Wake Up Seriously!

MDG #8: Developing a Global Partnership

Francesca Conlin — Fri, 11 May 2012 09:00:20 +0000

Concern's CEO, Tom Arnold, with US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, at the Millennium Development Goals Summit in Sept 2010

There’s less than three years before 2015 rolls around, which doesn’t give world leaders much time to achieve all eight MDGs. The first seven goals primarily focus on targeting specifics in developing countries such as tackling hunger, empowering women, constructing healthy schools, and ensuring environmental stability to prevent natural and man-made disasters, among others.

Despite significant progress made in these sectors, the only way to maintain this growth and guarantee further prosperity, versus spiraling back down, is to develop a global partnership for development.

MDG number eight requires the aid and support of the entire international community. Without a global partnership, the work carried out to achieve a successful end is fruitless. Building partnerships is the key to improving the impact of the work performed.

Did you know?

The United Nations estimates that unfair trade denies poor countries $700 billion a year. Less than 0.01% of this could save 30 million people (Source: ChristianAid).
The poorest 49 countries make up 10% of the world’s population, but only account for 0.4% of world trade. Their share has halved since 1980 (Source: ChristianAid).

Accomplishing goal number eight requires not only a commitment from wealthier nations to invest in overseas aid, ensuring a fairer trading system, but also an effort to increase access to technologies and migrations and remittances.

In addition, dealing comprehensively with developing countries’ debt is a major quantifiable target broken down within the MDG plan. Debt relief has helped many developing countries provide for their people. In 2006, Nigeria had a national debt of $750 million dollars. Using their debt savings, they trained and recruited new teachers. In Cameroon, the government is using their debt savings to launch a national HIV/AIDS plan for prevention, education, testing, and mother-to-child transmission abatement. These are just two of numerous examples of effective aid as a result of debt relief.

Subsequent to researching and reading more about the MDGs, it appears as though, and this may seem pretty obvious, money plays a fairly significant role in determining whether or not all eight goals will successfully be achieved. But, what else is it going to take to achieve the MDGs? In the wake of 2008 financial crisis, many worried that the disaster would threaten to reverse the progress made on the MDGs. Although the outbreak was in advanced economies, the effects reached developing countries through various channels. What if this was to happen again? Can we afford to stop at the midpoint?

Therefore, I propose that it’s not just the money, but also the attitude of those involved (the entire globe) in spearheading the MDG movement that will help the international community achieve the reform our globe desperately needs right now. A devotion, a passion, and a willingness are vital in resolving the foremost issues threatening the future of our world.

Aren’t those qualities also important in developing and maintaining a global partnership? Disregard (but not completely) terms like “fiscal policy”, “financing the financial gap”, and “capacity conundrums” which often appear in official reports on the eighth goal. Without interest from the people and a desire to work cooperatively with one another, it may be more than three years before we can finally reach the end of the long voyage to bring affluence and good health to every human being.

What do you think is needed to develop a global partnership to end poverty? Leave us your thoughts in the comments!

Fighting for Women’s Rights

Therese Ngo — Fri, 04 May 2012 08:00:08 +0000

Girls at school in Pakistan (Photo: Concern Worldwide)

As an American girl who grew up in the 90’s, fighting for women’s rights and gender equality never crossed my mind. I never had thoughts like, “Will my family survive if I go to school today” and I never had to cope with inequitable employment wages, financial or social security. I grew up in a world where the Women’s Suffrage Movement was just a lesson in American history.

I hardly ever faced discrimination for being a female. I never had to give up my education to walk 2-3 hours from my home to fetch clean water. I celebrated when school was cancelled. It came as a surprise to me that liberties, that sometimes I take for granted, aren’t even offered to women in developing countries.

Women’s rights is still a movement being fought for in developing countries. Pakistan, a country located in South Asia is one of those still advocating for women’s equal rights. Does anyone remember a case of violence and injustice against a woman in Pakistan that was all over news a few years ago? A woman, Mukhtar Mai, was harassed and publicly humiliated as punishment for her younger brother’s alleged crime. Fourteen men were involved in the case, but only one was sent to prison. She was given compensation money by the Pakistani government. She then used that money to build two schools for girls in her village. Mukhtar was an uneducated woman because there was no education available for women in her village. She changed that. Mukhtar is an inspiration because instead of escaping from the village that had wronged her, she chose to improve it.

