Archive for category: Global Poverty

Key articles and information on global poverty.

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5 “Nerdy” Charities

Whether someone is a fan of computers or an avid gamer, they stand for it with pride and enjoy being a part of your respective community. Perhaps they wish to do a good deed for the world, but are not sure where to start; below they will find a list of the five charities that best resonate with the interests of many people:

1. EurekaFund

Revolving around various proposals for creating clean, innovative, environmentally-friendly technology, EurekaFund is a database of current research proposals that require further funding. The site provides options of directly donating to a particular project or–in the case that they are a scientist–the possibility of submitting their work and opening a fund of its own.

2. SciFlies

A site to for browsing and inspiration, SciFlies includes modern solutions by conscientious scientists, whose individual profiles are also accessible here. Consumers will read their stories and surely discover something worthy of their time: many of the designs presented here induce a lot of promise and hope for the near future. All fundable projects are accessibly categorized by subtopics, often including photographs and links to outside sources for more in-depth information.

3. Creative Commons

With a mission of universalizing innovation, creativity, and information, and in partnership with Research & Development, Creative Commons is an excellent place for those desiring to see a world of knowledge. Think everyone should have an equal chance at higher education? Check out Creative Commons. In the information and technology age of today, there are few things we cannot accomplish already–to help further spread knowledge across the population is to revolutionize our future.

4. Child’s Play Charity

Here is one for us worldly gamers. Child’s Play is a game industry charity that has been around for a decade. Through donations from its followers, it supplies over seventy hospitals and its young residents across the globe with toys and games. All goals are set up as “achievements” in this charity, and the impact it has in its focus area has brought a lot of positive feedback to gamers.

5. Wikipedia

Good, old, trustworthy Wikipedia–everyone with access to a computer and internet knows Wikipedia, everyone uses Wikipedia, and most cannot help loving Wikipedia. The non-profit online encyclopedia with endless resources always welcomes donations; help sponsor what is shaping up to be our primary source of information if you enjoy having nearly anything you need to know in just one search away.

– Natalia Isaeva

Sources: Eureka Fund, SciFlies, Child’s Play, Creative Commons, Hub Pages
Photo: Agiel Geoscience

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Child Labor: An Overview

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“Millions of children are victims of violence and exploitation. They are physically and emotionally vulnerable and they can be scarred for life by mental or emotional abuse. That is why children should always have the first claim on our attention and resources. They must be at the heart of our thinking on challenges we are addressing on a daily basis. We know what to do, and we know how to do it. The means are at hand, it is up to us to seize the opportunity and build a world that is fit for children,” remarked Ban Ki-moon, Secretarty-General of the United Nations on November 20, 2009, on the Twentieth Anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Just as Ban Ki-moon mentioned, children are not physically or mentally ready to enter the labor force. With the lack of physical abilities, the safety of the workplace cannot be ensured, for both the children and other employees. In fact, children are more likely to be abused and mistreated in an environment centering around child labor.

“Few human rights abuses are so widely condemned, yet so widely practiced. Let us make (child labor) a priority. Because a child in danger is a child that cannot wait,” stated Kofi Annan, Former UN Secretary-General. Around the world, more than 211 million children between the age of 5 and 14 are being forced to work. Among these children, 120 million children are working full time.

To eradicate child labor, people should first understand what leads to such situations. For example, poverty is the first and foremost reason of child labor.  Since many parents do not have the capability to support their household, children end up working to help support the family’s daily lives. Another reason for child labor is a poor education system.

When education is expensive or not readily available, impoverished parents do not see the benefit of learning and think that working is a better alternative. In the United States, there are many laws that prohibit child labor, however, in some countries, child labor laws exist, but are not enforced. Companies can thus take advantage of the cheap labor and further exploit it.

On the other hand, many organizations have been striving to put a stop to child labor by various programs. For example, the United Nations has been running campaigns to raise the awareness of child labor across various nations and airing them in global events such as the World Cup. Moreover, in order to raise the level of education in poverty stricken areas, the Red Cross and governments of third world countries have been recruiting teachers to volunteer in remote areas.

