The Lord’s Resistance Army is steadily weakening due to the growing weariness and disillusionment of its combatants, many of whom want to defect, according to a new report by The Resolve LRA Crisis Initiative, a US-based advocacy group.
The factions are scattered across an area of central Africa about the size of California, and, despite LRA leader Joseph Kony’s integration of high-frequency radios, communication between factions is difficult. Morale is at a new low; at least 31 Ugandan LRA combatants, which is at least 15 percent of the LRA’s core Ugandan fighting force, have defected since the beginning of 2012.
Months spent in remote rainforest villages have left the soldiers with little energy and enthusiasm, and the army’s new venture into new forms of crime, such as harvesting elephant ivory, have left many disenchanted and guilt-ridden. Recently, the army has also almost entirely failed to end conflicts with decisive victories leading to further weariness.
“The large majority of people in the LRA were forcibly conscripted, and most, including many Ugandans, want to defect,” the report says.
Pressure from the Ugandan, the US military in Uganda, the Central African Republic (CAR) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are all contributing to the weakening of the LRA. Campaigns such as the “Come Home” campaign, a collaboration between the Ugandan and US militaries that uses helicopters to canvas sensitive areas with dropped leaflets and loudspeaker messages encouraging soldiers to defect, have been particularly effective. The authors suggest, however, that these campaigns should be more widespread and better able to target areas where the LRA are actually operating.
While the report admits that the rebel group will not be dismantled any time soon, it outlines the steps that can be taken by the Ugandan government, Congolese government, US government, African Union, and all involved peacekeepers and donors to best ensure the LRA’s ultimate demise. It is assumed by the initiative that the most effective way to weaken and ultimately wipeout the LRA is to encourage as many soldiers as possible to defect.
One of the suggestions listed in the report is for the Ugandan government to implement a “re-integration program” for defected soldiers to assimilate back into their communities. Often, it is extremely difficult for former members of the LRA to integrate themselves back into their old lives while facing the challenges of “rebuilding their livelihoods, overcoming trauma and community stigmatization with little support.” Often, the Ugandan government will force the returned soldiers to join the UPDF, which they had spent so many months fighting against. For obvious reasons, the report encourages the government to halt this activity.
“There is a need to continue to encourage and persuade the LRA members to defect. Let them abandon the rebellion and come back home. They are victims of circumstances,” retired bishop Baker Ochola, a member of Acholi Religious Peace Initiative (ALPI), told IRIN. “Let them leave LRA to Kony and his people who started it… Kony will remain alone and will not have support.”
– Kathryn Cassibry
Sources: IRIN, Red Pepper, The Resolve LRA Crisis Initiative
George Clooney Shines the Spotlight on Warlords
George Clooney needs no introduction as one of the most well known and highly acclaimed actors to come out of Hollywood, but he is perhaps less well known for being an all star activist. Clooney and John Prendergast, co-founder of Enough Project, teamed-up to found the Satellite Sentinel Project in 2010.
“Why can’t I be a guy with a 400-mile lens, …taking pictures and sticking them on the Internet?” wondered Clooney, being no stranger to the Paparazzi. The Satellite Sentinel Project puts Sudan’s most atrocious warlords under the spotlight, giving them the kind of international attention that they tend to shy away from. “We’re just going to keep the pressure on. Turning the lights on doesn’t mean anything stops. But it makes it harder,” said George Clooney in Parade Magazine.
Their work begins 300 miles up, with satellites that capture the big picture. Those images are closely studied for the tell-tale signs of the devastation of warfare, like villages wiped from the map or mass graves. This provides a close to real-time view of atrocities as they are happening, so SSP can be one of the first to sound the alarm. Next, reporters in Sudan investigate even further, interviewing locals and gathering more detailed photographic evidence. Once they verify that civilian atrocities are happening, they spread the word and call on human rights groups and global citizens to mobilize. “The world is watching because you are watching” is the mantra of the SSP.
Observers have praised Clooney’s work with SSP for playing a critical role in South Sudan’s movement toward independence, following the genocide in Darfur with a death toll of over 2 million. More recently, Clooney generated some serious publicity for SSP when he was arrested in a protest in front of the Sudanese Embassy in Washington, D.C. The arrest came after he brought his case for US intervention in Sudan before Congress, and the at Obamas’ house for dinner.
