Lean on me... I'll help you carry on.

Thanks for expanding your immigration knowledge this week.  Below are a few agencies that work across the US providing support to immigrants and refugees.  There are also many smaller agencies that are not working across the country that provide great services but due to the wide-spread nature of my readership, I wanted to highlight the nationally serving agencies.  I also included a few additional links and reading suggestions.

Agencies:

Lutheran Social Services
"Every year, LSS/NCA is proud to welcome hundreds of refugees from around the world to the United States. From the moment a new family arrives at the airport, our staff is at the gate waiting to provide guidance and encouragement. While each family’s story is different, their collective dreams are the same: to rebuild their lives in America and regain a sense of security after years of strife. At LSS/NCA, we support our clients during this important transition by mobilizing community partners and offering a comprehensive range of services to newcomers."

LSS also assists with legal services for immigrants already present in the US at a more affordable rate than most immigration law firms.

Catholic Charities
"Catholic Charities Immigration Legal Services (CCILS) provides high quality immigration legal services to low income immigrants and refugees, and engages in public education, training and community outreach in order to promote justice for all newcomers and conditions for their full participation in American society.
Founded in 1996, CCILS focuses on family reunification and assistance to the most vulnerable immigrants, including domestic violence victims, crime victims, refugees, and certain persons needing deportation and removal defense."

I have been connected with Catholic Charities back in DC helping a friend through the legal process and have been impressed with their services.  They handle many of the same kinds of cases that I worked on while in El Paso and also have many refugee programs.  They are in dozens of locations around the US and each one does slightly different work.


International Rescue Committee
"The United States has a long tradition of offering refuge to those fleeing persecution and war. In 2011, the International Rescue Committee's 22 regional offices helped resettle some 7,000 newly arrived refugees and provided services to over 24,000 refugees, asylees, and victims of human trafficking. IRC staff members and volunteers believe that refugees’ greatest resources are themselves. We help them translate their skills, interests and past experiences into assets that are valuable in their new communities."

IRC (I think) is one of the best known agencies working on domestic, refugee issues.  If you want to volunteer in this field, they also actively seem to seek volunteers to assist in helping refugees transition to life in the US- I have a couple of friends who have done this and really enjoyed the experience.

Additional Resources:

Lost in Detention: Documentary on the US detention system

US Immigration Timeline and other resources: More details on a number of the issues I introduced this week, including videos.

Immigration in California: a short movie and information on immigration in California

Enrique's Journey: an awesome and eye opening book on the immigration journey for one young boy

Children of the Harvest: A dateline short on children of migrant workers.

New Immigrants in New York: book about immigrant adaption and challenges in NY.

Race, Rights, and the Asian American Experience: a book about the challenges specific to the Asian-American Immigrant Experience.

Native Speaker: a book about one immigrant's experience.

The Lost Boys of Sudan: is both a book by Mark Bixler and a documentary about the journey of a group of Sudanese refugees.

So You Think You Can Immigrate (the new reality show)

Family-Sponsored	All Charge-ability Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA- mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
Unmarried, adult Sons and Daughters of U.S. Citizens	22DEC05	22DEC05	22DEC05	08JUL93	22DEC97
Spouses and Children of Permanent Residents	22SEP10	22SEP10	22SEP10	01SEP10	22SEP10
Unmarried, adult Sons and Daughters of Residents	08DEC04	08DEC04	08DEC04	22NOV92	15APR02
Married Sons and Daughters of U.S. Citizens	22JUN02	22JUN02	22JUN02	08MAR93	08AUG92
Brothers and Sisters of Adult U.S. Citizens	08APR01	08APR01	08APR01	22JUL96	15APR89

So, what is this?  Anyone?  Anyone? 

If you answered, a good example of why the immigration system is broken, you win! :)

Even though I haven't worked  in the immigration field for 2.5 years, I still look at this somewhat regularly just for fun or to get angry :).  It is called the VISA Bulletin and basically tells individuals when they are eligible for residency, based on when their family member filed for them and their country of origin (because the US has quota systems- some countries have specific quotas while others are just lumped together).