– Phong Pham

Sources: Child Labor Public Education Project, UN: Agencies Urge Greater Action, International Labor Rights Forum, UN: Child Labor
Photo: Addicting Info

 

Facts about Child Labor

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10 Great Quotes About the Poverty of War

War seems endemic to civilization, and in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Nigeria and other places around the world people are fighting right now for some of the same basic reasons they have for millennia. Access to resources often determines the victors in any struggle, but both sides must face deprivations during any prolonged conflict and those hardships tend to be what most observers remember most vividly. Most of humanity’s greatest minds have witnessed war from one vantage or another and few have ever had any accolades to laud on the subject but many have had something to say. Here are a few thoughts from some great thinkers, most who witnessed war in the modern era.

1. “Probably, no nation is rich enough to pay for both war and civilization. We must make our choice; we cannot have both.” ~Abraham Flexner, American educator

2. “When the rich wage war it’s the poor who die.”~Jean-Paul Sartre, French philosopher from his play Le diable et le bon dieu

3. “Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children. This is not a way of life at all in any true sense.” ~Dwight D. Eisenhower delivered this message as part of a speech on peace during his presidency

4. “No matter what political reasons are given for war, the underlying reason is always economic.” ~A. J. P. Taylor, British historian and broadcaster

5. “The 1st panacea of a mismanaged nation is inflation of the currency; the 2nd is war. Both bring a temporary prosperity; a permanent ruin.” ~Ernest Hemingway, American writer and world traveler

6. “There is no instance of a country having benefited from prolonged warfare.” ~Sun Tzu, from The Art of War

7. “The basic problems facing the world today are not susceptible to a military solution.” ~John F. Kennedy said this in a speech during a West Point graduation

8. “How is it possible to have a civil war?” ~George Carlin, American comedian

9. “Even the most piddling life is of momentous consequence to its owner.” ~James Wolcott, current American journalist and writer

10. “Wars are poor chisels for carving out peaceful tomorrows.” ~Martin Luther King Jr. said this when speaking of the horrors of the Vietnam War

– Tyson Watkins

Sources: AAVW, IAS, Antiwar, Brainy Quote, Goodreads, EdChange, The Borgen Project Magazine
Photo: The Guardian

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Syrian Refugee Camps in Demand

Overfull and varying widely in accommodation, Syrian refugee camps have become an international crisis. The United Nations has made the largest humanitarian appeal for aid ever at $5 billion to relieve the situation but has received less than $2 billion to date. Some 2.2 million refugees are currently scattered across Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt while more Syrians are fleeing war at an alarming pace. Estimates say more than 3 million refugees will be in those areas by January.

Such numbers are startling given the Syrian population before the onset of war was only  22.5 million. Lebanon, for example, has no official camps despite having more than a million refugees in its borders and does not allow the building of permanent refugee structures. Those who can afford it rent apartments or rooms in the cities at an exorbitant rate while others share the homes of sympathetic civilians or even inhabit abandoned buildings in depressed areas. In the northeast region, an average of 17 people per household are packed together according to a study conducted by Doctors Without Borders last year.

Water, food and healthcare are rationed out slowly and insufficiently, with less to go around as numbers rise. Employment for refugees was around 20% last year in Lebanon, and the economies of Iraq, Turkey and Jordan are in little better position to provide opportunities for such a rapid influx of labor.

Dependency on humanitarian aid is heightened and the desperation of the situation has many refugees working for extremely low wages in poor conditions and engaging in child labor. Economic and physical insecurity in Jordan’s Zataari camp has led parents to arrange hurried marriages for their teenage daughters as young as 14. Matchmakers recruit young girls for Saudi husbands but often end up as prostitutes or victims of “pleasure marriages” where the suitor divorces them after consummation.

Though some of Syria’s displaced persons find bourgeois  housing in Cairo or end up in one of Turkey’s refugee camps that consist of metal trailers with access to satellite T.V. and air conditioning, most see basic necessities and sanitation as luxuries. The Domiz camp in Iraq is made up primarily of tents and has 45,000 residents despite being designed for just 30,000. In just two weeks between August and September, more than 1,500 people were treated for upper respiratory infections there by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Security is also an issue in these camps with reports of rape, theft, kidnapping and murder being common. In the Zataari camp, Jordan security forces restrict entry but lack the manpower to adequately police the camp’s 120,000 residents. Other camps in Iraqi Kurdistan and Turkey reportedly funnel arms and recruits back into Syria. In Lebanon, crime has increased by 30% and increased tensions between Hezbollah and Sunni refugees may be behind the recent bombing of the Iranian embassy in Beirut.

