Moms in school: From teens in Tanzania to college students in US

According to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, nearly 10% of all U.S. undergraduate students, or 1.7 million students, are single mothers. We cover new opportunities for that group and also share strategies to restore natural areas damaged by climate change and human activity.

1. United States

A cohort of community colleges is making it easier for single moms to earn degrees. Only 8% of single mothers attending college – most of whom are low-income students – will graduate with an associate or bachelor’s degree within six years, and they are more likely than all other women to have started but not finished college. Central New Mexico Community College in Albuquerque, Delgado Community College in New Orleans, Ivy Tech Community College in Indianapolis, and Monroe Community College in Rochester, New York, each received $50,000 in funding to interview single mothers on campus and address their challenges. The resulting pilot programs aim to increase single mothers’ degree attainment by 30% at each school by the end of the 2023-24 school year.

Max Becherer/NOLA.com The Times-Picayune/AP/File
Delgado Community College students listen to an address in New Orleans, May 15, 2018.

Why We Wrote This

In our progress roundup, there’s recognition of the extra burdens mothers carry as caregivers, a step toward reconciliation between New Zealand and an Indigenous group, and some environmental news.

A recent report by the nonprofit Education Design Lab, which tests program models for underserved students and selected the participating schools, outlines the new support systems, which include scholarships and emergency funds for single parents, tailored career and academic coaching, expanded child care options, and opportunities for community building. “We aren’t just helping our students who are parents,” said Mary Ann Matta DeMario, an institutional research specialist at Monroe Community College. “We are helping multiple generations.”
Inside Higher Ed, Institute for Women’s Policy Research

2. Bahamas

A coral farm in Freeport, Grand Bahama, is working to restore lost reefs by breeding climate-resistant corals on land. Home to more than a quarter of all marine species, coral reefs support the livelihoods of millions of people. But warming waters and an increase in ocean acidity have already destroyed half of the world’s reefs, and two-thirds to virtually all could be lost by 2050.

That’s why Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies graduates Sam Teicher and Gator Halpern launched Coral Vita in 2019. The first-of-its-kind farm uses table-sized tanks to plant small fragments of native coral, which grow up to 50 times faster than they would in the wild. Water in the tanks is manipulated for temperature and acidity to build resilience. The Coral Vita model avoids many of the challenges associated with traditional underwater coral farming: Staff members have better access to the coral, the tanks can be protected from natural disasters, and it’s easier to scale up. Earlier this year, the group won an Earthshot Prize for environmental innovation, and plans to use the prize money to build a global network of coral farms.
Euronews, Fast Company, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Ramon Espinosa/AP/File
Near the beaches of Freeport, the first land-based coral farm is working on generating interest in its mission by selling merchandise and inviting visitors to see its operations.

3. Tanzania

Tanzania lifted a controversial ban prohibiting young mothers from returning to school after pregnancy. The law was introduced in 2002 and reaffirmed in 2017 by then-President John Magufuli, who said the students who were pregnant or had been pregnant would be an immoral influence on their peers. Schools could also require girls to take random pregnancy tests.

Effective immediately, teenage mothers now have a two-year window to return to school after giving birth, according to the Ministry of Education. Some see the move as an attempt by Samia Suluhu Hassan, Mr. Magufuli’s successor and the country’s first female president, to distance her government from the Magufuli administration. The change is not legally binding, and does not allow pregnant students to remain in class. “We are excited with this announcement for now, so let us celebrate,” said Tike Mwambipile of the Tanzania Women Lawyers Association. “This is a step towards meaningful change. ... Time will tell if this is posturing or not. But I think they mean business.”
The Citizen, The Guardian

4. Finland

Finnish communities are working together to restore ecosystems devastated by climate change and human development. In the late 1990s, seeing how warming winters threatened biodiversity and Indigenous culture in Finland, a group of fishers, scientists, and activists started traveling to remote Arctic villages to document Indigenous traditions and environmental knowledge. They eventually established Snowchange, a network of communities throughout Finland, to expand their efforts.

In 2011 – after pollution from a nearby peat extraction site wiped out fish stock in the eastern village of Selkie – the cooperative focused its mission on rewilding, the restoration of an area to its natural state, with a goal of less human intervention. Funded by its commercial fisheries and international partners, Snowchange began buying former peat production sites and transforming them back into wetlands. The initiatives have proved effective: Ten years ago, only four bird species lived on the Linnunsuo wetland site in Selkie, but today, it’s a refuge for 195 different kinds of birds. In addition to advocating for Indigenous climate research globally, Snowchange is scaling up this concept of rewilding at home. It now operates on nearly 70,000 acres across 41 sites in Finland.
Pioneers Post, Snowchange

5. New Zealand

The New Zealand government has finalized a treaty recognizing the Moriori people and their history on Rēkohu, or the Chatham Islands. The original settlers of the southeastern archipelago followed a strict code of peace starting in the 1500s. The community’s nonviolence left them vulnerable when European settlers arrived in 1791, and in 1835, when mainland Maori tribes invaded the islands, killing and enslaving the Moriori inhabitants. In the early 20th century, the Moriori population on Rēkohu dropped to 31, though historians wrongly portrayed the group as an inferior and extinct race. There are an estimated 3,000 to 6,000 people of Moriori descent living in New Zealand today.

The treaty includes an agreed account of Moriori history, an apology from the Crown, and a settlement worth more than $12 million. This agreement is the first step in reconciliation, say Moriori descendants. “The fact that our stories are coming to light, and people are showing interest is huge,” says Rāhiri Edwards-Hammond, adding that it’s important for Moriori people like her to begin “getting to know ourselves again.”
The Guardian, New Zealand Herald

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