GiveDirectly, a U.S. nonprofit organization, is seeking to change the way aid is given to impoverished communities around the world. Where most nonprofit organizations seek to fight global poverty through advocacy programs, research studies, services and volunteers, GiveDirectly bypasses traditional nongovernmental organization structures to allow donors to see exactly where and who their money is going to. By doing so, GiveDirectly is able to send money directly to people in poverty.
Modern payment through technology has become a prominent cost-effective way to transfer sums of money over thousands of miles. GiveDirectly uses such technology to take and use money from donors and transfer it directly to people in impoverished communities. After opening to the public in 2011, the nonprofit exclusively makes payments to people in extreme poverty through online transferable cash grants.
The next step is to study the impact of direct aid to poverty-stricken communities. Over the next 12 years, every adult in 40 villages throughout Kenya will receive $0.75 per day through GiveDirectly donors. The wage, while below the poverty line, will ensure a source of income on top of day-to-day jobs.
Residents of another 80 villages will receive that amount over just two years and residents of yet another 80 villages will receive that amount in a lump sum. Since GiveDirectly sends money directly to people in poverty, all community members will receive the donations despite income levels, as a form of universal income. More than 26,000 people will receive a donation transfer, where 6,000 will receive a sustained universal income.
According to the GiveDirectly website, the group has received 81% of the funds required to pay for the study throughout all 12 years. The research team includes Abhijit Banerjee, co-founder of J-PAL and a professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Alan Krueger, a former Chairman of President Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers and a professor at Princeton and Tavneet Suri, Scientific Director for J-PAL Africa, also at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Stephene, a 27-year-old laborer in Kenya, enrolled as a recipient of cash-grants from GiveDirectly four months ago. Two months in, he received his first payment over the phone of $97. He spent his first sum of money plastering his house and on necessities for his wife who is expecting a child.
When asked what he would spend the donated money on, Stephene said he would use it to buy his own boat, to make his life as a fisherman easier. He recently received his second payment of $481. The funds went to buying iron sheets and finally, his own fishing boat. In an interview with GiveDirectly, Stephene said, “This has improved my source of income [and] thus improved my living standards.”
Recipients of donations receive an SMS text message when their payments are ready for collection. On average, it takes 32 minutes for individuals to walk to the closest agent and collect their cash transfers.
In addition to the efficiency of the aid program, recipients can spend their payments on necessities that are unique to their lives and families. By sending money directly to people in poverty, the organization breaks down some of the difficulties of traditional foreign aid.
– Riley Bunch
Photo: Flickr
Who Is UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Yao Chen?
While mostly unknown to American audiences, Chinese actress, activist, and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Goodwill Ambassador Yao Chen is one of the most influential celebrities in China and arguably in the world. Her Goodwill Ambassadorship was recently renewed for her tireless efforts on behalf of displaced persons.
The daughter of a train driver and a postal worker, Yao Chen rose to prominence as one of China’s greatest contemporary actresses, with roles ranging from action flicks to rom-coms. Her popularity extends to social media, specifically Weibo (the Chinese version of Twitter) where she has more followers than the population of the United Kingdom.
Chen began working with the UNHCR in 2010 before officially becoming Goodwill Ambassador Yao Chen in 2013. She joined the UNHCR on multiple field visits to refugee host nations, including the Philippines, Thailand, Ethiopia, Lebanon and Pakistan. In these visits, she has met with refugees from Syria, Afghanistan, Somalia and Myanmar.
“I am deeply touched by how refugees keep their dignity and how poverty does not destroy their kindness.” Chen said.
As the first Chinese UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador, Chen used her influence by bringing attention to refugee issues to the Chinese-speaking world.
And she has had impressive results. Between 2012 and 2013, the number of donations to UNHCR from mainland China tripled.
Goodwill Ambassador Yao Chen earned international acclaim for her work on behalf of refugees and for her efforts addressing domestic issues in China.
Forbes magazine deemed the 37-year-old actress “China’s Angelina Jolie” and placed her on their list of the world’s most powerful women. She was also one of TIME magazine’s 100 most influential people.
UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi renewed Chen’s ambassadorship for two more years during his inaugural visit to China. Grandi discussed China’s ability to assist displaced persons through South-South Cooperation, a collaborative action among countries of the South. He also spoke about the Chinese government’s “One Belt One Road” Initiative, a controversial $5 trillion spending plan in infrastructure across Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Africa.
