The COVID-19 pandemic has forced schools to shut down globally, leading to a crisis of learning as countless students are left without in-person instruction. School reopenings in Malawi show this effect, where remote learning alternatives are not widely available. A week-long teacher walkout recently heightened the tension between education and public health in what has already been a rocky school reopening. While Malawi attempts to balance the safety of teachers with the learning of an already struggling student population, international organizations such as UNICEF have lent a helping hand.
Malawi Teachers Strike
On April 6, 2021, in-person education in Malawi was put on hold as the nation’s teachers left their classrooms and refused to return. The boycott was in response to a dispute between the Teachers Union of Malawi (TUM) and the federal government. The government failed to deliver the nation’s teaching staff a previously promised monthly stipend of MK50,000 (about $66) as additional compensation for the hazardous nature of their positions.
Malawi’s government has argued that it does not have enough funding to compensate its teachers, an expense that would cost the impoverished government $2.4 million each month. But, teachers refused to return to the classroom without their hazard pay, until TUM signed a deal with the government, which sent teachers back to work empty-handed.
Learning During the Pandemic
The teachers’ boycott in April was yet another interruption during an already fragmented school year. Malawi’s schools were initially closed on March 23, 2020, to prevent the spread of COVID-19. After months of closed schools and public outcry, Malawi’s president reopened the nation’s schools in a two-stage process in early September 2020. Unfortunately for Malawi’s students, the return to school was not long. Around mid-January 2021, Malawi’s schools closed once again as COVID-19 cases spiked throughout the country. It was not until February 22, 2021, that students returned to classroom learning.
Malawi faced significant difficulties in supplementing school closures with remote learning alternatives. During the initial closures, the government, in conjunction with UNICEF, implemented the Emergency Radio Education Programme (EREP). The EREP delivered primary school lessons to Malawi’s students over the radio. In total, the EREP delivered 400 lessons in English, maths and Chichewa to nearly two million primary school students. Furthermore, more than 70,000 high school students had access to online learning and 50,000 high school students received self-study resources.
But, these remote learning initiatives were not all-inclusive. More than 60% of primary and secondary students in Malawi did not have access to remote learning resources during school closures. These long-term lapses in learning have been devastating for students.
Malawi’s School System
Primary education in Malawi became free in 1994. Since then, 90% of Malawi’s school-age children have enrolled in primary schools. Yet, high enrollment has caused problems because Malawi’s education system does not have the infrastructure to support and teach such a massive student body.
While Malawi’s education system has met the rising demand for schooling, it has struggled to maintain quality schooling. A review of student performances in Malawi found low rates of comprehension in multiple subjects. Additionally, only about half of Malawi’s students complete their primary education. Furthermore, for those who do pass primary school, only 16% continue to receive a secondary education.
The frequent pauses in learning due to the pandemic threaten to degrade students’ already low rates of comprehension and completion. Malawi’s education system has received international assistance to avoid further issues.
UNICEF Assists
UNICEF has been a key ally to Malawi’s education system during the COVID-19 pandemic. Apart from implementing Malawi’s Emergency Radio Education Program, UNICEF’s most substantial efforts have been to procure international funding for the education system’s COVID-19 response. This effort included $10 million from the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) and more than $300,000 from the Education Cannot Wait fund.
UNICEF has also helped to create health and safety protocols, which have guided the return of Malawi’s students and teachers to classrooms. Additionally, UNICEF has worked to distribute supplies to Malawi’s schools. For instance, the organization delivered 650 portable chalkboards to disadvantaged schools to facilitate outdoor learning for thousands of students.
UNICEF’s support has been vital to the reopening of Malawi’s schools during the pandemic. However, the recent teacher walkouts illustrate that the impacts of COVID-19 are persistent in Malawi. Malawi will need further international support for the country to fully revitalize its education system.
– Joseph Cavanagh
Photo: Flickr
School Reopenings and Teacher Walkouts in Malawi During COVID-19
Malawi Teachers Strike
On April 6, 2021, in-person education in Malawi was put on hold as the nation’s teachers left their classrooms and refused to return. The boycott was in response to a dispute between the Teachers Union of Malawi (TUM) and the federal government. The government failed to deliver the nation’s teaching staff a previously promised monthly stipend of MK50,000 (about $66) as additional compensation for the hazardous nature of their positions.
