Give your HEART

'Be kinder than necessary because everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle in life'.
- Edith J Gomes -

Give them your heart. Help them. Don't neglect them.

This video will shatter your heart.

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Complain Less and Give More

If your society is unfair to you, how about her?

If you think you suffer in life, do you suffer as much as he does?

If you think you have no money, how about her?

Are you still complaining?

We are fortunate, we have much more than what we need to be content.

Let's try not to feed this endless cycle of consumerism and immortality in which this

modern and advanced society forgets and ignores

the other two thirds of our brothers and sosters

We can choose to be their Guardian Angels.

Philosophy: The Society of Mankind - The Poor

Social difference is dismissed as either natural to, or inherent in, the human species . The attitude of the Society toward such differences where they nevertheless exist is then discussed. It is concluded that the Society has obligations to the poor and disadvantaged which are limited only by its commitment to its Aim. It is also found that the enduring poor gain and enjoy moral superiority over their more fortunate contemporaries.

The moral stance of the Society of HumanKind on social difference in human society rests on the Principles of Unity and Peace. Those Principles, and other implications of the Axioms and Dogma, are applied to this aspect of our social lives in the Treatise on the Individual. The Treatise dismisses the possibility that social difference is natural to the human condition or inherent in our species. The conclusion must be that such differences as do exist in our societies, whether based on standing, status, power or on any other criterion, are a consequence of our own actions, or of our inability to control all those factors in our environment that have an influence on our social life.

The uncertainty of all human knowledge and understanding, set out in the Treatise on Knowledge, reinforces that conclusion. The limit on our ability to understand ourselves, or grasp all that affects us in our environment described in that Treatise is such that it leaves open the possibility that we may never be able to determine fully, or control effectively, the structure and outcome of our relationships with each other. In effect, the Treatise suggests that we may not have the faculties or abilities required to eliminate difference between individuals within our societies.

In sum, the first founding book of the Society, the 'Foundations', rejects difference between individuals as an inherent or natural condition of human society while accepting that it may nevertheless be unavoidable. However, 'Foundations' does not then go on to discuss the question raised by that conclusion, i.e. that of the attitude of the Society toward that aspect of our social order where it exists. That issue is examined in this Essay.

It is best to begin the discussion by repeating the inference drawn from the Axioms, Dogma and Principles in the Treatise on the Individual. Acceptance of the Axioms and choice of the Dogma removes the possibility of there being any necessary correlation between the social position of an individual and their merit or value. The Society will reject any implicit judgement of the worth of any individual based on their occupation of any particular position in our social hierarchy during life. Final adjudication on that issue must always be deferred to the period beyond the achievement of the Objective of the Dogma.

However, as has already been noted, that stance does not address the problem of the attitude the Society of HumanKind and its membership should take toward social difference. In particular, it provides no advice or guidance on whether they should tolerate hierarchical systems of social relationships or willingly accept any social position other than one of their own choosing.

To the first of those issues the Principle of Progress applies. It requires adherents of the Society to accept the need for a level of social order which is compatible with the maintenance of the Conditions of the Dogma, a demand also directly derived from an acceptance of the Axioms and choice of the Dogma. When the effect of the Principle of Unity is added to that of Progress it is clear that social difference can properly be tolerated by those who choose the Dogma. The Society and its adherents can therefore accept such distinctions where they can be seen to be necessary to maintain the level of social order required by the Conditions of the Objective of the Dogma and the Aim of the Society.

If however, human society ever progresses to the point at which social difference is no longer necessary for those purposes then, at that moment, all followers of the Dogma, and thus every adherent of the Society of HumanKind, will cease to regard difference and disadvantage as justified. They will come to that conclusion even if those features of our society remain unavoidable due to our inability, identified by the Treatise on Knowledge, to effect the changes in our social structures that would finally remove them.

That stance of the Society has a consequence for the second issue raised earlier - that of the attitude of members of the Society to their own social position. While social distinctions and disadvantages do remain either necessary or unavoidable to the maintenance of the Conditions of the Dogma, they must be endured by all who choose the Aim of the Society. That requirement on adherents to the Society arises from the Principle 3.2. Every adherent of the Society of HumanKind should therefore be prepared to accept and tolerate whatever social position it falls to them occupy in life.

