Archive for category: Global Poverty

Key articles and information on global poverty.

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10 Facts about Sanitation in Namibia

Sanitation in Namibia
Namibia suffers from a lack of sanitation, particularly in rural areas. Since 2006, the country has been working to improve sanitation levels through organizations that have provided increased access to facilities. In light of the COVID-19 outbreak, global sanitation and hygiene are more prominent than ever. How has sanitation in Namibia changed? How is the government responding to COVID-19? The following 10 facts detail how organizations and the government continue to fight for improved hygiene.

10 Facts About Sanitation in Namibia

  1. Sanitation and Health: Namibia has the lowest levels of sanitation coverage in southern Africa. Only 34 percent of the country’s population has access to improved sanitation facilities. That percentage drops to 14 percent in the country’s rural areas. The practice of open defecation, which occurs in 14 percent of urban areas and 77 percent of rural areas, increases the spread of diseases and majorly impacts general health.
  2. Hepatitis E: In Namibia, the practice of open defecation caused a Hepatitis E outbreak in 2017. Hepatitis E is a liver disease that commonly spreads through the ingestion of contaminated water. Starting in Windhoek, the disease spread to more than half of the country’s regions. The Community-Led Total Sanitation campaign emerged to eliminate Hepatitis E in Namibia. The campaign involves multiple organizations in efforts to improve access to sanitation facilities in informal settlements.
  3. Access to Sanitation Facilities: In March 2020, the city of Windhoek made an effort to increase access to sanitation facilities by installing a combined 25 toilets in the constituencies of Katutura and Khomasdal. Fransina Kahungu, mayor of Windhoek, promised the donation of another 40 sanitation facilities to other communities in the near future to continue improving sanitation in Namibia.
  4. Access to Clean Water: According to the most recent Namibian Population and Housing Census report, 80 percent of households have access to clean water but only 60 percent in rural populations have clean water access. In the 2019-20 annual report by the Ministry of Agriculture, the Directorate of Water Resource Management described the progress in making clean water more accessible. In the past year, the directorate oversaw the installment of nine hydrological stations and five boreholes. The directorate also monitored rivers to determine water quality. It also installed five cello instrumentations to monitor wastewater in Tses, Noordoewer, Blouputz, Rundu and Chobe Water Villas.
  5. Population and Sanitation: In 2018, 4.5 percent of rural populations migrated to cities in search of better social and economic options. This caused a high unemployment rate of 34 percent, and a lack of affordable housing created problems with access to clean water and sanitation facilities. The Community Land Information Program of Namibia estimated that 25 percent of the population lives in informal settlements, resulting in an increase of open defecation and Hepatitis E outbreaks.
  6. Sanitation in Schools: A Ministry of Education study in 2009 showed that 23 percent of schools in Namibia did not have sanitation facilities. More recently in 2018, another study found that nearly a quarter of schools still lacked toilets. UNICEF took note of this and implemented a program to help regions coordinate more access to sanitation facilities in schools. Approximately 19,000 students and 40 teachers received training in implementing sanitation efforts. By the end of 2018, open defecation in these areas had decreased from 52 percent to 25 percent.
  7. Menstrual Hygiene: According to the World Bank, at least 500 million women and girls around the world do not have access to proper facilities for menstrual hygiene management. This causes absenteeism in schools, resulting in girls missing school during their menstrual cycles. Namibia had its first Menstrual Hygiene Management Day in May 2018, where UNICEF helped mobilize policy support for menstrual hygiene management. The program that UNICEF implemented also created menstrual hygiene and management clubs in schools. These clubs aimed to eradicate stigma and address menstrual challenges. By including community involvement, the program created a lasting impact on the 38 schools focused on.
  8. Effects on Children: Consumption of contaminated water can cause children to become sick and malnourished. In 2015, 17 percent of children in Namibia suffered from diarrhea. Repeated episodes of diarrhea can result in childhood stunting, another common health problem in Namibia. A disparity between rural and urban populations also exists, with 20 percent of rural children suffering from diarrhea compared to 15 percent of urban children.
  9. Open Defecation-Free Namibia: Lack of sanitation and the practice of open defecation cause water contamination in Namibia. The communication strategy Open Defecation-Free Namibia emerged in 2014 with support from UNICEF and aims to raise awareness of the connection between sanitation and health. By using a mass media campaign, the strategy hopes to mobilize the public in Namibia to work with the government to decrease open defecation and increase sanitation in Namibia.
  10. Response to COVID-19: The pandemic has forced areas of Namibia to increase hygiene protocols, such as providing sanitation dispensers and stations at local retail and shopping centers. Workplaces have also taken precautionary measures to protect employees while public transit increases daily sanitation of buses. The office of the minister has encouraged public institutions to promote hygiene awareness, an issue now prevalent around the world. Namibia joined a global partnership in 2019, Sanitation and Water for All, to improve sanitation in Namibia with aid from other countries.

