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Issues: Education
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Breaking the Taboo of the Loo
 

The United Nations has declared access to sanitation a basic human right, yet almost a third of the world’s population suffer from a lack of access to improved sanitation. Unilever, under its Sustainable Living Plan, has committed to helping more than one billion people take action to improve their health and well-being. ‘Toilets for Health’, a white paper by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Domestos, gives new insights in the sanitation crisis.

The report highlights how improved sanitation could greatly reduce diseases such as diarrhoea, which results in at least 1.1 million deaths of children under five every year. Also, the report provides an overview of the main diseases linked to poor sanitation which include cholera, typhoid, hepatitis A&E and many parasitic diseases. The paper revealed:

  • Improved sanitation & handwashing facilities have a particularly positive impact on the education opportunities for young girls;
  • Up to 443 million school days are lost every year due to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) related diseases;
  • Diarrhoea causes under nutrition, it also reduces a child’s resistance to subsequent infections creating a vicious circle of malnutrition & infection.

Sanitation is often described as, ‘the Last Taboo’. To reach the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) on sanitation in 2015, more than 120 million people will need to gain access to improved sanitation every year between now and then. One of the key reasons why the MDG for sanitation is lagging furthest behind is the relative reluctance to talk about it.

Everyone can help to break the Taboo of the Loo

In addition, to further raise awareness amongst consumers, Domestos has commissioned "The Public Toilet", a 4.5m high interactive statue which will be installed for five days around World Toilet Day, next to the iconic Tower Bridge landmark in London. Everyone will be able to upload a short video of their face via www.thepublictoilet.com, which will be broadcast onto the face of the statue. This activity aims to highlight the indignity faced by 1.1 billion people around the world who are forced to practice open defecation, the sanitation practice that poses the greatest threat to health.

Working with others to achieve the MDGs

To make a step change to try to solve the global sanitation crisis, Unilever is working with others to create innovative and sustainable solutions. Some examples were announced today. Unilever's commitment to sanitation is also demonstrated through the Unilever Foundation and Domestos' support of UNICEF's Community Approaches to Total Sanitation programme. In this first year of this partnership, UNICEF will result in an estimated 400,000 people living in open defecation free communities across nine countries: Gambia, Ghana, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, South Sudan, Sudan and Vietnam.

In September this year, Unilever joined the UN's Every Woman Every Child campaign to save the lives of women and children across the world through tackling deadly diseases such as diarrhoea. All these partnerships are focused to achieve the Millennium Development Goal on sanitation set by United Nations.

Chris Williams, the Executive Director of the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council, operating within the United Nations system, says: "World Toilet Day is the perfect occasion to see toilets in a new light: as a motor for economic development. Studies show that each dollar invested in sanitation generates good return. This investment potential is lost, however, on the one in three people in the world who dream of what the rest of us take for granted: a clean toilet. For countries, and individuals, sanitation is one of the best investments to be made."

This blog was originally posted here.
Posted by Philip Corden - GPP in Education, What Can I Do? for column Action Stories on Nov 21st 2012, 03:06
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1.4 Billion Reasons with Bonnie Wright
 

Global Poverty Ambassador, Bonnie Wright took the Co-operatives United festival by storm by delivering the largest ever Ambassador presentation on 1st November. The Co-operatives United festival took place in Manchester to celebrate the culmination of the UN Backed International Year of Co-operatives.

Bonnie presented with GPP UK Country Director Elisha London to around 350 young people and families from across the Northwest. Bonnie was accompanied by fellow Ambassadors Anne Parker, Tom Stevenette, Lynda McDermott and Lara Smallman who each spoke about their experiences as a Global Poverty Ambassador. Tom shared with the audience his experience on the Live Below the Line campaign and how it has engaged his community with the issue of extreme poverty. Anne highlighted her experience with protecting the UK’s pledge to give 0.7% of GNI to international aid. She, together with a group of dedicated Ambassadors, started a Facebook page encouraging people to upload pictures thanking the government for protecting the 0.7% commitment which resulted in a staggering 10,000 uploads. Laura talked about the opportunity to meet with Nick Clegg as part of Oxfam and the Co-op’s Grow campaign. Lastly, Linda shared with the audience her experience in the program as an elected member of the Co-op.

Bonnie was also accompanied by Hannah Newcombe from the Co-operative who took to the stage to explain the importance of co-operatives to ending extreme poverty. Indeed, Peter Marks, Group Chief Executive at The Co-operative said: “Poverty isn't something that we tackle in the good times, and ignore when the going gets tough. The co-operative movement has always led from the front on Fairtrade and microfinance and we take great pride in the fact that the majority of Global Poverty Ambassadors are co-operative members or employees."

