FHG's 2021 Re-Power Report
Thanks to our team, community collaborators, clients, and other supporters, 2021 was a great year!
Overview
We collaborated with 5 communities and 250+ participants!
We refreshed the FHG brand and updated our website to make it a better reflection of our bold mission.
A member of our senior leadership team became CAPM certified after passing the exam on her first try!
We launched our Art Works™ programme in collaboration with the Newburg Boys & Girls Club in the city of Louisville, Kentucky.
Percentages based on results of live polling during the summit and a post-summit survey
Listening + Amplifying
We used several methods to LISTEN and capture community voices, including using 22 community surveys.
And then we did our part to amplify those voices, including launching social media campaigns and securing news coverage—such as these new stories—
Quotes taken from open-ended comments made in post-engagement surveys.
What We Said in 2021
The Loaded Language of Development
What is meant by Global North vs Global South
Remittance vs Foreign Direct Investment vs Official Development Aid in 2019
Bob Marley - Legend and Development Icon
On C.L.AI.R.A. and Tech Bias in the United States
The Neonatal Epidemic: An Income-Based Battle
In the News: The Taliban Take Over Afghanistan
In the News: Earthquake in Haiti
About the Re-Power Report.
The Re-Power Report is an FHG annual report that gives a brief overview of our activities related to our work of collaborating with communities and assisting greater numbers of underserved peoples in responding and leading the discussion on development at different levels, but especially locally.
Why publish an annual report?
At Findlay House Global, we advocate for accountability at all levels, and that cannot happen without transparency. But our advocacy goes beyond simply talking the talk because we are committed to leading by example.
We have decided to publish our version of an annual report for the same reasons a nonprofit organization would:
To build trust
To shed light on our vision:
To inspire others to join our mission:
and to thank all our supporters (collaborators, clients, and cheerleaders!)
Why not call it an impact report?
At FHG, it’s about having the right perspective. We see our roles as helping to facilitate impact, but we do not pretend we can presume impact upon the people with whom we work. Instead, we choose to center their experiences, stories, and voices.
In the community development space, a lot of organizations are eager to demonstrate their impact in the form of evaluating predefined goals against quantifiable outcomes. While predefined goals can make many things easier in terms of monitoring, there are limitations, and even downsides, to relying on these goals to assess true impact.
Our work with communities has taught us that:
collaboration is an open-ended process.
Entering any community with predefined goals negates any opportunity for the community to define success for themselves.
Predefined goals and preset targets ignore, or at best underestimate, the broader and more complex dynamics associated with collaboration, which include: productive synergies, intangible change processes, and reinforcing longer-term outcomes.
What's the Deal with Population Growth?
BY CARA-MARIE FINDLAY
PRINCIPAL
What’s the Deal with Population Growth?
This past February (2022) the United Nations published a 2021 study entitled “Global Population Growth and Sustainable Development.”
The report explores
Some of the key takeaways, according to the official 2022 key messages document, include:
Global population is expected to continue to grow rapidly over the next few decades.
A decline in fertility can create a window of opportunity for accelerated economic growth.
And Higher incomes contribute more to environmental degradation than population growth.
Interestingly enough, there are a few parallels with the 2021 U.N. study and a 1974 United States National Security Memorandum.
The 1974 memorandum stated that higher rates of population growth:
All dimensions of development, as mentioned in the UN report’s summary.
So What’s the Deal with Population Growth?
Why should we care?
Arguably the greatest takeaway from both both the introduction to the 2021 U.N. report and the 1974 memorandum is the fact we are living in a time of
“unprecedented [population] growth”
(U.N. Policy Brief Introduction Paragraph; Memorandum Highlights of Current Demographic Trends paragraph).
And as both documents make clear, population growth directly affects other dimensions of life, to include: social and political order, economic development, and the environment.
Population Growth and Development
According to the 1974 memorandum, the relationship between Population growth and development could be summarized as the difference between “ensur[ing] survival for a larger population, rather than on improving living conditions for smaller total numbers.” (Section 11 bullet point 5).
As added context, the 2021 U.N. report starts by examining population growth since the 1950. However, the 1974 memorandum, starts even earlier giving a brief overview of population growth since the 1800s:
“At the rate of growth estimated for the first 18 centuries A.D., it required more than 1,000 years for world population to double in size. With the beginnings of the industrial revolution and of modern medicine and sanitation over two hundred years ago, population growth rates began to accelerate. At the current growth rate (1.9 percent) world population will double in 37 years.
