The following humanitarian quotes are from well-known humanitarians who shared their wisdom for helping others.
Humanitarian Quotes
1. “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’”
– Martin Luther King Jr., civil rights activist and clergyman
2. “If you can’t feed a hundred people, feed just one.”
– Mother Teresa, founder of The Missionaries of Charity
3. “Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it.”
– Mahatma Gandhi, Indian nationalist and civil rights leader
4. “Overcoming poverty is not a task of charity, it is an act of justice. Like Slavery and Apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings. Sometimes it falls on a generation to be great. YOU can be that great generation. Let your greatness blossom.”
– Nelson Mandela, anti-apartheid activist and former president of South Africa
5. “The destiny of world civilization depends upon providing a decent standard of living for all mankind.”
– Norman Borlaug, father of the Green Revolution and credited with saving over one billion people from starvation
6. “The fact is that ours is the first generation that can look disease and extreme poverty in the eye, look across the ocean to Africa, and say this, and mean it. We do not have to stand for this. A whole continent written off – we do not have to stand for this.”
– Bono (Paul David Lewis), lead singer of U2 and international philanthropist
7. “Since the world has existed, there has been injustice. But it is one world, the more so as it becomes smaller, more accessible. There is just no question that there is more obligation that those who have should give to those who have nothing.”
– Audrey Hepburn, actress and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador
8. “When we live in a world that is very unjust, you have to be a dissident.”
– Nawal El Saadawi, Egyptian feminist, writer, and psychiatrist
9. “To say that on a daily basis you can make a difference, well, you can. One act of kindness a day can do it.”
– Betty Williams, Irish activist and founder of the Irish peace movement, Community of Peace People
10. “The power of human empathy, leading to collective action, saves lives, and frees prisoners. Ordinary people, whose personal well-being and security are assured, join together in huge numbers to save people they do not know, and will never meet….Unlike any other creature on this planet, humans can learn and understand, without having experienced. They can think themselves into other people’s places….We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: we have the power to imagine better.”
– J.K. Rowling, author, philanthropist, and founder of the children’s charity, Lumos
– Jordanna Packtor
Sources: Brainy Quote, All That is Interesting, MSN Glo J.K. Rowling, Harvard Gazette, Nobelprize.org
Photo: Flickr
Education in Rwanda: Adieu Français, Hello English
Education in Rwanda has blossomed in the years following the Rwandan Genocide of 1994, currently boasting the highest primary school enrollment rates in the entire continent of Africa. The challenge now is to increase secondary school enrollment, which was only 28 percent in 2011 and get more students to enroll in higher education.
Rwanda’s educational system operates on a 6-3-3-4 system; there are six years of primary school, three years of junior secondary school, three years of senior secondary school and four (optional) years of university to obtain a Bachelor’s degree.
Children are instructed in three different languages in Rwanda: Kinyarwanda, English and French. Kinyarwanda is a Bantu language spoken by around seven million people in Rwanda. These official languages were established after the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) gained control of Rwanda’s government in 1994; many of the RPF’s members grew up in English-speaking Uganda and Tanzania.
Kinyarwanda is the primary language of instruction during the first three years of primary school. When children enter secondary school, most of their classes are taught in English. Prior to 2009, French was the principal language of instruction after year three of primary school. Now, French can be taken as an elective in both primary and secondary school.
Fluency in English, Claver Yisa of the Rwandan education ministry said, will help strengthen Rwanda’s ties with their English-speaking trade partners Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania, as well as help attract foreign investors in education in Rwanda—most of whom will speak English.
The switch from instruction in Kinyarwanda to English is difficult for some teachers, which is why Rwanda launched STEM (Supporting Teachers’ English proficiency through Mentoring). For effective learning, teachers themselves needed to be more fluent in the language they must teach. Their innovative and effective program earned Rwanda the prestigious Commonwealth Education Good Practice Award in 2015.
Yet there is still a long road ahead of Rwandan teachers, as they work to improve the English skills of students and themselves so more students can go on to further education in Rwanda and abroad. Students’ immersion in the English language has positioned them to be larger contributors to the global economy and will no doubt play an important role in defining Rwanda in the coming years.