How it works, in the basic sense, you first have to submit a form called an I-130 (for the low cost of $420).   This is like the little ticket you take to reserve your place in line.  From there, you are given a priority date ( in 5 months to 3 years according to my sources).  Then, you have to wait until your priority date is current to file the appropriate forms to become a resident (get a green card).  This also involves more fees and proving that either you have enough in assets that you will not be a burden to the state or finding others who will sponsor you (basically saying they have enough assets to support you and prove that you will not be a burden to the state).  Side note here: As my sister and I were just discussing, this sponsorship piece can be a big challenge.  For example (not relevant to the bulletin but relevant to the topic of sponsorship), if I, as a US Citizen, was currently planning to marry a non-US Citizen, I do not have the asset base to serve as a sponsor so if that person were also asset poor, we would have to find others to take on the risk of serving as a sponsor.  That commitment lasts until that person becomes a US Citizen - so even if we got divorced, legally, my sponsoring family/friends would have to support that person if they needed it.

Back to the topic at hand, once you have your place in line, you check the Visa Bulletin, which changes monthly (above is Jan. 2013 edition).  To add an additional level of fun, this does not always move in the same direction or at the same pace.  I am sure there is a scientific way of figuring it out, based on how many people are 'in line' but from the outside it looks sporadic and can make jumps of six months in one month and then go back seven the next.

What are you yammering about Karen you may ask?  I will give you an example.  Say, I am Filipino and a US Citizen.  If my sister filled for a a visa, she would have had to have done that on or before April 15, 1989 to be eligible to apply for her green card (2ish years ago, this was at 1986).  Why is this a problem?  Well, that was 23 years ago.  If I am an older person, and it was an older sibling, my fictitious Filipino sister could be dead by the time she is eligible to file for a green card.  There is not a good way to keep track of that so there could be hundreds of people that are no longer interested or alive taking up spots in line.

Another issue is the lag time for adult, unmarried or married children.  I encountered a situation where someone was not getting married because that would push them even farther back in the line to apply for a green card based on their mother's citizenship.

So, first, if you are still reading, I would love for you to comment why, as I am guessing most people will hit the 'I don't care' wall before here.  The Moral of the Story is that even if a 'legal' avenue for immigration exists for someone, they fall into one of these categories, it isn't as simple as it is often made to seem.

Pull Factors

We talked about what pushes people to leave their countries but what are some of the pull factors?

These are three of the key pull factors that come to mind.

Jobs: If there were not jobs to be filled, there would be less motivation for people to come.  Many jobs that most US Citizens I know would never take, provide a steady income and some level of job security that is not available in some home countries.  In the Mexican context, many individuals, sometimes a mother or father or oldest son, will travel to the United States to obtain a higher paying job and then send the money back to their families to give them a better shot at life - providing food, education, better housing, medical care, etc.  Remittances are a large part of the Mexican economy and many of those come from the United States.  This potential opportunity, or the promise of a job, pulls many to leave their homes.  Like it or not, we have in many ways come to depend on immigrants.  Side note here:  Some countries, such as Italy where the birth rate is less than what is needed to maintain the population, have an even stronger pull factor because the economy will cease to function without the influx of youthful labor.

Education/Opportunity: While the United States does not have the competitive education system we used to have in comparison to other developed nations, compared to much of the developing world, our universal, free education is a huge draw.  In the US, in most neighborhoods, all genders and kids from 5-18 can access education and learn as much as their intellect allows.  Higher education, I believe, is also one of the 'easiest' ways to get a visa to the US.  We actively recruit immigrants to study in our schools, while these immigrants are 'documented' it is still a form of immigration and worth including in this list.