– Jennifer Bills
Sources: Satellite Sentinel Project, Newsweek Magazine: The Daily Beast
Homophobic Violence in Haiti
In Port-au-Prince, a British Red Cross employee and his Haitian partner were targeted in a series of homophobic attacks perpetrated by locals wielding petrol bombs and rocks. The attack, which unfolded at a celebration of the couple’s engagement, injured several people before the police arrived to dissolve the violence.
The attack unfolded at a pivotal time in the larger national conversation concerning gay marriage. Last month, over one thousand Haitians protested in the streets for legalized marriages, an unprecedented event in a country where homosexuality too often carries a deleterious social stigma.
On August 19th, the United Nations in Haiti addressed the rise in homophobic violence in the country, urging “…all Haitians to continue working together towards the construction of a state based on the respect for the rule of law; respect for others, tolerance, individual dignity and human rights.”
The UN statement also underscored that Article 19 of the Haitian Constitution grants the right “…to life, health, and respect of the human person for all citizens without distinction, in conformity with the Universal Declaration of the Human Rights”.
Tellingly, Haiti has entered the international human rights conversation revolving around LGBT issues, a tendentious discourse that has proven to be an ongoing struggle in both developed and developing nations alike.
– Anna Purcell
Sources: Daily Mail, UN, i95.5
Photo: i95.5fm
Migrant Worker Earnings Benefit Many
In a world where opportunity is a limited resource, people will travel far and wide to seek better fortunes. For 3 percent of the worlds population, international migration is a necessary way of life for migrants themselves and for their families back home. Migrants receive a lot of negative criticism, and are often called “drains” on the societies where they work, since many citizens do not understand the ways that both the migrant’s countries of origin and residence benefit economically.
When people are able to travel to places where their work yields higher income, they and their families, who often receive remittance, get the support they need to reduce their condition of poverty. International migrants typically leave their homes and families behind because they live in poverty, and must travel wherever the funds they need can be earned. Since the world’s poor represent a potential market, businesses and governments alike can benefit from people rising out of poverty and becoming part of the consumer class.
Everyone benefits when people are financially capable of handling the demands of life, such as food security and preventative healthcare, before these problems snowball into huge humanitarian crises. Plus, it is hard to forget the cultural richness and entrepreneurial potential Americans are proud of, which often comes from the “melting pot” of immigrants and migrant workers.
According to a report by The World Bank, the $400 billion in remittances that migrant workers have sent to their families in developing countries triple the amount of aid invested by governments to hasten development. If the fees collected by the providers of money transfer services were reduced from nine to four percent, a goal of both the G8 and G20, the world’s poor could benefit from an additional $16 billion annually.
That is to say, if they are able to benefit from money transfers at all. Britain’s banking giant, Barclays, has recently faced some tough criticism for terminating the accounts of hundreds of companies which provide money transfer services. Their decision has been likened to severing an essential lifeline to the world’s poor, especially in countries such as Somalia, where there are no official banks and remittances make up a substantial portion of the nation’s income.
– Jennifer Bills
Sources: The World Bank, The Guardian
Photo: The Promota
Low-Income Indian Families Get a Boost from World Bank
A $100 million credit agreement, signed by the World Bank and the Indian Government, will help low-income Indian families access a loan to purchase, build, or upgrade their dwellings.
The National Housing Bank (NHB) will implement the Low Income housing Finance Project, which will support the government’s agenda for financial inclusion on two counts. First, it will enable low-income households in urban areas to access housing finance, and second will strengthen the capacity of financial institutions that target these groups.
India faces a crippling housing shortage; as its urban population continues to rapidly expand, the urban housing shortage is estimated to be 19 million (as of 2012). Low-income families bear the brunt of the problem; they are faced with an estimated 90% of the shortage.
The housing sector is vulnerable to challenges because current land use policies and building norms restrict the availability of housing. Since the majority of the low-income population works in the informal sector, they lack documentation of income and therefore require customized lending products; as a result, developers are reluctant to enter the low-income market due to the perceived risks associated with these buyers.
As the Indian government strives to achieve financial inclusion for the whole population, the project will let the NHB innovate and provide financial solutions for improving low-income access to housing.
R.V. Verma, chairman and managing director of National Housing Bank said, “The program, which will explore sustainable housing finance models for low income households, has been conceived imaginatively and is consistent with the vision and charter of the NHB.”
