Archive for category: Global Poverty

Key articles and information on global poverty.

Zimbabwe’s Dam Project Displaces Families

Human Rights
In October, 400 families (approximately 2,500 individuals) were forced out of their village and homes in Southeastern Zimbabwe in order to make room for a new dam. The Tokwe-Mukosi dam is being constructed by Sanlin, an Italian company, with funding from the Zimbabwean government.

The dam is intended to provide irrigation to the local area of Chibi where people have been vulnerable to famine and food insecurity as a result of little rainfall. The dam will also provide irrigation to the nearby city of Masvingo where water shortages have caused problems in recent years.

The construction of the dam began in the 1990s but was abruptly halted because of Zimbabwe’s economic hyperinflation. The construction resumed after the formation of the government of national unity in 2009.

The families that were displaced as a result of the construction were moved from Chibi to Nuanetsi Ranch, an area located in the Mwenezi district 100 kilometers away. Each household was given a four hectare plot of uncultivated land that is worth between $3000-$8000 as compensation.

Many families believe that this compensation is not enough to make up for the loss of land they have owned for generations. Richard Tarunvinga, 66, stated “[that was] my ancestral home and not even any amount of compensation will make me happy.”

The newly inhabited area does not have reliable access to water and the displaced families are forced to live in mud huts. The families are also busy clearing the trees from their land instead of planting maize, their staple crop, during prime planting season.  The new location is said to be a location unsuitable for anything except livestock farming. The relocation has also had a negative effect on children in these families are they are not going to school and unable to receive an education.

It is undetermined when the dam’s construction will be completed.

– Lienna Feleke-Eshete

Sources: All Africa, World Food Report

USAID Funds Innovation in Agriculture

World map
This past week, USAID, the Swedish government, Duke Energy Corporation, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation and more teamed up to fund organizations with agriculture and clean energy related innovations. The partners challenged organizations to invent new technologies that could implement clean energy and agriculture solutions in developing countries. Of the 475 applicants, 12 organizations were chosen and awarded $13 million in funding to implement their ideas into the developing world.

These technologies aim to help farmers increase production of crops by improving current irrigation, mechanization, agro-processing and storage systems. Among the winners were International Development Enterprised (iDE), The Earth Institute at Columbia University, Camco Advisory Services, Motivo Engineering, African Bamboo, Promethean Power Systems, University of Georgia Research Foundation and more.

The African Bamboo, for example, is an invention by Heartland Global that aims to make Bamboo, a common resource in Ethiopia, easier to process and utilize for construction and furnishing. Another innovation aims to improve the refrigeration and production of dairy products in Kenya. SunDanzer Refrigeration will use a battery-powered, portable refrigeration system to form “milk packs” that will remain chilled when being transported.

The announcement of the winners took place at the Development Exchange in Washington, D.C. All 12 chosen organizations had the opportunity to discuss their plans and the impact of their innovations. The event included speeches by USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah who stated that the event “demonstrates how we can harness ingenuity and entrepreneurship to generate and scale real solutions in our fight to end extreme poverty.”

– Lienna Feleke-Eshete

Sources: All Africa, Power Agriculture

Food Dumping: Is It Necessary?

Poverty is the lack of basics needs such as food, water, shelter, and healthcare. Food is one the most critical issues to end poverty. Many people think that food support (when not for emergency relief) is a big help to impoverished nations. However, the effect might be the opposite. By providing excessive food support or food dumping, rich countries are undercutting the core of third world countries’ economy.

In poor countries, agriculture is the biggest economic factor. “In developing countries, agriculture continues to be the main source of employment, livelihood and income for between 50-90% of the population,” and in Africa, almost 70% of people rely on farming as their main source of income.

If third world countries want to erase poverty, investing and stabilizing agriculture are extremely important. When other countries are providing excessive food support, they increase the food supply when food demand remains the same. This situation decreases the food price in the local market because local farmers have to compete with foreign food aid in the market. Since the price for food decreases, the farmers do not have the ability to reinvest the profit into their land and their crop.

