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Water for South Sudan Inc.

Spearheaded by founder and former “lost boy” Salva Dut, Water for South Sudan Inc. is dedicated to providing the people of South Sudan with “access to clean, safe water and to improving hygiene practices in areas of great need.”

After the Sudanese civil war in 1985, millions of people were displaced. Salva Dut was able to lead 1500 “lost boys” to Kakuma, a refugee camp in Kenya. He was able to move to the U.S. in 1996, and founded Water for South Sudan Inc. in 2003 in an attempt to help those still living in Sudan.

While Salva holds dual citizenship between the U.S. and South Sudan, he spends most of his time in South Sudan supervising drilling expeditions. He also travels throughout the U.S. in order to fundraise for this non-profit organization.

Becoming a country in 2011, South Sudan is the world’s newest country—and it’s also one of the poorest. In an effort to help this developing nation, as of May 2014, 217 borehole wells have been successfully drilled by Water for South Sudan Inc. These wells are responsible for providing thousands of people with clean water in South Sudan. The drilling teams work west and east of the White Nile River in villages in the two surrounding areas. (The White Nile River is a river that bisects Sudan.)

Water for South Sudan operates on the basic principle that “the ethical and moral way to create lasting change is to respect and empower people’s capacity to transform their own lives.”

The effects of the wells are enormous. Having greater access to water means that children can go to school instead of searching for water, women are not forced to spend days journeying long distances to bring back water for their families, and that businesses have a greater chance of being successful.

– Jordyn Horowitz

Sources: Water for South Sudan, Social Work and Society International Online Journal, Global Giving
Photo: Global Giving

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All About the RAND Corporation

RAND corporation mission statement: “We exist to help policymakers make decisions that are based on the best available information.”

The RAND corporation was developed by Henry Arnold in 1946, and became an independent nonprofit organization in 1948 after WWII. He believed that there should be a group to keep America’s technology ahead of the rest of the world. The main idea behind the organization was to connect military planning with research and development decisions. It was initially formed to offer research and analysis to the United States Armed forces. In the 60’s, the organization became known as a think tank. At that time, a think tank was a research institute that came up with new ideas that could influence public policy.

RAND’s vision is “To be the world’s most trusted source for policy ideas and analysis.” Today, RAND does research on more than 1,000 topics a year.

They are reaching for their work to be understood by everyone, not just the experts. Because of this, they make all their research and findings available for download on their webpage.

They are proud that they have been able to remain independent of commercial and political pressures. It is stated on their “History and Mission” page that quality and objectivity are their two core values.

RAND Corporation is commissioned by government agencies, foundations and private firms.

The corporation is made up of 1,700 staff from around the world and is located in 47 different countries. Having this many people allows for RAND to have a diverse professional and educational background. There are 65 different languages spoken throughout RAND, and many of the staff are multilingual. Some of the popular languages are Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Russian, and Spanish. Fifty-seven percent of the people working for RAND have one or more doctorate degrees, and another 29 percent have one or more master’s degrees. This shows that RAND’s staff is well rounded, extremely educated and knowledgeable on the topics they are researching.

– Priscilla Rodarte

Sources: RAND Corporation, Mental Floss
Photo: Hands off Mother Earth

Soil Pollution in China

Part of China’s industrial landscape spans the Yixing area, and while the chemical boom has made the area one of China’s richest “country-level towns,” it has also caused an immense amount of damage to China’s third largest fresh water lake, Lake Tai.

Moreover, the area of increased industrialization is also located near agricultural fields, and consequently, vegetables are being planted in soil polluted by cadmium, mercury, lead and other disease-causing metals.

Although air and water pollution are widely discussed, soil pollution in China is not as widely addressed.  Only in February of 2013 did the Ministry of Environmental Protection declare that the villages around Lake Tai and the Fenshui and Zhoutie areas are considered “cancer villages.”

