Ubuntu is a Zulu word that translates to “human kindness.” The Ubuntu Education Fund aims to create long lasting change in the impoverished townships of Port Elizabeth in South Africa.
The effectiveness of the program can be credited to its three over-arching programs: household sustainability, health and education. This strategy has “received international acclaim from Bill Clinton to the World Economic Forum.”
“Why can’t our poor children in Africa have an education? Why does it have to be a privilege? Why can’t it be a child’s right?” stated CEO and Co-Founder of The Ubuntu Education Fund Jacob Lief at the grand opening of the Ubuntu Center on Sept. 16, 2010.
The Ubuntu Center is located in the heart of Port Elizabeth’s townships, one of the largest slums in the world. The center offers a pediatric HIV center, pharmacy, classrooms, computer labs and a theater.
“Ubuntu graduates attain successes that few in their community ever realize and, in doing so, they are redefining what the world believes to be possible in disadvantaged communities,” stated Lief.
Since its establishment in 2010, the Ubuntu Center has supported the 2,000 children and indirectly supported the community. A study conducted by McKinsey & Company found that “Ubuntu graduates will contribute $195,000 to society, while their peers will cost society $9,000.”
In addition to providing child health care, the pediatric clinic offers prenatal and postnatal care, HIV and TB testing and treatment.
“Ubuntu’s impact is transformative – from HIV-positive mothers giving birth to healthy, HIV-negative babies, to vocational-tracked youth in our Ubuntu Pathways (UP) program securing employment,” said Lief.
The program also provides child protection services and psychosocial counseling to ensure stable homes in order for children to thrive in their education. The dynamic school program included university scholarships and “job readiness training.”
The program emphasizes “depth rather than breadth of impact” which is why within four years of joining Ubuntu, 82 percent of people are “on-track towards stable health and employment,” said Lief.
Former President Bill Clinton visited the Ubuntu Center in August 2013 and had this to say: “Ubuntu has come so far. We’re very proud of your work. This is an amazing organization that actually ensures its people are taken care of.”
Chelsea Clinton, his daughter, added, “The Ubuntu model is incredible; you start early and work with children their entire lives.”
– Marie Helene Ngom
Sources: Forbes, Ubuntu Blog, YouTube
Photo: Flickr
5 Largest Slums in the World
As the world continues to urbanize and globalize at the most rapid pace in modern history, the global population of slum dwellers also continues to grow tremendously. UNHABITAT estimates that there are currently around one billion people living in slums, largely in developing countries. In fact, nearly one-third of all city-dwellers in developing countries live in poor-quality housing settlements known as slums. Urban slums are the world’s fastest-growing human habitat. Since accurate statistics on the demographics of slum areas are nearly impossible to come by, below is a list of the largest slums in the world ordered by estimated populations.
5 Largest Slums in the World
1. Khayeltisha, Cape Town, South Africa
Khayeltisha’s population is projected to be around 400,000, with a striking 40 percent of its residents under 19 years old. This township was developed during the collapse of apartheid system in South Africa.
2. Kibera, Nairobi, Kenya
The largest urban slum in Africa, Kibera is estimated to be housing anywhere from 200,000 to one million people. It has faced attention from news outlets, NGOs, the UN and celebrities from all across the world, but still remains overwhelmingly underdeveloped despite many rehabilitation efforts.
3. Dharavi, Mumbai, India
Also famous among journalists and development organizations, Dharavi is home to somewhere between 600,000 and one million people. Unlike most slum areas, which are concentrated on the outskirts of large cities, Dharavi is located squarely in the heart of Mumbai. This has contributed to its surprising multi-religious, multi-ethnic diversity. Fun fact: Dharavi provided the backdrop to the Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire in 2008.
4. Orangi Town, Karachi, Pakistan
In recent years, Orangi has crept up in notoriety as the largest slum in Asia, compared to its long-time predecessor, Dharavi. With a population of over one million, Orangi was once the center of ethnic conflict between the Pathan and Bihari gangs. Since then, the area has become known for its self-financed sewage system and its booming cottage industry.
5. Neza-Chalco-Itza, Mexico City, Mexico
With around four million residents, Neza-Chalco-Itza barrio has been considered the largest slum area in the world. Unique to this area is its diversity in housing arrangements. While most residents live illegally on authorized land, some live in former mansions-turned low-income apartments that were abandoned by wealthy families.
