When it comes to helping the world’s poor, sometimes questions come up that the average person might never have considered.
Once there is an organization or a group that is willing to provide help, how will they do it? What does “providing resources” mean? How are “resources” defined?
There’re a few different ways for aid to be brought in the direct transfer of goods, such as food, clothing and other necessities, from humanitarian groups to the people in need.
However, there are also the methods of providing the impoverished with cash so that they can purchase the goods they deem necessary for themselves.
As Owen Barder, chair of the High Level Panel on Humanitarian Cash Transfers puts out, “A good starting point for our work is the acknowledgment that people are a good judge of what they need, and we should always think twice before putting our judgment ahead of theirs.”
Providing cash-based aid also has the potential to stimulate local economies, as recipients spend the money at small businesses and help their communities to thrive.
According to a study in the Journal of Development Effectiveness published last year, direct provision of cash is the cheapest way to bring aid, with costs coming to $2.99 per transfer. To put this in perspective, providing food directly came out to $11.46 per transfer because of all of the costs to store, package and distribute the food.
To some, it might seem unnecessarily expensive to provide food and other materials directly to those in need. To others, the idea of giving destitute, uneducated people a set sum of cash to spend whatever way they would like doesn’t make much sense, either.
Even assuming every recipient is perfectly ethical, is it safe to assume all of those in need have enough knowledge of nutrition and savvy spending?
Voucher programs, theoretically, are sort of a happy medium between the benefits of cash transfer and direct resource provision. Only slightly more expensive than direct cash at $3.27 per transfer, in the study, vouchers are like certificates redeemable for specific items, usually food.
Vouchers have the benefit of stimulating local economies without the corruption and security risk present with cash transfers. Voucher programs allow those in need to receive the most nutritious food available without the expense associated with food aid.
Vouchers are not the ultimate, game-ending form of humanitarian aid. Different situations will call for different ways to provide aid. (For example, when providing immunizations, it makes far more sense to simply provide the immunizations themselves en masse, rather than money for each individual to get immunized.)
However, it seems that this form of help is relatively underrated when compared to food and cash aid.
They can be used locally, they are relatively cheap to provide and when they are used at events such as voucher fairs, they offer recipients freedom to spend the aid on what they choose, within a specific context of essential items. Fairs like these can even help to address issues like gender inequality.
Said one woman at a voucher fair held by UNICEF in the Democratic Republic of Congo, “Before we came here, my husband and I discussed what we need. In the past, he did what he wanted with our money, but here it’s me who takes the final decision.”
Paul Harvey and Sarah Bailey said it well in a brief for The Overseas Development Institute (ODI). “Humanitarian organizations provide assistance based on agreed principles and standards. At its heart is the principle of humanity – the universal impulse to seek assistance and to provide it to those in need.”
– Emily Dieckman
Sources: CGDEV, Europa , ODI, Research Gate, TUFTS, UNICEF
Photo: Flickr1, Flickr2
Botswana Unveils Prepaid Electricity App
Access to reliable electricity is necessary for life in the modern world, and countless studies have shown that increased availability of electricity leads to economic increases, longer life expectancies, and in general, a higher quality of life. While many developing countries are increasing their electrical infrastructures, millions across the world are still energy deficient.
Even with access to electrical grids, many do not have the funds to pay for power or are in such remote locations that payment becomes a burden. The African nation of Botswana faces these issues but has recently rolled out a solution.
A payment company called Botswana Post has just launched an electricity app for Android users that allows them to buy prepaid amounts of electricity for low costs and to pay existing balances. Eighty percent of mobile customers in Botswana use the Android mobile operating system.
The electricity app also allows for direct user contact with the Botswana Power Corporation for the purpose of repairs and electrical installment. Botswana Post also provides similar services for many of the major banks across the country, Western Union, Botswana Telecommunications, and hopes to add gas and broadband payment services soon.
The app is yet another marker of Africa’s rapid modernization and potential for progress. It comes at a time when energy is not only becoming more and more available, but is now easier to maintain, and cheaper to acquire.
The simplicity of obtaining and keeping electricity that the app presents will surely have a positive impact across the country and should correlate to greater economic output and incomes for citizens who had, in the past, been quite literally in the dark.
