The Women Entrepreneurship Development Project (WEDP) aims to provide more opportunities for female entrepreneurs. The International Development Association (IDA) of the World Bank is continually funding more than $2 million to women in Ethiopia looking to start or improve their businesses.
The program’s contributions are improving the Ethiopian economy and the empowerment of women. It is one of the only women-focused lines of credit operations in the world and has been the most effective.
Signs of Progress
To date, more than 12,000 female entrepreneurs have received loans from the IDA. Of this, 66 percent are first-time borrowers; yet, 99.1 percent of the loans have been repaid.
Additionally, 16,000 women have participated in business training thus far. On the other hand, firms participating in the WEDP are experiencing growing incomes. In comparison to those not working with the program, income has increased by 40.77 percent. With increasing profit, these firms are able to expand employment by 55.73 percent.
Giving Women Entrepreneurs a Feasible Option
The Women Entrepreneurship Development Project’s success can largely be accredited to having “missing middle” loans. In many instances, banks require a minimum of a $50,000 loan and microfinance options are at most $5,000. These requirements make it nearly impossible for female entrepreneurs to get a loan suitable for their business.
The WEDP provides an average loan of $12,500 and has successfully reduced the collateral from 200 percent to 125 percent. The IDA saw an untapped market and is now profiting off of the potential for these entrepreneurs to expand their businesses.
Project Initiatives
Another reason why the Women Entrepreneurship Development Project is succeeding is due to the specific and goal-oriented plan of the World Bank. The objective in Ethiopia is to improve both earnings and employment of female-owned Micro and Small Enterprise’s (MSE).
The most common obstacle businesses face in Ethiopia is access to finance. In fact, only 40.4 percent of these owners have access. As a result, the project focuses on ensuring easy finance options and offering unique financial instruments that fit the needs of each business.
It is also useful that the project offers programs to teach entrepreneurial and technical skills. The World Bank aims for access to microfinance and a dedicated line of credit, development of entrepreneurial skills, technology and cluster development and, project management, advocacy and outreach, monitoring and impact evaluation.
Partnerships and Impacts
Without partnerships with the Department for International Development (DFID), the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), the U.K., Italy and Japan, the success of the WEDP would not be possible. Many countries and agencies have offered financing or other assistance contributing to the rise of female-owned business in Ethiopia.
Not only has the Women Entrepreneurship Development Project been hugely successful in Ethiopia, but it is also inspiring initiatives to finance female-owned companies in countries like Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Madagascar, Turkey, Mexico and Indonesia. Should these countries follow suit, the impact could be unprecedented.
Even though the project has a few more months until its completion, it is providing an opportunity for the government of Ethiopia to support the Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) of women entrepreneurs.
– Jessica Haidet
Photo: Flickr
10 Facts About Poverty in Croatia
Croatia is located between central and southeastern Europe and includes a multitude of small islands that are scattered alongside its maritime coast with the Adriatic Sea. Despite being a member of the wealthy European Union, Croatia is economically unstable and wide-reaching poverty affects much of the population. Here is a list of 10 facts about poverty in Croatia that will illustrate living conditions today.
10 Facts About Poverty in Croatia
Concluding Thoughts
These 10 facts about poverty in Croatia detail the hardships that the Croatian population has endured; however, they also present a few avenues the central government is taking in order to alleviate these issues. Croatia has experienced slow yet impactful progress since 2014. Croatia needs to do more work if it is to become among the most affluent European states.
– Annie O’Connell
Photo: Flickr
Efforts to Help Children Receive An Education in Venezuela
Since 2015, approximately 4 million people have fled Venezuela. For those who have not left the country, food, water and jobs are scarce in the wake of a collapsed economy and hyperinflation. Perhaps the most victimized of the population are children who are unable to find basic access to education in Venezuela.
Why Are Children Not Attending School?
As Venezuelans struggle to afford basic necessities for survival, many children in Venezuela have stopped attending school. For families facing severe hunger, the extra cost of school supplies and uniforms is a price they often cannot afford. Students are unable to perform at school without proper nutrition or clothing. Many parents decide that their children should stay home where they have a chance at a meal.
More than 3 million of the country’s 8 million students have dropped out of school. Some of these students have emigrated with their parents, while others have quit to work and adopt caretaker roles within the family. As Venezuelans face widespread malnutrition, the educational needs of the children in Venezuela remain secondary. It is estimated that 1.1 million children will remain in need of basic education in 2019.
