Consider
how important it is to remedy global poverty. Choose one of the following
sub-topics for global poverty reduction and summarize what you have learned about
how and why it works in reducing global poverty, and how you would carry it
out, from the readings and your own opinions.
·
Micro-lending: Grameen Bank
·
Educating women and girls
·
Reducing health care and health outcome disparities
·
Empowering through skill development and
employment: See http://www.tedxberlin.de/mallence-bart-williams-change-your-channel
Global poverty continues to be a problem. While there has been an overall decline in the poverty rate worldwide, the gap between rich and poor continues to widen (Seipel, 2003). As Muhammad Yunus stated in his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, “poverty is a threat to peace.” By taking steps to reduce and eventually eradicate global poverty, there might be hope for actual world peace. I was impressed by Yunus’s story of founding Grameen Bank, in that he was teaching elite economics at the university, but was surrounded by poverty. His actions have helped support over 7 million people to getting out of poverty and bettering themselves. Grameen Bank has helped in reducing global poverty in Bangladesh by reaching 80% of the families in poverty (Yunus, 2006). Further, 58% of its borrowers have crossed the poverty line. These are impressive numbers that demonstrate the effectiveness of a social business such as Grameen Bank.
ReplyDeleteI believe that a large part of why the Bank has been successful is that the founder trusted the people . Yunus (2006) found that corrupt and dishonest lenders were exploiting the poor, which left them in a position to not be able to succeed. Grameen Bank was established and ultimately provided the poor with trust and an amount of power they had previously not seen. One key piece is that Yunus also empowered women through this venture, which has been a success, as the founding women have been able to better support their families. Many children have been able to obtain a higher education because of Grameen Bank, and education is an important factor to eradicating global poverty.
I think it would be interesting to see if the structure of Grameen Bank would be successful in an impoverished community in the United States. It seems that a community-based Bank that entrusts its own, and where community members know they are held accountable, might be a way to help reduce poverty. While Grameen Bank has now grown to serve millions of people, it is important to keep in mind that it started out within a village, and it served the needs of the people in the village. A key tenet of social work, it is always important to consider the person in his or her environment in order to best determine how he or she can be served. At the community level, it is imperative to consider the needs of the community to be able to best support them.
Kristina,
DeleteI have always wondered why something like the Grameen Bank has not been tried out in the United States! I think it would be a great idea to implement this concept in underserved areas, especially large urban areas where certain populations are consistently discriminated against when attempting to get loans to buy a house. Many of these individuals are also taken advantage of by their banks, pay ridiculous interest rates, and end up in debt. Creating some sort of community-based banking system that places trust in the individuals and provides financial education and stability would be a very effective way to combat poverty in the United States. It would place the power back in individuals' hands and promote more cooperation and collectiveness, which would lead to greater psychosocial benefits in the long run.
"Educating women and girls"
ReplyDeleteI’ll try to explain my main ideas from reading the article about Egyptian women seeking to end their marriages in Egyptian court. “Many Egyptian women avoid the courts altogether by begging their husbands to divorce them, giving him everything he asks in return. This type of bargaining involves a woman agreeing to give up all her financial rights, the marital home, custody, and often even paying the ma'zoun fees”. This quote proves how the poverty as a concept originates. The women experiences not only financial poverty, but also a type of emotional poverty. Self-humility and begging is an expression of emotional poverty, because the woman is forced into such situation without any hope for assistance or support. These types of situations lead to poverty and homelessness. “Many Egyptian women find themselves impoverished and facing homelessness while they navigate the judicial jungle of divorce in Egypt”. The importance of educating women is to prevent sexist views when dealing with divorce and in turn prevent poverty which would likely follow.
If I were to carry it out, I would come up with a legal system that would represent women who want to have a divorce, so that the woman wouldn’t be left empty handed. However, such a system would likely be difficult to achieve due to various cultural aspects, sexism and standing ideas.
Gerda D.
I was very astonished about the use of the term "emotional poverty", since I had never actually heard of that before. Apparently the expression is not yet fixed to one ultimate meaning, which makes it even more interesting to discuss, but however: I get your point - the long hard road to go for a woman in egypt in order to get a divorce eventually makes some of them to ask their husband for one...which sounds very ironic. The fact that many women face (material) poverty, are even willing 'to beg' the husband for mercy rather than staying married shows, that their wish for divorce is urgent! Nobody should have to got through sth. humiliating like this.
DeleteAn approach to these issues surely is political pressure out of civil society; NGOs and other groups might organize protests and build a network together with lawyers in order to make a legal change. Also the egyptian men, who find this inacceptable as well should also stand up for a change, it is not unmanly to be a feminist ;-)
Articles 1,2 and 16 and 20 of human rights decl. are good arguments protesting on that topic.
However, thanks for the impression and best wishes,
Max van Kampen
Educating women and girls:
ReplyDeletePoverty is passed from one generation to the next. Children, families and communities need the tools to break the cycle of poverty.
Educating girls and young women is not only one of the biggest moral challenges of our generation, it is also a necessary investment for a poverty-free world. Until we give girls equal access to a good quality education, the world will continue to suffer from child and maternal mortality, disease and other byproducts of poverty. Education also helps girls and young women defy social limits on what they can or cannot do. For example in Egypt for a woman it is almost impossible to get a divorce, because Egyptian law reserves only for men. According to the law even physically abused woman must proof that the abuse is very harm for her, but even then it is not necessary that a woman will obtain the divorce. „Physical abuse or polygyny, for example, is a natural part of their existence“. In oder all these complications many Egyptian women avoid the courts and begs their husbands to divorce them in return giving up all the financial support, homes and even custody of their children. During the divorce process many Egyptian women becomes homeless and poor, because the goverment do not take responsibility to support them as they still are married.
