For many children living in rural villages in Africa, the most valuable educational tool is not a pencil or a notebook: it is a bicycle. Several organizations are providing bicycles to families in Africa as a means of bringing education, health services and economic stability to entire communities.
In Zambia, children often have to walk miles to get to school. They might arrive late, miss early classes and face an embarrassing punishment from the teacher. This is a particular problem for girls, who are expected to complete household chores before even starting on their journey.
In 2014, World Bicycle Relief donated 100 bikes to students and faculty at a primary school in Zambia. Now that she rides her bike to school, one girl said she can put all of her energy into concentrating in class, and she has time to study in the evenings.
Providing bicycles to families in Africa also allows them to improve their economic situations. Steel workers and chicken farmers can carry larger and heavier loads to the market. In Zambia, dairy farmers have increased their deliveries by up to 25 percent. Mine workers and door-to-door salesmen use bicycles to shorten their commutes. They save time and energy and are able to afford necessities like food and school supplies.
Women in Sierra Leone and Ghana are responsible for the vast majority of the household chores. As with the men, women use the bicycles to balance heavy materials and travel long distances. For women and girls, however, owning a bike is a form of protection–against sexual assault. Put simply, no man can outrun them anymore.
Despite this, it is far more unlikely for a woman to have access to a bicycle. In places like Sierra Leone, women are discouraged from riding bikes in the belief that it causes them to lose their virginity. Boys and men commandeer the household bicycle, claiming that the women don’t have time to learn how to ride it. However, many organizations are working against this idea: for example, the Village Bicycle Project operates a month-long Learn to Ride program for women and girls in Ghana and Sierra Leone.
Presenting one woman with a bike can improve life for an entire community. In villages in Zambia where HIV is prevalent, taking care of the sick often falls to Community Healthcare Volunteers (CHVs). They care for elderly men and women, orphaned children and those suffering from AIDS. After receiving a bicycle, one female healthcare worker was able to increase the number of patients she visited per day from four to 18.
Providing bicycles to families in Africa not only empowers rural villagers, but it also has positive implications for the environment. The organization Ghana Bamboo Bikes constructs bicycles out of bamboo, an eco-friendly material that, unlike wood, will not result in damage to Ghana’s rainforests.
The bicycles are built to be light, yet stable–good for navigating the roads of rural Ghana. The organization also teaches young men and women with little education how to build the bikes, offering them a job skill that will prove valuable as the demand for bicycles in Africa continues to grow.
– Emilia Otte
Human Rights in Slovakia
The Roma population, which constitutes approximately two to four percent of the Slovakian population, is the second largest minority group in Slovakia. The most prevalent type of discrimination against the Romani people in Slovakia has occurred in the education system, in the form of segregating Romani children. A joint report by the Amnesty International and the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC), published on March 1, 2017, revealed that Romani children are regularly assessed as having “mild mental disabilities” and are sent to special schools that provide an inferior education. Although Slovakia had already received a threat of fines from the European Commission two years ago for breaching EU discrimination laws, racial segregation in schools is still rampant across the country.
Another form of discrimination that is representative of the current state of human rights in Slovakia is the ill treatment of Roma by the police. According to the Slovakia 2016 Human Rights Report published by the U.S. Department of State, a number of NGOs and members of the Romani community have reported incidents of police officers abusing suspects both while being arrested and after being imprisoned. For instance, in 2010 a Romani minor who was arrested for robbery claimed that police officers committed acts of violence against him in order to force him into giving a confession. In July 2016, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled that the state failed to carry out an adequate investigation into this incident and ordered the Slovakian government to pay €1,500 to the minor, in addition to legal costs.
The aforementioned cases of discrimination illustrate that human rights in Slovakia are in need of substantial improvement. While numerous members of the Romani community are already fighting for social inclusion and equal opportunities, efforts from the civil society and government will be crucial in eliminating such deep-rooted human rights issues.
– Minh Joo Yi
Common Diseases in Montenegro
Ischemic Heart Disease
A condition characterized by narrowed heart arteries, thus reducing blood flow to the heart, ischemic heart disease can ultimately result in unexpected heart attack. Also known as coronary artery disease, ischemic heart disease was assessed to be the most fatal of the common diseases in Montenegro in 2005. By 2015, it was still the most fatal, but the prevalence of deaths by the disease had fortunately decreased by seven percent.