– Joe Kitaj
Sources: Botswana Post, Footprint to Africa
Photo: Google Images
How Panera Bread Fights World Poverty
Panera Bread is known for its superb soups, salads and bakery items that might feed our appetites quite often. But Panera Bread has another, lesser-known side to their business. As one of the United States’ and Canada’s biggest food companies, Panera Bread also works to serve the less fortunate around the world.
The company previously enacted a ‘pay what you like’ method of paying to help those unable to pay the full price for food to have something to eat. The ‘pay what you like’ method allowed diners to pay more or less than $5.89 for their chili.
The purpose of this program was to encourage their customers to use what they were not paying to donate to charities and to provide food to those unable to pay. The method is still being used in locations such as Chicago, Illinois and Portland, Oregon. Other restaurants that have stopped using it are currently searching for new ways to support those suffering from hunger.
Another way Panera Bread gives back is through their Panera Cares Community Cafes. In the United States, 17 million homes are considered food insecure and 16 million children, meaning one in five children, do not have the means to receive proper nutrition every day. In these nonprofits locations, Panera Bread is willing to serve anyone for free. The aim of this project is to end hunger throughout the country.
In 2013, Panera Bread’s CEO demonstrated a style of living to promote hunger awareness. For one month, Ron Shaich collaborated with the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to enact a lifestyle to live on $4.50 a day to create awareness for those in need, even though he normally makes roughly 3 million a year.
To put this into perspective, $4.50 is the average cost of a McDonald’s Mighty Kids Meal. Ron Shaich noted that although he was buying foods to keep him full, he continuously missed out on the healthy foods that matter, like meat, vegetables and fruits. He also stated how eye-opening of an experience it was for him and how impactful it will be on his efforts of putting an end to hunger.
Panera Bread continues to help fight poverty by continuing to give back to their communities through programs like the Day-End Dough-Nation and In-Kind Donations, which provide unsold bakery items to hunger relief agencies. Panera Cares operates in multiple cities throughout the US and is continuously creating innovative ideas to end world hunger.
– Julia Hettiger
Sources: Time, CNBC, Panera Bread
Photo: Google Images
Voucher Programs: Way to Transfer Humanitarian Dollars
When it comes to helping the world’s poor, sometimes questions come up that the average person might never have considered.
Once there is an organization or a group that is willing to provide help, how will they do it? What does “providing resources” mean? How are “resources” defined?
There’re a few different ways for aid to be brought in the direct transfer of goods, such as food, clothing and other necessities, from humanitarian groups to the people in need.
However, there are also the methods of providing the impoverished with cash so that they can purchase the goods they deem necessary for themselves.
As Owen Barder, chair of the High Level Panel on Humanitarian Cash Transfers puts out, “A good starting point for our work is the acknowledgment that people are a good judge of what they need, and we should always think twice before putting our judgment ahead of theirs.”
Providing cash-based aid also has the potential to stimulate local economies, as recipients spend the money at small businesses and help their communities to thrive.
According to a study in the Journal of Development Effectiveness published last year, direct provision of cash is the cheapest way to bring aid, with costs coming to $2.99 per transfer. To put this in perspective, providing food directly came out to $11.46 per transfer because of all of the costs to store, package and distribute the food.
To some, it might seem unnecessarily expensive to provide food and other materials directly to those in need. To others, the idea of giving destitute, uneducated people a set sum of cash to spend whatever way they would like doesn’t make much sense, either.
Even assuming every recipient is perfectly ethical, is it safe to assume all of those in need have enough knowledge of nutrition and savvy spending?
Voucher programs, theoretically, are sort of a happy medium between the benefits of cash transfer and direct resource provision. Only slightly more expensive than direct cash at $3.27 per transfer, in the study, vouchers are like certificates redeemable for specific items, usually food.
Vouchers have the benefit of stimulating local economies without the corruption and security risk present with cash transfers. Voucher programs allow those in need to receive the most nutritious food available without the expense associated with food aid.
Vouchers are not the ultimate, game-ending form of humanitarian aid. Different situations will call for different ways to provide aid. (For example, when providing immunizations, it makes far more sense to simply provide the immunizations themselves en masse, rather than money for each individual to get immunized.)
However, it seems that this form of help is relatively underrated when compared to food and cash aid.