– Bayley McComb
Photo: Flickr
10 Facts You Need to Know About Malaria
Malaria is a parasitic infection transmitted through the Anopheles mosquito, a genus found on every continent except Antarctica. Humans have known about malaria for thousands of years, but it remains one of the most threatening diseases in the world. Here are 10 facts about malaria and its epidemiology.
1. Malaria threatens almost half of the world’s population.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 3.2 billion people in at least 95 countries are at risk for malaria today.
2. Malaria killed nearly half a million people last year.
WHO estimates that malaria killed 438,000 people in 2015 and infected more than 200 million. Children under the age of five account for two-thirds of malaria deaths.
3. Pregnant women are at especially high risk.
Women who contract malaria while pregnant are more likely to die from the illness. The disease also threatens fetal health and can cause a variety of birth-related problems. Babies born to mothers who have malaria are likely to have health problems. According to WHO, malaria is responsible for one-third of all preventable low birth weight cases.
4. Africa suffers the most from the disease.
While malaria is endemic on four continents, Africa bears the brunt of the burden. Last year, Africa accounted for 89 percent of all cases and 91 percent of all deaths from malaria, the vast majority of which occurred in just 15 countries.
5. Drug resistance is an increasing problem.
When malaria patients don’t finish their full courses of treatment, the parasites can develop resistance to the drugs used to treat them. The development of drug resistance has always been an aspect of dealing with malaria, but scientists are reporting alarming multi-drug resistance in the Mekong region of Southeast Asia. The spread of a strain that doesn’t respond to the strongest drugs could undo years of work fighting malaria elsewhere.
6. Malaria reinforces poverty.
Malaria not only threatens people living in poverty; it exacerbates the problem. Where malaria is rampant, economic growth and development suffer enormously.
7. Climate change will expand the scourge of malaria.
Rising temperatures and increased rainfall and humidity will increase the range and number of malaria-carrying mosquitoes. Studies suggest that a rise in global temperatures of just two to three degrees Celsius could put hundreds of millions more people at risk for contracting malaria.
8. Malaria is easily treatable and preventable.
Preventing malaria is as simple as avoiding mosquito bites. Since the mosquitoes that transmit the parasite are nocturnal, sleeping under a bed net at night is generally an adequate prevention measure.
If detected early, malaria can be treated and cured with a course of prescription drugs in a matter of days. The disease becomes dangerous when it is not detected quickly and medicine is not readily available.
9. Globally, humanity is winning the battle.
In the last 15 years, malaria incidence has decreased by 37 percent among at-risk populations. In those same populations, death rates were more than halved. Additionally, the death rate among young children has gone down 65 percent.
10. Malaria can be eradicated.
Adult mosquitoes only live for one or two weeks, and they don’t travel far from the location at which they hatched. If communities have the means to prevent transmission completely, the disease can be erased locally in a matter of weeks. According to Bill Gates, the international community can, with some determination, eradicate the disease globally in the next two or three decades.
Global efforts have proven that eradication is possible. In the past decade, Europe eliminated its indigenous cases of malaria completely, and in September, WHO declared Sri Lanka, a country of more than 20 million people, malaria-free. If Gates is right, the rest of the world may soon follow.
– Charlie Tomb
Photo: Flickr
Recycling Plastic Waste: A Tool for Fighting Global Poverty
When brainstorming solutions for global poverty, it’s important to consider how we can use existing resources more efficiently. The world wastes far more resources than it needs to, and one major source of waste is plastic. Several entrepreneurs today are recycling plastic waste into productive materials.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), out of 32 million tons of plastic waste produced in 2012, only 9 percent was actually recycled. Plastic is pound-for-pound more valuable than steel, and letting so much of it go to waste is a real shame.
Several ideas for utilizing plastic waste to combat poverty have been implemented. For example, the company Plastic Bank pays people to collect plastic waste in exchange for practical items like food and clothing. This strategy removes plastic from areas such as beaches where it poses an environmental threat while simultaneously giving impoverished people a chance to earn things they need.