In addition, many developed countries have moved away from agriculture to focus on their competitive advantages (technology and service sectors). Therefore, they are in need of food supply. Since most of the food supply comes from developing countries. If these countries do not have the capability to provide, the world can experience a food shortage.

The beneficial solution is to help the poverty farmers with farming education, not food dumping. The more they produce, the more money they will obtain, the more like likely they are to get out of poverty. In addition, poor farmers will have to use cheap and unsafe farming treatment to their plants and cause health issues globally. According to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the key factors for farming supports are (1) listening to their needs, (2) increase farm productivity, (3) fostering sustainable farming practice.

– Phong Pham

Sources: Gates Foundation, Shaebia, T.R.A.D.E.
Photo: Stephen Raburn

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Universal Access Project

The Universal Access Project’s mission is to achieve the fifth Millennium Development Goal to provide universal access to reproductive health care by 2015.

Today, roughly 222 million women lack the simple luxury in their lives of family planning services. To provide such services would not only help these women; it would improve overall global health, strengthen communities, decrease death rates of mothers and newborns and help alleviate global poverty.

The choice and the freedom to decide if and when to bear a child belong in the category of basic human rights. Providing easy access to contraceptives for women in third-world countries ensures that everyone may enjoy the same rights, and is predicted to reduce the amount of unwanted pregnancies worldwide from 7.5 million to 22 million.

The Universal Access Project is chiefly focused on informing and mobilizing U.S. policy makers to support international reproductive health as a major element of U.S. foreign development assistance.

Although often overlooked in the shadow of seemingly more important and immediate issues, universal access to reproductive health care deserves attention. Studies conducted in Zambia have shown that one dollar invested in family planning saves four dollars in other health related issues over time; it also reduces newborn deaths by 44%.

Annually, about 350,000 women die from pregnancy and childbirth complications, making it the leading cause of death for women in developing countries. By providing them with family planning options, this number may be reduced by one-third – over 100,000 deaths prevented each year.

A website has been created in affiliation with the Universal Access Project – WhyWeCare.org – which compiles essays by 15 prominent leaders from different fields across the globe who support the initiative. Their stories are personal, touching and motivational, giving readers an accurate and related sense of urgency in regards to this project.

Although 2015 is a little more than a year away, founders of the project and members of the UN Foundation remain confident in its future success. Since the initiative’s start in 2008, U.S. funding for family planning has witnessed a 30% increase.

In the words of CNN news network founder and philanthropist Ted Turner (who is also a contributor to WhyWeCare.org), “Complications from pregnancy are the leading cause of death of women in their reproductive years, killing an average of 1,000 women per day. That number is just plain unacceptable in this day and age.”

– Natalia Isaeva

Sources: UN Foundation, K4Health, WhyWeCare.org
Photo: The Trenches

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5 “Nerdy” Charities

Whether someone is a fan of computers or an avid gamer, they stand for it with pride and enjoy being a part of your respective community. Perhaps they wish to do a good deed for the world, but are not sure where to start; below they will find a list of the five charities that best resonate with the interests of many people:

1. EurekaFund

Revolving around various proposals for creating clean, innovative, environmentally-friendly technology, EurekaFund is a database of current research proposals that require further funding. The site provides options of directly donating to a particular project or–in the case that they are a scientist–the possibility of submitting their work and opening a fund of its own.

2. SciFlies

A site to for browsing and inspiration, SciFlies includes modern solutions by conscientious scientists, whose individual profiles are also accessible here. Consumers will read their stories and surely discover something worthy of their time: many of the designs presented here induce a lot of promise and hope for the near future. All fundable projects are accessibly categorized by subtopics, often including photographs and links to outside sources for more in-depth information.

3. Creative Commons

With a mission of universalizing innovation, creativity, and information, and in partnership with Research & Development, Creative Commons is an excellent place for those desiring to see a world of knowledge. Think everyone should have an equal chance at higher education? Check out Creative Commons. In the information and technology age of today, there are few things we cannot accomplish already–to help further spread knowledge across the population is to revolutionize our future.

