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Info About Child Soldiers: What You Need to Know

Info About Child Soldiers
According to DoSomething.org, “in the last 15 years, the use of child soldiers has spread to almost every region of the world and every armed conflict. Though it is hardly possible to define an exact number, thousands of children soldiers are illegally serving in armed conflict around the world.”

Eight Facts About Child Soldiers

    1. Currently, there are between 250,000 and 300,000 children soldiers globally.
    2. The recruitment for children starts at the age of 10 and they are used as instruments within wars to execute individuals unreasonably.
    3. A child soldier is any minor, regardless of gender, under the age of 18 who is recruited by a state or non-state armed group and who is used as a fighter, messenger, spy or even for sexual purposes.
    4. “Children are recruited because they are more manageable, more obedient and more easily manipulated than adults. Children are also less conscious of danger, and it is harder for them to see the difference between absence and death,” according to Humanium.
    5. Young people are more likely to get recruited if they come from marginalized communities, are displaced from their houses, live in a combat zone and do not have access to education.
    6. Humanium emphasized that “children who are orphaned, unaccompanied or living in a difficult family environment, see it as a solution to their problems, and taking part in an armed group seems safer than confronting these problems. Revenge, community identity and ideology can also influence children.”
    7. Additionally, armed forces take minors because they are less expensive to recruit and train compared to adults.
    8. “Child soldiers are usually presented as victims of adults, and forced recruitment is more readily emphasized than voluntary engagement,” said Humanium.

 

There are some extreme cases where children volunteer to become soldiers because it is a better option to the reality they face every day. They see this as an outlet from their current situation.

– Isabella Rolz

Sources: Child Soldiers, Do Something, Humanium
Photo: Flickr

Mike Mlombwa: From Surviving To Thriving In Africa

Mike Mlombwa
Mike Mlombwa, the owner of CountryWide Car Hire, began his fame and fortune in the slums of Mwanza. As a child, Mike grew up in homes all around the village because his mother couldn’t afford to raise him. Friendly neighbors paid for his education, and in exchange he would work in gardens and tend to the cattle.

Humble Beginnings

However, after completing his primary education, Mlombwa was unable to find anyone in the local village to further fund his education. As reported by BBC news, as a teenager,  Mlombwa walked 50km (30 miles) to the nearest industrial city, Blantyre, because he could not afford bus fare.

In the commercial capital of Blantyre, Mlombwa found refuge in the church, where he stayed and began a part-time job that paid for his secondary schooling. Eventually, Mlombwa made enough money to buy his first car, allowing him to travel and buy stock in Zambia, South Africa and Mozambique. Shortly after Mlombwa acquired several cars and CountryWide Car Hire was born.

According to How Africa, Mlombwa remembers thinking, “the business became flooded [by competitors], especially from India…So I sat down and thought: What should I do?” He concluded that he would need a loan in order to expand his company, but the banks were hesitant to give him one due to his lack of prior education.

Yet Mlombwa was persistent, and he turned to various car owners for more vehicles in exchange for 20 percent commission. With a new fleet of cars, his business became profitable, and the banks granted him a loan.

The State of CountryWide Car Hire Today

Today, CountryWide Car Hire has over 80 vehicles and is a well-established service provider in the transport sector and carters for the car rental industry. Mlombwa still sees room for improvement, and he is now seeking to double his fleet. He is also constructing a number of hotels to add to his customer service venue, states How Africa.

When Mike Mlombwa reflects on the impoverished village he came from, he thanks God for the opportunities he was given. Although he was never able to attend college, Mlombwa stated, “I am happy to face challenges and I am happy I became an entrepreneur. And to be honest, I don’t see it as a regret that I did not finish my schooling because now I can employ people with masters degrees.”

Mlombwa acknowledges that now he has a name in the world, and he plans on sharing his success strategies with others. One of the most important qualities an entrepreneur can have is patience, because most entrepreneurs want fame and fortune right away. The key is to start small and grow strong, which is exactly what Mike Mlombwa did.