In the next two years, Goodwill Ambassador Yao Chen will continue advocating for refugees by highlighting issues they face and making their plight seem less distant to the Chinese people. In Chen’s own words, “In this global village, we are all connected and inter-dependent in one way or another.”
(Here is another reason to love Yao Chen. Her nickname for her son is Xiao Tudou, which translates to “little potato.”)
– Sean Newhouse
Photo: Google
5 Facts on the Cost of Living in Japan
Located off the eastern coast of Asia, Japan is an island that lies in the Pacific Ocean. The natives of Japan pride themselves on their homogeneity that they have developed through centuries of tradition. Unorthodox to Western culture, Japan has thrived for a long time by hosting tea ceremonies, Buddhist- and Shinto-inspired gardens and the practice of calligraphy.
Japan is also known for its serene beauty, housing 60 active volcanoes, including Japan’s highest mountain top, Mount Fuji, which peaks at 12,388 feet in elevation. As it stands, Japan has proven to be quite successful as a country, boasting favorable statistics such as a 100% literacy rate for both men and women, a life expectancy rate of 86.6 years for women, and one of the lowest unemployment rates in the world at 2.8%.
This being said, Japan has also proven to be one of the most expensive countries to live in, ranked 17th in the world according to the Independent.
Here are 5 facts on the cost of living in Japan:
Overall, the cost of living in Japan is high, yet it is not inconceivable to imagine settling down in one of the many cities in Japan. Japan offers a chance at success with its high success rates in education and a strong labor force, thereby offering a steady income to afford the cost of living in Japan.
– Patrick Greeley
Photo: Pixabay
Common Diseases in North Korea
For the past years 30 years, North Korea has been incredibly impoverished. The health care system in North Korea is minuscule at best. Children are often malnourished to the point of stunted growth, people cannot receive proper medical attention, and diseases that have been largely eradicated in most parts of the world are still prevalent. Common diseases in North Korea stem from poverty.
North Korea has a unique poverty situation; the government puts money into military spending instead of focusing on the health and prosperity of its people.
In North Korea, the greatest number of deaths come from non-communicable diseases. Although non-communicable diseases—such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and respiratory diseases—cause the most mortality, the magnitude of problems caused by malnutrition and communicable diseases increases the likelihood of disease burden in the future. A lack of sufficient nutrition makes fighting off diseases difficult because the immune system has no strength. About a third of North Korean children show signs of stunted growth; starving children are also more susceptible to diseases, making their life expectancy low.
Common diseases in North Korea include cardiovascular disease, cancer, and chronic respiratory disease. In 2013, strokes, ischemic heart disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease were North Korea’s most deadly sources of harm. Communicable diseases like tuberculosis and malaria are endemic in North Korea. Tuberculosis, a curable disease, affects 345 out of 100,000 North Koreans. This is considered to be one of the highest rates outside of sub-Saharan Africa. Tuberculosis is a disease associated with poverty, bleak conditions, and a lack of sanitation.
One of the main reasons why these health issues are so apparent is that there is zero guarantee of health care. Article 56 of the North Korean constitution specifies free medical care for all citizens. This has not been accurate. If a patient is unable to provide money or a gift to a doctor, their illness will often go untreated. Most of the patients are too impoverished to provide any sort of compensation. Even if they can provide compensation, there are often not enough resources for help to be provided.
“There are doctors and buildings, but no aspirin, no anesthetic, no basic medicines, no heating, no soap, no milk and therefore no patients. The health system in North Korea collapsed, leaving almost the entire population with no care except for traditional ‘Korio’ herbal medicine,” said Dr. Eric Goemaere, director of Doctors Without Borders. The lack of resources has been going on for approximately four years.
Common diseases in North Korea, such as tuberculosis, show that North Korea is behind the international community. Instead of using its money to provide health care, it uses it for military spending. However, North Korea can’t be a strong, resilient nation when its people are sick. North Korea needs to think about the needs of the people and give doctors the resources to help the sick effectively.