4. Child’s Play Charity

Here is one for us worldly gamers. Child’s Play is a game industry charity that has been around for a decade. Through donations from its followers, it supplies over seventy hospitals and its young residents across the globe with toys and games. All goals are set up as “achievements” in this charity, and the impact it has in its focus area has brought a lot of positive feedback to gamers.

5. Wikipedia

Good, old, trustworthy Wikipedia–everyone with access to a computer and internet knows Wikipedia, everyone uses Wikipedia, and most cannot help loving Wikipedia. The non-profit online encyclopedia with endless resources always welcomes donations; help sponsor what is shaping up to be our primary source of information if you enjoy having nearly anything you need to know in just one search away.

– Natalia Isaeva

Sources: Eureka Fund, SciFlies, Child’s Play, Creative Commons, Hub Pages
Photo: Agiel Geoscience

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Child Labor: An Overview

Child_Labor_an_Overview
“Millions of children are victims of violence and exploitation. They are physically and emotionally vulnerable and they can be scarred for life by mental or emotional abuse. That is why children should always have the first claim on our attention and resources. They must be at the heart of our thinking on challenges we are addressing on a daily basis. We know what to do, and we know how to do it. The means are at hand, it is up to us to seize the opportunity and build a world that is fit for children,” remarked Ban Ki-moon, Secretarty-General of the United Nations on November 20, 2009, on the Twentieth Anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Just as Ban Ki-moon mentioned, children are not physically or mentally ready to enter the labor force. With the lack of physical abilities, the safety of the workplace cannot be ensured, for both the children and other employees. In fact, children are more likely to be abused and mistreated in an environment centering around child labor.

“Few human rights abuses are so widely condemned, yet so widely practiced. Let us make (child labor) a priority. Because a child in danger is a child that cannot wait,” stated Kofi Annan, Former UN Secretary-General. Around the world, more than 211 million children between the age of 5 and 14 are being forced to work. Among these children, 120 million children are working full time.

To eradicate child labor, people should first understand what leads to such situations. For example, poverty is the first and foremost reason of child labor.  Since many parents do not have the capability to support their household, children end up working to help support the family’s daily lives. Another reason for child labor is a poor education system.

When education is expensive or not readily available, impoverished parents do not see the benefit of learning and think that working is a better alternative. In the United States, there are many laws that prohibit child labor, however, in some countries, child labor laws exist, but are not enforced. Companies can thus take advantage of the cheap labor and further exploit it.

On the other hand, many organizations have been striving to put a stop to child labor by various programs. For example, the United Nations has been running campaigns to raise the awareness of child labor across various nations and airing them in global events such as the World Cup. Moreover, in order to raise the level of education in poverty stricken areas, the Red Cross and governments of third world countries have been recruiting teachers to volunteer in remote areas.

– Phong Pham

Sources: Child Labor Public Education Project, UN: Agencies Urge Greater Action, International Labor Rights Forum, UN: Child Labor
Photo: Addicting Info

 

Facts about Child Labor

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10 Great Quotes About the Poverty of War

War seems endemic to civilization, and in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Nigeria and other places around the world people are fighting right now for some of the same basic reasons they have for millennia. Access to resources often determines the victors in any struggle, but both sides must face deprivations during any prolonged conflict and those hardships tend to be what most observers remember most vividly. Most of humanity’s greatest minds have witnessed war from one vantage or another and few have ever had any accolades to laud on the subject but many have had something to say. Here are a few thoughts from some great thinkers, most who witnessed war in the modern era.

1. “Probably, no nation is rich enough to pay for both war and civilization. We must make our choice; we cannot have both.” ~Abraham Flexner, American educator

2. “When the rich wage war it’s the poor who die.”~Jean-Paul Sartre, French philosopher from his play Le diable et le bon dieu

3. “Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children. This is not a way of life at all in any true sense.” ~Dwight D. Eisenhower delivered this message as part of a speech on peace during his presidency

4. “No matter what political reasons are given for war, the underlying reason is always economic.” ~A. J. P. Taylor, British historian and broadcaster

