Google and the H&M Foundation: Flood Relief in South Asia

While the United States remains observant and sympathetic to the troubles in Texas and Florida, on the other side of the globe 24 million people have been affected and over 1,200 killed by a record monsoon that hit areas of India, Nepal and Bangladesh. The natural disaster brought the worst floods the area has seen in years.

Google and their employees have committed to a $1 million pledge to Goonj and Save the Children to support flood relief efforts in India, Nepal and Bangladesh. They hope to support flood relief for 75,000 families across nine affected states throughout rural India. Google’s flood relief efforts include giving families kits with food, mats, blankets and hygiene items. Their goal is to help restore the communities’ roads, bridges and schools.

The Swedish clothing retailer Hennes & Mauritz, widely known as H&M, has donated $200,000 to support flood relief in south Asia through the Save the Children Organization. The H&M Foundation works to enhance living circumstances by investing in people, communities and innovative ideas. While the H&M Foundation supports this transformation through access to education, water and equality, they also offer emergency relief from partnerships through global organizations.

Save the Children has responded in all three countries, as they believe children are often the most vulnerable in crises like these. Save the Children also provides child-friendly environments where children can acquire access to educational resources and free time, allowing liberation from devastation.

Resources like the U.S. federal disaster response system do not exist to provide flood relief in south Asia. This makes the work of companies like Google and H&M extremely valuable to affected communities, both now and in the future.

– Jalil Perry

Photo: Flickr

Google Gives $20 Million to Nonprofits in Africa for Education

Google’s more philanthropic arm, Google.org, has connected and extended the endeavors of distinctive nonprofits and companies working to better their communities since 2005. This year’s efforts include providing around $50 million in funding, expertise, and tools to support these organizations. Additionally, the organization plans to train 10 million people in sub-Saharan Africa in this same time span, in order for them to be more employable and gain access to information and communications technologies, and it will train another 100,000 to develop mobile and global-capable apps. Thus far, Google.org has decided to put aside $20 million over the next five years for a range of nonprofits in Africa.

A leader in not only search engines but charity as well, Google has already chosen two African technology startups to receive $2.5 million in grants: Gidi Mobile and Siyavula. Gidi Mobile Ltd. focuses on expanding the visions of over 350 million young Africans and giving them the ability to accomplish such goals as Africa’s first mobile personal development platform. It allows people to complete courses and study materials online for all types of professional careers, connect with other learners and form a community and share personal progress with others. The company advances free content, cloud computing and both international and distinctly African content through its product Gidimo.

Siyavula similarly allows free online access to their line of published and curriculum-aligned math and science textbooks, alongside practice and teaching capabilities within the program. These are unlike restricted, copyrighted materials but adaptable without incurring costs, and allow educators to create and share accessible and open-licensed Open Education Resources (OERs). Both have in turn supported the unstifled digital education of over 400,000 underprivileged students in South Africa and Nigeria.

Through Google.org, almost $110 million has already been committed in the last five years to nonprofits in Africa and even other parts of the world that center around closing the education gap. Looking to their current portfolio, they are hoping technology will bring kids the right materials, as those who grow up in low-income areas have less access to books or are forced to use outdated, irrelevant texts. Around 221 million students today are taught in a language foreign to them, and 130 million do not learn basic math or reading despite placement in a four-year or more school system.

Moreover, 4.3 billion people lack consistent access to the internet. Technology can help solve this issue in bringing in more resources to students they can adapt to while remaining engaging and not being a financial burden. One of the first groups to win a grant in this area is the Foundation for Learning Equality, whose new platform Kolibri has brought 7,000 videos and 26,000 interactive exercises to offline students in 160 countries. This year, Google technicians are expanding Learning Equality’s content library and working with them on UX/UI, content integration and video compression technologies.

Next, Google is looking to keep teachers trained and engaged through such technology and is helping local leaders invest in tools offering such. In 2015, only 13.5 percent of teachers passed the India Central Teacher Eligibility Test. The first grant to address this went to the Million Sparks Foundation’s ChalkLit, which utilizes an app to share public curriculum-aligned content to teachers. And in 2016, the Delhi State Council of Education Research and Training (SCERT) selected Million Sparks as their online capacity building partner to offer in-service training for 60,000 teachers.

Lastly, Google.org hopes to reach students in conflict zones, as 32 million primary-school aged children cannot reach traditional classrooms due to crisis or displacement. One of their grantees, War Child Holland, addresses this with a game-based system that allows for a year of lessons and exercises that align with that host country. When deployed in Sudan, results showed students learned at equal and worthy rates from the approach. War Child Holland is hoping to expand to reach 170,000 children by 2020 and reach significant numbers in the Middle East and Africa.

In order to stimulate technological promise across this region, Google.org is launching an “Impact Challenge” in Africa in 2018, where the most innovative and worthwhile ideas can earn almost $5 million in grants. Similar challenges have been completed in Brazil, India and the U.K. in the past. With the support and backing of major companies like Google, such already influential nonprofits in Africa and beyond will gain further means to improve lives and educate all those otherwise lacking access to adequate education in developing parts of the world.

