Global Poverty: Cooperative for American Remittances to Europe - Research Paper Example

? CARE Introduction It all began with Cooperative for American Remittances to Europe (CARE) to assist Europeans after World War II that subsequently took a new name of Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere (CARE) in '90s. CARE is dedicated to the cause of fighting global poverty. Remaining non-sectarian and non-political, the organization operates in 72 countries and reaches to around 60 million poorest people. The organization aims at improving the lives of women by helping them gain basic education, providing sanitation and clean water and preventing spread of disease. CARE helps women through their poverty-fighting and disaster-relief programs and elevates their families and communities. CARE was founded in 1945 with the joint efforts of 22 US organizations to provide relief to survivors of World War II. CARE and Social Change Weinstein (2010) argues that women have less control and access over resources and limited freedom in making the household decisions; they are at disadvantage at the community, household levels across all developing countries. They also have limited power to bargain in the labor markets and hardly get sufficient opportunities to improve their economic and social status. Most of the places resistance persists so far the question of restoring equality to women is raised. The author argues that society can do much more in improving lives of people. If USAID has been in the forefront to provide assistance to countries eradicating poverty through democratic reforms and free trade then the organization like CARE forges ahead with zeal to eliminate global poverty through their novel and innovative ways. The paper explores the activities done by CARE with a sole aim to eradicate global poverty and the impact it has created on the lives of people across all parts of the world. Mission and Vision Statement of CARE The mission of CARE is to serve the poorest communities in the world by providing economic opportunity to them; providing relief materials in emergencies; building their capacity for self-help; influencing policy measures at all levels and eliminating discrimination in all its forms. CARE strives for social justice, tolerance and hope where people can live with dignity and security eliminating poverty at all levels and the organization is fully committed to maintain the dignity of people at all levels (About CARE 2012). CARE’s Activities CARE focuses on root causes of poverty to eradicate them globally. CARE lays special emphasis on working with women because they recognize that women suffer most from poverty. Taking an integrated approach, CARE is active in several areas of importance and some of them can be described as per the following. CARE's Education Work It is estimated that 101 million children around the world do not get opportunity to be in school and majority of them are girls. Being uneducated they have less ability to control their own lives and also they cannot contribute for the betterment of others during the time of crisis such as famine. CARE recognizes this and provides for the education of millions of children. CARE aims to develop not only this but also programs that help children to go far beyond. Education does not mean math equations or spelling tests. The meaning of education is to think critically and objectively bringing optimum solutions to the issues. Quality schools are workshops for healthy societies. In 2011, CARE provided school access to more than 5 million people. CARE’s Power Within program links girl's education and the women’s empowerment so as to develop leadership skills in them and universal primary education is a basic and necessary step for that (CARE’SWORK, 2012). Safeguarding Mother's Health Maternal mortality is quite wide spread in the developing countries and that can be gauged from the fact that around 536,000 women die every year there. So as to say, one woman dies every minute on each day; newborns have a high probability of dying if they happen to be females. Sub-Saharan Africa has one of the highest death rates in pregnancy and childbirth and it is estimated at 1 in 14. Each pregnancy brings in its wake a life-threatening complication; however, all complications are usually manageable by proper health initiatives. Women cannot decide when to get pregnant nor have they any authority on financial resources. The health facilities are quite far from them and cannot reach there on a medical emergency. At times, health facilities are not adequate and short of medicines, trained medical nurses and doctors. They also fall victim of gender discrimination and domestic violence. In such dire circumstances, CARE has involved itself to reduce maternal mortality as one of the top most priorities by implementing mother and child health programs. CARE works with women empowering them with required information so as to ensure safe pregnancy and birth of a child. The high death rate is due to various social and structural reasons and CARE is helping millions of women and their families to improve the health of mothers and their children. CARE also runs maternal health programs in countries such as Peru, Bangladesh, and Democratic Republic of the Congo and these programs are now in the scale-up phase. Maternal health programs in the countries such as Mali and Malawi have been implemented and such programs have yielded astounding results in the countries like Rwanda (CARE’SWORK, 2012). Safeguarding Women against HIV Gayle (2012) asserts that the threat of HIV/AIDS is quite potent in the African countries such as Uganda and other neighboring countries. As per World Health Organization report, the proportion of women among the people affected with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa is 60 percent and most of these