Educating women is a powerful weapon in fighting global poverty. But those living in developing countries may not reach their full potential because they often do not receive a proper education.
Currently, females are underrepresented both in school enrollment and attendance in developing countries.
According to the book “Deprived Devis: Women’s Unequal Status in Society,” “The evidence is overwhelming that education improves health and productivity and that the poorest people gain most. When schools open their doors wider to girls and women, the benefits multiply.”
There are several indicators that reveal important patterns and trends in women’s education in developing countries, such as measures of literacy, enrollment status and years spent in school. The World Bank says, “Each of these indicators leads to the same conclusions: the level of female education is low in the poorest countries, with just a handful of exceptions, and by any measure, the gender gap is the largest in these countries.”
Literacy Rates
Literacy is one of the dominant objectives of education around the world. The ability to read and write is a human right; nonetheless, the literacy rates remain low among women, especially in developing countries.
Primary School Enrollment
UNICEF says that low adult literacy rates are a result of past under-investment in the education of women, specifically referring to primary school.
Dropout Rates and Years of Schooling
According to the World Bank, “Gross enrollment rates, which are usually reported for all primary and secondary classes, tend to mask some other important measures of educational progress. These include how many of the students remain in school, how many are promoted to the next grade, and how many complete each cycle.”
Secondary School Enrollment
Female enrollment at the secondary level has remained low in the developing world. Many women drop out during primary school or do not have access to the resources they need in order to attend secondary school.
Teachers Training
The lack of access to education in developing countries can also be blamed on the decline in teacher training. This diminution is due to the shortage of teachers in low-income countries. There are not enough resources to train individuals for this role.
Poverty
Poverty is also considered a major contributor. “If a family has limited funds and has to be selective on whom to send to school, more often than not, it is going to be the men,” according to UNICEF.
Cultural Practices
The machismo ideology still prevails in some developing countries — and adverse cultural practices also contribute to the lack of access to education. Females are more likely to stay home and learn how to be housewives and mothers.
Recently, a UNICEF spokesperson emphasized that “females are often shackled by gender roles and outdated traditions, with male privilege and entitlement ensuring that when educational opportunities are limited, men will take available classroom space. Gender roles and traditions that keep girls from school contribute an additional barrier to universal education: illiterate mothers.”
The speaker also added that UNICEF ensures children have access to a rights-based, quality education that is rooted in gender equality because it creates a ripple effect of opportunity that impacts future generations.
The United Nations identified the importance of universal education during the establishment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). In order to meet the goals, the World Bank said that “developing countries need to focus more on improving female enrollment and attendance of secondary and tertiary education as well as continuing efforts to improve women’s access to primary education.”
The U.N. recognizes three social benefits of providing females with education: better health care for women and their families, better maternal and infant health and outcomes, and finally, access to better jobs that help families and countries prosper. UNICEF adds that “All of these occurrences are imperative to global development, and they can be accomplished by educating females in developing countries.”
– Isabella Rölz
Sources: Google Books, The World Bank, UNGEI, UNICEF, United Nations
Photo: Women Thrive
Mexico’s Poverty Rate Increases
The number of Mexicans living in poverty increased by two million between 2012 and 2014, according to Reuters. These figures of Mexico’s poverty rate highlight the challenges President Enrique Peña Nieto is facing in meeting pledges to help millions in need.
President Enrique Peña Nieto Struggles with Mexico’s Poverty Rate
“With his six-year term half over, Enrique Peña Nieto is trying to rally public confidence in his government’s economic plan amid lackluster growth projections,” said International Business Times.
While his efforts have focused on making Mexico a competitive nation, “the government is flailing in its battle against staggering income inequality and poverty rates that have remained virtually unchanged over the past 20 years,” according to International Business Times.
In 2014, Mexico’s poverty rate increased from 45.5 to 46.2 percent, corresponding to 55.3 million people in the country of approximately 120 million, said a spokesperson for the government’s social development agency.
