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5 Ways LALA is Growing the Future

Vitoria Reyes has been involved with the Latin American Leadership Academy (LALA) since her high school days in Brazil. Now pursuing her undergraduate studies in the United States (U.S.), she annually facilitates LALA’s camps and mentors the next generation of Latin American leaders. She describes LALA’s mission as “trigger(ing) change and development in Latin America through fostering young change-makers and leaders.” 

Founded in 2017, LALA has successfully established a network of nearly 2,000 young leaders spanning South America and the Caribbean. With a vision extending to 2024, the organization aims to annually enroll 1,500 high-school-aged students. LALA is actively shaping the future by tackling the challenges affecting underserved youth across the region. To overcome these obstacles, the organization has meticulously tailored its programs, addressing each barrier comprehensively. Through these efforts, LALA is fostering a generation of empowered leaders.

Barrier 1: Lack of Financial Resources

As of 2022, the U.N. estimated that 45% of Latin American children and adolescents lived in poverty. This places youth at a higher risk of poverty compared to the broader population, of which 32.3% are poor. In addition, the pandemic led to decreased education rates and youth employment, and these factors have not yet fully recovered. Consequently, financial resources have become an even more significant barrier to the success of Latin American youths.

While 90% of LALA’s students receive financial aid from the organization to support their membership, the assistance doesn’t end there. According to Reyes, “They (LALA) hire a lot of people who are not college graduates, or maybe not even in college yet, which is very, very unusual, especially here in Brazil.” In fact, she works as a camp facilitator. Reyes explains, “It’s like a job, so I get paid to do it. We have training; I have to report to someone. But it’s also fun, ’cause it’s just like being with people that you really like and doing work that is really meaningful to you.”

Reyes further describes how LALA is growing the future by boosting the prospects of underserved students in Latin America: “I have friends that are facilitators and I know that the payment they receive really, really helps them to pay rent, or to have some money to help their families.” 

Barrier 2: Lack of Community Support

Many underserved students in Latin America don’t have access to a network of informed, successful adults who can provide guidance and share opportunities. That’s why LALA places a strong emphasis on networking and mentorship within the organization. LALA’s 2021 impact report highlights, “Our mentors and donors do not see young, underprivileged LALA students as charity cases, but as awe-inspiring future leaders they can relate to.” 

For Reyes, the power of LALA’s student community surpasses formal networking programs. She states, “Everyone in Lala is really, really devoted to being there, to being part of the community, to helping each other.” She describes how LALeaders (the Academy’s alumni) support one another, from offering internships to providing a couch to sleep on in a foreign country. 

Barrier 3: Lack of Career Opportunities

The World Bank estimates that 40 million young people who were jobless in 2021 would have been employed without the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the most affected countries in the world, Brazil experienced a 6% decline in youth employment in this period. This intensified the need for youth professional development in Latin America. 

In 2021, Reyes participated in LALA’s Career Internship Program. For 10 weeks, she and her peers honed skills like resume writing and networking before connecting with organizations that aligned with their interests for internships. The program successfully matched 56 students with 25 organizations in six countries, several of which were founded by LALA alumni. 

Barrier 4: Lack of University Opportunities

Recognizing the importance of education, LALA is growing the future by providing application support for member students seeking undergraduate education. LALA’s assistance has resulted in member students receiving more than $20 million in high school and university scholarships. Many LALeaders, including Reyes, pursue studies abroad. In 2021, over a quarter of LALeaders enrolled in undergraduate programs studied outside their home countries. 

Barrier 5: Mental Health/Intrapersonal Development

More than 25% of the total disease burden in Latin America and the Caribbean is mental or neurological, and 5% of Latin America’s population suffers from depression. Despite this, more than half of depressed people do not seek treatment and less than 2% of the region’s health care budget is allocated to mental health. 

LALA is growing the future of mental health and intrapersonal development by offering compassion cultivation training and encouraging students to explore their personal growth. Reyes describes some of the activities conducted during the camps she has facilitated, such as discussions on vulnerability inspired by Brene Brown’s work, strategies for building meaningful connections and active listening. 

More significantly, LALA provides students with a safe space to be themselves: “LALA is always this place where people say, ‘I feel home when I’m here’.” She shares that LALA was the first community where she found acceptance and support from like-minded individuals. 

