Development Goals Library.” ACES. Accessed February 26, 2024. https://www.acesworld.org/sdg-1-library
7. “We’re Looking for Interns.” ACES. Accessed February 26, 2024. https://www.acesworld.org/internship
8. ACESWorld. “Why Girls’ Education is Important for Climate Actions.” Youtube. March 19, 2021. Accessed February 26, 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xu7eOIlHJm0
9. “Buy a Bracelet, Donate a Bracelet.” ACES. Accessed February 26, 2024. https://www.acesworld.org/bracelets-menstrual
10. “Teaching Adolescents to Thrive.” ACES. Accessed February 26, 202. https://www.acesworld.org/thrive
11. “Human Rights Activities.” ACES. Accessed February 26, 2024 https://www.acesworld.org/introduction-to-human-rights
12. “Menstruation: a Barrier to Education.” ACES. Accessed February 26, 2024 https://www.acesworld.org/blog/menstruation-a-barrier-to-education
13. “Seeds 4 Seeds: Combatting Food Insecurity.” ACES. Accessed February 26, 2024. https://www.acesworld.org/blog/seeds4seeds-combating-food-insecurity
14.  “Linda Jackson.” Linkedin. Accessed February 26, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/linda-jackson-a4424730/