However, that tolerance should not preclude them from striving to change or improve their social standing or advantage, provided always that they do not breach the Principle of Peace in consequence. The Society requires all its adherents to confine any self-serving effort they may make to improve their own lot strictly within the limits set by their overriding obligation to discharge their Responsibility to further its Aim. Which, in simple terms, means that they should not put the stability of our social order at risk by any attempt they may make to change their social, political or economic standing.

By an extension of that individual precept it follows that the only acceptable justification for any purposeful effort by the Society as a whole to change a pattern of hierarchical relationships, or the social structures that support such distinctions within any human society, arises from its obligation to pursue its Aim. Only the pursuit of that vital purpose will allow the Society, in rare and unusual circumstances, to seek to use its authority to bring about a change in the degree of difference or disadvantage as between individuals or groups within any community. Even then such action by the Society should only emerge as an incidental adjunct to actions designed and clearly intended to achieve its Aim or discharge its Responsibility to its successors.

The negative form of that argument can be set out to reinforce the point being made. None of the exceptions mentioned in this Essay will justify a forceful change in either the position of an individual or the structure of any society when it is undertaken solely for the purpose of increasing, removing or reducing social difference as such. The limitation on the range of choice available to the Society in these matters is set by the Principle of Progress. The Society and its adherents should always tolerate an unjust or unequal social system, or a position of personal disadvantage, rather than risk our future by unnecessarily tampering with the continued stability of the society on which our survival and progress, and hence the achievement of the Aim of the Society, depends.

It will be apparent that the privileged in any particular social system will more easily accept these restrictions and requirements than those who may be disadvantaged by them. It is on the poor and dispossessed of our communities, however that disadvantage may be defined, that the weight of the discipline of the Principles will fall most heavily, a burden which will be especially irksome to adherents of the Society who may find themselves amongst the disadvantaged. They will clearly appreciate that their endurance and tolerance will benefit, not simply themselves, but equally those who might seem to be their oppressors. They will know that the whole of humanity will be the beneficiaries if their sufferings contribute to a realisation of the Aim of the Society.

What comfort then, can the Society of HumanKind offer the poor? First, the Society can support the disadvantaged by an affirmation and proclamation of the moral credit they gain by their endurance of suffering during life for the benefit of others. The Society will value their patience under an unjust imbalance in human society, recognising and appreciating it as a proper effort to discharge their wider obligation to protect the Conditions of the Dogma. It will acknowledge and proclaim that their tolerance of disadvantage contains an element of altruism and self-sacrifice that justifies a position of moral superiority by the poor over their more fortunate fellows.
Secondly, the Society can comfort the disadvantaged by placing a constant injunction on all its more fortunate members to honour and respect the enduring poor, and always have in mind their sacrifice made for us all. The outward expression of that obligation must be an acknowledgement by all adherents that they should give thanks to the poor for their endurance in foregoing all the comforts, benefits and securities available in our present social life in order to allow the whole of humanity to gain the apotheosis which will follow a realisation of the Aim of the Society of HumanKind.

However, the Society and its members should not otherwise ignore the suffering of the poor, nor fail to mitigate their privations in ways that do not conflict with the maintenance of a social order permissible under the Principle of Progress. The Principle of Peace imposes a general injunction on the Society that it should foster the full development of every individual as a requirement for the achievement of the Objective of the Dogma, and hence the realisation of its Aim. Accordingly, the Society is under as clear an obligation never to forget the poor, nor ever cease to have their individual welfare, progress and development in mind, as it is to promote and protect the stability of our society.

All an application of the Principle of Progress to this question implies is that the concern of the Society for the improvement of the conditions of the poor should always be limited by the need to protect the social stability and continuity on which the survival and progress of our species depend. There are some difficult distinctions to be made here, and much for the Councils and Committees of the Society to ponder. Finally, the poor for their part should draw comfort from the teachings of the Society in the Treatise on Morality and elsewhere, on the subject of our salvation and our life following the realisation of its Aim.

From that source will come an understanding that to endure a life of poverty and privation in life is to accumulate wealth and standing in our immortal epoch, when all the moral debts and credits of our mortal era can be fully and finally reconciled.

-by Lawrence Stephens,

author of the Best Seller Different Strata and Facet of Mankind

You feel the Melancholy of the Night?

At dusk, the welkin grows dark,
The resplendent glare fades and vanishes,
From the heavens in the Land of Death,
The black vultures take flight.

In a land, hunger ravages its path,
Like a beast, an unstoppable behemoth,
Led by its master, poverty and despair,
Tearing homes and families, its breath fraughts the air.

