When we think of ruling families in a monarchist state, the pre-modern design points to the United Kingdom and Vatican City as “successful” post-modern governance. The UK employs what we call a Constitutional Monarchy, in which the title of King or Queen undertakes various ceremonial and diplomatic duties, while an elected Prime Minister holds most executive power.
The Vatican as we know constitutes an Absolute Monarchy in the form of an appointed Catholic Church official declared as Pope, meaning father. Western media gives heavy precedence to these forms of monarchist states, one being religious, the other hereditary, while dissipating the absolutist power of several other governing states in the Eastern world. The monarchy wielding the most absolutist power for the past 80 years has been the House of Saud in Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia became a kingdom in 1932 as King Abdulaziz, also known as Ibn Saud, conquered most of Arabia following his capture of Riyadh in 1902. This led to the Saud family regaining power and controlling Arabia until this day. Unlike the UK, which has about 50 hereditary options in the line of succession for King or Queen, Saudi Arabia’s House of Saud has an estimated 15,000 members of the royal family vying for the throne. 2,000 of these family members control a vast majority of the wealth and power in Saudi Arabia. Here, the king holds absolute political power.
In most political states, corruption occurs in the form of politicians taking advantage of the state and, in a sense, stealing from the state. Here, the king is the state, so he does not have to “steal” from what is already under his power and ownership. This leads to corruption being a part of the inherent structure of its monarchist system, as opposed to a form of political undertaking.
Estimates of the royal net worth are around $1.4 trillion, which the over 10,000 princes use as a means for political influence to keep the commoners at bay, while there is a new form of dissension brewing between the state and the people. The inevitable attack against the state is being constantly postponed by paying commoners to favor the state, while distrust among the people grows even larger.
Given the exorbitant amount of wealth Saudi Arabia possesses, poverty should not be an issue. However, about a month ago, a twitter campaign with the Arabic hashtag, #الراتب_مايكفي_الحاجة, meaning “The salary does not meet my needs,” reached over 17 million tweets in the first two weeks. At its peak, it reached 1.2 million tweets a day and was the 16th most popular hashtag around the world, while being the most popular hashtag in Arabic.
This is a massive online demonstration that shows Saudi Arabia’s wealth (precisely allocated to the royal’s) is not allowing for its common citizens to live a genuinely comfortable life. Meanwhile, the House of Saud is paying handouts that amount to about a third of the government budget to countries like Egypt, Jordan, and Tunisia, while also paying for the new Riyadh Metro “mega project.”
The online protests against the disparity of wealth distribution are a sign of small demonstrations that have already been taking place in Saudi Arabia against the House of Saud. People are realizing the more they delay this process of rebellion, the more self-destructive this so-called revolution could be.
Change is occurring in Saudi Arabia, and a paradigm shift in this absolutist monarchy is seemingly shifting, albeit gradually.
– Sagar Jay Patel
Sources: CNN, Independent, Royalty, Borgen Project
Photo: Kings of the World
The House of Saud is a Hotbed for Poverty
When we think of ruling families in a monarchist state, the pre-modern design points to the United Kingdom and Vatican City as “successful” post-modern governance. The UK employs what we call a Constitutional Monarchy, in which the title of King or Queen undertakes various ceremonial and diplomatic duties, while an elected Prime Minister holds most executive power.
The Vatican as we know constitutes an Absolute Monarchy in the form of an appointed Catholic Church official declared as Pope, meaning father. Western media gives heavy precedence to these forms of monarchist states, one being religious, the other hereditary, while dissipating the absolutist power of several other governing states in the Eastern world. The monarchy wielding the most absolutist power for the past 80 years has been the House of Saud in Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia became a kingdom in 1932 as King Abdulaziz, also known as Ibn Saud, conquered most of Arabia following his capture of Riyadh in 1902. This led to the Saud family regaining power and controlling Arabia until this day. Unlike the UK, which has about 50 hereditary options in the line of succession for King or Queen, Saudi Arabia’s House of Saud has an estimated 15,000 members of the royal family vying for the throne. 2,000 of these family members control a vast majority of the wealth and power in Saudi Arabia. Here, the king holds absolute political power.
