How literacy empowers women

The UN reports:

Top United Nations officials called today for more funding and advocacy to improve literacy rates among the world’s women, who comprise two out of every three adults who cannot read or write.

In a message marking International Literacy Day, which is observed today, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stressed the transformative effect on both a family and the wider community when a woman is literate.

"Literate women are more likely to send their children, especially their girls, to school," he said. "By acquiring literacy, women become more economically self-reliant and more actively engaged in their country’s social, political and cultural life. All evidence shows that investment in literacy for women yields high development dividends."

Mr. Ban urged governments, donors, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other groups to do more to make literacy accessible to women everywhere, particularly those living in vulnerable or isolated communities.

"Every literate woman marks a victory over poverty," he noted, calling for "increasing funding and sustained advocacy for quality literacy programmes that empower women and ensure that girls and boys at primary and secondary level do not become a new generation of young illiterates."

While global illiteracy rates are falling, it is estimated that about one in every six adults still cannot read or write.

Irina Bokova, the Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), said in her message that investing in women’s literacy carries very high returns.

"It improves livelihoods, leads to better child and maternal health, and favours girls’ access to education," she stated. "In short, newly literate women have a positive ripple effect on all development indicators."

Ms. Bokova will give the keynote address at an international conference at UN Headquarters in New York today that will be opened by former United States First Lady Laura Bush, who is Honorary Ambassador for the UN Literacy Decade (UNLD).

September 8th: World Literacy Day

This is a little late getting in, but yesterday was International Literacy Day. Celebrated since 1966, International Literacy Day aims to both celebrate literacy and to highlight the importance its importance both to individuals and society as a whole. Despite this worldwide attention, collective literacy rates remain worryingly low. According to UNESCO's Education for All Global Monitoring Report 2010 (click here for a summary), approximately 759 million adults lack basic literacy skills; two thirds of them women. A further 72 million primary school children do not have access to formal education, which significantly lowers their chance of being literate in the future. With targets for MDG2 hanging in the balance with only five more years to go, urgent action needs to be taken.

Here at the YLMP, we not only believe that literacy is imperative for development (for both person and country), but we also believe that society robs itself of massive potential without it. Let's take the case of William Kamkwamba for example. Forced to leave school at 14 due a lack of funds, William continued to satisfy his appetite for knowledge by making regular visits to his local library. It was there that he saw the book that inspired him to build three working windmills from local scrap material that would become a power source for his family and village (initially, he had only planned to generate enough electricity to power a small light bulb in his room to allow him to read past sunset - click here for more details). Literacy opens up all kinds of opportunities, and it is a massive shame that for reasons beyond their control, so many people are denied them.

Our library project at Kinbu is designed with the purpose not only to make books more accessible to students, but also to develop a love for reading. We should all be grateful for the gift of literacy and as besides promoting it, we should try to help others who can read and write make the most of what they have.

We've been reading...

AGRF promises to transform African agriculture
Africa Good News -- The inaugural African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) has reportedly ended with a series of outcomes that will move a united Africa forward in the quest to transform agriculture and tackle food security. Closing the forum in Accra, Ghana, AGRF Chair, Kofi Annan, praised the efforts of public and private institutions, development organisations, the donor community and farmers, to accelerate the green revolution in Africa. "Today we move forward, strongly united and passionately committed to the concrete actions that we have jointly developed," said Annan...

Getting ideas to flow
Leading Blog -- Charles Landry is the founder of Comedia, and works to help cities to be more "creative for the world" so that the energies of individuals and companies can be brought into alignment with their global responsibilities. He recently told Sally Helgesen that his experience has taught him that “the single biggest problem in the world is not finding great ideas but getting great ideas to move, to flow.” Getting stuck is an issue we face both individually and organizationally. At its core, it’s a thinking problem and is often self-inflicted. Creating the right kind of movement and in the right direction begins with re-thinking our view of reality...

