Sanders praised the pope’s remarks on ending poverty and economic inequality long before the pope arrived in the U.S. this September. Prior to the pope’s congressional address, Sanders celebrated the possibility of the pope addressing Congress.
In February this year, Sanders addressed the Senate, stating that the pope “shows great courage in bringing up issues that we rarely hear discussed here in the Congress.”
In the address, Sanders praises Pope Francis on his leadership. On multiple occasions, he read quotes from the pope to the Senate, publicly acknowledging his admiration for the religious leader.
“Pope Francis is clearly one of the important religious and moral leaders not only in the world today but in modern history,” he said. “He forces us to address some of the major issues facing humanity: war, income and wealth inequality, poverty, unemployment, greed, the death penalty and other issues that too many prefer to ignore.”
Sanders read a quote from the pope: “‘Today everything comes under the laws of competition and the survival of the fittest, where the powerful feed upon the powerless. As a consequence masses of people find themselves excluded and marginalized without work, without possibilities, without any means of escape.'”
Sanders continued by commenting on the quote: “My interpretation of what he is saying is that money cannot be an end in itself. The function of an economic system is not just to let the marketplace reign, and end up in a situation where a small number of people have incredible wealth, while so many people have virtually nothing.”
Sanders especially notes the pope’s comments about exclusion and marginalization when it comes to government austerity. He strongly disagrees with right-wing Republicans on the federal budget committee about their continuous cuts on public benefits like Medicare and Social Security.
He says that right-wing Republican austerity measures are “the Robin Hood principle in reverse. This is taking from the poor and working people, and giving it to the millionaires and billionaires.” Sanders instead argues for tax hikes on the wealthiest Americans.
Sanders welcomed the pope when he arrived, calling him “a brilliant man.” He voiced optimism at the thought of members of Congress taking to heart the pope’s remarks about inequality and poverty reduction.
Sanders has noted that income inequality has reached a point where the wealthiest in America are becoming richer while the impoverished are becoming poorer. He insists that “the pope is right in saying all of us must address the grotesque income and wealth inequality we are seeing throughout the world.”
Sanders urged lawmakers to think about the pope’s speech when discussing balancing the 2016 federal budget. “Give us a budget which works for the most vulnerable people in this country, which works for tens of millions of working families, and does not simply work for large campaign donors.”
Senator Sanders is currently in the running for the Democratic Party presidential nomination.
“I know that people think that Bernie Sanders is a radical… read what the pope is writing about because he is not only talking about poverty,” Sanders said, “he is getting to the heart of hyper capitalism, and he is saying, ‘Why as a society are we worshiping money?'”
– Michael Hopek
Sources: Senate, C-SPAN, MSNBC
Photo: Flickr
Bernie Sanders Praises Pope Francis on Poverty Reduction
In February this year, Sanders addressed the Senate, stating that the pope “shows great courage in bringing up issues that we rarely hear discussed here in the Congress.”
In the address, Sanders praises Pope Francis on his leadership. On multiple occasions, he read quotes from the pope to the Senate, publicly acknowledging his admiration for the religious leader.
“Pope Francis is clearly one of the important religious and moral leaders not only in the world today but in modern history,” he said. “He forces us to address some of the major issues facing humanity: war, income and wealth inequality, poverty, unemployment, greed, the death penalty and other issues that too many prefer to ignore.”
Sanders read a quote from the pope: “‘Today everything comes under the laws of competition and the survival of the fittest, where the powerful feed upon the powerless. As a consequence masses of people find themselves excluded and marginalized without work, without possibilities, without any means of escape.'”
Sanders continued by commenting on the quote: “My interpretation of what he is saying is that money cannot be an end in itself. The function of an economic system is not just to let the marketplace reign, and end up in a situation where a small number of people have incredible wealth, while so many people have virtually nothing.”
Sanders especially notes the pope’s comments about exclusion and marginalization when it comes to government austerity. He strongly disagrees with right-wing Republicans on the federal budget committee about their continuous cuts on public benefits like Medicare and Social Security.