They can be used locally, they are relatively cheap to provide and when they are used at events such as voucher fairs, they offer recipients freedom to spend the aid on what they choose, within a specific context of essential items. Fairs like these can even help to address issues like gender inequality.
Said one woman at a voucher fair held by UNICEF in the Democratic Republic of Congo, “Before we came here, my husband and I discussed what we need. In the past, he did what he wanted with our money, but here it’s me who takes the final decision.”
Paul Harvey and Sarah Bailey said it well in a brief for The Overseas Development Institute (ODI). “Humanitarian organizations provide assistance based on agreed principles and standards. At its heart is the principle of humanity – the universal impulse to seek assistance and to provide it to those in need.”
– Emily Dieckman
Sources: CGDEV, Europa , ODI, Research Gate, TUFTS, UNICEF
Photo: Flickr1, Flickr2
Meet a Thriving Cultural District in South Africa
In South Africa’s city of Johannesburg, entrepreneurs are reviving once neglected and deteriorating neighborhoods and turning them into vibrant, urban mixed-use communities. Forbes magazine named Jonathan Liebmann one of Africa’s best young entrepreneurs for his transformation of the Maboneng Precinct in the eastside of the city.
Liebmann is the Founder and CEO of Propertuity, a development company in South Africa. He created Maboneng without municipal resources with the idea of developing a place for young people to live, work and socialize.
In 2008 Liebmann purchased warehouses and old construction offices dating from the 1900s and then worked with the architect Enrico Daffonchio in transforming the industrial spaces.
The residential spaces in Maboneng are designed to meet a variety of people’s needs with different sized apartments. Other features of the neighborhood include artist studios and galleries, stores, coffee shops and advertising agencies.
The creative elements and artistic presence make Maboneng attractive to young people. “Why do we love Johannesburg? The answer to this is very simple. We love Johannesburg simply because it is the place of innovation,” said Lizi Brink, a student. “Maboneng Precinct is a neighborhood that has contributed greatly to this change.”
In Sotho, the word Maboneng means, “place of light,” which exactly fits the role of Maboneng as a center of creative energy for artists in Johannesburg.
– Shengyu Wang
Sources: Gauteng, Forbes, Mafadi
Photo: Between 10 And 5
Benefitting from the Green Revolution in Africa
A Green Revolution is the process of renovating agricultural practices, techniques and equipment that results in more prosperous and successful agricultural production. The first Green Revolution occurred in Mexico in the 1940s and the agricultural modifications used to spur the revolution spread worldwide in the following decades.
Green Revolutions are made possible through mechanized equipment and the use of irrigation and fertilization. Prior to many Green Revolutions countries such as Mexico and the United States were not producing enough crops to feed their citizens so they were forced to import products.
In the 1940s, the U.S. imported more than half of its wheat. However, after undergoing their Green Revolution they were able to produce a significantly greater supply and were not only able to stop importing wheat but also became wheat exporters. Cutting the cost of importing and generating a profit from exporting.
While Green Revolutions were sprouting up across the world, Africa became one area that was largely excluded from the benefits of revolutionizing agriculture. The lack of a Green Revolution in Africa can be directly tied to the overwhelming level of poverty throughout much of the African continent and especially in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Roughly 400 million people in Africa live in poverty and the majority of them live on farms. African farmers face poor soil, unreliable water supplies, restricted access to markets, insufficient access to finance and credit compounded by little government support.
Without a shift in the farming techniques and tools used throughout African countries, farmers will continue to struggle to grow enough crops to earn a living wage or feed their fellow countrymen.
Some countries are starting to show signs of Green Revolutions and there are many organizations, such as AGRA, that are working to assist in this process; but with so many people lacking food and an adequate income, an agricultural boost could be a major step towards decreasing the striking poverty levels throughout Africa.
AGRA is an organization that has developed and implemented several programs designed specifically to increase African agriculture. They currently work within 17 different African countries with programs to improve soil health, market access and policies and advocacy for farmers.
A Green Revolution in Africa could allow countries to gain economic stability, decrease food insecurity and empower farmers to not only feed their own countries but the world. Turning a country from an importer to an exporter can unlock potential and generate incredible economic progress.