Education is very important for women in countries as Egypt and many others. It can empower these woman to stand up over their life choices — by giving them the confidence to speak up for their rights, and to demand the opportunity to live happy life.
Education also helps girls and women defy social limits on what they can or cannot do. When a young educated woman is seen as a potential wage-earner for her family, she has a better chance to make her own choices and resist cultural and family pressure. Poverty can be avoided if women receive the education they need to read and earn a living.
Providing girls with a quality education also gives them confidence to confront people in power and challenge the inequalities that still exist for girls and women worldwide.
Neringa Sipele
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteEmpowerment of individuals through skill development and employment appears to be one of the most effective modes by which global poverty can be addressed. Granted, remedying global poverty would take more than just this. Nonetheless, as explained through Mallence Bart-Williams, it has the ability to lift people up from their circumstances and creates a foundation that allows them to reach for heights they had previously not been able to envision. In many of the countries where poverty is most prevalent, corrupt governments are not solely to blame. Mallence turns to blaming aid groups, such as UNICEF, for perpetuating the image of poverty rather than getting to the root of it. She claims Sierra Leon is one of the wealthiest countries in the world. The problem, however, is the exploitation of its valuable resources, gold and diamonds. The argument being made by Mallence is not a new one, and anyone who has studied the history of colonization can clearly see the long history of exploitation that has, and is still, occurring all across today’s developing countries. Mallence’s point, however, is that the reasons for poverty in these regions are not due to lack of resources, but rather due to the western world and its dominating power structures. Therefore, what can be done to remedy this global poverty? Well, one way is through the ingenuity of Mallence’s efforts, taking individuals from the streets and teaching them to read, write, and utilize their talents to create objects that will generate profits and eventually lead them out of poverty. This is on the individual scale and, while needed, the issue is more complicated than this.
ReplyDeleteAccording to Michael M.O. Seipel, economic stagnation, and even decline, seems to be occurring across several developing countries (2003). Perhaps this is due to efforts such as those of Mallence, but he claims it will take more. He states, “To wage a more effective battle against poverty, global wealth must be increased” (Seipel, 2003). In addition to the exploitation of developing countries, the west has cornered many through institutions such as IMF and the World Bank. Not only did numerous governments of developing countries misuse the loans provided, resulting in little betterment of their populations, it also accrued great debt to the west that is nearly impossible to pay off. Many of these loans had strict guidelines, most of which regulated what could be sold or to whom, in other words: there could be no conflicts of interest. According to Seipel, “…The growth of external debt among developing countries is another threat to the efforts to reduce poverty. With debts come obligations. Because of creditor-imposed rules and heavy debt-service obligations, many indebted countries are unable to reform their economies…”(Seipel, 2003). The only way for poverty to truly be remedied is for a combined effort on all fronts to be carried out; that is, there should be people on the ground carrying out methods such as Mallence to empower individuals living in poverty, in addition to worldwide recognition of the global impact on poverty. As Seipel states, “Although globalization has led to growth and prosperity for some, it has also pushed others into poverty and dependence. To reduce global poverty and strengthen global relationships, international communities must rectify the growing problems of trade imbalance, external debts and foreign aid issues” (2003). The implementation of organizations such as the one Mallence oversees is the easy part, at least in comparison to what else lies ahead. What will not be so easy is turning the attention of global actors to what their exploitation has caused. In order for such awareness and action to take place, there would need to be immense advocacy globally from social workers, or other advocates, on the grounds of their respective countries, and there would also need to be resulting global policy change. Specifically, policy change regarding trade, as free trade has only succeeded in making the rich richer and the poor poorer.
Educating women and girls.
ReplyDeleteAccording to the United Nations, even though remarkable progress toward improvements in education has been achieved, there are still nearly 60 million children out of school worldwide. Of these nearly 60 million, “more than half are girls and three quarters live in sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asian” (United Nations, 2016). It is safe to assume that a large portion also live under oppressive middle-eastern regimes.
According to Americanprogress.org, women are 70% of the world’s poor and “comprise two-thirds of the global illiterate population”. Women, globally, have been the most disenfranchised population, in terms of length of history and rights.
It is no secret that with educations comes lower rates of poverty. Educating a community and teaching individuals skills that can help them work can lift the community out of poverty and into prosperity.
To address the global poverty crisis through educating women and girls, I begin by working with governments that have relationships with the United States. Still today, some of our allies or neutral partners do not do enough work to ensure all of their women and girls receive and adequate education. Even in America, not all women and girls receive adequate schooling due to poor school districts, sky rocketing costs of higher education and many other factors. But to reduce the amount of poverty globally, working with nations to improve their schooling of young girls and women would be a key start to reducing global poverty.
It is important to remember to meet some populations where they are. Not every remote community can have a fancy college or elementary school. In some cases, education will be in the form of teaching women on how to capitalize on skills they already know or can learn. We see this already in form of certain tribes and communities who have learned to sell their handmade rugs, blankets, scarves, bracelets, pottery and other items to people outside of their tribes and communities. Educating women and girls is not a blanketed program that can fit the needs of every woman and girl in every country. It will need to be an individualized approach. Something that may work for a small community in sub-Saharan Africa will not necessarily work for a large town in Iraq.
