In the city of Lagos, Nigeria, progress promises economic growth and reform. Yet, as the ambitious governor Babatunde Fashola regenerates the city, progress also threatens to destabilize the 70% of residents in poverty.
Future plans range from building more than 1,000 additional housing units to constructing a light-rail network across the city. In the financial district, a Porsche dealership recently opened.
Yet, the growing homeless population contrasts with this economic expansion. In its quest for a Lagos “that glitters,” the government forced an estimated 10,000 from the Badia East slum. While men, women and children search through the rubble for any salvageable remnants, most residents feel shocked at the loss, but others direct anger at the governor.
“This is the home I am staying in before Fashola demolished it,” asserts 28-year-old John Momoh.
Badia East continues a 15-year trend, according to activists. In the summer of 2012, the government dispatched machete-carrying men to remove about 30,000 residents of the Makoko neighborhood. Residents report receiving a 20-minute warning before the government backhoes arrived.
The regeneration of slums promises economic growth, but limited protection for those in poverty. As the New York Times notes, “the government had destroyed their present…without making any provision for their future.”
Badia East collapsed a year ago. Today, though, Lagos progresses with plans to benefit every resident.
With more than 21 million residents, this Nigerian city generates an estimated 10,000 metric tons of waste per day. The National Population Commission projects a 3% to 6% annual growth rate. As population rises, the government invests in a more efficient management of waste to provide housing and electricity to its residents.
A severe shortage in electricity led to a reliance on diesel generators, which pollute the air and threaten the health of low-income residents. Those in poverty often live in the more polluted districts and cannot afford healthcare to combat potential health complications.
There is progress, however. A pilot program converts the waste into methane gas, providing the much-needed electricity. At the Olusosun waste site, pipes plunge vertically into the ground to collect the gas.
One day, these pipes will fire boilers to generate electricity, reports Abimbola Jijoho-Ogun of the Lagos State Waste Management Authority. Though not a new innovation, this policy reflects an understanding of the environment. With more than 45% of its waste organic, the city can use this high moisture to provide for its residents.
As chief executive of the waste management program, Ola Oresanya highlights the benefits of this program. It converts “waste to energy, which is in demand, and over time might also be viable as job creation.”
The recycling program offers this solution to unemployment in Lagos. Referred to as “resource providers” by the city, 500 men and women search through the waste and collect items to sell.
“We go through the scraps and look for shoes, iron, plastic, which we sort and sell it to companies,” Samuel Jatel reports.
Jatel, 29, provides for his wife and 3-year-old child as a resource provider. In four years, he can earn about 5,000 naira (roughly $30) per day.
Yet, thousands remain homeless.
Though the city employed residents in its waste management reform, it has not released plans for building new housing units. Those forcibly removed from their neighborhoods cannot afford to return. The Social and Economic Rights Action Center reports Badia residents earn less than $100 a month, adding “there’s not a chance they can afford it.”
Employing these residents in the construction of the new houses. Labor and payment program offers security to those who lost their homes at the hand of progress.
– Ellery Spahr
Sources: Associated Press, New York Times
Photo: Nadim Chidiac
Detained Immigrants Refuse Food Until Congress Acknowledges Rights
Thousands of immigrants in the state of Washington are demanding the attention of United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) by staging a large hunger strike at the Federal Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma. Along with better food and safer work conditions, their campaign is directly aimed at immigration reform and U.S. President Barack Obama.
The strikers want Obama to sign an executive order that would halt all deportations, as well as provide alternatives to detention while immigrants in question await trial. Tacoma’s facility is owned by GEO Group, the largest provider of detention and correctional services in the country, who lobbied against these reforms in Congress last year. At the core of the argument is the economic fate of 11 million workers currently immobilized by investigations into their legality.
ICE reports that the strikes are comprised of 550 detainees. However, there are conflicting statistics from the Latino Advocacy Organization, which claims there are actually 1,200 immigrants involved. This means the majority of the detention facility’s 1,300 total inmates are involved. Additionally, these numbers do not even take into account the hundreds of advocates who have been joining outside every afternoon to display their support.