– Brittney Dimond
Sources: AGRA, About, Huff Post,
Photo: thedailyeye
The Growth of Mobile Money in Africa
Millions of Africans utilize their cell phones to manage their finances. Mobile money in Africa is currently in use in 36 of the 47 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and is used prominently throughout East Africa.
Mobile financial services (MFS) have become increasingly popular across the continent for many reasons. Many economists cite safety, efficiency, transparency, and ease of the services as reasons for the increased usage.
MFS include more than just cash transfers but have also expanded to utility bills, shopping, investment, taxes, and more. The services have also allowed easier cash flow across borders and between family members in times of crisis, which economists have cited as major motivators in service usage in the region, according to a report in All Africa.
One of the most prominent mobile money services in the region, M-PESA, was developed in Kenya. Since 2007, Safaricom and Vodafone’s M-PESA application has allowed users in Kenya and beyond to store funds on their mobile devices in order to transfer funds to other users, pay bills, and make other purchases.
The country now tops the global charts, with 58 percent of its adults having mobile money accounts. Former Safaricom CEO Michael Joseph noted that mobile technology has been transformative for the informal business sector, which comprises about 70 percent of jobs in Kenya. This increase has been instrumental in helping surge GDP rates throughout the developing world.
The latest mobile money statistics indicate that users in East Africa have largely continued to shift GDP to be transferred via various mobile money platforms. According to All Africa, mobile transactions amounted to $45.75 billion for East Africa, comprising 32 percent of the region’s combined GDP.
This is a significant increase from the $4.86 billion transacted via mobile services in 2009, which only comprised 3.4 percent of the region’s GDP. In Zimbabwe, 45 percent of the country’s GDP is transacted via MFS.
In its 2014 State of the Industry Report, the Groupe Speciale Mobile Association (GSMA) stated that MFS are ingrained in the majority of developing markets, with over 250 mobile money services available across 89 countries.
In 2014, almost 300 million users were registered for mobile money accounts. 2014 marked 16 markets with more mobile money accounts than regular bank accounts, “indicating that mobile money remains a key enabler of financial inclusion.” Furthermore, as smartphone access increases, the GSMA expects MFS usage to continue to increase rapidly.
Because of the prevalence of MFS through non-bank providers throughout the region, government regulators are passing guidelines for mobile money service provision in order to allow better financial inclusion for all members of society.
While competition has grown steadily between bank and non-bank mobile money service providers, regulations like these aim to maximize the reach of the services to the widest audience possible. The GSMA report marks that 47 of the 89 markets with mobile banking have regulations to allow both banks and non-banking services to sustainably provide for their markets.
The GSMA outlined in its report that there are still obstacles in helping mobile money services achieve their full potential in the region. The report states, “Regulatory barriers, low levels of investment and lack of industry collaboration limit the ability for mobile money to reach scale.”
Despite these obstacles, economists widely expect mobile money to continue to grow in order to meet eager markets across the continent.
– Arin Kerstein
Sources: Africa Focus, All Africa, CommsMEA, GSMA, IT News Africa
Photo: Flickr
Addressing Guatemala’s Food Emergency
Over the last three years, Guatemala has experienced a drought that has taken a hungry nation and made conditions even more severe.
Before the drought, the nation experienced some of the highest levels of “inequality, poverty, chronic malnutrition and mother-child mortality in the region.” Almost 50 percent of children under the age of five suffer from chronic undernutrition; that is the highest number in their region and fourth highest in the world.
The drought has now taken what little bit of food supply the region can supply on their own and caused the crops to be stunted or not grow. Also, any food reserves have been depleted. Nearly one million hungry people are growing even hungrier with the drought.
The food emergency was an issue last year as well. On August 26, 2014, a state of emergency was declared in Guatemala after a particularly brutal drought was affecting the nation. The state of emergency was issued in 16 of the 22 provinces and at that time was affecting 236,000 families.
Currently, much of the nation’s population is relying on the government and U.N. handouts to feed their families.
Part of the reason that the drought is so devastating is the lack of improvements to the water infrastructure. The inefficiencies in collecting, storing and then irrigating the rainwater that does come expounds the problems that are associated with the drought.
Organizations are working to help those suffering most from the ravaging drought. The World Food Programme has created programs “geared towards reducing food insecurity, improving the nutritional status of mothers and children under 5 and living conditions of vulnerable groups by increasing agricultural productivity and farmer’s marketing practices.”