As a reminder of how LALA is shaping the future, Reyes shares a quotation from Thich Nhat Hahn that resonates with her and appears at the top of many Latin American Leadership Academy learning materials: “It is possible the next Buddha will not take the form of an individual. The next Buddha may take the form of a community, a community practicing understanding and loving kindness, a community practicing mindful living.”

–Faye Crawford

Photo: Flickr

How Social Issues are Causing Poverty in El Salvador

Social Issues in El SalvadorEl Salvador is a small nation in Central America sharing borders with Honduras and Guatemala. A poor education system, high crime rate (namely because of gang warfare), homelessness and high migration, all represent the social issues in El Salvador. These social problems have been a catalyst for poverty in El Salvador, where 26% of Salvadorans live below the poverty line. This is significantly worse than the international poverty average of 9.2%, highlighting the troubling situation in El Salvador.

Crime

Crime, particularly gang violence, is a major contributor to poverty in El Salvador. The country’s homicide rate is one of the highest in the world; in 2022, there were 7.8 homicides per 100,000 people.

Gangs and criminal organizations frequently introduce drugs and gun violence to the population, particularly the El Salvadoran youth. Furthermore, many young people are indoctrinated into these gangs.

The power and influence gangs have in El Salvador, especially in poor outskirt neighborhoods, hinder any growth potential in such areas. According to a Global Majority E-Journal, El Salvadoran gangs  ”impose their own law” on neighborhoods, and this ”blocks off alternative ways of life” for people living in places where gangs have power. As a result, many citizens are unable to access new opportunities and growth.

On the bright side, the crime rate in recent years has slowed. In 2020, El Salvador had a crime index of 68.0, ranking as the ninth highest globally for crime. This later decreased to a score of 64.4, with El Salvador dropping to 17th in 2023.

Education

The poor education system in El Salvador is also a driver of poverty. While 11% of children do not complete primary school, this figure goes to a 22% incompletion rate at secondary levels. This is indicative of a problem of high dropout rates and incomplete education among the El Salvadoran youth, according to a 2018 report.

The disparity between the wealthy and poor in El Salvador’s education system is a major reason why it contributes to poverty. According to Global Majority E-Journal, the government “discriminates” against poor children in favor of wealthy children. Consequently, poor children either can’t attend or are less motivated to attend school. In turn, this averts any advancements or opportunities the affected children can take advantage of, plundering them deeper into poverty. As a result of the wealthy/poor divide, the state of wealth distribution also worsens.

Poor attendance at school, particularly among the poorest children, provides opportunities for gangs to recruit members. This also contributes to higher crime and diverts these children from pursuing legal and skilled work.

Migration

As a consequence of high crime rates and poor education, alongside low levels of living standards, many El Salvadorans choose to migrate – the United States (U.S.) is their most popular destination. Migration numbers tell the story. In 2019, 1.6 million people (25% of the population) lived abroad, with 90% living in the U.S.

Similar to the issues faced in education and crime, the migration problem is also responsible for the lack of growth. Limited personnel in labor due to migration particularly affects El Salvador’s youth. Of those unemployed, 40% are aged 16-24.

Domestic policies that aim to increase government autonomy and “promote public/private sector” partnerships also aim to encourage El Salvadorans to stay. Furthermore, U.S. aid and development plans in Central America seek to reduce the poverty rate in El Salvador. Around $500 million in U.S. aid in 2021 was put toward Central American development. In El Salvador, the U.S. hopes that funding will “reduce irregular migration from the region and improve livelihoods at home.”

What’s Next?

Despite the many social issues in El Salvador, there are positive signs of progress. The country has experienced a decrease in its crime rate in recent years, offering hope for improved safety and stability. Efforts by both the domestic government and international partners, such as the U.S., aim to address the root causes of poverty in El Salvador and promote development, with a focus on education and livelihood opportunities for the youth. These initiatives provide a glimmer of optimism for a brighter future for the people of El Salvador.

