Poverty and HIV/AIDs in Zambia is causing an epidemic of abandoned, neglected or orphaned children as family means are stretched beyond breaking point. Parents and extended relatives simply cannot afford to feed, clothe and educate the younger generation so many turn to orphanages as a last resort.
In South Africa, early childhood education programs are poorly funded by a government already inundated with developmental mandates. Many of the system’s teachers were taught under the apartheid regime and did not receive a quality education themselves. Without best practice systems in place and limited opportunities for knowledge sharing, the motivation and morale of teachers within disadvantaged communities is low and leads to high absenteeism.
As humanitarian crises have lifted in Sri Lanka, national development has shifted its focus toward building a strong economic core in the private sector and diversifying rural livelihoods. Demographic transition that has accompanied the drive toward middle-income country status now poses some challenges regarding aged dependency.
India’s Dalits have recently taken drastic strides toward social equality and economic empowerment through our partner’s nationwide movement to establish customised education centres. In these centres, Dalits can attain employable skills to carry them out of the poverty trap that their lineage has suffered under for so long.
In the Philippines the incidence of poverty is 50% for those who do not complete primary school, and less than 2% for those with a college degree. Within urban poor settlements situations at home are rarely conducive to study due to noisy and crowded spaces, obligation for family responsibilities, lack of affordable tuition, and extensive unhealthy eating habits.
Casteism leaves no respite within Indian spheres of education. The ‘untouchables’ are without rights and frequently subject to abuse and neglect from castes above. Whilst growing international awareness has led to some positive intervention, it is from this group of people that the bulk of India’s unskilled and uneducated still come.
Cambodia is a source, transit and destination country for human trafficking. Every year, thousands of men, women and children are sold by organized crime syndicates in Karaoke bars, massage parlours, street vendors, brick factories and brothels.
Poverty is not so much a lack of ‘things’ but a lack of ‘power’ – the liberating power of self-determination and opportunity. It starts with belief in the people. Without first building the base of an empowered people, the whole edifice of community development and meaningful social change is top-heavy and unsustainable.
China’s fast changing country context is characterised by rapid industrialisation, rural-urban migration, wealth disparities, epidemiological transition and an ageing population. With a highly diverse population of 1.4 billion people scattered over a vast landscape of hard-to-reach mountains and plains, China faces a variety of health and development challenges.
In the quarry villages of rural India, poverty manifests in many ways. It is therefore necessary to tackle the problem with a holistic community development approach, building capacity through participation in every way possible.
Government expenditure on defence and foreign debt servicing have been an enormous strain on the Pakistani budget, leaving only 1.9% spent on health and 2% on education. Healthcare is scarcely regulated and beyond affordability to much of the nation’s most vulnerable. Likewise, the education sector is frail, with less than half of all students completing primary school.
As humanitarian crises have lifted in Sri Lanka, national development has shifted its focus toward building a strong economic core in the private sector and diversifying rural livelihoods. Positive demographic transition has accompanied the drive toward middle-income country status but now poses some challenges regarding aged dependency.
The Jogini tradition has been part of southern Indian life for many centuries. It is recognised as a form of modern day slavery whereby girls as young as 4 years-old are dedicated in marriage to a local deity and must then prostitute themselves to men as an act of worship.
Years of conflict have worn away Myanmar’s educational foundation. Within schools, teacher turnover is high, lessons are ill-prepared and academic standards are low. Many displaced children lack the skills and aptitudes that will help them find a job, particularly where schooling has been disrupted or discontinued.
Despite strong financial growth associated with a rich store of natural resources, the benefits of trade and investment from the international sphere has not been distributed evenly within the Democratic Republic of Congo. Turning to self-sufficient innovation, a centralised service centre has been set up to upskill marginalised Congolese as they take out small loans to commence micro-enterprise ventures.
