Paper for Water is a non-profit organization located in Dallas, Texas that transforms lives through origami practices. In 2011, two sisters, Katherine and Isabelle Adams, ages five and eight years old, discovered that millions of people in the world do not have clean water resources. Furthermore, in impoverished countries, young women often skip school to walk miles in search of clean drinking water. So, the Adams sisters decided to make a difference by handcrafting origami ornaments for donations to build a well for an Ethiopian community. After raising more than $10,000, when their original goal was to raise $500, the Adams sisters established their corporation, Paper for Water. Here is how origami provides access to clean water.
Now, Katherine and Isabelle Adams, ages 14 and 16, work alongside hundreds of volunteers across North Texas. Since 2011, Paper for Water has raised over $2 million, helping fund 200 water projects in numerous countries. Paper for Water has trained over 1,000 people the art of folding origami. It has graced over 48,000 people with access to clean water through implementing water wells in deprived communities.
Paper for Water and Education
Additionally, Paper for Water educates local communities in the global water crisis. There are approximately 2.5 billion cases of diarrhea every year in children less than five years old. Diarrhea accounts for about 760,000 deaths in children under five years old annually. Diarrhea is now the second leading cause of death in children across the world, advancing AIDs, malaria and measles combined. Caused by unsafe drinking water and poor sanitation conditions, diarrhea is one obstacle developing communities across the globe face.
Paper for Water stresses the importance of clean water well building through their past 120 educational talks, which reached 14,000 people. Paper for Water’s informational efforts gained the attention of influential social media platforms, such as Nickelodeon’s HALO Effect, the Kleenex Corporation, Martha Stewart Living, People Magazine and CBS.
Where Paper for Water Does Business
Paper for Water currently sells its origami ornaments on their online store and in some temporary stores as specified online, such as Neiman Marcus and Galleria Dallas. The beautiful, ornate decorations are Paper for Water’s primary source of financial donations. Each profit from an ornament sold goes straight into Paper for Water’s efforts of water well building abroad. So, with each paper folded, with each origami created, Paper for Water provides access to clean water. Nevertheless, Paper for Water relies on monthly donors of $10 a month to help maintain its goal of installing one water well per month.
Paper for Water has partnered with businesses across North Texas, instituting large installations of their elegant crafts. In 2017, Paper for Water constructed 350 origami ornaments for Neiman Marcus’ Christmas Book. This partnership with Neiman Marcus enabled two schools in Kenya to receive water wells. Galleria Dallas and Mo Wax Visual partnered with Paper for Water in 2018, crafting over 4,000 origami butterflies for their “Fold to Flight” display. Galleria Dallas Mall provided Paper for Water with a temporary store during the summer installation. The Crow Museum of Asian Art’s Lotus Shop in Downtown Dallas also installed a Paper for Water exhibit. The magnificent origami piece exhibits a collaborative project with Ekaterina Lukasheva, a famous origami artist.
Current Partnerships and Success
Paper for Water also has partnerships across the United States through its essential volunteer base. Multiple groups of volunteers appear across the nation, consisting of the Well Wishers Group, the Paper Dolls Group, Paper for Water’s Youth Representatives Worldwide, NorthPark Presbyterian Church, Volunteers of All Ages Group and several families and school clubs across America. With the help of volunteers making origami ornaments, the organization can make a difference and administer clean water resources globally.
Paper for Water is transforming lives one piece of paper at a time. Through designing origami pieces, the organization combines art and philanthropy, supplying the world’s thirsty with clean water wells. Paper for Water hopes to end the world water crisis and continues to make and sell origami ornaments every day. Paper for Water’s website provides multiple options to get involved in the cause, from purchasing origami ornaments to learning how to make origami to volunteering or donating monthly.
– Kacie Frederick
Photo: Flickr
2 Organizations Fighting for Gender Equality in El Salvador
Concertación de Mujeres Suchitotos
Established in 2008 in relation to the nonprofit organization Mary’s Pence, the Concertación de Mujeres Suchitotos works within the Salvadoran community to fight for gender equality, support women in pursuing financial independence and teach about sexual and reproductive rights. Now with over 300 members and 576 loans given to women in the community to begin their own small businesses, the organization boasts many successful women-owned businesses in agriculture, food service and the clothing industry.
