Sunday, December 30, 2012
"67 Ways To Change The World"
Think of others 1. Make a new friend. Get to know someone from a different cultural background. Only through mutual understanding can we rid our communities of intolerance and xenophobia. 2. Read to someone who can’t. Visit a local home for the blind and open up a new world for someone else. 3. Fix the potholes in your street or neighbourhood. 4. Help out at the local animal shelter. Dogs without homes still need a walk and a bit of love. 5. Find out from your local library if it has a story hour and offer to read during it. 6. Offer to take an elderly neighbour who can’t drive to do their shopping/chores. 7. Organise a litter cleanup day in your area. 8. Get a group of people to each knit a square and make a blanket for someone in need. 9. Volunteer at your police station or local faith-based organisation. 10. Donate your skills! 11. If you’re a builder, help build or improve someone’s home. 12. Help someone to get his/her business off the ground. 13. Build a website for someone who needs one, or for a cause you think needs the support. 14. Help someone get a job. Put together and print a CV for them, or help them with their interview skills. 15. If you’re a lawyer, do some pro bono work for a worthwhile cause or person. 16. Write to your area councillor about a problem in the area that requires attention, which you, in your personal capacity, are unable to attend to. 17. Sponsor a group of learners to go to the theatre/zoo. Help out for good health 18. Get in touch with your local HIV organisations and find out how you can help. 19. Help out at your local hospice, as staff members often need as much support as the patients. 20. Many terminally ill people have no one to speak to. Take a little time to have a chat and bring some sunshine into their lives. 21. Talk to your friends and family about HIV. 22. Get tested for HIV and encourage your partner to do so too. 23. Take a bag full of toys to a local hospital that has a children’s ward. 24. Take younger members of your family for a walk in the park. 25. Donate some medical supplies to a local community clinic. 26. Take someone you know, who can’t afford it, to get their eyes tested or their teeth checked. 27. Bake something for a support group of your choice. 28. Start a community garden to encourage healthy eating in your community. 29. Donate a wheelchair or guide dog, to someone in need. 30. Create a food parcel and give it to someone in need. Become an educator 31. Offer to help out at your local school. 32. Mentor a school leaver or student in your field of expertise. 33. Coach one of the extramural activities the school offers. You can also volunteer to coach an extramural activity the school doesn’t offer. 34. Offer to provide tutoring in a school subject you are good at. 35. Donate your old computer. 36. Help maintain the sports fields. 37. Fix up a classroom by replacing broken windows, doors and light bulbs. 38. Donate a bag of art supplies. 39. Teach an adult literacy class. 40. Paint classrooms and school buildings. 41. Donate your old textbooks, or any other good books, to a school library. Help those living in poverty 42. Buy a few blankets, or grab the ones you no longer need from home and give them to someone in need. 43. Clean out your cupboard and donate the clothes you no longer wear to someone who needs them. 44. Put together food parcels for a needy family. 45. Organise a bake sale, car wash or garage sale for charity and donate the proceeds. 46. To the poorest of the poor, shoes can be a luxury. Don’t hoard them if you don’t wear them. Pass them on! 47. Volunteer at your local soup kitchen. Care for the youth 48. Help at a local children’s home or orphanage. 49. Help the kids with their studies. 50. Organise a friendly game of soccer, or sponsor the kids to watch a game at the local stadium. 51. Coach a sports team and make new friends. 52. Donate sporting equipment to a children’s shelter. 53. Donate educational toys and books to a children’s home. 54. Paint, or repair, infrastructure at an orphanage or youth centre. 55. Mentor someone. Make time to listen to what the kids have to say and give them good advice. Treasure the elderly 56. If you play an instrument, visit your local old-age home and spend an hour playing for the residents and staff. 57. Learn the story of someone older than you. Too often people forget that the elderly have a wealth of experience and wisdom and, more often than not, an interesting story to tell. 58. Take an elderly person grocery shopping; they will appreciate your company and assistance. 59. Take someone’s dog for a walk if they are too frail to do so themselves. 60. Mow someone’s lawn and help them to fix things around their house. Look after your environment 61. If there are no recycling centres in your area, petition your area councillor to provide one. 62. Donate indigenous trees to beautify neighbourhoods in poorer areas. 63. Collect old newspapers from a school/community centre/hospital and take them to a recycling centre. 64. Identify open manhole covers or drains in your area and report them to the local authorities. 65. Organise the company/school/organisation that you work with to switch off all unnecessary lights and power supplies at night and on weekends. 66. Engage with people who litter and see if you can convince them of the value of clean surroundings. 67. Organise to clean up your local park, river, beach, street, town square or sports grounds with a few friends. Our children deserve to grow up in a clean and healthy environment
Share Your Deed"
SHARE YOUR MANDELA DAY DEED Honour the life and legacy of Nelson Mandela by making your “Mandela deed” part of history. Visit the Mandela Day Activities to pledge your support and let us know how you plan to commemorate the day. Then document your act of kindness on Mandela Day and share it with the world. You can send your feedback, pictures and experiences to nmf@nelsonmandela.org.
