Top 10 Facts About Hunger in Guatemala

Top 10 Facts About Hunger in GuatemalaAmid beautiful landscapes, active volcanoes and a diverse Indigenous population, Guatemala suffers from malnutrition and hunger. Many factors including climate threats, poverty, lack of education and low sanitation have contributed to this crisis over time. With Guatemala’s population growth rate among the highest in Latin America, combating hunger has never been more important. The top 10 facts about hunger in Guatemala below demonstrate the need for help from the global community and the actions taken so far.

Top 10 Facts About Hunger in Guatemala

  1. Two-thirds of the Guatemalan population live on less than $2 per day. Due to this poverty, many cannot afford the most basic food items, causing Guatemala to have the highest rate of stunted growth in children under the age of 5 in Latin America and one of the highest rates in the world. Overall, the stunting rate is just under half of the young population (46.5%) but reaches up to 90% of children in certain areas.
  2. At 47%, this nation has the sixth-highest prevalence of chronic malnutrition in the world. In indigenous areas, however, the malnutrition rate can reach up to 70%.
  3. Hunger is exacerbated by the problem of inequality in Guatemala. The World Food Programme (WFP) finds Guatemala to have the third highest gender inequality index in Latin America, making Guatemalan women unable to support the nutrition of their children. Furthermore, the indigenous population is particularly impacted by conditions in the country—80% experience poverty. Hunger, malnutrition, poor health and little education are some of the everyday challenges facing Indigenous people.
  4. Natural disasters and climate change intensify the effects of poverty in Guatemala. In the Dry Corridor, for example, periods of excessive rain along with prolonged droughts have threatened the livelihood of subsistence farmers in the region. As food security and agricultural profits plummet, Guatemalans have been forced into eating far less nutritious meals, fallen into debt, and even fled the region.
  5. Food insecurity has followed a worrying trend in Guatemala. In 2023, lack of access to adequate nutrition reached its highest and most prevalent point throughout the nation as a result of climate change’s effects on farming.
  6. The legacy of the Guatemalan Civil War continues in the form of land inequality and the dependence of many Guatemalans, especially indigenous ones, on crops produced by others. With much of their land taken during the war to be used for cash crop plantation farming, Indigenous Guatemalans are especially susceptible to hunger in response to disruptions in the food supply chain.
  7. One of the factors contributing to stunting and hunger in children is the age at which females are having children in Guatemala. Most child rearing starts during adolescence and over 40% of girls have given birth by the time they are 19. Because younger girls tend to be more malnourished than older Guatemalan women, a cycle has been created where the children of these young girls end up malnourished and stunted as well.
  8. Guatemala’s government has taken action to prevent malnutrition. It implemented a plan to increase the yearly budget for nutrition and food by 2.5% and launched its Great National Crusade for Nutrition to reduce malnutrition through an emphasis on maternal care, disease prevention, and an expansion of health care throughout the nation. In addition, Indigenous Guatemalans have secured seats in government councils on nutrition and food security so that particularly hard-hit, indigenous areas receive the treatment and prevention tactics they deserve.
  9. USAID has also taken action to end hunger in Guatemala. Food for Peace offers cash transfers to Guatemalan households living in poverty. Furthermore, the organization shows special attention to women’s financial success and promotes nutritional education.
  10. The World Food Programme (WFP) is ending hunger in Guatemala in several ways. One program works with the government to offer nutritious food to infants and students, prepare the nation for natural disasters interrupting the food supply, and facilitate cash-for-training programs to allow families to buy food. It also supports small farms and provides humanitarian assistance during disasters.

While hunger persists in Guatemala today, there is hope that increased awareness of the top 10 facts about hunger, combined with efforts from multiple governments and organizations, will lead to significant results in the years to come.

– Alexandra Eppenauer and Cole Zickwolff
Photo: Flickr
Updated: October 17, 2024

10 Eye-Opening Facts About Hunger in Nigeria

NigeriaNigeria is one of many food-deficient countries in Africa, and its alarming hunger statistics are tied with high levels of conflict that have plagued the region surrounding Nigeria for years. A food crisis such as Nigeria’s causes distressing levels of stunting in children and is correlated with high rates of poverty. The following are the top 10 facts about hunger in Nigeria.

