Archive for category: Global Poverty

Key articles and information on global poverty.

Poverty in Film

Director Ermanno Olmi’s masterpiece “The Tree of Wooden Clogs,” a Palme d’Or winner from 1978, remains today a poignant depiction of poverty in film, despite its temporal setting of 1898. Interestingly, viewers of the film sometimes disagree in their interpretations of the main characters’ poverty: some see it as a positive, some as a negative and some as a little of both.

“The Tree of Wooden Clogs” portrays peasant life on a farmstead in Lombardy, a northern region of Italy. The peasants’ life can be summarized, as one critic has said, as: “Plant. Cultivate. Harvest. Eat. Drink. Sleep.” This simple lifestyle tends to charm viewers who discover a kind of nobility in the rural rhythms of peasant life.

However, one cannot ignore the harsh realities of that life, which are not a focus of the film but are essential parts nonetheless.

In his review of Olmi’s film, critic Roger Ebert wrote: “We grow devout in the presence of poverty, particularly when it is not our own.” His point is that people who don’t live in poverty often idealize it when they see it, especially the agrarian poverty depicted so vividly in the film. Olmi does encourage viewers to admire peasant life at times, but ever present in his movie are the oppressive realities of nature that make an idealization of poverty impossible.

Those realities create “natural drama” in a film that occasionally borders on documentary. In one scene, a family finds their cow has become sick and call a veterinarian. The veterinarian advises them to butcher the cow for the few coins it will afford them before the animal dies of natural causes. The family’s matriarch responds, “Not this too, you can see what condition we’re in. We don’t have enough to live.”

The film swings between the stark desperation of these moments and the positivity of other scenes that depict life’s fundamental joys.

Olmi, a son of peasants, perhaps reveals his own mild bias toward the simple pleasures of peasant life from time to time. This seems especially evident during a scene in which three families do nothing but sing and shuck corn together. The images, photographed at eye-level and bathed in a soft yellow light, exude only warmth and positivity—a testament to humankind’s ability to find joy even in harsh circumstances.

But Olmi’s film goes on to show that the hardships of the peasant’s poverty cannot be suppressed for long. Specifically, he blames the social system in northern Italy for exacerbating those hardships. The message is universal, though, for social systems the world over are actively keeping populations in poverty.

One must recognize the ways in which the film is universal, or else the characters’ poverty will get cast aside as a historical phenomenon only. Today, 1.2 billion people live with $1.25 or less a day in income and are deprived of healthcare and education, as the peasants in Olmi’s film were.

For this reason, “The Tree of Wooden Clogs” is still an effective way to learn about the struggles of the modern poor through the vicarious experience of fiction.

– Ryan Yanke

Sources: UNDP, Roger Ebert, The New York Times, The Guardian
Photo: Mubi

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MAG America: Improving Post-War Zones

People know that war leaves scars, on bodies, minds, families and homes. Those affected live with the destruction, adapting to the best of their ability, and attempt to go on with their lives. While international support in the wake of conflict is great, little thought is given to the scars left behind in war zones.

When peace is brokered, troops leave behind bullets, elaborately packaged, carefully hidden explosives and yet-to-be-detonated fireworks of the military grade variety. Farmers fear working their fields. The building of roads, schools and water lines is halted indefinitely. Economic recovery is nearly impossible, at least until the threats are eliminated.

The Mines Advisory Group, or the MAG, has tasked itself with removing such lingering threats. Since 1989, MAG America employees have provided extensive training to volunteers living in post-war zones. Teams clear landmines and explosive weapons that did not go off when fired, and remove abandoned weapons, strategizing to prevent their proliferation.

To protect communities where mine contamination and weapons surpluses remain, the MAG offers programs that teach people how to recognize threats, what areas to avoid and emergency procedures. The MAG employs 2,400 people in Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

The 2,400 individuals make up about 90 percent of the MAG staff. Most are from severely underprivileged communities. Not only do these individuals benefit from the steady salary, they additionally receive professional training as mine destruction specialists, educators, community liaison specialists and medics.

The MAG is currently working to secure military storage in El Salvador, where access to small arms has fueled the second highest homicide rate in the world. Land clearing operations in Lebanon are ongoing, as they are in Iraq. The organization is aiding seven nations in Africa and four nations in Southeast Asia.