Michael Haney, operations advisor at the World Bank, explained how the influx of 10 million Indians to towns and cities each year run into trouble finding loans to build or buy themselves houses. “They are forced to use unregulated, informal sources of finance at much higher rates of interest,” he explained.
The new initiative will help families move from informal sources of finance to longer-term, official sources for their housing needs; risk management, market infrastructure and new products will be implemented in order to achieve this goal.
Initially, the project will launch pilot programs to test the sustainability of these lending guidelines and products, and the long-term goal will be to preserve affordability for low-income families by finding alternative forms of collateral to reduce credit risk and keep interest rates at manageable levels.
– Chloe Isacke
Sources: World Bank, Economic Times
Photo: Kootation
Elephantiasis in Haiti Might Be Ending Soon
Lymphatic filariasis (LF), a condition known as “elephantiasis” that can lead to the severe and debilitating swelling of the arm or the leg, is considered one of the most disabling diseases for those affected. In Haiti, the condition is present in 118 of 135 communities, which leaves 88% of the country as a potential risk zone. It is classed as a “neglected tropical disease;” although it has long disappeared from industrialized countries, it remains a severe threat for those living in developing regions of the world.
Mass Drug Administration (MDA) was achieved on a national level in Haiti in 2012, with many of the endemic regions having taken part in the program for at least four years. The LF infection can be prevented and treated with a combination of medicines – a single dose of Albendazole and Diethylcarbamazine Citrate – that cost about 50 cents per person each year. The World Health Organization recommends that the drugs are taken for five years in order to stop transmission of the disease, but acknowledges that it is just as important to address the emotional effects of the infection, as it is the physical.
Haiti’s MDA program is now up for assessment; while the project has been successful in reducing transmission, applying the concept to Haiti has been challenging. Extreme poverty, periodic social unrest, and depleted health system infrastructure have persisted as roadblocks to the program. Now, a more holistic approach is being taken by the disability charity, CBM. In partnership with the University of Notre Dame and Hospital St. Croix, CBM is addressing the unmet need of those who already have LF; by setting up self-help groups, they are empowering patients through self-care education, and psychological and emotional support. These clubs meet twice a month and participants receive information about self-care, hygiene and basic limb care. All members receive a hygiene kit, which includes alcohol swabs and antiseptic soaps to clean their feet.
The CBM program combines global heath research and education and puts the two elements into practice; not only does it help prevent LF, but it provides care for those affected by it. Community programs, such as the one provided by CBM, addresses issues other than the physical disability, by promoting inclusion and tackling the stigma for people suffering from clinical manifestations of LF. This comprehensive partnership complements the MDA program and is a crucial mechanism in the fight to address, prevent, and eliminate elephantiasis in Haiti.
– Chloe Isacke
Sources: The Guardian, The Root
Photo: Management Sciences for Health
Malala Yousafzai, Teenage Target of the Taliban
In October 2012, a Taliban militant walked onto a crowded bus of schoolgirls and demanded to know which of them was Malala Yousafzai. One of the girls pointed at the 14-year old Pakistani activist. Confident that he had properly identified his target, the gunman shot Malala in the head. A Taliban spokesman quickly claimed credit for the attack, telling Reuters news service that, “She was pro-west, she was speaking against Taliban and she was calling President Obama her ideal leader.”
But Malala Yousafzai was responsible for a much greater offense to Taliban ideology: she was a vocal critic of the Taliban’s prohibition of girls’ education in the Swat Valley region of Pakistan. Malala gained international acclaim in 2009 by penning an anonymous diary of a Pakistani schoolgirl, which was published as a blog on the BBC’s website. During that time, the Pakistani army had moved into the Swat Valley to remove the Taliban insurgency and Malala’s writing provided a firsthand account of the conflict.
In her writing, Malala criticized the Taliban’s edict to ban girls’ education in the Swat Valley. During their assault on the region, the Taliban burned more than 180 schools. Fearing additional retaliation, administrators chose to close an additional 900 private schools. Malala was unable to attend school and eventually she and her family were forced to leave their home in the Swat Valley. Through it all, Malala continued writing.
After finishing her blog in March 2009, Malala was the subject of a documentary by the New York Times. Her story came to epitomize the situation for millions of young girls who have no means or access to primary school education. In countries where the Taliban operates, this crisis is aggravated by the organization’s relentless assault on women’s rights. Malala gave a voice to millions of girls too afraid to speak out or protest.