Although many factories have been closed in an attempt to reduce the pollution of Lake Tai, much of the damage has already been done, as the harmful chemicals remain in the soil.  Villager Zhang Junwei told a Guardian reporter that cancer rates had risen in the past ten years, and although farmers are aware of the harmful affects their crops have on the buyers, they have no choice but to plant in the polluted soil.

Dingshu has been one of the main areas of pollution, and although in 2011 there was a large effort to shutdown many ceramic factories, by 2013 only 300 had been completely closed.

Guardian reporter He Guangwei writes that “the area’s problems illustrate the high price China is paying for 30 years of rapid economic development and the risks China’s increasingly serious soil pollution poses to its food.”

In April 2014 the Ministry of Land and National Bureau of Statistics released a report saying that “16.1 percent of China’s soil and 19.4 percent of farmland were contaminated.” These results are forcing government officials to take more immediate action against the increasing pollution.  Legislation increasing fines for polluters and ensuring that economic growth is not the sole factor in giving promotions to local officials is being developed in response to the environmental damage.

-Jordyn Horowitz

Sources: The Guardian, eWater
Photo: The Guardian

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Which Countries Do The Most and Why?

Mankind has tendencies for both conflict and generosity. Simon Anholt conducted a study called the Nations Brand Index in 2005, on people’s perception of countries. Sampling and polling over seventy percent of the world’s population, Anholt began his search for the type of self-interest that would motivate countries to act on a global scale.

Anholt found that the image of a country is vitally important to its government’s survival, and that this image greatly affects the economic growth and stability of a country. The results that were collected were utilized to form the Nations Brand Index, that now consists of over 200 billion pieces of data on perceptions of countries across the world.

Anholt found that good countries, not necessarily wealthy or powerful ones, were the most appealing on a global scale. He summarizes his findings with these words, “in order to do well, you need to do good”.

From these findings, Anholt developed a second index called the Good Country Index, which measures how much a country contributes to the populations of other countries. The Good Country Index found that Ireland contributed the most to the world in terms of per head of population and per dollar of GDP. Finland came second in ranking, and the U.S. ranked 21st.

How does the U.S. move up in the rankings? We can start with increasing foreign aid, which is less than 1 percent of the federal budget. Per capita, the United States spends $80.37 towards development aid. The average American spends more per year on candy, alone. Ireland contributes 6.8 percent of income per individual, certainly a larger amount than the average Americans candy budget. This is what makes Ireland “good” and creates an image admired by other countries. In order to do well, America needs to do more good.

– Christopher Kolezynski

Sources: TED, Oxfam, The Borgen Project Nation Master
Photo: Kennedy Adventures

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10 Facts about Child Soldiers

child soldier facts -borgen project
When the word “soldier” comes to mind many people think of a strong heroic adult who is fighting for their country. Many people think of a soldier as a person who has voluntarily put their life at risk once again for their country. But many people when they hear the word “soldier” do not think of children. When people hear the words “kids or children” they often think of a young person in school who enjoys playing. People most often think of a child as a young person with few responsibilities and very little stress. But for millions of children around the world this is not the case, many of them are recruited by governments to fight in wars. They are called child soldiers.

Top 10 Facts about Child Soldiers:

  1. Child soldiers are children under the age of 18 who are recruited by armed groups who use children as shields, cooks, suicide bombers, fighters, spies, messengers and/or for sexual purposes.
  2. Some children are under the age of 10 when they are forced to serve.
  3. Children who are forced to serve as soldiers most likely are displaced, poor, have little access to education or live in war zones.
  4. Some children willingly volunteer themselves as child soldiers because they believe it will give them a form of income and/or security.
  5. 10 to 30 percent of kid soldiers are girls. They are used for fighting and are especially vulnerable to sexual violence they are also given to commanders as wives.
  6. The following countries have reported use of child soldiers since 2011: Afghanistan, Colombia, India, Iraq, Israel, Libya, Mali, Pakistan, Thailand, Sudan, Syria, Yemen and more.
  7. In 2007 there were between 7,000 to 10,000 child soldiers in combat although there was a government agreement in the District of Chad to demobilize the recruitment of child soldiers.
  8. Since there have been many technological advances in the making of war weapons they have been made real easy to use, which has contributed to the increase in child soldiers.
  9. Some child soldiers are forced to act violently against their families and communities to make sure they do not return home.
  10. Since 2001 child soldiers have been recruited in 21 armed conflicts all around the world.

