Lack of Access to Education

According to EFA, like food and shelter, education is a right for all people. An article in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 states that everyone has the right to education. Education opens the door to opportunities and freedoms in one's life.

In many developing countries, children are unable to attend school or have access to education due to many reasons. Females, especially, usually do not have an education because families tend to believe that males are dominant and that females should work at homes. One of the reasons many children are unable to have an education would include not being able to afford an education. Help around the house is needed in poor families. They need all the helping hands they could get to earn money just for survival. In their opinion, education is not of utmost priority. Additionally, time is an obstacle. Having to spend countless hours working, many children cannot find the time to go to school. Even when they do have time, oftentimes, the school is far away, and the children have to walk a distance to reach it.

Education is very important. There are many positive effects to education. Education can beat poverty. With basic reading skills, people can find better paying jobs and be lifted out of poverty. Promoting gender equality, education allows woman to reach their potential next to men. The knowledge about health that education provides would reduce child mortality rates and fight preventable diseases. Lack of education can lead to higher rates of unemployment, low income, and even poverty. It also leads to the lack of knowledge about health and other important aspects in life.

Somali refugee Hali Shukri always had a passion for education. Her desire to learn English brought her to a refugee camp in Massawa, Eritrea where over 3,000 Somalis live. Before, she could hardly speak and write English. Now, she is somewhat fluent in that language and can write it. Hali says, "I wouldn't want to be doing anything right now, other than studying." Currently, she uses her new skills to work part-time as a Somali-English translator. Her dream is to study at a university and to become a doctor.


Ecclesiastes 7:12 - For the protection of wisdom is like the protection of money, and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of him who has it.

Sites Used:
http://www.un.org/en/globalissues/briefingpapers/efa/
http://www.bmz.de/en/what_we_do/issues/Education/hintergrund/bildungsituation/
http://www.ssireview.org/articles/entry/redefining_education_in_the_developing_world
http://www.unhcr.org/51d17c749.html

Human Trafficking

"Trafficking in persons is a serious crime and a grave violation of human rights. Every year, thousands of men, women and children fall into the hands of traffickers, in their own countries or abroad...."

- United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)

definition: "The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of a child for the purpose of exploitation shall be considered 'Trafficking in persons' "

Human trafficking is an issue in almost all the countries in the world and is a kind of "modern-day slavery". It involves the trading of humans through deception and kidnapping for the purpose of prostitution, labor, organ transfers, etc. They can be transported among the same country or even foreign countries. Most of these victims are children.

Traffickers aim for people such as: (from Polaris Project)

- undocumented immigrants

- runaway and homeless youth

- victims of trauma and abuse

- refugees and individuals fleeing conflict

Human trafficking does not happen in front our eyes very often, because everything happens behind the scenes. Humans are secretly transported to one place to another illegally to work for their traffickers benefits. They don't receive money and are treated in inhumane ways.

Victims often have no idea in where they are heading and clueless in what their future will be.

Victims transferred to their new working place were treated brutally under horrible working conditions. Traffickers lock their "slaves" in brothels and factories and forces them to work in their businesses. They work in places such as sex industries or in farming fields. Traffickers use lies, deception, violence, threats in order to manipulate and control its victims. 

Sites:

https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/what-is-human-trafficking.html?ref=menuside

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_trafficking

http://www.ice.gov/human-trafficking/

http://www.polarisproject.org/human-trafficking/overview/the-victims

Animal Abuse

Cruelty to Animals - The crime of inflicting physical pain, suffering or death on an animal, usually a tame one, beyond necessity for normal discipline. It can include neglect that is monstrous (withholding food and water) that the animal has suffered, died or been put in imminent danger of death

Cases of animal cruelty:
- starving
- slaughter of animals and their organs
- animal fights
- chained dogs and cats

Animal cruelty and abuse appears on TV once in a while on the news. People suffering from mental disorders are likely to abuse animals and even family members. Others illegally cage dogs and cats, breeding them to create ideal offspring to sell for large amounts of money. Although the animals are not able to complain or fight back, it will still hurt them very deeply. Many people may not see animals as living organisms but we must understand that they are part of God's creation. We were given the responsibility to take care of them and in return, we receive their loyalty and respect.

We may find bull fighting entertaining, but have you ever heard of the story behind all the laughter? According to Humane Society International, approximately 250,000 bulls are killed yearly in bullfights. Bulls are killed by being stabbed and slowly dying form blood loss in front of millions of speculators. I think watching bulls dying for our own entertainment is very inhumane. Yet, laughter remains in the flowing blood and pain bulls.