– Tara Young
Sources: International Business Times, National Geographic, The Hindustan Times
Photo: Wikimedia
How President Mahama is Ending Extreme Poverty in Ghana
John Dramani Mahama is the President of the Republic of Ghana where over than 26 million people reside. Of note, with approximately 4.5 million of Ghanans currently live in poverty.
While this number sounds overwhelming, President Mahama has been focused on ending extreme poverty within his country. His most recent undertaking has been the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority or SADA.
The mission of SADA, according to its website, is to “catalyze the transformation of the NSEZ through citizens’ mobilization, strategic planning, successful coordination and collaboration and facilitation (CCF) for effective public sector delivery and private sector investment.”
The President met with World Bank leaders, including Dr. Jim Yong Kim on Oct. 16, urging them to support the SADA program.
In this meeting, President Mahama said that “although Africa had made some giant strides in reducing extreme poverty, there were still millions of people living in that condition, and expressed the hope that extreme poverty could be eradicated by 2030.”
Ghana has already implemented the following:
Despite the success thus far, President Mahama continues to push for further improvement to reach the goal of ending extreme poverty by 2030.
Through the SADA program, Ghana hopes to increase sustainability, professionalism, integrity, respect for diversity and trust for all stakeholders. In order to achieve this, it has outlined three main objectives:
With all of this in mind, President Mahama has expressed high hopes of success.
“Through the bank’s new guarantee scheme… we should be able to come out with another groundbreaking program to help put some real and concrete programs in place behind the call for eradication of poverty by 2030,” Mahama said in the meeting with the World Bank.
As of right now, the World Bank has agreed to support the program with the hopes that Ghana will continue to show improvements in terms of ending extreme poverty.
– Katherine Martin
Sources: Rural Poverty Portal, Sadagh, Graphic
Photo: Flickr
Saving for a Rainy Day in Developing Countries
How do low-income citizens in developing countries go about saving for a rainy day? There are three common means of saving that have been found in many developing nations with high populations of low-income citizens. All methods are informal, meaning they do not rely on a business or official organization, but instead utilize their own local communities, neighbors and friends.
The first saving system is similar to that of a deposit collector. Someone within the community, (generally a woman, because they tend to not have formal jobs and be more accountable when it comes to money), designates themselves as a ‘self-employed banker.’
While this system can be found in several countries, an example of its success was demonstrated in Vijayawada, India, during a research project on the saving habits of the poor.
On a daily basis, a well-trusted woman named Jyothi collected small sums of money from 50 to 60 clients from her village. The sums were recorded in small booklets, and at the end of a 220-day collection cycle the clients were given back their total collected sum minus a small cut that Jyothi kept as compensation for keeping their money safe and encouraging them to regularly save.
Another common form of informal monetary service poor communities rely on is moneylending. In times where families need unexpectedly large sums of money for matters such as medical costs, funerals, weddings or businesses, they turn to members of their communities for loans.
Loans can sometimes come from a collection of community members pooling their excess funds to help out with a small interest earned upon repayment. In some cases, however, an individual much like Jyothi from India designates themselves as the town’s moneylender and uses the funds collected from former loans to offer lump sums to clients wishing to take out a loan.
These two services, collections and loans, closely resembles those provided by traditional banking. However, a third prevalent saving technique used in poor communities is unlike what is seen in a conventional financial setting.
Nicknamed ‘A Merry Go Round’, this method involves the creation of a collective savings fund which is then distributed amongst each member who contributed in a lump sum. The fund is established by a ROSCA, or ‘Rotating Savings and Credit Association.’
For example, a fifteen person ROSCA could function on a fifteen-day cycle. Each day, every member puts in a small sum of money, and the total is given to a single member that day. This continues for the entire cycle until every person has received their lump sum and essentially all their money back, but at once in the form of a larger savings. As this process continues, people are able to continually save, and afford more expensive items as needed.
– Brittney Dimond
Sources: NPR, New York Times, Microfinance Lessons
Photo: The College Helper
How to Outsmart the Drought in Ethiopia
From July to September of this year there’s been just one day of rain per month where “it should have been raining every other day,” Mr. Yasin, a local farmer in Ethiopia, told reporter Jacy Fortin of NY Times. His crops have since failed as this year’s drought in Ethiopia erodes away his land and his stability.
Reportedly caused by this year’s potent El Niño, the drought is beginning to take its toll on this country where 80 percent of the population works in agricultural productivity. Because of this, 40 percent of the country’s economic output is from the agriculture, which makes for a bad mix.