Manchester is home to the MAG’s international operations, while MAG America is based in Washington, D.C. More volunteers and staffers are needed, but the MAG recommends three ways to join its cause: become a “team driver” by building your own awareness, a “medic” by raising awareness in your community or a “virtual deminer” by fundraising or donating.

– Olivia Kostreva

Sources: MAG 1, MAG 2, MAG 3, MAG 4, Idealist
Sources: MAG

What is Monkey College?

Run by the Thomas and Agnes Carvel Foundation in Boston, the Monkey College trains monkeys as service animals. Helping Hand monkeys, those who successfully graduated from the Monkey College, are placed in recipients’ homes to assist them with daily activities. Most of the recipients suffer spinal cord injuries.

At the college, monkeys are paired with highly disciplined trainers. There are three levels of training in which monkeys can learn easy and sophisticated skills, step-by-step. Trainers use laser pointers and simple words to instruct the monkeys. They also give praise and offer food rewards to practice new skills during the training.

In the final phase, monkeys are trained in an environment imitating an apartment. This aims to let the monkey get used to a homelike environment. By the end of the training, they will be able to cook, open containers and fridges, hand over remote controls and play CDs or DVDs.

Robert Foster and his monkey, Hellion, have lived together for more than 25 years. Foster is a quadriplegic, disabled due to a car crash, and Hellion has been with him ever since. She helps with daily activities that Foster can’t manage on his own.

“She’s my family. She’s my kid,” Foster tells CBS.

Craig, a California resident, is another individual receiving assistance from a Helping Hand monkey. Craig (who did not provide his surname) suffered a C-5 spinal cord injury in a car crash just before his 30th birthday. He and his monkey, Minnie, have been together for about 10 years.

“My independence has been increased and I have the security of knowing that Minnie can assist me with tasks that would be impossible for me without her. She really alleviates the pain of being in a wheelchair,” Craig tells the Helping Hands website.

This innovative approach provides a constructive solution for patients who suffer spinal cord injuries around the world. Many of them are unable to live independently and need family members to take care of them. This alternative can provide recipients with independence.

– Jing Xu

Sources: Monkey Helpers 1, Monkey Helpers 2, CBS News
Photo: Worth1000

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Bankers Without Borders

Bankers without Borders started with 100 volunteers but, in the past five years, has grown to include 16,000 business professionals, academics and students coming from over 170 countries, working to increase the impact and sustainability of poverty reduction projects. So far, BwB has used its consulting and coaching to help more than 1,000 projects in 38 countries.

BwB was founded in 2008 by the Grameen Foundation, the original banking organization working through microfinance. Its motive for creating BwB was to expand its services to gain coverage in areas not originally reached by Grameen Bank.

The company reaches out by partnering with other organizations, including nonprofits, Fortune 500 companies or poverty-focused social enterprises. The experts work for free, and the Grameen Foundation likes to refer to them as “Skillanthropists;” rather than donating money, the workers are donating their skills, time and knowledge.

The volunteers’ involvement ranges from sparing a few hours a week at the comfort of their desks at work or home, to living and working in the field for weeks or months at a time. The wide range of skills and commitment BwB requires makes it possible for many people of different skill sets to make an impact through the company.

BwB’s volunteers are involved in a wide variety of fields. These include financial consultants, legal professionals, translators, researchers, a marketing staff and even a Human Resource Reserve Corps to address human capital related issues for nonprofit partners abroad.

From an economic standpoint, BwB continues to prove useful. For every dollar spent creating a BwB project, an average of $10 in skill and time has been donated by its pro bono staff, adding up to over $10 million worth of skilled work.

The volunteers work not to create temporary relief for recipients, but rather to implement a sustainable solution for clients to have successful, profit-making businesses.

BwB has formed many useful partnerships over its five years of operation, notably with J.P. Morgan, Mastercard, Google, Bloomberg, John Hopkins University and the Washington Center. As of August 5, BwB has added Wells Fargo to its arsenal of partnership companies, as well.

From the quickly-expanding volunteer base to the quantitative economic data to the qualitative success stories shared on BwB’s website, it is clear that the Grameen Foundation’s extended project has proven successful.

– Courtney Prentice

Sources: Triple Pundit, Bankers Without Borders, Grameen Foundation, Grameen-Jameel
Photo: HW Production

Subsistence Farming in the US

Many of the refugees who settle in the United States come from places of conflict and extreme poverty. Few have learned to read and write in English. Their skills are tailored to the situation in their homeland. Among the Bhutanese, Congolese, Burundi, Nepali and Somali communities, the skill these refugees have best honed is farming.

