Archive for category: Education

Information and stories on education.

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6 Facts About Mental Health in Brazil

Mental Health in Brazil
Brazil, a country that many know for the luscious biodiversity in the Amazon rainforest, comprises more than 211 million people. Among the Brazilian population, around 68% of people fall between the ages of 15 and 64, a target age range for both anxiety disorders and depression. Brazil leads in the world in terms of anxiety cases and ranks fifth for cases of depression, but access to public health support for treatment remains low. Here are six facts about anxiety, depression and mental health in Brazil.

6 Facts About Anxiety, Depression and Mental Health in Brazil

  1. Citizens consider mental health in Brazil taboo. Individuals in Brazil often underestimate or even ignore the mental health suffering of those who are battling anxiety or depression. The Brazilian culture does not place an emphasis on mental health as Brazilians see the need to focus on treating physical ailments rather than seeking care for mental issues. Consequently, in high-stress environments such as workplaces, employers do not recognize the need to take time off to prioritize mental health. Moreover, doctors handle the majority of patient concerns, leaving out the possibility of allowing a psychologist or psychiatrist to make informed health decisions.
  2. The focus on traditional work culture exacerbates anxiety and depression. Traditional Brazilian work culture values workaholism. Although a large percentage of the population is aging, many individuals in Brazil remain employed and take on long shifts despite the burden it places on their quality of life. People believe the prevailing notion that social status and appearance provide a place in society. As a result, working long hours equate to limited time for family, friends and activities that would otherwise decrease the stress associated with one’s job. For example, with the COVID-19 pandemic, essential workers are facing higher rates of anxiety and depression given that the fear of contagion is their main source of stress.
  3. Worsening socioeconomic status increases the prevalence of mental health issues. Individuals growing up in households facing low socioeconomic status tend to have a higher risk of becoming depressed or experiencing an anxiety disorder. A study evaluated a cohort of young subjects between 10 and 18 years old and looked at the onset of symptoms of depression as well as their relationship to the socioeconomic status of the previous generation. The study concluded that there was a connection between family financial problems at an early age and depression at 18 years old as a chronic cycle of adversities can become difficult to eradicate.
  4. Adolescents between 15 and 17 are at a heightened risk of experiencing mental health issues. Approximately 7-12% of Brazilian children and adolescents suffer from a mental health issue and almost half of these cases are severe, meaning they require mental health care. Not only are anxiety disorders and depression highly stigmatized in Brazil but adolescents already face a period of frailty while adapting to physical and psychological changes that come with age. In fact, the search for identity and insertion into the world at this age creates a great burden of anxiety. When coupled with food insecurity, low socioeconomic status and limited education, the risk of mental health issues rapidly increases.
  5. Limited access to education affects mental health. In Brazil, adolescents whose mothers had fewer years of schooling had a higher prevalence of depressive and anxiety disorders than adolescents whose mothers had more than eight years of schooling. Additionally, the lower a mother’s level of education, the greater chance that the students would feel lonely, have fewer friends and have trouble falling asleep due to constant worrying. Socioeconomic status also plays a role in determining whether or not a child can attend a school with a promising future in Brazil. Children of middle and upper-class families can afford the high tuition necessary to attend private schools, whereas families living in the country’s low-income housing, known as favelas, must send their children to public schools. In an attempt to reduce the education gap between public and private schools, the Foundation Institute for Economic Research founded a program called Tem+Matemática. The program joined students in public schools with tutors from similar socioeconomic backgrounds to prove that the educational challenges are surmountable.
  6. Declining mental health in Brazil remains a difficult problem to eradicate, however, some are taking measures to lessen its intensity. Through reform on a community basis, care continues to shift from institutions to community services and mental health services emerged in the form of psychosocial care centers, known as CAPS. The community services that CAPS offers help those with persistent and severe mental health issues through both individual and group assistance in the form of actions, including therapeutic workshops, sports activities and family assistance. Brazil has grown its number of CAPS centers substantially since 1998, demonstrating a considerable expansion of access to mental health care. By fostering a sense of social inclusion, Brazilians struggling to cope with mental health issues can find a new sense of hope and support.

