Wed, August 26, 2009 - 9:23:23

SMALL Changes the World

In today’s challenging times, the prospect of global economic change can seem overwhelming.  While many Americans are struggling just to make ends meet, overseas millions more are enduring the kind of unimaginable hardship most of us have never encountered and when faced with such tragedy on the grand scale, it’s easy to feel helpless.  But, over the weekend we read an amazing New York Times Magazine article by Nicholas Kristof which opened our eyes to the surprising ways in which we really can change the world.  And it starts with the power of small.

In “The Women’s Crusade,” Nicholas Kristof explains that while immense, many of the world’s biggest problems are actually rooted in smaller, more solvable causes and a large number of them involve women’s rights.  In countries where women have less access to education in particular, the quality of life suffers dramatically, yet many girls continue to miss school for largely preventable reasons.  And small, simple solutions can make all the difference.

In Kenya, for example, where the elevated poverty level is blamed in part on the high birthrate among teen mothers, one research study has found that giving female students a new uniform every 18 months dramatically reduces their likelihood of becoming pregnant and discourages truancy.  At a cost of only $6 per uniform, it gives new meaning to the phrase “return on investment.”

Similarly, many girls in African nations miss school each month because of embarrassment and shame over their menstrual cycles.  However, non-profit organizations like The Campaign for Female Education and Sustainable Health Enterprises, and corporate donation programs like Proctor & Gamble’s “Protecting Futures” campaign have shown that simply giving these girls access to sanitary napkins and restrooms during the school day helps them to get the education they need in order to succeed.

While many human rights efforts in the developing world are aimed at helping teen girls avoid unwanted pregnancies, Kristof argues that more emphasis should also be placed on helping pregnant women stay healthy.  And one answer can be found in a surprising source: salt.  Although in the developed world, salt is typically thought of as an unhealthy food, in moderate servings, traditional table salt provides a boost of iodine, an essential nutrient for fetal brain development.  Just by helping the poorest nations iodize salt, iodine deficiency could be eradicated in over thirty percent of these regions households.  And in doing so, expectant mothers could see a 10-15 point increase in their babies’ I.Q.s.

In an age where our problems seem to come with trillion dollar price tags, such surprisingly simple (and economical) solutions are truly inspiring.  But it just goes to show that many times, the biggest ideas come in the smallest packages.  So open your eyes to the answers all around you.  You just may find the next monumental breakthrough in something as tiny as a grain of salt.

Posted by Linda and Robin