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Bolivia’s Land for Agricultural Development Project

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The Land for Agricultural Development Project in Bolivia granted more than 150,000 hectares of land to poor farmers and indigenous people. Consequently, the average family income increased by 39%.

The program, which lasted seven years, initially focused on decentralizing the land market so that poor farmers and indigenous people were able to make purchases.

Over the course of the project, however, the changing market made land prices unaffordable, so the program expanded to include leasing, sharecropping and technical assistance in commercializing its products and investing in agriculture and livestock.

The U.S. $15 million program also promoted the involvement of women. Women participated in training programs focused on agricultural and administrative skills. By the closing date of the project, Sept. 15, 2014, women’s involvement had reached 38%.

The Land for Agricultural Development Project enabled 5,681 women to become direct individual beneficiaries, out of the 11,488 individual beneficiaries.

The 39% increase in the average family income is a result of 2,891 families becoming beneficiaries of the program, and also the investments they made in livestock, agriculture and agroforestry. This contributed to sustaining the livelihoods of families and, in the long run, ending the generational cycle of poverty.

The “Implementation Completion and Results Report,” released on March 12, 2015, revealed that the Bolivian government’s commitment to eradicating extreme poverty and empowering indigenous people was very instrumental in the success of the program.

When President Evo Morales came to power in 2006 he made the distribution of agricultural lands to poor and/or landless farmers and indigenous people one of his priorities. However, indigenous families were still struggling to sustain living because of the privatization of land markets.

Morales expressed gratitude for the partnership with the World Bank following the New 2012-2015 Country Partnership Strategy. He stated that “[it is time to] give power economic power to social movements, especially in rural areas where historically we have been abandoned.”

– Marie Helene Ngom

Sources: World Bank 1, World Bank 2, World Bank 3, New Agriculturalist
Photo: Google Images

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Opportunities Bloom for Women in Gaza

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The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) Job Creation Program (JCP) gives women in Gaza the opportunity to work from 6:30 a.m. -12:30 p.m. on a carnation farm, which in turn, allows them to support their families.

A typical day begins with women picking flowers in the cool hours of the morning before later retreating into their tents. There, flowers are carefully bundled into decorative bouquets to be exported and sold at local Gaza markets.

According to an article in the UNRWA, 34-year-old worker Ghanda Na’ana’ has finally found a way to provide for her children in the absence of a husband through her employment with the farm.

“The chance to work here is life-saving for me. I am truly happy to be able to work on this farm together with other women. My husband left me three years ago for another woman; I am the only one who supports my children. We survive because of the food assistance we receive from UNRWA,” she says.

An overarching goal and initiative of the UNRWA JCP addresses the problem of female unemployment while also supporting the agricultural sector of the region.

The UNRWA aims to improve the “quality and output of production by increasing manpower to assist with planting, maintenance and harvesting crops while reducing labor costs, which presumably translates into a reduction of market costs for the consumer and ultimately contributes to local food security.”

According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, in the first quarter of 2015, female unemployment in Gaza reached 55.2 percent. This can be attributed to the 2007 blockade which limited exports, obliterating trading opportunities with the rest of the world and severely affecting the agricultural sector of the region.

Raza Hijazi, the owner of the farm where Ghanda works, formerly employed 20 laborers before he was forced to reduce that number to only three. With the 2007 blockade, his business opportunities dwindled as he could no longer export his flowers to Europe. Only with support from the UNRWA, was he able to increase his business and number of employees.

Overall, the JCP has significantly improved the livelihoods for many since its inception in 2006 when 18,385 opportunities were created in the agricultural sector alone (6,350 for female and 12,035 male). Of this number, 2,571 were counted for in the carnation sector.

As of 2014 the UNRWA has calculated that “a total of 20,545 refugees were employed through the JCP, and UNRWA injected US$ 18.1 million into the Gaza economy. In the first quarter of 2015, the Agency created 12,646 JCP opportunities and injected US$ 7 million into the Gaza economy.”

With tremendous efforts currently underway by UNRWA’S JCP, hope is alive for both business owners and women seeking jobs in a country with one of the highest levels of unemployment in the world.

– Nikki Schaffer

Sources: UNRWA, Reuters
Photo: alarabiya

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Women Entrepreneurs in Rwanda: Overcoming Gender Barriers

Women Entrepreneurs in Rwanda: Overcoming Barriers
In Africa, women entrepreneurs are rare. They struggle to obtain loans from banks and do not receive the same educational opportunities as their male counterparts because of traditional views that the role of women is in the home.

