Entrepreneurs are individuals that go beyond the status quo in order to make change happen. “They pursue poverty alleviation goals with entrepreneurial zeal, business methods and the courage to innovate and overcome traditional practices,” says the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurs.
Reform and change are never made without a struggle. Social entrepreneurs in education are no different.
Many struggle with receiving the support and funding necessary to keep programs running. But despite hardships, they press forward in order to make improvements.
Occasionally, an entrepreneur will find a break in the form of investors. Schwab, Skoll and Ashoka are three such foundations that provide this relief to individuals making change happen around the world.
One such fellow, or entrepreneur, that found relief works for an organization by the name of abcdespanol. Based in Colombia, the organization worked to create a new methodology for teaching reading, writing and math skills.
Javier Gonzalez discovered that the issues across Latin America were not due to the people, but the methodology while playing a game of dominoes. “González then created abcdespañol and “ABC de la Matematica”, an innovative learning solution employing games as a teaching methodology.”
For many, this is how it works. Social entrepreneurs in education see an issue and then fight to find and put into practice new ideas to correct the issue. The journey doesn’t stop there, though.
Going back to Javier, “he continued searching for additional ways to make the learning process more interesting.”
Education isn’t an easy fix and is not a one solution fits all circumstance ordeal. Teaching the world’s future leaders takes innovation and improvement. Social entrepreneurs, like Javier, know this and continue to seek out a better way.
Ashoka fellow Flick Asvat of South Africa is another excellent example of this.
In the country of South Africa, Asvat found that many youths become more discouraged than not by the truism that education is the path out of poverty due to the strikes, violence, and other issues that have continuously interrupted such attempts.
To fight this, “Flick is putting children in control of their own out-of-school educational programs. She has developed a concept, Bugrado, based on the idea that human beings have the power to change their circumstances.”
Through innovative new techniques, real change was seen in schools. “Flick has successfully created five pilot programs around Johannesburg and is now focusing on Alexandra Township, where the program is operating in four schools, reaching approximately six thousand students.”
As a social entrepreneur in education, Flick resigned from her job as Minister of Education to solely focus on the implementation of the Bugrado program.
Such stories have become increasingly common. Through simply opening one’s eyes and caring about making a difference, individuals have made change happen. When one thing doesn’t work, new ones are tried. In this way, education is constantly improving.
Jeff Skoll, Founder and Chairman of the Skoll Foundation has expressed the importance of these social entrepreneurs around the world.
On their site, it is stated that it has become, “the premier global event for social entrepreneurship…the Forum has increasingly become a showcase to highlight large scale impact that social entrepreneurs are having on the big challenges facing the planet.”
By connecting social entrepreneurs with the resources and connections they need to improve conditions, the Skoll Foundation helps millions experience the impact of positive change.
In short, these entrepreneurs are alike in a fundamental thought process. As Skoll puts it, “I believe “a lot of good comes from a little bit of good,” or, in other words, where the positive social returns significantly outstrip the amount of time and money invested.”
– Katherine Martin
Sources: Schwab Found 1, Schwab Found 2, Ashoka, Skoll
Photo: Wikimedia
How War Impacts the Poor
The introduction of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) marked a deadline: the world has 15 years to eradicate global poverty. However, in order to achieve this goal, the causes of global poverty must be carefully analyzed. One such factor is how war impacts those who are living in poverty.
Afghanistan, Iran, Sub-Saharan Africa, Syria and others continue to be plagued with war and violence, and many individuals fall into what is known as a “poverty trap.” While peaceful countries are escaping poverty and violence, corrupt government leadership often leads to war which pushes societies into poverty.
Researchers from Stanford University studied the correlation between war and poverty and found four criteria that explain how war affects the poor.
Low GDP
Statistical research on poverty and conflict suggests that countries within the 50th percentile for income have a 7-11 percent risk of experiencing civil conflict. On the other hand, countries within the 10th percentile have a risk that rises to 15-18 percent.
