Beyond Poverty Podcast

In this episode, Elene is joined by Ansu Tumbahangfe, Director of Transformative Rural Access Catalyst for Change (TRAC4Change) by Helvetas, a specialized center focusing on transferring technical know-how and institutionalizing rural infrastructure to end geographic isolation. They discuss how light, sustainable trail bridge technology connects remote communities to essential healthcare, education, and local markets. They also explore why long-term sustainability requires embedding solutions directly into government systems and local community management models.

Resources & Links Mentioned:

• Learn more about TRAC4Change & Helvetas

Connect With Our Guest & Host

• Connect with our guest: Ansu Tumbahangfe
• Connect with our host: ⁠Elene Cloete⁠

In this episode, Elene is joined by ElsaMarie D’Silva, founder of the Red Dot Foundation in India and CEO of Red Dot Foundation Global in the U.S.—the organizations behind Safecity, one of the world's largest open-access platforms to anonymously report instances of gender-based violence across more than 20 countries. They discuss the urgent global issue of sexual and gender-based violence and how the Red Dot Foundation uses technology to focus protection, education, and prevention efforts. They also discuss the role of local agency and how community-led action can effectively address and prevent violence against women. [Content Warning]

Resources & Links Mentioned:

• Learn more about the Red Dot Foundation & Safecity
• Explore the Safecity Global Platform & Data Map

Connect With Our Guest & Host

• Connect with our guest: ElsaMarie D'Silva
• Connect with our host: Elene Cloete

In this episode, Megan Lindmark, co-founder and CEO of Mangrove Water, discusses what it takes for a community to achieve sustainable access to safe drinking water. She explains how simply digging a well and installing access pipes is not enough. She explains how her organization teaches communities how to maintain and repair the pump, store water, and most importantly, filter the water so that it is safe for the families who use it. When environmental engineering is employed to build a holistic and resilient infrastructure, clean water stops being a temporary aid project and becomes a self-sustaining utility.

Resources & Links Mentioned:

• Learn more about Mangrove Water

Connect With Our Guest & Host

• Connect with our guest Megan Lindmark
• Connect with our host Elene Cloete

Music by: Marmoset Song Title: Kanna (Instrumental) Artist Name: Lightspeak 

In this episode, Elene speaks with Dr. Keetie Roelen, a development economist and Senior Research Fellow in Poverty and Social Protection and Co-Deputy Director at the Centre for the Study of Global Development at The Open University in the UK. They discuss the issue of child poverty, the psychosocial impact of living in poverty, and how using empathy as a practical tool to understand poverty from a person’s unique perspective is the most effective to make a lasting impact.

Resources & Links Mentioned:

• Listen to Keetie's podcast, Poverty Unpacked
• Order Keetie's book, The Empathy Fix

Connect With Our Guest & Host

• Connect with our guest Keetie Roelen
• Connect with our host Elene Cloete

Music by: Marmoset Song Title: Kanna (Instrumental) Artist Name: Lightspeak 

In this episode, Elene is joined by Professor Jan Willem Swanepoel from the University of the Free State in South Africa. They discuss the issue of food security in rural and low-income regions and the challenges that persist, including economic instability, environmental pressure from industry and pollution, and climate change. They’ll also talk about the important work being done to understand and overcome these challenges by starting with academic and theoretical research and then turning findings into actionable solutions that have real-world impact.

Resources & Links Mentioned:

• Learn more about Sustainable Food Systems and Development at University of the Free State

Connect With Our Guest & Host

• Connect with our guest Jan Willem Swanepoel

• Connect with our host ⁠⁠Elene Cloete

Every household needs a toilet, and so many nonprofits strive to provide them. But when a toilet is not connected to a sewage system, what happens when the storage tank fills up? In this episode, Elene welcomes Dr. Musa Manga, Assistant Professor of Environmental Sciences and Engineering at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He and Elene discuss the issue of sanitation management, the research bringing new technology to the sector,, and what that means for the health and dignity of a community.

Resources & Links Mentioned:

• Learn more about The Water Institute at UNC

• Read more about the UN Sustainable Development Goals

Connect With Our Guest & Host

• Connect with our guest Musa Manga
• Connect with our host ⁠Elene Cloete

Music by: Marmoset Song Title: Kanna (Instrumental) Artist Name: Lightspeak 

In this episode, Elene welcomes Anoop Jain and Anvesh Badamikar who work at SHRI, Sanitation and Health Rights, India. SHRI works with underserved communities to expand access to safe sanitation by renovating and managing shared facilities in neighborhoods, markets, schools, health centers, and other public spaces. They the current state of sanitation in India, the obstacles underserved communities face, and the amazing work SHRI and others are doing to improve the health, livelihoods, and day-to-day wellbeing for the people in India who need it most.

Dr. Anoop Jain holds a PhD from UC Berkeley and Post-Doc from Stanford and Harvard, is CEO of SHRI, and is a faculty member at Boston University’s School of Public Health.

Anvesh Badamikar holds dual master's degrees in environmental engineering from Stanford University and is the the Director of Research and Learning at SHRI.

Resources: 

• Learn more about Sanitation and Health Rights, India: https://www.sanrights.org/ 
• Follow Outreach International on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/outreach-international

Music by: Marmoset Song Title: Kanna (Instrumental) Artist Name: Lightspeak 

In this episode, Elene welcomes Gunjan Veda, the Global Secretary for the Movement for Community-led Development, a World-led network of networks, with more than 3000 local organizations and international non-government organization allies across 40 countries. Together they’ll discuss the current state of poverty around the world, the issues that persist and create barriers to progress in the work to alleviate poverty, and how the methodology of community-led development offers the greatest hope for real advancement toward building a world beyond poverty.

Resources & Links Mentioned:

• Purchase your copy of We Power Our Own Change: Community-Led Development in Practice
• Learn more about the Movement for Community-Led Development

Connect With Our Guest & Host

• Connect with our guest Gunjan Veda
• Connect with our host Elene Cloete

• Follow Outreach International on LinkedIn

Music by: Marmoset Song Title: Kanna (Instrumental) Artist Name: Lightspeak 

What does it truly take to build a world beyond poverty?

Join host Elene Cloete, PhD, CEO of Outreach International, for a new series exploring how people around the world can lift themselves out of poverty through community-led development.

In each episode, she talks with global experts about moving beyond temporary aid, shifting the power of development to the people who benefit from it, and amplifying local voices to create sustainable change that lasts for generations.

The journey begins this April. Hit the "Follow" or "plus" button now to be the first to hear Episode 1 when it drops.

Learn more at https://outreach-international.org/

Music by: Marmoset Song Title: Kanna (Instrumental) Artist Name: Lightspeak