In India, one of the world’s most culturally diverse and populous countries, one-fifth of the population lives below the poverty line. Many of India’s poor live in rural areas, where a lack of access to basic resources and social services, high rates of illiteracy and inadequate healthcare contribute to high poverty rates.
The NM Sadguru Water and Development Foundation works to empower those living in nearby rural communities and reduce poverty through sustainable development. The nonprofit works to provide education and training for farmers, implement environmentally-sound structures and build community through farmer organizations and cooperatives.
Before the organization began its work that now spans more than 500 villages throughout the states of Gujarat, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, farming in the semi-arid, drought-prone region could only occur during the three-month monsoon period. The only crop farmers could grow was corn, and they had to migrate with their families to other areas in India to find work as laborers to supplement their income. Making only a few thousand rupees per year, they lived in extreme poverty.
The area transformed when the NM Sadguru Foundation constructed check dams and lift irrigation systems to slow water from nearby rivers, conserve rainwater and distribute the water to various sites through gravitational force. This new system eliminated farmers’ need to walk long distances to find water, which made it possible to farm year-round and enabled farmers to plant a more diverse set of crops.
Farmers who once were only able to grow corn now grow eggplant, spinach, tomatoes, beets, pointed gourd, onions, papaya, mangoes, potatoes, wheat, chickpeas, rice, cilantro and garlic. While the new crops greatly increase their incomes, farmers and their families are now also much healthier. Many farmers have even turned to floriculture, earning six times more harvesting chrysanthemums, marigolds and roses than their income from farming corn.
With an increased profit, farmers and their families are able to do things they never dreamed possible before Sadguru, such as build better homes, buy and raise healthier livestock and even send their children to school.
Aside from improving access to water, the NM Sadguru Foundation also provides sustainable farming education to farmers and even trains them to become community leaders. Farmers can then supervise their villages and surrounding areas, providing training and support to all those in the community.
While this spreads knowledge of the best farming practices quickly, it also empowers rural people who may have been on the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder previously. For example, some women have transformed their entire villages through introducing and developing fruit orchards in their communities.
The NM Sadguru Foundation’s work shows that it doesn’t take much to lift many people out of poverty. Improving access to basic needs creates a ripple effect that expands to impact health, security, income, education and so many other factors. With the right solutions and the proper support to maintain growth, eliminating poverty is something that can be achieved.
– Cassie Lipp
Photo: Flickr
Sustainable Development Goals: Create Economic Opportunities
The Business and Sustainable Development Commission recently released a report on the role of business in working towards the SDGs and how the goals create economic opportunities in developing countries. According to this report, by seizing opportunities in high growth sectors (like food and agriculture, cities, energy and materials, and health and wellbeing), achieving the Sustainable Development Goals will create an estimated $12 trillion in economic growth. Over half of this growth will be in developing countries. The goals also offer an opportunity to create up to 340 million new jobs in developing countries by 2030.
To capture these opportunities, companies and entrepreneurs will have to use innovative and game-changing business models. One of these is the circular economy business model. A circular economy is an alternative to the traditional linear economy (make, use, dispose) in which resources are kept in use for as long as possible by recovering and reusing spent materials and products. This model aligns to SDG12 – responsible consumption and production.
Another market that could benefit greatly from the circular economy business model and offer substantial growth opportunities in developing countries (an estimated $810 billion by 2030) is the automotive industry. While collection rates for vehicles at the end of their life in Europe and elsewhere in the industrialized world are generally very high, it is not an effective process. Most collected vehicles are recycled into their base materials, a process which is energy-intensive and results in loss of value.
Many developing countries, however, have developed robust car repair and refurbishing industries because they cannot afford new cars. Rather, these countries import used vehicles from industrialized countries. In Nigeria, for example, 95 percent of cars are second-hand.
Ghana is another such an example. In a neighborhood called Suame Magazine, an estimated 200,000 artisans take discarded western cars and use the parts to build easily repairable vehicles that are more suitable for African roads. Car parts are also used to build anything from fences and swings to water pumps and welding machines.
These are just some of the ways that illustrate that by rethinking the approach to consumption and production, the Sustainable Development Goals create economic opportunities in developing countries while also addressing the issues of poverty and environmental sustainability.
– Helena Jacobs
Photo: Flickr
Google Deal to Strengthen Vaccine Cold Chain Equipment
The new partnership between Gavi and Google is aimed to help tech start-up Nexleaf Analytics, which will contribute tech development and analytical knowledge as well as lessons learned from years working on the ground in countries.
