Archive for category: Women’s Empowerment

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Five Ways the United Nations Empowers Women Globally

United Nations Empowers Women
The United Nations (UN) is a multinational organization that promotes universal human rights, encourages global cooperation and establishes international law and order among nation-states. The United Nations empowers women because they are the spearhead of social equality. The organization has made great strides in the fight against gender inequality, and the United Nations empowers women socially, politically and economically.

Five Ways the United Nations Empowers Women Globally

  1. Within Kyrgyzstan, the U.N. is teaching 15,000 young people to respect and appreciate gender diversification. The United Nations’ education program in the Chui region of Kyrgyzstan is tackling issues that impact girls and women. The program will consist of seminars that discuss a variety of different topics, such as violence, diversity and livelihood skills.The main objective of these discussions is to bring awareness through education, creating harmonious, respectful relations between men and women. They will enlighten the youth on both human rights and fundamental business skills, allowing the youth to grow together to form more inclusive economic, political and social initiatives for the present and future.Girls are facing many challenges within Kyrgyzstan. The United Nations empowers women by spreading a message of universal human rights. The country is adopting these morals in order to make a better tomorrow for the women of Kyrgyzstan.

  2. Several African countries are currently bringing an end to gender-based violence in education systems. The United Nations, Education International and Gender at Work founded “Education Unions Take Action to End School-Related Gender-Based Violence” in 2016, and the initiative continues to be implemented today. The United Nations empowers women in Ethiopia, Kenya, South Africa, Uganda and Zambia through this program.The goal of this program is to decrease gender-based violence within schools across Africa. Unions have banded together in order to strengthen the cause, learning that education plays a vital role in providing safety to young girls, boys and educators. Discussions and classes have proven to be effective in the fight against gender-based violence. Now, these unions are introducing a global campaign in order to educate the world about the challenges their communities face and the practices they use in order to decrease violence.
  3. The U.N. is hosting workshops in African countries in order to encourage education among girls. The United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative (UNGEI) has a vision for the year of 2030: an inclusive, fair education system that supports equality among women. The workshops across Africa will help with this vision.Called the “Gender-Responsive Education Sector Planning Workshop,” planners for the academic school year will learn about new ways to incorporate young girls in classes. They will also effectively and fairly include both genders in lesson plans. These workshops are sure to provide more opportunities to young girls through West and Central Africa.
  4. The U.N. is giving rural women access to digital technology in order to fortify their economic equality. Many women across the globe work in agriculture, yet they do not have the same property rights as men. The United Nations reported that rural women make up over 25 percent of the world’s population. Rural women provide the food for their communities, yet landowning and financing are just two liberties that they often cannot obtain; the U.N. is working to make that different.The U.N. is breaking gender barriers by giving rural women digital technology so that they can compete with men in the agricultural business. Women are now better able to access agriculture inputs and technologies for climate resilience.The indigenous women of Guatemala are further examples of how the U.N. is empowering rural women globally. These ladies participate in a joint program of many international organizations that help women become financially stable and independent. They are now saving money, which results in better conditions for their home life.
  5. Marta Vieira da Silva is now a Goodwill Ambassador, through which she can empower young ladies to accomplish their dreams. Marta Vieira da Silva is a Brazilian soccer player who now works for the U.N. as a Goodwill Ambassador. She has committed herself to helping young women achieve their goals, whether it is through sports, politics, medicine, business, engineering, etc.Vieira da Silva will work closely with the U.N. Women Executive Director in order to increase opportunities for girls in sports. If complete equality is to be reached, it means equality in all things—including sports. World leaders and international organizations view sports as an engaging way to strengthen gender equality and women’s empowerment.

The United Nations empowers women of all backgrounds and proves that women can do anything if they are only given the chance. With continued efforts from organizations like the U.N., total gender equality is within the world’s reach.

– Diana Hallisey
Photo: Flickr

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How Female Entrepreneurs in Latin America Are Improving Lives

Female Entrepreneurs in Latin AmericaThe entrepreneurial spirit is catching in South America. According to the World Bank, 63 percent of Latin Americans believe they have what it takes to start a successful business. Meanwhile, local governments are offering support to local entrepreneurs. In Chile, the environment is so strong for startups that it has been dubbed “Chilecon Valley.”

