Whole Planet Foundation, the nonprofit organization founded by Whole Foods Market, seeks to alleviate poverty in communities around the world that supply Whole Foods stores. All of the Foundation’s overhead costs are covered by Whole Foods Market, meaning 100 percent of donations go straight to community micro-lending programs.
According to the Kiva organization, “microfinance is a general term to describe financial services to low-income individuals or to those who do not have access to typical banking services.”
Microfinance encompasses a wide array of services, such as credit, savings and small loans services. Whole Planet Foundation focuses on the credit component of microfinance by supporting microfinance institutions that provide small business loans.
To ensure the efficacy and intentions of Microfinance Institutions (MFIs), Whole Planet Foundation conducts careful research. Field teams in each country first identify potential partners. After reviewing relevant information, the list of potential partners is shortened.
Each institution is visited in person by Regional Directors. The field visit allows the Foundation “to see first-hand the approach and practices of an MFI”. Once approved, MFIs are eligible to receive grants from the Whole Planet Foundation to service their clients.
The field visit allows the Foundation “to see first-hand the approach and practices of an MFI”. Once approved, MFIs are eligible to receive grants from the Whole Planet Foundation to service their clients.
The Whole Planet Foundation does not work with government-run MFIs which they have found to be “poorly run and corrupt”. The Foundation states that it has found “great success by working with MFIs with no government affiliation”.
At the same time, the Foundation acknowledges that microcredit is not a “silver bullet” that can address all the factors that contribute to global poverty. As the website notes, one loan doesn’t immediately lift a family out of poverty.
However, MFIs, when run correctly, can help people without jobs start and maintain their own businesses. MFIs give people the opportunity to invest in their own potential and create opportunities for themselves and their families.
Whole Planet Foundation currently supports over 1.3 million micro-entrepreneurs in 70 countries around the world. Of note, 87 percent of those reached globally are women. This investment has been met with success, boasting a repayment rate of 97 percent.
One entrepreneur who is benefitting from the program is a woman named Yajaris from Nicaragua. According to the Foundation, she heard about her local MFI, Pro Mujer Nicaragua, from a neighbor several years ago. She used micro credit loans as a way to expand her kiosk business. Yajaris added a variety of vegetables, drinks and cleaning supplies to her inventory.
Microloans also helped Yajaris to purchase a refrigerator and shelves on which to display the new items. Within just three years, according to Whole Planet Foundation, her kiosk doubled in size. Yajaris used her savings and an additional housing loan from Pro Mujer to build a two-room home. She rents out that property and is currently using the rental income to save up for another floor.
According to Kiva, the benefits of MFIs have been proven to go far beyond supporting small businesses. By providing people with opportunities to become self-sufficient, household economic welfare stabilizes, allowing families to better cope with the challenges they face. The success of female-run businesses, in particular, contributes to the increase in gender equality. As households succeed, communities can grow to become more empowered and educated.
– Taylor Resteghini
Photo: Flickr
“Africa Code Week” Seeks to Make a Sustainable Impact
In October 2015 nearly 89,000 African youth in 17 countries took part in “Africa Code Week” where they had the opportunity to attend free online sessions and coding workshops. The event was created to empower African youth to become fluent in the language of the digital age and stimulate the continent’s economic development.
For some of the youth who took part in the week-long celebration of digital literacy, Africa Code Week marked the first time they had ever written a single line of code. For others, it was their first time using a computer.
“Africa Code Week gives us an opportunity to marvel at what the future holds,” said Bill McDermott, CEO of SAP, in an article for Forbes. “It’s true that today less than one percent of African children leave school with basic coding skills. I’m confident that figure is about to rise dramatically, just as Africa prepares to claim its rightful place as a soaring economic power in this new digital economy.”
Throughout the world, coding is becoming an increasingly critical skill for those entering the workforce. Over the next 10 years, it is estimated that there will be 1.4 million jobs in computer sciences but only around 400,000 graduates qualified to do them, according to International Business Times.
As we wind our way deeper into the 21st century, individuals with coding skills will become more and more valuable in the workplace. Digital literacy could become a key strategy for strengthening economic infrastructure in developing countries.