Plastic is a versatile material that can be used for a myriad of purposes. EcoDomum is a Mexican startup that collects used plastic materials with which to build housing. It takes the company about a week to make a house from recycled plastic materials, and one 430-square-foot unit costs around 5000 pesos (around $280 U.S. dollars) to build. The short amount of time and low cost required to build these houses make them an efficient tool for improving the living conditions of impoverished people.
While companies can utilize recycled plastic waste for large-scale construction jobs like this, it’s also possible to use plastic for small-scale local operations. A group of older women in Tennessee have made it their mission to make beds for the homeless out of discarded plastic bags. The women receive donated bags, cut them into strips and tie those strips into a sort of plastic yarn, which they then use to crochet sleeping mats.
Recycling plastic waste into productive materials positively impacts the environment as well as the world’s poor. It’s an enterprise that can be undertaken anywhere at both community and global levels.
– Edmond Kim
Photo: Flickr
Closing in on Food Insecurity in Morocco
According to a Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) report titled “The State of Food Insecurity in the World,” Morocco has made significant progress in the reduction of hunger.
The United Nations group reports that the nation has successfully achieved the Millennium Development Goal to cut the number of the population living in hunger by half in 2015. Addressing food insecurity in Morocco has been a priority with hunger levels currently below 5 percent.
The vast progress in hunger reduction that has earned the Northern African country praise from the United Nations is the result of an economic plan launched in 2008. “Plan Maroc vert,” a plan for a green Morocco (PMV), aimed to stimulate socioeconomic development through agriculture. The plan stipulated policies that maximized production from large-scale farms and supported small-scale farms in reducing poverty and hunger through venture capitalism.
Since 2008, several banks and international agencies have invested $12 billion have been in an estimated 700 mechanization, irrigation and soil fertilization projects.
The Moroccan ministry of economy estimates an additional $2 billion have been spent on 500 small-scale projects to help farmers bring more diversity to their businesses, increase harvest yields and experiment with new seed varieties. Private agricultural investment firms hope to bring Morocco’s fruit and vegetable export potential to fruition in Europe.
Agriculture makes up 15 percent of Morocco’s GDP, with up to 40 percent of the population working in the sector. As a result of the PMV, the agricultural industry has grown by approximately 7 percent, exports have increased by 34 percent and farmland use has risen by 11 percent. These production increases have contributed to decreasing the rate of hunger in Morocco from 7.1 percent and 4.6 percent two years ahead of schedule.
Despite the remarkable progress, some critics of the PMV believe the initiative has prioritized the interests of large-scale agricultural production firms over the needs of rural farmers living in poverty. The FAO reports that small-scale farmers, especially females, often find difficulty in obtaining financial support and technical training. The heavy reliance on rain for abundant harvests has also worried officials of the Morocco’s ability to recover from the effects of climate change.
However, the PMV has exposed neighboring countries to an alternative economic plan. “The plan Maroc vert has created an irreversible momentum without precedent,” Michael George Hage, an FAO representative in Morocco told the Guardian. “It has played a determining role in food security and is inspiring several other African countries.”
– Ashley Leon
Photo: Flickr
India’s Gender Gap in Literacy
As two-thirds of the world’s illiterate population or 496 million people are women, the gender gap in literacy rates remains conspicuous. The Guardian calls the gap “stubbornly unchanging” as gender inequality persists and overall literacy rates improve.
In the past 20 years, youth literacy rates have jumped from 83% to 91%, while the number of illiterate youth declined from 170 million to 115 million. Yet the difference between literacy rates for men and women has remained quite stable.
For instance, India’s gender gap is stark. The country holds the largest illiterate population and constitutes one-third, or 187 million, of all illiterate women around the world; there is a 24 percentage point difference between men and women. About 75% of Indian men have at least a basic level of literacy while 51% of women are literate.
This disparity in literacy rates remained persistent throughout the years according to data collected by India’s National Commission on Population. For example, in 1951, the literacy rate for males was 27% while just a mere 8% of women were literate — a 19 percentage point difference. In addition, in 1981, 56% of men were literate with a 30% literacy rate for women — a 26 percentage point difference.