Despite this, there is still widespread poverty in the region. An estimated 25 percent of the population lives below the poverty line of $4 a day. The situation is even worse for women, as only 53 percent participate in the labor force. Fortunately, three women are aiming to change that by helping their local communities and being role models for prospective female entrepreneurs in Latin America.

Leila Velez

Leila Velez is a Brazilian entrepreneur who is aiming to bring the efficiency of waste management in the fast food industry to beauty salons. She started her business, Beleza Natural, at 19 years old with the hope of bringing the accessibility of places like McDonald’s to the beauty industry. Now, her company has locations all over Brazil and employs 3,000 people, many of whom Velez says are single mothers in their early 20s.

While Velez may have modeled aspects of her salons after fast food, she did not want them to become another low paying job people take on temporarily. She wanted to provide career opportunities that give her employees sustainability in life. She says working at her salon is the first job of 90 percent of her employees and she wants her company to offer the opportunity to build a career rather than be a temporary stop.

Jimena Flórez

When Jimena Flórez began her initiative to educate rural farmers about sustainability, she had no idea it would lead to an international snack food company. Chaak Healthy Snacks, originally called Crispy Fruits, works closely with local Colombian farmers to provide healthy snack foods like low sugar brownies to 90,000 kids per month.

Flórez’s company started out trying to help out local Colombian farmers by helping them use organic techniques she learned from relatives in Germany. When she visited her family’s German brewery after college, she knew she could bring the information back to help Columbians. This led to a dry fruit company that later rebranded to healthy snack foods to appeal to an international audience.

In 2015, former President Barack Obama invited Florez to attend a Global Entrepreneurship Event where he thanked her for “helping to lift up his community.” As one of six young entrepreneurs invited, Florez is primed to expand and continue to provide healthy snacks all over the world as one of the many rising female entrepreneurs in Latin America.

Marian Villa Roldán

Being a female entrepreneur is difficult anywhere, but in Latin America, where a certain level of masculinity called “machismo” is integral to the culture, it is more difficult. The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean found that 40 percent of Latin American women have been on the receiving end of violence in their lives. This negative attitude toward femininity goes all the way to the top, where only 17 percent of executive positions are held by women.

Marian Villa Roldan and her company Eversocial are out to change that. Eversocial, an online marketing and design company, has supported numerous initiatives that empower Latin American women, including PionerasDev, which helps teach young women how to code. Eversocial has also supported Geek Girls LatAm, a similar organization that helps Latin American women get into STEM fields.

Success for Female Entrepreneurs in Latin America

Latin American women pursuing careers in entrepreneurship are succeeding in a tough environment, but they do not let that stop them from giving back to their communities. Whether it be through providing employment, offering a helpful product, or supporting noble causes, these women fight poverty and serve as role models for the next generation of female entrepreneurs in Latin America.

– Jonathon Ayers
Photo: Flickr

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The State of the Feminist Movement in Nicaragua

feminist movement in Nicaragua
Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega has been the source of recent uprisings, protests and a nationwide mobilization. Recurrent mishandlings of serious social, environmental and equality issues are causing national unrest that is far from over. The protests are ultimately trying to strike the Ortega administration out of the game. The public has no intention of settling for corruption, oppression and gender inequality. A great part of this movement is the renewed vigor in the feminist movement in Nicaragua.

The History of the Feminist Movement in Nicaragua

Nicaragua is no stranger to the feminist movement. The women’s movement for equality was actually birthed during the overthrow of the repressive Somoza dictatorship. The percentage of women involved in the coup reached a record high. The 60s and 70s gave women the chance to separate themselves from their traditional roles and participate in the struggle of war instead; it brought a revolutionary consciousness to the reality of numerous gender inequalities.

The country is currently pushing for equal rights via an end to gender-based violence and oppression. Women’s equality accounts for fair wages, respect and better opportunities in both education and careers, which are all crucial factors for lifting people out of poverty.

The New Womens’ Movements

Vital to the success of the revolution, women have since materialized the feminist movement in Nicaragua into a national network of feminine support encompassing any and all socio-economic, ethnic and political backgrounds.

A direct response to shifting public policy, The Working and Unemployed Women’s Movement or Maria Elena Cuadra (MEC), was founded in 1994. This independent organization strives to not only defend the human, labor and gender rights of Nicaraguan women but also to help women assert and take advantage of these rights, especially within the legal arena.

MEC brings public awareness about both domestic violence and reproductive health, which are two serious living conditions that can negatively exacerbate the cycle of poverty. The unemployed are given job training and their advocates push political policy that supports economic independence, self-employment and self-management.

