According to the National Retail Federation, Americans are projected to spend over $600 billion on holiday gifts during the 2014 season alone. A staggering statistic when compared to the fact that an estimated $40 billion would be necessary to provide clean water and sanitation, reproductive health for women and basic education, health and nutrition to every person living in a developing country worldwide.
Fortunately, many nonprofits, online marketplaces and charitable organizations are doing something to help redirect some of the money that Americans spend each holiday season to those who need it most. If you’re in the market for a gift that does double-duty this year, check out the following stores and nonprofit organizations for ample meaningful gift ideas:
1. Heifer International:
Give the gift of an animal in your friend or family’s name and help provide a family in a developing country with both food and a reliable source of income. Heifer International
2. Books for Africa:
Honor a friend or family with a book donation through Books for Africa (BFA), a non-profit dedicated to increasing literacy rates and children’s access to books in Africa. For donations of $50 or more, BFA will send a hand-written thank-you note to your honoree. $50 provides 100 books for a classroom. Books for Africa
3. Oxfam America Unwrapped:
Browse an endless array of gifts online—from goats and honeybees, to books and school meal programs for kids—and give to a family or child in need on behalf of a friend or family member. In return, a free, personalized card will be sent to the ‘gift-giver,’ along with a photo of the gift and information about how specifically it makes a difference in the lives of people living in poverty. Oxfam America Unwrapped
4. JADEtribe:
100 percent natural and ethical, JADEtribe’s bags, clothing and accessories truly embody the phrase “fashion with a conscience.” Each piece is handcrafted by women in South East Asia, and proceeds from JADEtribe purchases directly improve the lives of the female artisans who contribute to the company’s extensive selection. JADEtribe
5. Global Goods Partners:
Artisans living in third-world countries have an opportunity to sell their beautiful handmade goods on this online marketplace. Purchase a gift from this site, and a high percentage of sales will go directly back to the artisan who made it. Global Goods Partners
6. Ten Thousand Villages:
A fair-trade retailer since 1946, Ten Thousand Villages has stores across the United States, and an extensive collection of jewelry, clothing, kitchen and household items, and home décor, among many other gift ideas. The store partners with artisans around the world, in Bangladesh, India, Nigeria, Cambodia and Peru, among dozens of other countries. Its mission: sustain livelihoods, empower women, preserve cultural arts, and build global relationships. Ten Thousand Villages for online purchases or to find a store near you.
7. The Little Market:
Lauren Conrad’s e-commerce site, which is filled with vibrant, handmade goods, was created to serve as a platform for female artisans living in third-world countries worldwide to reach a wider audience. The proceeds for items such as jewelry, clothing, bags and ceramics go directly back to the women who made them. The Little Market
8. Bead for Life:
Bead for Life was founded to empower women in Uganda by helping them start their own bead-making businesses. The Beading Program provides women in impoverished countries with a steady source of income, derived from handcrafted beaded jewelry. Invite friends and family to shop for the cause by hosting a Beading Party from your home; a customized inventory of jewelry will be sent directly to your doorstep beforehand. Or order beads online. Bead for Life
Whether you’re giving a life-changing gift of an animal to a family in need, or wrapping a selection of handmade bags, scarves and jewelry that will help support the livelihood and businesses of female artisans worldwide, choosing a gift from the above list automatically makes you an ally in the fight against global poverty. Why not send a feel-good present or two this year, when it’s guaranteed to touch the friend or family member you’re choosing to honor, and to alter the lives of the person, family or community on its receiving end?
– Elizabeth Nutt
Sources: The Borgen Project, Info Wars
Photo: Nugget Market
Global Climate Change: Will India Follow?
The breakthrough collaborative announcement by the United States and China on curbing greenhouse gases has sparked a global movement on climate change. For many years, international climate talks have been ignored by those who caused the problem of climate change. The United States and China remain the two largest emitters of carbon dioxide, and have now pledged to reduce emissions by at least 40 percent by 2030. With India on board with the global change, the movement would spark continual momentum.
A critical question is whether India will join the United States and China’s side in climate talks. India has become the third world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases. The world needs India to join many other countries to help alleviate climate change; without India, efforts to tackle global climate change will be difficult. India must consider its investment in developing clean and renewable energies, and reconsider its investment on coal.
