Rethos.com - kathryn's Global Feed

Impact of the global financial and economic crisis on health

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 13:13:07 -0500

Statement by WHO Director-General Dr Margaret Chan

We face a severe financial crisis of unprecedented dimensions in a world that has never before been so closely connected and interdependent. The consequences are global. The situation is volatile. The current financial crisis is rapidly becoming an economic crisis and threatens to become a social crisis in many countries.

The crisis comes at a time when commitment to global health has never been higher. It comes in the midst of the most ambitious drive in history to reduce poverty and distribute ...

Environmentalist Preaches Conservation as Chaos Engulfs Eastern Congo

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 15:46:25 -0500

Environmentalist Preaches Conservation as Chaos Engulfs Eastern Congo

November 4, 2008, Uvira, Democratic Republic of Congo: With little more than a motorbike and a mission, Clement Kitambala has been spreading news about environmental issues in remote communities of the war-ravaged Democratic Republic of Congo.

Amid renewed fighting that has displaced more than 130,000, ongoing food crises and rampant sexual violence, his newsletter, Tunza Mazingira ("Conserve the Environment" in Swahili), has provided a steady voice for conserva...

A Message of Hope, Love and Light

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 01:12:50 -0500

Dear AOKW Luminaries and Friends,

I cannot help but comment on the profound shift of consciousness that has just occurred as a result of this US election. It cannot be described in any other way but this: Awakening. Humanity has just been Awakened to the possibility of a New World Order; one that may now be built upon a foundation of Open Dialogue, Cooperative Collaboration and Equal Fellowship!

However, I feel that the road ahead will be quite a challenging and perilous one. The events that occur in the week ahead may test our collective determination and resolve.<...

Enviro-Friendly Cookies

Sun, 02 Nov 2008 13:44:01 -0500

Enter Message / description of files attached:

A CBC Montreal news report on Felix & Norton's Urgence-Biscuits mobile cookie bakery, and the owners' social entrepreneurship efforts.

Former UN Representative and Nepal Specialists Join Advocacy Project Board

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 12:15:24 -0400

October 27, 2008, Washington, DC: Soren Jessen-Petersen, who served as the United Nation's Special Representative in Kosovo during the run-up to the country's independence, has joined the Board of The Advocacy Project (AP). Suvash Darnal, a prominent advocate for Dalit rights in Nepal and Devin Greenleaf, a former AP Peace Fellow in Nepal, have also joined.

The selection of three new members, each of whom represents an important AP constituency, signals an increased role for the Board as the organization prepares for 2009. Mr Jessen-Petersen will explore synergies wi...

Blogging Connects Women Across the World

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 11:56:54 -0400

Advocacy Project (AP) have launched a blog group to connect professional women in the Washington area with young American women volunteering for human rights overseas.

This innovative use of information technology was developed during the summer, when eight Zonta members in Washington decided to follow the blogs of graduate students serving as AP Peace Fellows in Serbia, Kosovo, Uganda, Jordan, El Salvador, Nepal and Kenya.

"This is a fantastic program," said Heather Dolstra, a Zonta member and Washington travel agen...

Nicaraguan President Ortega Not Welcome at Salvador Summit, Women Activists Say

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 11:21:36 -0400

Advocates for women's rights in El Salvador are calling on their government to bar the President of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega, from attending an upcoming presidential summit because of his attempts to repress and intimidate women in his country.

In an Oct. 5 press conference, advocates from CEMUJER, a leading Salvadoran women's group, joined other human rights groups in expressing solidarity with Nicaraguan women. They urged Salvadoran President Antonio Saca to tell Mr Ortega he is unwelcome at the XVII Presidential Summit, a meeting of Central American leaders tha...