– Max Steventon
Photo: Flickr

The Pros and Cons of Using AI in Africa to Alleviate Poverty

AI in AfricaArtificial intelligence (AI) is grabbing headlines across world news. What isn’t getting much attention is how AI in Africa can and already is helping to alleviate poverty. These progressive trends, however, are not without potential risks. The following is a look into some of the pros and cons of AI reliance in Africa.

Poverty Identification

Some Stanford scholars have pioneered a method to identify poverty by using AI to examine readily-available satellite imagery of African regions to estimate current poverty levels and development over time. The tool examines both daytime and nighttime imagery and human infrastructure such as roads or housing. It also uses light at night in tandem to assess levels of development in a region. This application of AI in Africa could help governments and organizations understand where poverty is concentrated regionally and thus direct effort and resources to these areas in efforts to alleviate poverty.

Agriculture

Several instances indicate the utility of AI in African agriculture. AI-supported phone apps such as Agrix Tech has supported crop farming in Cameroon. The app allows farmers to upload pictures of crops for assessment. The app then assesses the crop’s health, diagnosing any issues and suggesting remedies. Due to high levels of illiteracy, the app also reads the diagnosis aloud in local languages.

The U.N. has also launched several AI-based apps that provide information about weather patterns, production techniques, fertilizers and so on. These advancements carry the potential to help African farmers make more informed decisions, thereby boosting agricultural yield.

The popular app Hello Tractor is also in use across the continent. The app helps connect small farmers with local tractor owners to provide these farms with farming machinery that can dramatically increase the speed, efficiency and productivity of their operations.

Finance

There have been significant examples of AI’s potential in aiding African finance. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Togo government quickly built a mobile payment platform called Novissi which leveraged AI to identify the most vulnerable people and distribute financial support. This initiative resulted in financial aid reaching more than 500,000 people. This result suggests that AI can transform the process of aid provision for those living in poverty for the better.

Taking Jobs and Widening Inequality

Alongside its positive sides, AI has some potential cons. Goldman Sachs recently claimed that AI and automation could make 300 million jobs worldwide obsolete. This danger poses a risk in Africa, potentially threatening millions of jobs.

Furthermore, much of the most cutting-edge work in AI is taking place in other continents, such as Europe and Asia and Africans worry that it is experiencing a brain drain, with talented Africans continuing to seek work abroad. Not only does this mean that Africa’s workforce could shrink, but the development of AI in Africa and its potential benefits could be hindered.

Looking Ahead

The potential benefits of AI to alleviate African poverty are huge, but regulation and adherence to ethical guidelines such as those agreed upon by the OECD or UNESCO will be necessary to ensure that the technology doesn’t cause more harm than good. Overall, the technology has shown the potential to empower farmers, connect communities and provide targeted assistance to vulnerable populations.

 

– Saul Gunn
Photo: Flickr

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5 Facts about Higher Education in South Korea

Higher Education in South KoreaDue to its rigorous entrance processes and societal emphasis on university prestige, South Korea spends a large portion of its annual GDP on higher education and the costs associated with college admissions preparation. Acceptance into one of the nation’s high-ranking “SKY” institutions can help differentiate applicants in an already competitive job market, as 70% of South Koreans have a college education. Here are five facts about the higher education system in South Korea:

5 Facts about Higher Education in South Korea

  1. Education and Industrialization: Rapid growth in literacy and education rates coincided with South Korea’s emergence as a newly industrialized nation. Just after WWII, South Korea’s literacy rate was a meager 22%, with few Koreans attending college. Now, its literacy rate sits at 97.9% and over 70% of high school graduates in South Korea go on to attend university. Once a beneficiary of American aid, South Korea now eclipses the U.S. in spending per capita on research and development, much of which is done at the university level.
  2. SKY Universities: Seoul National University, Korea University and Yonsei University are widely viewed as the most prestigious institutions in Korea and three of the top-ranked universities in all of Asia. In fact, employment at elite firms and entrance into social circles is often contingent upon holding a degree from a SKY university.
  3. College Scholastic Ability Test: The eight-hour College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) is an assessment that determines which universities Korean students can attend. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), CSAT scores make up 70% of admissions criteria at Korean universities. Comparatively, high school grades carry significantly less weight, comprising only 10% of a student’s profile. Overall, higher CSAT scores are highly correlated with better job prospects and higher income potential.
  4. Spending on College Prep Classes: Since CSAT scores are viewed as the most important factor in South Korean college admissions decisions, Korean families often invest large sums of money in private tutoring. For example, the OECD estimates that middle-income parents of high school students in South Korea spend as much as 30% of their income on tutoring, with families spending an average of 3.6 million KRW ($2,600) on tutoring per year.
  5. An Increase in International Students: Since the early 2000s, the number of international students studying in South Korea has steadily risen. According to the Center for Strategy & International Studies, the global student population in South Korea has risen from 17,000 in 2004 to 160,000 in 2019. The South Korean government has also enacted reforms that expanded government tuition assistance to international students and created bilingual courses taught in English.