Though there are success stories that we may never hear about, one of the most prominent stories that I remember from a few years ago was about the schools that Oprah built and opened for girls in South Africa. This is a great way for people in the west to help reduce global poverty by educating girls and women and, if funded, would be a great place for me to begin.
Educating women and girls is critical in the fight to alleviate global poverty. Malala Yousafzai is one young woman whose voice and actions have stood out for the rights of women and children. Malala was shot in the head by the Taliban in 2012 on a bus ride home from school. After surviving and healing from the gunshot Malala decided, instead of remaining silent, it was time to change how people throughout the world viewed women’s educational rights. In her speech to the United Nations, Malala reported, “It is not each child’s right to get an education, rather it is their duty and responsibility” (Malala, 2017) Malala called upon all the nations of the world to provide free and compulsory education. She also recognized that the Taliban and extremists are afraid of books and pens because they realize education is more powerful than guns (Yousafzai, 2013). For example, Malala stated, “The pen is mightier than the sword” (Malala, 2017). Malala explained that in countries such as Nigeria, school buildings have been destroyed to prevent children from obtaining an education (Malala, 2017). She also explained that without education girls and women are forced to marry while still young or become victims of child labor and trafficking. As a result, young girls and women never create dreams for themselves or reach their full potential (Malala, 2017; Yousafzai, 2013). Malala believes not only that education is the only solution to changing the world for girls and women, but also that a woman’s voice is powerful and can impact and change the world (Yousafzai, 2013).
ReplyDeleteNot only have young individuals, such as Malala, become activists for women’s rights, but organizations have also developed documents used to protect the rights and equality of young girls and women. In 1979 the United Nations adopted the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (Healy, 2008). The Convention is the only human rights treaty affirming a woman’s reproductive rights, but also outlining women’s equality in politics, health, employment, and education. Countries who ratify the Convention must put its statements into practice and submit national documents every four years reporting on work being done to assist women (United Nations, 2017). While many nations have ratified the Convention, six member nations of the United Nations have not, which include: the United States, Iran, Somalia, Tonga, Sudan, and Palau (United Nations, 2017). The Convention states that the curriculum and examinations women receive while attending primary, secondary, and tertiary education in urban and rural schools need to be equal to male students. The Convention also assists in reducing the school dropout rate for women and encourages programs for young girls who have left school prematurely (United Nations, 2017). Furthermore, the Convention states that women have the same rights as men to access continuing education programs, such as literacy programs, and specific educational material that ensures women and their families stay physically and mentally healthy (United Nations, 2017). When educational institutions comply to equal rights for women, women are less likely to face global poverty, and develop greater self-confidence. While many nations have ratified the Convention, many countries are unwilling to provide equality to women and continue to discriminate against women’s educational rights.
The International Federation for Social Workers has also produced statements illustrating the importance of educating women and girls throughout the world. Women face a greater risk for poverty than men as a result of their education levels (Hare, 2004). Illiteracy greatly affects a woman’s ability to advance her education. While adult literacy rates have improved worldwide in the last decade, thousands of adults are still illiterate. Women make up two-thirds of the world’s population who are illiterate (Healy, 2008). The literacy gap between men and women is greatest in three regions of the world: Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, and Southern Asia (Healy, 2008). In Southern Asia only forty-seven percent of women are literate compared to seventy percent of men (Healy, 2008). Furthermore, a lower percentage of girls in Southern Asia have access to secondary education or college compared to boys (Healy, 2008).
ReplyDeleteBeing illiterate can hinder other aspects of a woman’s economic status. By not knowing how to read or write, women are unable to complete job applications or be hired at a business or company. Furthermore, throughout the world today jobs in the service and technology industries are growing rapidly (Hare, 2004). Most wages and benefits in many countries come primarily from an individual’s job. Without adequate education to learn how to read and write women cannot obtain jobs with benefits or suitable salaries. Young women, therefore, face higher rates of unemployment, making them more susceptible to poverty, exploitation, and victimization (Hare, 2004).
Education creates more economic opportunities for people which assists in eliminating global poverty. The workforce cannot succeed without trained and skilled individuals contributing to the economy (Seipel, 2003). Without education, individuals are unable to successfully compete globally. Globalization is the process by which international interactions are made between a diverse set of people, economies, cultures, ecological, and political structures (Hare, 2004). As a result of globalization, it has become essential for individuals to become culturally open toward people of other counties and show awareness for a variety of global issues (Seipel, 2003). By attending school, however, women are less isolated and disconnected from global learning or understanding.
References
Hare, I. (2004). Defining Social Work for the 21st Century: The International Federation of Social Workers’ Revised Definition of Social Work. International Social Work, 47, 407-424.
Healey, L. M., (2008). International Social Work: Professional Action in an Interdependent World. (3rd edition). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Malala Yousafzai, Girl Shot in the Head by the Taliban Speaks at the UN (2017, March 5). Retrieved from http://youtube.com/watch?v=QRh_30C816Y
Seipel, M. (2003). Global poverty: No longer an untouchable problem. International Social Work, 46, 191-207.
United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women. (2017, March 5). Retrieved from
http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/
Yousafzai, M. (2013). I am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up For Education and Was Shot by the Taliban. New York: NY, Back Bay Books.
