Indicators of Wealth vs. Metrics of Progress

The tenth Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (COP-10) met in Japan last week to debate the ongoing friction between declining global biodiversity and economic development.  Amongst an extensive list of (somewhat hazy) outcomes featured a compelling new challenge to recognised measurements of economic development, as the World Bank emerged as the latest contester of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as a proxy for economic progress.

GDP measures a country’s annual economic output; the value of all goods and services made within national borders during a year.  This economic measure has long been adopted as an indicator of a nation’s quality of life, on the assumption that the benefits of high national output are shared equally among citizens, leading to increased personal incomes and improved standards of living.  But the flaws in this theory are increasingly recognised.  Not only does it overlook the fact that national economic activity and personal income can be completely decoupled (see individual earnings in the United States between 1990 and 2006, compared with GDP), it also fails to consider the negative externalities that arise alongside economic growth.  Externalities may include, among other things, environmental degradation, erosion of natural resources, social inequities and poor human development, which can threaten the quality of life within any context of economic growth.  By neglecting the ‘bads’ associated with higher production, GDP overstates the true economic wellbeing of a country and its citizens.  Indeed, Simon Kuznets, the architect of GDP, noted in his first report to Congress (1934) that

the welfare of a nation [can] scarcely be inferred from a measure of national income.”

Image courtesy of http://web.worldbank.org/

Theorists and critics the world over have put forward alternative indicators thought to better reflect a country’s prosperity.  Challenges have emanated from international organisations (the United Nations gave us the Human Development Index as a combined measure of GDP, life expectancy and education); the non-profit sector (see the World Wide Fund for Nature’s Living Planet Index, and the New Economics Foundation’s Happy Planet Index); as well as from national governments.  In 2008, the government of Bhutan adopted Gross National Happiness (GNH) as its mechanism for monitoring national progress in terms of human wellbeing.  In a more high profile attack on GDP prior to the 2009 G-20 Summit, President Sarkozy of France called for a “revolution” against financial statistics, to acknowledge the wider influences on a nation’s wellbeing.  Sarkozy’s Commission on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress is mandated to explore a more appropriate metric for ‘progress’, under the leadership of eminent economists Joseph Stiglitz, Amartya Sen and Jean-Paul Fitoussi.

It is against this commotion that the latest proposition emerged in Japan last week, as the World Bank stood up in agreement that “our failure to properly value ecosystems” has led to the alarming decline of global biodiversity.  Picking up the conclusions of a United Nations’ study on The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB), the Bank announced a new global partnership to integrate the economic benefits of ecosystems into national accounts.  “The natural wealth of nations should be a capital asset valued in combination with its financial capital, manufactured capital, and human capital”, said the Bank’s President, Robert Zoellick.  By factoring the cost of environmental degradation into economic calculations, it is anticipated that the development trajectory of nations would be set on a more sustainable course.

This is tantalising talk, and with the World Bank at its roots, perhaps this sapling initiative has the potential to bear fruit across a broader geography than others have achieved.  But how will governments really take to the notion of a new metric, which rebalances the books to revise the sum of national accounts downwards?  Call me a pessimist, but it seems to me that GDP is so engrained into the modern economic psyche, that no more holistic metric could possibly take precedence.  To do so would need a radical overhaul of accepted wisdom, and a whole host of more enlightened political leaders.  And what is more, even if the World Bank’s initiative does win political appeal, will we ever achieve a metric that accounts for all things and all people?  What place for the social indicators that others have espoused?  Is there any metric comprehensive enough to provide the full picture of truly sustainable development?

Diablogue #2, Part 5: Microlending goes public. Let them eat stocks.

From Grameen Bank to the Kiva community, microlending is taking the world by storm. In Part 5 of our Diablogue on the topic of corporate responsibility, Jill Damatac investigates the fine line between the ethical heart of the Grameen philosophy - poverty eradication and human development - and the profit-making aspirations of financial institutions.  Can social gain be reward enough for microlenders?

Image courtesy of Bloomberg Businessweek

SKS Microfinance, India’s largest microlender, went public this past July, reaping over $350 million in its IPO.  This groundbreaking move has generated both record profits and a heated pro/con debate.  With recent turbulence at its helm—CEO Suresh Gurumani departed earlier this fall after apparent incompatibilities with founder Vikram Akula and SKS’s board—followed by accompanying turbulence in the Bombay Stock Exchange (due to investors nervous about the CEO’s firing), SKS’s IPO glow is fast fading, replaced by tough questions and, most prominently, the ever-nagging conflict presented by the opposing goals of an MFI (altruism) and its stockholders (profits).