Day by day, hunger makes its way,
Through a village, its land a shade of gray,
Its poor people, wishing for food day by day,
Not because they don’t have it, they just can’t afford.

The rich has it all, lavishness in their grasps,
Beyond tall concrete walls, shiny ebony gates,
Fields of crops, dying in the wind,
Thick smoke in the air, from factory’s ventilation grates.

Its black, evil claw is a plague,
It slashes through the land,
And with every home it rampages,
Bringing death, hunger, famine wherever it goes.

Another village falls in its might,
Lives cease to exist,
Vultures, fly away from the land of plight,
With their thirst for blood gratified.

At dawn, sorrow fades,
It leaves, countless deaths in its wake,
Behind innocent who lies,
Victims of its ravage, chosen for its sacrifice.

-originally created by Bobby, editted by zikang

Beatrice: Hunger bites Kenya

This is Beatrice's Global Food Crisis.

One small girl in Kenya in the early phases of malnutrition.

As food prices double, her family can no longer afford to eat.

*****************

Lot of hunger and having no food is poverty,

Not having spare cloth to take bath is poverty,

Needing a shelter but not having one is poverty,

Child's sick but cannot buy treatment, is poverty,

Fainting child dreaming a mouthful of rice is poverty,

Searching warmth in cold flesh in winter nights, is poverty,

Sitting with umbrella on wetting bed in showering night, is poverty,

Thoughtful mother, two mouthful of rice and three children, is poverty,

An ill, deserted mother selling her child wishing it will survive, is poverty.

A defeated and desponded mother poisoning and killing her child is poverty,

*****************

Dear readers, do something to help them. Don't you feel like crying after watching the video.

Have a heart please.

Magnum Opus

We were given an assignment to produce an A2 painting that depicts our choice our issue.

And since the issue we picked is POVERTY, my group has produced some sad-looking drawings.

Here you go, our magnum opus...

Peyman's

Nasir's

Bobby's

Sherlin's

Nadia's
Bikram's

Zi Kang's [mine]

Aland's

Healing one soul is as natural to us as breathing. When, like a tree dropping its leaves in winter, we stand unadorned, without self-consciousness, the Light enters us and we spontaneously heal.

The healing energy is at the core of our being and so, as we express our true nature, we become effortlessly creative. We discover that our lives are in fact delightfully choreographed and that an exquisite harmony lies at the heart of all things.

Whatever we create is beautiful, like the simple paintings splashed onto paper by young children or daubed onto rock by cavemen. Whatever we create is powerful, like the Diary of Anne Frank, written from a place of truth, not sophistication. Whatever we create is moving, like a peasant flute player in the Andes filling his stark valley with a sweet melancholy.

Sometimes our natural gifts sink out of sight in the stagnant beliefs we have soaked up like a sponge from our culture. Seeing this sets us free. Seeing that our vitality and well-being flow from an inner spring, not from outer phenomena, reconnects us with our source.

Poverty is the climate of insensitivity and intolerance. We should let loose our unique inner energy, our natural gifts, our healing power to cure this malady, shouldn't we?

3600 filmmakers joined a film making competition in 2006 in relevance to the theme - Food, Taste and Hunger. This film topped the competition by being adjudged the most popular short film.

This film is about the hunger and poverty brought about by Globalization. There are 10,000 people dying everyday due to hunger and malnutrition. This short film shows a forgotten portion of the society. The people who live on the refuse of men to survive. What is inspiring is the hope and spirituality that never left this people.

You can make a difference.

Today, over 25,000 children DIE around the world

Over 25,000 children die every day around the world.

That is equivalent to:

• 1 child dying every 3.5 seconds


• 17-18 children dying every minute


• A 2004 Asian Tsunami occurring almost every 1.5 weeks


• An Iraq-scale death toll every 16–38 days


• Over 9 million children dying every year


• Some 70 million children dying between 2000 and 2007
  

The silent killers are poverty, easily preventable diseases and illnesses, and other related causes. In spite of the scale of this daily/ongoing catastrophe, it rarely manages to achieve, much less sustain, prime-time, headline coverage.

Why is this tragedy not in the headlines?

UNICEF’s 2000 Progress of Nations report tried to put these numbers into some perspective:

"The continuation of this suffering and loss of life contravenes the natural human instinct to help in times of disaster. Imagine the horror of the world if a major earthquake were to occur and people stood by and watched without assisting the survivors! Yet every day, the equivalent of a major earthquake killing over 30,000 young children occurs to a disturbingly muted response. They die quietly in some of the poorest villages on earth, far removed from the scrutiny and the conscience of the world. Being meek and weak in life makes these dying multitudes even more invisible in death."