– Lucy Voegeli
Photo: Flickr
How China’s 13th Five-Year Development Plan Affects Tibet
Though most of China is now urbanized, some parts of the third-largest country in the world still remain cut off from industrial society. Tibet is the western part of China, dominated by high planes and an agriculture-based economy. The region can almost be considered its own country, given that the isolated culture differs so much from that of other more populated places in China such as Beijing or Hong Kong. Not only does Tibet differ in population and culture but in poverty as well. China’s 13th Five-Year Development Plan hopes to change this.
The current President of China, Xi Jinping, has stated that getting rid of poverty in rural areas such as Tibet would be the hardest part of building a “prosperous society.” In addition to building better access to transportation, the government plans to expand access to water, the internet, education and health care.
While the poverty rate in China was measured at just about 6.5% in 2012, the rate in Tibet was a staggering 32.9% by the end of 2015. The Chinese government is now being forced to strategize and increase its efforts to support Tibet. Through many provisions in China’s 13th Five-Year Development Plan (2015-2020), Tibet will benefit greatly. Included in the Five-Year Development Plan is the Sichuan-Tibet Railway, which has recently begun construction.
The China Railway Eryuan Engineering Group states that the railway will go from Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, all the way to Lhasa, the capital of Tibet. This line will connect the most remote villages of Tibet with the most globally connected parts of China, making travel easier and faster. The $36 billion project will promote and increase economic prosperity, which is exactly what the Five-Year Development Plan set out to do.
Since the construction of the Qinghai–Tibet Railway increased the tourism economy of the region, the Sichuan-Tibet Railway is sure to have the same effect. This construction project will be a huge job-creator, and, with more money from tourism, government jobs and increased access to industrialized markets, the people of Tibet will have many more opportunities to escape from poverty.
– Vicente Vera
Photo: Google
The Main Causes of Poverty in Ethiopia
Ethiopia is one of the world’s poorest countries, with about 44% of its population living in poverty. However, Ethiopia also has one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. Causes of poverty in Ethiopia include a variety of actions stemming from natural disasters as well as man-made actions. However, the main causes of poverty in Ethiopia are brought on by the effects of its economy revolving around agriculture.
About 80% of Ethiopia’s people work in agriculture. Because agriculture is the primary source for Ethiopia’s economy, most of its population takes up much of its rural areas than its urban.
Smallholder farmers form the largest group of poor people in Ethiopia. These farmers lack basic infrastructure, socially and economically, such as health care and educational facilities. They depend on their agriculture for most of their living essentials. Because so many of these farmers live in poverty, they also lack the ability to update their tools to grow better crops.
Beyond the difficulties faced by farmers just to bring in enough money to live, they must also contend with many natural disasters. Ethiopia is a country in conflict with its frequent natural disasters, thus making it even more difficult to farm in the country. Droughts, overgrazing and deforestation have degraded Ethiopia’s land over the years. It has made it difficult for the country to feed itself. Natural disasters have become one of the main causes of poverty in Ethiopia because so many of the country’s inhabitants rely on the weather for their income.
As if difficulty making a living were not enough, Ethiopia’s poverty is further worsened by the recent war. The consequences of the war with Ethiopia’s neighboring country, Eritrea, have been compared to those of World War I, leaving a legacy of economic burden in the country, with millions of dollars spent by an already poor economy.
Furthermore, Ethiopia’s poverty is also caused by rising global market prices. Because of the increase in prices, the situation in the country has worsened. With restrictions to access food and other supplies, households have limited resources and cannot purchase the necessary amount of things such as food and fertilizer. Ethiopia’s unstable conditions have driven investors away from the struggling society.
An economy based on poor agricultural conditions, war and high-priced goods in world markets are some of the main causes of poverty in Ethiopia. The causes of poverty in Ethiopia are varied and deep, but aid is sure to help this country more in the future.
– Brandi Gomez
Photo: Flickr
Six Facts on the Most Common Diseases in the United Kingdom
According to the CIA World Factbook, the United Kingdom is home to 64,430,428 people, many of whom fall victim to various illnesses. The list of common diseases in the United Kingdom includes the following:
With the pervasiveness of such diseases, immunization and cost-effective healthcare are highly prioritized in the U.K. Nevertheless, most common diseases in the United Kingdom are preventable, and individuals should consider taking the necessary steps and precautions to follow healthier lifestyles. According to a country profile health report conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO), a few adult risk factors responsible for contributing to the increase in common diseases in the United Kingdom include tobacco smoking, alcohol consumption, raised blood pressure and obesity.