10 Eye-Opening Facts About Hunger in Nigeria

  1. One-third of children under five are stunted. This statistic is particularly concerning because it is twice the rate of Thailand and three times the rate of Tunisia. Stunting in children is a common symptom of undernourishment and can only be alleviated with a steady supply of adequate food.
  2. The insurgency in the country has led to a large number of displaced people without access to food. The reign of the extremist group, Boko Haram, has left 8.5 million people in need of humanitarian assistance in Nigeria.
  3. On top of the rates of displacement, 5.1 million Nigerians are malnourished. Being on the move makes food sources even less reliable. Countries with high rates of political conflict typically have hunger issues that coincide.
  4. The amount of food insecure households is highest in the rural region of Borno in Nigeria. In Borno State, 64.2 percent of households are food insecure. In late July of 2017, the government of Nigeria declared a state of food and nutrition emergency in Borno.
  5. In the states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe there were 400,000 children under 5 at risk of severe acute malnutrition in 2016. Approximately 244,000 of these cases are in Borno alone. Food insecurity especially affects children as they are dependent on nourishment for growth and development.
  6. Action Against Hunger (AAH) is active in Nigeria and has completed an assessment of risk levels in the state of Borno. AAH found levels of global acute malnutrition at 28 percent and severe malnutrition at 8 percent in Borno. These levels are especially alarming because both are almost double the international emergency threshold.
  7. Households headed by females are more inclined to have high rates of food insecurity. In the states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe, 55 percent of female-headed households are food insecure. Women in low-income countries often have less opportunity to gain employment that would allow them to feed their families, leading to increased levels of food deficiency.
  8. Action Against Hunger has provided clinics to aid with hunger in Nigeria. These clinics provide assistance for malnourished children, nursing mothers and pregnant women. Establishments like these save countless lives every year.
  9. The International Committee of the Red Cross has been active in fighting hunger in Nigeria. In 2017, the ICRC reached over 1 million Nigerians and provided relief and livelihood training and assistance. They also provided 450,000 people in the north-east and Middle Belt regions with food for three months.
  10. Of the 17 million people living in regions affected by Boko Haram, 11 million are in need of humanitarian aid, food, water and shelter. These numbers delineate the effects of political strife on low-income countries. Dangerous and unreliable living conditions are not conducive to access to an adequate food supply.

Fighting Food Insecurity

Levels of hunger in Nigeria are alarming, but the work of organizations like AAF and ICRC have been able to begin the fight against food insecurity. Without the aid of humanitarian workers, a higher number of lives would be lost each year to malnourishment and hunger.

– Amelia Merchant

Photo: Flickr

Girls’ Education in Belarus: Equal Education is not Equal Opportunity

BelarusThe Republic of Belarus is an Eastern European nation that boasts a free and universal education system, required for ages 6-14. Belarusian youth attend primary school from ages 6-9 and secondary school from 10-14, most remaining an additional 1.4 years until graduation. In Belarus, education is as accessible to girls as it is to boys.

Gender Discrimination in Society

Despite its accessibility, girls’ education in Belarus does not guarantee that girls will have the same opportunities as boys in adulthood. In 2016, the National Statistics Committee of the Republic of Belarus reported that women earned only 76.2 percent of the salary of men. In addition, many of the nation’s most profitable professions, namely in manufacturing, experience horizontal segregation with a majority of leadership positions being held by men regardless of female employees’ qualifications. This encourages high-skilled women to enter into low-wage public service jobs like education and health care, which are occupied almost exclusively by women.

The Anti-Discrimination Centre (ADC) and the Office for European Expertise and Communications (OEEC) attribute gender discrimination in Belarus to traditional, patriarchal notions that are ubiquitous throughout Belarusian society. These notions portray childbirth and motherhood as women’s greatest value and devalue the importance of their professional success.

The media, aspects of the compulsory education system, politicians and other government officials all contribute to the perpetuation of gender stereotypes. In a 2014 analysis, the OEEC describes the media in Belarus as “gender non-sensitive” and lacks an understanding of ideas concerning gender issues that they put out into their society. The ADC echoed these concerns in its 2016 report, pointing out that media outlets often refuse to acknowledge misbehavior when criticized for producing gender-biased content.

Gender Discrimination in Education

Belarusian schools, private and public, are at the will of the state and considered political bodies. The Education Code of the Republic of Belarus requires instruction in “the role and purpose of men and women in contemporary society.” Boys and girls attend separate classes to teach them their respective roles in society, reinforcing stereotypes rather than promoting individual development. Girls are instructed in matters of homemaking and boys are taught activities such as woodworking and carpentry.

In 2009, Deputy Education Minister Tatsiana Kavalyova highlighted the importance of ideology in schools, calling it “the backbone” of Belarusian education. According to Kavalyova, every educational institution in the country has an ideology department. As of 2009, the government has continued banning teachers and democratic activists in opposition to the government.

Government agencies have failed to enforce anti-discrimination legislation despite having signed the United Nations Millennium Declaration, among other U.N. documents that commit the country to working toward gender equality. As of 2012, 68 percent of government officials and politicians in control of these policies are men.

The OEEC found in 2014 that 86.6 percent of the general public viewed women’s lack of representation in politics as either the natural order of things or as a necessary consequence of their primary roles as wives and mothers. Some men in government have publicly expressed the same sentiment, claiming that “gender equality is perverting society,” that women are “apolitical by nature” or that they should “sit at home and make borscht, not roam around squares.” Yet, in the face of these challenges, there is promise that more progress will be made.