– Megan Hadley

Sources: BBC, Country Wide Car Hire, How Africa
Photo: Flickr

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Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: A Literary Success

Adichie
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, a Nigerian novelist, nonfiction and short story writer sets the stage for African literature and young women everywhere. She is both a prominent feminist and one of the most prominent authors of African Literature, as reported by Vogue and The Times Literary Supplement.

Ten Facts About Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

  1. Adichie was born on 15 September 1977 in Enugu, Nigeria, the fifth of six children to Igbo parents, Grace Ifeoma and James Nwoye Adichie.
  2. Adichie’s father, who is now retired, worked at the University of Nigeria, located in Nsukka. He was Nigeria’s first professor of statistics, and later became Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University. Her mother was the first female registrar at the same institution.
  3. At the age of nineteen, Adichie left for the United States. She received a scholarship to study communication at Drexel University in Philadelphia for two years, and she went on to pursue a degree in communication and political science at Eastern Connecticut State University.
  4. Adichie completed a master’s degree in creative writing at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, as reported by Harvard.
  5. During her senior year at Eastern, Adichie started working on her first novel, Purple Hibiscus, which was released in October 2003. The book has received wide critical acclaim; according to Adichie’s personal site, it was shortlisted for the Orange Fiction Prize and was awarded the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best First Book.
  6. Her second novel, Half of a Yellow Sun is set before and during the Biafran War. It was published in August 2006 in the United Kingdom and in September 2006 in the United States.
  7. Adichie’s third book, The Thing Around Your Neck (2009), is a collection of short stories.
  8. Her latest Novel Americanhah, was published around the world in 2013, and has received numerous accolades, including winning the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction and The Chicago tribune Heartland Prize for Fiction; and being named on of the New York Times Ten Best Books of the Year.
  9. Adichie’s 2009 TED talk, “The Danger of a Single Story,” has had more than eight million views.
  10. Reported in Vogue, Adichie loves teaching, and claims, “I want to make it valid, to dream about books and writing. Because in Nigeria it’s very hard; people will say to you, what do you mean, ‘writing’? Nigerians are a very, very practical people. And while I admire practicality, I feel we need to make a space for dreaminess.”

– Megan Hadley

Photo: Flickr

Solar Power in Developing Countries: An Affordable Future?

Solar Power in Developing CountriesNonprofit, INTASAVE-CARIBSAVE Group is seeking to improve lives globally by introducing solar power in developing countries.

While those who grew up in the United States may take electric devices such as heaters and computers for granted, many people around the world remain off-the-grid. According to INTASAVE-CARIBSAVE’s website, about 1.5 billion people worldwide currently do not have access to energy.

The organization believes that introducing solar power in developing countries will be a key strategy for reducing the negative effects of global poverty. Access to electricity translates to better health, nutrition and overall quality of life.

The vision of INTASAVE-CARIBSAVE is to help build a “world that responds to the opportunities and challenges of a changing climate and provides an equitable and sustainable future for all.” In order to achieve this goal, the organization focuses on using innovation to create solutions for problems facing communities in developing countries.

One of the most recent projects has been efforts to bring energy to rural Africa through solar power advancement. INSTASAVE’s energy division has expertise in developing Solar Nano Grids – or “SONGs” – which are designed to work efficiently and be installed easily in even the remotest of locations.

The SONGs bring clean, affordable energy, which does not burden African families with burdensome equipment. The devices do not even use cables, like the outdated and cumbersome grid model offered to rural communities.

The implications of INSTASAVE-CARIBSAVE’s efforts are vast and powerful. Not only does clean energy improve life expectancy and healthcare outcomes by bringing reliable electricity to hospitals and pollution from charcoal-burning out of homes, but it also has the potential to empower entrepreneurs in their businesses. For example, a cattle farmer with access to power can keep milk up for sale longer with the help of an electric refrigerator.

Dr. Murray Simpson is the mastermind behind this important branch of the nonprofit’s work. “It’s not energy just for energy’s sake, but actually providing positive impacts in terms of development,” Simpson said in an interview with Planet Experts. He explained that this work empowers women and helps children in terms of health and education. “It means micro-credit and environmental impacts, building impacts, and enabling micro-enterprise and entrepreneurialism across the African continent,” he said.