Admission to Korean universities is a rigorous process that often involves significant amounts of time and money. The expenses involved in preparing for the CSAT — the single most important factor in application decisions — often put low-income families at a disadvantage in the admissions process. However, international aid and education reforms have allowed several Korean universities to climb global university rankings. Moreover, an influx of international applicants is a strong indicator of increased university quality and prestige.

– Salvatore Brancato
Photo: WikkiCommons

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Book Banning and Censorship Across the Globe

Book banning and censorshipBook banning has become a dominant form of censorship around the world, as governments try to control the internet and technology available for their citizens. Associations similar to Amnesty International are fighting against book banning and censorship to protect democracy, access to education and information and progressive and forward-thinking in the 21st century. Countries across the globe such as China, Bangladesh and Egypt commonly practice book banning to restrict education and allow censorship. Book banning has many implications in terms of access to education and further restricting vulnerable populations from thriving. Fortunately, international organizations are actively working against book banning and censorship to ensure that vulnerable populations have access to a well-rounded education.

Countries that Practice Book Banning

Ironically, book banning has been a topic discussed in iconic books themselves such as Fahrenheit 451, which tells the story of a sheltered dystopia where books are burned to prevent conflicting opinions and an inharmonious society. While the idea is farfetched, countries across the world still employ book banning to stifle controversial opinions and prevent taboo topics from becoming a point of discussion in their societies. Book banning and censorship have been common practices in countries like China and Hong Kong in order to protect the Chinese Communist Party from criticism. Politically sensitive reading materials as well as those dealing with religion, sexual content, and other taboo topics are consistently avoided by booksellers.

European countries such as Russia and Hungary also have a history of censorship, especially with those relating to LGBTQ+ themed materials. Hungary had legislation passed in June 2021 which excludes LGBT content from school curriculums and sexual education programs and has also censored such material on a wider, more national scale as well. Far-right politicians have banned many books that display homosexuality and Russia has also claimed obscenity for similar literary materials.

Book Banning and Poverty

Though book banning is harmful for educational and political reasons, there are also financial implications which impact vulnerable populations as well. For example, in China, the Communist Party has increased restrictions on books pertaining to independence movements, pro-democracy thematic elements and other subjects. Since the country is at the forefront of the cheap publishing market, if books are banned by the CCP, they may not be published at all. The restrictions and financial burden fall primarily on small publishers and progressive academics who may not have the means to abandon the Chinese printing market and pursue publishing elsewhere, as it is estimated that high-quality printing in China is almost 40% cheaper than other countries.

In the past decade, more and more books discussing poverty and social class have been banned or restricted in the United States, as well as in European countries including the United Kingdom. By stifling authors’ voices and those trying to depict the harsh realities of some underprivileged populations, book banning and censorship limit awareness and the public’s opportunities to provide relief through advocacy and action.

Organizations Against Book Banning

Amnesty International is one organization that encourages people to take action against international book banning and protect the freedom of expression. Through their annual Banned Books Week, which takes place on September 18-24, the organization partners with the American Library Association and others to bring awareness to book censorship attempts in libraries and schools and its harmful impact by uniting book communities consisting of librarians, booksellers, publishers and everyday readers. Through their research with the Office for Intellectual Freedom, it was found that in 2021, there were 729 challenges in libraries, schools and universities that restricted access to at least 1,597 books. The efforts and data being shared with the public increase awareness about the topics that are being filtered and allow people to take action and prevent further book banning and censorship with community efforts.

