Category: Baylee Konen

 

Question 1

Going beyond what would be considered as ‘whitewashed’ news that westerners usually hear in developed countries, there is good news coming out of Africa.  In Steve Radlets’s  “Emerging Africa- How 17 Countries are Leading the Way”, The “good” News in Africa is defined by these following four factors:

1.The increase of democratic governments throughout the continents.

 Radlet uses the example of Ghana, in where there are movements for the freedom of the press and a democracy. Additionally, since Ghana has shifted to a democracy, the quality of their governments and basic human rights have improved. This is positive shift consistent with all countries who switch to democracies.

2. Government Implementation of sensible economic policies.

Greater economic policies have led to greater economic stability in Africa. Radelet said that progressive African countries have grown 2 percent per capita since 1996.

3.The spread of new technologies.

New technology in Africa has allowed for new business opportunities and education. Access to information is so important in any country, and it is in my opinion a basic human right. More access to information means more knowledge, and knowledge is power.

4. “The Cheetah generation”

The emergence of young activists, entrepreneurs, and policy makers is pushing social change in Africa. Their determination is moving mountains in Africa and is giving each member of the cheetah generation a sense of power  and responsibility to their respective countries.

Question 2

Jeffery Sachs suggests that the time eradicate poverty is now and as soon as possible because day to day life is still a struggle for many. He says that poverty has much to do with sustainable development, so therefore if we are eradicating extreme poverty, we are also being more sustainable in the long run. An example of this is the Millennium Villages Project that is happening in Africa. Their goal is to create communities to get people out of extreme poverty through “agriculture, education, health, infrastructure, gender equality, and business development”. (Source: http://millenniumvillages.org/the-villages/)

These new projects are sustainable because they are only being built in places that have the national governments support and require community-led decision making so that the communities’ citizens have a say in decision making and therefore power and incentive. In my opinion, I think the villages are a positive move because they are creating opportunities where there wasn’t any before and I think it is spending aid in the right way because it is directly spending the money on the project. I especially favor this project because it is investing money it the country’s citizens and growing an economy from the ground up (citizens to government) versus top down (government to citizens).

 

Two Villages:

Tiby, Mali

(http://millenniumvillages.org/the-villages/tiby-mali/)

The village was chosen in Tiby because of the high child mortality rate, the abundant cases of malaria, and the long 9 to 11-month dry season. The village was chosen because of these problems and their rural geographic destination. So far, the project had constructed 100 new classrooms and eliminated school fees. Mali’s GDP (2002) is 3.l billion USD and its GNP (2005) is 5.12 billion USD, WPI was not found. (source:http://www.studentsoftheworld.info/pageinfo_pays.php3?Pays=MLI&Opt=economy)

In 2012, sustainable solar electricity was introduced to the village to lower the costs of kerosene lamps.

Click Here for solar electricity video

In this way, the village is able to continue growing and become further out of extreme poverty. Mali is one of the poorest countries in Africa, so it seems as though the millennial villages are so far making a positive effect on the Tiby village.

Toya, Mali

(http://millenniumvillages.org/the-villages/toya-mali-2006-11/)

Projects began in Toya in 2006 because of the droughts and extreme heat the area experiences. The main sources of food are irrigated rice and cattle. During the time of the millennial project more than 6,000 cattle where vaccinated, and rice yields were 6.3 tons per hectare. School attendance also increased, HIV/AIDs education was born, and households received cooking stoves. The GDP for Mali is the same as listed above.

Overall, the project ended in 2015 due to its 10-year progression plan. However, the effect of what the project has done is still seen in each of the villages today.

 

 

 

 

Author: Baylee Konen

Question A

Jaqueline Novogratz first defines poverty as making less than $1.25 per day, but then states that poverty is not defined by numbers; there are people behind the monetary value. She says that when looking at poverty, it is present along the whole economic spectrum.

Her answer to poverty is to give dignity to the human beings living in it and she conveys the message that it is not the impoverished people that are the reason for why they live in the situations they do: it is because of the broken system in which they live in. Her main message is that in order to fix these systems, we need to provide support, such as confidence and the ability to realize goals in impoverished communities that would ultimately change the statistic of $1.25 per day.

By giving opportunities to those living in poverty, it would turn an often tragic situation into one sprouting in innovation and opportunity: It is turning a negative situation into a positive one. By being positive, it could change the world’s outlook on how other societies view poverty and ultimately ending in an opportunistic perspective instead of an often depressing one.

Question B

The overall U.N. SDG goal is a “universal to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity”  , with 17 separate sub goals following. The goals came into effect in January 2016 and will end in 2030 and will be applied in the U.N.’s 170 countries and territories.

Neoliberalism is the idea that economy should be deregulated and privatized: What works in the private sector will also work in the public sector. The concept may seem ideal at face value because it promotes a free market, but what has happened is that most of the big corporations have taken a large share of the public market. Because of this, its effects are seen in places like the public education system and private sector companies: Pearson, for example, provides textbooks for classes. This ultimately leads to inequality in the education system, which was originally made to promote equality and equal opportunity.

Through a worldwide lens, this makes the rich richer and the poor poorer and makes it impossible for poor contries to compete with rich ones.

Question C

In John, McArthur’s article named “Players on the bench”, he talks about Millennial Development Goals (MDGs) as being the game,  the benchwarmers being the United States government and World bank, and their reason being Neoliberalism. He explains that if the World Bank would have funded the MDGs and if the U.S. wouldn’t have been so hesitant to get involved, they might have been successful.

Because of a lack of resources, the MDGs did not meet their goals, and those might have been the chance the world needed to improve an otherwise plundering situation. Also, because the MDGs were not met, the planet and those who live on it are a more risk than before. Although the standards of living of the impoverished are improving, they are not improving enough to keep up with the rich world or the environment.

Question D

In the article “How to Help Poor Countries” , it explains how monetary aid does not improve the situation in terms of poverty. The reason for this is because the monetary aid is given to the often corrupt governments and the money goes into the pockets of those in political office rather than to the citizens. There is no circulation of the money given and therefore is ineffective.

Instead of giving money to the governments, the article suggests putting  money towards special projects. For example, spending money on bed nets for people in Africa who live in malaria-polluted areas would be more effective than just giving money to the countries’ governing bodies. Another way would be to provide education for certain skills, such as sewing.

Working on social development will help financial development in the long run, while just nurturing financial development is only effective for the short run. In the end, it is not only important to assist impoverished countries financially, but it is equally essential to improve social inequality and help those who need it in the right way.