United Purpose

Last updated

United Purpose, formerly known as Concern Universal, is an international development and emergency relief organization that works in a number of the poorest countries of the world to assist in finding local, sustainable solutions to poverty and inequality. In 2021, United Purpose merged with Self Help Africa, and in 2022 the organisation agreed that it would trade as Self Help Africa. [1] Concern Universal was created by Father Raymond Kennedy and a group of volunteers who had been working in developing countries during the late 1960s and early 1970s. The organization was officially established in January 1976 and, as of 2018, has approximately 600 employees. [2] Influences on the founding members included the first-hand experiences of the suffering they saw and social movements that encouraged engagement in the struggles of the poor. [3] United Purpose aims to work in conjunction with struggling nations to challenge local poverty and inequality. Their vision is a world where "justice, dignity, and respect prevail for all". [4] The organization aims to end poverty and inequality by "enabling people to improve their lives for the long term by providing them with access to resources they need". They also work to "challenge the dependency culture" and provide practical local application of Sustainable Development Goals. [5] The organization headquarters are currently located in the United Kingdom. [6]

Contents

History

According to the United Purpose website, after 40 years of establishment United Purpose has assisted with moving 35 million people out of poverty. [7] They registered to work in Malawi in 1989. Since then, United Purpose has established offices in Malawi, Mozambique, Ghana, Guinea, Nigeria, Senegal, Gambia, Bangladesh, and Brazil. They also continually work on projects with local partners in Cameroon, Ethiopia, Kenya, Zambia, India and the Caribbean.

The work of United Purpose is not strictly based in one specific sector. In the years 1997–2000, while working under the name Concern Universal, the company participated in a study involving soil fertility in Central Malawi. In this study, Concern Universal provided legume seeds to participating farmers in Malawi. [8] The organization also introduced the clay stove and created 65 stove manufacturing groups within Malawi to assist with district development. [9]

In December 2014, United Purpose's National AIDS Coordinator, Mphatso Magwaya, was in Malawi with the goal of enhancing public awareness on the growing number of people being diagnosed with AIDS/HIV. Magwaya's spoke to a crowd at the Mvimbo Headquarters in Ntcheu about the need for testing and counseling for expecting women in the area. [10]

United Purpose has worked with other charitable organizations to reach the maximum number of people possible. BeOnePercent.org has worked with United Purpose since 2015 and has conducted five separate campaigns to raise money for assistance for areas in need. Their most recent campaign, in July 2017, was their largest with 211 members donating £4795.90 (USD $6830.31). [11]

Founder

Father Raymond Kennedy was born on January 22, 1926, in Palo Alto, California, and died on November 3, 2004, at age 78. Kennedy was a humanitarian who worked tirelessly in the poorest countries of the world to help provide assistance in many ways he could. In 1970 after the war ended, he worked alongside his brother John and his wife Kay as a founder of the organization, Africa Concern. It eventually grew into a global concern organization where the three founders, as well as thousands of unpaid volunteers, provided assistance wherever they could.

In 1976, Kennedy developed Concern Universal in Britain and left the Africa Concern organization to his brother and wife. But, it wasn't until 1987 that he became an active member of Concern Universal because he was highly involved with his new membership of the Holy Ghost Fathers. [12] Kennedy was ordained to the priesthood in Rome in 1951 and served for 36 years as a member of the Holy Ghost Fathers Congregation in Ireland, Nigeria, and Bangladesh. [13]

Irrigation systems in Malawi

Malawi is predominantly an agricultural country, with farming production accounting for 90% of its foreign exchange.[ citation needed ] Irrigation farming needed to be renovated and new technologies needed to be implemented in order to keep up with need. By the early 1980s, nearly sixteen irrigation systems were constructed, two of which were in the Lake Chilwa basin at Likangala and Domasi.

Concern Universal was highly involved with the irrigation system installations in Domasi, Malawi. They provided water, sanitation, and other mechanical services to farmers in Malawi. Two different irrigation methods were implemented and farmers were able to select which they preferred to use permanently.

The Domasi Water User Association (DWUA) was also established during this time by a group of farmers who were to assume control of the water resource management structure after the construction was completed. After the creation of this group, Concern Universal trained farmers on the operational factors having to do with management and the physical rehabilitation of canals, bridges and roads.