Looking Ahead

Although Brazil ranks fifth worldwide for depressive cases, organizations such as the Center for Valuing Life (CVV) are working toward improving outcomes for those suffering from depression. Given that the second-leading cause of death among Brazilians aged between 15 and 29 is suicide, the CVV provides those suffering from suicidal thoughts with assistance over the phone. To ensure accessibility, the service is available 24 hours a day. The CVV affirms that its services have helped with cases every 43 minutes, promoting a sense of support in Brazil.

– Sarah Frances
Photo: Flickr

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Defining and Eradicating Child Poverty in Kenya

Child Poverty in Kenya
Charitable organizations and the Kenyan government have long recognized child poverty as a dire issue. Due to this recognition, Kenyan child poverty rates have steadily reduced since 2008. Meanwhile, governmental policies and constitutional highlights, along with funding and research headed by establishments like UNICEF, have improved the lives of countless children within Kenyan communities. UNICEF has conducted extensive research on the main causes of child poverty in Kenya. Its hope is that this research will be a basis for child poverty reduction progress. Here are some of the main contributors that UNICEF identifies as factors relating to child poverty rates in Kenya.

4 Major Definers of Child Poverty in Kenya

  1. Poor Sanitation: Children living in Kenya often do not have access to proper plumbing facilities. In fact, more than half of individuals younger than 18 still lack this basic resource.
  2. Lack of Clean Water: Children, especially those living in rural areas, lack access to water that is clean enough to drink. There are also many schools throughout Kenya that do not have drinking water for their students, which creates a high health risk.
  3. Lack of Education: Around 25% of the children living in Kenya have not been able to gain a decent education as of 2014. Along with this, many children who were attending school were registered at the wrong learning level.
  4. Insufficient Housing: Many children in Kenya live in housing that has no insulation or ventilation. Lack of ventilation, in particular, can lead to harmful indoor air pollution as a result of inefficient cooking utilities.

The Basic Education Act

The government of Kenya has taken many efforts to help with the eradication of child poverty over the years. The 2010 Kenyan Constitution made a point to emphasize that children have the right to basic needs, including shelter, health care and food. It further states that children should have access to free education at the basic level. Since 2010, the Kenyan government-endorsed programs along with the passing of the Basic Education Act in 2013, ensured that educational equality truly occurs within the country. Due to this emphasis, the number of educated children rose by 11% by the year 2014.

The Food and Nutrition Policy

In 2011, the Food and Nutrition Policy emerged in Kenya with the objective of creating food equity for all citizens. This policy has helped improve food access within the country by making it more abundant and making sure that Kenyan citizens receive education about proper food consumption. For infants, the nutrition policy targeted the reduction of women’s workloads so that they could be more available to breastfeed their children. Companies began vigorously marketing breast milk substitutes because of this policy. For children in school, the 2011 policy ensured that government-run educational facilities provided meals during school days. This policy also established programs for young women in need of nutrient supplementation before pregnancy.

Kenya’s National Nutrition Action Plan

Kenya’s National Nutrition Action Plan occurred from 2012 to 2017. This plan focused on the education of governmental policymakers by emphasizing the correlation between food security and the many factors that contribute to child poverty in Kenya. It also highlighted nutrition as a fundamental and constitutional human right.

One key initiative that the National Nutrition Plan promoted was awareness of the benefits of lobbying for greater nutritional funding. This plan included 11 key elements, all of which highlighted the improvement of nutritional status and education on proper nutrition for women and children in Kenya. This plan further ensured that each of its key elements received implementation and support through various agencies, with government planning and budgeting processes accounting for each agency. A result of these implemented strategies included a raise from 39% to 67% of children eating three or more food groups in a day.

Save the Children’s Efforts

Save the Children is a program that has worked toward the direct relief of child poverty in Kenya since 1950. Along with a variety of resources providing services, the organization has worked to establish and grow women and youth programs in Kenya. These programs directly improve income within households, job prospects for children’s futures and overall nutrition among children. Save the Children has also worked to help improve livestock conditions. The prosperity of livestock has a large correlation with sustainable incomes for many households in Kenya. These households are then able to provide stability for their developing children.

Sustainable Development Objectives

While much work has already occurred to help solve child poverty in Kenya, organizations like the U.N. are working to fund initiatives that support its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in order to help eradicate all child resource injustices by 2030 and reduce global poverty overall. With ongoing commitments to upholding the rights of children in Kenya, the nation can reduce child poverty.