– Mikaela Frigillana
Photo: Flickr
Incentive Program Reduces Child Marriage in Bangladesh
According to the International Center for Research on Women, one-third of girls in the developing world are married before the age of 18, and one in nine are married before the age of 15. In a recent study conducted by Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA), researchers tested the impact of incentive programs on reducing child marriage and childbearing during teenage years. Results demonstrated the incentive program reduces child marriage in Bangladesh.
A previous study conducted by IPA in Kenya showed that encouraging girls to stay in school can reduce child marriages. However, this tactic fails to impact girls who are not attending formal schooling. Child marriage remains a societal norm in many countries, especially throughout the developing world.
Conducted in rural, southern Bangladesh, the country with the second-highest child marriage rate in the world, researchers built an incentive program into a previously formed food security program run by the nonprofit organization Save the Children. From 2007 to 2015, through a large-scale, randomized study, cooking oil was delivered to families of underaged and unmarried girls throughout multiple communities.
Within specific communities, the Adolescent Girl’s Voice empowerment program was implemented, which included meetings five to six days a week where girls from the community could socialize and receive education and life coaching. In communities without the empowerment program, girls who remained unmarried could collect cooking oil from community volunteers using a ration card.
The value of the cooking oil was chosen to offset the amount of dowry and dowry increase of unmarried girls annually. For four years after the study ended, researchers followed up with participants, documenting their marital status, childbearing history and school enrolment.
The results showed that the implemented incentive program reduces child marriage in Bangladesh, as well as decreased the rate of childbearing during teenage years.
“Girls in communities with conditional incentives were 6.3 percentage points less likely to marry before the age of 18, a 23% reduction over girls in communities without any programming,” stated the report. “They were also 2.9 percentage points less likely to have children during their teenage years, a 13% reduction over girls in communities without any programming.”
The program’s implementation in an area of extremely high rates of child marriage and childbearing during the teenage years demonstrated the success of incentive programs on lowering such rates. The program ended up being highly cost-effective, with researchers estimating that every $1,000 spent on the program led to nearly seven years of delayed marriage. There is strong evidence that incentive programs have the power to reduce child marriage in Bangladesh.
– Riley Bunch
Photo: Flickr
Water Quality in Kuwait One of the Best in the World
Despite sitting just off the coast of the Persian Gulf, most of Kuwait’s water resources come from groundwater. Although limited rainfall and hot summers in the desert country threaten water reserves in underground aquifers, by using a sophisticated desalinization process, water quality in Kuwait is one of the best.
With Kuwait’s main water supply coming from groundwater, it puts the country at an extremely high water risk: the country only experiences about 121mm of rainfall each year, and only a small percentage of that reaches aquifers. Because of this, the country relies heavily on its desalinated seawater and treated municipal wastewater.
Due to the high risk of contamination and harmful bacteria that harbors in wastewater, between 2005 and 2014, the Kuwaiti government invested approximately $5.2 billion in the water sector. Kuwait allocated around $3.4 billion to water treatments to guarantee adequate water quality in Kuwait.
To ensure that the distillation plants, constructed in 2013, would create enough clean water for the entire country, Khalid Al Barrak, the head of KISR’s Water Science Department, advised the country to monitor and cut down its level of water consumption. Barrak stated that “such a consumption level was irrational and that it was eroding the government’s efforts to prevent the ominous waste of the invaluable resource.”
Barrak’s claims could help protect not only the water quality in Kuwait, but also help preserve the limited natural freshwater resources available in a country, which was recently reported as the highest water consumer in the world. Additionally, cutting down consumption could save the country about $28 million annually.
By cutting down consumption and continuing the construction of desalination projects, the water quality in Kuwait will continue to see improvements and will provide more resources to people who live in the more arid desert areas of Kuwait.
– Amira Wynn
Photo: Flickr
The Importance of Free and Compulsory Education in the Congo
Situated in central Africa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is home to people belonging to over 200 African ethnic groups, with the majority identifying amongst the Bantu peoples. Though only comprising 2.25% of its GDP, education in the Congo remains a significant priority. In fact, education maintains such significance that the country’s constitution provides for free and compulsory primary school education.
