Nigerian female programmer Abisoye Ajayi-Akinfolarin’s love for computers led her to a life’s mission to help lift girls out of poverty through science, technology, engineering and math by teaching them how to code. Ajayi-Akinfolarin founded the Pearls Africa Foundation, which provides more than technological skills, giving girls tools to become financially independent.
About Abisoye Ajayi-Akinfolarin
After graduating from the University of Lagos, Ajayi-Akinfolarin founded the Pearls Africa Foundation in 2012, leaving her job to dedicate all her time to the Foundation. a statistic indicating that less than 8% of Nigerian women had professional, managerial or technological jobs, a staggeringly low number, drove her to establish the Foundation. She wanted to give women and girls the opportunity to acquire the skills to change that statistic and lift themselves out of poverty. In 2018, she earned the title of CNN Hero of the Year in acknowledgment of her efforts.
The Girls and Women of Makoko
Lagos, Nigeria, has a thriving economy of oil, finance and manufacturing, however, the world’s largest “floating slum,” Makoko, is on a lagoon in the city within which 250,000 people live. The slum city rests on stilts and its residents use canoes for transport. Gentrification led to the displacement of some members of the slum community until many deemed it unconstitutional. Most people in Makoko, including women and girls, do not have access to regular food, water, electricity or education. Drawing inspiration from the aim of helping the girls of Makoko, Ajayi-Akinfolarin began the Pearls Africa Foundation.
Pearls Africa Foundation Programs
The Pearls Africa Foundation has 10 different programs to help girls learn to code, keep them safe and secure and prepare them for educational and career-oriented opportunities. The flagship program of the Pearls Africa Foundation is Girls Coding, which provides underserved girls with an education in computer programming and coding, including courses such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript and Python. This training prepares the girls to compete for STEM jobs and achieve financial independence.
Similar programs are Lady Labs, which teaches basic IT and technology skills and provides IT experience. Empowered Hands provides vocational training such as bead-making, fashion designing, hair styling, Aso-oke weaving and more. Pearls Africa actively searches for internship placements for its students and provides scholarship opportunities through its EducateHer program.
Its mentoring activity, Safe Space, gives girls a place to cope with and address psychological trauma from their daily environments. Mentors answer questions and guide young girls in areas such as sexual health and dealing with abuse as well as cultural practices. This allows girls to understand and address their mental health issues, heal from the impacts of abuse, receive career guidance and more. Safe Space holds workshops every month to help girls build life skills and become successful in their careers.
The Foundation also has three different outreach programs: Community Outreach, Medical Outreach and School Outreach. Respectively, these efforts involve a feeding program and donations, providing free healthcare assistance in Lagos and mentoring girls in secondary schools.
Each of the programs of the Pearls Africa Foundation provides young girls in Nigeria with the tools to lift themselves out of poverty and lead successful, fulfilling lives.
– Sana Mamtaney
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Child Poverty in Yemen
The Crisis in Yemen
There is an immense tragedy occurring in Yemen. Estimates have determined that Yemen’s overall poverty rate is 80% and the war has already set back the country’s development by 25 years. In addition to facing the enormous impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Yemen continues to battle mass outbreaks of preventable diseases such as cholera, diptheria, measles and dengue fever. On top of fighting these diseases, the conflict in Yemen is actively occurring. The war has resulted in the deaths of nearly a quarter of a million people from its start in 2015 to mid-2021. Unfortunately, Yemen’s children are the most vulnerable members of society and this crisis has caused child poverty in Yemen to be a critical issue.
Starvation and Malnutrition
According to UNICEF, 11 million children in Yemen urgently need humanitarian assistance. Child poverty in Yemen is continuing to rise, and more than 2.3 million children could starve by the end of 2021. This represents an unprecedented hunger crisis. Of these 2.3 million, expectations have stated that 400,000 will face acute malnutrition and could die without urgent treatment. Additionally, 1.2 million pregnant and breastfeeding mothers may experience malnourishment by the end of 2021, meaning that over 1 million children will be born in hunger. Between 2015 and 2020, over 3,000 children have been killed as a result of the war. As a result of facing so much trauma and conflict, an astonishing half of the children in Yemen are struggling with depression.