This drought is estimated to put 8.2 million people in need of food assistance; that nearly doubles the count before the drought began which was 4.55 million.
This year, however, is not the first time this country has faced a massive drought; in 2002, the GDP of Ethiopia dropped 2.2 percent as a result of widespread crop failure from a drought. Once before then the country had fallen to drought since there was a drastic famine that spurred massive aid to the area as a result.
Ethiopia’s government plans to outsmart the drought this year and has come up with ingenious precautions and early action initiatives to supplement its food aid assistance. In doing so, it hopes to establish a source to cling to throughout the drought’s duration.
Since July, the parliament has allotted $192 million in food aid, water transport and animal feed with the hopes of sustaining a viable option even with the effects of the drought. This plan was adopted because early warning systems in Ethiopia are capable of providing large windows of time before possible droughts occur.
Despite this domestic solution, more is needed to successfully pull through the crippling natural disaster. The conditions have forced the government to raise international funding requests by $164 million in order to fully assist all those in need.
Only about 43 percent of the total $596 million request has been met, but international aid does take time to fully take effect, so Ethiopian officials are expecting more soon. They also claim that the drought could last up to a year and estimate a staggering 15 million could be in need of food assistance in 2016.
For now the Ethiopian government must stress the importance of rationing food, and individuals must find new ways of providing monetarily and nutritionally for their families.
– Emilio Rivera
Sources: NY Times, University of Notre Dame
Photo: Flickr
Saving Mothers Giving Life: A Partnership
Saving Mothers, Giving Life is a public-private partnership that works with impoverished communities whose mothers have no functioning health care during pregnancy. The organization facilitates health services in Uganda, Zambia and Nigeria in order to better equip their network to ensure a focus on the most vulnerable period for mothers and their newborns – during labor, delivery and 48 hours after birth.
Maternal and infant mortality often mingle together because when a woman dies during childbirth (which occurs around every 2 minutes) her baby’s chance of dying instantly increases by 10 percent. However, institutionalized deliveries have far less complications and drastically improve the conditions of both the mother and newborn postpartum.
In Uganda and Zambia alone there are an estimated 2 million births annually of which 50,000 maternal and infant mortality rates occur because there is no accessible health care service to provide a safe and sanitary facility for women during their pregnancy. Coupled with the fact that nearly half of all Africans lack essential drugs to treat basic infections, these conditions substantiate the reason why approximately 3 percent of births account for infant mortality in the two states combined.
Saving Mothers, Giving Life offers a solution to the detrimental situation of mothers in Uganda and Zambia through various methods that, since their application, have reduced the maternal mortality ratio in Uganda by 45 percent and in Zambia by 53 percent. The foci of the organization all occur within a couple days and because of this a few approaches have proven to be the most effective in practice:
Currently, the organization only operates in 26 districts across Uganda and Zambia; however, it has extended its reach into Nigeria where 14 percent of the world’s maternal mortality and 25 percent of newborn mortality occur. Since its arrival in Cross River State in southern Nigeria, a 40 percent increase of women giving birth in a facility marks its success.
Since 2012 when the organization launched, the drops in mortality rates have only solidified that saving women in low-resource settings and reaching the “audacious 50% reduction of maternal deaths in both countries now seems not only possible, but probable,” secretariat of Saving Mothers, Giving Life said in its 2015 Mid-Initiate Report.
– Emilio Rivera
Sources: Saving Mothers Giving Life 1, Saving Mothers Giving Life 2, Saving Mothers Giving Life 3, Saving Mothers Giving Life 4, Our Africa
Photo: Save The Children
Ubuntu in the Heart of Poverty
Ubuntu is a Zulu word that translates to “human kindness.” The Ubuntu Education Fund aims to create long lasting change in the impoverished townships of Port Elizabeth in South Africa.
The effectiveness of the program can be credited to its three over-arching programs: household sustainability, health and education. This strategy has “received international acclaim from Bill Clinton to the World Economic Forum.”
“Why can’t our poor children in Africa have an education? Why does it have to be a privilege? Why can’t it be a child’s right?” stated CEO and Co-Founder of The Ubuntu Education Fund Jacob Lief at the grand opening of the Ubuntu Center on Sept. 16, 2010.