— A spotty scorecard, UNICEF, Progress of Nations 2000

Unfortunately, it seems that the world still does not notice. It might be reasonable to expect that death and tragedy on this scale should be prime time headlines news. Yet, these issues only surface when there are global meetings or concerts (such as the various G8 summits, the Make Poverty History campaign in 2005, etc).

Furthermore, year after year, we witness that when those campaigns end and the meetings conclude, so does the mainstream media coverage.

It feels as though even when there is some media attention, the ones who suffer are not the ones that compel the mainstream to report, but instead it is the movement of the celebrities and leaders of the wealthy countries that makes this issue newsworthy.

Even rarer in the mainstream media is any thought that wealthy countries may be part of the problem too. The effects of international policies, the current form of globalization, and the influence the wealthy countries have on these processes is rarely looked at.

Instead, promises and pledges from the wealthy, powerful countries, and the corruption of the poorer ones—who receive apparently abundant goodwill—make the headlines; the repeated broken promises, the low quality and quantity of aid, and conditions with unfair strings attached do not.

Accountability of the recipient countries is often mentioned when these issues touch the mainstream. Accountability of the roles that international institutions such as the World Bank and IMF, and their funders (the wealthy/powerful countries), rarely does. The risk is that citizens of these countries get a false sense of hope creating the misleading impression that appropriate action is taken in their names.

It may be harsh to say the mainstream media is one of the many causes of poverty, as such, but the point here is that their influence is ENORMOUS.

Silence, as well as NOISE, can both have an EFFECT.

Why do we feed our cars before we feed ourselves?

Especially when so many are running on empty?

Human Pain

بنی آدم اعضای یک پیکرندکه در آفرينش ز یک گوهرند
چو عضوى به درد آورد روزگاردگر عضوها را نماند قرار
تو کز محنت دیگران بی غمینشاید که نامت نهند آدمی

Human beings are members of a whole,
In creation of one essence and soul.
If one member is afflicted with pain,
Other members uneasy will remain.
If you have no sympathy for human pain,
The name of human you cannot retain.

This poem is a famous poem in Iran

talking about poverty afflicting pain to one

and thus, afflicting the pain to a community in entirety.

I can't remember the author of it.

Just wanna share with all of you.

How much do you know about poverty?

• Almost half the world — over 3 billion people — live on less than $2.50 a day.


• The GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of the 41 Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (567 million people) is less than the wealth of the world’s 7 richest people combined.


• Nearly a billion people entered the 21st century unable to read a book or sign their names.


• Less than one per cent of what the world spent every year on weapons was needed to put every child into school by the year 2000 and yet it didn’t happen.


• 1 billion children live in poverty (1 in 2 children in the world). 640 million live without adequate shelter, 400 million have no access to safe water, 270 million have no access to health services. 10.6 million died in 2003 before they reached the age of 5 (or roughly 29,000 children per day).
  

Poverty is the state for the majority of the world’s people and nations.

Why is this?

Is it enough to blame poor people for their own predicament? Have they been lazy, made poor decisions, and been solely responsible for their plight? What about their GOVERNMENTS? Have they pursued policies that actually harm successful development? Such causes of poverty and inequality are no doubt real.


But deeper and more global causes of poverty are often less discussed. Behind the increasing interconnectedness promised by globalization are global decisions, policies, and practices. These are typically influenced, driven, or formulated by the rich and powerful. These can be leaders of rich countries or other global actors such as multinational corporations, institutions, and influential people. In the face of such enormous external influence, the governments of poor nations and their people are often powerless.


As a result, in the global context, a few get WEALTHY while the majority struggle.

********************

Most of humanity lives on just a few dollars a day. Whether you live in the wealthiest nations in the world or the poorest, you will see high levels of inequality.

The poorest people will also have less access to health, education and other services. Problems of unger, malnutrition and disease afflict the poorest in society. The poorest are also typically marginalized from society and have little representation or voice in public and political debates, making it even harder to escape poverty.

By contrast, the wealthier you are, the more likely you are to benefit from economic or political policies. The amount the world spends on military, financial bailouts and other areas that benefit the wealthy, compared to the amount spent to address the daily crisis of poverty and related problems are often staggering.

Some facts and figures on poverty presented in this page are eye-openers, to say the least.