Sanitation in Namibia continues to be a problem in the country. Thankfully, organizations like UNICEF and the Community-Led Total Sanitation campaign are working to improve living conditions for the public. Through these programs and maintaining sanitation at the forefront of local government’s agendas, Namibia will see progress in the health and sanitation of its country.

– Kiyomi Kishaba
Photo: Flickr
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Women in the Garment Industry in Bangladesh

Women in the Garment Industry
Breaking the ceiling of the minimum living cost per day remains a challenge for millions of the poorest people on the earth, especially women. Amongst the causes of poverty, the fact that women are often not part of the labor force is one of the biggest quagmires that keeps them struggling. However, one area that women in the developing world often work in is the garment industry. In fact, there are many women working in the garment industry in Bangladesh today.

Bangladesh’s garment industry’s products make up the majority of what it exports. The expansion of the garment industry is quickly pulling people out of poverty in Bangladesh. Women are the major source of labor, where they make up 80 percent of workers. One might ask whether the garment and textile industry could be a gateway for women in the rest of the world to escape poverty.

Demand for Growth

Despite the fact that international trade has recently encountered uncertainty, a report from Mckinsey pointed out that the demand for growth from major populated countries, such as India and Indonesia, will continually saturate the market. With the demand continually persisting, many expect that the supply will continue to expand as well.

Beyond Asia, many in Africa see opportunities in the rising garment industry. Case studies from the African Development Bank Group indicate that women make up a significant part of the garment industry in Africa. In Ethiopia and Cote d’Ivoire, the two major cotton cultivators in the world, 80 percent of garment workers are women. Moreover, these countries’ start-up entrepreneurs are largely women.

Lifting Women Out of Poverty

The rising figures of women in the garment industry excite people’s outlook on the economy, but this is not the final answer to lifting women out of poverty. The problems of delayed or no and low payment, forced labor, dangerous working environments and other exploitation of women pull the world’s attention and push for reform. From a global perspective, the campaign for humanitarian improvement is one major goal of the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals. Beyond economic growth, acquiring decent work conditions, gender equality and opportunity for education matter when it comes to empowering women workers.

In Bangladesh, the international garment industry used to benefit from cheap labor because of loose legislative regulations and awful working conditions. More recently, the situation of underpayment has received challenges. For example, garment workers in Bangladesh raised their issues of low wages and poor working conditions, causing unrest and subsequently leading to Bangladesh increasing the minimum wage by 5 percent. This may seem minor, but it greatly impacted the garment industry in Bangladesh and started the process of reform. Consequential bills, including the signing of the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh and the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, constantly forge the formal framework to ensure the well-being of women in the garment industry.

The development of the global garment industry is a good hammer for women to smash the wall of poverty, but they still require more. The problems rooted in the most impoverished countries are not only “money concerned.” Social injustice and gender bias also influence the liberation of women. Luckily, the action of women and their social power is opening another window for reforms and improvement.

– Dingnan Zhang
Photo: Flickr

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Nonprofit Programs in the Dominican Republic

Programs in the Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a country located in the West Indies where it occupies much of the eastern region of Hispaniola. As of 2020, the nation’s capital Santo Domingo had a population of 2.2 million with the entire country having a population of nearly 11 million people. Poverty has also victimized the Dominican Republic for generations. In fact, the Human Development Index (HDI) has ranked the nation 88 out of 177 countries around the world. With poverty still a widespread issue, more than 20 percent currently resides in shanty cabins. The majority of the Dominican Republic’s citizens have no access to clean drinking water, basic sanitation needs or fluid electricity. Despite these ongoing problems, a major decrease in poverty occurred, reducing from 54.70 percent in 1989 to 19.90 percent in 2016. Poverty relief through nonprofit organizations and education programs in the Dominican Republic has allowed for these results.

Dominican Republic Education and Mentoring

In 1995, a group of students from Dartmouth College traveled to the Dominican Republic. They volunteered at public schools in the small town of Cabarete for one semester. Spearheaded by Donald Rabinovich, his project DREAM, or Dominican Republic Education and Mentoring, became a rapid-fire success as the project began rebuilding the town’s local schools. DREAM focused on rebuilding classrooms, computer labs and libraries, as well as renovating bathrooms. The project soon evolved and planned new programs to offer children opportunities to further improve the Dominican Republic.

