State of the Future for the Poor
According to a new book by the UN's Millennium Project, 2007 State of the Future, although corruption and terrorism are on the increase, literacy, living standards and life expectancy are on the rise.
Here are some interesting statistics: In 1970, 37% of people over 15 were illiterate, compared to just over 18% today. Global life expectancy has grown from 48 years in 1955 to an expected 73 years in 2025. Extreme poverty is also falling, from 28% in 1990 to 21%, according to the World Bank.
These statistics get mildly lost on me, really, when I see the poor first hand. I don't know what to believe except that the poor desperately need our help and they will always be with us.
Although international trade has probably contributed to better statistics, I believe they'd increase greatly if fair trade was demanded and enforced. Indeed, fair trade is the only ethical form of trading; it is imperative for improving and maximizing the living conditions of the poor, while promoting the global economy. Shop with a conscience! Buy fair trade only.
Buy fair trade. Be globally minded.
Clinicas Maya: San Marcos La Laguna
(Source of images: ClinicasMaya.org)
Cindy Waterman, a midwife and nurse by training, moved to Guatemala in the late 1990's and settled into San Pedro La Laguna to fulfill a passion to help Mayan women struggling in poverty. Cindy made a decision to wear the traditional Mayan women clothing in order to bridge the differing cultures and establish connection with the local women. We met in 2001, when I moved to the same village to launch the internet cafe. Cindy's dream: to build a midwifery clinic for Mayan women on "this part of the Lake Atitlan", including the villlages of San Pedro, San Juan, San Pablo, San Marcos, and Tzunana.
Cindy moved to San Marcos La Laguna to run the Clinica Naturalista, a holistic medical clinic serving locals, travelers and expats. Through determination, hard work and sacrifice, Cindy has built a legacy for herself: today, a midwifery clinic is in full bloom. Cindy continues to work tirelessly tending to the needs of the sick and the poor and helping out with various medical clinics around Lake Atitlan. Thankfully, as a result of Cindy's training of local midwives, fewer mothers and babies die during child birth and people are getting treatment for their ailments. Indeed,the combination of Cindy's service, compassion, training and holistic and western medicine work together to make life better for the Mayan people.
I've partnered with Cindy to provide medical supplies to her clinic, every time I travel to Guatemala. Rotaries, churches, and friends have all given medical donations to me to help her clinic thrive. Gathering donations is always on the front of Cindy's mind, as well as donations and long-term, bilingual medical volunteers who can hit the ground running.
Do you want` to help? Contact us!
Microcredit Works
Microcredit has been an interest of mine ever since my first trip to a developing country and seeing the dire plight of the poor. Microcredit is the extension of small loans ($50-100) to entrepreneurs struggling in poverty. Muhammed Yunus, the founder of Microcredit, recently won the Nobel Peace Prize, for empowering the poor through this type of model. Microcredit is now a global tool used to help the developing poor out of the bondages of poverty, equipping them with the resources to start and grow their enterprises.
Here are two interesting and encouraging statistics about the effectiveness of microcredit in the developing world:
1. Loan repayment rate is 97-98%
2. 90% of borrowers report increased incomes as a result of loan
There are several microcredit organizations around the world, doing great work and changing communities, one loan at at time. Kiva is one of the most novel microcredit organizations out there. They have a peer-to-peer lending model and a donor can easily track their "investment" online, while developing a relationship with the entrepreneur. NamasteDirect, a US-based organization, is another microlending organization, supporting rural entrepreneurs in Guatemala. Last Spring, I volunteered some of my time in Guatemala with NamasteDirect, investigating their programs, while also writing a couple of articles for them.
In closing, make a life changing difference, empower the poor through these innovative programs. Click on one of the banners below to get going.
Poverty and Beauty in Guatemala
Guatemala is a land of contrasts, a land tragically beautiful yet ravaged by the effects of extreme poverty. Poverty is paramount everywhere you look in Guatemala: adobe homes, aluminum lean-to's, barefoot Mayans carrying wood on their backs or baskets of vegetation on their heads, trash laden streets and river beds, old diesel cars omitting black filth from the exhaust, and dirty toothless faces of the struggling poor. In the midst of the poverty, breathtaking beauty of rolling hills, valleys, waterfalls, vegetation and volcanoes capture one's senses. It is a country where people come and are forever changed.
In 1999, I accepted an invitation with a humanitarian organization to visit families living in the trash dumps of Guatemala City. I didn't really understand what this meant until we got there. Men, women and children were scavaging the trash for food and items to sell and use and thousands of aluminum homes lined the ridge of the vast dump. It was astounding and humbling for me to see people living in such plight. We visited numerous homes, checking the health of many and giving beans, rice and powdered milk as needed.
I left that day knowing that I would help the Guatemalan poor through business and education, two powerful tools to empower the poor out of poverty. Today, I am walking this out.
Will you join Globally Minded Work to help the poor through education?
How to Change the Educational Crisis
There is an educational crisis everywhere, including the United States. We all know that. However, when you visit schools in developing countries, this takes on a different meaning. Naturally, my favorite country to bring up is Guatemala, though I know other countries share the same educational deficiencies. Guatemalan education is in a crisis in 99% of the country - and this is no joke.
Although villages may have a school building (many do not), they lack school supplies, libraries, running water, bathrooms and other resources. School buildings may be constructed of cement blocks with dirt or cement floors or made of wood, aluminum siding and dirt or cement floors. You get the picture. Very poor.
However, there are several US based organizations working in Guatemala to change the course of this educational crisis; Globally Minded Works hopes to do the same. There is much to do in this small country (the size of Tennessee) and every organization, every volunteer, and every donor is a critical part to alleviate the suffering, empower the poor and build a promising future for the indigenous. One child, one teacher, one school at at time. Join us!