Nothing brings a smile to a child’s face more quickly than watching the circus. Except, perhaps, being able to perform the feats themselves.
Sirkhane Social Circus School in Turkey trains refugee children from Syria in the art of circus performance as a way of bringing joy into a very difficult situation. A typical day of classes consists of children juggling, spinning multicolored plates, doing tricks on a trapeze and walking on stilts.
But the school is dedicated to more than just teaching practical skills. For the Syrian refugee children, circus arts have become a way of dealing with the trauma they have witnessed. They practice peace and harmony in a safe environment.
Located in an old house in Mardin, a city on the Turkish-Syrian border, the school serves students from Turkey, Afghanistan and Iraq as well as refugees from Syria. The children learn teamwork and form friendships with children from different backgrounds.
Older children are often inspired to give back to the community by becoming mentors to the younger students in a program called Circus Heroes. These older students also put on their own performances and participate in larger festivals.
Sirkhane School was founded by the Turkish organization Art Anywhere, an NGO which works to bring art to communities. Over the past three years, Sirkhane has trained more than 600 young circus performers. According to co-founder Pinar Demiral, the school’s main goal is to give these children a second chance to experience childhood.
Sirkhane is part of the social circus movement, a global movement that uses circus arts to reach children and youth who are considered at-risk. Social circus organizations work not only with refugees and victims of war trauma, but also with children from impoverished backgrounds.
The Red Nose Foundation in Indonesia welcomes children from two of the most impoverished areas in Jakarta, a fishing community and a trash pickers’ slum.
Kids describe the classes as a way to fill free time, and parents say that spending time at the learning centers teaches the children to be patient and polite. The foundation hopes that circus performance will inspire the kids to be more confident, responsible and aware of the world around them.
Besides teaching basic juggling, clowning and acrobatics, Red Nose also offers more traditional education classes, particularly in English and math, all through the lens of the creative arts.
For these children, science lessons might involve drawing pictures of the solar system or of a particular ecosystem. English is taught through the medium of creative drama. The organization also offers scholarships to help cover schooling expenses for children who have participated in the program for two or more years.
For students who continue to attend a social circus, their acrobatic and artistic skills sometimes become a source of income. The Cambodian non-profit Phare Ponleu Selpak, a social circus organization whose name translates to “The Brightness of the Arts,” specializes in training students who wish to work professionally in creative fields.
The organization runs a Visual and Applied Arts School, which trains Cambodian youth in fine arts, graphic design and animation, and a Performing Arts School, which teaches theatre, dance and music as well as circus techniques. Graduates of the program have gone on to study in Europe, the United States and Canada.
The movement is still growing. The first Social Circus Day in April of 2016 brought together organizations from 32 countries, including Zambia, Myanmar, Afghanistan, El Salvador and Italy. Entire communities came together to celebrate and enjoy the performances.
This is perhaps the most important lesson of social circus, a lesson the children already know: regardless of setting or circumstances, the power of laughter prevails.
– Emilia Otte
Photo: Flickr
Top Diseases in Bhutan
Non-communicable Diseases (NCD)
Cardiovascular diseases affect 47.8 percent of the Bhutanese population. The most recent data from 2013 show that the most deadly of these diseases are ischemic heart disease, stroke, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Ischemic heart disease killed 89.2 people out of every 100,000 in 2013, and its mortality rate increased by 66 percent since 1990. By 2015, it remained the most common NCD in Bhutan. Strokes killed 72 people out of every 100,000, and its mortality rate has increased by an alarming 73 percent since 1990. Respiratory diseases like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, and pnuemoconiosis saw decreased mortality rates in 2013 by nine percent, 52 percent, and 27 percent since 1990, respectively.
Cancer is the second most common NCD in Bhutan, as it affects 12.4 percent of people in the country. Tracheal, bronchus, and lung cancers claimed the lives of five people out of every 100,000 in 2013, and its mortality rate has increased by 19 percent since 1990. In 2013, esophageal cancer took another five lives out of every 100,000, and the mortality rate has increased by eight percent since 1990. The mortality rate of liver cancer has increased by 60 percent since 1990, and lip and oral cavity cancers are becoming the most prevalent, and the mortality rate has increased by 33 percent between 1990 and 2013.
