It has been 7 days since the Great Water March set off, on February 1, 2012, from the heights of Celendín, Cajamarca, Peru, where the lakes threatened by the Conga [es] mining project are located. The march has unfolded practically without incidents, and is currently halfway to Lima, its final destination.

Meanwhile, the media are reporting on its progress, and publishing editorials[es] on the real purpose of the march, stressing above all its political and ideological affiliations; and government spokespeople declare [es] that in reality “there is an excess of water in Cajamarca”.

The media does not have a standard figure on the number of people who departed from Celendín on February 1. While Terra.pe writes [es] of 200 people, EFE counts [es] 300. Newspaper El Comercio mentions [es] that 600 community landowners started the journey, and RPP indicates [es] that 300 people arrived at Cajamarca’s Plaza de Armas to sleep overnight and continue marching the next day.

The blog Seamos un río (Let’s be a river) reproduced [es] what was published by Marcio Arana, one of the march’s organisers:

The first moments of the march were recorded, as can be seen in these videos from users GobRegCajamarca and jampaoli [es]. There were also various statements, like this one from user MetsaRiba who captures the words of a participating campesino:

Or this one showing women from Cajamarca chanting pro-water slogans:

That same day another march took place in Cajamarca, the Jug March [es], where 2,000 people marched in favour of nature and ecology, and protested against polluting mining activities. Servindi published some photos to accompany its report on the solidarity parade held in Lima, which can also be seen on a video uploaded on YouTube [es]. On the blog Celendín Libre (Free Celendín) an itinerary for the first day of the Water March was posted [es], alongside photos of the day’s events:

10:30am. First obstacle, a private gate in the middle of the main road is not letting any vehicles past. The protesters proceed to remove it.

Arrival at Laguna Cortada (more than 3,800 metres above sea-level), where some 300 people begin the Water March with a symbolic ritual giving thanks to mamapacha and mamacocha [Incan Goddesses of earth and water], carried out by community land-holders from Ámaro.

In its blog [es], an “International Observation Mission of the Great National March for the Right to Water”[es] publishes information on the march’s events, as well as monitoring its peaceful development. There they share the mission’s principles and objectives [es] and a list [es] of the entities supporting it. On the first day of the march they commented:

The next day, the second of the march, participants from Celendín, Bambamarca and other towns departed [es] Cajamarca for Ciudad de Dios in La Libertad, where they spent the night, though not before passing through Choropampa. This is a town where in the year 2000 about 151 kg of mercury belonging to the Yanacocha mine were spilled, greatly affecting the local population. The Observation Mission reported on this day in their blog [es]. Videos [es] of the departure [es] from Cajamarca in the morning have also been uploaded to the internet.

On the third day the marchers left Ciudad de Dios, passed [es] through Pacasmayo and arrived [es] in Trujillo, where they were joined by other delegations from various towns in the La Libertad region, in numbers estimated at around 2,000 [es]. These delegations were greeted by about 5,000 people, and then a rally was held, which included discussion sessions, the presentation of petitions, and other activities as planned [es].

In a post [es] on the blog “El Maletero” “Red Verde Cajamarca” (”The Trunk” “Cajamarca Green Network”) photos from the first three days of the march can be seen. Meanwhile the blog Frente de Defensa Ambiental de Cajamarca (”Cajamarca Environmental Defense Front”) shares more photos [es] of the day in Trujillo. A post on the blog ¡Conga no va! (”Conga will not happen!”) links to a set of photos on Flickr taken in Trujillo.

Twitpic user @YoDash posted some photos of the protest in Trujillo’s Plaza de Armas, like this one:

Meanwhile, on Facebook the Water March’s page reports [es] that in Trujillo defamatory flyers [es] were distributed, attempting to link the March and its organisers with terrorist movements. In spite of this, the protest continued in the Plaza de Armas until night time with various musical numbers, some of them related to the march and surrounding circumstances, as can be seen in this video posted on YouTube by user Fuzzerjoga:

In the Observation Mission’s daily report [es] they note some incidents during a strike carried out in Huarmey:

The National Organisational Committee for the Great National Water March have reported and denounce repressive action taken by police officers. On Thursday night, in Huarmey, one of the assembly points planned for the March, there were confrontations between the police and the population in the context of a 48-hour strike against the mining company Antamina, which is accused of contaminating the aquifer that provides them with drinking water.