The Ubuntu Center is located in the heart of Port Elizabeth’s townships, one of the largest slums in the world. The center offers a pediatric HIV center, pharmacy, classrooms, computer labs and a theater.
“Ubuntu graduates attain successes that few in their community ever realize and, in doing so, they are redefining what the world believes to be possible in disadvantaged communities,” stated Lief.
Since its establishment in 2010, the Ubuntu Center has supported the 2,000 children and indirectly supported the community. A study conducted by McKinsey & Company found that “Ubuntu graduates will contribute $195,000 to society, while their peers will cost society $9,000.”
In addition to providing child health care, the pediatric clinic offers prenatal and postnatal care, HIV and TB testing and treatment.
“Ubuntu’s impact is transformative – from HIV-positive mothers giving birth to healthy, HIV-negative babies, to vocational-tracked youth in our Ubuntu Pathways (UP) program securing employment,” said Lief.
The program also provides child protection services and psychosocial counseling to ensure stable homes in order for children to thrive in their education. The dynamic school program included university scholarships and “job readiness training.”
The program emphasizes “depth rather than breadth of impact” which is why within four years of joining Ubuntu, 82 percent of people are “on-track towards stable health and employment,” said Lief.
Former President Bill Clinton visited the Ubuntu Center in August 2013 and had this to say: “Ubuntu has come so far. We’re very proud of your work. This is an amazing organization that actually ensures its people are taken care of.”
Chelsea Clinton, his daughter, added, “The Ubuntu model is incredible; you start early and work with children their entire lives.”
– Marie Helene Ngom
Sources: Forbes, Ubuntu Blog, YouTube
Photo: Flickr
Global Health Degrees: A Career and Life Mission
A career in public health can mean a lot of different things; public health professionals analyze and develop programs that improve or protect the health of people in all corners of the globe.
There has been an increased focus on international health, which generally means the health of people living in low-income or developing countries, as part of the public health equation because global health falls under the public health umbrella.
This holistic approach has lead to the creation of new jobs. As a way to prepare those who are interested in a global health career, many universities now offer global health degrees, which focus on understanding the health of populations in a global context and making worldwide improvements.
Arizona State University began offering a global health degree program about six years ago. The first graduate from their program, Mackenzie Cotlow, has since then used what she learned in the classroom in the context of improving global health.
After graduating, Cotlow started working with Doctors Without Borders in South Africa as a fundraising consultant. She helps inform the public about what the organization does and works to raise the funds necessary for its work to continue to touch the lives of those it helps.
Like many global health degrees, part of Cotlow’s major requirements was studying and working abroad, which she fulfilled in New Zealand and Fiji.
When students are given the chance to widen their worldview by gaining first-hand experience with how people in their academic or career field tackle similar issues, they can expand the collective action toward accomplishing the same goals.
Global health degrees can prepare students for a vast variety of career paths. The global health sector includes international development, social justice and health care professionals.
Emmanuel Kamanzi worked in Rwanda as a program officer for Partners In Health (PIH) for more than five years.
According to PIH, when asked what advice he has for those considering a profession in global health, he said, “Building health care platforms that deliver high-quality care to the most poor and vulnerable communities requires a collaborative workforce that can build partnerships…[and this] requires a deep understanding of the local context and extensive assessment of financial, social and political perspectives.”
Students and professionals in the global health field must continue to work to understand the needs of the communities they are working in and for.
Often solutions or programs that work within one community can be adapted for many other communities, but they must be tailored to the demands present in each unique community. That is why global health work relies on an in-depth understanding of the people being served.
As global health gains a larger presence in the public health sector, global health degrees come with excellent job perspectives and a way to learn the tools that can make for an incredible global health professional and a step toward accomplishing the life mission of improving health worldwide.
– Brittney Dimond
Sources: Explore Health Careers, PIH, Arizona State University
Photo: Flickr
EARTH University Teaches Sustainability to Communities
EARTH University focuses on public health and environmental sustainability. The school is based in Costa Rica and began supporting underdeveloped communities in 1990.
The founders of EARTH University’s goals were to teach young people from the Caribbean and Latin America how to use sustainable methods to help their communities thrive.
Now, 25 years later, EARTH University’s impact has spread from Latin and South America to regions in Asia and Africa. EARTH University offers rigorous undergraduate programs that elicit graduates in just four years.
Graduates from EARTH University learn how to utilize sustainable agricultural methods to create prosperous and just communities. Programs offered include agricultural sciences and natural resources management.
