In Central Java province, Indonesia, a group of Aisyiyah volunteers planted mahogany, sengon and teak trees. Aisyiyah is the oldest Islamic women’s movement in Indonesia, founded in 1917. Aisyiyah has four million members dispersed throughout the country. In March 2021, Aisyiyah pledged to plant five million fruit trees in Indonesian homes and gardens, which will contribute to fighting food insecurity during COVID-19.
The Impact of COVID-19
In the last few decades, Indonesia has reduced poverty significantly. The poverty rate has been reduced by more than 50% since 1999, with a poverty rate of 9.78% in 2020. Unfortunately, the pandemic has disrupted the country’s poverty progress. Between March and September 2020, the national poverty rate increased from 9.78% to 10.19%. Approximately one million more people fell below the poverty line due to the pandemic, reversing three years of progress. The Indonesian Government has taken swift action by implementing emergency monetary aid to support households and companies, ensuring a sufficient vaccine supply and improving social benefits and healthcare systems. In addition, the government promised to reduce emissions by 29% in nine years. Most of Indonesia’s emissions come from land conversion so the government intends on implementing reform to protect land and forests.
Aisyiyah has a quest to plant millions of fruit trees, which will help reduce the pressure on forests and feed families. The group cooperates with the national government and other organizations, enabling Aisyiyah to extend its outreach. The women’s movement in Indonesia has strategically multiplied its impact, becoming a powerful force for change.
Aisyiyah’s Environmental Wing
In 2015, the organization created its environmental wing known as the LLHPB to help women respond to natural disasters and climate-related issues. The sector has since expanded its horizons, helping the country reach its emission goals and fight against natural disasters. In the Kalimantan area of Indonesia, volunteers help prevent wildfires. In rural areas of Indonesia, reforestation efforts have faced numerous roadblocks, including weak seedlings and failure to maintain trees after the seeds were planted. Since the close of 2020, Aisyiyah volunteers have planted 4,700 tree seedlings.
Addressing the drought in the Sukoharjo area of Indonesia, members of Aisyiyah purchased gallons of water for affected families. The LLHPB plans to collaborate with the Peatland and Mangrove Restoration Agency to rehabilitate destroyed forests and land in the province of Riau. Together, the organizations and others will replant 600,000 hectares of mangrove forests by 2024.
Aisyiyah’s Connection to the Muslim Faith
Indonesia’s population is predominantly Muslim so Aisyiyah caters its environmental activism to the Muslim audience. The organization uses teachings of the Muslim faith to explain to people why environmentalism is important. According to the Muslim faith, humans are guardians of nature. Aisyiyah promotes this teaching through “Green Ramadan,” a nightly informational session about plastic waste reduction that lasts through the month of Ramadan. Muslims do good deeds during this month so Aisyiyah promotes environmental consciousness as an easy good deed. LLHPB members consider environmental work as elemental to their faith, which corresponds to a message that spreads to the “Green Ramadan” audience.
History of Aisyiyah
Aisyiyah was founded in 1917 as a female education movement in response to the lack of formal schooling for girls. Today, it operates thousands of schools, supports healthcare centers and runs social programs to promote breastfeeding and improve child and maternal health. The organization encourages its international members to advocate for reproductive rights and discourage child marriage. As a non-governmental organization, donations and fundraising activities fund Aisyiyah’s work.
The Aisyiyah women’s movement in Indonesia now works in 33 provinces and more than 7,500 rural Indonesian villages. As of 2016, it has supported more than 1,000 family business ventures to improve household poverty. Through its Empowering Indonesian Women for Poverty Reduction Program (MAMPU), Aisyiyah reached almost 9,000 women and provided training to more than 1,000 local leaders.
Aisyiyah is addressing issues of poverty and the environment in Indonesia by planting trees and dedicating efforts to education, women’s empowerment and child and maternal health, among other issues. Aisyiyah is an inspiring example of a local organization making a significant impact.