I believe that it is extremely important to remedy global poverty. As we know poverty exists across the world. However, depending on where you are located is what type of resources you receive. Poverty can affect all aspects of human rights. In class we discussed how people who live in poverty are vulnerable physically and mentally. During our readings the micro-lending: Grameen Bank really stood out to me. Yunus invented the Grameen Bank by utilizing his own skills and knowledge as an economics professor. He tested it out by loaning his own money to his neighbors in getting them out of debt from enslaving money-lenders. From there he created the Board of Directors of initial loan recipients. As people found out about it donations grew. Behind the process Yunus had people in poverty run it. The loan interest rates were simple. Eventually the bank became self-supporting as people repaid their loans. His programs that were a part of Grameen Bank helped the beggars or the poor be able to pay back the loans or even have a job. Grameen Bank is so successful that the repayment rate is 99%. One of the many incredible things is Yunus proposes that “a social business as a solution to contemporary economic problems.”(Yunus 4). A crucial characteristic of why this program is successful is the belief in these people who are considered a minority. A lot of assumptions about poverty shape how society views it. If I were to carry out his ideas in giving second chances and revived the way poverty can be fixed. Not only is the money being paid back but they are earning money from the jobs created. He overturned the inequality and gave them opportunities. I think that all over companies or people should adopt this program. I see this as a long term solution, rather than a short one.
ReplyDeleteMicro-lending: Grameen Bank
ReplyDeleteFrom my point of view, I think the Grameen Bank sets the best example on how to address the poverty problem. The Grameen Bank which was created in 1983 as a village Bank today gives loans to nearly 70 million poor people of which 97% are women.
Lessons learned
Respecting the potential of the poor and marginalized. When Mohammad Yunus approached the bank located in the campus to lend money to the poor, from the banks perspective, they were not creditworthy! The world we live in today, does not consider the poor to have any potential inhibited in them. We seem not to believe that the poor once helped; can get out of their poverty. Yunus, trusted and believed in their potential and became a guarantor for them to get loans. The results of his trust in the potentials of the poor are what we are celebrating.
Being empathetic to poor people’s situation. Yunus, pointed out that he was shocked to discover a woman in the village borrowing less than a dollar from the money-lender on condition that he would have the exclusive right to buy all she produces at the price he decides. Out of empathy, Yunus decided to help the poor instead of taking advantage of them. I think one of the reasons why the number of poor people is ever increasing, majority organizations and individuals are taking advantage of the poor to benefit themselves instead of helping them.
Small actions have a greater impact in the long run if they have human life at their center. Grameen Bank which started as a village bank, has spread around the world and there are now Grameen type of programs in almost all countries of the world. The goal of Yunus was to improve human life of the vulnerable population. To me all the programs and interventions should prioritize human life first and profits later. However, this seems to be far from reality.
Programs targeting women benefit the families more. Coming from a patriarchal society I agree with Yunus that women programs have far reaching effect on the family and community than programs that prioritize men. Women are care givers and will always have their children and family at heart. There is a common saying that “Empowering a woman empowering the nation” I am tempted to think that poverty alleviation programs in developing countries especially Uganda, should prioritize women.
Micro-Credit is effective in poverty reduction programs. According to the article, 58% of the borrowers crossed the poverty line. These were the people that were borrowing a total amount of $27. Meaning that extension of very small loans to impoverished borrowers who typically lack collateral, steady employment and verifiable credit history is effective. It is the best approach for many communities in developing countries like Uganda because women and a bigger portion of its population lack a stable employment history that traditional lenders tend to require.
Secondly, a big population is illiterate or semi-illiterate and normally finds trouble completing paper work required to get conventional loans. Even those that are able to fill paper work and get the loans don’t understand the terms and conditions since they are always written in technical and foreign languages. The result has been some people end up losing their property after getting loans. Every person has a potential to become an entrepreneur. The fact that beggars were able to start selling merchandize and over 5000 people left begging.
Social businesses are the way to go if we are to alleviate the poverty problem. They have human life of all people at the center not maximization of profits. Since they emphasize doing good to people and the world, we shall have many people investing in healthcare for the poor, financial services for the poor, education and training for the poor and these will ultimately lead to poverty reduction.
Gordian, I appreciate the comprehensive response to the complex issue of global poverty. I agree that the example of Grameen Bank and the vision of Mohammad Yunus for micro-lending is a powerful one with far reaching effects, helping the very poor obtain and use resources to better their situation. This is important on a practical level (access to resources) but also on an ideological/psychological level (the believe on an individual and collective level that the very poor are valuable and trustworthy. However, what stood out to me the most was that you point out the importance of providing the loans to women and girls and the specific impact that this will have within a country. It is not enough for us to just address one of the sub-topics in order to effectively address global poverty, but we must develop and execute policies and programs that address the issues in a manner as comprehensive as possible.
Delete-Rachel Ostergaard (not sure why my posts are listed as 'unknown!'
Remedying global poverty is one of the most crucial tasks for today’s society. As Muhammad Yunus said in his Nobel Lecture, “over one billion people live on less than a dollar a day. This is no formula for peace”. Poverty spikes hostility under its pressures, remedying global poverty would also attest to the ambition of world peace. Muhammad Yunus became an activist in remedying global poverty because of all the poverty that was surrounding him in his everyday life in Bangladesh. Upon attempting to confront the problem through the help of banks around the campus he taught at and being unsuccessful due to their lack of faith in the creditworthiness of the poor, in 1983, he established a separate bank for the poor.- Grameen, or Village bank. Yunus started the bank with the use of a micro-lending program (Yunus, 2006).
