Whilst growing up in a Ugandan refugee camp, Lual Mayen wished for a computer. His mother saved for over three years to make this a reality. Today, Lual Mayen’s video game activism highlights the relationship between digital media and social justice.
Many people share the opinion that video games cause violent behavior. There are thousands of games centered around violence and warfare on the internet and most gaming platforms. Although the link between video games and aggression is unclear, the social impact of gaming is undeniable. There are approximately 3 billion gamers globally, more than 38% of the population.
This staggering market is the target audience of Lual Mayen’s video game activism. After receiving his computer, Mayen began playing Grand Theft Auto, a game notorious for conflict and violence. Mayen’s gameplay prompted him to consider the relationship between digital media and children’s development. In an interview with the Guardian, he said,
“In South Sudan, most of the population is under 30. They were born in war, raised in war. I saw conflict every day in the refugee camp. I realized that if more kids in the camp play Grand Theft Auto, they might think that’s how things are done.”
This assessment of the immense influence of video games sparked Lual Mayen’s video game activism journey.
The Beginning: Junub Games
In Uganda, Mayen taught himself to code and develop games promoting peace. After receiving recognition for his admirable work, he moved to the United States in 2017. Lual Mayen spent the first 22 years of his life in a refugee camp.
After moving, Mayen founded Junub Games. With Mayen acting as CEO, Junub Games has since created a range of games to counteract violence. Mayen clearly keeps his own experiences in a refugee camp at the heart of his company, as the games are made accessible to IDPs (internally displaced persons) and refugees. This decision increases digital literacy, morale and positive behavior in impoverished areas.
However, this is only the beginning of Lual Mayen’s video game activism within Junub Games. Junub Games’ first product, Salaam, was launched in 2020 on Facebook Instant Games.
In Salaam, players play as a refugee fleeing their war-torn community. Salaam, an Arabic word, translates to peace, the game’s very aim. The company urges players to find peace for the virtual character and current refugees. Mayen based the game’s plot on his parents’ escape from the Sudanese civil war in the 1990s.
The game is free to download, but players can make in-app purchases. These purchases are essential to Lual Mayen’s video game activism, as buying resources in-game sends supplies to real-world refugees.
Maximizing Impact: The Lual Mayen Foundation
Lual Mayen continues to support impoverished refugees through the Lual Mayen Foundation. Mayen developed the organization to teach refugees animation skills. Subsequently, the foundation provides career prospects to refugees through digital literacy.
Mayen’s nonprofit partnered with Unity Technologies, a software company, in 2021 to fund the Ugandan tech center. Mayen developed the center for the very refugee camp he grew up in. Unity supplied a staggering $50,000 for the project.
The center focuses on providing refugees with skills to make STEM-related careers accessible. The organization’s goal is to make the program a permanent fixture.
Spreading the Message: Public Events
The year 2023 marks six years since Mayen lived in a refugee camp. However, Lual Mayen’s video game activism continues to spread. In July 2023, Mayen attended the Games for Change 2023 Festival and spoke at the Games and SDG Summit. The summit is uniquely innovative, combining the games industry with the U.N. to discuss the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The SDGs are the 17 core aims of the U.N. to achieve “peace and prosperity for people and the planet.” These goals include eradicating poverty, hunger and gender inequality. Moreover, these goals
strive toward sustainability, access to clean water and educational opportunities for all. The Games and SDG Summit discussed how digital media industries can support these goals, with Mayen’s activism being a perfect example.
Immersive media, such as video games, hold a wide audience that has only continued to grow in recent years. Luan Mayen’s video game activism illustrates how tapping into this large industry can put a spotlight on issues such as poverty and displaced people.
Mayen’s story is one of hardship and, more importantly, hope. As a former refugee turned video game mogul, Luan Mayen embodies human determination. “Talent is evenly distributed but opportunity is not,” according to Mayen.
– Bethany Brown
Photo: Flickr
Slovakia: The World’s Highest Rate of Income Equality
In today’s stark reality, the richest 10% of individuals hold more than half of global income, while the poorest half of the world’s total population shares 8.5% of it; a disparity that has doubled over the last 20 years. However, Slovakia is one of the few success stories of inclusive growth, maintaining the third-lowest risk of poverty in the EU in addition to achieving the world’s highest rate of income equality.
Defying Poverty and Disparity
Europe constitutes no exception from the global trajectory of wealth distribution. Among the EU’s most equitable nations, Denmark and Sweden have witnessed income inequality increase by approximately 14% since 2006. In contrast, Slovakia experienced a reduction of the same amount during this period. While income levels in Slovakia remain relatively low, they are nevertheless the most evenly distributed.