Hope for Girls’ Education in Belarus

The data that the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has published paints girls’ education in Belarus in a favorable light. In the organization’s most recent statistics, Belarusian girls have consistently, if only slightly, come to surpass Belarusian boys in academia:

  • In 2015 and 2016, Belarusian girls had higher net enrollment rates in primary and secondary education. Rates for both girls and boys have steadily climbed from the low to high nineties since 2008, and the difference between boys and girls is less than one percentage point.
  • The 2015 transition rate from primary to secondary education was 0.34 percent higher for girls at 98.25 percent.
  • As of 2009, girls 15-24 years old have a 99.85 percent literacy rate, compared to the boys’ rate of 99.8 percent.
  • In 2016, 6,747 girls and 7,654 boys were out of school. Although these numbers fluctuate, there have been more boys out of school each year since 2010.
  • According to ADC’s 2016 report, 56.1 percent of women, compared to 43.9 percent of men, had a higher education.

With girls’ education in Belarus set firmly in place, NGOs have been able to focus on gaining gender equality in other ways. These organizations are able to focus their efforts on both preventing domestic violence and human trafficking and helping victims. Their work has also led to the National Scientific Research Institute of Labor’s development of a concept of gender equality and a gender assessment of current legislation by the National Center of Legislation and Legal Research.

One such NGO is Gender Perspectives, established in 2010. Gender Perspectives offers social, psychological and legal help to victims of domestic violence in Belarus, either directly or by referring them to other organizations and institutions. The organization created a hotline for victims in 2012, which responded to over four thousand calls in 2012 and 2013 and provided 117 with direct assistance.

In 2012, 54 women were selected for the National Assembly in 2012, which consists of 174 total delegates. Although they comprise only 32 percent and their admission was a result of a quota, women’s presence in the government offers hope that the state, with the help of NGOs, will establish gender equality that reaches beyond the sphere of education.

– Ashley Wagner
Photo: Flickr

Top 10 Facts About Poverty in the United Arab Emirates

Top 10 Facts About Poverty in the United Arab Emirates

In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), skyscrapers, luxury vehicles, high-end shops and fast-food chains line the streets. The country appears to be wealthy and in many ways, it is. However, poverty in the UAE paints a picture of exclusion from the comfort, luxury and beauty that attract so many tourists to the nation.

  1. The poverty rate in the UAE is 19.5%, juxtaposing the stereotypes that many associate with the UAE. The poverty line in the UAE is defined as an income of less than 80 dirhams ($22) a day.
  2. Immigrants from South Asia, Egypt and Morocco mostly populate the UAE. Expatriates make up 88% percent of the UAE’s population. This percentage also makes up the majority of the population living below the poverty line.
  3. Migrant workers often have to pay recruitment agencies to find legitimate work in the UAE. Many become immediately indebted to these agencies, rendering them susceptible to economic hardship.
  4. Human Rights Watch reported in September 2017 that the UAE adopted a protective labor legislation for migrant domestic workers. This piece of legislation has prohibited recruitment agencies from charging fees. However, there are still glaring weaknesses in UAE labor laws, especially those dealing with migrant workers. Millions of workers, particularly those with an “illegal status” in the UAE, are still paid unlivable wages and forced to work under extreme or unsafe conditions.
  5. The wealth gap between rich and poor in the UAE is one of the worst in the world, largely due to the amount of welfare and protection afforded to native Emiratis and the amount of neglect toward migrant workers.
  6. Increasing the inclusivity of the education system is one way that the UAE is working to reduce poverty. The UAE government has begun integrating a National Literacy Strategy while employing the Ministry of Education to create several strategies to develop the education system further.
  7. The UAE’s failure to integrate its citizens into the private sector of the economy has contributed to its high levels of poverty. Less than 10% of Emiratis work in the private sector, which is largely due to the sociocultural stigma around service jobs. The government has made several attempts to break this association and promote citizen employment in all sectors. It does so through education initiatives. However, the welfare system allows many Emiratis to work very little or not at all while still maintaining their livelihood.
  8. The Emiritization initiative has been in place for decades. It requires every company with more than 100 employees to have a certain number of Emiratis on its payroll. The program has been effective in the public sector. However, it has largely failed to address the lack of workforce participation within the private sector.
  9. Expatriates are fined for overstaying their visas and prohibited from leaving the country until their debts are paid. Those who default are fined 50 dirhams (about $13) daily. This policy invokes economic desperation on top of the desperation caused by recruitment fees, which has made immigrants especially vulnerable to labor exploitation in the UAE.
  10. According to The News Tribune, officials reported that 25,000 migrant workers exceeded their stay in 2017 alone. The UAE has recognized the difficult situation created by its fine policy. On August 1, 2018, the government launched an amnesty program, forgiving all fines associated with overstaying visas and granting new visas.

