Archive for category: Global Poverty

Key articles and information on global poverty.

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Top 5 U.S. Philanthropists

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When you think of Bill Gates, is your first thought Microsoft or astoundingly wealthy billionaire? How about philanthropist? The latter may have slipped your mind completely.

Through the joint efforts of the Philanthropic Research Institute, a nonprofit organization focused on creating philanthropic awareness, Forbes compiled a list of America’s fifty top philanthropists that have given the most money away. Below are the top five U.S. philanthropists.

Bill Gates falls into the utmost categories of the elite, leading the way as the world’s richest person with a net worth of an estimated $76 billion. Gates has lead the way as the world’s most wealthy man fifteen out of the last twenty years.

1. Not only does Gates’ hold the spot as the world’s richest man, but with the collaboration of his wife, Bill and Melinda Gates have snagged the spot as the U.S. top philanthropists donating $1.9 billion in 2012. The Gates’ lifetime giving is estimated at a whopping $28 billion.

2. Not to be outdone, Warren Buffet makes a close second having donated $1.87 billion in 2012 with a net worth of $58.7 billion. He fell short of the Gates’ by only $35 million. However, Buffet has committed to donating the remainder of his fortune before or upon his death mandating that it be put to use within ten years following the donation.

3. George Soros, founder of Soros Fund Management LLC and Forbes’ number one hedge fund manager, has donated $763 million with a lifetime giving of $10 billion putting him comfortably in third place.

4. Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg secured the fourth spot. With an estimated net worth of $23.4 billion, Zuckerberg donated $519 million in 2012 thus extending his lifetime giving to $549 million.

5. The Walton family, most notably known for Wal-Mart, are brought in at the final spot as the top five U.S. philanthropists. With a net worth of $144.4 billion, they gave $432 million dollars in 2012 bringing their lifetime giving to $4.6 billion dollars.

The total amount of money given by these top philanthropists towards philanthropic work in 2012 was more than $5.48 billion. That’s nearly one-fifth of what it would cost to end world hunger with the annual shortfall sitting at $30 billion per year.

Of the top philanthropists mentioned, no one donated more than 3.2 percent of their net worth but the astounding amount given by less than ten individuals cannot be ignored.

Forbes has reported that there are currently 1,645 billionaires in the world. It will take more than a call to action by the elite philanthropists. In order to put world hunger to an end, it will take a small step from everyone capable of helping.

Just think, how much is 3.2 percent of your net worth?  How can a portion of the money you spend regularly be used to make the life of someone stricken by poverty more sustainable? The answers do not lie solely in how much the monetarily elite of the world are donating, but the efforts made by those with the power to influence those groups.

– Janelle Mills

Sources: Philanthropic Research Institute, Forbes, The Borgen Project, BBC, Forbes
Photo: Skunkpot

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What’s the Matter with Mexico’s Margaritas?

They are small, green and Mexico’s staple fruit, but they are also rising steadily in price.

Mexico’s lime prices are soaring upwards of 50% each month this year, and it is taking a devastating toll on the Mexican working class. The prices are currently at an all-time high.

What is the cause of the hyperinflation? Limes have always been the most dependable fruit to sell in Mexico, so what are the reasons behind this sudden disruption?

Tax reform has caused a spike in inflation this year, and products such as sodas, junk foods and now limes are all incredibly expensive.

Limes were added to the list of pricey groceries after a disease struck the citrus fruits in Colima, Mexico. The disease is called “huanglongbing” (or “citrus greening disease”) and it infects fruit by way of tiny insects that infect both the tree and the fruit. The trees are left producing bitter, hardened limes until it ultimately dies.

Climate change is also to blame. “With the arrival of winter there has been a cold snap in nearby states,” stated Juan Leana Malpica, a Morelos state lime grower. The fruit do not taste as fresh; the quality of the Mexican limes is suffering.

A bartender from Mexico City, Manuel Ambrosio, states that because of the lack of limes he is unable to give his customers the same sized portion margaritas as before. Customers are upset that the quality of the fruit has gotten worse and Ambrosio’s business is declining because of it.

Margarita sales are down 30% because of the poor lime conditions and Ambrosio stated that “this is the worst [he’s] seen prices in four years.”