In most political states, corruption occurs in the form of politicians taking advantage of the state and, in a sense, stealing from the state. Here, the king is the state, so he does not have to “steal” from what is already under his power and ownership. This leads to corruption being a part of the inherent structure of its monarchist system, as opposed to a form of political undertaking.
Estimates of the royal net worth are around $1.4 trillion, which the over 10,000 princes use as a means for political influence to keep the commoners at bay, while there is a new form of dissension brewing between the state and the people. The inevitable attack against the state is being constantly postponed by paying commoners to favor the state, while distrust among the people grows even larger.
Given the exorbitant amount of wealth Saudi Arabia possesses, poverty should not be an issue. However, about a month ago, a twitter campaign with the Arabic hashtag, #الراتب_مايكفي_الحاجة, meaning “The salary does not meet my needs,” reached over 17 million tweets in the first two weeks. At its peak, it reached 1.2 million tweets a day and was the 16th most popular hashtag around the world, while being the most popular hashtag in Arabic.
This is a massive online demonstration that shows Saudi Arabia’s wealth (precisely allocated to the royal’s) is not allowing for its common citizens to live a genuinely comfortable life. Meanwhile, the House of Saud is paying handouts that amount to about a third of the government budget to countries like Egypt, Jordan, and Tunisia, while also paying for the new Riyadh Metro “mega project.”
The online protests against the disparity of wealth distribution are a sign of small demonstrations that have already been taking place in Saudi Arabia against the House of Saud. People are realizing the more they delay this process of rebellion, the more self-destructive this so-called revolution could be.
Change is occurring in Saudi Arabia, and a paradigm shift in this absolutist monarchy is seemingly shifting, albeit gradually.
– Sagar Jay Patel
Sources: CNN, Independent, Royalty, Borgen Project
Photo: Kings of the World
10 Facts about HIV/AIDS in Africa
Human immunodeficiency virus, and its later, more severe stage, acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a virus that affects people all over the world. HIV/AIDS is especially prominent in Africa, where many people are not educated on how to prevent spreading the illness, and even more do not have access to treatment. Here are 10 facts about HIV/AIDS in Africa:
1. 1,000 children are infected with HIV every day.
2. 23 percent of children infected with HIV/AIDS are being treated.
3. 17 million Africans have died of AIDS since the virus was discovered.
4. There are 25 million Africans living with with the HIV virus.
5. 13 million African children are orphans because of HIV/AIDS.
6. 67 percent of people infected with HIV live in sub-Saharan Africa
7. 90 percent of children with HIV (about 2 million) live in sub-Saharan Africa.
8. Only 11 percent of pregnant HIV-positive women in sub-Saharan Africa receive treatment to prevent spreading the virus to their child.
9. HIV/AIDS is the cause of about 1 million deaths in Africa every year.
10. HIV/AIDS has caused the life-expectancy in sub-Saharan Africa to drop to 54.4 years and, in some countries, less than 49 years.
Although these statistics seem disheartening, there has been vast progress in treating and preventing the virus in Africa. More and more people are gaining access to contraceptives and antiviral drugs due to international aid. The end of HIV/AIDS may be a difficult goal to achieve, but every year the number of people dying from the HIV/AIDS decreases, leading the world one step closer to completely eradicating the virus.
– Mary Penn
Sources: Compassion, UNICEF, Just Like My Child
Photo: United Nations Association of Norway
World Hunger is Biggest Threat to Global Health
Though it is rarely featured in the daily headlines, world hunger has become the greatest problem facing the world today. Every day, 1 in 8 people go hungry worldwide. The situation has become so severe that experts now recognize hunger as the largest risk to health – surpassing AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis combined.
Hunger is the worst in developing nations, where nearly 98 percent of the world’s hungry reside. Africa has the greatest number of countries with the highest categories of hunger – in at least 19 of its nations more than 25 percent of the population goes hungry. These issues are exacerbated by war and crisis. For people forced from their homes by violence and for other refugees, food is scarce.
The United Nations spends about $30 million weekly to keep food aid flowing to these problem areas. The efforts of the UN alone are not enough, however. In order to combat this global health risk, the hunger problem needs to be addressed on a global scale.