A Modern Day Push

It is not uncommon for Latin American countries to revolve around highly macho and patriarchal societies. High school degrees and the pursuit of higher university education are rare in rural communities, and women often drop their studies as a result of pregnancy. Working as a street vendor to provide income for the family is not uncommon; however, even more problematic is the tragedy of families selling off their children into the sex trafficking business due to extreme poverty.

A group by the name Grupo de Mujeres Xitlali was established in 2011 to help relieve these devastating living conditions and empower girls and women of Nicaragua to take hold of their own lives. The organization helps the oppressed women to regain power over their bodies and personal development as well as grow in a space of equality where their rights are actively defended and encouraged.

Similarly, Casa Alianza Nicaragua (CAN) provides great relief to the devastation of global sex trafficking. Opened in 1998 in the capital city of Managua, Casa Alianza provides centers and programs for homeless women and children in need of aid. One of their greatest visions is to provide empowerment to the victims of heinous trafficking and violence through vocational training, family education, housing as well as gender awareness and sexual diversity awareness projects.

One by one and step by step, advocates are building women back up and encouraging them to stand up and stand out. Via essential education, job training and empowerment, women are now getting the attention, awareness, recognition and care that they deserve. Despite a grueling journey under the Ortega administration, the fight continues to be fought.

– Mary Grace Miller
Photo: Flickr

Four Significant Examples of Female Empowerment in Rwanda

Female Empowerment in Rwanda
The Rwandan genocide of 1994 sparked the beginning of female empowerment in Rwanda. After this tragedy, much of the population left in this East African country was made up of women. This enabled them to have a voice in the public sector of Rwanda, empowering all Rwandan women to take a stand for their nation.

Four Examples of Female Empowerment in Rwanda

  1. President Paul Kagame led the call for female empowerment in Rwanda. President Kagame realized that women would need to play a large role in Rwanda’s restoration. A new constitution was passed in 2003 which stated that 30 percent of parliamentary seats would be reserved for women. Girls’ education was also very much encouraged as well as women being appointed to leadership roles.The president’s policies were welcomed by all Rwandans and quotas were met and surpassed extraordinarily. In the country’s 2003 election, 48 percent of parliamentary seats went to women; in the next election, 64 percent of seats went to women.
  2. Rwanda leads the world by having the most women in its national legislature. On this same scale, the U.S. ranks ninety-sixth with only 19 percent of its governmental seats held by women.
  3. Abishyizehamwe, in collaboration with the ActionAid Fund Leadership Opportunities for Women (FLOW), is a women’s smallholder farmers’ group formed in 2013 in order to mobilize women to learn and adopt sustainable agriculture practices. The organization opened an early childhood care center to provide women with the opportunity to spend less time caring for children and more time generating income for their families. FLOW and Abishyizehamwe have allowed Rwandan women to help support their families financially instead of just being an unpaid caretaker.
  4. Since 1997, Women for Women International has helped more than 76,000 Rwandan women become economically autonomous. The organization’s one-year program has allowed women to strengthen themselves as well as their country by gaining economic and social self-sufficieny. Through this program, women are able to succeed in anything from yogurt-making to brick-making to hospitality management. Women for Women International has allowed Rwandan women to go from being poverty-stricken to having voices in their country and making a real difference in rebuilding Rwanda.

Female empowerment in Rwanda has come a long way since the genocide in 1994, but it still has a long way to go. Women are now very prominent in the public sector, but it is important that they also gain autonomy in their private lives. Nations around the world should look to Rwanda as a prime example of how much women can accomplish when they are given the chance.

– Megan Maxwell
Photo: Google

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Empowering Women Through Education and Entrepreneurship Reduces Poverty

Empowering Women Through Education and Entrepreneurship
A majority of the world’s poor are women, and gender inequality pervasive in countries around the world is a key reason for this occurrence. Women face barriers to obtaining education and entering the economy that men do not — globally, 33 million fewer girls than boys are enrolled in primary education, and women constitute 61 percent of the illiterate population between the ages of 15 and 24.

Education and Entrepreneurship

Empowering women through education and entrepreneurship reduces poverty by increasing their employability and enabling them to provide for their families and contribute to the economic development of their communities.