– Rebecca Pomerantz
Photo: Flickr
A Craft Association Alleviates Poverty in Nepal
The Association for Craft Producers
Helping to counter the effects of poverty in Nepal is the Association for Craft Producers. The organization founded in 1984 is a not-for-profit, fair trade organization that helps low-income Nepalese craft producers with design, marketing and management services for their craft products. Due to its success, it has grown to roughly 1,000 artisans, 90% of whom are women. The artisans produce beautiful crafts such as ceramic teapots, woven rugs and wooden tables. Nepali Craft Trading Ltd. exports the artisans’ products to 18 different countries. Since 2003, ACP has been certified as a Fair Trade organization. The group abides by the principles of fair trade as outlined by the World Fair Trade Organization to ensure artisans are provided with adequate compensation and benefits for their work.
Benefits for Nepali Artisans
The ACP artisans have access to a number of benefits to help lift them out of poverty and progress. For instance, artisans are provided a clothing stipend, 90 days of paid maternity leave and an allowance for emergencies. The ACP also provides information to the artisans on matters such as health, education and other important development topics. Since many of the women have never earned enough to be able to save money for the future, producers are encouraged to deposit 10% of their pay into an interest-producing account.
To encourage the education and empowerment of girls, ACP provides a monthly allowance for up to three years to producers who ensure their daughters are enrolled and participating in school for a minimum of four consecutive years. Furthermore, the ACP rewards the three best students with support for an additional year. In addition, the ACP provides the producers with funds for retirement. In these ways, ACP encourages financial security while providing outlets for the artisans to sell products.
Environmental Awareness
The ACP also takes specific actions to preserve its local environment at the foot of the Himalayan mountains. The practices include using recycled paper, installing a rainwater treatment plant and a wastewater treatment plant and discouraging the use of plastic bags. The artisans use an environmentally friendly acid for dyeing and water-based pigments for printing instead of oil-based paints. Finally, the artisans have switched to electric firing methods for ceramic products rather than kerosene-based firing. The women artisans remain environmentally conscious while helping to support families and reduce the devastating effects of poverty in Nepal.
Overall, the ACP craft association is supporting artisans in Nepal in several ways in order to ensure that they are able to rise out of poverty and secure better futures.
– Sarah Betuel
Photo: Flickr
How to Help the Water Crisis in Kenya
Kenya’s Water Crisis
Kenya has shown rapid growth in education, with a literate population of 81.5% in 2018 for people 15 and older. Roughly 58% of adults older than 24 have also completed primary education, a notable increase from 44% in 2005. Despite progress in education and literacy, improved access to clean water in Kenya remains low. With long droughts and dry spells, water scarcity is an overwhelming concern. Kenyans living in rural areas rely on ponds, rivers and shallow wells as piped water connections are often unreliable. Women and children have the duties of traveling to collect water every day. This sidelines their education and increases the risk of contracting a waterborne disease such as cholera.
Tackling Kenya’s water scarcity can seem daunting and many wonder how to help. Many question whether a small contribution will even make a difference. However, every effort to end the water crisis makes a substantial impact on Kenyan communities. There are a few easy ways to help contribute to solving the water crisis today.
The Road Ahead
Kenya has certainly made considerable progress in its development. However, the scarcity of water is an issue that results in Kenya lagging behind neighboring countries. It is important to have access to clean water now more than ever to support hygiene efforts to protect people from COVID-19 and other diseases. It may feel overwhelming to solve the water crisis in Kenya, but the crisis continues to move in a positive direction. With a push of a button, anyone can contribute to reducing global poverty.
– Mio Vogt
Photo: Flickr
COVID-19 Vaccination in Chile
COVID-19 in Chile
In an April 2021 press release, Carissa Etienne, director of the Pan American Health Association stated “For most countries, vaccines are not going to stop this wave of the pandemic. There are simply not enough of them available to protect everyone in the countries at greatest risk.” In particular, Chileans in rural areas have disproportionately less access to the vaccine. To ensure inclusion, the Chilean government is prioritizing nationwide vaccination centers.