Thursday’s presentation was Bonnie’s first as part of the Global Poverty Ambassadors scheme.  Bonnie said: “I am thrilled to be presenting 1.4 Billion Reasons as part of the Co-operatives United festival.  That the UN chose to make 2012 the International Year of Co-operatives is testimony to the enduring role co-operatives play in helping to end poverty for millions, and the 1.4 Billion Reasons presentation is a brilliant way to see this in action.”

Bonnie has been particularly inspired by the campaign to end extreme poverty following a recent trip with Oxfam to Senegal, a country facing severe food shortages. With the support of the Global Poverty Ambassadors, The Co-operative and Oxfam have been campaigning since the start of 2012 on the role of small-scale farmers and co-operatives in helping to feed the world fairly and sustainably.

The evening was a huge success, with an engaged audience committing to numerous new commitments and expressing their interest in hosting 1.4 Billion Reasons in their local community.

If you are interested in going to or hosting a 1.4 Billion Reasons presentation, please click here.
Posted by Stephanie Talbut and Rineke van Noort in Education for column 1.4 Billion Reasons on Nov 9th 2012, 03:42
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I am Malala
 

Last Tuesday, 14-year-old Malala Yousafzai was shot by members of the Taliban while returning home from school in Mingora, northwestern Swat.

Malala has been campaigning for girls to go to school in Pakistan, despite receiving death threats from the Taliban.  Earlier today, former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, now the UN Special Envoy on Global Education, has launched a petition in her name. 

The petition highlights the 34 million girls not currently in school and the 61 million children being shut out of primary education. The petition also “calls on Pakistan to ensure that every girl like Malala has the chance to go to school.” Gordon Brown is highlighting the abuse of rights in Pakistan but also calling on the international community to ensure that all children have access to education by the end of 2015. Mr Brown said he would hand the petition to Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari when he visits Islamabad in November.

While Malala recovers in the hospital, the world is taking responsibility for continuing her message. Gordon Brown stated: “Indeed the protests reveal a world no longer willing to tolerate the gap between the promise of opportunity for all and the reality of 61 million boys and girls shut out from even the most basic of primary schooling.”

Malala, at 14, stands up for children in Pakistan by leading this protest-- demonstrating that children understand the fundamentality of education as a right, and are demanding to learn: “the spontaneous wave of protest we are witnessing shows that children are more assertive of their right to education than the leaders who promised to deliver it.” (Brown)

The Taliban endeavor to make Malala soundless, while we can ensure her message reverberates in every corner of the world. We-- as Global Citizens-- will stand for every child and their basic right to an education.

We are Malala.

Sign the petition to support Malala and help her win this fight at educationenvoy.org.

 
Posted by Jordan Hewson in Education for column Global Poverty Project - International on Oct 16th 2012, 03:40
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Celebrating Global Poverty Ambassadors!

 

In partnership with The Co-operative, the Global Poverty Project has been able to mobilise over 120 Global Poverty Ambassadors in the UK. These ambassadors have been trained to deliver important messages to the community about what actions they can take in their everyday lives to end extreme poverty within a generation.

Thanks to our ambassadors’ drive and innovation, there have been a number of campaigns already that have stood out as being truly inspiring. Here is a short description of the events that have really stood out so far this year.

In March, the Ambassadors first campaign task was to write to their local MP to prompt the government to reconfirm the UK’s pledge to spend 0.7% of its GNI on overseas aid. Ambassadors Claire Griffths, Amar Chauhan, Anne Parker and Mark Hague went above and beyond this and created a Facebook page asking members of the public to take photos of themselves holding a sign thanking the government for protecting 0.7%. After hundreds of photos in just a few weeks the campaign was given the opportunity to meet the then Secretary of State for International Development, the Rt Hon Andrew Mitchell MP to discuss, in person, the importance of the UK committing to its 0.7% aid-spending target! 

One of GPP’s most prominent campaigns is Live Below the Line, where participants live on a pound of day to raise awareness of some of the challenges of what it’s like to live below the poverty line. As ever, each Ambassador was encouraged to do their bit for this campaign and enhance its public profile. However, none had done quite so well as Anne Parker. On the 27th of April, Anne launched her LBL efforts with a free gig in Liverpool. It was open to all and offered live music, free food and a great opportunity for Ambassadors and members of the public to get together and spread the word about the challenges of living in extreme poverty. Quite apart from attracting a large number of local people including the Shadow Secretary of State for Education Stephen Twigg MP, this party raised hundreds of pounds and encouraged many people to take part in LBL creating more awareness for the world’s poor.

