While some humanitarian organizations will avoid areas of conflict, members of International Relief and Development (IRD) seek it. IRD, a non-profit relief organization founded in 1998, believes that proper governance is necessary for all other sectors’ infrastructure to develop. Since 2001, it has initiated and managed over $1 billion dollars of infrastructure projects. The numbers, however, are less important when we want to see results.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has been a partner and donor of IRD since its beginning. It is the largest donor to IRD and therefore, we can expect USAID’s vision of good governance and universal human rights to filter through in its work. IRD also partners with the US State Department, United Nations and World Bank.
International Relief and Development has over 2,900 staff worldwide. IRD prides itself on the fact that over 90 percent of these staff members are hired locally. There are currently 122 projects worldwide, the majority taking place in the Middle East.
Infrastructure in West Bank
In the West Bank, IRD was awarded the 2008 INP IQC ―Infrastructure Needs Program Indefinite Quantity Contract. This USAID-led 5 year-long contract was awarded to only four organizations; IRD was the only non-profit to receive the contract. The infrastructure building of roads, schools, and water development systems were the main focus of this 300 million dollar project. West Bank, located in the Palestinian territory near the state of Israel, is one the most desperate regions in the world that seeks independence and peace with its neighbors.
Iraqi Water Supply
The challenge of obtaining potable water is found all over the world. In Iraq, IRD addressed the needs of 15,000 residents of a neighborhood in Baghdad. The Iraqi Community Action Program was granted the funds it requested. The funds, which came from USAID, helped a water production unit run at its full capacity, fully supplying the neighborhood with ample water. Instead of functioning on its previous level of 13,000 gallons per hour, it ran at 50,000 gallons per hour.
Vocational Training in Pakistan
To understand what the solutions to poverty are, we have to understand that they are many. This includes vocational training to give people the skills they need in order to support their families. Some families lose a breadwinner in the family due to war or war-related violence. In Charsadda, Pakistan, IRD, in conjunction with USAID, implemented a vocational training program in tailoring, electrical work, auto mechanics, computing, and others. In addition to receiving the training, the 116 Pakistanis that participated in the program also received small grants to start their own business.
These projects and many more are just prime examples of the work USAID funds through reputable organizations such as IRD. With its professionalism, good ethics, and ability to work in all regions in the world, International Relief and Development live up to its name.
– Aysha Rasool
Feature Writer
Source: IRD Success Stories, USAID, IRD
Photo: International Relief and Development
USAID Gives Contracts to Louis-Berger Group
The United States Foreign Aid budget recently contracted several development projects to the Louis-Berger Group, Inc (LBG). The contracts, which will continue for the next three to five years, will provide logistical support, aid in information technology and clean energy, and help with legal reforms in conflict-prone areas in the Philippines.
Providing logistical and especially legal support is important, especially for the autonomous region in the Muslim Mindanao. LBG previously did work in the area and saw growth in economic activity, business development, and better governance practices as a result.
The Louis-Berger group, founded in 1953, has worked in over 70 developing countries since its beginning in 1959. It is a privately-owned company that specializes in work in the following areas: buildings and facilities, development economics, energy, environment, public administration, reconstruction and recovery, transportation, and water.
Afghanistan is one of the areas in which this company is heavily involved. In the Helmand province, Louis-Berger helped rehabilitate two turbines and generators at the Kajakai power plant. With LBG’s help, the all-Afghani run plant now supplies sufficient power for both Helmand and Kandahar provinces.
Louis-Berger has over 30 U.S. Federal agencies as clients, including the Departments of Defense, Transportation, and Energy. It not only works inside the U.S., but also has client relationships with other countries in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. It purports its goal is to ‘work its way out of a job’ by emphasizing local development and sustainability. This, hopefully, will be the case for the Philippines in these new contracts funded by USAID.
– Aysha Rasool
Feature Writer
Source: PR Web
Rural Poverty in Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan is a small Central Asian country about the size of South Carolina bordered by The Caspian Sea, Armenia, Georgia, Iran, and Russia. Similar to Russia, Azerbaijan’s heritage is derived from both Eastern and Western civilizations, making her a distinctly Eurasian entity. In the years initially following the Russian revolution of 1917, the victorious Bolsheviks invaded Azerbaijan, integrating it into the Soviet Union. This was an effort by Lenin to capitalize on the oil reserves of the Azerbaijanis.
Consequently, agriculture in Azerbaijan was collectivized. This caused agricultural workers to become dependent on a very specific, prescribed method of farming in which success depended upon the survival of the Soviet system. When the Soviet Union collapsed in the early 1990s and farms were privatized, agricultural workers were completely unprepared to grow crops on their own. This resulted in a situation in which uneducated farmers with limited resources were unable to maximize the productivity of their land.