A disproportionate percentage of women applied to the Anzisha Prize this year— only 27%. The Anzisha prize provides young entrepreneurs with funding.

However, Rwanda defied this norm in 2015 as 60% of applicants to the Anzisha prize in Rwanda were women this year.

This reflects Rwanda’s recent efforts to empower women. In 1994, Rwanda experienced a devastating genocide; 70% of the population was female. Today, Rwanda still has a higher percentage of women in their population. For this reason, President Paul Kagame has implemented initiatives to support women in business, education and politics.

Of note, Rwanda’s parliament has more women than men. “It is exciting to see Rwanda take such progressive steps. Women empowerment has considerable benefits for any economy’s growth and development, and we hope that other African countries follow Rwanda’s example,” explained Grace Kalisha, senior program manager at the African Leadership Academy to How We Made it In Africa.

Four outstanding female Rwandan applicants to the Anzisha Prize, including Gisele Iradukunda, Henriette Dukunde, Alice Igiraneza and Nancy Sibo are featured below.

Radio Stations in Bus Stops

Twenty-year-old Gisele Iradukunda founded Radio Gare Project, a company that installs radio speakers in bus stations to communicate important messages to commuters.

Iradukunda realized bus companies would pay to have a radio system installed so they can provide information to bus users. Other companies can advertise their products to a large group of people waiting at a bus stop.

Her first sound system was installed in Nyamata, a town in southeast Rwanda. She obtained a bank loan, then placed speakers in four corners of the bus station. Today people can hear the sound in a 500-meter radius around the speakers.

Since then, Iradukunda has installed speakers at two more bus stations and hopes to put them in every station in Rwanda in the future.

Iradukunda also uses the bus station radios to notify the public about HIV prevention and healthcare issues. “The District also uses our radio to pass on information about events, meetings and all other affairs that they would like the public to attend,” said Iradukunda.

Rice Cooperative to Support Women

In 2013, Henriette Dukunde, a twenty-one-year-old biology student, co-founded the Rice Project. It is located in Huye, southern Rwanda, and supports over fifty women in a farming cooperative.

The Rice Project places the women farmers into four groups. Each group receives a piece of land, seeds, fertilizer, and other farming materials so they can grow and harvest rice in Nyanza marshlands.

65% of profits goes to the cooperative, and the rest supports the sustainability of the Project.

“The Rice Project has improved the lives of poor vulnerable women. It has both created jobs for them and enabled them to afford their basic daily needs,” explained Dukunde.

Health and Nutrition Promotion at University of Rwanda

Alice Igiraneza, a twenty-one-year-old medical student at the University of Rwanda, started the restaurant Kiza. The restaurant promotes healthy eating at her university by providing a section of healthy options for students and staff at the University of Rwanda.

The restaurant’s goal is to educate the public about diet and nutrition and to fight diseases like diabetes. The restaurant currently serves food to around three hundred people, and provides twenty medical students from impoverished families with employment.

“We pay them a salary of $60 a month and provide them with food so that they can continue their studies and become good doctors for the future well-being of the population,” said Igiraneza.

Along with her restaurant, Igiraneza is the head of a consultation center that teaches students and staff about health and nutrition.

Accessories from Recycled Drinking Straws

In 2013, twenty-one-year-old Nancy Sibo founded Miheha Straw Bags. The company is a social enterprise that manufactures purses, earrings, and belts from recycled plastic drinking straws.

“In developing countries like Rwanda, garbage collection and recycling services are often not available or are inadequate. We have decided to turn waste into opportunity for the enterprise, the environment and for the women,” explained Sibo.

Sibo provides training for women so they can make a living through the company. “Suzanne is a young mother who joined Miheha in 2013 when she was extremely poor with no access to some basics of life. But, through the trainings she received from our initiative, she has changed her life and is now training other women at our enterprise,” said Sibo.

– Margaret Anderson

Sources: Anzisha Prize, How We Made It in Africa
Photo: Venture Burn

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Chinese Woman Receives Global Recognition For Education

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On July 2, Dr. Betty Chan Po-king received her third honorary degree in Bath, United Kingdom, from the University of Bath, granting her global recognition for education efforts from three continents.

At the summer graduation ceremony for the University of Bath, an honorary graduate award was presented to Po-king for Doctor of Laws. After her fifteen-year relationship with the university, the accolade was given to her for her commitment to providing and stimulating education, cultural diversity, and leadership.

This honor is one of three given to Po-king in the span of five years. Po-king initially earned an honorary doctorate in Humane Letters from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, U.S., her first intercontinental accomplishment in her professional career.