Without education, girls are more likely to be trafficked or become child brides; it is also more likely that women and their families will live in poverty. Education is crucial to the reduction of poverty, as it enables women to acquire jobs, help provide for their families and contribute to their local economy.

Women’s incomes rise between 10-20 percent per year of education they receive. This rise in income can be the factor that raises families out of poverty, as women reinvest 90 percent of their incomes into their families (50-60 percent more than men do). This can improve a family’s economic status and increases its food security.

Empowerment in the Workplace

However, many women and girls do not receive the education they need to acquire good jobs. Even women who can obtain an education are not guaranteed work in some developing countries where social norms relegate women to the domestic sphere. In fact, these options can often consign women to duties of housework and childcare and discourage them from entering the workforce.

By empowering women through education and entrepreneurship, women can break down these social norms that restrict not only their own success, but also the prosperity of their communities.

Women who are able to work still face substantial inequality. They often have lower incomes than men in the same positions, and more than one billion women cannot access basic financial services. For example, women farmers in many developing countries are restricted from owning land, accessing credit and acquiring productive resources.

Women also do not receive the same support from national and international development organizations as men do, though they on average produce higher values of output than men. Empowering women through education and entrepreneurship can reduce poverty by allowing women to be productive workers and contribute to the economy.

Economic Benefits of Female Empowerment

The World Bank and the Food and Agriculture Organization estimate that developing countries’ agricultural output would increase by between 2.5-4 percent if female farmers had equal access to productive agricultural resources and services. If such resources became available, it would reduce the number of hungry people worldwide by 150 million.

In Malawi and Ghana, improving women’s access to resources increased the production of corn by more than 15 percent, and Burkina Faso experienced a production gain of six percent when fertilizer and labor were reallocated on an equal basis.

With the rapidly rising global population, this increase in food production is crucial to people’s survival. In addition, if gender inequality and the financial barriers women face are addressed, $28 trillion could be added to the global annual GDP by 2025.

Addressing & Reducing Global Poverty

To reduce global poverty, the world needs women; but women need the opportunity to obtain an education and be a part of the economy. The Protecting Girls’ Access to Education in Vulnerable Settings Act and the Women’s Entrepreneurship and Economic Empowerment Act both empower women. They both have the ability to reduce poverty by helping women achieve equality and would each cost less than $500,000 over a four-year period.

The Protecting Girls’ Access to Education Act would prioritize efforts to provide girls and women — particularly those in vulnerable settings such as conflict zones and refugee camps — access to safe primary and secondary education. It would focus on reducing discrimination against displaced girls and improving their educational and entrepreneurial opportunities.

The Women’s Entrepreneurship and Economic Empowerment Act would require the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to conduct a gender-analysis to identify and understand gender gaps so as to better address these in the workplace. Gender-specific measures to empower women would be established in USAID programs, and the agency would expand support for businesses owned and managed by women. The act also emphasizes the importance of eliminating gender-based violence.

Goal of Gender Equality

The United Nations, FAO, World Bank, World Economic Forum and others all recognize the importance of gender equality in the reduction of global poverty. The Protecting Girls’ Access to Education in Vulnerable Settings Act and the Women’s Entrepreneurship and Economic Empowerment Act are two bills the United States government could pass to help solve the issue of gender inequality and poverty.

Empowering women through education and entrepreneurship will reduce poverty levels among current and future generations, and will benefit not only developing countries but the whole world as well. ­

– Laura Turner
Photo: Flickr

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“Evolvin’ Women” Fights Gender Inequality in Ghana

Evolvin’ Women
The social enterprise, “Evolvin’ Women,” connects hospitality partners in Dubai with women from developing countries who lack access to education and employment. Evolvin’ Women’s international work and internship placements provide women in Ghana with training and experience in the hospitality industry.

These connections would otherwise be non-existent in many women’s lives due to personal, political and cultural circumstances in the developing world. Training opportunities empower women to return to their home countries with higher-paying jobs and better suited to support their family, community and national growth.

Evolvin’ Women

Based in Dubai, Evolvin’ Women empowers women to acquire leadership roles both in business and in their communities, especially in the Ghanan hospitality industry. Year-long internships in Dubai provide training across the different functions of hotel operations, via both face-to-face and e-learning methods.

Interns in Dubai receive hundreds of mentorship hours and complete online certified training programs. According to Assia Riccio, founder of Evolvin’ Women, entry level hospitality work in Ghana pays around $400 a month.