DREAM offers innovative education programs by adopting the Montessori learning system for its students to advance their learning ability. The system adopts self-directed activity where students decide how they learn and at what pace through experiential learning. The DREAM program boasted a 93 percent attendance rate for more than 450 students while 3-year olds developed better linguistic, socio-economic, kinesthetic and cognitive skills. Parents participated in weekly meetings to help foster their children’s education through the Montessori system at home.

Food for the Poor

Another of the many programs in the Dominican Republic that are improving living quality is Food for the Poor. The organization has helped alleviate poverty and provide fresh food and clean water to the Dominican Republic since 2000. One way it provides aid is by teaching dozens of families how to plant, grow and harvest fruits and vegetables through its greenhouse projects. On September 12, 2013, the city of Pedro Santana, located near the border east of Haiti, witnessed the building of its eighth greenhouse. This, along with the other seven, helps to increase food security and production in the Dominican Republic. The Church of the Nativity in Virginia provided funding for this project through its Operation Starfish program.

Operation Starfish

Operation Starfish began in 1998 with the aim of allowing families to engage in spiritual reflection and giving back to the less fortunate. The program encourages each family to donate at least 50 cents per day to aid the poor. Father Dick Martin came up with Operation Starfish to help others assist the poor at a minimal level while making a big difference. One year during Lent, more than 2,500 families donated 50 cents per day during the 40 days of Lent, resulting in the collection of over $67,000. This was more money than Fr. Martin initially predicted.

Community Development Projects

The Dominican Republic built almost 3,000 homes through its Community Development Projects. Additionally, the program also helped rebuild schools, clinics and community centers. Moreover, it assisted in building women’s human rights programs that teach independence, self-care and vocational training.

The greenhouse facility in Pedro Santana provides large stocks of produce thanks to efficient farming. The location, operated by local farmers, has performed beyond its expectations. A portion of profits from vegetable sales goes towards the greenhouses in the seven additional locations. Food for the Poor helped create a drip irrigation system that a water reservoir and underground supply lines feed.

With the progress that the Dominican Republic has made through education, mentoring and community rebuilding, the process of downsizing poverty and restoring its youth with innovative methods of developing skills and knowledge is improving the nation. These ways of poverty relief from nonprofits and pedagogical programs have been key factors in giving the Dominican Republic a fighting chance in becoming a future contributor to others in need itself.

– Tom Cintula
Photo: Flickr

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Examining the Threats to Global Health

Threats to Global Health
Mankind can often feel a state of invincibility. This might be due to ignorance or denial that one could become sick, but global health is constantly experiencing threats. Some of the biggest threats to global health include pollution, diseases and fragile locations. For people who live in developed and booming economies, this may mean nothing. However, those living in poverty are often in direct contact with the threats that can sometimes be fatal.

Air Pollution

Air pollution is one of the most widespread pollution problems and kills nearly 7 million people a year. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), nine out of 10 people breathe in contaminated air.

The most common forms of air pollution are smog and smoke. Smog can come from factories, industrial areas or vehicle emissions. The worst cases of smog often occur in major cities that have large populations. For example, several of the most highly polluted cities in China because of the population density and a large number of factories. Xingtai, named the most polluted city in the world, has a population of nearly 7 million.

Smoke is also a common air pollutant largely due to the large population of smokers. Inhalation of heavily polluted air can cause stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer and acute respiratory infections.

Diseases

Noncommunicable or noninfectious diseases are illnesses that do not transmit from one person to another, and in fact, people cannot transmit them at all. They include a wide number of disease but some of the most significant ones are stroke, cancer, diabetes and heart disease. The World Health Organization recognizes noncommunicable diseases as one of the biggest threats to global health. Air pollution can cause some forms of diseases, but environmental factors, lifestyle choices or genetics cause noncommunicable diseases.

According to WHO, noncommunicable diseases are the leading cause of death in the world as well as one of the biggest causes of poverty. In fact, 15 million people who have died from noninfectious diseases were living in poverty. This is often due to poor sanitation conditions as well as the inability to receive proper health care to treat said conditions.

Fragile Locations

Fragile locations are places that have poor sanitation, famine, drought or conflict (war or corruption). Living in fragile locations can lead to several complications especially due to poor health care. Often countries that have high unemployment and poverty rates are fragile locations. This is because the fragility of areas can put a risk on people’s health that may disable them or put them on the streets. Living in fragile locations can also increase the risk of developing noninfectious diseases.

Poverty

Nearly 36 percent of the world’s population lives in extreme poverty. When dealing with global health threats, a vast majority of those in need of care either cannot afford it or access it. People living in poverty frequently face the challenges of poor economic stability, poor or nonexistent health care and a weak education system. lack of education in developing countries can also lead to recklessness when caring for those with diseases, both noninfectious and infectious. According to the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, ODPHP, strategies that aim to increase the economic mobility of families may help to alleviate the negative effects of poverty.