These facts about poverty in the UAE reveal several systematic issues within the country. The improvements made to workers’ rights in the UAE cannot overshadow the immense amount of work that has to be done to provide an avenue of escape for impoverished migrant workers. The abuse of migrant labor, on which the UAE largely depends, is perhaps the biggest problem it must tackle to address the overarching issue of poverty.

– Julius Long
Photo: Flickr
Updated: May 30, 2024

How the US Benefits from Foreign Aid to St. Vincent and the Grenadines

St. Vincent’sDespite appearing to be a tropical paradise to prospective tourists, St. Vincent’s population faces a harsh economic reality. Its population is currently experiencing a 30 percent unemployment rate while more than 90 percent of the people there don’t have healthcare insurance. The U.S. doesn’t have to sit on the sidelines while conditions fail to improve for those struggling to escape poverty. By reversing these statistics, The U.S. benefits from foreign aid to St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

Drug Trafficking in St. Vincent and the Grenadines

St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ high unemployment and low health insurance rates are primarily consequences of its economic downturn during the global recession of 2008 (St. Vincent had a 0.6 percent decline in GDP) and its subsequent sluggish recovery. In combination with this, the country has experienced difficult agricultural seasons over the years, particularly due to hurricanes, that have resulted in fluctuating yields with a -3 percent growth in 2015 up to a record 14.5 percent in 2016 then down to 1.7 percent GDP growth in 2017.

This is how drug trafficking gained more ground within St. Vincent’s borders. Faced with uncertain incomes year to year, an increasing number of desperate islanders have sought work growing marijuana, participating in the narcotics trade from Venezuela or both. So much so, that The U.S. State Department’s 2018 International Narcotics Reports claims that “St. Vincent continues to be a primary source for cannabis in the Eastern Caribbean.” Faced with no income or health care, illicit trafficking has become a necessary means for survival.

The drug trade has become a serious foreign policy issue for The United States along its southern border. Drugs, such as cocaine and marijuana, not only enter The U.S. through Mexican land routes but now increasingly so through Caribbean countries like St. Vincent. Drug traffickers rely on yachts, “go-fast” boats, fishing vessels and cargo ships for transporting illicit drugs up The Caribbean to The U.S. or Europe.

US  Foreign Aid in St. Vincent and the Grenadines

The U.S. Department of State and The U.S. Agency for International Development have both implemented foreign aid projects meant to improve conditions in St. Vincent while simultaneously strengthening U.S. security. This is one example of how The U.S. benefits from foreign aid to St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

The U.S. Agency for International Development has embraced a youth-centered strategy that employs the use of programs such as the Skills and Knowledge for Youth Project (SKYE), The Community, Family and Youth Resilience Program (CFYR) and the Liberty Lodge Boys Training Center. All of these U.S. sponsored programs provide funding and training for youth to get an and education and to find employment while also receiving healthcare benefits.

In particular, SKYE provides 2,000 youth in The Caribbean with counseling, employment skills training and rehabilitation services. Similarly, CYFR intends to seek out evidence-based solutions to local issues through community involvement, greater access to employment and a reformed law enforcement system. The Liberty Lodge Boys Training Center, funded and supported by USAID, has recently been re-established in order to ensure that young men will have access to education and employment and be able to provide for their families.

While these programs and initiatives are fairly young, they do have the potential to have a significant impact on the people of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. All utilize local resources with the goal of strengthening local authorities and leaders to become self-sustaining.

Another way that The U.S. benefits from foreign aid to St. Vincent and the Grenadines is through a more secure Caribbean. The U.S. Department of State has teamed up with The Department of Defense to build and maintain a stronger government and create more security in The Caribbean. This joint venture between The U.S. and The Caribbean nations is known as The Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI). The CBSI demonstrates an overlap between U.S. humanitarian and U.S. security policies.

Since 2010, The U.S. has committed $437 million in funding to the CBSI with three significant goals in mind.

  1. Reduce illicit trafficking through programs that focus on counter-narcotics to stemming the flow of illegal arms sales.
  2. Increase public safety and security by improving law enforcement and judicial institutions.
  3. The promotion of social justice through justice reform, anti-corruption reform and increased educational, social and economic opportunities for youth.

The DEA reported seizing 658.18 kg of cocaine and 267 metric tons of marijuana during the first 9 months of 2017 thanks to efforts to upgrade security measures in the area. Furthermore, they have seized $1.3 million in drug proceeds, which is used on programs to further support the country’s efforts to stamp down on drug trafficking. The funding provided by the CBSI has also led to the building and funding of new rehabilitation clinics throughout St. Vincent in order to help reduce drug addiction.

Here, poverty and security have become one in the same. U.S. foreign policy advocates are utilizing security policies and funding to better protect the people in The Caribbean while, at the same time, protecting those at home in The States. Moreover, creating better living conditions for the citizens of St. Vincent, especially the youth, is viewed as a necessity to securing The Caribbean from illicit trafficking within and outside the region.

