Citizens of the Republic of Burundi are plagued by malnutrition, unclean water, unsanitary conditions, poor hygiene, low quality education, food scarcity, overpopulation, sexual and gender based violence and child labor. And the question is: why is this crisis prevalent and how can everyday people help? The long-term solution to helping people in Burundi is to fix how monetary resources are allocated by its government.
Seeing as that task is daunting for the layman, the following paragraphs provide information on how to help people in Burundi.
Helping people in Burundi is frankly, difficult. This is because the European Union, Belgium, United States and other western countries have decided to suspend all bilateral aid (when one country’s government gives financial aid to another’s country’s government) to Burundi’s government because of human rights violations and an unwillingness to engage in sincere negotiations for peace.
Prior to the freeze, bilateral aid accounted for about half of Burundi’s overall budget. Lack of bilateral aid will only further hurt the country’s economy, and Burundi’s economy was already one of the least developed in the world.
While bilateral aid has been suspended, humanitarian aid has not. Here are three humanitarian organizations you can donate to in order to help people in Burundi:
1. World Food Programme
People in Burundi need food. The World Food Programme (WFP), the leading humanitarian organization fighting hunger worldwide to help them get that food, needs donations. In Burundi, only 28 percent of the population are food-secure and as many as 58 percent are chronically malnourished. WFP provides hot meals to primary school aged children in food insecure areas to encourage school attendance. Two hundred thousand children currently receive assistance from this program.
WFP also offers food assistance to 70,000 pregnant and nursing women who are underweight 6 months before birth and for up to 3 months after birthing. In addition, WFP provides food to refugees and people living with HIV and AIDS. Finally, WFP teaches locals in Burundi how to be more efficient in agriculture through its Food-for-Training/Food for Assets program.
Three hundred and fifty thousand people are being taught infrastructure development, how to rehabilitate deforested areas, agro-forestry and micro-economic training.
2. BeyGOOD
People in Burundi need access to clean water. Donate to Beyonce’s organization, BeyGOOD. BeyGOOD is working with UNICEF to supply safe water to people in Burundi. A statement on Beyonce’s website states: “With your help, nearly half a million people will gain access to safe water, as BEYGOOD4BURUNDI and UNICEF will support building water supply systems for healthcare facilities and schools, and the drilling of boreholes, wells and springs to bring safe water to districts.”
Donation gifts range from $3.11 for a collapsible 68-ounce water container for one person to $1,430.06 for a water tank kit for 1,000 people.
3. The Burundi Education Fund
People in Burundi need better quality education. Poverty and hunger have made it difficult for students to obtain an education. After the 6th grade, the Burundi Educational System simply does not have the room or resources to place children in schools. This results in students having to compete to be selected for the next grade by taking difficult placement tests. In some cases even if the student passes the test, he or she cannot move further in education due to the inability to afford tuition fees or school supplies.
The Burundi Education Fund, Inc. is a charitable Christian organization formed to provide materials and financial support to students and schools in extreme poverty in Burundi, Africa.
Specific successes of the organization that have helped students obtain their education include building a 26-bed dormitory safe house for the girls of Muramba High School, a running water fountain that provides clean drinking water to more than 1,900 students in the Mubimbi district and supporting a transfer student program.
The highly selective transfer program offers high school students a chance to continue their education in the U.S.
These are the most vital examples on how to help people in Burundi. The organizations above are addressing key needs of Burundian people’s lives that help them to obtain their basic human rights. While helping the people of Burundi may seem daunting, to be a responsible global citizen one must not turn a blind eye to tactics that can help others improve their quality of life.
Take action today and help one of the world’s poorest and hungriest nations become food and wealth secure.
– Jeanine Thomas
Photo: Flickr
How to Become a Politician: 4 Crucial Steps to Success
To anyone who is interested in becoming a politician- whether local or federal government- be ready for some tough days and long nights in the office. Before you are guaranteed the coveted seat of a politician, though, it takes a bit of preparation. Here are a few tips on how to become a politician.
Becoming a Politician
1. Become Educated: Although it is not required that certain politicians hold a college degree – one in 20 members of Congress doesn’t – it is a good idea to get as much schooling as possible.