Syria’s bordering nations are gradually increasing restrictions for entering refugees. Lebanon and Turkey are both planning to relocate some people to camps they wish to build within Syria’s insecure borders. Only about 25% of Syria’s refugees are actually in camps now, the rest are trying to survive by their own means. There are also an additional 3.8 million who are internally displaced.

Despite their faults, the refugee camps provide essential support and the need for more camps is evident, but where they can be built and how they will be funded is not so clear.

– Tyson Watkins

Sources: Medecins Sans Frontieres, World Health Organization, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees: Syrian Arab Republic,
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees: Moving Refugees, The Guardian, Integrated Regional Information Networks, BBC, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees: Syrian Regional Response Plan, Aljazeera, The Daily Star United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees: Stories from Syrian Refugees, The New York Review of Books
Photo: NPR

Kenneth Cole: Wearing Advocacy

Getting involved has never looked so good.

When he’s not introducing some of the most fashion-forward and innovative clothes in the industry, fashion icon Kenneth Cole is promoting Awearness.

A careful reader, or spelling-stickler, will surely be screaming right now about a typo in the previous paragraph.  But “Awearness” is actually a pun and the charitable vision of Kenneth Cole: “wearing” Kenneth Cole clothing promotes awareness of the many issues championed by the fashion label.  From HIV/AIDS advocacy to Disaster Relief, Cole’s Awearness foundation has supported many laudable causes.

One of the organization’s greatest achievements is the Kenneth Cole Haiti Health Center (KCHHC).  The Center opened in 2012 and functions as a critical source of medicine and advanced health care in the region.  The KCHHC has treated 6,000 patients each year since its opening.  It is also a base for the continuing effort of providing relief in the aftermath of the earthquake from 2010 that left the country reeling.

Cole is also the chairman of the board for amfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research.  A notable accomplishment during his tenure at amfAR is the introduction of four new anti-HIV drug treatments.  Using his role as chairman, Cole routinely partners his fashion line with amfAR to raise funds for HIV/AIDS research.  For instance, all sales of the specially designed “amfAR Watch” will benefit the organization’s research.  A battery-free skeleton watch, wrapped with a rose gold frame and the AIDS Awareness ribbon on the watch’s back, makes for both a wonderful gift idea during the holiday season and a great way to fight for HIV/AIDS research.

Kenneth Cole has always prided himself on being a bit of an iconoclast in the fashion world.  His pun-filled advertisement campaigns do not shy away from heavy subject matters.  One advertisement includes two fashionable young women carrying Kenneth Cole designer bags with the pithy slogan, “We are all potential carriers.”  The ad is a great example of the blending of Cole’s fashion with his AIDS advocacy.  Another example can be seen in a campaign ad on New York subway trains: “Latest AIDS statistic: 0,000,000 vaccinated.”

But Kenneth Cole’s largest mantra is, “What You Stand For Is More Important Than What You Stand In.”  It’s a sobering reminder that being fashionable is meaningless in the face of being an advocate for change.

– Taylor Diamond

Sources: Awearness Foundation, AMFAR, Kenneth Cole, Amazon
Photo: PhilanthrophyIs

Cost Comparison: Christmas Trees

Every year millions of Americans know the joy of spending the day or evening putting up their Christmas tree. And with Christmas fast approaching it is interesting to take a look at everyone’s favorite coniferous tree.

Decorating one’s home with evergreen trees is an ancient tradition dating back to the Romans. An ancient symbol of life in the midst of winter, this practice was eventually adopted by Christians at some point in the 16th century. Over the course of the next few hundred years the trees went from decorations of fruit and nuts, to candles and tinsel to today’s modem electric color, candy cane variant.

However you choose to decorate it, the Christmas tree has become a powerful symbol of Christmas. It just doesn’t feel like Christmas until old faithful is setup and decorated. It’s hard to imagine a Christmas without one—where would you put the presents?