Children’s childhoods and human rights are taken away once they are recruited to become child soldiers. Many of them are brainwashed to think it is okay to be serving in war zones at such a young age and often end up having psychological problems.

— Priscilla Rodarte

Sources: Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Do Something
Photo: IB Times

 

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Convoy of Hope

Convoy of Hope - Borgen Project
Convoy of Hope, founded in 1994 by the Donaldson family, is dedicated to helping those in need. It’s a simple and ambitious goal. To meet it, efforts concentrate on six areas of interest.

Community Events

In the United States, the organization partners with local businesses to provide the community’s poor with a “poverty-free day.” What is a poverty free day? A day which people receive free meals, access to health and dental care, job-placement services and family portrait sittings. The services depend on three things: the input of the partners, the needs of the community and the skills of available volunteers. In 2013, volunteers served more than 120,000 “guests-of-honor”.

Rural Compassion

Like in many places around the world, rural communities in the United States are hit hardest by poverty. By training pastors and community leaders, Convoy helps to spur on positive change.

Children’s Feeding

Convoy of Hope feeds more than 145,000 children in 11 different nations across Africa, Central America and the Philippines. Aware that the meal they provide is the only one some children get, every attention is paid to nutrition. The Convoy carefully monitors the health of each child enrolled in the program. Trying to create healthy living environments, Convoy teaches proper hygiene and sanitation. By collecting and purifying water, and distributing filtration systems, they hope to promote water security.

Agricultural Development

A relatively new Agricultural Initiative is being piloted in Haiti. There, nearly 3,000 farmers trained in applicable agricultural science and crop management, according to their economic and geographic situation. Crop yield has increased among Convoy-trained farmers exponentially. Black bean planting, in particular, is up by 100 percent.

Disaster Services

Working with over 200 partners, Convoy of Hope’s Disaster Response Team aids in both domestic and international disaster relief. They determine relief effort needs and assess the efficacy of Convoy volunteers on the field. These volunteers, grouped in teams, unload supplies from shipments made by their World Distribution Center. Convoy commits to the total recovery of communities, so feet remain on the ground for months, sometimes years.

Women’s Empowerment

Nearly 70 percent of people living in poverty are women. Giving them the chance to earn an income is a significant step towards reducing that poverty. So Convoy provides training to women in Ethiopia, Tanzania, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and the Philippines. With financial and educational support provided by Convoy, women can start their own businesses. Those in the “Mother’s Clubs” attend sessions on nutrition, health and literacy. Younger girls have access to programs on relevant topics like self-esteem and gender based violence.

By the sheer number of functioning programs run by Convoy, it is obvious that the organization is well established. Volunteers with a multitude of skills serve in many different capacities. Still, their purpose remains to aid those struggling, whenever and wherever they need help.

– Olivia Kostreva

Sources: Convoy of Hope Community Events, Convoy of Hope Children’s Feeding, Convoy of Hope Disaster Services, Convoy of Hope Agriculture, Convoy of Hope Women’s Empowerment, Convoy of Hope Rural Compassion, Charity Navigator, FeedOne
Photo: Dew Foundation

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Alliance for Peacebuilding

Alliance for Peacebuilding
The Alliance for Peacebuilding, or AfP, seeks to find innovative approaches to Peacebuilding through a number of related fields, including development, relief, human rights, democracy and security sector reform.

Launched in 1999 as the Applied Conflict Resolution Organization Network, the organization obtained a $1 million dollar funding grant from the Hewlett Foundation in 2003. Following the grant, ACORN became the Alliance for International Conflict Prevention and Resolution. In 2006, AICPR became AfP with a focus on collaboration among organizations and different peacebuilding parties.