Not only will constituents like to see a degree on a candidate’s resume, but the things learned in school can actually be helpful for planning a legislative and governmental future. The other aspect of “becoming educated” is studying up on legislature, government policies and voter patterns.
Politics takes a dedicated person willing to devote their whole being to their campaign. Learning the ropes of government is a bit more involved than merely knowing how to recite the Pledge of Allegiance.
2. Acquire Funding: Running for a position in politics is also a money game. Printing campaign posters, hosting charitable events, paying your campaign staff and a laundry list of other costs add up to a hefty bill just to run for a position, let alone hold one.
It is also important to have a steady job before running for office. This allows you to then have some money in the bank and establish resources or even potential voters. U.S. news stated that, “Running for office is a job in itself that no one will pay you for.”
Having friends and business connections is another important part of running for office. Connections with prominent people will allow your campaign to rise in popularity.
Be cautious of how much you spend on your campaign – you want to be able to survive afterward if you don’t end up winning.
3. Be Friendly: When they step in the polling booth, most voters do not actually know exactly which candidate stands for what issues. However, they will remember a candidate’s behavior and whether or not he or she was rude during an interview.
Cordiality and humbleness are a couple of key characteristics that attract voters. Making connections with voters so that they remember you and what you stand for could be the deciding factor between you and a competent running mate.
4. Don’t Let Your Feelings Get Hurt: Politics can be a harsh field that few thrive in. There will be hard times throughout your campaign, but knowing that you could help the lives of thousands of people is a great reward to the hardships you endure as a hopeful politician.
These may sound like some harsh pieces of advice on how to become a politician, but it is only because the politician’s role is a very important one in the United States. These people make, enforce and interpret the laws.
No matter the obstacles, if becoming a politician is your life’s goal then do not let these words, or others, deter you from becoming the next President of the United States (or a Superintendent of Schools, if that is what you so desire). Instead, use them as warnings to avoid road blocks on your journey to political change.
– Sydney Missigman
Photo: Flickr
Off Grid: Affordable Energy in Sub-Saharan Africa
More than 600 million people in sub-Saharan Africa do not have access to electricity, with estimates suggesting that even by 2040, that figure is expected to remain at more than half a billion. The energy infrastructure across the region is chronically underdeveloped, meaning that even those who do have access to power are unable to rely on it. For instance, in 2013, Tanzanian business owners were suggested to lose 15 percent of their business as a result of the frequent power outages. Issues such as this have led many to believe that the electrification of Africa may be the largest development challenge facing our world.
Despite this, numerous suggestions have been made as to how to tackle the problem. While it has limited natural resources in many areas, sub-Saharan Africa has great potential for renewable energy. The most commonly suggested method of taking advantage of this is through solar power, something that has become more and more appealing as the associated costs have decreased in recent years. This being the case, a number of companies have entered the market, offering solar power as a solution to the energy crisis facing the region.
Off Grid Electric is one of these companies, with operations in Tanzania and Rwanda and soon in the Ivory Coast. At the moment, it powers 125,000 homes, gaining an estimated 10,000 new customers per month, and employs around 1,000 people. Although packages may differ, customers generally receive a solar panel, which will be installed on their roof, and a battery-pack that allows them electricity to power lights and small electronics. For customers it is affordable, with basic packages costing near the same per month as a supply of kerosene would, but with more utility and without the health risks.
Access to this type of energy source can completely change the lives of those who use it. In schools, the power sources offer the possibility of getting computers to assist with learning, while lighting at home allows children to study after dark. Farmers are able to receive accurate weather warnings, allowing them to protect for their livestock and crops. Business owners can earn more, whether through being able to stay open longer or being able to communicate with customers by being able to charge their phones. The opportunities that electricity offers for development appear to be almost limitless.
Due to its low costs and easy installation, solar power would seem to be the way forward in providing affordable energy in sub-Saharan Africa. Off Grid Electric, and similar companies, may not be able to solve the problem on their own; however, the initial progress made is promising. With future active investment from the developed world, electrification of the continent seems more a reality than a dream.
– Gavin Callander
Photo: Flickr
Prioritizing and Improving Human Rights in Tuvalu
In November 2015, Prime Minister of Tuvalu, Enele Sopoaga, stated that climate change threatened the core principles of Tuvalu’s human rights. Sopoaga added that human rights are essential to developing Tuvalu’s climate change solutions, especially for Tuvaluans without access to food and water. Tuvalu plans to express this issue at international climate meetings.
