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Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps
Mercy Corps works to save and improve lives in some of the most impoverished places on earth. Since it was founded in 1979, the NGO has worked in war-torn and poverty-ridden countries to turn crises into opportunities. 95% of their staff are local residents working in nations like Somalia, Afghanistan, the Congo and Iraq.

The countries in which Mercy Corps works have several things in common. Usually children’s lives are at risk, women’s education is ignored, and there is little chance for economic growth. The organization helps to provide and build food security and create educational and economic opportunities. Their method is to listen to the locals and prioritize urgent needs first. They look at long-term and innovative solutions that bring systemic change.  Through taking responsible risks and thinking big, the organization is able to help large numbers of individuals.

Mercy Corps believes communities work best when they work for their own growth and change. They believe local markets provide sustainable recovery and good governance is the foundation to success. They focus their work on places in transition either from conflict, natural disasters, or political upheaval. They start with emergency relief and move to long-term goals to create communities that can withstand future shocks.

To get involved with Mercy Corps, check out their website at www.mercycorps.org.  They have lots of opportunities from donating money to fundraising to attending events or visiting their office in Portland. They also have a list of open positions and offer internships for those interested in a longer or more permanent position.

It is evident that the organization is making a difference in some of the toughest places on earth. Lives are being saved and communities are being changed through the work Mercy Corps does.

– Amanda Kloeppel
Source: Mercy Corps

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Bruno Mars Sings for Poverty Relief

bruno mars sings for poverty relief
Bruno Mars isn’t just another handsome face singing catchy love songs. He — along with over 70 artists — is partnering with the Global Poverty Project to address poverty worldwide by using a fanbase to raise awareness and funds.

Global Citizen is a website managed by the Global Poverty Project that centralizes information about global poverty and opportunities to help. Its ultimate goal is to increase the number of citizens actively advocating for change. The site is comprised of actions related to education and advocacy campaigning, all of which address 13 key issues:

  • Food and Hunger
  • Primary Education
  • Gender Equality
  • Child Mortality
  • Maternal Health
  • Fighting Diseases
  • Water and Sanitation
  • Environmental Sustainability
  • Global Partnerships
  • Fighting Corruption
  • Effective Governance
  • Polio Eradication
  • Fair Trade

Participation in Global Citizen actions such as watching a video about extreme poverty, signing petitions, contacting representatives or volunteering time or money earn points for users, which can be redeemed for prizes.

14-time Grammy Award nominee Bruno Mars is one of over 70 artists who realize the importance of ending global poverty. As touring recording artists, they are exposed to areas of the world that suffer the effects of extreme poverty in outrageous percentages. Recognizing the power of their celebrity, they have stood up to support the movement. Mars joins a group of industry power-players like Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam, Kings of Leon, Kesha, Kanye West, John Mayer and more who have donated at least 2 tickets from each show scheduled in their current tour, resulting in over 20,000 tickets donated to Global Citizen. Once users reach enough points, they can enter a drawing for a chance to win concert tickets. Another option is simply redeeming a higher number of points for tickets, similar to the ‘Buy It Now’ feature on eBay.

Extreme poverty has been cut in half in the last 30 years, and the knowledge and resources necessary to end the crisis completely within a generation are available. It won’t happen overnight, but Global Citizen is breeding an army: an army with the power to end extreme poverty by making informed consumer decisions and advocating for change. Global Citizen and artists like Bruno Mars are helping people to see that every voice counts and every person is capable of changing lives around the world.

– Dana Johnson

Source: Global Citizen, New York Times
Photo: Smash Vault

Sterilization or Education in India?

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A common thought among sociologists dealing with poverty is that “wealthier is healthier”; however, a study of subjects in India by sociologists  at Cambridge University in the UK indicates that literacy, rather than money, may be more crucially linked to health and wellbeing.

This correlation suggests that health may be one important result of the opportunities and understanding that literacy opens to the literate. Illiterate citizens in India may have trouble understanding medical labeling, accessing healthcare, or engaging in public health programs.  Literate citizens, by contrast, are able to access information more easily, and make more informed decisions.

This study comes on the heels of a recent increase in coerced sterilization of women in India, a increase which appears to be the result of policies targeted at the uneducated and illiterate. Government employees are hired to convince women in impoverished communities to received sterilizations, sometimes without full knowledge of the procedure’s consequences.  Oftentimes the women agree to be sterilized for a payment of $10, the equivalent of one week’s pay. This money comes directly from the government, which has also given doctors monetary incentives and mandatory quotas for sterilizations.  India currently performs 37% of the world’s female sterilizations (4.6 million last year alone). These are often carried out on illiterate women.