On the fourth day of the march, Saturday 4, the protesters stayed in Trujillo to rest, but they also continued holding discussions and making contact with the local population. On Sunday 5, the fifth day of the march, the group left [es] for the city of Chimbote. The Water March’s Facebook page uploaded a video [es] of their arrival in the village of Santa, just before Chimbote. Once in the city they met [es] with the Fisherman’s Union, and then left for the city of Casma, following the route South towards Lima.

Meanwhile the Observation Mission’s fourth report [es] stresses the government’s attitude towards the problem of mining companies and water, bringing together various statements and declarations, including:

- The statement from the Engineering Association of Peru, indicating that: “The Peruvian Government, from the first Republican era until today, has never had a vision of sustained development, given that a large part of its growth has been based on mining.”

- President Ollanta Humala indicated that “no project will be paralised by prior consultation, and that it is not a pretext to halt investment”, in reference to the lack of regulations governing the implementation of the law, that should have been ready last December. In August last year, however, the President himself wrote on Twitter: “The right to prior consultation on the development of indigenous communities is a sign of greater social inclusion. Let’s create a Peru for everyone”

In this context, the words of Emma Gómez from Cooperacción seem reasonable: “President Humala is misreading Prior Consultation, which is being considered as an obstacle to private investment rather than an imperative for extractive companies to meet the environmental and social standards of serious investment and to respect the rights of the people in affected areas.”

 

 

 

What cultural experiences have you gain from your trips?

We visit the poorest of the poor villages in Phnom Penh and get to see how these people struggle daily just to get enough clean water to drink as they have yet to get plumbing into the village and water is collected in Cisterns which fill during rainy season and they try to make that last until the next rainy season. Stagnant water surrounds their dwellings which consist of one room up on pilings with cross boards going from hut to hut and children often falling in between the cracks to the mirky water below. The hopelessness they face each day as the women take their pushcarts into town to retrieve the rubbish from the sidewalks, placed there by local businesses, and then bring all the garbage back to their houses where they sort through it for anything to eat, wear, or sell.

Destiny Rescue has opened a free day care for these women so they no longer have to take their children along with them. In the day care center we bath,wash their clothes and help to feed them, entertaining them with face painting, bible stories, puppet shows and sing-a-longs. These children weave their way into your heart and leaving is so very difficult.

Then when we visit the village these children live in we also ask any of the mothers if they would like to have an afternoon out after their work and we pick them up and bring them to a christian owned salon and training center where they have their hair shampooed and trimmed and straight-ironed, which they dearly love. While all this is going on we serve them cold drinks and chat with them through interpreters.
The following day, we bring those same women back into town to have a lovely afternoon tea at a Christian Cafe called “Open Arms!” Owned by the Salon we visited the day before. There we serve the women, give them gifts of lovely organza bags with lotion, shampoo, toothpaste and brush and perfume. then, the best gift they say they ever receive, we take pictures of them after they’ve had their hair done the previous day, have them printed and placed in gift cards and presented to them at lunch. Their faces are exuberant as they run amok from table to table showing their friends how they look in print. None of them have ever had a printed photo of themselves! Can you imagine? Through the interpreters we discover how blessed they feel and they often cry tears of joy as they cannot contain the emotions they are feeling. We bring them a feeling of worth, we bring hope through our interpreter sharing her testimony of love and hope found in their Creator and how precious they are to Him.

