Monthly Archives: March 2012

Meet the IIRR Staff

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We love our diverse staff here at  IIRR and we think all of our followers will like them too, so we decided to ask them some fun questions so we can get to know them a little better.  We will be sharing fun details from everyone in our country offices, so stay tuned!

Brianna Plaza is the Development Associate and IIRR Social Media Guru, and she is based out of the New York Office.  If she could have sushi and Mexican food all day, everyday, she would. She loves being outside and growing things for her cooking adventures (hence, the photo), and she loves a pre-work day gym session…when she isn’t battling with the snooze button. 

1. How long have you worked for IIRR and what do you do in your position?
I have worked with IIRR for about 6 weeks and I do a little bit of everything here in the NY office.  As a development associate, I help with some grant proposals, do research, help manage our finances and donations, and a lot of other random projects that come my way.  In social media, I am working on a “re-branding” of sorts, and breathing life back into our social media efforts on Twitter, Facebook, and through our blog.  I think at some point I will incorporate some of the newer social media platforms into our mix, but I need to get a grip on Twitter before I can move on.  I just joined Twitter (follow me @BriannaPlaza, I seriously need Twitter followers…), so I am trying to figure out how to make Twitter actually useful in my life instead of just posting about the delicious breakfast sandwich I had this morning from Au Bon Pan.
2. What’s your favorite part about working with IIRR?
I really like that we work so closely with local community members.  Our local staff is actually local, and they speak local languages and understand local customs, which means they can work well in the area.  I also like how passionate everyone is despite what can be a frustrating profession.  International development is hard, frustrating, and things can take forever, yet despite that, the staff at IIRR is resilient in making things work.
3. Where did you go to college/university/training school?  
I am somewhat of a collector of degrees, so get ready for a list:  I have a Certificate of Global Philanthropy from New York University, a Master’s of Arts in Diplomacy and International Relations (Concentrations: Human Rights and Conflict Management) from the John C. Whitehead School at Seton Hall University, a Bachelor’s of Science in Diplomacy and International Relations from the Whitehead School as well, and a Bachelor’s of Arts in Modern Language (Spanish and French), and a minor in Political Science from Seton Hall.  Exhausting, right?
4. What is your favorite thing to do in the city where your IIRR office is located?
My IIRR office is located in the Financial District of New York City, right around the corner from the NY Stock Exchange.  I commute in from Hoboken, NJ ( a 15 min train ride), which adds to the variety of things to do in the area.  The great thing about the NYC area is that the (mostly) easy transportation can take you just about anywhere to do just about anything.  Currently, I like activities that will take me outside since the weather has been quite nice lately.  I am part of a kickball team that plays once a week, and I really like to walk around NYC because nothing is ever the same, and there will always be something entertaining going on.
5. What book/magazines/blogs are you currently reading?
I have a ridiculous rotation of things that I am reading right now, and I am not sure how I really keep up with any of it.  I am reading Zeitoun , a non-fiction story about a Syrian-American man and his family during Hurricane Katrina, and a myriad of social media books to figure out all the secrets of the Twitterverse and all things Facebook.  Between my roommate and I, we also single-handedly support the magazine industry through the 10+ magazines (yes, it’s true) that we get sent to our apartment on a weekly and monthly basis.  The topics range from food, to fashion, to politics and world affairs.  For work, I read a lot of development blogs and online news sources to keep up on relevant work-things. (But seriously, who has time for that when the newest issue of Entertainment Weekly just arrived?!)
6. What is your favorite local delicacy?
I was just introduced to Indian food, and while I realize this is no new food trend, Indian food and I had never been formally introduced.  I had mostly tried cheap, store versions, which are far from authentic, and not even good.  A friend took me to an Indian restaurant in NYC and she knew exactly what to order…mostly because she spent a while working at a high-end Indian restaurant and knew basically how everything was made and what’s authentic/not.  Other than that, I am almost always in the mood for Thai food, sushi, and good Mexican food, which is terribly hard to find in New York…sad.
7. Where is the next place you’d like to travel?
Anywhere in Africa.  Or Latin America. Or if someone just bought me a ticket to anywhere, I’d happily go. Any takers?
8. What advice do you have for someone who wants to make a difference in the world?
Just stick with it.  It took me a bit of time and frustration to get to this point, and it can take a toll on you, but just keep plugging away, something good will come of it.