The Tacoma campaign is not an isolated event, either. Similar protests and strikes have been emerging in various immigrant detention centers across Arizona, Illinois, California and Virginia. It is also linked to a popular advocacy project, called “Not One More Deportation,” started by the National Day Laborer Organizing Network as a way to host events against unlawful deportation across the country. April 5 is expected to be a similar day of action, with sit-ins and strikes in front of the White House.
Immigration reform has become an increasingly contentious dilemma under the Obama Administration, whose efforts have been repeatedly stalled by GOP Congressional members. Lenient new measures are frequently criticized by the Republican Party as unnecessary “amnesty” at the expense of America’s well-being.
In response, Obama notes that the children of undocumented immigrants “study in our schools, play in our neighborhoods, befriend our kids, pledge allegiance to our flag. It makes no sense to expel talented young people who are, for all intents and purposes, Americans.”
In 2012, Obama declared an end to the deportation of young undocumented immigrants who entered the country as children. The order protects anyone under 30 years of age who came to the United States before they were 16, citing the improbability of their posing a security or criminal threat and the benefits they have provided for the military and work force. The same year, the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act was approved, providing similar protections for the children of undocumented immigrants.
Protection over the human rights of immigrant families is increasingly necessary, as recent years prove. In 2011, 396,906 individuals were deported, the largest number in ICE history. This is even more shocking, considering a 2009 study proved that four million immigrants are inaccurately defined “illegal,” having been born here despite their parents’ having entered the country without proper documentation. This means that the majority of “illegal” immigrants are thus wrongfully and systematically denied access to the rights that other American citizens enjoy.
The participants of the hunger strike in Tacoma complain of experiences with this first hand. They allege that GEO Group only compensates them $1 per day for the janitorial and kitchen services they fulfill. Effectually, they are then earning almost no money while they await their trial, causing a severe financial burden for themselves and their families. The status of immigrant detainees is practically that of slave labor.
“Its just ironic that the government is detaining people for working without a social security number; meanwhile, they allow this company to exploit their labor,” states Latino Advocacy founder Maru Moro Villalpando.
The strikes began March 7 and are projected to continue until they receive congressional acknowledgement. Friday was chosen as the start purposefully to honor those who have already been deported, as that is the day of the week prison guards round up all those who will be sent back the following Monday morning.
– Stefanie Doucette
Sources: Al Jazeera, CNN, Huffington Post, Washington Times, Washington Post, Think Progress
Photo: Al Jazeera
Progress in Lagos
In the city of Lagos, Nigeria, progress promises economic growth and reform. Yet, as the ambitious governor Babatunde Fashola regenerates the city, progress also threatens to destabilize the 70% of residents in poverty.
Future plans range from building more than 1,000 additional housing units to constructing a light-rail network across the city. In the financial district, a Porsche dealership recently opened.
Yet, the growing homeless population contrasts with this economic expansion. In its quest for a Lagos “that glitters,” the government forced an estimated 10,000 from the Badia East slum. While men, women and children search through the rubble for any salvageable remnants, most residents feel shocked at the loss, but others direct anger at the governor.
“This is the home I am staying in before Fashola demolished it,” asserts 28-year-old John Momoh.
Badia East continues a 15-year trend, according to activists. In the summer of 2012, the government dispatched machete-carrying men to remove about 30,000 residents of the Makoko neighborhood. Residents report receiving a 20-minute warning before the government backhoes arrived.
The regeneration of slums promises economic growth, but limited protection for those in poverty. As the New York Times notes, “the government had destroyed their present…without making any provision for their future.”
Badia East collapsed a year ago. Today, though, Lagos progresses with plans to benefit every resident.