Taking a Closer Look at India’s Gender Gap
As the gender gap remains stable although overall literacy rates are on the rise, this predicament is an interesting puzzle that requires a closer look at possible causes.
According to Planet Read, the following social factors have contributed to India’s gender gap:
It is obvious that abiding social and cultural norms have been a roadblock towards promoting a more balanced ratio in literacy rates.
In a report by the University of Maryland, College Park, Aparna Sundaram and Reeve Vanneman observed a counter-intuitive relationship between an increase in women’s labor force participation and literacy rates. In areas that promote the idea of women in the labor force, there are also lower rates in literacy and education levels.
One may assume that the participation of women in the labor force contributes to an equalization in women’s status and, thus, a decrease in the gap between men and women literacy rates. However, this does not seem to be the case. The solutions towards resolving disparity seem much more complex than simply promoting an equalized labor force.
As more education is provided to a society as a whole, the more likely it would be for the persisting gender gap in literacy rates to decrease. Sounds like a paradox, but it is a solution worth noting.
As literacy is tied to thriving economies, it is important to focus on improving the gender gap in literacy rates. According to data, an increase in literacy rates correlates with a decrease in the share of the population living in poverty — on less than $2 per day. Moreover, focusing on educating women more specifically would, according to Bloomberg, yield a “growth premium” in DGP trends around the world.
– Priscilla Son
Photo: Flickr
10 Quotes from Famous Humanitarians
Humanitarian Quotes
1. “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’”
– Martin Luther King Jr., civil rights activist and clergyman
2. “If you can’t feed a hundred people, feed just one.”
– Mother Teresa, founder of The Missionaries of Charity
3. “Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it.”
– Mahatma Gandhi, Indian nationalist and civil rights leader
4. “Overcoming poverty is not a task of charity, it is an act of justice. Like Slavery and Apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings. Sometimes it falls on a generation to be great. YOU can be that great generation. Let your greatness blossom.”
– Nelson Mandela, anti-apartheid activist and former president of South Africa
5. “The destiny of world civilization depends upon providing a decent standard of living for all mankind.”
– Norman Borlaug, father of the Green Revolution and credited with saving over one billion people from starvation
6. “The fact is that ours is the first generation that can look disease and extreme poverty in the eye, look across the ocean to Africa, and say this, and mean it. We do not have to stand for this. A whole continent written off – we do not have to stand for this.”
– Bono (Paul David Lewis), lead singer of U2 and international philanthropist
7. “Since the world has existed, there has been injustice. But it is one world, the more so as it becomes smaller, more accessible. There is just no question that there is more obligation that those who have should give to those who have nothing.”
– Audrey Hepburn, actress and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador
8. “When we live in a world that is very unjust, you have to be a dissident.”
– Nawal El Saadawi, Egyptian feminist, writer, and psychiatrist
9. “To say that on a daily basis you can make a difference, well, you can. One act of kindness a day can do it.”
– Betty Williams, Irish activist and founder of the Irish peace movement, Community of Peace People
10. “The power of human empathy, leading to collective action, saves lives, and frees prisoners. Ordinary people, whose personal well-being and security are assured, join together in huge numbers to save people they do not know, and will never meet….Unlike any other creature on this planet, humans can learn and understand, without having experienced. They can think themselves into other people’s places….We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: we have the power to imagine better.”
– J.K. Rowling, author, philanthropist, and founder of the children’s charity, Lumos
– Jordanna Packtor
Sources: Brainy Quote, All That is Interesting, MSN Glo J.K. Rowling, Harvard Gazette, Nobelprize.org
Photo: Flickr
Read global poverty quotes
Clean Drinking Water For All: Ethos Water
Ethos Water began in 2001 with the goal of helping children get clean water. Thum, the man behind the mission, founded the company after a business trip to South Africa where he saw the lack of clean water in many communities. Thum became consumed by the idea of creating a bottled water company that gave back to those in need of clean water; he then quit his job to pursue his plan.
Thum’s old classmate, Jonathan Greenblatt joined Thum in late 2002 to help create Ethos. Together they launched their bottled water company in August of 2003 and formed an organization called Ethos Water Fund to invest funds from their business into safe water programs.