Organizations’ Help on Global Health

The CDC closely monitors and researches global health threats and ways to prevent and respond to them. Whenever there is a serious global health threat, the CDC is on the front line to aid in recovery, however, aid is not always helpful. According to the CDC, 70 percent of the world’s countries report that they are not prepared to face an outbreak. However, the world can do its part to prevent air pollution by smoking less and relying more on economically friendly means of travel. Although people cannot alter genetics it is important to avoid factors that may cause noninfectious diseases. For those in fragile locations, organizations like the CDC and WHO are attempting to provide aid and support to those in need.

Threats to global health are everywhere. Some threats are inevitable but others are man-made. It is important to regulate and reduce people’s ecological footprints so global health can experience improvement as a whole.

– Sarah Mobarak
Photo: Flickr

5 Organizations Investing in Girls’ STEM Education in Developing Nations

Women around the globe account for 35 percent of students enrolled in higher education science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields, according to a 2017 UNESCO report. However, by the end of tertiary education, women only comprise less than 3 percent of information and communication technology (ICT) graduates.

These numbers indicate a failure of educational systems to retain girls in STEM. This results in a deficiency of women in STEM jobs, which is especially alarming because these STEM careers drive innovation, inclusive growth and sustainable development. To address this challenge and improve the participation and achievement of girls in STEM, several organizations are amplifying girls’ STEM education in developing nations.

5 Organizations Investing in Girls’ STEM Education in Developing Nations

  1. Indian Girls Code: Founded in 2013 by two sisters, the Indian Girls Code offers free coding and robotics education for underprivileged girls in India. The initiative began in multiple cities as an afterschool program and summer camp for girls as young as 4 and 5 years old. It has since expanded to include weekly classes for 75 primary school students at Annai Ashram, an all-girls orphanage in Trichy. Indian Girls Code believes a hands-on education inspires creativity and innovation. As such, students are taught using Scratch, an open-source software, and Phiro robots, which are programmable, Lego-compatible toys
  2. Tech Needs Girls: Tech Needs Girls is an educational initiative based in mentorship that aims to equip young Ghanian girls with skills in coding and information technology. The organization has 200 mentors, who are all either female computer scientists or engineers; these mentors have collectively trained more than 4,500 girls — many of whom come from extreme poverty conditions. Girls between the ages of 6 and 18 are encouraged to participate by gaining knowledge of the basics of computing, set up blogs and develop software applications. The founder of Tech Needs Girls, Regina Agyare, an IT graduate and entrepreneur, hopes that teaching girls about technology will enable them to become economically empowered, self-confident and passionate.
  3. Code to Inspire: As the first coding academy for girls in Afghanistan, Code to Inspire has taught 200 high-school girls to code and build mobile applications and games. Since the organization’s launch in 2015, more than 70 percent of the students have graduated and continued on to find work with above-average compensation. The founder of Code to Inspire, Fereshteh Forough, aspires to help close the gender gap in STEM by teaching Afghani women the skills to achieve financial and social independence and stability. Forough sees coding as uniquely valuable to female economic empowerment — since coding can be done remotely, female software developers can work from home while building a career.
  4. Pearls Africa Foundation: Located in Nigeria’s Silicon Valley, GirlsCoding, a free program run by the Pearls Africa Foundation, is educating girls in the fields of coding and software development. GirlsCoding offers weekly courses in digital literacy to underserved and underrepresented girls between the ages of 7 and 18. Since 2012, the initiative has educated more than 400 girls. GirlsCoding also helps promote the continuation of tech education and careers by introducing students to different tech companies in the region. In the future, GirlsCoding hopes to expand to different states in Nigeria.
  5. She Will Connect Africa: An initiative of Intel, She Will Connect Africa, has trained more than 150,000 women in Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya in digital literacy since launch in 2013. She Will Connect Africa aims to expand to reach five million women by the end of 2020. The program operates in two main ways. First, She Will Connect Africa partners with nongovernmental organizations to integrate face-to-face digital learning into development programs targeting women and girls. Second, the initiative also partners with job placement organizations to enable women to access continued opportunities in STEM.

With technological change accelerating, a continued failure to develop girls’ STEM education will diminish the potential of half the global population. However, by investing in girls’ STEM education in developing nations, these five organizations are driving innovation and women’s economic participation. These goals are highly cost-effective and thoughtful investments; closing the gender gap in digital fluency will open work opportunities for women, contribute to national economic growth and help achieve larger gender parity.