Have you ever heard of dog fighting? Dog fighting involves specially bred dogs and arenas for the purpose of entertainment and gambling. Dogs are put in closed areas to bite and attack each other until either one dies. Those watching place bets on who they think the winner would be. The fight can last up to two hours and dogs can end up severely injured, mentally or physically. Dog fighting is legal in certain areas, including Japan, Honduras, and parts of Russia. Skin torn, legs broken, and bones fractured, dogs are forced to fight their own kind. Should we reconsider morals and ethics while speculating these scenes?

You may still think that animals are not to be respected and are okay to play around with. But I want to inform you that millions of these animals' lives are in danger due to encouragement from the crowd, no matter among bull or dog fighting.

Video - blind cat, Possum was one of the cats found in cages:  http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/abuse_neglect/

Sites Used:
http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Animal+abuse
http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/abuse_neglect/#.UxwYBvmSxkg
http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1395866/cat-killers-get-hong-kongs-longest-ever-jail-sentence-animal-cruelty
http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/dogfighting/facts/dogfighting_fact_sheet.html#.Uxw9pvmSxkg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_fighting
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLx0M_NO9pE

Global Warming

What is global warming? Global warming is the increase in the overall temperature of the earth's atmosphere. This can be caused by greenhouse gases that trap heat that would otherwise leave the Earth. It is a type of greenhouse effect. The exchange of incoming and out going radiation that warms the Earth is referred as the greenhouse effect. Greenhouse gasses are gasses in the atmosphere that absorbs radiation. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, common greenhouse gasses includes carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane, and nitrous oxide. The increased amount of greenhouse gasses traps more heat, increasing the Earth's temperature day by day.

Ever since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, humans have been burning fuels at a high rate, contributing to the increase of greenhouse gases. Current day contributions to greenhouse gases would include the production of electricity, transportation, manufacturing, and forestry. The production of electricity makes up 33% of greenhouse gas emissions. Transportation makes up 28%, manufacturing makes up 11%, agriculture makes up 8%, and forestry makes up 14%.

Global warming has many effects. Below is a list of global warming's impacts.

• Rising seas - can flood fresh water marshlands, low cities and islands
• Rainfall patterns alterations - droughts in one area, flooding in another
• Increased chance of extreme events - ex: flooding, hurricanes, storms, droughts
• Melting ice caps and glaciers - species lose their habitats
• Animal populations vanishing - following widespread habitat loss
• Spread of diseases - diseases, such as malaria, can migrate to warmer regions
• Loss of plankton because of warming seas - it can topple the entire ecosystem

What you can do:
- Inform others about this growing issue
- Reduce, reuse, recycle
- Use less heat or air-con
- Take more public transport and drive less
- Turn off electrical appliances when not using them
- Use energy-efficient products


Genesis 2:15 - The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.

Sites Used:
http://www.nmsea.org/Curriculum/Primer/Global_Warming/fossil_fuels_and_global_warming.htm
http://www.livescience.com/37821-greenhouse-gases.html
http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/gw-effects/
http://environment.about.com/od/globalwarming/tp/globalwarmtips.htm

Poverty and Poor Health

36 million deaths each year are caused by diseases, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, and lung diseases. This is almost 2/3 of the 56 million deaths every year. Numerous deaths occurs because of the unavailability of health care resources. Poverty and poor health are closely linked. Poverty creates poor health because it forces people to live in environments that make them sick, without clean water or decent shelter. Infectious diseases weaken and even kill millions of the poorest people every year.

People living in poverty have to make harsh choices regarding their health. For example, many people knowingly put their health and well-being at risk because they cannot bear to see their children starve. Furthermore, people living in poverty are unable to afford health care and doctors' fees. The cost of drugs and transportation to reach a health center is oftentimes too expensive for the poor to afford. As a result, sometimes, children are pulled out of school to help earn money for the sick person. The burden of caring for a sick person is usually a female relative's job. This can have a long-term impact on the woman's opportunities later in life and her own health. Most of the time, the sick person would end up losing their life because they do not have access to basic medication for curable diseases/sicknesses.

According to Boafesta, cattle are hope to him. He talks about the many health issues where he live in. Emphasizing the link between poor health and poverty, Boafesta says, "When disease comes there is no way out but to sell one of the cows. From the time I was born until now, I have lived on produce from the field. But drought is now putting that under threat. What gives us hope is cattle." Selling his cattle is how Boafesta deals with poor health.

Sites Used:
http://www.globalissues.org/issue/587/health-issues
http://www.who.int/hdp/poverty/en/
http://www.healthpovertyaction.org/policy-and-resources/the-cycle-of-poverty-and-poor-health/the-cycle-of-poverty-and-poor-health1/
http://panos.org.uk/resources/boafesta-cattle-are-hope/