With every bottle that gets sold, Ethos donates five cents (ten cents in Canada) to the Ethos Water Fund, in order to give clean drinking water to those who need it. Not only does Ethos donate money for clean drinking water, but it also raises awareness about the lack of clean drinking water in other countries.
In 2005 Ethos partnered with Starbucks in hopes to sell more water. Currently, a little over $12.3 million has been raised to give clean water to individuals who otherwise would not have it, according to Starbucks. That money will help over 500,000 people around the world.
In 2008 Ethos Water Fund and Starbucks Foundation decided to give two NGOs, CARE and Project Concern International, each $1 million over the period of three years from the Ethos Water Fund. These NGOs used that money to help support water, sanitation and hygiene education programs in water-stressed African communities, according to Starbucks. Collectively the expected benefits were estimated to help 54,000 people get access to clean water that previously did not have access.
CARE and Project Concern International were chosen to obtain these grants due to their emphasis on sustainability. Also, due to their agreement to not only provide access to clean water for villages but also to empower local residents to become part of the long-term solution.
CARE introduced sanitation and hygiene practices in Rwanda’s Musanze District while Project Concern International decided to focus their efforts on implementing low-cost, easy-to-maintain technologies in Tanzania’s Babati District.
These NGO’s were only able to do these fantastic acts of service through Ethos Water Fund. Howard Schultz, CEO, president and chairman of Starbucks, said “When our customers choose to buy Ethos water, they’re improving the lives of people who lack vital resources.”
In 2014 grants were made out to six NGOs in Tanzania ($750,000), Indonesia ($750,000), Colombia ($1.1 million), Guatemala ($480,000) and Nicaragua ($300,000). These grants have helped these countries gain clean water access and sanitation and hygiene education programs.
The effect Ethos water has had around the world is incredible, one single man’s idea which ended up helping thousands.
– Bella Chaffey
Photo: YouTube
Five Things to Know About Water Quality in Peru
Water quality in Peru is a major problem. According to water.org, four million Peruvians don’t have access to clean water. Tap water in Peru must be boiled for at least one minute or purified using other methods to be safe for drinking.
According to Scientific American, as water shortages cause crop failure, people in rural Peru move to the cities. Unemployment and poverty in these urban areas lead to problems involving mental health, alcoholism and domestic violence.
Modern technology is providing new sources of water in Peru, and efforts are being made to improve Peru’s water quality.
Water-Producing Billboard
The University of Engineering and Technology of Peru teamed up with an ad agency to construct a water-producing billboard in Lima. The billboard uses reverse osmosis to capture and filter water from the humid air, store it in 20-liter tanks and provide quality water for the people of Lima every day. In a three month period, the billboard dispensed 9,450 liters of water. This groundbreaking tool may be the first of many to come.
President Kuczynski’s Campaign
Newly elected president of Peru Pedro Pablo Kuczynski has announced a focus on improving health services and water quality in Peru. Kuczynski participated in the Hydroperu 2030 forum in August, in which innovative proposals aimed at establishing a clean water supply were presented.
Water for People-Peru
Water for People-Peru partners with local governments to collect data on water quality in Peru, hire officials committed to water sanitation and create effective improvement strategies. It also builds quality water facilities and has designed and implemented a water education curriculum in six schools.
Sanitation Sector Reform Law
Peru’s Sanitation Sector Reform Law now requires water utilities to conserve watersheds and consider climate change adaptations throughout their operations. This law may initially present some challenges, but in the long run, it may help create a more sustainable water supply.
Lima Water Fund
The Nature Conservancy has partnered with five other organizations to develop the Lima Water Fund. The fund’s focus is environmental conservation through the stabilization of existing slopes and lagoons and the reforestation of watersheds. This committee is working to provide water solutions now and protect the future through education and government partnership.
Government officials and aid organizations will continue to work together to improve water quality in Peru and design creative innovations, building stability for Peru’s future.
– Rebecca Causey
Photo: Flickr
Volunteering and its Effects on Empathy
A common reason for conflict, whether cultural, racial or economic is lack of empathy. The solution to this problem may be simpler than previously believed. An article on psychology website Spring suggests that empathy can increase with as little as two positive experiences with a group.