According to Oxfam Mexico’s executive director, “while the wealth of Mexican multimillionaires is multiplied by five, 48 percent of state schools have no access to sewage, 31 percent have no drinking water, 12.8 percent have no bathrooms or toilets and 11.2 percent have no access to electricity.”
Under Peña Nieto’s administration, the problem has only worsened. While many Latin American countries have diminished their levels of poverty, Mexico’s have continued to increase.
Peña Nieto recognizes that income inequality, global economic turmoil and corruption have prevented Mexico from both an economic boost and a diminished poverty rate.
Jonathan Foxx, a political science professor at American University in Washington, D.C. suggested that “neither inequality nor poverty reduction have been major priorities of this administration, nor the previous administrations.”
The government has been criticized for being too focused on attracting foreign investment and strengthening large-scale private industries, rather than concentrating on reducing its poverty rate.
Professor Foxx added that Mexico’s poverty rate remains the largest concern, regardless of wide income disparities. “If the government was more effective at reducing poverty, then people would worry less about inequality,” he said. “But since neither is getting better, it’s hard to disentangle.”
A major shift in focus and strategy is needed if Mexico is to succeed in combating its increasing poverty rate.
– Isabella Rölz
Sources: International Business Times, Reuters, World Bank
Photo: Flickr
The Cost of Education in South Africa
South Africa’s education system is badly managed and poorly equipped, with students performing far behind their African peers, according to World Policy Blog.
With the government failing to provide children with a decent education, private and fee-paying schools are becoming more popular. But not everyone can afford to access these superior schools. The City Press decided to calculate the cost of sending your child to one of these schools up to grade 12 in South Africa and here is what they found:
These figures were calculated based on a child who starts school in 2016 and finishes in 2028 — and include every necessity such as stationary, supplies, uniforms and boarding costs.
South Africa has struggled to provide affordable quality public education, but low-cost private schools are now on the rise and are providing alternatives to the high cost of education in South Africa.
Instead of private schools only available to the elite, low-cost private schools are providing education to middle and lower-income families who feel the state education system is failing their children. According to the Economist, there are some low-cost private schools that cost as little as $1 per week.
Due to inadequate public schools, these low-cost private schools have a much bigger share of primary school pupils in developing countries than in developed ones. Elsewhere in Africa, Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana, in particular, have also seen a large increase in the number of low-cost private schools opening, according to World Policy Blog.
Although the South African government has been criticized for not doing enough to address the issues with their education system, the expansion of these low-cost private schools provides the possibility of quality education to students who cannot afford to attend elite private schools or even the average fee-paying government schools.
– Jordan Connell
Sources: Business Tech, The Economist, World Policy Blog
Photo: Google Images
The Kellogg Family-Based Approach to Poverty
The Kellogg Foundation, founded in 1930 by Kellogg Company CEO Will Keith Kellogg, focuses on issues relating to child development, primarily in Haiti, Mexico, the U.S., Brazil and southern Africa. Within the U.S., the foundation concentrates on Michigan, New Orleans, New Mexico and Mississippi.
“Concentrating our resources on early childhood (prenatal to age 8), within the context of families and communities, offers the best opportunity to dramatically reduce the vulnerability caused by poverty and racial inequity over time,” states the foundation’s website.
To achieve this, the Kellogg Foundation focuses on the following three strategic goals:
Educated Kids: Increasing the number of children who are proficient in reading and math by third grade.
Healthy Kids: Increasing the number of children born at healthy birth weight and who receive the care and healthy food they need for optimal development.
Secure Families: Increasing the number of children and families living at least 200 percent above the poverty level.
Embedded in these goals are a commitment to civic and community engagement and racial equity. The foundation considers these elements to be essential if communities are to create conditions under which all children can thrive.
Under the rubric of Educated Kids, the Kellogg Foundation seeks to increase the support and training that educators receive in a bid to enhance their leadership skills and professional development and ultimately improve the quality of both teaching and learning.
In the category of Healthy Kids, the foundation focuses its grants on efforts to improve the health of mothers and families, increase breastfeeding rates, provide community-based oral health care and transform food systems.