A safe fix is hard to find though. The violent outbreaks in Michoacan make the importation of limes difficult for growers because they do not want to risk putting their products on the roads. Vigilante groups are destroying dangerous drug cartels, and the threat of having lime growers’ livelihood intercepted is too high and too much of a hazard.

The United States is concerned about the risk of imported limes bringing in disease. Some importation services have been limited, including airlines, and this is also bringing up costs in Mexico.

Mexico is attempting to squelch this problem by cutting off infected lime tree branches and using nitrogen in October 2014 to make the trees flower “in February, March and April” of 2015. Rafael Abriz Cervantes of the Agriculture Ministry also mentioned that technology is being tested in hopes that it will help remedy the situation and bring back their staple fruit.

– Becka Felcon

Sources: Bloomberg, CNN, LA Times
Photo: Westword

The Relentless President of Syria

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Once an apolitical ophthalmologist in London, the president of Syria, Bashar al-Assad, has proven himself to be a more ruthless leader than the average Western-based eye doctor. The civil war, raging for over three years in Syria, has demolished entire cities, killed hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians and displaced even more. While most dictators would have stepped down by this point, Assad continues to exert a perverted power over the masses.

Hezbollah even claims he has won. The Shi’a Islamic militant group has notoriously supported and fought beside the Syrian government in efforts to defeat the rebels attempting to oust Assad from power. As such, Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah announced in a newspaper interview that any attempts at a military overthrow of the Syrian government have failed.

Nasrallah also expressed, in the same interview, his views on the origin of the war itself. Rather than a fight against corruption and for democracy, freedom and justice, Nasrallah believes the Syrian rebels mostly wanted to change the policies of the Syrian government in terms of Hezbollah and the Palestinian resistance movement. But whatever the primary goals of each individual rebel might be, Nasrallah does not think they stand a chance anymore. Incapable of waging a war large enough to take down Assad, the rebels may very well be weakening.

According to Lebanese sources, Assad is planning to run for reelection in July with a new campaign starting in May. The move, supported by Russia as a method of avoiding a power vacuum in the country, is rejected by the opposition. The extensive destruction caused by the civil war, in addition to the fact that many citizens are currently living in refugee camps in neighboring countries, makes it extraordinarily difficult for a reasonable number of people to freely and fairly exercise their right to vote.

It is not surprising, then, that the United States is taking extra measures to bring down Hezbollah. In an effort to undermine Hezbollah’s assistance of the Syrian regime, the U.S. House of Representatives introduced a bipartisan bill entitled the Hezbollah International Financing Prevention Act. The bill, if passed, will impose sanctions on any financial institutions found to be aiding Hezbollah in some effect. Hezbollah in recent times has wrought havoc on the region in ways the U.S. clearly does not appreciate, causing the Western nation to speak out against the terrorist organization that has had such a large affect on the civil war in Syria.

Hezbollah’s actions have not only resulted in a less than desirable outcome in Syria- they have also caused some lashing out in Lebanon. Many of Lebanon’s Sunni Muslims, who support the Syrian rebels, have reportedly attacked Hezbollah bases in acts of revenge fro the organization’s action in Syria. These attacks serve to augment a mounting fear that Syria’s civil war could spread, such that a civil war erupts in neighboring Lebanon as well. Assad’s power is clear. One can only hope that Syria’s destruction is not fatally contagious.

– Jaclyn Stutz

Sources: Al-Monitor, Al Arabiya, The Guardian, Haaretz
Photo: Accuracy In Media

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USAID Official Questioned On Aid in Afghanistan

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The US Agency for International Development (USAID) has spent approximately $17 billion in Afghanistan since 2001. In a recent letter from the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), the general counsel claims that USAID has not been diligent in monitoring the use of money to prevent contract aid from being used by groups linked to terrorist organizations.

The letter declares that USAID has purposely withheld information regarding these funds and the fact that the Afghan government did not exercise oversight regarding the appropriation of those funds. John Sopko, the inspector general for SIGAR, stated “USAID kept this information from Congress and the American people.”