The startup uses a wireless remote temperature to trace vaccine cold chain equipment and collect data on its efficiency. The critical data is intended to empower healthcare workers in making educated decisions on their purchase of equipment. This is especially important because, according to a recent World Health Organization and United Nations Children’s Fund’s joint statement, 78 percent of vaccine cold chain equipment in low and middle-income countries is either poorly functioning or non-functional.
Google’s contribution of $2 million USD, which will be matched by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, will be used to improve the efficiency and safety of vaccines by increasing cold chain equipment operating time, reducing running costs and improving temperature control.
With more than 30 million children still unimmunized, in large part because vaccines are unavailable, Nextleaf’s vaccine cold chain equipment is not only revolutionary but necessary. The start-up will collect data from every point of the health system, and make them readily available to workers in low-income countries. This easy access to key analytics will allow health system personnel to make the necessary adjustments and make educated decisions about the efficiency of the equipment.
The new collaboration is a part of Gavi’s INFUSE platform, which connects private sector partners and funders with high-tech innovators. INFUSE helps to find solutions to challenges that have led millions of children to not receive a full course of the most basic vaccines. The work is aimed to drive more impact at scale and ensure safe vaccinations for all.
– Mayan Derhy
Photo: Flickr
Nine Facts About The Youngest American President Ever
Besides his youth and vigor, President Roosevelt’s dedication to the American people is ultimately why he is remembered not just as the youngest American president, but as one of the greatest and most memorable.
– Mary Grace Costa
Photo: Flickr
Patrimonio Hoy is Tackling Multidimensional Poverty
Low-income families in Mexico have struggled for years to acquire and maintain affordable housing. In fact, 34% of Mexican families live in poor-quality homes, many of which are self-constructed. Patrimonio Hoy was created in 1998 to address this problem. The program provides low-income families with building materials, microfinance, technical assistance and logistical support so that they can acquire livable housing.
Patrimonio Hoy is a subsidiary of the multinational Mexican cement manufacturer CEMEX. After joining the Business Call to Action in 2014, its goals are to offer a market-based solution to meet the needs of low-income families, provide at least 125,000 low-income families in Mexico with affordable housing and replicate the model in other developing countries.
How it Works
Technical Assistance
A Patrimonio Hoy architect visits a family in their home to assess their house structure, discuss their building plans and evaluate their financial situation. After the assessment, the architect develops the building plan. This plan includes the design type and quantity of material needed to meet the required construction standards.
Financing
Families receive customized financing products according to their financial needs. New customers can choose a schedule with multiple deliveries of building materials. This schedule is then customized to each customer’s needs, ability to pay and the desired construction timeline.
Building Materials and Construction Services
Patrimonio Hoy has created additional demand for construction materials. This, in turn, has enabled local distributors to increase their sales without any additional investments.
In addition to helping customers acquire proper building materials, Patrimonio Hoy supervises the entire construction process. The program acts as a professional contractor and manages the legalization of land titles. This lightens the administrative burden on low-income families.
How Patrimonio Hoy Addresses Poverty
Patrimonio Hoy is addressing Millennium Development Goal 1: To eradicate extreme poverty and hunger. The program improves the lives of more than two million individuals through more than 3.3 million square meters of home construction. It also empowers families and encourages local economic development.
Patrimonio Hoy also addresses Millennium Development Goal 3: to promote gender equality and empower women. The program has trained more than 3,000 women promoters and their families in low-income communities.
Patrimonio Hoy also increases local employment and improves the local public school infrastructure. This brings greater responsibility in households and encourages better learning and health for children.
Expansion and Success
More than 750,000 low-income families in Latin America have benefitted from the project. Patrimonio Hoy has attained national coverage in Mexico (29 states, 56 cities) and has expanded across Latin America to Costa Rica, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and Panama.
Patrimonio Hoy is constantly innovating and creating new business initiatives to further improve the quality of neighborhoods. Already the program has empowered families, and improved their general quality of life, ultimately preparing participating countries for steady economic and social growth.
– Liliana Rehorn
Photo: Flickr
Call to Arms to Boost Cultural Learning in England
As a result, there has been a decline in English children becoming involved in art subjects, a reduction in art teaching hours and fewer art teachers employed in schools. Informal programs have also suffered due to local authority cuts.
The Cultural Learning Alliance (CLA) exists to address these issues. The alliance is a collective voice working to ensure that all children have meaningful access to cultural programs. Its goals are to advocate for a coherent national strategy for cultural learning, to unite the education, youth and cultural sectors, to showcase projects and demonstrate why cultural learning is so important.
