THEHUNGERPROJECTA strategic organization committed to the sustainable end of chronic hunger

When you think about world hunger

what are the first images that come to mind?

When you see those images

what thoughts arise?

When you see those images and have those thoughts

what feelings follow?

What youve just described is a type of hunger called famine -

defined as a severe interruption in an already vulnerable area caused by natural and or/man-made disaster for example, drought, earthquake, war

Famine is an emergency

Thats how it gets into the TV news, onto the headlines, and into our minds as the main kind of severe hunger we know

Famine

accounts for less than 10% of world hunger

The other 90%Chronic, persistent hunger

Doesnt look anything like famine

Chronic hungerCan be defined as not enough of the right kind of food over a long period of time

Unlike famine, chronic hunger isinvisible and silent even when you are looking right at it.

How many?

854 million people - roughly 1 in 7 people in our world

Today and everyday, 20,000 will die as a consequence of chronic hunger under 5 years old.

Not from starvation, but from diarrhea, flu, and other basic illnesses that weve all had and survived because we were not chronically hungry.

Progress?Is world hunger better, worse or the same today as it was in the 1970s?

1977 estimate = 41,000 deaths per day

Every headline today could read:Humanity cuts hunger by half in 30 years!

Where is most chronic hunger?The rest in Latin America, mostly amongst indigenous people, and in other parts of Asia29% in sub-Saharan Africa35% in South Asia (India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Nepal)

Hunger in the U.S.?Yes and many great organizations are addressing it

its the severity and prevalence in South Asia, Africa and Latin America that are so much higher

The Hunger Project is focused where chronic hunger is most widespread and severe

Famine isFundamentally an issue of food

food shipments delivered quickly end famine

Chronic hunger is fundamentally

NOT

an issue of food

Consider IndiaA net exporter of food for decades since the Green Revolution improved their agriculture in the 1950s and 1960s.Today has more than 40 million tons of grain in storageAND today - 47% of all children in India are malnourished worse than Africa

If food is not the answer?Chronic hunger is best understood as an issue of opportunity

It occurs when people lack the opportunity to translate a full days work into enough:FoodMoneyEducationHealth careVoice in decisions affecting their lives

Question becomes:

Why is this opportunity so diminished where chronic hunger persists?

1996 study commissioned by UNICEFAsked why rates of malnutrition in South Asia were so much higher than most African countries, even though all other indicators such as economic growth, agricultural production, infrastructure all suggested the opposite should be true?

Conclusion:

The exceptionally high rates of malnutrition in South Asia are rooted deep in the soil of inequality between men and women

Study revealed that severe discrimination against women and girls gives rise to a cycle of malnutrition

In India, since 2000More than 50,000 elected women representatives in 14 states have completed the 3-day, residential Womens Leadership Workshop.

In India, since 2000More than 100 local Indian non-governmental organizations are now partnering with The Hunger Project to provide ongoing trainings and support to these women as they work to transform the quality of life in their villages.

In India, since 2001The Hunger Projects Sarojini Naidu Prize for Journalists Reporting on Women in the PanchayatsIn 2001, 166 articles were submittedIn 2006, 1517 articles were submittedAwards ceremony on Gandhis birthday, October 22006 was hosted by the Ministry of the Panchayati Raj at the Ministers residence

Ending Hunger In AfricaLeadershipMarginalization of Women FarmersInfrastructureHIV/AIDS

The Epicenter Strategy:5 years to self-reliance!

PrinciplesLocal leadershipSelf-relianceGender EqualityPartnership with local governmentIntegrated strategy vs. sectoral, i.e. food production, income, education, health, nutrition, literacy et al..all togetherMinimal external inputsAffordable, replicable, sustainable

Essence of the Epicenter strategyto transform a culture of dependency, resignation, despair and discrimination against women and girls

to one of responsibility, self-reliance, and gender equality.

