Canada’s Federal Budget announced last week held few surprises. For weeks now there have been talks about eliminating the deficit and filling gaps in needed labour skills. But for those working in international development, the announcement that the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) would become a subsidiary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) came as a shock. Even CIDA staff revealed that they learned of the change the same way I did, from a tweet sent Thursday by CBC’s Evan Solomon.
The news, unanticipated as it was, is not all bad. NGOs in Canada and concerned citizens have long advocated that international cooperation warrants a senior ministry. With this budget we got our wish. But at what cost? The government says its decision was a reflection of increased “linkages between our foreign policy, development and trade objectives.” For years, Canadian governments, liberal and conservative alike, have stated the need for greater coherence in Canada’s foreign policy. But does DFAIT’s absorption of CIDA signal an end to the clear focus on the eradication of poverty? Will the amalgamation result in a development agenda focused more on Canada’s own trade and foreign policy interests?
Not necessarily so. Crossroads International also supports public-private partnerships by leveraging the skills of Canadian citizens and through partnerships with private sector actors. This year alone Canadian coffee roasters will support more than 180 Bolivian families growing coffee to access the Canadian market. The partnership benefits all parties, but the focus is on providing opportunities for the Bolivian producers. Engaging private sector actors can be effective and yes, there are benefits to Canadians, but for my development dollar I want the focus to be on the people who need it.
With Canada’s development assistance in decline, current estimates are at just 0.25 per cent of our gross national income (GNI), we could take a page from the U.K. They displayed great leadership this week when they announced in their budget that they would be dedicating 0.7 per cent of their GNI to reduce global poverty. This makes the U.K. the first of the G8 countries to reach a globally agreed target for wealthy nations first posited by Canadian Prime Minister Lester Pearson in the 60s. This was achieved despite the threat of a triple dip recession and in an austerity budget. The U.K. knows that global development will deliver a more balanced and resilient global economy and trigger a domino effect of improved health, education, security and good governance.
Canada has been a leader in global development; remember in 2008 when our government was lauded for its efforts to untie aid? This took leadership. It put the needs interests of the poor first. That is the kind of leadership we need. Our money has helped spur economic development so people can feed their families and send their children to school. It saved lives by increasing access to health care. It has empowered women, advanced human rights and contributed to good governance around the world. It has made a real difference in the lives of millions and it is crucial that our long-term plans for development dollars not be trumped by business and diplomatic interests. Regardless of economic interests at home, this money is allocated to put an end to extreme poverty, and we cannot lose sight of its purpose. We have to stop shuffling the deck and start dealing in real change.
Showing posts with label poverty. Show all posts
Showing posts with label poverty. Show all posts
Thursday, 28 March 2013
Friday, 29 June 2012
A busy spring can be a good thing
Here in Canada, spring is supposed to mark the beginning of the slow
season, a time to ease off work and celebrate the return of the sun, flowers
and outdoor recreational fun.
At Crossroads, we could be forgiven for failing to notice the end of winter. We've been intensely busy. Two days after the official start of spring, a group of soldiers overthrew the government of Mali while rebels
seized territory in the country's north. For a moment, it looked like the country
might spiral out of control. While things have cooled down in the capital, the
coup and ongoing instability in the north have sowed fear in the hearts and
minds of the people of Mali. Our partners have been working double-time to
ensure their projects are able to continue and thrive, and we've been doing the
same to ensure they are supported.
The spring has been busy for another reason: Our work to promote the
rights of women and girls has picked up steam like never before. And we are
proud of that. As the controversial deletion of the phrase “access to
reproductive health services” from the final document produced at the recent
RIO+20 summit suggests, the rights of women are still up for negotiation in
most parts of the world. We must remain vigilant to protect and improve access
to rights and sustainable livelihoods for women and girls. Here are some
highlights from this spring's struggle:
- In Toronto, Crossroads volunteers, Pam Hillen and Sarah Giddens hosted a wonderfully successful cocktail fundraiser for Global Girl Power, raising more than $12,000 for programs to support women's rights in developing countries. I had the honour of speaking alongside Ntombi Nyoni, legal officer for Crossroads partner Swaziland Action Group Against Abuse, and two of Canada’s best-loved journalists, award-winning BBC reporter and Crossroads honorary patron Lyse Doucet and the CBC’s Anna Maria Tremonti. It was a truly wonderful evening and a joy to hear Lyse and Anna Maria talk about their experiences working together and how important it is to support girls and young women in the developing world so that they enjoy a brighter, more secure future.
- In Istanbul, women from across the world came together to learn, organize and speak out at the Association for Women's Rights in Development (AWID) 12th International Forum. It was an incredibly inspiring event. Representatives from 12 of our partner organizations from West and Southern Africa were in attendance, along with Canadian members of our program team, providing a rare opportunity to put out heads together, forge new relationships and share ideas for elevating the status of women in our communities.
- In Manitoba, we delivered a presentation to provincial cabinet ministers, including Premier Greg Selinger, explaining the power of grassroots solutions to transform the work of women and rural producers in Bolivia and Niger. The message was warmly received by members of the government and the Manitoba Council for International Cooperation, who expressed their intent to uphold their support for women and girls in Africa and Latin America.
- In Halifax, long-time (and outgoing) staff member Joan Campbell succeeded in attracting record support from a new friend of Crossroads. Marjorie Lindsay made an additional gift of $50,000 to support Crossroads work with women and girls. At a very young 86, Marjorie is an inspiring and passionate supporter, who strongly believes that Canadians should be supporting women and girls both at home and internationally. Thank you Marjorie!
