With a monumental celebration in New York the United Nation’s new Sustainable Development Goals were signed off by the heads of state on 25 September 2015. Some of the 17 goals sound familiar; no poverty, zero hunger, good health and well-being, quality education, and gender equality. But there are a few new interesting ones; affordable and clean energy, sustainable cities and communities, responsible consumption and production, and climate action.

These new 17 goals will largely dictate where, by whom and how the roughly USD 160 billion of annual development aid will be utilized. Although these goals offer a fresh plan on how to save the world, the main strategy for eradicating poverty remains the same; growth.

Since 1980 the global economy has grown by 380% but the number of people living in poverty (living on less than USD 5 per day) has increased by more than 1.1 billion. Many developing countries were completely left out and the trickle-down effect did not happen. More growth, even if it would be fairer and more equal, is not going to be sustainable. At the current levels of average global consumption, we are already exceeding our planet’s bio-capacity.

There is a standardized unit called ‘global hectares’ that quantifies both the ecological footprint of people or activities as well as bio-capacity of the earth. Right now our planet only has enough resources for each of us to consume 1.8 global hectares annually. People in the US and Canada consume about 8 global hectares while Europeans consume 4.7.

Therefore, instead of pushing poorer countries to ‘catch up’ with rich ones, we should be thinking of ways to get rich countries to ‘catch down’ to more sustainable levels. The developed countries should get inspired by countries that have long life expectancy and a high level of happiness but consume much less resources like Costa Rica, Peru and Ecuador.

This does not mean that we have to stop learning, improving and growing but we should be aiming at a lifestyle that is geared towards quality instead of quantity. A lifestyle that focuses on true human values and is more sophisticated than excessive consumerism that leaves us unsatisfied. It is not about giving anything up or living a life of voluntary misery but rather readjusting our own personal values and priorities. It is about reaching a higher level of understanding and consciousness about what we are doing here and why.

So if we are truly interested in helping the poor countries to develop, we need to learn how to share the planet’s limited resources and use them more wisely. The pivotal question is are we willing to do this and can we learn quickly enough how to live a happy life with less?

Daniel (inspired by a Guardian article by Jason Hickel)

Despite the positive changes in Myanmar, ending nearly 50 years of military rule, the economic reality in remote areas still forces many Burmese to leave their country to search for work in neighbouring Thailand. It is estimated that roughly three million migrants are currently working in Thailand, most of them from Myanmar and illegally.

Child’s Dream has been supporting the education system for migrant children in Thailand for many years. A recent needs assessment trip brought us to Sangkhlaburi about 6 hours’ drive west of Bangkok near the famous Three Pagoda Pass. This area is infamous for the dire and dehumanising conditions of the factory and rubber plantation settlements populated by Karen and Mon migrant workers.

Even before our visit, we heard a lot of good things about Children of the Forest, under the leadership of Marc and Daniel (which often causes confusion with Marc and Daniel from Child’s Dream). Children of the Forest provides essential support such as shelter, education and health to 1,000 migrant children on a daily basis. In line with our migrant education strategy, Child’s Dream has decided to support Children of the Forest’s Preparation Programme to allow migrant children to access Thai government schools.

While Myanmar has made progress reforming under its nascent democracy, there are still underlying religious and ethnic tensions. Historically, Myanmar has faced difficulty incorporating the country’s multitude of ethnic groups under unified leadership since independence from the British. One of the reasons that this is complicated is due to different religious practices among the country’s four main religious groups: Buddhists, Hindus, Christians, and Muslims. Combined with a lack of education, the result has been continued conflict and civil war. We support Theik Khar Myanmar (TKMI), a programme that turns these challenges into assets by celebrating diversity, not condemning it.

We support TKMI to raise awareness of ethnic and religious groups among youth in Myanmar, ideally reducing conflicts related to these issues. Located in Taunggyi, Shan State, TKMI offers an exciting range of subjects from Photojournalism, to Academic English Speaking and Writing, Community Service, Social Sciences, Media Literacy, Drama, and Gender Studies, just to name a few. This year-long course, supplemented by internships, produces young, independent leaders who understand social sciences and apply their knowledge creatively to address ethnic and religious issues.

With the increasing interest of international development agencies to support health interventions to reduce childhood morbidity and mortality in Myanmar, Child’s Dream is shifting its focus more towards school health and health awareness and education for adolescents. Despite this new focus, we continue to support our successful Children’s Medical Fund, which over the last nine years has provided life-saving operations to over 1,300 patients.

Obviously, we were excited last November, when we received a proposal from Border Health Initiative (BHI) for a school health programme in Mon State, Myanmar. After a thorough due diligence process and careful consideration, we agreed to support his meaningful programme. With our support in the amount of USD 18,000, BHI will provide school health education ranging from simple hygiene practices for nursery students to sex education and HIV prevention for secondary school students. The BHI team will also organise physical examinations for each of the 920 students in 14 schools. If you are interested in this programme, please let us know. We are still seeking a donor for this programme.

Sai Seng Murng was voted into national parliament for the Shan National League for Democracy! He is another of our university scholarship alumni. He finished his English Communication studies at Payap University in Chiang Mai in May 2014. During the final months of his studies he acted as the Secretary of the Shan State Constitution Drafting Commission, first located in Chiang Mai, and later on in Shan State. In September 2015 he started his own business in Taunggyi, a traditional hand weaving center employing 15 young Shan women. Now Sai Seng Murng became the youngest MP on national level. This is a huge success and fills us with great pride. You can learn more about our University Scholarship Programme here.