Tuvalu’s 2016 human rights report revealed that some human rights were already in place for the country. There were no reports of government officials or agents committing unlawful killings. The report also stated that Tuvalu’s constitution prohibits cruel, inhumane or degrading treatments for crimes. No government officials were reported to have committed these crimes either.
Tuvalu’s 2016 human rights report also reveals no prison or detention center conditions that would raise human rights concerns. No deaths were reported in Tuvaluan prisons, and the government received no complaints of inhumane prison conditions. A “people’s lawyer” would take any complaints or concerns that prisoners had.
In July 2016, the Pacific Community worked with Tuvalu’s government to formulate the country’s first national action plan for improving human rights. The national action plan would focus on improving rights for women, children, disabled people and other Tuvaluan minority groups. The national action plan would also provide a timeframe for addressing these human rights issues.
Enele Sopoaga opened a consultation on the plan. Government ministers, permanent secretaries, judiciary members and other Tuvaluan officials attended Sopoaga’s meeting to discuss the country’s key human rights issues. The government’s leadership in making commitments was greatly appreciated as a way to improve human rights in Tuvalu.
In January 2017, the country’s government launched a national action plan on human rights in Tuvalu. Tuvalu’s government plans for donors, development partners and other entities to ensure that the action plan’s goals and objectives are fulfilled. The national action plan will especially help Tuvalu’s elderly, women, children and disabled residents.
Romulo Nayacalevu, the Pacific Community’s senior human rights advisor, added that Tuvalu is the first country in the Pacific to launch a human rights action plan. Nayacalevu added that human rights include not only civil and political rights but access to education, water and healthcare. This means that Tuvalu could have these opportunities as well.
Human rights in Tuvalu are expected to improve with the national action plan in place. Women, disabled residents, children and other minority groups in the country now have the potential to see positive outcomes from these changes, and Tuvalu’s people can hope for a positive future so long as Tuvalu’s government keeps its promise to improve human rights.
– Rhondjé Singh Tanwar
Photo: Flickr
The Five Main Causes of Poverty in Cuba
Top 5 Causes of Poverty in Cuba
1. U.S. Embargo
Following Fidel Castro’s assumption of power in 1961, the U.S. imposed an embargo that abruptly deprived Cuban exporters of the recipient of 95 percent of their exports. Since then, the embargo has strictly restricted Cubans’ access to American products, contributing to shortages of everything from food, to electronics and internet access. The legislation of the embargo even includes sanctions against other countries that do business with Cuba. In this way, the embargo significantly limits Cubans’ access to products, partners and the means to climb out of poverty.
2. Agriculture
Like many developing countries across the world, Cuba has historically depended on agriculture as its main industry. Agricultural dependence often limits countries’ abilities to develop infrastructure and establish economic stability. Until the 1990s, the primary economic driver in Cuba was sugar. Because of this historical reliance on a single crop, Cuba has been ill-prepared to deal with changes in the global economy and to diversify beyond its agricultural roots.
3. Allies
For more than thirty years, Cuba was allied with the former Soviet Union. This relationship created special trading conditions which benefited the Cuban economy. Cuba traded sugar to the USSR for much-needed goods and economic support; but when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, Cuba experienced a 35 percent contraction of its GDP. In a country of only 11 million people, this financial crash was more extreme than the American Great Depression. Cuba has yet to fully recover from this economic blow.
4. Dependence
Cuba’s troubles with the USSR are part of a larger pattern of centralization. For the majority of the country’s history, Cuba depended on a single trading partner for over 90 percent of its foreign trade. Cuba’s exclusive relationship with first the U.S. and then the USSR caused big problems when these partners suddenly disappeared. Cuba also traditionally focused industrially on sugar production; this centralization further limits Cuba’s ability to find sources of revenue to meet the country’s needs.
5. Social Services
Cubans enjoy free health care and education, as well as subsidized housing and food rations. These social benefits form a safety net rare to the developing world and even many developed countries; but these social services come at a cost. Spending on social services can limit the amount of money available to the Cuban government and the Cuban people especially in times of economic crisis.