The CLA first published the Imagine Nation report in 2011 to set the agenda for a national conversation about the value of cultural learning. The following statistics were included in the 2017 version of the report and outline the benefits of cultural learning:
David Puttnam, the chairman of the CLA, has described the report as a wake-up call to boost cultural learning in England. “It is essential that access to arts is a right and not a privilege,” he says.
Similarly, Michelle Obama has stated that “Arts education…is the air many of these kids breathe. It’s how we get kids excited about getting up and going to school in the morning. It’s how we get them to take ownership of their future.”
The Imagine Nation report has resulted in a “call to arms” to boost cultural learning in England. According to the report, “we must act now to ensure that the next generation is given all the tools it needs to build a stronger, healthier society.”
– Liliana Rehorn
Photo: Flickr
Malawian Sanitary Pads: Providing Skills for Women’s Health
Established in 1993, the Malawi Children’s Fund has initiated and supported youth in Malawi by developing initiatives that facilitate entrepreneurial, educational and medical facilities. The Green Malata Entrepreneurial Village, one of the fund’s centers for development, provides children with courses in subjects such as renewable energy and information technology, in addition to a tailoring program that manufactures reusable Malawian sanitary pads.
Women and children studying tailoring also construct reusable pads that are then combined into “The School Girl Pack,” consisting of three pads and a pair of underwear, which is then sold for $3.50. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported that one in 10 school-aged girls in Africa drop out of school or miss class due to their period. Skills development programs established by the entrepreneurial village are not only providing personal development of individual’s trade abilities but also ensuring a better quality of life for women and children in Malawi.
Access to quality female hygiene products is also vital to beneficial health practices to prevent malfunctions such as leaking, which spreads infection and subsequent sores and rashes. Other organizations such as AFRIpads, locally headquartered in Uganda, distribute sanitary pads to women in dire need of reliable assistance.
The Malawian sanitary pads initiative has also committed to participation in Project 50/50, a trans-regional campaign that aims to facilitate greater political representation of women, as outlined in 2008 Southern African Development Community (SADC) Protocol on Gender and Development. On location, training events are held to empower and educate women to become leaders in local and national government.
– Amber Bailey
Photo: Flickr
How the NM Sadguru Foundation Relieves Poverty in Rural India
The NM Sadguru Water and Development Foundation works to empower those living in nearby rural communities and reduce poverty through sustainable development. The nonprofit works to provide education and training for farmers, implement environmentally-sound structures and build community through farmer organizations and cooperatives.
Before the organization began its work that now spans more than 500 villages throughout the states of Gujarat, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, farming in the semi-arid, drought-prone region could only occur during the three-month monsoon period. The only crop farmers could grow was corn, and they had to migrate with their families to other areas in India to find work as laborers to supplement their income. Making only a few thousand rupees per year, they lived in extreme poverty.
The area transformed when the NM Sadguru Foundation constructed check dams and lift irrigation systems to slow water from nearby rivers, conserve rainwater and distribute the water to various sites through gravitational force. This new system eliminated farmers’ need to walk long distances to find water, which made it possible to farm year-round and enabled farmers to plant a more diverse set of crops.
Farmers who once were only able to grow corn now grow eggplant, spinach, tomatoes, beets, pointed gourd, onions, papaya, mangoes, potatoes, wheat, chickpeas, rice, cilantro and garlic. While the new crops greatly increase their incomes, farmers and their families are now also much healthier. Many farmers have even turned to floriculture, earning six times more harvesting chrysanthemums, marigolds and roses than their income from farming corn.
With an increased profit, farmers and their families are able to do things they never dreamed possible before Sadguru, such as build better homes, buy and raise healthier livestock and even send their children to school.
Aside from improving access to water, the NM Sadguru Foundation also provides sustainable farming education to farmers and even trains them to become community leaders. Farmers can then supervise their villages and surrounding areas, providing training and support to all those in the community.
While this spreads knowledge of the best farming practices quickly, it also empowers rural people who may have been on the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder previously. For example, some women have transformed their entire villages through introducing and developing fruit orchards in their communities.
The NM Sadguru Foundation’s work shows that it doesn’t take much to lift many people out of poverty. Improving access to basic needs creates a ripple effect that expands to impact health, security, income, education and so many other factors. With the right solutions and the proper support to maintain growth, eliminating poverty is something that can be achieved.