Despite this drastic measure to decrease the population, the Indian government has missed every one of its goals to curb India’s increase in population. India’s population is set to eclipse China’s by 2021.

While sterilization seems a coldly practical solution to the problem of overpopulation in India, education and literacy could empower women to make responsible preventative decisions. This knowledge could then passed down from generation to generation, creating a lasting effect on the populace.

As this recent study suggests, by educating the poor rather than sterilizing them, the Indian government could increase the wellbeing of its populace and decrease population at the same time.

– Pete Grapentien

Source: Business Standard, Bloomberg
Photo: Entrance Exams

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What is the Global Education First Initiative?

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The necessity for global education has always been present, but what many may not know is that worldwide, 61 million primary-aged children are out of school, of which more than half are girls. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon seeks to remedy this with the Global Education First Initiative – a program that works to raise awareness of the necessity of education as well as to provide better access to education, as well as to improve the quality of learning for every child the program puts into school.

In order to put every child in school, some major goals for development include eliminating cost barriers to attending school, identifying and aiding those that need nutrition and health support, eliminating the gender disparity, and building millions of new classrooms around the world, especially in rural and crisis-affected areas. The second focus of the initiative, to improve quality of learning, is going to be met by training of teachers and improving learning materials. These measures will insure that children are more ready for further education as well as for life outside of school – with proper education come far more opportunities for success in life.

The last major focus of the initiative is to foster global citizenship, or in other words, promote peace, community, and innovation throughout the world through education. In the words of Ban Ki-moon, “The world faces global challenges that require global solutions. Education must cultivate an active care for the world and for those with whom we share it”. Ki-moon sees education as a driving force for human development that will drive down inequalities and improve health while fostering solidarity around the globe.

This push for education has been heartily embraced by education rights activist Malala Yousafzai, who has volunteered with the UN to speak on July 12 in favor of the right to education for girls, and for all those who may desire it. As a survivor of extreme violence because of her advocacy, Malala’s message is clear: “…that all students should be given the chance to attend school with adequate safety. Obtaining education is every man and woman’s birth right and no one is allowed to take away this right from them”.

In honor of Malala’s efforts, and in part encouraged and inspired by the Global Education First Initiative, the UN will be launching a global petition called A World at School – Stand With Malala as an effort to establish universal primary education by December 2015. It is the hope of the United Nations that someday universal education will be achieved and that because of this the world will become a more stable, healthier, and happier place.

– Sarah Rybak

Sources: Global Education First, Women News Network
Photo: Global Education First

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A Small NGO on a Big Mission in Bangladesh

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Founded in New York in 1998, the Volunteers Association for Bangladesh is a small NGO on a big mission: to change public education for the poor in Bangladesh. The organization, whose members are mostly expatriate Bangladeshis living in the U.S. and Canada, has devoted itself to providing the funds, technical resources, and training necessary to improve Bangladeshi public schools, particularly those in rural areas where most of the country’s poor people live.

Their task could be seen as a daunting one. Statistics from 2009 put the literacy rate among Bangladeshi males at 54%, and among females at only 32%. According to more recent studies, the literacy rate for people in Bangladesh over age 15 is just under 60%. Dropout rates for high school students are estimated at 42%. Figures like these speak to the great educational need that the Volunteers Association for Bangladesh seeks to address.

The VAB has taken a comprehensive approach to meeting these educational needs and tackling the problem of inadequate schooling. Programs in 60 schools across the country are designed to help students from preschool through university. They provide free preschool with a nutritious meal, tutoring for 6th-grade students to help them pass entrance exams for high schools, and scholarships to help high school students pay for tuition and other necessary materials.

The group has also donated supplies like computers and science equipment in order to help 15 public schools better serve their students. In 2005, VAB started a college scholarship program, which has since helped 201 students pay for tuition and textbooks. In addition, they train local university students to work as tutors in the public schools.

All of these efforts are making headway in helping to open up doors to real opportunity for the poor in Bangladesh. The VAB is working to keep expanding its programs, and most recently they have partnered with Microsoft Southeast Asia to start a computer literacy and training program. To learn more about VAB and all of its efforts, visit www.vabonline.org.