ReplyDeleteThe Grameen Bank offers loans to entrepreneurs that are too poor for traditional bank loans. In some sense, it serves as a crutch or a helping hand for those that are determined to get out of their current economic status, but simply do not have the resources to do so. It gives people the opportunity to take initiatives in business or agriculture, which allow them to pay off the debt that they take out. The bank targets the poor population, but specifically women. The Grameen Bank gives loans to 7 million people, 97% of which are women (Yunus, 2006). Traditionally, women have had less access to financial help due to the view of gender inequality. With Grameen Bank, they are now able to learn a trade that will allow them to, in some cases be independent, in other to help within their families. In this way, the bank that Yunus established also is a source of empowerment for women.
The results and the ideology behind why Yunus started the bank speak for themselves in why it works in reducing global poverty. Yunus believed in the poor, and trusted them, he saw the change that needed to be made and made it. According the bank’s internal survey, 58% of their borrowers have crossed the poverty line. Not only that, but the bank has also impacted many of the children of the borrowers. The women borrowers, giving most priority to their children, were able to provide an education for their children. Some even were privileged enough to get a higher education, allowing them to break out of the cycle of poverty.
It would be interesting to see a micro lending program in the United States work. I think that in order for it to work, it would have to target a community, and grow as/if it became successful. For a program like this to grow in our society, it would have to be started by the members of the community that it targets. Or someone that is associated with it- just as Yunus did in Bangladesh. Micro lending is proving to be effective in global poverty reduction because people living in poverty live on so little per day, that anything can make a difference. Giving people an opportunity to break the poverty cycle by allowing them to take out small loans to start making changes in their lives is a lot more constructive than charity, and Yunus saw it as that as well.
Maja Konieczny
Educating Women and Girls
ReplyDeleteWomen’s human rights violations have affected women all over the world for many, many years. This injustice and sexism has kept women in poverty and has kept girls from making a better life for themselves. It became such a big topic that Amnesty International and other human rights organizations began calling attention to all the challenges that women were facing throughout the world (Gallagher, 2005). In 2010 Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn wrote the book Half the Sky, telling the stories of various women who faced extraordinary struggles.
Both the article and book conclude that one of the best strategies for fighting poverty is through unleashing women’s potential. And there is no better way to unleash that potential than by educating women and girls. This is the cause that Malala Yousafzai is strongly supporting. Education helped an Ethiopian woman in Half the Sky go from hospital patient to surgeon! Education helped Malala become an activist, writer, speaker, and the youngest ever Nobel Prize laureate.
A women’s and girl’s education program would require the buy-in of many stakeholders. Most importantly, informing the family about the importance of educating all children would be a primary goal. Next, providing resources and opportunities for girls all over the world to access schools and education opportunities would help connect this need to tangible and reachable resources. Lastly, working to spread the idea that all children are a blessing requires extensive world-wide networking and partnerships. By educating girls, we are preparing the other half of the population for work, for a safer and happier life, and for innovations that would otherwise go undiscovered. And when global social workers partner with organizations to further the rights of all citizens, poverty can finally begin shrinking.
References
Gallagher, N. (2005). Amnesty International and the idea of Muslim women’s rights. Journal of Mideast Women’s Studies, 1, 97-107.
Kristof, Nicholas, and Cheryl Wudun. (2010). Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide. NY, New York: Vintage.
People who are living in extreme poverty and deprivation are among the most vulnerable. More than 2.2 billion people are either near or living in multidimensional poverty. That means more than 15 percent of the world’s people remain vulnerable to multidimensional poverty. This problem is further aggravated by the financial crisis, natural disasters, rising food prices and violent conflicts. Three-quarters of the world’s poor live in rural areas, where agricultural workers suffer the highest prevalence of poverty - about 1.2 billion. People in the world for the Daily Subsistence May appoint not more than $ 1.25 (1.18 million) (2014, Human Development Report) In order to reduce poverty, it is necessary to make social services accessible to all, to pay a great attention to all human needs work and education. I choose to analyse women's and girls' education as prevention against poverty.
ReplyDeleteOne of the poverty reduction strategies is Education. One of the most important ways to fight poverty is to educate the poor, since education opens up a wide range of economic opportunities for people. (2003, Michael M. O. Seipel.) I agree with the idea that education is needed for poor people, but education must start from a young age. I think that education in this case does not mean only to finish their education at school, acquire profession in order to earn money. It’s much more. Educating girls and young women is not only one of the biggest moral challenges of our generation, it is also a necessary investment for a peaceful and poverty-free world. Like I said, is not enough to finish school and university to become a successful woman. The success or poverty is a thin boundary.
For example, in Lithuania many young girls who are living in institutions - do not receive adequate education. When leaving the institutions the majority of the girls fall into poverty. With no education they cannot find a job, do not know their rights, early pregnancy, violence, abuse, and finally the social life at risk. A young mother with no social or parenting skills show a bad example for her children. And then begins a cycle of poverty.