The curriculum at EARTH University is based on four guiding principles.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKkOBFWkF9M
As of 2014, EARTH University had 422 students from 43 countries in the Americas, Africa, Asia and Europe. According to the EARTH University website, graduates like Claudia Jeronimo, who graduated in 2005, return home to use their newfound knowledge of sustainability and social justice to revitalize their communities.
Jeronimo has worked hard since graduating to promote gender equality and food security in her community. Since its inauguration, almost 2,000 students have graduated from EARTH University, with 97 percent of them dedicating their knowledge and experience to assist their home communities.
– Julia Hettiger
Sources: Explore, Earth, Consortium Earth
Photo: Flickr
Global Education Industry Summit Challenges Education
The First Global Education Industry Summit brought together education policy makers and education-related industry leaders to exchange ideas on how education has evolved and revealed strategies for innovation.
Held in Helsinki, Finland on Oct. 19 and 20, the summit was the ideal location because Finland is known for its strong education system.
“Finland’s education system is well regarded worldwide for its teacher education approach, and for the status that the teaching profession enjoys,” said Education Minister Hekia Parata.
The summit was jointly organized by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the European Commission (EC) and the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture.
During the summit, Finland’s Minister of Education and Culture Sanni Grahn-Laasonen discussed the importance of social change and how this correlates with keeping children in school and continuing their education.
“We need to challenge our education systems in order to keep up with current social change and expectations to encourage people to learn continuously,” said Grahn-Laasonen.
Since the digital era has made an immense impact on education, Finland announced it will introduce a new national curriculum emphasizing digital skills in August 2016.
Ranked fifth in the world for education, Finland also desires to place more emphasis on phenomenon-based learning.
Instead of passively receiving information from teachers in traditional subject learning, students have the opportunity to work alongside teachers to develop projects while taking responsibility for their own learning.
Phenomenon-based learning also deals with the incorporation of modern technology, in particular, online instruction and game-based learning.
Through these strategies, Finland hopes to prepare its students for the evolving demands of higher education and an ever-changing workforce.
“One of the common themes of the discussions was how much education systems can learn from each other, but it is also important to recognize that each system is particular to its own culture and society,” says Minister Parata.
While the next summit will be held in Israel in 2016, representatives and international organizations hope education reforms will trigger more students to receive the education they deserve to succeed.
– Alexandra Korman
Sources: Noodle, Ranking America, Scoop, Xinhua Net
Photo: Flickr
The Virtual Care Clinic Introduces Hologram House Calls
The Virtual Care Clinic, recently announced by the University of Southern California, is a pioneer in the field of virtual health care that promises easily accessible and personalized health care across the globe.
The two main components of this virtual clinic are hologram house calls, which stream video to individuals and an app that assesses someone’s needs based off of archived data as well as the information the patient provides.
The ninth annual University of Southern California’s Body Computing Conference was heralded by the announcement of hologram house calls, a prime feature to the previously announced Virtual Care Clinic which is currently under development.
The house call consists of a hologram or video beamed across the globe to wherever a patient in need resides, giving an incredible advantage for doctors to assess a patient with a little more contextualization.
This feature is important because it allows for a quick diagnosis and also allows doctors to further understand the situation of health care recipients, most of whom live in poverty.
The hologram house call is an essential extremity of the Virtual Care Clinic because this alone provides easily accessible care not just domestically but abroad, which is really an amazing feat.
Just by using the hologram house call anybody may speak to a trained medical physician in seconds and be given a diagnosis in minutes; the potential for giving health care guidance shrinks from providing establishments to providing a device that will stream the video.
Also, the house call operates with wearable or injectable technology that logs data in order to provide an almost complete examination; with these technologies working together, it is as if one were visiting a real doctor who would give him or her a precise consultation.
Along with the hologram house call, a second part of the virtual care clinic is less data intensive and focuses more on providing consistent, non-personnel type of aid.
With the app, all one must do is insert his or her age, medical condition and history of diseases that run in the family to be given accurate and helpful information on what kind of treatment to seek and when to seek it.
The potential for this technology is overwhelming considering that the mobile tech industry is ever-growing in places where development is occurring faster every day. Conceivably, the Virtual Care Clinic would provide consistent and affordable health care with the ultimate utility of being completely mobile.
– Emilio Rivera
Sources: University of Southern California, Co.Design, Popular Science
Photo: Wikipedia