2. INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL
ENTREPRENEUR
The eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – which range
from halving extreme poverty rates to halting the spread of
HIV/AIDS and providing universal primary education, all by the
target date of 2015 – form a blueprint agreed to by all the world’s
countries and all the world’s leading development institutions. They
have galvanized unprecedented efforts to meet the needs of the
world’s poorest. The UN is also working with governments, civil
society and other partners to build on the momentum generated by
the MDGs and carry on with an ambitious post-2015 development
agenda.
3. HISTORY
The United Nations Millennium Campaign, started in 2002, supports
and inspires people from around the world to take action in support
of the Millennium Development Goals.
The Millennium Project was commissioned by the United
Nations Secretary-General in 2002 to develop a concrete
action plan for the world to achieve the Millennium
Development Goals and to reverse the grinding poverty,
hunger and disease affecting billions of people. In 2005, the
independent advisory body headed by Professor Jeffrey Sachs,
presented its final recommendations to the Secretary-General
in a synthesis volume “Investing in Development: A Practical
Plan to Achieve the Millennium Development Goals.”
4. IMPACTS
Kenya is an example for a country in need of change. The East African
country's economy is weak and, apart from the coffee industry, Kenyan
agricultural products are not competitive on international markets. The many
small farmers mainly grow produce for their own needs.
Haron Wachira's company Akili analyzed difficulties among rural populations in
an effort to make farms more profitable. Many small farmers use 19th century
technology to work small parcels of land and the crops they harvest often are
not enough to survive on.
An IT specialist, Wachira developed strategies to fight poverty, including the
installation of agriculture cooperatives. When villagers pool their fields and work
together, they can sell their goods at a profit. As many as 500 farmers work in
one agricultural area, concentrating on one single product. The size of the
venture makes the difference between profit and loss.