In 2016, the Concertación de Mujeres Suchitotos held an assembly to share their growing knowledge of economic solidarity with other women. Along with members in El Salvador, women from Nicaragua and Honduras attended the event, creating a total of about 120 women. The event allowed attendees to discuss their business strategies with other women in similar business ventures and brainstorm ways to improve. By giving the women a space for discourse, the Concertación de Mujeres Suchitotos further empowered El Salvadoran women to connect with each other.
However, the women in El Salvador are still struggling with violence and freedom. Gangs threatened women who owned businesses, demanding money in exchange for leaving the women and their businesses alone. Teen pregnancy continues to run high, something this organization hopes to combat through open discussions about sexual and reproductive health. Through economic independence and transparent education, the Concertación de Mujeres Suchitotos is fighting for the rights of Salvadoran women.
Salvadoran Institute for the Advancement of Women
This agency was created to uphold the measures in the Domestic Violence Act and National Plan to Prevent and Deal with Domestic Violence, passed by the Salvadoran Secretariat of Social Inclusion in response to the high levels of domestic violence in the country. By recognizing domestic violence as a government issue, women suffering from violence in El Salvador were more likely to speak up and fight for their rights.
Like the Concertación de Mujeres Suchitotos, the agency implements programs to encourage women’s education in business along with protecting those suffering from domestic violence. Although the government recognizes the gender disparity in business and economics, inherent sexism in communities challenges the progress of women in El Salvador. For example, the government can implement a program encouraging women into intellectual work, but the men working there have a preexisting bias of prioritizing and hiring men for such positions.
However, progress is being made. The Salvadoran Institute for the Advancement of Women recently provided over 100 hygiene kits of feminine products and clothes to women who were struggling due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The mission of the agency is to support women in exercising their rights as citizens and bring the country closer to true gender equality; giving women the tools to be hygienic and safe is a start.
Seven in ten women in El Salvador are affected by some form of violence throughout their lives. The Concertación de Mujeres Suchitotos and the Salvadoran Institute for the Advancement of Women are taking a stand against domestic violence, arguing Salvadoran women have a right to live a violence-free life. Although slow, these organizations are seeing progress through their programs and fight tirelessly for gender equality in El Salvador.
– Kiyomi Kishaba
Photo: Wikimedia
8 Facts About Education in Syria
Syria is a Middle Eastern country that has been independent since 1946. Civil unrest and war within the country have been major conflicts that have affected other countries worldwide since 2011. These crises have had many negative effects on the Syrian education system. Here are eight facts about education in Syria.
8 Facts About Education in Syria
Primary Education in Syria is six years in length and is required by law for all children to attend. After this, children have the option – but are not obligated – to attend three years of lower-secondary education. Following this is an examination and for students who pass, the option to attend one of two types of three-year upper-secondary education, followed by another exam. Those who pass receive a Baccalaureate or a Technical Baccalaureate; at least one of these certificates is required to attend a university.
In Syria, despite the legal requirements to send children of both sexes to school, enrollment rates are dropping. Acts of violence, including sexual assault, are used to ensure girls do not attend school. Parents push for their boys to attend school when they can, but that encouragement is not extended to their daughters. More and more often, girls will stay at home until they are married and are then expected to take care of the household and children, fulfilling more traditional gender roles.
With war a constant part of the daily lives of Syrians, violence is affecting the education process. Bombings and shootings have damaged an estimated 40% of school buildings. This makes it difficult for parents to send their children to school when a violent attack could happen at any time.
Many Syrian refugee children are not enrolled in school or any type of education due to a variety of factors, despite attempts to increase their access to education. Some of these factors include language barriers, lack of transportation and child disabilities.
Many children who do not have access to general education are forced into child labor. Some who do have access to education may still be pressured into child labor to help provide for the family. There is also the possibility that they will be forced into child marriages. Child marriage and labor are not uncommon in Syria and are major influences on the declining education rate.