Malawi’s government has argued that it does not have enough funding to compensate its teachers, an expense that would cost the impoverished government $2.4 million each month. But, teachers refused to return to the classroom without their hazard pay, until TUM signed a deal with the government, which sent teachers back to work empty-handed.
Learning During the Pandemic
The teachers’ boycott in April was yet another interruption during an already fragmented school year. Malawi’s schools were initially closed on March 23, 2020, to prevent the spread of COVID-19. After months of closed schools and public outcry, Malawi’s president reopened the nation’s schools in a two-stage process in early September 2020. Unfortunately for Malawi’s students, the return to school was not long. Around mid-January 2021, Malawi’s schools closed once again as COVID-19 cases spiked throughout the country. It was not until February 22, 2021, that students returned to classroom learning.
Malawi faced significant difficulties in supplementing school closures with remote learning alternatives. During the initial closures, the government, in conjunction with UNICEF, implemented the Emergency Radio Education Programme (EREP). The EREP delivered primary school lessons to Malawi’s students over the radio. In total, the EREP delivered 400 lessons in English, maths and Chichewa to nearly two million primary school students. Furthermore, more than 70,000 high school students had access to online learning and 50,000 high school students received self-study resources.
But, these remote learning initiatives were not all-inclusive. More than 60% of primary and secondary students in Malawi did not have access to remote learning resources during school closures. These long-term lapses in learning have been devastating for students.
Malawi’s School System
Primary education in Malawi became free in 1994. Since then, 90% of Malawi’s school-age children have enrolled in primary schools. Yet, high enrollment has caused problems because Malawi’s education system does not have the infrastructure to support and teach such a massive student body.
While Malawi’s education system has met the rising demand for schooling, it has struggled to maintain quality schooling. A review of student performances in Malawi found low rates of comprehension in multiple subjects. Additionally, only about half of Malawi’s students complete their primary education. Furthermore, for those who do pass primary school, only 16% continue to receive a secondary education.
The frequent pauses in learning due to the pandemic threaten to degrade students’ already low rates of comprehension and completion. Malawi’s education system has received international assistance to avoid further issues.
UNICEF Assists
UNICEF has been a key ally to Malawi’s education system during the COVID-19 pandemic. Apart from implementing Malawi’s Emergency Radio Education Program, UNICEF’s most substantial efforts have been to procure international funding for the education system’s COVID-19 response. This effort included $10 million from the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) and more than $300,000 from the Education Cannot Wait fund.
UNICEF has also helped to create health and safety protocols, which have guided the return of Malawi’s students and teachers to classrooms. Additionally, UNICEF has worked to distribute supplies to Malawi’s schools. For instance, the organization delivered 650 portable chalkboards to disadvantaged schools to facilitate outdoor learning for thousands of students.
UNICEF’s support has been vital to the reopening of Malawi’s schools during the pandemic. However, the recent teacher walkouts illustrate that the impacts of COVID-19 are persistent in Malawi. Malawi will need further international support for the country to fully revitalize its education system.
– Joseph Cavanagh
Photo: Flickr
USAID’s PATTA Program in Pakistan
Agriculture in Pakistan
Despite the overwhelming need to preserve the agricultural sector, the industry has seen a decline in productivity over the years. Pakistan is especially vulnerable to environmental degradation and instances of water shortages and extreme temperature fluctuations have severely damaged the country’s ability to produce enough crops to feed its populace. As a result, Pakistan stands to benefit from the advancements in agricultural technology. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), these improved technologies can aid in improving agricultural productivity by 70% by the year 2050.
The PATTA Program
To assist Pakistani farmers with obtaining improved agricultural technologies, USAID funds the four-year PATTA program which began in 2017. This program “enables the private sector to give Pakistani farmers access to innovative agricultural products and management practices, which improve productivity and enhance competitiveness.” To facilitate this, USAID introduced the “Agri-Tech Hub” in 2020, a comprehensive suite of agricultural technologies with the potential to change the lives of farmers. The PATTA program encourages private sector investment in Pakistani agriculture “to commercialize the types of agricultural technologies that enable smallholders to increase their incomes, create jobs and enhance economic growth and stability.”
Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (CNFA) is an agricultural organization that is also involved with the PATTA program. This organization assists agricultural technology businesses in expanding their markets by doing cost-benefit analyses as well as creating strategies on how these businesses can provide technical support and build capacity for small farmers. Additionally, the CNFA sets up demonstration events in which businesses can display the effectiveness of their products. These events often use different mediums such as radio and the internet in order to reach many different groups of people. Overall, the CNFA is involved in every step of the PATTA program. The CNFA helps agribusinesses market their technologies effectively while making sure farmers can get their specific needs met.
PATTA’s Impact During the Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic has had dramatic impacts on agricultural production around the world. In Pakistan, PATTA has been assisting local governments in raising awareness of safety protocols through digital communication. For example, during the onset of the pandemic in early 2020, PATTA partnered with the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s agriculture department in developing “tele-farming advisory services on agricultural technologies” through SMS and robocalls to deliver pertinent information to farmers.
PATTA has also utilized the radio in order to spread its messages. From May to July 2020, PATTA encouraged the use of agricultural technologies via radio broadcast to 23 selected districts across Pakistan, reaching approximately three million people. The use of digital communications allowed for social distancing as the pandemic prevented conventional meetings from taking place.
USAID’s PATTA program helps farmers acquire improved technologies in order to increase their crop yields. By engaging with the private sector, PATTA assists both agribusinesses and farmers in expanding. The concrete outcomes of the program are yet to be released, but nonetheless, it is clear that agricultural technologies have the potential to increase the incomes of smallholder farmers and reduce poverty in Pakistan.
– Nikhil Khanal
Photo: Flickr
How Olympic Athlete Naomi Osaka is Improving Gender Equality
Naomi Osaka is a half Japanese and half Haitian Olympic tennis player who represents Japan in competitions. Osaka has great role models who have supported her throughout her entire life. As such, Osaka understands the immense impact that positive role models can have on young adolescents, especially girls. When girls turn 14 years old, they are estimated to leave sports twice as often as boys their same age. Naomi Osaka is improving gender equality through her love of sports by positively impacting young people’s lives and creating a space for people to embrace their culture. Furthermore, Osaka’s foundation and others are working hard to build classrooms, tennis courts and more to help alleviate global poverty.
Naomi Osaka Play Academy
The Naomi Osaka Play Academy is an initiative founded last year that aims to change girls’ lives through play and sport. Osaka wanted to start the initiative in Tokyo knowing how impactful role models were to her at a young age. Additionally, Play Academy has provided grants and gender-inclusive training to three organizations that empower young girls. Its success expanded to Los Angeles where Osaka aims to ensure that Black, Asian and Latinx communities have more opportunities to engage in sports. The initiative has proven to be extremely successful. As such, Osaka began working within communities in Haiti, where her father is originally from.
Play Academy in Haiti
About 90% of Haitian adolescents report never having played a sport before. Fortunately, Play Academy has partnered with GOALS Haiti to reach this underrepresented demographic. Osaka believes in empowering young adolescents in Haiti to embrace diversity. The initiative has allowed for the construction of classrooms, tennis courts and it has sent many children abroad to expand and improve studies. Furthermore, Play Academy and GOALS Haiti aim to improve and advance youth leadership. Both organizations share the same goal of promoting gender equality through soccer and education while creating stronger and healthier communities in rural Haiti.
Naomi Osaka believes it is incredibly important to have women in leadership positions. Women including Michelle Obama and Kamala Harris are just a few leaders that have influenced Osaka in her life. She hopes athletes including herself and Serena Williams, who own National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) teams, will inspire young girls all around the world.
Osaka is improving gender equality worldwide by promoting a passion for sports and giving children opportunities to enjoy participating in sports. Osaka is unique as a Japanese national while directly resonating with Haitian communities. Acknowledging the importance of having role models, Osaka hopes that her and others’ work will help alleviate poverty. She also hopes it helps girls create a more equitable future while nurturing and inspiring the world’s next athletes.