The U.S. benefits from foreign aid to St. Vincent and the Grenadines precisely because of the fact that it strengthens regional security in the Americas. Initiatives, such as the CBSI and CFYR, demonstrate that foreign aid and poverty reduction are vital tools within U.S. foreign policy. St. Vincent and the Grenadines may be a tiny blip on the map, but with U.S. foreign aid, it could have a substantial impact on the Americas.

– Tanner Helem
Photo: Flickr

The Inspiring Work of Many Hands Fair Trade Shop

Many Hands Fair Trade ShopMany Hands Fair Trade Shop, located in Liberty, Missouri, sells fair trade items from a global community of artisans and workers. The shop — open between the months of March and December — benefits fair trade sellers in over 30 countries.

What is Fair Trade?

Fair trade is a concept that began around the 1980s in an effort to provide sustainable compensation and livelihoods to the producers and workers who make globally-traded products.

Essentially, consumers pay slightly more for internationally-traded products to ensure that a fair wage is paid to the producers of the products. Additionally, fair trade organizations set standards on the products produced, including environmental and human rights standards for producers and a fair trade minimum price for consumers.

What is Fair Trade’s Impact?

In 2016, there were over 1,400 fair trade certified producer organizations in over 70 countries who work to ensure fair compensation to over 1.6 million workers and producers. In fact, 23 percent of fair trade workers are women, a position that empowers them to help build their communities and work in a meaningful way.   

By selling solely fair trade products, Many Hands Fair Trade Shop uses their small storefront to contribute in a large way to producers all over the world. Established in 2015, the store works to ensure they are providing “a channel for these [fair trade sponsored] artisans to sell their products, [and] offering them an opportunity to break the cycle of poverty and embrace a better life.”

What is the Many Hands Fair Trade Shop?

Cindy Noel, one of the managers of the Many Hands Fair Trade Shop, spoke with The Borgen Project about the efforts of the store’s managers to ensure as much income as possible goes to the fair trade producers.

“We put everything back into buying fair trade items so we can support more fair trade artisans and farmers. We have had to purchase a few shop displays but we ask for donations of most things and really have bought very few things. We are frugal. No one takes a salary,” said Noel.

The store is so serious about putting all the profit back into fair trade they have made an agreement with the Second Baptist Church of Liberty in Missouri — the owners of their property and sponsors of the store’s mission — to pay no rent on the storefront.  

The store purchases its products from a variety of companies, mainly SERRV, Papillion and Equal Exchange — all of which are members of the Fair Trade Federation or the World Fair Trade Organization.

All three of the store’s suppliers buy and sell products from fair trade producers in many different countries. SERRV purchases from producers in 24 different countries; Papillion benefits artisans in Haiti; and Equal Exchange has partnered with over 40 farmer producers over the world.

How Does Fair Trade Benefit its Producers?

Noel continued to describe the ways in which the store, and more generally fair trade, benefits its producers:

“The artisans and farmers are guaranteed an ethical wage and provided a safe place to work before we order our merchandise. Most times their children are cared for and educated in schools where their parents work. Sometimes workers who have broken free of the sex trade, or who have diseases and are shunned, work at home and provide for their families by joining a home based co-op,” Noel said.

Going Above and Beyond

Through the international network of fair trade, Many Hands Fair Trade Shop is making it possible for hundreds of fair trade producers to pursue meaningful work while earning fair and sustainable wages.

By taking no profit or salary from the shop, the managers at Many Hands are going above and beyond to see to it that every possible cent is put back into purchasing fair trade products. Through these admirable efforts, the organization will continue to support producers and workers in over 30 countries all over the world.

– Savannah Hawley

Photo: Savannah Hawley

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Bridging the Gap: Gender Equality in Singapore

SingaporeAccording to the 2017 World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report, Singapore decreased 10 positions from last year in closing the gender gap. Singapore was ranked 65th out of 144 countries in economic participation and opportunity, political empowerment, educational attainment and health and survival. Such standings indicate a need to bridge the gap and address the gender equality in Singapore.

Symbolically, the ascension of Singapore’s first female president may indicate a sign of improved broader access to politics for women; but this individual success brings Singapore only a little closer towards bridging the gender gap. The Ministry of Social and Family Development in Singapore remains committed to the protection of women’s rights and is taking steps to promote gender equality in Singapore.

5 Organizations Working on Gender Equality in Singapore

In addition to government agencies, there are also several organizations working to promote gender equality in Singapore by providing livelihood, job opportunities and fighting for women’s issues. Here are five organizations currently working towards women’s rights and protection.

Aidha

Aidha is a Singapore-based NGO that helps women become financially independent. The mission of the charity is that “by helping one woman, it can help improve nine more lives.” Aidha also provides financial literacy programs, computer literacy programs and entrepreneurial skills for Singapore’s foreign domestic workers and low-income women.