Then we move on to Siem Reap where we have the joy of working for People for Care and Learning which is a life-long care center for children rescued from the streets. These children are not adoptable but grow up as a family unit with loving caregivers who live on the premises and nourish and love these guys. They range from around 10 to upwards of 21 but when we last visited they had brought in a 7 year old girl who captivated all their hearts and she became “little sister!” The students here all speak english so we have a lot more freedom in our activities with them as we have no need for an interpreter here.

We go out to a rural village an hour away from the city where we support a school that was built and is supported by one man! He is an ex Buddhist Monk named Koch Seiha, who’s father was murdered by the Khmer Rouge and who’s mother was lost to him at that time. Raised by an aunt who couldn’t afford to feed him, he was taken to a monastery and through several divine interventions was able to go to school and become licensed to be a Tour Director for Angkor Wat and surrounding Temples. His deep desire was to go back to his village and begin a school master as that was what his father before him was. He began a rural school from the proceeds of his profession and rebuilt the original school house, added a library and now has over 400 students who are able to be educated. He is 28 and single! How many men with that description do you know who would lay down their whole life for their village? Seiha also speaks fluent english and about four other languages! He is truly a remarkable young man.

What are some of the changes you seen in the people of your team after your trip?

They have really had their eyes open to the way most of the world lives! They weep in almost every village or center we enter after interacting with the Khmer people it is so very difficult to leave them. Three of the women who went on the last trip are going back in October with us. One of the girls we took is at missionary training school giving her life full time to missions, several others have faithfully supported the work there that touched their hearts and have changed the way they perceive other cultures.

If you are interested in visiting Cambodia i highly suggest you do so with an organization that is able to introduce and immerse you into the culture and not just the tourist side of their beautiful nation. Unless you have interaction with the locals on their level then all you’ve had was a great vacation!

When is your next trip? What are your hopes for the trip?

Our Next trip is in June, dates aren’t set as yet and the one after that is in October! Because we don’t want to overwhelm the organizations we work with we limit our teams to 12. On this next trip we a will also be scouting out a village to adopt for long term ministry.

For more info visit: www.intothefields-avisiontour.blogspot.com

By: Saskia Wishart

Yesterday morning I lay in bed curled under my covers, warm and cosy, and pressing snooze for the third time on my alarm. No part of me wanting to leave the warmth of my bed…

And then a realisation came to mind so suddenly it was like it was a jolt ready to propel me out of bed and into the world.

The realisation?

We are doing something that has never been done before.

I don’t know about you,  but I just got butterflies and goosebumps and a huge lump in my throat.

Hey reader, hey you supporter of not for sale, or me, or both.

We are doing what has never been done before and if you are part of this journey, you are a part of changing the world.

(Side note): Three years ago someone told me not to say that we are going to change the world because very few people have actually changed the whole wide world. For a while I agreed with him. But now I think that it’s stupid to not say it, if it helps me get out of bed in the morning. And while, yes I aim to change the world, I will still celebrate each and every individual whose life I touch in even the smallest way.

(Back on Track) Back to goosebumps and butterflies and things that get me out of bed in the morning…

Right now we are changing the face of the modern abolition movement. We are developing a project in the red light district in Amsterdam that has quite literally not happened before. I don’t tell you this in an arrogant, ‘we’re so clever’way, but more like in an ‘oh sh*t, are we really doing this? Because if it works, its going to be amazing’sort of way.

In the last few years words have crept into my vocabulary that represent some pretty big ideas.

To be honest, when I first started saying them, I had no idea what they really meant: “Innovative, sustainable, replicable, solutions to end modern-slavery and create new futures for survivors of human trafficking.”

This morning as I thought about work and all that we are doing in Amsterdam will entail, I realized the truth of we are are doing when we say these big words.

Think for a second about the meanings: Innovative + sustainable + replicable =solution = new futures… equalling lives changed.

So as we plan our project in Amsterdam, on the outside one could say, “It’s not so original, it’s just skills training, and that’s been done before…” But the truth is not like this it hasn’t, not here, not the way we are doing it.