Tuesday, 1 March 2011
Opening Doors
Celebrate the 100th International Women’s Day by sharing your story of an inspiring woman
This year, I celebrated my 50th birthday surrounded by family and friends. Among them were dozens of women who, over the years, have had a profound influence on my life and my career. Reflecting (as one is apt to do around these life milestones) I realized these remarkable women have not only influenced my life, but have shaped the lives of many. As mothers, sisters, partners, lawyers, accountants, social workers, volunteers and friends they touch thousands of people. These women are leading organizations, supporting charities, and taking leadership roles in their communities. I am so fortunate to have them as mentors, colleagues and friends.
One woman of great distinction in my life was not there for the birthday celebrations, my mother. And it is my mother who I want to honour this International Women’s Day.
When I was nine, my mom made the decision to leave an abusive relationship and raise five children on her own. In 1960s and 70s Quebec there were few resources available. Leaving meant my mother would constantly struggle to make ends meet. Despite the enormous obstacles she faced, the long hours she put into work as well as the care of her family, my mother always found time for others. She volunteered when she could, sharing what little we had. And she remains an active volunteer to this day. From my mother I learned about the courage, strength, resilience and generosity of women.
And perhaps it was her example that brought me to Crossroads. Today, Crossroads is supporting thousands of ordinary women who are not really so different from my mom. These are women who face enormous obstacles, struggle to earn a living and to provide a better life for their children. Ordinary women, yes. But they are doing extraordinary things – creating viable businesses, challenging and changing laws to ensure that others can live free from violence, and educating girls so that they can live to their full potential.
At Crossroads we are opening doors for thousands of women in Bolivia and Africa. We do this by providing small loans that enable women to start and expand small businesses and by helping establish cooperatives that enable them to transform traditional work into viable income-generating enterprises. We are also investing in girls and young women through empowerment and leadership programs. In communities where violence against women is endemic, and where women do not enjoy even basic human rights, these programs enable women and girls to become leaders in their communities. With that confidence and those skills, these women and girls are challenging the status quo and working for change.
Please join our Open Doors Campaign. On this 100th Anniversary of International Women’s Day, take action in support of women in Africa and Bolivia to Open Doors of opportunity.
It couldn’t be easier:
- Register and set a personal fundraising goal
- Think of a woman who opened doors for you. Be sure to tell “her story” on your personal page
- Email your friends. Ask them to make a gift to the OPEN DOORS CAMPAIGN in honour of a woman who is an inspiration to them.
- Change lives forever.
Your gift will enable women in some of the world’s poorest countries to earn sustainable incomes and gain independence. Thank you for your support
Tuesday, 1 February 2011
Reason to hope
This year I resolved to start the year in a new way. Gone are the New Year’s resolutions. Don’t get me wrong, resolutions work for me. Over the years, I ran a half marathon, I quit smoking. I signed up for that painting class I had been talking about.
But in 2010 it got a lot worse, for a lot of people. First the Haitian earthquake, then prolonged drought in Niger and devastating floods in Pakistan and many other countries. And even these horrific disasters pale in comparison to the grinding poverty that preceded them and that continues to limit the potential of 1.75 billion people, year in and year out. This year I need more than my own resolve, I need a reason to hope.
So here are my Top 10 Reasons to Hope — my review of Crossroads and the world — where, in spite of the obstacles, people came together to assert their rights to live in dignity, to earn a decent living and shape their futures.
Women are taking leadership in Togo
Togo — By January 2010 Crossroads partner GF2D had provided leadership training to more than 130 women in 36 villages. Women, like sixty-three-year-old Abla, who were emboldened by the leadership training, are finding ways to increase women’s participation in decision-making. For Abla it meant making the road to her village accessible year-round, and ensuring authorities reinstated funds that had been raised by the villagers to build a school. Another reason for optimism? GF2D founder and board member Madam Kafui Brigitte Adjamagbo Johnson became the first woman presidential candidate to stand for election in Togo.
Togo — By January 2010 Crossroads partner GF2D had provided leadership training to more than 130 women in 36 villages. Women, like sixty-three-year-old Abla, who were emboldened by the leadership training, are finding ways to increase women’s participation in decision-making. For Abla it meant making the road to her village accessible year-round, and ensuring authorities reinstated funds that had been raised by the villagers to build a school. Another reason for optimism? GF2D founder and board member Madam Kafui Brigitte Adjamagbo Johnson became the first woman presidential candidate to stand for election in Togo.
Senegalese parliament passed the Parity Law
Senegal — In May, the Senegalese parliament voted overwhelmingly in favour of a bill that introduced absolute gender parity. At all levels of government, political parties must now present slates of candidates with equal numbers of men and women. Activists herald the new law saying it will increase the number of women members in Senegal's parliament.
Senegal — In May, the Senegalese parliament voted overwhelmingly in favour of a bill that introduced absolute gender parity. At all levels of government, political parties must now present slates of candidates with equal numbers of men and women. Activists herald the new law saying it will increase the number of women members in Senegal's parliament.
Are women back on the agenda?
Canada — Sure, you might be excused if you took it the wrong way when a prominent Senator told you and your supporters to “shut the f?@# up.” But, last May when long time women’s rights activist and Senator Nancy Ruth offered that gem of political advice to an audience of women’s rights activists, it set the stage for a critical national debate and discussion on Canada’s commitment to women’s rights at home and around the globe. Central to the debate was Canada’s pledge to lead the world with a G8/G20 child and maternal health initiative.