For example, according to the World Bank, the Middle East has experienced a 30 percent decrease in GDP per capita since 1999. According to Stanford’s research, a 1 percent increase in GDP growth could reduce the risk of internal conflict by roughly 1 percent.
Large Youth Population
Almost 60 percent of the world’s poor are under the age of 25. With high youth populations, research shows that parents have more children in developing countries to cope with the lack of environmental resources in impoverished areas.
“[Long-term] demographic and economic data indicate that high fertility raises absolute levels of poverty by slowing economic growth, reducing the poverty reduction that growth would have helped deliver, and skewing the distribution of consumption against the poor,” The UN Population Fund reports.
Poor Education Systems
Compared to the national secondary school net enrollment of 92 percent between 2000 and 2004, developing countries had a mere 30 percent secondary school enrollment. By increasing schools’ enrollment by 10 percent, the average risk of conflict can drop 3 percent.
Dependence on Natural Resources
Natural resource dependence has been linked to both rebellion and a weak government. Previous research by Stanford University showed that only high-value, easily extracted resources including agriculture and diamonds further increase the likelihood of war.
Thus, from understanding these four criteria, it is clear that global leaders will have to collaborate and find solutions for people who are trapped in poverty due to war.
– Alexandra Korman
Sources: The Brookings Institution, The Economist
Photo: Rescue.Org
Reach Every Mother and Child Act: Ending Preventable Deaths
The Reach Every Mother and Child Act of 2015 would work to end the preventable deaths of mothers, newborns and young children in developing countries.
U.S. Senators Chris Coons, D-Del., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, introduced the Reach Act this summer as a solution for deaths related to pregnancy and childbirth.
“Over the past several years, we have made great strides in saving moms, babies, and kids in some of the poorest parts of the world, but it’s clear that more help – and more resources – are needed,” Sen. Coons said in a press release.
The Reach Act seeks to build on the progress made over the past few years in maternal-child health. According to Countdown to 2015’s report for this year, the global maternal mortality ratio has decreased by 45 percent over the past two decades, and the number of maternal deaths has dropped from about 523,000 a year to 289,000.
Maternal education and income growth have had a significant impact on the improvement of conditions for mothers and children in developing countries, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation said, as well as technological innovations in medicine and other areas.
However, problems such as HIV, poor hospital conditions, and malnutrition still plague mothers and children in those countries. The Reach Act would help provide the means to solve these problems.
If enacted, the Act would:
The Reach Every Mother and Child Act of 2015 is currently being referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
Email your congressional leaders in support of the Reach Every Mother and Child Act and help save the lives of 600,000 women and 15 million children by 2020.
– Ashley Tressel
Sources: Senate, Health Data, Countdown to 2015: Maternal, Newborn & Child Health Data
Photo: Flickr
Social Supermarket Buys Out Hunger in Cornwall
England is one of the wealthiest countries in the world, but it faces a major food crisis. Last year, close to 100,000 children went hungry. In London alone, 80,000 people earn less than the cost of living. They can’t afford daily, nutritious meals.
In recent years, England has been turning toward a new kind of store to fight hunger and poverty. Social supermarkets, “shop[s] selling discounted food to people on a low income,” have been multiplying since 2013.
Cornwall is the latest area to welcome the new market. Hunger in Cornwall is a serious matter. The Food Bank hands out 9,000 meals every month to poor families.
Charlotte Danks, 20, used her entrepreneurial skills to open a social supermarket in the town of Newquay. Bargain Brand Food Outlet receives its stock from supermarkets who discard the products because of manufacturing flaws, package damage and expired sell-by dates. Many items sell for 25 pence, or 39 cents in U.S. currency.
“If I come in here and buy a loaf for 20 pence, I’ve got money for gas,” Richard Benson, a regular social supermarket customer, told The Guardian.
Social supermarkets do more than save people money; they save food. According to the European Commission, the UK is responsible for the majority of food waste in the European Union—89 million tons per year.
Restocking products keeps them out of landfills and saves supermarkets from paying landfill tax. In turn, tax avoidance encourages markets to donate to their social counterparts.