Before SKS went public, Grameen Bank founder (and Nobel Peace Prize winner) Muhammad Yunus openly criticised the much-anticipated IPO,  emphasizing the main objective of microlending, which is to help eradicate poverty, versus the main objective of stockholders, which is to make profits.  Though this contrast is indisputably true, proponents of the IPO fairly underscored the difficulties faced by MFIs when it comes to fundraising.

>> Read on at The Owl’s Post

 

Jessica Jackley brings us… Microfinance with added TLC

It seems we’re not the only ones to be inspired by the magnificent potential of microlending.  But Jessica Jackley did more than just write about it.  In her incredible TED Talk, Jessica tells the story of Kiva; an online community that brings individuals together with low income entrepreneurs throughout the world, to add the ‘personal’ touch to microfinance.

Cuba’s prescription for medical success

A Socialist Republic since 1976, Cuba has proved itself something of an enigma on the international stage.  Demonstrating vehement independence in the face of intense socio-economic pressures during the past 50 years, the country has seen hundreds of thousands of its citizens emigrate to the USA, Europe and Mexico among others.  An unfamiliar political system, at times violent revolutionary history, secretive militarism and a dubious human rights record have tainted foreign relations with the European Union and USA until their respective slates were wiped clean in 2008 and 2009.

But amid this chequered past are snapshots of equity, justice and equality of opportunity such as only a Socialist system could offer.  In the United Nations’ Human Development Index, Cuba ranks a respectable 51 out of 182 states, reflecting the country’s strength in securing human wellbeing.  Cuba boasts a long average life expectancy from birth (78.5 years); an adult literacy rate (99.8 per cent) second only in the world to Georgia (100.0 per cent); and combined gross enrollment in primary, secondary and tertiary education of 100.8 per cent.  While GDP per capita ranks 95th out of 181 countries at US$6,876 (Purchasing Power Parity), Cuba’s Human Poverty Index is the 17th lowest among 135 countries.

Such high standards of living and commitment to human development rival even those countries with the highest GDP and (purportedly) life opportunities.  As a point of comparison, take the availability of medical schooling and qualification to society at large.

Despite recognised shortages of medical practitioners in industralised nations such as the USA and UK, and the public health risks that this shortage threatens, the costs of medical training prove an obstacle to many eager entrants to the profession.  In the USA, the average tuition fee for a first year medical student totals US$25,000.  After four years of study, a graduate doctor is liable for around US$100,000 in teaching costs alone, excluding subsistence and other expenses.  Studying in the UK may offer a less costly alternative, but nevertheless the British Medical Association (BMA) estimates that graduates here emerge with debts of up to £46,000 or more.  Justifiably, the BMA is concerned that the profession is rapidly becoming the domain of the privileged and the wealthy.  According to The Guardian, in 2008 only four per cent of medical students in the UK originated from the two lowest socio-economic groups.

Not so in Cuba.  Cuba’s wealth may not be comparable with those of its most industrialised counterparts, but, when Fidel Castro came to power in 1959, his Socialist government embarked on the construction of a health system to benefit all in society.  Around ten per cent of annual government spending is said to be allocated to health.  With its emphasis on primary care – health education and prevention – Cuba’s approach has met with global admiration.  And the country’s commitment is epitomised above all by its provision of free medical training to low income and minority students from all over the world.

Operated by the Cuban government, the Latin American School of Medicine (Escuela Latinoamericana de Medicina, ELAM) was established in 1999.  By 2006, ELAM’s courses were attended by approximately 10,000 students of 29 nationalities.  While those from outside Cuba are predominantly of Latin American, Caribbean and African origin, students from disadvantaged backgrounds in the United States have also been admitted since 2001.  The six year programme closely replicates the US course of medical training, with additional emphasis on primary health, community medicine and hands-on internship experiences.  The scholarship covers the cost of all tuition, accommodation, textbooks (in Spanish) and meals, and a small monthly stipend is also available to students.  The only proviso is that, upon graduating, students should return to their home countries to provide low cost medical care to deprived communities.

ELAM was born of Cuba’s humanitarian and development aid response to the catastrophes of Hurricanes Georges and Mitch in 1998 (the Integral Health Plan for Central America and the Caribbean).  For the following ten years, the Cuban government offered 500 full medical scholarships per year to students from the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Honduras, and Nicaragua – countries seriously affected by the tropical storms.  In 1999, Castro officially inaugurated ELAM at the 9th Ibero-American Summit.

