Tomorrow, November 19th, is World Toilet Day. This is not nearly as lighthearted as it sounds; it is a day of reflection on sanitation, disease, and a lack of resources. These all come into play and are essential for preventing death. A lack of sanitation is still the world’s largest cause of infection. About 2.6 billion people worldwide do not have access to this basic need, and suffer extreme maladies as a result. 1.1 billion people defecate in the open; a very dangerous risk of exposure to life-threatening bacteria and viruses. The World Toilet Organization created World Toilet Day to heighten awareness, generate discussion and inspire supporters toward this issue.

Sanitation Conversation

In March of this year, Dr. Luis G. Sambo met with the Kenyan Minister for Public Health and Sanitation and the Minister for Medical Services, Hon. Beth Hugo and Hon. Anyang’ Nyong’o, respectively. Their goals were to discuss improvements in their governmental support system. Various action plans were discussed and initiated, for instance, deploying skilled midwifes and nurses to support health care. The major transitions will dramatically enhance the quality of life for Kenyans. However, many Nairobi slums continue to suffer, using “flying toilets,” or disposed plastic bags instead of a facility. MADRE, a Jolkona partner, offers a $45 clean water transformation for rural Kenyans. A privilege to use a sanitary toilet can be easily overlooked. Inspire another person’s life, and their families.

Haiti, India, & Nepal

I’m extremely touched to reintroduce our projects that give back to those in desperate circumstances. Our partners Project Concern International, Pardada Pardadi Educational Society, Himalayan Healthcare, and Living Earth Institute stimulate philanthropy, local work/economy, and provide clean latrines. One latrine can significantly improve health and stave off infectious disease within a community.

Help at Risk Haitian Families Recover and Rebuild:

This project has a wide description but humongous heart. Haiti has undergone major transition and change within the past few years. Every small (and large) contribution benefits Haiti as a whole. Just $167 provides a community with a sanitary latrine, low-cost solutions for waste disposal, mobile medical clinics, and establishes one “safe space” for children during the day.

Build Green, Hygienic Toilets in Rural India:

PPES, our partner in this project, provides their students’ villages with a clean latrine. $260 covers all materials to build the latrine, the labor to build it, installation costs, and training on usage and maintenance. This project contributes incredibly to disease prevention. This gift will be deeply valued each and every day. India currently loses 1,000 children a day from diarrhea caused by– you guessed it– dirty water and a lack of toilets.

Build Latrine & Septic Tank for a Nepalese Family:

The Honorable president of Nepal has announced that his country will be hosting the South Asian Conference on Sanitation in 2013. This is incredible news for the future of clean facilities for the people of Nepal. Kickstart this process and empower the citizens by stimulating local hiring to build a latrine: the materials, transportation, labor salaries, and their new lease on life is $200. Give just $20 and contribute to the pool of resources that Living Earth Institute is gathering to build toilets for Nepalese families. About 200 toilets have been completed, and their goal is 600. 

Image credit: Samson Lee

Much to my embarrassment, I heard the word ”latrine” for the first time when writing this post. Latrines keep people from defecating in the open and potentially contracting dangerous infection.

To Spin the Giving Web

It is natural to feel an overwhelming sensation to contribute, and spring back in thoughtful consideration. Anita Pradhan wrote, “People believe that sanitation programmes and projects have failed because of a lack of involvement and commitment from both communities and external agencies and the consequent lapses in technology, planning, implementation, supervision, support and, above all, accountability.” One of the most surprising moments when I first donated to Jolkona by planting 50 trees in Brazil, was the proof I received. This is something unique to Jolkona’s giving process, and serves as a “thank you, it’s nice to meet you,” response from where you contributed. To personally connect and hear back from the country I chose to benefit solidified the confidence I have in philanthropy, and changing the world. At Jolkona, we understand that feeling, and it’s what motivates us all to give what we can, when we can.

“If you can’t feed a hundred people, then feed just one.”

-Mother Teresa

What do coffee, a five-dollar bill, and rainforests have in common? Coffee is one of the top ten commodities of the world. In the U.S., most handcrafted lattes and espresso beverages fall somewhere under five dollars. Sadly, rainforests are often compromised to accommodate the need for growing more crops and delivering the beans to caffeine-loving folks around the world.
Why is this important? We lose between 3 and 6 billion trees annually due to deforestation. Our world population is under 7 billion; imagine losing every person living on this planet each year. That is the effect of harvesting lumber for logging and cultivating farm land to grow crops. The pretty penny spent on many cups of java begins with the coffee beans themselves.