He says that right-wing Republican austerity measures are “the Robin Hood principle in reverse. This is taking from the poor and working people, and giving it to the millionaires and billionaires.” Sanders instead argues for tax hikes on the wealthiest Americans.
Sanders welcomed the pope when he arrived, calling him “a brilliant man.” He voiced optimism at the thought of members of Congress taking to heart the pope’s remarks about inequality and poverty reduction.
Sanders has noted that income inequality has reached a point where the wealthiest in America are becoming richer while the impoverished are becoming poorer. He insists that “the pope is right in saying all of us must address the grotesque income and wealth inequality we are seeing throughout the world.”
Sanders urged lawmakers to think about the pope’s speech when discussing balancing the 2016 federal budget. “Give us a budget which works for the most vulnerable people in this country, which works for tens of millions of working families, and does not simply work for large campaign donors.”
Senator Sanders is currently in the running for the Democratic Party presidential nomination.
“I know that people think that Bernie Sanders is a radical… read what the pope is writing about because he is not only talking about poverty,” Sanders said, “he is getting to the heart of hyper capitalism, and he is saying, ‘Why as a society are we worshiping money?'”
– Michael Hopek
Sources: Senate, C-SPAN, MSNBC
Photo: Flickr
Game On! SOCCKET: The Energy-Harnessing Soccer Ball
In the remote village community of Abuja, access to reliable, environmentally friendly and affordable electricity is difficult to come by.
The village’s primary source of electricity is produced from gas-operated generators that kick out hazardous emissions. But an innovative company, Uncharted Play, intends to change this with the SOCCKET.
The SOCCKET is an energy-harnessing soccer ball that generates electricity through harnessing the kinetic energy created when it is kicked and played with.
With the look, feel and durability of a traditional soccer ball, the SOCCKET can produce more than three hours of light with as little as 30 minutes of play.
As an off-the-grid, internally powered generator, the airless ball is designed to be able to be charged and used anywhere by any age group. Because of this feature, the ball is a great tool for school children whose educations are often hindered by a lack of reliable light sources.
James Ajah Eiche, the proprietor of Ajah Villa Community Academy in Abuja, is a huge fan of the SOCCKET. “The most striking thing in this environment that we need is light. When there is no light, how do you read?” Eiche said. “Light is life.”
In a community where soccer is a favorite pastime of school children and adults alike, the SOCCKET has proven to be a smart platform for sustainable and renewable energy.
“This is the most modern type of production of electricity,” said Eiche. “It is not dangerous. It is portable. It is not dirty.” Since being developed four years ago, the SOCCKET has provided clean power to more than 35,000 families in Nigeria alone.
However, Nigeria is not the only beneficiary of the product. Uncharted Play hopes to bring the SOCCKET to developing nations throughout the world, bringing sustainable power to the nearly 1.2 billion people who don’t have access to reliable or affordable energy sources globally.
“Just a little bit of power can make such a huge difference,” said Jessica Matthews, co-inventor of SOCCKET.
The company is so passionate about making the SOCCKET more readily available to children in developing nations that with every purchase of Uncharted Play’s energy-harnessing products, one is donated to a child in need.
“In a world where there are very few win-wins, this one is a win-win and it’s a good one.”
– Claire Colby
Sources: Play, USAToday
Photo: Uncharted Play
FACE Africa Fights Poverty in Liberia through Education
FACE Africa, a nonprofit created by Liberia native Saran Kaba Jones, works to end poverty by alleviating Liberia’s water crisis through educating future leaders.
The organization uses hands-on projects to implement water and sanitation facilities, as well as educate youth about proper health and hygiene rituals. Each year, 12,000 more people gain access to clean water, 25 communities are served and over 200,000 hours of productivity is saved.
Saran Kaba Jones left Liberia when she was eight years old to escape the civil war that killed thousands of people and left millions without a place to live. Jones returned to Liberia in 2008 with a plan to lift under-served communities out of poverty.