By about 1830, world population reached 1 billion. The second billion was added in about 100 years by 1930. The third billion in 30 years by 1960. The fourth will be reached in 1975.”
UN Projection of Population Growth by the year 2100
Source Figure 1
According to the 2021 Report, although the pace has slowed considerably since 1970 (about the time of the 1974 U.S. National Security Memorandum) current projections “suggest that the size of the global population could grow to almost 11 billion [people] by around 2100.”
A UN projection was also mentioned in the 1974 memorandum. It was listed as the “U.N. ‘Medium Variant’: If present birth rates in the developing countries, averaging about 38/1000 were further reduced to 29/1000 by 2000, the world's population in 2000 would be 6.4 billion, with over 100 million being added each year. At the time stability (non-growth) is reached in about 2100, world population would exceed 12.0 billion.”
With 47 years between the two documents, it is remarkable that the UN projection only changed by 1 billion from 12 billion in 1974 to 11 billion in 2021 by the year 2100.
Causes and Correlations
The 1974 memorandum credited population growth to the industrial revolution and of modern medicine and sanitation; the U.N. report made a similar note -
Source Figure 3
“Rapid population growth is a result of one of the greatest successes of social and economic development: the substantial lengthening of the average human lifespan due to improvements in public health, nutrition, personal hygiene and medicine” (U.N. pg. 29 and Key Messages)
Both reports also assumed that high birth rates were primarily the result of “inadequate information about and availability of means of fertility control” (Executive Summary point 14) or as the U.N. report puts it “a failure to ensure all people, everywhere, have the knowledge, ability and means to determine whether and when to have children.”
Both reports assume that lower fertility rates contribute to faster economic growth (correlation), though the U.N. stops short of detailing any specific solutions to increased family planning and lowering the fertility rate.
The 1974 memorandum, on the other hand, goes further in articulating possible solutions—
birth control:
“Actual family size in many societies is higher than desired family size owing to ignorance of acceptable birth control methods or unavailability of birth control devices and services.” [Page ]
family planning:
“US agencies stress the importance of education of the next generation of parents, starting in elementary schools, toward a two-child family ideal. That AID stimulate specific efforts to develop means of educating children of elementary school age to the ideal of the two-child family” [Page ]
and even abortion:
“No country has reduced its population growth without resorting to abortion". [Page 182]
" -- Indeed, abortion, legal and illegal, now has become the most widespread fertility control method in use in the world today." [Page 183]
Another Perspective
To conclude that lower fertility rates is better for economic development is a very *Eurocentric* perspective, (*the belief that Europe [that is the West or the Global North] is the principal subject of world history) and does not take into account any other possibilities.
Admittedly, the 1974 report is rooted in a Eurocentric philosophy of modernity* (*the belief that societies will develop as they adopt more modern practices, and that “modern” societies are wealthier, freer, and enjoy a higher standard of living) saying:
“Certain aspects of economic development and modernization appear to be more directly related to lower birth rates than others.”
But this dismisses alternative values and philosophies.
Afro-Caribbean philosopher, Walter Rodney, commenting on how the European Slave Trade decimated the population on the continent of Africa said this:
“So long as the population density was low, then human beings viewed as units of labor were far more important than other factors of production such as land. From one end of the continent to the other, it is easy to find examples showing that African people were conscious that population was in their circumstances the most important factor of production. Among the Bemba, for instance, numbers of subjects were held to be more important than land. Among the Shambala of Tanzania, the same feeling was expressed in the saying “A king is people.” Among the Balanta of Guinea-Bissau, the family’s strength is represented by the number of hands there are to cultivate the land.”
- Walter Rodney, How Europe Underdeveloped Africa, p. 98
Chart from the Walter Rodney book How Europe Underdeveloped Africa (p. 97)
In previous centuries, other continents began to experience population growth while “The huge African continent has [had] an abnormal record of stagnation…and there is no causative factor other than the trade in slaves…” (Rodney, p. 97)
Source Figure 2.1
Thus, high fertility rates, especially on the continent of Africa should not be seen as a failure of Development. Rather it could just be an indication that African populations have chosen to embrace more traditional outlooks on population growth and building national strength, an outlook that predates the transatlantic slave trade.
The UN did rightly note that higher incomes contribute more to environmental degradation than population growth.
The philosophy of modernity which is built on capitalism and a consumption mentality has often ignored the cost to the environment in lieu of making as much money as possible as quickly as possible.
Conversely, traditional and indigenous knowledges often place premium value on actively preserving nature and conscious stewarding of natural resources.