Cerebrovascular Disease
Cerebrovascular disease refers to any disease affecting blood flow to the brain. Such disorders often result in aneurysms, carotid stenosis, intracranial stenosis, vertebral stenosis, stroke and vascular malformations. In 2015, cerebrovascular disease was the second most fatal common disease in Montenegro, and had been for the past decade. However, the disease had unfortunately increased in prevalence by 4.8 percent within those 10 years.
Lung Cancer
A type of cancer beginning in the lungs, lung cancer can cause a person to cough up blood, experience chronic fatigue, have recurrent respiratory problems and lose weight unexpectedly, among other effects. Smoking is cited as a high risk factor for developing lung cancer. In 2005, lung cancer was the third most fatal of the common diseases in Montenegro. In 2015, it remains so, but the prevalence of deaths by the disease has decreased by 1.3 percent.
The government of Montenegro has been attempting to address the issue of smoking for years. In 2004, Montenegro made it illegal to advertise smoking, to smoke in public or even to portray smoking on Montenegrin television. In addition, the Montenegrin National CVD Prevention Coordinator introduced a “Healthy Lifestyles” subject in schools. Hopefully, Montenegrin government will continue to address the most common diseases in Montenegro through responsible reforms and policies.
– Shannon Golden
Photo: Flickr
Toilet to Tap: A Safe Way to Drink Water
Countries like Singapore, Namibia, India, Mexico, Europe and the United States have implemented Indirect Potable Reuse and Direct Potable Reuse methods, both of which are used to effectively purify water via the process of reverse osmosis.
Reverse osmosis is a common water purification process. First, the water filters through a dual membrane at least three times. After this, the water goes through a UV light as well as a sub-micron filter to clean out any remaining unwanted particles.
Singapore began the initiative in 1998, known as the NEWater Study, in order to determine how safe recycled wastewater is to drink. According to the Public Utilities Board (PUB), Singapore specifically uses “secondary sewage water that has undergone stringent purification and treatment processes using advanced dual-membrane and ultra-violet technologies.” Through this process, Singapore supplies at least 80 million liters of clean water per day from each of its three facilities.
Some countries – such as India and Mexico – are new to the Toilet to Tap concept, but they are beginning to integrate it into their infrastructures more. India, through its 2021 Master Plan, has laid the groundwork to begin the recycling of wastewater to be able to supply more to areas that do not have consistent access to clean water.
Access to clean water is vital to ensure public health and economic, social and environmental stability. While there are not currently many countries who reuse wastewater, there are several countries now seeking to implement these Toilet to Tap systems as a way to solve water crises around the world.
– Rebekah Covey
Photo: Pixabay
Providing Bicycles to Families in Africa Improves Education
In Zambia, children often have to walk miles to get to school. They might arrive late, miss early classes and face an embarrassing punishment from the teacher. This is a particular problem for girls, who are expected to complete household chores before even starting on their journey.
In 2014, World Bicycle Relief donated 100 bikes to students and faculty at a primary school in Zambia. Now that she rides her bike to school, one girl said she can put all of her energy into concentrating in class, and she has time to study in the evenings.
Providing bicycles to families in Africa also allows them to improve their economic situations. Steel workers and chicken farmers can carry larger and heavier loads to the market. In Zambia, dairy farmers have increased their deliveries by up to 25 percent. Mine workers and door-to-door salesmen use bicycles to shorten their commutes. They save time and energy and are able to afford necessities like food and school supplies.
Women in Sierra Leone and Ghana are responsible for the vast majority of the household chores. As with the men, women use the bicycles to balance heavy materials and travel long distances. For women and girls, however, owning a bike is a form of protection–against sexual assault. Put simply, no man can outrun them anymore.
Despite this, it is far more unlikely for a woman to have access to a bicycle. In places like Sierra Leone, women are discouraged from riding bikes in the belief that it causes them to lose their virginity. Boys and men commandeer the household bicycle, claiming that the women don’t have time to learn how to ride it. However, many organizations are working against this idea: for example, the Village Bicycle Project operates a month-long Learn to Ride program for women and girls in Ghana and Sierra Leone.
Presenting one woman with a bike can improve life for an entire community. In villages in Zambia where HIV is prevalent, taking care of the sick often falls to Community Healthcare Volunteers (CHVs). They care for elderly men and women, orphaned children and those suffering from AIDS. After receiving a bicycle, one female healthcare worker was able to increase the number of patients she visited per day from four to 18.
