Sustainable Good

A Spectacular Opportunity to Teach and Learn

A great post about Spectacular from guest blogger, Paige Webberley:

I have never considered myself a proficient teacher—mediocre at best.  Even with my favorite subjects of science and math, I often find it difficult to explain to others something I know very well myself.  Nor am I the best public speaker, which is clearly a strength a teacher should possess.  Nonetheless, as part of my summer internship with Outreach International I found myself teaching the Outreach class at Spectacular (Spec), a youth event sponsored by the Community of Christ that takes place every summer at Graceland University in Lamoni, Iowa.

Teach Humanitarian Law in High School

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.

International Youth Forum- Finding purpose amoung the masses

In the middle of the stress and strain of preparing for an event at the International Youth Forum (IYF), I suddenly felt a deep sense of appreciation for the opportunity to be a part of the work of Outreach International. I was part of the team of interns and staff of Outreach International that were in charge of the Wednesday activity at IYF in Independence, MO. It was a daunting and stressful task to lead a group of almost 1,000 high school aged youth from around the world in a group activity.

But as I sat listening to Matt Naylor, the President of Outreach International, talk about the difference we are making in the lives of the poor, I was inspired! 

"What If..." A Multimedia Competition on Landmines and Cluster Munitions for Young Adults

Mines Action Canada, a member organization of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, is calling on young people to enter short multimedia presentations on the theme of "What If...", as it relates to landmines and cluster munitions. There are only 12 days left in this competition -- the top three winners will receive a camcorder. The winning presentation will be shown at the international conference marking 10 years of the antipersonnel landmine ban in Cartagena, Colombia in November. The competition is only open to young people, 18 to 30 years old, who live outside Canada.  For more information on the competition, click here.

A Powerful Opportunity – for Women & Children

Diane Sadler, Communications Specialist for Outreach International, went to see "A Powerful Noise" last Thursday.  She wrote some great thoughts about the movie.

 

 

On March 5th, ten employees and friends of Outreach International attended the special showing of “A Powerful Noise,” a film on women’s challenges and victories, and the kind of empowerment that Outreach International has been fortunate enough to participate in. The stories seemed so much like the ones we hear first-hand every day: Madame Urbain in Africa who, because her father had the foresight and love to send his daughter to school, traveled Mali to talk to girls and their fathers about protecting them from the dangers of illiteracy. Hanh, the young woman in VietNam who contracted HIV and wasn’t about to take the shame and exclusion, but began teaching others the simple science of how to prevent it. Nada, a mother whose family and community were ravaged by wars in Bosnia, and yet organized a group of women to create agricultural cooperatives and fair trade markets to restore their lives.

All of these women, in addition to caring for themselves and their families, also energized themselves to care for others – strangers – those in mutual exclusion and pain. And in doing so, lives, and communities, and countries are being changed.

Rocky Mountain Mission Center Hunger Challenge

I just attended a Hunger Challenge in Ft. Collins, CO, USA.  There were over 60 kids, teens, and adults who fasted for 24 hours, learned about poverty, raised awareness in the community, collected cans, donated money, and brainstormed their own solutions to hunger.  It was an inspiring weekend and I am thankful to Dezi Rae Astle and her crew for raising so much money for Outreach International.  Thanks to all of you!

Managed Decline or Rejuvenation?: The Community of Christ at a Crossroads

Rejuvenate. Verb [trans]. To make young again, to breath new life into.

Following the decolonization of its empire, political commentators have often, tongue-in-cheek, described Britain’s foreign policy as one of ‘managed decline.’ The UK doesn’t want to drop precipitously off the global scene, but recognizes its days as a global superpower are over and it must move slowly to the fringes.

A similar attitude seems to have taken hold among mainline and liberal Christians in the US, particularly in my denomination, the Community of Christ. Mainline Christianity is graying, slowly dying off and keeping out of the way of the growing evangelical and Pentecostal churches.

New WorldService Corps Website

The WorldService Corps, a volunteer agency affiliated with the Community of Christ, launched a new website this week (http://www.worldservicecorps.org), providing information to young adults who are searching for service opportunities.

