Education is often widely viewed as one of the fundamental pillars used to eradicate global poverty. According to Global Citizen, “61 million school-age children are not in school today,” and many trends show that education is perhaps the strongest tool to reduce extremism and bring world peace. Fortunately, the United States Agency for International Development has made tremendous progress in the realm of education.
Utilizing less than one percent of the total federal budget, “literacy rates are up 33 percent worldwide in the last 25 years, and primary school enrollment has tripled in that period.” In order to tackle global poverty, there must be a collective effort from grassroots movements to provide the necessary resources that foster opportunities for those in need. Some governments have made tremendous improvements in this regard, providing sustainable initiatives towards reducing poverty through education.
Chad
In Chad, the Global Partnership for Education responded in a timely fashion by providing nearly $7 million to the Ministry of Education in 2016 as a response to the 2016 conflict. This grant was not only allocated towards assisting the humanitarian relief crisis at the time, but was also used to provide education for refugees and displaced returnees.
According to the United Nations Education Index, Chad ranks 184th in the world in terms of its educational levels; nearly one in five children lived in poverty in 2015. In Hong Kong, a recent study came out affirming that “children who grow up in low-income households tend to have less access to opportunities and therefore are more likely to remain poor in adulthood.”
Many parents are strong proponents of education as they would like to invest in their children’s future, especially if they come from a predominantly poor household. The kinds of benefits procured from education help youths to break out of the poverty cycle and potentially become primary contributors to their country’s economy.
Additionally, income level persists when a child is enrolled in formal education. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have reduced poverty through initiatives in education such as developing workshops and extended learning opportunities.
Ghana
A headmistress at a recent school conference in Ghana recently lauded the value of education in society, claiming it “is the only means through which one could bridge the poverty and knowledge gaps in society.” Mrs. Elizabeth Ama Asare also stressed the importance of education towards economic empowerment, asserting that without it, “you cannot dine with the rich” or “reason with the professors.”
Her remarks were made in light of the commencement of the Government’s Free Senior High School (SHS) policy, one of the many significant initiatives towards reducing poverty through education.
In Ghana, World Vision International (WVI) has played an integral role in improving the lives of children and levels of education in 10 basic schools in Kpikira. The WVI’s efforts include educating the youth on maintaining general hygiene, and fighting to end the practice of child-marriage that’s embedded in many communities.
According to the article, “ending child-marriage could help the district achieve at least eight of the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals, including health, education, and poverty.”
Israel
Additionally, the Haredi community in Israel is beginning to more strongly promote education. Characterized by traditional Jewish Law, the Haredi are marrying less and focusing more on their higher education. As seen in 2017, the number of Haredi enrolled in higher education spiked from 1,000 to 10,800. The Haredi community constitutes 16 percent of Israel’s population, and is set to increase monumentally to 40 percent by 2065.
If governments, international organizations and charities actively come together, then bridging the poverty gap can become an achievable task. Those living in destitute areas can benefit through the creation of institutions that enhance learning perspectives and opportunities. Such robust initiatives in reducing poverty through education are vital in paving the way for those who learn in a classroom environment to pursue a better life.
– Alexandre Dumouza
Photo: Flickr
10 Facts About Russian Sanctions
Sanctions are generally an economic tool, though they may also include political or diplomatic measures. Modern economic sanctions have become increasingly sophisticated and are often targeted against narrow groups or even individuals instead of entire nations.
Economic sanctions have a spotty history of effectiveness regardless of how they are applied. They have had an effective political impact in isolated cases, like the heavy sanctions against South Africa’s former apartheid government. However, there are many counter-examples. The U.S. maintained sanctions against Iraq and its ruling Ba’ath party for over a decade after the 1990 invasion of Kuwait. Those sanctions appeared to create no significant policy changes from Saddam Hussein’s government, but had a severe effect on the quality of life in Iraq.