Canada — Sure, you might be excused if you took it the wrong way when a prominent Senator told you and your supporters to “shut the f?@# up.” But, last May when long time women’s rights activist and Senator Nancy Ruth offered that gem of political advice to an audience of women’s rights activists, it set the stage for a critical national debate and discussion on Canada’s commitment to women’s rights at home and around the globe. Central to the debate was Canada’s pledge to lead the world with a G8/G20 child and maternal health initiative.
Women in Zimbabwe finally get recognition
Zimbabwe – Whenever I feel sorry about the status of women in this country, I think of the Women’s Coalition of Zimbabwe. In the face of brutal oppression and an economic crisis, the likes of which we in Canada have never seen, they continue to work — and to raise their voices. In May, the Women’s Coalition of Zimbabwe was recognized in Canada for its steadfast promotion of women’s rights, including the passage of the groundbreaking Domestic Violence Act in 2007. The Canadian Council for International Cooperation honoured the coalition with the Betty Plewes Fund, an annual award that recognizes outstanding leadership in an African non-profit whose research and policy work advances women's rights.
Zimbabwe – Whenever I feel sorry about the status of women in this country, I think of the Women’s Coalition of Zimbabwe. In the face of brutal oppression and an economic crisis, the likes of which we in Canada have never seen, they continue to work — and to raise their voices. In May, the Women’s Coalition of Zimbabwe was recognized in Canada for its steadfast promotion of women’s rights, including the passage of the groundbreaking Domestic Violence Act in 2007. The Canadian Council for International Cooperation honoured the coalition with the Betty Plewes Fund, an annual award that recognizes outstanding leadership in an African non-profit whose research and policy work advances women's rights.
UN Women launched
Global — In July, The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women — or UN Women — was established by the Member States to accelerate progress towards gender equality and the empowerment of women. In September former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet, a formidable force, was appointed executive director of the new agency.
Global — In July, The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women — or UN Women — was established by the Member States to accelerate progress towards gender equality and the empowerment of women. In September former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet, a formidable force, was appointed executive director of the new agency.
Fair Trade grows
Bolivia – In September with support of Crossroads, Foncresol piloted a Fair Trade loan fund. Research by Crossroaders and FONCRESOL identified three critical stages where farmers need an infusion of capital – production, post harvest, and commercialization. Yet for Fair Trade farmers, the loans required are often too large for micro finance funds and too small and too risky for traditional banks. The pilot was a decided success. Within three months, coffee was being exported to Belgium and the loan was repaid. The $50,000 Crédito Justo fund will now ensure that Fair Trade producers continue to thrive.
Bolivia – In September with support of Crossroads, Foncresol piloted a Fair Trade loan fund. Research by Crossroaders and FONCRESOL identified three critical stages where farmers need an infusion of capital – production, post harvest, and commercialization. Yet for Fair Trade farmers, the loans required are often too large for micro finance funds and too small and too risky for traditional banks. The pilot was a decided success. Within three months, coffee was being exported to Belgium and the loan was repaid. The $50,000 Crédito Justo fund will now ensure that Fair Trade producers continue to thrive.
Seeds of hope
Niger – News from Niger has not been good. Add to political instability, a long running drought followed by extreme flooding that swept away crops and homes in many parts of the country and you have a desperate situation for people already recognized as the poorest in the world. And yet, partners continue to support people to increase their resilience – with grain banks that ensure there are seeds for future crops, by establishing cooperatives for local goods such as Shea butter and through market gardening that provides an income to members. In October, Crossroads supported Niger partners ONPHDB and ADD to participate in a regional social economy conference in Morocco. This meeting proved a vital opportunity for Nigerien partners to meet with other practitioners, enabling them to improve and expand their programs and influence future investment in the social economy in Africa.
Niger – News from Niger has not been good. Add to political instability, a long running drought followed by extreme flooding that swept away crops and homes in many parts of the country and you have a desperate situation for people already recognized as the poorest in the world. And yet, partners continue to support people to increase their resilience – with grain banks that ensure there are seeds for future crops, by establishing cooperatives for local goods such as Shea butter and through market gardening that provides an income to members. In October, Crossroads supported Niger partners ONPHDB and ADD to participate in a regional social economy conference in Morocco. This meeting proved a vital opportunity for Nigerien partners to meet with other practitioners, enabling them to improve and expand their programs and influence future investment in the social economy in Africa.
More Girls are asserting their rights
Swaziland – In November, after a successful pilot project based on a model championed in Zimbabwe, three more girls empowerment clubs were launched in Swaziland, for a total of eight. Today more than 280 girls participate in the clubs. This year, Crossroads also provided intensive training to teachers who are leading the clubs. And the best of it? A recent hire to fill the role of assistant coordinator for the girls clubs is a former club member!
Swaziland – In November, after a successful pilot project based on a model championed in Zimbabwe, three more girls empowerment clubs were launched in Swaziland, for a total of eight. Today more than 280 girls participate in the clubs. This year, Crossroads also provided intensive training to teachers who are leading the clubs. And the best of it? A recent hire to fill the role of assistant coordinator for the girls clubs is a former club member!