A Blessing or a Curse? The Discovery of Oil in Kenya

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You can almost hear the “cha-chings” upon the discovery of oil in Kenya, and while it’s “too soon for Kenyans to reach for the champagne bottle”, will it mean that Kenya will prosper from oil revenues?

The discovery of oil can mean a lot of things.  It can mean that governments have revenue to develop infrastructure, and work on other improvement projects, the promotion of agriculture, and the investment in human capital. Or, it can mean the obstruction of democracy and equitable economic growth due to a lack of transparency and accountability from the oil revenues by companies to the governments.

When Uganda discovered oil, for example, there were concerns that, considering Uganda’s role in many regional conflicts, that the revenues from oil would cause Uganda to increase military involvement far beyond the region.  There were also concerns that a variety of groups would scramble for control over the oil and its revenues.

And without a need for great explanation, Sudan has long grappled with its oil industry, and now with the recent formation of South Sudan, the tension is growing between the two nations over the oil industry, with violence as a result.

The oil revenue curse, as it goes, can create conflicts, instability, and underdevelopment.  The Brookings Institute calls it the “Natural Resources Curse”.

So now that there is oil discovered in Kenya, will instability, conflict, and underdevelopment prevail?

The oil was discovered in impoverished Turkana County, and people seem to be quite hopeful that the oil profits will help their nation overcome poverty.  Rahab Ngumba, our IIRR Kenya Country Director,  believes that “it is significant that the oil discovery was in Turkana County…it is one of the least developed in the country on all fronts” and she is hopeful that the discovery of oil can mean improvements not only  in local infrastructure and livelihoods, but for regional transportation and communication as well. One resident, the Executive Director of a local non-profit, says “that the money from oil will mean schools, networks, bursaries; it will mean everything that an ordinary Kenyan will need for their lives to move on.”

Will it?

There is always the concern that the profits from oil have a good chance of not actually trickling down to the Kenyan people, especially the Kenyans in Turkana, based simply on the history of other oil producing nations in Africa.  Nigeria and Burkina Faso have been producing oil for decades, and local populations have yet to see any real impact on their daily lives from the oil profits. As one of our Kenya staffers put it, “Oil discoveries in Africa have [transformed] from being a blessing to becoming a dreaded curse on the continent. The lost dreams in Nigeria, Angola, and Equatorial Guinea and the horrendous stories from the Niger Delta are nothing to be celebrated.”

There is also the concern that Kenya will have to account for environmental impact. That means that Kenya will also have to plan for environmental action to prevent oil-spills and environmental pollution.

Oil doesn’t have to ruin the growth of a nation, but Kenya will have to be careful about the choices it makes if it wants to truly prosper from oil revenues.  Local Kenyans are excited, as they should be, about the prospect of their families coming out of poverty in the coming decades, but let’s hope this case doesn’t become another cautionary tale of the misuse of oil revenues. From a development standpoint, Rahab says, ” We [Kenyans] need to ensure that there will be good mechanisms to bring some oil profits into local community development.”

Joseph Irungo, IIRR Kenya Field Project Manager, believes,” Kenya must tread this path with great caution and avoid the pitfalls where her more endowed peers have fallen by the wayside”.

At IIRR, we are hopeful that Kenya can transform oil revenues into meaningful community development, but so history doesn’t repeat itself, Kenya’s oil should be treated with cautious optimism.

How to Save the Global Economy-Development Edition

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The global economy can’t seem to decide whether it wants to head towards recovery or sink back into despair, but that hasn’t stopped Foreign Policy Magazine in recruiting 13 of the brightest minds in global politics and economy in compiling a list of unconventional ways to get the world back on track.

In last month’s Foreign Policy Magazine, 13 ideas were listed as “out-of-the-box” ways to fix the global economy, and while most have nothing to do directly with development, 4 of them do pertain to the future of development around the world.

First up is Paul Kedrosky, who thinks that developing countries should be relieved of their debt and get a “fresh start”. His reasoning comes from the fact that over time, societies steadily accumulate the weight of debt until it becomes too much for the economy to bear, therefore thwarting recovery. And while the elimination of developed debt won’t cure everything, it will certainly give a much-needed boost to a global economy.  Relieving developed debt is certainly an innovative way to get the global economy back on track, but relieving developing-country debt should also be a priority.  A startling $20+ million dollars is paid by developing countries every day in an effort to pay off their debt-debt incurred from past regimes, mismanaged spending, or colonialism-and this payment is detrimental to their growth into a developed nation.  Developing nations can’t possible expect to come out of wide-spread poverty when their governments are working to pay back enormous amounts of debt to the developed world.  So, to build off Kedrosky, the developing world should get a break, too.