“It’s getting to a point where if the international community doesn’t wake up and realize that they have to, they must make efforts to find a political solution, otherwise we are not going to be able to sustain this level of response,” said Mathew Hollingworth of the World Food Program. Without the help of the international community, world hunger will continue to endanger people around the world.
– Sonia Aviv
Sources: ENCA, World Food Programme, 15 Min. News
Photo: The Inspiration Room
South Africa’s Transgender Community Denied Rights
For most people, it is difficult to imagine the immense significance of an identification card, as it seems to be a common part of daily life. However, without one, essential tasks become impossible. Without an ID, an individual cannot apply for a job. An individual cannot access medical care or educational records. An individual cannot open a bank account, drive, travel, or vote.
In South Africa, the transgender community is keenly aware of the struggles involved in life without an appropriate source of identification. Those who display a different gender presentation from their originally assigned one are constantly humiliated and debased because of this exact discrepancy. Many even face verbal or physical abuse.
In light of this gross inequality, many transgender and inter-sex activists — both nationally and internationally — have campaigned the South African government to overturn their strict and inhumane laws regarding gender changes and identification cards. Before 2003, these aforementioned laws had made a legally recognized gender change in South Africa impossible. That year, Parliament passed “Act 49,” which elucidated the process in which one might legally be able to make such a change.
The act made a medical report mandatory for such a change, but did not require any sort of genital surgery, a process that remains precarious and unfeasible for many in the transgender community. If the application were to be denied, the Act stipulated that written reasons needed to be provided, and even further, appeals would be possible.
However, in 2013, ten years after “Act 49” passed, little tangible progress has been made in providing proper identification for transgender and intersex individuals. These communities point to the continuing denial of safeguards provided by “Act 49.”
Applicants have waited years for responses from the application process, meanwhile facing the severe inequalities that exist for an individual lacking a tenable identification card. Upon inquiring in regards to their application status, many inter-sex and transgender individuals have faced endless hostilities. When denied, the sanctioned written response detailing the basis of the decision rarely comes.
The changes made to provide basic rights and human services to the transgender and inter-sex communities of South Africa have been legislatively approved. The political fight has ended.
However, in order to provide true equality for all of its citizens, the South African government must, by law, fulfill its promises.
– Anna Purcell
Sources: Human Rights Watch, Humanity in Action
Photo: My Broadband
Is Big Philanthropy Democratic?
In an article in Dissent magazine, Joanne Barkan observes that big philanthropy “aims to solve the world’s problems–with foundation trustees deciding what is a problem and how to fix it. They may act with good intentions, but they define ‘good.’” For Barkan, the implication of this system is that the powerful and wealthy define the problem and how to solve it with little or no democratic controls. The article raises an interesting question: is big philanthropy democratic? It answers that question with a resounding “No.”
Barkan is quick to dismiss the laws and regulations that purportedly govern philanthropic organizations. These rules include restrictions on self-dealing, lobbying, and endorsing or supporting candidates for political office. Due to a variety of factors such as loopholes, deregulation, and lack of resources, these rules have been rendered ineffective in governing the operation of these organizations. And, of course, what has become something of a mantra in our society, the wealthier are able to get away with more indiscretion.
With little public oversight, these mega-organizations are free to govern themselves and raise tax-exempt funds from other wealthy donors. What is done with the money, of course, is up to the board of trustees that governs the organization. Although there is a 5 percent payout rule, which requires foundations pay out at least 5 percent of their endowment’s value each year, Barkan points out that this payout rule includes all reasonable expenses of administering the foundation, including salaries, trustee’s fees, travel, and receptions. Salaries for philanthropic-executives can sometimes reach seven figures, allowing for something of a lavish lifestyle.
Another issue is the type of people that trustees choose to hire for their organizations. Traditionally, management consists of “insider” individuals that come from a business background–management consultants, businesspeople, lobbyists or scientists. Kavita Ramdas, Executive Director of the Program on Social Entrepreneurship at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University, has pointed out that these hiring decisions are reflective of a metrics-driven and efficiency-seeking approach to social change—an approach that is not effective in handling, “the nuance and inherent humility of the social sciences.”