Because the supplies come from larger stores and franchises, the stock varies from day to day. Some days, chocolate products outweigh meat and vegetables. Everything is first come first serve. Most stores require a card membership to prevent anyone but the needy from taking advantage of the low prices.
The emergence of social supermarkets opens several more job opportunities, lessening the number of struggling households. Danks plans to open two more stores in the next six months in the hope of eradicating poverty and hunger in Cornwall.
“I hope I can bring this to other struggling communities,” Danks told The Telegraph.
England isn’t alone in its efforts to resolve the food crisis through food redistribution. France, which already boasts 800 social supermarkets, unanimously banned stores from disposing of food earlier this May. Instead, stores are required to donate edible food to charities.
If the spread of social supermarkets and food waste elimination continue, hunger in Cornwall, England, Europe and the world could be bought out for good.
– Sarah Prellwitz
Sources: Coin Mill, Collins Dictionary, Food and Cornwall, Independent, London Food Bank, Telegraph, The Guardian 1, The Guardian 2
Photo: Pixabay
Global Poverty Rates Drop Below 10 Percent
A new report by the World Bank has some promising news. For the first time ever, they are expecting to see extreme global poverty rates drop below 10 percent.
Jim Yong Kim, the World’s Bank president, is delighted by the positive news that was published last month.
“This is the best news story in the world today,” he said. “These projections show us that we are the first generation in human history that can end extreme poverty.”
While the numbers are only projections, they are a step in the right direction to champion extreme poverty, an issue that continues to plague millions of people worldwide.
Extreme poverty was once defined as living on or below $1.25 a day. However, the World Bank has adjusted the daily wages and increased that amount to $1.90. The change reflects the cost of living differences across countries while “preserving the real purchasing power of the previous yardstick.”
In 2012, it was estimated by the World Bank that nearly 902 million people lived at or below the poverty line. That number equated to 12.8 percent of the population. Now, in 2015, that number has predicted to drop to 9.6 percent, or 702 million people.
The World Bank has attributed declining poverty to “healthy economic growth rates in emerging markets”. Investments in the realms of education and health are also contributors.
Last month, the United Nations, in collaboration with 193 countries, created a target to eliminate poverty by 2030. Kim called the goal “a highly ambitious target”. He warns that sluggish economic growth, coupled with conflicts and volatile financial markets will most likely stunt that wishful target.
“But it remains within our grasp, as long as our high aspirations are matched by country-led plans that help the still millions of people living in extreme poverty,” he added.
According to the World Bank, approximately half of the world’s poor will come from conflict-infected countries by the year 2020. As it currently stands, Sub-Saharan Africa hosts half of the world’s poor, an issue that the World Bank calls “a growing concern”.
“While some African countries have seen significant successes in reducing poverty, the region as a whole lags the rest of the world in the pace of lessening poverty,” they add.
Kaushik Basu, the chief economist for the World Bank says that the future of global poverty still holds some uncertainty, stating, “There is still some turbulence ahead.”
However, that “turbulence” remains overshadowed by the fact that global poverty has been slashed in half since 1990, a statistic that leaves much to be celebrated.
– Alyson Atondo
Sources: CNN, The Guardian, Al Jazeera, Time
Photo: Pixabay
Why Poverty Exists Still
The United States began assisting foreign countries in 1961 with the establishment of USAID. So, if we have been fighting poverty for 54 years, why does it still exist?
In total, the United States gives $30 billion to the world’s poor. That number alone may sound like a lot but not when compared to the $663 billion going toward military spending.
Even so, with $30 billion going toward the fight to end global poverty, why do the problems of poor health and education, hunger and lack of adequate housing persist?
According to new studies, violence is the answer. In a Ted Talk given back in March of 2015, Gary Haugen discussed violence and how it is the hidden reason for why poverty exists to this day. He stated, “The truth is, the poor of our world are trapped in whole systems of violence.”
He went on to talk about how everyday violence must be controlled if our efforts at foreign assistance are ever going to work. “And so the epidemic of everyday violence, it just rages on,” he said. “And it devastates our efforts to try to help billions of people out of their two-dollar-a-day hell.”