And what if it works? What if it is really replicable? What is the potential for changing lives, not just in Amsterdam, but around the world?

My mum said to me on the phone this week “Maybe you are so young, you have no idea what you can’t do, and so what others think is impossible you go out and you just do it.” I take that as a compliment. I may not know what can’t be done, but I can dream of all that can.

Can I do something that’s never been done before? Maybe not alone, but don’t tell me that it’s impossible or I may just take you up on that challenge (haha).

But even more than me; can we, the collective movement of abolitionist, get our butts out of bed, willing to take this movement seriously, taking steps to design innovative, replicable, sustainable solutions that will create new futures for survivors of slavery. Why yes big, long sentence, that has way too much, we can.

Could these ideas (if they work) help propel the movement to end slavery to a whole never level? Yep. Does that have the potential to change the world? Yep.

We are doing what has never been done before, and I am so excited about it, I can hardly get myself into bed at night, let alone stay in bed all morning!

- Abolitionists, what motivates you? I wanna know.

- Read more about the idea of ending modern slavery on our NFS fellows blog – GREAT BIG IDEAS being explored…

http://notforsalefellows.wordpress.com/

Read more about the Amsterdam project by clicking here.

Click here to read more of Saskia’s updates on her blog.

In 1999 the US Department of Labor issued Executive Order 13126. “Prohibition of Acquisition of Products Produced by Forced or  Indentured Child Labor,” was signed on June 12, 1999. The EO is intended  to ensure that federal agencies enforce laws relating to forced or indentured  child labor in the procurement process. It requires the Department of Labor, in  consultation with the Departments of State and Homeland Security, to publish  and maintain a list of products, by country of origin, which the three  Departments have a reasonable basis to believe, might have been mined, produced  or manufactured by forced or indentured child labor. Under the procurement  regulations implementing the Executive Order, federal contractors who supply  products on a list published by the Department of Labor must certify that they  have made a good faith effort to determine whether forced or indentured child  labor was used to produce the items listed.  Please see about link for detailed information.

There is a “mistake” on this order in regards to chocolate.  Cocoa  beans from The Ivory Coast and Nigeria is listed. Yet, companies like Hershey’s, Cargill and ADM to name a few who buy Ivory Coast cocoa beans still supply our federal government with their chocolate.  During my trip to capitol hill I found out why.  The federal government doesn’t buy cocoa beans, it buy it’s derivative product chocolate. If that ins’t a bunch smoke and mirrors malarkey, then what is?

We believe that in  order to be in line with its intention, these words need to be added: ”and its derivative products.”  If the big candy players can no longer sell to the feds, it would really wake them up.  Additionally, the bids for chcolate would go to ethical chocoalte companies!!  What a great way to give them opportunity they deserve.

A powerful way to get our government in action is to appeal individually to our elected officials.  It seems that if we all write the exact same letter with the exact same subject line (email or written), at the same time, then the offices of our public servants have to take note. Addressing the “mistake” in Executvie Order is something in their scope as a public servant.

It should take only about 15 mintues to send 3 emails. One to each of your Senators and one to your district Congressman on either Feb. the 13th or 14th. Here is a link that will lead you to the contact information of your politicians.  Below is the letter. Please spread the word it’s a numbers game at this point.  Thanks!!!!

THE LETTER WE SHOULD ALL USE:

Subject:  Put some love in Exec. Order 13126 this Valentine’s Day

Dear __________
As your constituent, I am writing you on behalf of Executive Order 13126: “Prohibition of Acquisition of Products Produced by Forced or Indentured Child Labor”, signed on June 12, 1999. It’s wonderful that we live in a country that is concerned with the global welfare of children. Unfortunately, there is an omission on this order that needs to be fixed.
Currently, listed is cocoa from Cote d’ Ivoire and Nigeria. For this to have any effect at all I would like to see the words “and its derivative products” included. To my knowledge the federal government has never purchased raw cocoa beans, but it does, through procurement channels, purchase chocolate where the cocoa originated from the two countries in question. I personally see no ethical difference between the raw beans and chocolate.
If your office is unfamiliar with the current situation regarding worst forms of child labor situation in West Africa, may I suggest you take a look at Tulane’s latest report on the Harkin-Engel Protocol. (you can do so by going to: http://www.childlabor-payson.org/)
Adding “and its derivative products” will mean that our federal government will have to shift purchasing to smaller chocolate companies that only use ethically sourced cocoa. I see that as a win for both the sake of the children and a bonus for the many small business that would love to have more opportunity for growth.