They cite two main programs they are conducting in Guatemala:
While these programs may not directly stop the widespread hunger, it is putting food in the mouths of many who need it and creating an infrastructure to ensure that severe food shortages do not happen in the future.
They are also not the only programs that the World Food Programme is working on in Guatemala. There are long-term plans to help the country through future droughts and streamline food voucher distribution to help those hungry right now.
Guatemala has a long way to go. During this drought, so many people are suffering from worsening hunger. Unfortunately, this is not a new revelation or situation. The first area that has been addressed is the immediate need to feed the hungry.
But long-term action needs to be enacted. Thankfully, the Guatemalan government understands this and the World Food Programme has programs in place. Hopefully, in the future, a drought will not cause such widespread hunger again.
– Megan Ivy
Sources: Guatemala: WFP Country Brief, NBC, Trust, WFP
Photo: Flickr
Re:Build System Focuses on Refugee Education
One of the main priorities for families living in refugee camps in the Middle East is the education of their children. Architects, nonprofit organizations, and a scaffolding company have teamed up to create the Re:Build construction system, a project that creates low-cost durable buildings built of readily available resources such as sand and soil. The buildings, which are planned to house schools, are easily set up and can be transported to other locations.
Children consist of a large proportion of refugees from Syria, and many of them have been out of school for several years. Building schools and providing them with education provides them with vast opportunities and empowers them to create their futures for themselves.
In order to better refugee education, these mobile, easily constructed schools can be expanded by adding extra modules, built by the refugees themselves, use sustainable materials that are locally and widely available, are weatherproof even in areas with seismic activity, and are designed with their communities in mind.
How do these systems work? They use wall frames filled with natural materials such as sand, gravel, or stones. The roof frame is topped with soil to provide insulation and a fertile place for micro-crops to grow. The structures have structures to reroute rainwater, come with solar panels, and have plywood flooring.
The Re:Build construction system was designed and implemented by architects Cameron Sinclair and Pouya Khaezli, nonprofits Save the Children and Relief International, and scaffold company Pilosio Building Peace. Together, they have constructed two schools in Jordan: one at Za’atari camp and another at Queen Rania Park in Amman. The Za’atari camp is the Middle East’s largest refugee camp which has now been existence for three years.
They are not only cost-effective but also mobile–they do not require construction crews to set up. According to Sinclair, many parents of the school’s new students helped construct the building. The cost of each school is still quite high – $30,000 each – but with crowdsourcing campaigns and local nonprofit donations, these schools are beginning to effect great changes for the children who use them.
In times of conflict, when many people feel as though they have no control over their situations and destinies, education can serve as an anchor for the heart.
“We victimize refugees by treating them as second-class citizens instead of understanding that they are some of the most resilient and hardworking people on the planet, said Sinclair. “By engaging the refugees as paid laborers ensures that they once again feel in charge of their own destiny and leave with the skills to reassemble the school back in their home country.”
– Jenny Wheeler
Sources: Huffington Post, “Building the Peace” Award
Photo: Flickr
Education in Egypt Post-Arab Spring
In 2011, tens of thousands of people took to Egypt’s streets to demand economic and political reform. Four years after the revolution, Egypt has seen many changes in leadership and policy. But how much has really changed for the country’s education system?
While Egypt has the largest public education system in the Middle East, it has one of the region’s lowest rates of public funding. Public schools are overcrowded, with classes of up to 100 students. Few schools have funds for suitable playgrounds or music and art programs.
Egyptian schools follow a rigid curriculum enforced by the central government. Since lessons focus solely on memorization, students have no chance to develop critical thinking skills.
Salma Wahba, UNICEF Egypt’s Youth and Adolescent Development Officer, has criticized Egypt’s education system, saying that it does not adequately prepare the country’s youth for the modern job market.
The Cairo Post reports that since the uprisings, Egypt’s youth unemployment rate has reached nearly 29 percent. Students who fail to develop marketable skills will go on to join the ranks of the young unemployed, Wahba says.
One of the main obstacles facing the Egyptian education system is the low wages for teachers. A study by British think tank Chatham House shows that teachers rarely make more than $281 a month.
