Archive for May, 2008
The Washington Post has a strong op-ed today from Michael Gerson calling for movement on the reauthorization of President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). He calls out the “Coburn Seven” — seven Senators impeding its progress.
Gerson writes:
It is the nature of the Senate that the smallest of minorities can impede the work of the majority. But it takes a conscious choice — an act of tremendous will and pride — for members to employ these powers against an AIDS bill with overwhelming bipartisan support.
I encourage you to read the full piece “Moral Scales in the Senate” on the Washington Post site.
It takes money to make money, but poor people in Mozambique don’t have access to credit. Commercial banks don’t want to lend to them because there is no incentive in lending tiny amounts of money in such high-risk, isolated areas. Today, I visited Matola province in Mozambique. I met with Opportunity International, an incredible organization that gives microfinance loans to individuals and groups.
Microfinance loans are small amounts of money (often as little as $50 or $100) that enable very poor people, especially women, to start or expand small businesses. These loans are a vital resource in poor communities, where people have trouble accessing credit from traditional banks and money-lenders often charge exorbitant interest rates.
Their average loan from Opportunity International is small – around $170 dollars – and after just two years of operation the organization is already breaking even in the country, meaning it can expand its operations to reach even more people.
Study after study has shown that in spite of high levels of poverty, high risk and rapidly changing environments, good microfinance programs boast a repayment rate of more than 95%. Evidence also indicates that income generated from microfinance projects can spur wider development benefits because borrowers, especially women, are likely to use their extra income to invest in health care or education for their families.
We were taken to meet two groups of women whose lives had been transformed by the loans. They were able to use their money to buy stock to sell at their market stalls selling biscuits, clothes, charcoal etc. One woman had even used her money to open a restaurant. The great thing about talking to these women was how happy they were. They were so cheerful and delighted to show us around.
One woman, Rabia, has five children who live with her (in fact we met two of them – they were doing their homework at their mums stall). Rabia has one of the best success stories. She took us to see her old house, which was tiny and made of iron sheeting, and the new one she is building with the proceeds of her stall (picture above). The new house is huge (bigger than my house!) and really well organized – one room is bigger than her entire old place. As you can imagine, we were really inspired by these women.
It’s important to keep things in perspective though. One woman we spoke to was happy that she had increased her income, but she still only spent $4 a day on feeding her family of 5. It was fantastic to see what a difference a small loan could make to peoples’ lives, but we could also see that there is a long way to go to lift the community out of poverty.
-Hermione Davies
In Mozambique, less than half the population has access to clean drinking water. As a result, diarrhea and cholera, two diseases caused by unclean water and poor hygiene, are leading causes of child deaths in the country.
Today, I had the opportunity to see a MCC-supported program in Mozambique that is piping clean water into a community. I saw how lives can be transformed with access to clean water. While most of us in the United States take safe drinking water for granted, there are over one billion people around the world without access to clean water. But thanks to some amazing programs funded by the U.S. and others, some of the world’s poorest people here in Mozambique now have access to clean water, which is not only helping keep them healthy but also increasing their ability to earn money and attend school.
One neighborhood we toured has struggled with cholera outbreaks for many years. In January, with the help of the Global Fund and others, a clean water piping system was brought to the community. The results are remarkable- while last year over 1,000 people were stricken with cholera, by this year that number had fallen to 20.
Another benefit for the community has been more time for work and school, especially for women and girls. Women and children are often charged with the task of collecting water for the family. Before the new piping system was introduced, this meant they often had to spend hours each day collecting water. Now that each family has a stand pipe in their yard or home, attendance rates at schools have improved and women are able to dedicate more time to income-generating activities like gardening.
Clean water is one of the most basic human needs and it was very inspiring to see first-hand how US development assistance is literally saving and transforming lives here in Mozambique.
-Kim Smith
It’s gearing up to be an exciting summer for poverty-fighting activists here in the nation’s capital! ONE works closely with several organizations that are hosting national conferences, trainings and advocacy workshops in Washington, DC in May, June and July. Please check them out and spread the word!
May 27-31: Global Health Council: 35th Annual International Conference: “Community Health: Delivering, Serving, Engaging, Leading”
June 11-12: Save the Children: Advocacy Day 2008
June 13-15: Sojourners: Pentecost 2008: “Training for Change”
June 17: Bread for the World: Lobby Day 2008
June 18-19: CARE: 2008 National Conference
July 12-16: RESULTS Educational Fund: International Conference to End Poverty
July 15-16: U.S. Global Leadership Campaign and Center for U.S. Global Engagement: Washington Conference
-Margaret McDonnell, US NGO Partnerships and Faith Relations Team, ONE
More from our trip to Mozambique. (Previous posts here.)
Before we left the suburb, several of the kids asked us to take their photo. (See above.)
I know I’m missing items from today- but I’ll have to fill in more later. The next time we have internet access, I, and/or others on the trip, should be able to post more here.
-Virginia Simmons
You signed ONE’s petition to President Bush about the global hunger crisis—137,000 of you did, in fact. Our nation’s leaders are hearing our voices. But this crisis is still in the news. People are still going hungry.
You can keep the pressure on by taking another next step.
Join ONE partner Bread for the World’s emergency online campaign, Recipe for Hope. For six weeks, from Mother’s Day through Father’s Day, you’ll receive an email with an Ingredient for Despair—more information on the causes of this crisis—and an Ingredient for Hope—specific actions you can take to help end it. Bread will tell you something you can do and something you can say to our nation’s leaders. Then we’re all doing our part to help hungry people around the world at this perilous time.
Go to www.bread.org/recipeforhope to sign up.
One step leads to another, then leads to another. It’s the only way we keep moving forward.
-Kimberly Burge, Bread for the World
More from our trip to Mozambique. (Previous posts here.)
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In the afternoon, we visited with head of PSI in Mozambique and then visited a Maputo suburb.
In the suburb, which felt like a neighborhood, Yara of PSI explained how to use insectcide-treated bednets to a group of children and their caretakers. At the presentation, about 3/4 of the women said they were raising children who were not their own.
After, Yara took us to visit two families. The first was a family of eight (2 parents and 6 children) who live in a small 7 x 9 ft. house. The other was a mother, Regina, who has four children and whose husband died last week. Regina’s mother has bad legs but still commutes an hour and a half to work each day so that she can help feed her grandchildren.
She told us she was tired. And that her legs hurt.
-Virginia Simmons
