GENESIS Network (Kid) Launches New School

The Australian Embassy in Bangkok donated $15,000 for the new Kid Launch school.

Buoyed by a recent donation of $15,000 by the Direct Aid Program of the Australian Embassy in Bangkok as well as other funding, the GENESIS Network’s Kid Launch program has begun construction of its second school in Baan Phai Du, Chiang Mai province, Thailand.

Construction officially broke ground on January 31 for the facility, which will provide education to an additional 100 children alongside the about 200 already covered in Baan Phai Du. The total number covered by Kid Launch in its entirety will be nearly 400.

Along with the Australian Embassy’s donation, funding of $4,200 from last May’s Menot-Ö-Fest event with Menotomy Beer and Wine in Arlington, MA as well as contributions from individuals made the construction of the new building possible.

Construction of the new facility broke ground on January 31.

The Kid Launch project was started in 2008 with the goal of bringing educational facilities and support to the Baan Phai Du village, which did not have a school prior to GENESIS intervention. Because of widespread poverty in the area, children are at special risk for falling into human trafficking including sexual slavery and other forms of forced labor.

According to the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute, the number of forced labor victims in the Thai sex industry is estimated to be 200,000 to 300,000, with many being children. The Institute also noted the largest internal trafficking route within the country is also from the country’s northern region, where Baan Phai Du is located.

International volunteers are assisting with the construction of the building, including a student-organized group from Beijing, China. Support for the ongoing effort, including donations, is still needed and appreciated, and information on how you can give is located here.

Also, please email contact@gnetwork.org for more information about volunteering as well as general inquiries about the GENESIS Network.

As always, GENESIS thanks its donors and supporters, without whom success would not be possible.

Menot-Ö-Fest Raises Over Four Thousand

GENESIS Executive Director Adam Swartzbaugh thanks the crowd for coming.

Robert Moreau

Research Analyst/Outreach

As Tom Waits put it, “a little rain never hurt no one.”

Despite drizzly conditions, about 400 people crowded inside and outside Menotomy Beer and Wine in Arlington, MA for the store’s second annual Menot-Ö-Fest, an annual charity event to help the GENESIS Network.

The result was the raising of about $4200 for the construction of a new schoolhouse in Hok Pha Lae, Thailand.

“It’s just so nice to see people show up and donate to something that’s going to help people out,” said Menotomy employee Lucas Schleicher.

About twenty-eight area brewers, including Sam Adams, Long Trail, Mayflower, Shipyard, 50 Back, and others had tables set for the gathering, and a door payment of $3 bought customers a glass. Raffle prizes included a Jim Koch-signed Sam Adams Utopia bottle, and Meat House Arlington served BBQ plates of steak and chicken for $8.

Fest-goers line up to try some beer.

Though some Fest-goers knew about GENESIS, others were finding out about the organization for the first time. Through the chatter and companionship over a good brew that defied the rain, it was apparent that everyone was having a good time.

“This is awesome. No one even cares that it’s raining,’ said Dave Rostosil.

“I think it’s great,” said Katie Chiasson.

The accumulated money will be a substantial help to GENESIS as it continues its project, with funds needed for supplies such as books as well as building materials. The opportunity to support a good cause while bringing brewers together is something that Menotomy owner Neil Duggan said will keep the Menot-Ö-Fest alive for years to come.

“We’re going to be doing this (as) our main beer fest forever,” he said.

Robert Moreau is Research Analyst/Outreach for the GENESIS Network. A 2008 Master’s graduate of the University of Massachusetts Lowell in Regional Economic and Social Development, Moreau has been working for GENESIS since July 2009. His work has included freelance newspaper pieces and a newsletter published for a Lowell-area social services agency in 2008.

What lessons does the Mortenson controversy have for nonprofits?

Robert Moreau

Research Analyst/Outreach

Everyone has heard the story.

Greg Mortenson poses with children. Mortenson's Central Asia Institute has been rocked by a recent scandal over transparency.

When a failed 1993 attempt to climb K2 ended with a sojourn in the Pakistani village of Korphe, Greg Mortenson found his calling. When he noticed a group of schoolchildren forced to write out their work on the ground outside, he vowed to return one day and build a proper building for them. And so a life’s work began.

Mortenson’s Central Asia Institute (CAI) has since claimed sponsorship of (as of 2010) over 170 schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan, with a total of 68,000 students in classes or graduated. He has received renown to the point where his book “Three Cups of Tea” is required reading for U.S. servicemen going to Afghanistan.

But is it a fiction? An April 17 60 Minutes segment, featuring interviews with writer and former CAI supporter Jon Krakauer and others, made a case that Mortenson’s story and achievements are not true. Afterwards, Montana Attorney General Steve Bullock announced an investigation of the nonprofit, which promised “full transparency” in its records.

Without question, the controversy casts a pall on the perception of NGO development work as a whole. In its wake, we must ask where the lines between fabrication and miscommunication blur. And how can nonprofits such as the GENESIS Network create public confidence?

The charges

Jon Krakauer, a former CAI supporter, has accused Mortenson of using funds to pay for self-promotion.

