The Social Entrepreneurship Movement Ireland

While Ireland has been in the headlines for its work towards financial recovery, it has also made a significant contribution to the growth of social entrepreneurship.

Ireland is currently home to 1,400 social enterprises, which employ about 25,000 people, with an expected increase of 65,000 jobs in the next few years. The number of social entrepreneurs in the country has continued to increase as well, with much of the rise attributed to Social Entrepreneurs Ireland (SEI).

The organization SEI was established in 2005 to support the growth of social enterprises. SEI believes that when a social entrepreneur is working on an innovative project, they should get the funding needed for the project to grow. By supporting these new solutions, SEI hopes that these entrepreneurs will be able to help as many people as possible.

Since 2005, it has invested a total of €5.4 million in the projects of 169 social entrepreneurs. SEI supports each project for up to 2 years. The projects SEI has supported have directly affected over 250,000 people across the country and have also created 850 jobs.

In regard to Ireland’s opportunity to become a leader in social entrepreneurship, SEI’s Head of Engagement Darren Ryan said, “There is so much potential and a conducive environment for social innovation; why couldn’t Ireland be the global leader in the development of social entrepreneurship?”

In order to support these social entrepreneurs, SEI has its annual Awards Programme, which awards funding to 9 social entrepreneurs out of about 200 applications. A number of the projects are centered on reducing unemployment and rural isolation and improving mental health.

In addition to its Awards Programme, SEI also has a Social Entrepreneurs Bootcamp and its Elevator Programme. The Social Entrepreneurs Bootcamp was created to help give support to rising social entrepreneurs.

The Elevator Programme entails 12 months of support and helps about 4 to 6 social entrepreneurs every year, in hopes of helping them to choose exactly what issue they want to focus on and figure out their solutions.

SEI expects that for any project it supports, the success rate will be between 50% and 75% or the failure rate will be between 25% and 50%, depending on when SEI chooses to invest.

In light of SEI’s predictions, Ryan said, “Anything higher than that and we will know we’re not taking enough risk. We want to ensure that we are always thinking big and looking for the ideas that have the potential to change Ireland.”

Along with the SEI, the global organization the School for Social Entrepreneurs (SSE) recently expanded to Ireland. The SSE offers courses to mentor and support social entrepreneurs.

The school holds study sessions that include witnesses, experts, and social enterprise visits. The school also offers Action Learning Sets, in which people have small-group discussions to talk about their ideas.

Another important feature of the SSE is its mentoring services, where the school chooses mentors for all of its social entrepreneurs. The mentors offer the budding entrepreneurs advice and guidance as well as additional information and support to help them in their projects.

With growing resources for social entrepreneurs, Ireland is likely to be a strong leader in helping solve some of the world’s biggest problems.

- Julie Guacci

Sources: Forbes, Social Entrepreneurs Ireland, School for Social Entrepreneurs
Photo: Meath Chronicle

20 Ways to Fight Human Trafficking

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Human trafficking is not only a human security issue, but the fight against human trafficking is also one of the most important human rights causes of our generation. Global poverty is a direct link to the increase in human trafficking making the reduction of global poverty a goal in the near future to save the lives of thousands of young girls and boys within the next decade. The following is a list of 20 practices that can be used to fight against human trafficking:

1. Look for red flags that may indicate human trafficking. For example, be aware of situations that can help identify potential trafficking victims. Also, check for human trafficking awareness groups around the community for more information.
2. For the United States, the National Human Trafficking Resource Center can be contacted at 1-888-373-7888 while on a global scale, Polaris can be reached at (888) 373-7888. Both are available twenty four hours a day and can provide a service officer which can provide and receive information regarding suspicious activity which may relate to human trafficking in the area.
3. Be aware of companies and products that may be involved with child labor. The department of labor provides a list of companies that do and do not utilize these practices.
4. Include human trafficking into the professional realm. Specifically, at conferences and within training manuals that relate to this discussion. Help people understand the severity of the issue.
5. Seek out anti-trafficking organizations or create a startup organization geared toward spreading awareness and ways to prevent these acts from occurring.
6. Find the local, state and federal government representatives and inform them about how to combat human trafficking in the community, and also ask what they are doing to address human trafficking in your area and at the global perspective.
7. Distribute public awareness materials available from the Department of Health and Human Services or the Department of Homeland Security around the community, local schools and universities.
8. Volunteer with local outreach or global outreach groups to help fight human trafficking.
9. Donate to an approved anti-trafficking group locally or globally.
10. Start a fundraiser to help provide assistance in the community as well as across the globe.
11. Host events to discuss, show films or do anything related to raising awareness of human trafficking. Promote this locally and collect donations to help fight for the cause.
12. Bring awareness to schools and universities. Encourage information to be provided in the curriculums and in the classrooms. Evoke emotion from students and share with them the steps to help fight for the end of human trafficking.
13. Utilize Google alerts to keep you up to date on current involvements with human trafficking.
14. Write letters to magazines, newspapers and even blogs to bring awareness to these issues.
15. Start a petition against human trafficking or sign a petition to support anti-human trafficking.
16. If you own a business, provide internships for students relating to these efforts or provide job skills to traffic survivors.
17. University students and high school students can take action at their school or on their campus. Students can raise awareness about these issues and create clubs and organizations to gain momentum to fight human trafficking.
18. Join a task force initiative for law enforcement officials.
19. Provide medical assistance at low cost to those who have survived human trafficking.
20. Help survivors gain access to legal assistance, so survivors can fight back as well.

- Rachel Cannon

Sources: U.S. State Department, Polaris Project
Photo: List DOSE

A Wider Circle: Good News from D.C.

A hundred million people are estimated to be homeless in the world and the number is only growing bigger with the rise and fall of economies. It is estimated that there are another 100 million “hidden homeless” worldwide, a number which takes into account those living in abandoned houses, cars, or houses and apartments with little to no furnishings.

Dr. Mark Bergel, now deemed a CNN Hero, founded his organization after noticing the very few furnishings in the houses of those struggling to make ends meet.

Bergel started his journey as a professor at American University and eventually took on his vision to help others as a full time job. He founded an organization called A Wider Circle in 2001, a nonprofit devoted to furnishing the homes of families living in poverty, free of charge.

Since it’s founding, A Wider Circle has furnished the houses of over 125,000 people, but Bergel’s mission does not stop there. He is also committed to providing an education for those who have asked for one.

Managers from the Greater Washington Area’s homeless shelters mentioned to Bergel that an education in “life skills” and how to cope with stress would be highly beneficial for the shelters’ frequenters.

So that is just what Bergel did.

He incorporated educational programs into A Wider Circle’s mission to help lift adults and children out of poverty by communicating the importance of life skills and helping to adjust the “whole person.”

“I want to help create the change that will enable people to rise out of poverty and enjoy the freedom and independence afforded to others. Poverty is a human problem, and human beings will solve it,” Bergel explained.

After many community service trips, Bergel came face to face with the truth that many people living below the poverty line often lived without beds, tables and couches. Bergel stated that “most apartments had nothing but a chair… There was nothing that would give these people a sense of hope, [or] a sense of dignity.”

With new furnishings and one less issue to worry about Bergel hopes to give families room to breathe and the ability to start fresh.

Currently, A Wider Circle has two full warehouses complete with donated furniture, toys, clothes and clean sheets. Families are able to stop in and choose what they need from the selection.

Since donating his own bed in 2008, Bergel has been sleeping on his floor or couch. He says he intends to do so until every family in the United States has enough beds for each family member.

Bergel’s foundation is not only helping people in the U.S. to live easier lives, but he is also bringing attention to a global issue — the “hidden homeless.” By helping the lives of the “hidden homeless” in the U.S. Bergel is one step closer to addressing this issue on a global scale, and by publicizing his work, we are one step closer to inspiring others to follow his lead.

- Becka Felcon

Sources: CNN, A Wider Circle
Photo: Brown University

Eradication of Polio: Hope for World Health Fight

In a region of the world that has such a large portion of the world’s population (25 percent), health issues in Southeast Asia can reflect many general health concerns. Recent disease scares like the Avian Flu, Swine Flu and the SARS outbreak all had origins and outbreaks in Southeast Asia. Thus, the recent declaration by the World Health Organization (WHO) that polio has been eliminated in the region can be considered a great victory in the fight against global poverty.