Beyond Scarcity: Power, Poverty and the Global Water Crisis

Throughout history water has confronted humanity with some of its greatest challenges. Water is a source of life and a natural resource that sustains our environments and supports livelihoods but it is also a source of risk and vulnerability. In the early 21st Century, prospects for human development are threatened by a deepening global water crisis. Debunking the myth that the crisis is the result of scarcity, this report argues poverty, power and inequality are at the heart of the problem.

In a world of unprecedented wealth, almost 2 million children die each year for want of a glass of clean water and adequate sanitation. Millions of women and young girls are forced to spend hours collecting and carrying water, restricting their opportunities and their choices. And water-borne infectious diseases are holding back poverty reduction and economic growth in some of the worlds poorest countries.

Beyond the household, competition for water as a productive resource is intensifying. Symptoms of that competition include the collapse of water-based ecological systems, declining river flows and large-scale groundwater depletion. Conflicts over water are intensifying within countries, with the rural poor losing out. The potential for tensions between countries is also growing, though there are large potential human development gains from increased cooperation.

This is so sad...

Hell!!!! Guys I really hate to discuss Poverty. Reality nearly kills my heart. I came in library to do research on it. I opened google.com and typed poverty picture… ohhh!!! God the first picture I saw was horrible. I couldn’t speak; I was just staring at that picture. The picture was of an African baby nearly dieing. No one to support, no mom, no dad, no clothes, no food, no friends and no future. It didn’t even look like baby. It looked like skeleton wrapped with only skin and the worst part was a big vulture was waiting for its prey, as in that boy.

This is that freaking picture.

What is poverty?

Is it the condition that led the child towards death?

Is it the photographer’s indifference to the condition of the child?

I am very emotional person. I can’t see any thing which is very disturbing. I cant see anyone in trouble or in pain. My eyes were full of tears but I was trying to hide it because I was in library.

I asked question to myself... Why is this happening? Why there is so much of difference around the world? I was thinking of my silly idea that how can I support these people? How can I help these children dieing of poverty and starvation. Suddenly my Senegalese friend from West Africa Moussa came and sat by my side. I showed those pictures.

He said it is WORSE than this in Africa.

Then we thanked God that he has given us such a good life without any pain, sorrow despair and suffering . Thank God for the kind of life I have and also for my loving beloved parents.

TERIMA KASIH!

Children on the Streets of Manila

Children in metro Manila, Philippines show us around their city, where every square kilometre houses around 43,000 people.

A truly, remarkably meaningful video.

Imagine My City

Not All Wet

If there is no water, there is no life. The moon is a sterile desert because there is no water in it.

It is to be noted that it was water that determined the location of human settlements and as Herodotus once said, "Egypt is the 'Gift of the Nile' ". Without the Nile, the eminent Egyptian Civilization that has etched an indelible mark in history would never have developed. Scientists all over the world have described water as a remarkably fascinating fluid which is versatile and beneficial to mankind in numerous aspects.

The question is, what is potable water? Well, Wikipedia defines potable water as water of ample quantity that can be served as drinking water or in other words, water which is fit for the consumption of humans and animals. The issue of access to potable water is of utmost importance. In developed countries, people may not put a great deal of thought into the source of their water. In many First World nations, citizens can turn on a tap for fresh, potable water which may even be enriched with substances like fluoride for health purposes. However, in countries that are still plodding their way towards progress or are still ensnared in the clutches of poverty, especially Africa, an enormous portion of the population still does not have access to safe drinking water.

According to a recent report by the Leadership for Environment and Development, by the year 2025, 52 nations comprising half the world's population, will have a severe shortage of potable water. This devastating news brings to an even more appalling surmise - in the next 25 years, some 3 billion people will be facing water shortages!

People do not give much thought to drinking water, especially the people staying in countries that are abound with a rich supply of water. Whenever the thought of potable water pops up in our minds, we depict fresh water flowing out from our taps, naturally potable water gushing out from pristine springs or water treated and transformed into different forms such as mineral water, flavored water or even carbonated water. This is the outcome of an urbanized life like ours, where we are all so engrossed in keeping up with the Joneses, but never pause to ponder about the little things that actually hold paramount significance in our life. It seems that the only time people truly think of drinking water is during camping trips, whereby there is a shortage of drinking water supply. Most people in many countries across the globe such as Iraq and Pakistan do not have access to drinkable water. What do they have to drink then? Well, to survive under this dire condition, they have no other alternatives but to drink whatever they can get their hands on!