Providing bicycles to families in Africa not only empowers rural villagers, but it also has positive implications for the environment. The organization Ghana Bamboo Bikes constructs bicycles out of bamboo, an eco-friendly material that, unlike wood, will not result in damage to Ghana’s rainforests.
The bicycles are built to be light, yet stable–good for navigating the roads of rural Ghana. The organization also teaches young men and women with little education how to build the bikes, offering them a job skill that will prove valuable as the demand for bicycles in Africa continues to grow.
– Emilia Otte
Hunger in Gibraltar No Longer a Problem
Although no data exists to date for the percentage of Gibraltar’s 34,408 citizen population living below the international poverty line, the territory’s unemployment rate was listed as one percent in 2016, suggesting that Gibraltar has come a long way since the 19th century, when malnutrition, disease and economic instability were widespread. With improvements in the economy, poverty and hunger in Gibraltar have naturally become less and less concerning.
Gibraltar is currently a member of the European Union as a Special State territory, joining the European Economic Community under the United Kingdom in 1973. Despite its membership, Gibraltar is not subject to the same taxation requirements as other members. As a result, the territory has no capital gains tax, wealth tax, sales tax or value added tax. Non-resident businesses do not pay income tax unless the sources of this income are Gibraltar proper, and there is no tax on capital income. This plethora of “tax-free” conditions has made international trade a large player in the Gibraltarian economy, as non-resident companies can take advantage of such regimes to reduce taxation.
With recent Brexit developments, however, a debate over Gibraltar’s continued status as a member of the EU has arisen. Over 96 percent of the territory’s population voted to remain in a referendum held in June 2016 on the issue of continued EU membership. Since the referendum, Spain has offered a plan to keep Gibraltar in the EU on the condition that Madrid shares sovereignty over Gibraltar with London. Gibraltarian citizens overwhelmingly rejected the proposal.
Gibraltar currently benefits from the tourism industry and trade with Spain through its membership in the EU. Not only would leaving the EU mean leaving the European common market, a risky move for an extremely dependent territory like Gibraltar, but Spain’s economy would suffer as well. In 2007 alone, Gibraltar imported more than £174 million of goods and services from Spain, excluding petroleum imports, and enabled both Spanish and Gibraltarian frontier workers to earn £82.8 million from within the economy of Gibraltar.
On the surface poverty and hunger in Gibraltar may no longer be major issues of concern, but looming economic policy decisions could drastically change and shape the future of the territory.
– Katherine Wang
Causes of Poverty in Guinea-Bissau
Political instability is the root of most evils in Guinea-Bissau. There is unrest because there is lack of successful governance. No prime minister has lasted more than a few consecutive months, which shows the uncommitted approach that that has led to a country unable to develop out of dreary conditions. Guinea-Bissau has experienced two coups and a civil war, both of which have affected the political atmosphere in extreme ways. The political atmosphere, in turn, affects the economy. Citizens are not given adequate services or wages, and there is very little regulation of the economy and agricultural practices. In this way, the main causes of poverty in Guinea-Bissau stem from political instability. When a country does not have a functioning government, its economy cannot function either.
Most of the country’s agricultural sector is focused on the production and exportation of cashew nuts. The cashew nut industry provides 85 percent of all jobs, so when this production slows so do a number of jobs available. The number of exports has declined because of competing countries that export the same commodity and the overall underdevelopment of the industry. Production could triple with the implementation of new infrastructure and technology and still be behind international competitors.
The lack of exportation in the cashew nut industry causes economic difficulties on many scales. On a small scale, families are not given as many work opportunities, making it difficult to generate enough funds to live. On a larger scale, funds from the exportation of commodities, such as cashew nuts, are lacking. Unable to generate sustainable revenue, Guinea-Bissau’s economy is underdeveloped.
The main causes of poverty in Guinea-Bissau are most closely associated with political unrest and an insufficient economy. Guinea-Bissau is unable to be economically successful, relying mainly on foreign aid. Agricultural practices can be improved with the implementation of modern infrastructure that speeds up the process and develops the industry. It is important for the U.N. and international financial institutions to coordinate in the absence of a functioning government in order for Guinea-Bissau to further develop.