Bikes for Ballots
Ghana – In December, Ghana held district elections. Of the more than 17,000 candidates, less than eight per cent were women. But thanks in part to the support of ABANTU, three women candidates in the Upper West region are celebrating victory as District Assembly Representatives. With support from Canadian Crossroads International and YWCA Canada, ABANTU provided training and assistance to ten women candidates in the region including providing bicycles to help campaign teams get the word out.
Ghana – In December, Ghana held district elections. Of the more than 17,000 candidates, less than eight per cent were women. But thanks in part to the support of ABANTU, three women candidates in the Upper West region are celebrating victory as District Assembly Representatives. With support from Canadian Crossroads International and YWCA Canada, ABANTU provided training and assistance to ten women candidates in the region including providing bicycles to help campaign teams get the word out.
Youth are building their futures
Mali – Last year Crossroads secured funding for a youth entrepreneurship program in Mali. That means that this year 100 youth — 50 young women and 50 young men — will work with CCI partner AJA to establish their own businesses. As participants in this program, they will build skills in business planning, receive ongoing coaching and gain access to special microcredit funds.
Mali – Last year Crossroads secured funding for a youth entrepreneurship program in Mali. That means that this year 100 youth — 50 young women and 50 young men — will work with CCI partner AJA to establish their own businesses. As participants in this program, they will build skills in business planning, receive ongoing coaching and gain access to special microcredit funds.
Wednesday, 1 December 2010
Why giving is good
Holiday catalogues galore spilled out of my paper this past weekend. I was struck by just how much stuff was on offer. Gift ideas for my sisters, my nieces, my sweetheart, my aunt and her cat! Trouble is that there is very little on offer that any of them really need and although there is a lot my nieces would say they want, they are at the age where I wouldn’t select a hairpin on their behalf. And while the kitchen implements are tempting in their holiday red, none of us have room for another appliance.
And the cat well…
So how to celebrate this season of giving? Is it by giving up? Or by giving in to the holiday hype?
I’m advocating all of the above. I plan to celebrate giving and giving up.
This year I am following Lawrence Hill’s lead. The three-time Crossroader and acclaimed writer (The Book of Negroes) started his holiday shopping by giving back to Crossroads. And so did I. I encourage you to consider making Crossroads’ Gift that keeps on giving a new part of your holiday tradition.
I have learned a lot about the power of giving at Crossroads.
Crossroads volunteers rarely talk about what they gave up to volunteer overseas. Instead they speak about what they got — how the experience changed the way they see themselves in the world and how the skills and lessons they learned changed their own lives.
The act of giving enriches them to be sure, but more than that, it enriches all of us by increasing understanding and by reducing the disparity between North and South.
Which brings me to giving up. For most volunteers the reality of working in the developing world is shocking at first. How am I supposed to build a database when there is only electricity for a few hours a day? ....Build a web site with dial up? ...I have to get permission from who before we can introduce a workshop? Crossroaders quickly learn to slow down, to seek advice, to listen well and to get creative to compensate for gross inequities and a dearth of resources. And for many, with the support of their host families and their local colleagues, they also get a glimpse of the richness of community life where relationships with people come first.
Crossroaders know it is not easy to know how to help. Many Canadians feel the same way. Just six per cent of donations made by Canadians support international development causes*. Not for lack of compassion witness the hundreds of millions of dollars raised to support victims of the Tsunami or the earthquake in Haiti. But long-term development and strategies to address the root causes of extreme poverty are often too nuanced for a fundraising pitch — hence the proliferation of goats as gifts and pictures of children in need. How can we be sure that these donations will actually make a difference in the lives of people on other side of the globe?
That is why at Crossroads we work with local partners to develop joint projects that advance their goals. We don’t set up offices or stand-alone projects overseas. Instead we invest in the people and organizations that are driving change in their own communities.
As for the hype, I am glad there is at least one time of the year to remind us that we're here for something other than ourselves. This holiday season I will be making time to be with friends and family and honouring those who inspire me half way round the world.
*Highlights from 2007 Canada Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating Caring Canadians Involved Canadians 2009.
Wednesday, 31 March 2010
Rethinking Development Effectiveness
I met a Crossroader a few days ago and she got me thinking.
Marina Salazar is a 32 year old volunteer from Cochabamba Bolivia. She works with Foncresol, a long standing Crossroads partner, focused on decreasing poverty through the provision of small business loans for some of Bolivia’s poorest people.
Marina came to Canada to work with Haida Gwaii Community Futures and the First Nation’s people on Haida Gwaii. Marina’s country is the poorest country in South America. The vast majority of its people live on less than $2 a day, so the goal she set for her placement might surprise you.
Marina came to Canada to help First Nations people use communal banks to work their way out of poverty.
It’s something she knows a bit about. Marina helps people, mostly women, to start small businesses. A key strategy for this at Foncresol has been communal banks. In these banks, the vast majority are women, as most women cannot secure loans from traditional lenders. Their only collateral is their trust in each other. “It isn’t just an economic strategy,” says Marina. “People have a chance to take leadership. It is a democracy. They decide who will be president, treasurer, spokesperson and they are accountable and if someone leaves the bank they are responsible for the payments.”
Over the last 11years, Crossroads has supported Foncresol in numerous ways. Canadian volunteers have supported risk analysis and market research as well as more mundane aspects of the work, such as systems development. CCI also helped expand Foncresol’s work with women by securing funds to expand microcredit loans for women. Foncresol now supports more than 200 communal banks. Marina told me of women who are increasingly able to support their families, to send their children to school and make decisions about their own lives. And no matter what happens, it seems, they repay their debt.