Yet a spokesperson for USAID, Matthew Herrick, has denied any wrongdoing on behalf of the agency. Herrick claimed that USAID complied with all requests from members of Congress and their staff to show documents relating to the matter.

In order to ensure the money was not spent in a fraudulent manner, the House Subcommittee on National Security questioned the USAID Assistant Director for Afghanistan and Pakistan Donald L. Samper. Members on the subcommittee called into question the ability of Afghan ministries to oversee the allocation of USAID funds.

In a country notorious for its corruption, USAID conducted internal risk reviews of its dealings in the country. But Rep. John Tierney of Massachusetts stated that although USAID conducted risk reviews of seven of the thirteen Afghan ministries and made 333 recommendations on how to lessen the risk to USAID funds, the agency provided direct assistance to the seven ministries and only required 24 of the 333 recommendations to be implemented.

Sopko called for the Afghan government to take more concrete steps to increase its oversight of USAID-funded projects and decrease corruption before USAID doles out any more funding for development assistance. Overseeing the proper delegation of funding to Afghanistan has been emphasized recently. In 2012 the US government concluded that a contractor working there had links to networks that provided parts of improvised explosive devices to be used against US troops.

This latest revelation comes amidst another scandal in which the USAID spearheaded a so-called covert “Cuban Twitter” project codenamed ZunZuneo. As a result, the federal agency has been under increasingly strict scrutiny from Congress.

– Jeff Meyer

Sources: UPI, USA Today
Photo: The Guardian

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Women’s Education in Violence Prone Countries

In recent days, U.S. Senator Ed Royce (CA-R) announced that on April 3 the Foreign Affairs Committee will hold a hearing on Women’s education in violence prone countries and how it can promote the creation of economic opportunities and counter radicalism. The hearing will count with the presence of three experts on women’s education. In the words of Royce, the aim of the hearing is to assess “how a failure to appreciate its importance can result in missed opportunities for development and counter-radicalism.”

In the last three decades education opportunities have been greatly expanded, yet women are still at a disadvantage. The difference in countries like Pakistan can be as much as 30 points. While 70 percent of men over 15 years of age are considered literate, for women this only reaches 40 percent. In Afghanistan, this difference is even more astonishing where only 13 percent of women can read and write.

According to Royce, the hearing will reinforce the correlation between women and girl’s education and the promotion of economic growth, childhood development and an increase in life expectancy overall. There is strong evidence that connects women’s education and an increase in a country’s GDP. As women enter the labor force they increase the earning potential of their family. Moreover, as women tend to spend their income on children more than men, this helps increase a child’s survival more than twenty times than families supported only by men.

Pakistan is of special interest, which is why, after the hearing, the committee will move on to considering the Malala Yousafzai Scholarship Act (H.R. 3583). In honor of the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize nominee, Malala Yousafzai, this bill would require that 50 percent of the scholarships awarded under it be given to Pakistani women.

This comes at the same time when private donors have pledged to donate 1 billion to Pakistan for the support of educational programs over the next three years. According the former prime minister and now UN special envoy for education Gordon Brown, the goal is to provide education to 55 million Pakistanis over the age of ten who are considered illiterate. Pakistan’s government also wants to dedicate more resources to education in order to eventually achieve universal education. This is good news for women and girls in Pakistan, since one of the major goals of the pledge is to get a step closer to the eradication of child marriage, child labor, and gender discrimination.

– Sahar Abi Hassan

Sources: House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Brown, House Committee on Foreign Affairs

Photo: Glamour

The Social Entrepreneurship Movement Ireland

While Ireland has been in the headlines for its work towards financial recovery, it has also made a significant contribution to the growth of social entrepreneurship.

Ireland is currently home to 1,400 social enterprises, which employ about 25,000 people, with an expected increase of 65,000 jobs in the next few years. The number of social entrepreneurs in the country has continued to increase as well, with much of the rise attributed to Social Entrepreneurs Ireland (SEI).

The organization SEI was established in 2005 to support the growth of social enterprises. SEI believes that when a social entrepreneur is working on an innovative project, they should get the funding needed for the project to grow. By supporting these new solutions, SEI hopes that these entrepreneurs will be able to help as many people as possible.