An article written in 2011 in The Economist showed similar findings. The magazine reported that violence “is not just one cause of poverty among many: it is becoming the primary cause. Countries that are prey to violence are often trapped in it. Those that are not are escaping poverty.”
The good news is that with this knowledge we can see the way to a better future. Toward the end of Haugen’s talk, he showed areas where such improvements are already being processed.
“Recently, the Gates Foundation funded a project in the second largest city of the Philippines, where local advocates and local law enforcement were able to transform corrupt police and broken courts so drastically, that in just four short years, they were able to measurably reduce the commercial sexual violence against poor kids by 79 percent.”
Other such stories are out there. Guatemala has a program that was put into place to retrain officers in how to deal with violence issues. In El Salvador, Creative was started to help with violence.
“The program is creating municipal observatories, which will collect and corroborate crime and violence data, and developing municipal crime and Violence Prevention Committees that will create action plans in their communities.”
As programs target violence directly, efforts to decrease poverty will have a better chance of success.
– Katherine Martin
Sources: Poverties, USAID, OECD, Defense, Global Issues, TED, Economist
Photo: Flickr
Indian-American Physicians Take Reins of Indian Healthcare
For almost a decade, the AAPI has gathered to contribute to the discussion of healthcare in India. This year, the focus will be on women’s health and non-communicable diseases, which plague 5.8 millions of Indians each year, according to the WHO.
Also included in this year’s summit will be a launch of the country’s first Trauma and Brain Injury Guidelines, reports ETHealthworld.
“This GHS promises to be one with the greatest impact and significant contributions towards harnessing the power of international Indian diaspora to bring the most innovative, efficient, cost effective healthcare solutions to India,” says AAPI.
This year’s summit will be held from Jan 1 to 3, 2016, in New Delhi.
The annual summit is not the only effort by the AAPI to improve Indian healthcare.
The organization also houses the Global Clinical Research & Trial Network (AAPI-GCRTN), which fosters collaboration on research and clinical trials; the Young Physician Section (AAPI-YPS), which educates and enhances the careers of young physicians; and the Charitable Foundation (AAPI-CF), which serves the poor in remote areas of India and the U.S.
The AAPI and its contributions to health in India serve as an example of the country’s growing interest in health and poverty, as well as its growing resources.
The Government of India has made tremendous progress recently, especially in commitment to pressing issues concerning the poor members of its population.
At the beginning of this year, India became the first country to adapt the Global Monitoring Framework on NCDs. In line with the WHO’s Global action plan for the prevention and control of NCDs 2013-2020, the framework’s targets are aimed at reducing the number of global premature deaths from NCDs by 25 percent by 2025, says the WHO.
India is paving the way for developing countries’ healthcare, and this summit will provide solutions for multiple healthcare problems that can be applied to other areas.
– Ashley Tressel
Sources: India Times, AAPI Global Healthcare Summit, AAPI USA, AAPI Charitable Foundation, AAPI YPS, WHO Photo: Flickr
Read to Feed: Global Education Lesson Plans
Anyone and everyone can change the world, even in the slightest way. An organization known as Read to Feed gives children the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of families living in poverty.
The program encourages childhood reading while raising awareness of extreme global poverty in young minds. Read to Feed teaches and informs students of the realities of malnutrition and poverty, inspiring them to help those in need and providing an educational incentive to do so.
Here’s how it works: A child chooses a sponsor for each book he or she reads during a period of time set by his or her Read to Feed leader. The sponsor agrees to provide a certain amount of money for each book read or hour spent reading. Then, after the books have been read and the funds collected, the child chooses an animal through Heifer International to give to a family experiencing poverty.
Heifer International is an organization dedicated to ending global poverty and world hunger. Heifer provides families in impoverished communities with livestock and training to combat malnutrition as well as build a sustainable lifestyle.
Furthermore, Heifer encourages the families they have helped to share the training they receive with other families in their communities and pass on the first female offspring of their livestock to another family in need, thus creating a cycle of sustainability that has the power to lift entire communities out of poverty.
