When we wanted to come up with a way to convey our set of values with both the South Africa Project and Ubuntu Now, a tag cloud seemed a natural, and they’ve come out really well. Here’s the one for the South Africa Project:

South Africa Project Tag Cloud

Immediately and without any complications it shows that while we’re still engaged and interested in the 2010 FIFA World Cup, rape prevention is a much more core goal of our project, and that empowerment and gender equality are critical parts of what we are trying to accomplish.  Nice, isn’t it?

What’s better is that we’ve made it easy for you to support our project by buying some gear with this tag cloud featured by going to our South Africa Project Store. Just click and check it out, I know you’ll like it.

And our overarching organization, Ubuntu Now?  We created a different tag cloud for that:

Ubuntu Now Tag Cloud

Since we’re big fans of this one too, which offers up the values that helped guide the creation of Ubuntu Now and South Africa Project, we’ve also made these available with its own online store: Ubuntu Now Online Store.

I invite you to browse both stores and I’ll remind you that it’s one of the easiest ways to help us raise money to support these worthy goals for South Africa and our troubled world.

A recent study on rape by the South Africa Medical Research Council came as a strong reminder on the severity of the rape situation in South Africa.

According to the study 1 in 4 men have already forced a women to have sex with him. Rape is generally accepted in wide parts of the society.

The police statistics show 86 women and 64 minor girls being raped each day.

30% of adolescents stated that their first sexual encounter was based on rape.

The reported number of rapes per year is 55,000. The University of South Africa estimates that the real number is around 1 million. If this number is correct one woman in South Africa is forced to have sex every 30 seconds.

16% of South African men that know a rape victim believe that she wanted to have sex and actually enjoyed it.

ActionAid states that out of 25 men that are accused 24 are being acquitted.

Most adolescents in South Africa don’t even know the definition of rape.

Leading expert Rachel Jewkes of MRC conducted a survey with 1738 men in the Eastern Cape and Kwazulu-Natal provinces:

• 25% of the men admitted to having raped a women at least once.
• 75% of the men were younger than 20 at their first rape.
• 50% of the rapists have done it more than once.
• 20% of the rapists were HIV positive.
• 10% of the rapists stated that they were 10 or younger at their first rape.

A study of the NGO CIET Trust showed that 40% of the students below 18 years of age have been raped at least once. 20% of these rapes were done by their teachers.

In many cases it is not the least educated men committing the rapes. The more educated men feel more empowered. Mr. Rachel Jewkes stated that only the ones with power can actually abuse it.

Most sex education in South Africa seems to take place among peers. Boys teach other boys that raping a girl will turn the into a “real man”.

Another fundamental problem is the lack of male role models. There are simply not enough dads that could show the other way to their children.

Just in case you wondered why we started our little South Africa Project…

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They look like this:

The Vuvuzela is a noise maker found at South African soccer matches

A half-dozen fans having one of these, or even a lot of fans who blow on them to celebrate a goal or terrific defensively play is one thing, but as those of us that watched the FIFA Confederations Cup learned, the practice in South Africa seems to be to keep a continuous drone of vuvuzela going throughout the match.

And we’re not talking about twenty or thirty people in the stadium, we’re talking about hundreds, if not thousands, of locals keeping a deafening racket during the entire match.

Players have complained, coaches have complained, broadcast personnel have complained, but FIFA, so far, has said that it would allow vuvuzela’s in the World Cup 2010 stadiums and would allow South Africans to use them to mark their enjoyment and appreciation of the game.

I wish they wouldn’t. I found the constant clamor to be most distracting and annoying, and it even got in the way of being able to hear the crowd reaction to terrific plays or bad calls by referees both.

Maybe it’s time for the South African fans to learn some chants?

The rulers in Iran made one big mistake during the Islamic Revolution. They cut down women’s rights. But they figured that if women cover themselves up they could be allowed into Universities. And so they went. And they got very educated. The rate of educated women climbed from 30% to 70% over the last 30 years.

Yes they still walk around all covered up but there was something brewing underneath all these chadors and head scarfs. And the rulers missed out on that.

