Kate Tighe heads into a slum in Angono, Rizal, in the Philippines, to witness first hand the new corporate social responsibility in practice. Manila Water Company is bringing fresh water to some of the world's poorest people--and making a profit doing it.
It's an example, Tighe says, of how the new CSR can benefit all. But will it always be such a win-win when large corporations are involved?
"Connie* is a community leader, who runs a small dry-goods shop and raises three kids in the Angono slum. Before Manila Water came to the community, Connie could not connect her home to the city water supply because she is a squatter. She could not produce a land title, so the water company did not have the authority to lay pipes to her house.
By bringing water to informal communities like Connie’s, Manila Water Company has decreased “non-revenue” (i.e. stolen) water by 40 percent and has increased their number of paying customers. Since the program started in 1998, Manila Water has taken on so many poor communities that the poor now make up 80 percent of their clients. "Kate Tighe heads into a slum in Angono, Rizal, in the Philippines, to witness first... more
As we walk out of Kibera, the world’s largest slum, we leave behind the burning smells of feces, dead animals and waste. The sound of the 400 children playing at the school slowly fades with each step, as we weave around “poop river.” We have made our way out of the slum and the group's psyche mirrors the slight incline of the terrain as we shift from grim to cheery. We stop on a one-acre plot, the hills peak. As we turn back we’re overlooking the endless sea of tin-roofed shacks that make up Kibera and the green, opulent land that lay around it.
I am not a particularly religious person, definitely not someone who goes to church every Sunday and never was. The only downfall to going on my lifelong dream trip to Africa was that the group leader, Sandy Baird, was “concerned it won’t be a trip you’d enjoy,” he emailed. I was introduced to MANNA Worldwide and chairman Sandy Baird through a high school friend via e-mail and at the time only read that it was a non-profit organization, which raises money to feed needy children. I later discovered the group traveling to Tanzania and Kenya consisted of my non-religious self, and 15 Baptists from Houston, TX, but that wasn’t going to stop me. Once I’d seen pictures of my friend’s experience, I too wanted to smell, taste and feel all things Africa. I too wanted to do my part.
MANNA Worldwide was created in 2001 with the help of Sandy Baird and his wife Karen, who continue to serve on the original board to this day. In 1992 the Baird’s took a trip with best friends Vernon and Mary Smith, each couple bringing along their two young children. The families started their trip in Arusha, Tanzania where the Smiths related so much to the people’s moral and spiritual beliefs, they later decided to call it home. They have lived in Arusha for nearly 17 years where they raised their two children and have worked religiously, both physically and mentally, to help build the “Bible Baptist Academy” church, school and MANNA Clinic. In a matter of 7 years, the Smiths significant presence in Arusha has helped create jobs for locals, medicine for the community, a belief system and hope for a better future for the children.
The families trip continued on to Nairobi, Kenya where Sandy and Karen Baird were anxious to visit a place they’d heard so much about, one of the world’s largest slums: Kibera. The second anyone enters Kibera you immediately notice the strong divide between Nairobi, the largest city in Kenya, and Kibera where 1.5 million slum dwellers live within a 1.5 mile radius. The Baird's knew they wanted to do something, but “what” and “how” are the most common questions organizations ask when faced with the daunting task of helping Kibera. Some people give up with helplessness, others find a quick fix, but over time the Baird's saw how their belief system was instilled in Arusha and decided to implement the same plan in Kibera.
Before the Baird’s came to town, the Baptist church and school children would not wear their uniforms, got into regular fights and wouldn’t take education seriously. The school had lost all faith and faced extinction when MANNA began to partner with the Baird’s and changed the name of the school, appropriately, to “New Hope.”
The “New Hope Baptist Church and School” is at its maximum capacity with 400 students caged in a 2,000 square foot radius surrounded by barbwire fence and a gate. With average salaries of 1 USD daily, most parents can’t afford the 5 USD annual tuition for their children to attend school five days a week and be fed three meals per day. MANNA Worldwide has recently began scholarship programs for passing students, helping some to reach a college level education.