– Kayleigh Rubin
Photo: Wikimedia

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The State of Homelessness in Sweden

Homelessness in SwedenHomelessness is an issue that plagued Sweden for a long time. Well known for its national welfare system, the Swedish government provides a large safety net for its citizens to fall back on if they ever fall ill or lose their job. The Swedish government provides universal healthcare, family support and financial support for the elderly and retired. All Swedes, regardless of need, could call upon the government to receive the benefits provided by the Swedish welfare system. However, this doesn’t mean that the Swedish welfare completely shelters its residents from homelessness. What is causing homelessness in Sweden? Who are the homeless people in the famous welfare state? What is being done to alleviate this issue?

Defining Homelessness

Because numerous factors can cause homelessness, every country has a different definition of homelessness. In Sweden, a person is homeless if they are in:

  1. acute homelessness.
  2. an institution and not having any housing prior to release, or in an institution even though they should have been released because they lack their own housing.
  3. long-term living arrangements organized by Social Services.
  4. in private short-term living arrangements.

This certainly is a broad definition to determine if someone is homeless. However, even with this broad definition, counting the exact number of homeless people in Sweden is a challenge. In Sweden’s 2011 survey, for example, there were 34,000 homeless people. Around 4,500 people were classed as being in an acute situation, which means that they were on the streets or in homeless shelters. However, some homeless organizations estimate that the total number could be higher. Stockholms Stadsmission, a Swedish homeless charity, pointed out that the data only presented 370 E.U. migrants. The organization claims that the survey’s estimate of these E.U. migrants is too low.

Causes of Homelessness

People fall into homelessness in Sweden for multiple reasons such as breaking up with a significant other, escaping domestic abuse or suffering from mental illness. However, the lack of affordable housing seems to be one of the main causes of homelessness in Sweden. The housing prices in Sweden, especially in Stockholm, have increased homelessness significantly. Sweden’s steadily growing population, which reached 10,183,175 people in 2018, is definitely affecting the ever-rising housing price. While an industry expert suggests that Sweden is building more homes to meet the rising demand for housing, these housings are often not affordable due to the cost of materials, land and labor.

The ones who are most affected by this rising housing prices are the marginalized and vulnerable members of society. Furthermore, Sweden’s welfare system is attracting an increasing number of immigrants into the country, which puts a strain on the system.  While many migrants to Sweden are financially stable, there are groups of migrants who are not as fortunate. There are marginalized groups of E.U. migrants who fall into homelessness in Sweden.

Amnesty International’s 2018 report on the Romani population in Sweden found that there is a sizable population of Romani and other E.U migrants who are suffering from homelessness in Sweden. Romani, in particular, are marginalized more than other races in the entirety of Europe. In Sweden, the report suggests that many Romani people suffer from prejudice and lack of access to basic amenities such as water, shelter and healthcare. Lacking heated shelter, for example, is dangerous for the homeless since night temperature in Sweden usually falls below freezing. One homeless man described in an interview for the report that he had to wander around the streets to keep himself from freezing to death after being kicked out of a bus station at 2 am.

Measures Being Taken to Help

Some people aim to alleviate homelessness in Sweden. The Swedish government, for its part, is taking measures to alleviate the current issue. Stockholms Stadmission, for example, opened the first food bank in Stockholm. Human rights activists in Sweden are also calling for multiple reforms to alleviate the homelessness in Sweden. Since the highest cost of land, workers and materials to build new housing is negatively affecting the lives of the homeless in Sweden, human rights activists are calling for rental, tax and land reforms. Swedish politicians are responding to this call. Recently, the Swedish government introduced measures to encourage housing turnovers and subsidies to encourage the construction of more affordable housing.

Homelessness in Sweden is a complicated issue. The rising demand and price of housing are putting pressure on Sweden’s steadily increasing population. While Sweden’s broad definition of a person’s homelessness might broaden the number of people who can receive assistance, the task of counting the exact number of homeless people in Sweden is still challenging. Many EU migrants, the Romani people in particular, still face the danger that homelessness in Sweden brings. The Swedish government and charity organizations are taking measures to address this issue both on the local and governmental levels. While a long road still lies ahead for the homeless of Sweden, many hope that a better life is coming for them.

– YongJin Yi
Photo: Flickr

Surf Tourism and Poverty

surf tourism and povertySurf tourism is booming across the globe. Once the sport of wandering beach bums, it now generates $10 billion a year and will make its Olympic debut at the 2021 Summer Games in Japan. Despite the surf industry’s success, a few key issues have occurred between surf tourism and poverty.