Questions we should be asking…
Why do “Global” reports continue to be steeped in eurocentrism?
What is the connection between global population growth and U.S. National Security?
Why is suggesting abortion as a viable solution for lowering the fertility rate problematic?
What can we learn about preventing or remedying climate change from traditional/indigenous societies that we may have ignored because they were not “modern”?
These reports are published and public for all to read. But without knowing when or where or why to look for them, the average person may not seek them out on their own. We also know that these reports are often filled with loaded language that may need to be unpacked.
Part of our work at FHG is making the world of “development” accessible for everyday people, especially those people who are underrepresented, so that they can become better informed in order to participate and lead the development conversations and processes taking place at all levels—local, national, regional, and global.
The Civilian Uniform: How We Fit Into the Russo-Ukrainian War
BY ZIPPORAH ORBISI, CAPM
QUALITY ENGINEER AND CONSULTANT
The Civilian Uniform:
How We Fit Into the Russo-Ukrainian War
Many people are wondering how a war thousands of miles away has crept into our conversations, routines and minds on a daily basis. Globalization is the short answer to this extremely complex question.
Americans, along with nearly 200 other sovereign nations, have banded together to form the United Nations, which has connected us since the end of World War II. This unified front was intended to protect the humanity of the world as best as possible from the scales of injustice that tipped in its favor prior to 1945. However, this formation in conjunction with technological advances has laid the groundwork for globalization, especially through capitalistic ventures, which has propelled globalization with great speed over the past six decades.
However, to understand our particular role in this war, as civilians, we must first understand its beginning.
In February of 2014 Ukraine went through the Revolution of Dignity (Maidan Protests). This revolution was a direct result of a decision regarding a free trade agreement with the EU. Ultimately the citizens of Ukraine ousted President Yanukovych, whom many considered corrupt and in league with Russian Oligarchs.
February 20, 2014 began the Russo-Ukranian war in the bordering cities of Crimea and Donbas. As a point of contention was one country's desire to relish in the spoils of globalization (Ukraine) and a World Power seeking to protect its population from some of the dangerous outputs of globalization (Russia).
Although globalization does have some unfortunate impacts—such as job displacement—it is a tool that has been accepted and practiced as a part of democracy. This means that, ideally, the people in each democracy would have a choice, and freewill to participate within the world's interconnected networks.
The Global North has been afforded many of the spoils that come with being a part of an international community. This is why as civilians we are subconsciously taking on the responsibility of providing aid to the people of Ukraine, in this war.
What we are hearing constantly on news networks is the toll this conflict is taking on Ukrainian families. Displaced families have been forced to seek refuge in bordering countries. Ukraine civilians are caught in the cross hairs of the conflict, and the strength of their resolve to remain an independent and democratic country is being tested. Yet the reason you and I are hearing about it so often is because through globalization we have become interwoven with the people of Ukraine, even if at best they feel like a distant cousin.
What anyone located in the Global North is feeling right now—with rising fuel prices, and alarm regarding the state of democracy—is our interdependence on Ukraine and Russia. If Ukraine succeeds we reap the benefits of balance, and return back to life as we knew it, as soon as possible. However, if Ukraine does not succeed, we will also reap the detrimental effects of inflation, potential stock market lulls, a fear of nuclear strikes, and a general sadness for a community of displaced persons yearning for a choice, who desire to exercise control of their lives and the ability to shape their own national identity.
"Ukraine Soldier" by U.S. Army Europe (marked with CC PDM 1.0).
So how do we as civilians living outside of the borders contribute? As with any test that we stand to face, we must first seek to arm ourselves with the knowledge needed to be triumphant.
Before we can fight, give aid, or donate we must first seek to truly understand the many facets of this subject:
History: Why are the Ukranians (civilians) so determined and strong-willed in this fight?
Politics: How our influence on our government impacts their next steps in this fight?
Finance: What are the options for displaced refugees? And do they have enough resources available to them? Are there any barriers to access?
For those of us situated in the Global North, the ability to answer those questions is at our fingertips, a little more than several clicks away. And that is where our fight lies first!
With the right knowledge we can know exactly how useful we can be with our next steps.
Whether you ultimately choose to attend a peace protest (virtual or in-person), donate to an effort you believe in, or simply by spreading the knowledge you have gained through conversations with friends and family.
We must dress for this war, armed with knowledge. And realize that many of us have been afforded the luxury of the freedom to learn, grow, and choose our path to societal contribution on a global scale.