David spoke of his life growing up in South Africa and the experiences that led him to spend his adult life in community service culminating in his present role as CEO of INA. As a young man, he grew up in the era when Nelson Mandela took over in South Africa. He was a student activist ( President of the National Union of Students at University) supporting change in South Africa and the rights of the marginalized. His first key job was Head of the EU Parlimentary Support Program helping the Mandela government set up its democracy and processes. Unfortunately over time too many black activists with too many differing views hampered this process. Post Mandella South Africa has declined rapidly as these statistics of the situation at present show: - 22,000 murders per year (top 10 in the world) (193 in Australia)
- 66,000 rapes per year (3rd in world)
- 18,000 carjackings (1ST) (300 in Australia)
- 6 of the top 20 most dangerous cities in the world
- 49.9% youth unemployment (Australia 7.8%)
- 11% of youth HIV+ (15-24 years). New HIV infections 50% among women and 30% among men
- 1.2 million incidences of housebreaking (171,000 Australia)
David decided to move into the NGO space and work wiuth the most marginalized people, mainly women and children. Two famous quotes form the base of his passion and drove his beliefs: Education - “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” — Nelson Mandela Livelihoods - “Give a bowl of rice to a man and you will feed him for a day. Teach him how to grow his own rice and you will save his life.” — Confucius David started INA (International Needs Australia) to develop partnerships between wealthy organizations, communities and individuals and the most poor and marginilized groups in the world based on the mantra of "Give handups not handouts". For example, INA has partnered with Trinity Grammar and Haileybury College where students travel to work in poor communities and fundraise for them. The INA phillosophy is best shown below INA works in 9 countries where women and children are some of the most marginalized: India, Myanmar, Philippines, Ethiopa, Cambodia, Laos, Uganda, Sri Lanka and Nepal. David presented some more sobering information to back up why he is so passionate about trying to change the livelihoods of marginalized people - 710m people live in extreme poverty -less than US$1.90 daily
- 258m children of primary and secondary school age are out of school
- Only 50% Children worldwide in early childhood education
- 60% of chronically hungry people globally are women and girls
- If you have TOTAL net assets of $13,389 you are in the wealthiest 50% of the world
- If you have $212,471 of total wealth you are in the top 10% of global wealth-holders
- Bottom 50% of adults have less than 1% of total global wealth
David then went on to explain why INA concentrates on women and children and gave us many case studies to show how succesful his organization is, such as the toilet blocks they build for girls at secondary schools so young women can deal with sanitary issues and dont need to stay at home as is the norm for them. Once again he backed up his processes with great data. - Woman’s earning potential – up 20% for every year of completed schooling.
- Infant mortality – down 10% for every additional year of schooling a mother receives.
- Child is 2x more likely to attend school if a mother can read, and are 50% more likely to live past the age of five.
- Low wages: Globally, women earn 24% less than men and with current rate of progress, it will take 170 years to close the gap.
- Meaningful work: 75% of women in developing regions are in the informal economy - no contracts, protection.
- Unpaid care work: Women do 2x as much unpaid care work, such as childcare and housework, as men – sometimes 10x as much, often on top of their paid work.
- Early childhood development - higher education and earning as adults.
- The first 1000 days of life - between a woman's pregnancy and her child's second birthday - foundations for health and development across life.
- 171 million people could escape poverty if all students in low-income countries gained basic reading skills.
- Globally, 83% of children complete grade school, but 55% of youth do not finish high school.
- 129.2 million girls worldwide were not in school.
The other "arm" of INA is to set up interest free loans for a community to establish enterprises to improve their communities eg Group borrowers (Farmer Associations, Cooperatives, Self-Help Groups) / 15 - 90 members - $8,000. Individual borrowers: Grocery shops, tailoring shops, hair salons, etc - $1,000. David finished up with the accountability of INA. It is 1 of 55 fully DFAT accredited NGOs – 5 x match funding. INA garantees that 80% of its funds go directly to the participants. David's passion for his organization and its mission was fatastic and his presentation was most thorough and interesting.
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