5. “The 1st panacea of a mismanaged nation is inflation of the currency; the 2nd is war. Both bring a temporary prosperity; a permanent ruin.” ~Ernest Hemingway, American writer and world traveler

6. “There is no instance of a country having benefited from prolonged warfare.” ~Sun Tzu, from The Art of War

7. “The basic problems facing the world today are not susceptible to a military solution.” ~John F. Kennedy said this in a speech during a West Point graduation

8. “How is it possible to have a civil war?” ~George Carlin, American comedian

9. “Even the most piddling life is of momentous consequence to its owner.” ~James Wolcott, current American journalist and writer

10. “Wars are poor chisels for carving out peaceful tomorrows.” ~Martin Luther King Jr. said this when speaking of the horrors of the Vietnam War

– Tyson Watkins

Sources: AAVW, IAS, Antiwar, Brainy Quote, Goodreads, EdChange, The Borgen Project Magazine
Photo: The Guardian

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Syrian Refugee Camps in Demand

Overfull and varying widely in accommodation, Syrian refugee camps have become an international crisis. The United Nations has made the largest humanitarian appeal for aid ever at $5 billion to relieve the situation but has received less than $2 billion to date. Some 2.2 million refugees are currently scattered across Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt while more Syrians are fleeing war at an alarming pace. Estimates say more than 3 million refugees will be in those areas by January.

Such numbers are startling given the Syrian population before the onset of war was only  22.5 million. Lebanon, for example, has no official camps despite having more than a million refugees in its borders and does not allow the building of permanent refugee structures. Those who can afford it rent apartments or rooms in the cities at an exorbitant rate while others share the homes of sympathetic civilians or even inhabit abandoned buildings in depressed areas. In the northeast region, an average of 17 people per household are packed together according to a study conducted by Doctors Without Borders last year.

Water, food and healthcare are rationed out slowly and insufficiently, with less to go around as numbers rise. Employment for refugees was around 20% last year in Lebanon, and the economies of Iraq, Turkey and Jordan are in little better position to provide opportunities for such a rapid influx of labor.

Dependency on humanitarian aid is heightened and the desperation of the situation has many refugees working for extremely low wages in poor conditions and engaging in child labor. Economic and physical insecurity in Jordan’s Zataari camp has led parents to arrange hurried marriages for their teenage daughters as young as 14. Matchmakers recruit young girls for Saudi husbands but often end up as prostitutes or victims of “pleasure marriages” where the suitor divorces them after consummation.

Though some of Syria’s displaced persons find bourgeois  housing in Cairo or end up in one of Turkey’s refugee camps that consist of metal trailers with access to satellite T.V. and air conditioning, most see basic necessities and sanitation as luxuries. The Domiz camp in Iraq is made up primarily of tents and has 45,000 residents despite being designed for just 30,000. In just two weeks between August and September, more than 1,500 people were treated for upper respiratory infections there by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Security is also an issue in these camps with reports of rape, theft, kidnapping and murder being common. In the Zataari camp, Jordan security forces restrict entry but lack the manpower to adequately police the camp’s 120,000 residents. Other camps in Iraqi Kurdistan and Turkey reportedly funnel arms and recruits back into Syria. In Lebanon, crime has increased by 30% and increased tensions between Hezbollah and Sunni refugees may be behind the recent bombing of the Iranian embassy in Beirut.

Syria’s bordering nations are gradually increasing restrictions for entering refugees. Lebanon and Turkey are both planning to relocate some people to camps they wish to build within Syria’s insecure borders. Only about 25% of Syria’s refugees are actually in camps now, the rest are trying to survive by their own means. There are also an additional 3.8 million who are internally displaced.

Despite their faults, the refugee camps provide essential support and the need for more camps is evident, but where they can be built and how they will be funded is not so clear.

– Tyson Watkins

Sources: Medecins Sans Frontieres, World Health Organization, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees: Syrian Arab Republic,
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees: Moving Refugees, The Guardian, Integrated Regional Information Networks, BBC, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees: Syrian Regional Response Plan, Aljazeera, The Daily Star United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees: Stories from Syrian Refugees, The New York Review of Books
Photo: NPR

Kenneth Cole: Wearing Advocacy

Getting involved has never looked so good.