In the world I know, the bad guys get put away. The good guys and the victims win. Then again, my world involves watching melodramas such as Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Mukhtar is an international hero for women. She is the beacon of hope for the oppressed. She had strength and spoke out in a society where her words were not welcome.

The things we can do to help:

We can educate ourselves.
We can be supportive of organizations that promote women’s rights.
We can increase awareness.
We can read about it.
We can write about it.
We can blog about it.
We can talk about it.

Let us know your thoughts on fighting for women’s rights, how do you get involved? Download our Women’s Rights: Focus on Pakistan guide for more information.

How Would You Respond to a Global Crisis?

Brett Hahn — Thu, 03 May 2012 15:27:04 +0000

Brett presenting at the Global Concerns Annual Student Workshop on Emergency Response
When a global crisis strikes a region on Earth that doesn’t have the resources to recover on its own, the international community comes together in an effort to rebuild the devastated region and provide assistance to those most affected. Similarly, this past month, high school students from across the U.S. came together for the Global Concerns Annual Workshop.
In mixed-school teams, students met to discuss how they would respond to the needs in the Horn of Africa, if they were in charge of rolling out emergency response programs.
Whether you have heard it on the news, read it in a newspaper, or are learning about it now for the first time, the extreme drought, poor harvests, and volatile food prices all contributed to a wide-reaching food crisis that reached famine levels in some parts of East Africa. Over 13 million people that depend on livestock and annual rains for their livelihood and survival suffered when rains failed for the second year in a row, killing pastures and huge numbers of livestock, and leaving them with no source of food or income.
During this year’s Global Concerns Classroom Annual Workshop, high school students explored the underlying causes of the drastic devastation that the drought has caused in the region. The task given to the students was simple — to create a proposal that would solve the drought crisis in an assigned country (Kenya, Ethiopia or Somalia) given a $5 million budget.
Solving a crisis such as drought and famine is quite daunting and not as easy as it may sound. However, as my group worked together, we quickly realized that the drought’s catastrophic toll was a result of multiple, interconnected issues that were all preventable through one primary means: education. As the day went on, it became clear that education is not only a privilege for those fortunate enough to receive it, but also a powerful tool in the crusade against poverty.
This past summer, I was selected to go on a field visit to Kenya where I experienced first-hand Concern Worldwide’s ongoing work in education in Nairobi and Kisumu. Located in Kenya’s capital of Nairobi, the Mathare slum was where we visited several schools that are supported by Concern. Making your way through the hoards of children surrounding you, you stop to soak in the environment. Look to your left and you’ll see house after house stacked on top of each other. Look in front of you and you’ll see the bright orange uniforms of two schoolgirls flash before your eyes. Look down and you’ll see a muddy road with patches of grass, plastic bags, and chicken droppings. Look up and you’ll see antennas and telephone lines reaching for the blue sky above.
Brett with Freddy James in Nairobi, Kenya
To say the least, the field visit to Kenya was inspiring and I was deeply touched by the motivation within each and every one of the students we met; not one child took his or her education for granted. Whenever I asked a student what he/she wanted to be when they grew up, the responses I always got were either doctor, lawyer, pilot, or engineer.
Over the course of the field visit, I seriously thought about my own education here in the U.S. and just how fortunate I am to grow up where education is a basic right. I think that the biggest message that students in the U.S. and around the world can benefit from is that education is an essential element in the fight against poverty and a path for those who seek brighter futures. When I asked what education meant to one student, 17 year-old Freddy James, he replied, “Education is the key to life — it opens the door to success.”
Seven thousand miles away in the U.S., Global Concerns Classroom is taking education to a whole new level. The GCC program has enabled me and my peers to explore issues of global poverty and to involve my entire school community in fundraising projects and awareness assemblies. Once you learn what people go through every day to survive in impoverished nations, it is hard not to see the world differently, whether it is being more grateful for all that you have or dedicating more of your time to making the changes you would like to see in your world.
I am disappointed that global issues are often neglected in high school curricula across the United States. We live in an extremely interconnected world — just look at the 800 million people on Facebook! With the population of the world recently hitting 7 billion people, now more than ever, we need to think about the impact we have on the planet and the other people we share it with. With a growing population and continuous strain on available resources, our generation needs to be more globally minded than ever to meet the challenges and demands that we will all face in the near future.
International issues like poverty, HIV/AIDS, and hunger shouldn’t be considered an extracurricular activity: it should be a required and core component of our high school education. Global crises like the famine in the Horn of Africa, flooding in Pakistan or the earthquake that hit Haiti in 2010 can sometimes seem too far away to be real or just too big to do anything that would make a difference. The answer to ‘why you should care’ isn’t simple; I can tell you from my own experience that the more you learn about poverty and global issues, the less overwhelming it feels to take action and the more gratifying it feels to make a difference.
In the end, it doesn’t matter if the difference you make is big or small. What is most important is that you see the world through a much wider lens where all people, whether they live in poverty or not, have the same needs and rights to basic necessities as you and me. Once you do, it’s harder to not want to help people in need and see their progress as also your own.
Brett Hahn is a Global Concerns club leader at Trevor Day School. This article was posted originally on Huffington Post Teen.

