Poverty in Africa — Ethnic Supplies

Hunger in Somalia- the winners and losers

August 25, 2011 By ethnicsupplies 1 Comment

A news item keeps dropping on and off the headlines, first it was due to the phone hacking scandals here in the UK and now it is the hunt for Gaddafi and that story is to do with famine at the Horn of Africa

The story is however being kept alive and sadly in this case it appears to have a twist. We have all seen the starving children in make shift tents we have responded to the calls to give generously to prevent people at the Horn of Africa dying of hunger.

If you have been following other news you may have missed this story from ALJAZEERA. It is 25-30 minutes long so ensure that you have enough time to sit and watch it

If you don’t have the time to watch it the long and short of it is that the food that has been donated to the starving people of Somalia has ended up in the hands of business men who are selling it back to the hungry, in addition that this is going with the full knowledge of the WORLD FOOD ORGANISATION and some NGOS. According to the programme it is not entirely true that the militia group AL SHABAB has denied NGOs access to areas that badly need food Aid.

If you have managed to watch the video, I would like to invite you to debate the issues raised
1- should people profiteer from hunger
2. Who is based placed to get food to the starving?
3. Is it really better to send/give money to the starving than food?

Filed Under: Latest, Poverty in Africa Tagged With: Addis Ababa, Africa, African Union, FOOD, GADAFFI, Horn of Africa, Libya, Non-governmental organization, Somalia, Starvation, WHO

Introducing Salha Kaitesi- The Beauty Of Rwanda

August 17, 2011 By idahorner Leave a Comment

Salha Kaitesi

Salha Kaitesi is the founder of Beauty of Rwanda an online enterprise working with basket weavers in her native Rwanda. Like the team here at Ethnic Supplies, Salha believes in empowering African women through business.

Our paths crossed a few months ago on Twitter and she agreed to be profiled for readers of this blog.

1. Please introduce yourself to our readers. Who is Salha Kaitesi

I am a British Rwandan trying to make a difference in the lives of the women in Rwanda. Devoted mother. Brutally honest. I would like to think am a good friend to have. (I hate answering this question)

2. What is Beauty of Rwanda all about

Beauty of Rwanda is about empowering women in Rwanda through the selling of their handmade crafts. These women are the bread winners of their individual families and weaving is the only means of earning a livelihood for them and their children. These women are hard working and an inspiration to us all.

3. When did you get started and why

The idea came into place in 2009 but the Beauty of Rwanda website where we sell the crafts from was launched in 2010. I wanted to help the women in Rwanda. There is so much that can be done for Rwanda, one has to just look deeper in order to find their calling. This is mine. I hope to make a difference in the lives of these women.

4. Where are you now and where are you headed to

We are still in the early stages of the business having launched just 9 months ago. There is still a lot to be done before we can sit back and watch the company standing on its own two feet. I am enjoying the journey though at times its difficult especially when things don’t go according to plan.

5. I understand that you work with women in Rwanda- please tell us about that

The crafts we sell from our website/online shop are hand woven by women in Rwanda. These women survived the 1994 Rwandan genocide and like i mentioned earlier, weaving is the only source of income. Beauty of Rwanda finds a market for their beautiful crafts. Some of the women are HIV positive having been raped during the mentioned genocide. They need all the support we can give them. All they want is their dignity back.

6. What would you say are your greatest achievements so far

Having the courage to go through with the plan of setting up Beauty of Rwanda.

7. What are your challenges and how do you address these

One of the biggest challenges is the logistics. It does take time and is expensive.

8. Does technology play a role in your business and if so how?

Are you kidding me?… We are all about technology. We wouldnt be able to do our job without it. We are on facebook, twitter, LinkedIn, MySpace, Youtube and almost launching on Google+. Technology is it!

9. What advice would you give to anyone wanting to follow in your footsteps

If you feel like the chips are all in place, even though there will always be doubts, just go for it – Better to try and fail than to never try at all.

Filed Under: Business support for women, Poverty in Africa Tagged With: Beauty of Rwanda, LinkedIn, MySpace, Rwanda, Twitter, Urwego Opportunity Bank, Youtube

Why do 60% of UK public think overseas Aid is wasted? Part 2

July 27, 2011 By idahorner Leave a Comment

Various Federal Reserve Notes, c.1995. Only th...

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As promised in the last post I am revisiting this question . But before I add my views here is what some of you the readers thought

@JesseOsmun Aid is wasted because it is funneled through goverment hands, with Corruption skimming it instead of direct aid to people

Bob Hayward-Because after years of aid the root cause of the various problems remain unsolved.

Both these points raise interesting points but Bob’s question answers the question

Why do 60% of UK public think overseas Aid is wasted?

Do we actually have proof that overseas Aid is wasted?

If we do have proof of Aid being wasted why is it wasted?

Is it because the UK can actually spare this money?

Is it bad planning?

Is it poor policies?

Is it poor distribution of Aid?

Who is responsible for ensuring that Aid is not wasted?

What can be done to ensure Aid isn’t wasted?

Does @JessOsmun have a point? Aid should not go to governments but instead to projects directly?

This point reminds me of a similar scheme here in the UK. Those that cannot afford to cover their housing costs get help from the government, in some case the money goes directly to the landlords. But can they be trusted to let the government know when the tenant has moved on so that the government stops sending the money?

In other cases the person(claimant as we call them) is paid housing benefit (money to pay their rent/landlord) directly but the person might chose to divert the money to something else say clothes leaving the landlord out of pocket.

What should the government do to come up with a system that does not produce either of those scenarios?

Can you see any similarities between Housing benefit and Overseas Aid?

Finally what can done to stop overseas Aid being wasted?

I will keep this short so we can have a conversation

Filed Under: AID, International Policy, Latest, Poverty in Africa