– Nethya Samarakkodige
Photo: Wikipedia Commons

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Mexico’s Drug War Affects Education

Mexico's Drug War Affects EducationSince the Mexican government declared war against drug cartels in 2006, nationwide violence between cartels, police and the military has been taking a steep toll. The National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI)  estimates the war led to 300,000 homicides and the disappearance of 66,000 people since 2006. This increased violence raises particular concern about how Mexico’s drug war affects education quality.

Major Disruption to Mexico’s Education System

Widespread violence from the drug war has caused mass school closures, negatively affecting the quality of education Mexican youths receive. Between 2019 and 2020, cartel violence forced school closures in eight states: elementary schools closed 104 times, junior high schools 51 times, preschools 49 times, high schools four times and universities three times. These forced closures caused severe disruptions for Mexican youths, undermining the quality of their educational opportunities. The World Bank reported in 2020 that only 72% of Mexicans used the internet, implying difficulties for remote learning options.

A study collected data during the 2000s and captured stark differences in education quality between areas with high rates of violence and areas with lower violence. Student absenteeism in high violence areas was 44%, while lower violence areas had 33%. Teacher absenteeism follows the same trend: High violence areas were 20.8%, while lower violence areas had 13.2%. Student lateness compared 52.9% to 11.9%, and teacher lateness had 41.2% to 29.1%. The study found the widest divergence in the presence of youth gangs: 51.6% versus 23.5%. Even one month of gang-related violence can reduce school enrollment by 14%. These statistics show how drug-related violence has heavily disrupted many educational systems in Mexico.

Drug Cartels Target Students and Teachers

The study emphasizes how homicide is now the second leading cause of death for Mexican males aged 15-24, a critical age range for learning skills from education and entering the labor force. Between 2000 and 2019, 21,000 Mexicans under 18 were killed, while 7,000 have disappeared. Cartels have also recruited youths in economically deprived areas where a lack of opportunities and resources contribute to youth recruitment. In 2019 alone, cartels recruited an estimated 30,000 Mexican youths. This recruitment targeting is partly why youths sometimes avoid or drop out of school. In 2006, at the start of the drug war, 11,664 Mexican youths did not attend primary school, compared to 106,131 in 2019.

In 2011, 7,000 Acapulco teachers protested against gang violence threatening their schools. They called on the government to provide safety in the face of teachers being attacked, extorted and kidnapped. More than 100 schools shut down in Acapulco due to teachers standing up to cartels who had demanded half their salaries in extortion. Schools only reopened four years later, in 2015, after the Mexican National Guard stepped in to ensure student and teacher safety.

Mexican citizens have increasingly mobilized to demand accountability from their government and better protection for schools. In 2014, the disappearance of 43 students in Guerrero sparked national protests over the government’s inability to provide a safe, educational experience for teachers and students. Mexico continues to fight drug-related violence affecting schools, knowing how important education is in reducing poverty and improving opportunities.

– John Zake
Photo: Wikimedia Commons

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2 Diseases Impacting Afghanistan

Diseases Impacting AfghanistanSince the early 2000s, Afghanistan’s disease prevention and treatment services were far below sustainable, with only 11 physicians and 18 nurses per 100,000 civilians working in 2003. As foreign aid began to pour in, these numbers slowly improved. However, infant, child and maternal mortality rates remain the highest globally, alongside many other diseases impacting Afghanistan today. Currently, two diseases impacting Afghanistan include tuberculosis and polio, which the Western world is well equipped to diagnose with far less difficulty.

Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis is a highly infectious, airborne disease impacting many Afghan people. Tuberculosis symptoms include a dry cough (sometimes with blood), fatigue, loss of appetite, night sweats and others. Yet, early diagnosis and quality treatment are easily accessible in the United States, preventing mass outbreaks.

The World Health Organization states that tuberculosis kills around 13,000 Afghans yearly, making it a disease that impacts Afghanistan severely. In 2014, Afghanistan had approximately 58,000 new tuberculosis cases. Only 56% of these cases were diagnosed and provided with adequate treatment. Keeping the disease at bay only becomes more challenging with up to 25,000 Afghan people left undiagnosed and untreated.

