NGO workshop at United Nations focuses on families and poverty (03/26/06)

NGO workshop at United Nations focuses on families and poverty

by Nadia Shmigel

UNITED NATIONS - Anna Krawczuk, honorary president of the Ukrainian National Women's League of America, was among speakers invited to address participants of a workshop sponsored by the United Nations NGO Committee on the Family at the 44th Session of the Commission on Social Development in New York on February 9.

The workshop focused on the eradication of poverty affecting families. The first speaker, Djankon Ndjonkou, director of the International Labor Organization, addressed the issue of poverty from the macro perspective of the ILO mission statement which is based on a Philadelphia declaration (1944) asserting that "poverty anywhere constitutes a threat to prosperity everywhere."

The other speakers, Mrs. Krawczuk of the UNWLA, a founding member-organization of the World Federation of Ukrainian Women's Organizations (WFUWO) which has consultative status to U.N.'s ECOSOC, and Vicki Soanes, a representative to the U.N. from the International Movement ATD Fourth World, were invited to describe their organizations' best practices in addressing poverty from a micro perspective, that is, in an approach that tackles impoverishment on an individual and specific family basis.

Mrs. Krawczuk spoke about the UNWLA Scholarship Program, which was established in 1967 on the initiative of Dr. Theodosia Sawycky, a professional social worker, UNWLA member and activist concerned with education for girls.

Mrs. Krawchuk prefaced her remarks with historical background about the UNWLA, explaining the organization's commitment to human rights and to the preservation of Ukrainian heritage that informs its various charitable programs. Since 1925, when it was founded in New York City, the UNWLA has promoted women's advancement through education by supporting its members' goals through small scholarship grants.

After 1967, the UNWLA Children's Student Scholarship Program envisioned by Dr. Sawycky started to support the education of orphaned and disadvantaged children. By 1990, the program had expanded significantly, providing nearly 1,000 scholarships to children and young people in 17 countries of the Ukrainian diaspora. From 1993 to 2001 the program had 1,135 graduates in 16 countries: seven Ph.D.s, 155 master's degrees, 402 baccalaureate degrees, 548 high school diplomas and 23 vocational school certificates. In those nine years alone, 5,918 scholarships were awarded, totaling $1,274,795.

Currently, scholarships range from $100 to $500 annually depending on the country and grade. These amounts might seem small, but especially with favorable rates of exchange, these stipends are of great assistance to their beneficiaries, Mrs. Krawczuk noted.

Mrs. Krawczuk transposed the numbers into actual stories of several young people who received scholarships under this UNWLA program. Each of the students has accomplished an almost impossible task under most difficult circumstances. One young woman from Poland, who participated in the program through high school, received her Ph.D. from Harvard University with a full fellowship and wrote her thesis in three languages: English, Polish and Ukrainian.

Another young woman, from Brazil, earned a Ph.D. from London University with scholarships from Brazil and the U.K. and became a linguistic historian.

Three former scholarship recipients in Brazil became bishops: one Orthodox and two Catholic.

One young woman in Brazil who completed a 12th grade level education (quite an achievement 30 years ago) could not afford a wedding dress when she got married. She now owns a wedding dress rental business in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil.

This and other life stories of scholarship students illustrated how well this program works and how helping poor children achieve education helps to reduce poverty in the long run.

Ms. Soanes, of the International Movement ATD Fourth World, described her organization's commitment over the past 50 years to helping families living in extreme poverty. Ms. Soanes' presentation was based on two documents published by her organization in the last two years: "How Poverty Separates Parents" and "Children, Valuing Children and Valuing Parents."

In 1987, Joseph Wresinski, a Polish priest and the founder of ATD Fourth World, submitted to the French Economic and Social Council a definition of extreme poverty. The definition stressed lack of basic security as the base of extreme poverty.

Ms. Soanes confirmed that "the nature of enduring social exclusion and deprivation is that families and individuals are eventually affected by insecurity in all aspects of their lives. The eradication of extreme poverty has to involve a comprehensive approach recognizing the links between health and education, culture, self-esteem, environment, work and housing. When living in extreme poverty, people are vulnerable on all fronts, but particularly, poverty can threaten the family."

Programs conducted by the ATD Fourth World create an environment of mutual respect, inclusion and full participation of families in the development of programs. An interesting program is the Street Library Program, which exists in 20 countries on five continents.

What impressed this writer is that the ATD programs recognize that impoverished families have many strength and need not cease to relate positively to their society. Poor families are encouraged to share their experiences and openly discuss issues affecting their lives.

Ms. Soanes described several projects aimed at family preservation. One project in England helps social workers learn how to avoid placement of children in foster care; another project in Madrid helps families negotiate adequate housing; all the projects aim to overcome the tendency for poor families to be excluded from society.

In his remarks, Mr. Ndjonkou of the International Labor Organization explained how his organization has worked globally to promote opportunities for men and women to "work in conditions of freedom, equity, security and human dignity." To this end, the ILO has launched a World Commission on the Social Dimensions of Globalization, and has held labor conferences. They have studied such issues as the effects of international migration, social security, credit unions, skill development for the socially and economically excluded, and various pilot projects.

Mr. Ndjonkou stressed the need for cooperation and coordination among the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, United Nations Development Program, governments and civil society. He asserted that market forces alone would not be able to stem rising unemployment levels despite the increases in wealth of the world economy. Therefore, concrete interventions of the type described by the speakers at the workshop will continue to be important, he noted.

This well-attended workshop stimulated many questions and concluded with a lively discussion.

Nadia Shmigel is the main representative to the United Nations from the World Federation of Ukrainian Women's Organizations.

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