“Digital literacy has the power to put millions of young Africans on the path to successful careers,” Moroccan Minister of Education and Vocational Training, Rachid Belmokhtar, said to IT News Africa. “Trained, tech savvy graduates are needed to improve Africa’s position in the globally competitive knowledge economy. Everyone from governments and educational institutions all the way to NGOs and corporations has a role to play to spread digital literacy across Africa.”
It was foundations like Ampion, SAP, Simplon.co and more that saw the need and came to help. They founded Africa Code Week to bestow young Africans with a set of useful skills through hands-on teaching.
Despite the fact that the event is the largest digital literacy initiative ever held on the African continent, SAP and its partners are not satisfied. Next year, the Africa Code Week team hopes to reach 150,000 youth in at least 30 countries.
“The digital economy is here and the opportunities it presents are manifold,” said Pfungwa Serima, Executive Chairman, SAP Africa. “If we equip young Africans with the best technology, give them skills that make them relevant to the job market and empower them to be bold and innovative, we’ll see them do amazing things.”
– Jen Diamond
Photo: Flickr
Making the Link: Technology & Education in Sub-Saharan Africa
In Sub-Saharan Africa over 56 million people between the ages of 15 and 24 have not completed primary school education, according to a UNESCO report.
In addition, 30 million children are not attending primary school and 22 million teenagers are not enrolled in secondary school.
At the same time, however, the mobile phone penetration rate stands at 73 percent. “More households in developing countries own a mobile phone than have access to electricity or improved sanitation,” states a World Bank report.
Due to the easy access to technology in developing regions, connecting technology with education is a logical solution. The only challenge is how to adopt this strategy. In the past, large “umbrella” initiatives have proven ineffective, because of the very varied contexts in which they are implemented.
However, regionally-tailored, context appropriate technologies to narrow the education gap are being developed and utilized across sub-Saharan Africa.
The Kio Kit is one potential solution. The Kio Kit, which runs on BRCK, a mobile Wi-Fi and storage device, consists of 40 Kio tablets and headphones. “If it works in Africa, it’ll work anywhere,” is one of BRCK’s creator, Erik Hersman’s, catchphrases.
The Kio Kit was first launched in Kenya. The tablets have enough battery to manage the typically intermittent power in rural areas. Each one can run for 8 hours on a single charge.
A mix of the Kenyan educational curriculum and some international content is already pre-set on each Kio tablet. To stop students from roaming the Internet while in class, the tablets do not offer network connectivity. However, when connected to BRCK (thought as of the “brains” of the Kio Kit), tablets can be updated with new information and software. The BRCK has a sim card and options to have an ethernet connection.
As stated on the BRCK website, the Kio Kit sells for $5,000 and a Kio Tablet for $100. They are also available for purchase online, making them easily accessible.
“We knew if we were going to look at education seriously, we need to look at this with a solutions-based approach,” said Hersman. “The fact that most [existing] tablets have power cables you have to plug in and out – it doesn’t work for teachers. Little things make a big difference when you get to a classroom.” BRCK and Kio Kit have the potential to improve the education and futures of many children in different parts of the developing world.
– Michelle Simon
Photo: Flickr
SolarAid: Addressing the Energy Crisis in Malawi
In Malawi, only nine percent of the population is connected to the electricity grid. In rural areas, this number drops to one percent. In a country with a population of 16.7 million, growing at three percent a year; this is not sustainable.
The country’s economic and social development will slow drastically, if the energy crisis in Malawi persists.
According to a report by the BBC, the Malawian government is attempting to connect more people to the grid by opening the energy market to independent producers. Although this will make a significant difference, it comes at a price.
Malawi’s Energy Minister, Bright Msaka, said that Malawi could produce an extra 200 Mega Watts of solar energy by 2019, adding to the current capacity of 300 Mega Watts.
In the meantime, SolarAid is providing a cheaper and cleaner solution to the energy crisis in Malawi through its solar-powered lamps which can also charge mobile phones.
According to the charity’s website, many households in countries across Africa use homemade kerosene lamps. These are dangerous, emitting toxic black smoke; they are a weak light source and on average use up a significant portion of a family’s household, budget.
“A solar lamp is a compact, portable device that uses a photovoltaic panel to produce up to 10 watts of power,” according to a statement on SolarAid’s website. They typically take eight hours to charge, but can emit light for several hours.