Four years later, she received a second award in China, Asia. The Honorary Fellowship by the Hong Kong Institute of Education was presented to Po-king in acknowledgement of her grand involvement in education in Hong Kong and beyond.

The University of Bath facilitated her third academic accolade in Europe. Honorary degrees are the most esteemed awards given by this university and are set aside for people of noticeable excellence.

Po-king originally earned her doctorate at The Union Institute and University in Vermont in 1985 and went on to acquire experience for teaching. She then became the Director of Yew Chung International Schools in China and California, which was founded by her mother, Madam Tsang Chor-hang.

In addition to her several doctorate degrees, Po-king has also served in numerous leadership positions for her educational efforts.

She has served as the Treasurer of the Pacific Early Childhood Education Research Association, the Chairperson of Child Education and Community Services Discipline Board of Vocational Training Council and the adviser of the Center for Child Development.

Po-king has served as a Member of Standing Committee on Language Education Research, a member of the Education and Manpower Bureau and a member of Appeals Board (Education) in Hong Kong, as well. She was also appointed as a Hong Kong Convention Ambassador of the Hong Kong Tourism Board and the Advisory Committee on Teacher Education and Qualifications.

Po-king’s educational ability has also presented her with unique opportunities as a Chinese female educator.
She became a member of one of the first groups of female life members of Phi Delta Kappa Educational Foundation. In addition, she was the first Chinese Keynote Speaker at the 2004 Alliance for International Education Conference in Dusseldorf, Germany.

Po-king has traveled all around the world for her educational experience. According to China Education Development, where she is a founder, “she has integrated the essence of the Eastern and Western education and has accumulated rich experience in teachers’ training.”

With her extensive knowledge of education, Po-king could very well earn additional award in another continent, but for now, her global recognition in Europe, the U.S., and Asia will continue to propel her career and enhance global education.

– Fallon Lineberger

Sources: China Education Development, PR Newswire, University of Bath 1, University of Bath 2, Yew Chung International School, Yew Wah Education Management
Photo: South China Morning Post

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Improving Women’s Health Leads to Sustainable Development

Improving Women's Health Leads to Sustainable DevelopmentThe Lancet Commission on Women and Health, a report discussing ways of improving women’s health. The report on women’s vital contributions to healthcare, economic welfare, environmental protection and societal stability, was recently published after three years of research. The Commission, headed by Dr. Ana T. Langer from the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health and Afaf Meleis from the School of Nursing at the University of Pennsylvania and composed of public health experts, social scientists, policymakers and advocates, not only highlights the importance of women’s work in the success of nations, but also promotes recognizing and protecting these roles to increase sustainable development in nations around the world.

The Commission aimed to make policy recommendations in terms of economic, social and cultural factors that would make governments accountable for recognizing the need for improving women’s health and the welfare of them and their communities. Published at a critical point in which Millennium Development Goals are ending and the world is beginning to adopt new Sustainable Development Goals, the Commission aims to heighten women’s roles in national and international leadership and set developments in their health and social status as a measured requisite for completing each Development Goal.

The Commission’s work was primarily concerned with developing ideas about women’s health from a productive standpoint – how they contribute to societies economically, culturally and environmentally – rather than reproductive standpoint. Viewing women’s health solely in terms of reproduction allows gender inequity to prosper because it defines women solely based on their ability to have children. The report demonstrates that improvements in women’s healthcare from a comprehensive standpoint will expand their contributions in education, the economy and the environment.

Globalization, the Commission reports, has contributed to the improvement of women’s status globally but has worsened it in individual countries, threatening social stability. Thus, though globalization has led to more widespread recognition of gender inequality, it has not done anything to change it. The increasingly rapid transmission of communicable diseases, another outcome of globalization, has increased the importance of women in caring for family members and preserving the welfare of their communities.

As humanitarian crises and ecological degradation continue to grow and conditions for populations around the world worsen, the protection of women’s health and social status are increasingly vital to the well-being of societies. Thus, it is essential that nations adopt plans to improve women’s healthcare and equality.

According to the Commission, financing healthcare should take into account persistent health challenges that affect women, such as communicable diseases and violence against women and girls. They should also take on measures to promote women’s rights and recognize their invaluable roles in society. Doing so will improve not only gender equality and societal harmony but also economic stability, healthcare, education and environmental quality. Thus, in investing in the needs and welfare of women, policymakers will help achieve sustainable growth and development for their nations.

– Jenna Wheeler

Sources: The Lancet, Impatient Optimists, The Lancet
Sources: Flickr

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BeadforLife Empowers Women with Business Ed.