India and China share a common domestic problem; fossil fuels that cause climate change also create major air pollution. Over the years, air pollution has risen to harmful levels. The World Health Organization monitors for air pollution, and has stated that China and India’s cities failed the organization’s test for satisfactory levels of airborne particulate. This microscopic matter is believed to be one of the most deadly air pollutants for the human health. More than half of these cities also fail to uphold to their own specific standards.
The pollution shortens lives and is costly to China and India’s economic growth. As a result, many Chinese citizens have called for change. China’s leaders have responded by taking big actions on the global climate change, and should motivate India to do the same before the problem poses a bigger threat.
India could possibly follow China. India’s Prime Minster, Narendra Modi, has publicly acknowledged the recognition of the country’s severe pollution problem. Modi made a public announcement on his objectives to make air quality data accessible to the public. India has a reputation for investing huge amounts on coal. In the last five years, India has increased its coal power capacity by 73 percent. Moreover, India plants to double domestic coal production to one billion tons a year, by 2019, to fuel new plants and boost imports.
India’s air is among the world’s dirtiest, with largely unregulated and unmonitored coal plants. Unfortunately India’s decisions to invest big on coal plants kills up to 115,000 Indians a year, and costs the Indian people about $4.6 billion annually.
Many climate change advocates in India have expressed doubts following India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi’s, choice to not attend the United Nations Climate Summit to speak about the change.
The Green Climate Fund, which operates to redistribute money from the developed world to the developing world in order to assist developing nations in adapting to climate changes, have risen close to $10 billion in funds. Pledges to the fund come from the government of 22 countries; four developing countries were among the contributors.
If India makes amends to follow other nations in pledging towards helping the change, this will make its mark in history as one of the largest movements in confronting climate change.
– Sandy Phan
Sources: WHO, UNFCCC, Center for Climate and Energy Solutions
Photo: LA Times
Education in Yemen Still Needs Attention
Yemen, a small Middle Eastern nation southwest of Saudi Arabia, has embarked on an ambitious goal in the past decade and a half to drastically reform its education system. As part of the 2000 UN Millennium Development Goal project launched nearly 15 years ago, Yemen set a goal of reaching 100 percent primary school enrollment by 2015.
As 2014 draws to a close, it appears that Yemen will not be meeting its Millennium Development education goal by next year. However, statistics indicate significant progress has been made in recent years, though more attention is needed to bring education in Yemen up to par with other developed nations. According to the World Bank, Yemen’s net primary school enrollment rate stood at 86 percent in 2013, the last year data was made available. These numbers are up from 66 percent in 2001.
Educational improvements may in part be attributed to the implementation of several ambitious educational reform projects. One such project, the Secondary Education Development and Girls Access Project (SEDGAP), was launched in 2007 with the goal of addressing three main areas of the Yemeni education system: “improving equity and reducing gender gaps, enhancing the quality of service delivery, and project management and monitoring.”
To help reduce educational gender gaps, SEDGAP imposed a minimum 15 percent female representation requirement in new teaching posts. As of 2008, only 7.5 percent of secondary school teachers in rural areas were female. Anecdotal evidence has suggested that hiring female teachers attracts greater female enrollment rates. According to the International Development Association (IDA), this may be due in part to the fact that Yemeni parents tend to object to male instructors teaching their daughters, particularly in higher grades.
Other material and social factors such as lack of transportation, poor school facilities and early marriage have also been significant contributors to the educational gender gap. These material factors appear to disproportionately affect girls living in rural areas.
SEDGAP has introduced a variety of other reforms to improve service delivery and monitoring. Some of these reforms include new guidelines aimed to balance out uneven student-teacher ratios across rural and urban schools, more consistent oversight of teacher absenteeism and salaries, textbook revisions for grades 1-12, and new oversight regulations for Yemen’s three public educational ministries.
SEDGAP implementation will be completed in late January 2015. A February 2014 impartial review of the project concluded moderate satisfaction in meeting progress development objectives.