The “60 Minutes” report went along with an e-book entitled “Three Cups of Deceit” written by Krakauer and published by Byliner. Though the book is no longer free, a list of its main claims can be found here.

Main charges of the “60 Minutes” segment itself included:

Krakauer disupted the account of Mortenson’s visit to Korphe; a second version stated that he did not go there until about a year later.
An incident in “Three Cups of Tea” where Mortenson was kidnapped by Taliban was disupted, with one of the men saying the group was acting as Mortenson’s protectors and not Taliban.
A lack of transparency within CAI, which raised about $23 million in donations in 2010. Concerns over CAI acting as a book tour fundraiser for Mortenson were shown by costs including $1.3 million for travel in 2009. Krakauer claimed four board members resigned in 2002 over spending concerns.
60 Minutes visited or otherwise investigated almost 30 CAI schools and found “roughly half were empty, built by somebody else, or not receiving support at all.” Some had not received support in years.
Krakauer claimed that Mortenson built only three schools in one province of Afghanistan in 2009, not eleven as publicly claimed.
The school Mortenson’s “Three Cups of Tea” sequel “Stones into Schools” discusses the construction of was found empty and unused.

In an interview with Outside magazine, Mortenson claimed his Korphe experience was accurate and some license was taken by his “Three Cups” co-author David Oliver Relin in sometimes combining multiple trips into one. He also claimed that the accounts of his capture were correct though he wasn’t sure if his abductors were in fact Taliban and he was treated kindly.

On discrepancies in “Three Cups,” Mortenson said “I should have taken off several months and really focused on the book. But I was trying to raise a family, be gone most of the year, and work 16- to 20- hour days without stopping.”

On the schools CAI sponsored, there may be confusion regarding the extent of its involvement with each. Jeff McMillan, a personal assistant to Mortenson, told the New York Times in an April 17 article CAI’s work with various schools differed, with some built directly by the organization and others receiving assistance such as teacher salary funding.

The most heartbreaking aspect of the controversy is whether Mortenson has indeed made false claims or not, his critics and advocates agree he has made positive change in the region. Nicholas Kristof, a New York Times columnist and friend of Mortenson, wrote in an April 21 column

The critics have raised serious questions that deserve better answers: we need to hold school-builders accountable as well as fat cats…But let’s not forget that even if all the allegations turn out to be true, Greg has still built more schools and transformed more children’s lives than you or I ever will.”

The Mortenson scandal thus raises a deeper issue: How can NGOs hold themselves accountable and ensure public confidence in their work?

Alignment and transparency

The Sarhad-e Brogil school is an example of flourishing CAI project. From the New York Times piece "Two Schools in Afghanistan, One Complicated Situation."

The field of development work is complex, and the success or failure of a project is reliant on its compatibility with the needs of its intended beneficiaries.

An April 23 New York Times piece compared the unused “Stones into Schools” building with another successful CAI project and found the contrast in outcomes lay with community buy-in. The building was an hour walk away, in often sub-zero temperatures, from the Kyrgyz village of Bozai Gumbaz, whose inhabitants wanted their children home to take care of sheep. And the Afghan government a year before construction completed had finalized plans to send teachers to the village during summers.

Thus, this project failure was not due to any attempt to mislead supporters, but not recognizing the desires of the community it was supposed to serve.

Along with making sure initiatives are workable, nonprofits must take the lead in holding their spending accountable. One example is CAI’s involvement with different schools. There should have been a way for the organization to note its specific involvement with each. Which ones are receiving what types of support? Which ones were no longer receiving donations from CAI? And why?

Within its own model, the GENESIS Network is working to provide its users:

The ability to create an online profile and connect with projects as well as others who support similar interests.
Specific project pages, including objectives and plans, current status, finances, and the ability to interact with leaders and donors as well as volunteers and others in the community. Ratings are given in three categories: staff, donor, and third-party, with transparency being a critical factor in evaluation score.
Beneficiary pages to directly connect with the people who are being helped. Who are they and how do they feel about how things are going?

As NGOs face an increasingly-skeptical public, what steps do you think they should make to create public confidence in their work? What special problems do you think development agencies have in making this possible? And how can GENESIS improve its own model? Any and all comments on these questions as well as other points are more than appreciated.

Can human trafficking be stopped? CNN’s Hero of the Year may have the answer.

Robert Moreau

Research Analyst/Outreach

Maiti Nepal founder Anuradha Koirala, winner of the 2010 CNN Hero of the Year award.

The serious issue of human trafficking stepped onto the front of world attention with Maiti Nepal founder Anuradha Koirala’s achievement of the 2010 CNN Hero of the Year award in November.

Established in 1993, Maiti Nepal has grown from an association of 210 awareness activists from different fields into an organization that has helped around 12,000 women and children.

With the global spotlight on Anurdha Koirala and Maiti Nepal, we should learn from their success. How is Maiti Nepal truly innovative? And as GENESIS is working in Thailand near the Burmese border with its Kid Launch project, how can that region benefit from Maiti Nepal’s example?