Life at Home Post-Dubai

After completing the Dubai program, women can return home with double the pay grade. After 14 months with Evolvin’ Women, entry level workers can return with the skills of a supervisor, which is often a position filled only by men. In addition to a pay increase for those completing the program, the hotels receive a “social impact” report, which illustrates how women are better equipped to support their families and other women in their own communities. By empowering women economically and getting more women “at the table,” the plight of positive social and political change becomes feasible.

Evolvin’ Women measures its impact in how it fulfills the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The organization focuses on “Quality Education,” “Gender Equality” and “Decent Work and Economic Growth,” and as Professor Jeffery of MiddleSex University in Dubai and mentor to the women says, “Economic growth through the advancement of women will not be possible unless we provide women with opportunities and also empower them to take up those opportunities.”

By educating and promoting the working capacity of women in developing countries, Evolvin’ Women increases gender equality. In places like Ghana, women make up more than half of the population but their role in all walks of society is second to men.

Creating Gender Equality

Out of 110 million out of school children in developing nations, 60 percent are girls. Families often choose to educate their first boy due to financial reasons, which oftentimes leaves girls of the family with little social opportunity. Programs like Evolvin’ Women help break this cycle by providing tools these women desperately need to become influential and mobile in their communities.

Evolvin’ Women is part of Dubai’s Corporate Social Responsibility Program. It receives support from its Dubai Startup Hub that provides entrepreneurial assistance, the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Market Access program that facilitates corporate connections with the hotel group Sofitel, who hosts Evolvin’ Women at The Retreat Palm Dubai. Evolvin’ Women is also a member of Dubai Business Women Council and Consult And Coach For A Cause.

Going Above and Beyond

All these programs demonstrate how countries like The United Arab Emirates can go above and beyond traditional aid. In providing entrepreneurial opportunities in Dubai, organizations like Evolvin’ Women have the chance to reach developing countries in new and meaningful ways. Founder Riccio sees there is a clear need to help developing countries beyond aid packages.

Aid can be a temporary fix that changes millions of lives, but funds cannot be expected to forever flow from outside resources. Organizations like Evolvin’ Women and Dubai-based entrepreneurship programs take the initiative to empower women in developing countries above and beyond the expectations of aid, setting a precedent for social change through entrepreneurship.

– Joseph Ventura
Photo: Flickr

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Turning Tides for Single Mothers in Japan

Single Mothers in Japan
Despite the stigma against single parents, single mothers in Japan are moving forward with the help of the Tokyo-based organization Single Mother by Choice and the new government-provided Child-Rearing Allowance.

Single Mothers in Japan

Since World War II, Japan has grown to be one of the wealthiest countries in the world. It boasts modern buildings, clean streets and is home to some of the richest people on earth. Yet, Japan’s poverty rate has consistently risen for the past 30 years, reaching 16.3 percent in 2017. However, the country still appears to be healthy and thriving. This dissonance between facts and appearances is due to the stigma surrounding poverty in Japan. Rather than admit to being poor, many people in Japan mask their financial needs hoping not to draw attention to themselves.

This problem is even worse for single mothers in Japan, who not only face greater cultural shame more consistently, but also have a harder time providing enough for their families. A whopping 56 percent of single-parent homes in which the parent is working live in poverty. As women have children, they often can no longer work the long, rigorous hours expected of Japanese employees. This time restriction then forces them to assume lower paid jobs with worse benefits — working women in Japan make 30 percent less on average than men doing the same job.

Cultural and Societal Norms

Japanese culture also dismisses female higher education, men often feeling “uncomfortable” to share the classroom with women; girls are pushed into two-year vocational schools instead. This setup is also seen as a benefit to women as they will then, allegedly, have more time to find a husband and start rearing children in the societally accepted timeframe. Such a collective attitude makes it more difficult for women to access education to higher paying jobs, and dismisses women who might pursue relationships and children outside of marriage.

The organization Single Mother by Choice was founded in Tokyo in 2014 to empower women and fight the taboo surrounding being a single mother in Japan. The group provides a community for women who desire to lead lives outside of Japan’s norms, and supplies information on prenatal care.

Single Mother By Choice

The organization focuses specifically on women who have chosen before becoming pregnant to have a child and raise them on their own. This decision can be especially difficult as the only legal use in Japan for sperm banks are for married couples, so many women become pregnant with a partner they do not intend to marry. Members of the group desire to end the myth that children of single parents cannot be happy and that women must be lifelong wives to be mothers.