With more than 21 million residents, this Nigerian city generates an estimated 10,000 metric tons of waste per day. The National Population Commission projects a 3% to 6% annual growth rate. As population rises, the government invests in a more efficient management of waste to provide housing and electricity to its residents.
A severe shortage in electricity led to a reliance on diesel generators, which pollute the air and threaten the health of low-income residents. Those in poverty often live in the more polluted districts and cannot afford healthcare to combat potential health complications.
There is progress, however. A pilot program converts the waste into methane gas, providing the much-needed electricity. At the Olusosun waste site, pipes plunge vertically into the ground to collect the gas.
One day, these pipes will fire boilers to generate electricity, reports Abimbola Jijoho-Ogun of the Lagos State Waste Management Authority. Though not a new innovation, this policy reflects an understanding of the environment. With more than 45% of its waste organic, the city can use this high moisture to provide for its residents.
As chief executive of the waste management program, Ola Oresanya highlights the benefits of this program. It converts “waste to energy, which is in demand, and over time might also be viable as job creation.”
The recycling program offers this solution to unemployment in Lagos. Referred to as “resource providers” by the city, 500 men and women search through the waste and collect items to sell.
“We go through the scraps and look for shoes, iron, plastic, which we sort and sell it to companies,” Samuel Jatel reports.
Jatel, 29, provides for his wife and 3-year-old child as a resource provider. In four years, he can earn about 5,000 naira (roughly $30) per day.
Yet, thousands remain homeless.
Though the city employed residents in its waste management reform, it has not released plans for building new housing units. Those forcibly removed from their neighborhoods cannot afford to return. The Social and Economic Rights Action Center reports Badia residents earn less than $100 a month, adding “there’s not a chance they can afford it.”
Employing these residents in the construction of the new houses. Labor and payment program offers security to those who lost their homes at the hand of progress.
– Ellery Spahr
Sources: Associated Press, New York Times
Photo: Nadim Chidiac
Religious Communities of Tripoli Come Together to Restore Burned Library
Tripoli, Lebanon, a city that prides itself as an intellectual hub of the world, suffered devastating losses in early January when unknown arsonists set fire to a valued library, destroying two thirds of its contents. Saeh Library, translated as “Travelers Library,” contained over 80,000 rare religious and philosophical texts, which some speculate may have been the motivation behind the attacks.
Tripoli has a starkly divided demographic of Christian, Sunni, and Shi’ite inhabitants among several other religions prominent in the area. Father Ibrahim Sarouja, the Greek Orthodox priest who is the library’s founder, is well known and loved in the community for preaching religious tolerance and harmony between neighbors.
An unknown security source reported to authorities that the fire was started in direct response to an anti-Islamic pamphlet found in one of the library’s book, which allegedly took a derogatory stance towards the prophet Muhammad. This would make the fire another tragic instance of sectarian violence that already plagues Lebanon.
The book burning has received significant outreach from Tripoli’s Muslim community, however. Salafist cleric Sheik Salem Rafei stated, “Islam denounces any unjust act against anyone,” and was highly critical of the attack. Many other Muslim leaders in the city, who have also spoken against the attack, share his opinion and are willing to do whatever political measure is necessary to make amends.
Lebanon’s Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, also condemned the arson, exclaiming, “We denounce the burning of the library and reject any harm being done to Tripoli and its people, as it has been, and will remain, the city of the world and of intellectuals.”
Sarouja has found the communal response to the fire overwhelmingly up-lifting. Hundreds have come out to assist with clean up efforts and donate books to refurbish the library. Since January, $25,000 has been raised through online crowd-funding. The expected amount required to repair and replace what has been lost is $35,000.
To quote the priest, “(It was) a great source of joy for me that the burning of this library brought together Muslims and Christians, and especially clergy and Muslim sheiks.”
– Stefanie Doucette
Sources: Los Angeles Times, NPR, Huffington Post
Photo: CNN
Why the Frack Not?