Since 2005, it has invested a total of €5.4 million in the projects of 169 social entrepreneurs. SEI supports each project for up to 2 years. The projects SEI has supported have directly affected over 250,000 people across the country and have also created 850 jobs.

In regard to Ireland’s opportunity to become a leader in social entrepreneurship, SEI’s Head of Engagement Darren Ryan said, “There is so much potential and a conducive environment for social innovation; why couldn’t Ireland be the global leader in the development of social entrepreneurship?”

In order to support these social entrepreneurs, SEI has its annual Awards Programme, which awards funding to 9 social entrepreneurs out of about 200 applications. A number of the projects are centered on reducing unemployment and rural isolation and improving mental health.

In addition to its Awards Programme, SEI also has a Social Entrepreneurs Bootcamp and its Elevator Programme. The Social Entrepreneurs Bootcamp was created to help give support to rising social entrepreneurs.

The Elevator Programme entails 12 months of support and helps about 4 to 6 social entrepreneurs every year, in hopes of helping them to choose exactly what issue they want to focus on and figure out their solutions.

SEI expects that for any project it supports, the success rate will be between 50% and 75% or the failure rate will be between 25% and 50%, depending on when SEI chooses to invest.

In light of SEI’s predictions, Ryan said, “Anything higher than that and we will know we’re not taking enough risk. We want to ensure that we are always thinking big and looking for the ideas that have the potential to change Ireland.”

Along with the SEI, the global organization the School for Social Entrepreneurs (SSE) recently expanded to Ireland. The SSE offers courses to mentor and support social entrepreneurs.

The school holds study sessions that include witnesses, experts, and social enterprise visits. The school also offers Action Learning Sets, in which people have small-group discussions to talk about their ideas.

Another important feature of the SSE is its mentoring services, where the school chooses mentors for all of its social entrepreneurs. The mentors offer the budding entrepreneurs advice and guidance as well as additional information and support to help them in their projects.

With growing resources for social entrepreneurs, Ireland is likely to be a strong leader in helping solve some of the world’s biggest problems.

– Julie Guacci

Sources: Forbes, Social Entrepreneurs Ireland, School for Social Entrepreneurs
Photo: Meath Chronicle

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20 Ways to Fight Human Trafficking

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Human trafficking is not only a human security issue, but the fight against human trafficking is also one of the most important human rights causes of our generation. Global poverty is a direct link to the increase in human trafficking making the reduction of global poverty a goal in the near future to save the lives of thousands of young girls and boys within the next decade. Discussed below are the best practices that can be used to fight against human trafficking.

 

Solutions to Human Trafficking: 20 Ways to Fight

 

1. Look for red flags that may indicate human trafficking. For example, be aware of situations that can help identify potential trafficking victims. Also, check for human trafficking awareness groups around the community for more information.
2. For the United States, the National Human Trafficking Resource Center can be contacted at 1-888-373-7888 while on a global scale, Polaris can be reached at (888) 373-7888. Both are available twenty four hours a day and can provide a service officer which can provide and receive information regarding suspicious activity which may relate to human trafficking in the area.
3. Be aware of companies and products that may be involved with child labor. The department of labor provides a list of companies that do and do not utilize these practices.
4. Include human trafficking into the professional realm. Specifically, at conferences and within training manuals that relate to this discussion. Help people understand the severity of the issue.
5. Seek out anti-trafficking organizations or create a startup organization geared toward spreading awareness and ways to prevent these acts from occurring.
6. Find the local, state and federal government representatives and inform them about how to combat human trafficking in the community, and also ask what they are doing to address human trafficking in your area and at the global perspective.
7. Distribute public awareness materials available from the Department of Health and Human Services or the Department of Homeland Security around the community, local schools and universities.
8. Volunteer with local outreach or global outreach groups to help fight human trafficking.
9. Donate to an approved anti-trafficking group locally or globally.
10. Start a fundraiser to help provide assistance in the community as well as across the globe.
11. Host events to discuss, show films or do anything related to raising awareness of human trafficking. Promote this locally and collect donations to help fight for the cause.
12. Bring awareness to schools and universities. Encourage information to be provided in the curriculums and in the classrooms. Evoke emotion from students and share with them the steps to help fight for the end of human trafficking.
13. Utilize Google alerts to keep you up to date on current involvements with human trafficking.
14. Write letters to magazines, newspapers and even blogs to bring awareness to these issues.
15. Start a petition against human trafficking or sign a petition to support anti-human trafficking.
16. If you own a business, provide internships for students relating to these efforts or provide job skills to traffic survivors.
17. University students and high school students can take action at their school or on their campus. Students can raise awareness about these issues and create clubs and organizations to gain momentum to fight human trafficking.
18. Join a task force initiative for law enforcement officials.
19. Provide medical assistance at low cost to those who have survived human trafficking.
20. Help survivors gain access to legal assistance, so survivors can fight back as well.