Communicable Diseases
In 1990, communicable diseases, combined with maternal and neonatal diseases, killed about 555 out of every 100,000 people. By 2013, the mortality rate had decreased significantly, claiming around 137 lives out of every 100,000.
As of 2013, 39.9 percent of people affected by communicable disease suffer from diarrhea, lower respiratory, and intestinal infectious diseases. Fortunately, the mortality rates of these three diseases dramatically decreased between 1990 and 2013, specifically by 84 percent for diarrheal disease, 75 percent for lower respiratory diseases, and 23 percent for intestinal infectious diseases.
As of 2017, the degree of risk for major infectious diseases is high. Three of the most common food or waterborne diseases are bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A and typhoid fever. While a vaccine is available to prevent hepatitis A, typhoid fever is still claiming lives without any preventative measures in sight, and if left untreated, mortality rates could reach 20 percent of those affected. Dengue fever is the top vector-borne disease, and is caused by a bite from a mosquito. It causes death in five percent of cases.
Neonatal disorders affect about 31 percent of the population in Bhutan. The good news is that between 1990 and 2014, the mortality trend in children under five years of age dropped from about 4,000 deaths to 1,804 deaths. In 2013, the most deadly neonatal disorders were neonatal encephalopathy due to birth asphyxia and trauma, preterm birth complications, and other neonatal infections, like neonatal sepsis. Each of these disorders killed less than 18 babies per every 100,000 in 2013.
Though these top diseases in Bhutan are concerning, the consistent decreasing mortality rates seem promising for the population, and it appears that with proper and effective treatment and prevention measures, those affected by these illnesses might see light on the horizon.
– Olivia Cyr
Photo: Flickr
Human Rights in Andorra
Arrest Procedures
In many countries that suffer from continual human rights violations, one symptom of this suffering takes the form of its citizens being unlawfully arrested. Andorra has laws that require police to have a warrant for an arrest. Also, Andorra police must release detainees after 48 hours if they are not charged with a crime.
Women’s Rights
One way to evaluate human rights in a country is to examine the treatment of women. Andorra was the tenth country to ratify the Istanbul Convention, which targets violence against women and created a plan to fight against domestic abuse. The treaty defines the various methods of violence used against women and prohibits them by law. Thus, human rights in Andorra are on the rise because of its support for women’s rights described in the Istanbul Convention.
Freedom of Speech and Press
The constitution of Andorra states that the country’s citizens have the right to freedom of speech and the press. The restriction of these human rights in Andorra is punishable by law. The Andorran government recognizes how important the collaboration of the press and the government is to ensure the human rights of its citizens.
The Takeaway
The primary markers of human rights are how people are treated in court, how women are treated in society and if the citizens of a country are allowed to practice freedom of speech. The people of Andorra are fortunate to live in a country that guarantees these fundamental rights in their constitution. The continued effort to enforce these laws ensuring human rights in Andorra proves that it is a leader in human rights and an example to other nations.
– Nicholas Beauchamp
Photo: Flickr
Hunger in The Czech Republic
The country has since opened up to free market capitalism and has a parliamentary republic. These factors have contributed to only one in ten Czechs living below the poverty line when last measured in 2016. The Czech Republic is among the countries in the EU with the lowest rate of poverty, which has allowed hunger in the Czech Republic to be almost non-existent.
The Effects Of Hunger For Czechs
Hunger in the Czech Republic is not a primary concern for the country’s government due to its .48 percent malnutrition rate. This rate means that .48 people out of every 100,000 in the Czech Republic will die of hunger, making it one of the least hungry countries in the world.
When UNICEF last did a study of hunger in the Czech Republic, it found that hunger was not an issue that was affecting many in the nation. Currently, only two percent of Czechs under the age of five suffer from stunted growth caused by malnutrition. On top of this, only one percent of Czechs under the age of five suffer from being underweight due to malnutrition.
Babies do not suffer from hunger in the Czech Republic due to the abundance of food in the nation. When last measured, only eight percent of babies were born with a low birth weight and the majority of babies born underweight quickly grew to a healthy weight.