Impact on Education
Beyond the fact that the pandemic and conflict in Yemen are impacting children’s basic needs such as food, education is also under threat. Before the pandemic, 2 million children were out of school and 3.7 million more were at risk of leaving school altogether. Pandemic closures increased the number of kids at risk to 8 million, and teachers are not receiving pay. At least 4.7 million children are in need of educational assistance. Schools lack funds, resources and adequate sanitation, especially for girls. According to UNICEF, Yemen now owes $70 million in stipends to teachers. In addition to the pandemic preventing attendance, the conflict has destroyed about 2,000 schools.
Finding Hope
The Yemenis are resilient and are searching for solutions despite all of the turmoil. Communities are rebuilding their own schools and providing these schools with essential resources. The vast majority of schools in Yemen have no electricity. This means that kids have no access to clean water and sanitation services. The Yemen Emergency Electricity Access Project is working to install solar energy systems in schools. Solar energy can provide sanitary resources to students and the community. It also improves children’s experience in the classroom by providing light and a comfortable environment. This project should help at least 1.3 million people. Meanwhile, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) put up nine solar microgrids to improve energy access.
In order to combat the mental health crisis in Yemen, social workers are providing mobile counseling. In 2018, UNFPA established six psychological support centers. Since then, these centers provided mobile psychological support to about 18,000 people, and the demand for these services is rising due to both the pandemic and continuing conflict.
Spreading the Word
The crisis in Yemen is vast and will take a united effort to address. One important factor in working to end this crisis is awareness. Social media posts, conversations and contacting U.S. government representatives are all methods to spread the word. While the U.S. did suggest a ceasefire in Yemen, this request will likely go unheeded if it does not take sufficient action to halt military support to the Saudi and Emirati-led coalition. The resilience of the Yemenis and help from the rest of the world can fight child poverty in Yemen and aid in the overarching crisis.
– Jacqueline Zembek
Photo: Flickr
Singapore’s Domestic Workers
Domestic workers make 17% of Singapore’s workforce. Most of this population comes from nearby Southeast Asian nations such as Myanmar, Indonesia or the Philippines. Almost six in 10 of these domestic workers face abuse at the hands of their wealthy employers, ranging from verbal abuse to being deprived of food and essentials. According to CNN, 84% of interviewed workers described working more than 12 hours a day.
Causes for Migration
As CNN reported, an estimated 56% of Singapore’s domestic workers come from the Philippines. While the Filipino economy is one of the fastest-growing in the world, the nation is still plagued with a 16.7% poverty rate. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an increase of 3.4 million unemployed people within the Philippines, further encouraging migration to affluent Singapore in search of job opportunities.
Most domestic workers are female, and they work in Singapore to supplement their family’s income. According to CNN, remittances home from people working abroad were more than $45 billion in 2015. That is around 12% of the Phillippines’ gross domestic product.
Life as a Domestic Worker
The average monthly income of a domestic worker in Singapore is $381 a month, often including meals and board, as CNN reported. Singapore’s domestic workers make one-tenth of the national average monthly income of $3,694. National law does not require official contracts between domestic workers and employers, which allows income to vastly vary from month to month. Workers often send money to their families overseas. Many must pay for basic necessities such as toiletries and clothing despite Singapore’s law requiring employers to fund these items.
All foreign domestic workers in Singapore live at the home of their employers, the DW reports. Despite the Singapore government’s recent changes that require one day a week off for all domestic workers, 41% of workers report having to work on Sunday, according to CNN. Many did not know that they had the right to have this day off until the agency leading the survey contacted them.