10 quick facts about the current sanctions against Russia:
Economic sanctions, despite their occasional success, have gained a reputation for harming the most vulnerable members of a targeted nation while often not having the intended effects on its government. North Korea would perhaps be the best modern example of this situation. It remains to be seen whether the current sanctions against Russia will change the behavior of its government without placing an undue burden on the population.
– Paul Robertson
Photo: Google
Sustainable Agriculture in Paraguay: Growth and Threats
Roughly 45 percent of Paraguay’s population relies upon subsistence farming. The three most profitable agricultural exports in Paraguay are soy, cotton and beef. Soy is the most controversial of the three products, and is touted by some to be the best product for sustainable agriculture in Paraguay.
With a reputation for government corruption, private foreign investment is considered rare and risky in Paraguay. Until recently, poor infrastructure has hindered the growth of the industrial sector in Paraguay, but low labor costs have attracted Brazilian companies to move factories from Brazil to Paraguay. In 2016, a report by the European Union indicated that the trading bloc saw that the risk was both necessary and advantageous, and funds for projects focusing on sustainable agriculture in Paraguay were issued soon after. The six objectives of these funds are:
Much of the EU funding focuses on improving the sustainability of cattle farming, the most important sector being the exportation of beef. Currently, the cattle population of Paraguay is about 14 million. It is estimated that by 2020 Paraguay will be home to 20 million head of cattle. Only 20 percent of this cattle is consumed in Paraguay. Chile, Russia, and Brazil are Paraguay’s largest beef importers, but the European Union is a growing market. Paraguay also seeks to increase exports to Asia and the Middle East.
Cotton has been an important export in Paraguay since its introduction. Initially, raw cotton was exported to Brazil and Italy, where it was processed and spun. After the fall of the Stroessner regime, Brazilian and Italian companies decided to invest in cotton factories in Paraguay. Processing and spinning the cotton in Paraguay increased the profit margin for both the companies and the Paraguayan farmers while creating jobs in Paraguay. Unfortunately, increased use of modern mechanized farming equipment may put many farmers out of a job. This is but one of many issues that are debated in the battle for soy in Paraguay.
In Paraguay, approximately 1 percent of the population owns 77 percent of the land. Much of this land is being sold to foreign companies, many of which are Brazilian and European, to produce soy, which is becoming a booming industry in Paraguay. These companies argue that their farms are the way forward for sustainable agriculture in Paraguay. Highly mechanized, these farms efficiently use the land and resources to grow soy, in turn boosting the economic value of Paraguay’s agriculture industry. But it comes at a high social cost.
Reports from the early 2000s suggest that assassinations and false arrests were used to intimidate farmers and indigenous communities into giving up their land to these companies. Environmental diversity in Paraguay has also been hurt by the growing soy fields. Forests once covered 85 percent of eastern Paraguay, but it is estimated that less than 8 percent of the forest is left. The forest has become a green desert of soy.
Sustainable agriculture in Paraguay is both increasing and under threat. The beef industry grows safely due to the guiding hand of the European Union, Paraguay’s expanding cattle markets and many trade partners. Soy threatens to ruin the hard work and way of life of many Paraguayan farmers, along with the environmental and economic impact of mono-cropping. The laissez-faire attitude of the Paraguayan government may have helped to boost the industrial strength of Paraguay, but regulation will be needed to save sustainable agriculture in Paraguay.
– Nick DeMarco
Photo: Flickr
Women’s Empowerment in the Marshall Islands Needs Improvement
For the past 30 years, the Marshall Islands has had few female senators. In the country’s 2015 elections, three women won seats, taking up 9 percent of the total 33 members in parliament. In January 2016, Hilda Heine won the presidential election to become the first female president of the Marshall Islands.
Though the nation did ratify the U.N.’s Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women in 2006, the Marshall Islands has no current legislation on any issues related to domestic violence, human trafficking, sexual harassment or sex tourism. Furthermore, there is no minimum sentence for sexual violence.
