The foothills of the Moroto Mountains in northeastern Uganda are marked by hundreds of holes dug by eager villagers in search of gold. Close by, mining machinery installed by the private mining company, Jan Mangle Company Ltd., crank noisily in search of the same.
The relatively recent discovery of gold in the Karamoja region holds the potential to change the fate of the region’s pastoral communities. But whether this change will be negative or positive remains to be seen. The poorest region of Uganda, Karamoja, has been damaged by decades of violent conflict, and many in the region feel they have been neglected by the central government.
In 1980, a fifth of the Karamojong population, including 60% of infants, perished in a widespread famine that resulted in the fall of dictator Idi Amin. Conflict ensued once Karamoja’s clans looted the Moroto armory and used the weapons to ransack cattle from villages in neighboring Kenya and what is now South Sudan.
Cattle are considered among most Karamojong people to be a person’s main representation of wealth. For this reason, many of those unfortunate enough to have their cattle stolen from them during the years of conflict were prompted to begin digging and panning for gold.
Today, the region is relatively free from conflict and has returned to a state of peace and security. This is mostly due to the controversial government disarmament programs in which villages were surrounded and searched for hidden weapons by troops in the Ugandan People’s Defense Force.
The return to security has opened the door for many corporations to poke their noses into Uganda’s mineral-rich lands. In Karamoja, the foreign presence of Jan Mangle Limited has prompted mistrust among locals. It is popularly assumed that the benefits will flow toward the wealthy, leaving the poor even poorer.
“We don’t know where the gold is going to,” said one young villager. “We hear the land is sold to investors and we are afraid we will not see any benefits from the gold. They have not told us anything.”
The government of Uganda has a strong history of forcibly displacing indigenous people in order to buy up land to sell to corporations. An example is the eviction of 392 families to make way for a German coffee company in 2001 or the nearly 20,000 people evicted in 2012 to clear land for a British forestry company. In various regions of northern and central Ugandan, hundreds of families are being paid peanuts for their land that is then sold to corporations such as the AUC Mining Company and Jan Mangle Company Ltd.
Years of manipulation and neglect from the central government have lead Karamojong residents to believe the worst, and it is nearly impossible to get information on government contracts from private corporations.
But government officials such as Moroto District Commissioner Nahaman Ojwe insist that the indigenous of Karamaja will actually see two benefits from the mineral extraction. First, current landowners will receive royalties from the mining companies. Second, the wealth collected from the gold by the central government could be redistributed to the indigenous of the region.
Whether these benefits will actually be felt by the people of Karamoja will be revealed in the coming years. But for now, the villagers keep digging while the machines keep drilling in Uganda’s poorest region.
– Kathryn Cassibry
Source: The Guardian, The Daily Monitor, The Observer
Photo: Foundation of Life
How Will Uganda’s Gold Rush Affect Its Poorest Region?
The foothills of the Moroto Mountains in northeastern Uganda are marked by hundreds of holes dug by eager villagers in search of gold. Close by, mining machinery installed by the private mining company, Jan Mangle Company Ltd., crank noisily in search of the same.
The relatively recent discovery of gold in the Karamoja region holds the potential to change the fate of the region’s pastoral communities. But whether this change will be negative or positive remains to be seen. The poorest region of Uganda, Karamoja, has been damaged by decades of violent conflict, and many in the region feel they have been neglected by the central government.
In 1980, a fifth of the Karamojong population, including 60% of infants, perished in a widespread famine that resulted in the fall of dictator Idi Amin. Conflict ensued once Karamoja’s clans looted the Moroto armory and used the weapons to ransack cattle from villages in neighboring Kenya and what is now South Sudan.
Cattle are considered among most Karamojong people to be a person’s main representation of wealth. For this reason, many of those unfortunate enough to have their cattle stolen from them during the years of conflict were prompted to begin digging and panning for gold.
Today, the region is relatively free from conflict and has returned to a state of peace and security. This is mostly due to the controversial government disarmament programs in which villages were surrounded and searched for hidden weapons by troops in the Ugandan People’s Defense Force.
The return to security has opened the door for many corporations to poke their noses into Uganda’s mineral-rich lands. In Karamoja, the foreign presence of Jan Mangle Limited has prompted mistrust among locals. It is popularly assumed that the benefits will flow toward the wealthy, leaving the poor even poorer.
“We don’t know where the gold is going to,” said one young villager. “We hear the land is sold to investors and we are afraid we will not see any benefits from the gold. They have not told us anything.”