In an interview with the NY Times, Somali Ibrahim Sawarah Dehab says, “In America, you need experience.” Without the training to take up work in a drastically different society, and without the language resources to learn, refugees have difficulty supporting themselves and their families.

However, subsistence farming can have financial benefits for those who practice it. The surplus of many small farms sell for $5,000 to $50,000 dollars annually.

Subsistence farming is not a final solution for the economic hardship refugees face. Certainly, the revenues are inadequate for a family. But farming has other benefits besides finances, including fresh vegetables, fruit and meat.

Fast food is the cheapest source of calories in the U.S. Poor families must often sustain themselves on the grease and preservative-soaked contents of the restaurant dollar menus. By growing their own produce, however, refugee families provide themselves with nutritious meals at virtually no monetary cost.

Farms provide psychological benefits as well. Uprooted from their homes, refugees are perhaps more in need of a community than most. Language barriers, combined with jarring cultural differences, severely limit the connections they can make.

If they settle in refugee communities, the opportunity to find people with similar experiences and languages skyrockets. This is much better on joint farms, where resettled people can work together growing and herding. These farms foster a sense of purpose in the farmers. In order to sell, they have to venture out, establishing a presence and becoming familiar with the greater community.

Getting would-be farmers on their feet falls to organizations like the International Rescue Committee’s New Roots and New Land Farms programs. The latter was founded in 2008 as a branch of the Lutheran Social Services group of New England. The organization funds community gardens in Westfield, Springfield, West Springfield and Worcester, where refugees–most from Iraq, Burundi and Bhutan–can grow produce for their families.

Refugees who want to farm alone or communally have their choice of plots from two different New Land Farm sites. They are given seeds, equipment and everything necessary to begin planting. Those who would like to work in agriculture but have no farm experience are trained.

Subsistence farming among refugees speeds the process of integration. According Dehab, now owner of a successful meat farm, “In America, you need experience, and my experience is goats.”

– Olivia Kostreva

Sources: New York Times, Relief Web
Photo: New York Times

Business for Social Responsibility

Business for Social ResponsibilityBusiness for Social Responsibility
Large-scale factories, especially in developing countries, are infamous for their dangerous working conditions and lack of respect for their employees. Fortunately, this is taking a turn for the better, with businesses taking steps to ensure a bright future for their employees. There is even an organization dedicated solely to this purpose: Business for Social Responsibility (BSR).

BSR is a nonprofit that works with companies in order to improve the lives of their employees, and has so far partnered with over 250 organizations. Their goal is to work with these organizations in order to create a “systematic progress toward a just and sustainable world.”

The company states on their site that, “The role of business is to create and deliver products and services in a way that treats people fairly, meets individuals’ needs and aspirations within the boundaries of our planet and encourages market and policy frameworks that enable a sustainable future.”

One of the company’s main values is transparency and they heavily stress how important it is within any organization. BSR is hosting a conference in November focusing on this point and how transparency can improve supply change, climate, consumer engagement and impacts on a community.

Another main focus of BSR is keeping the earth clean through environmentally friendly business tactics. The company states on their site the belief that, “integrated, far-sighted planning can create resilient low-carbon emission transport networks, particularly in new urban areas.”

BSR works directly with farmers on sustainability training to keep the farming practices safe and environmentally friendly. They also do work reducing supply chain GHG emissions and work with ecosystem services to ensure all around sustainable businesses.

To make the safe and fair practices come full circle, BSR takes care of partnered companies’ employees by creating HERproject (HER=Health Enables Returns). This is a life skills training program for the factory workers, particularly the women, in BSR-partnered companies.

HERproject holds classes on health education to teach about general health knowledge, reproductive systems and preventative care. The group also has a finance curriculum, filled with modules about formal savings account and budgeting techniques.

HERproject works in the field with local NGOs, clinics and even governments to personalize the training given to each group. Beginning in Bangladesh, it has expanded to include Cambodia, China, Egypt, Haiti, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Pakistan and Vietnam; it has plans to begin projects in Brazil, Ethiopia, Mexico and Myanmar.

USAID headed a global health research project that showed when employees are better taken care of, their company is better off economically. When workers feel well, they are able to perform well. They do not need as many sick days, they become more productive and therefore more easily meet production goals.