Pilot Scheme
A new scheme that the Association of Employment Agencies in Singapore introduced facilitates the entry of Indonesian and Filipino domestic workers due to a recent shortage under COVID-19. Singapore’s domestic workers returned to their home countries as soon as they could in order to be with their families, leaving numerous families without the house help they depended on. This scheme requires employers to pay for a domestic worker’s COVID-19 test and all other arrival charges in exchange for guaranteed arrival.
With families facing shortages of house help, leading them to value their work and the introduction of a new, government monitored program for Singapore’s domestic workers, the future looks far brighter. While Singapore’s affluent society must learn to respect and value their domestic help, government intervention is key to ensuring that domestic workers retain their rights.
– Shruti Patankar
Photo: Flickr
6 Facts About Poverty Reduction in France
6 Facts About Poverty Reduction in France
Looking Ahead
These facts about poverty reduction in France have shown its success from 1970 to 2000. Yet, after the economic crisis in 2008, poverty levels rose. However, France is in the process of rebuilding the economy once more, using similar strategies that have worked previously.
– Sydney Littlejohn
Photo: Flickr
Everything to Know About Poverty in Turkey
Conditions seemed to improve for the disadvantaged in Turkey for a decade-long period through the early 2000s. When first elected, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan purported to lift the country out of the severe economic recession in progress at the time. Unemployment and poverty rates plummeted until 2013 when civil unrest roiled after the Turkish government’s violent response to the Gezi Park protests in Istanbul. Foreign investments in Turkish government bonds fell from 25% in May 2013 to 5% by 2020. Now, Turkey is once again experiencing a poverty crisis. Here are five facts about poverty in Turkey.
5 Facts About Poverty in Turkey
Looking Ahead
The state of poverty in Turkey is in flux. The country continues to struggle with an economic and refugee crisis in the midst of a pandemic. With the support of the European Union and the World Bank, however, Turkish people in need will have the ability to combat poverty.
– Safira Schiowitz
Photo: Flickr
Can Flaxseed Oil Become a Tool to Combat Poverty?
Around 689 million people, or 9.2% of the global population, currently live in poverty with less than $1.90 a day. In 2017, Global Citizen reported that “at least half of the world’s population did not have access to essential health care.” Global connections between health care and poverty are distinctly universal, even in the United States. A study by the Institute for Research on Poverty further indicates that practically 70% of the U.S.’s uninsured experience poverty or are on the brink of poverty. Consequently, poverty and low-income status have links to a variety of negative health consequences due to poor sanitation, such as shorter life expectancy. One way to improve sanitation in areas with high poverty is to use flaxseed oil.
Poverty and Sanitation
Research shows that 673 million people continue to defecate in public, such as in city gutters, behind bushes or in open bodies of water; the impacts of poor sanitation are severely detrimental. Poor sanitation exacerbates stunting and contributes to the spread of diseases like cholera, diarrhea, dysentery, hepatitis A, typhoid and polio. This issue is causing diseases such as intestinal worms, schistosomiasis and trachoma. Predictions have determined that poor sanitation causes 432,000 diarrheal deaths per year. Factoring in deaths from all of these diseases, countless people die every year in connection to poor sanitation.
A National Center for Biotechnology Information study found that there is a relationship between sanitation and types of floors. High levels of bacteria such as E. coli are more common in houses with dirt floors in comparison to houses with concrete floors. Proper floors and resources are a solution to this issue; however, concrete is expensive which means it’s hard for the poor to access it. This is where flaxseed oil comes in.
Flaxseed-Supported Floors
After Gayatri Datar traveled to Rwanda with her classmates from Stanford University, she wanted to address the prevalence of dirt floors as around 75% of the population had dirt floors, making people susceptible to certain illnesses. Datar partnered with Zuzow, one of her former classmates, and together they created “a flaxseed oil that, when poured over an earthen floor, dries to form a plastic-like, waterproof and sustainable resin that glues the surface together. The flaxseed is currently imported from India, but EarthEnable [Datar’s organization] is planning to harvest it in Kenya to keep the entire project more local.”