Due to the insufficiency of the law, violence against women in this nation is not unusual. A report by Women United Together Marshall Islands has shown that 51 percent of women experience domestic violence, while more than half of the population generally agrees that it is normal to commit violence against women in marital relationships, according to U.N. Women.
On the other hand, as a crucial metric on women’s empowerment in the Marshall Islands, gender parity and equality in education has some good news. Literacy rates among male and female youth are above 98 percent at present. A 2015 national review on education in the Marshall Islands reported that girls perform better than boys on all tests except for science in grade three.
However, the gender pay gap and inequality in employment still call for more attention to women’s empowerment in the Marshall Islands. Statistics have shown that the male and female unemployment rates are, respectively, 28 percent and 37 percent. Annual wages of women are $3000 less than those of men in the same occupations. Potential discrimination in job markets frequently restrict women from earning credits or managing businesses, which affects their economic independence.
Another concern is related to women’s health and environmental issues. Due to a shortage of fruits and vegetables, more than half of women in the Marshall Islands have obesity or risk factors for related diseases. Teenage marriage, adolescent pregnancy and mortality for children under five in this nation still remain high compared to the global average, despite significant decreases in the past few decades.
Founded in 1987, a nonprofit organization named Women Union Together Marshall Islands serves as the leading voice for eradicating violence against women in the nation. Several other U.N. organizations have also dedicated efforts to promoting gender equality in the Marshall Islands.
Significant progress on women’s empowerment in Marshall Island has been achieved. Political leaders play a strong role in promoting gender equality and ending violence against women. However, further efforts to improve the status of women are still challenging and necessary.
– Xin Gao
Photo: Flickr
5 Development Projects in the Central African Republic
At a 2016 global conference, the international community pledged $2.2 billion to help meet CAR’s most urgent needs. Here are five development projects in the Central African Republic that are making a difference.
The Central African Republic has a long way to go to recover from decades of conflict and instability. However, with sustained investment from the international community and a focus on long-term development projects in the Central African Republic, the country can begin to provide a safer and more stable way of life to all living there.
– Aaron Childree
Photo: Flickr
What Are the Qualifications for the House of Representatives?
The House of Representatives is the first line of defense for legislation in the United States. Some may not consider the House to be as elite as the Senate, but there is no denying that it is vital to the legislative process. Nineteen former presidents once served in the House of Representatives, more than the 16 who served in the Senate. But what qualifies someone to be elected to this legislative body?
The House of Representatives includes 435 members, with population size determining the number of representatives a state receives. The qualifications for the House of Representatives are less stringent than those for the Senate and the presidency. This was purposely done to limit the obstacles for ordinary people to become members. There are three formal qualifications, which are outlined in Article I, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution.
The first qualification outlined in the Constitution states that members of the House must be at least 25 years old. Despite this, the youngest member of the House of Representatives, William Charles Cole Claiborne, was only 22 when elected and only 24 when he was elected for a second time. Currently, the youngest member of the House, Elise Stefanik, is 33 years old, exceeding the requirement by eight years.
The second qualification, like that of the Senate, deals with citizenship. The constitution states that members of the House of Representatives must have U.S. citizenship for seven years upon election. This allows citizens who were not born in the United States, which is required for the presidency, to be elected into the House, which is crucial to immigrant representation. However, the number of immigrants serving has decreased significantly since the 1960s.
As of 2015, only 407 past and present members of Congress had been born outside of the United States out of the more than 12,000 who had served. 347 of these members served in the House of Representatives. From 1967 to 1974, no immigrants served in either the House or the Senate.
The last of the qualifications for the House of Representatives concerns residency and is the same for those serving in the Senate. Those elected to the House must be residents of the state which they represent at the time of election. However, this qualification does not require that representatives live in the district they represent.
The same article of the Constitution which outlines these qualifications also includes how members will be elected. Members of the House of Representatives are elected every two years without term limits. In addition to this, the House must confirm members who are elected before they may take the Oath of Office.