It was the Greek philosopher, Plato, who conceived the notion that “necessity is the mother of invention”.  In highlighting the extreme necessity for healthcare services in deprived areas of the Caribbean, the disastrous hurricanes of 1998 have brought an exemplary invention to the world: medical training of the highest standards, provided free to those with the drive and commitment to succeed.  Though often overlooked in the international arena, it’s possible that Cuba’s prescription for health and education could remedy the growing inequities in the equivalent systems of industrialised nations.

A Question of Sportsmanship: searching for integrity off the pitch

The concept of “sport” is intrinsically connected with principles of morality, honour and “playing by the rules”.  Take, for example, the definition of “sportsmanship” provided by Webster’s English Dictionary:

conduct (as fairness, respect for one’s opponent, and graciousness in winning or losing) becoming to one participating in a sport.”

And thus, a “sportsman” is one who is “considered with respect to living up to the ideals of sportsmanship”.  On this basis, perhaps, one might imagine a professional sportsman to stand at the pinnacle of social ideals: someone to look up to, someone we might aspire to be.

But does the reality of sport align with this textbook perception?

Over the past twelve months alone, the media has cast aspersions on the integrity of some of our highest profile sporting stars.  In November 2009, golfing great Tiger Woods admitted to a series of extra-marital affairs.  As his sponsors deserted him, Woods took an “indefinite break” from professional golf while the media sting abated.  In January 2010, attention shifted to Chelsea footballer John Terry, when his own affair was dramatically exposed as the latest in his record of misdemeanours.  Tales of drunkenness, violence, drug-taking and debauchery have plagued the sporting world, so why do we place its actors on such a pedestal?  Are we wrong to expect them to toe the moral line in their private lives, simply because they have to play by the rules on the sports field?  Surrounded by such media hype, grandiose salaries and equally over-inflated egos, could anybody live up to such ideals?  Questions like these are rife in the current affairs media, as we see the fall from grace of global sporting icons.

A recent (February 2010) debate hosted by the BBC News website invited opinion as to whether sportsmen are acceptable “role models” off the pitch.  The question met with a tirade of comment, many of which echoed this reader:

I have no desire to aspire to be like any of the sports people I see or hear about in the media! What a bunch of ‘think’ fame seekers! If we have to have ‘role models’, could we at least aspire toward intelligence or would it undermine a social system of dumbing down humanities [sic] expectations of possibility?”

But let us stop a moment and remember our idioms.  Did not our mothers teach us ‘never to judge a book by its cover’, and not to ‘tar everyone with the same brush’?

Rightly so.  It would be ignorant to write off so easily the incredible potential that sport can have for philanthropy and social gain, and the quiet diligence with which real sporting excellence is being played out around the world.  Cameroonian footballer Samuel Eto’o is a case in point.  Trained in his home country, Eto’o has risen to fame as one of the world’s top strikers, playing club football with FC Barcelona and captaining the Cameroon national side in the 2010 FIFA World Cup.  Less well known, however, have been the incredible time and money that Eto’o has ploughed into development projects back home.  Speaking on the website of his private foundation, he explains that

football has given me everything and I feel obliged to repay my people. There is nothing nicer and nothing which makes me happier than sharing with the disadvantaged. And I am convinced that thanks to football I can return to my people a part of what they have given to me.”

Through the foundation, Eto’o has contributed to the improvement of orphanage facilities, the provision of basic care to street children, and the expansion of medical services to communities in Cameroon.

His sentiments are shared by fellow star of the African football scene, Didier Drogba, whose own foundation was launched in 2007, with the mission to “provide financial and material support in both health and education to the African people”.  Widely credited with bringing peace to an intensely troubled nation, the power of Drogba’s influence in his native Ivory Coast has been astonishing.  The country had been in the grip of civil war for five years when, in 2006, Drogba made a public appeal from the dressing room of the World Cup finals in Germany.  Within a week of his call for both warring factions to set down their weapons, “his bold wish had been granted”.  In an interview with The Telegraph, Drogba explained, “all the players hated what was happening to our country, and reaching the World Cup final was the perfect emotional wave on which to ride.”

These are just two in the many examples of how sport can fulfil the fair and gracious ideals of its existence, and yield incredible benefits for society.  Tennis supremo, Andre Agassi, and Chicago Bulls basketball star, Luol Deng, offer further exemplary initiatives.  While the questionable moral conduct of the few carries the media headlines by storm, let us not forget the ongoing efforts of the many, and offer them the respect they deserve as the true role models of the sporting world.