The organization’s aim is to help women help themselves by launching their own businesses or helping them invest in items like livestock in their home countries to better protect them against the cycle of poverty.

Aidha’s workshops, clubs and courses help students become literate in Information and Communication Technology (ICT), manage income and boost their confidence and social capital.

Daughters Of Tomorrow (DOT) is a program which focuses on empowering underprivileged Singaporean women through confidence-building, skills development and employment channeling. Aidha is working with DOT to develop a 10-session financial literacy program for its clients and deliver the first program this year.

The Singapore Council of Women’s Organizations

The Singapore Council of Women’s Organizations (SCWO) was established in 1980 as the national coordinating body of women’s organizations in Singapore. SCWO has more than 50 member organizations, represents over 500,000 women and strives to unite women in Singapore to work toward ideals of ‘Equal Space, Equal Voice and Equal Worth.’

SCWO provides free legal clinics — with the support of volunteer lawyers from Singapore Association of Women Lawyers (SAWL) — for women residing in Singapore who face legal issues on personal matters, do not have legal advice or are unable to afford a lawyer.

One of their services includes providing shelter for women. SCWO’s Star Shelter opened in March 1999 and is a registered charity with IPC Status and the only secular crisis center in Singapore. Star Shelter provides a safe, temporary refuge for women and children who are victims of family violence, regardless of race, language, creed or religion. SCWO empowers victims to manage and take responsibility for their lives and assists them in rebuilding existences free of violence.

Apart from meals and lodging, Star Shelter also provides trauma/crisis counseling and case management. Through the “Rebuild” Program, SCWO provides a one-time financial aid to assist victims in paying for transport expenses while they look for employment; in addition, the program also offers a no-interest home loan.

Aware

Aware is an organization which works to remove all gender-based barriers and encourages gender equality in Singapore. Aware works in three ways:

  1. Research and advocacy
  2. Education and training
  3. Support services

AWARE believes in equal opportunity for both men and women in every field. AWARE is dedicated to removing gender-based barriers and providing a feminist perspective in the national dialogue.

The organization has effectively advocated against laws, public policies and mindsets that discriminate against women. AWARE’s support services provide crisis counseling, assistance in dealing with the authorities, and legal advice to women in need. We Can! is a popular campaign which works through Change Makers – individuals who commit to taking steps in their own lives to end violence.

The campaign aims to shake up social attitudes and beliefs that tolerate violence against women. They have conducted several workshops to this end, and forum theatre to reach out to people for support. The campaign has garnered 17,000 individuals and has worked with more than 96 organizations to fight for gender equality in Singapore.

 The Singapore Committee for UN Women

The Singapore Committee for UN Women is a self-funded, non-profit organization that works towards women’s empowerment and gender equality. The organization supports the general mission of UN Women by raising awareness and funding for Ending Violence Against Women, Economic Empowerment, and Governance and Leadership Programs in Singapore and the region. 

These campaigns include the SNOW (Say No to the Oppression of Women) Gala and Buy to Save fundraising events. In fact, 80 percent of the funds are dedicated towards local projects like Help Anna and Girls2Pioneers, while the remaining 20 percent is channeled towards supporting regional beneficiaries. The group’s HeForShe campaign works in favor of gender equality in Singapore and has around 10,000 commitments so far.

CRIB Society

The Singapore organization, CRIB Society (Creating Responsible and Innovative Businesses), combines social responsibility and innovative business practices to work more from the top down with female entrepreneurs and business owners. The organization uses this structure to then help create opportunities and jobs for other women.

CRIB has a group of mentors and emerging entrepreneurs who support, inspire and assist each other, and offers seminars, mentorships, a ‘matching’ program that puts together potential co-founders for new businesses and an incubator program.

These five organizations help encourage gender equality in Singapore and provide support for women in every field including education, employment, shelter and housing. The future is limitless for where these empowered women will go next.

– Preethi Ravi
Photo: Flickr

10 Facts About Living Conditions in Brazil

10 Facts About Living Conditions in BrazilBrazil has one of the most unequal wealth distributions in the world, which leads to drastic differences in quality of living conditions between Brazil‘s poor and rich. Big cities in Brazil will often have luxury apartments next to slums piled up on the outskirts of the town.