Make The Change!
MAKE THE CHANGE: BECOME A MANDELA DAY CHANGEMAKER Change was the gift given to all South Africans by Nelson Mandela. Now it's YOUR turn. In the spirit of Madiba and his vision to spread justice and freedom for all, this is your chance to step up to the plate and become a part of a continuous global movement for good. By becoming a Mandela Day Changemaker you can show that actions speak louder than words by giving a little of your time to make a change that's close to your heart. (or by giving a little of your time to make a difference to the life of someone less fortunate.)
Saturday, June 30, 2012
"Hemp Paper"
The "Declaration was written on "HEMP" Paper!
At the present rate of deforestation in the United States, it won't be long before we never see a tree, period. At the rate we are going, the United States will be stripped completely bare of all its forests in 50 years.
If the hemp pulp paper process of 1916 were in use today, it could replace 40-70% of all pulp paper form trees, including corrugated boxes, computer printout paper and paper bags. Imagine the effect this conversion to hemp paper alone would have on near-extinct species and all forms of wild life, on old-growth forests that are fast disappearing, on the quality of our water, soil, and air, as well as on our planet's sensitive ecosystem!
Farming only 6% of continental US acreage with biomass crops would provide all of America's gas and oil energy needs, ending dependence upon fossil fuels. Hemp is the only biomass source available that is capable of making the US energy-independent. Ultimately, the world has no other rational environmental choice but to give up fossil fuels.
Ever wonder why tree paper is so cheap? It's because we are subsidizing the true costs of production by borrowing from our own future and that of our children: imagine a world without trees and you'll realize the full impact, significance, and costs of cheap paper from trees. Hemp, unlike trees, grows to maturity in 6-8 months. There is no need to cut down 100 year old trees to make paper! Not only can hemp provide us with top-quality archival paper that's beautiful & strong and leaves a light footprint on this fragile planet of ours, it can also single-handedly put a stop to Greenhouse Effect, soil erosion, dependence on fertilizers and toxic chemicals, blue baby syndrome, pollution of the air, water, and soil, and so much more!
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Sunday, June 24, 2012
We Bought A Zoo - Maggie's Tour
Based On A ''True Story"
Dartmoor Zoo DVD Coming Soon!
The Dartmoor Zoo DVD Coming soon!
What a Incredible story this is.
What People Say
What people say
The whole day was fantastic. The zoo staff made us feel very welcome, and were great at knowing how and when we might get the best views of the animals.They made it possible for us to get wonderful photos of Sita and Sovereign in particular. The experience of viewing the lions up close was probably the most memorable of the day - we hadn't realised that photography could be such an adrenalin rush!Extremely knowledgeable both about photography and wildlife, and great at explaining both.
http://www.dartmoorzoo.org/photography.html
Wildlife Photography at Dartmoor Zoo
Wildlife Photography at Dartmoor Zoo
Whatever your interest in photography, whether you're an enthusiastic amateur or a seasoned professional, a Guided Photography Workshop at DZP will provide you with the best possible opportunities to capture some spectacular images.Our expansive open-fronted enclosures housing jaguar, bears, cheetahs and tigers are among the most photographer-friendly you'll ever find. In addition, under the close supervision of our senior keeping staff you'll get access to non-public areas maximising the opportunity for truly unique photographs.