We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly.”  Aristotle, 384-322 BC

Diablogue #2, Part 4: Microfinance, macro difference for low income entrepreneurs

Part 4 of Diablogue #2 with The Owl’s Post builds on our thoughts about fair trade and social enterprise, by exploring a financial model that apparently represents the antithesis of traditional banking systems.  Microfinance schemes were pioneered in the 1970s by Professor Muhammad Yunus, in the midst of devastating famine in his home country of Bangladesh.  Yunus’ research programme at the University of Chittagong sought to determine the viability of a credit delivery system targeted at the poorest members of society.  He and his Grameen Bank subsequently won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 “for their efforts to create economic and social development from below”. This article considers the principles of microfinance, and the huge potential it offers to stimulate economic enterprise and raise vulnerable people out of poverty.

The Grameen Bank Project was founded upon Yunus’ objectives to:

• Extend banking facilities to men and women living in the most deprived conditions;
• Eliminate exploitation of the poorest members of the community by money lenders;
• Create opportunities for self-employment and economic enterprise;
• Bring disadvantaged people – largely women – into the structure of an organisation which they can understand and manage by themselves; and
• Transform the vicious cycle of “low income > low saving > low investment” into a virtuous one of “low income > injection of credit > investment > increased income and savings > increased investment > more income”.

Grameen borrowers weaving mats

The achievement of these goals requires recognition of some key flaws in traditional finance models.  Historically, banks have not provided financial services – and especially loans – to applicants with little or zero cash income or a verifiable credit history (i.e. those most in need of financial support), since the risk of non-repayment is too great to justify the cost of administration.  Furthermore, the majority of low income people have few possessions that may be secured by a bank as collateral.  In low income countries, uncertainty of land tenures can mean that even those people who “own” land may not ultimately have legal title to it.  This means that a bank has little recourse against defaulting borrowers.  In such cases the financial service sector is staunchly risk averse.

As a result, the poorest members of both industrialised and low income societies have frequently relied on relatives or local moneylenders for the cash injection needed to stimulate sustainable livelihoods.  But it has been widely recognised that moneylenders charge higher interest rates to the poorest borrowers, with rates of between 10-100 per cent incurred on informal loans.  Whilst their convenience and speed of service can be attractive, the services of moneylenders cannot be viewed as a sustainable means of revenue generation for low income communities.

Microcredit, offered by institutions such as the Grameen Bank, is the provision of very small loans (typically less than US $100 in low income countries) to those in poverty.  Available specifically to those people who are excluded from traditional banking services, the loans are designed to inspire entrepreneurship.  Moving away from the austerity of the stereotypical bank, micro transactions more regularly take place at the community level from a local hall or place of worship.  A borrower may use the loan to buy the tools and equipment needed to establish a business and generate a longer-term, self-supporting income.

Microfinance initiatives flourished in low income countries during the late 20th century, with the variety of providers expanding to encompass major development banks, financial cooperatives and credit unions, among others.  Women in poor communities have been some of the most significant beneficiaries, currently forming 97 per cent of the Grameen Bank’s 6.6 million borrowers.  Microfinance has given women the opportunity to forge their own path within societies where they are frequently viewed as second class citizens, and has been commended for reducing domestic violence by enabling women to reach previously unattainable levels of independence.

But microfinance is far from a phenomenon of only the poorest nations.  At the end of 2009, the Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) was reportedly tracking 1,084 microfinance institutions serving 74 million borrowers worldwide.  The Grameen Bank commenced operations in New York in 2008, and currently serves the USA from offices in New York City, Omaha and Washington D.C.  MIX estimate that 37 million people in the USA live below the poverty line, providing a rich client base for microfinance initiatives.  A recent Newsweek report described Grameen America’s clientele of 3,500 borrowers, within the context of the organisation’s ongoing expansion as major banks nurse wounds inflicted by the financial crisis and keep credit tighter than ever.  Elsewhere, the microcredit model is gaining impetus in Israel, Russia, Ukraine and other industrialised countries, where loans are used to overcome cultural barriers in the mainstream “business” world.

Despite initial skepticism, large financial organisations are recognising the success of microfinance models and beginning to view micro- projects as a source of future growth.  In the US, Grameen Bank currently operates on grants and long-term loans from the likes of Wells Fargo and Capital One, who see support to small-scale borrowers as a mechanism to develop a community of more affluent people who will one day need larger and more sophisticated financial services.