The government of Uganda has a strong history of forcibly displacing indigenous people in order to buy up land to sell to corporations. An example is the eviction of 392 families to make way for a German coffee company in 2001 or the nearly 20,000 people evicted in 2012 to clear land for a British forestry company. In various regions of northern and central Ugandan, hundreds of families are being paid peanuts for their land that is then sold to corporations such as the AUC Mining Company and Jan Mangle Company Ltd.
Years of manipulation and neglect from the central government have lead Karamojong residents to believe the worst, and it is nearly impossible to get information on government contracts from private corporations.
But government officials such as Moroto District Commissioner Nahaman Ojwe insist that the indigenous of Karamaja will actually see two benefits from the mineral extraction. First, current landowners will receive royalties from the mining companies. Second, the wealth collected from the gold by the central government could be redistributed to the indigenous of the region.
Whether these benefits will actually be felt by the people of Karamoja will be revealed in the coming years. But for now, the villagers keep digging while the machines keep drilling in Uganda’s poorest region.
– Kathryn Cassibry
Source: The Guardian, The Daily Monitor, The Observer
Photo: Foundation of Life
Rural Poverty in Armenia
When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, Armenia descended into poverty. Industries that were previously operated by the Soviet state, including agriculture, were discontinued, creating massive unemployment in this region of the Southern Caucasus. Today, nearly 50% of the population lives below the poverty line. Many of those affected by poverty either reside in rural areas along the nation’s borders or in isolated mountain villages.
In a 2012 article written for the Guardian, reporter Sigrid Rausing portrays a bleak portrait of Armenia. Rausing describes a polluted mountain landscape devastated by the fall of the communist regime. She says, “Every village we drove through was half abandoned – the falling-down houses haphazardly mended with metal sheets or planks of wood. Whole families move if they can, otherwise, women and children remain while the men join the migrant labor force in Russia, sending meagre remittances home.”
Over 30% of households in Armenia are headed by single women whose partners have traveled to other countries for work. The end of collectivized agriculture destroyed efficient food production because Armenian farmers were ill-equipped and undereducated in the business of farming. In addition to this, the rocky Armenian soil was a thorn in the side of former Soviet agricultural laborers who were not used to dealing with such challenges without the help of Soviet officials. It was this combination of factors that forced agricultural workers into migrant labor, leaving the women of rural Armenia to fend for themselves.
The situation in Armenia requires international attention. Armenia was assisted by several Western powers in the early 1990s when the threat of famine loomed over the fledgling nation, however, development in Armenia could be the chance to improve food production, reduce migration, and lift this struggling country out of poverty permanently.
– Josh Forgét
Source: Rural Poverty Portal,The Guardian
Photo: Care Armenia
US Military Leaders Want Congress Helping Poor
Foreign aid has long been a very small piece of the United States’ federal budget, coming in at less than 1%. But this does not reflect the important significance of that aid, diplomacy, and development strategies have in the world. The National Security Council is now joining the fight for increased foreign policy funding lead by its leaders Admiral James M. Loy and General Michael W. Hagee.
In a letter to the Appropriations Committee, the two co-chairs explain their position saying, “Our nation’s military strength is not sufficient on its own to defend America’s security, protect our most vital national interests, sustain and bolster economic growth and, in particular, address the deep-rooted causes of violence and instability around the world. To deal with these challenges, the U.S. must balance strategically all three aspects of national power and international influence—defense, diplomacy, and development.”
These military leaders have first-hand seen the need for assistance overseas and encourage the greater focus of foreign aid because it will be able to achieve goals at a far lower cost “in lives and dollars” than the military can. Condoleezza Rice, former Secretary of State, also spoke on the necessity of supporting international development saying, “It is a vital investment in the free, prosperous, and peaceful international order that fundamentally serves our national interest.”
Promoting national and international security is vital to the U.S.’s strength as a nation, and can be better attained if proper funding is allotted. The National Security Council knows firsthand the international efforts taken for civilian assistance, and the co-chairs saw their resources for assistance often insufficiently funded and staffed. This lack of funding puts a serious damper on any efforts we may undertake in terms of diplomacy and development, where proper funding and investment could cause a dramatic decrease in poverty and hunger levels around the world.
– Sarah Rybak
Source: USGLC,The Foreign Policy Initiative
Photo: Elevation Networks
Five Myths About Global Slums
The word “slum” usually evokes images of filth, crime, chaos, and deprivation. People typically perceive slums as places to avoid or escape from, places where nothing good ever happens. As many people who live and work in slums know, however, the stereotypes fail to tell the whole story. A publication by the United Nations Settlements Programme, U.N. Habitat, helps to separate myth from fact.
Myth: “Slums serve no purpose.”
