Monthly Archives: March 2012

Question: If You Could Change One Thing to Make the World A Better Place What Would it Be?

Today a friend of mine posed an interesting question to his friends on Facebook:  If you could change just one thing to make the world a better place, what would you change?

Though it’s a simple question – and we all know the problems of the world are immensely complicated and multifaceted - it got me thinking.  What would I change?  Why?

For me the answer was a little pageanty, “more love and tolerance for all people”.  Duh.  But how do you make people more loving and tolerant?  I think that ignorance is probably the most dangerous force on the planet.  People fear what they don’t understand, and what people fear they seek to destroy.  So, I feel like that improved universal secular education is the best way to help people become more tolerant.

In school I learned very little about other cultures.  My history and science was very America-centric. “Sure, there are these other countries and cultures, and they maybe contributed something, but what really matters is them in relation to the US.”  This was pretty much the outline for most of the education I received in both public and private schools.

In countries were the press is supposed to be free I feel like they could probably be doing a better job of educating the public about the cultures of people in the news.  But then again, if you learn about the world and the wonderful variety of people in it, you can understand the news a little better.

If more people were allowed a decent, propaganda-free education I think you’d have more women in power because men would begin to see them as more than just a walking uterus.  Religious extremism might all but vanish because once people are able to read, think, and learn for themselves it’s much more difficult for them to be swept up into the current of a charismatic leader.  Better educated nations also have stronger economies, less hungry people, less infighting, and so on.

When people are uninformed, ignorant, and unaware they’re more easily scared and thus, more easily manipulated into serving causes that may be traditionally against their values and better judgement.  In terms of democracy, if you have a  large percentage of the population that is easily swayed to vote for someone or something because they play to the emotions, ignorance, and fear of the masses you have a dangerous country on your hands.

Obviously, education is no silver bullet.  I don’t have much experience in development, or political science, I’m just thinking out-loud here.

I’d love to hear your thoughts.  Agree? Disagree?  If you could change just one thing to make the world a better place, what would it be? Why?

#Kony2012

At first, I wasn’t going to say anything because I believe awareness is always a good thing.  After reading a few articles from Al Jazeera and The Atlantic I’ve decided to share my two-cents.

I was alarmed at the number of people that I knew that were unaware of Joseph Kony and the LRA, and who seemed to believe that Kony and the LRA are a recent development.  More than that, I’ve been disturbed by the number of people who shared or liked Invisible Children’s video and then let that be enough.  I have a number of problems with #Kony2012 video but, I’m willing to let those go because I believe that spreading awareness is the first step in affecting change.  Just maybe next time Invisible Children should ask the actual Ugandan’s what they think instead of assuming the “white man knows best”.  Okay, I’m done.

Anyway, I’m glad more people are hearing about Joseph Kony.  There are millions of people suffering innumerable injustices all over the world (budding genocide in Nuba, a food crisis in Sahel) if half of those problems got the attention this Kony video is getting who knows how many lives could be saved.  Not that I begrudge Kony all this attention. Hopefully, some of the people that are learning about this will do more than just update their Facebooks and share a video. I agree with George Clooney, if those who commit these atrocities were half as famous as he is it might be a little more difficult for them to do what they’re doing. This inspired him to start the Satellite Sentinel Project. Maybe the Kony video will inspire people to do more, and learn more about the rest of the world.  What I am seeing though, is that they pat themselves on the back and consider sharing the link a job well done. While I feel like awareness is vital, I believe that with awareness come the responsibility to act.

My plea to those of you who have just discovered the LRA is that you do your homework.  Learn about Uganda, the people there, and their struggles.  You’ll realize that the #Kony2012 video presents a drastically oversimplified version of reality that is demeaning to the Ugandans who have lived this nightmare and to anyone who truly wishes to stop the LRA.  Here are some ways that you can take action that can directly affect change in Uganda.  The LRA has been making life for Ugandans hell for a quarter century.  It’s going to take work and commitment to get rid of Joseph Kony – they’ve been trying to do it for many years now and have obviously had no success.  Whatever happens next awareness is important, but so is the cooperation and support of the people of Uganda.