The causes of poverty in Cuba are similar to those in the rest of Latin America, but Cuba’s unique position also presents the country with some unique challenges. Still, thanks to Cuba’s vigorous social services, many Cubans can count themselves lucky compared to other impoverished nations.
– Bret Anne Serbin
Photo: Pixabay
How to Help People in Burundi: 3 of the Most Vital Programs
Seeing as that task is daunting for the layman, the following paragraphs provide information on how to help people in Burundi.
Helping people in Burundi is frankly, difficult. This is because the European Union, Belgium, United States and other western countries have decided to suspend all bilateral aid (when one country’s government gives financial aid to another’s country’s government) to Burundi’s government because of human rights violations and an unwillingness to engage in sincere negotiations for peace.
Prior to the freeze, bilateral aid accounted for about half of Burundi’s overall budget. Lack of bilateral aid will only further hurt the country’s economy, and Burundi’s economy was already one of the least developed in the world.
While bilateral aid has been suspended, humanitarian aid has not. Here are three humanitarian organizations you can donate to in order to help people in Burundi:
1. World Food Programme
People in Burundi need food. The World Food Programme (WFP), the leading humanitarian organization fighting hunger worldwide to help them get that food, needs donations. In Burundi, only 28 percent of the population are food-secure and as many as 58 percent are chronically malnourished. WFP provides hot meals to primary school aged children in food insecure areas to encourage school attendance. Two hundred thousand children currently receive assistance from this program.
WFP also offers food assistance to 70,000 pregnant and nursing women who are underweight 6 months before birth and for up to 3 months after birthing. In addition, WFP provides food to refugees and people living with HIV and AIDS. Finally, WFP teaches locals in Burundi how to be more efficient in agriculture through its Food-for-Training/Food for Assets program.
Three hundred and fifty thousand people are being taught infrastructure development, how to rehabilitate deforested areas, agro-forestry and micro-economic training.
2. BeyGOOD
People in Burundi need access to clean water. Donate to Beyonce’s organization, BeyGOOD. BeyGOOD is working with UNICEF to supply safe water to people in Burundi. A statement on Beyonce’s website states: “With your help, nearly half a million people will gain access to safe water, as BEYGOOD4BURUNDI and UNICEF will support building water supply systems for healthcare facilities and schools, and the drilling of boreholes, wells and springs to bring safe water to districts.”
Donation gifts range from $3.11 for a collapsible 68-ounce water container for one person to $1,430.06 for a water tank kit for 1,000 people.
3. The Burundi Education Fund
People in Burundi need better quality education. Poverty and hunger have made it difficult for students to obtain an education. After the 6th grade, the Burundi Educational System simply does not have the room or resources to place children in schools. This results in students having to compete to be selected for the next grade by taking difficult placement tests. In some cases even if the student passes the test, he or she cannot move further in education due to the inability to afford tuition fees or school supplies.
The Burundi Education Fund, Inc. is a charitable Christian organization formed to provide materials and financial support to students and schools in extreme poverty in Burundi, Africa.
Specific successes of the organization that have helped students obtain their education include building a 26-bed dormitory safe house for the girls of Muramba High School, a running water fountain that provides clean drinking water to more than 1,900 students in the Mubimbi district and supporting a transfer student program.
The highly selective transfer program offers high school students a chance to continue their education in the U.S.
These are the most vital examples on how to help people in Burundi. The organizations above are addressing key needs of Burundian people’s lives that help them to obtain their basic human rights. While helping the people of Burundi may seem daunting, to be a responsible global citizen one must not turn a blind eye to tactics that can help others improve their quality of life.
Take action today and help one of the world’s poorest and hungriest nations become food and wealth secure.
– Jeanine Thomas
Photo: Flickr
How to Help People in Bahrain
The Economic Development Board characterizes Bahrain as a “legislative sector” and “strong financial system,” — a standing which attracts investors. Bahrain is also able to transfer profits, funds and capital without restrictions. Bahrain’s free and open economic policy has given its country the reputation of a fast-growing financial center in the Middle East.
As for Bahrain’s labor productivity rate, the country has seen only a 17 percent increase in this sector over the past 25 years. Compared to countries with labor productivity rate increases of 21 percent, Bahrain’s rate is relatively small. Bahrain also increased its employment rates by offering jobs to citizens in the country’s public sector. However, the jobs were low-wage, causing Bahrain to face a shortage of quality employment.
Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa (Bahrain’s king in 2008) launched a development program called Vision 2030 to improve Bahrain’s economy. The program aimed for more Bahraini families to have twice as much disposable income by 2030. Less than a decade after Vision 2030’s launch, Bahrain’s economy has grown by 28 percent, and from 2009 to 2014 international investments into Bahrain have risen threefold.
Infrastructure investments in Bahrain have helped the country boost its non-oil sector by 3.7 percent. The sectors that helped this growth were particularly strong in financial performance, social services and construction. Additionally, Bahrain’s volume of active projects doubled from $1.6 billion in the first quarter of 2016 to $3.2 billion in February 2017.
After a six-year absence from Bahrain, Ethiopian Airlines announced in July 2017 that it would resume its services to the country. Ethiopian Airlines will offer three flights per week between its base in Addis Ababa-Bole and Manama (Bahrain’s capital). The airline calls Bahrain a “centre of the main trade routes” with a decade’s worth of growing economy; this too shows how to help people in Bahrain.
Bahrain’s manufacturing sector accounts for 14.4 percent of the country’s GDP. Bahrain also has investment and international growth opportunities in the sub-sectors of food, industrials, and beverage (F&B) and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG).
The country plans to invest $32 billion in infrastructure projects in the coming years as well. One-third of the expenses will go toward Bahrain’s manufacturing sector.
Bahrain also works to enhance infrastructure and create more attractions to increase tourism. Earlier this year, Bahrain held an event called “Shop Bahrain” that managed to attract 130,000 shoppers from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and other neighboring Gulf states. More business coming to Bahrain could mean more job opportunities for Bahrain’s citizens.
With trade, tourism and Vision 2030, Bahrainis may have many economic opportunities to come. This could prove especially helpful for the four percent of unemployed Bahrainis. These opportunities and the efforts in place to help the country’s economy demonstrate feasible methods of how to help people in Bahrain.
– Rhondjé Singh Tanwar
Photo: Flickr
The Five Most Common Diseases in the Netherlands
1. Neoplasms
The Netherlands has the 12th highest rate of cancer in the world, in part due to increased awareness and diagnosis. Thirty-three percent of deaths in the country are due to cancer. Lung cancer is the most prevalent, followed by breast cancer and intestinal cancer. Skin cancer and pancreatic cancer cases also are increasing, and, between 2005 and 2015, the mortality rate of pancreatic cancer increased by 12 percent.
During that same period, the mortality rate of lung cancer, which is especially common because of smoking, increased by six percent. The premature death rates and prevalence of lung cancer, pancreatic cancer and breast cancer are significantly higher in the Netherlands than in similar countries.
2. Cardiovascular Disease (CVD)
CVD causes 29 percent of deaths in the Netherlands. Although the mortality rate of CVD has declined since the second half of the 20th century, the burden remains. Ischemic heart disease is especially crippling to the country. In 2007, it was estimated that about 730,400 people were living with ischemic heart disease.
3. Chronic Respiratory Diseases
Chronic respiratory diseases cause six percent of deaths. Lung diseases in the Netherlands are especially prevalent because of the high percentage of smokers. About 28 percent of people in the country smoke. Because of this, there are roughly 23,000 lung related deaths per year and over one million lung patients.
In addition to lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is also prevalent in the county. Between 2005 and 2015, the mortality rate of COPD increased by 9.5 percent. The premature death rate is significantly higher in the Netherlands compared to similar countries. COPD can lead to emphysema and chronic bronchitis.
4. Mental and Behavioral Disorders
Mental health is important to recognize in the Netherlands. Depressive disorders are a leading cause of death and disability in the country. In 2014, about eight percent of the population claimed to be suffering from depression, accounting for more than one million people.
5. Alzheimer’s Disease
Dementia affects 1.47 percent of the Dutch population. In 2012, about 245,568 people lived with dementia. Alzheimer’s disease is especially common as the mortality rate increased by 18.6 percent between 2005 and 2015. Risk factors of Alzheimer’s include age, genetics, traumatic brain injury and mild cognitive impairment. Research also suggests that cardiovascular disease and education level may be linked to the disease.