Originally, FACE stood for Fund a Child’s Education, but Jones and her colleagues soon realized that the lack of clean drinking water was the number one impediment to a child’s education.
Soon after, they switched gears and focused their efforts on increasing the amount of clean water and sanitation in Liberia and other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.
FACE Africa uses local resources, materials and labor to come up with solutions for this global epidemic. Once these solutions have proven to be sustainable, FACE Africa transfers ownership of their solutions to locals in Liberia.
Some of their methods include building wells, creating systems to clean water and educating individuals on proper hygiene techniques.
FACE Africa differs from many nonprofits because they form lifelong partnerships with the communities they help. Their mission is to provide 100 percent water coverage to all of Sub-Saharan Africa.
This may require employees at FACE Africa to walk many miles to reach villages cut off from roads and to fetch sand and rocks to build sustainable wells, but the team still strives to incorporate better sanitation systems within remote villages.
Since 2009, FACE Africa has hosted the annual WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) Gala event. This year, the gala’s goal is to raise $300,000 in support of clean water in Africa.
The gala connects FACE Africa with people from around the world who pull together and combine their efforts to assist those facing challenges with water. FACE Africa continues to help Liberians gain access to clean water to this day.
Since its creation in 2010, FACE Africa has successfully launched multiple projects and has assisted many towns all across Liberia.
– Julia Hettiger
Sources: Face Africa, Black Enterprise, CNN
Photo: Pixabay
What Exactly Does Sustainable Mean?
The goals focus on reducing hunger and inequality as well as increasing good health, quality education and economic growth around the globe. All of this must be done sustainably. But what exactly does sustainable mean?
The word sustainable or sustainability is used more than 75 times in the SDGs and has really become a buzzword among ecologists, researchers and policy makers.
Douglas Beal, who is the managing director of the Boston Consulting group, points out that sustainability was first used in the business world and really just means “longevity—something that can continue.”
The programs and public policies developed and instilled to accomplish the standards set through the SDGs must be able to be maintained long term in order to make prolonged effective progress.
While the SDGs are a recent set of targets, sustainable development is not a new goal.
The concept first appeared during the World Commission on Environment and Development’s report Our Common Future in which they stated that sustainable development is that which “meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”
So while we need to feed people through agriculture in order to end hunger and starvation, we must also ensure that we do not deplete natural resources in the process.
These conflicts occur in almost every aspect of our social, political, economic and environmental spheres, which is why development goals must balance meeting our current needs while still guaranteeing that we can continue to meet those needs in the future.
Some of the ways we can work to avoid depletion is through innovations that create renewable and clean energy. Natural resources are limited; they take far more time to be replenished than the amount provided by how fast we need them. Therefore, part of the sustainable aspect of our future will need to include renewable energy.
Sustainability is more than a noble goal or a catchy buzzword, it is a requirement for creating development that not only lasts but also improves our global policies and thereby our future.
– Brittney Dimond
Sources: World Bank, Global Giving, NPR
Photo: Flickr
Peru and Ecuador Team Up to Fight Chikungunya Fever
Reports of Chikungunya Fever are on the rise in Peru, raising concerns at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The CDC has added Peru to the Level One Watch List for Chikungunya Fever, as the disease moves toward epidemic proportions in the country. The Peruvian Ministry of Health is taking precautions to limit the spread of the disease in the country, which may have spread from neighboring countries.
Minister Velasquez of the Peruvian Ministry of Health and Minister Candace Vance of Health Ministry of Ecuador have signed an agreement to jointly fight the disease. This agreement allowed Peru to identify the first indigenous case of Chikungunya Fever.
The Peruvian Ministry of Health of has put together a national plan to combat the disease including a surveillance agency MOH to monitor infectious disease coming across the border. They have also placed an epidemiological fence in areas where the disease is prevalent and spray shops and homes to eradicate the disease.
In partnership with Ecuador, the are closely monitoring outbreak and implementing vector control in areas where the outbreaks arise in. Ecuador has suffered more than 15,000 cases of Chikungunya Fever this year alone.