10 Facts about Living Conditions in Brazil

  1. Slums are called favelas, which are living conditions for the extremely impoverished in Brazil. They are built by their occupants on the edges of big cities like Rio de Janeiro.
  2. As of 2013, two million people in Brazil live in favelas. The occupants of favelas are extremely poor, unable to afford better housing in urban areas. These citizens often moved to urban areas to find better work but were forced into the slums when they could not find a job that paid them enough to purchase better housing.
  3. The communities of favelas do not have any organization or sanitation systems and are built illegally. With a lack of any structure or legal system which leads to higher crime rates, favelas are often sites of crime and drug-related violence.
  4. Rates of disease and infant mortality are high in favelas, and poor nutrition is common. The lack of sanitation and proper healthcare leads to diseases and more deaths in children.
  5. Unpredictable weather, which could cause landslides, can often wipe away entire communities of favelas. Weather like this leaves those who have limited housing with none at all.
  6. Over 50 million Brazilians live in inadequate housing. In addition to urban slums, rural areas of Brazil also experience significant poverty and lack of quality housing. This means many Brazilians rural dwellers do not have access to sanitation systems like flushing toilets and running water.
  7. Favelas are becoming increasingly common as sites for tourism. Every year, around 40,000 people visit favelas in Brazil to see the poverty that they would otherwise never be exposed to.
  8. Overall, there is an intense need for more housing in Brazil. The country needs to construct eight million more houses to provide enough shelter fulfill to those who need it. Current housing is cramped and people are often forced into the favelas as a result.
  9. Habitat for Humanity works closely with Brazil to reconstruct slums and drive housing projects. As an organization, HFH has helped almost 13,000 Brazilian families to find or build better housing. They have also worked to rehabilitate Brazilian slums.
  10. The Brazilian government launched a program in 2009 called Minha Casa, Minha Vida (My Home, My Life) that helped four million low-income families build homes. Families with low incomes were able to apply to move into new homes or have their current home reconstructed.

Programs like Minha Casa, Minha Vida are essential for the government to invest in, in order to improve living conditions in Brazil. 

– Amelia Merchant

Photo: Flickr

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Top 10 Facts About Human Rights in Kenya

Top 10 facts about Human Rights in Kenya
The World Bank, in its latest report on Kenya, credited the country with possessing the potential to become one of Africa’s success stories.  From its growing youthful population and dynamic private sector to its highly skilled workforce, improved infrastructure and new Constitution, Kenya plays a pivotal role in East Africa. However, Kenya continues to struggle with the protection of the basic human rights of its people. The top 10 facts about human rights in Kenya below shed light on the inequalities faced by the Kenyan people and the organizations working to improve conditions.

Top 10 Facts About Human Rights in Kenya

  1. From 2007 to 2008, Kenya received international attention and criticism for severe violation of human rights after the re-election of President Uhuru Kenyatta. While the political party in power challenged the independence of the judiciary, and the police manhandled opposition protestors, the NGOs Coordination Board threatened to close down human rights organizations. Administrative and legal measures were adopted to curb the activities of civil society, media and human rights organizations.
  2. Human Rights Watch confirmed that the post-election human rights violations included sexual and gender-based violence against men, women and children in Kenya by the police and security forces.
  3. In 2010, in an attempt to address the past human rights abuses and injustices, Kenya adopted a new Constitution alongside a Commission to implement it.
  4. The Human Rights Watch, in its 2016 report, criticized the country’s inaction. The criticism was aimed at Kenya’s ineffective implementation of the new Constitution and lack of addressing the post-election human rights violations of 2007 and 2008.  These violations left at least 1,200 people dead and 650,000 people displaced.
  5. Amnesty International questioned the government’s legislative curtailment of basic rights of the people, media and refugee communities. As a response to the persistent terrorist attacks and killings orchestrated by Somalia-based Islamist group Al-Shabaab, the Kenyan government increased the power of the police and security agencies. This, in turn, led to extrajudicial killings, disappearances, arbitrary detentions, raids on communities, harassment and extortion of money.
  6. The Amnesty International Annual Report for 2017/18 lauded the “landmark judicial decisions on human rights” by the Kenya High Court stopping the government’s decision to close the Dadaab refugee camp. Dadaab is the world’s largest refugee camp, and the decision prevented the return of 250,000 refugees to Somalia, where they would have been at risk of abuse.
  7. Outside the scope of political turmoil, there are also issues of the rights of women and children in the country. In 2016, the National Gender and Equality Commission released a report titled Gender-Based Violence in Kenya. According to its study, 39 percent of women and girls aged 15 years and above have encountered physical violence, and more than one-fifth of the women have been victims of sexual abuse. Domestic abuse has also been noted as a common problem in Kenya. Acts like the Prohibition of Female Genital Mutilation (2011), Employment Act (2007), the Protection Against Domestic Violence (2015) and the National Policy on the Prevention and Response to Gender-based Violence (2014), have been introduced to promote social justice and preserve the rights of women in the country.
  8. Kenya’s Vision 2030’s Medium-Term Plan II (for 2013 to 2017) outlined the establishment of gender-based violence recovery centers in all health care facilities in Kenya. The National Gender and Equality Commission has also developed a National Monitoring and Evaluation Framework to prevent such violence. Organizations like Childline Kenya in partnership with the government have been trying to stop the high instances of child abuse prevalent in the country. The National Policy on the Elimination of Child Labor and the Kenyan police’s Child Protection Unit have been introduced to prosecute and investigate child exploitation.
  9. Clashes between different ethnicities in Kenya, which initially began in 1991, have also emerged as one of the human rights issues in the country. Certain ethnic communities, like the Sengwer, have been in conflict with the government. This year, the European Union suspended it’s Water Towers Protection and Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Programme due to the killing of a person by the Kenya Wildlife Service. The EU stated that the rights of indigenous people must be respected and balanced with the conservation work on water towers.
  10. The Kenya Human Rights Commission has been striving to foster human rights and democracy at all levels in Kenya. To add to that, The Kenya National Commission of Human Rights acts in an advisory role and as a watchdog to promote a culture of human rights in Kenya.