The Takeaway
The shift from a socialist government to a government that practices free market capitalism alongside its parliamentary republic have allowed hunger in the Czech Republic to be non-existent. For the one in ten citizens in the nation who are impoverished, social welfare programs ensure these people get adequately fed. Overall, hunger in the Czech Republic is almost a non-issue.
– Nick Beauchamp
Photo: Flickr
World Health Update: Has Progress Occurred in Polio Eradication?
In June 2017, at Rotary International’s annual convention, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Rotary International jointly announced their pledge of $450 million toward polio eradication. At the same time, world governments and other donors pledged a total of $1.2 billion to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI).
GPEI is a collaborative effort among Rotary International, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization and UNICEF to combat polio.
The good news continued in August of this year when the United Kingdom announced that they would be pledging £100 million to the fight against polio. This funding will provide immunizations to 45 million children per year until 2020.
Though prior to this summer there was a funding gap of $1.5 billion for polio eradication, that shortfall has now been reduced to $170 million due to the contributions of Rotary International, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the United Kingdom as well as others.
While the focus now is on the three countries where polio still exists, the GPEI and its partner organizations still monitor polio in other at-risk countries.
Although the United Nations declared Somalia polio free, President Farmaajo stated that vaccination campaigns remain crucial. He noted that Somalia is still vulnerable and that polio eradication in Somalia “…was [a] collective effort and commitment by many young men and women who sacrificed their lives.”
The infrastructure built to combat polio in Somalia continues to be used to respond to other outbreaks including measles and cholera. Polio also tends to infect regions marred in conflict. In 2013, there were polio outbreaks in Central Africa, the Horn of Africa and the Middle East. The GPEI managed to end the outbreaks less than a year later.
Nigeria, one of the three countries on the endemic list, was taken off the list at one point after two years with no reported cases. Soon after, four children were paralyzed by polio in northern Nigeria. In response, the GPEI strengthened its polio surveillance operations.
It takes three years with no reported cases of a disease for it to be declared eradicated. Smallpox is the only eradicated disease in history. The United Kingdom International Development Secretary, Priti Patel, stated that, “The world is closer than it has ever been to eradicating polio, but as long as just one case exists in the world, children everywhere are still at risk.”
Due to the contributions of multiple governmental and non-governmental organizations, polio eradication is an achievable goal for the international community.
– Sean Newhouse
Photo: Flickr
How Social Entrepreneurship Can Benefit the Developing World
Social entrepreneurs are those whose goal is the achievement of systemic and sustainable social change. Often this is through innovation, perhaps through the invention of a new product or technology, or through adaptation of existing methods, such as making aspects of healthcare more affordable to those who require it.
For social entrepreneurs, the end goal is poverty alleviation or societal development, whether in a non-profit or business setting.
The notion that social entrepreneurship could provide aspects of aid not covered through traditional means has become more popular in recent years. In 2011, the Global Entrepreneurs Council, a U.N initiative focused on the promotion of entrepreneurship around the world, was formed.
In 2013, USAID and DfID created the Global Development Innovation Ventures fund, targeting the alleviation of poverty by means of innovation. Resources such as these have enabled entrepreneurial minds across the developing world to begin affecting change in their towns and cities. Not only this, but it appears to endorse the belief that social entrepreneurship can benefit the developing world.
Geographical challenges to people in Southern Africa is a cause targeted by the Buffalo Bicycle Company, who build their bicycles specifically for the terrain and its difficulties. In Myanmar, the work of the Phandeeyar tech hub civil society groups connects those seeking to develop products in line with the country’s economic growth with technology professionals.
Education, not just in the traditional sense, but also in terms of leadership, social abilities and entrepreneurship, is the focus of Afroes, who provide their services to young people in South Africa through games and tools. The list of social enterprises successfully overcoming social issues in the developing world grows by the day.
The progress made by these types of enterprises has increased acceptance that social entrepreneurship can benefit the developing world. As social enterprises continue to multiply throughout developing nations, it has become increasingly apparent that, in order to create systemic change, focus should be placed on public services being used in tandem with social entrepreneurs.
As such, acknowledgment and understanding of the benefits provided through such partnerships should be prioritized by public leaders across the developing world so as to continue affecting the change that is so often drastically required.