Like other nations that declared independence after the fall of the USSR, Azerbaijan’s rural communities have struggled immensely to stand on their own two feet economically. Rural poverty is widespread, but it is especially concentrated in the desolate northeastern part of the country, with pockets also appearing in the mountainous northwestern region of Sheki-Zagatal where the poverty rate is over 50%. The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) describes the severity of the economic conditions there, stating:
“Remote areas and upland or mountainous areas show high rates of poverty. These areas often lack basic infrastructure and services, including irrigation, adequate road access, a reliable drinking water supply and health services.”
Fortunately, IFAD has invested almost $200 million in development projects in Azerbaijan over the last decade and a half. These projects focus on improving food security through practical education (such as irrigation tutorials) and the establishment of business connections between rural farmers and lucrative markets. With support such as this, agriculture in Azerbaijan has the potential to rise out of poverty in the coming years.
– Josh Forgét
Source: Rural Poverty Portal via IFAD,Glenn E. Curtis
Photo: Azerbaijan News
What is International Relief and Development?
While some humanitarian organizations will avoid areas of conflict, members of International Relief and Development (IRD) seek it. IRD, a non-profit relief organization founded in 1998, believes that proper governance is necessary for all other sectors’ infrastructure to develop. Since 2001, it has initiated and managed over $1 billion dollars of infrastructure projects. The numbers, however, are less important when we want to see results.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has been a partner and donor of IRD since its beginning. It is the largest donor to IRD and therefore, we can expect USAID’s vision of good governance and universal human rights to filter through in its work. IRD also partners with the US State Department, United Nations and World Bank.
International Relief and Development has over 2,900 staff worldwide. IRD prides itself on the fact that over 90 percent of these staff members are hired locally. There are currently 122 projects worldwide, the majority taking place in the Middle East.
Infrastructure in West Bank
In the West Bank, IRD was awarded the 2008 INP IQC ―Infrastructure Needs Program Indefinite Quantity Contract. This USAID-led 5 year-long contract was awarded to only four organizations; IRD was the only non-profit to receive the contract. The infrastructure building of roads, schools, and water development systems were the main focus of this 300 million dollar project. West Bank, located in the Palestinian territory near the state of Israel, is one the most desperate regions in the world that seeks independence and peace with its neighbors.
Iraqi Water Supply
The challenge of obtaining potable water is found all over the world. In Iraq, IRD addressed the needs of 15,000 residents of a neighborhood in Baghdad. The Iraqi Community Action Program was granted the funds it requested. The funds, which came from USAID, helped a water production unit run at its full capacity, fully supplying the neighborhood with ample water. Instead of functioning on its previous level of 13,000 gallons per hour, it ran at 50,000 gallons per hour.
Vocational Training in Pakistan
To understand what the solutions to poverty are, we have to understand that they are many. This includes vocational training to give people the skills they need in order to support their families. Some families lose a breadwinner in the family due to war or war-related violence. In Charsadda, Pakistan, IRD, in conjunction with USAID, implemented a vocational training program in tailoring, electrical work, auto mechanics, computing, and others. In addition to receiving the training, the 116 Pakistanis that participated in the program also received small grants to start their own business.
These projects and many more are just prime examples of the work USAID funds through reputable organizations such as IRD. With its professionalism, good ethics, and ability to work in all regions in the world, International Relief and Development live up to its name.
– Aysha Rasool
Feature Writer
Source: IRD Success Stories, USAID, IRD
Photo: International Relief and Development
Nominees Sought for Development Achievement Award
Nominations are now available for The Guardian‘s Development Achievement Award. Anyone who has traveled to the developing world has met outstanding individuals changing the lives of the impoverished and marginalized. The Guardian’s Development Achievement Award seeks to reward and recognize individuals making a huge impact in the poorest parts of the world.
These individuals work hard in the face of intense challenges. They spend tireless hours fighting for those they represent and deliver help that goes far beyond their pay grade. However, often their work is known only by those who are directly impacted by it or those who happen to come across them in the areas where they work. The Development Achievement Award, now in its fifth year, seeks to bring some publicity and awareness to these hardworking individuals.
The winner of the award will receive public recognition for his or her work and achievements. Their accomplishments will be publicized to both colleagues and a broader global audience. Dr. Kshama Metre, last year’s winner, is a pediatrician who runs an organization called Cord that has helped thousands of poor in rural India by dealing with the causes and effects of poverty in a holistic manner. Renwick Rose, the winner from 2011, is an advocate for farmers’ rights in the Caribbean and works hard to fight for fair trade wages and practices within the region.