The wide variety of livestock provides families with meat, milk, wool and manure to grow their own agriculture. Kids can participate in Read to Feed individually or in groups; however, the program most often takes place in a classroom setting.
Furthermore, Heifer provides Global Education Lesson Plans so that teachers can inform students of the realities of global poverty and the impact that they can make in changing its course.
Read to Feed ultimately provides children with a way to make a difference in many lives. Reading a book is a fun incentive to end extreme poverty, both stimulating a child’s mind by increasing the number of books they read, and their knowledge of the world. Anyone can make a difference and everyone– no matter what age– deserves the chance to try.
– Sarah Sheppard
Sources: Heifer 1, Heifer 2, Learning to Give
Photo: Hiefer International
Freedom from Hunger: Alleviating Poverty in Mexico
As the Mexican economy continues to recover from the most recent recession, social concerns still remain.
Specifically, low wages, underemployment and inequitable income distribution are the causes of suffering in the impoverished southern states.
According to the Ministry of Social Development, 54% of all Mexicans live in poverty. Poverty standards in Mexico equate to $4 per day. However, 32% of the population lives on $2.50, and 24% live on less than $2.00. Characteristics of poverty include the lack of access to basic human needs such as nutrition, clean
Characteristics of poverty include the lack of access to basic human needs such as nutrition, clean water and shelter.
In 2005, nonprofit organization, Freedom from Hunger created Alcance. The organization’s principal focus is to assist financial institutions to integrate education and health protection services that specifically address women and their families.
Alcance works in conjunction with the Mexican government to coordinate microfinance networks. The purpose of these networks is to provide financial education and to equip financial institutions to disseminate funds.
As of 2014, Alcance launched a Saving for Change programs in two Mexican states where traditional microfinance has not reached the rural communities of the chronically poor.
The aim is to help institutions successfully manage social objectives and increase their ability to provide high quality, client-responsive services.
Organizations such as Mastercard also help create programs as global partners. The current program they fund will develop, test and document innovations in the integration of financial services. In addition, education will be provided for youth between the ages of 13 and 24 in Mali and Ecuador.
The program’s focus is to build a range of microfinance providers to offer products and services for youth living in poverty. The goal is to utilize these services to guide youth financially, in order to increase options for their future.
Youth participants’ parents and community leaders will be educated on how to be supportive of youth in ascertaining financial education building.
Programs to address education, health care, social security, quality of basic services in the household and income and social cohesion are necessities in helping to address the nation’s poverty.
– Erika Wright
Sources: Freedom from Hunger, The Mastercard Foundation
Photo: ChildFund.org
Millennials are Essential to Ending Extreme Poverty
By the end of the year, the Millennial generation is projected to outgrow the Baby Boomer generation in the U.S., being predicted to grow to 75.3 million. Their large numbers will become crucial to helping end extreme poverty by 2030.
Since 1980, the world has made the unprecedented progress regarding extreme poverty–cutting extreme poverty in half from 43 percent in 1990 to fewer than 20 percent today.
Even with this upward progression, over 1 billion people worldwide suffer from extreme poverty, living on less than $1.25 per day. To make steps toward ending extreme poverty by 2030, 188 countries agreed to the UN’s goals at the World Bank Meetings in 2013.
If Millennials around the world connect themselves through social media and other events, this goal will become possible. As the first generation to have full access to technology at a young age, Millennials can spark a conversation and voice their concerns via social media.
While social media is beneficial in the fight to eradicate extreme poverty, events and festivals are taking place around the country to get the generation involved in the project.
On April 10, 2014, Global Citizen partnered with the World Bank Youth Network to host End Poverty 2030: Millennials take on the challenge in Washington, D.C. The event focused on the important role Millennials play in the fight to stop extreme poverty, even featuring a short film created by award-winning film writer and director Richard Curtis.
Over 1,000 people, including Secretary General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon, attended the event while thousands more watched the event online. During the event, Ki-moon had a few encouraging words for the generation.