Concern Writing Competition: Tips & Tools

Sylvia Wong — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 19:12:53 +0000

Students in Cork showing their 2050 developing world word map
Need some help with your article for Concern’s Global Writing Competition? Concern hosted a series of writing workshops with middle and high school students in Dublin and Cork and we wanted to share some of their tips with you. Below are some suggested writing activities to help guide your own process as you prepare your entry. It’s not too late – the deadline is on May 25th so get your creative writing hat on!
Writing Competition Task: The year is 2050 and the population of the world has surpassed 10 billion people. You have been asked to write a 1,000 word chapter for the 2050 State of the Developing World Report. What will you write about?
Free Writing: Try this quick activity as a way to get your creative juices going! Pick one of the following sentence starters and write for 5 minutes.
I began…
I lived…
It started…
Things were different…
I was only…
I have never…
I don’t know…
I hate…
I don’t remember…
I want to…
The Rant: To get your ideas going, talk to a friend or classmate about a development issue that is personal to you. You can also try this as a 5-minute free writing exercise. This will help you to focus on including emotion and your voice into your actual writing piece. You may choose to rant or write on the following development issues or choose your own:
Sexism
Homophobia
Depression
Recession
Imbalance distribution of wealth
Racism
Stereotyping
Politics
Inequality
Child labor
Child soldiers
HIV and AIDS
Bullying
And much more…
Research: Need a starting point for your article? Check out our global issue guides and videos for facts, case studies, and solutions on various development topics such as climate change, child labor, health, displacement, education, HIV and AIDS, hunger, water, and women’s rights.
Word Cloud: A great way to brainstorm ideas and generate key words and phrases for your chosen topic is to create a word cloud. Check out this electronic version made by a NYC high school student using Tagxedo!
Word Mapping: With a group of your friends or classmates, create a word map on poster paper to envision what you think the developing world in 2050 will look like. Choose 4 areas from the questions posed below and map out your ideas!
Need more inspiration or advice, ask your teacher or send us an email at global.concerns@concern.net. We hope that using 1 or 2 of these writing activities will give you a great starting point for your article. Tweet us @concernGCC if you make a word cloud or word map, we’d love to see it. Remember, the deadline for submission has been extended to May 25th. Details for the Writing Competition can be found here. GOOD LUCK!!

World Malaria Day 2012

Elizabeth Stoltz — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 08:00:21 +0000

Celebrating World Malaria Day in Rwanda (Photo:Concern Worldwide)
We’ve all been bothered by itchy mosquito bites, but I’m willing to bet that we’ve never had to worry that that annoying itch could be life-threatening. However, for one million children in developing countries, one mosquito bite could be the difference between life and death. When World Malaria Day was first recognized in 2008, every thirty seconds a child was infected with the disease.
Today, thanks to mosquito nets, anti-malaria medicine, elimination of mosquito breeding areas, and the distribution of insecticides, significant progress has been made. In fact, we are quickly approaching the goal of zero malaria deaths by 2015!
Concern has actively been a part of this relief effort by working with community health workers through its Child Survival work. These community leaders have been trained to identify malaria symptoms and provide cheap, basic, and effective treatment. Have you participated in an event to support the fight against malaria? Let us know how you have been a part of this effort or if you’d like to get involved!
For more information on how malaria impacts children, download this Child Survival toolkit.
If you’re curious for more information about World Malaria Day, follow these links:
http://www.rollbackmalaria.org/worldmalariaday/
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/events/annual/malaria/en/index.html