The Bloc Party

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 15:09:58 -0400

I fondly remember the days when all we worried about was climate change! Watching Paulson, Obama, McCain, Bush, the Dow Jones and everything else makes social change seem like a

Disabled Refugees Face Inaccessible Services and Food Shortages in Ugandan Camps

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 10:35:26 -0400

September 23, 2008, Gulu District, Uganda: Refugees who have been disabled by the war in Northern Uganda are confronting food shortages and inaccessible public services in government-run camps. At the same time they are under growing pressure to return home, even though they lack the resources to resume a normal life.

This warning was issued recently by the Gulu Disabled Persons Union (GDPU), an advocacy group. It comes at a time when the Ugandan government is stepping up efforts to empty the camps, which still house more than half a million internally displaced pers...

Easy Ways You Can Help Conserve Rainforests

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 17:54:33 -0400

1Choose foods grown on farms certified by the Rainforest Alliance

Buy coffee, tea, cocoa, chocolate, bananas, orange juice, g...

Summer Job with Web Startup Company

Tue, 27 May 2008 14:04:41 -0400

BetterLesson has summer jobs available in the Research and Field Organizing departments. We are looking for dedicated educators with at least one year’s classroom experience to help us dramatically improve the lives of teachers and the quality of the instruction they deliver to students.

Interested candidates should send a resume, cover letter, and writing sample to cooper@betterlesson.org

Founding Director of Product Research

Tue, 27 May 2008 14:02:37 -0400

We are looking for someone with a keen interest in education technology and policy to head up our product research team.   We are looking for someone who is anxious to immerse him/herself in education technology and policy in order to help craft the long term vision of the website. The right candidate will:

1.    Have 1 or more years of prior research experience
2.    Have prior experience in the fields of education technology and/or policy.
3.    Possess strong writing and strategic thinking skills. ...

Founding-Level National Field Director

Tue, 27 May 2008 13:59:37 -0400

We have begun an aggressive grassroots effort to reach out to educators across the country. We are looking to hire someone with a minimum of two years’ classroom experience to lead this effort.   The right candidate will:

1.    Have some prior experience in outreach, recruitment, or sales
2.    Be exceptionally organized, creative, persuasive, extroverted, and resourceful.
3.    Possess strong leadership, critical thinking, and writing skills.
4.    Be committed to the soc...

Toxic Work if You Can Get It

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 11:13:43 -0400

E-waste is piling up in Ghana. For some boys, it signals a job opportunity - but at what cost to their health?

JOY FM reporter Peter Korda recently took a trip to a dumping site to investigate a growing problem in Accra: e-waste.

The term e-waste refers to old electronics - computers, tv sets, fridges - that have stopped working and are dumped at various waste sites. The problem with e-waste is that it contains carcinogenic chemicals like lead, cadmium, and others that are poisonous to the human body and the environment. The "e-waste" buzzword has been f...

Rural Sierra Leonean Library Goes Solar

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 14:39:10 -0400

By Mackay Taggart with files from Joseph B. Bangura

The modern library goes beyond simply books and bookcases. It has become, thanks to the proliferation of the internet and electronic media, a way to connect and interact with the world at large.

Unfortunately the Makeni City Library is not yet a modern library, for it, like most buildings in the city, has no access to electricity. However, a private donation, a hot Saturday morning and a sheet of solar panels the size a beach towel is about to change that.

Last weekend townspeople ...

WAR Against Human Trafficking: An Evening of Music, Art and Activism

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 01:00:13 -0400

I am organizing this event in New York City in late April; it would be great to see some of you there:

WAR Against Trafficking: An Evening of Art, Activism and Awareness

Tuesday, April 22
The Jewish Community Center in Manhattan (334 Amsterdam Avenue at West 76th Street)
7pm, free admission

www.womenartistsrock.com

Featuring:

Political speakers who work to combat t...

Alliance Accepted! - Alternative Channel TV

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 03:26:06 -0400

Alternative Channel Forum: Social Networking and Responsible Media

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 05:41:24 -0400

Alternative Channel

A Nobel Peace Price Laureate, Guest of Honor of the Alternative Channel Forum

Alternative Channel Tv is an international Web TV on sustainable development and humanitarian causes, created by Hugues Cochard in France & Paul Allard in Quebec. In collaboration with Iwith.org, Alternative Channel is organizing the first Alternative Channel Forum. An international meeting point in Barcelona , April 30, 2008. The subject is Social netwoking and responsible media, and the Guest of Honor will be Rigoberta Menchú Tum, N...