Marina’s journey to Canada was a long one. She tells me it is quite unusual in Bolivia for a woman to hold a position like hers. “The opportunity was very interesting for me and I thought it would be almost impossible to get. I thought, I am Bolivian, I don’t speak the language. The people in the North are smart. What can I teach them? … It was very scary to me. My boss said I had to win this position and we worked for four years. The project identified was to start communal banks with Community Futures in First Nations communities.”
“The First Nations people have so many problems, economic, social. But they want to start something; they don’t want to live as they are now with drugs and alcohol. Our clients in Bolivia want the same things. Around the world I think the dreams are the same. They want to wake up with security, with a job and not having to worry that tomorrow they will have food for their children. When I walked the streets in Haida Gwaii people would greet me, people knew I was coming to help start communal banks, it was very emotional for me that people trusted me.
“The experience was more than I was expecting. I understand that it is not only people in my country that need help. In different [ways] and forms… I can help people through my engagement. It was the best experience in all my life. This partnership has made me more committed to Foncresol. I think I will die with Foncresol.”
All this got me thinking. In the same week I met Marina, I provided opening remarks at The Open Forum on CSO Development Effectiveness, one in a series of consultations taking place in countries around the world. In honesty, I have spent considerable time in board rooms talking about aid effectiveness, but as this forum highlighted, the real challenge is how we increase development effectiveness.
The world has changed. Yes, tremendous disparity remains between North and South. Yet in many places, Bolivia among them, a strong civil society has emerged. And these increasingly powerful development actors are not without criticism of their peers to the north.
As northern CSOs we now contribute up to $25 billion a year to development efforts, with five of the largest international NGO families alone bringing together a total of $6 billion in development resources. That’s more than some governments.
We are vociferously critical of global leaders and donors’ failure to respond to changing realities of developing nations, but only recently have we formalized a critical look at ourselves. Are we, as northern CSOs, living the values of social solidarity, participation, transparency and respect? Are we really taking direction from local actors and priorities? How effective are we in contributing to development that empowers poor and marginalized populations and enables women to claim their rights?
Fellow Canadian Bernard Wood, the team leader for the international evaluation of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, has said “all development is indigenous, so that outsiders who wish to help must first and always work to empower and support. If we try to dictate or prescribe, we will never bring durable benefits.”
I think at Crossroads that is something we have always understood. It might be too early to judge if a fledging communal bank in Haida Gwaii will better the lives of the First Nations who have embraced it (although Marina is convinced it will), but we know our partnership with Foncresol is improving the lives of women in Bolivia. Marina, for one, now sees issues confronting her people and the people in Haida Gwaii as global issues and that she has something to contribute.
Australian aboriginal activist and educator, Lila Watson, once said, "If you have come here to help me, you are wasting your time..... But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together."
This is the heart of Crossroads approach. Although separated by unequal access to resources, cultural and linguistic barriers, we are inextricably linked in a common human cause. And everyday, we work to break down these barriers and build our common future.
Marina Salazar is a 32 year old volunteer from Cochabamba Bolivia. She works with Foncresol, a long standing Crossroads partner, focused on decreasing poverty through the provision of small business loans for some of Bolivia’s poorest people.
Marina came to Canada to work with Haida Gwaii Community Futures and the First Nation’s people on Haida Gwaii. Marina’s country is the poorest country in South America. The vast majority of its people live on less than $2 a day, so the goal she set for her placement might surprise you.
Marina came to Canada to help First Nations people use communal banks to work their way out of poverty.
It’s something she knows a bit about. Marina helps people, mostly women, to start small businesses. A key strategy for this at Foncresol has been communal banks. In these banks, the vast majority are women, as most women cannot secure loans from traditional lenders. Their only collateral is their trust in each other. “It isn’t just an economic strategy,” says Marina. “People have a chance to take leadership. It is a democracy. They decide who will be president, treasurer, spokesperson and they are accountable and if someone leaves the bank they are responsible for the payments.”
Over the last 11years, Crossroads has supported Foncresol in numerous ways. Canadian volunteers have supported risk analysis and market research as well as more mundane aspects of the work, such as systems development. CCI also helped expand Foncresol’s work with women by securing funds to expand microcredit loans for women. Foncresol now supports more than 200 communal banks. Marina told me of women who are increasingly able to support their families, to send their children to school and make decisions about their own lives. And no matter what happens, it seems, they repay their debt.
Marina’s journey to Canada was a long one. She tells me it is quite unusual in Bolivia for a woman to hold a position like hers. “The opportunity was very interesting for me and I thought it would be almost impossible to get. I thought, I am Bolivian, I don’t speak the language. The people in the North are smart. What can I teach them? … It was very scary to me. My boss said I had to win this position and we worked for four years. The project identified was to start communal banks with Community Futures in First Nations communities.”
“The First Nations people have so many problems, economic, social. But they want to start something; they don’t want to live as they are now with drugs and alcohol. Our clients in Bolivia want the same things. Around the world I think the dreams are the same. They want to wake up with security, with a job and not having to worry that tomorrow they will have food for their children. When I walked the streets in Haida Gwaii people would greet me, people knew I was coming to help start communal banks, it was very emotional for me that people trusted me.