Relying heavily on active members such as the Baird’s, MANNA Worldwide receives zero government funding and gives 97.4% of its income directly to the children. The Baird’s have raised money, purchased and are now contracting builders for the new church and school site to rest on theAs we walk out of Kibera, the world’s largest slum, we leave behind the burning... more
Millions of young people in West Africa live a life of poverty, unemployment and frustration- leaving them vulnerable to recruitment into crime and armed conflict. I travelled around one of Africa's poorest countries to find out what life is like for Sierra Leone's forgotten youth.
find out more http://faolanjones.wordpress.com/
Part 2 of 2
Watch Part 1 - http://current.com/items/90930352_sierra-leones-forgotten-generation-part-1.htmMillions of young people in West Africa live a life of poverty, unemployment and... more
Kenyan authorities have begun to move residents out of Africa's largest slum - the Kibera settlement in Nairobi.
Officials expect to take from two to five years to clear the slum, which is home to about one million people.
The first people to move are being rehoused nearby in 300 newly built apartments, each paying about $10 (£6) a month in rent.
But some residents and landlords have gone to court in a bid to stop the moves as they claim they own the land.
Where we lived we never even had a toilet
Kibera resident Hilda Orlale
People in Kibera have had to cope with overcrowding, soaring crime rates and poor sanitation in recent years.
Prime Minister Raila Odinga, who is the local MP, said the the project - which has UN backing - will prepare the ground for a "modern, low income residential estate with modern schools, markets, playgrounds and other facilities".Kenyan authorities have begun to move residents out of Africa's largest slum - the... more
The BBC reports that Kenya began it's first efforts to clear the Kibera slums that skirt Nairobi. Kibera is huge, it's home to about 1 million, and has been around long enough to develop its own informal system of property ownership/management. The government's goal is to relocate residents in nearby new apartments. The project is expected to take as long as five years to complete.
This project has the backing of the UN, but faces some opposition locally. A few have argued, such as Robert Neuwirth in his book Shadow Cities, that despite the conditions in slums like Kibera, local governments could perhaps do more to adopt the informal systems that have cropped up than tearing them down and replacing them with government built housing.
What do you think? Do you think Kenya's government can truly improve on living conditions for one of the world's largest slums? Would you want to see this kind of development worldwide? What other solutions could be applied to the growing slums of the world?The BBC reports that Kenya began it's first efforts to clear the Kibera slums that... more
Millions of young people in West Africa live a life of poverty, unemployment and frustration- leaving them vulnerable to recruitment into crime and armed conflict. I travelled around one of Africa's poorest countries to find out what life is like for Sierra Leone's forgotten youth.
find out more http://faolanjones.wordpress.com/
Part 1 of 2
watch part 2 coming soonMillions of young people in West Africa live a life of poverty, unemployment and... more
A neighbourhood in India has lost several of its men after they all drank a tainted batch of homebrew that turned out to be toxic.
One family lost three men - all brothers. Police say that family is just one of ten affected in the same Delhi neighbourhood.
Apparently, this is a big problem in India where hundreds of people have died over the years after drinking toxic booze. Earlier this month, more than 100 people died and more than 200 fell sick after drinking tainted alcohol in another town.
"It's a big problem," say the police. "It's men who die more often from lower income groups. So they (the women) don't have anybody to support them."
It's usually the poor who get sick and/or die because they can't afford to buy licensed alcohol or they live in areas where it's illegal to sell alcohol.A neighbourhood in India has lost several of its men after they all drank a tainted... more
In Patna, India, protestors tore down Slumdog Millionaire posters and ransacked a theater showing the films. "Referring to people living in slums as dogs is a violation of human rights," Tateshwar Vishwakarma, a social activist said.In Patna, India, protestors tore down Slumdog Millionaire posters and ransacked a... more
Rubina Ali (Latika) and Azharuddin Ismail (Samil) were paid £500 and £1,700, respectively, for a year's work according to the children's parents.
The child actors’ parents have accused the hit film’s producers of exploiting and underpaying the eight-year-olds, disclosing that both face uncertain futures in one of Mumbai’s most squalid slums.
Slumdog Millionaire has won four Golden Globes and is nominated for 10 Oscars. It is on its way to making hundreds of millions of pounds in box office receipts.
The film’s British director, Danny Boyle, has spoken of how he set up trust funds for Rubina and Azharuddin and paid for their education. But it has emerged that the children, who played Latika and Salim in the early scenes of the film, were paid less than many Indian domestic servants.Rubina Ali (Latika) and Azharuddin Ismail (Samil) were paid £500 and £1,700,... more
Visita ad uno dei principali slum di Mumbai accompagnati da Varsha Ayyar ricercatrice dell'università di Mumbai che da anni studia l'evoluzione degli slum.