– Délice Williams

Sources: Volunteer Association for Bangladesh, The Financial Express
Photo: Voice of America

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Varkey GEMS Fights for Global Education

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Despite the importance of global education, donor agencies and major developed countries have decreased their federal budgets and funding. Developing countries like India are working hard to get children into school and are increasing enrollment rates, but the fact remains that attendance rates and general accessibility to education in developing countries are lower than they should be.

Vikas Pota, CEO of Varkey GEMS Foundation, interprets this as “a major setback for children all over the world”, and states that “we need innovative solutions to make sure children have the opportunity to attend school”.  The Varkey GEMS Foundation attempts to imrove the standards of education for underprivileged children, with one of their major goals being to impact 100 underprivileged children for every child enrolled in a GEMS school. In order to ensure that “every child has a chance to prosper”, the foundation provides scholarships and leadership development, as well as builds schools throughout the developing world. Another core goal of the foundation is to promote gender equality and provide for girl’s and women’s education as well.

At the launch of the foundation in December 2010, Bill Clinton had this to say, “There will rarely be people who launch something with so much potential to lift the hopes and spirits and dreams of children as this Foundation has done tonight. The benefits from an educated child will affect not only the child itself, but his or her family and the wider community… the world is depending on it”. By focusing on education of underprivileged children, it is the hope of Pota and of the foundation that those children will be able to lift themselves from poverty into a life of better opportunities and independence.

Pota believes that the biggest crisis we face in education “is that of not investing enough in our teachers”. Over the next ten years, the foundation hopes to train over 250,000 teachers globally, with the help of government aid. Another problem is that the majority of aid to basic education is not allocated to the lowest income countries where the most aid is needed. Pota calls for collective responsibility and action, which starts with the citizens. Calls to congress people and legislators are the most effective way to show support, and will increase the likelihood that budgets for education-based aid will increase.

– Sarah Rybak
Source: Huffington Post, Gems Education
Photo: A Celebration of Women

Miseducation: A Short Film for the Why Poverty? Initiative

Miseducation: A Short Film for the Why Poverty? Initiative Miseducation is a short film produced in 2012 that follows 11 years old Kelina as she walks through Cape Town, South Africa on her way to school. The film offers a glimpse into the frightening reality that Kelina, and children just like her, face every day in her graffiti-covered home town, where gangs are omnipresent and the threat of violence is always near. The 4-minute documentary by Nadine Cloete opens with Kelina saying that she is scared to walk alone. She knows the dangers all too well; rape, kidnapping, gang violence, gun violence.  She is acutely aware of the risks because witnessing such atrocities in one of the poorest parts of South Africa is practically unavoidable. In an article for the New York Times, Cloete cites poverty as a major contributing factor to the violence and gang activity that plague South Africa. Her fear is that children from disadvantaged areas will perpetuate the violence they are exposed to the outside of school because they are not able to recognize that these conditions are not a normal part of childhood. Miseducation is one of 30 short films commissioned by the Why Poverty? initiative in November 2012.  These short films, along with 8 thought-proving documentaries, were created to inspire conversation and action toward relieving global poverty. All of the documentaries are free to view online and in spring 2013, the films will be available on DVD. Why Poverty? is not a fundraising organization, nor are they campaigning for a specific course of action. Their mission is simply to inspire conversation and to make people really think about poverty on both broad and intimate levels; how does poverty affect an entire nation? How does poverty affect one child? Their hope is that intelligent thought and discussion about the issues can not only raise awareness but also uncover the answer to a question that has been asked for far too long; why poverty? See Why Poverty? videos here.

 – Dana Johnson

Source: Why Poverty, New York Times, The Borgen Project

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USAID Supports The Philippines

USAID Supports The Philippines
Zamboanga City, a city in the Philippines, will be the recipient of a new USAID program started by the United States Ambassador to the Philippines, Harry K Thomas, Jr. These three new programs will improve the local government, education system and health service accessibility. The US Embassy Manila’s USAID Mission Director, Gloria D. Steele, will also assist in ensuring the projects’ successes.

Since the main focus of the projects is government accountability and responsibility, the name of the five-year program will be ENGAGE (Enhancing Governance, Accountability and Engagement). Through government improvements, Ambassador Thomas hopes to create a stable society and economy in the Philippines.

