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Bringing You Knowledge & MoreFresh Air of Each New Day
Making prompt amends is the fresh air of each new day. ~ Sandra Little
Today brings us a new hill to climb and a new view from the top. Taking time to reflect about our daily journeys is a challenging adventure in self-discovery. Looking down, we see our past trials and difficulties as lessons to learn from. Letting go of old baggage as we end our day will give us a bright window to open onto tomorrow.
Completing a daily inventory creates a good foundation for living peacefully. Honestly acknowledging the things we have done or said to hurt ourselves or others enables us to say, “I’m sorry” and to begin each day with a clean slate and a peaceful heart. As we empty ourselves of regret by making amends to ourselves and others, we make room for the love and comfort of our Higher Power.
Today help me take inventory and make amends where I need to.
Body, Mind, and Spirit. Copyright 1990 by Hazelden Foundation. All rights reserved.
101 for Campaigning for Human Rights in Africa
WHAT does it mean to campaign for internationally recognized human rights in sub Saharan which is chock-filled with rampant human violations? Does it mean that because governments in the region violate human rights willy-nilly, there should be no concerted effort to engage in a campaign for their recognition.
It is not enough to feel outrage when we learn of the number of children exploited sexually or at work, of refugees or of those suffering from hunger. We must react, each one of us to the best of our abilities. It is not just a matter of looking at what government is doing - Federico Mayor, former UNESCO Director-General
Human rights are often misunderstood and can sometimes be seen as abstract ideals with not much practical relevance for real people. And there is no doubt that the rampant abuse of human rights in Africa only serves to worsen the inequalities and vulnerabilities of individuals and communities.
The promotion of social justice and the culture of peace in Africa is of paramount importance but doing the job can be quite a risky business. And, of course, not so many people are willing to put their lives on the line. It’s understandable.
There are many stories of people who have disappeared in the night never to be seen again, of daylight murders, of state impunity that fill the majority of the citizens of the continent with terror. Read the rest of this entry »
Quote of the Day
“We are made to persist. That’s how we find out who we are.” – Tobias Wolff, Writer
Help Me Raise A Voice For Africa’s Pregnant Women
WHILE governments in sub-Saharan Africa continue to dole out money on military hardware, teargas canisters and baton sticks etc., pregnant women in the region are dying in droves due to lack of proper healthcare. Paradoxically, women and girls are the main caregivers for the sick in the absence of proper health systems. Yet when they need care the most during pregnancy it is not available, a scenario made worse by gender inequities that put the lives of women and girls at risk.
The statistics are downright shocking. In sub Saharan Africa, 1 in 16 women is likely to die as a consequence of pregnancy and childbirth, according to a recently published report titled “Measure of Commitment: Women’s Sexual and Reproductive Risk Index for Sub-Saharan Africa”.
For many women in the region, particularly in underserved remote and rural areas, getting pregnant is akin to a death sentence.
“Pregnancy is dangerous business in Sub Saharan Africa where a woman is 100 times more likely to die from pregnancy related complication than in a developed country,” states the report. Read the rest of this entry »
Quote of the Day
“Find something you’re passionate about and keep tremendously interested in it.” – Julia Child, chef
Is Internet An Unassailable Right?
RECENT developments in Europe on Internat access legislation are indeed welcome, and point to a freer and less fettered access to this important human resource. If anything, governments around the world must follow suit and ensure that their citizens benefit from this essential resource.
Like may people around the world, I use the Internet on a daily basis, and when I can not get online access I feel sick. I am not exaggerating. For me, the internet has become as important as breathing. I have to have it or at least I have to know that I can have it.
That’s why I was so intrigued to read a recent New York Times report that European lawmakers agreed on new protections for Internet users.
Part of the report stated that consumer organizations that wanted to enshrine Internet access as an unassailable right. Governments in Europe have in past few months mooted ways to limit internet access to those deemed to be engaging in illegal downloads.
“Under the compromise, any decision to sever Internet access, an approach championed by several E.U. countries seeking to clamp down on digital copying of music and movies, must be subject to a legal review,” reported the New York Times. Read the rest of this entry »
Quote of the Day
“Never give up, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.”
- Harriet Beecher Stowe, Writer
The IPS Method
MY inner search for a job that is in tune with my style has been sending me on voyages of all kinds online. In fact, just writing that, I feel I have hit somewhere: being online for me is a trip. I get transported into so many worlds. And its always an intelectual feast to find something compelling, well written and presented.
While there is no doubt that the internet is the greatest available real estate for all human beings, the only way to make your real estate count is to make it beautiful. It boils down to format, tone, language, design, reliability, presentation, consistency. The old qualities, the traditional stuff that made print media what it became in our daily lives are still very important to the new age type of communication.
Anyway, the purpose of this blog today is to share with you a site that I bumped into during my visits online. First, a disclaimer. After years of wanting to get into publishing school and not getting there, and feeling so torn inside about it I feel that there is a seismic shift happening inside me.
An unearthing of some sort. Maybe its because I havent been writing that much. Bu whatever it is, I am beginning to get drwan towards corporate communications. I have been in the non-profit sector ever since I entered the work world, and to be frank, its all been hogwash. Read the rest of this entry »
Quote of the Day
“Nothing great will ever be achieved without great men, and men are great only if they are determined to be so.” – Charles de Gaulle, statesman
The Morality of Water
Poverty, inequality and unequal power relationships are the main cause of the current global water and sanitation crisis, according to a paper titled “The human right to water and sanitation: benefits and limitations” which is contained in a UN report: The Right to Water – Current Situation and Future Challenges.
Despite the gravity of the situation, water and sanitation rarely make the headlines in the news media. The financial and human cost of the crisis is humongous.
“The global damage caused by diseases and productivity losses related to unclean water and poor sanitation is estimated at a staggering US 170 billion dollars per year with developing countries’ economies bearing the brunt of this burden. Sub-Saharan Africa alone loses 5 % of GDP or US 28,4 billion per year, a figure that exceeded total aid flow and debt relief into the region in 2003,” states the report.
Such a hemorrhage is clearly unacceptable, and for Sub-Saharan Africa it is clear that lack of access to water and sanitation is not only about health and development; it is an economic imperative. Read the rest of this entry »
Chief K.Masimba Biriwasha