– Gavin Callander
Social Circus Brings Joy to Children in Need
Sirkhane Social Circus School in Turkey trains refugee children from Syria in the art of circus performance as a way of bringing joy into a very difficult situation. A typical day of classes consists of children juggling, spinning multicolored plates, doing tricks on a trapeze and walking on stilts.
But the school is dedicated to more than just teaching practical skills. For the Syrian refugee children, circus arts have become a way of dealing with the trauma they have witnessed. They practice peace and harmony in a safe environment.
Located in an old house in Mardin, a city on the Turkish-Syrian border, the school serves students from Turkey, Afghanistan and Iraq as well as refugees from Syria. The children learn teamwork and form friendships with children from different backgrounds.
Older children are often inspired to give back to the community by becoming mentors to the younger students in a program called Circus Heroes. These older students also put on their own performances and participate in larger festivals.
Sirkhane School was founded by the Turkish organization Art Anywhere, an NGO which works to bring art to communities. Over the past three years, Sirkhane has trained more than 600 young circus performers. According to co-founder Pinar Demiral, the school’s main goal is to give these children a second chance to experience childhood.
Sirkhane is part of the social circus movement, a global movement that uses circus arts to reach children and youth who are considered at-risk. Social circus organizations work not only with refugees and victims of war trauma, but also with children from impoverished backgrounds.
The Red Nose Foundation in Indonesia welcomes children from two of the most impoverished areas in Jakarta, a fishing community and a trash pickers’ slum.
Kids describe the classes as a way to fill free time, and parents say that spending time at the learning centers teaches the children to be patient and polite. The foundation hopes that circus performance will inspire the kids to be more confident, responsible and aware of the world around them.
Besides teaching basic juggling, clowning and acrobatics, Red Nose also offers more traditional education classes, particularly in English and math, all through the lens of the creative arts.
For these children, science lessons might involve drawing pictures of the solar system or of a particular ecosystem. English is taught through the medium of creative drama. The organization also offers scholarships to help cover schooling expenses for children who have participated in the program for two or more years.
For students who continue to attend a social circus, their acrobatic and artistic skills sometimes become a source of income. The Cambodian non-profit Phare Ponleu Selpak, a social circus organization whose name translates to “The Brightness of the Arts,” specializes in training students who wish to work professionally in creative fields.
The organization runs a Visual and Applied Arts School, which trains Cambodian youth in fine arts, graphic design and animation, and a Performing Arts School, which teaches theatre, dance and music as well as circus techniques. Graduates of the program have gone on to study in Europe, the United States and Canada.
The movement is still growing. The first Social Circus Day in April of 2016 brought together organizations from 32 countries, including Zambia, Myanmar, Afghanistan, El Salvador and Italy. Entire communities came together to celebrate and enjoy the performances.
This is perhaps the most important lesson of social circus, a lesson the children already know: regardless of setting or circumstances, the power of laughter prevails.
– Emilia Otte
Photo: Flickr
3 Major Causes of Poverty in El Salvador
1. An Unproductive Economy
Levels of poverty in countries are nearly always tied to the vitality of that country’s economy. And while El Salvador’s economy has made strides in recent years, it still suffers from stagnation. This is particularly evident in the agricultural sector. Salvadorian coffee crops have been damaged by coffee rust, a fungus that kills coffee beans. As coffee exports decreased, the economy suffered. Many rural Salvadorians were plunged into poverty. This sluggish economy is particularly detrimental for youth populations, who struggle to find employment. Fortunately, organizations like the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) are offering help. Between 2015 and 2021, IFAD plans to invest 41 million US dollars into El Salvador’s agriculture community. IFAD’s strategy is a community-based approach, another sign of their commitment to Salvadorians. In short, IFAD’s intentional aid is helping eradicate the causes of poverty that plague El Salvador.
2. Crime
El Salvador is the most violent country in the world. Much of El Salvador’s crime is attributable to rampant gang violence and drug trafficking. According to World Finance, “approximately 70 percent of businesses in El Salvador are subject to gang-related crime.” This extortion stunts the El Salvadorian economy, leading to widespread poverty. The World Bank estimates that in 2011 alone, crime cost El Salvador’s government over two billion US dollars, 10.8 percent of the country’s GDP. By 2014, the cost of crime increased to 4 billion US dollars, 16 percent of El Salvador’s GDP. These levels of crime lead to massive instability and cripple the economy. These outcomes inevitably increase poverty levels.