In 2018, the Norwegian Refugee Council’s education program provided for children who did not have access to either education or a safe environment in which to learn. The organization has collaborated with parents and teachers to rebuild schools and re-enroll children who have been unable to attend. The goal is to recapture the education many children had lost raise them back up to appropriate education levels.
The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund aims to protect and satisfy the needs of children. Recently, the organization provided over a hundred classrooms and over three-quarters of a million school bags filled with school supplies to children in Syria. This program helped to reach 2.4 million children both in the country and across borders with refugee status.
The Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan is working to increase education access throughout 2020 to both children living in Syria and Syrian refugees. UNICEF will assist in providing educational services, as well as clean water and hygiene for school camps, food assistance and basic needs that are non-food related. This plan aims to reach Syria and the five main regions hosting Syrian refugees: Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey.
These eight facts about education in Syria show that while there are many factors preventing children from gaining an education, there are just as many aid programs determined to provide children with access to a stable learning environment. These programs help Syrians who reside in the home country as well as Syrian refugees who are fleeing to escape violence.
– Chelsea Wolfe
Photo: Flickr
Water Crisis in Saudi Arabia
The Current Situation and Implications
While the Middle East and North Africa region is no stranger to water scarcity, modern consumption and waste levels have raised the stakes. These issues have disproportionately affected the poor. In some areas, more than half the water used exceeds sustainable levels and 82% of wastewater is not purified for reuse. The Guardian reported that Saudi Arabian per capita water consumption levels are double the world average at 263 liters every day. These levels indicate that the Kingdom is using more than four times the water that renews on average.
The two major sources of water are rapidly disappearing groundwater and the sea. In addition, the groundwater accounts for 98% of natural freshwater. Each accounts for 50% of the water consumed in Saudi Arabia. The Kingdom is the largest country to rely so heavily on desalination. However, it is extremely expensive and causes serious environmental concerns due to carbon emissions. While this issue is not immediate in that Saudis are not currently dying of thirst, it does loom over individuals who live in the region. Water is now the key to survival in the country that oil discovery transformed. Additionally, if the water crisis in Saudi Arabia is not solved, there will be severe humanitarian and geopolitical consequences for the unstable Middle East and the U.S.
Government Efforts
In 2019, Saudi Arabia launched a national program called “Qatrah,” which is Arabic for “droplet.” This program is a part of the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture. It intends to slash water consumption by about 43%, to 150 liters per capita, per day by 2030. Currently, Saudi Arabia is behind only the U.S. and Canada for per capita water consumption. Hence, this water conservation program is a significant endeavor that is badly needed to improve the sustainability of water supply in the Kingdom. Qatrah is meant to encourage change in individual behavior by raising awareness of the issue. In addition, the program rationalizes water sources to best protect natural resources and all aspects of life that depend on water.
Another important aspect of Qatrah is reducing water consumption in the agricultural sector. As previously mentioned, agriculture consumes the vast majority of water in the Kingdom. Because of this, the Ministry that oversees Qatrah has plans to increase the regulation of water in this sector. The Ministry also decreases its overall consumption in order to shift more water toward the urban sector. There is a government-driven campaign to preserve and protect water is invaluable. Movements like this struggle without direction and support from the government of the country in which they operate. Thus, the aggressive plan has helped to successfully bring the water crisis in Saudi Arabia to the national stage.
NGO Efforts and Other Strategies
Suez is an international corporation dedicated to achieving sustainable management of the world’s resources. In Saudi Arabia, Suez has worked in Jeddah to improve access to drinking water. According to Suez, desalination plants supply almost all the water consumed in Jeddah: 98% to be exact. The population continues to grow in the water-scarce city. As a result, Suez has pledged to make drinking water accessible 24/7, repair links in drinking water networks and improve the efficiency of wastewater collection. Moreover, Suez has successfully decreased the amount of time it takes to repair leaks throughout the network. This proves to be an easy and vital way to preserve water.
In this endeavor, Suez has 1,400 local employees who support the delivery of about 830,000 cubic meters of water to people in Jeddah every day. According to CNN, strategies are less expensive or difficult than desalination. In addition, decreasing overall water use includes wastewater treatment, groundwater recharge through capturing rain and stormwater and allocating water differently. These methods combined with practices are already in place. Additionally, it could help fight the water crisis in Saudi Arabia.