In the U.S. there are approximately 25-35 million real Christmas trees and 9.5 million fake ones sold every year. At any given time there are 350 million Christmas trees growing on farms. Given that each tree takes about 7 years to fully mature that is a lot of space dedicated to Christmas trees.

Still, every year consumers purchase tees to the tune of $1.07 billion and $670 million for real and fake trees respectively.  That is a lot of money for a decoration that last about two weeks on average.

In comparison, the cost of helping rebuild homes in the Philippines is $10.25 million. Habitat for Humanity is taking donations now in an effort to help rebuild homes that were devastated by Super Typhoon Haiyan. They currently have raised nearly $500,000 of an estimated $10 million needed. According to their website that equates to 87 homes rebuilt.

This year when you are enjoying your Christmas tree in the comfort of your home, give a thought to the thousands who were displaced and the millions suffering without a home in the Philippines.

– Pedram Afshar

Sources: Statistic Brain, National Christmas Tree Association, History, Habitat for Humanity
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Rodman to Visit North Korea Again


Dennis Rodman is set to visit North Korea for the third time, meeting with its current ruler, Kim Jong-Un, with whom Rodman has established a friendship.

The primary reason for Rodman’s visit is to help train North Korea’s national basketball team, an American sport that the North Korean ruler enjoys. The training is said to last for four days.

Rodman’s visit comes at a time when Jang Song-Thaek, Kim’s uncle, was recently executed by the state on charges of treason and conspiring against the state. The execution was allegedly demonstrated in front of other would-be conspirators of the coup d’état.

The Daily Mail reports that this would be only the beginning of a possible purge set against members of the old regime, under Kim’s father, Kim Jong-Il. Such a display would make room for a newer crew under the new regime.

Furthermore, old state records are being erased, including those of Jang Song-Thaek. The deleted online records were estimated to range upwards to 35,000 documents.

Rodman himself is set to coach the national team in preparation for a match against former NBA players that will be held in the near future. The game, called “Big Bang in Pyongyang,” is to be hosted by Paddy Power, an online gaming company from Ireland.

For the upcoming exhibition match, Rodman hopes to recruit Karl Malone and Scottie Pippen, his former Chicago Bulls teammate.

As for the Obama administration’s response, Marie Harf, a spokeswoman for the U.S. State Department, cites that the only comment is the official State Department caution on traveling to North Korea. U.S. citizens should refrain from traveling to an isolationist country – a country with which the U.S. does not have current diplomatic ties.

Rodman’s NBA career consists of five NBA championships. Rodman won his first two championships with the Detroit Spurs between 1989-1990. The latter three were won as a part of the Chicago Bulls between 1996-1998 alongside Michael Jordan.

– Miles Abadilla

Sources: Daily Mail, ESPN, Huffington Post, New York Times, Time Magazine
Photo: World News

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Champion Equality

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The rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community have become an issue at the forefront of international politics. In addition to penetrating the political sphere, this topic has become a hot topic in the pop world; countless movies, television episodes and songs have been dedicated to the advancement of LGBT rights. One of the most popular efforts has been by hip-hop artists Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. Macklemore, a 30-year-old rapper from Washington, stormed onto the hip-hop stage in 2005 with his socially conscious songs that address topics ranging from homosexuality to drug abuse. He met his partner and soon to be producer, Lewis, in 2006, and they have been an unstoppable duo since.

This past year, Macklemore and Lewis won numerous awards for their newest album, “The Heist,” that includes “Same Love,” a song featuring the vocals of Mary Lambert. The song addresses urges the legalization of same-sex marriage and LGBT rights. The song has sold over 2,000,000 copies and peaked at #11 on the United States Billboard Hot 100 charts. This past week, the United Nations Free & Equal Campaign recognized Macklemore & Lewis as “Equality Champions” for their contributions to the LGBT community.

The Free & Equal campaign was created by Navi Pillay, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, as a response to the increasing number of human rights violations against LGBT people. The United Nations also created its first resolution to address the inequality. Macklemore and Lewis responded to the honor by thanking the U.N. for allowing it to “help spread a message of equality and respect.” Macklemore also added, “Ryan and I have always believed that human rights are for everyone- no exceptions.”