– Zar-Tashiya Khan

Photo: Flickr

Starbucks’ Plans to Support Refugees

Shortly after President Trump issued his executive order regarding refugees, throngs of concerned citizens expressed their disapproval. Several businesses have also joined in on a commitment to aid refugees; Starbucks is among them. Starbucks plans to support refugees by hiring 10,000 individuals in 75 countries over the next five years. Hiring will initially include refugees in the United States that have helped the military in auxiliary roles.

This commitment to hiring refugees shows that Starbucks is dedicated to its mission: “Acting with courage, challenging the status quo and finding new ways to grow our company and each other.” Starbucks’ plans to support refugees certainly did require courage as some groups called for a boycott, claiming the company was prioritizing foreign refugees over American veterans. Such allegations were clearly unfounded, as Starbucks has an Armed Forces Network committed to helping military members and their families.

Other American businesses have decided to donate large sums to charities and NGOs. Lyft committed to raising one million dollars for the American Civil Liberties Union over the next four years, while Google set up a crisis fund with the potential to raise four million dollars for various immigrant rights groups. Meanwhile, Starbucks seems to understand that meaningful employment is essential for refugees to rebuild their lives. Workforce engagement provides a sense of dignity that is lacking in simple handouts.

Given Starbucks’ strong workforce development program, the announcement is encouraging news for refugees. Starbucks is well-regarded for its college achievement plan. Eligible employees can receive full tuition coverage towards a bachelor’s degree. The need for better access to education is tremendous for refugees, as more than half of all refugees are under the age of 18. Only 25 percent enroll in secondary school and just one percent make it to a post-secondary institution. Just as workforce engagement helps adults gain a sense of dignity, educational engagement can foster a sense of hope in children.

Though Starbucks’ plans to support refugees is not driven by ulterior motives, it will likely prove to be a wise business decision. As survivors of unbelievable adversity, refugees often possess exceptional drive and determination. They are eager workers, hoping to rebuild their lives, and could use more help from companies like Starbucks.

– Rebecca Yu

Photo: Flickr

Google Develops Artificial Intelligence to Combat Blindness

Silicon Valley superpower Google is developing artificial intelligence technology that is intended to help the world solve some of its healthcare issues. Teaming up with the U.K.’s governmental healthcare structure, they hope their new invention will be able to detect and prevent eye diseases and blindness.

In collaboration with its subsidiary DeepMind, a company that uses complex algorithms to teach computers how to better analyze information and learn from it, Google will introduce about one million eye scans to DeepMind’s algorithms. They hope the artificial intelligence system will be able to analyze scans and conclude a diagnosis faster than ever before. This has the potential to allow doctors to treat a patient before a “point of no return.”

DeepMind, a London-based artificial intelligence startup acquired by Google for $500 million, is an expert at making computers behave and think like humans. They were praised for teaching a computer to master Atari system games. The computer was able to beat world masters.

Now, Google hopes to harness the cognition powers of their computers to serve the world’s sick. Although as of now the system is implemented at just one of the National Health System hospitals in the U.K., it has a global reach in its implications. More than 100 million individuals worldwide are inflicted by vision problems relating to diabetes or age. This technology could help all those millions to prevent their eye diseases and vision loss before they are even aware they have it. For global health advocates, this is a very promising innovation that could find widespread success

Google has been diligent in designing groundbreaking solutions to intractable problems. The tech giant and its umbrella company, Alphabet, have been investing a large amount of resources toward global health. Businesses are beginning to realize that investing in a healthy world returns profit, and benefits everyone.

– Connor Borden

Photo: U.N. Multimedia

Google Invests in Renewable Energy Resources Overseas

Google is not only known for its innovative technology, but also for its support of sustainability and clean energy. Google has also made a name for itself on Wall Street, investing billions in clean energy sources that have contributed to its $727 share price.

During 2011, Google made its first international investment of nearly $5 million in one of the largest solar plants in Brandenburg, Germany. The project has an 18.65 MW that powers enough energy for 5,000 homes. The majority of the modules used to create the project were from German companies who lead in the renewable energy sector.

In May of 2013, Google invested $12 million in the Jasper Power Project: Investing in South African Solar. The project will fund a 94W solar photovoltaic plant that will ultimately provide electricity to 30,000 families.

The project was developed by The Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Program (REIPPPP) that promotes clean energy development.

Last month, Google made its third international investment of $12 million in support of the Lake Turkana Wind Power Project in northern Kenya. Google Director of Energy and Sustainability Rick Needham plans to see more investments in renewable energy resources in the developing world from Google.

He states, “The fastest growing economies are here, and there’s a strong need for critical power. Economies are being held back because they don’t have enough power — and yet they have wonderful renewable resources. These nations can meet their future and growing energy needs by tapping into some of the best renewable resources in the world.”

According to Bloomberg, renewable energy companies First Solar Inc. and SunPower Corp developed a business model that converts income from the wind and solar farms into dividends for investors. Renewable energy projects are eligible for tax benefits and see a reduced price for a solar power system under contract with Google.

If more corporate investors took advantage of these benefits, demands may grow; prices and the industry’s financing costs go down. Google has invested more than $2 billion to fund renewable energy resources programs that together will generate enough electricity to power half a million homes.

– Kelsey Lay

Sources: Bloomberg, Google 1, Google 2, Google Finance, Lake Turkana Wind Power Project, Wired
Photo: Wikimedia