 

Many countries near the Equator and world oceans harvest coffee beans. Photo credit: Samson Lee

Preserving our Delicate Ecosystems

Let’s look at Brazil: the world’s highest producer of coffee, churning out an impressive 2,249,010 tonnes in 2007 alone. In response to this demand, many coffee harvesters occupied fertile soil, eradicating many of the lush vegetation in that space. As an effect of this type of production, many forests and habitats have disappeared. By removing the trees, the goal was to maximize the growth period of the coffee plants (via photosynthesis) in order to yield even more product at a faster rate. However, this creates detrimental effects on our global environment such as atmospheric warming and near extinct species of exotic animals.
There is a solution. Allowing native trees to flourish among coffee crops generates seed dispersal from birds, giving birth to a diverse ecosystem of plants and animals. Attracting multiple species of trees is ideal, because the sprouting vegetation that results often unite empty spaces present in rainforests today. This process may also reverse the effects of deforestation over time, Jha claims.  Read the entire report on Shalene Jha and Christopher Dick’s exploration in shade-grown coffee and how it improves the effects of deforestation.

Natural landscapes like this are losing their chance to be preserved. Photo credit: rumpleteaser

World Rainforest Week

World Rainforest Week is October 10-16; a time of reflection and appreciation for the flora and fauna of every lush forest in the world. Burundi, Brazil, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Haiti, Honduras, India, Mali, Nicaragua, the Philippines, and Senegal are all recognized under Jolkona’s Tree Planting project with “Trees for the Future.”

This year for National Coffee Day on September 29th, I donated to this project by supplying Brazil with 50 more trees.

This week, I challenge you by trading one latte, cappuccino, or cup of drip for 50 trees to replenish our world loss of 3 to 6 billion trees annually. As always, a Jolkona “thank you” for your donation will be real-time updates from our partner about your gracious contribution. Every drop counts, and even one new tree is an additional contributor to future growth!

To learn more about shade-grown coffee and other environmentally conscious actions you can take, visit Green Bean Coffee’s website and mongabay.com

It has been 1 year since the devastating earthquake in Haiti. It is a good time for us to take a look at the conditions that have changed since then. The purpose of this post is to present some statistics that highlight the challenges that still exist in Haiti.

• The earthquake struck at 4:53 PM on Tuesday, January 12th, 2010. By January 24th, there were over 50 aftershocks in Haiti.
• The immediate effect of the earthquake included 230,000 dead, over 300,000 injured, more than 1 million people homeless, and close to 300,000 buildings destroyed including 250,000 homes, 30,000 commercial buildings, and presidential palace and many ministry buildings.
• On the 22nd of January, the United Nations noted that the emergency phase of the relief operation was drawing to a close, and on the following day, the Haitian government officially called off the search for survivors.
• 1.3 million people are still displaced today.
• According to the Guardian: “Although the international community promised almost $10bn in aid earlier in 2010, very little has actually arrived. What is more, support appears to be dwindling. In 2010, more than 35 countries and multilateral agencies pledged roughly $3.8bn to reconstruction. Going into 2011, pledges have diminished to 20 countries amounting to $1.5bn.”
• While the whole world watched over Haiti and with thousands of aid organizations present in the country, over 3,500 people have died since October from a Cholera outbreak.
• Only 5% of the rubbles have been cleared thus far. At this rate it will take 20 years to clear up all the rubbles from the earthquake.
• There has been a high number rapes reported at the various campsites.
• Amidst all this, the country has also been crippled by serious political instability without anyone showing great leadership and vision.

Petionville Golf Club in Port-au-Prince was the only golf course in Haiti. This before and after photo from Oxfam shows how the golf course (in the left) has turned into a tent city now (right):

For everyday people, there has been no change. At Jolkona, we are committed to working with some of the most effective organizations on the ground to get help to those who need it the most. We provide 5 diverse projects – from planting trees to helping rape victims to permanently bringing a family out of poverty – that allows you to have an impact that you wish to make. Check out our projects in Haiti.

We ask you to pledge a gift to Haiti and we will report back to you about the impact of your donation.

Photo Credit: Oxfam International

Currently, an outbreak of cholera is overwhelming post-earthquake Haiti; 4,764 people have been infected with more than 330 now dead. It will only get worse as hurricane season starts and more people are exposed to unhygienic conditions. Cholera is a bacterial disease that causes severe diarrhea and can lead to death in as little as three hours. There is no cure, just methods to treat the symptoms.