Forty years ago, Muhammad Yunus had a vision of a more sustainable financial system.  Now, as the 21st century presents us with ever-increasing socio-economic challenges, his vision may prove to be more valuable than the corporate world ever thought possible.

Diablogue #2, Part 2: Trade, how fair is “fair”?

Image courtesy of www.guardian.co.uk

Part 2 of Diablogue #2 kicks off our delve into all things CSR, by going back to basics on “Fair Trade”, that seeming panacea for ethical business.  In response to growing awareness about the failure of conventional trade mechanisms to deliver sustainable livelihoods and development to people in the poorest countries of the world, Fair Trade promises increased equity in global supply chains.

But what does Fair Trade mean, and can it really guarantee the legitimacy of supply chains that consumers perceive?

The World Fair Trade Organisation (WFTO) cites the accepted definition of Fair Trade as

a trading partnership, based on dialogue, transparency and respect, that seeks greater equity in international trade.  It contributes to sustainable development by offering better trading conditions to, and securing the rights of, marginalised producers and workers – especially in the South.”

The Fair Trade movement operates under the premise that, if trade is managed with greater transparency, it can be an essential driver of poverty reduction, economic and human development.  Supported by consumers, Fair Trade Organisations are actively engaged in supporting producers, raising awareness and campaigning for changes in the rules and practice of conventional trade, with the mission to drive justice and sustainable development to the heart of trade structures.

Fair Trade products are marked by a registered certification label, which verifies that the product meets recognised standards set by the international body, Fairtrade Labelling Organisations International (FLO).  The standards pursue a set of fundamental trade objectives, including:

• To ensure a guaranteed Fair Trade minimum price, which is agreed with producers and aims to enable market access for marginalised producers;
• To provide an additional Fair Trade premium which can be invested in projects that enhance social, economic and environmental development;
• To enable pre-financing for producers who require it;
• To emphasise the idea of collaboration between trade partners;
• To facilitate mutually beneficial, equitable and long-term trading relationships; and
• To set clear minimum and progressive criteria which ensure that the conditions for the production and trade of a product are socially and economically fair, and environmentally responsible.

The standards are developed through research with key players in the Fair Trade scheme, including traders, non-governmental organisations, academics and labelling organisations, and they apply to both producers and trading relationships.  FLO supports producers, processors and exporters to achieve the Fair Trade standards, and they are regularly inspected and certified by FLO’s certification arm, FLO-Cert.

Fair Trade also adheres to standards that have been widely adopted in national legal systems and through voluntary codes of conduct.  Particularly notable are the International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions, which seek decent working conditions, freedom in the choice of employment, protection against discrimination, and respect for the rights of children.  Ensuring compliance with these standards is a major challenge in low income countries and emerging economies.  Whilst recognising the importance of legal requirements and respect for basic human rights, the Fair Trade movement notes that, alone, they are insufficient to reorient trade relations towards long-term development goals.  Fair Trade therefore implies progress beyond regulatory compliance, through deeper engagement with actors in the trading chain and realisation of the wider social and political context of their economic relationships and transactions.

The apparent rigour of the Fair Trade system provides a degree of confidence that ethics have had a part to play in bringing products to the consumer.  But researchers have suggested that even Fair Trade certification should be taken with caution.  A BBC Panorama broadcast in March 2010 called into question the legitimacy of Fair Trade labels applied to chocolate sold in the UK.  In an investigation into the chocolate supply chain, the BBC “found evidence of human trafficking and child slave labour”.  Panorama suggested that there is “no guarantee”, despite the safeguards associated with “Fair Trade” chocolate, that child labour has not been involved in the supply chain.  As cocoa passess through the chain of custody from farmer to buyer, wholesaler to exporters, importers and chocolate manufacturers, its source becomes harder and harder to trace.  Like so many products of the globalised marketplace, cocoa is frequently sold on the open market, where the commodity price ultimately takes precedence over all other considerations.

Fair Trade offers the best solution yet to securing supply chain responsibility, and has made remarkable progress to bring sustainability and equity on to the global business agenda.   But despite the best intentions of certification bodies and end producers, to what extent can anybody truly guarantee that “Fair Trade” is as fair as we perceive?

Street children follow in the footsteps of FIFA

The preparations are over.  The countdown is complete.  This weekend, the world looks to South Africa with eager anticipation as FIFA World Cup 2010 commences.  And what an incredible feat this World Cup should be.  Only 16 years since the end of apartheid, here is South Africa’s opportunity to show the world just how far the country has come.