– Olivia Bay
Photo: Flickr

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ActionAid Works to Reduce Period Poverty in Malawi

Period Poverty in Malawi
For young women in Malawi, their first period means scavenging for some spare cloth, clean paper or even a banana peel–anything to create a facsimile of a pad or tampon. In countries like Malawi, something as commonplace as a period or sanitary protection alters the course of a woman’s life. Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world with approximately 50% of its people living below the poverty line. Moreover, for most households, a single sanitation product is equivalent to a day’s working wage. Simply put, it is often not even a consideration to purchase menstrual sanitary products when the compromise would be forfeiting affording food or water. As a result, period poverty in Malawi is prevalent.

COVID-19 has exacerbated period poverty in many countries, but ActionAid is fighting for women’s rights and the end of period poverty in Malawi. ActionAid is an international charity that emerged in 1972 and works on the frontlines with women and girls living in poverty around the world. It has been working to provide aid in Malawi since 1990.

Period Poverty in Malawi and Education

The inability of women and girls to access sanitary menstruation products has led to an increase in infection, disease and a lack of education among women in developing countries. Only 29% of girls stay in school up until reaching Standard Eight of their education.

Around 50% of school-age girls in Africa do not have access to sanitary products. When young women are able to go to school without the hindrance of insufficient sanitary products, the quality of life for women and families in developing countries increases exponentially. Women’s education has a positive correlation to decreased fertility rates, infant mortality rates and maternal mortality rates. A U.N. study ascertained that educating women serves as a critical factor in determining childhood survival rates. In short, tackling period poverty can in turn reduce other side effects of global poverty.

ActionAid’s Work to Eradicate Period Poverty in Malawi

In April 2020, ActionAid donated MK150 million to districts in Malawi that COVID-19 hit the hardest. It also donated hygiene materials such as sanitary towels, soap and clean undergarments. For the past few years, ActionAid has spearheaded projects that train women and girls on how to make their own hygienic and reusable sanitary pads. Poverty causes period poverty but community stigmas regarding menstruation can also women and girls to miss out on school. In fact, UNICEF has estimated that one in 10 African girls of schooling age does not attend school during menstruation. Young women in Africa find it difficult to continue school or attend school during their period due to the burden that comes with having to constantly wash and reuse unsuitable sanitary protection.

In addition to equipping women and girls with the skills necessary to make their own sanitary pads, ActionAid also facilitates girls’ clubs and safe spaces in schools that provide information and assistance. ActionAid safe spaces exist across Africa and provide a private space where women can receive medical help, hygiene kits and emotional support. ActionAid has changed the lives of women and girls in Malawi for the better. When asked how ActionAid has impacted her, one 17-year-old Malawi girl replied, “I am able to stand in class without being conscious of what is behind me and can even play netball. I’m really happy and [ActionAid] helps a lot.”

While ActionAid is not the only organization combating period poverty in Malawi, the work it has accomplished has already transformed the stigma. Moreover, it has improved how people in Malawi treat menstruation and women’s rights.

– Nina Forest
Photo: Flickr

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Pratham USA in India: Helping Children Learn

Pratham USA in IndiaIndia is a country in Southern Asia that has struggled with education. In India, millions of children are at risk of illiteracy. In fact, 29% of students drop out of school before finishing elementary education. Those in poverty are less likely to receive a quality education, especially in a society like India where caste systems are still present. Impoverished children are also more likely to marry young and enter the workforce instead of completing school. Their poverty causes them to miss out on a quality education necessary to succeed in future careers. Without training or education, people are more likely to work low-paying jobs, creating a cycle of poverty for generations to come. Pratham USA in India is an organization that is committed to increasing education in India.

Pratham USA

Pratham USA is an organization that provides education to children in India, a country where many children go without learning opportunities. Pratham USA also provides job training for uneducated and underprivileged men and women. Fewer than 5 million Indian youth had access to formal job training between 2014 and 2015. In addition, at least 130 million Indian youth will enter the workforce in the next five years but many of them will not have formal job training or a full education.

Pratham USA realizes the connection between poverty and education, which is why its mission is “every child in school and learning well.” The organization builds schools and sends teachers over to India to teach children and adults who would not access these learning opportunities otherwise. Pratham USA is one of the “most successful non-governmental education organizations in India.” It provides training for new teachers, builds schools and education systems and has a cost-efficient system of teaching that other nations can easily replicate. At least 14 countries use Pratham’s Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) to ensure children receive a quality education.

