A Guide to Hopebuilding Stories
Categorizing these stories (362 as of Oct. 10, 2008) is often challenging, because many of them talk about people's or community activities that addressed a number of issues at once, or grew from one small project into something much larger. Reflecting this, some stories appear in several categories. Clicking on the links highlighted in blue will take you to that page. Please do read my GuidelinesForSharing before you post.
Stories about Agriculture
- Swedish project helps Niger farmers see nature’s answers to food insecurity
- Raising goats saves on fertilizer costs for farmers in Philippines
- Storytelling is new form of research at unique farmers conference
- African crop yields benefit from 'pinch' of fertiliser
- ‘Banana Mama’ wins YARA prize for helping African farmers escape poverty
- Find all stories about agriculture by clicking here
Stories about Community Capacity
- Bloggers save lives by allowing citizens to map, and see, outbreaks of violence
- Young people create new life and lush urban garden in former Kibera waste dump
- Kenya, Somaliland, Tanzanian organizations win award for their work with disadvantaged children
- Successful model sustains AIDS orphans by rebuilding villages sustainably
- Grassroots environmental heroes from around the world win largest prize
Stories about Governance
- Brazil’s Lula achieves ‘inclusive prosperity’ that benefits the poor and grows the economy
- Five Presidents will help ALAS improve lives of Latin America’s poor children
- Young people of J8 make recommendations to world leaders
- Rwanda leads the world in women's political equality
- Effective land titles system empowers farmers in Tanzania
Stories about Health
- Elephant Toilet and Elephant Pump bring sustainable sanitation to Malawi, Zimbabwe
- ‘Integrating TB and HIV treatment and care saves lives’, South African study finds
- Cervical cancer control 'achievable for the first time'
- New therapeutic food is miracle for starving children
- Recycled phones and free software revolutionize health care for Malawi hospital
Stories about Money
- Technological innovation brings low-cost phone calls to poor South African townships
- Disabled Niger gardener now feeds her family and her neighbours
- Humanitarian agency uses mobile phones to deliver cash aid in Kenya
- Mobile phone banking comes to remote Maldives, Mongolia
- Mobile phones allow people to transfer money person to person in Kenya, Afghanistan
- Find all stories about money by clicking here
Stories about Peace
- Climbing Mount Kenya to build peace and protect the earth
- Kenyan youth lead camel caravans for peace in Great Lakes
- Weaving traditional scarves helps build peace in Mindanao
- Rats sniff out land mines, tuberculosis in Africa
- Irish drama helps Afghanis come to terms with years of war
Stories about Rebuilding
- First Southern Sudanese town celebrates demining success
- Hutus and Tutsis live side by side in new Burundi ‘peace village’
- Click a day plants 16 million trees in Brazil’s Atlantic coastal forest
- Homeless World Cup changes lives, attitudes about homelessness
- Refugees are the filmmakers, actors and audience in unique Kenyan film festival
- Find all stories about rebuilding by clicking here
Stories about Schools
- Community kindergarten gives Kyrgyzstan children a good start in life
- Canadians reach out to help the orphans of Lesotho attend school
- Teaching and overcoming fear about HIV are both vital jobs in Swaziland
- Affordable menstrual pads keep girls in school, create jobs
- Recycling paper in Malawi benefits schools, communities and environment
Stories about Sharing
- Reconditioned US bicycles provide transportation in the developing world
- Acupuncturists bring healing, relief, local training across the globe
- Gift of a goat from US schoolchildren leads to Ugandan village’s first college graduate
- Old US hospital equipment, vital supplies bring new life in developing countries
- MalariaEngage hopes social networking will bring funds to African researchers
Stories about Sustainability
- South Africa launches world’s first scheme to let water users balance demand and supply
- Biochar can solve food security, fuel crisis, and climate change
- China could become a global low carbon leader, report says
- Tanzanian blacksmiths pass on skills, creating jobs and saving forests
- Unique rental model brings solar power to remote Lao villages
- Find all stories about sustainability by clicking here
Stories about Work
- More than 100,000 Tanzanian homes built with bricks fired by agricultural waste
- Unique Honey Bee Network promotes rural Indian invention
- South African program to clear invasive trees creates jobs, reduces poverty
- Pygmy communities, loggers in Congo use GPS, community radio to protect cultural sites
- SEWA empowers Indian widow in rebuilding her life, community
More stories are added regularly. You are welcome to send or share stories of similar achievements. See Great Links for links to websites that provide many other stories of achievement.
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Micro-insurance helps poor families cope in Asia, Africa and Latin America
According to the World Health Organization, 100 million people are thrust below the poverty line as a result of illness. Another 150 million must spend nearly half their incomes on medical expenses. A new innovation, in the form of micro-insurance schemes for the poor, may bring relief to thousands of similar people in Asia, Africa and Latin America.
In India, the German insurer, Allianz, has issued more than 42,000 individual micro-insurance policies in Tamil Nadu. In Uganda, the non-profit organization, FINCA International, provides life and disability insurance under a partnership with the American International Group (AIG). In Bangladesh, the NGO, Gonosasthya Kendra (GKHI), provides comprehensive health care services including health insurance to over 35,000 households.
In Benin, the Community Owned Health Insurance Plan (COHI) is a member-run plan that uses local health-care providers to deliver services to its members, supported by Centre Internationale de Développement et de Recherché (CIDR). In Nicaragua, the MFI, Asociación de Consultores para el Desarrollo de la Pequeña, Mediana y Micro Empresa (ACODEP), provides life insurance to around 16,000 clients via a partnership with INISER, a local insurer.
These schemes help families confront unexpected health care or life calamities, through a variety of models of approach. Micro-health insurance schemes can be initiated, attached to, or marketed through NGOs, projects, health units, Ministry of Health, health providers, microfinance initiatives, or insurance companies. Provider-based microfinance schemes typically serve a minimum of 5,000 customers, preferably under one group contract, with the individual sharing in the cost of pre-payment in the form of premiums. Self-managed group schemes operate out of a savings pool, with contributions and payouts pre-determined by the community. An intermediary, such as an NGO, acts as administrative agent and facilitator between the individual and the health care service provider.
In the case of Allianz in India, families of an individual paying US 87 cents per year are entitled to a payout of 350 euros in the event of unexpected or natural death. Allianz is able to offer this product via a partnership with the Indian insurer, Bajaj Allianz and Activists for Social Alternatives (ASA), a locally based NGO. ASA handles outreach and education through community participation, and through its very involvement creates an essential level of community trust in the program.
As with any insurance scheme, micro-insurance is not devoid of risk. But the risks associated with not offering this type of safety net - turning our backs on a system with the potential to disrupt the cycle of poverty - are too high.
This story is adapted from an article included in the November 2006 edition of Development Challenges, South-South Solutions, the e-newsletter of the Special Unit for South-South Cooperation of UNDP. Email.
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