And to ensure Secure Families, the Kellogg Foundation assists families with their financial and employment prospects, helping them to increase their economic and social mobility. “We help make connections to financial resources and job skills training, so that families can be debt-free, pay their bills and feel empowered to help their children succeed,” says the foundation’s website.
The foundation also stands for racial equity and social justice, seeking to stamp out structural racism: “Far too many children of color live in racially isolated neighborhoods in metropolitan areas, and in segregated rural and tribal communities across the United States,” the foundation says.
NonProfit Quarterly notes that efforts to change structural racism can be difficult for foundations to achieve: “It is easier to find and fund the mentoring and leadership development programs which, in many cases, are hardly new, than to pinpoint how to effectuate changes in institutional and public policies that sustain these structural inequities.”
In spite of these challenges, the Kellogg Foundation continues to work on improving the health and development of children around the world and in the U.S. as well as enhancing communities and striving for racial equity.
– Mayra Vega
Sources: WKKF, Nonprofit Quarterly
Photo: Flickr
Educating Women in Developing Countries
Educating women is a powerful weapon in fighting global poverty. But those living in developing countries may not reach their full potential because they often do not receive a proper education.
Currently, females are underrepresented both in school enrollment and attendance in developing countries.
According to the book “Deprived Devis: Women’s Unequal Status in Society,” “The evidence is overwhelming that education improves health and productivity and that the poorest people gain most. When schools open their doors wider to girls and women, the benefits multiply.”
There are several indicators that reveal important patterns and trends in women’s education in developing countries, such as measures of literacy, enrollment status and years spent in school. The World Bank says, “Each of these indicators leads to the same conclusions: the level of female education is low in the poorest countries, with just a handful of exceptions, and by any measure, the gender gap is the largest in these countries.”
Literacy Rates
Literacy is one of the dominant objectives of education around the world. The ability to read and write is a human right; nonetheless, the literacy rates remain low among women, especially in developing countries.
Primary School Enrollment
UNICEF says that low adult literacy rates are a result of past under-investment in the education of women, specifically referring to primary school.
Dropout Rates and Years of Schooling
According to the World Bank, “Gross enrollment rates, which are usually reported for all primary and secondary classes, tend to mask some other important measures of educational progress. These include how many of the students remain in school, how many are promoted to the next grade, and how many complete each cycle.”
Secondary School Enrollment
Female enrollment at the secondary level has remained low in the developing world. Many women drop out during primary school or do not have access to the resources they need in order to attend secondary school.
Teachers Training
The lack of access to education in developing countries can also be blamed on the decline in teacher training. This diminution is due to the shortage of teachers in low-income countries. There are not enough resources to train individuals for this role.
Poverty
Poverty is also considered a major contributor. “If a family has limited funds and has to be selective on whom to send to school, more often than not, it is going to be the men,” according to UNICEF.
Cultural Practices
The machismo ideology still prevails in some developing countries — and adverse cultural practices also contribute to the lack of access to education. Females are more likely to stay home and learn how to be housewives and mothers.
Recently, a UNICEF spokesperson emphasized that “females are often shackled by gender roles and outdated traditions, with male privilege and entitlement ensuring that when educational opportunities are limited, men will take available classroom space. Gender roles and traditions that keep girls from school contribute an additional barrier to universal education: illiterate mothers.”
The speaker also added that UNICEF ensures children have access to a rights-based, quality education that is rooted in gender equality because it creates a ripple effect of opportunity that impacts future generations.
The United Nations identified the importance of universal education during the establishment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). In order to meet the goals, the World Bank said that “developing countries need to focus more on improving female enrollment and attendance of secondary and tertiary education as well as continuing efforts to improve women’s access to primary education.”
The U.N. recognizes three social benefits of providing females with education: better health care for women and their families, better maternal and infant health and outcomes, and finally, access to better jobs that help families and countries prosper. UNICEF adds that “All of these occurrences are imperative to global development, and they can be accomplished by educating females in developing countries.”