Access to Vaccines
The Chilean government has struggled to deescalate the risk of contagion and stabilize the country’s herd immunity. Overcoming COVID-19 requires all members of Chilean society to be accounted for. The government has made an effort to prioritize accessibility for all, especially rural populations. Chile has set up mobile vaccination centers in markets, universities, soccer stadiums and also established drive-through vaccination sites. The government has succeeded in creating more than 1,400 vaccination centers around the country to ensure that everybody has equitable access regardless of location.
A Surge in Cases
The government moved with false confidence as it created a permit system in January 2021, enabling Chileans to travel internationally during the summer vacation period. Similarly, businesses such as gyms, malls and restaurants began to operate at full capacity. These relaxed measures hindered the positive effects of the countries vaccination efforts. Without any contact tracing in place, the virus rapidly spread. “The situation we’re in is one we saw coming,” says Dr. Claudia Cortés, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Chile. “More than four million people traveled around the country. That led the virus, which had been largely contained to some major areas, to spread across the country.”
Virus Mutations and Vaccine Efficacy
The health science community believes that surges in cases are tied to the emergence of more intense strains of the virus, such as the P1 variant. Furthermore, doubts have arisen about the true efficacy of the Sinovac CoronaVac vaccine that was used for the COVID-19 vaccination in Chile. Chile published its own research on the efficacy of Sinovac’s CoronaVac vaccine. The data indicates that a single shot is only 16% effective in preventing infection and 36% effective at preventing hospitalization.
As a result, the Chilean government is prioritizing efforts for citizens to receive a second dose. Furthermore, Chile has secured four million doses of the more effective AstraZeneca vaccine, which starts arriving in May 2021. President Sebastian Piñera has also purchased 1.8 million vials of the single-dose vaccine, CanSino. Because the CanSino vaccine requires only one injection, health officials believe the vaccine rollout will be an easier process.
In light of a COVID-19 surge, Chile is taking urgent action to slow the rate of infection and achieve herd immunity. With government commitment and global support for vaccine equity, Chile can successfully manage the spread of COVID-19 within its border.
– Conor Green
Photo: Flickr
How Smart Cities Benefit Algeria
The Concept of Smart Cities
More than half of the world’s population lives in cities and more than 90% of urban growth occurs in developing countries. Innovation to improve efficiency and quality of life is important in the development of cities. One of the ways in which innovation occurs in cities is through the establishment of smart cities. A smart city collects data from Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), which analyzes the current state of the environment in order to develop sustainable development practices.
Smart cities identify the main needs of the city, create a connected network among citizens and businesses through the city, develop sustainable solutions to problems and develop plans for future city development. Some of the most popular smart cities are located in the United States, but, the development of smart cities has started in developing countries too. The Algiers Smart City project, launched n 2017, was created with the intention to transform the capital city of Algiers into a smart city.
How Smart Cities Benefit Algeria
Quality of life will greatly improve through the development of technology and the optimization of management in the city through the smart city project in Algeria. Management of the city is proposed to be optimized through green project solutions from established startup businesses and the sharing of information between different sectors of the city. The project also includes direct involvement with stakeholders in health and security, which protects citizens.
Efforts within the project in Algeria include working with digital entrepreneurs to help develop the city and to update the ICT infrastructure that is present in the country. Smart city officials established the Experimental Laboratory and the Technology Innovation Hub, which provides local businesses with the tools to test smart city innovations. By creating supportive environments for entrepreneurs and providing business opportunities, jobs in Algeria are able to expand, lifting more people out of poverty.
The Do4Africa Program
The Do4Africa program identifies issues in urban areas and provides approaches to digitalize existing cities like Algiers. The smart city project in Algeria includes implementing different forms of digital technology to completely transform the city of Algiers. Digital technologies are used to manage urban resources such as transport, energy and water. The data gathered from implemented digital technologies focuses on the citizens’ specific needs and city maintenance to offer sustainable solutions to problems caused by urban growth.