In January 2002, Concern Universal assisted farmers in creating a formal guide of operations for the DWUA. Unfortunately, the process continued slower than expected because farmers failed to attend the meetings organized by Concern Universal. Farmers found the timing of meetings inconvenient with the important farming and agricultural work that needed to be completed. While this frustrated farmers, members from Concern Universal also grew frustrated because of the ongoing traveling back and forth from Balaka in Southern Malawi where they were staying. Eventually, the guide was ratified in January 2003. [14]

Maize productivity in Malawi

Farmers in Chisepo and Bembeke, Malawi, were given legume seed of their choice provided by Concern Universal. The farmers were then able to plant the seeds as sole crops, intercrops or in rotation with maize in farmer-led trials.

Concern Universal and World Vision International, another NGO, participated in the conducting on the trials. Sets of experiments were conducted by farming communities with the goal of evaluating released and pre-released seeds under farmer-managed conditions. The trials were maintained in a Mother-Baby scenario. For each Mother trial, there were as many as 6-12 corresponding Baby trials within walking distance. All Baby trials contain portions of the seeds from the Mother. Often Baby trials consisted of beans and soyabean seed that Concern Universal distributed through the community feedback initiative. The Mother trials were designed by researchers within the study groups to evaluate a proper area for optimal growth conditions. Ultimately, a local individual will manage the Mother trials.[ citation needed ]

Through these research trials conducted in Malawi, farmers were able to educate themselves on a variety of seeds and the proper development and nurturing of them through the season. This also helped to eliminate the seeds that did not grow well so that farmers are aware of what will grow in the soil they already have near them when they go to market. Through Concern Universal's assistance in providing these resources, Malawi seed companies were able to choose to multiply hybrid seed packs that would best benefit them. [15]

Gambia is Good partnership

Gambia is Good was established by Haygrove, a UK-based horticultural company, and Concern Universal, a non-governmental organization, in 2003 to develop sustainable lives among those living in The Gambia who have experienced poor quality of crop growth and seasonal flooding. The partnership's efforts addressed need specific demands for enhancing the tourist industry within the area in regard to hotels, restaurants, and supermarkets. In 2007, Gambia is Good diverted £34,000 ($48,713.74 USD) of its sales from imports to local producers in Gambia. Gambia is Good, began as a strategic collaboration but evolved to consider fundamental questions about the nature of business and development in regard to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Data was collected for this study through interviews held by Haygrove in conjunction with participant observation conducted by Concern Universal.

Haygrove and Concern Universal aimed to influence others by example through their partnership agreement. While Concern Universal, an NGO, seeks to drive social change, companies do not usually have the same mentality. This partnership challenged the traditional system of NGO vs CSR business models and defined the nature of sustainable development. [16]

Concern Universal becomes United Purpose

In November 2016, representatives from Concern Universal met with members of International Inspiration, a sports development charity, to discuss a merger of the two organizations. During this meeting, Concern Universal representatives introduced a new organizational strategy for delivering assistance within the NGO sector. During this merge, Ben Jackson, chief executive of bond, was promoted to "global director of innovations and partnerships". During this time, portions of the Concern Universal staff will relocate from London, United Kingdom to Wales to have easier access to merge partners. [17]

To celebrate their 40th anniversary, Concern Universal created a video commemorating the organization's forty years of accomplishments and to formally introduce their new brand to the world. The video utilizes archived footage and current footage to create a short film showing the growth of the organization through the past and into the future. [18]

Concern Universal created a new brand identity changing the name to United Purpose on February 9, 2017, in Lilongwe, Malawi. They announced this change at an event held with representatives from Malawi government, including Water Development and Food Security Bob Chilemba, as well as United Purpose staff members. United Purpose has provided assistance to Malawi for several years in 17 of their districts. Their main source of aid has been the introduction of stove production groups to Malawi to assist in achieving the goal of 2 million cleaner cookstoves by 2020. Chilemba says Malawi plans to continue working alongside the organization throughout their brand change.