World Bank data indicates gross enrollment rates for basic, secondary and tertiary education have increased overall for Yemeni boys and girls. Nevertheless, more time is needed to meet Millennium Development education goals, particularly for secondary education targets among females. According to the United Nation Development Programme, only 7.6 percent of Yemeni females age 25 and over have at least some secondary education.
– Katrina Beedy
Sources: World Bank 1, World Bank 2, World Bank 3, World Bank 4, World Bank 5
Photo: National Yemen
The Causes of Multi-Drug Resistant Tuberculosis
In 2013, five percent of global tuberculosis cases were known as multi-drug resistant tuberculosis. MDR TB is a form of tuberculosis that does not respond to the standard first-line drugs of Isoniazid and Rifampicin, which are used to treat TB.
Multi-drug resistant tuberculosis is on the rise around the world. There are 27 high MDR TB burden countries. A large majority of these are also high burden countries for regular TB as well. MDR TB rates are extremely high in Eastern Europe, where as many as 28 percent of new TB cases are MDR. Two countries, India and China, carry the most incidences of MDR TB.
Multi-drug resistant tuberculosis is a man-made problem created by inadequate or improper administration of TB drugs. Because of the length of treatment required for TB, improper drug use is common. As patients start to feel better, they stop taking their medication. The TB bacteria are still not eradicated from the body so the TB builds resistance to the first-line drugs that the patient has already taken. When the patients fall ill again, their TB strain will not only not respond to first line drugs, it will be highly contagious.
Weak TB control programs at the country-level contribute to drug resistance because they allow for improper TB treatment. Because of the risk that patients will not finish the TB treatment cycle, TB control programs are designed to create a system of observation by health professionals that insures proper treatment. However, countries with low health infrastructure and limited resources cannot follow the progress of every TB patient.
A growing concern is not the new instances of MDR TB cases but the infectiousness of the people who already have it. Because TB disproportionately affects the poor, who live in crowded, unsanitary conditions, the threat of contagion is much greater. This is especially true in high-burden countries like India and China, where the living conditions of the poor are extremely crowded.
The treatment for MDR TB is extremely expensive and much harder to access. The treatment cycle can last upward of two years and includes a daily injection for a period of six months, increasing the risk of patients not finishing the treatment even more than regular TB treatment. Patients who do not finish treatment create resistance to the second-line drugs.
A new phenomenon emerging is an extremely drug resistant, or XDR, strain of TB. XDR TB cases only make up five percent of MDR TB cases. XDR TB is resistant to any fluoroquinolon, at least one of three second-line drugs and both first-line drugs. Research and infrastructure dealing directly with XDR TB are very limited and resource consuming. For least-developed and developing countries with limited medical resources, XDR TB is almost impossible to treat.
– Caitlin Huber
Sources: E-Medicine Health TB Alliance, WHO
Photo: The Guardian
Holiday Gifts that Keep Giving
According to the National Retail Federation, Americans are projected to spend over $600 billion on holiday gifts during the 2014 season alone. A staggering statistic when compared to the fact that an estimated $40 billion would be necessary to provide clean water and sanitation, reproductive health for women and basic education, health and nutrition to every person living in a developing country worldwide.