Other celebrities, including Ricky Martin, have also taken part in the Free & Equal campaign.

– Lienna Feleke-Eshete

Sources: All Africa, YouTube, UNFE
Photo: The Masked Gorilla

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More than Moved

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In the midst of international mourning for Nelson Mandela and in an attempt to drive home the message of International Human Rights Day, a Brazilian NGO posed a provocative question on Tuesday, December 10.

A billboard designed by Conectas Human Rights, featured an image of Nelson Mandela and the question, “Do you feel moved by his legacy?” The text then urged the Brazilian population to act upon their emotions and “Do more than be moved.”

This campaign is driven by recent public opinion polls that reveal a negative feeling toward human rights issues in Brazil and support for more stringent laws and regulations.

Respondents to surveys administered across 134 municipalities in June 2013, support the reduction of maximum crime penalties from 18 years of age to 16, based on a belief held by 60% of the sample population that criminality is the result of ‘bad character.’

Moreover, the Datafolha Research Institute released data that reveal 26% of self-identified conservative-leaning respondents believe that homosexuality must be discouraged by society as a whole, whilst 33% believe that poverty is the result of laziness.

These emerging public opinions are linked to a reduction in funding for human rights groups, namely through foreign aid.

Brazil is widely considered to be an emerging market, the country’s role as 2014 World Cup host is evidence of this image but it disguises the fact that a growing economy does not automatically address human rights issues as seen through the need of foreign aid in assisting structural development.

It is estimated that 60% of the country’s NGOs relied on foreign aid for 80% of their budgets in 2003. Between 2008 and 2009 this aid decreased by 30% and again by another 49% in 2010 alone.

Executive Director of the Brazil Human Rights Fund, Ana Araújo, reminds us that Brazil was marked by dictatorship as recently as 30 years ago, a type of legacy that differs greatly from the one being celebrated across the globe on International Human Rights Day 2013.

Araújo argues that domestic support for human rights groups is the next, though not imminent, step, suggesting that emerging powers require more support, not less, to ensure that their emergence is ‘just.’

– Zoë Dean

Sources: Global Voices Online, Universo Online: CNT, Universo Online: Rightist Leanings, Open Democracy

Justin Bieber’s Charity for the Philippines

International pop star Justin Bieber flexes his humanitarian muscle in the effort to help the victims of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines by providing aid relief.

From books to water, Bieber brought along with him necessities and supplies meant to reconstruct the lives of those negatively affected by the largest typhoon to hit the Southeast with roughly over 5,000 individuals dead and many more displaced.

Bieber also participated in the Philippine national pastime by playing basketball matches with locals in the city of Tacloban, the Visayan metropole of the Leyte province, a region largely affected by the storm. Additionally, Bieber sang an accoustic performance to the local community.

In cooperation with UNICEF, Action Against Hunger and the Philam Foundation, Bieber offers numerous prizes if they donate to the cause. Among these is a studio tour or VIP tickets to Bieber’s movie premiere “Believe”.

To date, Bieber has raised $3 million dollars.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQHIuOxgiSQBieber’s recent philanthropic efforts are a change of pace from recent headlines in the past few months. Bieber was caught on video urinating into a bucket at the back of a New York City restaurant.

A month later, Bieber was in an altercation wherein the 19-year old ripped off his shirt at a New York City club during a confrontation with other patrons. Bieber’s entourage was reported to have gotten physical and involved in an altercation with fellow clients.

Bieber joins fellow celebrities in the push to helping the ravaged country to getting back on its feet. Using Prizeo, Bieber, along with other Prizeo users Samuel L. Jackson, Kirsten Bell and One Direction’s Harry Styles and Liam Payne, promoted a cause and offered rewards.

Whether his image be in the positive or negative light, the estimated net worth of $130 million pop star has undergone a certain stage of rebranding. From being a YouTube sensation towards a developing ‘bad boy’ image, Bieber and his actions will remain in the constant public eye.

– Miles Abadilla

Sources: Billboard, Business Insider, Huffington Post, Huffington Post, The Mirror, The Mirror