Although education was a hallmark of President Maduro’s campaign, the government can no longer afford to supply schools with proper maintenance and lunches. Public education previously provided a food bonus with a healthy lunch for students. That food program no longer functions, and students cannot rely on meals. In addition, with prices doubling every other month, the transportation system has failed, and both schools and parents struggle to afford bus fares for students.
School Closures without Teachers
Because of low enrollment, hundreds of schools have closed, and thousands of teachers have left their jobs. According to the Venezuelan Teacher’s Association, 176,000 of the country’s 860,000 registered teachers have quit. With wages amounting to about $8 a month, instructors of both private and public schools can no longer afford to work.
Many struggling schools only operate three days a week. Additionally, students from various grade levels are often combined into one class. These schools are desperate to keep the children in Venezuela from dropping out and missing years of formative education under harsh circumstances. Due to the teacher shortage affecting Venezuelan schools, parents are taking on teaching roles, despite a lack of experience or education. Parents believe that any schooling is better than none. As Maria Carmona, a mother-turned-teacher says, “Our children must learn, so I became their teacher.”
Efforts to Help Children Receive An Education in Venezuela
Nonprofit organizations, such as Cuatro Por Venezuela Foundation and Pasión Petare, offer places of refuge and free meals for students. Cuatro Por Venezuela Foundation has provided school supplies for more than 350 families and sent 58,000 pounds of food. Pasión Petare uses soccer to motivate children to stay in school and provides a daily meal for 2,000 students.
Catholic relief organizations like Fe y Alegria and Caritas also raise money to provide food and school supplies. Fe y Alegria provides free education to 170 schools across the country and has implemented a food program for school children. The organization also began a campaign called “A Notebook for Fe Y Alegria,” which raises funds to provide school supplies that most families can no longer afford.
Because President Maduro recently conceded to requests for foreign aid, there are more opportunities for organizations such as the U.N. and Red Cross to offer assistance for Venezuelan schools. UNICEF has partnered with Fe y Alegria and reached more than 100,000 people through radio communication with information on how to help children continue their education. UNICEF and its partner organizations have also provided educational kits for 150,000 children and supply food and water for children in schools. This motivates children and parents to send their children to school.
The Venezuelan government continues to deny problems with their country’s education system. If not for the herculean efforts of international relief organizations, private charities and hands-on assistance from parents and local volunteers, hope would not remain for school children in Venezuela. Children face a bleak future and are vulnerable to exploitation without education. With less than 2 percent of all humanitarian aid allotted to education, it is vital to continue calling for assistance amid the rising crisis. As Susana Raffalli, an advisor to Caritas and renowned nutrition expert, says, “We need our children back in school, because that’s one of the few care and nutrition spaces left.”
– Christina Laucello
Photo: Flickr
Mental Health in South Africa: The Good News
This is where SADAG comes in. SADAG is Africa’s largest mental health support and advocacy group. It is made up of experts who take calls from South Africans about their mental health questions and concerns. The group has a 16-line “counseling-and-referral” call center and work in “urban, peri-urban and the most rural communities across South Africa.”
SADAG is comprised of a network of over 200 mental health treatment facilities and support groups throughout the country. Its focus is on areas lacking widespread community health resources. The organization believes access to this type of treatment is fundamental to improving mental health in South Africa. Additionally, SADAG believes it can improve the overall quality of life while simultaneously influencing socio-economic issues in a positive way.
SADAG and Language
Since South Africa has 11 different official languages, SADAG offers workshops and training programs tailored to these languages for individual members. In fact, the programs also are tailored to corporate businesses, healers, doctors, care workers, correctional facilities, schools and churches.
Workshops and Campaigns
These workshops focus on how to openly and productively talk about illnesses such as depression, panic disorders, bipolar disorder, PTSD and suicide prevention. Furthermore, the workshop explores healthy ways to deal with stress in an attempt to reduce the stigma surrounding mental health.
SADAG is also working to disseminate mental health awareness beyond just those member organizations within the group. They have created media campaigns with a message of de-stigmatization of mental illness that runs on TV and radio. Additionally, the campaign runs via print and electronic press releases.
Finally, SADAG has been working especially hard with HIV and AIDS patients on coping skills to conquer depression and other mental illnesses that accompany a diagnosis. This is pivotal in the country where the leading cause of death is HIV/AIDS.
There are several other organizations located in the nine different provinces doing important work to improve mental health in South Africa.