3. Climate Change
Climate change is the most silent of all the causes of poverty in El Salvador, but is just as dangerous. El Salvador is highly susceptible to changes in weather due to its location. As the Earth’s temperature’s rise, El Salvador’s crop yield is expected to drop by 30 percent by 2050. Salvadorians are already beginning to feel the effects of climate change. Drought has affected over 80,000 people. As climate change continues, farming in El Salvador will become harder and harder. Agriculture accounts for 17.3 percent of total employment. As farming becomes less viable, more rural Salvadorians will find themselves in poverty.
Understanding the causes of poverty in El Salvador is vital for discovering routes towards change. Organizations like IFAD and Salvadorians themselves have already begun the work of development. But more needs to be done, and you can help! All it takes is a phone call or email to your representatives. Urge them to support aid and investment in developing countries, including El Salvador.
– Adesuwa Agbonile
Photo: Flickr
Five Ways Poverty in Bangladesh Has Been Reduced
5 ways poverty has been reduced in Bangladesh:
1. The 1950s saw a recognition of the relationship between family and poverty. The government’s National Family Planning Association implemented a voluntary family planning program in 1953. The 21st century has grown this program, as contraception is prevalent among 42 percent of women and 4 million unwanted pregnancies were prevented in 2016. This program goes beyond population growth, as it keeps women in the workforce, therefore reducing their vulnerability to poverty.
2. Education continues to be a vessel of leaving poverty. The government of Bangladesh established the Primary Education Stipends program between 1990 and 2000. Impoverished families receive a cash stipend each month to send children to school. The program has abolished school fees and textbook fees, and has helped to train teachers. The program has also increased enrollment from 60 percent to 89 percent from 1990 to 2011.
3. UKAid’s Urban Partnership for Poverty Reduction project was created to assist aspiring entrepreneurs in poverty. A grant is awarded, and the recipient usually matches the amount. The program has awarded 55,000 grants in the past five years. The grants are used in a variety of ways, but are commonly used to help people in poverty follow their dreams of starting a business.
4. Taking an unusual approach to fighting poverty, the United Nations Development Program began to compile data about producers, traders, and other professions involved in trade. To date, the project has collected the stories of 200 individuals in poverty. The vision of the project is to raise awareness of all the workers who still live in extreme poverty, and from there find solutions to the problems of impoverished farm workers.
5. Created to facilitate poverty reduction worldwide, the Millennium Development Goals have been tailored by UNICEF to fit Bangladesh. The program aims to reduce the micronutrient deficiencies among impoverished children. In addition, the goals have been altered to include a goal of 95 percent school enrollment rate, 85 percent completion rate, and provides non-formal primary education to 200,000 working children between the ages of 10 and 14.
Bangladesh has suffered the effects of poverty for generations. These programs have worked to fix the problem and are moving Bangladesh forward. With the number of people in poverty diminishing, these 5 ways of reducing poverty in Bangladesh are doing exactly what they set out to do.
– Sophie Casimes
Photo: Flickr
Increasing Immunization and Vaccination in South Asia
In 2012, South Asia was one of many regions to adopt the Global Vaccine Action Plan in order to maximize the benefits of vaccination and aimed to achieve 90 percent of diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP3) coverage. Though progress has been made, with countries like Nepal and Bhutan achieving over 90 percent coverage, overall, South Asia lags behind other regions. Certain regions in Afghanistan and Pakistan have dangerously low immunization coverage and struggle with treatable illnesses such as meningitis and typhoid fever.
One of the main organizations trying to reverse these trends by increasing coverage in South Asia is Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance. Gavi has committed nearly $10 billion in funding for increasing immunization and vaccination in South Asia between 2000 and 2020. These funds are going towards vaccine development and implementation, especially in areas where refrigeration and effective vaccine delivery are not certain. One of Gavi’s most impactful developments was the introduction of a childhood pneumonia vaccine in Pakistan in 2012, making Pakistan the first country in the region to implement such a vaccine. Gavi has worked alongside UNICEF and the government of Pakistan, and they are still partnering to ensure the continued distribution of vaccines like this one.