 Thank you in advance for your help.

For more info visit: www.slavefreechocolate.org

This is Part II of a two-part article. To read Part I, click here.

Amidst the overwhelming challenge of addressing sensitive issues like Female Genital Cutting, the organization Tostan works with villages instead of against them.

To learn more, Tatiana and I headed back to Dakar to join up with Tostan employees. Before long, we hopped in the Tostan vehicle with Kalidou, the Tostan National Director of Senegal, and another employee to journey across the country to experience the work of Tostan firsthand.

Well…to experience a fete firsthand. Translation: party.

Yes, I was a little skeptical to hear that Tostan, promoter of human rights in nearly 10 African nations for 30 years, is busy throwing parties. But these are no ordinary parties—they are declarations.

How It Goes

To be a part of Tostan, a village participates in the three-year Community Empowerment Program—facilitated lessons on everything from accounting to health and hygiene to basic human rights. The facilitator comes from the same ethnic group as the majority of the village where he or she is teaching and is therefore familiar with local customs. Tostan hires a facilitator and provides training and support, and the hosting village provides housing, food and a place for the CEP classes to be held with a co-ed group of villagers.

Tostan meeting with local and national leaders, including Kalidou Sy (in green), Tostan Senegal National Director.

In addition to setting up a CEP class, the village forms a Community Management Committee comprised of nine women and eight men. The committee works in conjunction with the members of the CEP class to lead development projects in the village—they’re the link that helps turn ideas and discussions into action.

At the end of three years, some villages decide to hold a public declaration. They usually compose a written statement of how they will uphold basic human rights in their village—how they will move away from forcing girls to marry at an early age and drop out of school, how they will abandon practices like FGC that put a woman’s health at risk.

Once these declarations are composed, well…there is obviously reason to celebrate!

A Big Deal

I walked into the central plaza of the town of Bakel unsure of what to expect from such a grand Tostan “declaration.” People from the surrounding villages began pouring into the city the night before the event—69 villages in total.

These girls are learning about the basic tenets of human rights, including their right to an education and control over their own bodies.

That’s right. In this one area alone, Tostan programs run in 69 villages. At this event, 20 villages were to “declare,” or make their promise to uphold women and children’s rights in their villages as discussed during their three years as Community Empowerment Program participants. The other 49 villages in attendance were all somewhere in their three years of lessons.

Tatiana and I waded through the sea of women dressed in their best, most colorful dresses to the hundreds of chairs and accompanying shade tents surrounding the dirt plaza where drums were already starting. We situated ourselves in a spot barely inside the shade next to a girl with soft features wearing a sparkling white dress.

Meet Mariama

She introduced herself as Mariama from Gouniang. Mariama carries herself with the solemnity of someone much older than her 18 years. Perhaps her critical, attentive disposition is what made her a good candidate for participation in her village’s Tostan class.

Mariama, standing on her chair to watch the dancing.

She may have only attended three years of formal schooling, but Mariama is learning skills now through her Community Empowerment Program that will give her responsibility in the well-being of her entire community in the future. Hopefully, Mariama’s village will be reading their own declaration at an event like this one a year from now.

As the event began, Mariama leaned forward in her chair, soaking up the words of the local leaders as they shared congratulations with the community. She and her classmates listened to the speakers and nodded along, at one point shaking their heads and reiterating, “forced marriage is bad,” to one another in their local language of Pulaar.