These great initiatives are tackling inter-sectional and systemic barriers that prevent adequate care for many marginalized communities. Overall, mental health in South Africa is improving via these organizations and initiatives.
– Meredith Breda
Photo: Flickr
Hunger and Uncertainty in The Horn of Africa Drought
The Drought
The Horn of Africa is well acquainted with droughts. The region has faced several in recent years. However, the current dry spell is severely affecting the ability of families to obtain food, making it one of the harshest droughts the region has seen.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) reports that the ongoing Horn of Africa drought has triggered widespread food insecurity, especially among families raising livestock. Expecting the drought to cause increased hunger, the FAO issued a pre-famine alert for Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia. The governments of Kenya and Somalia have already declared a national disaster.
The FAO also reports that families are malnourished due to scarce food and a lack of proper nutrients. Since the onset of the drought in 2017, the number of people grappling with food insecurity has increased dramatically. For example, 2.7 million people in Kenya, 2.9 million people in Somalia and 5.6 million people in Ethiopia are suffering from food insecurit.
Climate Change: Another Hurdle
Climate change is a major factor influencing the impact of the African Horn drought. According to the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World Report 2018, the number of disasters related to climate change have doubled since 1990. These events include flooding, droughts and fires caused by extreme dry heat.
The people who live in the region have remarked on the disastrous consequences of climate change. Birhan, an Ethiopian mother of four, commented, “We have not seen an improvement in the climate situation… The drought is becoming recurrent. But if there is rain, it is excessive and destroys the crops.” Birhan and 1.5 million other people are able to receive emergency rations during the drought thanks to the USAID food program. However, the aid is not enough to quell the rising need for food, livestock and water.
Cutting Back Foreign Aid
In March, the White House proposed the 2020 fiscal budget. This budget aims to cut U.S. foreign food and financial assistance by 24 percent. This funding reduction will exacerbate the adverse impacts of the Horn of Africa drought. Without assistance from developed nations such as the U.S., access to food and clean water will become more difficult for those inhabiting the affected regions.
Matt Davis is the East Africa regional director for Catholic Relief Services, an organization overseeing a U.S.-funded food program in the area. Davis commented on the federal budget’s impact on struggling populations: “We’re very concerned by the deteriorating conditions in the region where we are seeing families–whose lives rely on the land–unable to cope,” he said. “We are concerned the administration’s budget could abandon millions of families around the world just when they need help the most.”
Relief Efforts
Climate hazards and reduced U.S. assistance have worsened the impact of the Horn of Africa drought. Several organizations are working to help families with food and financial aid to combat these issues. In 2017, the European Union decided to further aid the people of Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia during the recurring drought by offering nearly €260 million in financial assistance.
The Horn of Africa drought is cyclical in nature. The countries most affected by the drought are seeking localized solutions to surviving climate-related issues. Kenya appears to be moving forward in this area, with the government investing in community water sources independent of rain-fueled agriculture.
Ethiopia has also made strides in building a defense against the drought by implementing The Productive Safety Net Programme. This program helps food-insecure communities build stockpiles of food to prepare for drought and ultimately become food self-sufficient.
Coordination between the affected countries and more developed nations is necessary to build resistance to drought and other disastrous climate-related issues. Global financial and food assistance programs, a U.S. budget that does not drastically reduce foreign aid and localized efforts to build resistance against drought are effective approaches. These strategies will help the Horn of Africa move closer to a truly thriving expanse of subsistence farming.
– Holli Flanagan
Photo: Flickr
Top 10 Interesting Facts About Thomas Jefferson
Top 10 Interesting Facts About Thomas Jefferson
These top 10 interesting facts about Thomas Jefferson illustrate how even more than 200 years ago, founding fathers were working to address issues that the world still faces today. As for Jefferson, if being the author of the Declaration of Independence and President of the United States wasn’t already enough, these top 10 interesting facts about Thomas Jefferson reveal his efforts to improve poverty, education and hostile foreign relations.
– Gabriella Gonzalez
Photo: Flickr
Michelle Obama Quotes on Girls’ Education
Former First Lady Michelle Obama has dedicated her life to her own education and the education of others. From growing up in the slums of Chicago, to going to Princeton University, Obama’s hardwork and determination is truly inspiring.
After her time at Princeton, Obama traveled back to Chicago to work with the mayor as an assistant. Then, in 1993, she became the exclusive director for the Chicago office of Public Allies, a non-profit organization that helps young people develop leadership skills. Her resume is extensive and includes many different titles, but Obama has kept one thing consistent: her desire to better the lives of children.