This flaxseed oil is a cheap and effective alternative to concrete floors. The flaxseed oil sealant costs between $2 and $5 per square meter, or around $50 per house, and residents pay it in either one sum or in six monthly installments. The cost is less than the $162 cost of the concrete floors used in Piso Firme, one of the first floor-replacement operations in Mexico.
Connecting Solutions
TECHO – a nonprofit organization – has been doing something very similar. It has “built one-room houses with hard floors, insulated pinewood walls and tin roofs for almost 130,000 families in Latin America since 1997.” All of this together has resulted in a “big drop in childhood incidence of diarrhea in these homes, down 27% or double the improvement Gertler measured for Mexican children whose dirt floors were replaced with concrete.”
Though simple, identifying contributing factors to poverty and poor health can be a meaningful step to increase the quality of life for millions. While EarthEnable and TECHO continue their work, they quite literally work to establish a stronger foundation for those experiencing certain forms of poverty.
– Noya Stessel
Photo: Flickr
DataKind Pro-Bono Data Analysis
People often say that this is the era of data; after all, data mining and extraction often prove essential for widescale business operations and more. Still, even as the demand for data analysts and data scientists rises every year, projects focusing on social change do not get the same advantages in this field as large private enterprises. Expansive tech corporations still hold most of the resources and information when using data analysis as a tool for operative efficiency.
However, many organizations seek to change this. One of them is DataKind, a volunteer-based organization dedicated to putting data in the service of others. The organization works on short and long-term projects addressing topics from poverty and access to services in developing countries to health care and education.
Why DataKind?
DataKind works with nonprofit organizations that have access to large quantities of gathered information and delivers high-quality analyses. These analyses help effectively streamline resources, creating new goals for NGOs and nonprofits so that more people can receive aid. In this way, DataKind has shifted the trends of big data and data analysis toward humanitarian projects.
CEO Jake Porway stated, “In 2010, we had the big-data boom, but the things that people would do with it seemed so frivolous — they would build apps to help them park their car or find a local bar. I just thought, ‘This is crazy, we need to do something more.’ ” After realizing that data analysis has a place in the nonprofit realm, Porway founded DataKind in 2010. Based in New York City, it originally had part-time data scientist volunteers working on short-term projects, but now the organization collaborates with more than a dozen international bodies such as the U.N.’s Global Pulse and the World Bank.
GiveDirect
GiveDirect is an organization that focuses on transferring money to the poorest communities in Kenya and Uganda. These funds can go into communities, helping individuals pursue their own goals. To identify which villages will benefit from this, DataKind stepped in to analyze data from satellite images. It identified which households and villages were the poorest in each region. A programmed algorithm detected the materials of individual homes; thatched or metal roofs can be an indicator of a community’s needs. This proved to be more efficient and less costly than a traditional census in these remote areas.
VotoMobile
This organization has a dedication to amplifying the voices of marginalized groups in West Africa by using mobile surveys in local languages. It targets remote communities’ main necessities, gathering insight on groups typically not represented in common censuses. DataKind enhanced data repositories and built interactive data models for VotoMobile to use for future data collection. With DataKind’s help, VotoMobile is now focussing on standardizing its surveys so they are easier to analyze and compare. When this stage is complete, VotoMobile will be able to take many more voices into account, prioritizing specific types of aid for rural villages in Uganda and Senegal.
The World Bank: Anti-Corruption Solutions
To effectively tackle poverty, it is necessary to root out corruption in development projects. In one of its most ambitious projects, DataKind collaborated with The World Bank, working with collected data from across the globe to identify possible corruption cases and create innovative solutions. It closely studied food prices, inflation rates, vis-a-vis surveys and phone data. Participants in this project have carefully mapped what variables are missing in the data. These strategies are not limited exclusively to future frameworks in data collection. They can also contribute to ingenious solutions for rampant corruption around the globe.
In the future, DataKind hopes to keep delivering new data-based solutions for international organizations and institutions, bringing new volunteers into the era of philanthropic data analysis.