In fact, the Slovak Republic attained a Gini coefficient of 23.2 in 2023 — a statistical measure quantifying income inequality and economic concentration — which constitutes the lowest figure achieved by any nation today. Meanwhile, Slovakia is also recognized as having the world’s fourth-best Palma ratio, a gauge of wealth disparity between the top 10% and bottom 40% of the population.
Additionally, Europe’s income growth has generally remained stagnant over the past quarter-century, while Slovakia exhibits one of the most rapid income growth rates among OECD states. A 2019 OECD report found that in 2022, 21.6% of EU citizens were at risk of poverty or social exclusion, while the individual figure for Slovakia averaged around 12%. Finally, as poverty can be understood as an extreme expression of inequality, Slovakia’s progress towards equality attained commendable triumphs on the UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 1, which is towards the eradication of poverty.
A Closer Look at Slovak Policies
Since the split of Czechoslovakia into Slovakia and the Czech Republic, the two republics have introduced a number of social policies along with the phased introduction of market-based democracy. Slovak efforts encompassed state-directed reforms aimed at improving the national level of education, labor force participation and occupational class structure in addition to a number of social safety nets. Notably, since the 1990s, Slovakia saw a significant increase in the share of university graduates, as well as an expansion of routine non-manual jobs that currently employ one-fourth of the Slovak population.
Slovakia exhibits a unique tax mix with extensive pre- and post-income distributive functions. Much of Slovakia’s tax revenue stems from the social security contribution tax, which accounts for 13.3% of Slovak GDP, while corporate income tax constitutes the state’s second-largest source of tax revenue. Slovakia’s progressive tax is attributed to a 42% reduction in the inequality rate within the country, where a 17% to 20% tax rate is enforced on the highest earners, while a 0% to 5% is taxed from the lowest incomes. On a national level, this results in the top 10% of earners in the workforce accounting for 30% of all social contributions, while the collective taxed amount from the lowest-earning half of the population contributes a quarter of the total funds. In fact, the majority of retirees’ income, about 80-90%, is derived from progressive tax, deeming it primarily funded by those with the highest incomes.
From the earliest days of independence, pension schemes introduced in Slovakia aimed to better employment rates without having to suppress wages. To reduce labor supply, Slovakia increased personal income tax for workers above retirement age along with marked increases in pension benefits. Despite earnings in OECD states averaging more than three times those in Slovakia, public spending on pensions comprises 7% of Slovakia’s GDP. In fact, 2013 studies on OECD and G20 countries revealed that poverty rates for the elderly were among the lowest in Slovakia, averaging 4.3% in 2010, while the overall OECD average stood at 12.8%.
Another notable dimension of Slovak welfare schemes includes parental leave. Early reforms in the Slovak Republic established a three-year paternal allowance, that continues to rank Slovakian parental leave policies amongst the top 10 in the world, with Slovakia being the first on the list with equal days of fully paid leave for male and female parents.
How Social Welfare Has Improved Income Equality in Slovakia
Furthermore, Slovakia’s dynamic of proactively seeking social welfare has demonstrated a remarkable capacity to endure in the face of international economic shocks. According to the projections of the European Commission, Slovakia was among the EU economies tackling the 2008 global economic crisis most effectively. Slovakia was quick to establish the Institute for Subsistence Law, which defined vulnerable portions of the populace based on fixed amounts of minimum monthly incomes below which they would become entitled to social assistance benefits. Consequently, between 2008 and 2015, the risk of poverty in Slovakia dropped by 2.5%, with an 8% decrease in the overall poverty level within the 10 years leading up to 2015.
Moreover, studies by the Slovak Institute for Financial Policy found that intergenerational elasticity in Slovakia — the extent to which an individual’s income is determined by their parents’ economic status — was at 18.4%, a figure significantly lower than that of any Western European nation. Therefore, Slovakia also stands out in the fact that parents’ income levels serve as a poor indicator of their offspring’s earning prospects, indicating a limited effect on a child’s opportunities.
In the words of the Center for Eastern Studies’ Tomasz Dąborowski, the Slovak experience is “a model of successful economic transformation,” demonstrating that a focus on economic justice and social welfare can yield transformative results amidst the current landscape of challenges to income equality.