Political/Religious Freedom:  I, personally, am at a loss of a good way to connect this to Mexican immigration (could be because it is the middle of the night).  Beyond the security piece, and the draw to live somewhere that the government is not on the cartel's payroll, I am not aware of this being a large pull factor relative to Mexican Immigration.  Many other countries around the world are a bit more challenged by a lack of political or religious freedom (therefore making the relative pull stronger)- these are actually both reasons one can file for asylum (if (s)he is persecuted due to his/her political or religious beliefs).  Side note: There are an ever growing number of individuals seeking asylum from Mexico, but that is more often due to membership in a particular social group - anti-cartel, anti-drug, journalists, etc. and not overtly for political or religious reasons.

Immigration Push Factors

When thinking about immigration, there are both push and pull factors that lead a person to cross borders (legally or illegally), entering a country not their own, and try start a new life.  Today, we shall talk about the push.  What are some of the reasons, Mexicans in particular are being pushed out of their own country?

1) Employment - I would argue this is the largest push factor in most immigration to the US.  When fathers and mothers can't feed their children, or pay their school fees, or provide them with shelter in their own country, they are pushed out to find a better life.
Many individuals in Mexico, historically, were farmers.  When I studied in Mexico, way back in my youth, we spent a couple of days talking about the 'Mexican' relationship to the land.  From my memory, it was very much the idea of Mother Earth.  The agrarian lifestyle was built around this principle of tenderly nurturing new life from the soil, of putting blood, sweat, and tears into the process of producing food for the family - particularly corn.  There was a relationship between the food people ate daily and the land from which it came.  In 1994, when NAFTA was implemented, US-Subsidized food products, particularly corn, flooded the Mexican market.  They were produced through huge agri-business in the US and subsidized to such an extreme that the small, earth respecting farms in Mexico could not compete.  In many of the families, for generations farming was the only way of life and now those jobs simply did not exist, there was no market for their food.  While the brief influx of factory work - through NAFTA- was meant to help offset the shifting economy, there were far fewer jobs and in drastically different parts of the country.  This pushed many people to both migrate internally, and to leave the country in search of work within their skill set, farming.
One report points out, "an average of 500,000 Mexicans migrate to the U.S. each year since the implementation of NAFTA, compared to 235,000 per year previously. Two thirds of Mexican born immigrants in the U.S. came after 1994. This estimated 4.13 million people arrived due, in large part, to the influx of cheap subsidized grains from the U.S, resulting in the decimation of at least two million farming jobs and eight million small farmers. The 1.3 million jobs created during the peak period of the maquiladora industry –assembly plants, typically foreign owned – have only provided a small portion of the jobs needed to cover the millions of workers pushed off their farms or forced out of Mexico’s devastated domestic industries."  It should also be noted, many of the maquiladoras have shut down because labor is much cheaper in China or Southeast Asia so these jobs have again moved.  Also, unrelated to the push factors but worth noting, the working conditions in these factories was often very undesirable. 

2) Violence is also a huge motivation to migrate and can take many forms.  Much of the violence in the Mexican context does stem from the drug trade and drug cartels.
For a while now, Mexico has been getting progressively more violent, largely due to the waring drug cartels.  Around 2008, Mexico received funding through the Merida Initiative, as Mexico's recently elected president sought US assistance to fight crime and drug trafficking.  In theory, this is a great idea fight crime and drug trafficking.  However, the consequences have led to extreme violence in many areas because of the drug cartels fighting for power.  Additionally, when the leader of a drug cartel is 'taken out' other members of that cartel start competing for the leader position, which increases the violence.  The cartel La Familia, which is the one headquartered largely in Morelia - where I studied in college - had just that happen.  I have had a number of friends tell me, returning to Morelia now would not be a wise idea because the violence has gotten so bad.  Also, the high levels of corruption within the military and police forces have also escalated the situation.  When normal citizens can't depend on the police force to protect them, because they are on the cartel payroll, that is a scary situation.  When it is not safe to walk down your own street and you constantly fear your children will be caught in the crossfire, migrating becomes worth the associated risks, again, pushing many from their homeland.