Four phases - overviewMobilization (1 year)Tipping Point (1 year)Progress on all fronts (3 years)Self-relianceDemand-driven people move when they are ready

Phase 1: MobilizationSupport of local leaders

Phase 1: MobilizationSupport of local leadersVision, Commitment,& Action workshop (VCA)

Phase 1: MobilizationSupport of local leadersVCA workshopTrain volunteer leaders called Animators

Phase 1: MobilizationSupport of local leadersVCA workshopTrain AnimatorsAnimator Initiated Projects

Phase 1: MobilizationSupport of local leadersVCA workshopTrain AnimatorsAnimator Initiated Projects

Phase 1: MobilizationSupport of local leadersVCA workshopTrain AnimatorsAnimator Initiated Projects

Phase 1: MobilizationSupport of local leadersVCA workshopTrain AnimatorsAnimator Initiated Projects Elect Epicenter Committee

Phase 2: Tipping PointChief donates land

Phase 2: Tipping PointChief donates landLearn to make concrete blocks

Phase 2: Tipping PointChief donates landLearn to make concrete blocksBuild the epicenter building

Phase 2: Tipping PointChief donates landLearn to make concrete blocksBuild the epicenter buildingSubcommittees for health, education

Phase 2: Tipping PointChief donates landLearn to make concrete blocksBuild the epicenter buildingSubcommittees for health, education, etc.HIV/AIDS Gender Inequality workshop

Phase 2: Tipping PointChief donates landLearn to make concrete blocksBuild the epicenter buildingSubcommittees for health, education, etc.HIV/AIDS Gender Inequality workshopInauguration!

Phase 3: Progress in all sectors

Phase 3: Progress on All FrontsCommunity Farm

Phase 3: Progress on All FrontsCommunity FarmFood bank

Phase 3: Progress on All FrontsCommunity FarmFood bankWomen Empowerment Project (WEP)

Phase 3: Progress on All FrontsCommunity FarmFood bankWomen Empowerment ProjectMobilize savings

Phase 3: Progress on All FrontsCommunity FarmFood bankWomen Empowerment ProjectMobilize savingsBank Certification

Phase 4: Self-relianceLow IMR, MMRWater & sanitationHalt AIDS, MalariaSustainable livelihoodsSustainable environmentMen return from cities

Self-reliance, responsibility and gender equalityAuthors of their own developmentWomen as leaders

$8 per person per yearover 5 years

The next great challenge"The last 50 years of development practice have shown that project success is not enough. The greatest technical challenge lies not in identifying the right interventions or making them work in one villagebut in taking known interventions to scale. Investing in Development: A practical plan to Achieving the Millennium Development Goals, UN Millennium Project Report 2005

Ghana Epicenter Scale-up DemonstrationEastern Region already mobilized 7 epicentersNot too far from the capital - Accra16 rural districts 1.3 million rural peopleGood cooperation with local government

Ghana - Eastern Region Scale-upEpicenters

The Hunger ProjectFounded in 1977 Currently working in 13 developing countries:West Africa Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana, SenegalEast Africa Ethiopia, UgandaSouthern Africa Malawi, MozambiqueSouth Asia India, BangladeshLatin America Mexico, Peru, Bolivia

The Hunger ProjectGiving more than 22 million people the opportunity to improve their lives

The Hunger Project2006 Global budget = $13.5 million248 staff worldwide150,000 volunteer leadersStaff and volunteers are all indigenous no outsiders lead our programs in developing countries79% $$ for Programs21% $$ for Administration and FundraisingCharity Navigator Four star rating (their highest)

The Hunger Project - FundingInvestment or charity?Investing as co-equal, strategic partners in creating a future free from hunger.Investing to have a meaningful personal stake in the historic process of ending hungerInvesting as an intervention in our own complacency, consumerism, and status quo. Investing to obtain a substantial return real, cost-effective, sustainable progress

The Hunger Project - FundingHow much to invest?Highest Appropriate Level Somewhere between too low to remember that you did it so high that its unrealistic and disempoweringHow you know?InspiredAwakenedCourageousConnected to partners throughout the world

Current Funding SourcesGlobal Investment Group (GIG) individuals, families and institutions at $5,000+/year (currently up to $1 million/year)GIG provides more than 75% of all our funding90% comes from $1,000+Financial Family monthly investment Various high level opportunities10% from Foundations and CorporationsFunding from 15 different countries

How can I participate?Become an investorMake a list of others you think might be interested in learning about The Hunger ProjectInvite others or host gatherings for others to learn about The Hunger ProjectLearn to lead Hunger Project presentationsLearn more www.thp.orgContact The Hunger Project locally or in New York at 212-251-9100 or info@thp.org

Service Delivery vs. Empowerment

Service Delivery vs. Empowerment

CONVENTIONAL, TOP-DOWN SERVICE-DELIVERY MODELTHE HUNGER PROJECTS BOTTOM-UP EMPOWERMENT MODELWhat about social and cultural issues?Immutable conditions that must be compensated for.Conditions that people can transform.How should we focus our work?Carefully target beneficiaries on an objective-needs basis.Mobilize everyone as broadly as possible build spirit and momentum of accomplishment.What is the role of central government?Operate centrally managed service-delivery programs.Decentralize resources and decision-making to local level; build local capacity; set standards; protect rights.What is the role of local government?Implementing arm of central programs.Autonomous leadership directly accountable to people.What is the role of civil society?Implementing arm of central programs.Catalyst to mobilize people; fight for their rights; empower people to keep government accountable.