– Jen Diamond

Sources: Intasave, Enviroliteracy , Huffingtonpost, Planet Experts
Photo: Flickr

How to Get a Job Working for Congress: 10 Tips

how to work in congress
Wondering how to get a job working for Congress? We’ve demystified the process and distilled it into 10 possible paths to take.

10 Tips to Get a Job Working for Congress

  1. Networking: Networking is undoubtedly the most important factor when searching for a job in Congress. According to the Congressional Management Foundation (CMF), congressional offices receive thousands of resumes per month, so it is crucial that an applicant is able to stand out from the rest of the pile. The best way to ensure your resume is carefully considered is by knowing a staffer who can make recommendations to the congressional leader. Thus, landing a job on Capitol Hill is largely about connecting with the right people and mobilizing your networks.
  2. Create a killer resume: The hiring process for congressional interns and staff workers begins with a list of resumes organized from top to bottom, Roll Call explains. Having a strong resume is a key component in the hiring process. When writing a resume, Career Casts advises, “you need to create a resume tailored to your customers: the people in a position to hire you.” In other words, talk about relevant experiences and capabilities that could benefit the congressional leaders. Working for The Borgen Project, for instance, would be an applicable and useful experience to include.
  3. Start early on: Reach out not only to congressional leaders, but to potential candidates as well. Former intern Aaron Marquis notes that, “you should keep an eye out on rising political candidates. Network with these candidates early on to land a job later.”
  4. Build a target list: Some important questions to address when building a target list are as follows: “What is your home state? Where have you previously lived? Where did you go to school? Where do you have family?” CMF urges job searchers to use every state and district they’ve spent time in and know something about to help them build a list of target offices. Having an extensive list of congressional leaders as potential employers means having an increased likelihood of landing a job.
  5. Start at the bottom of the hierarchy: There is nothing wrong with fetching coffee for a congressional leader if it means getting a foot in the door. Often times, congressional interns and staff members start their career handling grunt work. CMF claims that, “working on Capitol Hill is all about paying your dues. It doesn’t matter what job you get as long as you have one in the first place. Once you accomplish that, upward mobility can happen very quickly.”
  6. Work for a political campaign: A fun and exciting way to meet congressional candidates is to assist them with their political campaign. Former intern Aaron Marquis says, “political campaigns need effective communicators, writers and strategic minds. You gain valuable contacts in politics whether your candidate wins or loses. If your candidate wins, you can contact the candidate later looking for positions within her office.”
  7. Read newspapers and check websites: Marquis suggests checking the websites for the Senate Placement Office and the House of Representatives’ Office of Human Resources to find available staff positions in Congress. It also wouldn’t hurt to look through “The Hill,” “Roll Call” and “Opportunities in Public Affairs,” three Washington newspapers covering politics, to find available positions in Congress. Notably, each paper has its own classified section with job listings.
  8. Work for retired congressional leaders: Even if the retired leader is no longer working for Congress, they still have all the necessary connections. Marquis recommends asking a retired congressman if he or she needs any help. Although the position may not pay or last very long, it’s possible to obtain Congress positions through the contacts made by working for a retired congressional leader.
  9. Attend events and meet congressmen: According to Marquis, “you should start by attending speaking engagements of the incumbent and new congressional representatives. Speak with council people and lawmakers in your home state to acquire leads that can lead to a job in Congress.” Let the representative know you’re passionate by attending events that he or she speaks at.
  10. Move to Washington, D.C.: CMF suggests moving to Capitol Hill because living in D.C provides the distinct advantage of being able to meet with staffers in person. Face-to-face contact is always preferable and tends to be the most effective.

All things considered, it is vital to be open to various positions when searching for a job working for Congress. Networking with the right people, having the proper credentials and letting congressional leaders know that you are determined could all lead to a job on Capitol Hill.

– Megan Hadley

Sources: Congress Foundation, Roll Call, eHow, Career Cast
Photo: Flickr

Should the World Be Worried About the Guinea Ebola Flare-Up?