To learn more about the Merida Initiative, here are some links:
NPR on Merida
Witness for Peace on Merida

Citizenship Test

Unfortunately, I could not find a 'could you survive as an immigrant game' and I am not savvy enough to create one.  An example citizenship quiz seemed like a good alternative.  So, what do you actually need to know to pass that test...  You can see how you would do on the US citizenship test.  I will be honest, I tried one of these in High School and would not have been able to pass it.  Now, I got 92% (I blame the missed questions on watching TV while taking the quiz).  Should we revoke your citizenship? ;)

To put this in perspective and have a more true immigrant experience, imagine taking this for another country in the world, in a language that is not your first language...(to my Mexicans and Brits, this part will be easy for you :))

Came you pass the UK's test?

Or this part of Mexico's test?  (I put it in English)

1. Name ten Mexican states and their capitals
2. Who or what was Quetzalcoatl?
3. Name 3 ex-presidents of Mexico
4. What is the official name of Mexico?
5. Who was Francisco Villa?
6. Name 3 heroes of the Independence of Mexico
7. Name 2 Aztec emperors
8. Name the place where Hidalgo made his famous "El Grito" speech on September 16, 1810
9. State the names of the writers of the lyrics and music of the Mexican national anthem.
10. How many peninsulas are there in Mexico?


Just some thoughts :)  And, no I could not pass any of these other tests.

Jesus was an illegal immigrant

 

For those unfamiliar with the term "Anchor Baby" it is a negative term for a baby born in the US to non-US citizen parents.  The term comes because based on US immigration policy, which recognizes Juris Solis, if you are born on US soil you are a US citizen.  Therefore, when that baby turns 18, as an adult US citizen, they can apply for a green card for their non-US-Citizen parents (if they meet certain financial requirements to sponsor their parents, pay application fees, there is no criminal background, their parents are not barred for having entered the country and been caught too many times, they are still speaking to their parents, the moon is full and the stars align, etc, etc).  The baby is anchoring the immigrant parents to the US.

A little discussed concept is the fact that Jesus was in fact an anchor baby.  Bethlehem was not Mary and Joseph's home.  Due to the census, and Joseph's lineage, that was where they had to go to report but that was not their home - as one commentary states this should be clear since they had no family to stay with when Mary went into labor and had to stay in the manger.  The whole family again became immigrants when they had to flee to Egypt - to avoid king Herod killing Jesus.  Jesus then returned with his family to Nazareth where he is not a legal resident, having been born in Bethlehem.  Here he works, as a carpenter, as an illegal immigrant.  That is a different spin on Christmas from what many of us probably hear in church services, no?

For more christian immigration perspectives, check out the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and Christians for Comprehensive Immigration Reform.

Immigration - more than just a political issue

For many of us, immigration is simply a hot button issue to not mention in mixed company.  It may be about jobs or racism or human rights or legality, depending on with whom you are speaking.  It could focus on a path to citizenship, or the DREAM act, or border abuse, or supporting a family, or remittances, or trade agreements. 

As many know, I spent a year working on the US-Mexico border.  Even before that, I had a high proportion of 'immigrants' in my friend group.  My work with the Border Servant Corps, however, forever connected my life to that of immigrants - some of whom were undocumented.  For that reason, this 'issue' is close to my heart.  It is not about us and them, those are my friends and members of my adopted family.  With that said, and knowing that not everyone has been so lucky to really come to know undocumented workers, I hope this week to provide you all with more of my personal stories, as well as some of the who, what, when, why, and how behind undocumented immigration and some of the parts of immigration of which we are not aware or that we would not like to see.  I hope to present information, specifically, to show the many complexities.  And, though all the blogs are not written there will probably be a focus on Mexican Immigration.

To start, here is a clip about the violence on the US-Mexico Border.  One of my classmates is featured with her experiences and the violence she witnessed.