– Araí Yegros
Photo: Flickr
Tackling HIV/AIDs in Botswana
Botswana is a country that people know for its relatively peaceful and politically stable environment; however, it also has a high prevalence of HIV. It has some of the highest HIV rates of any country in the world, which particularly affects Botswana’s women and children. This reality affects several factors contributing to Botswana’s society and economy, including a drastically fallen life expectancy, the death rate, the effects of the virus on the body and the age of those most affected. For more than 40 years, HIV/AIDs in Botswana has been prevalent resulting in a conflict between HIV/AIDs and economic success. Here is some information about it as well as how the country is tackling HIV/AIDs in Botswana.
HIV/AIDs in Botswana
In its article on the economic impact of AIDs in Botswana, the POLICY Project writes that the virus is “different from most other diseases because it strikes people in the most productive age groups and is essentially 100 percent fatal.” This directly impacts the economy by essentially removing people who would be productively contributing. The economic output then plummets because the loss of young, formerly able-bodied adults limits the workforce. The shortage of skilled, trained laborers impacts income distribution across economic sectors as well.
The life expectancy in Botswana has fallen drastically. Some estimates place it at 60 years in 1990, then 40 years in 2001 and about a projected 30 years as of 2010. In his memoir “When a Crocodile Eats the Sun: A Memoir of Africa,” Peter Godwin explained that AIDs impacts the younger generation in particular. Due to the low life expectancy that the virus creates, there are villages where the oldest members of the community are teenagers. Projections estimated that two out of every five children would become orphans by 2010, subsequently requiring state aid.
The Effects of the Virus
There are several principal costs that many people associate with having AIDs. Direct costs or physical, financial losses include medical care, treatment drugs and funeral expenses. Indirect costs, or more long-term, possibly unforeseen financial losses include lost work time, care of children who have lost their families due to AIDs and time spent searching for and hiring new workers to replace those lost to the virus. These are costs to Botswana’s economy in general, as well as to individuals and their households.
The effects of AIDs on the economy are particularly apparent in Botswana, a country that many otherwise applaud for being a lower-middle-income country that has avoided several other economic downfalls in recent years. Nevertheless, on a microeconomic level, households with AIDs in Botswana struggle to acquire basic necessities such as healthcare, education, food and shelter. Loss of employment and particularly the loss of a family’s breadwinner can begin a downward slope into extreme poverty. This then expands outwards to include the macroeconomy where businesses and firms are understaffed and have to close. Botswana’s conflict between HIV/AIDs and economic success is clearly one of the country’s greatest to date.
Solutions
Botswana has made leaps in tackling its HIV/AIDs in Botswana; however, a “one-size-fits-all approach” does not target specific high-risk groups and means reaching far fewer people. Those most at-risk –men who have sex with men, sex workers, young people and women– require individual strategies to deal with the prevalence of AIDS.
The use of condoms and sex education have played major roles in attempts to control the epidemic. The Ministry of Health and UNDP educate teachers first, who then spread their awareness to their young students. Peace Corps volunteers to Botswana work with the government and with the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) to better respond to the AIDs epidemic. Volunteers work in small communities addressing and educating on AIDs, with a focus on the youth.
Though no one solution exists regarding tackling HIV/AIDs in Botswana, global and regional efforts work to weaken and reverse a painful national slide. Botswana stands to gain much from meaningful efforts focused on health and the economy.
– Grace Manning
Photo: Flickr
Maternal Mortality in South Sudan
In turn, when maternal mortality occurs, the risk for child mortality increases. Orphaned children are more likely to become subject to child labor. They also tend to have limited access to high-quality education and encounter more obstacles that prevent them from reaching their highest potential. Maternal mortality in South Sudan is an urgent issue not only because mothers die, but also because maternal mortality leads to the ongoing suffering of the children left without moms.
Causes of Maternal Mortality in South Sudan
First, studies have shown that many women do not receive professional assistance when giving birth. In Juba, the capital of South Sudan, only a quarter of the women go to a hospital during the time of labor. That low figure partially stems from a lack of South Sudanese trained in maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH). With only one physician per 65,574 people and one midwife per 39,088 people, the country has a severe lack of professionals at hand. For this reason, mothers are forced to request assistance from non-certified individuals.