US Media Criticized for Ignoring Positive Developments in Africa
VOA News -- The president and CEO of the Africa Society of the National Summit on Africa says that important stories about Africa continue to feature less prominently in mainstream American media outlets. The Africa Society is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that strives to educate Americans about the richness and diversity of Africa, as well as the economic opportunities that the continent offers.Bernadette Paolo said, despite the fact that the month of August featured many Africa-related events in Washington, those events did not make the mainstream American media...

Canada begins rollout of maternal-health plan in Africa
Globe & Mail -- Two months after the G8 Summit, the Harper government is beginning to roll out its maternal-health plan in Africa. But one of its most controversial elements – family planning – is nowhere to be seen in the announcements so far. Bev Oda, Minister of International Co-operation, made no mention of family planning in her official statements during a seven-day visit to Mali and Mozambique this week and last. She says she discussed the issue privately with government officials in Mali, although no specific commitments were announced. At the G8 Summit in June in Huntsville, Ont., the government pledged $1.1-billion in new money for maternal and child-health programs in the developing world...

Lites
Nigerian 'Sesame Street' to feature health, nutrition and gender equality
Nigerian economy to grow by 10%
Help freeze Pakistan's debt
Angola to spend $18 bln to end power cuts by 2016

Ghana leads the way on MGD 1!!!

Here's a fantastic post from the Gates Foundation blog by Melinda Gates. You might have already heard - news of this development made the front page of today's Daily Graphic. Hope you enjoy the read nonetheless:

"In the fight to reduce hunger and poverty around the world — part of the ambitious set of development targets known as the Millennium Development Goals — one country that really stands out for me is the West African nation of Ghana.

Ghana’s progress has been remarkable. Between 1990 and 2004, Ghana outperformed all countries globally in reducing hunger by 75 percent. It’s also making great strides to reduce the number of people living in poverty. In fact, Ghana is on track to become the first country in Africa to achieve the MDG goal for halving poverty and hunger from 1990 levels by 2015. That’s remarkable, especially when you consider the devastating drought, dwindling harvests and rising poverty that Ghana experienced in the mid-1980s.

How did they do it? In Ghana, as in many parts of the developing world, the poorest people get their income by farming small plots of land. So finding ways to help these farmers produce more food and get it to market is a critical element in reducing poverty and hunger. That’s also the goal of the foundation’s agricultural development initiative, which we launched in 2006.

And that’s just what Ghana has done. During the past 25 years, Ghana’s increased government investments in agriculture have led to some amazing results. Ghana commits nearly 10 percent of its budget to improving agriculture, putting it among the top investors in the sector in Africa. It’s experienced steady growth in agricultural productivity, almost 5 percent a year since 1985, making it one of the world’s top performers in agricultural growth. A dramatic increase in cocoa production has helped to increase exports. And child malnutrition in Ghana has almost been cut in half since the end of the 1980s.

There is still work to be done in Ghana – only half of the land suitable for agriculture is currently under cultivation and there are still complaints from farmers that the market for some crops is underdeveloped. But there is no disputing the fact that Ghana is on the right path: just two decades ago, Ghana was a country that struggled to feed its own people; now it has ambitions to become the breadbasket for West Africa.

I invite you to take a look at this photo gallery — featuring the story of Ghanaian cocoa farmer Peter Owoahene Acheampong — on Ghana’s progress."

This is fantastic news; hopefully progress in the seven remaining goals will follow soon!

Leadership & Communication Pt. 2

Last week, I shared an eBook called The Difficult Conversation by Aled Davies. As I mentioned earlier, effective communication is important for everyone. There are several different aspects to communicating effectively. Interestingly, up to 90% of communication can be non-verbal, and this is what Aled Davies tackles in his next eBook: Why First Impressions Matter. This book has some useful tips on how to make a good first impression using an interview setting as a reference point. They can be applied to any number of situations however. To view or download the eBook, click here. Some comments from Mr Davies:

"I've tried to include some of my own personal experiences in the eBook and some of the tools, tips, strategies and techniques inside are ones that have helped my clients achieve way more than their outcomes, as you'll read inside.