The director of UNESCO's Education for All Global Monitoring Report Pauline Rose (2013) in her article about girl‘s education wrote that education is linked to the age at which women marry and have children. Education also helps girls and young women defy social limits on what they can or cannot do. Education is also closely linked to health. As Pauline Rose said „education transforms lives“. I agree with this one hundred percent. I think that the world is changing. There is no longer the stereotype that women do not need education. A growing number of women that occupy management positions, becoming Presidents of countries (Dalia Grybauskaite- the first woman to become president of Lithuania) is a good example for young girls. In short the young age girls have to understand that education is important. Women should have education, to work, to earn money, to be independent. Must be able to plan their life stages, such as the creation of a family. Woman should be aware of their rights, get all the social guarantees.
In the end, I would like to quote a passage from the Nobel lecture (2006) "We are creating a completely new generation that will be well equipped to take their families way out of the reach of poverty. We want to make a break in the historical continuation of poverty." I think that we are the new generation which understands that science and education are essential.
References:
Nobel Lecture,Oslo, December 10, 2006
https://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/sites/devco/files/annual-report-2014-all_lt.pdf
http://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/hdr14-report-en-1.pdf
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0020872803046002005
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-why-girls-education-idUSBRE98O13D20130925
Lina Tokarskytė (Sorry for my bad english skilss, I Hope you will understand what I wanted to say.)
Lina,
DeleteI really like the way you talk about educating women and girls. And your English is amazing! It is so interesting that many of us chose to talk about education as one of the most powerful ways to fight poverty. It is so true that by focusing on educating women and girls we are not only preparing women for careers.
Like you say, education is not only a way out of poverty but is also linked to better health, to planned families, and to independence and overall well being. I also wrote about how this is a human right that must start at a very young age and must be supported and encouraged throughout a woman's life. I also think that our generation really understands that and is willing to invest in it 100%.
Delia, your comment made me smile. Thank you!
DeleteEducating women and girls. To start, i chose this topic because of several reasons. First of all, as Seipel (2003) says one of the most important ways to fight poverty – educate the poor. Education opens up the door for people: more economic opportunities, they can more easily find a job, get a better salary and etc. And this statement matters equally both to women and men. What is not equal in nowadays society – women and men rights, especially to education. I think, this topic is very sensitive and important worldwide, but especially in developing countries. Once i read that because of the rise of female education from 1970 almost 4 millions death of child was prevented! So it is important to note that for women education is important not just because they could get a job and money, but because education can empower them and stop that vicious cycle of poverty. By saying this i mean that in developing countries there are very high numbers of child marriages. When they are teenagers they are forced to marriage and underaged give births. In the long run, these women can‘t afford to take care of they children or atain proper health services during and after the labour. The line of poverty continues as children born into impoverished families that are unable to help their child escape this vicious cycle. Education empower girls to make their own choices and for example to decide how many children they want to have. Also when they are informed about the risks of consecutive childbirth, they can delay it. According to Rose (2013) in Pakistan just 30 percents of women who have no education believe that they have a say over how many children they will have. This numbers rise to 63 percents of girls who have secondary education. So education is linked not just to the age at that girls get married, but also helps to defy social limits on what they can or cannot do, to health quality and also education equips them with the confidence to confront people in power and fight the inequalities that still exist for girls and women worldwide. So education helps girls to start to believe that they can create and shape their future. To sum up - educated women are empowered women. And this matters worldwide.
ReplyDeleteSeipel, O.M. (2003). Global poverty: no longer an untouchable problem. International social work 46, 191 – 207.
Rose, P. (2013). Why girls education can help eradicate poverty.
I wholeheartedly agree with you! I believe that poverty is a vicious cycle caused by undereducated women and children and it needs to stop.Girls are not allowed to be girls and have to grow up much earlier then they have/should to. Having places for the girls to go and educating them is the best way to achieve this goal. More celebrities and people of power like Oprah Winfrey need to open schools for girls in underprivileged countries. We also need to find ways to educate girls on the importance of contraception and other preventative measures for unwanted pregnancies and STI as well as the dangers of female genital mutilation. With these steps taken, numbers of unwanted pregnancies will decline and girls will be able to be girls and decide when they want to have children on their own and not by their circumstances. It is our job as future global social workers to ensure that these procedures can be done and implemented in the areas that need them the most.
DeleteWhen asked to consider how to address global poverty from a global social work perspective, there is a temptation to be overwhelmed by the fact that global poverty is an incredibly immense, complex, multifaceted issue. Yet there are many individuals, nonprofits, and governmental agencies and transnational organizations that have developed innovative and effective methods to address global poverty on a macro and micro scale. One technique that has been utilized to address global poverty is providing individuals with the opportunity to learn new skills in order to gain more stable employment. One example of this technique is outlined in Mallence Bart Williams’s TED Talk “Change Your Channel” in which Williams speaks to the importance of creating opportunities for individuals to discover and enhance certain skills in order to support themselves financially (Williams, 2015).
ReplyDeleteWilliams founded a collective organization in her home country of Sierra Leon in order to provide skill-building and employment opportunities to young men living in situations of homelessness. The program is built around the principle of “it’s not charity, it’s sharity,” meaning that the individuals are not only participate as individuals receiving certain skills, but as members of a collective community of individuals who are invested in sharing with one another and promoting the greater good of the group. These programs have allowed these individuals to not only have more stable financial incomes, but to also find a group to which they can belong and provides important human connection and validation. It is an effective micro-level intervention that can promote lasting effects due to the fact that these individuals receive psychological, economic, and social benefits from participation in a collective skill-building organization.