Why “Spending $1 Trillion on the Future” is considered innovative is slightly confusing only for the fact that investing on infrastructure is painfully obvious, but it was still considered in a list of revamping the global economy.  Justin Yifu Lin argues that a massive global investment in infrastructure, financed with creativity, aimed at jump-starting growth, is the key to aiding an ailing global economy.  Governments should play an active role, and consensus should be built around multilateral development that is inclusive of ideas from both the developed and developing world.  Investing in infrastructure projects, like transportation, school buildings, and water systems not only creates jobs, but the investments will boost sectors that were hit particularly hard during the recession.  It almost makes sense to argue that the developing world might benefit more from big investments in infrastructure considering it is that much more difficult to compete in global markets when there is a lack of roads, electricity, and healthcare facilities.  To allow the developing world to have a fighting change of being competitive in the future, it is time to invest in their infrastructure. Plus, as Lin argues, it’s a win-win situation.  When the world invests in developing economies, it boosts local imports, increases employment, and creates growth in high-income countries, all while reducing poverty and enhancing growth in the developing world.

Building on the fact that a developing country needs infrastructure to aid in poverty alleviation, countries also need solid healthcare systems to take care of their populations. The global economy is dictated not only by financial and economic issues, but also by the health of its population. People with bad health have trouble keeping a job, staying in school, or taking care of their families.  As Esther Dyson writes, “Health is not just a question of knowledge, it’s a set of behaviors you need to be motivated to engage and temptations you need to avoid.”  Basically, teaching job-seekers how to take care of themselves and others just might turn around the global market, and this extremely important in developing economies.

While not entirely radical, building green cities, as explained by Alex Steffen, might pose the greatest challenge to a surely skeptical global audience. But protecting the environment should not be a luxury, and growth and urbanization doesn’t have to mean a “thick haze of air pollution”.  The global population is growing, and how cities are built then determines how energy is used. Planning for environmental protection can spur rapid economic growth through effective use of space, urban infrastructure, and climate-focused city planning.  While implementing effective energy and environmental plans in developed nations may be slight easier since much of the infrastructure and equipment is already in place, the investment in this type of system in developing and emerging markets will have a big pay-off.

So clearly, implementing these four ideas, or the other 9 mentioned, will not be easy and being in an election cycle in the United States certainly isn’t helping either. What can be done? Continuing work on projects that are working to lift communities out of poverty and give developing countries a legitimate chance to make things better.  It may take a while for global leaders to realize the importance of these initiatives, but there’s no harm in getting a head start.

IIRR and Malnutrition

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According to the World Food Programme, there are an estimated 925 million that do not get enough food to be healthy and lead an active life. There are a lot of causes hunger-from natural disasters to conflict-but malnutrition, hunger’s much-less publicized counterpart, it also causing major issues in the developing world.

Malnutrition is someone who is “badly nourished”, but it is really characterized as an inadequate intake of protein, energy, and micronutrients.  Malnutrition can also mean frequent infections and diseases, and those who are malnourished can die from common infections like measles or diarrhea.

In industrialized nations, getting enough Vitamin A or Iron doesn’t seem like a big issue, but in developing countries meals often lack many of the components of a healthy meal. The World Health Organization ranks deficiencies in Iron, Vitamin A, Iodine, and Zinc in the top ten leading causes of death through disease in developing countries.  And besides that, malnutrition can lead to wasting (substantial weight loss), stunting (chronic malnutrition), and being underweight (comparison of weight-for-age in children around the world).

Being malnourished makes it difficult to do normal things like growing or preventing disease.  Or going to school and playing sports.  Or just being a kid.

IIRR is working to tackle malnutrition in the Philippines through a pretty interesting and innovating initiative. In the Philippines, there is no shortage of viable land for agriculture, yet thousands of rural children are still under nourished.  Through the Bio-Intensive Gardening programs, IIRR is working with the Department of Education in Cavite to bring gardens and nutrition programs into schools.

The gardens utilize organic methods and local products to grow vegetables and fruits that will not only flourish in the local climates, but will also provide a high nutritional yield.  The vegetables and fruits that are grown are used in school meal programs to help children in Cavite.  Nutrition is also incorporated into the classroom as a means to help children better understand proper nutrition for themselves and their families. Upon the success of the program, more schools in outer regions will begin to benefit from the programs.