I haven't written about this stuff before so you'll be one of the first to read it and I'd really appreciate your feedback. So please just send me an email (aled.davies@resolvegb.com) with your feedback, comments and requests."

Ghana lowest ranking African country on 2010 FSI

The recently published Failed States Index* for 2010 reveals that Ghana (ranked 122nd from the top) has the most stable government in Africa. Unfortunately on the other end of the scale, seven out of the top 10 states are African. It seems bad governance and corruption (amongst other things) are leaving the governments of our brothers an sisters in a chronically sorry state of affairs; a mere 15 states - 10 of which are African - have shared the top 10 slots since records first began in 2004. More from Foreign Policy:

"This year's index draws on 90,000 publicly available sources to analyze 177 countries and rate them on 12 metrics of state decay - from refugee flows to economic implosion, human rights violations to security threats. Taken together, a country's performance on this battery of indicators tells us how stable - or unstable - it is.

At the top of the list, Somalia saw yet another year plagued by lawlessness and chaos, with pirates plying the coast while radical Islamist militias tightened their grip on the streets of Mogadishu. Across the Gulf of Aden, long-ignored Yemen leapt into the news when a would-be suicide bomber who had trained there tried to blow up a commercial flight bound for Detroit. Afghanistan and Iraq traded places on the index as both states contemplated the exit of U.S. combat troops, while already isolated Sudan saw its dictator, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, defy an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court and the war-ravaged Democratic Republic of the Congo once again proved itself a country in little more than name."

It is heartbreaking to see our leaders continue hold on to power with such gusto that they forget what true leadership is all about. I decided to focus on Ghana's position on the list early in the article so as not to characterize the whole post on the unfortunate crisis of leadership Africa seems to be battling with. I hope that we're successful in training and encouraging our next generation of leaders to be more responsible.


*This Foreign Policy site is very Flash-heavy and can take a long time to load. For a simpler version of the Index, click here.

Mentors End of Programme Meeting: Minutes

Yesterday various junior and senior mentors met up for the final time under the 09/10 programme. Thanks again to everyone who attended. This meeting was a chance for mentors to share their experiences and to share any thoughts on what needs to be addressed for the next YLMP to be an even greater success. Here are the minutes (thanks to Elinam Adadevoh for writing up them up!):

Selection Process
Though some mentors stated that they had no trouble meeting their mentees, most mentors complained that their mentees did not show up to meetings. Thus, it was agreed that it is important to select mentees who are willing to be mentored.

New process for mentees: Market YLMP to Kinbu students and inform them that there is limited space for mentees. Making the program competitive will require selected mentees to be serious with the program.

Open selection process – we will accept applications from all students who are interested in being mentees. Selection to be a mentee will be based on the student’s performance on a 100 word (or so) paper.

Meeting Times & Places
Mini seminars and mentee-mentor sessions will be held at Kinbu on Friday afternoons.

YLMP will be a club so we can meet on Fridays when all other school clubs meet. This ensures that YLMP will not have to compete with other clubs and/or Friday entertainment.

Programmes
Who Moved my Cheese was too heavy for the mentees. Therefore, one of the 3 books will be used for the next programme:

Who Moved my Cheese for Teens

The Cross Drums

7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens

Library project: we will continue with the library club and refurbishment.
Fundraising effort: We will find a way to involve the students in this effort. We will have to seek funds from corporates.
Newsletter: Copies should be ready in September. The newsletter can be used to market YLMP in other schools.

We've been reading...

Can youth change the future of Africa?
CIPE Blog -- President Obama’s Forum with Young African Leaders gathered together more than 100 young Africans for three days to discuss how young people can positively impact the future of their continent. Representing 43 African nations, participants hailed from all facets of society, including journalists, entrepreneurs and human rights activists. The excitement of these young African leaders was palpable as they shared with each other their continued challenges and examples of success. At the conclusion of the President’s Forum however, the question still remains: Can youth change the future of Africa?