As aforementioned, a vast majority of people from countries such as Pakistan, China, India and Africa, have no access to good drinking water. In Pakistan, for example, the vast majority of the country's 135 million inhabitants do not have access to drinkable water. Pakistan's attempt to raise the living standards of its citizens has meant that economic development has largely taken precedence over environmental issues. Unchecked use of hazardous chemicals, vehicle emissions, and industrial activity has contributed to a number of environmental and health hazards, chief among them being water pollution. Much of the country suffers from a lack of potable water due to industrial waste and agricultural runoff that contaminates drinking water supplies.

Another instance is dry Northern China where the water table is dropping one meter per year due to over pumping. Some Chinese rivers are so polluted with heavy metals that they cannot even be used for production of drinkable water. Due to inadequate investment in supply and treatment infrastructure, even where water is not scarce, it is rarely clean. Also to 600 million people have water supplies that are contaminated by animal and human waste. Pan Yue, the deputy head of the State Environment Protection Administration (SEPA), China's environmental ministry, has called the shortage and its associated problems 'the bottleneck constraining economic growth'. China does not have the resources to sustain the rapid economic growth it aspires to. What is more, the nation's current policies make future sustainability even less likely. From this dilemma the China citizens and leaders are encountering, we can comprehend that potable water does play a pivotal role in keeping up with demands of a country progressing, for how can a country grow if its citizens are not well or are inflicted with fatal diseases and maladies? In short health is indeed wealth.

Poverty and high population growth in various countries also contribute to the lack of potable water. Due to water shortage, most people in these countries are forces to use unclean water for their everyday needs such as farming, livestock and ultimately, drinking. According to the Ministry of Water Resources, only 32 percent of the Iraqi population has access to clean drinking water, and only 19 percent has access to a good sewage system. Vulnerable groups, such as internally displaced people (IDPs), have had no choice but to drink from rivers. Anbar province, where Fallujah is located, and Baghdad are the most affected areas for water supply, according to recent reports released by local and international NGOs. On the 18th of February 2007, an article regarding the severe shortage of water in Iraq was published. In this particular report, an Iraqi woman named Umm Muhammas Jalal shared her story with the world; she told the journalist on how she has to walk to a river 7km away every day from her temporary home in displacement camp on the outskirts of Fallujah, 70km west of the capital, Baghdad. Due to the severe water shortage she and many others make the daily trip to the river to collect water for all their needs. Her children are ill with diarrhea as the water in the river is contaminated and polluted, but they do not have any choice because that is the only way to survive. For much of the population, their only water source is the nearby river or pond, rain water bastion or water source used by humans and animals.

It is imperative that countries facing crucial water shortage seek out new and cheaper ways to provide safe drinking water for their people. Some experts have looked at inexpensive desalination techniques, ones that could be employed on a mass scale. To be sure, this precious commodity, the very lifeblood of humans, is getting scarcer and scarcer every day. Governments need to take immediate action and look into this matter seriously.

Most of us who take our daily supply of water for granted, may not take cognizance of the significance of water. We need to realize that many have perished from the face of Earth through the lack of water and many countries have plunged horrendously to the very bottom of the pit due to the shortage of water.

Military men know that the most effective way of subduing any city of fortress is to cut its water supply.

Water is a God-given grace - let us be thankful for it.

FRESH WATER CRISIS

How is Poverty related to the Environment?

Belinda asked Bobby that day, How is POVERTY related to the Environment? How is it possible for POVERTY to be an ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUE?

Belinda, the answers are here.

READ!

1. Erosion. Intensive farming often leads to a vicious cycle of exhaustion of soil fertility and decline of agricultural yields and hence, increased poverty.

2. Desertification and overgrazing. Approximately 40% of the world's agricultural land is seriously degraded. In Africa, if current trends of soil degradation continue, the continent might be able to feed just 25% of its population by 2025, according to UNU's Ghana-based Institute for Natural Resources in Africa.

3. Deforestation as exemplified by the widespread rural poverty in China that began in the early 20th century and is attributed to non-sustainable tree harvesting.

4. Natural factors such as climate change. Lower income families suffer the most from climate change; yet on a per capita basis, they contribute the least to climate change

5. Geographic factors, for example access to fertile land, fresh water, minerals, energy, and other natural resources, presence or absence of natural features helping or limiting communication, such as mountains, deserts, navigable rivers, or coastline. Historically, geography has prevented or slowed the spread of new technology to areas such as the Americas and Sub-Saharan Africa. The climate also limits what crops and farm animals may be used on similarly fertile lands.