While there is still need for additional funding so we can expand to new schools, we have plans underway to do nutrition research on the benefits of the program.

Debates in Development: The Search for Answers

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Yesterday, the Development Research Institute at New York University hosted “Debates in Development: The Search for Answers” to a large crowd of development students, academics, and professionals.  Moderated and hosted by the Development Institute’s Bill Easterly and Yaw Nyarko, the Debates brought together some of the brightest minds in development to discuss various systems of what actually works-or doesn’t work- in development.  IIRR was there “live-tweeting” and learning how these ideas can apply to our work in the field.

While all of the speakers were engaging and provided great insight into the field of development, a few topics and speakers particularly resonated with us here at IIRR because of the direct implications to our projects.  Bill Easterly brought up the “voice and choice” in development, saying that it is not used nearly enough when designing development projects in different communities.  The “voice and choice” are the very core of the mission at IIRR, and it is something that we take great pride in.  As we discussed last week in a previous blog post, giving a “voice and a choice” to the rural poor is central our mission, and by asking the rural poor what they really need, development funds and efforts can be especially more effective.

Ugandan entrepreneur Andrew Rugasira was the Keynote speaker, and gave an interesting and inspiring talk about finding answers in the global market.  So often “handouts” are used as a way to alleviate poverty, and this is no more obvious than in Africa. While charity is certainly a noble cause, Rugasira argues that it is not the solution to widespread, global poverty.

Rugasira is the Founder and Chairman of Good African Coffee, which sources high quality Arabica coffee from a network of over 14,000 Uganda farmers, while investing 50% of company profits back into the Ugandan farmers and their communities.  Trade, not aid, Rugasira argues, is the ultimate solution to global poverty.  Rugasira uses this model to tap into hard work, creativity, and innovation, which are so often overlooked in Africa, to encourage entrepreneurship in agriculture.  This produces a product that communities can be proud of. Besides allowing access to global markets, Rugasira also points out that an investment in the future, in the case of schools, healthcare, or water projects, are also important in development because it allows communities to remain accountable in their quest to overcome poverty.

While not working in coffee, IIRR uses a similar approach in our Value Chain programs in East Africa and the Philippines.  By allowing local farmers to gain business and agriculture skills, they become invested in their businesses, and thus become competitive in local markets.  IIRR teaches skills that allow business owners to understand how their local markets work, making them more competitive and allowing their families and communities to directly benefit from the profits.

There were certainly a lot of lessons to be taken away from Debates in Development, but nothing is more profound or exciting than hearing directly from those who either benefit from development, or have taken local development initiatives into their own hands.  Rugasira provided the audience with a great lesson in what works and what doesn’t work in lifting Africa out of poverty, and that’s something we can all support.

The Importance of Water

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While you sit and enjoy a glass of water this International Water Day, think about this:

Almost 1 Billion people on the planet don’t have access to clean water, and millions die each year from unsafe water and a lack of proper sanitation.

One. Billion. People.

And that’s just the start. Not having access to clean water also affects health care, education, and food security.

And the effects are even more pronounced for women, who spend large amounts of their day fetching water, and children. Children are especially vulnerable because dirty water can lead to diarrhea or dehydration causing them to miss school, or worse, get gravely sick and die.

Sometimes having access to clean water can easily be taken advantage of, but having it can make or break your future.

At IIRR, providing clean access to water is integral to every other project we pursue. From education in East Africa, to Bio-Intensive Gardening in the Philippines, water is key.

Our water projects in the Philippines, Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, and South Sudan provide access to clean water to dozens of communities and make our education, gardening, and applied learning programs that much more successful.

So instead of buying water today, donate to IIRR and help bring clean drinking water to more communities.

We’ll drink to that.

Getting More Girls Back in School

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Being a girl in a developing nation is tough. Really tough.  Girls in developing countries are limited in access to education, health care, and political participation.  Girls are likely to be married young, or die before their 5th birthday from a preventable disease like malaria or pneumonia, or denied an education because it becomes their duty to care for siblings and stay at home.  As a teenager, a girl in a developing nation is likely to have already had a child and to have contracted HIV.

And all of this happens before girls hit the age of 20.

The good news is that providing a quality education for a young girl will allow her to grow into a contributing member of society that makes decisions for herself.  When a girl is provided a quality education, she is more likely to be married, by her own choice and later in life, she is more likely to have children when she wants, and she will be able to make intelligent decisions that will benefit her, her family, and her community.