For more insight into how the people of Uganda feel about the #Kony2012 video see the following:

Dangerous Ignorance: The Hysteria of Kony2012

Kony2012 A Humanitarian Illusion

Q&A Does #Kony2012 Do More Harm than Good?

Cause for Celebration: An MDG Met

Where there’s a will, there’s a way:  The UN announced yesterday that 89% of the world’s population – 6.1 billion people – now has access to safe drinking water.  A Millennium Development Goal, to halve the number of people who had unsafe drinking water by 2015, has been reached early.  Between 1990 and 2010 more than 2 billion people received access to improved drinking water through projects like pipes and protected wells. Contaminated water poses a host of dangers, many of which effect children disproportionately more than adults. More than 3,000 children die daily from diarrhoeal diseases, and 88% of these deaths are due to poor drinking water, lack of sanitation, and poor hygiene.

It is wonderful news that the majority of people now do not have to be concerned about their drinking water, but that only solves part of the problem.  To truly improve the lives and health of the poorest people proper sanitation and hygiene practices are essential.  The UN warns that sanitation aspect of the water MDG is still off track. The Gates Foundation, the UN, and other groups like the Global Soap Project are working on both the grassroots and government level to teach good hygiene and provide proper sanitation.  One of the ways they are doing this is to reward village chiefs and leaders for their roles in improving their villages.

The chief of Massane village shows the bicycle he got as a reward for the village's certification of "open defecation free" status.

The fact that the Millennium Development Goal for safe drinking water has been met is a testament to the power and abilities of dedicated people.  Something so seemingly impossible as giving almost 90% of the world’s population safe, clean drinking turned out to be perfectly achievable.  That means that all the other MDG’s are just as possible.  Now let us press forward with renewed hope and passion, and give children and families the world over a fair shot a full and healthy life.

The State of The World’s Children Is Not So Good

Earlier this week UNICEF released it’s annual State of the World’s Children (SOWC) report.  The focus was on children in urban areas because at this point almost half of the world’s children live in cities or towns.  The most shocking aspect of the report was the finding that urban-dwelling children are not necessarily better off than their rural counterparts, and in some occasions children who grow up in rural areas may actually have an advantage.

Traditionally we think of cities as centers of opportunity and possibility.  Schools tend to be better and more available in cities, health care is more widespread in urban settings, job opportunities are more abundant, infrastructure tends to be better, housing seems more available, but as the report shows proximity to these things does not necessarily guarantee availability.  Because statistics tend to be made of averages, the large income of some cancels out the low income of many, and can mask issues of extreme poverty and marginalization in cities.   These averages also deprive low income areas of services like medical centers and schools because their numbers are so easily neutralized in math and overlooked in planning committees.

The poor in urban areas often face challenges that are unique from their rural counterparts.  The most significant of which is overcrowding.  In rural communities there is space to spread out.  In cities, the poor are usually confined to slums or equally unsafe tenement housing.  With overcrowding comes increased sanitation issues, and infection diseases spread easily and rapidly.  Children in these crowded slums and tenements are at a higher risk for illness, and even though there may be a hospital nearby, families are still typically unable to afford the services.  In some cases, evem cultural issues prevent families from seeking medical help because they believe they are not entitled to these services.

The SOWC report aims to change the way we gather information from urban environments and provide services to the poor in cities and towns.  Their goal is shape policies and actions in order to make cities places where all children can fulfill their rights and grow up to be healthy, contributing adults.   This is a massive undertaking – especially at the rate cities are growing – and will require cooperation from governments, local officials, international groups, and NGOs.  The report is a fascinating read, and has changed the way I look cities.  I recommend it to anyone who is interested in global development, children’s rights, or just the state of brothers and sisters around the world.  I feel it’s important to be aware the struggles or others, and this SOWC report is a good opportunity to learn something new.