women are single, widowed or elderly without any education or source of income. Accepting the challenge, CARE has successfully launched village savings plan and community associations where members draw from the available resources to start their small businesses. They also get educated how to prevent spreading the HIV between partners and from mothers to children (Gayle 2012). Tackling Violence against Women Mitigating gender-based violence is a task that CARE has undertaken in more than 20 countries. Through counseling services – educating on their rights and providing support to the affected women are the ways that CARE employs to tackle gender-based violence (CARE’SWORK, 2012). Pathway to Empowerment for Poverty Elimination It is often difficult to break open the shackles of poverty because it is barely possible for a family with limited resources to fulfill important necessities of life such as education, health, food without compromising one or the other. As a consequence, a poor family continues to roam generation after generation in the same vicious cycle of poverty always endowed with the limited choices. CARE cares for girls because they know that women's well-being is a necessity to create healthy societies. Discrimination against girls is one of the major impediments that come on the way to eliminate poverty because they are not given opportunity to get education, not given proper health care necessary for their growth and development and not allowed to have proper voice in the current political and social milieu. CARE strongly believes that if these key issues are addressed properly, it is possible to come out from the vicious circle of poverty. That is why CARE has designed a plan called Pathway to Empowerment. Pathway To Empowerment aims at engaging women and girls on all key issues to create greatest impact in the society whether it be when to become pregnant, how to raise an infant or applying skills in the home. These programs are devised to address critical issues in the lives of women and girls that empower them to support families and themselves. And all this becomes possible through CARE's expertise and knowledge to bring the change that is necessary for the sustained results (Pathway to Empowerment, 2012). Lending Microfinance Support Sub-Saharan Africa subsists on less than $2 a day and that constitutes almost 550 million people. With such meager earnings, it is an everyday struggle for them. There are hardly any private jobs in this area so economic opportunities are very rare. CARE taught them a way to pool their resources to form a community village bank; that helped them to deposit their savings and make available the resources for the small businesses. That is how 7 million people came together to spearhead diverse economic activities in the area. The approach is known as Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs) that facilitates members of communities to come together to start small businesses. CARE’s Impact through Action Network CARE supporters have come together to form a CARE Action Network (CAN) that help educate nation's leaders and advise them on the subject of global poverty. CAN influences elected leaders to adopt policies that help eliminate gender inequality, which is a first-step toward eradicating global poverty. CARE's experience in Bangladesh is worthy of mention here. The $126 million USAID-funded project implemented by CARE was aimed at to improve nutrition among 2 million Bangladeshi populations and within 3 years of implementation between February 2006 and November 2009, the stunting was estimated to have reduced by 28 percent. The noteworthy thing is that stunting reduction was double the average achieved through the U.S. government food security projects. This became possible due to the CARE's indirect interventions that empowered women and girls to produce a huge impact -- a significant reduction in child stunting (CAN 2012). CARE’s Impact on the Water and Sanitation Sector Though CARE's primary agenda is to eliminate global poverty but CARE also recognize that the poorest of poor do not get safe water and proper sanitation facilities where they live. Water is elixir of life and most basic necessities to live with dignity. Care recognized the link between poverty and water about half a century ago and implemented water and sanitation project a way back in 1957. CARE'S emphasis has been on sustainability issues and emphasis has been 'let people decide about their own water management and sanitation systems’. The objective of CARE is to enhance the security of urban and rural poor through efficient use and equitable access managing scarce water resources. CARE is currently in the process of developing 115 projects in 44 countries throughout the world. The salient features of the programs help: 1. Farmers to use water efficiently for irrigation and other related purposes; 2. Families to have increased access to water through wells, pumps and domestic sumps. 3. Schools learn more about sanitation, and clean water 4. People find safe and clean water during emergencies including disasters 5. Governments to devise ways and means for an effective water policy, waste collection and disposal methods. Water is a scarce commodity and often impoverished women do not have access to clean water causing illness and disease leading to deaths. CARE lays a special emphasis on women and involves them in discussions on water and sanitation works at the local and state levels. Improved sanitation is a necessity to keep girls in school and CARE takes care in developing them (The facts about water 2012). Currently, CARE has been working on 150 projects in 45 countries related to water. CARE has developed water programs in Sub-Saharan countries such as Ethiopia, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Ugandan, Zambia and many more. This is the region