Smart cities benefit Algeria in several ways. Conclusively, the transformation of the city of Algiers into a smart city will improve the quality of life, lead to more sustainability and aid in lifting Algerian citizens out of poverty.
– Simone Riggins
Photo: Flickr
The Impact of the Drought in Afghanistan
Drought in Afghanistan
A majority of the precipitation used to water fields and crops in Afghanistan comes from snow, ice and glaciers up in the mountains. This water is funneled down through either canals or underground irrigation systems set in place. The Hindu Kush mountains provide roughly 80% of Afghanistan’s water supply. The last two decades have seen two droughts a decade. However, all previous decades typically saw only one drought in a cycle of three to five years. The most recent drought in Afghanistan in 2018 caused around 250,000 people to migrate elsewhere.
Furthermore, the drought left farmers unable to reap crops from dry land and herders began selling off livestock for bare minimum prices. The massive displacement of people stems from a lack of assistance from the government and aid groups. The 2018 drought impacted 22 out of 34 Afghanistan provinces and led to 13.5 million people facing heightened levels of food insecurity. The Afghan government and aid groups were slow to respond to the last drought but now assert that they are better prepared for the impending drought.
The Current Situation
According to Reliefweb, close to 11 million people in Afghanistan are currently experiencing soaring levels of acute food insecurity due to COVID-19, conflict throughout the country, escalating food costs and high levels of unemployment. Due to the drought, wheat production is suffering and causing the economy to become even more unstable. Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic already heightened issues within the economy and farmers and herdsmen are driven into a cyclical pattern of loans and debt if the drought in Afghanistan causes crops to fail, leading to significant instability.
Humanitarian Aid in Response to Droughts
The country saw little to no aid in the 2018 drought, but some of the aid received did prove valuable. In Afghanistan’s Badghis Province, aid came in the form of basic water pumps and solar-powered irrigation systems to prevent families from being forced to abandon their homes. The New Humanitarian visited this village in 2018 and reported that the land was green and no families had left. In essence, “a safe source of drinking water was enough to keep people home.”
The Food and Agriculture Organization put together a drought risk management strategy that was released in 2020 and manages the risk of drought in Afghanistan until 2030. The plan is extensive and could help millions of people, but it is quite costly. Furthermore, it may require more than the estimated 10 years to complete. In the meantime, the help of humanitarian groups garnered a $390 million drought contingency plan. This plan includes food and monetary aid as well as initiatives to “support livestock and rehabilitate water wells.”
Droughts in Afghanistan have been a devastating issue since the mid-1900s and continue to this day. With the severity of the 2018 drought, the government of Afghanistan and other humanitarian aids are working to be better prepared for impending droughts. Slowly, the country will be able to pull itself out of increasingly severe food insecurity levels, improving the lives of people in Afghanistan.
– Allie Degner
Photo: Flickr
India’s Health and Wellness Centers
Ayushman Bharat and India’s Healthcare System
The Ayushman Bharat program was initiated in 2018 as a response to shortcomings in India’s healthcare system. Indian policymakers have directed much attention toward combating the rates of communicable diseases or diseases that are spread by bacteria. As a result, deaths due to these conditions have decreased. Meanwhile, non-communicable diseases were the cause of 62% of deaths in 2016. The need to reorient India’s healthcare system to this issue became apparent.
The Indian government’s National Health Policy 2017 detailed the need to upgrade the country’s existing health facilities by investing 2.5% of its gross domestic product (GDP) in healthcare by 2025. Ayushman Bharat launched the next year to facilitate this with one of the main goals of the program: the establishment of health and wellness centers throughout the country.
Health and Wellness Centers
India’s health and wellness centers (HWCs) intend to upgrade 150,000 existing health facilities by December 2022. These upgraded facilities are designed to remedy the country’s substandard healthcare by providing a greater range of services and being in touch with local needs. The expanded range of services is key to reaching more people as HWCs will treat issues such as non-communicable diseases and mental health while also providing dental care.