The charity has introduced a pay-as-you-go ownership system at a cost of $12. In order to make the lamps more accessible, the organization offers a payment plan over the course of 3 or 4 months.
SolarAid’s social enterprise, SunnyMoney, is the largest distributor of solar lights in Africa. SunnyMoney has worked with Powered World Initiative USA to provide more students with solar lights that can make studying at home much easier.
“The amount of light that you get is linked to the amount of money you pay,” said Brave Mhonie, the national sales co-ordinator for SolarAid, in an interview with the BBC. While this is not a sustainable long-term solution, it is a strategy that can provide many with electricity, when they otherwise would be unable to access it.
The lamps help to address the energy crisis in Malawi, by providing a much safer alternative to kerosene, candles, or battery-powered torches. So far, SolarAid has sold 1,844,592 solar lamps and counting.
– Michelle Simon
Photo: Flickr
World’s First Vaccine for Dengue Fever
Over the past several decades, the global health community has taken on the challenge of eradicating diseases such as polio, tuberculosis and malaria.
Dengue fever (pronounced den’gee), a mosquito-borne viral infection, is another agenda item, which the World Health Organization (WHO) notes “has rapidly spread in all regions” putting about half of the world’s population at risk.
Similarly, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) calls dengue fever a “leading cause of illness and death in the tropics and subtropics.”
The WHO estimates that nearly 400 million people are infected with dengue fever each year. Close to 500,000 individuals who have developed severe dengue fever or dengue hemorrhagic fever will require hospitalization and about “2.5 percent of those affected die.”
Symptoms of severe dengue fever include sharp abdominal pain, persistent vomiting, rapid breathing, bleeding gums, fatigue, restlessness and blood in vomit. The WHO highlights that the first 24-48 hours after initial symptoms begin can be lethal without proper medical attention and care.
Currently, there is no cure for dengue fever. However, the WHO has now approved a vaccination called Dengvaxia, which took 20 years to be developed at a cost of $1.8 billion.
Dengvaxia, developed by Sanofi Pasteur is being released in the Philippines this month in the first ever public immunization program for the virus. The Philippines has had the highest rates of dengue fever in the pacific region with over 200,000 cases reported in 2013.
A report in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer notes that the vaccination “prevents dengue hospitalizations by 80 percent and severe dengue cases by 93 percent.” The program was launched in Manila’s Marikina city to hundreds of public school children and is being administered in three courses, separated by six months.
The Philippines Health Secretary Janette Garin called the program a “historic milestone”. Garin continued, “We are the first country to introduce, adopt and implement the first-ever dengue vaccine through (the) public health system and under a public school setting.”
– Michael A. Clark
Photo: Flickr
Technology: Linking Advanced & Developing Economies
Social impact technology company, United Needs, works under the belief that the world is at its healthiest when interconnected. In order to disrupt cycles of poverty for rural farmers while simultaneously strengthening Earth’s food system, the organization is introducing new mobile technology to bring together advanced and developing economies.
In the next 34 years, the world will see an increase of 2.4 billion citizens. To feed this population the global food supply must increase by 69%, which means that finite agricultural resources must be used in the most effective way possible.
At the same time, the increase in population presents an exciting opportunity for smallholder farmers to play a large role in the expanding food economy. The United Needs website calls this “convergence of market forces” a chance for impoverished farmers to “grow their way out of poverty.”
In the current climate, small farmers in developing countries struggle with a variety of challenges. While small farms can be extremely productive, too few selling opportunities exist and farmers often lack access to traditional credit facilities. When market options are available, several levels of middlemen often consume most of the profit.
Research by the National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector showed that improving the financial state of the rural poor is one of the most effective ways of reducing poverty at the bottom rung of the financial ladder.
United Needs works on projects that seek to empower rural farmers as a means of alleviating poverty and building a sustainable food economy. Their methods involve breaking down barriers to profit by connecting developing economies directly with advanced ones.
With the motto “high tech with a high purpose,” United Needs keeps technology at the heart of its strategy. In order to “cut out the middleman” preventing smallholders from accessing credit and capital, the company created a mobile app that allows farmers to directly contact microfinance institutions and buyers. Customers interested in buying in bulk can bundle crops from multiple small farmers together to build large orders.