Fortunately, many nonprofits, online marketplaces and charitable organizations are doing something to help redirect some of the money that Americans spend each holiday season to those who need it most. If you’re in the market for a gift that does double-duty this year, check out the following stores and nonprofit organizations for ample meaningful gift ideas:
1. Heifer International:
Give the gift of an animal in your friend or family’s name and help provide a family in a developing country with both food and a reliable source of income. Heifer International
2. Books for Africa:
Honor a friend or family with a book donation through Books for Africa (BFA), a non-profit dedicated to increasing literacy rates and children’s access to books in Africa. For donations of $50 or more, BFA will send a hand-written thank-you note to your honoree. $50 provides 100 books for a classroom. Books for Africa
3. Oxfam America Unwrapped:
Browse an endless array of gifts online—from goats and honeybees, to books and school meal programs for kids—and give to a family or child in need on behalf of a friend or family member. In return, a free, personalized card will be sent to the ‘gift-giver,’ along with a photo of the gift and information about how specifically it makes a difference in the lives of people living in poverty. Oxfam America Unwrapped
4. JADEtribe:
100 percent natural and ethical, JADEtribe’s bags, clothing and accessories truly embody the phrase “fashion with a conscience.” Each piece is handcrafted by women in South East Asia, and proceeds from JADEtribe purchases directly improve the lives of the female artisans who contribute to the company’s extensive selection. JADEtribe
5. Global Goods Partners:
Artisans living in third-world countries have an opportunity to sell their beautiful handmade goods on this online marketplace. Purchase a gift from this site, and a high percentage of sales will go directly back to the artisan who made it. Global Goods Partners
6. Ten Thousand Villages:
A fair-trade retailer since 1946, Ten Thousand Villages has stores across the United States, and an extensive collection of jewelry, clothing, kitchen and household items, and home décor, among many other gift ideas. The store partners with artisans around the world, in Bangladesh, India, Nigeria, Cambodia and Peru, among dozens of other countries. Its mission: sustain livelihoods, empower women, preserve cultural arts, and build global relationships. Ten Thousand Villages for online purchases or to find a store near you.
7. The Little Market:
Lauren Conrad’s e-commerce site, which is filled with vibrant, handmade goods, was created to serve as a platform for female artisans living in third-world countries worldwide to reach a wider audience. The proceeds for items such as jewelry, clothing, bags and ceramics go directly back to the women who made them. The Little Market
8. Bead for Life:
Bead for Life was founded to empower women in Uganda by helping them start their own bead-making businesses. The Beading Program provides women in impoverished countries with a steady source of income, derived from handcrafted beaded jewelry. Invite friends and family to shop for the cause by hosting a Beading Party from your home; a customized inventory of jewelry will be sent directly to your doorstep beforehand. Or order beads online. Bead for Life
Whether you’re giving a life-changing gift of an animal to a family in need, or wrapping a selection of handmade bags, scarves and jewelry that will help support the livelihood and businesses of female artisans worldwide, choosing a gift from the above list automatically makes you an ally in the fight against global poverty. Why not send a feel-good present or two this year, when it’s guaranteed to touch the friend or family member you’re choosing to honor, and to alter the lives of the person, family or community on its receiving end?
– Elizabeth Nutt
Sources: The Borgen Project, Info Wars
Photo: Nugget Market
VEGA Brings Economic Growth Globally
The Volunteers For Economic Growth Alliance, or VEGA, is a nonprofit that brings its members together to execute economic growth projects overseas.
Founded in 2004, VEGA was originally an initiative of the United States Agency for International Development. The organization was meant to be a procurement partner.
Today, VEGA represents itself as a respected NGO alliance of 23 member organizations. Each member brings its expertise to the Alliance to allow VEGA programs to grow in development and scale.
Based in Washington, D.C., VEGA can effectively manage its programs stationed in developing nations.
With a mission to mobilize expertise and resources to promote sustainable economic opportunities, VEGA’s programs aim to scale the services of local organizations, create jobs, increase commerce and trade and improve management.
Volunteers from the U.S. offer their expertise to programs that are committed to serving women, youth and others who are ready to be entrepreneurs in order to lift themselves out of poverty.
Currently, VEGA manages 36 programs in 28 countries.
These programs include: Farmer-to-Farmer, Capacity Building of Cambodia’s Local Organizations, Competitive Agriculture Systems for High Value Crops and Kazakhstan Business Connections.
Though programs only run in 28 countries, members have worked in over 140 countries, bringing their values and skills to local partnerships.
The expertise that VEGA members bring to the team range in areas from agriculture and food security, to tourism development and financial services. Also included are environment and energy, enterprise development and trade and investment.
VEGA believes that economic growth that emphasizes innovation, local partnerships and integrated solutions is the best way to promote prosperity.
With the power of volunteers rallying behind this mission, the strength in collaboration has allowed this NGO to make an impact in economic growth for the developing communities it serves.