– Mio Vogt
Photo: Flickr
Female Genital Mutilation in Cameroon
In the Central African nation of Cameroon, many women go about their daily lives as one might expect to see in most other cities across the world. From Douala in the southern region to the capital city of Yaounde, all the way up north toward the smaller, old historical city of N’Gaoundéré, life is beautiful, diverse and unique. However, the practice of female genital mutilation remains a prevalent risk for far too many women. This affliction affects women of varying ages across different tribes, regions and nations of Africa. The performance of female genital mutilation is a crime in Cameroon. Despite this, the country has not completely eliminated the practice, although women in Cameroon live in safer environments than most of their continental neighbors.
Rates of FGM in Cameroon
Female genital mutilation has a long history across different parts of the world, including Africa, Asia and Australia. Groups across these regions generally practice its application for sociocultural, sexual, possessive or coercive purposes. Its function remains a cruel blight upon the estimated 200 million people it afflicts and disfigures globally. Today, FGM most commonly exists across various African nations. Girls between the ages of 5 and 9 years old routinely experience the practice.
Yet, Cameroon’s FGM numbers are markedly better than its neighbors. This is especially impressive for a nation with approximately 27 million people with a median age of just under 19 years old. One reason for Cameroon’s lower FGM numbers in comparison with other nearby nations is that it has made efforts to diminish FGM since the 1980s. However, FGM is still a prevalent issue in Cameroon that requires attention.
The Persistence of FGM
Cameroon established the National Action Plan to combat FGM in 2011 and founded the Department for the Promotion and Protection of the Family and Children’s Rights in 2012. Meanwhile, it also instigated the 2016 passage of the civil, “Penal Codes of the Republic of Cameroon.” However, neither mandate nor legislation exists to truly stop the practice of FGM. Non-governmental organizations, international pressure and awareness campaigns, as well as natural human development, have driven initiatives against FGM.
The practice remains accepted in specific cultures and regions. FGM is generally more popular in the southwest of Cameroon within tribes such as the Ejagham community or particular Muslim groups like the Fulbe, Haoussas and Arapshouas in the north. Surveys have shown that up to 20% of women in the most affected communities have experienced FGM, and 85% of FGM in Cameroon is Type I or Type II. This is improved from the country’s rates in the mid-1990s, which were closer to 40% of women. Meanwhile, surveys estimate that only about 1% of the national population now suffers the burden of this practice, which is similar to the estimated percentage roughly 20 years ago.
The Resurgence of FGM in Cameroon
While the fight against FGM continues, the COVID-19 crisis, civil conflicts, economic downturn and resource scarcity-related issues have hindered efforts to decrease FGM. In addition, cultural superstitions and dogma have proven to be rigid obstacles in the campaign to end FGM. Warning of these hurdles, 100 young women traveled to Yaounde in late January and early February 2021 to discuss the COVID-19 related resurgence of FGM. The people of the city and international human rights advocates were quick to listen to these women’s stories. Kousseri, a city to the north, is a barometer for this. It has recently witnessed an increased 8% of women who have suffered from some form of genital mutilation. As work and capital have been difficult to come by during the pandemic, some blame these economic conditions as severely as cultural ones for the national and regional increases in FGM.
Organizations Fighting to Eliminate FGM in Cameroon
While the United Nations and various humanitarian organizations are continuing to make an impact, there is still room for improvement. Long-time Cameroonian President Paul Biya and his government must continue to receive pressure to officially define, illegalize and constitutionally denounce FGM. Groups like the Orchid Project have been fighting the practice of FGM, while actively working to educate, donate and promote legislative innovations. Additionally, No Peace Without Justice formed in 1993 to combat various international atrocities, including this type of violence against women.
The Orchid Project secured the first-ever governmental commitment to end FGM globally from the United Kingdom’s Department of International Development, while No Peace Without Justice founded the Ban Female Genital Mutilation Campaign. This campaign successfully pushed for the U.N. to adopt Resolution 67/146 on Dec. 20, 2012, to increase global efforts to end FGM. This work has been critical in uniting and catalyzing different nations and peoples toward action and empathy and has pushed the U.N. for ever-increasing global action against this violence.
Cameroon has made progress regarding female genital mutilation over previous years, yet much of it has stagnated in recent years. Despite the negative impact of COVID-19, the nation is continuing to fight for progress. In order for Cameroon to reach its full potential, all of its citizens will have to receive equal respect, appreciation, love and empathy. This is what ending female genital mutilation in Cameroon will achieve. Only then will Cameroon be able to function as it should domestically and within the international community.