The nominees for the Development Achievement Award must be unsung heroes and have made an exceptional contribution to alleviating poverty. They should be individuals whose work deserves more recognition than it has received thus far and people who have gone above and beyond their regular line of work. The winners will receive a film about their work, a profile in a Guardian supplement, and a presentation of the award in their own country. Nominations are welcome from anyone in the world for anyone in the world. The closing date for nominations is August 5, 2013.
– Amanda Kloeppel
Source:The Guardian
Transparency International USA Inspires
The task of successfully eliminating global poverty is often precluded by entrenched corruption practices in governments and businesses in both the developing and developed world. TI-USA was founded in 1993 as a chapter of the greater Transparency International movement in an attempt to address this corruption and to “promote transparency and integrity in government, business, and development assistance.”
TI-USA reports that each year, bribery, fraud, collusion, and other various forms of corruption taint over $1.5 trillion in public purchasing. Billions of dollars in illicit assets currently flow out of developing countries that need the money to survive.
TI-USA not only views this behavior as unacceptable and immoral but sees the consequential economic, social and health effects that such corruption may spur. In corrupted governments, most of a country’s assets remain in the top levels of society, placing a greater financial burden on the country’s poor who are often deprived of education, nutrition, clean water and health care.
As a branch of an already well-established nonprofit organization, TI-USA’s chief goal is to make the United States a forefront actor in establishing anti-corruption laws across the globe turning first to addressing transparency issues within the U.S. government itself. By doing this, the U.S. can show its commitment to the anti-corruption goal by reforming its own shortcomings as a model for developing countries to follow.
TI-USA shows that in order to become a leader in global activism a country must live up to the standards it promotes abroad within its own national boundaries.
– Alexandra Bruschi
Sources: Transparency International USA, Business Wire
Photo: Flickr
A Look at Lutheran World Relief
Lutheran World Relief has been offering emergency aid to people around the world for more than 60 years. The group formed in the aftermath of World War II, which rendered an estimated 20% of Lutherans homeless. In response to this need, 20 Lutheran churches in the US organized themselves to send aid to their fellow church members.
Most of the aid in that initial period went to Germans and Scandinavians, but LWR founders soon came to believe that they should distribute aid to people regardless of their religious affiliation. In the decades immediately following World War II, the organization sent emergency aid to the Middle East, Hong Kong, Korea, and Bangladesh. Currently, they reach out to people needing emergency help on nearly every continent.
Since then the mission of LWR has evolved even further from providing aid for emergency food, shelter, and medicine, to implementing a comprehensive sustainable development program. The organization now works to address needs in a number of areas, including health, agriculture, and the environment. In pursuing that mission, LWR regularly:
In addition, the groups on the ground emergency programs are designed to continue recovery efforts long after disasters strike. LWR is committed to helping afflicted communities build resiliency and recover for the long-term.
Over the years, Lutheran World Relief has earned respect around the world for their efforts. The group has one of the highest ratings from the site CharityNavigator.org, which rates organizations for their transparency and efficient use of donations. To learn more about Lutheran World Relief, or to donate to the organization, visit www.lwr.org.
– Délice Williams
Sources: LWR, Charity Navigator
Photo: Lutheran World Relief
Teachers Education Program in Pakistan
Armed with nuclear technology and on the border of Afghanistan, Pakistan has become an important country in the War on Terror. While the primary method for addressing terrorism has been militaristic and reactive, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has created a program to strengthen Pakistan’s educational system and thus help prevent the spread of terrorism – the Teachers Education Program.
Although it possesses nuclear technology and the world’s 6th largest military, Pakistan is still a developing country with roughly 60% of the population living close to or under the poverty line. Communities that struggle to meet basic needs are more susceptible to terrorist influences. The first step to converting someone into a terrorist is to meet the basic needs of a community that otherwise doesn’t have the resources to meet those needs.
The Teachers Education Program has recently awarded 200 scholarships of 20,000 Pakistani Rupees to students pursuing an associate’s or bachelor’s degree in education. This type of education reinforces the transition the Pakistani educational system is undergoing.
In Pakistan, the educational system is modernizing by moving from a base in rote memorization (which is founded on repetition) to a system based on critical thinking. With an updated and fortified educational system, Pakistani students will be better prepared to contribute to the economic development of their communities and thus limit the persuasive ability of terrorist cells.
Investing in the economic development of impoverished communities through education is an excellent way to prevent the spread of terrorism and strengthen the global economy.
– Pete Grapentien
Source The Express Tribune, University of Massachusetts
Photo: Facebook
El Salvador Fights to Protect Water
The Central American country of El Salvador fights to protect water. Twenty-five percent of the rural population do not have access to potable water, and an estimated 90% of the country’s surface water is believed to be “heavily contaminated.” A preliminary report released last month on the effects of gold mining on El Salvador’s water supply reveals that in areas where mining was conducted, local populations experienced high rates of cancer, kidney failure, and diseases of the nervous system. A 2012 study of the San Sebastián river by a government agency showed that the river contained 9 times the acceptable level of cyanide and 1,000 times the acceptable level of iron. The river is now famous for its unnaturally orange-colored contaminated water.
