Planting a tree

The 1010 Project likes being on the cutting edge of news related to our sector, so we actively read international development blogs. One such blog is Owen Abroad: Thoughts from Owen in Africa. Owen Barder, the namesake of the blog, is a Visiting Fellow at the Center for Global Development in Washington DC, and the Director of aidinfo – a programme of Development Initiatives which aims to make aid more transparent and accountable. He lives and works in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

3. How urgent is it to act [in order to end poverty and protect human life]?
Twenty five thousand people die each day of preventable and treatable diseases.  If those people were citizens of Europe or America, we would have declared a state of emergency.

A state of emergency, indeed. The same could be said for other public crises as well. Our friends and partners in Kenya face a 70% unemployment rate. Can we even imagine what kinds of resources would be mobilized if we faced such an issue in the United States?

But we’ve always identified issues like these as opportunities, not problems. With close to 60 years of data on aid program efficacy and costs, the international development community is finding solutions that work – and that stay working for the long-term. Bright young (and older) minds in the social entrepreneurship and community business development fields are testing new and exciting theories that will save lives and change our world for the better.

We exist in a state of opportunity. Our partners in Kenya constantly reward us with news about the methods and tools that are working, and with their help, The 1010 Project is committed to identifying the best ways and means of ending poverty.

St. Luke’s is a community based organization working with orphans and widows in Western Kenya, which has been deeply affected by HIV/AIDS. Out of the beautiful black soil they are sustaining themselves through growing, eating and selling rice. They also used a microgrant from 1010 to purchase a rice huller, which they use themselves and rent out to the community.