Trash Tranformed Into Affordable Green Homes!

For $10,000, Dan Phillips is able to build affordable, attractive homes for low-income people. And to top it all off, they are energy efficient, green homes! They have tight insulation, solar hot water and even a rainwater catchment system.

Most builders purchase their materials, which consists of piles of wood, sheet rock, nails, bricks, tiles etc. After they are used in construction they discard the waste by taking it to the dump. Dan Phillips, salvages the left over materials, takes them from the trash or even the side of the road and uses them to build or remodel homes. Phillips keeps the landfills shallow by using leftover building materials such as timber, tile and granite. He hires unskilled workers, teaches them marketable construction skills and then helps them find jobs when they have finished the project.

He says that he is only doing what people have been doing for years--using whatever they can find to build a shelter. Locals even give him their old fixtures and doors when they remodel. Dan Phillips keeps a warehouse and distributes free to low-income and needy organizations. His material warehouse has even inspired a spin-off in the Houston area, which in 2009 diverted 200 tons of building materials.

"He is saving costs, but he is also saving Mother Earth"

--Gabrielle Gurian

SOURCE: TED TALKS and AOL REAL ESTATE

The Boy That Survived The Vulture

17 years ago, back in 1993, the New York Times published one of those photos that instantly make their way into our collective memory: a severely malnourished toddler under the stalking look of a vulture just a few feet away. The picture was taken in the Sudanese village of Ayod, and the photographer was South African Kevin Carter. This image, crude as it can be, soon became symbolic of the terrible problems that devastate the African Continent, and I bet every one of us had seen it before. Carter was awarded with the Pulitzer for that picture one year later, but along with the Pulitzer, came a wave of critics blaming him for not helping the little boy.

What is not widely known is that the little boy, named Kong Nyong, actually survived the menacing vulture and famine. The picture was taken in an improvised UN food aid station run by French sanitary personnel. Zooming in the picture, a plastic bracelet can be seen in Kong Nyong's wrist, showing that he had already been diagnosed and was about to be taken care of (T3, "T" for Severe malnutrition and 3 is the arrival number). Kong Nyong actually recovered, overcoming famine and other odds and lived for another 14 years. Unfortunately, three years ago Kong Nyong died of "fevers", according to his family.

This bittersweet story has a lot to teach us. First of all, that world poverty can be successfully fought, and international efforts are not as dull as they sometimes appear, as Kong's recovery demonstrates. Secondly, that there are still really big problems to tackle, like hunger or diseases like the one that took Kong's life three years ago. Third, that we should investigate what we hear about poor countries because, as it turns out, not everything is bad news and disappointment. Negative information leads to lack of hope. Carter himself received strong criticisms for not helping the boy, but nobody asked if the boy was already being helped. And finally, that there is still hope in the long and harsh struggle against poverty. We have to boost that hope with positive stories and sincere and complete information.

- David Nebreda

SOURCE: ELMUNDO.ES (Spanish news)

DC, Here We Come!

Earlier this week, The Borgen Project founder and president, Clint Borgen, arrived in Washington DC to meet with various congressional leaders and senators. With over 80 meetings on the agenda, Mr. Borgen will be promoting the Global Food Security Act and the Newborn Child and Mother Survival Act. He will be speaking on behalf of the world's poor, and encouraging our country's leaders to make poverty alleviation a bigger priority. Follow us on Twitter for updates throughout the week.

President Meets with UN Secretary-General

Earlier this week, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had a meeting with President Obama to discuss international solutions for the current economic crisis. They both agreed that aid for developing countries should remain a priority. "The leaders of industrialized countries should keep their commitment on Millennium Development Goals and official development assistance, and help developing countries overcome food security and also help them to adapt and mitigate climate change," said Ban. Unfortunately, "the global economy is likely to shrink this year for the first time since World War II," according to a World Bank study. However, the US President and the UN Secretary-General are not about to let that get in the way of helping the poor.
Source: End Poverty

Swaziland HIV rates jump

According to a government report released February 20th, about 42 percent of pregnant women in Swaziland are infected with the virus that causes AIDS. This is a 3 percent jump in a single year, giving the African nation the highest AIDS rate in the world and an average life expectancy of just 37 years. The report blames the increase partly on more women taking life-prolonging antiretroviral medication. However, the nation is also making big strides in the fight against AIDS. In 2003, only 5 percent of women infected with HIV got drugs to protect their unborn babies. This increased to 67 percent in 2007.