As I was listening to Mallence’s TED Talk, I was reminded of the many women’s collectives that I encountered during my study abroad experience in El Salvador in undergrad. The economic situation in El Salvador is dire, where most individuals support themselves on less than $1 a day. There are scarce job opportunities available for the majority of individuals. In order to find a way to support themselves, many women have organized their own artisan collectives and have partnered with international non-profit organizations in order to sell artisan goods in more developed countries. The women teach one another how to embroider shirts, make jewelry, and weave palm branches to make intricate fans. It is a beautiful example of how a small group of individuals can empower one another to build skills to support themselves when there is little outside economic opportunity available. It also allows them to foster a cooperative, supportive environment that will allow them to reap psychological benefits.
These two examples of utilizing collective organizations to promote skill building provide evidence that promoting cooperation in societies can lead to peace. Bonta (1997) states that cooperation breeds peace, and therefore these collective organizations are a wonderful way to foster cooperation and work towards combating systemic violence, oppression, and corruption, and therefore breaking down the fundamental aspects of global poverty.
References
Bonta, B. D. (1997). Cooperation and Competition in Peaceful Societies. Psychological Bulletin, 121(2), 299-320.
Williams, M. B. (2015, January 26) Change Your Channel. Retrieved from http://www.tedxberlin.de/mallence-bart-williams-change-your-channel
Seidel (2003) states that in order to more effectively fight poverty, each country has to create wealth through the productivity of its citizens. He goes on to lists a variety of strategies that can and should be used to address poverty reduction, including investment in health care. He states that “prolonged illness, disease and malnutrition can potentially destroy economic and social stability” (p. 204). Conversely, poverty, unemployment and economic disintegration can create potential for malnutrition, disease and illness. The importance of protecting and promoting the health of the public so as to ensure that the wealth can be created and distributed by it’s citizens, helping to reduce poverty overall.
ReplyDeleteCastro & Farmer (2005) discuss the story of Samuel, a man in Haiti who farmed a small plot of land and owned a small shop. He did not earn much money, but was able to support his family as well as look after his sister and her family. He became sick with AIDS and as the disease progressed, due to stigma and lack of access to health care, he was unable to continue working and thus was unable to support his family or that of his sister. The economic impact of his failing health and all the barriers that were impediments for him to access the healthcare he needed was significant. Not only was he not able to connote working and thus support the family, but he was unable to pay the school fees for his children. Once he was able to access the health care he needed, Samuel was able to continue working and being a ‘valuable’ member of society rather than a drain on resources/otherwise. able to more effectively engage in the economy and support his family which meant that his children could also finish their schooling and move forward as productive members of society. The example of Samuel is a good illustration about how access to health care (or lack thereof) can have an impact that is much broader than just the health of the individual, but rather can effect an entire community.
I would work towards the reduction of health outcome disparities out on a global scale by starting ate the most basic and addressing some of the health by ensuring some of the most basic preventative measures are in place. The World Health Organization (WHO) states that diarrhea is the leading cause of death for children under five and that a significant amount of this could be presentable simply through access to clean water and adequate sanitation (WHO, 2013). Additionally, something as simple as the distribution of and mosquito nets could help reduce the number of malaria and other mosquito born illness throughout much of the world. Just these small changes could make a considerable impact on individuals and communities around the world. If the population of a community is not healthy enough to engage in the local economy then having the ability to significantly in other poverty reduction strategies such as education, job creation and micro enterprise is less likely and thus it may be harder for that country to break out of poverty.
Castro, Arachu PhD, MPH; Farmer, Paul MD, PhD. (2005). Understanding and Addressing AIDS-Related Stigma: From Anthropological Theory to Clinical Practice in Haiti. American Journal of Public Health, 5(1), 53-59.
Seipel, Michael. (2003). Global poverty: No longer an untouchable problem. International Social Work, 46, 191-207.
World Health Organization. (2013). Diarrhoeal Disease (fact sheet). Retrieved from: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs330/en/
- Reducing health care and health outcome disparities
ReplyDeleteHealth care provision continues to be a key challenge in many low- and middle income countries. Despite various efforts to improve the health situation in the developing world, many emerging economies are still far from achieving “universal health coverage.” Worldwide, more than 1.3 billion people do not have access to effective and affordable health care, including drugs, surgeries or other medical interventions (Asfaw, Jutting, 2007). Being able to reach those health care services is not a new for all of us, it looks normal to get vaccines or dental care whenever we need this, but not for people who live in poor countries. Seipel (2003) says, that victims of global poverty suffer not only from hunger of violence, but also from various diseases. This let me to notice, that ability to get necessary health services promotes human right to be safe and get right help. Obviously, poor health drastically impedes the social and economic development of a country: beyond directly affecting people’s well-being (reduced life expectancy, high infant mortality, spread of infectious diseases, etc.) poor health also lowers the productivity of labor and menaces the entire economy. An efficient and equitable health care system is an important instrument to break up the vicious circle of poverty and ill health. Lower sickness rate improves higher working capacity and growing economics. Moreover, this may reduce productivity in many other ways, for example healthy children may live longer and get educated. It is like a chain, change starts from somewhere and affects many more systems (education, economics, etc.). Global poverty can consist not only poor countries, but also rich ones. So it is like ecological system‘s theory (Bronfenbrenner, 1979), when you change one system‘s part, it could change whole system.
Children have right to be healthy and safe, this is a way to right child‘s development. I would like to share this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tiGRe-yyZ2M ), which shows that inapproachable health care can be harmful and may influence different life aspects. This shows, how lower health care appears in USA elementary school, so I let you imagine, how it can appear in Somalia or other poor countries.
