By Bruce Petch,
World Neighbours Canada takes a practical approach – we want to help people achieve tangible improvements in their lives. Nonetheless it is useful to keep track of trends in international development from a wider perspective. Over the last few years, there has been a lot of attention paid to the “Sustainable Development Goals”. These goals were adopted by all United Nations member states in 2015. There are 17 goals. Goal 1 is no poverty, Goal 2 is zero hunger, Goal 10 is reduced inequality and Goal 13 is climate action, to name a few. They are intended to apply to all countries, not just developing countries. And a key part of the concept is that all the goals are interconnected. The goals (often referred to as the “SDGs”) seem to be mentioned in just about every meeting and document that touches on international development. The high profile of the sustainable development goals has helped to draw attention to the struggles faced by people around the world who are trying to grow enough food for their needs, find enough water, and survive drought and other natural disasters.
World Neighbours Canada supports the goals, especially the ones central to our mission like no poverty, zero hunger, gender equality and climate action. But we look at the goals from a “results on the ground” perspective. If our programs can be stronger by taking a more integrated approach – for example, the gender equality implications of increasing food crop production – we embrace the concept of the “SDGs.” Our partner organizations have a deep understanding of the connections between the different goals. For example, in Nepal our partner organization has been focusing on goal 6 – clean water and sanitation – but the outcomes they are aiming for are goals 3 (good health and well-being) and 6 (gender equality; women and girls do most of the water-carrying). In Burkina Faso, food security and child malnutrition are critical issues. Our partner organization works in an integrated way towards zero hunger, good health and well-being, gender equality and no poverty. In Honduras, our partner is embarking on a new initiative to provide entrepreneurial training and support for young people in rural areas, touching on goal 8 (decent work and economic growth) and goal 4 (quality education). In every country, we have a long history of ecological approaches to agriculture, which fits with the environmental goal called life on land (number 15).
The Sustainable Development Goals provide a useful framework for a coordinated approach to the alleviation of poverty and better management of finite resources. World Neighbours Canada is inspired by these goals to support our partners in ensuring that people’s lives are impacted in meaningful ways, rather than focusing narrowly on specific outcomes.
By Dale Dodge
It was a very busy 10 days, but these two fellows never stopped smiling and were wonderful ambassadors for WNC, for TSS and for Nepal.
“I managed to get this great picture,” Judy said as she turned her laptop, showing a photo of a man and woman, side by side with the woman’s arm around her husband’s side. “Charles explained that 10 years ago, public demonstration of any kind of affection would not be visible or accepted. It’s a sign of progress.” Part of this progress has been enabled directly through Global Affairs Canada funding, as a Gender Consultant (local Burkinese professional) has been hired to evaluate APDC’s current gender initiatives and provide suggestions for enhancing this work. The resulting recommendations have been incorporated into project programming where possible. The improvement in gender equality often filters into benefits in other areas: improved supports for pregnant women, improved nutrition for children and pregnant women, improved environmental practices and improvements in health care. It also helps to develop a sense of community, which is an underlying foundational goal of APDC projects.
In the small villages of Nepal almost all women, except for the few who have private baths or toilets at their house, must bath outside openly at the public tap or traditional sources, such as rivers, wearing their clothes (just opening the area up to the bra). Obviously, this is not ideal from a hygienic perspective or from the perspective of personal freedom and privacy.
Where there are outside toilets/baths with enough space, women may be able to bath their entire body, but this practice is very rare. Whereas, women who have private bath/toilet at their homes, especially in town with concrete houses, can remove all outer clothes before bathing.
Are you looking for the perfect Christmas gift? Please consider making a donation to World Neighbours Canada in someone’s name.