– Chelsee Yee
Sources: VEGA Alliance, ACDI VOCA, Africa Agribusiness Magazine
Photo: USAID
Obstacles in Water and Sanitation Goals
Currently, approximately 2.5 billion people around the world do not have access to basic sanitation services, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
On November 19, the UN released a report highlighting the gaps in water and sanitation progress. “Water and sanitation are essential to human health. Political commitment to ensure universal access to these vital services is at an all-time high,” said WHO Director of the Department of Public Health and the Environment, Dr Maria Neira. “International aid for the sector is on the rise. But we continue to see major financial gaps at the country level, particularly in rural areas.”
Ninety-four countries were surveyed in the UN-Water Global Analysis and Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking-Water report. Data revealed that over 80 percent of these countries have enacted national policies for drinking-water and sanitation, with over 75 percent enacting policies for hygiene as well. The report also recognized that international aid for improved water and sanitation conditions is increasing. Aid rose from $8.3 billion to $10.9 billion between 2010 and 2012- an increase of 30 percent. Most recent increases in international aid have been the result of strives toward the Millennium Development Goals.
However, WHO points out the major gaps in the MDGs. Approximately 748 million people lack access to clean drinking water sources while a billion people have no sanitary system in place and are forced to practice open defecation.
Still today, hundreds of millions of people lack clean water and soap to wash their hands. This leads to transmission of diarrhoeal disease which is the second largest killer of children under five. Lack of clean water can cause many other water-borne diseases as well, including cholera, typhoid and hepatitis while poor sanitation can cause debilitating diseases like blinding trachoma, intestinal worms and schistosomiasis.
WHO reports that the key obstacles which inhibit progress to water and sanitation development include insufficient funding and weak national capabilities to carry out water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) initiatives. While statistics show that international aid is increasing, 80 percent of countries have declared that their current financial resources are too low to meet WASH targets.
The funding gap is even more extreme in rural areas which represent the majority of people in need of sanitation and water systems. According to the new report, less than 10 percent of WASH financing goes to improvement in rural areas. Additionally, the report cites challenges in implementing WASH programs in national institutions like schools and health facilities. Fewer than 30 percent of surveyed countries have institutional WASH plans that are being fully carried out, funded and reviewed.
Despite these obstacles to WASH and Millennium Development Goals, many are still hopeful that countries will get back on track to achieving their targets.
“Now is the time to act,” says Michel Jarraud, Chair of UN-Water and Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization. “We may not know yet what the post-2015 sustainable development agenda will look like. But we do know that water and sanitation must be clear priorities if we are to create a future that allows everyone to live healthy, prosperous and dignified lives.”
– Meagan Douches
Sources: UN, UNHCR, WHO
Photo: U.S. Chamber Foundation
Five Places to Volunteer this Holiday Season
Many people think that they can’t help others if they don’t have money to donate, yet there are many other ways to give back to those in need. Most organizations would be grateful for a pair of helping hands if you have a little time to spare this holiday season. At a time when many people are caught up in the commercial aspect of the holidays, giving back to others can be a very fulfilling and rewarding experience. Here are five international organizations where you can volunteer this holiday season.
1. Stop Hunger Now
Stop Hunger Now is an international relief organization that provides food packages with over 23 essential nutrients to those in need. The organization has helped provide food and aid to people in 65 different countries. Stop Hunger has over 25 meal packaging locations across the U.S. where anyone is welcome to go and volunteer. You can also arrange a meal packaging drive in your local community where Stop Hunger Now will travel to you. The group makes meal packaging a fun activity and encourages teamwork between volunteers to raise production goals.
2. Heifer International
Hiefer has helped bring over 20.1 million families out of hunger and poverty through the use of animals, water purification, women’s empowerment and sustainable farming. The organization’s unique donation system allows donors to fund life-saving projects as well as partial and complete animal donations (mainly cows, goats, sheep, llamas and bees). These animals can help provide a community with valuable resources so they can learn to feed themselves.
In addition, Hiefer offers a multitude of volunteering experiences that range from simply getting the word out about the cause to working on one of Heifer’s animal farms. For those who want to stay local, volunteers can conduct fundraising campaigns like the Read to Feed drive, which promotes a love of reading in children as well as community service. Volunteers can also help advocate Heifer International at local and national events or even travel to one of Heifer’s U.S. farms where they can chose from a variety of volunteer programs lasting from several hours to five days long. You can even sign up to stay and work on the farm for several months if you aren’t quite ready to leave.