With the expansion of the American natural gas industry, hydraulic fracturing—commonly referred to as “fracking”—has been utilized to extract natural gas from shale rock formations deep within the earth. The Eagle Ford Shale in particular is a 400-mile long sedimentary rock formation in Texas that has been one of the most heavily exploited areas for natural gas in America. It has also accounted for one of the most significant energy booms in the country.
However, the practice of fracking has come at cost for the population living within the vast expanse of the Eagle Ford Shale. Fracking has been frequently linked to causing environmental harms such as contaminating water supplies with harmful chemicals and releasing toxic chemicals into the air.
Moreover, the people on the receiving end of environmental repercussions from fracking in the Eagle Ford Shale are mostly members of low-income communities. Impoverished families living in the area commonly complain of “asthma, splitting headaches and other health concerns, all attributed to the air quality.”
The Texas legislature has also failed to be responsive to the environmental concerns of the people. Most of the communities are far from developed areas containing suburbs and cities—which give them very little political influence. An investigation by InsideClimate News found that 42 of the 181 state legislators of Texas have a personal financial stake in the natural gas industry of the Eagle Ford Shale.
As a result, the environmental problems that have arisen for low-income families have been perpetuated by a legislative system that has failed to represent their needs.
An eight-month long investigation carried out by the Weather Channel, the Center for Public Integrity and InsideClimate News has found that air quality throughout the 20,000 square mile region of the Eagle Ford Shale has only five permanent monitors installed—most of which are far from where chemical emissions are highest.
Furthermore, companies that exploit natural gas through fracking have not been held accountable for breaking the law. From January 1, 2010 to November 19, 2013, Eagle Ford residents have filed 284 oil and gas industry complaints, and 164 of those complaints have translated into documented violations. Nevertheless, only two of them resulted in fines, with the largest fine being a mere $14,250.
The expansion of the natural gas industry has received extensive support for its ability to allow for American energy independence and economic prosperity. However, the benefits have come with significant harm to many low-income families who have been unable to remedy their environmental problems.
– Jugal Patel
Sources: InsideClimate News, Salon, The Huffington Post
Photo: Empower Network
Former Senator of Wisconsin Ends War in Congo
According to a Politico article, a former Wisconsin senator ended a war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Russ Feingold, who lost his seat to Republican Ron Johnson in 2010, was appointed by John Kerry to help resolve a conflict involving the Congolese government and militia M23.
“Feingold’s assignment came just as a new group of rebels, trained and equipped by Rwanda, was gaining strength in the west and even threatening to take Kinshasa, the Congolese capital,” Politico reported.
The most important lesson behind the peace negotiations, Kerry told Feingold, is “that diplomacy works, and persistence pays off.”
Kerry became familiar with Feingold’s work ethic when they sat together for years on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
“Russ and I served together in the Senate for some 18 years,” Kerry said during a United States Department of State press announcement in June 2013. “I have a lot of respect for a lot of qualities of Russ–his intellect, his courage, his passion–but with respect to this mission, chief among those qualities that are important right now is his expertise on Africa.”
The situation in the DRC has caused much concern for the international community lately. The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the country has an annual cost of $1.5 billion and employs 20,000 troops. Moreover, a study by the American Journal of Public Health revealed that around 48 women are raped every hour throughout the country.
Human Rights Watch also released a report condemning the war crimes committed by Rwandan officials and General Bosco Ntaganda, the leader of M23.
“Field research conducted by (HRW) in the region in May 2012 revealed that Rwandan army officials have provided weapons, ammunition, and an estimated 200 to 300 recruits to support Ntaganda’s mutiny in Rutshuru territory, eastern Congo,” HRW said.
Although Feingold was able to defeat M23 with diplomacy, Politico argues that his next big challenge is to make governance in the DRC more effective.
“Only once it gained control over, and legitimacy in, eastern Congo could there be permanent peace,” said Politico. “Until then, it would remain a place where armed militias could gang-rape women and girls in farm fields, abduct boys and turn them into child soldiers, and burn entire villages to the ground.”