– Nadia Asaad
Photo: Flickr
India’s Quest To Build the World’s Largest Solar Parks
Solar Park Projects
Energy poverty is a major obstacle to development in India and several other regions of the world. India houses nearly a fourth of all people worldwide who rely on solid fuels for cooking and nearly a fifth of those without electricity. However, the cleaner and more accessible method of converting solar energy to electricity can light a path out of poverty for the millions of people struggling with these problems.
India’s numerous solar park projects represent a massive step forward in increasing access to solar energy. One such notable project is the Pavagada Solar Park in Karnataka, covering over 13,000 acres of land and boasting a capacity of approximately 2,000 megawatts. Another is the Bhadla Solar Park in Rajasthan, with a capacity of 2,245 megawatts, placing it among the world’s largest solar parks.
Benefits
India’s solar initiatives, including but not limited to these expansive park projects, are a great source of enhanced electricity access for the poor. Especially in rural and remote areas, they can help power homes, schools and other essential facilities, illuminating a path out of poverty for those who need it most. This change can greatly improve the standard of living and economic opportunities.
Moreover, solar projects create a wealth of employment opportunities on several levels. Workers are needed to install and maintain solar panels and related technologies, and the generated energy helps run small businesses, which are another source of jobs. The solar energy job sector is growing incredibly fast, with millions of jobs provided each year. Job creation empowers poor individuals to make a living for themselves, aligning with India’s broader goal of poverty reduction.
Future Lessons
However, there are still lessons to learn from the failings of the solar projects implemented so far. India’s ambitious dreams have often clashed with local life, displacing communities in the process of acquiring land and impacting their livelihoods. At first, it seemed that the government was keeping the locals in mind, offering hefty compensations in exchange for the land.
However, Pavagada Solar Park has not delivered many of the promises it made years ago. Thousands remain unemployed, and hiring at the solar park involves discriminatory practices. In the future, it is imperative to approach land acquisition with sensitivity, ensuring fair compensation, proper rehabilitation and meaningful community engagement.
Looking Ahead
India’s solar endeavors present a fascinating opportunity to bolster technological innovation and build capacity for renewable energy. As with most projects of this scale, India must achieve a delicate balance between forward progress and upholding the rights of landowners. However, if they achieve such a balance, India’s solar energy projects can be a shining example. As solar infrastructure is developed, skill enhancement and knowledge transfer are inevitable, creating opportunities for the poor and facilitating economic growth.
Solar parks are a powerful tool in the fight against poverty and a strong commitment to protecting the environment. Solar energy is not just about clean power; it’s about empowerment, economic upliftment and providing opportunities for the poor. As India pioneers this journey towards sustainable energy, it sets a precedent for others to follow, leading to a world where poverty is steadily replaced by prosperity and progress.
– Namit Agrawal
Photo: Flickr
Disability and Poverty in South Korea
Disability Plunges People Into Poverty
Poverty casts a vicious shadow over more than 30% of households with disabled people in South Korea. Those with disabilities face more barriers to success than their abled counterparts, including inaccessible education and employment environments, reduced human rights, discrimination and a general lack of inclusion in their communities. A higher rate of chronic diseases found in disabled people also contributes to excess health care expenses and a higher mortality rate.
Stigma Increases Difficulties and Decreases Resources
One of the most serious factors pushing disabled households into poverty is discrimination due to stigma. Disability is viewed negatively in South Korea. Families often consider disabled members as damaging to their social status and limit their public interactions with them. This often leaves disabled members confined to their homes, cared for by relatives, but never given the opportunity to fully join society. Common Korean superstitions also play a role in stigmatization. Many believe that disability is a result of sins committed in a past life, an ancestor’s misdeeds or being haunted by a ghost.
After a surge in activism following the 1964 Tokyo Paralympics, Korean policymakers supported institutionalizing the disabled as a cost-effective way to satisfy both activists and government agendas. Through these residential institutes, the government promoted social order and promised to alleviate family burdens so that nondisabled members could join the workforce. However, major human rights abuses plagued these institutes. Celeste Arrington, an associate professor of political science and international affairs at George Washington University, writes that these abuses included “forced sterilizations, sexual abuse, beatings and deaths due to such mistreatment.” Although such institutions still exist, activists have brought attention to the abuses and a push for deinstitutionalization in recent years has encouraged reform.
Protests Continue in Subway Stations Across Seoul
Even those currently protesting for accessible transportation are facing discrimination as well. Protesters in Seoul have gathered during the morning rush and advocated near entrances to major stations for well over a year. The protests center around increasing funding for improving accessibility, primarily the installation of elevators in every subway station.