Poverty is a significant cause of maternal mortality risk factors. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 4.8 million people in South Sudan, mothers included, suffer from food insecurity. Additionally, only 7% of the population has access to sanitation resources, which further prevents safe births. Poverty also influences South Sudan’s high illiteracy rate of 88% among women. In turn, that high illiteracy rate limits awareness of healthy birth practices.
Finally, communicable and chronic non-communicable diseases contribute to maternal and child mortality. Tuberculosis, a risk factor of maternal mortality, is high at 146 cases per 100,000 people in South Sudan. Second, HIV/AIDS is at epidemic levels in South Sudan. Finally, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases are on the rise and elevate maternal mortality risk factors.
A Focus on Increasing Trained Labor and Delivery Staff
Several initiatives have been launched to reduce maternal mortality rates in South Sudan. One significant example is the Global Health Innovation Laboratory’s Maternal, Newborn, and Child Survival (MNCS) program. Launched in 2010, MNCS has worked to increase training for MNCH professionals throughout South Sudan. Importantly, MNCS trainees learn how to identify and prevent major threats that women face during labor. In its first two years, MCNS trained 732 healthcare workers who are now providing assistance in labor and delivery patients in South Sudan.
Also, in 2012, the Ministry of Health in South Sudan, the United Nations Population Fund (UNPFA) and local nonprofits collaboratively launched the Strengthening Midwifery Service to train midwives and nurses. Additionally, three years later, the Ministry of Health also began partnering with the Canadian Association of Midwives and UNPFA to foster professional mentorships between midwives in Canada and South Sudan so they can exchange expertise with each other.
On the Path to Save South Sudanese Women and Children
Maternal mortality in South Sudan has been an urgent issue since the beginning of the South Sudanese Civil War. It puts both the mother and child at risk of death and may permanently jeopardize the future of a baby. Fortunately, the South Sudanese government and international organizations are working to improve that dire situation. With more professional help available to mothers, slowly, South Sudan is saving its women and children.
– Mariam Kazmi
Photo: Flickr
ProVeg International: Food Justice In Africa
The definition of food insecurity is “the disruption of food intake or eating patterns because of lack of money and other resources” according to the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. All across the world, food insecurity remains an issue despite being essential for human survival. This violation of basic human rights has justifiably led to many movements, ideas and actions to cultivate better, more accessible food systems for everyone regardless of economic status. Ultimately, increasing food justice means reducing poverty, a mission that lies at the core of ProVeg International, a global “food awareness” organization.
Food Injustice in Africa
Food injustice permeates the continent of Africa as many African countries battle poverty. According to the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, more than “100 million Africans were facing crisis, emergency, or catastrophic levels of food insecurity in 2020.” The Center highlights a rise of more than 60% in comparison to 2020, with an expectation that food insecurity rates will continue in this direction through 2021 and beyond. The rise in food insecurity rates is alarming and represents a worsening issue in the fight against hunger.
This food insecurity is coupled with Africa’s higher poverty rates. Hunger Notes reports that “according to the World Bank, in 2013, 42.3% of the population of sub-Saharan Africa lived on $1.90 or less per day.” This, it also notes, is a major factor in higher levels of food insecurity in African countries. The connection between poverty and hunger in the continent of Africa reveals why there are many efforts to aid and combat both rates of poverty and rising rates of food insecurity. Both anti-poverty initiatives and anti-food insecurity initiatives intersect to fight this pressing issue.
A ProVeg Approach
ProVeg International is a global organization fighting food injustice with increased food awareness and plant-based initiatives. Its branch in South Africa acts as a platform for these initiatives in the African continent. According to its website, ProVeg holds events and participates in political outreach and corporate engagement. All these efforts aim to raise awareness of the importance of accessible, healthy plant-based food. In addition to these activities, ProVeg holds challenges such as Veganuary, which is “a global campaign that encourages people to try plant-based [foods] for the month of January.” This approach of easing people in is important, as is encouraging those who have the means and accessibility to go plant-based to do so.