The House of Representatives was modeled for the people. It was designed to be accessible as well as an integral part of the legislative process. In addition, the Speaker of the House remains a prominent political figure within the government. Every moving part within our government serves a purpose and without one the system simply could not work. These qualifications for the House of Representatives ensure that these parts continue to work to the absolute best of their ability.
– Megan Burtis
Photo: Google
Maintaining the Rise of Sustainable Agriculture in Tunisia
The recent threat of terrorist attacks has discouraged tourists from traveling to Tunisia, which has led to a painful hit on the country’s economy. Such an economic shift has negatively impacted previously successful efforts toward eliminating poverty. In just 10 years, Tunisia successfully slashed its poverty rate in half, dropping from 32.4 percent in 2000 to 15.5 percent in 2010; but after the 2011 revolution, progress flatlined.
The Food and Agriculture Organization
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nation’s (FAO) priorities for Tunisia include introducing efficient agricultural practices, spreading awareness of climate change and how to navigate it, and helping the government to develop policies and strategies that improve agriculture.
FAO follows its Country Programming Framework (CPF) in assisting the growth of sustainable agriculture in Tunisia. By working together to support sustainable agriculture, FAO and the Tunisian government hope to rebuild the economy and reduce poverty rates. The CPF for 2015 to 2019 lists three pillars to its strategy:
Providing job stability in the growing field of sustainable agriculture in Tunisia should draw in more youth employment, tackling the unemployment issue that has contributed to several recent political protests throughout the region.
Improvements and Future Projects
As of 2008, agriculture already accounts for 16 percent of the total labor force and 27 percent of the rural labor force, according to a report by the World Bank. The Sustainable Agriculture Carbon Project, conceived in 2013, intends to stabilize agricultural work, maximize sustainable usage of the land, and provide stable access to water, infrastructure and basic services.
Various countries have already begun to shift their focus toward sustainable agriculture. In Tunisia, the need for a more stable economic focus has grown since the decline of the tourism industry — advancing agriculture can provide that stability in the economy that Tunisia needs.
– Francesca Colella
Photo: Flickr
The Current Realities of Living Conditions in Afghanistan
Everyday Existence
In Afghanistan, not all people live in perpetual fear of attacks, though these incidences do occur. Every day major cities bustle with thousands of shop owners opening their doors and cart-pushers taking to the streets. Few can afford leisure activities, but they do exist. In the capital of Kabul, there are zoos, amusement parks, cricket, football, and buzkashi matches (a traditional sport in which men on horses fight over a goat).
Threat of Attack
However, living conditions in Afghanistan can be harsh. According to a CIA World Factbook, an Afghan’s life expectancy is a meager 44 years. The wars in Afghanistan have been fairly constant since the seventies, and since 1979, more than a million Afghans have been killed and 3 million maimed in internal conflict.
On Thursday, January 18, a bomb went off at a protest in Kabul claiming the lives of 11 people and wounding 25 others. ISIL took credit for the attack, and in recent months, Kabul has been targeted by both Taliban forces as the groups vie for power within the country.
Electricity, Food and Water
Living conditions in Afghanistan need improvement. As it stands, only six percent of people have electricity and as a result must depend on alternative heat sources during the cold winter. Within an hour of the new year, Turkmenistan shut off electricity completely to Northern Afghanistan after authorities in Kabul rejected a demand for a 100 percent price increase.
Food and water are also challenges for many of the displaced people living in Afghanistan. In 2017, nearly half a million people fled their homes due to conflict, with 31 of 34 provinces recording forced displacement. For the displaced, food can be incredibly difficult to come by, as opportunities for employment are few and far between.
Unemployment is rampant, and even those that find work in construction, car repair, restaurants or offices have a hard time providing for themselves. In fact, most salaries are too meager to provide for large immediate families.