“The experience was more than I was expecting. I understand that it is not only people in my country that need help. In different [ways] and forms… I can help people through my engagement. It was the best experience in all my life. This partnership has made me more committed to Foncresol. I think I will die with Foncresol.”
All this got me thinking. In the same week I met Marina, I provided opening remarks at The Open Forum on CSO Development Effectiveness, one in a series of consultations taking place in countries around the world. In honesty, I have spent considerable time in board rooms talking about aid effectiveness, but as this forum highlighted, the real challenge is how we increase development effectiveness.
The world has changed. Yes, tremendous disparity remains between North and South. Yet in many places, Bolivia among them, a strong civil society has emerged. And these increasingly powerful development actors are not without criticism of their peers to the north.
As northern CSOs we now contribute up to $25 billion a year to development efforts, with five of the largest international NGO families alone bringing together a total of $6 billion in development resources. That’s more than some governments.
We are vociferously critical of global leaders and donors’ failure to respond to changing realities of developing nations, but only recently have we formalized a critical look at ourselves. Are we, as northern CSOs, living the values of social solidarity, participation, transparency and respect? Are we really taking direction from local actors and priorities? How effective are we in contributing to development that empowers poor and marginalized populations and enables women to claim their rights?
Fellow Canadian Bernard Wood, the team leader for the international evaluation of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, has said “all development is indigenous, so that outsiders who wish to help must first and always work to empower and support. If we try to dictate or prescribe, we will never bring durable benefits.”
I think at Crossroads that is something we have always understood. It might be too early to judge if a fledging communal bank in Haida Gwaii will better the lives of the First Nations who have embraced it (although Marina is convinced it will), but we know our partnership with Foncresol is improving the lives of women in Bolivia. Marina, for one, now sees issues confronting her people and the people in Haida Gwaii as global issues and that she has something to contribute.
Australian aboriginal activist and educator, Lila Watson, once said, "If you have come here to help me, you are wasting your time..... But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together."
This is the heart of Crossroads approach. Although separated by unequal access to resources, cultural and linguistic barriers, we are inextricably linked in a common human cause. And everyday, we work to break down these barriers and build our common future.
Wednesday, 27 January 2010
How to help
Canadians outpouring of support to Haiti challenges our thinking on how to avert disaster for the world’s poor.
When new broke of the massive earthquake in Haiti, Canadians across the country asked themselves, How can we help?
The response was swift and impressive. As of January 25, Canadians donated than $80-million in support of relief and reconstruction. Within 24 hours the government had committed $5 million in aid and within 48 hours, more than $80 million was promised with an additional commitment to match all individual donations. Rescue teams, the disaster assistance response team (DART) and military personal were also dispatched. Less than two weeks after the quake hit, Canada convened a meeting of foreign ministers and key multilateral players in Montreal, to prepare for a spring leaders conference on the reconstruction of Haiti.
Canada’s longstanding relationship with Haiti — they are our second largest aid recipient after Afghanistan — eased our ability to help. Montreal has one of the biggest concentrations of Haitian Diaspora. Many Canadian relief and development organizations have worked there for decades. We know the country and its people.
We can be proud of the Canadian response. Canadians care. But increasingly Canadians are also asking, really, how can we help?
As a January Globe and Mail editorial noted, “With millions of dollars pledged and more than 10,000 NGOs operating in Haiti there is no shortage of good intentions.” Newspaper editorialists and ordinary Canadians are striving to make sense of what disasters of this magnitude can teach us about development for the future.
We know that in natural disasters, it is the poor and disenfranchised who suffer most brutally. Among the poor it is most often women and children who bear the brunt.
This disaster is all the more acute, because of the chronic and desperate poverty in which most Haitians live. As Peter Hallward in the Guardian UK noted poverty and powerlessness account for the full scale horror in Haiti. Earning less than $2 per day, ordinary Haitians have no ability to arm themselves against disaster with defences like earthquake resistant homes.
Haitian poverty, like poverty in countries where CCI works in West Africa, Southern Africa and South America, is no accident. It is the result decades of exploitation and oppression by wealthier nations. A history that continues to present day with global trade rules that favour rich nations and their producers while devastating national economies of developing countries; crippling debt obligations that siphon off resources that could be used to build sound infrastructure and services and impose conditionalities that force governments to curtail essential investments in public services like heath and education.
While it is critical that we support agencies on the ground striving to meet immediate urgent needs, we also need to look at how are our official development assistance and foreign policy, now and in years to come, can build and strengthen local resilience.
An important way to mitigate disasters like the Haitian earthquake is to invest in the resilience of people and their institutions. Reconstruction efforts need to support an independent and sovereign government that ensures basic human rights are met and that citizens are empowered to demand their rights.
The situation in Haiti and other fragile states will undoubtedly be discussed by G8 and G20 leaders when they meet in Canada later this year. Canadian civil society organizations, including Canadian Crossroads International, are hard at work trying to meet with government leaders to ensure past commitments are met, to renew and strengthen poverty-reduction strategies, with special emphasis on investment in programs for women and children. We are seeking government commitments to provide assistance to low-income countries coping with the effects of climate change and to instigate meaningful global financial reform to help all countries recover from the economic crisis. On Tuesday it seemed that the message was getting through. In an editorial, January 26, the Prime Minister acknowledged “it should not take a natural disaster to turn our attention to the less fortunate and that the world's poor have been hit hardest by the global economic downturn and in these difficult times we must address their pressing needs.” He stated that as president of the G8 in 2010, Canada will champion a major initiative to improve the health of women and children in the world's poorest regions.