Dirty water no more
BBC -- A bottle that uses ultraviolet light to sterilise drinking water has won the UK leg of the James Dyson Award. The Pure bottle is the brainchild of Timothy Whitehead, a design and technology graduate from Loughborough University, who had the idea while traveling in Zambia. It eliminates the need for chlorine and iodine tablets which take 30 minutes to work and can leave an unpleasant taste. Once filtered, the water is sterilised by a wind-up ultraviolet bulb in a process lasting 90 seconds. A prototype was effective in killing 99.9% of bacteria and viruses. "Pure provides a practical solution to a real problem - how to get clean drinking water in the most hostile of conditions. It has the potential to make a real difference to people's lives"...

Pretoria defends China's Africa policy
Financial Times -- South Africa’s trade minister on Tuesday embraced China’s surging investment in Africa, saying that Beijing was not pursuing a neocolonial policy and its growing interest in the continent would bring huge benefits. The trade minister is part of a delegation led by South African President Jacob Zuma that includes almost 400 business executives and 11 cabinet members, the biggest group yet to accompany a South African leader abroad. Rob Davies said China’s rapidly expanding African presence “can only be a good thing” because it meant increased competition between developed and developing countries in their pursuit of resources and influence in Africa...

Hope on a Hillside: Helping Small Farmers Help Themselves
Gates Foundation -- Somewhere in Rwanda, a rural farmer is dreaming of providing an education for her children. Not just high school, but maybe even a university degree. Such a dream used to seem out of reach. Like boosting the harvests on her hillside plot. Or multiplying her earnings. Or preventing topsoil from washing down the hilly slope when it rained. But now, an ambitious terracing program is working to reshape Rwanda’s landscape, helping farmers limit erosion, improve irrigation, and boost their yields. And, in the process, it will help transform the landscape of rural poverty, empowering smallholder farmers to provide a better life for their loved ones...

Tips from a seasoned mentor

Mentoring can be an extremely rewarding experience both for mentor and mentee. That is of course, if it is done correctly. There are many variables that can determine the success of a mentoring relationship - preparedness is definitely one of them. The first few meetings are hugely important and can set the tone for the tone for the entire relationship. No one knows what to expect when they meet someone for the first time, which can make preparing for this slightly difficult. There is always something you can do, however. Below are a few tips from Rey Carr, a coach credentialing expert and 'mentoring veteran' as it were:

Make a list
Preparing for your first meeting: I make a list of things that I would have wanted to know when I was in the position of the person who I will be meeting with. My list might include information about me (as the mentor) about the organization or position, about what it was like to be starting out, about what it was like in a new organization, or about expectations concerning our relationship. I write these details down in note form and then I send them to the person I will be mentoring.

Take the initiative
I often take the initiative to make the first call, although I do appreciate it when the other person will call to arrange a meeting. I hold my meeting time as essential. I don't shift it around to accommodate my busy schedule. Only an emergency will alter my date.

Be clear about purpose and boundaries
Gift-giving, acting as an advocate for career advancement, loaning money, or becoming involved in dispute resolution are all out-of-bounds for me in my mentoring relationships. I feel comfortable talking about ethical or moral issues, however, and I like to be clear about ground rules. I have had different experiences with having a formal agreement. Sometimes I do not have one and other times we may develop a comprehensive agreement document.

Create an agenda
When we meet I ask the other person if it is okay if I identify some items for an agenda. I list two or three and then ask the other person if they have any items they would like to add. Some of my typical items are (1) getting to know each other, (2) logistics, (3) goals and expectations, (4) concerns that might interfere with our meeting together, (5) initial impressions, (6) questions I have about you, and (7) why I think I can be a worthy mentor. Although this might seem trivial, I always make sure that I call the person by the name they prefer to be called. I even have a fun activity that makes this a valuable learning.

Listen deeply and ask powerful questions
The two skills that I think are essential for successful mentoring are (1) in-depth listening, that is, suspending judgment, listening for understanding and providing an accepting and supportive atmosphere; and (2) asking powerful questions, that is, questions that are challenging in a friendly way and questions that help the other person talk about what is important to that person. I seldom ask "why" questions. Most of my questions can be described as "open-ended" and usually start with "how" or "what."