– Lucy Voegeli
Photo: Flickr
Armenia Poverty Rate Falls After Six-Year Rise
Although Armenia has been experiencing a decline in its poverty rate in recent years, this decline comes after a six-year period of high poverty rates. In fact, in 2008 Armenia’s poverty rate was reported at 17.4 percent and had virtually doubled to 32.4 percent at the end of 2012.
This increase comes directly from the sharp economic decline in 2009 coupled with extremely low salaries that did not compensate for the cost of living in Armenia, despite it already being 54 percent lower than the United States.
However, the country quickly found a solution at the end of 2013 that gradually decreased the poverty rate and increased salaries and pensions.
ARKA News Agency noted that in 2014, 900,000 people were poor, with 310,000 very poor and 60,000 extremely poor. These accounted for 19.4 percent of the population as poor, 8.4 percent as very poor and 2 percent as extremely poor. But by 2015, Armenia had returned to a 29.8 percent poverty rate, just 12.4 percent more than the poverty rate in 2008.
Despite a still inflated poverty rate, the country continues to see improvements in its poverty rates. In 2015, Armenia ranked second to its neighbors in poverty rates at 29.8 percent, but now in 2017, at the same rate, it is ranked fourth.
With the poverty rats continuing to fall, the GDP has reflected the trend by increasing. Last year, the GDP climbed to $10.547 billion, a $0.018 billion increase from 2015.
As the country continues its substantial improvement, Armenia’s poverty rate will sustain its reduction while its GDP and salaries increase.
– Amira Wynn
Photo: Flickr
Four Potential Solutions to the Youth Unemployment Crisis
The youth unemployment crisis impacts low-income countries the most because even employed citizens are at risk of poverty. In 2016 the ILO estimated that about 156 million employed youths in these countries lived in poverty. This makes up a substantial 38 percent of youths in developing nations.
For the sake of the world’s economy as well as these youths, here are four potential solutions to the youth unemployment crisis:
Resolving the youth unemployment crisis is critical for not only the well-being of youths worldwide, but also for the global economy. Mass youth unemployment slows progress and thereby it is essential to take steps toward ending it.
– Haley Hurtt
Photo: Flickr
Five Areas of Human Rights in Benin
Despite the various protections afforded under the law, there are still some challenges regarding human rights in Benin.
The Takeaway
Active steps are being taken, especially in the form of legislation, to protect human rights in Benin. However, a major theme that can be seen in the country is the failure to effectively implement many of these laws, leading to impunity in the face of violations. Proper implementation and follow-through of appropriate punishments for violations will be a major step to protecting human rights in Benin.
– Erik Beck
Photo: Flickr
Defeating Human Trafficking in Guatemala
Guatemala’s pervasive culture of gender inequality – coupled with extensive sexual abuse in the home – promotes trafficking. Often, human trafficking affects families that have already experienced domestic and sexual violence by fathers and stepfathers. The violence they experience prompts boys and girls to run away from home, leaving them prey to sexual exploitation by traffickers. Mothers who sell their children into the sex trade are often victims of trafficking or domestic abuse themselves.
In Guatemala, very few sex trafficking cases are actually detected each year – about 3 percent. Although Guatemala has adopted numerous programs and laws to tackle human trafficking, only two prosecutors work on sex trafficking cases across the country. Therefore, the number of trafficking convictions in Guatemala remains low, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). In 2014, the Guatemalan authorities convicted only 20 human traffickers, according to the 2015 U.S. Department of State report on human trafficking.
Education is a key factor in eliminating human trafficking; in Guatemala it occurs largely due to the absence of family education. Illiterate or uneducated children and adults are more vulnerable to abuse. Traffickers target poor, uneducated and unemployed women and girls, luring them with promises of earning money as a waitress or model. Girls as young as 12 work in brothels and are forced to have sex with up to 30 customers a day.
Just as it plays a large role in preventing human trafficking, education also plays a critical role in helping survivors of human trafficking to escape the trauma they experience after victimization. Instruction and counseling are immense steps toward rehabilitating the survivors and reintegrating them into society. When survivors are provided with education, they gain an opportunity to “reprogram” their lives by increasing their knowledge.
All members of society in Guatemala being more educated and knowledgeable on human trafficking is essential for the defeat of traffickers. Every avenue must be explored on how to raise awareness about the nature of the crime, its causes and the damage human trafficking inflicts on its victims.
– Heather Hopkins
Photo: Flickr