However, with WHO’s help, BRAC Afghanistan and USAID started a community-based TB DOTS program to control tuberculosis outbreaks. Through the program, diagnostic facilities for tuberculosis expanded and existing facilities were further equipped with microscopy screening technology. After the initiation of these health programs, more Afghans saw doctors and received treatment for tuberculosis: Since the program’s launch in 2004, access to dots has expanded from 15 to 121 clinics two years later. By 2006, more than 6,000 community health workers had trained under the program, of which 53 percent of trainees were women. Through the continued funding and advancement of the TB DOTS program, tuberculosis may slowly begin to lose its footing and become a lower-risk illness.

Poliomyelitis (Polio)

Polio is a viral illness that can lead to severe nerve damage and injury, eventually leading to paralysis and sometimes death. Afghanistan, Nigeria and Pakistan remain the only countries worldwide that have yet to eradicate polio. Due to inconsistent vaccination rates at birth, polio remains a disease impacting Afghanistan heavily today. In the 2015 report by the polio eradication initiative, researchers found that reported polio cases in Afghanistan had decreased since years prior. However, Afghanistan is still far from eradication.

In efforts to eradicate the polio virus worldwide, UNICEF worked with WHO to find innovative ways to give every child polio vaccines. The program implemented three National Immunization Days (NIDs) to increase access to polio vaccines and potential treatment if necessary. NIDs aim to reach nearly 10 million children through house-to-house and health facility-based approaches.

Furthermore, in collaboration with UNICEF and WHO, Afghanistan’s Ministry of Health is investing in a polio program to support vaccinators, community mobilizers, influencers, volunteers and campaign coordinators to reach children in need of vaccines. According to UNICEF, 392,000 polio branded items were distributed in 2020 to Afghan students to raise awareness about the disease’s severity, prevention and symptoms. As efforts continue, polio may become a disease impacting Afghanistan far less than before.

Why it Matters

Though efforts to improve health care access and treatments in Afghanistan have increased, much work still needs to be done. Today, tuberculosis is a disease that the U.S. quickly diagnoses and treats, while, in Afghanistan, the disease is often more threatening.

Afghanistan’s Ministry of Public Health and emergency operating system know how to help their people lead healthier lives yet lack the resources to do so. In funding programs that help international organizations and ministries provide the support needed for their people, both tuberculosis and polio can become low-priority diseases for all.

– Opal Vitharana
Photo: Flickr

Education for Pregnant Students in Tanzania

Education for Pregnant StudentsThe African Court on Human and People’s Rights had to make a pivotal decision regarding the right to education for pregnant students in Tanzania. On November 19, 2020, Equality Now and Tike Mwabipile, executive director of Tanzania Women Lawyers Association (TAWLA), filed a joint application to the African Court on Human and People’s Rights to abolish a discriminatory ban. Three human rights groups, the Initiative for Strategic Litigation in Africa (ISLA), Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Women’s Link Worldwide (WLW), joined the application as joint amici. This application is in direct response to the discriminatory ban in Tanzania, whereby the government of Tanzania is disregarding the rights of females who are pregnant, married or mothers.

The Discriminatory Ban and Joint Amicus

The discriminatory ban in question has been in practice for decades across Tanzania, but in 2017, former president John Magufuli introduced an official ban against the education of pregnant girls, married girls or mothers, stressing immorality as reasoning. The ban draws its power from the Tanzania Education Act, which states that expulsion for a student is deemed necessary when they have “committed an offense against morality.”

Tanzania’s current and first female president, Samia Suluhu Hassan, who stepped into her role in March 2021 after Magufuli’s death, has made it her mission to incentivize the progression of women’s rights in Tanzania and distance herself from the controversial policies of the previous presidency.

The three human rights organizations, attempt to highlight the injustices that have come to fruition as a result of the discriminatory ban and to prioritize the need for education for pregnant students in their joint amicus, which highlights:

“Tanzania’s international and human rights obligations to guarantee the freedom from discrimination; to prevent and respond to violence against girls, including in school settings; and to safeguard the sexual and reproductive health and rights of girls and young women.”

This legal endeavor represents one of the many collective efforts for women’s rights progression in Tanzania in recent times. The discrepancy in policy regarding Tanzania’s education laws appears to represent a significant obstacle to overcome on the road toward progress.