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In 2004, BeadforLife was formed to provide women the opportunity to grow by giving them the tools to launch their own businesses. In the past 10 years, members of the beading program have initiated over 2,200 micro-businesses that operate on a very small scale.

Women who are part of the beading program have one task: rolling beads. By doing this, it gives the women a consistent source of income so they are no longer living on less than a dollar a day. The beading program is 18 months long, and every year, about three to four new groups are made. Each group consists of 40 to 60 women that go through three months of training on how to bead recycled paper into jewelry.

In addition to the training that the women get for beading, they also receive training in areas like business so that they will gain the skills needed to launch their own businesses one day. So far, statistical data has proven this method to be successful.

On average, while enrolled in the beading program, women’s income increases to seven to ten times their previous income. For these women, earning a steady income means more than just having money. An income means that they can eat healthier, get the right health care, put their kids in schools and also improve the living conditions for their family.

As part of the program, women must save some of their money so it can go toward a business of their own one day. This is a requirement, because it ensures that most of the women will continue to make money after the program. The promise of a stable future, makes the longevity of the program more effective. There are common businesses that women tend to open and those are: poultry rearing, restaurants, retail stores, vegetable stands, tailoring and renting rooms in their own homes.

BeadforLife has helped thousands of women get their families out of poverty. The organization reaches more than 1.2 million people and has raised millions to fight poverty. Due to the growth and success of the organization, it has expanded its line of products. In Northern Uganda the branch of the program buys Shea nuts. Currently, BeadforLife is partnered with over 760 women to buy Shea nuts during harvest. Products made from the women in this program are available for purchase on the organization’s website.

– Brooke Smith

Sources: BeadForLife, ONE
Photo: Flickr

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IMA World Health

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IMA World Health is a faith-based organization that is dedicated to providing health services in order to create sustainable and long-lasting healthy communities around the world.

The organization operates with four major goals at the forefront of all of its projects: to build new health systems and strengthen existing health systems in order to provide people vulnerable to disease with the care they deserve; to partner with other faith-based and international organizations in order to best spread the mission of universal care; to exercise technical excellence in all aspects of its practice; and finally to set up a organized health systems in order to best distribute quality care to mass amounts of people.

IMA World Health is also a big proponent of empowering women across the globe and currently has many projects set up in order to help give women the chance at a better life. Some of these projects include literary circles, in which women are taught basic reading and writing skills to help them gain a higher position within their communities. USHINDI is a program that provides legal and psychological counseling to women who have faced traumatic experiences. WeWillSpeakOut.US is a program dedicated to breaking the silence surrounding sexual violence against women, and the Women’s Leadership project is an effort to promote women’s leadership both in and outside of the home.

IMA World Health additionally prides itself on its ability to deliver medical supplies to communities that are unable to provide for themselves. Projects currently being implemented include the IMA Medicine Box, which when distributed, can treat up to 1,000 people in remote villages for around two months. The box includes antibiotics, first aid items and pain medication. The IMA Safe Motherhood Kit includes sterile birthing materials in order to reduce mothers’ chance of infection upon delivery. Lastly, the Gifts in Kind program has allowed supplies to be donated to 72 countries with over $100 million worth of medical supplies.

– Jordyn Horowitz

Sources: IMA World Health, GlobalGiving, Forbes
Photo: IMA World Health

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USAID’s Project to ‘Empower’ Girls in Malawi

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The United States Agency for International Development will spend between $4.5 million and $10.4 million to encourage girls in Malawi to use birth control.

This plan intends to prevent pregnancy and STDs, especially HIV.

Part of USAID’s “Girls’ Empowerment through Education and Health Activity” plan, this grant will endow sexual and reproductive health and family planning education for young girls in Malawi. It seeks to combat the lack of HIV and sexual and reproductive health education and services.

The grant explains that “sexual acts that resulted in a pregnancy also place girls at risk for leaving school and/or contracting HIV.” Females, especially young girls, are disproportionately affected by HIV compared to men. In 2010, the HIV occurrence rate for girls between the ages of 15 and 19 was 4.2 percent as opposed to 1.3 percent for males.

The grant calls for more resources to teach about sexual reproductive health, HIV and family planning. USAID has stated it is important for young women to know correct information about these topics.

However, the 2010 Malawi Demographic and Health Survey exposed that even though there has been an increase in the use of modern family planning in Malawi, the HIV rate has remained.