Sensing Malala’s growing popularity and frightened by the content of her message, the Taliban decided to silence the young activist by assassinating her. Fortunately, their attempt failed. After making a miraculous recovery from her injuries, Malala is once again taking her message to the world stage. In July, she addressed the United Nations General Assembly. In a confident and enlightened speech, Malala urged global powers to help ensure the right of education for every child, including the sons and daughters of the Taliban.
Malcom X said, “If you educate a man, you educate one person. If you educate a woman, you educate and liberate a whole nation.” With her eloquent talk of peace, education, equality and human rights, Malala Yousafzai may prove to be the Taliban’s greatest adversary.
– Daniel Bonasso
Sources: The Guardian, Reuters, New York Times
Sea to Sea Bicycle Tour to Fight Poverty
The Sea to Sea Bicycle tour is a 3,900 mile, nine-week bicycle trek through North America. The intensive bike ride is meant to raise awareness and funds to support those in poverty in the world. The 2013 tour began on June 24 in Los Angeles and will end on August 24 in Staten Island, NY. Stops along the way include Phoenix, Toronto, Colorado Springs, Chicago, Grand Rapids and Manhattan.
Each of the 120 participating cyclists will travel an average of 68 miles per day, resting only on Sundays. Full distance riders are also required to raise $10,000 for the cause. The bike tour is sponsored by the Reformed Church in America, as well as Partners World Wide and World Renew, in addition to a number of other smaller organizations. In total, the Sea to Sea Bike tour has raised $1.8 million to fight poverty. Funds raised will be used to support organizations and agencies that are actively combating global poverty. The final goal of this year’s bike tour is to raise $3 million in support of anti-poverty measures.
This year funds will be carefully divided amongst specific recipients. 25 percent will go to World Renew, 15 percent to RCA World Missions, 25 percent to Partners World Wide and 35 percent to local programs that aid the poor. Local organizations can be awarded the funds through a grant process that takes applications. A list of recipients from 2008 is available online for anybody to view.
Additionally, Sea to Sea offers news updates and means of following the progress of the cyclists themselves. Anybody interested can follow updates on Facebook or Twitter, and also read news on the Sea to Sea web page. For more devout followers, a Christian devotional guide that accompanies the bike trek’s mission to end poverty is also available.
So far, the trail across the United States and Canada has proved to be a challenging one. During the trip, the cyclists have been challenged by wildfires in Colorado, stalled by a heat wave in Arizona and experienced washed out roads in New Mexico. They have worked their way through a number of states from Kansas to Illinois to Michigan and have crossed over into Canada.
On August 19, the team of cyclists crossed back into the United States and finally made it into the state of New York. The bike riders then celebrated the conclusion of this journey of a lifetime by arriving in Staten Island on August 24. These cyclists will have certainly completed an amazing feat of human of accomplishment. But most importantly, they will have made a significant impact for the fight against global poverty.
– Grace Zhao
Sources: Christian Reformed Church News, Sea to Sea, Cross Map
Photo: In the Spin
What Is a Foundation?
Nonprofits, charities, and foundations are often lumped into the general definition of “charity” when it comes to global poverty. That is to say, these three terms are used interchangeably in reference to altruistic organizations across the globe. Yet charities and foundations can be quite different from one another.
Nonprofits, or non-profit organizations, are organizations that operate on a not-for-profit business model. That is to say, nonprofits use whatever profit they may earn to reinvest in pursuit of the organization’s unique charitable interests. Within the category of nonprofits, however, charities and foundation take on very different challenges. We can most easily see the difference by studying these organizations side-by-side.
Whereas charities, such as homeless shelters, often bleed money and are constantly searching for new or continued sources of income to support their projects and programs, foundations are the organizations that supply those funds. In short, charities are nonprofits that either reinvest the profits they make or rely on outside sources of funding. Foundations, on the other hand, are the grantmakers that make such funding happen.
Foundations can be divided into two or three subcategories: private foundations, public charities, and private operating foundations. Private foundations and public charities make up the majority of foundations, while private operating foundations represent the remaining minority.
Private foundations are funded by individuals or families, often operated by the donor or family members of the donor themselves. Public charities, accounting for more than half of all 501(c)(3) organizations, derive their support from diverse sources, including individuals, corporations, other foundations, and even government agencies. Both kinds of foundations, however, as well the lesser-known private operating foundation, work to provide grants for unrelated charitable purposes, which is what very clearly distinguishes a foundation from a charity or the more general definition of non-profit organization.