Since 2007, the Congo has experienced massive growth in the number of students completing their primary school education. Although only 52.9% of young children completed their primary school education ten years ago, through rapid improvement and additional funding, the nation secured 66.8% of the population’s completion in 2013. In fact, much of this change related to girls’ access to education: while only 42.8% of girls completed primary school in 2007, that rate climbed to 60% by 2013. Essentially, then, education in the Congo prioritizes the needs of all students, regardless of their gender.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has assisted the Congo in implementing the BEAR Project. The project’s overarching goals are to help young people receive technical vocational education and training in order to enter the job market and to improve equity and access to educational opportunities. Dividing $10 million amongst five African nations, the BEAR project, which lasted five years, ultimately had a tremendously positive impact on the Congo; it actually managed to reach over 200 young people there, ensuring that they had access to basic educational necessities.
The Congo provides students with a variety of opportunities in terms of their education. Though all students begin in primary school, students can ultimately decide whether to pursue a secondary education or a vocational education. This sort of choice allows them to decide whether they would prefer to explore trades or academia, giving them a tremendous amount of intellectual freedom.
The structure of education in the Congo is further conducive to higher education. Though the nation maintains many privately and publicly funded polytechnic colleges and specialized universities, there are four main state-run institutions: the Universities of Goma, Kinshasa, Kongo and Lubumbashi. The oldest—the University of Lubumbashi, founded in 1955—prides itself on offering courses in departments such as agronomy, economics, medicine, law, psychology, medicine and commerce.
Clearly, the Congo prides itself on maintaining quality education for students and for striving to provide its young people with equal opportunities. Though the system itself remains imperfect, continued funding and an emphasis on education will undeniably have significant economic and social benefits.
– Emily Chazen
Photo: Flickr
GiveDirectly Sends Money Directly to People in Poverty
GiveDirectly, a U.S. nonprofit organization, is seeking to change the way aid is given to impoverished communities around the world. Where most nonprofit organizations seek to fight global poverty through advocacy programs, research studies, services and volunteers, GiveDirectly bypasses traditional nongovernmental organization structures to allow donors to see exactly where and who their money is going to. By doing so, GiveDirectly is able to send money directly to people in poverty.
Modern payment through technology has become a prominent cost-effective way to transfer sums of money over thousands of miles. GiveDirectly uses such technology to take and use money from donors and transfer it directly to people in impoverished communities. After opening to the public in 2011, the nonprofit exclusively makes payments to people in extreme poverty through online transferable cash grants.
The next step is to study the impact of direct aid to poverty-stricken communities. Over the next 12 years, every adult in 40 villages throughout Kenya will receive $0.75 per day through GiveDirectly donors. The wage, while below the poverty line, will ensure a source of income on top of day-to-day jobs.
Residents of another 80 villages will receive that amount over just two years and residents of yet another 80 villages will receive that amount in a lump sum. Since GiveDirectly sends money directly to people in poverty, all community members will receive the donations despite income levels, as a form of universal income. More than 26,000 people will receive a donation transfer, where 6,000 will receive a sustained universal income.
According to the GiveDirectly website, the group has received 81% of the funds required to pay for the study throughout all 12 years. The research team includes Abhijit Banerjee, co-founder of J-PAL and a professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Alan Krueger, a former Chairman of President Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers and a professor at Princeton and Tavneet Suri, Scientific Director for J-PAL Africa, also at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Stephene, a 27-year-old laborer in Kenya, enrolled as a recipient of cash-grants from GiveDirectly four months ago. Two months in, he received his first payment over the phone of $97. He spent his first sum of money plastering his house and on necessities for his wife who is expecting a child.
When asked what he would spend the donated money on, Stephene said he would use it to buy his own boat, to make his life as a fisherman easier. He recently received his second payment of $481. The funds went to buying iron sheets and finally, his own fishing boat. In an interview with GiveDirectly, Stephene said, “This has improved my source of income [and] thus improved my living standards.”
Recipients of donations receive an SMS text message when their payments are ready for collection. On average, it takes 32 minutes for individuals to walk to the closest agent and collect their cash transfers.
In addition to the efficiency of the aid program, recipients can spend their payments on necessities that are unique to their lives and families. By sending money directly to people in poverty, the organization breaks down some of the difficulties of traditional foreign aid.
– Riley Bunch
Photo: Flickr