Pratham’s Annual Gala

Every year in October, Pratham USA holds a gala in the U.S. state of Chicago. Borgen Project writer Seona Maskara was fortunate enough to attend the gala on October 6, 2018. Surrounded by businessmen and prominent members of the Indian-American community, Maskara learned about what Pratham’s purpose is and how Pratham USA in India helps to educate disadvantaged children. At the gala, four speakers took the stage: a business supporter of Pratham USA, members of Pratham USA’s teen board, the president of Pratham USA and a recipient of one of the many programs Pratham USA put in place to help educate the children and women of India.

The unnamed beneficiary of a Pratham USA program spoke about her childhood in a small village where female education is highly discouraged. She initially lived with her mother, siblings and abusive father. Her father died when she was young, leaving her family in poverty. Her family struggled to survive on 2400 rupees (about $32) a month. Her mother was uneducated and could not secure a higher-paying job, demonstrating the link between a lack of education and poverty. The beneficiary speaker saw the ties as well. As a result, she dreamed of nothing more than to complete high school. Before she could realize her dream, her house burned down. She ended up in a hospital with severe burns and was unable to finish school.

Within time, she attended a Pratham skills training camp. Afterward, she secured a job as an in-home nurse with a salary of 12,000 rupees per month — five times the amount she and her family lived off of when she was a child. With this salary, the beneficiary speaker began to live independently and provide for her mother and siblings. In this way, Pratham can change the lives of an entire family.

Pratham USA’s Goal

After opening in 1995, Pratham USA’s first goal was to bring education to Mumbai slums; it has since expanded. It works with both national and state governments to implement new and innovative teaching methods and opportunities to make sure every child has the chance to attend school. The organization focuses on implementing learning into the structure of the community by sending volunteers to teaching school. It also trains new teachers to make sure its legacy is long-lasting.

Examples of Pratham’s innovative teaching strategies include teaching to a child’s ability instead of age, creating libraries for the whole community and implementing technology strategies. To increase girls’ education, Pratham implemented a Second Chance program, which allows older girls to receive a secondary education. It also has five-day-long residential camps for girls whose home life would not allow them to go to school every day. For adults who did not receive an education when they were young, Pratham also provides vocational training, lifting people out of poverty by training them for skilled jobs.

Impact in Numbers

“Pratham USA reached 8 million children” in the 2017/18 school year alone. That same year, the organization supported more than 15 million children through government-supported literacy and learning programs. Pratham USA taught an additional 900,000 children through its own learning programs. Also, in that year, 26,000 people received vocational training. Pratham educational interventions improved literacy rates by 50% with a 45% increase in number recognition. Girls’ graduations increased by 30% with Pratham intervention. Graduates of vocational training also see success as they are often able to triple their monthly income up to $200 after training.

Pratham USA in India helps to advance the educational system in India, giving children access to quality education. With the work of Pratham USA and other nonprofits, India can begin to strengthen its education system. Quality education will help children lift themselves out of poverty through higher-paying, specialized jobs.

– Seona Maskara
Photo: Flickr

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Every Last Child Campaign — The Basic Facts

“Every Last Child” Save the Children believes that children have the right to grow up healthy, educated and safe. Since its beginning in 1919, the organization has worked in more than 100 countries. In 2019 alone, the organization reached more than 144 million children globally. One of the organization’s campaigns, Every Last Child, has allowed Save the Children to increase its reach to especially vulnerable populations of children around the world.

The Start

Save the Children introduced the global campaign to the world on April 26, 2016. The campaign strives to reach children who do not have adequate access to health care, education and protection. It works to end preventable deaths among children. The specific goal is to avoid at least 600,000 preventable child deaths. Another facet of the campaign is aiding children in receiving a basic quality education. The quantified objective for this goal is to help 50 million more children gain access to education. A 15-year time frame, 2030, is the target date for these missions. So far, the campaign has helped 15 million of the world’s “excluded children” gain access to life-saving health care and quality education.

“Excluded Children”

Every Last Child focuses on “excluded children,” defined as children “not benefiting from recent global progress in social well-being, particularly in health and learning because of a toxic mix of poverty and discrimination.” The campaign did research to establish the extent of exclusion associated with certain groups of children. It found that persecution and discrimination based on beliefs impacted 400 million children with ethnic and religious backgrounds. Further, children with disabilities are four times more likely to experience physical and sexual violence and neglect when compared to their peers.