However, commuters’ attitudes toward the protesters remain hostile. Some say that protesters are inconveniencing commuters and that what they are doing is wrong. Others point out that people with disabilities already have access to many facilities. Even the mayor of Seoul, Oh Se-hoon, chooses to highlight how damaging the protests have been to everyday commuters and states he is taking a “zero tolerance” stance. Progress on his plans to install the elevators has been slow.
The Fight for Rights Rages On
One of the protesters, Hong Yunhui, and her wheelchair-bound daughter, Jimin, are playing their part to help make life easier for people with disabilities in South Korea. Yunhui’s social venture, Muui, works to combat the disability stigma by encouraging people with disabilities not to be defined by them. The mother-daughter team also works on creating interactive maps showing accessible locations in Seoul and has already completed more than 1,000 maps.
The organization Solidarity Against Disability Discrimination (SADD) has aided the subway protests since its inception. Even a chief of SADD, Park Kyoung-seok, has personally participated. Despite being referred to prosecution earlier this year, he promised that SADD would continue to support the protests. SADD staged the five-year sit-in to eliminate the grading system responsible for generalizing the individual needs of people with different disabilities. Eliminating discrimination, fighting for equal rights, upholding the right to mobility and labor and supporting independent living are what SADD stands for and how it works to improve disability and poverty in South Korea.
Despite a history of mistreatment and stigmatization, South Korea is slowly progressing toward better conditions for people with disabilities. The voices of those with disabilities are now amplified thanks to the work of organizations such as SADD and innovative individuals like Yunhui and Jimin.
– Isabella Rothe
Photo: Flickr
The Benefits of Sports in Greek Refugee Camps
Background
More and more refugees came to the island due to the open environment. Conditions quickly became overcrowded, and refugees lacked access to basic necessities. Some call the island a European “open-air refugee prison.” Refugees must stay on the island while the government reviews their refugee status, and the government has rejected all demands to create new refugee camps, resulting in a packed and underserviced area. Some have waited for years for a decision on their asylum case as they continue to live on the island with their families.
In 2022, about 1,500 asylum seekers were living on the island. They live in makeshift camps with barely any access to food, shelter, medicine and education for their children. The EU has failed to establish a sufficient allocation system to relieve the pressure on Italy and Greece, leading to overcrowded camps like Lesvos that can only offer limited aid. Four other Greek islands are also home to makeshift refugee camps.
The Katsikas camp is another underserviced camp helped by Yoga and Sport and Soup and Socks. The Katsikas camp is the largest refugee encampment in the Epirus region of Greece, which hosts more than 3,000 migrants. In 2020, the European Commission published its New Pact on Migration and Asylum, which focuses on returns and deterrence of migrants rather than improving human rights standards in existing refugee camps or preparing new camps to elevate the pressure off of overcrowded camps like the one in Lesvos. Authorities especially dehumanize migrants in Katsika. The camp has slowly adopted the structure of a prison.
A Beacon of Hope
In 2022, the government built 3-meter-high walls around the camp, and the camp director announced a curfew from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., with migrants needing permission to leave and enter the camp during those hours. Security cameras have been installed all over the camp to surveil the migrants. Interviewed migrants indicated their disapproval of the wall and expressed a sense of alienation and separation from the surrounding Greek community.
As such, these humanitarian organizations’ work is instrumental in maintaining morale and allowing refugees a brief reprieve from their harsh reality. Becoming passionate about a sport offers a brief diversion from the stressful conditions of the camp. Sports in Greek refugee encampments may start as a way to find joy in the encampments. Still, it can also become a lifelong commitment, with some refugees expressing a desire to make a career in the sport by joining a more advanced professional athletic team or becoming teachers of the sport. Habibi and Sports with Refugees (HSR), led by Soup and Socks in partnership with Yoga and Sport, has a tremendous impact on refugees in the Katsikas camp. HSR allows refugees to choose different sports, including yoga, running, swimming, martial arts, dance and climbing.
Another program initiated by the organization in 2016 called Habibi-Works gives refugees in the area a chance to develop their creativity by running a maker space facility near the encampment. The makerspace features a media lab, a metal and wood workspace and a sewing atelier. The program allows the refugees to explore the arts and develop technical skills that could be useful in their future careers.
Final Thoughts
Bringing sport to Greek refugee encampments and allowing the refugees to explore creative outlets are incredibly impactful methods of raising morale and giving a sense of community to the often-alienated migrants. By fostering connections, promoting self-expression, and offering an escape from the challenges they face, these initiatives play a vital role in creating a more supportive and inclusive environment for migrants.