Across Latin America, rates of mosquito-borne disease are increasing; the joint action plan between Ecuador and Peru marks a first step in interstate cooperation to combat mosquito-borne diseases.
Chikungunya fever, much like malaria, Yellow fever, Typhoid fever and Dengue is spread by the bite of a mosquito. Chikungunya symptoms begin about 3-7 days after being bitten by the Aedes Egypti mosquito.
The symptoms include fever, joint pain, headache, muscle ache, rash or swelling. These symptoms left untreated can severely disable an individual. Symptoms can last anywhere from a week to a month depending on the severity of the case.
– Robert Cross
Sources: CDC, EL Universo, Outbreak News Today, PMOH, Peru This Week
Photo: Información desde América Latina
The International Poverty Line Increases
In October 2015, the World Bank raised the international poverty line from $1.25 to $1.90 per day.
The international poverty line was originally introduced in 1990 and is determined by combining national poverty lines from the world’s poorest nations. From there, the World Bank uses Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) rates to convert the poverty line into U.S. dollars and currencies of other developing countries.
The international poverty line has become the benchmark for policy goals regarding poverty, including the U.N.’s Millennial Development Goals (MDGs) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Every few years, the Independent Comparison Program (ICP) publishes new sets of PPPs, reflecting both changes in relative price around the world and methodological changes.
Beginning in 1991, PPPs from 1985 created the very first international poverty line at $1 per day. Since then, new sets of PPPs have been published in both 1993 and 2005, increasing the international poverty lines $1.08 per day and $1.25 per day, respectively.
Using PPPs from data collected in 2011, the international poverty line increased is now set at $1.90, based on an increase in the cost of living globally
Today’s poverty line reflects accurate costs of food, clothing and shelter needs around the world. Based on data from the World Bank, more than 700 million people still live below the poverty line compared to 900 million in 2012.
While extreme poverty has decreased over the past 10 years, organizations similar to The Borgen Project are essential in raising awareness for the continued struggle to end poverty.
New data regarding global poverty will be collected in April 2016 and will determine how well efforts to eradicate poverty have paid off.
– Alexandra Korman
Sources: Jagran Josh, The World Bank
Photo: The Guardian
Korea Battles Blindness in Cambodia
When Cambodia fell into chaos and eventual civil war in the 1960s, it lost more than government stability. With war came the loss of reliable healthcare, which left its citizens without proper treatment. Chemical weaponry and blunt force resulted in the widespread development of glaucoma, a buildup of pressure on the eyes that can cause total blindness.
Blindness in Cambodia is especially devastating because of the extensive rice production within the country. Agriculture pulls in a lot of Cambodia’s profit, and many households rely on it for a living. If a family breadwinner is unable to work in the fields, it is difficult to remain above the poverty line.
The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) has taken action to assist Cambodia‘s efforts in assisting the visually impaired by offering support to the country’s healthcare infrastructure.
The goal of KOICA is “pursuing harmonization with global partners to reduce poverty and improve the quality of life in developing countries.” It is fulfilling this goal in Cambodia by educating Cambodians about glaucoma and other vision impairments. Glaucoma is preventable if treated in time, but awareness and accessibility are lacking. KOICA hopes to change that.
Korea donated $5.5 million to the Cambodian-Korean Friendship Eye Center to the Preah Ang Duong Hospital in Phnom Penh. The eye center contains 52 beds within four stories, as well as high-quality modern equipment.
“The successful operation of this modern Eye Center is expected to contribute to the blind prevention rate, improve eye care services and capacity of the ophthalmic research,” according to the KOICA Cambodia website.
On May 13, Cambodia completed the construction of the new wing. The Cambodian-Korean Friendship Eye Center offers timely treatments to victims of vision impairment. Furthermore, it trains doctors to better diagnose and help their patients.