Three Guarantees

The campaign calls on leaders across the world to make three guarantees for all children. The first guarantee is the establishment of fair finance. The Every Last Child campaign describes this as “sustainable financing of and free access to essential services.” This includes escalating public investment in high-quality health and educational services to increase access for all children.

The second guarantee is to establish equal treatment by putting an end to discriminatory policies and norms. This is to help eliminate bias that negatively impacts minority groups.

The third guarantee is to increase the accountability of decision-makers by amplifying the voices of excluded groups in policymaking. This will ensure the allocation of community budgets positively impact excluded groups of children. These three promises help contribute to the mission of the Every Last Child campaign.

Tailored Strategies

The campaign customizes its efforts to fit each country’s needs. While many countries experience similar issues, not all of them are equal in the extent of assistance necessary. In order to reach these vulnerable populations of children, the issues the campaign addresses vary in each country.

For example, in Niger, the Every Last Child campaign advocates for the adoption of policies that outlaw early child marriage and support access to quality education. In Yemen, the campaign fights for the protection of children affected by conflict. In Kosovo, the campaign promotes access to quality services in the education and health industries for children, particularly those with disabilities.

The goal is to make these services and information about the services available to parents and families in the country to create greater access. Customizing its goals allows the Every Last Child campaign to focus on the most pressing issues affecting each country.

Since its beginning in 2016, Save the Children’s Every Last Child campaign has committed to put an end to the exclusion of vulnerable populations of children. Through its research and advocacy efforts, the organization has helped to address the need to increase access to life-saving health care and quality education for children worldwide to ensure that no child is left out of the advancements of the world.

– Sara Holm
Photo: Flickr

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Housing in Guatemala: More Than A House

housing in GuatemalaGuatemala is a country rich with ancestral heritage and Indigenous peoples, but the poverty crisis has debilitated many of the citizens. Housing in Guatemala is undergoing a crisis, which has widened the housing gap to well over 1.8 million homes. With 54% of people living under the poverty line, housing access is a rarity. This also affects other major areas like sanitization, food security, finding jobs and accessing education. The main priorities of humanitarian organizations in Guatemala are housing, education and health care.

Bill McGahan

Bill McGahan is an Atlanta resident and involved community serviceman. McGahan is also the leader of an annual mission trip that takes high school students to create housing in Guatemala. The long-term commitment to building housing has also highlighted other areas of need. On the trips, students work alongside From Houses to Homes. The student volunteers spend their time holistically addressing the needs of Guatemalans, including health and education.

Housing

Housing in Guatemala is the essential building block to finding permanence and stability. Many Guatemalans live in inadequate housing, are homeless or depend on makeshift shelters built from gathered materials. Housing lessens the risk of diseases from fecal contamination, improves sanitation, strengthens physical security and provides warmth in winter months. These benefits are imperative to stabilizing external conditions and lessening poverty’s effects.

The mission trips each year incorporate the students from the very start of housing to the finishing touches. Each year the participants first raise the funds for building materials. Then the volunteers construct a house in as little as five days. At the end of the building projects, keys are handed to each family, which reflects a new reality for them. In this way, these students “don’t just build houses, they provide a home.”

Education

A home is so much more than four walls and a roof. It is the place to help grow and nurture individuals, including a safe space for learning. Children in Guatemala face constant challenges to their education. The average Guatemalan education lasts only 3.5 years, 1.8 years for girls. Nine out of 10 schools have no books. Accordingly, the literacy rate in rural Guatemala is around 25%. Education is an investment in breaking a pattern of poverty, which is an opportunity not afforded to many Guatemalan children.

Children pulled out of school work as child laborers in agriculture. This provides short-term benefits to families in terms of income but has a high cost in the future when finding work. Contributions to local schools have long-term paybacks for children and their families. Children can further their education, secure future employment and create stable homes for themselves and future generations.

Health Care

Housing in Guatemala is relevant to health as well. The goal is to solve homelessness by providing homes, not hospital beds. Access to quality health care is imperative to providing housing stability. Guatemala needs to improve its health services in order to solve its housing issue, especially since they lack effective basic health care.