Total Care

Maiti Nepal works in a country recovering from a ten-year civil war which ended in 2006; in addition to the trafficking victims it shelters, Maiti Nepal is also caring for 621 child victims of the conflict.

Nepal’s poverty rate is debated; the country’s National Planning Commission listed it at 25.4 percent in July, while Oxford University listed it as 65 percent, taking a comprehensive view “on the basis of nutrition, electricity, food, energy, drinking water and sanitation, maternal mortality, student enrollment, livelihood and availability of property,” as noted by ekantipur.com in a July 16 article.

Regardless, the CIA World Factbook calls Nepal “among the poorest and least developed countries in the world…(where) agriculture…(provides) a livelihood for three-fourths of the population.” The median age of its population is only 21 years old.

The desire of young people to leave in search of a better life is a main reason the country is a center of trafficking, as a 2008 Women News Network piece called “Lost Daughters” notes

“So, why are most brothel owners (In India) interested much more in owning girls from Nepal versus girls from India…villages like Ichowk, Mahankal and Talmarang in the Sindhupalchowk district in northern central Nepal are full of girls who are more than anxious for a better life.”

A Nepalese mother holds a picture of her missing daughter, who was trafficked to India. From the 2008 Women News Network article "Lost Daughters."

According to the U.S. State Department in 2009, India is the destination for about 10-15,000 trafficking victims per year. Apart from India, over one million Nepalese work abroad mostly in Gulf states, where deception by employers including forced labor conditions is a significant issue. Lastly, about 20,000 to 25,000 girls enter forced labor and 7,500 children annually are trafficked for sex domestically.

Even after escaping, survivors face a social stigma. “Often Nepal society blames the victims of sex-trafficking, not the traffickers, for choosing a “life of immorality,” notes “Lost Daughters.” Other societal issues regarding the position of women in society as well as attitudes towards sexual matters and HIV/AIDS also contribute towards marginalization of victims.

Due to the issue’s complexity, the organization takes an all-encompassing view of it as related to education, opportunity, and society. Its goal, noted The Rising Nepal, is to “help these girls become economically independent by training them in some skills and reintegrate them into the society.”

To that end, Maiti Nepal runs three prevention homes. It explains “Girls who are at risk of being trafficked are sheltered… they receive counseling, training in income generating skills.”

Besides skills training, Maiti Nepal advocates for improved worker rights in restaurants and dance bars, which are prostitution centers. These establishments are placed into three categories: cabin restaurants, restaurants, and dance bars, with cabin restaurants are at the bottom rung of the system. In a 2005 Sanjaal Gantan piece called “Bar Girls of Kathmandu,” Sudeshna Sarkar wrote

“The cabin restaurants are the most dangerous for women employees …[where] the worst form of sexual exploitation is on the cards…After an inexperienced girl has done a stint in a cabin restaurant…she moves on to the dance bars…in between dance numbers, [she] has to come and sit at the client’s table for a consideration. There could be proposals for more. While some bars let her do what she wants, some pressure her to oblige.”

Nepal Restaurant Entrepreneurs Association President Yogendra Chaulagain was quoted as saying that an estimated 75 percent of the around 30,000 Kathmandu employees are 18-25. Maiti Nepal’s Aprana Shresta argued that in fact over half are children. A lack of certified data compounds the problem.

Various steps Maiti Nepal has advocated include identity cards and uniforms for employees, job guarantees and fixed working hours, and bans on child workers.

Lastly, it provides legal services to victims; Maiti Nepal has helped convict 496 traffickers so far.

Raising Awareness and Victim Involvement

Former trafficking victims work a patrol on the Indian border. Patrols are one critical way Maiti Nepal directly involves survivors in its organization.

Another critical component of Maiti Nepal’s success is its ability to raise awareness of human trafficking to the broader public using diverse groups. Healthlink Worldwide notes “mobilizing people through outreach work…is the key to changing attitudes, but it takes time for people for people to accept trafficking as “our problem” rather than something that happens to other people.”

One critical group is young people, who are most at-risk for trafficking. Maiti Nepal states

“involvement of young people as educators through plays, talk shows, discussions, songs, and real life stories not only gives trafficking a human face, but it also helps to reduce stigma and discrimination by providing a forum for community members to discuss the issue and build shared accountability for preventive action.”

One example of this ongoing involvement is a school oratory competition that took place in October.

Trafficking survivors play a role in the organization, creating a visible presence. “Another cool, even badass, component of Maiti Nepal? An active border patrol made up of trafficking survivors who can spot the crime a mile away and stop it in its tracks,” noted Angela Longerbeam on change.org. The average rate of girls saved per day by these patrols, which are coordinated with Nepali police, is four.

Survivors in the organization have created a cultural troop that puts on performances related to the issue as well as taking up other positions such as vocational trainers.

How can this be applied to Thailand/Burma?

Burmese Rohingya refugees apprehended by the Thai navy. Thailand has faced criticism for its failure to create a consistent policy for Burmese refugees escaping persecution.