What Went Down

Mariama watched over Tatiana and me out of the corner of her eye throughout the event. She even clicked her tongue assertively at me during the prayer to attract my attention and show me the proper way to hold my hands. I flipped my palms up and overlapped my fingers before I caused her any more embarrassment.

Some of the local girls performing a dance for the event. They came in wearing t-shirts and holding signs about ending forced marriage and excision.

As the event went on (and on and on…as is tradition with Senegalese fetes), we watched lively dances from one of the local ethnic groups and listened to poems and speeches, honoring the “positive” local traditions.

Everything about the event built up the local citizens—they came of their own free will to declare a better future for their children and daughters. They publicly declared to respect their girls’ right to go to school, to choose to enter into marriage, and to be free from the dangerous practice of FGC.

The Right Direction

We asked Mariama about her Tostan lessons so far. She told us about her new knowledge of money keeping, hygiene, counting and how now, at the age of 18, she can write her own name. She hopes the lessons will end forced and early marriage in her village.

Although the road may be a long one, Mariama is a part of discussions now that will hopefully create new standards for human rights in her village. It takes a moment to tell someone what is illegal, but it may take a movement, an entire community of heightened consciousness, to respect it.

Diairi, calling her peers and community to action!

We looked around at the event, girls holding signs declaring, “End Excision!” (FGC) in French, and decided we could ask the question.

“Mariama, what do you think of excision?” I asked through Tatiana.

“Not good. It’s illegal,” she asserted (what did I expect?)

But looking around at the entire community—men, women, local and regional leaders—all walking proudly into a collaboration to protect the well-being of their people, I believed Mariama was telling me the truth.

For mroe info visit www.worldnextdoor.org

I looked at Tatiana across our dinner bowl, scanned the face of her host mom next to us, then turned back to Kali, the ancient, sickly man asleep on the ground.

Kali no longer works and is without family or means to care for himself, so he wanders the village. He frequents the compound of Tatiana’s host family, curls up on a mat of reeds next to an equally lethargic dog and waits for a meal. Kali once held the title of village “excisioner,” the man who earned a living by performing Female Genital Cutting on the local girls.

Government laws and programs don’t necessarily make it all the way out to these guys in the village.

Broaching the topic is a struggle, even for Tatiana who is well incorporated into the village and her host family. She’s asked about it before, but she feels like people are still uncomfortable talking openly about it to her, a white person. She offered to ask her host mom again, for my sake, over dinner.

But when Tatiana casually inquired about whether or not someone had replaced Kali as village excisioner, her mom gave the expected, appropriate response:

“Of course not. That’s illegal.”

Some of the Facts

Girls grow up very fast in village life, but should FGC be part of “becoming a woman”?

True. The practice became illegal in Senegal in 1999, but just like public transportation and government schools, the law does not always reach remote villages.  And whether it’s happening or not, few people want to discuss it with an outsider. Female Genital Cutting, also referred to as Female Genital Mutilation or Female Circumcision, has traditionally been practiced in most African nations (as well as a few other countries).

FGC looks different in different cultures, but in general, the procedure involves removing some or all of a young girl’s external genitalia. This rarely occurs with any sort of pain killer, and conditions are usually less than sterile. A girl undergoes the procedure as a part of cultural initiation or to deter her from being sexually promiscuous (the idea being if sex is no longer enjoyable, then she won’t want to sleep around).

Some girls suffer from infection or hemorrhaging from the procedure itself or contract HIV through unsterilized knives and razor blades. Even if they make it through the procedure healthy, they are at greater risk of difficulty in childbirth later on, putting mother and baby in danger.

From the Outside

To be frank, just thinking about the subject induces a pretty strong gag reaction in me, a woman who has never lived in a culture where FGC (or anything close) is permissible. And I’m not alone; even the United Nations has launched strong action against the practice, looking out for the welfare of girls around the world.

FGC is perpetuated through the generations by men and women.

I couldn’t be happier about condemning FGC. I mean, it’s cruel, derogatory towards women on principle andobviously wrong…right?

