Poverty — Ethnic Supplies

Do UK African diaspora have a role in achieving the MDGs?

October 5, 2011 By idahorner Leave a Comment

On Thursday 29th September 2011 a reception was held at the UK Parliament. The theme of the reception was

Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the Role of the UK African Diaspora

The reception was hosted by AFRICA -UK working in partnership with Comic Relief and the Royal African Society their objectives are to

to increase the role of the Diaspora in Africa’s development
to ensure that the Diaspora inform debates about development priorities for Africa
and to foster greater dialogue and engagement between policy makers and UK-based Africans working in development

These were the opening remarks from the organisers

In 2000, 189 nations made a promise to free people from extreme poverty and multiple deprivations. This pledge became the eight Millennium Development Goals to be achieved by 2015. In September 2010, the world recommitted itself to accelerate progress towards these goals. ‘‘At the midway point between their adoption in 2000 and the 2015 target date for achieving the MDGs, Sub-Saharan Africa is not on track to achieve any of the Goals.”(United Nations, Africa, & the Millennium Development Goals, 2007)

What is the role of Africa’s Diaspora in helping Africa accelerate and attain the MDGs by the target date of 2015?

The speaker was Amalia Navarro from the UN Millennium Campaign. She spoke passionately and frankly about the Goals, precisely that the goals will not be met and that the UN overlooked the diaspora in that conversation.

She also seemed to be saying “Yes we messed up but we need to look beyond2015″ and was keen to engage us on what I would like to call an “the After party”

She asked the question WHAT CAN THE AFRICAN DIASPORA BRING TO THE CONVERSATION ABOUT MDGs in the same breath as she said WHERE ARE THE AFRICAN DIASPORA AND WHY AREN’T THEY JOINING IN ON THE CONVERSATION?

I did wonder where she was looking for the African diaspora or whom she was talking to.

What I found interesting was that at least 3 people in the room asked the speaker the following questions

What does the UN want from the African Diaspora?
How can the African Diaspora join the conversation?
What is the UN doing to engage the diaspora

But she didn’t seem to have an answer to any of those questions and instead told us to join civil societies in order to join the conversation on MDGs and even then she could name one such society that we could all join.

I made the assumption that she meant the large NGOs but like many in the room that evening I am not aware of any large NGOs that seek out or engage the African diaspora, do you??

As it is we are ahead of the UN we got fed up being invited to the conversation and started our own VILLAGES IN ACTION . We have also had a conversation about what the point of the UN is. We have a very good idea as to why the MDGs will not be achieved and this is not because we have picked up a book, No we have gone back to our villages and engaged with the folk we left behind. These are the people in the know, if you take time out they will tell you how you cannot solve poverty without sacrificing the environment in some way , they see and experience environmental degradation first hand.

The question for the UN is how to reach such folk! But it isn’t that hard really- TALK TO THE AFRICAN DIASPORA

Filed Under: Development Policy, Latest Tagged With: Africa, African Diaspora, Comic Relief, Diaspora, MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS, Non-governmental organization, Poverty, United Nations

The most commented on posts on Ethnic Supplies

September 12, 2011 By idahorner Leave a Comment

The International Fairtrade Certification Mark

Image via Wikipedia

I thought I would do something different in this post!

Compile a list of 5 posts that have received the most comments

How much do folk in the Western world know about fairtrade - in this post I discussed the issue of FAIRTRADE an how much folk in the western world understand the idea/notion of Fairtrade. I asked another question too, HOW FAIR IS FAIRTRADE. I came across an article that seemed to suggest that people didn;t know much FAIRTRADE simply because the government had not done enough to publicise if both by way of benefit to the environment as well as a means to sustainable and dignified ways of poverty- this post generated 49 comments
Are Africans in the Diaspora real Africans- in this post I discuss the issue that keeps cropping up of WHO IS AFRICAN and another WHO IS QUALIFIED to speak on behalf of Africans. My good friend @tmsruge found himself in the hot chair of those in “know” and emotions run high!- this post received 15 comments
Immigrants are not welcome here part 2- this post was the second instalment in which I looked at the issue of Immigration and why folk would be prepared to cross deserts, seas and oceans to get to Europe. Part 1 is here – this post received 12 comments
Is Educating girls the key to resolving poverty in Africa the issue of educating African girls as a key to ending poverty is gaining moment and in this post I discuss what lack of a formal education means to some women but I also wonder whether the focus should be on the education of boys in order that African women are not vulnerable to domestic violence amongst other things- this post received 12 comments too
#MDGs- the camera are switched off now what?- Although this post had set out to look at the progress of the Millennium Development goals and why we are unlikely to achieve them, the question I asked at the end appeared to have drawn folk to the conversation What can we as Africans do for ourselves today, without Aid from the West? this post received 11 comments

I will be interested in your views on any of those posts

Filed Under: Latest, Poverty Tagged With: Africa, African people, Education, Fairtrade certification, Fairtrade Foundation, Poverty, Poverty in Africa

Where the London riots caused by systemic poverty?

August 10, 2011 By idahorner 4 Comments

London and several other Cities in the UK have been on fire quite literary since Saturday 6th August following the death of a Mark Duggan a young man of mixed parentage. The riots started in north London and have since spread across the country.

Several reasons have been put forward as to why mostly young people took to the streets including Race but the one that has left me shaking my head is POVERTY. It is not because I believe they are no poor people in UK cities and incidentally poverty as a reason to riot and burn down cities reminded me of a post I wrote in March of last year on poverty in UK Vs Poverty in Africa

One of the issues I raised in that post is SYSTEMIC POVERTY, this is a phrase I made up as it appeared to me that it is possible to be poor here in the UK because of the system. So the meaning I assign to the phrase SYSTEMIC POVERTY is poverty created by the system.

But what does poverty has to do with looting, rioting and burning down whole neighbourhoods and cities? In a word nothing as far as I can tell!

I agree that the System has stripped authority away from parents, the teachers, the Police as well as the community at large. This same system has given children and young people generally too many rights so much so that those that are meant to guide them along the right path are instead afraid of them.

These youth have failed to realise that with rights come responsibilities

Responsibilities

To be a good neigbour
Have due regard for the law, the community, parents and your fellow citizens
To contribute to society in a meaningful way

As far as I can tell the London riots and elsewhere in UK are about fighting authority or the system and excuses of poverty and racism are just that excuses.

Nikki Pilkington and fellow blogger over at BIRDS ON THE BLOG has an interesting take on this, she argues that it is possible to fight the system and win. I agree.

My own story is that of an immigrant that came here with only a suitcase, but worked with that very system to gain an education, a job, a home of my own in a smart town and finally that very system has enabled me to help those less fortunate than I am such as the woman in this photo in Ruhanga SW Uganda.

My point is there is so much advantage to be gained from out the system if one so chooses, granted it is not easy and some will need more guidance than others.

It seems to me therefore that the best way forward is that the system should give power/authority back to parents, teachers, the police and the community so that they can guide children through the system in order that they can get the best out of it instead of becoming its victims.

Victims? Yes! For when parents, teachers and the community are absent in a young person’s life, a void is created and sadly whenever a gap or void is created someone or something will fill it. In the case of some of these young people it can Gangs, drugs, alcohol, crime or all of the above.

What do you think?

Is there such a thing as systemic poverty?

What is really behind the riots in your opinion? Is it simply a case of being poor or belonging to a certain ethnicity?

Filed Under: Good Practice, Latest, Popular post Tagged With: David Cameron, London, Mark Duggan, Poverty, Riot, UK Riots, Youth