Additionally, HWCs seek to emphasize community engagement to effectively serve the areas they are located in. This includes health promotion through schools and other community centers as well as the empowerment of individual volunteers to improve local capacity. Furthermore, HWCs will encourage the participation of civil society and will engage with local nonprofit organizations to provide additional care.
With a goal of creating 150,000 HWCs by December 2022, India appears to be well on its way. As of November 2020, 50,000 facilities have been made operational, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. In terms of COVID-19, the work of HWCs is integral as they have been involved in efforts for contact tracing, community surveillance and early identification of cases. They have also ensured the provision of health services for people with co-morbidities who are at higher risk of contracting COVID-19.
The Road Ahead
With the combination of expanded services and community engagement, HWCs are designed to encourage Indians to pursue proper healthcare, thus decreasing the rates of diseases and other ailments. This is especially beneficial for India’s disadvantaged communities as they will have greater access to quality healthcare that is specifically tailored to their needs. In all, HWCs will greatly improve India’s chances of achieving universal healthcare.
– Nikhil Khanal
Photo: Flickr
Zero-Waste Solutions in the Food Industry
Chicken Feather Waste
The poultry market is a booming industry. Chickens are one of the most commonly consumed meat products in the world and poultry is a cultural and economic staple in many countries. The bird feathers, however, produce mass waste. In the U.K. alone, chicken farms discard around 1,000 tons of feathers per week. Few companies have taken notice of the potential behind these unwanted goods. Feathers have a high source of keratin protein, making the feathers ideal sources of insulation, plastic or animal feed. The findings of Kittibanthorn are unique and shift the conversation toward a multi-pronged solution in combating global hunger using creative solutions.
On top of reducing waste, Kittibanthorn maintains the idea that chicken feathers can be repurposed for elegant, elevated dining. The destigmatization of food waste is not completely unprecedented in the culinary world. Michelin star chef, Massimo Bottura, utilized a trash-to-table dining model in 2018 by recovering surplus ingredients to make nutritious and delicious meals for a community. Food waste is a largely uncomfortable issue around the world and the U.S. alone generates 40 million tons per year. By utilizing solutions similar to Kittibanthorn and Bottura, many countries could work toward resolving the issue of world hunger through zero-waste solutions.
A Zero-Waste Future
Utilizing chicken feathers as a zero-waste solution to combat poverty would fall in line with the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals, which include seeking to end hunger and improve nutrition. In the context of agricultural initiatives, chicken feathers open the conversation on the collaboration between innovations like feather-based foods and organizations that promote crop diversity.
The Borgen Project spoke with Rodrigo Barrios, strategic partnerships manager at the nonprofit organization, the Crop Trust. Barrios explains how crop diversity includes two elements of action: use and conservation. Barrios told The Borgen Project about the organization’s program called The Food Forever Initiative. The Food Forever Initiative seeks to enlighten the community with crop usability by connecting chefs to less popular crops and giving chefs the agency to promote agrobiodiversity. Barrios says that promoting crop diversity would also help reduce poverty. In a similar fashion, Barrios states “we identify all biodiversity, internationally, that is fundamental for food security and nutrition and agriculture and we ensure that the gene banks are funded in perpetuity, provided they are up to standard.” The Crop Trust’s goals align with the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals. The organization seeks to build more funding to support long-term conservation initiatives as zero-waste solutions.
The Road Ahead
The practice of repurposing materials that are typically disposed of, such as chicken feathers, has great potential to reduce poverty and push for more sustainable market practices including zero-waste solutions. Trends and practices related to repurposing materials would promote ethical decisions in the private sector, help communities with nutrition security and connect agronomics to crop supporting initiatives.
– Danielle Han
Photo: Flickr
How the US Helps Reconstruction in Haiti
Overview of Past Aid
The GAO found that USAID dispersed 89% of the total allocated aid to Haiti, with a canceled project to build a new port accounting for much of the remaining portion. In addition to operating expenses, the funding spent on Haiti fell into several categories. Health and disabilities as well as economic and food security made up the majority of spending at a combined 60%. Cholera outbreaks and droughts made these two sectors a high priority for funding. However, the aid that helped Haiti recover from cholera and food insecurity means a smaller portion of USAID funding focused on the physical infrastructure needed for reconstruction in Haiti.
