borgenproject-blog

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How to Succeed as a Social Entrepreneur in Africa

A social entrepreneur is in the business of creating change and solving society’s most pressing problems. Touted as the magic bullet that will solve some of Africa’s most intractable problems, a social entrepreneur typically develops innovative and sustainable business models to address societal needs.

The African landscape presents unique challenges to the standard social entrepreneur, some of which include a very strong influence of ethnic groups as compared to other parts of the world, poor electrical and telecommunication infrastructure and a general lack of understanding around the concept of social enterprises.

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Educational Access for Females Creates Long-Term Benefits

When educational access for females increases, societies benefit at all levels. Yet major education gaps exist between boys and girls in many developing regions.

In Africa and South Asia, male children are more than one and a half times more likely to complete secondary education than females, according to the World Bank.

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How the Gates Foundation Spurred Toilet Innovations

In 2011, the Gates Foundation announced a “Reinvent the Toilet” Challenge with the intention of inspiring toilet innovations that will improving sanitation, bringing solutions and reforming sanitation problems to the estimated 2.5 billion people worldwide who lack access to clean water and hygiene.

The Reinvent the Toilet Challenge has encouraged organizations around the globe to make a super-efficient, highly-effective low-cost toilet that can operate without connection to water, sewers or electrical lines.

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3D Printing in Africa Can Boost Manufacturing Sector

While there has been significant economic growth throughout the continent of Africa in recent years, there has not been a corresponding decrease in unemployment. One explanation for this is Africa’s small manufacturing sector.

3D printing technology has the potential to significantly alter traditional modes of production by allowing things to be manufactured with greater convenience and significantly lower costs. This technology could either spell the demise of Africa’s hopes for a manufacturing boom on the continent or be the key to its bright economic future.

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What Does Goat Poop Have to Do With Global Poverty?

Transforming inexpensive fibers into fuel using the fungi found in goat poop could be a new way to tackle global poverty.

Anyone who has ever seen a goat knows that these animals are professionals at consuming and digesting almost anything they can manage to get inside their mouths, whether it be straw, corn cobs or even a shirt. The reason these animals are so successful at digesting non-food items is, in part, thanks to the fungi that live in their digestive tracts, which can attack and break down fibrous materials.

Researchers are now looking to these fungi as a way to transform certain plants into alternative energy sources.

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U.S. Food For Peace Program Needs Updating

Despite the efforts of global aid programs, about 805 million people around the world remain chronically hungry. The U.S. Food for Peace program has been a significant force in the fight against global poverty since 1954, but in order to reach more people, U.S. Senators Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.), both members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, say the policy needs updating.

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“Social Plastic” Reduces Poverty by Rewarding Recycling

In 2015, the Worldwatch Institute reported that the average American or European throws away 100 kilograms of plastic per year. Unfortunately, as much as 43 percent of used plastic ends up in oceans or landfills. Social plastic, a term coined by two entrepreneurs, allows people to collect discarded plastic in developing countries and trade it in for needed items, money or even access to electricity.

Plastic waste is detrimental to struggling communities because it threatens fishermen, agriculture and potential tourism, making poor countries poorer. But what if all the discarded plastic currently strewn across developing countries could help reduce global poverty?

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10 Quotes to Inspire Activism Within All of Us

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The Cost of Education in South Africa

South Africa’s education system is badly managed and poorly equipped, with students performing far behind their African peers, according to World Policy Blog.

With the government failing to provide children with a decent education, private and fee-paying schools are becoming more popular. But not everyone can afford to access these superior schools. The City Press decided to calculate the cost of sending your child to one of these schools up to grade 12 in South Africa and here is what they found:

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How to Help Refugees and Displaced Populations

The surge of refugees fleeing conflict across the globe reached record numbers and drew widespread attention in 2015. The UNHCR reports that forcibly displaced populations are estimated to have reached nearly 60 million — up 15 million from 2012. Conflicts in Syria, Afghanistan and more than a dozen other regions have all contributed to the climbing numbers.

Forced displacement is rarely short-lived. In the same report, the UNHCR states that on average, refugees will remain displaced for 17 years. For some it will be shorter, others much longer, and for all it will be life changing. Addressing what the UNHCR calls “A World At War” and what is repeatedly called a “refugee crisis” by the media will also not be short-lived.

Even as articles become dated and tales of flight and hardship are told and retold, the need for aid and compassion has not diminished. For those farther away from the conflict and displacement, here are five ways to help displaced populations and refugees:

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World’s Fastest Growing Economy: India Overtakes China

Spurred by cheap oil prices, a low rupee and a development-driven prime minister, India has supplanted China as the world’s fastest growing economy. Fourth quarter estimates by the World Bank from 2015 place India’s economic growth rate at 7.3 percent and China’s growth rate at 6.8 percent. Furthermore, the World Bank estimates that the Indian economy will grow at 7.9 percent through 2016, while Chinese growth will fall to a still respectable 6.7 percent. The implications this transition has for poverty are enormous.

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Internet of Things (IoT) for the Small Scale Farmer

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) the world’s population is set to grow from 6 to 9.1 billion by 2050; a situation that will require food production to rise by 70 percent in the developed world and double in developing nations.

Given that there are approximately 500 million small-scale farmers around the world, enabling them to take up new Internet of Things (IoT) technology could be the answer to ensuring the food demands of the world are adequately met.

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Life jackets on Lesvos lay piled by the thousands after Syrian refugees make the harrowing journey across the sea to Greece. News outlets and celebrities like Susan Sarandon, say these life jacket graveyards speak to the magnitude of the Syrian refugee crisis.

The life jackets on Lesvos serve as a harsh reminder for many refugees of their dangerous journey while escaping war-torn homes. However, some refugees and volunteers have found new and very helpful uses for the life jackets that once aided in a safe sea passage.

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Adele Leverages her Fame for Charitable Causes

While some celebrities might use their notoriety to snag last-minute dinner reservations, Adele has been using her fame to benefit a variety of charities since the release of her platinum album, 21.

As part of her 2011 world tour, Adele required any concert-goer with complimentary tickets to make a $20 donation to Sands, an organization that offers support to parents who lose children and researches solutions to neonatal deaths.

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The Emergence of the Sweet Potato

‘Alafie Wuljo’ – otherwise known as healthy potato – has recently become one of Ghana’s most famous crops. This sweet potato variety was introduced in a USAID project in order to counter vitamin A deficiency, a condition that weakens the immune system and can lead to blindness. The project’s main goal is to improve the livelihood and nutritional status of Ghana’s most vulnerable populations.

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Ai Weiwei’s Efforts to Raise Awareness for Refugees

Chinese artist Ai Weiwei is well-known for using his art to protest against human rights abuses committed by the Chinese government.

Ai’s concern, however, is not limited to his home country. He has lately made several efforts to support refugees and protest the conditions they find themselves living in.

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Child Brides Help To Ban Child Marriage in Zimbabwe

In 2014, two Zimbabwean child brides, Ruvimbo Tsopodzi and Loveness Mudzuru, sued the Constitutional Court for failing to protect girls from child marriage. The court challenge lasted nearly two years, but ultimately ended positively. In January of this year, the Constitutional Court ruled that boys and girls under the age of 18 cannot enter into “unregistered, customary or religious” unions, effective immediately.

Zimbabwe’s former Marriage Act allowed girls to be married at the age of 16, while boys could not marry until 18.