– Isabella Rölz
Sources: Google Books, The World Bank, UNGEI, UNICEF, United Nations
Photo: Women Thrive
Electrify Africa Act Signed Into Law
President Obama has signed into law the Electrify Africa Act of 2015, which will bring electricity to millions in Africa.
About two-thirds of people in Africa do not have access to reliable power, according to BBC News. The Electrify Africa Act will establish a strategy to help sub-Saharan countries implement power solutions to promote economic growth and reduce poverty.
For people without electricity, simple tasks such as cooking or reading are complicated without a light source at night. Many people in Africa are also unable to use modern technologies, like cell phones or computers, or do basic tasks such as refrigerating food and medicine.
The lack of electricity causes some families in Africa to use fossil fuels or charcoal, which has a negative effect on the environment and health.
According to BBC News, House Committee on Foreign Affairs Chairman Ed Royce stated that this initiative will “improve the lives of millions in sub-Saharan Africa by helping to reduce reliance on charcoal and other toxic fuel sources that produce fumes that kill more than HIV/Aids and malaria combined.”
Power Africa was launched by President Obama in 2013. It took nearly two years for it to pass through the Senate and House of Representatives and become the Electrify Africa Act of 2015.
The U.S. initially invested $7 billion in the project but that number has since risen to nearly $43 billion. According to Voice of America, the high cost of energy in sub-Saharan Africa makes producing exports impossible, so it would be beneficial to the U.S. to help Africa become a major trading partner.
In addition to the U.S. government, African governments and private companies are involved in the development of the Power Africa initiative. The Electrify Africa Act provides a framework for companies to invest in African energy solutions.
The long-term goal is to double the amount of electricity available to people in sub-Saharan Africa, bringing electricity to 50 million people in the region by 2020.
– Kaitlyn Arford
Sources: BBC, Christian Science Monitor, Voice of America
How to Help Refugees and Displaced Populations
The surge of refugees fleeing conflict across the globe reached record numbers and drew widespread attention in 2015. The UNHCR reports that forcibly displaced populations are estimated to have reached nearly 60 million — up 15 million from 2012. Conflicts in Syria, Afghanistan and more than a dozen other regions have all contributed to the climbing numbers.
Forced displacement is rarely short-lived. In the same report, the UNHCR states that on average, refugees will remain displaced for 17 years. For some it will be shorter, others much longer, and for all it will be life-changing. Addressing what the UNHCR calls “A World At War” and what is repeatedly called a “refugee crisis” by the media will also not be short-lived.
Even as articles become dated and tales of flight and hardship are told and retold, the need for aid and compassion has not diminished. For those farther away from the conflict and displacement, here are five ways to help displaced populations and refugees:
1. Contribute to educational opportunities for refugees, displaced populations and populations affected by conflict.
2. Support an organization that is providing aid on the ground.
3. Help to improve refugee living situations.
4. Support medical services for displaced populations.
5. Volunteer locally as part of a global effort.
– Cara Kuhlman
Sources: Doctors Without Borders, Hand in Hand for Syria, The International Rescue Committee, Karam Foundation, Medical Teams International, NY Times 1, NY Times 2, Public Radio International (PRI), Save the Children, United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees (UNHCR), United Nations Volunteers (UNV)
Photo: Flickr
Fighting South Africa’s Number One Killer: TB
The Global Fund, a multi-partner financial institution dedicated to fighting the spread of malaria, HIV/AIDS and TB, began its efforts in January 2015 by partnering with 10 global leaders. This meeting outlined an effective paradigm shift in the way TB is diagnosed and treated in the country’s mining sector, where TB incidence rates are at their highest.
South Africa is one of the world leaders in TB prevalence, reporting 450,000 cases of active TB in 2013, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Among this population are those afflicted with HIV/AIDS, a disease which affects nearly 20 percent of the country’s population and greatly increases a person’s susceptibility to TB.