– Trent R Nelson
Photo: Flickr
Self-Sufficient Energy Production in Odanthurai
Why Odanthurai Converted to Self Sufficiency Energy
When farmer Kasiviswanathan Shanmugam was elected council president of Odanthurai, he became invested in the development of the community and village as a whole. Shanmugam fought for access to cleaner water, as well as better sanitation and roads. He then began realizing that implementing these additions, such as the installations of street lights, drinking water plants and filtering points, was increasing the village’s electricity bills. In an India Climate Dialogue interview, Shanmugam admitted that “the electricity bill was only INR 2,000 (USD $30) when I joined, and it increased to INR 150,000 (USD $2,220) in just two years.”
Shanmugam realized that change was necessary in order to sustain Odanthurai without causing extensive electricity bills. In the long run, clean energy would allow for a reduction in power bills. Electricity bills were making up 60% of the council’s expenses. This was a hindrance that prevented them from implementing any other developmental changes. Shanmugam began looking into alternative means of energy.
Implementing Clean Energy in Odanthurai
The first change Shanmugam made in Odanthurai was to replace the electricity-run water pump with a biomass gasifier. The resulting cost showed a reduction from the previous cost by almost 70%. This was a significant cutback from the state of the village’s electricity beforehand. Additionally, Shanmugam established two solar lights in Odanthurai. This was a step toward renewable energy that saved the village a total of 5000 INR.
The success of biogas and solar energy bolstered interest in exploring alternatives for electricity. Eventually, the council bought a windmill. The resulting energy that the windmill created was enough to sell to the state as well as pay off the local villages’ bank loans. Shanmugam’s statement on the self-sufficient energy production that he helped to effectuate was simply, “[The village councils] in India should take steps to address development on their own. If this can be done in Odanthurai, it can be done anywhere in India.”
Clean Energy’s Role in Poverty Reduction
While clean energy such as biogas, solar and wind energy is important for the environment, it also has a strong link to poverty reduction. The cost of installing electricity in the village was infringing on their budget for developmental changes. Using clean energy, which reduces power bills, can help alleviate poverty by allowing impoverished communities to focus on other necessary improvements such as hygiene and education.
According to a 2015 report by Synapse Energy, harnessing renewable energy allowed the state of California to save more than $15 million in the first six months. This can be similarly applied to other regions in the world, as the long-term costs are proven to significantly decline over time. As a result, villages can focus on areas that need further development without spending a majority of their budget on electricity bills.
Organizations Providing Assistance
While Shanmugam and the village council were able to implement self-sufficient energy production in Odanthurai, other activists and organizations are also taking action toward advocating for clean energy. Solar Electric Light Fund (SELF) is a non-governmental organization that provides solar energy to underprivileged regions around the world. SELF points out that 14% of the global population lacks energy access, which is a whopping 0.9 billion people. Since 1996, SELF has conducted its projects in about 25 countries around the world. Some of their notable projects include providing excess energy from solar vaccine refrigerators to power medical equipment. It also has been improving online learning in South America and powering telemedicine in the Amazon rainforest.
Self-sufficient energy production in Odanthurai acts as a powerful example to the rest of the world. Clean energy has the power to change the world and alleviate poverty. It is time for other communities and countries to look toward self-sufficient energy options and see how they can improve the lives of their people.
– Esha Kelkar
Photo: Unsplash
Organizations Ending Maternal Mortality in Developing Countries
Medecins Sans Frontieres/Doctors Without Borders (MSF)
In 1971, 13 French doctors and journalists founded Medecins Sans Frontieres, commonly known around in English as Doctors Without Borders. Their goal in founding the organization was to be able to cross borders to get to patients in need of medical help. At the time, doctors often couldn’t reach victims of war and natural disasters. Developing governments were unstable and hesitant to allow government-sanctioned doctors from foreign countries into their lands.
At the Domiz refugee camp in Northern Iraq, MSF has set up a special clinic where mothers can receive medical care before, during and after giving birth. Where mothers once had no choice but to give birth on the dirt floors of their tents, they now have a clean environment with ample access to medicine and professional help. As of 2018, MSF provided assistance in more than 3,400 births and given more than 27,400 consultations from the clinic.
