Research and Advocacy

FINANCIAL LIFE in a NEW SETTING 

Summary

The failure of one-size-fits-all dissemination models and fragmented approaches to 

support services have led the Brotherhood of St Laurence to seek a better understanding 

of the financial information and support needs of new migrants and refugees.

The Financial life in a new setting project is qualitative participatory research. It is the product of collaboration among community members, community organisations and researchers. 

The aims of the research are:  

- To identify how social and cultural practices influence the process of adjustment in Australia for different migrant groups, with a focus on finances

- To build understanding of how Afghan and Burmese groups (Chin and Karen) settling  in Melbourne experience their transition into the Australian financial system

- To propose policy and practice recommendations regarding the design and implementation of financial information and education for culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities in Australia.

The link below will take you to this report

Financial life in a new setting 

SOUTH ASIA ALLIANCE for POVERTY ERADICATION

Summary

In 2003 and in 2006, the South Asia Alliance for Poverty Eradication (SAAPE) made available to the public in the South Asia region and the international community, comprehensive reports which reflected the acute nature of poverty, deprivation and destitution in South Asia. What set these reports apart from the development reports of multilaterals on South Asia was that the writing and the analysis was solely the reflection of thinking in civil society, among social movements, among citizens concerned about the declining state of affairs in the livelihoods of people living in poverty, as well as the growing violence of state and market forces towards the marginalised as the countries focussed more on economic growth rather than on narrowing social exclusion and safeguarding the rights of people to ascertain their claims for social justice.

This report, “POVERTY AND VULNERABILITY CYCLES in SOUTH ASIA: NARRATIVES OF SURVIVAL AND STRUGGLES” follows the earlier reports in building up a detailed case for the need for intensified social action to address and solve shockingly dismal conditions in which people are being forced to live. Despite the fact that it is well known that the number of people afflicted by poverty and human deprivation is overwhelmingly large in South Asia - a region already marked by high internal migration, military conflicts and the attendant loss of life, and critical issues of livelihood and human rights - there has been a global silence on the extent of the oppression. Out of the total of 1.3 billion absolute poor people in the world, 433 million live in South Asia. There are more people living in poverty in South Asia than the combined population living in poverty in Sub- Saharan Africa, the Arab States, East Asia and the Pacific (excluding China), and Latin America and the Caribbean. Illiteracy rates in South Asia are two-and-a-half times these rates in the rest of the developing world: the adult-literacy rate in South Asia is 48 percent, the lowest in any region of the world. The proportion of malnourished children is three times as high and access to health-care facilities is one-and-a-half times as low as global averages for these figures of deprivation and destitution. Women in South Asia endure one-third of the world's maternal deaths.

The link below will take you to this report

 South Asia Alliance for Poverty Eraducation 2010

ALTERATIVE LIVELYHOODS

Summary

This report, “POVERTY AND VULNERABILITY CYCLES in SOUTH ASIA: NARRATIVES OF SURVIVAL AND STRUGGLES” follows the earlier reports in building up a detailed case for the need for intensified social action to address and solve shockingly dismal conditions in which people are being forced to live

This study aimed to explore whether saffron production, as an alternative agricultural cash crop, offers a sustainable agricultural livelihood for the ‘ex-opium poppy farmers’ in Saraasiyab and Qunjan villages in Ghoryan district, and in Kush Serwan and Gul Meer villages in Pashtoon Zarghoon district - the major saffron cultivation areas in Herat province.

The key concepts discussed in light of the literature in this study are sustainable and alternative livelihoods. To provide a background for these two variables this thesis explored the role of agriculture in the livelihoods of people in the so-called developing countries, particularly in Afghanistan. It also discussed the history of growth and production of opium poppies - one of the agriculture-related livelihood activities in Afghanistan. According to recent UNODC (2007) statistics, Afghanistan is one of the world’s leading drug producers. 

The year 2007 was a record breaking year for poppy cultivation and production in Afghanistan. More than 90% of the world’s opium poppy was grown and produced in Afghanistan. In that year, Afghanistan cultivated 193,000 hectares of opium poppies (UNODC 2007).

This study looked at initiatives taken by the Afghanistan government together with the international community in trying to control the growth and production of opium poppies. A recent endeavor is the promotion of saffron, a high-value crop, and now considered to offer an alternative agricultural livelihood. Its promotion has been piloted in a number of provinces in Afghanistan.

This study was mainly based on qualitative methods and approaches, using a case study of saffron farmers in Pashtoon Zarghoon and Ghoryan district was the approach to design and carry out this research. Participatory research methodologies were applied for data collection. Studying saffron farmers’ vulnerability context provided a broad spectrum of challenges faced by saffron farmers. This thesis is finally finished with some concluding remarks and recommendations.


The link below will take you to this report

Alternate Livelyhood

YOUTH WORK in KABUL: GLOBAL CALL 

TO ACTION 2006 - 2008  CIVICUS.org

Summary

In 15 Aug 2007, Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP) Afghanistan Coalition organized peaceful walk entitled “Afghan Youth Against Poverty” in major cities of Afghanistan.

Youth, wearing loose shirts on which the title of this walk (Afghan Youth Against Poverty) was written; carrying banners and posters that included their explicit demands for eradication of poverty engulfing youth all over Afghanistan, walked their way up from Ministry of Higher Education to Afghanistan National Assembly in Kabul city. While walking, they were chanting slogans to demand their rights from the Islamic Government of Afghanistan such as “Afghan Youth Committed to Fight Against Poverty”, “Youth Are the Backbone of a Nation, Do Not Let Them Grow weak”, “Poverty is the Mother of Crime” and many more slogans related to poverty and youth. This event was simultaneously organized in other major cities of Afghanistan such as Hirat, Ningarhar, Kunduz, Daikundi and Takhar by coalition members of GCAP Afghanistan.

This event was part of International Youth Day celebration (12 Aug). Preparation for this day started two months ago. To find the problems causing poverty among youth; a research was conducted by GCAP Afghanistan Coalition Members in Hirat, Kunduz, Takhar, Daikundi, Kabul and Ningarhar provinces. Youth from different walks of life were interviewed. After collection and analysis of the information, among many problems; two major burning issues were identified as the main and major problems Afghan youth are faced with. They are;

1. unemployment among well-educated, less educated and uneducated youth;
2. and lack of quality education opportunities for those youth who would like to continue their education.

Last year 60,000 high school graduates registered for university entrance examination. Only around 24,000 of them got into universities and other higher education institutions. Due to lack of capacity of at universities and other higher education institutions in Afghanistan, the remaining youth (36,000) were not able to fulfill their dreams for higher education.

The link below will take you to this report

Youthwork call to action 2006 - 2008