I must admit that I found the old website rather dull, which stood in direct contrast with how exciting, challenging and engaging my time as volunteer was.  Thankfully, the new website is very cool – well designed with lots of multimedia resources telling the stories of past volunteers.

It was my experience as a summer WorldService Corps volunteer in Kenya that first got me really excited about Outreach International. I had never been in the developing world as an adult and the immersion into extremely poor communities in the midst of a fraught political environment grabbed me like no other previous job or assignment.  I found going back to college after the summer very hard – nothing in class seemed to match the level of education I had gotten out in the field.

Uganda Rising

This week I have been attending a film festival in Kampala, Uganda, run by Makerere University Law School and the Refugee Law Project, aimed at spurring discussion on ways forward in the country’s peace process.

While things are more peaceful these days, Uganda has suffered from a devastating conflict in its northern region for some 20 years. Over 1 million people were forcibly displaced into camps by government troops, 25,000 children were abducted by brutal rebel forces that believe they are divinely inspired.  The country now faces the challenges of reintegrating former rebels, mostly abducted children.  It struggles with hope best to seek justice and accountability while also recognizing the need for reconciliation.

Last night I saw a particularly impressive documentary called Uganda Rising (available from www.ugandarising.com) that delves into the roots of this conflict, tells the story of survivors and provides sophisticated analysis from academics and policymakers.

Tips on Serving in the Developing World

Living in Uganda, I run across many young North Americans and Europeans who have come seeking to help out with aid efforts.  Uganda certainly has a lot of need, coming out of a lengthy civil war and burdened by high levels of poverty.

However, the influx of international charities, while spurring economic growth, has also contributed to inflation, especially in land prices. Many local people feel expectations of aid have not been met and are suspicious that foreign aid workers come for self-serving reasons such as career development, resume-padding, high paying salaries or ‘adventure.’

Such issues are unfortunately quite common in aid ‘hot spots’ – disaster and conflict zones that receive intensive international political and media attention. When the excitement dies down, additional problems arise from the rapid withdrawal of personnel and agencies moving onto the next big cause celebre disaster.

Based on my experience working as an aid worker, researcher and journalist in several such ‘hot spots’, I have observed several ways in which good-hearted young people can serve in the developing world while minimizing burdens on local people.

Ceremony Highlights Plight of Children in War

Today my wife and I attended a very moving ceremony at St. Mary's school in Aboke, northern Uganda, commemorating the twelfth anniversary of the abduction of 139 girls by rebel troops, many of them younger than their victims.

In an act of incredible bravery, two teachers, John Bosco and Sister Rachelle Fassera, had pursued and tracked down the rebel unit and negotiated the release of 109 girls. However, most of the remaining 30 were forced to become 'wives' for top commanders of the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA).  The parents of the abductees formed a local pressure group, the Concerned Parents Association, to push for the children's release and advocate for peace.

The 'Aboke Girls' are among the over 30,000 children who have been abducted by the LRA since 1986. Since the LRA has had little support among the civilian population, they turned to forced recruitment of children to fill their ranks. According to some estimates, over 80 percent of the LRA's ranks are abductees.

Power to the Youth!

If anyone says that young people today don't care, they have never met the youth at Spectacular, a camp of about 1,000 youth and staff held at Graceland University in rural Iowa. These youth and staff heard the calling of our impoverished brothers and sisters all over the world and responded in a BIG way...In just one week, they raised over $11,500 to support a community in Zambia! This community is working hard to build a water system that will provide clean water to its residents. (Read more about community development in Zambia.) The youth at Spectacular realized the need to work with these community members to make this possible. How inspiring!

Eating with no utensils...Redefine [Lunch]

Eating mashed potatoes with only your fingers is certainly a funny experience. But what does that have to do with anything? Actually, it can be a great awareness-raising activity.

At a camp in Missouri, about 50 campers and staff joined the world's poor for a meal by throwing out the utensils and eating with their hands. This helped these high schoolers to raise their awareness about global poverty.

During the activity, the youth also had the opportunity to fill in the brackets on a Redefine banner. This is part of the overall Redefine campaign, encouraging all of us to redefine poverty and to redefine our lives so that we can do more to end poverty.