Pur essendo luoghi altamente insalubri con una densità abitativa estremamente elevata e senza le minime condizioni igieniche (fogne a cielo aperto, mancanza di acqua corrente, niente cassonetti o servizi di nettezza urbana con l'immondizia che spesso viene abbandonata dove capita) gli abitanti si oppongono ai tentativi di riedificare e "riqualificare" l'area: per loro significherebbe lo sgombero o il trasloco in aree periferiche senza possibilità di ritorno.
Molte delle persone che vivono negli slum sono scolarizzate, capita anche di incontrare laureati a volte con lavori dignitosi, ma soprattutto qui c'è una enorme massa di manovalanza a basso costo che produce di tutto: il cuore pulsante su cui poggia l'economia dell'intera città.
Gli slum sono divisi in quartieri confinanti ma separati per provenienza, appartenenza etnica e soprattutto per religione: principalmente buddisti, musulmani e induisti; anche se in alcune abitazioni i simboli si sovrappongono e capita di trovare un piccolo budda a stretto contatto con una delle tante divinità indù.Visita ad uno dei principali slum di Mumbai accompagnati da Varsha Ayyar ricercatrice... more
Scores of children and young adults gathered in Haiti's largest slum on Friday to celebrate the 36th birthday of Haitian-born rap star Wyclef Jean and vowed to embrace hip-hop to escape misery.
In Cite Soleil, a sprawling seaside shantytown in the capital, several young artists took turns rapping in Haiti's Creole language and said they wanted to follow in Jean's footsteps.
"I want to become somebody. I want to make myself known and earn my living through hip-hop," said Josue Morancy, a 12-year-old who called himself "Mr. Jo." "Wyclef was also poor like us, but he made it. We can do it too. You never know."
Jean -- who was not in Haiti for the birthday celebration -- born on October 17, 1972, in the Haitian town of Croix-des-Bouquets, moved to New York as a child.
He rose to fame as a member of the Grammy-winning hip-hop group The Fugees.
He has become a hero in his Caribbean homeland for his efforts to bring peace and education to the poorest country in the Americas, where malnutrition is rampant and most people get by on less than $2 a day.
Jean promotes a movement called "hip-hop Creole," which encourages young talents, particularly in the slums, to get involved in rap music instead of gang violence.
Several of the children who gathered on Friday sang some of Jean's songs and rapped their own lyrics.
"My name is MC Mike and I am from the ghetto. I am broke and poor and I go hungry for days. But I won't lose hope," said Ronald Michel, 14, in his native Creole.
"My dream is to become a Wyclef. Then I'll say bye, bye misery and welcome the good life."
Jean said recently he would set up a recording studio in Cite Soleil to promote and assist young rappers who want to record in Creole.
"I want no guns, I want no violence. Give me a guitar, a beat and a mike and I'll rap for peace and a better tomorrow," sang another young artist known as "Jah."
Haiti, which has struggled through dictatorships and political violence since it threw off French rule in a slave revolt more than two centuries ago, was battered by four hurricanes and tropical storms in August and September.
Torrential rains swamped the country and more than 800 people died in floods.Scores of children and young adults gathered in Haiti's largest slum on Friday to... more
The number of urban slum-dwellers worldwide has broken the one billion mark, making it clear that the urbanization of poverty is arguably one of the biggest challenges facing development today, executive director of UN-Habitat, has said.
Mrs Anna Tibaijuka said in a televised message to mark the World Habitat Day in Abuja yesterday that "no longer can we turn a blind eye to the plight of slum-dwellers living in life-threatening conditions. Nor can we hide from the fact that urban poverty and urban inequalities are on the rise around the world, in developed and developing countries alike.
"We have both a moral and an ethical responsibility to make our cities more harmonious by making them more inclusive. It is a societal imperative that we fight urban poverty and squalor if we are to secure urban safety and security," she said.
Mrs Tibaijuka stated that it was no coincidence that climate change is now coming to the forefront of international debate at the same time and at virtually the same pace as the world becomes urbanised.