Clinical care for Guatemalans is often inaccessible, particularly in rural areas with limited technology. With approximately 0.93 physicians per 1,000 people, there are extreme limitations for medical professionals to see patients. Even in getting basic nutrition training or vaccinations, Guatemalans are severely lacking necessary access. Basic health care is a priority that will be a long-term struggle, but each advancement will create higher levels of care and access for the many Guatemalans in need.

Guatemala is readjusting its approach to finding better access to housing, health care and education, all of which are important for a home. Humanitarians, like Bill McGahan, are finding solutions and implementing institutions that will uplift Guatemalans. Increased housing in Guatemala has been encouraging stability, prosperity and new outlooks on life. The country is seeing great progress in eliminating poverty, one home at a time.

– Eva Pound
Photo: Flickr

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5 Canadian Organizations for Indigenous Prosperity

Indigenous communities in Canada

The Canadian Constitution recognizes three Indigenous communities — First Nations, Métis, and Inuit. Here are five of the many Indigenous-led organizations in Canada, collectively working to create success and prosperity for Indigenous communities.

5 Canadian Organizations for Indigenous Prosperity

  1. First Nations Information Governance Centre – The First Nations Information Governance Centre (FNIGC) is working to achieve data sovereignty. With support from regional partners and a special mandate from the Assembly of First Nations’ Chiefs in Assembly (Resolution #48, December 2009), the FNIGC collects and uses data to “build culturally relevant portraits of the lives of First Nations people and the communities they live in.” Their motto, “our data, our stories, our future” reflects their vision of Indigenous stories being told by Indigenous people, for Indigenous people.
  2. Indspire – Indspire is using the gift of learning to help provide academic success and long-term prosperity with support through financial aid, scholarships/bursaries, awards, mentoring and physical resources.
  3. Aboriginal Financial Officers Association of Canada – Aboriginal Financial Officers Association of Canada (AFOA) is creating a community of Indigenous professionals by supporting successful self-determination through “improving the management skills of those responsible for the stewardship of Indigenous resources.” This includes aid in management, finance and governance.
  4. Reconciliation Canada – Reconciliation Canada facilitates the engagement of Indigenous and non-Indigenous people with meaningful conversations on reconciliation and the lived experiences of Indigenous people. They aim to inspire positive change and understanding. At present, the programs and initiatives offered by the charity are Reconciliation in Action: A National Engagement Strategy, Reconciliation Dialogue Workshops, interactive community outreach activities and Reconciliation Canada.
  5. First Nations Child and Family Caring Society – The Caring Society supports First Nations children, youth and families. The organization has been able to provide 250,000 services and products to Indigenous children by putting Indigenous children and families first.

These five organizations are just some of many who are working to support success and prosperity for Indigenous communities in Canada. Their work helps blaze a path for a brighter future for Indigenous people and the country alike.

– Jasmeen Bassi
Photo: Flickr

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Raspberry Pi Innovates Developing Countries

Raspberry Pi“Ciudad de Ariel” is an elementary school in the rural town of Duran, Ecuador. In this small school, people are studying a computer substitute that could change the world called Raspberry Pi. This life changing computer is a small chip that can fit in a hand.

The Technological Gap

For many developing countries, technology is out of the picture. The general growth in technology proficiency has evaded developing countries. They often cannot afford internet access and computers in all schools, so children and young adults suffer in technological skills. Furthermore, other challenges of poverty, like food insecurity and lack of water, take priority to learning how to use a computer.

The problem is that technology can actually provide large benefits for developing countries. The internet offers vast amounts of information and programming to serve any need. If developing countries have access to computers, the ability to decrease poverty levels can be more feasible. Unfortunately, most computers are specialized, expensive and hard to produce. Previously, developing countries lacked the budget for technology advancement and access. But now, the Raspberry Pi offers tech opportunities to people all over the world.

The Device

There are many unique aspects of the Raspberry Pi that separate it from normal computers. First, its price is affordable; it has a base cost of $35. This is significantly cheaper than any other computer chip on the market. As such, some schools in areas of poverty are using Raspberry Pis in their computer labs.

Another unique aspect of the Raspberry Pi is it’s small form. The Raspberry Pi 4, the most recent model, is only 3.37 inches high and 2.22 inches wide. An entire computer lab of Raspberry Pis can fit in a suitcase. Not only is the computer chip small, it is also incredibly light, weighing only 46 grams. Therefore, the Raspberry Pi is easily portable. This is an important factor as many schools in developing countries are in rural, hard-to-reach areas.