If you are very ambitious, here is part two of that same Need to Know special.

Working for Women

 In good news, gender equality now exists in 2/3 of countries- probably thanks to some of these folks and their work -according to one source.  As in the previous weeks, here are some folks that are attempting to tackle the huge challenges with Girls' Education and Women's Rights - there are many, many, many small non-profits that work directly with specific communities to develop girls education support that I am not going to list out here.

CARE
For years they have been working on development issues, and are currently trying to position themselves as the industry leaders on women and girls.

There mission is to serve individuals and families in the poorest communities in the world. Drawing strength from our global diversity, resources and experience, we promote innovative solutions and are advocates for global responsibility. We facilitate lasting change by:

• Strengthening capacity for self-help
• Providing economic opportunity
• Delivering relief in emergencies
• Influencing policy decisions at all levels
• Addressing discrimination in all its forms

Save the Children
Save the Children works to reduce the obstacles to education for girls.
Understanding the barriers to girls' education in particular is key to launching our innovative approaches. Educating girls and women results in:

• Healthier, better educated children and grandchildren;
• Fewer maternal deaths and reductions in the under 5 mortality rate;
• Delayed marriage and better parenting skills;
• Improved literacy and numeracy skills leading to greater economic opportunities;
• More skills and knowledge enhancing women's self esteem and the well being of families.

CAMFED
"We believe every child has the right to an education. And we know that poverty is the greatest barrier to accessing an education in the communities where we work.  So we provide the financial resources to overcome that barrier and then work through national and local systems - with parents, teachers, government officials, and traditional authorities - to deliver them."

Catholic Relief Services
"CRS and its partners promote and support access to quality basic education for all. The agency stands in solidarity with the most marginalized populations and works to effect individual, structural, and systematic changes. In so doing, CRS contributes to building peaceful and just societies.
CRS implements or supports education activities in three areas:

• Crisis areas
• Areas that are transitioning from a crisis to stability
• Relatively stable areas"

Strategies for Girls' Education

While we have talked a lot about challenges for girls' education, issues around women's education, and reasons for educating the ladies, what are some of the strategies or effective approaches?*

Cost is a huge issue.  While the fee may be only $10/year or books and supplies, when a family is living on less than $1/day that is a huge portion of their income.  This is also why, historically and still culturally in many places, boys education took priority.  The way society was/is structured, boys would be able to enter the economy, make money, and advance themselves but sexism would prohibit girls from doing that therefore investing in their education was a luxury most families simply could not afford.  The higher one goes in education, the more costly it becomes, therefore many girls are forced to stop attending school unless they receive a scholarship.

Health Concerns also can impact school attendance.  In many areas, water borne disease are a huge issue.  If a child is sick with diarrhea or has worms, this will increase absenteeism immensely. According to Half the Sky, a study demonstrated that de-worming children decreased absences by one quarter.

School Uniforms are key.  This also falls under costs but studies have demonstrated simply providing students with the uniform helps to keep them in school - it is also often a barrier to enter school.  And, this is also one of the best ways to keep girls from becoming mothers at a young age.

School Feeding Programs have also been proven to keep kids coming.  As with domestic school feeding programs, often time students cannot concentrate in school because they are under-nourished.  Also, children are often responsible for helping to harvest food to feed themselves (or working to raise money to help feed the family).  If children are fed at school, or better yet receive food for their families for attending school, they are more likely to actually show up to school.  If they are being fed, for obvious reasons, they are also going to do better in school.  As mentioned earlier this week, it is often not that parents do not see the benefits of education, it is that when you are living on the edge of life or death, short-term survival becomes your priority over long-term potential.

Monetary Incentives have been proven effective.  The program Oportunidades in Mexico is the most well known program using monetary incentives.  Parents actually get cold hard efectivo for their children's attendance.  Amazing how much more likely parents are to get their kids to school when it helps cover expenses and fill the coffers.      