Human Trafficking to Be a Felony Crime in New Mexico

Tue, 04 Mar 2008 11:29:49 -0500

SANTA FE- Human trafficking will be a felony crime in New Mexico under a new law taking effect in July. Governor Bill Richardson signed the crime legislation into law on Friday in Las Cruces. New Mexico was the only border state without a separate crime against human trafficking. ''Human trafficking must be outlawed, human beings should not be treated as property and detained against their will,'' Richardson said in a statement. Attorney General Gary King pushed for the human trafficking legislation, which was sponsored by Sen. Mary Jane Garcia, D-Dona Ana. Proponents said the new law...

Excellent Video on Earth Day TV

Thu, 28 Feb 2008 21:25:30 -0500

Here is an excellent video from the Earth Day Network - It's a production of the University of South FLorida, about an hour long, and very inspiring! A great model for what we can do with the 3 finger Solution! Look at www.SustainabilitySymbol.com and check out EarthDay TV

Desperate for Love: The Tragedy of Sexual Trafficking

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 13:27:34 -0500

Tonya was only 12 when she was approached by a man as she walked down a city street. Over the next few months, his gifts and compliments impressed herâ€”and soon, she thought she was in love. The minute he gained Tonyaâ€™s trust, the manâ€”who was actually a pimpâ€”took her to another city and forced her into a nightmare world of sexual slavery. She was forced to sell her body to countless men. To keep her in line, the pimp beat her violently. He kept all the money she madeâ€”which came to a great deal because, as Tonya put it, â€œI looked like a baby.â€ Tonya lost her childhood to t...

Youth Rising Los Angeles Summit

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 18:03:22 -0500

Evening event as well! A fundraiser for the youth projects created during the day...

Focus the Nation hiring Organizers for FTN 2009

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 14:33:13 -0500

National Organizer, Focus the Nation 2009

Description:

In January 2008, Focus the Nation events reached close to one million people in a day of education and civic engagement on global warming solutions taking place at 1,900 locations in all 50 states. 64 members of Congress and 15 Governors’ offices participated in the events along with hundre...

Clif Mojo Project Slingshot: 3 $10k grants for Global Warming Solutions

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 13:47:03 -0500

Are you an outdoor fanatic? An artist? An innovator?

How will you protect the places you love and play, inspire your community, or challenge our expectations?

Clif Mojo and Experts tell JOY FM that practitioners of FGM are smuggling their children outside of Ghana for the procedure

The UN has mandated February 6th as of Zero Tolerance For FGM Day. FGM entails a partial or total removal of the clitoris from the female organ. Practitioners believe it reduces promiscuity in women, but the practice has serious health implications for victims. Under the Ghanaian constitution of 1994, FGM is considered prohibited as a "customary practice" that is considered dehumanizing and "injuri...

Volunteer at SHI

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 16:48:34 -0500

SHI accepts volunteers from the Washington DC metro area and Vanouver, WA, willing to donate their time and effort to fight human trafficking. SHI volunteers are young activists, parents, retirees, professionals, community leaders-anyone devoted to protecting and restoring human dignity.

Individuals most likely to thrive at SHI come with varying degrees of experience and education in international affairs, human rights, business, education and other related fields.

Volunteer responsibilities...

Slavery still exists today

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 16:43:40 -0500

Over 27 million people are in slavery todayâ€”more than at any time in history according to the Amazing Change campaign, a global effort inspired by the film Amazing Grace to abolish modern-day slavery. It is the worldâ€™s fastest growing illegal crime, according to Stop The Traffick.