– Tatiana Gnuva
Photo: Flickr
Urgent Need: Access to Education for Refugee Children
The Growing Issue of Refugee Children
According to UNICEF estimates, by the end of 2022, an unprecedented 43.3 million children were residing in forced displacement, with a significant portion enduring this difficulty throughout their entire childhood. This is double what was recorded in the last decade. Some of these children may never have the opportunity to receive an education throughout their lives.
Nearly 2 million children were born into refugee status. This indicates a generational poverty cycle, where generations struggle with basic access to education, health care and financial support. This puts millions of refugee children at an even greater disadvantage. Some children have even been separated from their families and are now alone.
The Importance of Education
Education is a fundamental right for children across the world, no matter the circumstance. It equips every child with the tools to enhance their future, and it provides them with the knowledge and skills to empower themselves to take control over their life/future.
The enrollment rates for refugees, on average, are 38% for pre-primary education, 65% for primary education, 41% for secondary education and merely 6% for tertiary education.
Education protects these vulnerable children from recruitment and exploitation, while also improving community strength. Refugee children are often targeted for unlawful and immoral purposes, especially those who have become separated and are alone. Education and knowledge are key to preventing these occurrences via an understanding of their rights and well-being.
UNESCO research finds that limited access to education for refugee children and significant educational disparities contribute to an increased likelihood of violence and conflict, which leads to a destructive cycle of missed educational opportunities, conflict and displacement. Over 21 years, areas with exceptionally low average education had a 50% probability of conflict. Education is an investment in long-term stability, where educated individuals can build better lives and contribute to their communities.
Finally, amid the chaos of losing your home, education brings a sense of routine and structure to young children’s lives. It provides comfort, safety and a caring environment for these children to thrive in. This also contributes to the overall mental health of these children, as stress and anxiety can become prevalent through their tough experiences.
Challenges and Solutions
The biggest challenge in education for refugee children is access. Many of these children do not have adequate access to education due to financial barriers, displacement and sometimes due to lack of infrastructure. A majority of these camps lack educational facilities, materials and qualified teachers.
To enhance access, coordinated efforts are required. Through governmental agencies and NGOs, access can be brought to every refugee child. Financial support is key, as many kids cannot afford education. Governments should also ensure the enforcement of education for every child under the 1951 Refugee Convention. Investments are also needed to improve infrastructure, improve the quality of teaching and provide school equipment.
Trauma and psychological distress are also issues that stop refugee children from attending school. Many refugee children experience trauma, loss, violence and sudden change. All of these negatively affect a child’s ability to learn and concentrate and camps don’t tend to have access to mental health help or counseling.
To help children who are suffering mentally, counseling and more awareness surrounding mental health are required. Counseling will provide a safe space and environment where issues can be identified and thus be resolved. Mental health awareness will also teach kids emotional intelligence and how to deal with problems that may arise.
Financial power is a prominent issue for refugee families. Because of economic pressure, children become victims of child labor. Where financial earnings are considered more important than education and school.
Scholarships and financial support are pivotal in boosting school enrollment among refugee children. By alleviating financial burdens, families can prioritize their children’s education and break the cycle of poverty.
Remarkably, the U.N. Foundation reports that “less than 2% of humanitarian aid goes towards education.” Education for displaced children is severely underfunded. Initiatives like Education Cannot Wait, a new fund that supports education for children during situations of crises and prolonged emergencies, are working to rectify this situation. The urgent need for access to education for refugee children demands immediate attention, collaboration and resource allocation to secure a brighter future for these vulnerable young lives.
– Lewis Butcher
Photo: Pexels
Makeup Brands Helping Women in Poverty
These brands not only provide women with money and resources but also help to protect women from domestic violence and other issues that women face. Many of these brands do this by setting up good education systems within developing countries which help to provide young women with the education they need to provide for themselves.
Project Beauty Share
Project Beauty Share is an organization that was founded in 2010 with the goal of helping women by donating previously owned, but unused, makeup products to women in poverty. It was founded by a makeup artist after discussing with a client how many makeup products she buys and never uses, giving her the idea to create an organization that donates these products to homeless women and women in poverty.
Makeup empowers women because it is a form of self-expression. It allows women to express all sides of themselves and show their own uniqueness, something that many women who are struggling with poverty do not have the luxury of doing. Makeup can help people to feel prepared, empowering them as a result.