Bathrooms for girls.  The benefits of bathrooms were already mentioned previously, but it is worth repeating.  If you want to keep adolescent girls in school, gender-specific, safe bathroom facilities must exist.

Location/Transport  In some countries, especially where there is instability and high rates of insecurity - specifically targeted toward women in the form of sexual assault - schools that are located close to where girls live or where some kind of safe transportation exists are of extreme importance.  If a girl runs a high risk of being raped on her way to school, both she and her parents will be less likely to make education a priority.

*While some of this is taken from past reading, much of which I cannot source, some is taken from the book Half the Sky by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl Wudunn.

So, what you crazy feminist?

Girls should get education, blah, blah, blah, you crazy feminist.  In case that is what you were thinking, I found a great video link with some stats and facts about why girls education is so incredibly important - and in case I haven't said it enough, so many of these 'issues' education, health, hunger, water, economic opportunity, and more are all interconnected.

In case you didn't actually take the time to watch the link, here are some of the stats it shared:

- As female education goes up, HIV rate goes down and malnutrition decreases 43%

Why is this?  The malnutrition most likely has to do with another statistic shared in that link.

"When an educated girl earns income she  reinvests 90% of it in her family, compared to 35% for a boy."  Girls and women earning more tend to put that income toward food, education, and other investments in their children.  Therefore, more education = more economic opportunity = more income = more education and food for the next generation = more economic opportunity...  Half the Sky also has a clip on this concept.  As Hilary Clinton said, "Teach a man to fish and he’ll eat for a lifetime.  Teach a woman to fish and she’ll feed the whole village."  This seems to be a gender difference and one that development agencies increasingly will tap to improve entire communities.

The HIV rate probably has to do with women having awareness of how HIV is transmitted and how to protect themselves.  It also may have to do with seeing opportunities to be financially secure, other than by finding a "Sugar Daddy."  And, see opportunities in general makes women more likely to seek protection.  Some of the reading I have done also suggests educated women are less likely to tolerate a husband who is sleeping around (travel back to High School health class and remember more partners = greater risk of HIV).

 

- If 10% more girls go to secondary school, the country’s economy grows by 3%.

I think the reasoning here is fairly self-explanatory.  More education, better job/ability to get a job, more income.

 From a few of the other links, some noteworthy stats:

- 12 million girls in sub-saharan Africa will never enroll in school, compared to 7 million boys

 For many girls especially, immediate family needs outweigh long term benefits of education.  In theory, parents know the girls need to be in school but gathering water, preparing food, caring for younger siblings, etc. are immediate unmet needs - planning for the future is a luxury.  "Girls are forced to spend 30-85% more time per day working at home and in unpaid market work than boys of the same age."  Gender roles have a huge impact, thus sometimes simply building a school is not the best development plan, because If you build it, they will come does not always hold true.

Hopefully this provides a bit more food for thought on education issues, challenges girls may face, and the extreme importance of overcoming these to give girls this opportunity.

Malala and the need to control

Women's education, in some ways, has been getting more headline coverage over the last month or so because of a brave young girl named Malala.  Many of you have probably heard about her story.  She is the young Pakistani girl that was shot in the head by Taliban members for both continuing to attend school, after they had banned girls' education in that part of Pakistan and for being incredibly outspoken about female education.  For more general information this is a great summary article. Her father was the Principal at the school and also refused to close his school to girls despite the fact the Taliban was burning, bombing, and ransacking all the girls' schools in the town.

Her story and experience exemplifies one of the key aspects within the fight for women's education - control.  Yes, the Taliban's 'reasoning' may be that it is religious that women are not supposed to be educated but that is clearly a skewed reading of the Qur'an (according to my sources, as I in no way claim to be an expert on Islamic faith and teachings).  What is the real issue?  If you are keeping half your population uneducated, there will be significantly less challenge to your beliefs and way of life.  If you are not permitted to think, speak, philosophize, and question, if you are taught to simply do what others tell you, you are a much better follower (in theory).  While women play a key role in advocating for themselves, I think that men can have an equally large impact (we do inhabit this world together after all).