Surf Tourism and Poverty

With popularity comes overcrowding, and beaches can only hold so many surfers without creating unsafe conditions. As a result, many first-world surfers are opting to spend the extra money to travel where population density is lower. Yet, behind these exotic destinations, locals are losing their homes and living in poverty.

Countries like Nicaragua, Papua New Guinea and El Salvador are particularly experiencing the negative effects of surf tourism. Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be this way. Through collaboration between governments, surf businesses, travelers and residents, surf tourism and poverty can be dealt with responsibly and bring much-needed economic stimulus to impoverished surf meccas.

Radical Changes

Nicaragua, one of Central America’s most impoverished countries, is an up and coming surfing destination. The nation sits between the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, giving surfers an abundance of waves to choose from. However, social injustice and extreme poverty threatens Nicaragua’s budding surf tourism industry. In the past two years, a student-led uprising has been protesting against Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega’s regime. Since then, the nation’s economy contracted by 10 percent, and foreign direct investment has fallen by 50 percent. Compared to 2017, the country’s tourism earnings have dropped 45 percent in 2020. Before the political turmoil, Nicaragua was predicted to become the next Costa Rica, but now the country is struggling to keep its head above water.

Hope lies in local Nicaraguan businesses persevering through the tough economic times. Local surfer Germán Sánchez opened a guest house in his hometown of Asseradores to cater to backpackers and surfers looking to score at a world-class beach break. The Boom Hostel is one of the few Nicaraguan-owned bed-and-breakfasts and is becoming a prime pit stop for travelers to surf, eat and lodge. This hostel provides access to amazing waves while supporting the local economy and community.

Surfing Sustainably

In Papua New Guinea, the Surfing Association of Papua New Guinea (SAPNG) has created the first-ever national surf management plan. One of the main goals of SAPNG’s plan is to “further social and economic development at the grassroots level” through the associated surf clubs of the SAPNG.

The Vanimo Surf Lodge is one of the affiliated village clubs responsible for upholding the plan’s tenets. Vanimo charges visitors 20 kinas ($8.50 USD) per day to surf the village’s reefs and beach breaks. The funds go to local landowners and stakeholders in the community. According to SAPNG, indigenous groups own the beaches and reefs and are responsible for maintaining them. The Vanimo Surf Lodge has been successful in raising funds for the community. With help from local leaders and Walu-International, it raised $17,000 to deliver working toilets to the village’s 1,500 residents. Unfortunately, land disputes, local reluctance and national corruption have prevented the public restrooms from being completed.

Waves of Empowerment

California State Governor Gavin Newsom recently visited El Salvador to market surfing tourism as a way to boost the developing nation’s economy. Newsom and other industry leaders met with president-elect Nayib Bukele to discuss El Salvador’s potential for becoming a beach vacation hub, similar to California. 

The U.S federal government has invested into El Salvador’s infrastructure through the Millenium Challenge Corporation (MCC). The MCC contributed $3 million last year to a $10.8 million project to develop a coastal area of the El Zonte region. California hopes to continue this trend of foreign aid by encouraging surf tourism development in the country.

After Newsom’s visit, President Nayib Bukele announced an initiative called “Surf City” to invest in beaches to attract more foreign interest to El Salvador. California’s tourism arm, Visit California, is considering working with El Salvador to help the country generate its economy with more tourist dollars. El Salvador is a wave-rich country ready to begin managing surf tourism and poverty. California’s guidance could help change the country’s reputation of a violent and poverty-stricken nation to a world-class surfing experience.

The Road Ahead

There are challenges in management and implementation for surf tourism. Many impoverished communities are abused by outsiders coming in to exploit their natural resources. Fortunately, surf tourism has the chance to be different. The fact that surfing can attract tourist dollars to better local economies is a great benefit for impoverished nations. Surf industry leaders building trust with local residents are laying the groundwork for a socially responsible model of surf tourism. Surfing and the business that follows it can give at-risk communities a stronger sense of identity and empowerment.

– Henry Schrandt


Photo: Pixabay

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Democracy in Ghana: An Evolution of Freedom and Stability

Democracy in GhanaGhana, formerly known as the Gold Coast, was Sub-Saharan Africa’s first nation to declare the end of British colonial rule. Kwame Nkrumah led the country into independence in 1957. The newly formed country became a catalyst for independence movements across the continent. Ghana was seen as a stronghold for a well-functioning democracy that few other nations have established since garnering their independence. Since holding its first elections in 1992 under Jerry Rawlings, democracy in Ghana has had a strong influence on the standard of living in the country and on its political and economic institutions.