However, in November 2021, Tanzania announced that it would make a critical step toward safeguarding the right to education by lifting the ban. Human Rights Watch says Tanzania has “recently removed restrictive policies, but [has] a policy gap,” indicating that this supposed breakthrough may have more effect on paper as opposed to in practice.

Tanzania’s History of Educational Subordination

Tanzania as a nation has a long and troubled history in regard to the education of women and young girls. Several core aspects of its education policy are founded on the decisions of a fundamentally patriarchal government in the 1960s, after the nation’s official independence from Great Britain in 1961.

These prior actions have resulted in a situation where, today, across Tanzania, the guarantee of education for pregnant students is far from a reality. According to a 2013 report by the Center for Reproductive Rights, a large percentage of schools across Tanzania interpret the act of pregnancy for students as immoral.  This has manifested as a situation that sees student dropout numbers at an alarming number according to figures provided by the World Bank in 2021: “More than 120,000 girls drop out of school every year in Tanzania. 6,500 of them because they are pregnant or have children.”

The 2013 report also noted a widespread belief within the education system in mainland Tanzania that expulsion is mandatory if a student is pregnant. However, the report found that there is in fact no legal mandate for expulsion, and on the contrary, according to the World Bank, “Tanzanian laws and policies promote and protect adolescent girls’ rights to education, health, nondiscrimination and privacy.”

Due to the widespread misconception in Tanzania that expulsion is legally necessary for pregnant students, and with standardized pregnancy tests standing as common practice within the education system, societal norms instilled by previous presidencies shape and control the educational rights of thousands of young girls.

The lifting of the ban not only leads to legal progress within Tanzania but also upholds the rights of women across the nation.

– James Garwood
Photo: Flickr

Improving Haitian Children’s Quality of Life

Haitian Children’s Quality of LifeHaiti struggles with many issues: gang violence, poverty, lack of education and poor health care. All of these issues intertwine to ultimately create a knot of seemingly irreversible damage for Haitian youth. However, Together for Haiti is working to improve Haitian children’s quality of life through four key pillars.

Haitian Gang Violence

The capital of the island, Port-au-Prince, suffers from gang violence at the cost of its children. Most recently, since April 24, 2022, violence from warring gangs has led to the displacement of close to 17,000 people and the deaths of 188 people at minimum, as of June 3, 2022. Displaced Haitians have sought refuge in schools converted into shelters while others fled to the north of the city, causing massive travel problems. In May 2022 alone, Port-au-Prince noted 200 random-based kidnappings.

The prevalence of gangs and the violence that follows is often a product of areas suffering from poverty — Haiti is one of the most impoverished countries in the world, with a GDP per capita of $2,925 in 2020. Furthermore, Haiti ranks 170 out of 189 countries on the 2020 United Nations Human Development Index. Haiti’s Human Capital Index indicates that “a child born today in Haiti will grow up to be only 45[%]as productive as they could be if he or she had enjoyed full access to quality education and health care.”

In these circumstances, gang life can become a way to survive and make money when there are limited opportunities to forge another way of life and secure a brighter future. Gang membership provides protection in the dangerous environments that Haitian children are forced to grow up in, and soon enough, gangsterism becomes a generational occupation. In Haiti, particularly, gangs hold significant power. With no real army or strong police force, there is little hope of stopping large gangs who are better equipped than the small government forces trying to protect the 11 million people who live on the island.

Mortality and Health of Children

Widespread gang violence leads to the deaths of countless civilians, including children. But, Haiti also has infantile, child and maternal mortality rates higher than anywhere else in the Western Hemisphere. In fact, these rates are more comparable to Afghanistan and many African nations.

Like so many other places suffering from poverty, this is due to a lack of funding for the health care sector. In 2020, Haiti’s under-5 mortality rate stood at 60.5% deaths per 1,000 live births. In numbers, this equates to 16,214 deaths for children under 5.

Poverty raises the likelihood of premature death for Haitian children as impoverished households tend to lack the resources or access to services necessary for the proper health and well-being of a young child. Families dealing with poverty often experience malnutrition and several illnesses that can turn fatal as many impoverished families cannot afford the costs of health care and medicine.