The water crisis in Saudi Arabia is not currently claiming the lives of millions. However, it continued the unsustainable water consumption in one of the most water-scarce countries in the world. Like most geopolitical and environmental issues, the poor will suffer the worst in Saudi Arabia if the government does not manage the pending crisis responsibly. Luckily, there has been a concerted government effort, through its Qatrah program. The program slashes water consumption and consumes it more efficiently. This effort has strong support from NGOs like Suez. Suez focuses on other aspects of the crisis to help the Saudi people save what is becoming their most precious resource: water.
– Connor Bradbury
Photo: Flickr
Combating Tuberculosis in the Congo
At the beginning of the 1990s through the early 2000s, the contraction and subsequent testing for HIV increased significantly in Africa. Within this time period, the World Health Organization (WHO) discovered that nearly 85% of Africans were HIV-positive. More recently, HIV numbers in Africa have reduced with a 38% drop in eastern and southern Africa since 2010. While Africa is getting a handle on HIV, tuberculosis is prevalent. It affects the entire African continent, but cases of tuberculosis in the Congo are the most significant.
Tuberculosis hit African nations forcefully, debilitating the economy, altering sociality and increasing mortality rates. In 2016, estimates determined that 417,000 Africans died due to the disease. This number constituted 25% of all tuberculosis cases present in the world at the time. Of the African deaths in 2016, 321 of them occurred in the DRC, which had one of the highest rates of TB in all of Africa during that time.
Although many have worked to combat TB and HIV within the DRC, the country is still suffering from preventable diseases. With internet access alone, individuals may support groups and companies who are already battling tuberculosis in the Congo and globally.
Important Organizations
The Global Fund is a group that has combated drug-resistant TB through “antimicrobial-resistant superbugs.” Over the last 20 years, funding to find a cure for this type of tuberculosis has treated and saved 5 million people. Yet, its founder stated that “with more funding triple that number could have been saved.” He advised all to support The Global Fund by donating to its research on drug-resistant TB and by signing petitions to raise awareness.
Starting in 2011, the Management Sciences for Health (MSH) and USAID funded the Democratic Republic of Congo-Integrated Health Project (DRC – CIH) to educate people about the symptoms of tuberculosis in the Congo. This program also prepared healthcare professionals in ways to quickly identify and treat TB. Because of the efforts of this program, the detection rate for TB has raised from 12% to 86%. This program still needs support today, as funding is low and publicity has been scarce. Raising one’s voice in support of such a cause will only benefit the program and save more lives. Ciza Silva Mukabaha, a supporter of the MSH and the DRC – CIH called this program a “starting point” for change. He stated that, with more support from others, change is inevitable.
How to End Tuberculosis in the Congo
The End Tuberculosis Now Act recently entered Congress. Individuals in the United States can email or call their representatives and advocate to provide U.S.-government aid to combat multidrug-resistant TB and “support the fight to end tuberculosis” everywhere.
People can also aid the situation by staying informed and supporting local groups who are raising funds to combat TB. In 2018, healthcare worker Virginia Benhard started a personal fundraiser to fight tuberculosis in the Congo. She told The Borgen Project that the cause originally attracted her because of her visit to the Congo as a healthcare worker. She realized that community members consuming contaminated milk and meat caused them to contract tuberculosis. Since TB is an airborne illness, those who had tuberculosis would process the meats and then sell them, causing the infection rates to increase dramatically. Virginia “saw a need and responded,” and through local support she was able to raise over $1,000. She donated the proceeds for the building of a milk pasteurization factory in Kinshasa as well as a meat processing factory.
While this disease still rages on, there is much that individuals can do to help. One can sign a petition, donate, speak out for those who cannot speak for themselves and help those who cannot help themselves. Through small and simple acts, tuberculosis in the Congo should decrease.
– Alexis LeBaron
Photo: Flickr
Health Policy Evolution in Laos
5 Facts About Health Policy Evolution in Laos
At all levels, governments around the world are developing policies to improve healthcare in their countries. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted glaring issues in healthcare infrastructure worldwide. Additionally, Laos is a prime example of a country taking concrete steps to respond to the issue.
