Category Archives: Education

I Was Here, World Humanitarian Day

Today is World Humanitarian Day, it’s a day recognize those who face danger and adversity in order to help others.  The day was designated by the General Assembly to coincide with the anniversary of the 2003 bombing of the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad, Iraq, which killed 22 UN staff.  Everyday, all over the world humanitarian workers devote themselves to helping others despite the sacrifices this often requires them to make.  People risk their comfort, their health, their reputations, and many times their lives to help those in need.

The theme for this years World Humanitarian Day is “I Was Here”.  The idea is to honor those who have, and continue to sacrifice for common good by sending out a unified message of hope through both word and action.  The UN wants to send the biggest social media message ever, a message of hope from 1 billion people who have added their name and pledge to do one good act today in recognition of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, and those who still carry on their noble mission by rushing assistance to those who are suffering.  To play a part in this big even just add your voice to the millions of people around the world who also pledge to do something good, somewhere, for someone else.  Even if you miss the deadline, you can still honor international humanitarians by carrying on their hope and mission of a better world for all people everywhere, no matter their location, beliefs, sex, age, or status.

Here is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message for World Humanitarian Day: 

Secretary-General’s Message for 2012

This year’s World Humanitarian Day presents an historic opportunity to bring together one billion people from around the world to advance a powerful and proactive idea: People Helping People.

That is the best way to honour the many fallen aid workers we mourn today, and to celebrate the efforts of others who carry on their noble mission by rushing assistance to those who are suffering.

The spirit of solidarity that animates these courageous efforts drives our commemoration of World Humanitarian Day.

I have seen that spirit in my travels around the world, as I meet with relief workers who leave the comforts of their own homes to aid others in need.

I also saw that spirit earlier this month when I met Beyoncé Knowles, the superstar who is donating her song, “I Was Here,” to our global campaign promoting action for a better world.

Millions of people have already gone to our website to register their support and share their actions. From international efforts to avert a hunger crisis in West Africa to urgent assistance to civilians in Syria to a single good deed from one neighbour to the next, the spirit of People Helping People improves conditions for all.

Let us give meaning to World Humanitarian Day by registering acts of good on the website:www.whd‑iwashere.org. Individual actions may seem small, but collectively they will reverberate around the world, generating unstoppable momentum for a better future.

Ban Ki-moon

Take a Hike! It’s for Charity

Charity Miles is a new free app for Android & Apple that turns you into a corporately sponsored athlete walking, running, or biking for a charity of your choice! Just choose a charity and press start. As you walk, run, or bike, the app tracks your distance and you earn money for your charity. Bikers earn 10¢ per mile; walkers and runners earn 25¢ per mile, all up to the initial $1,000,000 sponsorship pool. As you walk, run or bike with Charity Miles, you also help attract more sponsors to increase our sponsorship pool for everyone.

When you finish your Charity Miles session you can share your achievements with friends & followers on Facebook & Twitter. It also illustrates your impact for you, for example if your charity is The Nature Conservancy a 3.23 mile jog gives 8,083 breaths of fresh air. Charity Miles is a fun new way to stay motivated with your workout, to work together with family and friends to raise money for causes, and to literally make every step count.

 

Charity Miles for Android

Charity Miles for Apple

Nicholas Kristof Talks At Willow Creek Community Church

In a wonderful instance of what Nicholas Kristof refers to as “bridging the God Gulf” – two people of different religious beliefs  (ie. liberal atheists and conservative Christians) working together for a common good – atheist Kristof and obvious Christian Pastor Bill Hybel of Willow Creek Community Church, one of the largest churches in America came together to discuss the plight of women and girls around the world.

Nicholas Kristof discussed his book Half the Sky with Pastor Bill Hybel and his congregation, and then Pastor Bill turned the tables and had Kristof preach a 3 minute sermon, which was very insightful.

The video clip is 30 minutes long, but they’re 30 minutes of gold. Kristof explains what he’s learned through years if experience, that there is no silver bullet for solving the worlds problems, but our hope for the future rests with women and girls. If women and girls can be educated, given rights, and protected the global population will shrink, become healthier, become better educated, and become more peaceable. Sounds good to me.

 

UPDATE:  I disconnected the link.  Willow Creek Community Church updated its media page and now, for the life of me, I can’t find the Kristof video anymore.  I’ll keep searching, but if anyone else runs across it before I do please, please, please, email me, or post it in a comment.

My Favorite Organization Today: Dream of Opportunity

Dream of Opporunity is a young organization (founded in 2011) that strives ”to improve quality of life of in-need communities [in the US and Latin America], providing education opportunities and covering first-need human survival tools to ensure self-sustainability and growth.”  Pretty straight forward, right?  That’s what I find so refreshing about Dream of Opportunity:  They’re focused on the basics.

People can’t improve their lives if they’re exhausting themselves just struggling to survive.  Once you make sure the babies are healthy, no one is worried about food security, and people have shelter then, you offer them education.  Human ingenuity and drive takes over from there, and then you get progress.  Educated children grow-up, go to university, become professionals, and work to improve the lives of their family back home.  An educated child is the gift that keeps on giving.  It’s a wonderful concept for a non-profit, one that’s surely able to “work itself out of a job”  - in a few hundred years, once they’ve helped make self-sufficient and self-sustainable all the vulnerable communities in the US and its southern neighbors.

At this time, Dream of Opportunity is involved in two projects both serving the South American nation of Colombia.  One is the Sebastian Perez College Fund.  Sebastian Perez is a 16 year old boy who saw his father stabbed to death as a child, suffered through his mother’s attempted suicide and conviction for the murder of his father, was eventually abandoned by both sets of grandparents, and now works to put himself through high school, attend said high school, feed himself, and help care for his older sister and her child.  He admits to being lonely, but he ”wants to be better than everything that has happened to me, and eventually when I have a family, I want to be able to provide for them and give them all they need.”  Sebastian wants to be an industrial designer and has plans to go to Universidad Javeriana in Bogota, but right now he cannot afford it.  Touched by his story, Dream of Opportunity is trying to establish a scholarship for Sebastian that will allow him to achieve his dream of becoming “better than everything that has happened to me”.

Dream of Opportunity’s other project is with the Tama-Paez is an indigenous community located in Huila, Colombia.  The Tama-Paez community, like so many indigenous communities is self-sustained, very respectful of Pacha Mama – Mother Earth – and determined to conserve their language and customs.  But now, there is no one left to teach their native language to their children, and their only hope is to hire a professor, whose salary alone would be very expensive.  But, their children also need a place to learn, food to eat during school hours, uniforms, and supplies. They used to walk the 10 mile hike to the nearest stores to get supplies, but bad weather and failing crops have made this task almost impossible.  The Tama-Paez people create beautiful crafts that they usually sell to make an income, but since the market is 10 miles away on a bad road few people are able to make the trip.  Dream of Opportunity has decided to make a fund to be able to first get the children the professor that will teach them their native language, and also to build a library where the children can have an environment to study, work, and be safe when the winter rains hit.  Dream of Opportunity is also accepting clothing donations for children ages 2-18.  Please email info@dreamofopportunity.org for important instructions regarding clothing needs.

Take a moment to explore Dream of Opportunity, find them on Facebook and Twitter @DreamofOpp.  Spread the word and support them however you can.  You can’t have too many organizations like these around.