Ebola Flare-Up
In March of 2014, the Ebola virus ravaged countries in western Africa, quickly becoming the deadliest occurrence of the disease since 1973. As of January of this year, there have been a total of 28,637 thousand reported cases and 11,315 thousand deaths classified as probable, confirmed and suspected. This month, yet another Ebola flare-up is ravaging western Africa.

While the full force of the Ebola spread has been contained, health professionals are still fighting to drop the number of cases to zero. This month, a total of five people have died in Guinea’s recent Ebola flare-up. Naturally, the question arises whether or not this recent flare-up will spread to the same epidemic levels that West Africa had seen in the past.

Ultimately, the major difference between this recent Ebola flare-up and the huge outbreak of 2014 is that health professionals have been closely monitoring the situation. The Alliance for International Medical Action (ALIMA) has reopened its treatment unit in Nzerekore the area most affected. UNICEF also has a team in the region providing protective equipment and medicine.

The Guinea Ebola flare-up began in mid-March when the World Health Organization was alerted to three potential deaths and two suspected cases of Ebola. The emergency coordination mechanism was then reactivated, according to the WHO’s official statement, “deploying dozens of epidemiologists, surveillance experts, contact tracers, vaccinators, social mobilizers, health promoters, and infection prevention and control experts to support the effort.”

Writing for Care2, Steve Williams notes, “It’s important to emphasize that these new cases represent a contained incident.” A similar Ebola flare-up occurred in Sierra Leone in March, but this sudden rise in Ebola incidence was declared contained by the WHO. As a response to the Guinea flare-up, WHO is tracking 816 people that have come in contact with people contaminated with the virus or virus-ridden corpses.

Liberia is also taking steps to prevent new cases. The country has decided to close its border with Guinea. Lenn Eugene Nanobe, the country’s information minister, told Reuters, “We have ordered the border with Guinea closed with immediate effect. The border will remain closed until the situation in Guinea improves.” WHO declared Liberia Ebola free last January.

Reuters reported recently that Dr. Margaret Chan, the WHO director-general, accepted the recommendations of a committee of independent experts who called for lifting any travel and trade restrictions affecting Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. “The Ebola outbreak in West Africa is no longer a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC),” Chan told a news briefing at WHO headquarters in Geneva.

– Michael A. Clark

Sources: BBC, Care2, Newsweek, Reuters 1, Reuters 2, Reuters 3, World Health Organization
Photo: Flickr

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Girl Rising Works to Advance Girls’ Education

Girl Rising
Girl Rising is a campaign to both improve and bring awareness to global education for girls. One of the primary ways they attract attention to this issue is through storytelling in the form of film.

In 2013, the film “Girl Rising” was released. It follows the stories of nine girls from impoverished countries around the world: Haiti, Sierra Leone, Peru, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, India, Nepal, Egypt and Cambodia.

Each girl’s story has a well-known narrator. According to an article in the Los Angeles Times, the cast includes Anne Hathaway, Meryl Streep, Liam Neeson and Cate Blanchett. Many of the actors involved do separate philanthropic work related to educating and empowering women.

The film was directed by the Academy Award-winning director Richard Robbins, who also came up with the idea for the film. He made sure that the focus of the movie remained on the stories of the protagonists.

To help the girls communicate, Robbins told Huffington Post, he implored the film’s writers to spend time with the girls in order to effectively tell their stories. While the film “Girl Rising” came before the current campaign to spread awareness for girls’ education, Robbins says, over the course of making the film, it became “clear that we needed to build an organization that was capable of working in all the ways the film alone could not.”

Girl Rising now partners with NGOs including CARE and Room to Read in their mission to bring education to girls globally.

In collaboration with the Pearson Foundation, Girl Rising also offers a curriculum that educators can use to bring awareness to the issue of education for girls who have difficulty accessing it on their own. Factors that contribute to this lack of access are poverty, a reaffirmation of a cult of domesticity for women and foregoing education in order to get married and have children.

Girl Rising is also currently carrying out a campaign called ENGAGE, or Empowering Next Generations to Advance Girls’ Education. ENGAGE is a “USAID-supported public-private partnership” which is “working in India, Nigeria and The Democratic Republic of the Congo, pairing storytelling with local social action campaigns.”