Due to its weak infrastructure and widespread poverty, the DRC still has a long way to go before getting rid of these problems. However, Feingold’s accomplishment in the region may potentially guide the country towards the right direction.
– Juan Campos
Sources: Human Rights Watch, Politico, U.S. Department of State
Photo: Pulitzer Center
Job Fair Stampede in Nigeria Kills 16 People
A government job fair for fewer than 5,000 available positions turned violent when a stampede of half a million applicants killed about 16 people.
The Guardian said that the deaths occurred in five different locations including the Abuja National Stadium in which seven people alone where killed.
According to Interior Minister Abba Moro, individuals who attended the job fair “lost their lives through their impatience.”
However, the Educations Rights Campaign blamed Moro’s ministry “for inviting more applicants than centers could accommodate,” said the United Kingdom-based newspaper.
In another article about the stampede, the Associated Press estimated that roughly 41 million of Nigeria’s 170 million people are unemployed.
“Nigeria is Africa’s biggest oil producer and has one of the world’s fastest growing economies –7 percent projected for this year – but corruption and mismanagement have failed to translate that growth into much-needed jobs,” said the AP.
The Fund for Peace’s 2013 failed state index places Nigeria among the top 20 most failed states in the world. This is due to the nation’s uneven economic development and poverty.
On the other hand, Freedom House, an NGO that conducts research on democracy and human rights, said that conditions in Nigeria have worsened over the last year.
“Nigeria received a downward trend arrow due to continued rampant corruption, the suppression of civil society during fuel-subsidy protests as well as restrictions on its activity in the north, and limitations on freedom of movement as a result of violence associated with the militant group Boko Haram,” the NGO said.
Freedom House also argues that hydrocarbon exports dominates Nigeria’s economy. However, since officials in Nigeria tend to have poor management skills, the nation’s exports fail to make the conditions for many throughout the country any better.
Since its independence from England in the 1960s, $400 billion of the nation’s oil revenue has been squandered or stolen.
The stampede that killed 16 people in Nigeria serves as an example of how desperate people throughout the nation are for jobs. Better management of the nation’s exports could help bring more Nigerians out of poverty.
– Juan Campos
Sources: AP, Freedom House, The Fund for Peace, The Guardian
Photo: BBC
Crime and Violence Linked to Poverty in Caribbean
For many wealthy tourists around the world, the Caribbean islands seem like the perfect vacation getaway. Spring breakers, honeymooners and retirees all flock to the golden sands to bathe in crystal clear waters and soak up some sun. Last year alone the Caribbean had 25 million tourists. However, it might be surprising that the murder rates in the Caribbean region are higher than in any other region of the world.
Beyond the protected walls of the all-inclusive hotels, crime, violence and poverty plague the populations of these Caribbean nations. While tourism may be growing back to pre-recession levels in pockets of resorts, the majority of the population continues to battle with rising rape, murder and poverty levels. The Dominican Republic, for example, receives the most tourists of all the Caribbean Islands, yet it ranks as the third poorest Caribbean country with a gross domestic product per capita of only $9,700.
Jamaica similarly represents this paradox; though Bob Marley’s music resonates peace and love around the world, today Jamaica is known for its widespread poverty and high gun crime. In fact, in 2006, 75.2% of all murders committed in Jamaica involved the use of guns.
A report from the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean discusses the complexity of poverty and its multilevel impacts on Caribbean countries. Poverty affects societies on a social, cultural, psychological and political level, resulting in increased crime and violence. Nations easily become entangled in a vicious cycle that perpetuates these problems. Poverty causes crime and violence, which then further inhibits a country’s growth and development, thus leading to more poverty and inequality.
Social inequality and poverty in the Caribbean date back to colonialism, as the slave trade created a lasting impact on the social order and economic system of many islands. Back then, social tensions and inequality existed between peninsulares, Spanish-born Spaniards and Creoles and those with European decent born in the new colonies. Today, the situation remains relatively unchanged, as some of the largest businesses are still owned by white families who continue to reap the benefits of the plantation profits.