Some notable corporations that have proven the success are J.Crew, Abercrombie & Fitch and Colombia Sportswear, and since the incorporation of BSR practices, they have strengthened their global supply chains. Sandra Cho of Colombia Sportswear states about HERproject:

“HERproject shows great return on investment numbers, but that’s not what’s inspiring about the project to me. What is inspiring is seeing the women excited about the knowledge they’re gaining and sharing, and the sense of empowerment that gives them, that’s exciting for consumers, too.”

BSR is making a global impact for business practices, and in turn they have helped the world move towards a more responsible, cleaner, more ethical future.

– Courtney Prentice

Sources: Global Envision, BSR 1, CSR Wire, Global Hand, BSR 2
Photo: CSRTimes

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Global Food Security Index 2014

Last May, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) published its annual DuPont-commissioned Global Food Security Index (GFSI). The index aims to “provide a robust and consistent analytical framework for measuring and deepening the understanding of food insecurity around the globe.”

The index showed that food security in 70 percent of countries increased from 2012 to 2013. In that time span, the number of people suffering from chronic hunger decreased from 868 million to 842 million, with a 17 percent decline over the past 24 years.

However, the index also highlighted numerous obstacles inhibiting the growth of food security that both poor and rich countries have yet to surmount.

One hundred nine countries were ranked. The top five, in order, were the United States, Austria, the Netherlands, Norway (tied with the Netherlands) and Singapore. The bottom five were Burundi, Togo, Madagascar, Chad and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Of all 109 countries, Uganda saw the biggest increase and Myanmar saw the biggest decrease in food security.

To determine these rankings, the GFSI incorporates three categories: Affordability, Availability and Quality & Safety.

The Affordability category incorporates measures like food consumption as a percentage of household expenditure, the proportion of a country’s population living under the $2 dollar per day global poverty line and import tariffs on agricultural goods. This category, a combination of six indicators, seeks to determine the degree to which people can purchase nutritional food without depleting their financial resources. In the top performing countries (U.S. and Singapore), people spent less than 15 percent of their budget on food.

This all matters little if food is affordable, but unavailable, so the GFSI assesses how easily people can access food as well. Acquiring the food one needs can be difficult in countries plagued by corruption, a lack of infrastructure and unpredictable agricultural outputs. Low-income countries in Sub-Saharan Africa scored the lowest in Availability, though the region experienced a notable increase in overall food security.

Lastly, the GFSI analyzes the quality and safety of diets in different countries. It looks at the availability of micronutrients like vitamin A and vegetal iron, protein quality and diet diversification, among other indicators.

According to the index, the majority of countries made gains in Affordability, but many countries lost points in Availability and Quality & Safety. In many countries grouped in the “Asia & Pacific” region, food indeed became more affordable, but only because diet diversification had been markedly reduced.

Two new indicators were added this year: food loss as part of the Availability category and obesity as part of the Quality & Safety category. Both have been controversial in recent years. In India, for example, a lack of food-chain infrastructure results in tremendous food loss—as much as 25 percent of produce every year.

Furthermore, obesity has become a growing concern even in countries with high food insecurity, though experts are still at a loss to explain this phenomenon.

The upshot of the index seems positive, with food security increasing in most countries. Despite this progress, areas for improvement have been pointed out. For one, women farmers across the globe still lack the same access to education, land and machinery that men have. Moreover, governments in developing countries are still struggling to make food more affordable without sacrificing dietary quality.

– Ryan Yanke

Sources: Economist, Blouin News, Dupont, Global Food Security Index
Photo: BlouInNews blog

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IMA World Health

IMA World Health is a faith-based organization that is dedicated to providing health services in order to create sustainable and long-lasting healthy communities around the world.

The organization operates with four major goals at the forefront of all of its projects: to build new health systems and strengthen existing health systems in order to provide people vulnerable to disease with the care they deserve; to partner with other faith-based and international organizations in order to best spread the mission of universal care; to exercise technical excellence in all aspects of its practice; and finally to set up a organized health systems in order to best distribute quality care to mass amounts of people.

IMA World Health is also a big proponent of empowering women across the globe and currently has many projects set up in order to help give women the chance at a better life. Some of these projects include literary circles, in which women are taught basic reading and writing skills to help them gain a higher position within their communities. USHINDI is a program that provides legal and psychological counseling to women who have faced traumatic experiences. WeWillSpeakOut.US is a program dedicated to breaking the silence surrounding sexual violence against women, and the Women’s Leadership project is an effort to promote women’s leadership both in and outside of the home.