Country Profile: Then and Now

When Jerry Rawlings won the 1992 election with the National Democratic Congress, it the beginning of a road to change in Ghana. A referendum pushing for a new constitution passed in April of 1992 that allowed for the reintroduction of a multiparty system. The first democratic elections were representative of the future development the country would undergo in the coming years. Previously, the nation underwent a series of military-led coups that ultimately undermined efforts to create a unified nation after independence. Ghana struggled, as most countries have, after the throws of colonial rule and the quick, jarring shift from little independence to that in full.

Under Jerry Rawlings and his Provisional National Defense Council (PNDC), Ghana created “a structural adjustments economic reform” in 1983 that carried them into a new democratic regime and greatly affected the economic development of the country. Empirical data concerning factors such as GDP, life expectancy and primary school enrollment rates can give valuable opportunities for analysis of the upward trajectory that Ghana experienced after 1992.

In 2018, Ghana’s GDP was $65.56 billion while, in 1992, it was almost 10 times lower at $6.4 billion. Life expectancy has risen from 57.4 years to more than 63. The infant mortality rate, a common indicator of development and the degree of public service provisions in developing countries, has dropped drastically from 75.6 percent to 35 percent. Furthermore, primary school enrollment has undergone a 24 percent increase.

Influence of Democracy

When Jerry Rawlings ended his two terms as president in 2000, the handover of government to John Kufuor was peaceful and without incident. In the 2008 election between former Foreign Minister Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and former Vice-President John Atta-Mills, the Electoral Commission did as they had done for previous elections and invited foreign observers to oversee the production of the election. Again, the transition was smooth and transparent.

Advancements in democracy in Ghana are due, in part, to the fact that it puts politicians in a position to appeal to the needs of their constituents. The 1992 election is a prime example of this. The PNDC became popular with rural Ghanaians because of its role in the allocation of government funds to development projects in rural areas that were headed by local District Assemblies. The rural sector represents a large majority of Ghanaians, a majority that previous administrations had long since neglected.

The representation of all Ghanaians strikes at the core of the importance of providing democratic practices to transfer power to those who have traditionally and historically had none. Political incentives for leaders to invest in the needs of their people allow for the decentralization of economic power so citizens can keep their governmental institutions accountable.

Enhancing the Lives of Ghana’s Citizens

Democracy in Ghana has provided more than a baseline of free and fair elections. The day to day aspects of people’s lives change when they are accurately represented in their leadership. According to a transformation index set by a project by Bertelsmann Stiftung, which aims to understand the transition from authoritarianism to democracy in various countries, Ghana stands at 32 in a list of 129.

Indicators are measured on a scale from 1-10 and demonstrate the degree to which the country has made advancements in their transformation to inclusive institutions. Political participation and the stability of their democratic institutions are 8.5. International cooperation comes in at 8.3 while political and social integration is 7.8. These measurements provide evidence that democracy in Ghana has extended beyond promises on paper to protect civil liberties and the wellbeing of its citizens.

Perhaps the most important change that has come out of Ghana’s transition to democracy is the shift in reality for the millions of citizens who depend on their governmental institutions to provide inclusion and transparency. The implications of democracy run through their daily lives, specifically through increased attention by their leaders to the protection of human rights, civil liberties and the provision of public services. Democracy in Ghana has granted opportunities for representation and participation. Ghana’s economic, societal and political future beam with promise as the nation continues to make its way as an example of democratic rule in a developing country.

– Jessica Ball
Photo: Flickr

Cleaning Up Air Pollution in Saudi Arabia

Air Pollution in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia is a country that is largely dependent upon its production of oil. However, this oil and urban activities in Saudi Arabian cities are responsible for air pollution in Saudi Arabia. Air pollution impacts everyone, but it often hurts the poor the most since they tend to not have access to proper medical care when air pollution makes them sick. According to estimates, about 20 percent of people in Saudi Arabia live in poverty. Saudi Arabia should be able to improve the living conditions of both its impoverished and impoverished people by reducing its air pollution. Saudi Arabia has put forth a policy to improve air quality nationwide and has worked in one of its polluted cities in an attempt to improve air quality.

Ambient Air Standard

The type of air pollution that Saudi Arabia deals with is ambient air pollution. Ambient air pollution includes multiple types of pollutants, many of which are harmful. In 2012, Saudi Arabia put the Ambient Air Standard into place. The purpose of this standard is to reduce the number of harmful pollutants that contribute to air pollution in Saudi Arabia. The standard provides a basis for the maintenance and restoration of ambient air within Saudi Arabia. This action that the government of Saudi Arabia put into place should be beneficial to the people of the country because it will provide cleaner air due to the fact that it will restrict the amount of emissions companies emit.