South Africa’s hosting of the World Cup is testimony to the achievements of our democracy.”  Kgalema Motlanthe, President of South Africa.

With bated breath, critics look on expectantly.  “There was doubt and scepticism from many parts of the world”, FIFA president Sepp Blatter reflected on his organisation’s decision in 2004 to award the tournament to South Africa.  The successful delivery of this World Cup may have a profound impact on how the African continent as a whole is perceived overseas, and may forge increased unity within the continent itself.  South Africa has worked closely with a number of neighbouring states to ensure a positive legacy is shared.  Former President Thabo Mbeki emphasised the Government’s goal to “stage an event that will create social and economic opportunities throughout Africa”, such that “historians will reflect upon the 2010 World Cup as a moment when Africa stood tall and resolutely turned the tide on centuries of poverty and conflict”. 

The first signs are, on the whole, strong.  The infrastructure and development works completed for the tournament have produced impressive results, not least the 94,000-capacity Soccer City in Johannesburg.  Visitors have arrived to an array of quality accommodation, and a buzz of excitement is reported to pervade even the poorest areas of the country following Friday’s spectacular opening ceremony.

But the shiny buildings and colourful celebrations scratch only the surface of this World Cup story.  South Africa’s local FIFA World Cup chairman, Danny Jordaan, stated boldly last year that he would not support any move to “create a false impression about South Africa… We are a country of diversity, rich and poor, employed and unemployed, and the world must know that we have massive challenges of poverty and housing, and we must address these issues”.  And elements of South Africa’s frictions have indeed been felt in the lead up to the tournament, with dubious reports covering the forced removal of street children from city streets and the legalisation of prostitution.

However, by recognising and embracing its ongoing challenges South Africa has also demonstrated its capacity to offer new mechanisms through which to stage a truly historic and noteworthy event.

Not least of these initiatives has been the Street Child World Cup, held in the city of Durban in March.  Hosted jointly by the charity Umthombo and Durban Institute of Technology, partnered by the Ethekwini Municipality and led by the children themselves, the Street Child World Cup brought together teams from eight countries to realise their potential in a game they love.  Children from Brazil, India, Nicaragua, Philippines, South Africa, Tanzania, Ukraine and the UK travelled to Durban to participate in football coaching, arts and music.  The children were encouraged to engage in debate about issues of importance to them, in order that they might return to their home countries to act as mentors to other street children and find practical solutions to the issues they raised.

Source: www.nowiamaperson.co.uk

The Street Child World Cup began the process of reaching a global Street Child Manifesto calling for the fulfilment of street children’s rights to a full, healthy and dignified life, as set out by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).  Agreed in 1989, the Convention recognises the basic human rights of children to survival; personal development; protection from harm, abuse and exploitation; and to full participation in family, cultural and social life.

Unknown millions of vulnerable young people live on the streets of cities throughout the world.  Driven by varying  circumstances of poverty, hunger and violence, they are often greeted by further poverty, crime, disease and abuse.  Governments and the public frequently fail to address this marginalised group in society and neglect to provide them with the intensive support that they need.  14-year old Wanda Msani, captain of the South African children’s football team, described how “when people walk past us, they look at us like we are dogs. They look down on us like we are not even people, just because we eat from bins”.  The World Cup gave the children an opportunity to prove to themselves and others that “we can be something”.  Football provides a moment of escape from the stigma of being a street child, to play like ordinary children and to dream of a better future; Brazilian national star, Adriano, was plucked from the favelas of Rio de Janeiro to shoot to international football success, while Argentinian Carlos Tevez was raised in one of the most dangerous neighbourhoods of Buenos Aires, Fuerte Apache.

South Africa may not offer the perfectly honed package of national attributes expected of a global sporting venue, but its ability to accept and stand up to ongoing challenges provides an invaluable chance to bring internationally important issues to the forefront of what will be the most-watched event this year.  What an incredible awareness-raising opportunity.

In the children’s nerve-wracking final, India triumphed over Tanzania, 1-0.  We’re yet to see how the professional teams will fair, but our best luck and support goes to South Africa to deliver a tournament to be remembered.

Umthombo is a Durban-based charity run predominantly by former street children, with the mission to change the way society perceives and treats street children.  The charity works by educating society about the realities of life on the streets, and by formulating effective strategies to address the issue in South Africa.