The Hunger Project has been working with partner organisations in Malawi to combat the spread of malaria since 2011. 

Malaria remains one of the world’s leading killers. According to the World Health Organization, it claims the life of one child every two minutes. Progress has been made in limiting the scope of the disease in Africa. However, climate change is expanding the range of malaria-carrying mosquitoes, putting populations at risk that haven’t previously been exposed. 

Currently, 57% of malaria fatalities are children younger than five years old. Children who are malnourished are at the highest risk of life-threatening complications.  

As part of the Majete Malaria Project, Animators (local volunteer leaders) in 118 villages have been trained by The Hunger Project. They conduct malaria prevention workshops, improve houses to reduce mosquito bites indoors, and train community health workers on the methods of malaria transmission. 

For maximum impact, The Hunger Project-Malawi has partnered with UNICEF on the sale and distribution of low-cost, anti-malarial bednets within THP’s Epicentre communities. In 2018, 13,857 malaria-preventing bednets were distributed. 

There is a place where women are sent into forests to collect fodder to feed their livestock – despite farmers keeping their cows out of the very same forests for fear that their precious livestock will be eaten by tigers.

This is also a place where every second person you speak to believes a man is allowed to beat his wife.

This place? Is in the state of Uttarakhand, high in the Himalayan mountains and distant from any infrastructure and key education or health services – where the stories you hear constantly remind you of the deep-rooted inequality and persistent hunger.

This way of life is not sustainable, for anyone. It keeps women subjugated,  isolated and discriminated against; men disenfranchised, abusing their power and turning to illegal alcohol for respite; forests decimated because the trees are sold off to big corporations with no benefit to the local community; and the cycle of hunger keeps on turning, as it has for generations gone by.

The cycle continues because, to date, solutions have always been band-aid fixes, and have never been addressed in a sustainable way. A holistic approach has never been taken to social, economic and environmental issues.

The Hunger Project is partnering with champions of change to create sustainable solutions to end their hunger. In fact, sustainability is a core principle of The Hunger Project’s work and is key to any solution we implement in partnership with the community.

One champion of change in Uttarakhand is Basanti – a pioneer of long-term solutions, a symbol of hope and optimism, and a fierce warrior protecting her people and her land.

Basanti is evidence that norms are shifting and that – while not inevitable – it is possible to replace band-aid fixes with sustainable solutions.

A brave form of protest was conducted by the women of a village in Uttarakhand. Led by their fearless leader Basanti, a group of empowered women took matters into their own hands to stop a truck, driven by a criminal cartel, carrying bootleg alcohol into their village.

They stood shoulder-to-shoulder in the middle of the road, physically blocking the truck with their own bodies.

These women said they would rather risk their lives than live in fear.

Women in Uttarakhand know that illegal alcohol is killing their husbands and sons. In February 2019, 70 people died in the area after drinking a batch of tainted illegal alcohol.

Bootleg liquor is also directly linked to the dramatically high domestic violence rates in the region – a place where systemic violence against women has created a belief in women that men are allowed to hit their wives. 47% of women, and 42% of men, believe husbands are permitted to beat their wives.

Social inequality exacerbates and prolongs the devastating cycle of hunger and poverty, and impacts both women and men. To bring about a sustainable end to hunger once and for all, the gender discrimination that has been entrenched in Basanti’s community for generations must be eradicated.

The Hunger Project’s women’s leadership workshops in India are interrupting long-held, harmful social norms and gender roles that bar women from being active, valued community members.

Upon graduation from the workshops, women like Basanti become fierce leaders and champions of sustainable change in their communities. By opening the women up to the leadership and abilities already lying within them, Basanti and others go to great lengths in putting their lives on the line to eliminate social inequality and hunger from their villages forever. They look for the root causes of issues – and work to address them, in order to bring about lasting change.

In a community with limited access to natural resources, conservation is crucial. If the environment is compromised, so too is the food and firewood they rely on.

In the face of this, Basanti is working tirelessly to strengthen the age-old and unique Uttarakhand institution of “forest councils” to protect the forests for generations to come.

 

 

“Our engagement with the forest makes it inevitable for us to feel more responsible for protecting what we consider living, breathing creatures.”  

The elected women of Uttarakhand have banded together to relentlessly fight the increased deforestation that has led to environmental degradation. By vocalising the imminent threat to their environment, they have re-established 50 forest councils to educate government workers about the threats and ensure the forest is protected in government policy.  Under their supervision, thousands of saplings are being planted to help repair the damage that has been done to their local ecosystem. 

We are celebrating not one, not two, but three Epicentres across three different countries all reaching the momentous milestone of Self-Reliance!   

Bougue in Burkina Faso, Chokwe in Mozambique and Wurib in Ethiopia are now communities who have demonstrated the transformative power of The Hunger Project’s unique Epicentre Strategy, joining 28 other self-reliant Epicentre communities across Africa.  

Our Epicentre Strategy is effective, affordable, replicable and built to last, enabling sustainable and holistic change. Self-Reliance is defined as when community members are confident and have the capacity and skills to act as agents of their own development – Bougue, Chokwe and Wurib have demonstrated this against The Hunger Project’s rigorous monitoring and evaluation scoring system. 