As government resources continue to shrink, those services once considered public will be controlled by private organizations. Philanthrocapitalism is filling the public void and its proving to be big business. In America today, there are 67 grant-awarding foundations with assets totaling more than $1 billion. Many will argue that these actors are using the money they have earned to fund humane endeavors. Others, like Barkan, see mega-philanthropies as another way for the wealthy to decide how to improve humanity and promote an agenda that serves their interests and ideas.
– Daniel Bonasso
Sources: Dissent Magazine, Reuters, Stanford Social Innovation Review
Photo: The Emily Dickinson International Society
5 Facts About SKS Finance
Originally an NGO formed in 1997, SKS Finance became a for profit company in 2005 when it was incorporated as an non-banking finance company (NBFC). Its mission is to provide low-income households with financial services, primarily in India, but potentially across the globe. Here are five facts about the company:
1. The company’s goal is to use microfinance as a tool for reducing poverty and increasing economic opportunity by providing access to insurance and credit. Loans start at about Rs. 2,000 to Rs. 12,000, or about $44-$260. These loans are typically given to poor women in order to help them expand their businesses. Poor women act as guarantors on each other’s loans, using a group lending model. According to SKS Finance, the loans are collateral-free and have a 99% repayment rate.
2. A variety of financial companies including Axis Bank, Barclays, BNP Paribas, CitiBank, HSBC, South Indian Bank, and ING Bank Vysvya have invested in and partnered with SKS Finance.
3. SKS Finance core values are: customer first, ethics always, and consistent quality. This involves transparency with customers, not offering bribes, and fostering innovation without cutting corners. Currently, the company is in the process of rebranding itself. SKS Finance is focusing on removing ambiguities about the company rather than making many specific changes. This need for rebranding came after founder Vikram Akula’s departure from the company and the upheaval that came with legislation passed in 2010. In the recent legislation, the Andhra Pradesh government sought to regulate the micro finance sector’s practices in terms of loan recovery and interest rate charges.
4. As of June 30 of this year, SKS has 51 LAKHS, and 1255 branches in India. The company has helped people like Ameena Bi set up a small mattress selling shop with her husband and a flower shop with the aid of her father. Currently Ameena earns INR 300 or $6 a day and her husband, Abdul, earns between INR 300 and INR 400, or $8.50, a day, whereas just three years before they were making INR 120 or $2 a day.
5. In 2011, Vikram Akula, the founder of SKS Microfinance, left the company amidst much turmoil. In hopes of an impending return, Akula suggested in September that the company had lost its way again. His statements were similar to the narrative that forced his departure two years ago. While current leadership at SKS is more than reluctant to give Akula any role in the company, he has ties with Biksham Gujja, chairperson of SKS Trust. SKS Trust, the largest shareholders in SKS Finance, nominated Akula for the seat now in dispute. SKS Trust is meant to serve SKS borrowers and acts as the largest shareholder in the company. Various people in the company have different attitudes regarding Akula’s possible return. Some say Akula has not made any attempts to return on his own, others that he has no support, and still others believe Akula’s actions are hostile in nature. Some have said there is a lot of support for Akula, otherwise he wouldn’t have received SKS Trust’s nomination. The effect of this public squabbling on SKS borrowers has yet to be fully realized, but doubts are being raised, especially by those worried about the interests of SKS Finance’s beneficiaries.
– The Borgen Project
Sources: SKS India, Business Standard, Economic Times, Times of India
Photo: Hugedatabase.net
The Importance of Non-Profits in Our Economy
It never occurs to many people who are not involved with non-profits how integral these organizations can be to the overall functioning of the economy.
To many, non-profits are just innocuous little entities existing in their own isolated corner of the economy. They do not hurt the economy, but they certainly do not carry it, either. Non-profits serve one distinct purpose – bettering the world while zeroing out their books.
In reality, non-profits do much more. Discussed below are three ways non-profit organizations enhance and bolster the economy.