Canada's commitment to playing a lead role in a pair of major new international aid projects is most welcome, but it has some Canadians asking where is the money? Currently Canada is giving only 0.32% of our national income in development aid. That's less than half of the point seven per cent (0.7%) we keep promising to give. In upcoming international summits and in Canada’s own upcoming budget announcement there is an opportunity to make good on past commitments and outline our vision for the future. Add your voice to these efforts and let our parliamentarians know that Canadians care deeply about these issues and believe that Canada can and should play a leadership role in developing and implementing the kinds of policies that will strengthen human rights and relieve the suffering of billions living in poverty. http://www.makepovertyhistory.ca/en/set-agenda-action-g8
When new broke of the massive earthquake in Haiti, Canadians across the country asked themselves, How can we help?
The response was swift and impressive. As of January 25, Canadians donated than $80-million in support of relief and reconstruction. Within 24 hours the government had committed $5 million in aid and within 48 hours, more than $80 million was promised with an additional commitment to match all individual donations. Rescue teams, the disaster assistance response team (DART) and military personal were also dispatched. Less than two weeks after the quake hit, Canada convened a meeting of foreign ministers and key multilateral players in Montreal, to prepare for a spring leaders conference on the reconstruction of Haiti.
Canada’s longstanding relationship with Haiti — they are our second largest aid recipient after Afghanistan — eased our ability to help. Montreal has one of the biggest concentrations of Haitian Diaspora. Many Canadian relief and development organizations have worked there for decades. We know the country and its people.
We can be proud of the Canadian response. Canadians care. But increasingly Canadians are also asking, really, how can we help?
As a January Globe and Mail editorial noted, “With millions of dollars pledged and more than 10,000 NGOs operating in Haiti there is no shortage of good intentions.” Newspaper editorialists and ordinary Canadians are striving to make sense of what disasters of this magnitude can teach us about development for the future.
We know that in natural disasters, it is the poor and disenfranchised who suffer most brutally. Among the poor it is most often women and children who bear the brunt.
This disaster is all the more acute, because of the chronic and desperate poverty in which most Haitians live. As Peter Hallward in the Guardian UK noted poverty and powerlessness account for the full scale horror in Haiti. Earning less than $2 per day, ordinary Haitians have no ability to arm themselves against disaster with defences like earthquake resistant homes.
Haitian poverty, like poverty in countries where CCI works in West Africa, Southern Africa and South America, is no accident. It is the result decades of exploitation and oppression by wealthier nations. A history that continues to present day with global trade rules that favour rich nations and their producers while devastating national economies of developing countries; crippling debt obligations that siphon off resources that could be used to build sound infrastructure and services and impose conditionalities that force governments to curtail essential investments in public services like heath and education.
While it is critical that we support agencies on the ground striving to meet immediate urgent needs, we also need to look at how are our official development assistance and foreign policy, now and in years to come, can build and strengthen local resilience.
An important way to mitigate disasters like the Haitian earthquake is to invest in the resilience of people and their institutions. Reconstruction efforts need to support an independent and sovereign government that ensures basic human rights are met and that citizens are empowered to demand their rights.
The situation in Haiti and other fragile states will undoubtedly be discussed by G8 and G20 leaders when they meet in Canada later this year. Canadian civil society organizations, including Canadian Crossroads International, are hard at work trying to meet with government leaders to ensure past commitments are met, to renew and strengthen poverty-reduction strategies, with special emphasis on investment in programs for women and children. We are seeking government commitments to provide assistance to low-income countries coping with the effects of climate change and to instigate meaningful global financial reform to help all countries recover from the economic crisis. On Tuesday it seemed that the message was getting through. In an editorial, January 26, the Prime Minister acknowledged “it should not take a natural disaster to turn our attention to the less fortunate and that the world's poor have been hit hardest by the global economic downturn and in these difficult times we must address their pressing needs.” He stated that as president of the G8 in 2010, Canada will champion a major initiative to improve the health of women and children in the world's poorest regions.
Canada's commitment to playing a lead role in a pair of major new international aid projects is most welcome, but it has some Canadians asking where is the money? Currently Canada is giving only 0.32% of our national income in development aid. That's less than half of the point seven per cent (0.7%) we keep promising to give. In upcoming international summits and in Canada’s own upcoming budget announcement there is an opportunity to make good on past commitments and outline our vision for the future. Add your voice to these efforts and let our parliamentarians know that Canadians care deeply about these issues and believe that Canada can and should play a leadership role in developing and implementing the kinds of policies that will strengthen human rights and relieve the suffering of billions living in poverty. http://www.makepovertyhistory.ca/en/set-agenda-action-g8
Thursday, 24 September 2009
A Cause for the Century
A Cause for the Century
If the world invests in women and girls, women and girls will take care of the world, so said American activist Jane Roberts. The connection between women’s human rights, gender equality and social and economic development is well documented.
At Crossroads we’ve seen this first hand — from West African women who have moved from subsistence to making a living wage through CCI supported cooperatives producing shea butter, soap and textiles, to members of CCI supported Bolivian communal banks where women like Martha Ali reflect “my children study with what I earn.” The investment is modest, but the difference made in lives of women and their families is almost incalculable. Five years ago, Canadian Crossroads International focused its resources in part to strengthen women’s rights. It became clear that to achieve our goals, from building local economies, reducing poverty and to fighting AIDS a common thread linked our strategies — the empowerment of women.