Finally, the Raspberry Pi is famous for its versatility. Most computers are made to do specific tasks. Whether it is running a server, rendering 3D graphics, or browsing the internet, each computer has distinct hardware for its purpose. The Raspberry Pi, on the other hand, is capable of handling almost any task. For example, it can be used as a traditional desktop computer, a server or as a basic computer chip to automate mechanical devices. This allows people to use the device for any function they need.

Due to the Raspberry Pi’s unique capabilities, it has the capability to be highly successful in advancing technology for developing countries.

Real-World Examples

A recent study found that the Raspberry Pi provides a cost-effective approach in building computer labs for schools in developing countries. The success of the pilot project conducted in the elementary school in Duran, Ecuador corroborated this finding. Computer labs have also been built in Cameroon and West Africa. It’s not an entire lab, but a project called Malinux Télé donated Raspberry Pis to children in Mali.

The computer has impacts beyond education. An automated loom was developed using a Raspberry Pi. The designers of this loom found it to be cheaper than traditional automated looms. Another project found a cheap way to purify water using a Raspberry Pi.

The little computer has been able to accomplish tremendous things. From computer labs in Ecuador and West Africa to automated looms and water purifiers, the Raspberry Pi has proven to be a force for good and can change how developing countries access technology.

– Evan Weber
Photo: Flickr

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Kandari is Providing Aid During COVID-19

Kandari is Providing Aid
The government of Bangladesh confirmed its first COVID-19 cases on March 8, 2020. As cases rapidly increased, so did the number of families living below the poverty line. Two months later, a second disaster struck — Cyclone Amphan. The United Nations projected that 500,000 families lost their homes. Moreover, it destroyed the structure of the Deluti Secondary School in Bangladesh, the only school within a 50-mile radius. Kandari, a local nonprofit, plans on rebuilding it with the help of volunteers and donations. Additionally, Kandari is providing aid pertaining to feeding families and providing quality education during the present challenges of COVID-19 and the destruction from Cyclone Amphan.

About Kandari

Afsara Alvee, a 27-year-old from Khulna, was living in the United States when her mother called and told her that she and Afsara’s younger brother received positive tests for COVID-19. In an interview with The Borgen Project, Afsara said that they were able to recover from home, but she knew there were many other families in Bangladesh suffering the same fate under worse conditions. In response, she founded Kandari, a nonprofit that provides resources to low-income and middle-class families that COVID-19 affected in Bangladesh.

“When their paycheck stops coming, that’s the time it hits,” Afsara said. “Because of their social status, it’s hard for them to ask for help. They never thought of going to a food bank because of the shame. But we can provide them food for at least a week or so.”

Kandari is providing aid by feeding families. Afsara oversees 17 volunteers who have been delivering food, including rice, lentils, chickpeas, oil and onions, to about 1,400 families since the start of the pandemic. Her goal is to reach 4,000 families but obtaining funding has been a challenge. When crowdfunding runs out, she spends her own money to keep Kandari’s efforts going.

The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Bangladesh reached 495,841 and 7,156 deaths on December 16, 2020, according to Johns Hopkins University. Although many countries were not prepared for a global pandemic, Bangladesh must also recover from Cyclone Amphan.

Providing Quality Education

Another way Kandari is providing aid, next to ensuring food security, is by working toward granting quality education. One in four people is illiterate in Bangladesh according to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics. Afsara said that children who must help their families with labor or have disabilities have rarely had access to education even before COVID-19 and Cyclone Amphan forced schools to close. Her proposed education program would help provide textbooks and lunches to children in orphanages or ones whose parents are day laborers.

Cyclone Amphan hit the Deluti Secondary School particularly hard. No other schools exist in a 50-mile radius and about 202 students attended the school before the pandemic. Kandari plans on rebuilding the school and has raised $865 of its $7,000 goal on GoFundMe.

“Our slogan is there is no tomorrow because there is no tomorrow. If you see that someone needs help, if you think something bad is going to happen, then you should do something today to prevent that,” Afsara said.

Plans for the Future

Kandari means “helmsman,” someone who would guide and work selflessly to reach a destination. Afsara hopes to extend her mission to other parts of the world as well.

“We don’t want to just help today, we want to help with something that’s going to impact that person who may impact the economy and definitely impact our whole society,” Afsara said.