Fact: Slums often provide low-cost housing and services to urban populations. They also offer networks of much-needed social support to people migrating from rural to urban areas.
Myth: “All slum dwellers are poor.”
Fact: While it is true that poverty in slums is extremely visible, many people who are not the poorest of society choose to live in or near slums because they run businesses located in the same area.
Myth: “Slum dwellers are a burden on the economy.”
Fact: In many global cities, as much as 60% of employment lies in the ‘informal’ sector of the economy. Research in developed and developing countries proves that by providing opportunities for small-scale entrepreneurship, slums often serve as vital “incubators” for upward social and economic mobility.
Myth: “Slums are the fault of slum dwellers who do not want to help themselves.”
Fact: Failed, inadequate, or non-existent housing policies and laws are more to blame for the presence of slums than the people who inhabit them. In fact, most people move to slums from rural villages because they wish to find work and improve their lives.
Myth: “The poor contribute nothing to society and nothing good ever came out of slums.”
Fact: The largest producers of shelter in today’s global cities are poor people. Slums have also been vital contributors to culture by providing spaces to nurture art including music genres reggae, jazz, hip-hop, and funk.
– Délice Williams
Source: UN-Habitat
Donate Blood to Save Lives
June 1st was World Organ Donor Day. Unfortunately, like many international holidays such as World Ocean Day, World Refugee Day, and World Blood Donor Day (all of which also take place in June) it was not widely celebrated. However, because as many as 15,000 kidneys are trafficked illegally each year according to traffickingproject.org, more people should be paying attention.
But, there are vital ways to help without giving up a kidney (right now).
Around the world, millions are stuck in a cycle of chronic sickness and inadequate healthcare. By following these simple steps, everyone can set an example of how to meet these urgent needs in an efficient and ethical manner that will potentially spread throughout the world.
– Samantha Mauney
Source: DW,USA Today,Red Cross
Photo: Jewish Voice
Harvard Grads Rewarded for Taking Nonprofit Jobs
This week, as some of the best and brightest students in the country graduated from Harvard, a select few received an additional bonus: $50,000 to use their degree to make the world a better place.
The 19 graduates who received the bonus have been part of the Harvard Business Leadership Fellow Program, which sets students up with one-year fellowships in nonprofit and public-sector organizations. Harvard subsidizes the fellowships, with each student receiving $50,000 in addition to the $45,000 paid by the organizations.
Since its inception in 2001, 106 students have been recipients of the grant and, after successful completion of the one-year programs, 90% of the students have been asked to stay on. According to the university, one-third of these students still work at the organization that hired them, and one-third have moved to a different job within the same sector.
This year, graduates will work at a variety of organizations including Oxfam America and Endeavor Global, a non-profit that helps emerging countries through its High-Impact Entrepreneurs program.
Since 1993, the Harvard Business School Social Enterprise Initiative has worked with students to create sustainable, high-impact social change. Thanks to Harvard Business School, these graduates will have the financial stability to work in the nonprofit industry, a sector that on average pays 30% less than for-profit organizations. “This program is a great opportunity for our graduating students to work in the nonprofit and public sectors,” said Harvard Business School professor Allen Grossman. “The program continues to grow as our students continue to give overwhelmingly positive feedback about working with partner organizations.”
– Chloe Isacke
Source: Impact,Harvard Business School
Photo: Bloomberg
Protecting Our Future: Save the Children
The dedicated workers of Save the Children have been affecting positive, lasting change in children’s lives for the past 81 years with no signs of slowing down. They partner with local governments and organizations in vulnerable communities to offer children support and protection from neglect, exploitation, violence, poverty, malnutrition, inferior medical care and education, and much more.
With offices spread across 120 countries, the organization has helped millions of children in Africa, Asia, America, the Middle East, Europe, Latin America, and the Caribbean. In 2012 alone, they helped more than 125 million children overcome obstacles including poverty, illiteracy, obesity, and abuse.
Save the Children focuses on the following key areas:
The organization is recognized by regulatory services as a leader among nonprofit organizations; The American Institute of Philanthropy (AIP) awarded it an A+ rating. The BBB Wise Giving Alliance has determined that Save the Children meets all of the standards for charity accountability. Charity Navigator awarded Save the Children their 11th consecutive overall 4 out of 4 stars rating in 2012. The Forbes 200 Largest U.S. Charities List rated the organization’s fundraising efficiency at 92%, and their charitable commitment at 91%. Great Nonprofits named them the recipient of a 2012 Top-Rated Award. And America’s Greatest Brands featured Save the Children as one of the strongest and most trusted humanitarian relief and development philanthropies.