Source: Newsday

IKEA Donates to Help India's Poor

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has announced recently that they will be receiving $48 million donation from the popular Swedish furniture chain IKEA. UNICEF, IKEA, and the government of India have created a partnership in 2000 to address poverty, health, debt, and education issues. According to Karin Hulshof, UNICEF India Country Representative, “The resources being provided will allow us to implement critical long-term programmes that seek to improve child survival, development and protection." Currently UNICEF's biggest corporate partner, IKEA has committed to a total of more than $180 million from 2000 to 2015, setting a high standard for other corporations.
Source: UN News Centre

Effective Aid

Last month, an online article outlining Zambian economist Dambisa Moyo's argument against foreign aid received a lot of feedback from readers. A few weeks later, Savio Carvalho, Uganda country director for aid agency Oxfam GB, wrote a response with his opposing point of view. According to Carvalho, foreign aid can help Africa escape poverty, if done correctly. Governments, aid agencies, and the United Nations need to ensure that all aid is well thought-out and pre-planned. A major argument against aid is that governments of impoverished countries are often corrupt, and the money does not go where it is most needed. Ceasing aid, however, will not improve governance. Instead, Carvahlo says, civil society should be nourished and aid should be used to help fight the corruption.

"Having lived and worked in east Africa, I have witnessed the positive effects of aid. But done badly, it can be very limiting and even has the potential to create more harm. To avoid this, it must be provided within an enabling environment in which it is used as a catalyst for change and not as an end in itself. Governments must show leadership through an accountable system," says Carvahlo.
Source: Reuters

A Step Backwards from the MDGs?

According to international development secretary Douglas Alexander, the current financial crisis could push back by three years the global advancement towards the Millennium Development Goals. Research from the Department for International Development also gives a grim forecast, predicting that another 90 million people will be pushed under the poverty line by the end of next year. Alexander's proposed solutions include the creation of a "rapid response fund" to help the world's most vulnerable people and a "global poverty alert" to update people about the effects of the crisis on poverty. Alexander also believes that the World Bank should increase and speed up foreign aid payments.
Source: The Guardian

Gordon Brown Speaks to Congress

Addressing the US Congress last week, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown spoke about our responsibility to help the helpless. He challenged the wealthy to change their priorities, aiding those in poverty before addressing their own needs.

"At their best, our values tell us that we cannot be wholly content while others go without, cannot be fully comfortable while millions go without comfort, cannot be truly happy while others grieve alone. And this too is true. All of us know that in a recession the wealthiest, the ten most powerful and the most privileged can find a way through for themselves.

So we do not value the wealthy less when we say that our first duty is to help the not so wealthy. We do not value the powerful less when we say that our first responsibility is to help the powerless. And we do not value those who are secure less when we say that our first priority must be to help the insecure."

Full text of the speech here.

Billion-Dollar Bonuses to Those Who Need it Least

John W. McArthur, Chief Executive of The Millennium Promise, published a letter in the Financial Times last month comparing the $4 billion bonuses for Merryl Lynch employees to the $5 billion total aid budget for sub-Saharan Africa in 2008. Emphasizing his stance on the issue of foreign aid, he commented;

"Let us not forget these numbers the next time we are told there is no money left to support the poorest people on the planet. In a time of trillion-dollar deficits and $900bn stimulus packages, $4bn may seem like rounding error. But when considered against the money we spend to support the world's poorest people, it simply makes no sense."
Source: Financial Times

A Promise to Provide Easier Access to Medicine

Pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline (Aquafresh, Nicorette, Tums) has recently pledged to make medicines more accessible to the world's poorest countries. The company's new chief executive, Andrew Witty, plans to make drastic cuts on medicine prices in poor countries and give back profits to hospitals and clinics. In an even more drastic change, he plans to give up the company's intellectual property rights of certain chemicals or processes to a "patent pool," allowing other researchers to study them and potentially make big advancements in important treatments. Witty's decision has stunned experts, and he hopes that it will encourage other drug companies to provide easier access to medical care around the world.
Source: The Guardian

President Adresses Poverty

In last night's address to Congress, President Obama challenged the US to be an example for the rest of the world. As other countries observe our actions closely, we cannot ignore important issues such as poverty:

"To meet the challenges of the 21st century – from terrorism to nuclear proliferation; from pandemic disease to cyber threats to crushing poverty – we will strengthen old alliances, forge new ones, and use all elements of our national power… As we stand at this crossroads of history, the eyes of all people in all nations are once again upon us – watching to see what we do with this moment; waiting for us to lead."

Read the full text of his speech here.

"Slumdog Millionaire" Steals the Show

Audiences across the country choked up with emotion while watching Slumdog Millionaire portray the tough life of a young boy living in one of India's poorest neighborhoods. Those who had seen the movie were not surprised when they watched this year's Oscars, as the film outshined countless star-studded box office hits by earning 8 awards. Some argue that the movie is an inaccurate portrayal of the poverty in India because the likelihood of somebody escaping it is almost nonexistent. However, Director Danny Boyle explains that he was not intending to make an informative, factual documentary. Although the movie is for entertainment purposes, one cannot ignore the fact that it does actually shed light on some of the major issues faced by a country struggling with poverty. Hopefully this unexpected success will encourage more people to take a stand against poverty.
Source: NY Times