MDG 8 in Real Practice towards Promoting Sustainable Development

YPWC MDG Clubs, which are operated in junior high schools in Ghana, serve as communication hubs, resource centres and inspiration for engaged youth and their communities. These clubs provide youth with the facts, the advisory support and financial resources to make their action plans a reality rather than just a dream. This programme seeks to equip youth with the right tools to gauge what their communities need and to motivate others to take on responsibilities and roles that are necessary to achieve the MDGs and to eradicate poverty in Ghana.
This year one of the functional YPWC MDGs Clubs in Ghana joined the rest of the world to mark the Global Youth Service Day (GYSD). The event was hosted at Bunkpurugu in the Northern Region from the 24th to 25th of April, 2009. The theme for the event was “Empowering youth to plant trees for environmental sustainability”.
The GYSD is an annual event that recognizes and celebrates the contributions of youth towards sustainable community development through voluntary service and the contributions made by the community (public, private, and nonprofit sectors) to empower young people. The day also provides a platform for young people in the world to take practical action that benefit their communities.
The two-day programme included a capacity building session and a tree planting session. There were a total of 25 participants at the event. Godwin Yidana and Gayle Pescud, both of YPWC, facilitated the event with the help of Matthew Nyannube Yosah, the YPWC MDG coordinator for the area. The programme was funded by Youth Service America.

The objectives of the event were:
1. To inspire participants to take action locally and to empower them for effective community development by equipping them with communication, leadership, time management and report writing skills.
2. To construct a tree nursery in the community that provides young people with seedlings to encourage tree planting, which is in line with the MDG 7 to ensure environmental sustainability.


ACTIVITIES:
The first day of the event, 24th April, marked the first day of the GYSD celebration which featured a capacity building seminar facilitated by Godwin Yidana and Gayle Pescud, both of YPWC.
The capacity building workshops were focused on four important topics:
• Leadership and time-management skills
• Report writing
• Communication skills
• Goal setting
The second day of the event, 25th April, started with a reflection exercise that provided participants with an opportunity to share with the group what they had learned on the previous day. They also had the opportunity to present to the group assignments that they had been given the previous day. This was a very practical exercise in presentation and communication skills.
After the reflection exercise, participants worked together to create a tree nursery to care for the seedlings that were bought. The tree nursery was successfully constructed and 65 seedlings (five Tig seedlings and 60 Mango seedlings) were cared for there. These seedlings have since been transplanted around the school compound in town.

IMPACT OF THE PROGRAMME
Though the programme was only two days long, it did make a lasting impact in the lives of the youth who participated.
The programme provided the participants with a platform to learn effective communication skills and how to apply those skills in their work. They learned about effective communication and group dynamics and then applied the lessons the following day during the construction of the nursery.
The programme also empowered members with leadership and time management skills. During the capacity building seminar, members were taken through a series of important leadership, time management and effective communication exercises.Some of them had the chance to stand before other people to do a presentation for the first time in their lives.
OTHER NEWS
In a related development, our Global Sister School partners-, Step by Step, a community education nonprofit in the USA, hosted an “Earth Day Block Party” at the Big Ugly Community Center on Saturday, 18th April, 2009 as part of their activities to mark GYSD. Over 80 young people took part in discussions, presentations and community service activities relating to water sanitation. Community members and youth worked on service activities, including a stream clean-up and planting trees on stream banks.
Youth and volunteers waded through a creek for a half mile and picked up 236 lbs of garbage and 75 lbs of recyclables. Volunteers planted over 150 riparian trees, including silky dogwood and tulip poplar. Volunteers also interviewed 10 people and recorded their thoughts about local water issues.
The programme was coordinated by Mathew Walker, YPWC’s Global Sister School Programme Coordinator and funded by a Learn and Serve Project FLOW grant through the West Virginia Commission for National and Community Service and a West Virginia DEP Stream Partners Grant. Project FLOW is a water education program that uses hands-on service learning to introduce environmental concepts, stewardship, and leadership development. Project FLOW teens will use the information collected from the interviews about weather issues to create videos that highlight community concerns.
The Global Sister School/Youth Groups programme of YPWC has its basis on Goal 8 of the MDG-Developing Global Partnership for Development. The main objective of the programme is to connect and network with youth groups around the world in order to build relationships and work towards social and economic development and the realization of the Millennium Development Goals. Schools and groups in African countries connect with, communicate and tackle issues with groups and schools from other continents, sharing best practices and implementing action projects related to the MDGs. The main activities of the organization include classroom and youth programming, internet based communication, and project development and management.

Millennium Campaign Releases New Stand Up and Take Action Video

Young People,
Have you seen the new STAND UP AND TAKE ACTION Video? It's :here and remember to join the rest of the conscious world to STAND UP and TAKE ACTION to make poverty HISTORY!

