By Chris Kardish, Raimund Zühr, Sabine Campe (SEEK Development) There are few United Nations goals with a bigger impact across the entire development agenda than education. Improving the health of societies, reducing poverty and inequality, eradicating hunger, empowering women – all of them require giant leaps forward in global education. But as many researchers and advocates have pointed out, getting there will require more investment, including from wealthier donor countries to developing countries. However, existing data reveals the opposite: donor country...
This post by Meagan Neal, Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), is the third post in a blog series on overcoming barriers to girls’ education, based on J-PAL’s new Bulletin on improving student enrollment and attendance. Read the first post summarizing these barriers here and learn more about the first-order barrier of travel time here. In 2003 in western Kenya, a school uniform cost $6. This might seem like a small cost—but for poor families, it was a substantial out-of-pocket expense. Meanwhile,...
By Imani LaTortue, ONE Digital Intern While the world can sometimes feel like a gloomy place, there are some amazing people and causes that balance out the bad with some really incredible GOOD. We believe it’s important to utilize our talents and passions to help the world around us. That’s why we wanted to spotlight just a few of the many, many organizations dedicated to doing just that: Solar Sister Solar Sister is an organization that helps support women...
This post by Meagan Neal, Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), is the second post in a blog series on overcoming barriers to girls’ education, based on J-PAL’s new synthesis of the evidence on improving student enrollment and attendance. Read the first post summarizing these barriers here. In 2007, Afghanistan’s rural province of Ghor faced low primary school enrollment and a dramatic gender gap: Only 35 percent of boys and 18 percent of girls were attending school. School...
By Imani LaTortue, ONE Digital Intern The continent of Africa is filled with a wide array of beautiful countries—all with even more amazing cuisine. There are plenty of options: from salty to sweet, numerous consistencies, meat-filled dishes, and options for vegetarians. Here are five African foods that you should have on the menu in your home or even try the next time that you eat out: Jollof Rice Photo credit: Ask4ugo/Wikimedia Commons As one of the most...
Story and photos by Ray Mwareya. Expensive maternity fees in Zimbabwe are a nightmare for pregnant women. In state or church clinics, where the majority of the poor give birth, charges can rise to $50 USD per month until delivery, according to Chido Gama of the Zimbabwe Health Human Rights Forum, a local lobby network that monitors the rights of disadvantaged expectant mothers. But organizations like the United Nations Population Fund — with support from foreign assistance provided by countries...
Story and photos by Rebecca Rwakabukoza. While schools in Uganda are increasingly expanding to attract more learners, expansion often means buildings with classrooms only accessible by stairways, keeping out any students that may be differently abled. Very few schools have Braille materials or have teachers who know sign language. The education system there – much like the rest of the world – is best suited for a person without any difference in ability. Despite Uganda’s Persons with Disabilities Act (2006), which...
By Lauren Ahn, ONE Digital Intern August 19 is World Humanitarian Day! Established by the United Nations in 2008, World Humanitarian Day honors all those who devote themselves to helping others, no matter where they are or who they are. It’s a day to bring attention to humanitarian needs all over the world and the importance of international support and cooperation to meet those needs. It’s a day to celebrate people helping people! To that end, here are five amazing...
Story and photos by Ayodeji Rotinwa. As the children in Makoko, Nigeria, row canoes across the water, their heads are barely visible from a distance. But they’re not rowing for sport: They’re running errands and selling goods within their sprawling river-based community set in a lagoon in the heart of Lagos. Slum2School founder Otto Orondaam and some of the Mokoko students. Originally a small fishing village, Makoko is now estimated to be home to up to 300,000 people, with as many as...
By Rachel Glennerster, Executive Director, Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) I’ve worked for more than 13 years in rural Sierra Leone. In this time, I have watched a quiet revolution take place: education has become the norm. Few of the adults in the communities in which I work ever saw the inside of a school, yet nearly all of their children are enrolled in school. This is a remarkable transformation in the space of one generation, and Sierra Leone...