Project Beauty Share is currently funded by over 100 agencies that are helping to support women across the world. Some of these companies and organizations are SMILE, Ronald McDonald House, The Salvation Army and more. Project Beauty Share is a great example of an organization that is independent of the makeup companies that are helping women in poverty, and helping these women instead of actually providing makeup to them.
Makeup Brands Helping Women in Poverty
Final Thoughts
Makeup companies like L’Oréal, Tatcha and Burt’s Bees are helping to empower women living in poverty across the globe. These brands are not only offering financial assistance and resources but also tackling the root causes of gender-based violence by promoting education and empowerment. These endeavors highlight the potential for corporate resources to make a profound impact on women’s lives, breaking the cycle of poverty and violence.
– Allison Groves
Photo: Flickr
Food Security for Venezuelan Refugees in Colombia
More than 7.2 million Venezuelans fled their country from 2019 to 2023 due to the violent revolution and economic turmoil. Approximately 2.5 million have sought refuge in Colombia, and about 980,000 Colombians who were working there had to return to their home country — which now has to support over 2 million refugees seeking jobs and housing. This has caused an obvious strain on food security in Colombia.
The 2023 Humanitarian Response Plan for Colombia identified 7.7 million people in the country to be in need of humanitarian assistance, in particular food security, health and protection. As of February 2023, approximately 30 percent of Colombian households were food-insecure. More than half of the migrant and refugee population in Colombia — 1.3 million people — face acute food insecurity.
Foreign Aid
USAID provided more than $958 million in response to the regional crisis since 2018. The primary focus was emergency food security in Colombia — cash transfers for food, food vouchers redeemable in local markets, hot meals and food kits for traveling refugees. Additionally, USAID has supported five NGO partners since 2021 to provide critical protection interventions such as hygiene kits, reproductive services and temporary shelter. In 2023, $47 million was set aside from the budget for this kind of emergency assistance. The U.S. understands that prosperous countries are great trade partners. Since 2012, Colombian agricultural exports to the United States have grown by more than $2.1 billion.
In hopes of boosting economic growth to accommodate the high number of refugees, the Colombian government signed a 2022-2026 National Development Plan amid the Venezuelan conflict. It was created with the help of e-government and regional input, the document being translated into 51 dialogues. There are five major outcomes, one of them being food security in Colombia. The country plans to increase food availability by improving roads for transport and providing online platforms to inform and help farmers with their logistics and operations. Colombia’s President Petro promised in 2022 to buy 1.23 million acres of land to give as farmland to rural communities in an effort to strengthen food security. Another of the five major outcomes is security for the individual — which encompasses a wider health care system, crucial for new refugees carrying disease.
Unfortunately, many humanitarian aid groups face restrictions when trying to access certain communities in Colombia notably Guaviare, Nariño and Norte de Santander. OCHA, an emergency agency within the U.N. reported a 133% increase in restrictions on humanitarian assistance in Colombia between January and April 2023. President Petro signed a peace agreement with Maduro in 2022, and it is theorized that eager to re-establish ties with Venezuela, Petro downplayed the magnitude of the humanitarian issues Venezuela’s migrants face. Additionally, Colombia still does not have enough money to keep the economy stable. A Regional Refugee and Migrant Response Plan — aimed at helping Venezuelan migrants in 17 Latin American and Caribbean host countries — only received about 8% of the $1.72 billion in funding it needed for 2023.
Final Thoughts on Food Security for Venezuelan Refugees
Thankfully some services have been in Colombia since before the conflict and have strengthened the economy. The U.N. Agency IFAD (International Fund for Agricultural Development) has services to increase the productivity and income of small-scale farmers and rural entrepreneurs. The agency does this through the improvement of its assets, its association capacity, its access to markets and access to inclusive financial services. The NGO is creating partnerships with the private sector to develop permanent agribusinesses. It is crucial that the food available is well-distributed.
Thanks to foreign aid and a welcoming government, Venezuelan refugees are slowly gaining safety and food security in Colombia. Though much progress needs to be made for Colombia’s economy and refugees, international coverage of the Venezuelan conflict has brought in substantial finances to ease Colombia’s strain and give hope to its people.
– Claire Duvillier
Photo: Flickr
Everything You Need to Know About Lual Mayen’s Video Game Activism
Many people share the opinion that video games cause violent behavior. There are thousands of games centered around violence and warfare on the internet and most gaming platforms. Although the link between video games and aggression is unclear, the social impact of gaming is undeniable. There are approximately 3 billion gamers globally, more than 38% of the population.