Achievements in International Development Award ‘09

Know somebody who's made a real difference to the fight against global poverry? Why not nominate them for the DFID/Marie Stopes/Guardian 'Achievements in International Development Award'. Closing date Friday 24th July - http://bit.ly/BHZp2

Young People Move to Save the Planet: Flow Day of Service

An Earth Day Block Party, hosted by Step by Step http://www.stepbystepwv.org/ a community education nonprofit, was held at the Big Ugly Community Center on Saturday, April 18^th from 10:00 AM to 4:30 PM. Students from Logan, Lincoln and Kanawha counties were joined by AmeriCorps VISTAs and Earlham College volunteers for discussions, presentations and community service. Participants and volunteers numbered over 80.

FLOW (Future Leaders of Watersheds)- http://www.stepbystepwv.org/blogs/ - participants from four sites gave short presentations about water to the public. Ric MacDowell, Director of the EPA Alternative Wastewater Demonstration Project, gave a presentation about septic tanks and wells, then led a brainstorm session that determined two pressing water issues. Youth and adults broke into two discussion groups then reported their recommendations back to the group. Community member Dale Kennedy participated in the event. “It was quite educational. I took away from it a few tid-bits about my water treatment system that I will be using.”

After an outdoor lunch, community members and youth worked on service activities, including a stream clean-up and tree planting on stream banks. Youth and volunteers waded through the creek for a half mile and picked up 236 lbs of garbage, and 75 lbs of recyclables. Mark Buchanan, with the Conservation Agency, directed the riparian (stream bank) tree planting project where volunteers planted over 150 riparian trees, including silky dogwood and tulip poplar. “It was very good thing for the community,” Kennedy commented. “A lot of the trees we have now are dying, and we needed some new life in this area.” Volunteers also interviewed 10 people and recorded their thoughts about local water issues. Project FLOW teens will use this information to create videos that highlight community concerns.

Project FLOW is a water education program that uses hands-on service learning to introduce environmental concepts, stewardship, and leadership development. This event is funded by a Learn and Serve Project FLOW grant through the West Virginia Commission for National and Community Service and a West Virginia DEP Stream Partners Grant. The WVDEP’s Make it Shine Program provided supplies for the cleanup and trees were provided by the Conservation Agency. The Block Party is a combination event to celebrate FLOW Day of Service, Global Youth Service Day and Earth Day. Participating Project FLOW sites are the Big Ugly Community Center, Harts Primary, Omar Elementary, and East End Family Resource Center. Please contact Matt Walker at 304-855-5402 or mwalker@stepbystepwv.org for more information about Project FLOW or to learn more about the Big Ugly Community Center.

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Freedom of Movement with Restrictions

A few weeks ago I was reading a newspaper item in the March 21^st 2009 edition of the Daily Graphic. In the course of reading the article, I realized a big and yet timely challenge has been thrown out by the Secretary General of the West African Civil Society Forum (WACSOF), Mr. Oumar N’dongo. Mr. N’dongo has called on governments of member states of the Economic Community of West Africa (ECOWAS) to ensure the full implementation of the regional protocols on the freedom of movement people and goods, which was adopted some decades ago.

Prior to reading this, I had participated in TakingITGlobal’s ‘Live Chat on Youth Migration’, which was held in commemoration of the 2008 International Migrants Day celebration. The chat was sponsored by Young People We Care (YPWC), a youth-led organization founded by myself and based in Ghana. The chat brought young people from around the world together to hear from experts and young professionals who are working on migration and youth development issues. This gave them the opportunity to share their thoughts on irregular migration and migrant rights within the context of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (ICRMW).

International migration has arguably become one of the most topical issues of today’s global order. Migration has been facilitated in the 21^st century by 'globalization' and the global development disparities of economic development and human development. In recent times, climate change and conflict have also resulted in an increase in migration.

There is currently a new way of thinking that is emerging on the migration and development agenda. Remittances sent through official channels were estimated to have reached US$318 billion in 2007; nearly US$240 billion of these funds went to developing countries. Remittances now exceed Official Development Assistance and can be seen as a new way of financing development and advancing the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. However this relies on remittances being well managed and invested in sustainable forms, such as education and health.

In the past, the idea that migration could contribute to development was overshadowed by the negative implications such as “brain drain.” However, recent studies have shown that there are positive contributions of return migrants and people in the diaspora. Brain drain can now be turned into “brain gain,” provided that migration is well managed.

While considering the prospects of regular migration in the context of international migration, I began to also think of this in the context of sub-regional migration. In the case of a sub-region such as ECOWAS, we have been able to work towards improving migration because we respect the human rights of immigrants, regardless of their status. In retrospect, I realize that we have not fully implemented the protocols on freedom of movement of people and goods to promote development.

It has become a well-known fact that immigration officials as well as some customs and security officials extort money from immigrants who are not aware of their rights. However, those immigrants who are aware of their rights are not safe from harassment either. For example immigrants who try to exercise their rights are intentionally delayed by unnecessarily long queues. The recent massacre of 44 Ghanaians in the Gambia underscores the fact that there have not been credible attempts to promote the freedom of movement protocol.