Now after years of talking about of gender equality, some are calling the fight for the rights of women and girls, the cause of the century.
On September 14, 2009 the United Nations passed a resolution to establish a powerful new UN agency to advance the rights of women. A week later Plan International released a report that makes a convincing case that investment in girls will break the cycle of intergenerational poverty and failure to do so could cost the world poorest countries billions in economic growth.
Yet, over the last decade, funding for women’s organizations has decreased in quality and quantity. The Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID), which tracks funding for women’s rights, attributes this to a global trend of “gender mainstreaming” which has resulted in diluting specific objectives on women’s equality amid broader development objectives.
In Canada too, it is increasingly evident that despite our strong policy guidelines, both the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and many Canadian Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) working internationally have reduced commitments to gender equality programming over the last decade. A number of organizations, Canadian Crossroads International among them, analyzed CIDA’s recent evaluation of its policy on gender equality between 1998 and 2005 in a report entitled Strengthening Canada’s International Leadership in the Promotion of Gender Equality. While the organizations were impressed with the rigour of the evaluation, and in fact whole heartedly support the policy, it is clear that increased investment — both in the way of funds for women gender equality specific programming and in political will — is required.
And the timing might be right. Globally, momentum is growing. In 2008 the Dutch government launched the MDG3 Fund in part to make up for a dramatic decrease in funding for women’s programs. That same year NIKE foundation launched the influential girl effect campaign backed up by more than $100-million in financial support for girls programs. This year, Spain kick started UNIFEM’s Fund for Gender Equality with $65-million in funding. And last week, Canada’s Belinda Stronach announced that the Belinda Stronach Foundation, with the Clinton Global Initiative, will bring together leading national and international organizations with a goal of elevating the advancement of girls and women to the G8's agenda.
The case for support is strong. According to the World Bank, when 10 percent more girls go to secondary school, the country’s economy grows by three per cent according to the World Bank. And when a girl earns income, she reinvests 90 per cent in her family.
This is a bandwagon worth boarding. Already many Canadian and International organizations are redirecting resources to invest in women and girls. Canada should do the same. As host of the G20 and the G8 in June 2010 Canada has unprecedented opportunity to reassert itself as a leader in human rights. The lives of more than 500-million girls and young women depend on it.
Learn more about how your gift to Canadian Crossroads International’s women’s right projects can make a world of difference.
If the world invests in women and girls, women and girls will take care of the world, so said American activist Jane Roberts. The connection between women’s human rights, gender equality and social and economic development is well documented.
At Crossroads we’ve seen this first hand — from West African women who have moved from subsistence to making a living wage through CCI supported cooperatives producing shea butter, soap and textiles, to members of CCI supported Bolivian communal banks where women like Martha Ali reflect “my children study with what I earn.” The investment is modest, but the difference made in lives of women and their families is almost incalculable. Five years ago, Canadian Crossroads International focused its resources in part to strengthen women’s rights. It became clear that to achieve our goals, from building local economies, reducing poverty and to fighting AIDS a common thread linked our strategies — the empowerment of women.
Now after years of talking about of gender equality, some are calling the fight for the rights of women and girls, the cause of the century.
On September 14, 2009 the United Nations passed a resolution to establish a powerful new UN agency to advance the rights of women. A week later Plan International released a report that makes a convincing case that investment in girls will break the cycle of intergenerational poverty and failure to do so could cost the world poorest countries billions in economic growth.
Yet, over the last decade, funding for women’s organizations has decreased in quality and quantity. The Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID), which tracks funding for women’s rights, attributes this to a global trend of “gender mainstreaming” which has resulted in diluting specific objectives on women’s equality amid broader development objectives.
In Canada too, it is increasingly evident that despite our strong policy guidelines, both the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and many Canadian Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) working internationally have reduced commitments to gender equality programming over the last decade. A number of organizations, Canadian Crossroads International among them, analyzed CIDA’s recent evaluation of its policy on gender equality between 1998 and 2005 in a report entitled Strengthening Canada’s International Leadership in the Promotion of Gender Equality. While the organizations were impressed with the rigour of the evaluation, and in fact whole heartedly support the policy, it is clear that increased investment — both in the way of funds for women gender equality specific programming and in political will — is required.
And the timing might be right. Globally, momentum is growing. In 2008 the Dutch government launched the MDG3 Fund in part to make up for a dramatic decrease in funding for women’s programs. That same year NIKE foundation launched the influential girl effect campaign backed up by more than $100-million in financial support for girls programs. This year, Spain kick started UNIFEM’s Fund for Gender Equality with $65-million in funding. And last week, Canada’s Belinda Stronach announced that the Belinda Stronach Foundation, with the Clinton Global Initiative, will bring together leading national and international organizations with a goal of elevating the advancement of girls and women to the G8's agenda.
The case for support is strong. According to the World Bank, when 10 percent more girls go to secondary school, the country’s economy grows by three per cent according to the World Bank. And when a girl earns income, she reinvests 90 per cent in her family.
This is a bandwagon worth boarding. Already many Canadian and International organizations are redirecting resources to invest in women and girls. Canada should do the same. As host of the G20 and the G8 in June 2010 Canada has unprecedented opportunity to reassert itself as a leader in human rights. The lives of more than 500-million girls and young women depend on it.
Learn more about how your gift to Canadian Crossroads International’s women’s right projects can make a world of difference.
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