The declaration was the culmination of an intensive effort that involved 2.4 million volunteers in India, which had accounted for half the world’s polio cases in 2009. Despite that prevalence just a few years ago, the country has had no reported cases of polio since 2011.

The project cost a billion dollars, largely funded by the Indian government. Former U.S. ambassador John E. Lange said about the announcement, “This is… a proof of concept that polio can be eradicated in some of the most difficult places to work in.” Thanks to the encouragement of the WHO and the collaboration by the Indian government, Southeast Asia looks to have set a model for future regions to follow.

With the official polio-free announcement for Southeast Asia, it can be said that 80 percent of the world’s population lives in polio-free regions. The only two world regions that are still plagued by polio are the Eastern Mediterranean and Africa. Those regions will need time as there is significant resistance in those regions.

Pakistan in particular has been an area resistant to polio eradication. While it would seem that the elimination of polio is a movement that anyone could get behind, the movement has become closely associated to United States intelligence efforts in the region. The Taliban in Pakistan has acted out against polio workers and citizens helping the polio effort. Closely following the news of eradication in Southeast Asia were reports of the kidnapping and murder of a polio worker in Pakistan. With entrenched resistance groups there and in Nigeria, the further eradication of polio might prove difficult going forward.

Also, the Syrian civil war will keep health worries going in that region. Syria had one of the best health care systems in the region prior to the crisis, but the massive displacement of the Syrian population helps spread these dangerous diseases. A spokesman from the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees said, “The current polio outbreak in Syria… is arguably the most challenging outbreak in the history of polio eradication.”

Despite the difficulties in the remaining areas, the eradication of polio in Southeast Asia proves that no matter the circumstances in the present, a dedicated effort can make real progress. The work that the Indian government and WHO have done in the last five years could prove to be successful in other regions. Organizations like The Borgen Project encourage this type of work to continue, and for the United States to step up their support in regions that are dealing with these difficulties.

-Eric Gustafsson

Sources: LA Times, NPR, WHO, The Guardian
Photo: NPR

Good News for Haiti’s Earthquake Survivors

The January earthquake that struck Haiti in 2010 killed over 230,000 people and displaced 1.5 million. Soon after, the country suffered a mass outbreak of cholera; squalid camps were set up for refugees and Haiti sent out a call for help. Three years later the cholera epidemic has been stifled and the number of people living in these camps has dropped by 91 percent.

This is all due to the aid of foreign communities such as USAID and the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) who sent a cumulative total of $450 million to “build it back better”.

The U.S. led the way in cleaning out Haiti’s coastal waters; Oxfam provided clean water to half a million people living in camps and supported the creation of work programs that put cash into the hands of refugees; the United Nation’s Population Fund (UNFPA) distributed safe birthing kits to expectant mothers; Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders opened a round-the-clock free clinic; UNICEF vaccinated more than three million children while integrating cholera-prevention into school curriculums; and the local government used funding to move those who had lost their homes out of refugee camps and into permanent structures.

There are those who would say the U.S. could have acted faster, and that we spent more than was needed. However the fact that Haiti, a small and deeply impoverished fixture of the developing world, could be re-stabilized and rebuilt greater than its former state in just over three years after such a disastrous setback is nothing short of miraculous.

Clément Bélizaire, director of the government’s camp relocation and rehabilitation program, says, “Since 1986, this the first time I’ve seen so many projects being implemented, and in many ways, a lot of neighborhoods today are in much better shape than before the quake due to significant investments made in infrastructures.”

Today there are 137,533 registered earthquake survivors in 243 camps sites, a monumental drop from the thousands of slum-like camps that used to clog the country. More Haitian children are in school than ever before, and the overall population of undernourished children has dropped. It can be hard to believe, but Haiti is now on the forefront of countries revolutionized by foreign aid, and countries like India and the Philippines are hoping to follow in its footsteps.

-Lydia Caswell

Photo: Washington Post
Sources: CNN, Miami Herald, Time, Oxfam, Huffington Post, Doctors Without Borders, UNICEF