Historically referred to as “consumption,” TB today is a deadly social disease, transmitted within the poor air quality of communal settings. In 2011, a landmark improvement to the diagnosis and treatment strategy, the GeneXpert, was introduced in South African prisons and urban areas. This state-of-the-art device speeds up diagnosis time from several weeks to several hours, marking an important step in early-stage intervention.
The Global Fund estimates that due to either a lack of resources, fear of stigma or inadequate diagnostic technology, roughly one-third of the nine million annual cases of TB are missed. New technology for early diagnosis makes up one of a few key steps toward an effective method of eradicating a disease that starts in poverty-stricken regions but can also threaten international security.
Rita Grant, senior advisor and member of the Developing Country NGO Delegation, has praised framework which seeks to combat multi-drug-resistant TB (MDR-TB), also known as Vank’s Disease. WHO states that MDR-TB arises in populations that fail to complete the whole course of treatment, allowing bacterial mutation and transmission of that mutation to those not previously infected with TB. Because those infected with MDR-TB have a higher resistance, treatment costs are higher and recovery time is longer.
The Global Fund grant will address the factors of the highly affected mining population in South Africa, as well as attempt to control disease mutations and emulate their findings for global preventative techniques for the future.
— Nora Harless
Sources: allAfrica, The Global Fund, South African National Tuberculosis Association, Vaccine News Daily, World Health Organization
Photo: NewStatesman
Promoting Change Through Trash in Nairobi
Kimani, now a father of three, currently owns and operates a garbage recycling company, according to the Xinhua News Agency. He now earns about $30 a day selling recyclable trash in Nairobi. He has also hired five young people from similar backgrounds who face socioeconomic struggles.
Despite pressure from friends and family to pursue education, Kimani wanted to start a business. “I had done my own research and consulted widely with established players who convinced me that waste recycling promised returns. An older relative had earlier bought a car from the proceeds of garbage collection,” Kimani said.
According to UNICEF, approximately two-thirds of the population of Nairobi lives in informal settlements where they face issues of overcrowding, lack of health and educational resources, poor sanitation and social exclusion. According to ISID, only 12 percent of the households in the Nairobi slums have access to piped water.
Youth living in slums across Africa are less likely to attend school than children living in non-slum areas, according to the Institute for the Study of International Development (ISID).
The Nairobi county governor, Evans Kidero, honored Kimani’s young workers by agreeing to a government-funded contract that will help to clear trash in Nairobi out of residential areas.
He stated, “We will be spending 10,000 dollars every day for the next 45 days to ensure that Nairobi is restored to its former status as a green capital. Private contractors will partner with the National Youth Service to alleviate the garbage menace.” In addition, Kidero intends to form an incentives plan to encourage the youth to become full-time garbage collectors.
Caleb Kidali, a youth mentor for low-income children in Nairobi, noted the positive changes that employers can make to help youth from poor backgrounds afford to move out of the slums. “During its formative stages, garbage collection was like a hobby for bored youth until it evolved into a money minting exercise,” Kidali said.
Other companies, like Taka ni Pato (Trash is Cash), have started to hire young people to give them an employment and income opportunity and to enhance their communities by creating cleaner living spaces. In fact, Taka ni Pato has hired more than 100 young people to collect trash in Nairobi, benefiting the young people directly and the community as a whole.
– Kelsey Lay
Sources: Global Giving, Institute for the Study of International Development, UNICEF, Xinhua
Photo: Google Images
Becoming a Member of the US House of Representatives
A United States congressperson is tasked with the duty of directly representing the people by introducing bills, resolutions and amendments and serving on committees to support the needs of their constituents. Our Founding Fathers wanted members of the House of Representatives to be, above all, close to the people.
House members face the least stringent requirements of any position in office. There are only three requirements, as expressed in the U.S. Constitution:
James Madison articulated the open nature of the position when he wrote, “Under these reasonable limitations, the door of this part of the federal government is open to merit of every description, whether native or adoptive, whether young or old, and without regard to poverty or wealth, or to any particular profession of religious faith.”