that is the most scant as far as the availability of water is concerned. Around 42 percent of the population in this region does not have access to safe water and sanitation facilities. Lack of access to water is one of the major causes for underdevelopment of the region in the economic sense, high infant mortality rates and low education levels. CARE's work is focused on sanitation and rural water supply in collaboration with national and local authorities to provide potable water to thousands of people (CARE’S Water Programs, 2006). CARE Champions Political Cause The US government proposed huge cuts to the international affairs budget for the fiscal year 2011 and the CARE opposed it strongly stating that such deep cuts in aid would reverse the progress made in the effort to eradicate poverty. The cuts in grant would take away the funds from the development programs that are used to save millions of lives every year. In addition, the U.S government's commitment toward global economic future and its moral leadership is at stake. The international affairs budget is most critical and essential to fight poverty and starvation among billions of people that subsist on meager amount of $1.25 a day. This assistance has saved millions of women and their families by empowering them for their basic needs such as medicines, schooling for their children. It is worth mentioning that due to US aid it has been not only possible to reduce child and maternal mortality rate but also it has helped increase literacy rates greatly and due to that economic opportunities have expanded sharply in the developing world. The funds have changed the lives of women, children and their families in Africa and other parts of the world in last 60 years. Dr. Helene Gayle, CEO and President of CARE appealed in her statement that the international affairs budget supports initiatives that are low in cost to generate high impact results saving lives of the poor in their fight against starvation, disease and poverty. The International Affairs budget takes away just 1 percent of the US government's entire budget and that is a small investment for much higher impact it creates. In a final note, CARE appealed members of the House of Representatives to reject the drastic cuts for the benefit of all (Statement from CARE, 2011). CARE Impacts through Virtual Packages The twenty-first century has brought many new innovations in its wake such as internet and CARE has made a good use of it making it possible for donors to take advantage by gifting a bunch of useful products to their near and dear ones. Care began with sending such packets after World War II but then later dispensed with such offerings focusing on critical development projects and relief operations; however, CARE has now reinvented the same in new forms called virtual packages via its web site, CAREPackage.org. Care wants to create the same impact that it created after World War II by launching the Virtual Package service. The donor fills up the "Virtual Box" through their financial contributions for their chosen recipient. Not only products but donor can even choose emergency services such as transportation cost for a person to transfer her from her home in rural area to the hospital or for that matter any other services. Donor can also choose for a partial gift or service and invite other friends and acquaintances to contribute to the virtual box. This is truly a great way of involving more and more people for the noble cause of helping and supporting others (Strom, 2011). Weinstein (2010) asserts that socioeconomic development programs are "bound to affect the future of human society" (177). Global poverty will be on decline by "the involvement of citizens everywhere in the political process" (177) and that is the way "social planning is pursued in modern society"(177). CARE has a lot to contribute socioeconomically by its novel programs and processes. Conclusion CARE has come a long way partnering with hundreds of corporations worldwide since its inception. It is one of the largest organizations in the private sector to turn around the change in social and economic terms by focusing on the poorest of the poor. CARE’s contribution has been phenomenal in the sense that its program has impacted millions of people across all parts of the world. In many sense, it is immeasurable as it is likely to affect many future generations to come. References About CARE (2012). CARE. Retrieved July 28, 2012 from http://www.care.org/about/index.asp CARE’SWORK, (2012). CARE. Retrieved July 28, 2012 from http://www.care.org/careswork/whatwedo/index.asp CARE’S Water Programs (2006). The Global Water Crisis. Retrieved July 28, 2012 from http://www.care.org/careswork/whatwedo/health/downloads/water_portfolio.pdf CAN (2012). CARE Action Network. Retrieved July 28, 2012 from http://www.care.org/getinvolved/advocacy/index.asp The Facts about Water (2012). CARE. Retrieved July 28, 2012 from http://www.care.org/careswork/whatwedo/health/water.asp Gayle, H.D. (2012). Huffingtonpost. Remembering Women in the Fight against HIV. Retrieved July 28, 2012 from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/helene-d-gayle/hivaids-conference-progress_b_1697801.html Pathway to Empowerment (2012). CARE. Retrieved July 30, 2012 from http://www.care.org/campaigns/accessafrica/downloads/SigProg_Overview_v1.pdf Statement from CARE (2011). CARE. Retrieved July 29, 2012 from http://www.care.org/newsroom/articles/2011/02/Helene-Gayle-statement-on-international-affairs-budget-20110216.asp Strom, S. (2011). The New York Times. CARE, in Return to Roots, Will Offer Virtual Packages. Retrieved July 29, 2012 from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/08/business/08care.html?_r=1 Weinstein, J. (2010). Social Change. 3rd ed. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Plymouth, UK. Print. Read More