– Cassie Lipp
Photo: Flickr
Top 5 Facts About Poverty in Australia
What to Know About Poverty in Australia
Australia’s government has been trying to solve the problem by creating more jobs, but there are more ways that economic equality can be achieved. Some solutions include free education and healthcare for everyone, affordable housing, and having everyone pay a fair share of taxes.
– Emma Majewski
Photo: Flickr
Education for Syrian Refugees in Jordan
The Syrian refugee crisis remains the most prominent humanitarian disaster in recent history. According to UNICEF, the most fundamental act for reconstructing a stable community is providing equal access to education for Syrian refugees.
Approximately 265,000 out of the nearly 660,000 Syrians registered in Jordan are under the age of 18. The U.N. reports that 97 percent of these children are at risk of not attending school due to financial hardship.
Jordan spends more than 12 percent of its GDP on education, yet the school system is still in need of financial support. The system struggled even before the influx of refugees from Syria.
Regarding access to education for Syrian refugees, the Ministry of Education has opened a number of additional school spaces and relaxed barriers to registration. Consequently, there are now approximately 170,000 refugee children enrolled in the current school year.
The Ministry of Education also created an action plan to open 102 additional double-shift public schools. Thus, the plan will accommodate 50,000 new enrollment spaces. The plan initiated a “catch-up program” administered through public schools. In addition, the plan will operate in conjunction with education ministry teachers and will offer informal education to 25,000 children between the ages of eight and 12. One thousand of these children have already enrolled.
The primary issues regarding access to education for Syrian refugees surround legal status and documentation, restrictions on business ownership and school dropout rates among migrant populations. The Ministry of Education seeks to address each of these issues through its reformed action plan.
To provide some support, UNICEF’s 2017–2018 No Lost Generation initiative promises to promote equal access to integrated child protection, education, youth engagement and livelihood programs. The initiative is meant to strengthen the quality of education for Syrian refugees.
Still, almost 91,000 Syrian children registered with the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees remain without access to formal education. A 2016 UNICEF survey conducted within Amman, Irbid and Mafraq found that 10 percent of Syrian refugee families removed their children from school to save educational expenses. Six percent had sent their children to work, and three percent had their daughters married in childhood. Childhood marriages are a common occurrence because they help bear the economic burden and safety concerns associated with refugee status.
Without continuous interest and more equitable support from the international community, the educational situation for refugees will not improve. From healthcare and legal status to job opportunities and education for Syrian refugees, millions, including the internally displaced and host communities, face an uncertain future.
– Jaime Viens
Photo: Flickr
Five Things that Could Happen if the United States Leaves the UN
On Jan. 3, Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL) sponsored the American Sovereignty Restoration Act of 2017. The Act passed on to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. The bill proposes that the United States leave the U.N. by means of cutting funding and eliminating its host site. Discussed below are five striking things that could happen if the United States leaves the UN.
If the United States Leaves the UN…
If the United States leaves the U.N., it faces the threat of harsh sanctions and hostile relations. The proposed bill would repeal the United Nations Participation Act of 1945. The repeal would revoke the United States’ veto and seat as one of five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council. The U.S. would be effectively surrendering its right to participate in negotiations.
Not to mention, as far as diplomacy goes, it’s far easier to negotiate when the majority of world players are set on one stage, rather than conducting individual consultation. It would make the processes of coalition building and diplomacy drastically more complicated and expensive.
If the United States leaves the U.N., the agency will continue to exist as a much weaker entity with limited authority abroad. The U.N. was created as a multilateral organization meant to promote international cooperation. If its initial champion, the nation that has hosted the institution’s headquarters from its beginning, was to withdraw, it would create a precedent that erodes the principles on which the U.N. was founded.
The United States is the U.N.’s single largest contributor. It funds approximately 22% of the primary budget and 28% of peacekeeping operations. A U.S. departure would cause a financial crisis within the U.N. that would, in turn, prompt massive cuts. The cuts would be similar to those experienced after the U.S. cut funding to UNESCO in 2011 following the agency’s incorporation of Palestine.
Assuming cuts are necessary if the United States leaves the U.N., the first will likely be made to programs in which the U.S. has invested copious amounts of time, effort and money. Representation of American interests will falter abroad. The perception that the U.S. has failed to heed global concerns will grow.
If the United States were to pull its funding from the U.N., it would equip other countries to parallel its benefaction. These countries would gain the power and influence American diplomacy has historically maintained within the platform.
The passage of this act would have far-reaching implications, with the potential not only to diminish the positive impact of U.S. resources around the world but to realign the global dynamics of influence, decision-making and reputation.
– Jaime Viens
Photo: Flickr