When he’s not introducing some of the most fashion-forward and innovative clothes in the industry, fashion icon Kenneth Cole is promoting Awearness.

A careful reader, or spelling-stickler, will surely be screaming right now about a typo in the previous paragraph.  But “Awearness” is actually a pun and the charitable vision of Kenneth Cole: “wearing” Kenneth Cole clothing promotes awareness of the many issues championed by the fashion label.  From HIV/AIDS advocacy to Disaster Relief, Cole’s Awearness foundation has supported many laudable causes.

One of the organization’s greatest achievements is the Kenneth Cole Haiti Health Center (KCHHC).  The Center opened in 2012 and functions as a critical source of medicine and advanced health care in the region.  The KCHHC has treated 6,000 patients each year since its opening.  It is also a base for the continuing effort of providing relief in the aftermath of the earthquake from 2010 that left the country reeling.

Cole is also the chairman of the board for amfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research.  A notable accomplishment during his tenure at amfAR is the introduction of four new anti-HIV drug treatments.  Using his role as chairman, Cole routinely partners his fashion line with amfAR to raise funds for HIV/AIDS research.  For instance, all sales of the specially designed “amfAR Watch” will benefit the organization’s research.  A battery-free skeleton watch, wrapped with a rose gold frame and the AIDS Awareness ribbon on the watch’s back, makes for both a wonderful gift idea during the holiday season and a great way to fight for HIV/AIDS research.

Kenneth Cole has always prided himself on being a bit of an iconoclast in the fashion world.  His pun-filled advertisement campaigns do not shy away from heavy subject matters.  One advertisement includes two fashionable young women carrying Kenneth Cole designer bags with the pithy slogan, “We are all potential carriers.”  The ad is a great example of the blending of Cole’s fashion with his AIDS advocacy.  Another example can be seen in a campaign ad on New York subway trains: “Latest AIDS statistic: 0,000,000 vaccinated.”

But Kenneth Cole’s largest mantra is, “What You Stand For Is More Important Than What You Stand In.”  It’s a sobering reminder that being fashionable is meaningless in the face of being an advocate for change.

– Taylor Diamond

Sources: Awearness Foundation, AMFAR, Kenneth Cole, Amazon
Photo: PhilanthrophyIs

Cost Comparison: Christmas Trees

Every year millions of Americans know the joy of spending the day or evening putting up their Christmas tree. And with Christmas fast approaching it is interesting to take a look at everyone’s favorite coniferous tree.

Decorating one’s home with evergreen trees is an ancient tradition dating back to the Romans. An ancient symbol of life in the midst of winter, this practice was eventually adopted by Christians at some point in the 16th century. Over the course of the next few hundred years the trees went from decorations of fruit and nuts, to candles and tinsel to today’s modem electric color, candy cane variant.

However you choose to decorate it, the Christmas tree has become a powerful symbol of Christmas. It just doesn’t feel like Christmas until old faithful is setup and decorated. It’s hard to imagine a Christmas without one—where would you put the presents?

In the U.S. there are approximately 25-35 million real Christmas trees and 9.5 million fake ones sold every year. At any given time there are 350 million Christmas trees growing on farms. Given that each tree takes about 7 years to fully mature that is a lot of space dedicated to Christmas trees.

Still, every year consumers purchase tees to the tune of $1.07 billion and $670 million for real and fake trees respectively.  That is a lot of money for a decoration that last about two weeks on average.

In comparison, the cost of helping rebuild homes in the Philippines is $10.25 million. Habitat for Humanity is taking donations now in an effort to help rebuild homes that were devastated by Super Typhoon Haiyan. They currently have raised nearly $500,000 of an estimated $10 million needed. According to their website that equates to 87 homes rebuilt.

This year when you are enjoying your Christmas tree in the comfort of your home, give a thought to the thousands who were displaced and the millions suffering without a home in the Philippines.

– Pedram Afshar

Sources: Statistic Brain, National Christmas Tree Association, History, Habitat for Humanity
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