The website for Girl Rising offers multiple options for those interested in getting involved in the cause, be it anything from donating money, to using Girl Rising’s curriculum in their schools, to raising awareness by organizing a viewing of the Girl Rising film.

– Katherine Hamblen

Sources: Girl Rising, LA Times, Huffington Post
Photo: Vimeo

Pakistan Wins Award for Fight Against TB

PakistanOn March 17, Pakistan was honored with an award from the United States, naming the country the most successful in fighting multi-drug resistance tuberculosis (MDR-TB).

The award is significant for Pakistan, the fifth country most highly burdened by TB and the fourth most by MDR-TB, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Although 9.6 million people globally become sick with TB each year and the number in Pakistan was 298,981 in 2013, the percentage of successful treatments has also continued to increase.

In 2001, Pakistan declared TB a national health crisis, putting the country in a state of emergency. In collaboration with the Ministry of Health and the National TB Control Program (NTP), Pakistan set objectives to facilitate improved treatments and lower incidence rates. NTP vowed to increase the number of notified TB cases, while still maintaining treatment success rate at 91 percent, and to reduce, by at least five percent per year, the prevalence of MDR-TB among TB patients who have never received any TB treatment.

The connection between poverty and TB incidence cannot be overlooked. Ninety-five percent of new TB cases and 98 percent of TB related deaths annually occur in the developing world. In Pakistan, 75 percent of TB cases fall among young people, aged 15-45, in the country’s poorest regions, according to the “TB Patients’ Declaration on TB,” a document signed at the First TB Patient Symposium in October 2014.

Since its pledge, the NTP has successfully treated more than 1.5 million TB cases, free of cost. Strategies for fighting eradication of poverty and the disease, and to minimize economic restraints on the country, have been vital to the movement’s success.

Dr Jim Yong Kim, President of the World Bank, spoke on behalf of the organization in Washington, emphasizing the need for treatment among patients categorized as low economic priority. “I am yet to meet a patient who says, please do not treat me because I am a low priority patient,” he noted.

Other presenters at the ceremony, including Ambassador Jalil Abbas Jilani, winner of the TB Champion Award, and Dr. Ejaz Qadeer, the national manager for the TB Control Programme, emphasized the growing need for not only cost-efficient treatment, but also early detection mechanisms, so as to prevent the virus from transferring from patients in crowded areas. As the country with the highest MDR-TB success rate, Pakistan plans to achieve 80 percent detection by 2020.

Between 1990 and 2015, the TB death rate has dropped 47 percent, according to WHO. With leaders like Pakistan, the rest of the world could hope for a global end of the disease.

– Nora Harless

Sources: Dawn News, The Express Tribune, National TB Control Program, Target Tuberculosis, World Health Organization
Photo: Flickr

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The Loss of Freedom: Different Types of Human Trafficking

Human Trafficking
There are several types of human trafficking, and they all have a common denominator: an abuse of the intrinsic vulnerability of the victims.

According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, human trafficking is defined as “the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the treat or use of force or other forms of coercion.”

Trafficking of individuals is a serious crime and a heinous violation of human rights.

“Every year, thousands of men, women and children fall into the hands of traffickers, in their own countries and abroad. Almost every country in the world is affected by trafficking, whether as a country of origin, transit or destination for victims,” said the UN.

The following are various categories linked to human trafficking.

Sex Trafficking

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime suggested that 53 percent of the victims are forced into sexual exploitation. “Sex trafficking is the recruitment, transportation, or harboring of persons through threat, use of force, or other coercion for the purpose of sexual exploitation. This includes movement across borders, as well as within the victim’s own country,” affirmed Human Trafficking Search.

The International Labour Organization estimated that there is a worldwide profit of $100 billion for forced commercial sexual exploitation.

Additionally, “the perceived inferior status of women in many parts of the world has contributed to the expansion of the trafficking industry,” confirmed Human Trafficking Search.

Involuntary Domestic Servitude

Involuntary servitude happens when a domestic worker becomes enslaved in an exploitative position they are incapable of escaping.