“I know that your generation can break this vicious cycle of extreme poverty, and I count on your strong engagement,” Ki-moon said.
More awareness for extreme poverty can be found at the Global Citizens Festival on Sept. 26 in Central Park. The music festival will include superstars Pearl Jam, Beyoncé, Coldplay and Ed Sheeran, with more to be announced on the festival’s website.
This year in order to buy a ticket, potential buyers are encouraged to complete the Eight Global Steps before entering their name into a raffle system. Some of these steps include tweeting the UN’s Global Goals or signing a petition to bring awareness to the Global Food Security Act.
Since the festival’s inception in 2011, $1.3 billion has been raised to support extreme poverty.
As festivals and events continue to be organized and geared towards Millennials, there is hope to end extreme poverty by 2030.
– Alexandra Korman
Sources: Forbes, Global Citizen, Pew Research
Photo: Huffington Post
Social Entrepreneurs in Education Are Making An Impact
Entrepreneurs are individuals that go beyond the status quo in order to make change happen. “They pursue poverty alleviation goals with entrepreneurial zeal, business methods and the courage to innovate and overcome traditional practices,” says the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurs.
Reform and change are never made without a struggle. Social entrepreneurs in education are no different.
Many struggle with receiving the support and funding necessary to keep programs running. But despite hardships, they press forward in order to make improvements.
Occasionally, an entrepreneur will find a break in the form of investors. Schwab, Skoll and Ashoka are three such foundations that provide this relief to individuals making change happen around the world.
One such fellow, or entrepreneur, that found relief works for an organization by the name of abcdespanol. Based in Colombia, the organization worked to create a new methodology for teaching reading, writing and math skills.
Javier Gonzalez discovered that the issues across Latin America were not due to the people, but the methodology while playing a game of dominoes. “González then created abcdespañol and “ABC de la Matematica”, an innovative learning solution employing games as a teaching methodology.”
For many, this is how it works. Social entrepreneurs in education see an issue and then fight to find and put into practice new ideas to correct the issue. The journey doesn’t stop there, though.
Going back to Javier, “he continued searching for additional ways to make the learning process more interesting.”
Education isn’t an easy fix and is not a one solution fits all circumstance ordeal. Teaching the world’s future leaders takes innovation and improvement. Social entrepreneurs, like Javier, know this and continue to seek out a better way.
Ashoka fellow Flick Asvat of South Africa is another excellent example of this.
In the country of South Africa, Asvat found that many youths become more discouraged than not by the truism that education is the path out of poverty due to the strikes, violence, and other issues that have continuously interrupted such attempts.
To fight this, “Flick is putting children in control of their own out-of-school educational programs. She has developed a concept, Bugrado, based on the idea that human beings have the power to change their circumstances.”
Through innovative new techniques, real change was seen in schools. “Flick has successfully created five pilot programs around Johannesburg and is now focusing on Alexandra Township, where the program is operating in four schools, reaching approximately six thousand students.”
As a social entrepreneur in education, Flick resigned from her job as Minister of Education to solely focus on the implementation of the Bugrado program.
Such stories have become increasingly common. Through simply opening one’s eyes and caring about making a difference, individuals have made change happen. When one thing doesn’t work, new ones are tried. In this way, education is constantly improving.
Jeff Skoll, Founder and Chairman of the Skoll Foundation has expressed the importance of these social entrepreneurs around the world.
On their site, it is stated that it has become, “the premier global event for social entrepreneurship…the Forum has increasingly become a showcase to highlight large scale impact that social entrepreneurs are having on the big challenges facing the planet.”
By connecting social entrepreneurs with the resources and connections they need to improve conditions, the Skoll Foundation helps millions experience the impact of positive change.
In short, these entrepreneurs are alike in a fundamental thought process. As Skoll puts it, “I believe “a lot of good comes from a little bit of good,” or, in other words, where the positive social returns significantly outstrip the amount of time and money invested.”
– Katherine Martin
Sources: Schwab Found 1, Schwab Found 2, Ashoka, Skoll
Photo: Wikimedia