6. On the other hand, research on the resource curse has found that countries with an abundance of natural resources creating quick wealth from exports tend to have less long-term prosperity than countries with less of these natural resources.

7. Drought and water crisis.


A video of CLIMATE POVERTY...
Listen to these messages from around the world of local people who are having to deal with the impact of Climate Change in their communities right now.

What is POVERTY?

Poverty is hunger. Poverty is lack of shelter. Poverty is being sick and not being able to see a doctor. Poverty is not having access to school and not knowing how to read. Poverty is not having a job, is fear for the future, living one day at a time. Poverty is losing a child to illness brought about by unclean water. Poverty is powerlessness, hopelessness, helplessness, lack of representation and freedom.

Poverty has many faces, changing from place to place and across time. Most often, poverty is a situation people want to escape. So poverty is a call to action -- for the poor and the wealthy alike -- a call to change the world so that many more may have enough to eat, adequate shelter, access to education and health, protection from violence, and a voice in what happens in their communities.

To know what helps to reduce poverty, what works and what does not, what changes over time, poverty has to be defined, measured, and studied -- and even experienced. As poverty has many dimensions, it has to be looked at through a variety of indicators -- levels of income and consumption, social indicators, and indicators of vulnerability to risks and of socio/political access.

WHY SHOULD YOU CARE?

The Bible is full of God's demands on behalf of the poor. A concern for the poor is at the very centre of who God is and this suggests it should be high on our agenda too.

Poverty is something very saddening. You would never know how it feels and how it is like unless you are physically in a poverty situation. Try to picture yourself having needed to drink brown murky water everyday, to starve your tummy due to the lack of edible materials or even hungry to the extent that you can't help it but eat insects, animals' excretion to just satisfy your stomach temporarily, to live in a condition where no shelters are available, where sun exposure is the most, where rain falls on you like hailstones... Imagine all these. All the aforementioned is just something very mild. Some people in poverty-stricken countries are experiencing the worse.. none of us has the rights to complain when none of them has even made a complaint about what they eat and drink. You may think they are accustomed to the way they live, then why not you try to live in there for a couple of days and see if you can adapt to the living condition there?

Count your blessings my friends...

FreeStyle

Our class of creative thinking skills students are required to prove our understanding at certain society issues…Ours, is poverty – one issue considerably hard for us, because its something we never experienced right here in a considerably wealthy South-East Asian country… Which makes the homework harder for us - _ - U

Again, it’s the discussions that’s making up most of the class, and most of the fun which we find the creative thinking skills class so interesting:D

The main requirement of the class is to express ourselves. Our thoughts and knowledge of the chosen topic…

…through squiggling!!! XDXD Yes the main portion of the class is spent on scribbling on 15 (yes, count ‘em, 15!!!) large pieces of Mahjong paper (How large? Maybe some four times the size of our usual “Mind-map making” A3 paper, for a start) spread out on the floor. On the flat classroom floor, tacked together with numerous pieces of sticky masking tape.

We get to write, draw, paint, scribble, doodle, splotch, squiggle and smudge anything we want on the piece of paper (YAY!!!) as long as what we scribbled expresses our ideas and understandings towards the topic.

Of course, this is a job for the energized, creative, artistic students!!! We leave our squiggling to the most creative members in our group.

Peyman, Nadia, Zi Kang and the likes did a great job. Of course, there are contributions of ideas, paint materials, brushes, markers, palettes, watercolours and the like from various contributors. Which would be too vast to list out, because their presence here will easily fill up 99.999% of the blog page – let’s just thank them in our hearts, then move on from here hehe…
We draw, colour and doodle a series of patterns and illustrations that will hopefully help us in our presentation. Illustrations – I wouldn’t call them pictures though – colourful patterns that represents our thoughts and feelings. Of course, in creative thinking class, we don’t talk - we will do anything to express ourselves but talk!!! That’s what creativity is all about . Its all about self-expression!!! Its all about squiggling!!! Its all about patterns!!! Its all about colours!!! Its…

(Oops, sorry about that… going a bit too far out of point…)

Anyway, it’s a long colouring section. That we spent in the entire class, scribbling the same sort of things a first-grade kid would be happy in doing in kindergarten art class (At least we know what are we going to scribble though)
After much scribbling (I’m not gonna tell how much, see for yourself) its time for our presentation!!! That’s right!!! The winners shall get a prize!!!