3. Oxfam International
Oxfam has established development programs in over 90 countries which work to improve human rights, food security, healthcare and education. The organization allows volunteers to work towards global human rights and poverty-elimination at the local level. Volunteers have the opportunity to join the organization’s Action Corps, a group of trained grassroots advocates that work together locally to gain support for life-saving policies, defend human rights and help communities across the world to overcome hunger and climate change. Action Corps members primarily work as advocates at local events, as event organizers and as leaders. Oxfam’s volunteer program has received great feedback, helping many to develop valuable leadership skills and standout in the job market.
If you aren’t looking to make the commitment to the Action Corps program, Oxfam also looks for volunteers to represent the group at concerts and festivals as well as local events such as farmers markets.
4. Habitat for Humanity
Habitat for Humanity strives to provide safe, affordable housing for low-income families throughout the world. The organization prides itself on an open door policy which brings people together from all walks of life. Habitat has local branches throughout all 50 states, making it easy and convenient for volunteers. Individuals can volunteer at their local branch or even participate in an international Global Village volunteer trip. Volunteers work as a team to build and repair houses for those in need and they can devote as little as one day since there are no time requirements to help out. Volunteering at Habitat helps individuals build skills, meet other like-minded people, while providing a rewarding experience to those involved.
5. Mercy Corps
Similar to Heifer International, Mercy Corps offers many charitable gift ideas that go to those living in poverty. This includes donations of livestock, clean water systems, solar power, vaccinations and education for women and children. Mercy Corps’ gift site makes it easy and fun to give rewarding and charitable gifts- a unique idea for this holiday season!
Mercy Corps Action Center volunteers are able to use their people skills by speaking at events and managing information tables for the organization. In addition, the organization’s MicroMentor system connects business mentors, volunteers and entrepreneurs.
Volunteering at one of these organizations is a great way to give back this holiday season. Though, don’t forget that these groups need help throughout the rest of the year as well.
– Meagan Douches
Sources: Habitat For Humanity, Heifer International, Mercy Corps, Oxfam, Stop Hunger Now
Photo: Wikipedia
Episcopal Relief and Development Celebrates 75
In 1938, in the midst of the Second World War, Episcopalians around the country raised money to help European refugees. In 1940, the Episcopal Church formally founded the Bishop’s Fund for World Relief. Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, the Bishop’s Fund continued to help with post-WWII efforts to rebuild. In 2000, the Fund was renamed to Episcopal Relief and Development. In 2002, it was incorporated as a 501(c)(3). In 2003 it shifted to long-term development projects, officially endorsing the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
The platform which Episcopal Relief and Development works from is based on partnership, both with church and other partners in host countries that are working in the same regions with the same goals.
Each year, Episcopal Relief and Development works in over 40 countries and reaches over three million people. Some of those countries are the most impoverished in the world, including Haiti, Burundi, Malawi and Nicaragua.
Episcopal Relief and Development’s four core programs are to alleviate hunger and improve food supply, create economic opportunities and strengthen communities, promote health and fight disease and respond to disasters and rebuild communities. Specific programs include fighting malaria, micro-finance, clean water and maternal and child health. All of their programs relate directly to the MDGs.
The official mission of Episcopal Relief and Development is “to bring together the generosity of Episcopalians and others with the needs of the world.” According to their financial statements, 84 percent of their 2013 budget went to programs. Ten percent went to fundraising and the remaining six percent went to administration. Episcopal Relief and Development is accredited by the Better Business Bureau, InterAction, Charity Navigator and GuideStar. They are based out of New York City.
– Caitlin Huber
Sources: Episcopal Relief, Charity Navigator
Photo: Episcopal Relief
Pakistan Mobile Bus Library Program
Last month, the Pakistan Reading Project launched its first mobile bus library program at a government secondary school to promote reading habits for young students.
The program is set to run over the next two years in Sindh and Islamabad Capital Territory with plans to bring reading materials directly to communities as part of a larger mission to improve the quality of education.
It’s all part of the USAID-funded Pakistan Reading Project, a five-year initiative that supports the country’s provincial and regional Departments of Education to improve the reading skills of four million children.