This high tech process is creating a more connected global economy by offering opportunities for advanced and developing economies to support one another through food production and consumption.
– Jen Diamond
Photo: Flickr
Whole Planet Foundation: Benefits of Microfinance Institutions
Whole Planet Foundation, the nonprofit organization founded by Whole Foods Market, seeks to alleviate poverty in communities around the world that supply Whole Foods stores. All of the Foundation’s overhead costs are covered by Whole Foods Market, meaning 100 percent of donations go straight to community micro-lending programs.
According to the Kiva organization, “microfinance is a general term to describe financial services to low-income individuals or to those who do not have access to typical banking services.”
Microfinance encompasses a wide array of services, such as credit, savings and small loans services. Whole Planet Foundation focuses on the credit component of microfinance by supporting microfinance institutions that provide small business loans.
To ensure the efficacy and intentions of Microfinance Institutions (MFIs), Whole Planet Foundation conducts careful research. Field teams in each country first identify potential partners. After reviewing relevant information, the list of potential partners is shortened.
Each institution is visited in person by Regional Directors. The field visit allows the Foundation “to see first-hand the approach and practices of an MFI”. Once approved, MFIs are eligible to receive grants from the Whole Planet Foundation to service their clients.
The field visit allows the Foundation “to see first-hand the approach and practices of an MFI”. Once approved, MFIs are eligible to receive grants from the Whole Planet Foundation to service their clients.
The Whole Planet Foundation does not work with government-run MFIs which they have found to be “poorly run and corrupt”. The Foundation states that it has found “great success by working with MFIs with no government affiliation”.
At the same time, the Foundation acknowledges that microcredit is not a “silver bullet” that can address all the factors that contribute to global poverty. As the website notes, one loan doesn’t immediately lift a family out of poverty.
However, MFIs, when run correctly, can help people without jobs start and maintain their own businesses. MFIs give people the opportunity to invest in their own potential and create opportunities for themselves and their families.
Whole Planet Foundation currently supports over 1.3 million micro-entrepreneurs in 70 countries around the world. Of note, 87 percent of those reached globally are women. This investment has been met with success, boasting a repayment rate of 97 percent.
One entrepreneur who is benefitting from the program is a woman named Yajaris from Nicaragua. According to the Foundation, she heard about her local MFI, Pro Mujer Nicaragua, from a neighbor several years ago. She used micro credit loans as a way to expand her kiosk business. Yajaris added a variety of vegetables, drinks and cleaning supplies to her inventory.
Microloans also helped Yajaris to purchase a refrigerator and shelves on which to display the new items. Within just three years, according to Whole Planet Foundation, her kiosk doubled in size. Yajaris used her savings and an additional housing loan from Pro Mujer to build a two-room home. She rents out that property and is currently using the rental income to save up for another floor.
According to Kiva, the benefits of MFIs have been proven to go far beyond supporting small businesses. By providing people with opportunities to become self-sufficient, household economic welfare stabilizes, allowing families to better cope with the challenges they face. The success of female-run businesses, in particular, contributes to the increase in gender equality. As households succeed, communities can grow to become more empowered and educated.
– Taylor Resteghini
Photo: Flickr
How Extreme Poverty Decreased 80 Percent Since 1980
Originally from Seattle, Brooks dropped out of college early in his life to become a professional French horn player. His curiosity about a 1970’s National Geographic cover led him to research the fight against poverty.
He found that “there’s been an 80 percent decline in the world’s worst poverty,” which can be defined as those living on less than a $1.25 a day. Brooks attributes the improvement of 2 billion lives to the economic power provided by the capitalist system, a “policy” that both conservatives and liberals can get behind.
In his presentation, he highlighted five main reasons why capitalism provides the best environment for growth and prosperity: globalization, free trade, property rights, rule of law and entrepreneurship. All of these aspects of a free market emphasize economic freedom in the lives of the people who live under it.
“Capitalism is not just about accumulation,” he said during his talk. “At its best, it’s about aspiration.” Most important of all, economic freedom is something that both parties can get behind and support. It was, after all, President Obama who uttered the conservative’s favorite quote: “Free markets have created more wealth than any system in history. They have lifted billions out of poverty.”