The violent past has indeed scarred the Caribbean region, creating a deeply divided society brewing with bitter resentment. Not surprisingly, many Caribbean nations seek slavery reparations from European countries, like Spain, Portugal and the United Kingdom. They hope to restore some kind of moral justice and initiate development plans to help improve communities still suffering from the effects of slavery.
So there is hope of breaking the vicious cycle. Poverty in the Caribbean can be reduced from an institutional level by supporting education, providing family support and improving health facilities in impoverished areas. On an economic level, trade integrations can stimulate the Caribbean economy by generating jobs and alleviating poverty.
Providing a safe and productive outlet for families to make a living keeps people off the streets and away from crime and violence. The United States can encourage mutually beneficial trade relations that create jobs and build foreign markets while simultaneously restoring the social and economic stability of popular vacation spots.
– Gloria Kostadinova
Photo: Star Wars of the Caribbean
Sources: ECLAC, World Bank, Bloomberg, The Guardian
Pedal Power: Maya Pedal’s Bike Powered Water Pump
Maya Pedal takes donated bikes from the United States and Canada and refurbishes them to sell locally. However, their main claim to fame is their bicimanquinas, or “pedal powered machines,” which are composed using locally available materials.
These bicimanquinas have several benefits: since they do not require electricity, they can be used practically anywhere, even in places where electricity is not accessible. Additionally, unlike most human-powered machines, they are pedal powered rather than hand powered, requiring far less effort.
While Maya Pedal is based in Guatemala, they have composed and provided fact sheets and step by step instructions on their website so that the machines can be used worldwide. Their designs for bike-powered water pumps have been used as far away as Malawi, providing sustainable access to water that anyone can use.
Maya Pedal has designed both a stationary and smaller mobile form of bicycle-powered water pumps. The stationary version is able to access water from wells and boreholes up to 30 meters deep, 18 meters deeper than electric pumps and is capable of pumping water at 5-10 gallons per minute making it useful for communities or homes.
While the mobile version is less powerful, only capable of accessing water up to 5 meters below the pump, it is designed with the added capability of moving the water after it has been pumped, making it ideal for watering and irrigating crops, or moving water from tank to an elevated area.
The pumps utilize locally accessible materials, many of which are recycled including old bike tires, construction rebar and electric water pumps with broken motors. In addition to providing sustainable, electricity-free access to water, the pumps repurpose materials that would often be thrown away, saving money and resources.
Additionally, the simple construction of the water pumps makes them accessible to anyone, and can be modified to suit the specific needs of a situation in a way that the more expensive standardized electric pumps cannot.
Maya Pedal’s bicimanquinas, especially their water pumps, are revolutionary, offering sustainable machines that anyone can build and use. In places where water and electricity are not readily accessible, these pedal-powered water pumps offer a crucial link for communities to survive and thrive.
– Cameron Barney
Sources: PEDAL, Maya Pedal, The Permaculture Research Institute, Maya Pedal (2), Maya Pedal (3), Worldwide Cycling Atlas
Photo: World Cycling Atlas
Poverty and Obesity in Developing Countries
The diplomatic phrase “emerging markets” is a term food companies use to target individuals living in developing countries. Processed food companies, such as KFC, McDonald’s and the like are using developing countries as a way to boost economic growth – the world’s poor is a market that needs to be tapped – and it is the food companies that have taken full advantage of these unchartered territories, bringing poverty and obesity into the public eye.
Fast Food Stimulates Poverty and Obesity
Take this real life paradox: in South Africa, 60% of women and 25% of children are overweight, yet 20% of the children also suffer from malnutrition. The sudden introduction of fast food joints in developing countries is harmful for a number of reasons. The first is that the world’s poor are unaware of the dangers of processed food because they have not been properly educated about nor introduced to this market in the past.