International Earth Day 2012

Elizabeth Stoltz — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 08:00:45 +0000

Photo: Kathyothyo, Malawi, Concern Worldwide
She is Moeder Aaarde in Dutch, Dame Nature in French, Madre Tierra in Spanish, and Pachamama in Bolivian. To Americans, she is Mother Earth. Despite the thousands of names, we unite as a global community to honor the unity, harmony, and interdependence with our planet.
On April 22nd, the United Nations calls for every corner of the Earth to recognize our responsibility to preserve nature and respect all of its inhabitants. Between climate change, booming populations, pollution, and deforestation, our globe is being depleted of its natural resources. On Sunday, we pause to realign our lifestyles with one that promotes balance with nature.
Do you celebrate International Mother Earth Day? Let us know by leaving a comment!
Read more about this observance here and check out GCC’s new Climate Change guide for more on the issue.

Concern’s 2012 Global Writing Competition

Sylvia Wong — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 15:37:35 +0000

Enter Concern’s 2012 Creative Writing Competition and win a chance to become a published author!
Your task
This year we look to the future…the year is 2050 and the population of the world has surpassed 10 billion people. You have been asked to write a 1,000 word chapter for the 2050 State of the Developing World Report. What will you write about?
The options are endless, but if you need suggestions download the flyer.
Don’t know where to get started or how to mold your piece? Download our writing tips booklet.
Your deadline – EXTENDED!
All entries must be submitted online by midnight May 25, 2012. Submit your entry
Categories
The competition is divided into four different categories:
Junior: age 12-15 years
Senior: age 16-18 years
College: full or part-time student in college or university
Adult: age 19+ and not in college or university
Your reward
The following prizes will be awarded in each of the categories:
First place: Netbook computer
Second place: E-reader
Third place: Mp3 player
Concern's 2011 Writing Competition Book
Get published
Apart from the chance for your article to be included in the Concern Creative Writing Competition book, US-based winners will also win the opportunity to become a guest blogger on our Wake Up Seriously! blog. Concern US will also help organize your very own ‘book launch’ in your school! The 2011 Competition book entitled Dispatches from the Developing world is now available to buy. Order your copy here.
Your tweet
Give us the scoop! Send a tweet-length summary of your chapter to @concernGCC with hashtag #WCUS. Tweets will be featured on our Wake Up Seriously! blog and the best one will receive a copy of this year’s Writing Competition book!
Enter the Competition
Please read the rules before submitting your entry. Only entries submitted online can be accepted.
Submit your entry
Deadline: May 25, 2012
Download the competition poster and flyer for more details!
For additional materials or support, email writing.competition@concern.net
GOOD LUCK!

World Health Day 2012

Elizabeth Stoltz — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 08:00:06 +0000

Fieldwork in Chad (photo: Concern Worldwide)
Every April 7^th since 1950, the United Nations has celebrated the founding of the World Health Organization and reflected upon the most pressing global health issues. While it’s easy to be overwhelmed by daunting health statistics or crises, today we can transform any hesitation we have into inspiration!
Around the world, amazing progress is being made in providing healthcare to the world’s poorest. Since 1950, the first year that World Health Day was celebrated, we’ve overcome polio, created Penicillin, and invented pacemakers. We’ve developed a measles vaccine, improved maternal health, and through antiretroviral drugs, have improved the quality of life of those living with AIDS. Imagine what the next fifty years will hold and how you can be part of that change!
We have a tremendous opportunity to significantly increase healthcare for millions of children, the population most vulnerable to life-threatening diseases. For example, although one million children’s lives are cut short by malaria, several solutions have been developed to decrease this risk. By hosting a fundraiser at your school, you can help Concern provide mosquito nets, insecticides, or treatments for anti-malaria medicine.
Over half of all children’s deaths under the age of five are attributed to malnutrition. However, you can be a part of the Concern’s relief efforts by raising awareness through the Empty Plate Campaign or raising money to purchase high-protein, vitamin-rich foods. You don’t need to be a doctor to change the lives of those suffering. The sky is the limit for ways to help alleviate health crises affecting the poorest of the poor.
For more information, check out these websites:
http://www.who.int/world-health-day/en/
http://www.iheu.org/un-world-health-day
Learn more about child health by downloading the GCC global guide here.