The city of Kabul’s population swells with an influx of people from the war-stricken, impoverished countryside. Traffic within the nation’s capital gives Los Angeles a run for its money, and security is everywhere. These physical occurrences are reminders that the threat of attack resides amidst normalcy in the current realities of those living in Afghanistan.
– Sam Bramlett
Photo: Flickr
Becoming a Reality: Women’s Empowerment in St. Lucia
Women’s empowerment is a quickly-growing movement around the world, especially in developing countries. St. Lucia, an Eastern Caribbean island, is one of many developing nations taking huge steps toward equality among all its residents.
Women in Equality Empowerment Program
In 2014, women’s empowerment in St. Lucia received a large financial boost when the Saint Lucia National Commission for UNESCO presented a $26,000 check to fund the Women in Equality Empowerment Program (WEEP). The program, run by the National Skills Development Center (NSDC), aimed to make professional training and job placement more accessible to women in St. Lucia. The program ran from 2015 to 2016 and successfully trained and placed 27 students into new jobs.
National Skills Development Center
The NSDC has continued to make strides in women’s empowerment in St. Lucia. Currently, the NSDC runs the Construction for Women Project, the goal of which is to train women for work in the construction field and to desensitize the St. Lucian society to the idea of women working in non-traditional fields.
Sacred Sports Foundation
Empowering young women is the focus of the Sacred Sports Foundation (SSF), a foundation that focuses on helping girls and women lead healthy lifestyles and socialize with each other. In 2012, the SSF asked that the Florida Association for Volunteer Action in the Caribbean and the Americas (FAVACA) assist them in training SSF employees for a new program focused on teaching girls aged 13 to 17 about health and life skills. The program promoted social inclusion, health education, HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention and mentoring in leadership.
Raise Your Voice St. Lucia
Possibly the most important organization pushing for women’s empowerment in St. Lucia is Raise Your Voice St. Lucia (RYVSLU). The organization’s goal is to teach women and children about their legal rights and provide support to those suffering through domestic violence, rape and other human rights violations.
In November and December 2017, RYVSLU ran the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence program in which panels, community meetings, and public marches were arranged to educate and empower women. The program was funded by the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI) and pushed for an end to violence against women.
These efforts are changing the current dialogue of women’s empowerment in St. Lucia, and hopefully serve as positive omens for the island nation’s future.
– Anna Sheps
Photo: Flickr
Reducing Poverty Through Education: A Look at 3 Major Initiatives
Education is often widely viewed as one of the fundamental pillars used to eradicate global poverty. According to Global Citizen, “61 million school-age children are not in school today,” and many trends show that education is perhaps the strongest tool to reduce extremism and bring world peace. Fortunately, the United States Agency for International Development has made tremendous progress in the realm of education.
Utilizing less than one percent of the total federal budget, “literacy rates are up 33 percent worldwide in the last 25 years, and primary school enrollment has tripled in that period.” In order to tackle global poverty, there must be a collective effort from grassroots movements to provide the necessary resources that foster opportunities for those in need. Some governments have made tremendous improvements in this regard, providing sustainable initiatives towards reducing poverty through education.
Chad
In Chad, the Global Partnership for Education responded in a timely fashion by providing nearly $7 million to the Ministry of Education in 2016 as a response to the 2016 conflict. This grant was not only allocated towards assisting the humanitarian relief crisis at the time, but was also used to provide education for refugees and displaced returnees.
According to the United Nations Education Index, Chad ranks 184th in the world in terms of its educational levels; nearly one in five children lived in poverty in 2015. In Hong Kong, a recent study came out affirming that “children who grow up in low-income households tend to have less access to opportunities and therefore are more likely to remain poor in adulthood.”
Many parents are strong proponents of education as they would like to invest in their children’s future, especially if they come from a predominantly poor household. The kinds of benefits procured from education help youths to break out of the poverty cycle and potentially become primary contributors to their country’s economy.