For men, there is some challenge in the fact that Gender roles are changing.  As a female, I would argue for the better but that brings out many new challenges.  In many cultures, the US included to some degree, there are set responsibilities that are masculine and set roles that are feminine.  Women take care of the house, the children, cooking, cleaning, and certain farming in some cultures.  Men earn the money - which means they are educated, work outside the house, and raise the cash crops (in most cultures).  Many times these roles are held up by both genders, because that is the way it has always been thus that is how it should be.  While, I in no way want to dismiss the power women have in these situations, in some ways, it takes an enlightened male to stand-up for his daughter or wife's rights to education.   As in the case of Malala and both the examples I shared yesterday, men clearly also had a role to play in changing the cultural norms.  So, men, don't stop reading and think this is a women's fight!

Women's Education

Due to public demand/suggestion, I am going to try to incorporate more video links and reflections this week (apparently we have truly become a visual culture).  So, here are a few more videos about the importance of educating ladies.

Recently, the book Half the Sky was made into a PBS mini-series.  The entire four hours are available on Netflix Instant Watch, but, this short link is focused specifically on girl's education in Vietnam, and provides yet another prospective to many of the challenges girls face.  Specifically, I think this demonstrates how girls are often at the complete mercy of their fathers (in some countries) and their perspectives can change everything.

While primarily we have been focusing so far on just a basic education, the need to provide higher education and vocational training to women is also a huge part of education.  Here is another video clip focusing on vocational training for women.

Providing girls and women with more education allows them to enter a different 'level' of society and can lead to longer term impact and change.  There have been statistically significant improvements in women's lives when women are involved in politics and other parts of society, at a significant level.  Rwanda is one example.  Following the '94 Genocide in which 800,000 people were killed, 70% of the country's population was women (therefore, there was demand to include them in many parts of society where they were not previously welcomed).  They now, I believe, boast the largest percentage of women within the country's parliament - a majority.  Yes, more than just education occurred in this example but education leads to opportunities, which can lead to greater systemic change.

Could you survive?

A disproportionate number of women live in extreme poverty in the world.  The reasons are as diverse as the women.  The kinds of decisions these women must make each day are often life-threatening, not only for them but for their children and often girls' education is the first thing cut.

See if you could survive a month in their huts.  Be sure to read the many notes that this activity provides, they have some great insight into the challenges and complications of extreme poverty.  And, I encourage you to play until you win and see what kinds of decisions you must make.  Be warned, this one is harder than the domestic poverty challenge. 

The Girl Effect

The last water blog touched on how water issues disproportionately affect women.  This week, we are going to look at education for women - and some of the other issues that relate to that topic.

First, this link, shares one woman's story about going back to school and her experience.  It also shares many great statistics on the benefits of providing women with an education.  Such as, "If a girl in the developing world receives 7 or more years of education, she marries 4 years later and has 2.2 fewer children."  This two outcomes of huge long term benefit, less violence against women, greater ability to earn for her family, helps control population growth, women marrying later tend to have children later - when their bodies are actually developed enough to bear children- all of this can mean lower maternal mortality rates.  Needless to say, girl's education = good :)

The Girl Effect is the phenomenon by which providing education to a girl, the outcomes not only of that young women but future generations can improve exponentially.  This effect is exactly what we will enjoy learning about this week :)  Here are the basics (in video form).

Water and Women

Water issues not only disproportionately affect women, there solutions can also be driven by women.  This is the principle of an article entitled Women and the Future of Water. (Props to my brother who sent me this article)  So, why can we women play a huge role in the World Water Crisis?

Women are the primary consumers in our nation.  Yes, ladies, the fact that we shop for the men in our lives and consume more than most of the men in our lives has been noted.  Since, most women make the food decisions for the family, we can choose options that use less water.  That means less meat, tea over coffee, or one of the beverage producers that has committed to reducing less water in their production process.

