Most of you will know about the challenges faced by my beloved continent, Africa. Too many people are poor. Millions of girls don't have access to school. And there aren't enough jobs for the rapidly growing population. Every day, 33,000 new young people join the search for employment. That's 12 million for three million formal jobs. In sub-Saharan Africa, less than one in four young people are likely to get waged or salaried work. The chances of making a secure living are even slimmer for poor and rural young women. They cannot afford an education. And they do not have the same access to wages, loans or land as men. This leaves entire communities trapped in a vicious cycle of poverty, inequality and hopelessness.
在座大部分人知道 我鍾愛的非洲大陸所面臨的挑戰。 太多窮人。 數百萬名女孩沒有上學的機會。 沒有足夠的工作機會 給快速成長的人口。 每天有 三萬三千名年輕人 加入找工作的行列。 總共有一千兩百萬人要爭取 三百萬個正式工作。 在撒哈拉以南非洲, 只有不到四分之一的年輕人 有機會找到支薪的工作。 鄉村的貧窮年輕女孩 能安穩生活的機會更低。 她們負擔不起教育。 她們在取得薪水、貸款、 土地的機會上不如男性。 這便讓整個社區被困在 貧窮、不平等、 無望的惡性循環當中。
But I'm not here to narrate the doom and gloom, because we also know that a youthful population presents an opportunity to kick-start economic growth and solve global challenges. And in fact, there is a growing movement in Africa, of educated young women, who are stepping up and using the power of their network and a tool we call social interest to uplift communities.
但我不是來這裡講述黯淡的前景, 因為我們也知道 年輕的人口提供 經濟成長和解決全球挑戰的機會。 事實上, 在非洲,受過教育的年輕女性 正在進行一個越來越壯大的運動。 她們挺身而出,使用其人脈的力量 以及一種被稱為「社會利息」的工具 來提升社區。
I'm one of the leaders of the organization behind this movement. An organization that also supported me through school. And I have seen social interest multiply the impact of our work. Social interest is a way to pay back interest on a loan through service, rather than dollars. Sharing time and knowledge through mentoring, academic support, business training to others in need. This means the impact of a loan is felt not by one, but by many.
我是發起這項運動的 組織領導人之一。 我能完成學業 也是靠這個組織的資助。 我見證了社會利息 使我們的努力造成的影響倍增。 社會利息是用服務而非金錢 來償還貸款利息的方式。 分享時間與知識, 經由指導、學術支助、 提供需要的人企業訓練。 這就表示貸款影響的 不是一個人,而是許多人。
Through this system, we've been able to help and send more and more girls to school, support them while they are there, help them start businesses and ultimately, lead in their communities -- all while providing funding for the next generation. Social interest can be used to supercharge any movement where the benefits can be paid forward.
透過這個系統,我們得以協助 更多女孩去學校讀書, 在她們就學期間資助她們, 協助她們創業, 最終,讓她們領導她們的社區—— 同時還能提供資金給下一個世代。 任何運動都可以用社會利息 來當作額外的動力,將利益往前傳。
Let me give you an example. This is Stumai from rural Tanzania. She tragically lost her father when she was just three years old. Leaving a disabled mother to single-handedly raise her and her five siblings. Once Stumai completed primary school, she was about to drop out of school and become one of the 92 percent of girls in sub-Saharan Africa that never finish high school. Instead, she got lucky. She got support from a nonprofit that paid her fees and kept her in school.
我舉個例來說明。 這位是來自坦尚尼亞 鄉村的史圖瑪艾。 很不幸,她在三歲時 失去了她的父親。 剩下殘障的母親獨力 扶養她及她的五位兄弟姐妹。 史圖瑪艾剛完讀完小學, 她即將休學, 成為非洲撒哈拉以南 那 92% 沒有讀完高中的女孩之一。 不過,她運氣很好。 有一間非營利機構 願意替她支付費用, 讓她繼續讀書。
But upon graduating high school, she faced a daunting challenge of what's next. She knew she had to start her own business to survive. And to help her mother, who had tried so hard to keep her in school by selling her only assets, a stack of corrugated iron sheets she had been saving in the hope of building a better home for her children. Stumai also knew she wouldn’t get a loan from a traditional bank, which generally considers young, rural women like her, without land or assets, unbankable.