Well, maybe obviously wrong isn’t so culturally sensitive. In fact, mine is the zealous stance that serves as a pitfall for many do-gooders who try to broach the subject from the outside. We jump into a village or country carrying laws and threats without acknowledging the deep-rooted significance of what we’re attacking.

For example, what happens when one village decides to abandon the practice, but the women of the village are supposed to marry men of the neighboring village where FGC is still practiced? They may be left without husbands and therefore without children—the social security system of bush life.

Moreover, how would you respond if the primary message you received from the outside was, “Stop! Your culture is barbaric,” when you were only trying to look out for the well-being of your children?

Where to Start

There’s an organization out there to promote a healthy future for girls in Senegal.

It’s a sticky situation. The risks to physical and emotional health from FGC are real, even if the people who still practice it are unaware of them, but many villages are leery about discussing such topics with those outside of their communities.

Where to start? How can anyone possibly begin to navigate the intricate fabric of culture, stigma and inaccessibility that surrounds the practice of Female Genital Cutting in remote villages in dozens of countries around the world?

Well, there’s one organization on the ground doing just that…

For more information visit www.worldnextdoor.org

 By: Morgana Wingard

Life happens here.  Babies trade a death sentence for life.  Mothers transform their sickly skeleton figures to healthy able bodies.  Tema offers hope in a place that was once hopeless — ravaged by AIDS.

Funded by The Global Fund through financial support from Product (RED) Tema Hospital cares for 2,200 people living with HIV.  We recently visited their facility again – their work never ceases to amaze me.  The Global Fund make it possible for the hospital to provide ARV treatment and PMTCT (prevention of mother-to-child-transmission).  Thanks to these interventions, only 4% of babies at Tema whose mothers test positive for HIV are born with the virus.

“An unusual house with views in all directions, spacious with large living areas and high ceilings. 

(Housing ad, the design of one of Al Butch t-shirts. Instead of telling how the apartment is, it’s being told about what it is like to live in a park.)

Al Butch is a fashion that wants to make a difference with clothing. They operate in the spirit of one for one. When you buy a shirt from Al Butch they give away a shirt to a homeless person.

Founder Jacob Svensson

  

A social enterprise electricity and mobile charging service is giving poor farming families living in one of the poorest states, Utter Pradesh, in India, a chance to lead a different lifestyle through micro grids. It means huge improvements in quality of life for these deprived communities. The two entrepreneurs who are making it possible are Nikhil Jaisinghani and Brian Shaad. Together they have started a new type of energy company called Mera Gao Power (MGP), which is designed to meet the needs of these people who currently live without light, heat or clean water, and who are forced to use kerosene as a fuel, which is both expensive and damaging to people’s health. MGP provides low cost energy services by building and operating solar-powered micro grids at village level.

Each household that signs up to MGP’s social enterprise service receives two LED lights and one mobile-charging point in their home at a cost of 25 rupees (0.30/50 cents) per week; the setup cost is an additional one-off payment of 40 rupees (0.48/80 cents). The lights makes a huge difference to people’s lives after dark, providing extra time for activities that generate income and gives children more time to study, something we take to for granted in the developed world. Mobile charging enables villagers to be connected and entertained by listening to music and watching films on their phones.

Shaad explains that the need to supply lighting at such a low cost inspired their business model, yet at the same time has been a real challenge. He says, “Many social enterprises sell products such as solar lanterns or wind-up chargers to meet their customers’ lighting or charging needs. But in this region, where average family incomes are rarely higher than 800-1600 rupees per month, villagers would have to put themselves into debt to purchase such products.” MGP allows customers just to pay for the lighting itself, keeping their upfront costs to an absolute minimum.

