The American Red Cross is calling on high schools around the
country to teach classes on international humanitarian law, the laws that
govern the conduct of armed conflict (such as the Geneva Conventions), protect
noncombatants and outline the role of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.
The American Red Cross has produced a “Exploring Humantiarian Law” curriculum made up of five modules that meet the National Social Studies Standards. The lessons explore issues such as students’ understandings of war, possibilities for limiting suffering in conflict, the role of outsiders, child soldier issues, military justice and provision of humanitarian assistance.
Sue McLaughlin guest blogs about her experience as the founder of her own Dining for Women chapter. What a wonderful way to gather people together in community, learn about the devestaing effects of poverty, and pitch in to make a difference. Thanks Sue!
As a woman of privilege by world standards related to income, education, and race, how can I make a difference for other women around the world who through no fault of their own live in extreme poverty? This is something that I've asked myself. There's so much need that it feels like filling an ocean with one drop of water at a time to try to do something about it. Then I heard about Dining for Women.
Dining for Women is an international giving circle dedicated to empowering women in the two-thirds world by funding programs that foster the physical, emotional, and economic self-sufficiency of women living in extreme poverty. Through the collective, focused giving of Dining for Women chapters all over the world, women can join with other women to make a difference in the world.
I started a chapter of Dining for Women in Independence, Missouri this month. We had our first meeting last night. Eleven like-minded women met to learn of the situation of women and children in Uganda and the work of Bead for Life in promoting economic self-sufficiency for women in that war torn country.
At our meeting we shared food and friendship, concern for our sisters in Uganda, listened to Ugandan music, and experienced the beauty of beads and jewelry handmade by the Ugandan women of Bead for Life. We learned of the devastation of AIDS that has left many of these women widows and HIV positive and raising their own and orphaned children. Through our donations (of what we would have spent on a nice dinner out) and our purchases of Bead for Life jewelry, we raised over $700 in our chapter alone. The money we raised will be combined with the other chapters of Dining for Women to provide a significant collective contribution to the developing self-sufficiency of the women of Uganda. Women linking with other women is what it’s all about!!
Tonight I finally went to see the Academy Award all-star Slumdog Millionaire. I wanted to love it, and did. I also wanted to believe that it would inspire many more people around the world to care about the poorest of the poor in India, like Jamal in the movie; but I am not convinced of that. It was mostly a love story, not a call for economic justice.
One part that I thought was especially powerful and insightful was when Jamal was leading two Americans down toward a river to see where women washed their clothes. While they were gone, other children stripped their car of everything. When Jamal brought the couple back, the driver blamed Jamal for the theft and started beating him up. Jamal exclaimed that he "just wanted to give them a taste of the real India." The couple stopped the driver and the woman said, "and here's a taste of the real America" and gave him $100. At first it was sad for me to think that to her America was money, then I looked at it at a deeper level.
Continue reading "Slumdog Millionaire and social justice?" »
'Navel-gazing’, ‘ivory tower’, ‘book smart but not street smart’, ‘pompous pseudo-intellectual’ – all these epithets, while insulting, point to a common perception that academics and university students are often disconnected from ‘The Real World.’ Indeed, higher education institutions can often seem like privileged enclaves, isolated from the daily struggle for existence that so much of the world faces.
While I was in college, following summers in Kenya, Nicaragua and the Philippines, I grew increasingly frustrated by how many of my classes lacked relevance or insight into the shocking levels of poverty I had observed. I couldn’t wait to graduate and immerse myself in the world of international humanitarian and development NGOs.
India has held a special place in my heart since the second time I went there in the summer of 2005. The richness of culture, the multitudes of people, languages, and religions…along with the best food in the world, make India special in my eyes. India has also held a special place in the work of Outreach International. The Gummiguda School in one of the poorest states in India, Orissa, is one of Outreach International’s first projects. We have funded this school for 30 years.
Perhaps the best thing about India is its possibilities. In the last few decades, India has developed tremendously. There are many economic opportunities for Indians to lift themselves out of extreme poverty. However, most of these opportunities have been limited to the elite. The gap between the rich and the poor is widening quickly in India. There are also a myriad of possibilities for Outreach International in India to help the poorest of the poor, which are some of the poorest people in the world.