The Japanese government has also begun to implement changes to help the growing numbers of single parents. Incentive programs have been put in place to bring single-parent families into smaller towns in the country, which helps grow local communities and provides the parent with a job, car and covers moving cost.

Moreover, many cities have implemented child-rearing allowances for single parents. This welfare system supplies families in need with residual income so that they will be able to effectively care for their children. As social stigmas begins to change, single mothers in Japan will continue to fight to live in a country that respects all tracks to motherhood — married or not.

– Sarah Dean
Photo: Flickr

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Golden Women Vision Gives Hope to Northern Uganda

golden women visionFor more than 30 years, the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), led by Joseph Kony, terrorized the northern region of Uganda and murdering its people. It is estimated that the LRA has abducted more than 67,000 adolescents to use as child soldiers, sex slaves and porters. Organizations like Golden Women Vision are giving hope back to the citizens of Uganda.

The Destruction Left Behind

Golden Women Vision works to improve the social-economic status of the people left vulnerable from the insurgency. Even after the conflict ended, the terror continued for many victims. Women were left battered and lost, some without limbs or living with bullet wounds. Widows were left without husbands and single mothers had their children taken by the LRA. These women were at a disadvantage for even basic survival.

“The real victims are the many who are in dire need of even finding what they need to eat on a daily basis,” said Joyce Freda Apio, a Kampala-based transitional justice expert, regarding how the insurgency left many without a source of income and stability.

Giving Women Hope

Sylvia Acan was one of those women severely affected by the insurgency. She lost her family to the conflict and was sexually assaulted at the age of 17. Acan had to marry her attacker when she learned she was pregnant. In an effort to learn to provide for herself, Acan signed up with a nongovernmental organization called Caritas. Caritas trained women affected by the conflict in catering services to help them recover and reintegrate with society.

By 2008, Acan learned how to bake, gained business skills and realized the importance of financial savings. She also realized her skills could positively impact the lives of women around her. The traditionally patriarchal society of northern Uganda limited the potential of women. Many females affected by the insurgency were stuck in the cycle of poverty and hopelessness.

Golden Women Vision

Sylvia Acan is the founder and director of Global Women Vision. She started the organization to change the futures of these women. The community-based organization trains women and girls with income-generating skills like baking, making soap or creating paper beads. With 84 members since its beginnings in 2011, the Golden Women Vision helps victims regain a sense of control and sufficiency. She states that she will “spend the rest of her life on this earth” creating activities and possibilities for the survivors of that brutal time.

Golden Women Vision works to provide women the skills and knowledge necessary for self-sustenance. By teaching women how to create financial independence and security through their own means, they can be more successful throughout life. By forging a positive future and peace within the community, the organization not only teaches the women how to financially survive but also builds bonds with each other.

“There is no one helping us so we are helping ourselves,” Acan said. “The world should see what women are capable of doing.”

– Jenny S Park

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How Cuddle+Kind Feeds Children in Need & Empowers Women

Cuddle+Kind Feeds ChildrenA fast-growing social business, Cuddle+Kind feeds children in need by donating ten meals for every handknit doll sold and empowers female Peruvian artisans through fair-trade jobs.

A Global Need for Food

One in seven people worldwide are hungry, and one in nine do not have enough food to lead a healthy, active lifestyle. A reduced diet causes 45 percent of deaths in children under five, which adds up to 3.1 million children every year.

Cuddle+Kind, founded by Derek and Jennifer Woodgate, was created with the aim of reducing these numbers and feeding hungry children around the world. The couple was inspired by their three young children and how heartbroken they would be if they could not feed and provide for them. The Woodgates have a background in health, so they understood the important role that nutrition plays in a child’s life.

The couple spent a year establishing partnerships with artisans in Peru and designing the dolls. Dolls in all different types of animals are available, including dogs, foxes, cats and bunnies. Each comes with a unique name and personality. Cuddle+Kind officially launched in September 2015 on the crowdfunding website Indiegogo.com. In just seven weeks, the company sold enough dolls to donate 163,543 meals.

How Cuddle+Kind Feeds Children

Since its beginning, Cuddle+Kind has moved to its own website but maintains the same mission of providing ten meals for every doll sold. The company aims to provide one million meals to children in need every year. The meals are provided through several partnerships with nonprofits, including the World Food Program, the Children’s Hunger Fund, the Breakfast Club of Canada and several orphanages in Haiti. Through these organizations, Cuddle+Kind feeds children around the world and has donated more than 4,452,292 meals since 2015.