但高中畢業時, 她面臨了令人卻步的挑戰: 接下來要做什麼。 她知道她必須要 自己創業才能存活。 也才能幫助她母親, 她母親非常拼命讓她繼續讀書, 賣掉了她唯一的資產: 她一直保留的一疊瓦楞鐵皮, 本來是希望能用來為孩子 建造一個更好的家。 史圖瑪艾知道 她無法向傳統銀行貸款。 因為傳統銀行通常認為 不可以提供服務給 她這種沒有土地 或資產的年輕鄉村女孩。
Through a special group of lending partners, she secured 350 dollars to start a food shop, selling vegetables, oil, rice, tomatoes, onions and beans. Fellow network members helped to train her on basic business skills, like creating a business plan, working out profits, marketing, keeping business records and the value of savings. And the business took off. She repaid the original loan within eight months, and then borrowed 2,000 dollars to start a motorcycle taxi and courier business.
透過一個特殊的貸款夥伴團體, 她取得了三百五十美金 來開一家食物商店, 銷售蔬菜、油、稻米、 蕃茄、洋蔥、豆類。 網路的成員夥伴協助 訓練她的基本商業技能, 比如如何做商業計畫、 計算利潤、行銷、 做業務記錄, 以及了解存錢的價值。 她的事業起飛了。 她在八個月內 就償還了原本的貸款, 接著借了兩千美金, 開了一間摩托計程車及快遞的公司。
Stumai now owns two motorcycles and employs two people. And she has been able to purchase land and build a house, and the business continues to grow from strength to strength.
現在史圖瑪艾擁有兩台摩托車, 並僱用了兩個員工。 她已經買了土地、造了間房子, 她的事業持續成長, 越來越好。
Stumai repaid her interest in social interest. She paid social interest by providing mentoring to girls in a local high school. She volunteered weekly as a learner guide, delivering a life skills and well-being curriculum that helps children gain the confidence to ask questions, care for and support each other, learn about health and nutrition, set goals and learn how to achieve them. Stumai says her greatest reward is witnessing the girls she mentors start to believe in themselves and succeeding.
史圖瑪艾用社會利息 來支付她的利息, 她支付社會利息的方式 是去指導一所當地高中的女孩。 她每週去當志工,做學習指導, 講授關於生活技能 及安康的課程, 協助孩子們有自信提問、 彼此照顧和支持、 學習健康和營養知識、 學習設定目標及如何達成目標。 史圖瑪艾說,她得到最大的獎勵 就是看到她指導的女孩 開始自信並成功。
These days, Stumai also trains other learner guides. That's multiplying the number of girls making it through school and into secure livelihoods like she did. Through her business profits, she has been able to support her siblings, three nieces and nephews and other children in her community to go to school. She also regularly supports other network members. For example, a young woman studying for a diploma in community development. In the past two years, Stumai helped her with money for bus fare, for sanitary pads, for soap and encouraged her to keep going. Stumai spends 370 dollars a year supporting the education of others. That's 17 percent of her gross earnings from her motorcycle business. This is the power of social interest.
現在,史圖瑪艾 也訓練其他學習指導者, 加倍讓更多女孩能完成學業, 像她一樣有穩定的生計。 透過事業的利潤, 她能夠支助她的兄弟姐妹、 三個姪女及姪子 和她社區中的其他孩子上學。 她也經常支助網路的其他成員。 比如, 有一名年輕女子在攻讀 社區發展的學位。 過去兩年間, 史圖瑪艾提供她金援, 讓她坐巴士,買衛生棉、肥皂, 並鼓勵她繼續走下去。 史圖瑪艾每年花費三百七十美元 來支助其他人的教育。 等同於她的摩托車事業 總收入的 17%。 這就是社會利息的力量。
Stumai's example shows that if you help one girl, not only to go to school, but graduate and start a business, she can in turn make a giant difference in the lives of others and her community. Had Stumai paid back interest on her loan in dollars, her success might have been felt by her and her immediate family, but because she paid interest as social interest, the impact was felt by her mentees, her nieces, nephews, her employees and so many others around her. Stumai is just one example of many.
史圖瑪艾的例子證明了 如果協助一個女孩, 不僅協助她上學, 還包括協助她畢業和創業, 那麼她反過來就能為他人的生活 以及她的社區造成很大的不同。 如果史圖瑪艾用金錢 來償還她貸款的利息, 能感受到她成功的人, 可能僅限於她的直系家人; 但因為她用社會利息來償還, 能感受到這影響的 就包括她指導的人、 她的姪女、姪子、員工, 以及她身邊的許多人。 史圖瑪艾只是許多例子中的一個。
Today, we have 7,000 learner guides like Stumai, working across Malawi, Tanzania, Ghana, Zambia and Zimbabwe. And collectively, they've helped children do better in school. The girls we work with are nearly three times less likely to drop out of school, because learner guides make home visits when girls fail to attend school to help them back on track. They also work with communities and district governments to address the challenges children face, including preventing or annulling child marriages, connecting children facing hunger or hardship at home with local support, or running study groups so that children who might be lagging behind in their studies can get supporters and catch up. They act as trusted sisters, friends and guardians.