– Pratik Koppikar
Photo: Flickr
3 Innovative Technologies Stopping Malaria
3 Innovative Technologies Stopping Malaria
Stopping malaria is a focus for many African communities and there are many organizations looking into possible solutions to stop the spread and hopefully eradicate this disease. Estimates determine that eradicating malaria by 2040 would save 11 million lives and surge $2 trillion of economic growth. Advancements like these three innovative technologies stopping malaria are making this future vision possible.
– Brett Muni
Photo: Flickr
Afghan Teenage Girls Innovate Low Cost Ventilator
Covid-19, Ventilators, and Afghanistan
One of the major challenges facing countries around the world during the Covid-19 pandemic is a lack of essential supplies, specifically ventilators. The virus oftentimes infects people’s lungs and makes it difficult to breathe. Ventilators work as life-saving equipment and help people breathe when they can no longer do it on their own. However, they are extremely expensive pieces of machinery. It usually costs around $30,000 per ventilator. As a result, this makes them highly inaccessible, especially when there is an influx in demand.
Afghanistan has 15,750 confirmed cases of Covid-19, though experts believe this number to be an underestimate due to a lack of available tests. Herat, home of the Afghan Dreamers, has 2,689 confirmed cases of Covid-19 and is the second most affected city in the country. As of April 2020, the entire country of Afghanistan had only approximately 300 ventilators.
Creation
Armed with this information and a passion to help the world, the Afghan Dreamers set out to make a low-cost ventilator. They engineered their machine using a design from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T) and parts from old Toyota Corollas. Producing their ventilator cost around $500, a steep decline compared to the machinery’s aforementioned $30,000 price tag.
Though the girls may make innovation look easy, creating their ventilator was no simple task. First, they had to find a design to follow. After much searching, they came across the design from M.I.T., which was open source and purposefully low cost. Once they were able to get to work, they had to ensure they were staying safe. They all worked on a different part of the ventilator. When they had to meet up, they made sure to take precautions, such as wearing gloves and masks, to protect themselves from potential health risks. They did all of this while fasting for Ramadan.
What’s next?
The next step for the Afghan Dreamers is getting the Health Ministries in Herat and Kabul to approve their prototype ventilator. If the Health Ministries approve the design, then factories can begin replicating the girls’ machine. This would speed up production and allow the country to create many more of the life-saving devices. Though getting their ventilator approved may seem like a challenge, the young women are no strangers to hard work.
The Afghan Dreamers is a remarkable group that strives to change the world. The young women on the team are innovative, strong-willed and dedicated to creating solutions to difficult problems. By engineering a low-cost ventilator, they have provided an opportunity not only for improving healthcare but also hope and inspiration to people—especially women and girls.
– Paige Musgrave
Photo: Flickr
5 Causes of Poverty in Nicaragua
Nicaragua is one of the poorest nations in the continental Americas. With a population of 6.5 million, the country’s chronic cycle of poverty has links with consistent political instability and conflict, high inequality between urban and rural populations, dependency on agricultural exports and natural disasters. Nicaragua’s unusual response to COVID-19 — which has entailed no formal quarantine measures and an underreporting of infections — will surely impact its level of poverty as well. Here are five causes of poverty in Nicaragua.
5 Causes of Poverty in Nicaragua
Concluding Thoughts
While these five causes of poverty in Nicaragua determine that poverty and inequality could increase in upcoming years due to COVID-19 and political turmoil, the people of Nicaragua should still have hope. The country experienced great success in slashing poverty from the mid-2000s to the mid-2010s. In 2005, 48.3% of the population lived below the poverty line, with 17.2% living in extreme poverty. Those percentages have since decreased by 18 and nine points, respectively, thanks to the current government’s investment in social welfare programs. These programs include Hambre Cero, which offers plants and animals to women heads-of-household; Usura Cero, which provides women micro-loans; Plan Techo, which provides roofing materials for families in need; and Agua Segura, which provides clean water. In addition, NGOs such as Self-Help International are working to advance agriculture, feed children, empower women and provide community nutrition for the people of Nicaragua.