Mixed success stories have been prevalent in the last decades when examining the efforts towards vaccination in South Asia. Bangladesh is one of the biggest success stories in the region; they heavily invested in health infrastructure and training after launching an Expanded Program on Immunization in the late 1980s. Since 1990, DTP3 has increased in Bangladesh by over 20 percent.
While certain South Asia countries struggle to implement uniform immunization measures, countries like India and Pakistan are changing things on a local level. Several districts in both states have implemented a system to recognize under-immunized communities and adopt corrective solutions. A recent breakthrough in India was the addition of a measles-rubella vaccine to their universal vaccination program.
As a region, South Asia lags behind other countries in terms of immunization and vaccination coverage, though certain countries have made great progress in the last decades. Thanks to the work of organizations like Gavi, the vaccine alliance, the future is brighter for South Asian children.
– Nicholas Dugan
Photo: Flickr
Causes of Poverty in Somalia and the Need for Aid
It is no secret that the countries most affected by climate change are the least equipped to combat the implications. Much of Somalia is dependent on livestock and agriculture, and more than half the population is now in dire need of humanitarian assistance after two seasons of poor rainfall. There have been many causes of poverty in Somalia that have left the country unable to aid its own citizens — in fact, the U.N. estimates a need for $864 million to assist 3.9 million people.
Leading Causes of Poverty in Somalia
The War on Hunger
Famine looms as a very viable threat. In just 48 hours, 110 people died from starvation and drought-related illness in rural Somalia. The drought is more severe in the country’s rural regions. Many Somalis from these areas took to the road out of necessity. Somalia’s capital city of Mogadishu offers feeding centers and food distribution.
Like most, Fadumo Abdi Ibrahim made the 30km journey on foot with her nine-month-old malnourished son in arms. While she was fortunate to complete the trek, others were not so lucky. “We found several bodies of children on the road,” Ibrahim said. The malnourished children died in their mothers’ arms; mothers too weak to carry the small corpses the rest of the way.
Like Ibrahim, Somalia travelled a long and challenging road to arrive at its current state of affairs. There are many causes of poverty in Somalia. The following are a few of the most significant.
In the early 1980s, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank instigated an intervention in Somalia and imposed economic and agricultural reforms in hopes of spurring development.
In theory, macroeconomic development seems reasonable.
POVERTIES is an online publication reporting social scientific research and information on economic development, public policy, human rights and discrimination. One article helps to simplify the damages of neoliberal reforms. The neoliberal ideology consistently follows a pattern of “currency devaluation for cheap exports and cheap labor, trade liberalization by opening the borders to world trade (and to global competitors), reducing budget deficits through massive cuts in the public sector and reduction of social services.”
Somali met with many of these consequences thanks to the IMF’s reformations. Unemployment, extremely limited wages and higher food prices proved among the most punishing.
Growing Dependency
Somalia was largely self-sufficient in food until the 1970s. Its economy was based on an exchange relationship between herdsmen and agriculturalists. The IMF’s economic reforms undermined these fragile relationships, victimizing food distribution and the agricultural economy.
Since the collapse of the country’s last government in 1991, social and political order in Somalia presents itself in the form of clans. The situation has proved surprisingly less violent than expected. Most conflict, however, is rooted in land and water resources. There is a necessary method within this madness: for many Somalis, access to such resources is dependent on their clan — that is, if they have a clan at all.
Again, the causes of poverty in Somalia are countless, but the IMF and the loss of a centralized government certainly caused the greatest damage.
Somalia’s traditional pastoral economy presented itself as the perfect project for modernization, but forced reformation led the population towards a fight for survival. The reforms devastated Somalia’s agricultural sector, and war and civil war further strained essential resources (as well as other factors too numerous to list).
When the rain stopped, the entire population was at the mercy of drought, with no centralized government to provide relief from impending famine.
The fate of more than half of all Somalis now lies in the hands of foreign and humanitarian aid. Somalia and its citizens like Ibrahim have fought to make it this far on a challenging journey; the question is, will help be waiting to greet them?
– Sophie Nunnally
Photo: Flickr