Poor lifestyle choices are commonly associated to many of these diseases. Smoking, for example, is a major risk factor and something that should be recognized when addressing rates of diseases such as lung cancer and COPD. Improving health education is one step in helping decrease the rates of these common diseases in the Netherlands.
– Francesca Montalto
Photo: Flickr
Increasing Political Participation for Women in Iran
In some parts of the country, there was a 34 percent decrease in the number of women elected compared to 2013; however, although the number decreased in 16 provincial capitals, 3 remained the same, while 11, including Tehran, saw increases in women being elected to councils. Iran’s Sistan-Balochistan province—an underdeveloped and impoverished area in the southeast of Iran with the highest percentage of illiterate girls and women in the country—saw a total of 415 women elected to office. In a village called Afzalabad located in the province’s Khash district, all of the 10 elected candidates were women.
Some of the concerns that women in Iran campaigned on included women’s civic engagement, citizens’ rights, employment, education, health and social security and welfare.
Recently, Iran’s newly reelected president Hassan Rouhani has been under pressure to appoint female ministers to his cabinet. During his last term, his all-male list of ministers disappointed his followers, even though he appointed a number of women to vice-president positions. Despite this, Shahindokht Molaverdi, Rouhani’s vice-president for women and family affairs, has won support among women’s rights advocates in Iran.
Ghonchech Ghavami, a leading women’s rights activist based out of Tehran, has said that “this structure has eliminated women on the excuse of meritocracy and experience but it looks like that main criteria for them is being male. That’s why appointing female ministers is symbolically important and would send a powerful signal in a country where politics still originates from men.”
One may find it surprising, though, that Iran as a whole has near-universal female literacy: women make up the majority (60 percent) of university students, as well as the majority of graduates earning degrees in science (68 percent). Furthermore, women in Iran are consistently outperforming their male counterparts.
Workplace biases in general are very much alive for women in Iran, and these biases often compel employers to hire male workers that are of identical or even lesser qualifications than their female counterparts. Although women in Iran have been as whole increasing their political participation within their government, they clearly still have a long way to go before achieving true gender equality.
– Sara Venusti
Photo: Flickr/span>
Five Facts About Period Poverty
Unfortunately, many people fail to recognize the effects that period poverty have on young women and girls. In times of uncertainty, sanitary needs come secondary, or even tertiary, to finding food and shelter. While this is understandable, a few organizations such as Freedom4Girls and Bloody Good Period, and many others, are fighting back against period poverty.
One of the biggest defenses against period poverty is to start a conversation and stop the stigma.
– Madeline Boeding
Photo: Flickr
Solar-Powered Lanterns Boost Grades for Kenyan Students
The Panasonic Corporation began The Solar Lantern Project to provide a safer alternative for light in northern Kenya. The company donated more than 2,000 solar-powered lanterns to schools and clinics in the counties of Samburu and Isiolo.
The solar-powered lanterns have become a huge success in the schools of northern Kenya. They are recharged there during the day and are taken home by students at night to allow them to study and complete their homework. Students are not risking their health when they use the lamps.
Parents of students in northern Kenya can save almost two percent of their monthly expenses when their child brings home the solar-powered lanterns. In an interview conducted by Medium, a Kenyan mother stated that she “had to spend 20 shillings on kerosene every day.” Thanks to the solar-powered lanterns, she saves “around 1,000 shillings a month.”
Solar energy has become a popular alternative to electricity in many poor countries. It is accessible anywhere and an alternative source that is sustainable. According to research conducted by the International Energy Agency, “enough solar energy falls on the surface of the earth every 90 minutes to meet the entire planet’s energy needs for a year.”
The environment also benefits from using the Panasonic solar-powered lanterns instead of kerosene lamps. The fumes that come from burning kerosene contaminate the air and only further global warming. If one million lamps are in use by the end of 2018, they are “expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by over 30,000 tonnes between 2014 and 2018.”
Panasonic’s solar-powered lanterns may seem like a small solution, but they are allowing students to learn better and more safely outside of the classroom. The benefits of these lamps will continue to improve poverty in Kenya, slowly, but at least in the right direction.
– Mackenzie Fielder
Photo: Flickr