Show me the numbers!

Bougue Epicentre – Population 27,370 

Self-Reliance was achieved in partnership with the Victorian Investor Consortium. 

On top of these remarkable results, Bougue has been able to develop a centre for entrepreneurship with more than 77% of the rural households owning non-farm related businesses. This is important because it diversifies their individual income streams as well as the local economy, stimulating jobs and expanding the skillsets of the community.  

Chokwe Epicentre – Population 16, 366 

Self-Reliance at Chokwe was achieved in partnership with The Beeren Foundation & Investor Consortium. 

Chokwe achieved additional positive health-related results: more than 77% of the population know their HIV status, and the prevalence of diarrheal disease in children under 5 is down to 11%. This means women, men and children are living healthier lives.

Wurib Epicentre – Population 22,979 

Self-Reliance at Wurib was achieved in partnership with The Beeren Foundation & Investor Consortium. 

More than 85% of the community in Wurib said they feel they have the power to positively bring about change in their community. On top of these results, the community has ensured that women are represented and are holding leadership roles. This has resulted in Wurib scoring 75 out of 100 onThe Hunger Project’s Women’s Empowerment Index.  

Spotlight on: Bruce Beeren

The positive results in Chokwe and Wurib were achieved in partnership with long-time investor Bruce Beeren, of the Bruce Beeren Foundation. Bruce, who is a member of The Hunger Project Australia’s National Board, has been investing in the end of hunger since 2004, and his unwavering partnership with the communities has led to the results we see today.

“I’ve been investing in The Hunger Project for the past 15 years, so it’s an historic occasion to see the Wurib and Chokwe communities in particular achieve Self-Reliance. Together with a group of people mobilised through my own networks, I have partnered with and invested in both these communities (as well as others) since 2008 and 2013 respectively. In the face of devastating floods, severe droughts and other obstacles, it has taken commitment, resilience and persistence from everyone involved to reach this milestone,” Bruce said.

 

A big congratulations to long-time THP investor, National & Global Board member Roger Massy-Greene. 

He was honoured on Australia Day, 26 January 2019, and awarded a Member of the Order of Australia for significant service to the community through philanthropic initiatives and investment. 

This is well-deserved recognition for someone who has given so much personally – and together with his family – to The Hunger Project!

The power of The Hunger Project is driven in large part by the generosity of investors in Australia and globally – strategically paired with the time and energy invested by our village partners. Ivan Halbert has been investing in THP consistently for more than 20 years and recently gave his largest investment ever. We spoke to Ivan from his humble one-bedroom flat in Perth about his lifelong commitment to The Hunger Project.

Originally coming across the work of The Hunger Project in 1995, Ivan immediately knew it was something he wanted to be involved in.

“I thought it was a good program and it fit with my ideas of giving back to the world,” Ivan said.

“My thinking on giving internationally is that if all the countries The Hunger Project works in reach self-reliance and improve their local conditions, then the whole world improves.”

Ivan is a farmer by trade and tradition, but he pressed pause on his life on the land to open a health and well-being retreat with his wife. They ran this for 10 years and, throughout that time, The Hunger Project remained a big part of Ivan’s life.

“Being part of The Hunger Project was integral to my family’s upbringing. It first started with my wife and I, and then on to my daughters, who have been involved in The Hunger Project’s work as well. It has just been a big element of my life,” Ivan said.

He said his family’s charitable heart and his established hard-working ethic have influenced his lifetime of investment in organisations like The Hunger Project.

“I became partners with my dad on our farm and I carried on with it for years. It was a very large farm and I feel I was very privileged to have owned it,” Ivan said.

“Giving was part of my upbringing. My dad and my mum were very generous; generosity was bred into me.”

A few years ago, Ivan was in Uganda on a personal visit. His experiences in Africa cemented in his mind why the work of The Hunger Project is so important.

“I was talking to a taxi driver in Uganda and I told him I was involved in The Hunger Project. After that, he completely opened up and took me around to see the level of poverty. I went to a quarry where children as young as five were working and smashing rocks all day,” Ivan said.

“Seeing the levels of hunger and poverty firsthand was eye-opening.”

Reflecting on why he has chosen to invest in The Hunger Project for more than two decades, Ivan said the level of transparency and effectiveness makes investing in THP worthwhile.

“The ethos of the Hunger Project of training the local people to lift themselves from their current situation to see the possibility of rising above “what is” to a new level of life is inspirational. It’s not about giving money; it’s about giving skills,” he said.

“Another thing for me is that The Hunger Project’s program work is virtually run by volunteers. When I give a dollar, I know that a majority of that will go directly to the people who require it. It is important that the money goes directly to where it should be going.”

The Hunger Project Australia thanks Ivan and his family for their dedication and generosity throughout the past 20 years, and acknowledges the enormous impact they have had as a result.

Join Ivan and his family in the efforts to end hunger:

Restoring Zambia as the breadbasket of Africa.