Afsara’s latest project, A Touch of Warmth, will give hundreds of people on the streets of Bangladesh in Dhaka, Dinajpur, Rangpur, Jessore and Bandarban blankets to cope with the winter months. She said she is always looking for more volunteers and donations to contribute to Kandari’s ongoing efforts.

– Maya Gacina
Photo: Afsara Alvee, founder of Kandari

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5 Facts About Women’s Rights in Sri Lanka

Women’s Rights in Sri Lanka
The Sri Lankan civil war ended more than a decade ago, but the nation still feels the effects today. The Sri Lankan government tightened and expanded its authority among other aftershocks of this multi-decade war. These decades of instability coupled with a history of colonial rule created an uphill battle for women’s rights in Sri Lanka. Though women are making tantamount strides, women are up against a long history of instability and patriarchal rule. According to the U.N. Gender Inequality Index, Sri Lanka ranks 74th among 187 countries. While there is hope for a future of gender equality, women in Sri Lanka still lack representation in government and access to employment opportunities while suffering from cultural preconceptions of female roles. Here are five facts about women’s rights in Sri Lanka.

5 Facts About Women’s Rights in Sri Lanka

  1. World’s First Female Prime Minister: Sri Lanka elected the world’s first female Prime Minister. The people elected Sirima Bandaranaike as head of government in 1960. Sirima Bandaranaike entered into politics after the assassination of her husband Soloman Bandaranaike due to pressure from his party and the people. Critics who held the belief that a woman was incapable of running a political party described her as “unruffled.”
  2. Government Representation: Women have little representation in government. Sri Lanka ranks lowest for women’s participation in politics among South Asian Countries. Women have never exceeded 6% representation in parliament, with less than 5.8% elected in the 2015 election. Representation is even slimmer on the local level, with around 2% of women holding political office. Due to these numbers, U.N. Women has made strides to increase female political participation in government. Through financing from the Norwegian government, U.N. Women implemented a two-year program entitled Promoting Women’s Political Participation in Sri Lanka. The program supports gender-responsive budgeting, which requires the inclusion of women in political campaign budgeting and ensures that political party nominations are more inclusive of women.
  3. Universal Free Education: The initiation of universal free education in Sri Lanka in 1945 created educational opportunities for women, leading to huge increases in educational gender equality. In 1946, only 43.8% of women were literate as opposed to 70.1% of the male population. By 2001, 90% of the female population was literate in comparison to 93% of the male population. One can attribute this massive improvement to the requirement that teachers had to teach universal free schooling in the “mother tongue” of the student. Free education benefited females in particular because as long as school was not free, parents with limited resources would choose to educate the men in their families over the women. The statewide implementation of universal free education did away with the economic reasons for parents to keep their daughters at home.
  4. The Workforce Gender Gap: The workforce gender gap remains high. Despite rising levels of education, the majority of women in the workforce exist in the agricultural and domestic spheres. Many employment opportunities are reserved for male candidates due to a history of gender ideologies. Due to this culture, many women have experienced relegation as “supplementary earners” despite their education or others have consigned them to focus on household work because of views that it is “women’s work.”
  5. Maternal and Infant Mortality Rates: Maternal and infant mortality rates have significantly dropped since Sri Lanka’s independence. In the 1930s and 1940s, the Sri Lankan government established health units that provided community-based maternal and child care services for free throughout the country. The government also expanded the nationwide ambulance fleet and invested in training midwives in the 1960s. These sweeping efforts to mitigate maternal and infant mortality rates led to Sri Lanka reducing maternal deaths from nearly 2,000 per 100,000 live births to only 33 per 100,000 live births in 2015. The Sri Lankan government proposes that the country will reach a single-digit maternal mortality ratio in the next 10 years.

Looking Forward

There is a promise of a future of flourishment for women’s rights in Sri Lanka, given educational opportunities and the upward trend of female health outcomes. The Sri Lankan government invested in many programs in 2017 to promote gender equality such as the National Plan to Address Sexual and Gender-based Violence and the National Framework for Women-Headed Households. The government also implemented quotas for the percentage of women in the workplace and dedicated 25% of the positions in local public institutions for women to enhance political participation. Despite a long history of gender discrimination, the Sri Lankan government is making an important commitment to promoting women’s rights in Sri Lanka, providing hope for an equitable road forward.

– Tatiana Nelson
Photo: Wikipedia Commons