While studies have shown that liberals and conservatives focus on different political topics, their affinity for free markets should still unite them against poverty and for freedom. Psychologists have identified a phenomenon called “political motive asymmetry” where individuals think their ideology is motivated by love and the opposite is motivated by hate.
Evidence provided by a U.N. study and a Fraser Institute study indicates that poverty decreases when economic freedom increases. More specifically, the U.N. report highlighted a 25 percent decrease in the number of people in extreme poverty between 1981 and 2005. At the same time, the Fraser Institute reported a 29 percent increase in economic freedom from 1980 to 2013.
Brooks continued his speech by challenging both liberals and conservatives to embrace arguments that they might typically be opposed to hearing. “I’m asking you and I’m asking me to be the person specifically who blurs the lines, who is ambiguous, who is hard to classify,” he says. Ending the divisiveness of the party system is only possible with divergent ideological thinking.
The current political environment in the U.S. can often limit the government’s ability to fight global poverty. Bipartisanship means compromise. In order to assist millions of those in extreme poverty, the mobilization of relief must come from both sides with productive dialogue and a collaborative attitude.
– Jacob Hess
Photo: Flickr
Addressing the Imminent Famine in Yemen
According to the BBC, in September 2014, years of civil and sectarian strife reached a climax in Yemen. Houthi rebel forces took control of Yemen’s capital, Sana’a.
Last year, a coalition of Arab states led by Saudi Arabia began a military campaign to force the Houthis from power and reinstate President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi.
The ensuing chaos has enabled extremist groups, including al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, to infiltrate the country and carry out terrorist attacks.
Long-Standing Food Insecurity
Even before the fighting began, the country was importing over 90 percent of its food. Now, conflict has strained trade and access to goods.
According to the Business Insider, aid groups blame the current food crisis on a lack of access to Houthi-controlled ports caused by obstacles imposed by the Saudi-led coalition. Houthi forces have also been accused of intentionally disrupting supplies from reaching some communities.
The U.N. estimates that 19 million people lack access to clean water and 7.6 million are considered to be food insecure. The looming development of famine in Yemen threatens to increase these numbers.
Fighting Malnutrition
Malnutrition has made children in particular more vulnerable to illness. Before the conflict, about 40,000 children under age five died from preventable diseases each year, UNICEF reports. However, the organization estimates that 10,000 more have succumbed to disease in the past year because of a lack of access to clean water, health care and acute malnutrition.
In spite of these figures, the U.N. reports that it has been able to provide aid in most areas of the country. Food and millions of vaccinations have been administered but according to the U.N., this has only addressed the “most urgent needs.”
New Voucher Program
Earlier this month, the WFP began distributing vouchers to assist people living in Sana’a. The program is expected to reach 1 million people across the country by the end of 2016 by increasing the speed of delivery for assistance to families as well as by focusing on accountability.
WFP Representative Purnima Kashyap stated, “Vouchers also boost the local economy as we work with local suppliers to provide food.” Each voucher provides a family of six with a month’s supply of wheat grain, vegetable oil, salt and sugar, as well as protein-rich Wheat Soya Blend.
The WFP is partnered with 13 other organizations in Yemen, including CARE International and Save the Children. CARE International has not only focused on providing food security but also in establishing community self-help and women’s empowerment. Save the Children has additionally advocated for the care and protection of children, mainly through education efforts.
UNICEF’s representative in Yemen, Julien Harneis, says the organization has appealed for $180 million to finance its programs in Yemen in 2016. So far UNICEF has received just 18 percent of that amount. As the U.N. pushes for another round of peace negotiations, additional attention and aid are required to prevent famine in Yemen and assist the estimated 80 percent of people in need of humanitarian aid.
– Taylor Resteghini
Photo: Flickr
Heat Wave in India to Cause Massive Crop Loss
Approximately 300 people have died in the past month as a result of the deadly drought and heat wave in India. A large portion of the nation is undergoing extreme droughts and record-breaking temperatures, with the two hottest months of the year yet to ensue.
India is experiencing one of the worst water crisis it has had in years. A quarter of the population currently suffers from drought due to the failure of the past two monsoons to provide adequate water supply.
Armed guards now protect any water available from desperate farmers who constantly attempt to steal the valuable resource. As Purshotam Sirohi states, “water is more precious than gold in this area.”