As mentioned, the Kid Launch program is one of GENESIS’ major initiatives. Active in a village in Sangklaburi District of Kanchanaburi province in Thailand, near the Burmese border, it works to provide “community education and outreach in support of children that may not otherwise have access to schooling,” including the construction of a new schoolhouse.

Kid Launch works in an area where mass migration is creating an environment ripe for trafficking. A report by the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University states “in 2002, it was estimated that 10,000 women and children from Myanmar enter into prostitution in Thailand every year alone.”

The reasons so many Burmese are fleeing to Thailand are to flee persecution and junta rule. A 2009 Congressional report states “over 3,200 ethnic villages in Burma have been destroyed since 1996 affecting over one million people. Probably more than 300,000 have fled to Thailand as refugees (the majority being Shan and not recognized by the Thai government).”

Thailand has historically lacked protections for victims; the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women Factbook on Global Sexual Exploitation states “trafficked Burmese women and girls are considered illegal immigrants in Thailand. They are arrested, detained and deported back to Burma.”As of 2004, the deportation figure of Burmese workers from Thailand was over 10,000 per month.

The Thai government created a law recognizing a protected status for trafficking victims in 1997, but it was criticized for not taking into account male trafficking victims as well as labor workers. It allowed police to detain those it suspects to be victims of trafficking, but not traffickers.

The BBC, in a June 2008 article, noted of the confusion in status “A case in point is that of the survivors of an incident two months ago in which 57 Burmese migrants suffocated in a container smuggling them into Thailand. The police argued that they were illegal immigrants, jailed and deported them.”

After an earlier incident in 2007 where several deaths occurred after Rohingya fleeing persecution were forced back to Burma on motorless boats, two NGOs demanded the Thai government give consistent human rights protection to Burmese refugees.

International criticism led to the creation of a newer law in 2008 to establish penalties for traffickers.

In Thailand, NGOS have historically been the main party in repatriating victims. With the 1997 law, the government has taken on an increased role mandating “victims of trafficking to be placed under custody of the….Ministry of Social Development and Human Security” and given health checks, counseling as well as vocational development training if needed.

It is good that the Thai government has recently been taking steps to further address the issue, but a consistent policy must be applied with regard to Burmese refugees. More avenues of cooperation with the NGO sector should be emphasized, for example pursuing the idea of border patrols similar to the ones Maiti Nepal conducts alongside the Nepalese government.

Beyond this, a general lesson from Maiti Nepal’s success is that NGOs should embed themselves into the society. Of course, a network such as Maiti Nepal’s is the product of years of time and effort. But prevention initiatives and awareness within communities are achievable.

In its Kid Launch project, the GENESIS Network is operating on this principle through emphasizing education as a preventative tool, with the goal of ensuring its school and support initiatives in Sangklaburi can be sustained by the community itself. Though it is a relatively smaller initiative, it provides an example of the kind of efforts that should be made.

Questions for discussion: What intrigues you the most about Maiti Nepal’s success? How do you think GENESIS and other NGOs working in Burma/Thailand as well as other areas can learn from it? What specific challenges on the Thai/Burmese border area may make it difficult to use an organization in Nepal as a model? Answers to these, as well as any other questions and comments are more than appreciated.

Nine months later: How is Haiti recovering?

Robert Moreau

Research Analyst/Outreach

Rubble in Port-au-Prince on January 17, five days after the earthquake. Months later, Haiti is entering a critical period of long-term reconstruction.

Nine months after the devastating January 12, earthquake, Haiti still has a long road to recovery. According to a September 8 United Nations News Service report, “the Haitian government estimates that 1.3 million people are still uprooted…It is estimated that hundreds of thousands will still be in camps or impoverished shelters over the coming year.”

The quake, according to a July study by the Inter-Agency Standing Committee, “directly or indirectly affected almost one third of the Haitian population” and was “the most significant disaster requiring a large-scale multi-sectoral international response since the Pakistan earthquake in 2005.”

Though the public eye has since moved on to other stories, the aftereffects of the quake still have a profound impact on Haiti.

So where is the country now in terms of relief and reconstruction? Are things improving? And how are NGOs such as GENESIS continuing to play a role in Haiti?

A recovery delayed

Debris removal in Haiti. Only 300 trucks are handling this enormous task, indicative of the slow pace of recovery.

The Washington Post, in a July 17 editorial, noted aid effort’s effect on Haiti’s stability and stated “Haiti has made it this far without the starvation, epidemics or civil unrest that many feared.”

However, the Post noted that, by that time, “only 28,000 of the [1.5 million] displaced have found permanent shelter” and the job of rubble removal was being handled by only 300 trucks, doing a job “[taking] at least three years with 1,000 trucks to complete, according to some estimates.”

Writing in an October 11 column for CommonDreams.org, Loyola University professor and Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti member Bill Quigley noted

“only 2 percent of the rubble has been removed and only 13,000 temporary shelters have been constructed…not a single cent of the US aid pledged for rebuilding has arrived in Haiti…[and] only 15 percent of the aid pledged by countries and organizations around the world has reached the country so far.”