The project does this by improving the quality of primary education, teacher education, policy reforms and community engagement. This includes making supplemental instructional materials more widely available to primary school teachers as well as providing a model that ensures sustainability of the initiatives even through permanent policy changes.
The result? At least 2.5 million children who can read at levels commensurate with their grade standards.
The mobile bus library program is an effort to see this vision come true by bringing age-appropriate reading materials directly to communities that don’t have established libraries.
In addition, trained librarians will be aboard each bus, conducting storytelling sessions in each community that they visit. They will also issue books for students to take home to read. It’s an initiative to help reintroduce and reestablish a national culture of reading that once existed in Pakistan.
At the program’s official inauguration, the Assistant to the Administrator of USAID, Donald “Larry” Sampler, and the President of the International Rescue Committee (IRC), David Miliband, were present to speak on the occasion.
“The Mobile Library Programme is just one element of the USAID-funded Pakistan Reading Project which will help Pakistani children to start their own journeys in the world of books,” said Sampler. “Through this partnership between USAID, our implementing partner – the IRC and the Government of Pakistan, we are taking a multi-pronged approach to help increase literacy.”
The Pakistan Reading Project is a $165 million project that has launched several campaigns as well as television and radio episodes with complimentary print material that highlight the importance of reading to all communities.
With the addition of the mobile library bus program, this project anticipates that they will fulfill their vision in seeing improvement in classroom learning and the reestablishment of a national reading culture.
– Chelsee Yee
Sources: Pakistan Reading Project, USAID, Pakistan Today, Zee News
Photo: PBS
10,000 Girls Empowers Senegal
In the moment of need she had to decide whether she will rise to the occasion or fall under the pressure. After the very sudden death of her 26-year-old daughter who left behind five grandchildren – Viola Vaughn was left searching for the pathway to peace. A native of Detroit, Michigan, she spent had much of her life working in Africa. Sensing a need for a return to Africa, her husband and the five grandchildren headed to Kaolack a small town in Senegal.
With a hopeful heart they moved, little did Vaughn know another sudden tragedy, the death of her husband would occur shortly after the move. Lost in her grief Vaughn devoted all of her time to home-schooling her grandchildren ages four to 12.
Word of Vaughn’s success with her grandchildren began spreading and more and more children wanted to have Vaughn as their teacher. Mothers approached her with stories of their children not doing well in school, within two weeks her classroom went from five to 20 students eager to learn from their teacher. Vaughn became more aware of the increasingly low statistical rates of girls getting an education because of the high demands that are put on them on the home front. Most young girls would only fail because they would not be able to make it to classes and exams leading to high dropping out rates and failed classes. In 2001, Vaughn decided to make it official and turned her grandchildren’s bedrooms into classrooms.
She conducted a system of teaching them how to teach and support one another. Within a mere two years the group grew from five to 20 to now 80 girls who are thriving in school. She received a grant and has hired teachers, she had set a limit to 100 but the enrollment rate is exceedingly increasing. The girls are especially ambitious, wanting to take it to 10,000 students.
In order to raise money to reach their goal of 10,000 students, the girls learned to bake. Vaughn taught them and they are now selling their goodies for profit towards the school. With the rapid fundraising of money the girls were able to buy books, supplies and to support more students. The most amazing part is that they are becoming fully self-sufficient, learning skills beyond math and science.
The girls now have a catering, baking and sewing businesses. More than 1,500 girls are now enrolled in Vaughn’s program in six different locations and the waiting list of 1,000 continues to increase. Growing up some of her students were told they would never make it to high school are now earning their college degrees. She hopes that her girls will help revolutionize the region, and she slowly has done just that. The original school started in Senegal, in the city of Kaolack and has since spread to Kaffrine, Kaymor, Koungheul, Maleme-Hoddar, Ndoffane and Kedougou, all small to mid-size towns in Senegal.
10,000 Girls is empowering, uplifting, motivating and encouraging girls all across the globe that they do have the right to an education and they were born with a purpose.
– Charisma Thapa
Sources: Daily Good, 10,000 Girls
Photo: Inter Press Service News