– Rachel Cannon

 

Sources: U.S. State Department, Polaris Project
Photo: List DOSE

Pragati Palms: Progress for Rural Artisans

“Pragathi” is a Hindi word translated as “progress.” For the conscious western consumer as well as rural Indian villagers and artisans, progress is exactly what co-founders Adam Iversen and Pradeep Sharma are looking to create through their recently launched NGO, Pragati Palms.

After participating in an Acara course at the University of Minnesota, which challenges students to develop a socially and environmentally sustainable entrepreneur plan, Iversen received a grant from the university to travel to India and explore possible business partnerships.

Initially, Iversen and native-Indian Sharma planned to create a business focusing on Indian handicrafts. While visiting a rural Indian village, however, they stumbled upon a man handing out business cards made from palms. Iversen and Sharma were so impressed with the cards they thought they would order some for themselves as a way of representing Indian artisans. According to Iversen, “The reaction to our business cards was so positive, though, that we said ‘hey this could be a business in itself’ “ and thus the focused business of Pragati Palms business cards was born.

Pragati Palms is based out of Orissa, India, a rural state known for its elaborate palm leaf etchings. The business, therefore, offers villagers work relatively similar to art forms in which they participate. Pragati Palms honors Orissa’s culture and skill set while providing an alternative to the western print industry for environmentally and socially conscious western consumers. “When one ton of palm leaf waste is burnt, it produces 1.8 tons of carbon dioxide, contributing to global warming,” according to Tafline Laylin of GreenProfit.com. Pragati Palms recycles these palms into a new product avoiding environmental damage and producing jobs.

Dead palm fronds are collected by villagers and sent to a local workshop where women employed by Pragati Palms’ NGO partner, Dedicated to People, are cut into 1.5” by 3.5” business cards. Consumers can upload their own design or chose from one of several templates on the Pragati Palms’ website. Once ordered, palm fronds are manually screen-printed one color at a time, resulting in unique business cards. The palms are waterproof and highly flexible. Consumers can purchase a set of 100 cards on the Pragati Palms website for $35.

In describing the rewarding nature of his new business, Iversen expressed his commitment to providing consumers with alternatives to products within industries like print that are not normally environmentally and socially concerned.

– Heather Klosterman

Sources: Pragati Palms, Facebook, Twitter

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A Wider Circle: Good News from D.C.

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A hundred million people are estimated to be homeless in the world and the number is only growing bigger with the rise and fall of economies. It is estimated that there are another 100 million “hidden homeless” worldwide, a number which takes into account those living in abandoned houses, cars, or houses and apartments with little to no furnishings.

Dr. Mark Bergel, now deemed a CNN Hero, founded his organization after noticing the very few furnishings in the houses of those struggling to make ends meet.

Bergel started his journey as a professor at American University and eventually took on his vision to help others as a full time job. He founded an organization called A Wider Circle in 2001, a nonprofit devoted to furnishing the homes of families living in poverty, free of charge.

Since it’s founding, A Wider Circle has furnished the houses of over 125,000 people, but Bergel’s mission does not stop there. He is also committed to providing an education for those who have asked for one.

Managers from the Greater Washington Area’s homeless shelters mentioned to Bergel that an education in “life skills” and how to cope with stress would be highly beneficial for the shelters’ frequenters.

So that is just what Bergel did.