Future USAID Projects
The U.S. Government continues to allocate aid in support of Haiti. Three months before the GAO published the April 2021 report, the United States announced additional developmental assistance aid to Haiti worth almost $76 million. U.S. ambassador to Haiti, Michele Sison, commended the work USAID has done so far in advancing health, education, food security and Haiti’s economy. Future projects through the most recently allocated aid will attempt to further progress.
In April 2020, the U.S. committed $16.1 million to exclusively address the COVID-19 outbreak in Haiti. Due to the urgent nature of crisis outbreaks in Haiti, the U.S. Government developed a rapid aid response for the country’s most pressing needs.
The World Bank
Other development agencies also responded directly to the relief required as a result of the earthquake. The World Bank responded to Haiti’s crisis by forming the Infrastructure and Institutions Emergency Recovery Project. This gave special attention to rebuilding vital institutions and infrastructure as part of reconstruction in Haiti. The overall aim was to benefit long-term recovery. These reconstruction activities helped more than 1.1 million Haitians as of May 2019. While the $11.3 billion required to reconstruct the damage from the earthquake far eclipses USAID funding for Haitian aid, the United States can more effectively impact this process by shifting the focus of aid.
The Road Ahead
More than 10 years ago, the country of Haiti experienced a devastating earthquake and USAID formed an aid relationship to assist in the country’s recovery. Since then, the U.S. Government involved itself heavily in improving Haiti’s dire needs when new crises emerge. Through the efforts of the United States and other fundamental organizations, significant progress has been made with regard to reconstruction in Haiti. Further efforts will build the foundation for more long-term recovery.
– Viola Chow
Photo: Flickr
Addressing the Gender Pay Gap in Ireland
History of the Gender Pay Gap in Ireland
Gender equality policies in Ireland were implemented when Ireland joined the European Economic Committee (EEC) in the 1970s. In 1973, women made up only 27% of Ireland’s workforce. As a result of joining the EEC, Ireland dropped the marriage bar for women working in civil service occupations. The marriage bar forced employed women to resign from their jobs once married. The bar was clearly discriminatory and to the disadvantage of women. Joining the EU also helped Ireland integrate more women into the workforce through gender mainstreaming on all government projects supported by the EU. Gender mainstreaming requires equal opportunities for men and women. Eventually, Ireland extended gender mainstreaming to state projects as well. By 2018, 77.2% of women in Ireland were working.
Unfortunately, despite increased representation in the workforce, the pay gap between men and women did not diminish. Before the Gender Pay Gap Information Bill, the government passed extensive legislation to try to minimize the gap. This includes the Anti-Discrimination Pay Act of 1974 and the Employment Equality Act of 1998. Yet, the pay gap remained substantial.
The Equal Pay Act of 1970 was supposed to regulate the pay gap between men and women. However, employers were able to get around this by changing women’s job titles, reinforcing the gender pay gap decades later. The Equal Pay Act of 1970 legislated equal pay and equal conditions for men and women. The loophole allowed employers to continue discriminatory practices, and decades later, a gender wage gap still exists.
Rectifying the Gender Wage Gap
In previous bills, the wording was often too vague and unspecific so employers could find loopholes to get away with underpaying their female employees. The Gender Pay Gap Information Bill works to narrow these possibilities by using more specific wording to apply to all public bodies. It also grants a minister the ability to get involved with these matters and enforce these rules. The bill also requires companies to report on the payment disparities between employees. Where companies could once get away with payment disparities through bonus packages, the bill eliminates this by holding companies accountable in their reports. Businesses refusing to take a course of action to rectify pay gaps can be held responsible to do so by the government.