On October 7, it was reported by the Associated Press that “this week the U.S. funds [1.15 billion] were prepared for release…but in part because a lack of detail it will take at least weeks and perhaps more for the funds to start being delivered on contracts such as rubble removal.”

The U.S. contribution is part of a $5.3 billion total in international donations promised to the recovering nation for 2010-2011; as of October 7, only $732 million was released.

Former President Bill Clinton, co-chair of the Interim Haiti Recovery Commission with Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive, was also reported as expressing frustration at the slow flow of aid money. The commission Clinton co-chairs has not been immune to the slow pace of things either; its executive director, Gabriel Verret, was finally hired in August. By that time, the New York Times noted, “about 30 crucial staff positions” still went unfilled.

Chartered on April 19, the Commission, which has an 18-month mandate, only had two board meetings as of August. All in all, this has to be considered a less than stellar start to the organization’s work.

Election-time turmoil?

Raymond Joseph, former Haitian ambassador to the United States. Joseph has accused the country's Provisional Electoral Council of corruption after his presidential bid was rejected.

Alongside the beginnings of long-term recovery and development efforts, Haiti is set to hold new elections on November 28 to have a new government in place next February; current President René Préval, who is constitutionally barred from running again, won parliamentary approval to have his term extended into May 2011 if his replacement is not chosen by February 7. Nineteen candidates are running to replace him, and according to a July 16 Newsweek piece “the country’s government has all but dissolved” in the period before the election.

The impact of the January earthquake extends to Haiti’s ability to prepare for this event; National Public Radio noted on October 7 that it “destroyed 40 percent of the polling stations in the country, killed tens of thousands of voters and displaced hundreds of thousands of others. And numerous people lost all their documents and no longer have voting cards.”

A worrisome factor regarding the elections is allegations of corruption by the administration; Haiti’s Provisional Electoral Council rejected 15 potential candidates, with the two most controversial being former Ambassador to the U.S. Raymond Joseph and a candidate from former President Aristide’s Fanmi Lavalas party.

Writing in a September 9 Christian Science Monitor opinion piece, Joseph questioned the stated reason for his disqualification and remarked that the Haitian government had “failed the first fundamental test in holding credible elections-certifying candidates, and affording each due process under the law, equally and without discrimination.”

To build and maintain confidence in the reconstruction effort, a transparent and efficiently-run election is a necessity.

GENESIS’ work and other promising NGO initiatives

GENESIS Founder and Executive Director Adam Swartzbaugh with families in Haiti.

The GENESIS Network has been active in the Haitian relief effort, providing direct support in areas most devastated by the quake. Now, we are looking for new ways to help as the focus turns towards reconstruction.

Projects GENESIS has undertaken in Haiti are.

A joint effort with AquaSafe of Australia to provide water filtration where infrastructure has been damaged.
Providing tents to Haitians left homeless in and around in the epicenter of the earthquake, in collaboration with Sumitomo’s Olyset Net of Japan and with the support of International Action and the Lafana Institute of Hope.
Donating medical, food and clothing supplies to children orphaned by the disaster with US-based companies and organizations including Red Skies Publishing, Notre Dame d’Haiti Churches and the Haitian communities of Miami.

As well as this, we are seeking new prospects for a project similar to Kid Launch in Thailand that will focus on sustainable development through education and vocational training, creating long-term solutions in an environment where short-sidedness continues to plague relief efforts.

Other NGOs are stepping up to the plate in providing new ideas and rebuilding Haiti for the future. Examples include:

The Cooperative Farm Initiative for Haiti was founded by Haitian-Americans Patrick Belizaire and Jean Velarus, alongside others. Working in the country’s Artibonite Region, it introduces modern farming equipment and better methods to Haitian farmers. Because of the massive decline in Haiti’s rural economy over the past two decades, leading to an 80 percent unemployment rate, the restoration of a sustainable and productive agricultural sector is critical.
Zafen is an interest-free microloan program established in 2010 “with the objective of having a positive impact on Haiti’s economic, social, and physical environment by providing micro, small, and medium sized enterprises with enhanced access to capital.” It was created with “the collective expertise of the worldwide Vincentian Family.” Partners in Zafen include Fonkonze, DePaul University, and the Haitian Hometown Associations Resource Group. A list of projects Zafen is currently working on is available here.

Building on its own initiatives and working in concert with other NGOs helping Haitians on the ground level, GENESIS hopes to find new ways to make an impact as the picture moves towards long-term rebuilding of Haiti.

Questions for discussion: Where do you see Haiti headed in the future? And moving forward, how can GENESIS play a role in continuing to stay engaged with Haiti during its ongoing recovery? Answers to these, as well as other comments and questions are greatly appreciated.

How can microcredit lift families from poverty?

Robert Moreau

Research Analyst/Outreach

GENESIS's Mi Cometa project hopes to bring assistance to 157 families

Presently, GENESIS will be supporting a microcredit initiative to bring relief and opportunity to 157 families in South Guasmo, Guayaquil, Ecuador. The Mi Cometa project hopes to create small business and economic growth in an area where families averaging five members live on monthly incomes of only U.S. $250, using an approach that has achieved global prominence as a way to reduce poverty.