IMA World Health additionally prides itself on its ability to deliver medical supplies to communities that are unable to provide for themselves. Projects currently being implemented include the IMA Medicine Box, which when distributed, can treat up to 1,000 people in remote villages for around two months. The box includes antibiotics, first aid items and pain medication. The IMA Safe Motherhood Kit includes sterile birthing materials in order to reduce mothers’ chance of infection upon delivery. Lastly, the Gifts in Kind program has allowed supplies to be donated to 72 countries with over $100 million worth of medical supplies.

– Jordyn Horowitz

Sources: IMA World Health, GlobalGiving, Forbes
Photo: IMA World Health

Ten Thousand Villages Fair Trade Model

Fair Trade Model
Stopping into any Ten Thousand Villages store, there are multicolored products as diverse as the countries they are produced in. The Akron-based company runs on a Fair Trade business plan with craftsmen in over 38 countries. With over 65 years of business, Ten Thousand Villages has become one of the most prominent Fair Trade businesses in the world.

Many of the artisans employed by Ten Thousand Villages are underprivileged and the long-term contracts with the business create opportunities to alleviate their poverty. Many of the people who receive contracts are women who generally have fewer opportunities in their countries.

As a founding member of the World Free Trade Organization, Ten Thousand Villages has formed a business plan that is being used as a template for other companies with business dealings in poorer nations. Fair Trade models enable the craftsmen to be paid reasonable salaries, generally much higher than those they would be paid by businesses in their home country.

The payment is given in two parts: half when the order is placed and the rest after the product is completed. Together, the artists negotiate a deal with the company to cover their costs of production, as well as an adequate fee.

Through the contracts with Ten Thousand Villages, the artists are able to provide health care, education and nourishment to their families which they might have otherwise not had access to. The trickle-down effect of Fair Trade lasts for generations. More children are able to continue their education and then have more opportunities than the previous generation.

The contracts typically last several years, which provides a stable source of income for the artisans, as well as reliable products for the stores. The products are a homage to the unique cultures and materials accessible.

Though Ten Thousand Villages was one of the pioneers of the Fair Trade model, said model has proliferated to over 350 organizations in more than 70 countries united in the WFTO. One of the cornerstones of the Fair Trade model is to eliminate global poverty through raising wages to livable standards; so far, Ten Thousand Villages is helping achieve this goal.

–Kristin Ronzi

Sources: Ten Thousand Villages, WFTO
Photo: Blogto

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INMED Partnerships for Children

Institute for International Medicine Partnerships for Children is an organization dedicated to preventing and combating the harm that comes to children through violence, disease, hunger and neglect.

INMED Partnerships for Children values taking a holistic approach to improve children’s health worldwide through addressing the causes of disease and hunger and attempting to remedy them from the source. INMED is dedicated in implementing long-term solutions to enhance both the quality and longevity of children’s lives.

Founded 27 years ago, INMED has stuck by its original goal of helping to improve the health and safety of children all over the globe.  Led by President and CEO Linda Pfeiffer, INMED has been targeting programs and delivering care to help children in both urban and rural areas of the world.  INMED also has offices worldwide, in places such as Virginia, Peru, Brazil, South Africa and the Caribbean.

INMED has partnered with a diverse group of companies in order to make sure they best spread their mission. They have partnered with companies such as Macy’s, the Ronald McDonald House Charities, the International Foundation, United States Agency for International Development, Kids in Distressed Situations, Johnson and Johnson and many more.

INMED maps out large areas they want to improve and then tailors specific projects to fall into those categories. These broader categories include health and nutrition, youth development, education and skill building, and adaptive agriculture and aquaponics.

One of INMEDs upcoming events will be the 2015 Harvest the Future International Conference, which is set to take place June 14-17, 2015 in Montego Bay, Jamaica.  Experts from across the globe will gather at this conference in order to discuss possible solutions to problems such as water scarcity, income generation sustainable livelihoods, nutrition and health, food security and climate change adaptation.

Conference speakers include Christopher Somerville, an Urban Agriculture Consultant at Food and Agriculture Organization of the United States, Denise A. Herbol, Mission Director at US Agency for International Development, and Thad M. Jackson, Executive Vice President of INMED Partnership.

– Jordyn Horowitz

Sources: INMED, INMED 2, INMED 3, Middleburg Women
Photo: Zimbio