Most people believe â€œhuman traffickingâ€ occurs in far away countries with impoverished governments, but 17 million boys, girls, men and women are in forced labor or sexual services in the United States today, says Shared Hope International (SHI). They have found that many American citizens â€”...

Human Trafficking Awareness Day is January 11: Congresswoman Linda Smith Examines Conditions of Child Sex Trafficking in America

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 16:41:51 -0500

ARLINGTON, Va., Jan. 8 /Christian Newswire/—This Friday marks the first annual Human Trafficking Awareness day in the United States. A resolution passed by the US Senate on June 22, 2007 has forever marked January 11th as a day of awareness and vigilance for the countless victims of Human Trafficking across the globe.

Shared Hope International (SHI) – a leader in the worldwide effort to eliminate sexual slavery â€“ and founder Congresswoman (1994-1999) Linda Smith has launched assessments in 10 U.S. cities that examine the condition of Amer...

Coming to a Truck Stop Near You: Child Prostitutes in the US

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 16:40:09 -0500

Fourteen-year-old Cara and her 15-year-old cousin, Stacy (not their real names) walked out of their homes in Toledo, Ohio on a rainy May day in 2005 to get milkshakes. A few blocks away, a couple driving a Lincoln Continental pulled alongside the cousins and asked if they wanted a lift. Believing the manâ€™s claim to be a schoolmateâ€™s father, the girls stepped into the car â€” and entered a nightmare world of sexual slavery.

The couple drove the girls to a house and locked them in. As their families frantically searched for them, the teens were sold over and over again at are...

Alliance Accepted! - Shared Hope International

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 03:26:00 -0400

Support Darfur, Earn Money & Help a Student at the Same Time

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 20:51:33 -0500

OneBigU (http://www.onebigu.com) allows users to help a struggling student, earn some money, and support a Darfur Charity at the same time.

OneBigU (for One Big University) helps Darfur in the following way:

- Person answers a question asked by any student around the world

- Person gets a little amount of money for every accepted answer

- Person sends the money to a partner Darfur charity, unless he/she wants to withdraw the money

OneBigU is partnered with Help Darfur Now (HDN), a US-based student charity in support of Darfur. All d...

Alliance Accepted! - Technology For People Group Inc.

Fri, 21 Dec 2007 10:24:01 -0500

Are you looking to get involved in the fight against poverty?

Wed, 12 Dec 2007 13:50:50 -0500

Are you someone whoâ€™s passionate about development? What to get involved in the fight against poverty? Well, this is a message to help you in this quest!!

Iâ€™m sure youâ€™ve encountered multiple messages, similar to this one, that ask you to join the fight against global poverty. But, doesnâ€™t it seem like such a daunting task? In my experience, Iâ€™ve always had a hard time getting involved in poverty reduction and equality without addressing the issues that I see locally, everyday , here in Toronto. So, how can all these considerations be reconciled, and translated i...

Alliance Accepted! - Philip McMaster

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 04:54:46 -0500

Alliance Accepted! - Journalists for Human Rights

Mon, 10 Dec 2007 11:08:28 -0500

Alliance Accepted! - Firehazrd

Mon, 10 Dec 2007 11:48:50 -0500

Alliance Accepted! - Patrick Scott

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 07:20:02 -0500

Alliance Accepted! - The Campus Coalition Against Trafficking (CCAT)

Wed, 12 Dec 2007 09:58:36 -0500

Alliance Accepted! - Fia Kilbourn

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 21:32:10 -0500

Alliance Accepted! - Jamie Bougher

Mon, 10 Dec 2007 11:24:53 -0500

Alliance Accepted! - Mike Masten

Mon, 10 Dec 2007 10:44:01 -0500

Ally Request - Social Justice Ministry

Mon, 10 Dec 2007 09:09:56 -0500

Ally Request - Amy

Mon, 10 Dec 2007 09:09:30 -0500

Alliance Accepted! - Naomi

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 00:49:06 -0500

Alliance Accepted! - Brooke Bryant

Wed, 19 Dec 2007 23:21:36 -0500