– Tirza Morales
Photo: Flickr
How Origami Provides Access to Clean Water
Now, Katherine and Isabelle Adams, ages 14 and 16, work alongside hundreds of volunteers across North Texas. Since 2011, Paper for Water has raised over $2 million, helping fund 200 water projects in numerous countries. Paper for Water has trained over 1,000 people the art of folding origami. It has graced over 48,000 people with access to clean water through implementing water wells in deprived communities.
Paper for Water and Education
Additionally, Paper for Water educates local communities in the global water crisis. There are approximately 2.5 billion cases of diarrhea every year in children less than five years old. Diarrhea accounts for about 760,000 deaths in children under five years old annually. Diarrhea is now the second leading cause of death in children across the world, advancing AIDs, malaria and measles combined. Caused by unsafe drinking water and poor sanitation conditions, diarrhea is one obstacle developing communities across the globe face.
Paper for Water stresses the importance of clean water well building through their past 120 educational talks, which reached 14,000 people. Paper for Water’s informational efforts gained the attention of influential social media platforms, such as Nickelodeon’s HALO Effect, the Kleenex Corporation, Martha Stewart Living, People Magazine and CBS.
Where Paper for Water Does Business
Paper for Water currently sells its origami ornaments on their online store and in some temporary stores as specified online, such as Neiman Marcus and Galleria Dallas. The beautiful, ornate decorations are Paper for Water’s primary source of financial donations. Each profit from an ornament sold goes straight into Paper for Water’s efforts of water well building abroad. So, with each paper folded, with each origami created, Paper for Water provides access to clean water. Nevertheless, Paper for Water relies on monthly donors of $10 a month to help maintain its goal of installing one water well per month.
Paper for Water has partnered with businesses across North Texas, instituting large installations of their elegant crafts. In 2017, Paper for Water constructed 350 origami ornaments for Neiman Marcus’ Christmas Book. This partnership with Neiman Marcus enabled two schools in Kenya to receive water wells. Galleria Dallas and Mo Wax Visual partnered with Paper for Water in 2018, crafting over 4,000 origami butterflies for their “Fold to Flight” display. Galleria Dallas Mall provided Paper for Water with a temporary store during the summer installation. The Crow Museum of Asian Art’s Lotus Shop in Downtown Dallas also installed a Paper for Water exhibit. The magnificent origami piece exhibits a collaborative project with Ekaterina Lukasheva, a famous origami artist.
Current Partnerships and Success
Paper for Water also has partnerships across the United States through its essential volunteer base. Multiple groups of volunteers appear across the nation, consisting of the Well Wishers Group, the Paper Dolls Group, Paper for Water’s Youth Representatives Worldwide, NorthPark Presbyterian Church, Volunteers of All Ages Group and several families and school clubs across America. With the help of volunteers making origami ornaments, the organization can make a difference and administer clean water resources globally.
Paper for Water is transforming lives one piece of paper at a time. Through designing origami pieces, the organization combines art and philanthropy, supplying the world’s thirsty with clean water wells. Paper for Water hopes to end the world water crisis and continues to make and sell origami ornaments every day. Paper for Water’s website provides multiple options to get involved in the cause, from purchasing origami ornaments to learning how to make origami to volunteering or donating monthly.
– Kacie Frederick
Photo: Flickr
5 Facts About Poverty in the Czech Republic
In the European Union, the Czech Republic ranks second in terms of the risk of its population falling below the poverty line. A record low of 3.4% of the Czech Republic’s population is at risk of poverty according to Eurostat data. This is in comparison to the average of 10% of the European Union’s population that poverty threatens. With that in mind, here are five facts about poverty in the Czech Republic.
5 Facts About Poverty in the Czech Republic
These five facts about poverty in the Czech Republic highlight a few key points. New government measures have helped in the fight against poverty as well as the growth of the Czech economy. Young people have been doing extremely well in the country which has helped bring the overall poverty rate down. However, the nation can still do more work in the fight against poverty, especially in terms of helping female workers in the country and making housing more affordable. Overall, one can be optimistic about how the Czech Republic is taking further steps to reduce poverty in the country.
– Zachary Laird
Photo: Flickr