Additionally, income level persists when a child is enrolled in formal education. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have reduced poverty through initiatives in education such as developing workshops and extended learning opportunities.
Ghana
A headmistress at a recent school conference in Ghana recently lauded the value of education in society, claiming it “is the only means through which one could bridge the poverty and knowledge gaps in society.” Mrs. Elizabeth Ama Asare also stressed the importance of education towards economic empowerment, asserting that without it, “you cannot dine with the rich” or “reason with the professors.”
Her remarks were made in light of the commencement of the Government’s Free Senior High School (SHS) policy, one of the many significant initiatives towards reducing poverty through education.
In Ghana, World Vision International (WVI) has played an integral role in improving the lives of children and levels of education in 10 basic schools in Kpikira. The WVI’s efforts include educating the youth on maintaining general hygiene, and fighting to end the practice of child-marriage that’s embedded in many communities.
According to the article, “ending child-marriage could help the district achieve at least eight of the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals, including health, education, and poverty.”
Israel
Additionally, the Haredi community in Israel is beginning to more strongly promote education. Characterized by traditional Jewish Law, the Haredi are marrying less and focusing more on their higher education. As seen in 2017, the number of Haredi enrolled in higher education spiked from 1,000 to 10,800. The Haredi community constitutes 16 percent of Israel’s population, and is set to increase monumentally to 40 percent by 2065.
If governments, international organizations and charities actively come together, then bridging the poverty gap can become an achievable task. Those living in destitute areas can benefit through the creation of institutions that enhance learning perspectives and opportunities. Such robust initiatives in reducing poverty through education are vital in paving the way for those who learn in a classroom environment to pursue a better life.
– Alexandre Dumouza
Photo: Flickr
The Growth of Infrastructure in Botswana
Diamond mining is one of Botswana’s most important assets, as diamonds make up more than 60 percent of the country’s exports and around 25 percent of its GDP. The opening of Jwaneng, the world’s richest diamond mine, launched Botswana from being one of the poorest countries in the world to one of the richest countries in Africa. Currently, Jwaneng alone produces around 2,100 kilograms of diamonds a year. The wealth generated from diamond mining has contributed significantly to an increase in the standard of living in the country and services and infrastructure in Botswana have vastly improved as well.
Botswana’s roads are maintained by the local and central government. 2015 statistics from the Botswana Transport and Infrastructure Statistics Report stated that the total road network equaled 30,275.64 kilometers, with bitumen and gravel roads comprising the majority of the roads at 33 and 35 percent respectively. Travel by road constitutes the majority of travel in Botswana, accounting for 93 percent of passenger transportation. In addition, Botswana has 971 kilometers of railroad laid out and 12 airports with paved runways. Together, they comprise about 7 percent of passenger transportation.
Telecommunication infrastructure in Botswana is also vastly developed thanks to its location. Botswana is located directly north of South Africa, which has allowed the country to follow and access South Africa’s telecommunication infrastructure. Botswana has one of the highest rates of cell phone use on the continent and landline services are provided by the Botswana Telecommunications Corporation. Although slow Internet speeds still remains a problem, Internet usage is increasing, with an estimated 15 percent of the population having access to the Internet, according to the Global Information Technology Report.
In terms of power infrastructure in Botswana, the country produces coal for electricity and oil is imported into the country. Recently, the country has taken a large interest in renewable energy sources and has completed a comprehensive strategy that will attract investors in the wind, solar and biomass renewable energy industries.
There are some reports that infrastructure in Botswana is declining, as just within the past five years the quality of infrastructure has severely fallen, alongside other African countries such as Libya, Tunisia and Egypt. However, funding is now being increasingly provided by China, which is playing a huge role in financing infrastructure in resource-rich African nations such as Botswana. The country can use these investments to build on its good infrastructure foundations and continue to improve the quality of life for its citizens.
– Miho Kitamura
Photo: Flickr