現今,我們有七千個像 史圖瑪艾這樣的學習指導者, 在馬拉威、坦尚尼亞、迦納、 贊比亞、辛巴威等地工作。 整體來說, 她們協助孩子在學校 有更好的表現。 我們協助的女孩比一般的女孩 休學的機率少了三分之一。 因為若女孩沒有去學校, 學習指導者就會家訪, 協助她們重上軌道。 她們也和社區及區政府合作, 處理孩子要面對的挑戰, 包括預防或廢除童婚、 結合當地的支援 協助挨餓或生活困苦的孩子, 或者經營讀書小組, 讓學業落後的孩子 能得到支援並迎頭趕上。 她們扮演可以信賴的 大姐姐、朋友,和保護者。
So far, nearly 6,300 network members have borrowed close to three million dollars, with a repayment rate of those loans at consistently above 95 percent. And our 140,000 members, they have invested their own resources to support and send over 937,000 children to primary and secondary school. Every young woman we work with supports, on average, another three children outside of her immediate family to go to school. All without additional money from us.
目前這個網路有近六千三百位成員, 借出了接近三百萬美金。 那些貸款的償還率 始終高於 95%。 我們的十四萬名成員 投入自己的資源 來支助超過九十三萬七千名孩童 去讀小學和中學。 我們支助過的每一位年輕女性 平均會再支助另外三個 她們直屬家人以外的孩子, 幫助她們上學。 都不需要我們提供額外的資金。
We are building a powerful force. Gaining ever greater momentum as we open the door for more and more girls to go to school, succeed, lead and in turn, support thousands more. This system, supporting those once excluded to transform their lives and then step up for others, can work for more than girls' education. Of course, you need to get your money back if you lend it. But instead of demanding interest in dollars, can you consider using social interest instead?
我們在建立一股很強大的力量。 得到前所未有的推動力, 我們打開大門, 讓更多女孩能去上學、成功、領導, 換她們來支助更多更多的人。 這系統支援曾被排除在外的人, 改變她們的生活, 讓她們接著為他人站出來, 這個系統也能用在 女子教育以外的地方。 當然你要把借出的錢賺回來。 但你可以不用錢來還利息, 改用社會利息來取代。
For example, could young people pass on the skills they learned in training colleges? Like Michelle, who teaches brickmaking in rural Zimbabwe. Or Louisa, who is training others on climate-smart agriculture in Malawi. Or Fatima in Ghana, who is training women to help deliver babies where expectant mothers might not be able to make it to the local hospital on time.
比如, 年輕人是否能在職業訓練學校 傳授他們學到的技能? 比如蜜雪兒, 在辛巴威的鄉村地區教製磚。 或路易莎,在馬拉威 訓練其他人根據氣候來務農。 或者迦納的法提瑪, 訓練女性協助接生, 幫助可能無法及時 趕到當地醫院的懷孕母親。
When I was growing up, an elder in my village in rural Zimbabwe once described the challenges I faced in going to school. She said, "Those who harvest many pumpkins often do not have the clay pots to cook them in."
在我成長過程中, 我住的村落在辛巴威的鄉村地區, 村中一名長者曾經描述 我去上學所要面對的挑戰。 她說: 「收穫很多南瓜的那些人 通常沒有陶土鍋來煮南瓜。」
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
What she meant was that, although I got the best possible results in my exams when I finished elementary school, my talent was of no value if my family could not afford to pay for me to continue my education. Well, with this system, we are not just providing pots, or making a single meal out of the pumpkins. After all, there are hundreds of seeds in a single pumpkin. We are saving the seeds, planting them and nurturing every one of them. And the result? A virtuous cycle of prosperity, equality and hope, led by young women. Because together, we are shaking up the world. Pamoja tunaweza -- that's Swahili for my network motto: "Together we can!"
她的意思是 雖然我在小學的畢業考 得到最好的成績, 若我的家人無法負擔 讓我繼續接受教育, 我的天賦就埋沒了。 有了這個系統, 我們不僅是提供陶土鍋, 或者用南瓜單單煮一餐。 畢竟, 在一個南瓜中就有數百顆種子。 我們把種子保存下來, 種植到土裡, 供給每一顆種子養份。 結果呢? 繁榮、平等, 與希望的良性循環, 由年輕女性主導。 因為,同心協力, 我們在改造世界。 Pamoja tunaweza —— 這是斯華西里語,我們組織的格言: 「大家同心,其利斷金!」
Thank you.
謝謝。
(Applause)
(掌聲)