We also drive the stuff side of things.  We can choose to consume more water conscious products, energy efficient appliances, and let's be honest - do we really need another pair of jeans?

On the other side of things,  women are more often then not the ones who are responsible for collecting water.  According to the article I mentioned above, "Gary White, cofounder of Water.org, estimates that the associated lost productivity is greater than the combined hours worked in a week by employees at Walmart, United Parcel Service, McDonald's, IBM, and Kroger."  200 million work hours are consumed in just one day - this is the equivalent to be building 28 empire state buildings.

That means girls missing school and women losing time they could be putting toward earning for the family.  In additional to girls not attending school because they are fetching water, lack of hygiene also interferes with girl's ability to attend school after a certain age.

If safe, clean, gender-specific bathroom facilities are not available at schools, girls often stop going or at least miss one week each month due to menstruation.  When water is not easily accessible, it is much harder to clean up and take care of business.  Likewise, if the necessary hygiene supplies are not available, and girls depend rudimentary methods, such as old clothes, functioning in a school environment is not possible.

So, women, next time you are complaining about the evils of the uterus - just be glad there is a bathroom with running water :)

Who is working on solutions?

As with Poverty issues last week, I wanted to provide links to some of my favorite organizations that are working on WASH Issues.  By no means do I think this list is comprehensive, but these are places with a good reputation - as far as I know.

Rotary International
 "Rotary recognizes the importance of clean water, adequate sanitation and hygiene and has named Water and Sanitation as one of the organization’s six Areas of Focus. Through its network of 33,000 service clubs, Rotary encourages its clubs and districts to support efforts which help people to provide themselves with improved access to water and sanitation. This policy is reflected in Rotary projects of all sizes in all parts of the world."

Rotary has funded hundreds of Water, Hygiene, and Sanitation projects around the world.  They partner with agencies and local groups to enact these projects in a culturally appropriate manner and usually come with significant financial resources.

Charity.Water
I have 'suggested' you watch dozens of short video clips from these folks over the life of my blog.  They are one of the most well known water agencies providing wells and water catchments to thousands.  There website is very user-friendly if you want something accessible as a resource.

Water for People
"Water For People works to build a world where all people have access to safe drinking water and sanitation, and where no one suffers or dies from a water- or sanitation-related disease. This is our vision.
We’re on a mission. We work with people and partners to develop innovative and long-lasting solutions to the water, sanitation, and hygiene problems in the developing world. We strive to continually improve, to experiment with promising new ideas, and to leverage resources to multiply our impact."

These folks are a smaller, water focused organization.  Again, a great resource.


Engineers without Borders
"Our vision is a world in which the communities we serve have the capacity to sustainably meet their basic human needs, and that our members have enriched global perspectives through the innovative professional educational opportunities that the EWB-USA program provides."

These folks are largely dedicated, skilled volunteers fundraising and putting their talents to use to improve the life of many individuals.  Many of their projects are water related.  While each chapter on each college campus is somewhat independent, they seem to be doing great work in a culturally appropriate way.  And, yes, the link is for Oregon State's EWB group, because I am familiar with their work and enjoy shamelessly plugging groups I think are awesome/to which my brother belongs :)

Mercy Corps
"Water is the source of life — but when it's not properly managed, can breed disease, create conflict and destroy communities. Mercy Corps works to provide access to clean water around the world, whether it's bringing relief during droughts or rebuilding wells in remote villages. We also help people learn proper sanitation, improve distribution and irrigation, and strengthen communities against flooding."

I have had a number of opportunities to learn about MC water projects and am impressed.  One that I particularly appreciate is in Yemen.  There MC provides vouchers to families so they can 'purchase' water from the local vendors.  The beauty of this, in my opinion, is that it keeps the money in the local economy.  Mercy Corps pays the vendors for this relationship.