A short introduction to microcredit

As noted by Empower Global, microcredit “involves providing small sums of capital, often as little as $75, to micro entrepreneurs to enable them to establish or expand their business and become self-reliant.” These small businesses, the summary goes on to note, employ “two people (usually a husband & wife, and benefits an entire family which on average consists of five people (a husband, wife & three children).”

On microcredit’s potential, Empower Global summarizes: “each micro-loan funds 1,000 businesses, creating or supporting 2,000 jobs and helping to transform the lives of 5,000 impoverished people.” These loans have an “impressive track record” of 95-98 percent repayment rates.

Though “microcredit” may seem to be a fairly new concept, its history dates back to 1976 when Dr. Muhammad Yunus of the University of Chittagong, Bangladesh founded the Grameen Bank as a pilot project in the village of Jobra. By 1983, it was formally incorporated as an independent bank.

Microcredit’s greatest successes came in 2005, when the UN celebrated in International Year of Microcredit, and 2006, when Dr. Yunus won the Nobel Peace Prize for his pioneering work with Grameen.

Microcredit program example (diagram), Vietnamese Heritage Institute

Examples of microcredit organizations/projects

Grameen Bank (Bangladesh): The organization that started microfinancing, Grameen currently has 2,564 branches in 81,351 villages, with a total staff of 23,133. Since its inception, it has paid out Tk 522.24 billion ($9.09 billion in loans), with 463.24 billion (US $8.05 billion) repaid. 95 percent of the bank’s total equity is owned by its borrowers.
Ruwentu Women’s Micro-credit program (Uganda): Started by the Umoja Operation Compassion Society of British Columbia, this project began in 2007 when the organization raised $1,000 to lend to ten women (about $60 each) in the village of Ruwentu to start various businesses. As of February 2009, the project scope expanded to 23 beneficiaries.
BancoSol (Bolivia): Originally founded in 1986 as the “Fundacion para Promocion el Desarollo de la Microempresa,” BancoSol became the first commercial bank specializing in microfinance in 1992. Today it is active in eight major cities in Bolivia, and has over 100 branches. As of 2008, it had 109,763 active borrowers. Its status as a commercial bank has led to some concern over mission drift.
World Job and Food Bank (various): A Canada-based organization with United Nations (ECOSOC) consultative status, the WJFB grew out of the Calgary Interfaith Food bank starting in 1982 and was formally registered as a charity in 1986. Their various initiatives have included two three-year (2001-2004) microcredit projects in Peru and Bolivia.

As should be noted, no single approach towards eradicating poverty is an instant cure-all, and microcredit itself has not been without controversy. However, microcredit has proven itself over its 34-year history to be an effective and novel tool to enable families to lift themselves into self-sufficiency.

Mi Cometa (GENESIS): Building on microcredit’s success

The Mi Cometa initiative looks to continue microcredit’s strong history of enabling opportunity for those in need. Focusing on an area where the average income is less than half of what is required for an adequate living in Ecuador, its goal is to work with families through education as well as loan-granting, with a 50-hour training program covering such diverse areas as microcredit, marketing, and leadership.

GENESIS is hoping to raise $17,500.00 for this initiative, and any donation is appreciated.

Reader Questions: What do you think of microcredit as a way to address global poverty? What benefits or drawbacks (mentioned or not in this post) do you see it as having? What do you think about GENESIS’s Mi Cometa project in terms of what it offers or could offer? Responses to these, as well as all other questions and comments, are strongly encouraged.

Five Days in Haiti: A Relief Effort

Just this past month, members of the GENESIS Network and I traveled from the Boston area to Haiti to deliver hundreds of water filtration systems, medical supplies, and emergency relief support to communities in Port au Prince, Carrefore and Leogane, Haiti. The trip was made possibly by AquaSafe of Australia and Olyset Net of Japan. These two communities and the Haitian community of Miami, FL donated supplies that the team and I delivered to Haiti.

To help document my thoughts and emotions, I kept a journal during the five days in Haiti to share upon my return. Here are some notes from my journal:

Day 1:
Bumping along the crippled roads outside Port au Prince, my eyes drifted from one sea of dilapidated refugee tents to another. But beneath the rubble of crumbled homes lay Haiti’s true disaster. It is not one caused by an earthquake, nor by any other natural occurrence.

Day 2:
How could such a country, swarming with NGOs long before the recent earthquake, have fallen into such a state of distress? There are more international organizations per capita in Haiti than in any other country. But what have they accomplished? The Haitian people remain repressed under a regime of corruption, left adrift in the pocket-lining clientelism of a squandered leadership supported by an aloof international community.

Day 3:
“We are slaves to our government,” our local liaison, and former government official, stated as we sat around dinner reflecting on our own relief work. “The cycle of corruption among our leaders cannot be stopped without drastic change or without a true representative of the people…someone who cares for the people.” The majority of aid programs presently in Haiti may just as well be making direct deposits into the accounts of those now in power.