Using a plant-based approach increases access to affordable and healthy food for those who need it. Additionally, ProVeg encourages those who already have access to fresh grown foods to fully incorporate them into their diets. ProVeg highlights how “achieving food security for everyone means doing more to ensure that everyone has reliable access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food in order to maintain an active and healthy life.” ProVeg International incorporates this message by highlighting how “an inequitable global food distribution system” disproportionately impacts the most vulnerable and impoverished people.
In this way, ProVeg makes it is easy to see the intersections of food insecurity and poverty, showing the importance of ProVeg’s plant-based initiative for achieving food justice. As rates of food insecurity rise across Africa, ProVeg’s plant-based initiative contributes to food justice and seeks to make healthy foods accessible. The role that ProVeg plays presents an important approach in the fight against food injustice.
– Sebastian Fell
Photo: Flickr
Pearls Africa Foundation Helps Girls in Nigeria Through STEM
Nigerian female programmer Abisoye Ajayi-Akinfolarin’s love for computers led her to a life’s mission to help lift girls out of poverty through science, technology, engineering and math by teaching them how to code. Ajayi-Akinfolarin founded the Pearls Africa Foundation, which provides more than technological skills, giving girls tools to become financially independent.
About Abisoye Ajayi-Akinfolarin
After graduating from the University of Lagos, Ajayi-Akinfolarin founded the Pearls Africa Foundation in 2012, leaving her job to dedicate all her time to the Foundation. a statistic indicating that less than 8% of Nigerian women had professional, managerial or technological jobs, a staggeringly low number, drove her to establish the Foundation. She wanted to give women and girls the opportunity to acquire the skills to change that statistic and lift themselves out of poverty. In 2018, she earned the title of CNN Hero of the Year in acknowledgment of her efforts.
The Girls and Women of Makoko
Lagos, Nigeria, has a thriving economy of oil, finance and manufacturing, however, the world’s largest “floating slum,” Makoko, is on a lagoon in the city within which 250,000 people live. The slum city rests on stilts and its residents use canoes for transport. Gentrification led to the displacement of some members of the slum community until many deemed it unconstitutional. Most people in Makoko, including women and girls, do not have access to regular food, water, electricity or education. Drawing inspiration from the aim of helping the girls of Makoko, Ajayi-Akinfolarin began the Pearls Africa Foundation.
Pearls Africa Foundation Programs
The Pearls Africa Foundation has 10 different programs to help girls learn to code, keep them safe and secure and prepare them for educational and career-oriented opportunities. The flagship program of the Pearls Africa Foundation is Girls Coding, which provides underserved girls with an education in computer programming and coding, including courses such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript and Python. This training prepares the girls to compete for STEM jobs and achieve financial independence.
Similar programs are Lady Labs, which teaches basic IT and technology skills and provides IT experience. Empowered Hands provides vocational training such as bead-making, fashion designing, hair styling, Aso-oke weaving and more. Pearls Africa actively searches for internship placements for its students and provides scholarship opportunities through its EducateHer program.
Its mentoring activity, Safe Space, gives girls a place to cope with and address psychological trauma from their daily environments. Mentors answer questions and guide young girls in areas such as sexual health and dealing with abuse as well as cultural practices. This allows girls to understand and address their mental health issues, heal from the impacts of abuse, receive career guidance and more. Safe Space holds workshops every month to help girls build life skills and become successful in their careers.
The Foundation also has three different outreach programs: Community Outreach, Medical Outreach and School Outreach. Respectively, these efforts involve a feeding program and donations, providing free healthcare assistance in Lagos and mentoring girls in secondary schools.
Each of the programs of the Pearls Africa Foundation provides young girls in Nigeria with the tools to lift themselves out of poverty and lead successful, fulfilling lives.
– Sana Mamtaney
Photo: Wikimedia Commons