Today, AfP aims to innovate, influence and connect Congress as well as the general public to strengthen peacebuilding activities. Consisting of more than 70 peacebuilding organizations from across the world, AfP has over 15,000 volunteers and employees throughout the globe and employs 1,000 professionals.

With its headquarters in Washington, D.C., AfP focuses it energy on eight different programs as it advocates for peacebuilding. These include policymaker engagement, human security, strategic communication and genocide prevention. The organization also hosts an annual conference where AfP members can reach out to other members of the broader peacebuilding community to share ideas and insights within the field.

The keynote address at this year’s AfP conference, hosted in May, focused on developing games as a tool for peace. Asi Burak, the president of Games for Change, noted how the gaming industry is a multi-billion dollar industry that draws gamers throughout the world of different races, genders and nationalities. “Peacemaker,” a game based on the events of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, allows players to become their own leader and to try to bring peace to the region.

May’s conference also featured discussions on the challenges facing African countries, including Nigeria and Kenya, the need for peacebuilders to collect relevant data in their fields and a discussion on providing peacebuilders with the necessary communication tools for storytelling purposes.

AfP maintains partnerships with a number of organizations, coalitions and platforms. These include the United States Institute of Peace, the Conflict Prevention and Resolution Forum and the Peace Portal, among others.

AfP also publishes an online magazine titled “Building Peace: A Forum for Peace and Security in the 21st Century.” With its most recent publication being March of this year, each issue features a variety of stories following a particular theme. The most recent theme, detailing men, women and peace, featured stories exploring the role of gender in peacebuilding activities.

Along with other human rights organizations, AfP recently announced its support for the Syrian Humanitarian Resolution of 2014. The resolution, introduced by 19 senators in March, expressed concern for the crisis in the country and “the urgent need for a political solution to the crisis.”

AfP and the organizations in support of the resolution stated in a joint statement their commitment to ensuring the Syrian nation does not “lose another year to bloodshed and suffering…We stand with the people of Syria…in calling our leaders to make the same commitment and engage the public. We urge strong support for and swift passage of this critical resolution.”

At last year’s U.N. General Assembly, AfP asked members of the Civil Society Platform for Peacebuilding and Statebuilding and people on the street what they believed the post-Millennium goals should be. Numerous interviewees said they intended to see advances in human rights and gender equality as well as an increased awareness in climate change.

Additionally, those interviewed stated such goals could help to promote global peace.

As death tolls in Iraq soar into the hundreds following jihadist violence in the past several weeks, calls for nonviolent resolutions to issues separating different cultures and countries remains at the forefront of the world’s collective consciousness.

— Ethan Safran

Sources: Alliance for Peacebuilding, Building Peace
Photo: CNN

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Distraction & Development at AU Summit

On the eve of the 23rd Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union, a bomb exploded in an Abuja shopping center, killing 21 and wounding 52. Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan returned early from the AU session–held in Equatorial Guinea–in order to address the attack, which comes at a time of great violence for Africa’s most highly populated country. Unfortunately the attack also reinforces the need to confront the security issues of AU nations, which has become the unofficial second theme of the summit.

The attack came only as the first major drama that forced delegates to stray from the official theme, “Year of Agriculture and Food Security.” Experts believe the agricultural sector in Africa could end extreme poverty on the continent within one generation, but not without modernization.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon reaffirmed UN support for the AU objectives, stating, “We will assist in ensuring universal education, achieving gender equality and empowering women. We will help advance respect for human rights… We are doing all of this as part of our overall efforts to achieve sustainable development.”