The second reason is cultural; a fast food joint is a sign of luxury and status in developing countries – so locals may feel more inclined to spend a week’s worth of wages for one meal simply because they appear to be better off than they actually are. In order to get past these potential consequences, locals need to be educated about the nutritional value of cheap, processed food (or lack thereof) otherwise there will be more health crises to accompany the already dire situation in developing countries. Heart disease, diabetes and obesity may very well follow in the path of malnutrition, HIV/AIDS and death that run rampant in developing countries.
If food companies are going to be tapping into this market then the public needs to be educated about the potential consequences of including a diet with cheap, processed foods. Fast food corporations are inherently at an advantage because they have the resources to enter these countries and make incredible profits off of unsuspecting locals.
South Africa is not the only country that has been drastically targeted by this “other” food crisis. Six countries out of the top ten in the world – Kuwait, Lebanon, Qatar and Saudi Arabia are in the lead for prevalence of type 2 diabetes, affecting 11% of the population. All of these countries within the Middle East reveal negative effects of the presence of fast food companies in developing countries. The global poor are seriously lacking in aid, yet when they are seen as a consumer, they are suddenly bombarded with attention from companies who want to make a buck off of them.
Obviously the reality is that fast food companies are in every country – no one is immune – but they are especially harmful for developing countries. Food corporations are tapping into new markets because their markets in the global north have reached a “saturation point” – “that point is reached when processed foods provide 60% of a country’s total calories”. In other words, they want more money and they want it now.
The solutions to this are unclear, but there are some countries that are making great leaps towards remedying the fast food crisis. Brazil for example, has government legislation that calls for healthier school meals for children and the basic right to access healthy food, as outlined in the Brazilian constitution.
Do the developing countries or even the United States attempt what Brazil has done and enact these solutions into legislation to disarm the fast food takeover, or is it through education and awareness that we quell this crisis?
-Rozali Telbis
Photo: Oxford Journals
Sources: Food Tank, Huffington Post, The Guardian
MasterCard Utilizes #Selfie to #DoGood for World Hunger
Last month, we talked about the #SelfiePolice project started by young college students who found an innovative way to turn the traditionally selflish “selfie” into a force for social good. Turning selfishness into selflessness has now also been embraced as a strategy by MasterCard and the World Food Programme (WFP), through the “Selfless Selfie Campaign.”
The Selfless Selfie Campaign was unleashed this year at the Mobile World Congress, where attendees were encouraged to stop by the MasterCard booth, take a selfie and tweet about it. For each selfie taken, MasterCard pledged to donate a month of school meals for a hungry child through the WFP.
The campaign did not end there. It found itself this week taking on “one of the hottest and most well-known festivals in the world,” South by South West (SXSW) in Austin, Texas. MasterCard donated $5 for every selfie taken at the festival and tweeted with the hashtag #dogood. Again, for each selfie tagged, MasterCard pledged to donate $5 to provide a month of school meals for a hungry child through a WFP program.
MasterCard and the WFP formed a global partnership in 2012, with the goal of delivering “ground-breaking technology to meet the needs of the world’s hungry and vulnerable populations in order to help end world hunger.” According to Hunter Biden, the Board Chair of the WFP USA, “66 million students across the developing world go to school hungry every day.” MasterCard and the WFP believe that a new approach to help these children lies in the power of technology to unlock innovation in food assistance.
One way to utilize the power of technology is through social media platforms. “Leveraging technology to do good is important to us at MasterCard,” said Ann Cairns, MasterCard President International Markets.
Twitter, in particular, has some staggering statistics that make it a valuable tool for corporations, non-profits, and activists worldwide to spread their message to millions:
Twitter and other social media sites offer a unique platform that connect millions of people, affording them opportunities to influence change and spark social justice movements in ways that were unimaginable before.
– Rifk Ebeid
Photo: Mastercard
Sources: Amazon, Stay Classy, News Room