Along with a new organization name, a new motto was also announced at the event by Country Director, Heather Campbell. The new motto, "Up and out of poverty", summarizes the organization's focus on development, innovation, and independence. [9]

Examples of work

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center</span> International plant breeding organization

The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center is a non-profit research-for-development organization that develops improved varieties of wheat and maize with the aim of contributing to food security, and innovates agricultural practices to help boost production, prevent crop disease and improve smallholder farmers' livelihoods. CIMMYT is one of the 15 CGIAR centers. CIMMYT is known for hosting the world's largest maize and wheat genebank at its headquarters in Mexico.

Agribusiness is the industry, enterprises, and the field of study of value chains in agriculture and in the bio-economy, in which case it is also called bio-business or bio-enterprise. The primary goal of agribusiness is to maximize profit while satisfying the needs of consumers for products related to natural resources such as biotechnology, farms, food, forestry, fisheries, fuel, and fiber.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Food security in Malawi</span>

Malawi is one of the world's undeveloped countries and is ranked 170 out of 187 countries according to the 2010 Human Development Index. It has about 16 million people, 53% of whom live under the national poverty line, and 90% of whom live on less than $2 per day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Push–pull agricultural pest management</span> Intercropping strategy for controlling agricultural pests

Push–pull technology is an intercropping strategy for controlling agricultural pests by using repellent "push" plants and trap "pull" plants. For example, cereal crops like maize or sorghum are often infested by stem borers. Grasses planted around the perimeter of the crop attract and trap the pests, whereas other plants, like Desmodium, planted between the rows of maize, repel the pests and control the parasitic plant Striga. Push–pull technology was developed at the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE) in Kenya in collaboration with Rothamsted Research, UK. and national partners. This technology has been taught to smallholder farmers through collaborations with universities, NGOs and national research organizations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agriculture in Bangladesh</span> Economic sector in Bangladesh

Agriculture is the largest employment sector in Bangladesh, making up 14.2 percent of Bangladesh's GDP in 2017 and employing about 42.7 percent of the workforce. The performance of this sector has an overwhelming impact on major macroeconomic objectives like employment generation, poverty alleviation, human resources development, food security, and other economic and social forces. A plurality of Bangladeshis earn their living from agriculture. Due to a number of factors, Bangladesh's labour-intensive agriculture has achieved steady increases in food grain production despite the often unfavorable weather conditions. These include better flood control and irrigation, a generally more efficient use of fertilisers, as well as the establishment of better distribution and rural credit networks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agriculture in Malawi</span>

The main economic products of Malawi are tobacco, tea, cotton, groundnuts, sugar and coffee. These have been among the main cash crops for the last century, but tobacco has become increasingly predominant in the last quarter-century, with a production in 2011 of 175,000 tonnes. Over the last century, tea and groundnuts have increased in relative importance while cotton has decreased. The main food crops are maize, cassava, sweet potatoes, sorghum, bananas, rice, and Irish potatoes and cattle, sheep and goats are raised. The main industries deal with agricultural processing of tobacco, tea and sugar and timber products. The industrial production growth rate is estimated at 10% (2009).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agriculture in Kenya</span>

Agriculture in Kenya dominates Kenya's economy. 15–17 percent of Kenya's total land area has sufficient fertility and rainfall to be farmed, and 7–8 percent can be classified as first-class land. In 2006, almost 75 percent of working Kenyans made their living by farming, compared with 80 percent in 1980. About one-half of Kenya's total agricultural output is non-marketed subsistence production.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Self Help Africa</span> International development charity

Self Help Africa is an international charity that promotes and implements long-term rural development projects in Africa. Self Help Africa merged with Gorta in July 2014, and in 2021 merged with UK-based INGO, United Purpose. The organisation also owns a number of social enterprise subsidiaries - Cumo Microfinance, TruTrade and Partner Africa.

One Acre Fund is a social enterprise that supplies smallholder farmers in East Africa with asset-based financing and agriculture training services to reduce hunger and poverty. Headquartered in Kakamega, Kenya, the organization works with farmers in rural villages throughout Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda, Malawi, Nigeria, Zambia, and Ethiopia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agriculture in South Africa</span> Overview of the agriculture in South Africa

Agriculture in South Africa contributes around 5% of formal employment, relatively low compared to other parts of Africa and the number is still decreasing, as well as providing work for casual laborers and contributing around 2.6 percent of GDP for the nation. Due to the aridity of the land, only 13.5 percent can be used for crop production, and only 3 percent is considered high potential land.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trees for the Future</span> Non-profit organization in the US

Trees for the Future is a Maryland-based nonprofit organization founded on August 14, 1989, that trains farmers around the world in agroforestry and sustainable land use.

