1. Two important achievements in Malawi by NGOs are AIDs education and environmental education. AIDs has wiped out an enormous amount of people in Malawi and through education, the people are less likely to spread the disease further. Environmental and farming education is important because of the degradation in most parts of Malawi. They can be taught how to take care of their land to keep it more fertile so they can produce more food to survive.
2. NGOs are most likely to disband or fail when there is a lack of outside financial support or when the NGO has trouble with their existing mission statement. Other organizations may find a way to support the same mission statement more effectively causing funds to decrease. With these problems, NGO's could consider organized abandonment.
3. It is harder to manage cash flow in a non-profit because they it is harder for them to determine to expected cash flow from year to year. Businesses can compare profits of other businesses to help predict their cash flow for the next year. Non-profits have to rely on fundraising to get from year to year.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Sustainability
A sustainable process is one that can sustain itself. It is maintained using a long-term well-being concept so that when concerning resources, it is sustainable when humans take without depleting or permanently damaging a resource. Many definitions of sustainability include meeting the future's needs in addition to the present. If a process is sustainable, it does not deplete or damage a resource. When deciding what is sustainable, we must figure out what is fair between the present generations (intragenerational) and the future generations (intergenerational). Equity is encompassed by sustainability between the present and future generations when we decide to begin a sustainable process. By sustaining what we are using now, we ensure that there will be enough for the future generations to use as well.
Sustainability and sustainable development differ in the fact that sustainable development encompasses development, while sustainability is more closely tied to resources and the environment. Some principles of sustainable development include human development, food systems, energy systems, water systems, systems of social and environmental justice and change, etc. The development seems to be in the area of developing new systems that would be better for both humans and the environment. Sustainability alone seems to be the whole idea that sustainable development is based upon. Through sustainability, sustainable development can work to make the changes that it desires.
Sustainability and sustainable development differ in the fact that sustainable development encompasses development, while sustainability is more closely tied to resources and the environment. Some principles of sustainable development include human development, food systems, energy systems, water systems, systems of social and environmental justice and change, etc. The development seems to be in the area of developing new systems that would be better for both humans and the environment. Sustainability alone seems to be the whole idea that sustainable development is based upon. Through sustainability, sustainable development can work to make the changes that it desires.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Poverty
Why is Malawi poor?
Many reasons contribute to why Malawi is poor. Geographically, Malawi is a small landlocked country with little access to global markets. They do not have any sufficient amount of natural resources, and the population is so high that most families only have a small plot of land to grow their food and therefore cannot rotate their crops. This ruins the fertility of the soil and the size of their harvest. Their main export is tobacco and with the growing concern of cancer, the demand and price has fallen while importing oil has become more expensive. Many families do not know how to do anything other than grow tobacco. They have done it for years, and now that way of life has become less supportive. Education is also a problem in Malawi. Only rich families can afford to give their children higher education so the poor children are stuck in the same way of life as their parents. In a world becoming more westernized, education is becoming important for people wanting to escape poverty.
What exactly does it mean to be poor?
Dictionary.com defines the word "poor" as "having little or no money, goods, or other means of support." People are classified as "poor" if they cannot support themselves and/or their family in a sufficient way. Many poor people have to rely on charity or other any other help they can find. Most people associate the word poor with the amount of materials and things that someone has. If someone doesn't have very much money, a nice house, a few cars... the rest of society sees them as poor. While this definition truly states how most people use the word "poor," I believe that someone can be spiritually or emotionally poor as well.
Dictionary.com also states that poor can mean "deficient or lacking." This definition is many times overlooked when applying it to humans. I have seen many people who are not economically classified as poor, but they cannot find happiness or be content with their life. Some people rely on religion to fill what is lacking; some people rely on others. The problem is that not everyone can figure out how to fill what is lacking. Some families in the poorest countries in the world may be financially poor but love the life that they live. They do not see themselves as poor because they have everything they need. This is where the word poor can be used in a different way than we are sometimes taught.
Many reasons contribute to why Malawi is poor. Geographically, Malawi is a small landlocked country with little access to global markets. They do not have any sufficient amount of natural resources, and the population is so high that most families only have a small plot of land to grow their food and therefore cannot rotate their crops. This ruins the fertility of the soil and the size of their harvest. Their main export is tobacco and with the growing concern of cancer, the demand and price has fallen while importing oil has become more expensive. Many families do not know how to do anything other than grow tobacco. They have done it for years, and now that way of life has become less supportive. Education is also a problem in Malawi. Only rich families can afford to give their children higher education so the poor children are stuck in the same way of life as their parents. In a world becoming more westernized, education is becoming important for people wanting to escape poverty.
What exactly does it mean to be poor?
Dictionary.com defines the word "poor" as "having little or no money, goods, or other means of support." People are classified as "poor" if they cannot support themselves and/or their family in a sufficient way. Many poor people have to rely on charity or other any other help they can find. Most people associate the word poor with the amount of materials and things that someone has. If someone doesn't have very much money, a nice house, a few cars... the rest of society sees them as poor. While this definition truly states how most people use the word "poor," I believe that someone can be spiritually or emotionally poor as well.
Dictionary.com also states that poor can mean "deficient or lacking." This definition is many times overlooked when applying it to humans. I have seen many people who are not economically classified as poor, but they cannot find happiness or be content with their life. Some people rely on religion to fill what is lacking; some people rely on others. The problem is that not everyone can figure out how to fill what is lacking. Some families in the poorest countries in the world may be financially poor but love the life that they live. They do not see themselves as poor because they have everything they need. This is where the word poor can be used in a different way than we are sometimes taught.
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