Another successful campaign party was organised by Sarah Conway. As part of her efforts for The End of Polio Campaign in June, Sarah came up with a unique and fun event to raise awareness of polio in her local community by having a ‘Purple Party’. It was designed as an opportunity to get people together and sign a petition calling on the government to increase funding and end polio for good. The party was featured on local radio and local newspapers, with guests wearing purple for a great evening filled with games, quizzes and music. The money raised from the entrance fee was donated to the Rotary International campaign to end polio and, above all, everyone had fun.

One of most exciting ambassador-led campaigns of 2012 is the Point 1 campaign, championed by Kristina Crawford-our Isle of Man ambassador. Along with the team at GPP, Kristina has set up numerous events to encourage the public to get behind foreign aid spending and encourage the Isle of Man’s government to increase their aid spending to 0.1% from the tiny 0.07%. The campaign has been achieving a lot of press coverage, with Kristina regularly appearing in newspaper and on radio. This has helped the campaign already reach over 10% of the island’s population online and has gained over 1200 signatures on its petition to the government to increases its overseas aid. It's an amazing example of what the ambassadors can achieve.

Most recently the ambassadors were asked to promote World Mosquito Day for Malaria No More on August 20th. Again, one ambassador had been truly inspirations this month and that was William Stringer. William had put together and art installation in several shopping malls in Northern Ireland to raise public awareness about Malaria and the world’s poor. He used mosquito nets as a canvass for members of the public to post their names on to show solidarity with malaria suffers. He reached over 200 people, which is an amazing achievement.

Overall, these are just a few examples of the outstanding work ambassadors have done in such a short amount of time. They have been a beacon of inspiration for the public and staff of GPP alike and will continue to find creative ways to inspire people to end extreme poverty for years to come.
 
Posted by Stephanie Talbut in Education for column Success Stories on Oct 1st 2012, 12:55
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Africa: More Than One Story
 

Chimamanda Adichie’s talk “The danger of a single story” tells the riveting tale of Adichie’s experience as a Nigerian interacting with Western cultures for the first time within a university setting. Adichie quickly discovers that the Britain she read about in her storybooks is far removed from the reality of the United Kingdom. Equally, Adichie finds that her Western peers are unable to relate to her and expect her to follow the stereotypes of Africans that they had internalised from films and books. Adichie’s central message is that listening to only a “single story” entrenches stereotypes and prevents us from truly understanding each other.

Here are just a couple of stereotypes I have come across, which were challenged by my experiences living in Ghana.

Africa is poor

We are regularly exposed to media representations of starving Africans surrounded by flies. There is a lot of poverty in Africa but these images tell only a single story. First, Africa is not a country. Africa is made up of 54 sovereign states with distinct cultures, traditions, and languages. Second, not everyone in Africa is poor. The World Bank ranks the GDP of Egypt higher than the GDP of Ireland. Kenya’s GDP was ranked above the GDP of European nations Latvia and Estonia. Kenya also has a range of Commercial and Investment Banks and highly developed infrastructure. There are gourmet French restaurants in Ghana, Rwanda, Togo, and Benin and snappy sushi restaurants dot the continent.

My argument is not that all of Africa has the glamour of Central London but that there are pockets of wealth across the continent. Wealth from natural resources, better governance, African entrepreneurism, investment and aid from developed countries has helped to improve the situation for many and create opportunities for prosperity.

As a result many cities are no longer, or less, reliant on aid. To say that Africa is poor is to ignore the diversity, progress, and opportunities within this continent.

They love it when you take photos of their children!

The media would have you believe that no trip to Africa is complete without a safari, a blog post highlighting your selflessness and some photos with naked African babies. When we get shutter-happy we start to objectify the lives of others. A good friend of mine from Rwanda explains that when Westerners come and take photos of children in her school they feel that the photos will be sold to magazines for money. She wondered out loud to me why so many Westerners want photos of children whose names they do not know?


Africa shouldn’t be treated as a human zoo. Many countries, like the United States, have regulations in place that prohibit photographing children without the consent of their parents. Why is it then that we are so quick to take snaps of kids we find on the streets? Think of how strange it would be if you started taking photos of people coming out of the train station. Why should it be any different in Africa? Get to know the kids, build a relationship, and then consider taking out your camera.

Africa is an incredible continent full of interesting traditions, music, and people. It is critical for everyone to move past the stereotypes ingrained in us by the media and begin to engage with each other on a deeper level. Only when we stop to listen to the voices of Africans themselves will we truly understand Africa and how best to work with Africans to eradicate extreme poverty.

Image one: Building in Sandton, South Africa by Kleinz1
Posted by Judith Rowland in Education for column Issue Analysis on Sep 11th 2012, 12:54
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