3 Benefits of Non-Profits
1. Non-profit organizations are a steady source of employment. Just because non-profits are not allowed to carry forward does not mean their operation does not require specialized jobs to be filled. In fact, in terms of day-to-day operations, non-profits run very similarly to for-profit corporations. Non-profits, like for-profits, rely on computer programmers, accountants, graphic designers and other specialized workers to ensure smooth operation.
“Non-profits are businesses. They simply receive preferential tax treatment,” Sean Stannard-Stockton said in a piece for The Chronicle of Philanthropy. The piece was a response to a remark by Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim in which Slim expressed distaste for non-profits. “Like all businesses, non-profits employ people. A lot of people.”
A 2012 report prepared by Johns Hopkins University showed that 10.7 million people were employed in the non-profit sector in 2010 – 10.1 percent of total employment in the United States.
2. Non-profit organizations, like any other business, consume third-party goods and services in their day-to-day operations. They require computers, internet and phone services, building materials, and utilities in order to run. This generates revenue for the companies that manufacture and distribute these goods and services, thereby providing added economic stimulation.
3. By providing employees with a source of income, non-profits, just as for-profits, indirectly stimulate endless other facets of the economy. When people have money, they spend it. They pay mortgages, utility companies and car payments. Discretionary income goes to restaurants, theaters and other luxuries and entertainments.
Even the most cursory economic impact study demonstrates the indispensable value of non-profit organizations in any economy. The jobs they provide help sustain the economy in the same way any properly-functioning for-profit organization does. The same Johns Hopkins report mentioned above even seems to indicate that non-profits have a certain resiliency in economic downturns that for-profit organizations do not have. According to the report, employment in the non-profit sector had an average annual growth rate of 2.1 percent from 2000-2010 – a period in which the United States experienced two separate recessions. On the other hand, for-profits saw employment reduced by 0.6 percent annually across those 10 years.
Non-profits’ vast economic contributions are evident in the United States’ GDP. According to The Independent Sector, non-profits account for 5.5% of the GDP – the equivalent of $805 billion.
The impact of non-profit organizations is indisputably far-reaching and vital to the United States’ economic well-being.
– Matt Berg
Sources: Grant Space, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, Career Builder, Independent Sector
Photo: Slick Text
Low Blood Oxygen? Phone Oximeter is the App
With over a million apps in the Google Play store and nearly that many in the App store, there’s an app for nearly everything–from locking your car doors, finding the perfect recipe for dinner, creating digital watercolor paintings, to monitoring your diet. Now there’s an app for measuring pulse oximetry, or the amount of oxygen in the blood. According to experts, over two-thirds of the six billion cell phone users in the world live in developing nations. The app, called Phone Oximeter, can aid health workers trying to diagnose pneumonia – particularly in children – and pre-eclampsia.
The Phone Oximeter was among ten innovations chosen by the UN and PATH to aid against deaths amongst women and children worldwide, especially deaths related to childbirth. Developed by Dr. Mark Ansermino and colleagues at the University of British Columbia, the device can be attached to a cellphone or tablet in order to measure pulse oximetry. The device can be attached either to the fingertip or earlobe. Reading the results of the Phone Oximeter is simple, according to Ansermino: “When you have got oxygen in your blood, it goes red and when you have not got oxygen in your blood, it goes blue. And that is why we get this tinge around our lips when it is cold because we do not have enough oxygen in the blood around your lips. But also when children get sick … we see the same blue color. So, what we do really is look at this light shining through the tissue and determine the bounds of this red to blue light, and from that we can tell how much of your blood has oxygen in it and how much does not.”
Other potential uses being explored for the Phone Oximeter include monitoring anesthesia in developing countries. Use of pulse oximetry in developed nations leads to significant decreases in the death rate. It detects low blood oxygen levels at the earliest symptoms and allows for a rapid response to the problems that arise thereafter. This can prevent brain damage and death. In the developing world, the death rate from anesthesia is still 100 to 1000 times higher than the rest of the world. As it continues to develop, the hope for the Phone Oximeter is that it would “demonstrate the potential for enhanced delivery of information from a pulse oximeter to enhance the safety of anesthesia care throughout the developing world.”
Designed to be easy to read and to aid healthcare workers at all levels, regardless of specialty, the Phone Oximeter is relatively inexpensive, expected to cost between $10 to $40.