It was exciting to learn from the live chat that the ICRMW calls on countries to “ensure the rights of migrants in every country regardless of their legal status, inter alia, guaranteeing equal treatments and working conditions par with nationals.” I can – as I’m sure can you – imagine the utopian society that will be created if all human beings are treated with equality and the human rights of immigrants are respected regardless of origin or color.

When there are global forums promoting dialogues on migration, it becomes embarrassing for actors from Africa to call on western countries to change trade strategies and also treatment meted out to immigrants. As a regional body, ECOWAS heads of states cannot work towards promoting migration within its own territory, yet they always want to call on other countries to open up their borders and markets for trade and other activities. We have not been able to deal with our own challenges, which should be a priority for us. There is a wise saying that “before you tell someone ‘let me pull the mote out of your eye’, you should first cast out the beam of your own eye.”

There is a need to promote the protocol on freedom of movement and goods to promote migration within the sub-region. This would provide sustainable jobs to young people who otherwise would consider more dangerous illegal migrating options. Today, migrants – who, more often than not, are youth - are drowning while attempting to cross from North Africa into Spain or Italy, dying in the desert attempting to enter the USA, or becoming victims of forced migration. By extension, there is the need to promote citizenship, job freedom, and residency.

One of the first steps towards reducing the rate of abuse of migrant rights is to educate would-be immigrants on their rights. The government’s openness in dealing with corruption should not only target political offices but should also look carefully into prosecuting public officials that promote corruption through extortion and bribery at the borders of the nation.

It is very important to note that the current global economic crises calls for much greater regional cooperation within the sub-region. This cooperation would promote trade and development since some western countries are adopting protectionism approaches towards protecting their own economies.

Changing people's perception of migration and immigrants might be the biggest hurdle of all. I thought the xenophobic attacks in our sister country of South Africa was a great reason to think about this issue. I don’t know if ECOWAS has considered creating strategies towards avoiding the kind of horrible situation that occurred in South Africa in this protocol. Nevertheless, there is a need for the ECOWAS Secretariat to work with member states and the media in order to educate people on the current trends of migration and development. Technically, refugees and migrants are considered to be in different categories, but I think any attacks such as those in South Africa speak to the same fear of foreigners, immigrants, migrants or refugees being 'dangerous' or 'bad'.

In fact, communities that welcome these people and make the best use of their skills often benefit from them. Most migrants continue to look for jobs that indigenes would never have considered doing. Albert Einstein is a pretty good example of the benefits and contributions that a foreigner can bring to a nation.

Pragramatic Youth Unemployment Solutions needed in Philippines

Last year i visited Manila in the Philippines as a youth delegate for the Global Forum on Migration and Development.

During my one week stay it was obvious to see young adolescents engaged in prostitution. I began to question some of Philippinos whether prostitution has been legalized in the Philippines and the feedback was "no!"

I think the Philippines government will need to do more to tackle the youth unemployment situation to solve this crises and also empower young females. As some people told me when i asked them the reason why there is so much prostitution in Manila, they mentioned that there are less job opportunities for young people.

I think mere negligence of responsibilities like this has a wild rippling effect as in cases of high rate of HIV/AIDS cases and increase gender inequality just to mention a few. In this case no amount of migrant remittances can solve or cure diseases like HIV/AIDS if the government does not take pragmatic steps to solve this issue despite the fact that the Philippines is one of the world's leading recipient of migrant remittances.

In Ghana we have a saying that if you empower a woman you empower the nation but if you empower a man then you have just empowered an individual. This analogy connects with the fact that adolescents who will grow into womanhood sometime to come will be the likely people to stay for longer hours with children at home as compared to men. Thus they are likely to agents of change for both male children and females children.

Gobal Cooperation: needed more than ever before

In the recent weeks a lot of topical issues have arisen that relate to migration and development. The G20 Summit, the lost of hundreds of lives of immigrants which were fear dead off the cost of Libya and the announcement by CNN that in United States, 5.1 million jobs have now been lost since the beginning of 2008.

The job loss in the USA seems to be a huge proportion of the 20 million migrants that will lose their jobs in host countries as predicted by the ILO last year among the about 200 million international migrants worldwide. Indeed the world is on a recession. The world needs cooperation for development never than before. I still feel uncomfortable of the fact that in the wake of the financial crisis countries like Russia is reflecting a rising protectionist sentiment in the global economy. However I liked Gordon Brown's closing remark statement that they can not stand to watch the poor countries suffer in times like this. The G20 leaders have committed to make an additional $1.1 trillion available to help the world economy through the crisis and to restore credit, growth and jobs. Let’s hope these moves from rhetoric’s to action. See: http://www.number10.gov.uk/Page18914 for more information on the G 2O Summit and the story of the irregular migrants from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7973322.stm

My deepest sympathy for the hundreds of irregular migrants from Africa who lost their lives off the coast of Libya in trying to find a haven somewhere. I think that African governments will need to work hard to save the millions of lives that are lost on the high seas through irregular migration.