MSF responds to the “three delays.” These are potentially deadly delays in deciding to seek care, delays in reaching a healthcare facility and delays in receiving proper care at the facility. According to its website, MSF assisted in 1.1 million births from 2013-2017, including 107,000 cesarean sections. From 2008-2015, 56% of the C-sections MSF performed took place in active conflict settings. Wars and conflict make it even more difficult to get medicine and care for mothers who need it.
MSF helps locate services and connect them with patients. In areas where there are fewer resources, they send mobile clinics to provide care and move patients to hospitals if needed. The organization also provides treatment and care to pregnant mothers fighting infections such as malaria and cholera. Pregnancies affected by infectious diseases are more likely to end in stillborn babies, amid a host of other complications that can put both mother and child at risk.
The International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO)
FIGO held its first meeting on July 26, 1954, where founding member Professor Hubert de Watteville presented the organization’s mission. Among other things, the mission statement lists “to further the attainment, by all appropriate means, of a higher level of physical and mental health of women, mothers and their children” as one of the organization’s goals. A significant part of this is treating complications that arise in pregnancy and the birthing process.
Postpartum hemorrhaging (PPH) is the leading cause of maternal mortality in most countries. FIGO’s Save the Mothers initiative works specifically to fight PPH. Even the most severe PPH can receive effective treatment. One option to treat PPH is a hormone called oxytocin. If a mother is still bleeding significantly after giving birth, doctors can use oxytocin to help the muscles contract. This helps the body stop the bleeding on its own. However, oxytocin needs to be kept cold, usually at 2 to 7 degrees Celsius depending on the manufacturer. This can make it even more difficult to get it to mothers in hot, humid climates.
FIGO has pushed for the use of a new, more heat-stable drug to treat PPH. It’s called carbetocin, and it doesn’t need to be kept in the cold. Doctors have also found that carbetocin is more effective than oxytocin in treating PPH. Carbetocin is just one of many tools at a doctor’s disposal as they treat dying mothers. FIGO is currently focusing its work on carbetocin in Kenya and India.
There is no denying that the number of mothers lost each year to preventable deaths is far too high. But there are organizations ending maternal mortality. With the work they do, the lives of countless mothers and children can be saved.
– Holly Dorman
Photo: Flickr
The Johannesburg Zero-Waste Grocery Bus
From Idea to Bus
The idea of a mobile grocery store was imagined by founder Ilka Stein and her team at the social enterprise ForReal. Starting in 2020, Stein and the 12 young volunteers of the ForReal team transformed an old bus into a mobile grocery store in just three months. Inside the “skhaftin bus,” metal containers are filled with dry foods, such as lentils, black beans, oats, samp, spices and brown sugar. The concept of the skhaftin bus is to bring your own “skhaftin,” a South African slang word for “lunchbox,” and fill it with the items you need. In addition to dry foods, the Johannesburg zero-waste grocery bus has paired up with Bertrams Inner City Farm to provide fresh local produce, bread, juices and sauces. Stein believes that this bus will provide many locals with access to nutritious food in an affordable and eco-friendly way.
Fill Up with Food
The Johannesburg zero-waste grocery bus plans on operating three days a week. During these three days, customers can come to the bus to pick up needed food. Procedurally, the inner-city residents bring their skhaftin and enter the front of the bus, spoon out dry goods from metal containers, pick up desired produce and finally head to the register. At the register, the customer pays according to the weight of the skhaftin and leaves through the back of the bus. Not only is it a quick food store, but it is also an environmentally conscious store.
Customers bring their own containers, which promote a plastic-free shopping experience. Additionally, the products are placed in metal tins to avoid the unnecessary use of plastic. The concept of fill-it-yourself versus pre-packaged amounts saves people from overbuying and eliminates food waste. These features aid in helping the planet as well as the poor. By eliminating excess packaging, Stein doesn’t have to pay the extra costs incurred from packaging and can lower the overall price of the skhaftin. Further, the take-what-you-need model saves the customers from paying for food that will just go to waste.
Money Matters
The affordable prices definitely draw people to the Johannesburg zero-waste grocery bus. Shoppers find they can typically get more food for less money when buying from the bus versus the local grocery store. This has been a major source of relief for those unable to find a job, especially during COVID-19 and its consequential high unemployment rates.