http://www.dartmoorzoo.org/photography.html
Become A Member Of DZP
Annual Membership
By becoming an annual member at DZP you can get yourself a great deal whilst making a real contribution to our work.Give The Gift Of Membership
If you have a loved one or relative who you would like to give the gift of a membership to, you can buy a membership gift certificate by clicking here.Membership Benefits
- Unlimited entry to DZP all year round
- Annual subscription to the DZP Newsletter
- Prioroty booking and discounts on all DZP events
- Discounts on all DZP experience products such as Keeper for a Day
- Discounts on venue hire for parties and functions
- 50% discount on daily admission to the National Marine Aquarium
Membership Prices
| Adult | £40 |
| Concession | £35 |
| Child (5 to 15yrs) | £10 |
| Family (4 people, max 2 adults) | £45 |
Membership Application Form
| Being part of the Dartmoor Zoological Park Membership Scheme will
enable you to participate in this unique zoo’s regrowth and
restructuring. With the contribution of the public through this scheme, money can be channelled directly back into our animals’ wellbeing, improving and enriching their lives and creating an environment where the public can enjoy a great day out watching happy, healthy and beautiful creatures. If you would like to buy a membership as a gift, please click the link below.http://www.dartmoorzoo.org/get-involved/become-a-member.html |
The DartMoor Zoo!
Set in 33 acres of beautiful woodland with stunning views of the surrounding countryside, Dartmoor Zoo is a unique, family owned zoo with a fantastic collection of animals including the widest variety of big cats in the south west of England.
Formerly known as Dartmoor Wildlife Park, the zoo was purchased by the Mee family and following major refurbishment work, reopened in July 2007 as Dartmoor Zoological Park. The story of those early days can be found here. It was also captured in the BBC documentary, Ben's Zoo and in Benjamin Mee's book, We Bought a Zoo which has been published in over 20 countries. In the Hollywood adaptation of We Bought A Zoo, Dartmoor Zoological Park becomes, "Rosemoor Wildlife Park" set in California.
The animals here include tigers, lions, jaguar, lynx and cheetah, bears, wolves, tapir, capybara, raccoons, meerkats, monkeys, deer, owls, ostrich, lechwe, a fantastic collection of bugs and reptiles and much, much more.
Our Education Centre is manned by a dedicated team of award-winning staff and volunteers. The animals in the centre include a fascinating variety of stick insects, a great collection of snakes, tortoises, bearded dragons, gerbils, poison dart frogs and geckos, many of which feature in Close Encounters. The team also provides an excellent education programme for schools both at the zoo and as an outreach service.
The special design of our enclosures means that you can feel closer to the animals than at some other zoos, with great opportunities for unobstructed wildlife photography. We have a range of fantastic experiences which get you behind the scenes and even closer to the animals than you would believe was possible. Our Big Cat Keeper For A Day is a firm favourite!
We work very hard to ensure that the development of the zoo does not have an adverse effect on the beautiful woodland environment which makes it quite unique among zoos. As a consequence we have plenty of open spaces for the kids to run free and visitors are very welcome to bring a picnic and simply enjoy the surroundings.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Friday, March 16, 2012
South Sudan
South Sudan: Window of opportunity closing fast to provide assistance to 80,000 Sudanese refugees from Blue Nile state
© Robin Meldrum/MSF
Tens of thousands of Sudanese refugees in South Sudan urgently need humanitarian aid to be scaled up in a short window of opportunity that is rapidly closing before the rainy season starts. In the camps at Doro and Jamam, only an emergency approach to provide urgently needed aid can still ensure the health and dignity of refugees seeking shelter from violence.