As Jolkona launches the Give Health campaign, we want to highlight different public health crises and give you tools to solve the problems. The Haiti cholera epidemic can be averted by improving sanitation systems to create clean sources of water. You can Help at Risk Haitian Families Recover and Rebuild by providing clean latrines to communities.

While cholera decimates Haiti, unhygienic conditions are a problem worldwide. Every year, 1.5 million children die from diarrheal diseases. You can Save a Young Child from Diarrhea in India for as little as $5!

It is easy to feel overwhelmed but every little bit helps in public health. And remember, during Give Health, your donation gets matched to the dollar!

When the earthquake struck Haiti back in January, the world opened its wallets and generously supported the Haitians with over 1 billion dollars in donations. According to this recent article in the Chronicle of Philanthropy, much of the  $1.3 billion remains unused. The article sites the specific example of American Red Cross who has only spent $133 million dollars out of the close to $500 million donations that it received. This is extremely frustrating to donors. The organizations asked for money under the banner of “immediate need of assistance” and yet 6 months after the earthquake so much of the funds are still unused. This lack of transparency will lead to donor frustration – we are already starting to see that play out.

At Jolkona, we try to address this donor frustration by providing tangible, meaningful proof of impact for every donation. In the days after the earthquake, we did not have any projects on the ground for people to give. However, by now we have projects in Haiti that assist in the long term recovery efforts. Here are our Haiti projects right now:

• Train Women in Haiti
• Help at Risk Haitian Families Recover and Rebuild
• Elevate Haitian Women from “Poorest of Poor”

This provided a lot valuable lessons for us in terms of how to manage disaster relief and recovery in a way that effectively fits the Jolkona model. Now Pakistan is facing one of the worst floods in the country’s history – billions of dollars of damage and over 12 million people affected thus far. In Pakistan, we have been able to respond and set up a project within days since we had partners who were already on the ground.

This proves Jolkona’s ability to quickly respond to relatively fluid situations (especially around disasters) and help in the recovery process. As Jolkona grows, so will its ability to respond to future disasters around the world.

However, for now our focus is on the floods in Pakistan. Please give to help the displaced families in the floods in Pakistan. As feedback, you will receive information on how your donation was used by a specific family. You can continue to give through the traditional methods and they need all the help they can get. Through Jolkona, you have the opportunity to directly and immediately impact 600 displaced people and know exactly how you impacted them.

Our heartfelt condolences go out to the people and families in Haiti affected by the recent tragic earthquake that has claimed thousands of lives and affected over one third of the population.  We know that there are tons of relief efforts and fundraisers going on right now to help provide assistance, and although we ourselves do not fundraise for natural disasters and relief efforts, we are very committed to helping out in these times of need.  To help direct our users to places providing relief in Haiti, here are some of the options we would recommend:

1. BRAC USA.  BRAC USA is one of our existing partners where we provide support to one of their project’s in Bangladesh.  BRAC USA supports the development work of BRAC in Asia and Africa but are now working with two partners on the ground in Haiti to help support on-going relief efforts.  All donations received that are designated for Haiti relief and rehabilitation efforts will go directly to their Hatian Emergency Appeal and work directly on the ground in Haiti.  You can donate here: https://s71165.gridserver.com/donations/view

2. Mercycorps.  Although Mercycorps is not a Jolkona Partner, we do have strong connections with some of their staff.  While they do a lot of development work around the world, one of their main focus is on disaster response and emergency and natural disaster relief and are thus very experienced in this area. They deploy their own teams and experts, and have local workers there as well so are well equipt to help out on the ground. You can donate to them here:
https://donate.mercycorps.org/donation.htm?DonorIntent=Haiti+Earthquake

3. The American Red Cross. The Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters around the world and is currently on the ground and mobilizing resources to assist in Haiti.  You can make a donation to the Red Cross Haiti Relief and Development fund here:  http://american.redcross.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ntld_main&s_src=RSG000000000&s_subsrc=RCO_BigRedButton
You can also  Text the word HAITI to 90999 to give a  $10 donation to the Red Cross for Haiti Relief fund that will be charged to your cell phone bill

4. Yele Haiti.  Yele is a grassroots movement that builds global awareness for Haiti while helping to transform the country through programs in education, sports, the arts and environment.  It was founded by musician, Wyclef Jean who is now collecting donations to provide relief in Haiti.  You can make a donation to the Yele Haiti Earthquake fund here:  https://co.clickandpledge.com/advanced/default.aspx?wid=23093
You can also Text the word YELE to 501501 to donate $5 to the Yele Haiti Earthquake fund that will be charged to your cell phone bill.

Thank you ALL for your generous support and help to the people of Haiti!