The origins of these stipulations lie in aspects of British law.
The minimum age requirement was initially set for the voting age of 21. However, during the Constitutional Convention of 1787, George Mason strongly disagreed with this minimum age, reasoning that it was “absurd that a man today should not be permitted by the law to make a bargain for himself, and tomorrow should be authorized to manage the affairs of a great nation.”
Despite Pennsylvania’s James Wilson’s argument that restricting the minimum age of office to 25 would “damp the efforts of genius, and of laudable ambition,” many at the convention felt that the House of Representatives was not a training ground for neophytes but a vital endeavor to be taken up by an experienced professional. Mason’s movement to change the age to 25 passed seven states to three.
As for citizenship, British law stipulated that Commons members be lifelong citizens of England. However, the Founding Fathers did not want to discourage immigration. Therefore, mandating seven years of citizenship before a congressperson could take office balanced the desire to prevent foreign interests taking priority over domestic politics and the desire to keep the House of Representatives as close to the people as possible, including new immigrants.
House of Commons members were also required to reside in the shires or boroughs they represented. Our Founding Fathers assimilated this rule into the Constitution because they wanted House members to truly represent the people by being genuinely familiar with their needs.
Besides being an accessible position, a congressperson is subject to frequent reelection. Representatives are elected to a two-year term. As decided in 1911, the number of representatives in office is 435, with the number per state proportionate to the population.
Before engaging in the duties of the office, members of the House of Representatives must swear to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.”
As a representative of the people, a congressperson needs to hear the voices of his or her constituents to adequately address relevant issues. You can contact your representatives to express your needs and the needs of your community.
– Mary Furth
Sources: U.S. House of Representatives, Constitution Convention of 1787, Vol. 1,, The Congressional Record
Photo: Flickr
Pack for a Purpose: Doing Some Good on Your Next Vacation
It is becoming easier than ever to positively impact a community in which you are vacationing thanks to Pack for a Purpose. The organization, founded in 2009, lists supplies needed for community projects around the world that travelers can bring with them.
Pack for a Purpose has partnered with more than 475 accommodations and tour companies to supply community projects in more than 60 countries, according to their website. Community projects are broken down into education, health, child welfare, animal welfare and socio-economic development.
“Everyone’s mother told them when you go to someone’s house to eat a meal, you take a gift – candy, flowers, whatever – to say thank you for your hospitality,” said Rebecca Rothney, Pack for a Purpose’s founder and chairperson, to the PBS News Hour.
“So when you go to somebody’s country, it’s my belief you should also say ‘thank you for your hospitality’ by bringing people in that country something they could actually use. And hopefully, that’s where our website comes in,” added Rothney.
Packing for a purpose comes down to five easy steps: selecting a destination, finding accommodation or a tour company and a project it supports, picking items from the project’s requested items list and dropping off supplies at the accommodation or tour company. From there, the company delivers the supplies you have contributed.
Travelers have shown how simple the process is and have shared their stories on Pack for a Purpose’s website. Additionally, travelers may have the option to go with the accommodation or tour company to meet the communities and personally deliver their supplies. Some incredibly heartwarming stories have come from the staff that work and live in these communities.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afXhN0EbnFQ
Suzan Kruger, who works at the Kwa Maritane accommodation in South Africa, shared a story about the many supplies they’ve received for the Borite Primary School, which serves children who come from low to no-income families.
“This morning I walked in to an incredible mountain of school supplies, puzzles, board games, books, sporting equipment and wall charts. Incredibly this weighed in at an amazing 73.23 kilos [161.44 pounds],” said Kruger in October 2015. “Over the past 2.5 months, we have been able to pass on an incredible 174.85 kilos [385.47 pounds] of donations to the school.”
Travelers are encouraged to check Pack for a Purpose’s website prior to their next adventure for an updated list of participating accommodation and tour companies and the supplies needed. Small donations can quickly add up and make a big difference.
– Summer Jackson
Sources: Pack for a Purpose 1, Pack for a Purpose 2, PBS