The most recent statistic available on the pay gap in Ireland as of 2017 is 14.4%. The EU gender pay gap average was almost 15%, indicating that Ireland is doing better in this regard than other EU states. Further work is necessitated for Ireland to completely eliminate the disparity, but identifying where the problem originates is the first step toward this goal. The Gender Pay Gap Information Bill aims to help close the gap and achieve gender equality.
– Samantha Fazio
Photo: Flickr
The Aisyiyah Women’s Movement in Indonesia
The Impact of COVID-19
In the last few decades, Indonesia has reduced poverty significantly. The poverty rate has been reduced by more than 50% since 1999, with a poverty rate of 9.78% in 2020. Unfortunately, the pandemic has disrupted the country’s poverty progress. Between March and September 2020, the national poverty rate increased from 9.78% to 10.19%. Approximately one million more people fell below the poverty line due to the pandemic, reversing three years of progress. The Indonesian Government has taken swift action by implementing emergency monetary aid to support households and companies, ensuring a sufficient vaccine supply and improving social benefits and healthcare systems. In addition, the government promised to reduce emissions by 29% in nine years. Most of Indonesia’s emissions come from land conversion so the government intends on implementing reform to protect land and forests.
Aisyiyah has a quest to plant millions of fruit trees, which will help reduce the pressure on forests and feed families. The group cooperates with the national government and other organizations, enabling Aisyiyah to extend its outreach. The women’s movement in Indonesia has strategically multiplied its impact, becoming a powerful force for change.
Aisyiyah’s Environmental Wing
In 2015, the organization created its environmental wing known as the LLHPB to help women respond to natural disasters and climate-related issues. The sector has since expanded its horizons, helping the country reach its emission goals and fight against natural disasters. In the Kalimantan area of Indonesia, volunteers help prevent wildfires. In rural areas of Indonesia, reforestation efforts have faced numerous roadblocks, including weak seedlings and failure to maintain trees after the seeds were planted. Since the close of 2020, Aisyiyah volunteers have planted 4,700 tree seedlings.
Addressing the drought in the Sukoharjo area of Indonesia, members of Aisyiyah purchased gallons of water for affected families. The LLHPB plans to collaborate with the Peatland and Mangrove Restoration Agency to rehabilitate destroyed forests and land in the province of Riau. Together, the organizations and others will replant 600,000 hectares of mangrove forests by 2024.
Aisyiyah’s Connection to the Muslim Faith
Indonesia’s population is predominantly Muslim so Aisyiyah caters its environmental activism to the Muslim audience. The organization uses teachings of the Muslim faith to explain to people why environmentalism is important. According to the Muslim faith, humans are guardians of nature. Aisyiyah promotes this teaching through “Green Ramadan,” a nightly informational session about plastic waste reduction that lasts through the month of Ramadan. Muslims do good deeds during this month so Aisyiyah promotes environmental consciousness as an easy good deed. LLHPB members consider environmental work as elemental to their faith, which corresponds to a message that spreads to the “Green Ramadan” audience.
History of Aisyiyah
Aisyiyah was founded in 1917 as a female education movement in response to the lack of formal schooling for girls. Today, it operates thousands of schools, supports healthcare centers and runs social programs to promote breastfeeding and improve child and maternal health. The organization encourages its international members to advocate for reproductive rights and discourage child marriage. As a non-governmental organization, donations and fundraising activities fund Aisyiyah’s work.
The Aisyiyah women’s movement in Indonesia now works in 33 provinces and more than 7,500 rural Indonesian villages. As of 2016, it has supported more than 1,000 family business ventures to improve household poverty. Through its Empowering Indonesian Women for Poverty Reduction Program (MAMPU), Aisyiyah reached almost 9,000 women and provided training to more than 1,000 local leaders.
Aisyiyah is addressing issues of poverty and the environment in Indonesia by planting trees and dedicating efforts to education, women’s empowerment and child and maternal health, among other issues. Aisyiyah is an inspiring example of a local organization making a significant impact.
– Rebecca Pomerantz
Photo: Flickr