Through the small payments the villagers receive, they hope to gain back their investment in each micro grid system within 18 months with a projected return on investment of almost 15% over three years. To provide such low prices and still make a profit, Jaisinghani and Shaad constantly innovate their social enterprise model. Moreover, they want to reach 100,000 households with their solar service by 2016. This means installing systems in 50 villages in 2012, increasing to 1,000-2,000 over the next five years. The signs are promising as demand is starting to come to them; in fact the World Resources Institute estimates India’s off-grid distributed energy marketat $2bn a year!

Jaisinghani says, “We have enough investment, thanks to USAid, to reach at least 50 villages this year, but this work is capital intensive, and new rounds of investment will be essential for us to grow beyond this point”. These two entrepreneurs believe in social enterprise: using the power of business to support social and environmental communities.

Photo Credit: Mero Gao Power Website Picture Gallery

For more info visit www.justmeans.com 

Making sure everyone has a seat at the table

There is one question that repeatedly pops up when talking about More than Me with parents in West Point: “what about my son?”

Many of the girls in More than Me’s program have male siblings, and for a lot of parents this creates an obvious dilemma. We have written about why we have designed our program to focus on girls, but telling a father that, statistically, it makes more sense to send his daughter to school is not very convincing when he may have a son who also wants to attend classes. As en vogue as the Girl Effect is right now (with good reason, I think), it does raise the question that these parents are asking, what about boys?

There has already been discussion in the development world about the differing effects of micro-lending between men and women, as well as at least one well-produced parody of the girl effect. These examples, and other examinations of the increasing bias in the aid world toward serving girls, speak to the success of the marketing and research around supporting women’s rights. Investing in girls has reached mainstream status, but, as Rosemary McCarney, the head of Plan International Canada, Inc., wrote in a blog post recently, the question of whether to invest in girls rather than boys misses the point.

McCarney explains,
Any approach to seeking gender equality that paints all men and boys with a broad brush as the “problem” rather than as partners in bringing about and benefitting from solutions is misguided and will eventually backfire. As a general rule, men still hold greater power than women in political, economic and familial circles. For that reason alone, they must be part of the solution.

Investing in girls is important because it levels the educational and economic playing field. That said, adjusting social norms so that both sexes accept and embrace education for girls is equally important. A 2010 report by the International Center for Research on Women about gender and the girl effect, observes that shifting and defining traditional gender roles is extremely important during adolescence, if not before. Basically, if we do not also educate boys; if we ignore their relationship with their female peers; and if we do not strive to show both girls and boys that they can break out of traditional economic or domestic roles, then the inequality that makes investing in girls a necessity will likely remain.

More than Me is a non-profit that is focused on getting girls off the street and into school. If you are reading this blog, you have probably heard or read that phrase more than a few times. But More than Me also has boys in school.

Thursday

Thursday, one of the very first students to receive a scholarship from the non-profit, faces different, but no less intense, problems compared to the girls in our program. His house sits near a pool of still water, and he sleeps outside because there is not enough room for him inside. While I was in Liberia, Thursday joined me for my daily afternoon run, which, I eventually found out, was often after he spent the day selling coal. The boys in More than Me’s program are bright, promising students. Through their affiliation with us, boys like Thursday are being exposed to the idea that girls are no less capable of learning. Additionally, by having a mix of male and female field staff and volunteers, we are undermining and broadening certain assumptions about traditional gender roles and values.

When we receive the question, and it happens whether we are in West Point or Washington D.C., we do talk about the statistics, about historical inequality, and about the increased risks that many girls, especially in Liberia, face. The answer to, “what about boys?” is not, as McCarney notes, one that should leave anyone feeling neglected. Building a new Liberia is going to take a concerted and educated effort by all parties.

More than Me focuses on girls, but has boys in our program because we do believe that every child deserves an education. We also understand that it takes more than just knowing how to read and write to learn and grow. By sending girls to school we are educating their brothers and fathers. We are showing people that their daughters and sisters have more options than simply selling in the market or finding a man to take care of them. We are creating strong role models, building self-esteem, and organizing peer networks for all of the young people in our program. More than Me has never had an either/or mentality. We are all in this together.