Access to birth control and other methods does not appear to be a problem for women in Malawi.  However, Malawi ranks tenth in the world for the number living with HIV/AIDS, and ninth worldwide for the number of fatalities from HIV/AIDS.

The grant also aims to improve literacy skills for girls and access to schooling. The grant states that this will lead to more achievement for girls in school.

This initiative in Malawi is one more step in encouraging Family Planning 2020’s aim to provide 120 million more women and girls with contraceptives by 2020.

– Colleen Moore

Sources: CNS News, Life Site
Photo: USAID

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ONE Launches New Campaign

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What better way to give the girls and women of the world a voice than by giving them a worldwide platform on which to broadcast the issues that matter to them? That’s exactly the thinking behind ONE’s innovative new campaign called “Girls & Women.” The campaign seeks to “unleash the full potential of girls” by showcasing stories with women at their center.

Women have long been disproportionately affected by poverty; of the most impoverished people across the globe, more than 60 percent are female. Empowering women in developing countries to become full-fledged economic participants is crucial to eliminating poverty, but it begins by solving the social issues behind unequal access to education, employment and financial resources. Putting gender inequality in the spotlight is the first step to achieving equality.

ONE’s new “Girls & Women” initiative seeks to bring about equality by allowing different female “curators” from around the world to share their stories. The very first curator is Phiona Mutesi, a young Ugandan chess prodigy who has used her talent to help her family rise from poverty. On the same page that features stories about female entrepreneurs and resources for female empowerment, Phiona chose to share articles about how she personally escaped slum life, and some of the highlights of her life since then – specifically, challenging her chess hero and learning that Disney is preparing to produce a movie based on her life. Yes, Disney.

In conjunction with the “Girls & Women” initiative, ONE also offers its readers the chance to reach out to their Congressmen (at this time, to promote the Electrify Africa Act,) — an endeavor very much in line with The Borgen Project’s mission. In this way, ONE represents another agency using the power of advocacy to create measurable change. By shedding light on inspiring women and the issues that contribute to their poverty, ONE is working to make the world better for over half of its inhabitants.

– Elise L. Riley

Sources: ONE, United Nations Development Programme
Photo: NBC News

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Female Education & Ending Global Poverty

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The book “Half the Sky” introduces an idea that education is the key to ending global poverty worldwide. The title of the book comes from the founding father of the Republic of China, Mao Zedong, meaning “women hold up half the sky”; unfortunately, millions of these women are living in poverty.

Women make up half of the world’s population, yet more than half of these women are more likely to have an unequal place in society. These women are more likely to be poverty-stricken in these communities than men and are excluded from the public domain which leads to domestic violence.

Because of the inequality placed on women living in poverty in developing nations women tend to not have access which is a key aspect of society. Humans need to have access to healthcare, job opportunities, and basic human rights like clean water and food. In order to fight global poverty, an emphasis of education and access is key to bring an end to poverty and the pain these communities suffer from on a daily basis.

Accordingly, Ph.D. student Katie Conrad at the University of Tennessee believes that women need access to resources in these developing countries where there is also a lack of education for these women. Conrad is a teaching associate for child and family studies at the university, and has based her research in Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender as well as family studies.

Furthermore, Conrad’s area of interest is creating courses for first-year students on campus designed to educate not just women, but men, about sex, dating violence, alcohol and rape culture awareness. She feels as though teaching women in society cannot be done without reaching women globally and stated “education is the major form of empowerment and is a good place to start.”

In particular to teaching women’s studies courses in these devolving countries, Conrad remarks that “being educated on their culture and maintain cultural sensitivity to understand what issues they face” would be a good place to start to bringing education to women in those areas. Conrad believes that women in developing countries need not just access to basic resources but access to support when in an abusive situation. In particular, community support systems are needed to help cope with domestic violence in their society.

In addition, both Conrad and the authors of “Half the Sky” understand that bringing access to resources like female education can help improve all corners of the world and drastically reduce poverty. Therefore the book introduces three steps to bring access to these areas. The first step would be a $10 billion effort over five years to educate girls around the world and reduce the gender gap in education.

The second step would be for the United States to sponsor a global drive to iodize salt in poor countries to prevent tens of millions of children from losing approximately 10 IQ points each as a result of iodine deficiency while their brains are still being formed in the uterus; finally, the third step would be a 12-year, $1.6 billion project to eradicate obstetric fistula while laying the groundwork for a major international assault on maternal mortality.

The need to stress issues like female education are indeed crucial to develop of not only developing nations but our own nation at home.

– Rachel Cannon

Sources: Vialogue, University of Tennessee
Photo: Staci Jae Johnson