– The Borgen Project
Sources: The Jewish Voice, Medical Daily
Photo: Engadget
What is Corporate Social Responsibility?
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a term that is becoming more and more common in the workplace. According to Mark Whitman of Sustainable Business Forum, a study by MIT in 2011 showed that sustainability is a permanent part of about 70 percent of corporate outlines.
This is more important than just adjusting for corporate philanthropy. As it turns out, Whitman said, doing good is good for business as well. There are several large benefits of CSR.
1.) Corporate Social Responsibility is good for business:
According to Better Business Journey, a Small Business Consortium from the United Kingdom, “88% of consumers said they were more likely to buy from a company that supports and engages in activities to improve society.” Furthermore, according to Simply CSR, customers do not accept “unethical business practices,” and using CSR methods can effectively increase customer retention and win business that is entirely new.
According to One4All, an organization committed to informing companies about CSR, a Harvard University study found that companies that are stakeholder-balanced “showed four times the growth rate and eight times employment growth when compared to companies that focused only on shareholders and profit maximization.” As it turns out, important stakeholders expect corporations to become socially responsible. Customers, consumers, and investors expect a corporation to “understand and address” relevant social issues.
2.) Talented employees want Corporate Social Responsibility:
Aside from customers, practicing CSR helps a company retain valuable employees as well. Whitman said that 53 percent of workers said that “a job where I can make an impact” was necessary to maintain workplace happiness. Furthermore, Whitman said, 35 percent would take a pay cut “to work for a company committed to Corporate Social Responsibility.”
According to Jeanne Meister for Forbes, “employees now want more from their employer than a paycheck. They want a sense of pride and fulfillment from their work, a purpose and importantly a company’s whose values match their own.” She said CSR is crucial to attracting talented employees to a corporation.
3.) Implementing Corporate Social Responsibility sets you apart from your competition:
Simply CSR said that using Corporate Social Responsibility improves a business’s reputation and standing within public forums. Companies that strive for a unique ethical standpoint are set apart from the rest in the eyes on consumers, according to John Paluszek of the Santa Clara University Markkula Center for Applied Ethics. Branding an organization as ethical builds a positive reputation.
In an interview with Forbes in May, Garratt Hasenstab, Director of Sustainability at the Verdigris Group, a real estate development and consulting firm, said that they save money by operating efficiently, but that they believe setting a good example is the greatest benefit. They have inspired other organizations to do the same, Hasenstab said.
“Our CSR policy is at the core of our daily operations and guides our future progress,” Hasenstab said. “Our clients want to work with us because we are focused on a healthier and more productive world.”
– Alycia Rock
Sources: Simply CSR, Forbes, Sustainable Business, One4All CSR, Forbes Corporate Responsibility
Photo: Global MED
Birmingham Partnership Walk Raises Money to Fight Global Poverty
On September 22, 2013, over 2,200 people participated in the Birmingham Partnership Walk in order to raise awareness and money for those around the world living in poverty as well as the organizations that are pledged to help them.
The partnership walk was held at the city’s Railroad Park, and hosted a 5K run, a 1K youth run, a 100-yard dash, and a 3K family walk. Attendees could partake in these events while various groups, such as local marching bands and choirs, entertained the participants. Last year, 1,950 people participated in the partnership walk, raising $300,000. This year’s walk matched that goal.
The annual paternship walk is an event conducted by Aga Khan Foundation USA (AKF USA), which conducts similar Partnership Walks in 10 other cities around the United States. Aga Khan Foundation USA is a nonprofit humanitarian organization that focuses on agriculture, education, healthcare and other forms of development in Africa and Central Asia. All of the money raised at the walks organized by AKF USA goes to fund projects that directly battle global poverty.
Volunteer organizer Salima Mulji remarked that people should consider themselves part of a single global community, and, as such, it is the responsibility of everyone to help those in need. As a native resident of Southeast Asia, Mulji knows the advantages of growing up in the United States. Volunteering with AKF during the partnership walk is her way of giving back.
– Rahul Shah
Sources: ALL Alabama, Partnerships in Action, Alabama 13
Photo: Aga Khan Foundation USA