To collect their research, scientists paired Swiss people with people of Balkan descent. The Swiss-Balkan relationship has historically been tense due to anxiety about immigrants in Switzerland. In the experiment, Swiss participants expected to receive a painful electric shock but were rescued by people with traditional Balkan names.
The Swiss participants then received brain scans while observing other people being shocked. If earlier in the experiment a Balkan person had helped the Swiss person in question, the Swiss participant’s brain would demonstrate a similar empathetic response toward both Balkan and Swiss victims. If, however, the Swiss person had not had that positive encounter with a Balkan participant, he or she exhibited lower levels of empathy toward Balkan victims than towards Swiss victims.
According to this study’s researchers, “Our findings show that empathy with an out-group member can be learned and generalizes to other out-group individuals.”
How can these findings be applied globally? Simply put, they may indicate that volunteering can increase empathy. Not only can volunteering help reduce some of the immediate symptoms of global poverty; it can also decrease inter-group tension.
Bridging the gap preventing different groups from interacting with each other is an important step in reducing conflict. Volunteerism does just that by putting human relationships first. It places members of different communities that may never have had positive inter-community encounters in close proximity to each other. Positive volunteering experiences can lead to increased empathy and decreased conflict between them.
In an article by the New Zealand Red Cross, Warwick Armstrong, a volunteer driver for the Cross Town Shuttle wrote about the benefits of volunteering. The Cross Town Shuttle provides transportation for people in Christchurch who have no transportation means of their own. Armstrong said he enjoys the companionship his position provides.
“It’s good for your health!” he wrote. “It gives your empathy batteries a recharge”.
Volunteerism puts human relationships first and encourages personal interaction. It is a powerful tool for increasing empathy, and thus reducing tension, between groups.
– Jordan Little
Photo: Flickr
Education in Finland: A Model for Equality
Education in Finland is prestigious and public. After 40 years of education reform to propel the economy, Finland has created some of the finest students in the world. In 2000, they led in reading, in 2003, in math and in 2006, in science. Since 2009, they consistently rank at the top for each subject in the Programme for International Student Assessment.
Not only does education in Finland produce top tier students, but the country has also created an education system that works for everyone. About 93 percent of Finns graduate from high school, 17.5 percentage points higher than the US, and 66 percent go to college, the highest rate in the European Union. Yet, Finland spends 30 percent less on education than the US.
Even with their amazing achievements in education, however, Finland has not yet found a popular following in implementing similar policies within other countries. In Finland, there is only one standardized test, unlike the U.S. and many Asian countries, where standardized tests are taken every year to measure students. Science classes are capped at 16. In the U.S., however, poorer public school systems pack many students into underfunded science classes. Teachers are also required to have master’s degrees, which are fully subsidized by the government, while the U.S. expects a bachelor’s degree without providing subsidies.
Although Finland may strive for excellence in education, they primarily value equality, a value missing in many American and Asian education systems. Whereas gifted students are separated into higher level classes in the U.S., Finland keeps all students in the same classrooms, providing extra help to those who need it. There are no private schools in Finland as all schools are 100 percent publicly funded. Each student has equal access to free school meals, health care, psychological counseling and individual student guidance, regardless of socioeconomic background.
As opposed to the U.S., where a good education generally means sending your kids to private or charter schools if you can afford it, Finland provides an equal education for everyone. Rather than creating a market for certain individuals to buy the best quality education, Finland created the base of its education system to help everyone. As opposed to Asian cultures that stress constant studying and competition between students, Finland prioritizes the students’ learning desires and fostering cooperation. There are no rankings for best schools or students.
Among other factors, Finland also selectively chooses its teachers; there is a 7 percent acceptance rate in Helsinki, which encourages constant retraining for teachers, creates broad curriculum guidelines and focuses more on quality time in the classroom. Education in Finland is clearly more relaxed and equitable, yet they still consistently boast the best scores. Although expensive private schools and exhaustive studying may produce similar results, they are not the most efficient strategies for a both equitable and robust education system.
– Henry Gao
Photo: Flickr