Part of The Hunger Project’s global mission is advocating for the widespread adoption of our sustainable, grassroots, women-centered strategies in countries throughout the world. In 2017, the Patter Foundation offered The Hunger Project an opportunity to expand into a new country: Zambia.

Due to the large amount of investment in mineral resources, Zambia is a country with high levels of inequality. It is also a vast country with tourism opportunities and underdeveloped agricultural potential. The country has a widely-shared national vision (adopted in 2006) to be “a prosperous middle-income nation by 2030 that provides opportunities for improving the well being of all, embodying values of socioeconomic justice” (Zambia achieved middle-income status in 2011).

Zambia’s Vision 2030 sets the goal of reducing poverty to 20% from its current level of 54%. It also has policy framework – as yet not fully implemented – that is almost a perfect fit for The Hunger Project’s gender-focused, community-led Epicentre Strategy.

The Patter Foundation underwrote a scoping exercise to determine Zambia’s suitability for The Hunger Project’s work. Part of the exercise involved codifying our Epicentre Strategy in a Toolkit so that we can advocate for its widespread adoption. Now, the Global Board has approved The Hunger Project’s entry into Zambia. This is an exciting milestone in the journey of ending hunger globally.

Making our vision for a hunger free Zambia a reality

“We spoke to Roger (Massy-Greene, a THPA National Board member) about finding a way to direct our philanthropy to work happening in Africa. Roger spoke so passionately about the Epicentre communities that he had invested in for many years together with his wife Belinda and their family.

From there, we did our own research and met with the THPA team to find out more. We were already supporting some students from a quite extraordinary not-for-profit school in Zambia that is a leading light for the national government. We visited one of the villages where the children come from; there, many of the parents are unemployed and most families are living well below the poverty line.

We were really impressed with the Epicentre strategy’s holistic nature with the ultimate goal of self-reliance – and that it is community-led development.

We immediately saw that in this village and those surrounding it that The Hunger Project’s Epicentre Strategy would be an invaluable benefit to the community. Zambia is a country that has so much potential; it has the potential to be a ‘breadbasket’ of Africa. We also believe that it is critical to the survival of big game, as it borders Botswana, Malawi and Zimbabwe. This – along with the fact I was born there as were my dad and grandfather – led us to the decision that we wanted to find a means to make a large impact in the country.

We agreed to fund a scoping study by The Hunger Project to look at how we could expand the Epicentre Strategy into a new country – Zambia – to see if we can make our vision for a hunger-free Zambia a reality.”

Nikki And Paul McCullagh
The Patter Foundation

The Hunger Project’s Mpingo Epicentre community is the third community in Malawi to reach self-reliance. What’s most exciting about this news is that all three of these communities in Malawi have been funded by Australians.

The 11,835 people of Mpingo have partnered with The Hunger Project since 2003 – and with the Eureka Benevolent Foundation since 2015.

There are 3 criteria an Epicentre must achieve in order to be declared self-reliant. Mpingo has achieved all three of them with flying colours:

1) The first criteria required is to have legal recognition as a community development organisation in their own right (separate to The Hunger Project).

2) The second criteria required is a title deed for the property on which the Epicentre building is constructed.

3) The third criteria required is to have a minimum self-reliance score of 80% based on their achievements on 53 measures.

Their future: As a result, the community declared themselves self-reliant, and Then Hunger Project is able to withdraw – and focus our attention on bringing other communities to self-reliance.

Results at Mpingo

Since reaching self-reliance Mpingo has achieved some amazing results across the board in terms of health, education and community engagement.

95% of births are attended by a licensed health care professional.

94% of households have at least one literate person.

90% of farmers are using improved farming methods.

88% of individuals are aware of their HIV status.

84% of children age 4 to 18 are attending school.

84% of individuals now believe they have the ability to implement change.

You can read more about the Mpingo Epicentre and much more in our 2017 Annual Report.

The Hunger Project’s innovative and holistic approach to ending world hunger calls for the empowerment of rural communities in India, Africa and Bangladesh to take charge of their own development, transform entrenched harmful traditional practices and beliefs, and be active citizens who know their rights and hold the government to account.

All of our programs – while adapted to meet local opportunities and challenges – share three essential things that will end hunger for good:

1) Start by empowering women as key change agents

The vast majority of people living in hunger and poverty are women. Women bear almost all responsibility for meeting the basic needs of the family, yet are systematically denied the resources, information and freedom of action they need to fulfil this responsibility.

Studies show that when women are supported and empowered, all of society benefits. Their families are healthier, more children go to school, agricultural productivity improves and incomes increase. That’s why we focus on building the capacity of women.

2) Mobilise entire communities into self-reliant action

Our aim is to overcome the deep resignation within people living in hunger, and awaken them to the possibility of a different future, one free from hunger. We build people’s knowledge, skills and leadership, so they can take action to improve their own communities.

3) Foster effective partnerships to engage local government 

We work in partnership with local government bodies to ensure that they are effective, include women in leadership positions, are directly accountable to local people, and provide access to resources and information. We also educate and encourage communities to demand what they’re entitled to from their governments, including services, resources and financial schemes and benefits.

You can read more in our 2021 Global Investor Report.