Day 4:
Today I realize that, absent of any earthquake, Haiti would still be in dire need of relief – specifically, from the political disaster its leaders have brought upon their people.

The nation’s leaders have driven their country to shambles by using its people as a personal expense account while the good intentions of local and international efforts run around picking up the pieces, all the while creating and deepening dependencies on foreign aid. Haiti does not need any more quick-pitch answers but, rather, real solutions to what are now systemic issues of neglect. Every effort must be made to improve education, professional training, and lending and investment capital opportunities.

Day 5:
Back from Haiti. The Haitian people have been abandoned by their government, yet they remain united. As NGOs and foreign aid agencies move toward longer term programs that can educate, train and empower the nation back to power, this is a significant variable that bodes well for future prospects.

It’s been a few weeks since the team and I have returned from the trip. I must say that the experience was truly emotionally and personally rewarding. I’m eager to hear reader feedback about Haiti relief. How can we continue to help the Haitians? How would you like to be involved?

Please share your comments.

Adam Swartzbaugh
Founder
The GENESIS Network

How education can make a difference in Ghana

By Robert Moreau

Research Assistant/Outreach

map of Ghana, UNGEI

Currently, GENESIS is undertaking an education support initiative in West Mamprusi, Northern District, Ghana. The Center for Youth and Women Empowerment’s goals are to make school supplies available for students to reduce drop-out rates, provide support for children and parents, and promote education for adolescent girls. Through these steps, GENESIS hopes to help create change in one of the country’s historically poorer areas.

Currently, Ghana is making great strides in its development, “[emerging] as a leading country in the Western and Central Africa region” as noted by IFAD’s Rural Poverty Portal. The most recent poverty figure in the country is 28.5 percent, almost half of its former figure in the beginning of the 1990s.

Education is a critical reason for this decline; since the government abolished school fees in 2005, enrollment has increased sharply, going from a 59.1 to 68.8 percent net primary enrollment from 2004-05 to 2005-06. However, a poverty gap persists in the rural north.

In rectifying this situation, education for women is crucial. Ama Achiaa Amankwah, in an August 2008 AllAfrica.com piece, notes “the impact of women in Ghana cannot be underestimated” as they “form over 52% of the country’s population.” Women are guaranteed legal equality, but social and economic pressures tied to a traditional social role as homemakers, as well as a lack of potable water and sanitation facilities have impaired education for girls. As of 2004, the adult literacy rate for females was 75% of the male rate, while for youth it was 86%. Gender parity rates for primary schools have improved since the abolition of school fees, though there is still work to be done.

Ghana has done much to improve educational access and emphasize girls’ schooling, though there is still work to be done. Through projects such as GENESIS’ Center initiative, NGOs and philanthropists can help make a positive impact.

21st Century Aid: How can social media build humanitarian movements?

By Robert Moreau

Research Analyst/Outreach

social media landscape

Early on into the second decade of the 21^st century, new Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are unlocking a revolution in how people understand and interact with the world. A 2008 online poll by We Media/Zogby found that almost half of respondents used the internet as their primary news source, with a majority in the 18-29 demographic. The rise of the internet and Web 2.0 has brought with it immense opportunities for increasing awareness of local and global issues, but also concerns about traditional journalism’s future as it tries to adapt.

More notable about social media’s rise is how it is going beyond simply reporting news to complementing and even creating movements, as activists are using its power to unite people. And as the examples of UNCHR’s innovations and the ongoing Haiti relief effort reveal, it is transforming how humanitarian aid campaigns are conducted and moving potential volunteers into direct action.

UNHCR

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is the UN agency coordinating refugee aid. Today, it is active helping 34 million refugees in 110 countries, with a staff of around 6,600.

Afghan refugees, deported from Iran

UNHCR is emerging as a leader in new media and networking; according to Claudia Gonzales, former head of Public Relations and Special Projects for the agency, “in the two years I was working there, I saw the transformation of an entire organization and the way they communicated about the refugee crisis…from being an organization that was conservative to be the leading organization that is using social media in the United Nations.” UNHCR’s presence today includes over 1 million followers on Twitter, putting it in the top 200 for subscriptions. It also has Facebook and Myspace pages, a Youtube channel, and Flickr gallery, enabling it to communicate information.

Two of UNHCR’s recent notable campaigns are:

Its 2008 World Refugee Day campaign, which featured a YouTube video calling for viewer responses, producing $1 dollar per posted response. A “Give Refugees a Hand” Facebook application released one day before World Refugee Day added users three times faster than a typical app. Google, MSN, and others promoted the campaign on their home pages.
The Gimme Shelter campaign, launched in December 2008 and featuring a series of short films by Ben Affleck set to the tune of the Rolling Stones’ “Gimme Shelter” and filmed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. An example can be seen here. A Facebook Gimme Shelter Cause page was also created.

The real success of UNHCR’s social media effort, Gonzales notes, is the fact that communication is a “two-way street” where “the UNHCR team engages in a conversation…where they want to know what people are saying,” even using online communities to test outreach ideas. She also says that learning how to engage potential supporters with a message of hope is important. “The tone matters…how do you actually make sure you are bringing up the refugee issues into people’s minds in a way that is human?” Through means such as enabling refugees to share their stories directly, UNHCR has met with success.