Poverty in Haiti does not just affect its citizens, but also the medical facilities. Underfunding means the health care system lacks “adequate staffing, supplies and infrastructure” necessary to aid the nation’s people.

Together for Haiti Assists

Together for Haiti works toward providing resources to impoverished Haitian families so that they may secure a brighter future. The organization’s leader, Jean Alix Paul, has established four schools, two children’s homes and one human trafficking shelter, among many other initiatives. The organization focuses on spiritual development, educational development, economic development and physical development to create a better quality of life for impoverished Haitians, especially the nation’s most vulnerable children.

Through its focus on education, Together for Haiti provides schooling to about 2,000 children with four schools situated in four disadvantaged Haitian communities. Together for Haiti also provides teacher training, university bursaries and vocational training. The organization aims to strengthen Haiti’s economy by offering micro-loans, helping people create businesses and providing training on improved farming practices.

The efforts of Together for Haiti, and other organizations with similar goals, are improving Haitian children’s quality of life, giving them hope for a brighter tomorrow.

– Kelsey Jensen
Photo: Flickr

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Child Poverty in Iran

Child Poverty in IranChild poverty in Iran runs rampant among young residents. In 2020, 50% of Iran’s population lived under the poverty line. The effects of poverty on children are dire and 9 million Iranian families currently struggle amid poverty, but organizations are stepping in to assist.

Contributors to Child Poverty in Iran

Families cannot earn enough money because of gender discrimination, unemployment and other factors. Only men can work well-paying jobs because of the large pay gap. In 2021, the Global Gender Report stated that women earn 19% of the wages a man earns for the same job.

With the significant differences in pay between men and women, women are often unable to help support their families. Additionally, the unemployment rate among men and women is very high. According to the World Bank, the unemployment rate for women was 16.1% and for men was 7.8%.

Along with the unemployment rate and gender discrimination, the cost of basic needs is high, so the majority of families’ wages go toward securing this. In Iran, high inflation rates directly impact the cost of food and groceries, making it difficult to afford basic essentials. In 2019, 33% of underprivileged communities’ income was allocated for food.

Poverty forces many children to make money for their families, but their wages are unlivable. Garbage collecting, run by the municipality contractors, is one of the main jobs children work to earn a living. In 2020, however, children made only 6% of the profits of garbage collectors. Of the children in the workforce, 60% are their families’ only source of income. Working to support their families has an impact on a child’s education. In 2017, “37% of Iranian students drop out before getting their diplomas.”

Impact on Iranian Children

The vast number of contributors to child poverty in Iran has destroyed the quality of life for children.

Food is all too often a scarcity among these children. They are unable to eat the minimum caloric intake, and numbers have only increased since the pandemic. According to the Global Hunger Index, in 2020, one out of three children were undernourished which can leave to a multitude of health complications, including children’s growth stunting.

Child marriage and trafficking are common in Iranian society. For little money, families sell their children, mostly girls, into marriage. In the summer of 2020, according to the Statistic Center of Iran, 9,058 girls were married before the age of 15. In some cases, child spouses run away from home or attempt suicide because of their treatment during their marriage.

Hope for the Future

The government and other organizations are working to stop child poverty in Iran. In 2020, the Guardian Council, the body in charge of approving legislation passed by the Parliament, approved a Child and Adolescent Protection Bill. The bill was later passed, inflicting penalties on people who prevent children from attending school or putting children in unsafe environments With this law, children in Iran are protected from various circumstances that could potentially be a danger to them and instead, can go to school to get an education

Organizations like Relief International work globally to dissolve poverty. Relief International was established in 1958 with its work in Iran beginning in 1990 after a large-scale earthquake in the country. Currently, Relief International works primarily to aid Afghan refugees in Iran while also mobilizing resources if a countrywide emergency occurs.

Recently, in 2021, because of Relief International, 22,000 people were taught hygienic practices, 3,500 families received cash support and thousands more received health care, education and other services. This is just one of the many organizations and institutions working to end poverty in Iran by providing support to those who reside there.

According to UNICEF, as of 2020, the mortality rate for Iranian children under 5 is 12.9%. Iranian children face increased risks of death due to a lack of food and basic needs. However, the Iranian government and other organizations are working to put an end to poverty.

– Janae O’Connell
Photo: Flickr