Please keep in mind H1N1 that is currently spreading, is no worse than the seasonal flu. Also - it has less of a mortality rate otherwise we would be up a creek!
Great Information and Resources on current ou
Between Tin mining in the Congo, the struggle of ethical gold, the slaughter of whales I believe 2009 will be a busy year for GTB.
A look at tin mining in the Congo.
The situation in Zimbabwe continues to spiral out of control with this week seeing more deaths due to starvation and a cholera outbreak. Many are on the verge of death and many more will die if something isn't done to provide the humanitarian aid that is needed.
Former President Jimmy Carter, returned from a 5-day humanitarian tour and declared Zimbabwe a "basket case". Stressing the deteriorating siutation though he was denied visa access to the country.
Carter stressed the continued need of the world to focus international concern and condemnation, of Zimbabwe's government. While food, medicine and monetary donations should be sent immediately to humanitarian agencies such as CARE, World Vision and Save the Children, Carter said, advising that it is unwise to send cash directly to people in Zimbabwe. "It is counerproductive to contribute money that can be confiscated by the Zimbabwe government," he said. President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF party and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) are still at odds and talks have broken down once again between them.
Time Magazine reports that Zimbabwe official inflation rate is 231 million percent — although quite how that is calculated when there is no food in the stores is anybody's guess. Most of the economically active population is unemployed, and the long predicted humanitarian crisis has begun to bite, with 5 million people in need of food aid. Hospitals are reporting a rising number of deaths from malnutrition. And the Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights says cholera has killed 120 people since January.
While our own country struggles with it's economic crisis - our new President Elect, Obama, has to keep a close eye on Africa and the dire human suffrage that is ongoing and corruption of governments through many countries on that Continent.
Survivor Corps works to break cycles of victimization and violence, individual by individual, country by country. At our core is a survivor-centered approach for victims of war to recover, rebuild their communities and change the world.
(CURRENTLY WORKING ARTICLE - Check Back Soon)
I have had the deep honor and luxury to work with a fantastic company that really set out to make a difference in the extraction industry and in the lives of small scale artisanal miners. Due to some very serious and unfortunate events, that company is no longer in a position to continue on in its current state. I got to live my dream job for about 9 months. I gave selflessly and it was life altering for me. I met a person with an awesome vision that I got to share and help shape. I hope he is able to fully realize that vision down the road. I plan on being there not if but when that day comes. My reward were all the relationships I got to cultivate and truly believing that one person can indeed make a difference. I got to meet some extrordinary people in the industry that care greatly about the miners and issues that impact their daily lives. They work tirelessly on these issues and with these communities. I learned some very interesting and at times scary facts about the mining industry. I am not sure what role I will take next, or if I will go in another direction but for now, me and the small scale miners are on hold. It is almost heartbreaking to have put so much thought and work into something and the next day have it is gone with no one to blame. It's like losing an extension of yourself and you are left feeling, "okay, so now what?" I will have to see where life leads me and hope it leads me back to where I started.
I say all this because my blog will take a more health related focus which was its initial intent. I got caught up in something that spun into something a whole lot more than it was ever intended to be. It ultimately made me a much better person. I can't promise I won't sneak in an occasional small scale mining rant, but for the most part, if you were interested in that, I hope you continue to be interested in my health blogs as well. You can't control your life - you can only control your actions, so godspeed and never give up. Never.