The Haiti relief effort: New media’s maturation moment?

The impact of the January 12 earthquake in Haiti is still being felt today, as the country tries to regain its footing. On

Haiti aid volunteers

February 22, Haitian President Rene Preval stated the death toll “might reach 300,000 people” with various issued estimates ranging from 170,000 to 270,000. The Al-Jazeera article Preval was quoted in also noted 1.5 million people still live in tent cities in Port-au-Prince, and over $2 billion total combined from private donors and the United Nations being pledged for the country’s reconstruction.

Immediately after the disaster and in the absence of official sources, social media played a critical role in giving the world a view of what was going on in the country, and who needed help. Rich McKinney, in a January 17 posting on Social Media Storm, noted that “Untold news stories have been published of people who are still alive and trapped under rubble and able to text, tweet or post to Facebook their location, and their desperate need for help,” then noting a NY Daily News story describing how a medical plane was able to be landed through Twitter.

Traditional media outlets also relied on online content, with the BBC tweeting from the ground and CNN using citizen-created iReports, as well as citing blog postings and twitter feeds as material for news stories. As Dallas News noted in a January 30 article “many believe the Haiti relief efforts have elevated social media from bit player to starring role” as a global communication medium during a major event.

ICT use also enabled alarmed watchers of the tragedy to make an impact as donors and even volunteers. Two major examples are:

The Red Cross’s Haiti text message campaign, which raised $7 million in its first two days, has been at the forefront of a historic mobile giving drive. By January 21, over $30 million had been donated to Haiti relief efforts, leading Verizon’s Jeffrey Nelson to call it “the largest outpouring of charitable support by texting in history-by far.”
The formation of Crisis Camps, where computer experts have volunteered to create maps of areas struck by the quake, as well improved family locator and information services. The first Crisis camp was launched at USC, and the concept has spread as far as Canada, Colombia and London.

Though social media has its limits as to what it can do, there is no doubt that it has made a tremendous impact in enabling the humanitarian aid campaign for Haiti.

The GENESIS Network: harnessing new media’s potential

Genesis education initiative, Ghana

Since its founding in 2008, the GENESIS Network has actively sought to create a new standard for using social media to make a positive difference in the world. With four current initiatives-in Thailand, Ghana, Ecuador, and Haiti-GENESIS “uses social networking to develop international human rights projects…[including] building schools, economic development and orphan protection.” By using a mixture of quantitative and qualitative project analysis, it also presents a measure of accountability that surpasses other sources.

With the launch of its new website, GENESIS is working to take its model to the next level, guided by these five principles:

“Networking: People are our greatest resource. GENESIS brings individuals, organizations and companies together to develop and collaborate on a wide range of projects. As we expand our network of people, we likewise expand the network of resources from which any one person or project may draw.

Resource Sharing: GENESIS brings people together to meet, connect and share resources all in one spot.

Local Empowerment: We enable people to better use the resources they have or are given. They in turn teach others and the cycle continues.

Sustainability: We seek long-term solutions to problems by addressing the root causes and eliminating them through people and resources.

Transparency: We’re always happy to see the results of our hard work. Project transparency and responsibility are our top priorities.”

Moving into the future, GENESIS is working to build on its successes, expanding and improving its scope of projects and its ability to use social media to ensure that potential donors and volunteers are connected with those who need their help the most.

Reader questions: Moving forward, what are your impressions of GENESIS thus far? How has using the network enabled you to build connections and gain confidence in where your donations are going? Where do you think it could improve? What would you like to see in the future? And what do you think of the new website? All questions and comments are more than appreciated, and go a long way in finding out how GENESIS is benefitting, and can further benefit, you.

EVENT TOMORROW: GENESIS director talks US foreign aid innovations

Robert Moreau

Research Assistant

On January 27 at Park Plaza in Boston, GENESIS director Adam Swartzbaugh is giving a timely p resentatio n on “how US dollars are being spent on foreign aid programs.”

The United States leads the world in giving abroad, with $122.8 billion total foreign aid donations in 2005. With the current relief efforts in Haiti, the topic of how funds are used to aid people “on the ground” is a focus of interest. Swartzbaugh’s talk will focus on how programs “are being shaped to accommodate a widening array of developmental environments” and how people can become actively involved in these efforts.

Joining Swartzbaugh is Todd McCormack, co-founder of Partners in Health. Started in 1987, PIH organizes “comprehensive and community-based” projects to combat disease and poverty in the developing world. Its work has expanded to seven countries, as well as supporting projects in Guatemala and Mexico. McCormack will be focusing on disaster relief programs providing aid in Haiti.

The presentation is sponsored by the Boston Rotary Club, and will be held at 6pm at Park Plaza in Boston. For more information, email Adam at info@gnetwork.org , or contact the Boston Rotary club at (617) 426-7133 and info@BostonRotary.org.

We hope you can join us tomorrow for this event.