The women of Teheran have shown tremendous courage over the last weeks. They were not afraid to take a beating.

Neda Iran was of course the woman whose tragic fate propelled the women standing up into the world headlines. They know that what is happening in this country is not right.

This should serve as a lesson to other countries that still discriminate against women. No matter what your reasoning polical, religious or cultural.

Yes the demonstrations in Iran are about the past elections. But they have turned into something much bigger by now. These women stand up for their rights.

Bottom line: Many of these women are fearless heros. Some of them are dead now or imprisoned. They are still all winners in my book. I hope many other women from around the world will follow suit. This doesn’t always have to be on the level of trying to overturn a government. But gathering and speaking up does make a difference: To the outside world but even more so to yourself. It is very empowering and can chnge someone’s life forever.

How about that famous quote of Victor Frankl: ” Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom. ”

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• Video: Neda Iran, one life lost for a greater cause (inquisitr.com)

It’s not quite the 2010 World Cup, but it’s a great chance for South Africa and FIFA to give us a taste of what it’s going to be like next year when the World Cup kicks off, and so far the stadiums look great, the players are looking smart on field, and the high-def TV camera systems are doing very well.

You haven’t heard of the Confederations Cup?  I hadn’t either until I saw the games being discussed on some South African blogs. This is the eighth Confederations Cup and FIFA considers it the “Festival of Champions”. Here’s how FIFA explains:

“With six Champions from six continents, 2006 FIFA World Cup™ winner Italy, and the host, South Africa, all competing, this football celebration will be the warm-up for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™. The list of participating nations also includes recent European Champions Spain, USA, Iraq, Brazil, Egypt and the winner of the OFC Nations Cup, New Zealand.”

Sounds good, and so far, it looks great!

South Africa is currently preparing for the World Cup 2010, not only one of the biggest events of the world, but an opportunity for improving lives of the citizens. The South Africa government is committed to improving infrastructure and security to ensure Africa’s first Fifa world cup event.

As South Africa is preparing for this big event, awareness needs to be brought to this potential violence lurking in the shadows. According to an article posted on 3/27/09 on Dispatch Online, World Cup 2010 may be promising more than economic and national growth for South Africa. There is a growing fear of human trafficking emerging ahead of the 2010 Fifa World Cup, much like the organized sex trade that Germany had when they hosted the event in 2006.

The area most likely to be targeted for prostitution is the Eastern Cape, which has recently been named as the worst slave trade province in the country. This is due to the high poverty rate and lack of resources. Tourism and prostitution tend to go together, mainly in poverty stricken areas, where the lure of money is attractive to young girls. But in a country with already astronomical rates of HIV, AIDS and sexual violence, this projection can’t be ignored.

As South Africa develops better sports facilities and transportation system, and improves its roads and telecommunications infrastructure, we hope that the government is not ignoring the needs of the poverty- stricken areas not in the media spotlight.

As a result Desmond Tutu and F.W. de Klerk have already pulled out. The move is seen as a way to avoid conflict with the Chinese government even though South Africa denies it. Why else would you not let the Dalai Lama in.

Other countries have been way more diplomatic in their way to deal with the Tibet problem.

The South African government seem to be fairly dependent from trade with China. The peace conference is doomed to fail as a result. Maybe it is better hosted somewhere else.

The signal sent is that non-violence and peace might not seem to be top priorities. The government will give in to threats by powerful forces. That could have implications in South Africa’s efforts to present itself as a safe place for visitors to attend the World Cup.

Keep in mind that China is not the biggest force in World Soccer. No matter how big their efforts. China has maybe won this battle. On the pitch in 2010 they’ll be a non-factor.

Banning the Dalai Lama from a peace conference feels a little like banner a soccer ball from the game.

Palme’s last official speech, given one week before his death, was given to a Swedish group dedicated to the abolition of apartheid. Having begun his political career with South Africa at heart — he collected proceeds from fellow students’ blood donations and put the money towards anti-apartheid efforts — Palme had built much of his international career as a proponent of equal-rights campaigns. Palme demanded that the Nordic countries become accountable for joining together and putting pressure on South Africa to abolish apartheid. The policies Palme proposed became implemented in the Swedish government and in various manners within other Nordic countries.