– Sarah Prellwitz
Sources: Global Security, KOICA Cambodia 1, KOICA Cambodia 2, KOICA Cambodia 3, KOICA Cambodia 4, WEBMD,
Photo: Flickr
Zimbabwe Education System Improves
According to recent statistics provided to UNICEF by the Zimbabwe Ministry of Education, about 2 million children are attending school throughout the country.
However, despite this seemingly good news, the classroom environment provided in the Zimbabwe education system suffers from a chronic lack of funding. In many classrooms throughout the country, they go without the proper facilities, materials and supplies for students to learn. In addition, the Zimbabwe education system’s curriculum is considered unbalanced and leaves students unprepared for higher education.
In response to this crisis in education, in 2013 the government of Zimbabwe instituted a series of reforms to revitalize the education system, including a review and overhaul of the curriculum.
An article titled “Education: Literacy is not enough,” published by the Zimbabwe Independent in 2014, states that the country maintains a literacy rate of approximately 90 percent, making the people of Zimbabwe among the most learned African scholars.
However, despite the growing literacy rate in Zimbabwe, very few people pass the national exams. The Ordinary Level Exams are the country’s measure of competence – roughly the equivalent of high school exit exams.
As seen in a report by UNESDOC, the United Nations Development goals for Zimbabwe for 2013-2015 show that education is a clear priority for development. The UN’s goals for the education system in Zimbabwe are to:
But challenges remain. A story published by National Public Radio recounts the tale of a 14-year-old girl who was held back from attending school because of the fees. Government schools charge about $40 to $90 per child to attend. In poorer areas of the country, the families just cannot afford it.
An article by the African Report has the dropout rate at roughly 43 percent of students, forced out of school because they cannot not pay the government fees. This amounts to about 13,000 students in Zimbabwe last year.
Finding qualified teachers is yet another significant obstacle for the education system in Zimbabwe.
The United Nations is working closely with the government of Zimbabwe to help rectify these issues. The international community through the United Nations is committing $166.2 million to ensure that primary school children receive a proper education.
– Robert Cross
Sources: African Economist, Education Zimbabwe, The African Report, The Independent, United Nations 1, United Nations 2, UNICEF
Photo: African Economist
Tiny Hands International: Saving Young Lives
Tiny Hands is headquartered in Nebraska and operates in Nepal, Bangladesh and India. The organization targets poverty-stricken areas of the world and focuses on child ministries and human trafficking.
The prevalence of drug abuse among orphaned, abandoned and abused children often results in a life of prostitution, disease and violence. Once identified, the organization places these children with a family in one of their dozen children’s homes in Southeast Asia.
The organization offers a plethora of unique programs that contribute to its success. Prevent a Second Tragedy is a program designed to help child victims of natural disasters. Young victims of natural disasters in developing countries tend to become vulnerable due to familial separation during the aftermath of these disasters.
In addition, Tiny Hands utilizes three primary methods to combat human trafficking: data collection and analysis, prosecution and intelligence-led investigations. Data collection and analysis are executed through interviews of human trafficking survivors.
The qualitative data allows the organization to compile valuable information. The method of transport, recruitment, the distance and destinations are examples of the areas of focus. These types of research allow the identification of trafficking trends and international networks.
The information collected is also useful in the prosecution of human traffickers. As of February 2015, the organization has been involved in providing supporting evidence for 28 cases that are legally active against human traffickers.
The last method that they use is intelligence-led investigations. The model of investigations that are normally conducted by NGOs is known as anti-trafficking missions.
These investigations are usually in destination or transit countries. The aim of these sort of investigations is to recover current victims of trafficking and, upon recovery of the victims, prosecution of the traffickers. The main target areas are those with large numbers of victims.
The organization’s methods are innovative and unique. The target of the research is to successfully identify the establishments, networks and structures which enable human trafficking.
The primary aim of the investigations is the prevention of human trafficking, intervention to help current victims and prosecution of human traffickers. Destination, source and transit countries with high rates of poverty are the locations of focus.
– Erika Wright
Sources: Non-Profit Facts, Tiny Hands International
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