(No we didn’t win a trip to Paris because that’s not one of the prizes offered…)

Presentation time!!!
But no, we didn’t talk the usual, normal way. We would NOT talk the usual way… that’s no way for CTS students to talk!!! (At least that’s what Mr. Charles said to us)

As for now, let the PICTURES and VIDEOS do the talking!

Hope you enjoy my BS a.k.a. Bull Shit. HAHAHAHA! Signing off..... Bye=]

An Enlightening Experience

Art is the desire of a man to express his innermost thoughts and to exhale the breathings of his heart on a piece of paper.

It was definitely a FAN-TA-BU-LOUS experience partaking in the workshop organized by Puan Yati and Mister Charles. So much we have learnt and it was certainly, not the five bonus marks that we would attain as a result of our involvement, but our interest and zeal that drove us to participate in the advantageous workshop which proved to be a truly fascinating one.

Mister Ernesto was a FABULOUS teacher. With his interesting style and remarkable panache, the workshop was never boring. In fact, he JAZZED UP the class by sharing with us his SUPERB knowledge and wisdom and all.

Well, what did we learn?

Erm… Water coloring and ink rendering I suppose.
An enlightening experience!!

Mr. Ernesto teaching

Mr. Ernesto giving a lecture

Mr. Ernesto's SUPERB paraphernalia

Got attacked by tissue paper and strangled by it.

The attacker waltzing in alluring grace.

Our masterpieces: [drumroll please....]

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tada!

Ahmed's Gothic Recreational Park a.k.a. Vampires' Nest

Rui Chween's Fashion Heaven

Ken's Blazing Desire

Clara's Rhythmic Grace

Joanna's Graying Tree

Zi Kang's Freedom

Mr. Ernesto's Artistic Wisdom

[A MUST-WATCH!]

Flamboyancy on the GO

Dear readers,

Good day Homo Sapiens, welcome to the Melancholy of the Dead Rainbow, a heavenly realm of humanity that aspires to infuse all of you with a sense of awareness concerning a distressing plight faced globally - poverty, that is encroaching upon some unfortunate countries deemed underdeveloped or undeveloped. Yes, we have, after a consensus, chosen this issue as our major topic discussion in this space, predominantly to instil in all of you a better understanding of how poverty has horrendously affected these countries economically, socially and politically.

It is crucial that each and everyone of us is aware of the devastating predicament that is transpiring around us because every soul is a marvellous creation of the celestial heavens. No disparagement; no discrmination; no prejudice. We are the ones who should willingly aid the poor needies who are despearately awaiting our help, awaiting us to shower them with undiluted benevolence and care, so that they are able to feel the life to live again, to stand up against all the morasses in life.

Let us not hesitate. Extend your hands to touch their souls; embrace them with love of the most unalduterated kind; help them share the common destiny that they deserve and venture towards a transitional valley that betters their lives.

We will update this space frequently to keep our loyal readers informed of the global issue poverty so that some of you may have a change of mind. Of course, towards the better side. Haha..

Flamboyancy is now on the go.

Tata for now=]

Be Mesmerized

Group Ten Logo

Harlow people!!!

Finally, we have created a blog. Yeah!! Allehluyah!!! Feel free to leave your footprints because we appreciate and welcome constructive remarks and building criticisms. For the moment, let me enlighten you about our group name - Flamboyancy.

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There are several reasons as to why we call oursleves Flamboyancy.

First of all, to be flamboyant, one has to be strikingly bold. It would be better to be a lion a day than a sheep all your life and this is what we, the Group Ten members, aspire to be. We want to be adventurous because it is only through trials and errors, experiments and attempts, are we able to learn more. This allows us to venture deeper and deeper on the valleys of knowledge and to attain the peak of knowledge, being bold is all it takes.

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Besides, we would also want to be stunningly conspicuous. Which in other words, we want to outshine everyone. To be the creme de la creme, it is of course not a simple mission. We will hone our skills perpetually and endeavour to achieve the best possible result in anything we do. And in doing so, we show flamboyancy.

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Behold people... We will flaunt our talents soon enough. The POWER is in us; we hold pens in RESOLUTE HANDS and will mesmerize you by FLIRTING with FLAMBOYANCY!

Cheerio!

From left: Me [Bobby], Peyman, Zi Kang, Bikram, Sherlin, Nadia, Nasir, Aland