Reading the translation of Palme’s final speech is rather jarring. Just imagine how, in 1986, interracial marriages had been allowed for barely a year under South African law, per the repeal of Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act in 1985. The inequality that Palme describes and the degree of action he urged is a burden to digest; this last speech effectively demonstrates why Palme aimed for nothing short of abolition. “A system like apartheid cannot be reformed,” he told the parliament. “It can only be abolished.”

Unfortunately, Palme would never get the chance to see first-hand how he helped bring South Africa out of the darkness of apartheid. In a way, Sweden’s pain at losing its champion for equal rights — at times, an unpopular champion — could be felt in South Africa. It would be seven long years before all-race elections ushered in a new era for South Africa, an era when equality could begin to flourish under a system in which inequality would not be legislated. In his life, Palme contributed greatly to the cause of equality in South Africa; in his death, Palme was sorely missed in the struggle against apartheid.

Although there have been huge leaps forward in South Africa since Palme’s time, we must remember that his work is not yet complete. His contributions helped greatly, but inequality still exists in South Africa, even in the absence of apartheid. The prevalence of gender inequality and sexual assault, along with the dizzying rates of HIV and AIDS, have surfaced in its place, demonstrating that the need for action still exists.

We cannot say for certain what would have happened had Palme not met his killer on that cold night in February. Would his efforts have hastened the abolition of apartheid? Would the prevention of HIV and AIDS, then a relative unknown to the world, become part of Palme’s agenda of peace and justice? Would he work as hard as he did against apartheid to give women the type of equality he strived to give blacks? There is little doubt, had Palme outlived apartheid, that he would have continued to be a champion for equality and justice in South Africa.

By remembering Palme, we can be inspired to honor his memory through speaking up the way he would have done in the face of injustice. “If the world decides to abolish apartheid,” Palme said, in his final speech, “Apartheid will disappear.” If we apply this attitude to South Africa’s struggles today, we will succeed in these issues to the forefront, and the memory of Olof Palme will live on.

Sources: Olof Palme and the Struggle Against Apartheid, The Palme Center, BBC: “On This Day”

In a nutshell, the weekend of 20-22 March all games played in major football leagues throughout Europe will raise money to help the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) fund its TeleFood “micro-project” initiative.

“The money raised from the campaign will finance FAO TeleFood micro-projects designed to provide solutions to poor families and communities by giving them the know-how and means to produce their own food.”

Terrific cause and idea. Very fun. If you’re in England, Spain, Germany or Italy that week, do go to a game and help raise funds for the TeleFood project to help combat hunger, a problem faced by 1 billion people worldwide.

The answer? Ten, in nine different South African cities.

Specifically, five of South Africa’s football stadiums will undergo major renovations for the World Cup: Ellis Park and Soccer City in Johannesburg, Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria, the Royal Bafokeng stadium in Mafikeng in North West Province and Vodacom Park in Bloemfontein in the Free State.

New stadiums are also being built at Mbombela in Mpumalanga and in the Nelson Mandela Metro (which encompasses Port Elizabeth) in the Eastern Cape. Peter Mokaba stadium in Polokwane in Limpopo is being completely rebuilt, as is King Senzangakhona Stadium in Durban and Cape Town’s Green Point stadium.

Kings Park and Green Point stadium are being redesigned as part of the project to become multi-sport facilities (cricket? :-), and Green Point will include a retractable dome to protect the field from the Cape’s unpredictable winter weather.

How much will all this construction cost?  You don’t want to know. You do?  The initial budget was set to 9.8 billion rand (1.28 billion dollars), but as with just about all construction projects, it’s already apparently over budget. So it’s a big, big job and we’re certainly hoping to see beautiful world-class sports facilities that include top-notch video equipment compatibility so that those of us that don’t travel to South Africa can enjoy the games at each of the ten new venues.