He incorporated educational programs into A Wider Circle’s mission to help lift adults and children out of poverty by communicating the importance of life skills and helping to adjust the “whole person.”

“I want to help create the change that will enable people to rise out of poverty and enjoy the freedom and independence afforded to others. Poverty is a human problem, and human beings will solve it,” Bergel explained.

After many community service trips, Bergel came face to face with the truth that many people living below the poverty line often lived without beds, tables and couches. Bergel stated that “most apartments had nothing but a chair… There was nothing that would give these people a sense of hope, [or] a sense of dignity.”

With new furnishings and one less issue to worry about Bergel hopes to give families room to breathe and the ability to start fresh.

Currently, A Wider Circle has two full warehouses complete with donated furniture, toys, clothes and clean sheets. Families are able to stop in and choose what they need from the selection.

Since donating his own bed in 2008, Bergel has been sleeping on his floor or couch. He says he intends to do so until every family in the United States has enough beds for each family member.

Bergel’s foundation is not only helping people in the U.S. to live easier lives, but he is also bringing attention to a global issue — the “hidden homeless.” By helping the lives of the “hidden homeless” in the U.S. Bergel is one step closer to addressing this issue on a global scale, and by publicizing his work, we are one step closer to inspiring others to follow his lead.

– Becka Felcon

Sources: CNN, A Wider Circle
Photo: Brown University

Black Gold: Film Summary

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The coffee farmers of Ethiopia are told that their coffee is gold. “If our coffee is gold,” the farmers ask, “then why do we get nothing?” Two billion cups of coffee are consumed every day around the world. Coffee beans are grown in poorer, developing nations and then shipped off to the West for consumption. The price of a cup of coffee is $0.12 in Ethiopia, while a cup in a Western country costs up to $2.90.

Four major multinational corporations dominate the world market: Kraft, Nestle, Proctor & Gamble and Sara Lee. Until 1989, an International Coffee Agreement regulated the supply of coffee on the world market. Now, the international price of coffee is established in the New York and London Stock Exchange, where coffee is the second most actively traded commodity.

Black Gold is a documentary about Ethiopian coffee farmers’ struggle to seek higher prices for their coffee beans. Ethiopia is the largest producer of coffee in Africa, with over 15 million individuals depending upon coffee farming and production for survival. Coffee makes up 67 percent of export revenue in Ethiopia.

Tadesse Meskela manages the Oromia Coffee Farmer’s Co-operative Union, which represents 74,000 coffee farmers. Through their union, they are cutting out the middlemen in the chain of coffee production. Not only do the farmers grow the coffee beans, they also roast the beans themselves.

These farmers and their families depend on the coffee beans to survive. These people are born into coffee-growing families and communities and they have little chance to escape. They are forced to become coffee farmers and to remain stuck in poverty.

The coffee beans create a single production economy, making the economy extremely dependent upon Western companies and consumers. These coffee farmers in Ethiopia do not receive subsidies from their governments. Slight fluctuations in price will greatly affect the local farmers.

There are many various interlinked factors that have created these unequal global trade relations. Many of them have links to colonial and post-colonial relationships. Through social, economic and political policies Western nations have forced developing nations to remain dependent upon them for survival.

In international organizations such as the World Trade Organization (WTO) developing nations are not able to have their voices and problems heard. The WTO sets rules of global trade, but is dominated by the larger, richer developed countries. These negotiations take place behind closed doors and the smaller delegations have been losing.

Consumer awareness of the farmers’ conditions is vital. While large multinational corporations and middlemen are benefiting from coffee production, the farmers themselves get almost nothing. Consumers need to be aware and ask for fair trade products. Fair trade coffee beans are labeled and available at most grocery stores.

In this age of increased globalization, it is important to be aware of how we are impacting the lives of other people, and how we are impacting the planet. When we go to Starbucks, and buy that cup of steaming coffee, we do not see the human lives that have been put into that cup. We do not see the coffee bean farmers praying for the weather to be kind. We do not see the women who pick the coffee beans for less than 50 cents a day. We do not see their children who go hungry. We only see the coffee in our cup and we are satisfied.

– Sarah Yan

Sources: Black Gold Film,The New York Times
Photo: Universal Cargo