Water Contamination Sparks Environmentalism in El Salvador
Much of this contamination is the legacy of large-scale industrial metal mining in the resource-rich country. Such mining both uses and contaminates large amounts of potable water. Many citizens of El Salvador also argue that multinational mining companies that claim to bring jobs and economic growth in fact extract resources but contribute little to the local economy.
These negative environmental and economic effects have galvanized Salvadorans in a grass-roots environmental movement, a fight to protect water from mining contamination. Local residents, led in part by those from the canton of San Sebastián, have teamed up with international NGOs to protest mining contamination, publicize the issue internationally, and conduct scientific studies to support their claims that industrial mining endangers the nation’s environment and people. The movement has reached to the top levels of government, with strong national and international repercussions. In 2008, then-President Antonio Saca stopped issuing new mining permits, and the government is currently debating a bill that would make El Salvador the first country to ban industrial metal mining altogether.
International mining companies are fighting back, however. Commerce Group, an American company that operated the mine near the San Sebastián river, and Pacific Rim, a Canadian company, have filed complaints against El Salvador before a World Bank trade tribunal based in Washington, D.C. The companies are suing the Salvadoran government for $400 million dollars for violating their rights as investors. Decisions on these cases have not yet been reached. In the meantime, Salvadorans continue to debate the best ways to preserve their water and devise a model of development that is both sustainable and economically beneficial to all sectors of society.
– Délice Williams
Source: The Guardian, Mining Watch, StopESMining
Photo: Mesa Nacional
Global Nutrition for Growth Compact
The Global Nutrition for Growth Compact was established with the understanding that malnutrition needs to be combated just as much as malnourishment. Malnutrition occurs when a person has an adequate amount of calories but consumes a diet that is lacking in nutrients that are essential for growth and development. On the other hand, malnourishment is a condition resulting from a lack of calories in a diet. While malnourishment can directly lead to death through starvation, malnutrition more than doubles a child’s likelihood of dying due to weakened bodily functions. Poor nutrition is believed to be the primary cause of 45% of child deaths overall.
Fortunately, the number of children in the world who are stunted (or never reach their potential height) as a result of malnutrition dropped from 253 million to 167 million in the two decades between 1990 and 2010. The improvement is credited to a greater understanding of nutritional regimens that prevent malnutrition. Programs that combat malnutrition focus on remedies that emphasize breastfeeding and provide vitamins and nutrients to pregnant women and developing children. Adequate nutrition is critical for pregnant and breastfeeding mothers, as it provides the components needed for infant development and healthy weight gain. Likewise, it is essential that developing children receive vitamins and nutrients for healthy mental and physical growth.
Researchers believe that a million lives could be saved each year through the implementation of a malnutrition reduction program. In addition to saving lives, the program will also provide children with the nutrients they need for full brain development, a component that helps children be successful in school.
– Jordan Kline
Source: IRIN News
Photo: Action Against Hunger
#ThisAbility Portraits Promotes Awareness
The campaign, marked by the hashtag #ThisAbility, encourages people to submit pictures of people overcoming their disabilities in astounding ways. The top 15 photographers will have their work displayed at UNICEF’s Manhattan headquarters, and the top 5 will receive a variety of UNICEF gear.
Nearly 100 million children suffer from a mild or severe disability, according to the report. Though this figure is largely speculative, they add up to 1 in every 20 children aged 14 and younger. While disabilities come in varying degrees, the similarity “lies [in] the shared experience of being defined and judged by what one lacks rather than by what one has.”
Children with disabilities are often seen as inferior to their peers without disabilities. They experience discrimination and marginalization on a daily basis. This is mostly due to a lack of awareness by governments about the extent of the problem.
“Few countries have reliable information on how many of their citizens are children with disabilities, what disabilities they have or how these disabilities affect their lives,” according to the report. Families oftentimes don’t report their child’s disability for fear of ostracism by the community. Because the government is unaware that these children exist in such a great number, the public services never reach those who need it most.
UNICEF is advocating for full ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which calls for an equalization of social liberties for people living with disabilities. With this report, UNICEF hopes to receive full ratification of the treaty (27 countries still haven’t signed) and to mobilize political action on the international level.
The report ends on a hopeful note: “Disability does not mean incapability: It is the wonderful diversity that enriches humankind.”
– Kathryn Cassibry
Sources: UNICEF, Huffington Post