The agricultural system in Sub-Saharan Africa is a predominantly small-scale farming system with more than 50% of the agricultural activity performed by women, producing about 60-70% of the food in this region. While women provide the majority of the labor in agricultural production, their access and control over productive resources is greatly constrained due to inequalities constructed by patriarchal norms.

The Universal Declaration on the Eradication of Hunger and Malnutrition was adopted on 16 November 1974, by governments who attended the 1974 World Food Conference that was convened under General Assembly resolution 3180 (XXVIII) of 17 December 1973. It was later endorsed by General Assembly resolution 3348 (XXIX), of 17 December 1974. This Declaration combined discussions of the international human right to adequate food and nutrition with an acknowledgement of the various economic and political issues that can affect the production and distribution of food related products. Within this Declaration, it is recognised that it is the common purpose of all nations to work together towards eliminating hunger and malnutrition. Further, the Declaration explains how the welfare of much of the world's population depends on their ability to adequately produce and distribute food. In doing so, it emphasises the need for the international community to develop a more adequate system to ensure that the right to food for all persons is recognised. The opening paragraph of the Declaration, which remains to be the most recited paragraph of the Declaration today, reads:

Every man, woman and child has the inalienable right to be free from hunger and malnutrition in order to develop fully and maintain their physical and mental faculties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenya–Malawi relations</span> Bilateral relations

Kenya–Malawi relations are bilateral relations between Kenya and Malawi.

The Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation, usually known as ADMARC, was formed in Malawi in 1971 as a government-owned corporation or parastatal to promote the Malawian economy by increasing the volume and quality of its agricultural exports, to develop new foreign markets for the consumption of Malawian agricultural produce and to support Malawi's farmers. it was the successor of a number of separate marketing boards of the colonial-era and early post-colonial times, whose functions were as much about controlling African smallholders or generating government revenues as in promoting agricultural development. At its foundation, ADMARC was given the power to finance the economic development of any public or private organisation, agricultural or not.

The International Fertilizer Development Center is a science-based public international organization working to alleviate global hunger by introducing improved agricultural practices and fertilizer technologies to farmers and by linking farmers to markets. Headquartered in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, USA, the organization has projects in over 25 countries.

In 1977 the Board of Governors of the World Bank approved Bura Irrigation and Settlement Project (BISP) in Kenya. The project area is situated just South of the Equator in the Lower Tana Basin. It lies on the west bank of the Tana River and falls within the administrative area of Tana River County. The project was an ambitious attempt of the government of Kenya, the World Bank and a few other donors to develop a remote area, create employment for thousands of people with a reasonable income and earn foreign exchange. Bura project would develop about 6,700 net irrigated ha over a 5 1⁄2 year period and settle on smallholdings about 5,150 landless poor families selected from all parts of Kenya. Physical and social infrastructure would be provided to support the settler and satellite population, expected to reach a total of 65,000 persons by 1985. The total cost of the project was estimated at 92 million dollars in 1977 prices. Actual construction started in 1978. During implementation the costs exploded from $17,500/= per family to $55,000/=, a new record for the World Bank. The largest cost increase was for the irrigation network (615%). The donors were not willing and the government was not able to raise the additional funds and subsequently the size of the project was scaled down from 6,700 ha to 3,900 and later to 2,500 ha, although the irrigation structures were completed for 6,700 ha. In this period 2,100 landless households from all over Kenya were settled in the scheme. They were allocated two plots of 0.625 ha and a garden of 0.05 ha. Each year they were to grow 1.25 ha cotton and 0.625 maize intercropped with cowpeas. Soon it was evident that the project would fail to achieve its objectives. Job creation was only 40% of the target, the economic rate of return was negative and the annual operating and maintenance costs exceeded the benefits. Even with net farm incomes of about 40% of the appraisal estimates in real terms, annual government subsidies amounted to about 1,000 dollars per settler. The project had an unreliable water supply and many buildings had foundation problems. After cotton crop failures due to pests in 1990 the project came virtually to a standstill as the management lacked the funds to finance cotton and maize crops. Most settlers deserted and only the ones with nowhere to go remained in the scheme, living on famine relief and odd jobs. In the period 1993-2005 a number of times the government tried to revive a number of timesthe project, but all in vain. After 2005, rehabilitation and crop growing started in phases and since 2009-10 the tenants have been growing crops, although the cropping pattern comed down to no more than 50% of the projected crop intensity and the settlers have low incomes, if any. This is partly caused by the fact that the original cash crop, cotton, is no longer a profitable crop.