-Urte Jautakyte
While in the United States the lack of education of women and girls is not as big of an issue as it is in other parts of the world. However, in many other parts of the world, women and girls do not have the opportunity to go to school and get a good education. It is evident that in countries with more educated women, there is less poverty than in other countries. For instance, there is less poverty in Canada than there is in India and, per capita, more women are educated. Seidel (2003) has an idea that the success of a country financially depends on the productivity and the education level of the citizens. More education is usually more productivity because they know more skills and different ways to approach problems. More education usually also means more social fluidity and easier to move up the social and corporate ladder the more you are educated. Wong and Tsang (2004) talk about how Asian Immigrants in Canada use their voice and their knowledge to speak and how that positively affects their mental health which is another important concept to consider.
ReplyDeleteMore educated women and girls would also break the cycle of families in poverty and contracting STIs. A more comprehensive and thorough sex education for women and girls would reduce the amount of pregnancies and therefore reduce the number of poverty-stricken women and children. Also, with proper sex education and contraception, more women would be able to continue in schools and continue their education. Girls will also have more time to be girls and will not have to grow up so quickly like getting pregnant and married at 14. They would be able to grow at their own pace and flourish into their own and explore their own interests.
The fact that women outnumber men in the world in the later years of life shows that educated women are needed in order to move generations forward through many different years. Women are also more likely to outlive men and would be able to influence other young girls and boys to become educated and move the world forward. Educated women will also be able to help support families if their partners lose their jobs or fall on hard times and therefore would be able to offer monetary support and keep their family out of poverty. Overall, the success of women and girls is really the success of the family unit and the world. Women do truly run the world and they need to be educated to move the world forward and be innovators.
I agree ewith you, that Girls must have more time to be girls and don'thave to grow up so quickly like getting pregnant and married at 14.
DeleteBut what to do with a culture that is normal to create a family for 14 years. For example Roma people. I think in culture like Roma, its not enough to educate woman and girls. It's just my reflection in which I did not find the answer.
Empowering through skill development and employment
ReplyDeleteGlobal poverty was and still is one of the biggest global problems. I chose this topic because I believe through education and employment poverty can be reduce. The problem is that poor people cannot fully participate in society life, their children have less access to self-realization. That is why children living in those conditions often grow as a poor people too. And that’s is the circle witch need to be stopped. There is five theories of poverty are distinguished in academic literature: poverty is caused by individual deficiencies; poverty is caused by cultural belief systems that support sub-cultures of poverty; poverty is caused by economic, political, and social distortions or discrimination; poverty is caused by geographical disparities; poverty is caused by cumulative and cyclical interdependencies.
Another common cause of poverty – inadequate children, relatives, parental supervision and care. I think that preschool education and day care services must be accessible from young age, and it must be flexible, creating them according to regional needs. Because education can develop your skills or help you to reveal new skills witch can be used in future for a better life. Because poverty can appear in every age. The example of Mallece was that kids from 3years old was left in the street without nothing, because their parent or relatives was killed. And there was no who could help them or to react to this kind of problem. That is one of the issues who is not taken to consideration about reducing poverty.
Employment is another thing could help reduce poverty but the problem is a lot off business companies are seeking profit, but not social equality or social welfare. Of course there are exceptions and one of the best in is Grameen Bank. This idea showed that there is a way how to reduce poverty. If there was more ideas like this, there will be more work places and opportunities for poor people to start live normal life.
In conclusion in TED talk by Mallence Bart Williams there was a thought that developing skills can help to see life differently, not life as a poor but life as an opportunity to be what you want to be, and reach those skills. As a social workers we need to reduce differences between people. We need to increase mutual respect about each other. People need to understand that we are not poor neither rich, we are just people who want to live happily and in peace.
Tautvydas Vigelas
Grameen Bank. I chose this topic because I believe it to be a very beautiful initiative that leads to great results when it comes to the reduction of poverty. This only confirms that all you need is a good idea, which makes it possible to help large numbers of people.
ReplyDeleteThe best thing this bank provides are small loans, that, without any mortgage, help a person to get out of poverty and even start their own business so that they can make money, which later leads to the ability for said people to support their families and live comfortably. What is also important in my opinion, is the fact that these loans consist of small sums that do not blind the person, but, quite the opposite, let them make the right decisions. I believe Garmeen Bank is a great example of a social business.
Eradicating Global poverty isn’t a day’s job.it has to start somewhere. Micro-lending is a beautiful way to get there.
ReplyDeleteDevelop an NGO that would ill implement a combination of 2 main goals in other help people get out of the poverty line. These are as follows
Education and skills development (3-6months)
Micro-lending (lending money)
The words of Nelson Mandela Education is the most powerful tool that could be used to change the world.
The NGO would be set up to educate and help people develop their skills .it would be a 3-6months course depending on what sort of skills they would like consider developing.it would be a course to help people develop their skills.
At the end of the program-the people that complete the courses would be lend a certain amount of money to kick start their own business. They would be allowed to pay installmentally after a year. The NGO would keep track on their progress on those business in which they have helped to kick start. The business that are really doing well could be supported with extra funds to help the business move to another level and in support of the NGO the business could get recruit and employ people in the NGO.meaning people could choose if they would like to start the own business or they could get recommendation’s from the NGO to employee people after their courses.