The Johannesburg zero-waste grocery bus provides job opportunities in addition to providing affordable food to combat poverty. Currently, Stein employs three young people from the local area to work on the bus. Stein also ensures that the bus is mindful of the surrounding businesses. The team continues to test out new parking locations so as not to interfere with local shops. The bus aims to aid the local community fight against poverty in a contentious way.
Rolling Into the Future
The Johannesburg zero-waste grocery bus plans to keep its valuable service going even when COVID-19 is no longer part of the picture. Overall, this mobile grocery store is proving to be extremely beneficial to people of inner-city Johannesburg. The food is inexpensive, nutritious, unprocessed and free from single-use plastics. Ilka Stein and her team are actively helping alleviate poverty in South Africa, one lunchbox at a time.
– Lucy Gentry
Photo: Flickr
5 Organizations Helping India During COVID-19
The COVID-19 crisis in India has increased tremendously over the past few months, with few signs of decline. With more than 21 million people infected, hospitals are being overrun and are forced to turn the infected away. In addition, mass supplies of oxygen are running short. However, some organizations are helping people through to the other end of this crisis. Here are five organizations helping India during COVID-19. These organizations provide food, oxygen, medical supplies and personal protection equipment (PPE) to those in need.
5 Organizations Helping India During COVID-19
Moving Forward
These five organizations helping India during COVID-19 are ensuring millions find relief during this ongoing crisis. Without continued support, COVID-19 cases in the country will likely continue to rise. Moving forward, it is imperative that more organizations step up and provide aid to those in need.
– Simran Pasricha
Photo: Flickr
How a Memoir Shows Kenya’s Richness and Poverty
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o is a writer and academic from Kenya. His story shows the poverty and richness of the world in his childhood memoir “Dreams in a Time of War.” He begins the book about the escape that the act of reading provided him, how it metaphorically satiated his appetite when food was scarce. From his humble beginnings to his role as a human rights activist, scholar and writer, Thiong’o’s life charts a remarkable story that one must dissect to believe. Thiong’o’s story and work illuminate Kenya’s richness and poverty.
About Kenya
Colonizers named the country after Mount Kenya, Africa’s second-largest mountain. Colonized by Europe (like many African states), it is home to over 40 million people. Tanzania, Uganda, Somalia, Ethiopia and South Sudan border it and it boasts the third-largest economy in sub-Saharan Africa.
Although it has experienced poverty reduction over the past many years, around 38% of Kenya still lives in poverty, according to 2019 statistics. “The urban poverty rate remained statistically unchanged, and in fact, the absolute number of urban poor increased from 2.3 million to 3.8 million due to high population growth.” The Kenya of Thiong’o’s youth included war, political fodder and burgeoning national independence. The country first experienced WWII, and then the Mau Mau uprising, a war between the British and the Kenya Land and Freedom Army. The story of his education turned out to be emblematic of Kenya’s richness and poverty.
About Thiong’o
He was one of 24 children of his father and four wives. His childhood is an eye-opening blend of scarcity and wonder. Books and literature fed him but he lacked further knowledge. This, he found in his dreams and travels. In England, he studied at the University of Leeds and published his first two novels, “Weep Not, Child” and “The River Between.”
Soon after, Thiong’o had a transformative experience deconstructing the effects of colonization in his country. He began criticizing government interference in university settings and the English department’s lack of cultural relativism. His sustained denunciation of cultural and political matters in Kenya became the reason for his imprisonment under the Public Security Act. This was “for his involvement with a communal theater in his home village.”
Upon his release, he and his family went into exile. They spent the next two decades raising awareness of both indigenous African literature and the political situation in Africa. He went on to teach at Bayreuth, Yale, NYU and UC Irvine. He highlighted Kenya’s richness and poverty on a scholarly and literary level.
His Memoir
After more than 40 years of writing novels and plays, Thiong’o released what he termed a childhood memoir. “Dreams in a Time of War” chronicles both his youth and that of Kenya’s struggle for independence, legitimacy and homeostasis. In his book, he muses about his academic journey, which took him from Kamiriithu to London and the United States and back again.