In spite of any such intentions, the AU summit exposed seemingly endless controversy. Beginning with the host country, Equatorial Guinea’s President Teodoro Obiang Nguema spoke to the former Spanish colony’s desire to restructure its relationship with the West in order to foster development, calling the current relationship “…a neo-colonial system which perpetuates the old colonial one… Africa should renegotiate relations with [the] developed world.” Yet having seized control over three decades ago, Nguema paid a hefty sum to host what critics have deemed an opportunity to showcase his €580 million Sipopo Conference Center whilst concealing the grave inequality in a country ruled by an oil-rich elite.

Nguema has also severely restricted freedom of speech for Equatorial Guinea’s small population, especially in terms of criticism. Furthermore, the President’s son and potential successor now holds government posts that have been investigated for money laundering abroad; the government official status protects him from prosecution.

Certain summit guests have triggered debate. The International Criminal Court’s indictment of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir limits potential summit locations to non-signatory countries. Equatorial Guinea also invited Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, whose visit has reignited old tensions.

Even more awkward was the early exit of an invited group of American Jews who left the meeting after certain African delegations refused to proceed with their presence. Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki then spoke at the inaugural session with harsh words for the state of Israel.

Amid the turmoil, delegates were able to adopt a budget for the 2015 year of over $520 million–still far less than the cost of the building in which they negotiated their draft. The body tabled the popular version of Agenda 2063, a plan to gear Africa toward sustainable development over the next 50 years. The AU seeks increased grass-root participation in the creation of the Agenda, and has urged national governments to raise awareness among their citizens.

The leaders will meet again for the 24th Session in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in January 2015. Perhaps next year the AU will be better prepared to focus on the theme “Year of Women’s Empowerment and Development towards Africa’s Agenda 2063.”

– Erica Lignell

Sources: All Africa, All Africa 2, BBC, Reuters, Human Rights Watch, UN, EIN News Desk, African Union Commission Facebook
Photo: African Union

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5 Reasons to Invest in Educating Women

Education is the single most impactive weapon to empower women and save them from the cycle of poverty. While the gender gap in primary education has decreased over the past two decades, significant inequalities still remain. With women comprising two thirds of the illiterate population, and 2.6 million more girls out of school compared to boys around the world, now is not the time to deny females the right to a decent education.

That’s why USAID recently launched Let Girls Learn, an effort to give girls around the world access to quality education, backed by $230 million in new programs.

Based on statistics from USAID and the World Bank, here are five reasons why an investment in a girl’s education is an investment in a better world:

1. Educating Women Saves Lives
According to USAID, 99 percent of maternal deaths occur in the developing world. However, based on data from the World Bank, child mortality is reduced by 18 per thousand births with each additional year of female education. Giving young women access to education will decrease birth related deaths, as well as safeguard the health of all families. Women who complete primary school education are more likely to ensure their children are immunized, meet their children’s nutritional requirements and practice better sanitation.

2. Educating Women Increases GDP
Family earnings are increased when a wife has received an education. Educated women are better able to provide for their families, and help make smarter financial decisions. USAID reports show that one extra year of primary school boosts a girl’s future wage 10 to 20 percent. On the larger scale, USAID data reveals that when 10% more girls go to school, a country’s GDP increases on average by 3 percent.

3. Educating Women Limits Overpopulation
Investing in women’s education keeps girls in school longer. In the developing world, 1 in 7 girls will marry before they are 15. If a girl stays in school for seven or more years, on average, they will get married four years later and have two fewer children. Additionally, when women are educated about birth control, they are equipped to practice safe family planning.

4. Educating Woman Decreases Disease
Women make up nearly 52 percent of the global total of people living with HIV. A girl who completes a basic education is 3 times less likely to contract HIV/AIDS.

5. Educating Women is the right thing to do
The bottom line is: every child deserves the right to a quality education, and girls are no exception. With programs that ensure safe, quality and empowering education –like those implemented by USAID and Let Girls Learn –the world is one step closer to being a more just and equitable place.