Another goal of ENGAGE is to include more citizens in government programs and policy-making. This sense of community empowerment is vital for Filipinos to feel they are being accurately represented and looked out for by politicians.

The other two five-year projects address the Philippines’ education and health issues. The first, Mindanao Youth for Development, will help youth have equal access to education and provide post-school training services. The program will work with the government to increase its ability to offer such services and tools for its young population.

The third project is called Integrated Maternal, Neonatal, Child Health and Nutrition/Family Planning Regional Project in Mindanao (MindanaoHealth). This program aims to distribute healthcare services to rural and conflict-prone areas of the Philippines, including 19 provinces, 2 cities, and 366 municipalities.

The combined efforts of these three projects will create a better economy and equal society in the Philippines.

– Mary Penn

Source: Zamboanga Today
Photo: Cultural Survival

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The Nowhere Children: Global Child Labor

The Nowhere Children: Global Child Labor
Below the boom of Asian economies are millions of child workers. These children are working in dangerous, unsanitary and often times degrading conditions. They are the “Nowhere” children. Neither enrolled in school nor officially employed, these children live in the in-between space as children in a very adult world. The International Labor Organization (ILO) estimates that there may be around 48 million of these Nowhere children.

South Asia has the largest population of children in any region. Consequently, it is also home to some of the largest numbers of children involved in underage labor and exploitation. The ILO has also estimated that there are 21.6 million children, out of a population of 300 million between the ages of 5 and 14, who are working in South Asia.

Children who do not attend any form of schooling are more likely to wind up in child labor for more than 12 hours a day, seven days a week, with very little pay. Children in these conditions are also in harm’s way as they can be easily exploited and become the victims of violence.

What causes child labor is complex and multifaceted causes. Poverty and income inequality along with the lack of education and social protection are among the key causes. Many children are also trafficked into bonded labor. Additionally, culture in South Asia often dictates that children are often perceived as adults much earlier in their lives. Thus, Children are expected to work as hard as adults when they are as young as ten years old.

For this year’s International Day Against Child Labor, the humanitarian agency World Vision has called upon governments, businesses and civil society to take action to end child labor in the Asia Pacific.

Abid Gulzar, World Vision’s Advocacy and Justice for Children Associate Director in Asia and Pacific have stated that “Child labor doesn’t just take away childhood from children, it also triggers a vicious cycle of poverty and exploitation.” Thus he calls for increased access for these “Nowhere” children to education, proper nutrition and health services.  World Vision is the Co-Chair of the South Asia Coordinating Group on Action against Violence towards children (SACG).  World Vision has worked and continues to coordinate with the United Nation agencies and international Non-profit organizations for children’s rights in South Asia.

– Grace Zhao
Source: Thomas Reuters Foundation, International Labor Organization
Photo: Sunset Blogging

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Spotlight on the Charity ‘No More Poverty’

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There is a new charity that focuses on ending global poverty. Dr. Michael Omidi and Julian Omidi are the co-founders of the organization and plan to utilize their resources to support children living in Southeast Asia. More specifically, the organization seeks out extremely impoverished children in the region and work with the community to provide safe housing and an education to the children.

No More Poverty is working with two other charities, Global Family and New Eden Charity Foundation, who share the same goal of helping children who are suffering from extreme poverty. Michael Omidi is especially passionate about reaching out to children because, “We all know that the ravages of extreme poverty and political conflict have the greatest impact on children…. many are simply abandoned by broken families who can no longer care for them.”

By working with community organizations and training local volunteers, No More Poverty hopes to change the lives on many young people. The organization’s partner, New Eden Charity, is working with children, except the group is located in Myanmar. The children living in this country are particularly vulnerable because schools are scarce and young people are often forced into manual labor jobs. Due to poverty, many young girls become sex slaves in bordering countries. New Eden Charity is raising funds to build schools in Myanmar in order to improve the futures of these children.

No More Poverty also partners with the organization Global Family, a non-profit that rescued children from families that abuse, oppress or abandon them. Global Family works with local community organizations and volunteers to ensure the safety of these children. Since No More Poverty is still in the process of becoming an official not-for-profit charity, it is focusing its efforts on supporting these other organizations. Once No More Poverty is able to act as a charity, it will shift its efforts to reaching out to the children in Southeast Asia who are in desperate need of help.

– Mary Penn

Source: SFGate
Poverty: Omidi Brothers Charities