Sauri is an eleven-village conglomerate located in the former Nyanza Province of western Kenya and was the first and largest of the fourteen Millennium Village Project (MVP) demonstration sites that ran from 2005 to 2015 in sub-Saharan Africa. The aim of the MVP in Sauri was to halve extreme poverty of villagers living below US$1 between 2000 and 2015. The overarching goal was achieving sustainable development through progress in public health, education, infrastructure, and agricultural productivity.

The Declaration on the Rights of Peasants is an UNGA resolution on human rights with "universal understanding", adopted by the United Nations in 2018. The resolution was passed by a vote of 121-8, with 54 members abstaining.

Agriculture makes up a significant proportion of the Gambia's economy, comprising 25% of its GDP. About 75% of workers in the Gambia are employed within the agricultural industry. The main cash crops produced in the country are groundnuts, millet, sorghum, mangoes, corn, sesame, palm kernel, and cashews. The main staple crop produced is rice.

References

  1. ↑ "Self Help Africa to invest €50m in farming in 17 countries". Irish Farmers Journal. 25 August 2021. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
  2. ↑ "United Purpose". The Big Give. Retrieved 2018-04-15.
  3. ↑ "Concern Universal". United Purpose. Retrieved 2018-04-15.
  4. ↑ CU marketing pesentation FAO
  5. ↑ "About us". United Purpose. Retrieved 2018-04-15.
  6. ↑ "Concern Universal (CU) | Devex". www.devex.com. Retrieved 2018-04-15.
  7. ↑ "Concern Universal". United Purpose. Retrieved 2018-03-19.
  8. ↑ Friesen, D. K., & Palmer, A. F. (2004). Integrated approaches to higher maize productivity in the new millennium: Proceedings of the Seventh Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Maize Conference, Nairobi, Kenya, 5–11 February 2002. Nairobi: CIMMYT, African Livelihoods Program.
  9. 1 2 "Concern Universal becomes United Purpose". MBAULA. 2017-04-01. Retrieved 2018-04-15.
  10. ↑ "Concern Universal for continued AIDS effective response - Malawi Nyasa Times - Malawi breaking news in Malawi". Malawi Nyasa Times - Malawi breaking news in Malawi. 2014-12-19. Retrieved 2018-04-04.
  11. ↑ "United Purpose | BEONEPERCENT". BEONEPERCENT. Retrieved 2018-04-15.
  12. ↑ "Humanist who helped feed Biafra". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2018-04-15.
  13. ↑ "Obituaries". recordnet.com. Retrieved 2018-04-15.
  14. ↑ Nkhoma, Bryson G. (2004). "The experience of irrigation management transfer in two irrigation schemes in Malawi, 1960s-2002". Physics and Chemistry of the Earth. 29 (15–18): 1327–1333. Bibcode:2004PCE....29.1327N. doi:10.1016/j.pce.2004.09.007.
  15. ↑ Integrated Approaches to Higher Maize Productivity in the New Millennium: Proceedings of the Seventh Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Maize Conference, Nairobi, Kenya, 5-11 February 2002. CIMMYT. 2004. ISBN   9789706481207.
  16. ↑ Wadham, Helen (Summer 2009). "Business and NGO Perspectives on CSR, Sustainable Development and Partnership". The Journal of Corporate Citizenship: 57–68.
  17. ↑ "Concern Universal merges, changes name, relocates and launches new strategy". www.civilsociety.co.uk. Retrieved 2018-04-15.
  18. ↑ "United Purpose". Striker Productions. Retrieved 2018-04-15.
  19. ↑ Park, Andrew (1997). "Trees, people, food and soil: A case study of participatory development in Malawi". The Forestry Chronicle. 73 (2): 221–227. doi: 10.5558/tfc73221-2 .
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.