“Domestic servitude is the seemingly normal practice of live-in help that is used as a cover for the exploitation and control of someone, usually from another country. It is a form of forced labor, but it also warrants its own category of slavery because of the unique contexts and challenges it presents,” said End Slavery Now.

Forced Labor

According to Human Trafficking Search, “Forced labor is work or service that is extorted from someone under the menace of any penalty and work or service that the person has not offered voluntarily.”

The International Labour Organization estimated that approximately 20.9 million people are enslaved to forced labor, and 4.5 are subjected to sexual forced exploitation.

Debt Bondage

“Debt bondage is a type of forced labor, involving a debt that cannot be paid off in a reasonable time,” said Human Trafficking Search. It is a period of debt during which there is no freedom, consequently, it is also known as debt slavery.

Child Soldiers

Child soldiers are described as persons under the age of 18, who have been recruited by armed forces in any capacity. Currently, there are thousands of soldiers worldwide.

“The definition includes both boys and girls who are used as fighters, cooks, porters, messengers, spies, or for sexual purposes,” added Human Trafficking Search.

Child Sex Trafficking

There are approximately 1.8 million children subjected to prostitution or pornography globally.

The Human Trafficking Search defined it as “a sexual exploitation by an adult with respect to a child, usually accompanied by a payment to the child or one or more third parties.”

Child Labor

A child is considered to be involved in child labor activities if this minor is between the ages of 0 and 18, is involved in a type of work inappropriate for their age and in a dangerous work environment.

However, there are several forms of child labor. The most common ones are related to the informal sector of the economy and are linked to agricultural labor, mining, construction and begging in the streets.

Said by the Polaris Project, “human trafficking is a form of modern slavery – a multi-billion dollar criminal industry that denies freedom to 20.9 million people around the world. And no matter where you live, chances are it’s happening nearby. From the girl forced into prostitution at a truck stop, to the man discovered in a restaurant kitchen, stripped of his passport and held against his will. All trafficking victims share one essential experience: the loss of freedom.”

– Isabella Rolz

Sources: Human Trafficking Search, UNODC, End Slavery Now, Polaris Project, United Nations, International Labour Organization

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CARD MRI Empowers Women through Microfinance

CARD MRIThe Center for Agriculture and Rural Development’s Mutually Reinforcing Institution (CARD MRI) fights poverty in the Philippines. It does this through strategic microfinance programs aimed at helping women living in poverty.

The institution first started helping women with finances for activities on a small scale like education, farming and health. Now, the institute’s main goal is to help women evolve into businesspersons through years of training and education on how to manage loans.

These newly evolved businesswomen called for a new type of assistance. To accommodate, CARD created multiple banking institutions such as CARD Bank, Inc. and CARD SME Bank, Inc.

CARD MRI was founded unofficially in 1986, as CARD, an organization to help social development. It was founded by 15 development practitioners. They came together in December 1986 to assist underdeveloped communities in the Philippines.

The year 1988 marked the official start of CARD’s operations. They began assisting women who owned no land by creating a training-focused community and livelihood assistance program for coconut workers. The organization followed this model for some time. Then it initiated another program for landless women, called the Landless People’s program, in 1990.

It was in 1995 that CARD decided to extend its program to start the Mutually Reinforcing Institution. After receiving the proper licensing in 1997, CARD MRI began assisting landless men and women through their microfinance programs.

In addition to assisting with loan management development and livelihood expenses, CARD MRI also has a Microfinance Plus program that assists people with holistic needs. The program issues micro-insurance for pharmaceutical needs, strategic marketing services and life insurance.

CARD MRI routinely collaborates with other development programs to ensure everyone has fair access to their community development services. These services include health, education, resource mobilization and communication.

Most recently, CARD MRI acquired the Riza Rural Bank. This allowed them to expand their services even further throughout the Philippines. The creation of their Leasing and Finance Corporation was fulfilled in 2013, adding to their growing number of reinforcing institutions.

– Julia N. Hettiger

Sources: CARD-MRI, My Philanthropedia, PR News Wire
Photo: Flickr