– Grace Flaherty

Sources: USAID, USAID 2, USAID 3, World Bank
Photo: Colorado Chamber of Commerce

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Lead Poisoning in Kenya

Kenya has had quite the year. From a recent plane crash to a raid by al-Shaabab earlier in June, the citizens are looking for some good news. Unfortunately, Human Rights Watch cannot offer such consolation, but their news does show Kenyans that someone is on their side.

A low-income area outside of Mombasa is facing a serious health threat: lead poisoning originating from the toxic waste of a nearby battery recycling plant. The Human Rights Watch has released a film entitled “Kenya: Factory Poisons Community,” which details the resulting health and environmental damage and calls for change.

The plant in question opened in the Owino Uhuru district in 2007. The plant has been in operation almost continuously for seven years. There are no precautions to protect the surrounding local community from contamination, and as a result, the waste that leaks out of the plant has infected the water sources. In addition, workers inside the lead smelter receive no protection and are often left to handle the toxic batteries with bare hands. The result? Massive exposure in the workers and community at large to seriously dangerous toxic lead.

Toxic poisoning is no light matter. It affects some 125 million people worldwide each year, usually in the form of waste from various industries. According to the WHO, high levels of lead exposure can cause damage in vital organs including the brain, liver and kidneys, as well as intellectual and developmental disabilities for the next generation.

So far, three workers in the plant in Owino Uhura have died due to exposure to unhealthy amounts of lead, and the community of 3,000 is also showing signs of ill health. Blood tests performed on children back in 2009 showed unsafe and unusually high levels of lead in the blood, and children often suffer from fainting spells, seizures and intense chronic pain.

Little has been done to stop this tragedy. The plant was briefly shut down in 2009, but allowed to reopen shortly after, despite the health and environmental report that showed significant risk to the local community. However, since the smelter project was intended to stimulate foreign investment, officials are reluctant to end it completely.

That being said, some progress has been made, and the smelter was successfully moved from Owino Uhura earlier this year. However, this does little to alleviate the damage it has already caused and will only serve to infect another community with the same levels of lead poisoning. No citizens of the Owino Uhura district have received medical treatment or further testing. Compensation has not been given to the workers or patients either.

Phyllis Omido is a local within the community and a former employee of the smelter. When her son fell ill in 2009, she began a campaign to rally her fellow citizens and call for government action. Phyllis has organized letter drives and peaceful rallies. Although she has been arrested for her efforts, she does not plan to stop until the government helps her community. “We want them to clean up and to help remove the lead from the blood of our children,” says Phyllis.

The Human Rights Watch blames government inaction for the tragedy, but it is not the laws that are the problem. The Environmental Management and Coordination Act was ratified in 1999 and states that it is illegal for industry to release toxic substances into the air or water. Kenyan law also requires an environmental impact assessment before plants like the Owino Uhura smelter can open, but the plant in question did not go through the process. In short, the laws are in place, but are rarely followed.

Kenya is also a member of several esteemed communities that advocate for human rights and the environment. These range from the African Commission on the Human and People’s Rights, the Convention on the Rights of Children and the International Labor Organization. Kenya’s association with such groups means that it is obligated to take care of its people.

However, even though these laws are on the books and Kenya attends conferences on human rights, this obligation is often ignored. This illuminates not a flaw in the country’s laws, but in its government. The Human Rights Watch holds the Kenyan government accountable for the health tragedy in Owino Uhura and calls on it to remedy its toxic lead problem. Jane Cohen of the Human Rights Watch says, “This is an urgent and on-going crisis that needs immediate government action.”

So far, the Kenyan government has not released a statement, but is in attendance at the 2014 Environmental Assembly meeting, which has toxic poisoning on the agenda.

How Kenya will react to this recent call for action remains to be seen, but the seriousness of the situation is clear. Kenyan citizens are being put at risk by their government’s failure to abide by its own laws and protect its people. It is time for the Kenyan government to be held accountable for the health issues of its people caused by its industry.

— Caitlin Thompson

Sources: Huffington Post, Human Rights Watch, NCBI, Think Progress, RTT News, International News
Photo: Human Rights Watch