She said cities consume upwards of 75 per cent of all energy and contribute to an equally substantial amount of greenhouse gas emissions, noting that they must therefore, be an integral part of any mitigation efforts.
"Reducing cities' contribution to climate change and vulnerability to the effects thereof, must be viewed as a historical opportunity to improve the living conditions of all men and women, including the most vulnerable sectors of our urban populations. Both adaptation and mitigation efforts require improved land-use planning, more robust infrastructure and smarter construction. I can think of no better initiative than to combine these efforts to make our cities and towns greener, safer and more equitable", Mrs Tibaijuka said.
In his speech, Minister of state for Environment, Housing and Urban Development, Chief Chuka Odom, said the theme of this year's world habitat day, "harmonious cities" was meant to draw attention to the different problems of rapid urbanisation, especially its widespread impacts on the total environment.
He said "to put the scale of the problem in proper perspective, a well researched World Bank study identifies 42 slums in Lagos metropolis. This report which implied that there are more slums than well managed neighbourhoods in Lagos, mirrors to a large extent, the situation in many other Nigerian cities." The number of urban slum-dwellers worldwide has broken the one billion mark, making it... more
I always felt uneasy with the idea of guided tour of a slum as part of a tourist itinerary of Rio de Janeiro - is it just shameless voyeurism or a way to experience the favela, where many argue lies the cultural heart of the city? For this film, I embark on a rather unusual journey to experience first-hand this new industry of favela tourism - from cruising through Rochina in the back of a jeep with a bunch of scared tourists to staying in a Favela Hotel wondering if the gunshots will keep me up at night. Along the way I speak to tourists, residents and guides to find out whether favela tourism helps the community or exploits it.I always felt uneasy with the idea of guided tour of a slum as part of a tourist... more
In India, 65 Community Video Producers work full-time making films for their slums and villages, as part of the Channel 19 Network. Watch parts of a film on malaria made by a group of young "Tribal" filmmakers, and see the impact it made in their villages.In India, 65 Community Video Producers work full-time making films for their slums and... more
American property tycoon Frank McKinney showed the world just how the super-rich *should* behave when he surprised guests at his 45th birthday party by taking them to the slums of Haiti to see how the other half lives.
He first took party guests on an extravagant tour of his latest construction — a $29 million (£15 million) building in Manalapan, Florida, with glass staircases, fish swimming in the ceiling, indoor waterfalls and two wine cellars, one for red and one for white — followed by dinner and champagne at his beachfront estate near by.
But there was barely time for the maverick millionaire’s 55 guests to sleep off their hangovers before they were whisked away for the next phase of his $5,000-a-ticket birthday experience — a sobering trip to the festering slums of Haiti.
The Tour of Extremes took them from Florida’s Palm Beach County — among the nation’s wealthiest communities — to Cité Soleil, the poorest suburb of the poorest city in the western hemisphere’s poorest country.
There, McKinney has built more than 500 homes for 4,000 people living in abject poverty through his charity, the Caring House Project Foundation. His guests’ ticket money will fund the construction of 55 more houses.
“It’s not everyone’s idea of a birthday, but it is mine,” he told The Times. “I’m a modern-day Robin Hood. Here I am providing property to the world’s most wealthy; should I not be providing it to the world’s poorest and homeless too?”
Doesn't this restore your faith in humankind a little? It just goes to show, the super-rich don't have to be super-aresholes. Hooray!
American property tycoon Frank McKinney showed the world just how the super-rich... more
While I was in India I saw slums all around me, and as a journalist I could not help but want to find out more information. I met and interviewed a family who lives in one of the slums in New Delhi. The result is this report.While I was in India I saw slums all around me, and as a journalist I could not help... more
As if life wasn't tough enough in Buenos Aires' slums, these residents face losing their homes.As if life wasn't tough enough in Buenos Aires' slums, these residents face losing... more
As if life in a Buenos Aires slum wasn't hard enough, some residents face losing their homes.As if life in a Buenos Aires slum wasn't hard enough, some residents face losing their... more
As if life in a Buenos Aires slum weren't hard enough, now some residents are afraid they might lose their homes. As if life in a Buenos Aires slum weren't hard enough, now some residents are afraid... more
As if life in a Buenos Aires slum weren't complicated enough, some residents face the prospect of losing their homes. As if life in a Buenos Aires slum weren't complicated enough, some residents face the... more