– Herman Watson
Sources: Grant Space, Minnesota Council on Foundations, How Stuff Works
Photo: Henry Lim
LRA Weakest in Two Decades
The Lord’s Resistance Army is steadily weakening due to the growing weariness and disillusionment of its combatants, many of whom want to defect, according to a new report by The Resolve LRA Crisis Initiative, a US-based advocacy group.
The factions are scattered across an area of central Africa about the size of California, and, despite LRA leader Joseph Kony’s integration of high-frequency radios, communication between factions is difficult. Morale is at a new low; at least 31 Ugandan LRA combatants, which is at least 15 percent of the LRA’s core Ugandan fighting force, have defected since the beginning of 2012.
Months spent in remote rainforest villages have left the soldiers with little energy and enthusiasm, and the army’s new venture into new forms of crime, such as harvesting elephant ivory, have left many disenchanted and guilt-ridden. Recently, the army has also almost entirely failed to end conflicts with decisive victories leading to further weariness.
“The large majority of people in the LRA were forcibly conscripted, and most, including many Ugandans, want to defect,” the report says.
Pressure from the Ugandan, the US military in Uganda, the Central African Republic (CAR) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are all contributing to the weakening of the LRA. Campaigns such as the “Come Home” campaign, a collaboration between the Ugandan and US militaries that uses helicopters to canvas sensitive areas with dropped leaflets and loudspeaker messages encouraging soldiers to defect, have been particularly effective. The authors suggest, however, that these campaigns should be more widespread and better able to target areas where the LRA are actually operating.
While the report admits that the rebel group will not be dismantled any time soon, it outlines the steps that can be taken by the Ugandan government, Congolese government, US government, African Union, and all involved peacekeepers and donors to best ensure the LRA’s ultimate demise. It is assumed by the initiative that the most effective way to weaken and ultimately wipeout the LRA is to encourage as many soldiers as possible to defect.
One of the suggestions listed in the report is for the Ugandan government to implement a “re-integration program” for defected soldiers to assimilate back into their communities. Often, it is extremely difficult for former members of the LRA to integrate themselves back into their old lives while facing the challenges of “rebuilding their livelihoods, overcoming trauma and community stigmatization with little support.” Often, the Ugandan government will force the returned soldiers to join the UPDF, which they had spent so many months fighting against. For obvious reasons, the report encourages the government to halt this activity.
“There is a need to continue to encourage and persuade the LRA members to defect. Let them abandon the rebellion and come back home. They are victims of circumstances,” retired bishop Baker Ochola, a member of Acholi Religious Peace Initiative (ALPI), told IRIN. “Let them leave LRA to Kony and his people who started it… Kony will remain alone and will not have support.”
– Kathryn Cassibry
Sources: IRIN, Red Pepper, The Resolve LRA Crisis Initiative
40 Hour Famine at Hennessey Catholic College
Hennessey Catholic College Students have decided to experience what world hunger and poverty is truly like in their own, unique way. The school has formed the 40-hour famine team with the goal of raising both money and awareness for those suffering from extreme poverty and international conflicts in Malawi, Ethiopia, East Timor, Nepal, Tanzania and Ugandav. The students are given the opportunity to experience the tribulations of those living in developing areas, sacrificing basic human needs such as sleep and food to fully immerse themselves in the struggle of living on less than a dollar a day.
The conflicts in Malawi are worsening. Nearly two million people in southern Malawi are starving and almost half of Malawians live on less than a dollar a day. With a population of almost 16 million people, that means nearly eight million citizens live below the poverty line. For Hennessey students, these statistics are troubling.
Starting at eight PM on the 16th of August and ending at noon on the 18th, 35 students will make multiple sacrifices for the cause. Below are some of the sacrifices individuals are contributing to the 40-hour famine campaign.
The students plan to raise $1500 dollars for the cause in hopes of helping those in need. Hennessey teacher and 40-hour famine leader Leonie Green said she is impressed with the student’s dedication to raising awareness, all the while learning very valuable lessons.
“It’s good to get people educated and not taking for granted what we have so much of,” she said.
– William Norris
Sources: The Young Witness, World Bank
Photo: World Vision