What you have described is a particular kind of hunger. Its called famine or famine-related hunger. It is defined as a severe interruption in an already vulnerable area, caused by either a natural disaster or a man-made disaster such as war, or some combination of the two.

What is not commonly known is that famine has never accounted for more than 10% of the hunger in our world.Thank you, JimI am very happy to represent my brothers and sisters in the 8 Hunger Project countries of Africa in sharing with you our epicenter strategy.As you know, the epicenter is a methodology that empowers clusters of villages to work together to meet all their basic needs on a sustainable basis.The centerpiece of the strategy is that the people themselves build an epicenter building which is a center of mobilization and action for self-reliant development.The success of the epicenter strategy is due in large measure to the rigourousness with which the principles of The Hunger Project are applied.It is entirely based on developing and empowering local leadershipUnlike many strategies that demean people with hand-outs, we build peoples self-relianceWe absolutely insist on Gender Equality as our highest priority. For example, all epicenter committees have equal numbers of women and men a real innovation in African society and in a moment Ill tell you about specific interventions for gender equality.We work in Partnership with local government and in fact, we strengthen our partner communities to get what they need from local government. This is an Integrated strategy. We have found that the issues that face rural people of poverty, health, education, food production and the environment can only be solved if you solve them together. In this way, the epicenter strategy empowers people to achieve all the MDGs.The epicenter strategy demonstrates that people can achieve the MDGs with minimal external inputs, and maximum reliance on their own resources. This makes the strategy affordable, replicable and sustainable.At the heart of this strategy is a real transformation in who people are both as individuals and as a community.The Epicenter Strategy is a methodology to transform the culture of dependency, resignation and gender discrimination to a culture of responsibility, self-reliance and gender equality.

The epicenter strategy unfolds in four distinct phases.Phase One is mobilization. It takes approximately one year to overcome peoples sense of resignation and dependency, and build their confidence that they can take development into their own hands.Phase Two is when the communities come together to build the epicenter facilities. This is really the Tipping Point at which the process becomes irreversible, and it also takes approximately 1 yearPhase Three is when the communities are operating the epicenter programs and achieving progess on all fronts towards self-reliance in parntership with THP. This goes for approximately 3 years.Phase Four is when the epicenter is fully self-reliant, and people are fully in charge of their future development.These timings are only approximate. We cannot force people. The process is Demand-driven people move when they are ready.Now let me tell you about some of the specific actions in each phase.