This staggering market is the target audience of Lual Mayen’s video game activism. After receiving his computer, Mayen began playing Grand Theft Auto, a game notorious for conflict and violence. Mayen’s gameplay prompted him to consider the relationship between digital media and children’s development. In an interview with the Guardian, he said,
“In South Sudan, most of the population is under 30. They were born in war, raised in war. I saw conflict every day in the refugee camp. I realized that if more kids in the camp play Grand Theft Auto, they might think that’s how things are done.”
This assessment of the immense influence of video games sparked Lual Mayen’s video game activism journey.
The Beginning: Junub Games
In Uganda, Mayen taught himself to code and develop games promoting peace. After receiving recognition for his admirable work, he moved to the United States in 2017. Lual Mayen spent the first 22 years of his life in a refugee camp.
After moving, Mayen founded Junub Games. With Mayen acting as CEO, Junub Games has since created a range of games to counteract violence. Mayen clearly keeps his own experiences in a refugee camp at the heart of his company, as the games are made accessible to IDPs (internally displaced persons) and refugees. This decision increases digital literacy, morale and positive behavior in impoverished areas.
However, this is only the beginning of Lual Mayen’s video game activism within Junub Games. Junub Games’ first product, Salaam, was launched in 2020 on Facebook Instant Games.
In Salaam, players play as a refugee fleeing their war-torn community. Salaam, an Arabic word, translates to peace, the game’s very aim. The company urges players to find peace for the virtual character and current refugees. Mayen based the game’s plot on his parents’ escape from the Sudanese civil war in the 1990s.
The game is free to download, but players can make in-app purchases. These purchases are essential to Lual Mayen’s video game activism, as buying resources in-game sends supplies to real-world refugees.
Maximizing Impact: The Lual Mayen Foundation
Lual Mayen continues to support impoverished refugees through the Lual Mayen Foundation. Mayen developed the organization to teach refugees animation skills. Subsequently, the foundation provides career prospects to refugees through digital literacy.
Mayen’s nonprofit partnered with Unity Technologies, a software company, in 2021 to fund the Ugandan tech center. Mayen developed the center for the very refugee camp he grew up in. Unity supplied a staggering $50,000 for the project.
The center focuses on providing refugees with skills to make STEM-related careers accessible. The organization’s goal is to make the program a permanent fixture.
Spreading the Message: Public Events
The year 2023 marks six years since Mayen lived in a refugee camp. However, Lual Mayen’s video game activism continues to spread. In July 2023, Mayen attended the Games for Change 2023 Festival and spoke at the Games and SDG Summit. The summit is uniquely innovative, combining the games industry with the U.N. to discuss the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The SDGs are the 17 core aims of the U.N. to achieve “peace and prosperity for people and the planet.” These goals include eradicating poverty, hunger and gender inequality. Moreover, these goals
strive toward sustainability, access to clean water and educational opportunities for all. The Games and SDG Summit discussed how digital media industries can support these goals, with Mayen’s activism being a perfect example.
Immersive media, such as video games, hold a wide audience that has only continued to grow in recent years. Luan Mayen’s video game activism illustrates how tapping into this large industry can put a spotlight on issues such as poverty and displaced people.
Mayen’s story is one of hardship and, more importantly, hope. As a former refugee turned video game mogul, Luan Mayen embodies human determination. “Talent is evenly distributed but opportunity is not,” according to Mayen.
– Bethany Brown
Photo: Flickr
Burning African Trash — Generating Electricity To Fight Poverty
This article analyzes the groundbreaking possibility of burning African trash to generate electricity and how this practice can help alleviate global poverty.
Landfills
Africa’s landfills represent the difficulties experienced by emerging countries. They frequently overflow with trash, causing environmental degradation, risks to public health and an overall sense of neglect.
Close proximity to landfills in poor neighborhoods causes health issues. This is caused by a lack of hygiene, direct contact with toxic substances and the presence of pests. Families are forced to spend more of their already strained resources on health care, which reduces the amount that otherwise would be allocated to economic growth or education.
Landfills also discourage prospective investors, limit tourism and restrict the expansion of local small companies. The negative perception of these areas as “icky” feeds a vicious cycle of poverty.
Energy Poverty
Another problem is that many Africans suffer from energy poverty, a lack of reliable access to energy sources for absolute necessities. These can include lighting, heating, cooking and running necessary appliances. Addressing energy poverty is essential for fighting against global poverty.