IIRR’s mission to build community capacity to overcome poverty has a lot to do with women and girls, because we too believe that one of the best ways to lift a community out of poverty is to empower the women and girls of each community that we work in.

One great IIRR success story comes out of our program in Kenya. Naibokwa Leturuka, at 14, was pulled out of school and married against her will. Naibokwa comes from a nomadic tribe in Kenya’s northern plains, the Samburu, which has been known to marry girls as young as 9 in exchange for a bride price, and does not value education for girls. Because of this, the opportunities for girls to attend and complete school are adversely affected.

Naibokwa learned of IIRR’s Pastoralist Education Program, and one day decided to enroll in school again. Despite community criticism and threats to his life, the teacher enrolled Naibokwa in school, and a year later, she has successfully completed level one. She excited to begin level two and to continue in school.

It is through these programs that IIRR is empowering girls to stay in school.  The Pastoralist Education Program is continuing to grow, and IIRR is expanding the program through teacher training and the development of learning materials in local languages.

Oh, and if you haven’t seen this video, you should probably watch it.  It’s about our Pastoralist Education Program in Ethiopia, which operates with similar goals.

Girl Power, it’s pretty awesome.

The Rio +20 Countdown Has Begun, but What do the Rural Poor Really Need?

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With the Millenium Development Goals deadline quickly approaching (just 1,400 days) and the Rio +20 UN Conference on Sustainable Development a mere 3 months away, international development initiatives have a long way to go in improving the livelihood of the world’s poor. And while milestones have been reached, there are almost four more years of work to be done, and many are already looking beyond Rio 2012 and beyond the MGD deadline in 2015, to figure out what will happen next.

Before all is forgotten, some are beginning to ask, what do the poor really need?  Ben Leo, Global Policy Director at ONE, a global grassroots campaign and advocacy organization that is committed to the fight against extreme poverty and preventable disease, is proposing a seemingly innovative, yet painfully simple, approach. Instead of constantly recruiting the MGDs 2.0 Intelligentsia, as he calls them, and spending taxpayer funds on countless meetings, why not redirect some of those funds to public surveys in developing countries to learn exactly what each community needs to improve livelihoods?

It’s not rocket science, he says, and shouldn’t cost a ton of money, either.  If development organizations are trying to help marginalized communities around the world, it only makes sense that the communities that are being help have a say in the entire process.  A community in East Africa, where they have experienced the worst drought in 60 years, is certainly not going to need the same  things as a community in South East Asia.  Some communities might be primarily concerned about infrastructure as opposed to education, or food security instead of healthcare.

A community is less likely to accept a new school when access to water is more important, and by figuring out what is needed in each community, funding will be better directed and efforts will become drastically more efficient.  Leo brings up this idea because organizations so often forget about the communities they are working to help, but IIRR has been implementing this approach for decades.

The basis for the organization and all of the work we do, is based on the simple idea of living among the communities we serve, learning from them, planning with them, and then working with them to build community resilience and bring about positive change.  What has happened, and has failed, in so many development initiatives is a “cookie-cutter” approach that is based on no local input, and instead on organizational interests.

By figuring out what the rural poor need to build community resilience, organizations can better direct funds and efforts to bring about positive change.  And we may even reach the MDGs by 2015.

All we have to do is ask.

International Women’s Day

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Each year on March 8th for International Women’s Day, the world honors those important women that have shaped our lives, and continues discussions on how to improve the lives of women and girls around the world.  The rights for women and girls have vastly improved in recent years, but there is still much to be done to ensure equality for all women and girls around the world.

This year, the UN has devoted International Women’s Day to rural women, who make up a large number of the global population. Despite the large number of rural women, they are continually at the bottom of economic, social and political indicators, and they are increasingly denied access to education, healthcare, participation in local politics, and income growth opportunities.

At IIRR, we are continually working towards equality for women and girls around the world by increasing their access to education, clean water, and income growth opportunities. IIRR has offices in the Philippines, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, and South Sudan, but our reach extends far beyond the women and girls we directly work with.  When young girls attend out Pastoralist Education Programs in East Africa, they are able to bring their knowledge into their homes and work to improve the livelihoods of their families.  Or when women attend our Community Managed Disaster Risk Training programs in the Philippines they are not only more prepared to deal with typhoons or flooding, but they also know how to work within their communities to improve food security and mitigate climate change.

If you are feeling inspired this International Women’s Day, donate to IIRR to support our programs that directly benefit women and girls in South East Asia and East Africa.