The first step is to gain the support of the local leaders, which in Ghana includes the district assembly, the district chief executive and the officials from the departments of health, education, cooperatives, agriculture and administrative justice, etc.The next step is to begin holding Vision, Commitment and Action workshops first at the district and then at the community levels. These workshops are just what they say people create a vision for their community, they take a stand to achieve it, and then move into action.Out of the VCA workshops, people with natural leadership abilities emerge, and we provide these volunteer leaders with additional training to be animators who are the spark plugs for continuing to inspire people to take action.The animators work with the people to launch animator-initiated projects. These are projects at the village level that people initiate through their own resources. When people achieve success with these projects, they gain confidence that they can do even more. This is a photo of an improved plantain production project.This animator-initiated project is a palm-oil processing facility.And this one is a bakery.The culmination of phase one is when all the communities in the cluster come together and elect an epicenter committee with equal numbers of women and men who will be responsible for all the activities of the future epicenter.A first step in phase 2 is that the chiefs need to donate about 5 acres of land 2 acres for the epicenter building, and at least 3 acres for a community farm. They need to get the land surveyed, and they need to transfer clear title to THP and her partners so there wont be any disputes later.THP hires a contractor to supervise construction, and the epicenter committee begins to provide volunteer labor to make concrete blocks. These are sometimes the first concrete blocks ever produced in the community.Next, people volunteer labor to build the actual building, which typically has 9 rooms in a big L-shape, so that people can have gatherings in the area in front of the building.The epicenter committee establishes subcommittees to manage each function of the epicenter a committee for health, education, the community bank, the library, the food bank and community farm.In partnership with the health committee, we conduct the HIV/AIDS and Gender Inequality Workshop. This is the first ever workshop at the grassroots level that not only gives people the facts about AIDS, but also has people examine the dangerous gender behaviors that fuels he spread of the disease.Phase two is completed with a formal inauguration of the epicenter, at which we invite all the people and all the local officials all of whom experience the triumph of their accomplishment and their partnership.Once the epicenter is fully operational, the cluster of communities makes rapid progress in meeting all its basic needs while learning in the process from more training and empowerment provided by THP. Let me show you a short video clip of some of these programs in action at an epicenter in Uganda.In addition to the programs mentioned in the video, there is the community farm. People volunteer at the community farm, which provides food security for the community as well as introducing new farming techniques that people learn and take back home.The food from the community goes to the food bank, where it protects the epicenter against shortages, and also protects farmers income. This is because farmers no longer have to sell right after harvest when prices are low they can store their food in the food bank and take it to market later when prices are good.An innovation in Ghana is the Womens Empowerment Project. This program provides 15 days of intensive training three sessions spread over roughly three months for selected women leaders in legal rights, leadership skills and reproductive health. Villages choose women to participate, and these women become resource people to the villages. The women of the villages often refer to them as their lawyers. Perhaps the most powerful innovation in the epicenter is the African Woman Food Farmer Initiative, which organizes women into credit groups and gives them access to credit, savings and training. The all-women loan committees that are formed run the epicenter bank, and begin the process towards having the epicenter bank become an officially recognized Credit Union.When the epicenter bank gets this recognition, it also means that the epicenter is now mobilizing enough savings and generating enough income to meet all the day-to-day costs of operating the epicenter.THP was the first organization in Africa to take ordinary, rural women from little, if any, financial management skills to successfully meeting the criteria for certifying a bank.At this point, the epicenter is what we call self-reliant. THP no longer needs to invest money in keeping the epicenter going and growing. The community has achieved:Dramatically lower infant and maternal mortality rates. When Joan visited the Atuobikrom epicenter this year, the nurse told her that not one single child or one mother had died in childbirth, in all the 770 births at our four epicenter clinics since they started operation three years ago.There is safe water & sanitationPeople are able to halt the spread of AIDS and we are about to launch a campaign to prevent MalariaPeople have sustainable livelihoods with higher incomesPeople have learned to protect the environmentOften we see men, who had left for the cities for cash income, returning to their villages.Weve created a new culture of self-reliance, responsibility and gender equalityPeople are authors of their own developmentWomen have gained real confidence, and have become leaders

This entire process from abject poverty to self-reliance costs only $8 per person per year, for five years.There are baseline costs of training and empowering that are roughly the same each of the 5 years.Then, usually in year 2, there are the one-time costs of construction and setting up the microcredit funding.The relatively low cost of this strategy is key to its sustainability at the end of the 5 years, there are no big costs that someone has to usually pay for. The oldest epicenter in Africa Mpal in Senegal has been self-reliant for 9 years, and keeps getting stronger and stronger.Now we are taking on the next big challenge.As the report of the UN Millennium Project stated its not enough to have a few great successes what we need to do is scale up and reach everyone.We are taking up this challenge and Im proud that THP chose Ghana for the first demonstration of scale-up. Certainly, we want all our countries to scale-up as soon as possible.We have decided to do our first scale-up demonstration in one of the ten regions of Ghana and we chose the one where the people have already demonstrated success by mobilizing 7 epicenters.You should also know that we have a total of 23 epicenters spread over five regions of Ghana, and all of these will move ahead.The Eastern Region is not too far from the capital of Accra, so we can make sure the officials see these successes.The Region is made up of 16 rural districts, with a total rural population of 1.3 million people.We have already established a good partnership with the local government.

Our goal is to build a total of 112 epicenters in the region over the next 10 years.This will cost a total of $40 million.We were honored earlier this year that the Robertson Foundation after visiting our epicenters awarded a $5 million grant to get this started, which also includes a challenge to raise the next $4 million.On behalf of all of our partners across Ghana, allow me to thank you for your partnership, and pledge to you that we will meet this challenge, and pave the way for the pioneering work of THP to sweep all across Africa.