Cleaning Up Dammam City

Regardless of how bad the air pollution in a country is, cities tend to always be hot spots for air pollution. The Saudi Arabian City of Dammam is one such city where air pollution is a severe problem. Urban activities such as running cars cause pollution in Dammam. Recognizing this, governmental authorities in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia developed plans to reduce the air pollution that these urban activities created. For example, the General Department of Traffic used periodic vehicle inspection stations in order to improve the mileage emissions that the cars created. The General Agency of Roads made plans to pave new roads, fix existing ones and construct tunnels and bridges to improve the flow of traffic.

These changes had positive effects on reducing air pollution in Saudi Arabia. There was a decline in volatile organic compounds, carbon monoxide and particulate matter among other forms of air pollution. For example, carbon monoxide in industrial areas fell from above 16 parts per matter to almost two parts per matter. Volatile organic compounds in industrial areas fell from almost 0.8 parts per matter in 2010 to slightly above 0.2 in 2015. The data that the Journal of Taibah University provided shows that governmental officials’ action in Dammam has been working.

Air pollution in Saudi Arabia continues to be a problem for its people. However, the Saudi Arabian government has made some improvements to the quality of air, especially for the people living in Dammam.

– Jacob E. Lee
Photo: Flickr

Flipping the Switch on Solar Energy in Tanzania

Today, 70 percent of Africans and 95 percent of those living in rural areas do not have access to electricity. Although many countries are still lacking access to electricity, there are some inspiring leaders making a difference in establishing electricity in Africa.  Particularly, George Mtemahanji has spearheaded the movement towards implementing solar energy in Tanzania.

Bringing Solar Energy to Tanzania

Mtemahanji was born in Ifakara, a Tanzanian village located in the Kilombero District of Morogoro Region. In his village, poverty rates are very high and education completion rates are very low. As a young adult, Mtemahanji was able to pursue his education in Italy. Mtemahanji’s passion for clean energy grew throughout high school and technical college, where he studied to become a renewable energy technician. Upon graduation in 2012 from IPSIA Ferrari, Manuel Rolando and Mtemahanji co-founded SunSweet Solar Ltd. The company designs and installs Solar Hybrid Microgrid Systems that supply electricity to rural communities in Africa, and more specifically, in Tanzania.

SunSweet Solar

Connecting rural areas to the power grid is an expensive process. However, solar energy has the ability to cut these high costs in the long-term. SunSweet allows customers to purchase energy via mobile phones, expanding energy access to schools and hospitals. Families who live in rural areas can also connect to power easily for a mere 15 cents per day. As of 2016, the technology has been implemented throughout six villages and provides energy to about 25,000 people.

One system, the Eco-Friendly Village Solar system, can meet the energy demands of a village 24 hours a day. This system is durable, where it can roughly last 20 years before needing to be replaced. Additionally, there are systems in place to help communities avoid electrical blackouts. This is especially meant for villages that are not connected to the national electrical grid (off-grid).

Impact on Medical Dispensary

With the collaboration of the Kilombero District Council, SunSweet has designed a solar photovoltaic system that has the capacity to satisfy the energy demand of an entire medical dispensary. Further, the system will provide energy each day for more than 25 years.

Called the RuDEK (Rural Dispensary Energy Kit), this kit has the ability to store energy for emergency dispensaries in less than three hours. First installed in 2016, the system stores additional energy for rainy seasons and cloudy days. By supporting dispensaries, more people will receive high-quality health services. Some of the direct benefits include women giving birth with more than candlelight, vaccination and medication storage in a refrigerator, and doctors having clear visuals of ailments.

Educational Benefits of Solar Energy in Tanzania

SunSweet’s first major contract was installing a solar power plant at the Benignis Girls Secondary School. The system aimed to support 236 lights, dozens of computers and fans in a majority of the classrooms. Though this was logistically challenging, SunSweet was successful in the project. With the installation of the solar power plant, students’ testing performance increased from 81 to 94 percent.

Looking Forward to a Bright Future

Two years after the company’s inception, SunSweet Solar was nominated for the prestigious Anzisha Prize, an award for young entrepreneurs in Africa. The exposure given to the company has attracted many opportunities that will support energy development throughout Africa. Further, support from Denmark, Brazil and Sweden will launch the company to take on greater projects.

Mtehamanji has since spoken with the Tanzania private sector foundation, the Tanzania investment center, the Tanzanian rural electrification agency, and many others to implement sustainable energy. With an official FuturaSun partnership, an Italian company, and a contract for a future partnership with Trine, a Swedish company, the future of SunSweet Solar looks as bright as ever.

– Janice Athill

Photo: Flickr