Teachers are allowed to offer private lessons for additional fees. This leaves many underpaid teachers with little to no incentive to qualitatively teach. Students from poor families cannot afford private tutoring and consequently fall behind.
Although 2012 statistics from the Ministry of Education reported primary school enrollment rates at 93.3 percent, children can often be seen out in the streets during school hours. This discrepancy suggests that teachers frequently misreport student attendance.
The political instability of the past four years has also affected education in Egypt. Textbooks and curriculums that once favored the authoritarian regime of Hosni Mubarak were changed to favor the Muslim Brotherhood. The books then changed again to suit the agenda of current president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
Even Egyptian private schools, which cater mostly to middle-class families, are far from well-run.
“Parents are proud to enroll their children in a private school. But it doesn’t mean that the quality is good,” one private school teacher said. He explains that because private schools must maintain prestigious appearances, teachers often inflate grades and make easy exams.
According to the 2013 World Economic Forum (WEF) Global Competitiveness Report, Egypt had the lowest quality of primary education out of all 148 countries surveyed. The 2014 report showed that Egypt moved up three places in rank, a slight improvement.
But has the education system in Egypt always been this bad?
“The situation is so much worse now. I used to go to a public middle school, a public high school, and a public university. It wasn’t like that 10 years ago,” Mostafa Wafa, a recent Cairo University graduate explained.
Wafa’s observations of worsening school systems inspired him to form Mish Madrasa, an after-school program for children. Wafa focuses his work in Saft al-Laban, a poor Cairo neighborhood where just three public schools serve over 300,000 people.
The initiative provides well-trained teachers to fill in the gaps left by the public school system. For some students, Wafa notes, simply learning to read and write is an accomplishment.
Programs like Mish Madrasa offer a glimmer of hope in areas where government-supported schools have failed. While President Sisi’s administration has acknowledged the need for educational reform, it has implemented minimal concrete measures to date.
Last August, the new Education Minister Mahmoud Abou el-Nasr announced a complete revisal of the school curriculum. It also pledged to hire 30,000 better-qualified teachers and to raise teacher salaries by $140 per month. As of yet little has been done, but many hope that the reforms created in partnership with the European Union will eventually help mend a broken Egyptian education system.
– Caitlin Harrison
Sources: BBC, The Guardian 1, The Guardian 2, Al Jazeera, The Cairo Post, Foreign Policy Magazine
Photo: Wikipedia
NEMA Issues Delivery Kits to Displaced Pregnant Women
Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), issued 410 delivery kits to internally displaced pregnant women housed at camps in Maiduguri, Borno State. Among the delivery kits were a wax print and infant feeding bottles along with a mattress, a blanket and a net for the expected newborns.
The kits also included a baby bag, diapers, a basket, a towel, baby soap, and supplements for the mother such as milk and cocoa drink. The supplies come at a vital time since some of these women are due to give birth in late August or September.
The north-eastern Nigerian Borno State has been the worst affected in the conflict against the Boko Haram insurgency which began in 2009. Sani-Sidi, NEMA’s director general, says insurgent attacks have displaced many people, leading to the creation of 23 IDP camps in Borno State.
“In all the camps in the state, 60 percent of the IDPs are women and children classified as vulnerable and needing more support,” he said. “As a result, 410 pregnant women were selected [to receive delivery kits] out of 1,980 identified pregnant women in 13 female IDP camps in Maiduguri.”
Aid from NEMA comes a month after a July donation by Deluxe Childbirth Services coordinated in partnership with U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the United Nations Population Fund, and two USAID projects – THE Expanded Social Marketing Project in Nigeria and the Targeted States High Impact Project.
During this donation, UNFPA’s Ratidzai Ndhlovu underlined an expected high in births among Nigerian IDPs, stating that there would be an expected 60,000 births by the end of 2015.
According to UNICEF, a Nigerian woman’s chances of death during pregnancy and childbirth are 1 in 13. Additionally, newborn Nigerian mortalities, which occur among the first week of life, make up about one-fourth of total deaths of children under five years of age.
A majority of these deaths arise from complications during birthing or pregnancy, which serves to highlight the importance of maternal and newborn health care access, especially within vulnerable and displaced populations.
– Jaime Longoria
Sources: Premium Times 1, Premium Times 2, UNICEF