Last month, authorities in India had to prohibit large gatherings at water collection sites in order to dispel the water riots. Gates were placed outside of water tankers and the police continually deal with skirmishes over the water supply.
For the past six to eight months, the poorer population has waited outside of water tankers overnight to fill up containers of water. After the water sites began to dry up, this extended to the rest of India as well.
To prevent the situation from worsening, authorities have begun to haul in trucks packed with water to provide for the citizens. However, this cannot alleviate the effect that the drought has on many citizens’ livelihood.
The farmers throughout India rely on the yearly monsoons to produce enough water to satisfy their crops, since the country lacks a highly functional irrigation system. Water shortages for the past two years have caused many farmers’ crops to dry up and the land to become far less arable for future seasons.
The drought and heat wave in India have eliminated many of the key resources that the country is largely dependent on. Those who live in the poorer areas of rural India have taken a significant hit from the rising temperatures and water crisis which has worsened the pre-existing social and economic conditions that these citizens suffer from.
A sizable portion of India’s population of poor rural workers is now migrating toward cities and populated towns to find water and to make up for their financial losses. Although many are able to find work in cities, migration leaves a lack of resources flowing from the rural areas which has a negative impact on the everyday functioning of the country.
However, this drought and heat wave in India has done more than eradicate the crops. The temperatures of over 113 degrees Fahrenheit have caused deaths across the nation. Schools have been forced to close as a result of dangerous conditions and outdoor activities have been temporarily stopped.
Though the citizens have felt the consequences of the extreme heat wave, the hottest months of May and June are still to ensue. There is hope on the horizon, though, as experts in India claim that the coming rainy season is expected to be significantly greater than those in the past.
– Amanda Panella
Photo: Youtube
How You Can Help Ecuador’s Earthquake Victims
On April 16, a 7.8-magnitude earthquake devastated Ecuador, with an epicenter in the coastal town of Esmeraldas. Since the initial impact, Ecuador’s earthquake victims have experienced 23 small aftershocks, including a 6.1 level quake the following Thursday, April 21.
According to CNN, the fatality count, as of April 23 had reached 654, though the number continues to climb as rubble is removed and missing bodies are found. In addition, Ecuador’s Risk Management Office reported that 56 people remain missing, close to 12,500 have been injured and 26,100 people are currently housed in shelters.
In response, dozens of aid teams—including the USAID, UNICEF, UNHCR and other international relief organizations—are providing assistance to the afflicted regions.
This kind of on-the-ground work is not only praised but necessary. However, how can individuals globally contribute to helping Ecuador’s earthquake victims?
Hundreds of philanthropists, confined to home countries and time restrictions, have created grassroots pages, including Gofundme and Kickstarter campaigns for the cause.
Below are several organizations to research and support, whether it be monetarily or through advocacy. They supply healthcare, food, water and protection for Ecuador’s earthquake victims.
UNICEF Ecuador Earthquake Relief Fund – With a focus on the safety and well-being of children, UNICEF’s relief fund allocates money towards necessity improvements—food, shelter, clean water—in conjunction with its mission toward the safety and well-being of affected youth.
UNHR Ecuador Emergency Fund – The response team details how specific monetary donations can benefit those in need:
The Catholic Relief Services Fund – In coordination with other humanitarian organizations, the Catholic Relief Services is raising money for emergency resources and efforts to improved communication.
The American Red Cross and Apple Partnership Fund – In a partnership between Apple and the American Red Cross, the former has created a donations page via iTunes to support relief efforts in Ecuador and Japan. The company specifies that donations are accepted via iTunes and the App Store on both iOS devices and computers. Apple announced that 100 percent of donations goes to the American Red Cross.
Global Giving Ecuador Relief Fund – In tandem with local organizations, Global Giving pledges to aid emergency response teams and survivor aftermath relief, in addition to funding longer-term, reconstructive projects. Their mission is as follows, “By funding the relief efforts of local organizations, donations to this fund have the potential to build stronger disaster-response capacity so that these organizations are better equipped to face future disasters. GlobalGiving will post reports about how funds have been used and will email these reports to donors and subscribers.”
These are a few ways in which individuals can assist Ecuador’s earthquake victims as the country focuses on rebuilding and restoration efforts.
— Nora Harless
Photo: Flickr