The amazing work being done by Save the Children can be multiplied even further by charitable contributions to their Global Action Fund. To make a donation, please visit the Global Action Fund webpage.
– Dana Johnson
Source: Save the Children, Global Action Fund
Adopt an ECD
Early childhood development (ECD) is an aspect of life that kids in Africa can’t afford to take for granted. Only 43% of children under five in South Africa have access to these crucial programs either at home or in a specialized center. Exposing children to ECD programs is an important factor in their ability to grow into intelligent adults, and also plays a crucial role in lifting them out of poverty.
To change the vicious cycle of poverty, the National Development Agency is launching the Adopt an ECD campaign to allow more kids the chance to participate in early childhood development programs. The most prevalent reason children do not have access to these programs is because their families simply cannot afford them. And without early childhood development programs, most kids will grow up without the education and skills necessary to raise themselves out of poverty, thus continuing the cycle.
The Adopt an ECD campaign allows individuals and organizations to donate money, supplies, or work hours to help create more accessible programs for kids. The donations will go toward building new schools and daycare centers, buying school supplies, or renovating buildings to be more child-friendly. When individuals and businesses help contribute to the campaign, they are not only helping educate children, they’re also helping end global poverty.
– Katie Brockman
Source: Mail & Guardian
Photo: World Vision
Seychelles Poverty
The Republic of Seychelles (pronounced say-shells) is a small island nation located in the Western Indian Ocean. The country consists of a whopping 115 tropical islands, although only 10 are inhabited. Most of the populated dwell on the largest island, Mahé, located 1,800 km east of the African coast.
With a population of 86,000 and an upper-middle-income socioeconomic status, the country gains most of its capital through fisheries and tourism.
Unpredictable weather patterns due to climate change have adversely affected the country’s ability to sustain small-scale farms and farming productivity. Given the tropical nature of the islands, agricultural land is scarce, resulting in the need to outsource for most of Seychelles’ basic commodities.
Being so heavily reliant on imports for basic goods and services, Seychelles is particularly vulnerable to global financial crashes and increases in food and fuel prices. Having to pay high freight and insurance fees to receive these goods from far-away Asia, it isn’t hard to see why Seychelles is one of the poorest island nations.
High shipping fees are not only a result of distance traveled but also the danger ships encounter along the way. Seychelles is at heightened risk for piracy in the Indian Ocean, resulting in the loss of many fisheries and popular tourism sectors.
20% of the population is estimated to be living in poverty, with 7% living in extreme poverty. With a highly unequal distribution of income, consumer patterns show that the poor devote a much larger percentage of their wealth to basic needs like food than wealthier citizens.
The government has made relatively excellent strides in improving basic health and educational needs. Infant mortality is under 5% per 20,000 births and child malnutrition rates at 6%. The primary educational enrollment is at 107%.
Seychelles’ poverty reduction strategy is described as follows:
There is still work to be done, though, in the beautiful land of Seychelles. Over the past 20 years, employment has dropped for people in rural parts of the country due to the conversion of farmlands into other uses.
Recognizing this, the government is promoting farming and the raising of livestock as a national pastime and considering it the most important part of its economic development strategy.
– Kali Faulwetter
Sources: World Bank, Rural Poverty Portal, iFad, Every Culture
Photo: Banff Centre
UN Honors Victories in Combating Poverty
In 1990, Thailand had a poverty rate of 27 percent. That means more than one of every four citizens suffered from hunger and oppression.
Thailand is now one of 38 countries honored by the United Nations at a ceremony in Rome Wednesday. The celebration? All 38 of these countries have cut their nation’s hunger in half.
This is a significant improvement in meeting the United Nations Millennium Development goals, which plan to eradicate global poverty by 2015. The 8 major goals are listed below:
1. Eradicate extreme hunger
2. Universal Education
3. Gender Equality
4. Reduction of Child Mortality
5. Maternal health improvement
6. HIV/ AIDS/ Disease reduction
7. Environment sustainability
8. Global Development
The United Nations set deadlines countries must meet as they work to achieve these eight goals. Halving national hunger is an approaching deadline.
Countries shared different goals of having either the proportion of their hunger levels cut in half or the exact hunger levels cut in half. Notable nations that achieved set goals include Brazil, Chile, Vietnam and Nigeria.
UN Food and Agriculture Organization Director-General Graziano da Silva said that this success stems from the commitment of each nation to ending world hunger and poverty. This commitment has resulted in many achievements in combating poverty.
“FAO is proud to work with all our member nations, developed and developing, to reach our common vision of a hunger-free and sustainable world,” Graziano da Silva said.
– William Norris
Sources: Ecumenical News, United Nations Development Programme
Photo: Ecumenical News