Whenever she is giving a speech, Obama makes a point to speak about education and giving back to the community. These Michelle Obama Quotes demonstrate her commitment to focusing attention on the issue of girls’ education around the world.
Michelle Obama Quotes Girls Education
“The visit (in 2009) set my course in one of my initiatives: to work on girls education,” Obama said. “It was after that visit that I went back and said ‘we have to find a way to have these conversations around the world’ because meeting with the girls here and the girls at Mulberry just reminded me of how much talent and how much courage and how much hope there is in our girls who are struggling to do everything right, when they have so much working against them.”
“We want to lift up the grassroots leaders in communities all over the world who are clearing away the hurdles that too many girls face,” Obama said. “Because the evidence is clear: educating girls isn’t just good for the girls, it’s good for all of us.”
“We really can’t take up the issue of girls education unless we are also willing to confront all of the complex issues that keep so many girls out-of-school. Issues like early and forced marriage, genital cutting,” Obama said.
“If we want to end poverty, educating girls is key to all of that. You were able to leave and shine and to learn and to teach,” Obama said.
“We cannot address our girls’ education crisis until we address the cultural norms and practices that devalue women’s intelligence, that silence their voices and limit their ambitions,” Obama said.
These Michelle Obama quotes encapsulate who she is, before and after being in the White House. Her work to better the education of girls all around the world is ambitious but doable. Obama gives everyone hope that making education available to girls everywhere is achievable. By using her platform and her personal story to promote girls education worldwide, Obama continues to uplift and drive girls and women all over the world.
– Andrew Valdovinos
Photo: Flickr
7 Facts About Girls’ Education in Paraguay
The Republic of Paraguay, one of the smaller South American countries, is in the center of the continent, landlocked by Brazil, Argentina and Bolivia. Although the country’s economy has improved in recent years, the poverty rate in Paraguay was 28.8 percent as of 2017. In rural areas, the figure increased to nearly 40 percent. The U.N. states that educating girls, helping them become empowered, enabling them to work and become community leaders are powerful ways to fight poverty. While girls’ access to education in Paraguay is better than in many other countries, the country still displays disparities in opportunity between male and female Paraguayans. These seven facts about girls’ education demonstrate the barriers to education access that girls in Paraguay face and some efforts to remove these barriers.
Seven Facts about Girls’ Education in Paraguay
While these seven facts about girls’ education in Paraguay indicate that gender equality has advanced significantly, girls and women in the country do not yet have opportunities equal to those afforded to boys and men. Some people, however, have worked hard to put a plan in place to work toward a solution. These facts about girls’ education emphasize the work that will be necessary to make further strides toward gender equality in Paraguay.
– Meredith Charney
Photo: Unsplash
The Women Entrepreneurship Development Project In Ethiopia
The program’s contributions are improving the Ethiopian economy and the empowerment of women. It is one of the only women-focused lines of credit operations in the world and has been the most effective.
Signs of Progress
Additionally, 16,000 women have participated in business training thus far. On the other hand, firms participating in the WEDP are experiencing growing incomes. In comparison to those not working with the program, income has increased by 40.77 percent. With increasing profit, these firms are able to expand employment by 55.73 percent.
Giving Women Entrepreneurs a Feasible Option
The Women Entrepreneurship Development Project’s success can largely be accredited to having “missing middle” loans. In many instances, banks require a minimum of a $50,000 loan and microfinance options are at most $5,000. These requirements make it nearly impossible for female entrepreneurs to get a loan suitable for their business.
The WEDP provides an average loan of $12,500 and has successfully reduced the collateral from 200 percent to 125 percent. The IDA saw an untapped market and is now profiting off of the potential for these entrepreneurs to expand their businesses.
Project Initiatives
Another reason why the Women Entrepreneurship Development Project is succeeding is due to the specific and goal-oriented plan of the World Bank. The objective in Ethiopia is to improve both earnings and employment of female-owned Micro and Small Enterprise’s (MSE).
The most common obstacle businesses face in Ethiopia is access to finance. In fact, only 40.4 percent of these owners have access. As a result, the project focuses on ensuring easy finance options and offering unique financial instruments that fit the needs of each business.