New Possibilities in Energy Production
Landfills and energy poverty are two significant nuisances to Africa’s progress. However, a new technology may promise the continent a solution to both of these poverty-related issues. Africa may be able to supply many of its electricity demands by burning landfill garbage with controlled, environmentally friendly methods.
Burning landfill waste results in an enormous decrease in the volume of solid waste, making landfills easier to manage and improving the general sanitation and hygiene in the area while also lowering the danger of infectious diseases. Keeping landfills clean and well-maintained makes the local environment healthier. Although one may think too much particulate matter (PM) is released from this burning, the EPA argues that more than 99% of PM can be removed through filters.
Developing landfill-to-energy projects offers residents of underdeveloped areas employment opportunities. These programs, ranging from waste collection and sorting to operating energy-producing machinery, can give people and families who are dealing with poverty a source of income.
Landfills in Africa have the potential to represent hope for underprivileged populations. Africa may produce up to 20% of its own electricity by unlocking the energy trapped in these trash piles. In addition to addressing energy poverty, burning African trash also provides more hygienic conditions, employment prospects and environmental advantages. Africa can turn trash into treasure and make a huge step toward a brighter, more sustainable future for all of its citizens with the correct investments, policies and community involvement. The continent can fight poverty by turning its waste into valuable energy sources.
– Advait K. Mishra
Photo: Flickr
3 Ways Genetically Modified Rice Can Help Solve Hunger
It Has a Higher Yield
Genetically modified rice seeds are capable of producing more food per plant. By duplicating a certain gene in a standard variety of rice, Chinese scientists were able to increase the crop yield by 40% — a massive bonus. This strain of rice does not take up more land, instead producing rice at a higher density than standard, naturally occurring rice. The individual grains are also significantly larger. Producing significantly more rice on the same amount of land reduces labor and costs, and boosts the effectiveness of rice as a major nutrition source. Even certain species of rice that have been genetically modified for resistance (such as to heat waves) also produce up to 20% higher yield, meaning that genetic modification can accomplish many goals simultaneously.
It’s More Resilient
Climate change, pests and natural disasters all threaten food production, especially in struggling nations. Fortunately, genetically modified rice can be more resistant to these challenges. An excessive heat wave in the Shanghai region killed off rice plants en masse, damaging the plants’ ability to produce a certain protein complex called D1. By engineering the plants to produce more of this protein, scientists found that the rice could thrive at temperatures that would kill unmodified rice quickly.
Meanwhile, in the fight against pests, biologists were able to graft a gene from a common soil bacteria into a different strain of rice plant, making it resistant to the damage caused by lepidopteran insects — a group that includes butterflies and moths, but more importantly the younger caterpillar versions of the insects. With modified resistance to these crop killers, farmers can forgo pesticides, and the overall crop yield is increased by a whopping 60% in some cases.
In a similar vein, German scientists were able to make another strain of rice resistant to herbicide, allowing farmers to use plant-killing agents on the entire crop to battle weeds that could threaten the yield. Monsoon season can pose a particular challenge to rice farmers, as the floods of contaminated salt water can increase the salinity of the water in the rice paddies, essentially poisoning the plants. To solve this problem, Chinese scientists successfully developed genetically modified rice plants that can survive harsh salty conditions.
It’s More Nutritious — Much More
Naturally occurring rice is already a valuable part of a balanced diet, providing a variety of vitamins, proteins and antioxidants. In fact, populations that consume rice as their main grain have lower rates of cancer and obesity. But genetic modification can take this even further. The Golden Rice Project successfully designed a strain of rice that can supply beta-carotene, a mineral that the human body can draw from to produce Vitamin A, an essential vitamin for survival.
Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) affects 250 million children worldwide, causing blindness and in severe cases, death. Some strains of golden rice have up to five times the recommended daily value of beta-carotene in a serving — providing millions of children with vital nutrition that could save up to 2.7 million lives yearly. Golden Rice was developed in 2000, but not adopted due to some logistical issues and many unfounded criticisms. However, in 2021, the Philippines finally approved the crop for trial production, with other nations surely soon to follow.
Genetically Modified Rice and the Fight Against Hunger
Genetic modification has transformed rice into a powerful tool to combat hunger and malnutrition. These modified rice varieties offer higher yields, greater resilience to climate challenges and pests, and enhanced nutrition. Golden Rice, with its ability to provide essential Vitamin A, represents a significant breakthrough in addressing global nutritional deficiencies. As more nations adopt these innovations, genetically modified rice is poised to play a crucial role in our ongoing battle against world hunger.
– Cheyenne Astarita
Photo: Unsplash