In July 2018, members of The United Nations Working Group on Business and Human Rights, following their visit to Kenya, appreciated the new Constitution’s efforts to improve human rights conditions and democratic institutions. In addition, the group underscored the need for delivering the promises of the constitution in order to secure human rights protection. Kenya is set to become the first country in Africa to develop a National Action Plan based on business and human rights. While these top 10 facts about human rights in Kenya demonstrate many areas in need of improvement, the Kenyan government has begun to take steps in a promising direction.

– Jayendrina Singha Ray

Photo: Flickr

The World Celebrates International Day of Peace

International Day of PeaceSeptember 21 marks an important day worldwide. It is International Day of Peace, also known as Peace Day. The United Nations created the day in 1981 to celebrate a globally shared commitment: honoring and practicing peace.

The U.N. has been making tremendous efforts to achieve world peace. One such effort is the creation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The document is considered a milestone in achieving a common standard of life for all people. It was initially adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris in December 1948. The declaration celebrates its 70th anniversary in 2018. As a tribute to this declaration, the theme for the International Day of Peace 2018 is the ‘Right to Peace’.

In addition to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the U.N. has also established a university in Costa Rica called the University for Peace to propagate the importance of peace.

The University for Peace

The University for Peace is an institution that provides an opportunity for people around the world to learn effective ways to facilitate peace.

The university has a diverse student body of more than 110 students from 60 plus countries. The faculty of the university is as diverse as its student population, with only 10 percent from Costa Rica. The remaining 90 percent are from different places across the globe.

Every year, the university celebrates the International Day of Peace and regards it as an opportunity to acknowledge its role in promoting peace.

This year, The Borgen Project attended the International Day of Peace celebration. The University revealed a new installment in their atrium: a hanging mobile of a thousand origami cranes. Each crane was handcrafted by a member of the institution, both faculty, and student.

At the reveal of this piece, students from around the University met together in the atrium to listen to the powerful words of the faculty and fellow students. The dialogue switched from English to Spanish as the stories and ideas of peace promotion were explained.

The instillation was inspired by the work of Sadako Sasaki. In the devastating aftermath of Hiroshima, twelve year old Sasaki was diagnosed with leukemia. Her father told her the legend of folding 1,000 cranes, and how the reward is a wish granted. To keep her hope, Sasaki dedicated the remainder of her life to folding cranes. Her legacy and the practice now are considered a symbol for peace.

The words of  the U.N. Secretary General António Guterres were repeated throughout the speeches. One of the most important sentiments in his brief message for 2018 being, “peace takes roots when people are free from hunger, poverty and oppression, and can thrive and prosper.”

Peace relies on multiple factors such as economic and political as well as the availability of food, water and security. Peace can be achieved only when all these basic needs are met.

Sustainable Development Goals

In addition to pursuing peace, the United Nations established the sustainable development goals to ensure a certain level of progress is made in every country around the world. From 2015 to 2030, there is a list of 17 goals. Two out of the seventeen goals are to “promote just, peaceful and inclusive societies” and “no poverty”.

By 2030, the goal is to halve the population living in poverty. This would mean only three percent of the population would live in extreme poverty by 2030.

The World Bank reports in September 2018, that extreme poverty is at its all-time lowest in history. The current projection for 2018 is 8.6 percent. From 1990 to 2015, the rate dropped by one percent every year and went from 36 percent to 10 percent. Since the rate of decline has slowed down, the goal of reducing extreme poverty to 3 percent by 2030 looks like a tough one to achieve.

Pathways for Peace

The United Nations and the World Bank are currently working together to develop a series of steps for achieving peace and sustainable development. The new focus will be prevention. This new action would save between $5 billion to $70 billion each year on reactionary projects. This money will then be fed back into the system to reduce poverty.

This new preventative action aims to take into consideration all levels of society and its impact on the life of an individual. For preventative action to be effective, the group must identify the specific cultural factors that lead to extreme stress among people. Factors such as malnourishment, extreme poverty and oppression.

Future of Peace

The International Day of Peace gives everyone a chance to reflect on their life and the lives of those around them. Everyone dedicates one day a year to act locally and think globally. As Guterres said, “Do your part at school, at work, at home. Every step counts.”

– Taylor Jennings
Photo: Flickr