It details his first train journey, first doting mentor and future dreams. Throughout the 250-page work, one comes to understand a mechanism of Kenya’s richness and poverty; there exists an intuitive work ethic melded with colonial history both of which fight against indigenous culture. Colonization left as a legacy, without proper dismantling of systems of oppression, leaves the hope for serious autonomy of people and culture difficult to maintain.
“Dreams” narrates the devastation of war and the tediousness of colonial bureaucracy. It follows a child on the outskirts of Nairobi enduring poverty. The child finds inspiration to travel to school, educate himself and dream of a life constructed from literature. The transformative effects of the stories he lived and read are similar to the story that his life tells, a circuitous and tireless hero’s journey that is as tragic in parts as it is magnificent in its whole.
Sharing His Story
The book represents a snapshot of a very difficult reality masked by childish wonder. If one wants to understand how a child might react to an environment of colonialism, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o’s memoir is the place to begin. The George Padmore Institute has archived The Committee for the Release of Political Prisoners in Kenya, of which Thiong’o was an active participant for many years and whose goal was to highlight injustices against citizens, including Thiong’o.
Kenya is a country firmly entrenched in the African economy, thus experiencing triumphs and struggles. Thiong’o’s memoir can teach the world about Kenya’s richness and poverty. It tells the story of a person living in extreme poverty who refuses to concede the human right to dream. It is in this paradox that the book proves transcendent.
– Spencer Daniels
Photo: Flickr
Vietnam Rice Farming App To Protect Against Poverty
Rice and Salt Water
Vietnam is one of the world’s biggest rice producers. These rice farmers depend on certain environmental conditions to take place in order to produce their influential yield. If natural variables are out of alignment, an entire season’s crop can go to waste. Without a successful crop, the livelihood of farmers is put at risk and they can easily slip into poverty. Thankfully, a Vietnam rice farming app was designed to keep rice farmers aware of precisely how their paddies are doing.
The smartphone app is helpful for farmers all across Vietnam, including in the Mekong Delta. The Mekong Delta is a vast expanse in the southern part of Vietnam where the majority of the country’s farming and fishing occurs. The pronounced wet and dry seasons affect the delta greatly since it’s a very low-lying area. During the wet season, there is plenty of fresh rainwater that fills the rivers. In the dry season, rivers are not filled with rainwater, so seawater laden with salt flows into them. A high saltwater content in rice fields can make the roots of the rice inefficient at absorbing water and can kill the plant. Regulating the salt content is a crucial aspect of being a rice paddy farmer. The Vietnam rice farming app aims to help local farmers monitor salt levels among its various other features to protect farms.
Impact of the App
Technology is offering a simple solution to the problem. The Vietnamese government, in conjunction with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), launched a mobile app that provides farmers with information about the state of water in their rice paddies. This Vietnam rice farming app reports data collected by various sensors placed on farms across the Mekong Delta to each app user.
This Vietnam rice farming app gets information to the farmers quickly, which helps the farmers to make the necessary changes before it’s too late. Farmers can easily check the app for updates on the water quality in their rice paddies, such as the water’s salinity, pH, alkalinity and tidal water levels. This information helps farmers to prevent their crops from going to waste. For example, when the app reports salinity being too high, farmers know they must pump fresh water into the fields.
Before this mobile app, farmers were only getting one out of the usual three harvests annually. During a salinity wave, 300,000 hectares of rice fields were lost. But due to the implementation of the sensors and tracking abilities, the next salinity wave brought only 21,000 hectares of damage. This Vietnam rice farming app is protecting farmers from the costly reality of a ruined crop.
Of Poverty and Rice
The Vietnam rice farming app has a broad impact. About half of Vietnam’s 47 million labor force workers engage in agriculture and a poor harvest could prove detrimental to many Vietnamese people. Many in Vietnam don’t have savings and live a subsistence lifestyle, which can make any financial blow very serious. This is particularly true for the nearly 70% of the country lives in rural areas where poverty is especially concerning. The rate of rural poverty is around three times the urban poverty rate. By reducing the variables and uncertainty in the farming process with an app, Vietnamese farmers can feel empowered and less threatened about falling into extreme poverty. Utilizing this technology in agricultural practices can help save the rice paddies and protect against poverty in Vietnam.
– Lucy Gentry
Photo: Flickr