Can You Imagine?

Amanda Riggio — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 21:13:00 +0000

Girls in Pakistan (Photo: Concern Worldwide)
Celebration brings joy, morale, thankfulness and feelings of empowerment. But, it’s easy to forget to celebrate the things we appreciate on a daily basis.
Let’s use our imaginations for a minute. Where would you be right now if you weren’t in school? Not just staying home for a day, but every day. What would life be like?
Try filling in the blanks below :
If I didn’t go to school today I would feel _________.
If I didn’t go to school today I would be __________ in ten years.
If I didn’t go to school today I could do __________.
With tests, quizzes, papers and un-measureable amounts of pressures hanging upon you, the prospect of no school can seem nothing short of incredible.
However, this is the daily reality for many girls in Pakistan. Where less than 50 percent of girls enrolled in primary school reach beyond the 6th grade, and only 23 percent of girls are enrolled in high school, Pakistan is a place where your chances of being in school and taking that daunting test would be exponentially smaller.
Education is the foundation that forecasts women’s futures. In Pakistan male’s cultural domination is so strong that they actually have authority and control over women’s lives. “Although 73 percent of Pakistani women gain their income from farming, less than 3 percent of [them] own the land where they work, [nor] do they have the right to inherit and own land.” In fact, many women do not demand even their legal rights not knowing they have them or refraining out of fear.
How does this relate back to schooling? Schooling gives individuals the power and the knowledge to rise up and to make change. Schooling increases women’s access, control, knowledge, rights and most importantly ability.
Now, let’s use our imaginations again. With the lives of Pakistani women considered, take a go at these questions again.
If I didn’t go to school today I would feel __________.
If I didn’t go to school today I would be ___________ in ten years.
If I didn’t go to school today I could do ___________.
Even in American only 10 percent of America’s top 100 companies have a woman CEO. What can we do about it? Get empowered here:
http://amazingwomenrock.com/links-to-empower-girls/
How do you celebrate this concept? Take advantage of your resources and spread the word!

World Water Day 2012

Elizabeth Stoltz — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 08:00:04 +0000

Fetching water in Haiti
Have you used water today? Have you showered or brushed your teeth? Did you wash your breakfast dishes or stop by the water fountain between classes? It’s easy to overlook how often we rely on water, yet for millions of people around the world, water is often an unaffordable or unattainable luxury.
Access to safe water is a basic human right, yet 1.5 billion people are deprived of it daily. In fact, unsanitary water causes more deaths than war and all other types of violence combined!
For several reasons, including growing populations, climate change, and economic development, our fresh water supply is decreasing. Consequently, millions of children’s lives are lost every year. Unsanitary drinking water increases the likelihood of a child catching a waterborne disease like diarrhea, cholera, and dysentery. Or, safe water may be available, yet children or women need to walk many miles to retrieve it. This daily journey, which for some lasts up to five hours, takes children out of school, jeopardizes their safety, and continues to trap families in poverty.
However, ensuring access to safe water is not an insurmountable task! In fact, students at GCC are doing amazing things to raise awareness about this issue. Whether they’re participating in Water Walks or constructing Tap-Taps, GCC students are taking action make sure that children aren’t losing their lives to avoidable causes. To be part of this change, learn more at our Focus on Haiti water global issue guide or watch our WATER video.
If you are a teacher and would like to teach your class about access to safe water, contact us to request a Global Concerns Classroom Water Toolkit.
For more information, check out:
www.unicef.org/voy/wes
www.who.int/topics/water/en
www.endwaterpoverty.org