It is also useful that the project offers programs to teach entrepreneurial and technical skills. The World Bank aims for access to microfinance and a dedicated line of credit, development of entrepreneurial skills, technology and cluster development and, project management, advocacy and outreach, monitoring and impact evaluation.
Partnerships and Impacts
Without partnerships with the Department for International Development (DFID), the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), the U.K., Italy and Japan, the success of the WEDP would not be possible. Many countries and agencies have offered financing or other assistance contributing to the rise of female-owned business in Ethiopia.
Not only has the Women Entrepreneurship Development Project been hugely successful in Ethiopia, but it is also inspiring initiatives to finance female-owned companies in countries like Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Madagascar, Turkey, Mexico and Indonesia. Should these countries follow suit, the impact could be unprecedented.
Even though the project has a few more months until its completion, it is providing an opportunity for the government of Ethiopia to support the Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) of women entrepreneurs.
– Jessica Haidet
Photo: Flickr
Preparation for Natural Disasters in Bangladesh
The people of Bangladesh face great risks from natural disasters. Given the country’s geographical position, cyclones, earthquakes and floods are not uncommon. Natural disasters in Bangladesh are more prominent because of the country’s entirely low-lying, flat landscape. This topography puts more than 80 percent of the inhabitants at higher risk of “floods, earthquakes and droughts, and more than 70 percent to cyclones.” This is why it is so important to have a preemptive system in place for the preparation of natural disasters.
The Impact of Climate Change
The Asian continent accounts for more than half of the cities at risk of experiencing the effects of a changing climate. Among the impacts of a changing climate are frequent droughts, fierce heat waves, intense cyclones and severe flooding. The “World Bank predicts climate change could force tens of millions of people to migrate within their own countries by 2050, including some 13 million in densely populated Bangladesh alone.” Nnatural disasters in Bangladesh leave the people of suffering on a large scale on an annual basis.
An article posted by The New Humanitarian delves into the torrential rainfall that came down on Bangladesh in 2017. It had a severe and negative impact on the fertility of the land and damaged the crops, which is what Bangladeshi people rely on to grow and sell every year. The warm winters and dry summers have brought tremendous flooding.
Even worse, farmers are continuing to move away from their homes and farms, migrating to Bangladesh’s cities. Many families have relied on farming as a sustainable way of life for generations; however, due to weather extremes, they are migrating within their countries by the thousands. Not only does the migration create a sort of refugee crisis as well as overcrowding in the urban areas within the nation but the destruction of crops may ultimately lead to a food security issue.
Moving Forward
It is imperative that the government create better systems of preparation for natural disasters in Bangladesh in order to prevent more issues. In a stride toward environmental public health, efforts to adapt and minimize damages due to the changing climate are underway. Bangladesh has allocated more than $400 million into its Climate Change Trust, which is a “state body that finances adaptation and mitigation projects by government agencies.” Hopefully, some of the projects that come out of this organization will show improved disaster preparation techniques.
The Haor Infrastructure and Livelihood Improvement Project within the Rural Development sector has set a goal to “improve road infrastructure, build local capacity and expand access to natural resources, technology and markets.” The five targeted districts of this poverty-reducing project are Sunamganj, Kishorganj, Brahmanbaria, Habiganj and Netrakona.
Among many projects is the Coastal Embankment Improvement Project (CEIP), which was approved by the World Bank in 2013. This project has helped Bangladesh improve emergency response to the impact of cyclones and flooding in the coastal areas.
Natural disasters in Bangladesh are both inevitable and a public health emergency for a host of reasons. However, the preparations and emergency response protocols already underway signal a more stable future for the promising developing country.
– Karina Bhakta
Photo: Flikr
Top 10 Facts About Girls Education in Turkey
The Turkish education system is not much different from that of the U.S; the state governs education, which is mandatory for 12 years and is free. Students may choose to pursue further education at university with more than 70 universities in Turkey to choose from. However, despite how similar it may appear on the surface, girls education in Turkey is still unequal to their male counterparts.
10 Facts About Girls Education in Turkey
There is a multitude of initiatives in Turkey other than the Turkish government that intends to reduce inequality in the education system. CYDD, a nonprofit fighting for girls’ education in Turkey, has awarded over 100,000 scholarships and created over 50 schools. These 10 facts about girls’ education in Turkey show the issues that are prevalent, but also the ways in which Turkey is addressing them. The initiatives of nonprofits and the government have bettered girls education in Turkey, but Turkey needs other improvements to further bridge the gap.
– Alexia Carvajalino
Photo: Unsplash