Proper nutrition leads to an increase in school attendance and improved educational performance. Girls have higher school attendance when food is not an issue. Additionally, a child’s psychosocial and emotional development has been linked to proper diet and eating habits. Children who are not fed regularly do not develop the same bonds with a caregiver that is typically established. When a family or community shares a meal there is a social component that a child is exposed to and learns from. As Cuddle+Kind feeds children, it provides them the ability to reach higher academically and grow to be stronger, more capable people.

Empowering Women in Peru

In addition to improving the lives of children, Cuddle+Kind empowers women in Peru by providing them sustainable, fair-trade income for creating the dolls they sell. The business has created over 500 jobs for Peruvian artisans, which is needed in a country where only 39.6 percent of women work in wage or salaried positions as compared to 50.1 percent of men.

Being a socially-minded organization, Cuddle+Kind feeds children with the motive of continually improving the world. As a business that works for the good of children in need and emboldens creative women, Cuddle+Kind is blazing a path of kindness and generosity that will have unending benefits for those they reach.

– Sarah Dean
Photo: Flickr

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Main Reasons Why Development in Saudi Arabia Matters

development in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia is steadily growing to be a formidable player in the 21st century on the world stage, especially with its massive oil industry, staunch relationship with the United States, and the crucial role it plays in middle eastern geopolitics and international affairs. Yet, at the same time, development in Saudi Arabia has been hindered over the decades due to its conservatism and hidebound ideals.

Saudi Arabia On the Global Stage

Although statistics and figures on the country’s poverty rate remain elusive, it is predicted that a quarter of the population may live under the threat of poverty, which is considered to be about $17 a day, or $530 a month. Income disparities also continue to be on the rise and the unemployment rate currently stands at about 12.7 percent.

Moreover, even though government-run welfare programs and spending systems like Zakat have helped aid development in Saudi Arabia in the past, the country still prioritizes the strength of its oil industry and its own self-image above all else.

Fortunately, Saudi Arabia now experiences a new wave of revolutionary change via the new crown-prince Salman’s reign. The prince’s new policies usher in a new period gradually shifting away from the traditional pivotal ideologies of Wahhabism, pan Arabism and conservatism that Saudi Arabia once stood for. The Saudi economy has great potential and capacity due to the country’s relatively young, and working-age population.

Vision 2030

In its new era of social and economic changes, the Kingdom hopes to achieve its Vision 2030 reform plan and focus on promoting greater social and political stability, sustainability and transparency. Vision 2030 also concentrates on important factors like improving standard of living and education reform so as to make future workers more skilled and competitive for the labor market.

Moreover, Prince Salman’s policies will hopefully lead to greater social progress and development in Saudi Arabia, owing to its focus on anti-corruption measures, gender equality and the empowerment of women.

Anti-Corruption and Empowerment Efforts

There has been a widespread crackdown on problems like the income gap and corruption as the country’s new anti-graft campaign to ‘clean up the economy’ goes into full swing. The anti-corruption campaigns have already yielded more than an estimated $106 billion in financial settlements from many corporates, executives, businesses, and high profile figures from both the government and the royal family.

Furthermore, with the country’s focus on socially and economically empowering women, notable social transformations will take place in Saudi society as women are given more places in the workforce and granted permits and licenses for investment and commercial activities. Consequently, the National Transformation Program 2020 also aims to boost employment opportunities among women and the youth population.

Saudi Arabia’s Continued Progress

The ban on female drivers is steadily being lifted and women will also be given more places in the municipalities in the future. In 2017, Saudi Arabia was given a place at the U.N. Women’s Rights Commission for a four- year term.

Due to recently falling oil prices, it is vital for the country to reduce its over-reliance and dependence on the oil industry. Development in Saudi Arabia can be stimulated by future growth in the country’s non-oil sectors and further economic and industrial diversification.

Fortunately, the country’s competitiveness is improving as is its growing independence and decline in the level of imports. The government also hopes to further open up the economy and interact with global markets.

Although social and economic changes in Saudi society will take time to materialize, the liberalization of the country is imperative for building a foundation for long-term sustainable growth in a fast-paced and dynamically changing world.

– Shivani Ekkanath

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