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Safe Release
MSF is doing everything in its power to bring about the safe release of Blanca Thiebaut and Montserrat Serra who were abducted in Dadaab, Kenya on 13 October 2011, while providing humanitarian assistance to Somali refugees
Tags: StatementMSF calls on all Somalis; the diaspora, community leaders and especially the authorities in control of areas in Somalia where its kidnapped colleagues are being detained, to do everything possible to facilitate their safe release.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Syria: Medicine as a Weapon of Persecution, Testimony No. 9
TRANSCRIPT:"We left our villages for the city. It was my first demonstration.We arrived and we were surprised.We were expecting a 'normal' demonstrationwith water canon, tear gas, etc.To break us up, they fired machine guns, real bullets....There were snipers also. It was indescribable.I was hit in the shoulder. I was with another demonstrator who I saved.We hid in a building waiting for it to calm down.The area was shelled for two hours.I wanted to help a wounded man but he refused.People had told him that injured peoplewere killed at the hospital.We couldn't do anythingbut I bandaged his woundwith a bit of fabric that a woman gave me...The doctor in the village is pro-regime.He refuses to treat the injured.In the hospital in my village, they just gave me first aidbecause nobody wants to stay at the hospital.You go in one day, and the next day 'they' come and get you.You make do with what you find in the pharmacies: medicines, disinfectants, etc.One scene I remember in particularwas a man with his face hidden,crushing an injured person with his feet."[Who?]One of "them", security, in military gear."Judging by his uniform, he was an officer.At the end, the officerfinished off the injured man.I witnessed that scene with my very own eyes."
Syria: Medicine as a Weapon of Persecution, Testimony No. 8
TRANSCRIPT:"I was injured during the demonstration.I was on a motorcycle.I saw a man who wasdragging an injured person out of the crowd.They stopped me and said, 'Take us with you!'There were three of us on the motorcylewith the injured person between us.They shot at us. The other guy who wasn't injured was shot.The man at the back fell off the motorcycle.It was only me and the injured man left. We fled.They kept shooting at us."[Who was shooting?]"The security forces!I was pushed up against a security vehicle. We fell and they beat us up.Everybody in the vehicle got out.About fifty of them were hitting us with the butts of their guns.They were beating us, beating us....I had an injured leg and a bloodied face.I lost consciousness.The other guy with me,after the beating, was almost dead.He was still alive the last time I saw him.As for me, the blood was flowing from my ears,my nose, my mouth... they left me for dead.Some people put me in a blanket and brought me to a makeshift hospital.There, some women gave me first aid.I don't know what aid exactly... I stayed 13 days and then I was able to leave."
Syria: Medicine as a Weapon of Persecution, Testimony No. 5
TRANSCRIPT:"I was injured in December. I was arrestedduring a demonstration against the president.I was detained and tortured for fifteen days.The last day,they put a photo of Bashar Al Assad in front of me,and told me to kneel to 'God Bashar'.I told them I only kneel to God,and I tore the photo.They went crazy,as if I was tearing out their soul.So they took me to the colonel,after having beaten me.They tied my hands behind my backand took me to see the colonel who insulted me.Then he said, 'Don't you know that thosewho insult the president have their hands cut off?'He kicked me,and I fell from the top of the stairs.Then they blindfolded me and spread and tied my arms, like a crucifix.In detention, they hang us from the ceilingand insulted us and beat us constantly.Some people had their fingernails torn out.Others were flogged or had their backs broken.They make people lie on a special board,and then lifted the sides until their backs crack.They used all sorts of methods.They broke my toes with a hammer.They taped a detonator with TNT to my hand,the detonator was attachedto a long wire connected to a battery.Then they sent an electric currentand it exploded. I lost three fingers,two-thirds of my other two fingers,along with most of the palm of my hand.Yes, they took me to hospital.They left me there like I was a dog.The level of care wasn't good, and the doctorswere very pessimistic about my hand.It was completely deformed.Even the doctors I saw laterdidn't have the means to treat such a wound.I could not sleepfor twenty-five days because of the pain.Even sleeping pills couldn't make me sleep.At hospital, they just stopped the bleeding.Then my friends cameand helped me escape through the back door.If security had seen me,they'd have killed me.There was a lot of torture in detention.There were 230 of us crammed into a small room.There were old people and doctors amongst us.I asked a doctor how he came to be there.He replied, 'Just like you, son.' "
Syria: Medicine as a Weapon of Persecution, Testimony No. 4
TRANSCRIPT:"The security forces shot me in the thigh.A group of men took me to a mosque.At the mosque they told meI needed to go to a hospital for treatment,but that they could not take mebecause the situation was really bad.They said the injured can be shot at the hospital.So they took me to a housewhere I stayed until the afternoon.Then they took me to the national hospital.At the hospital they told us there had been amassacre, that they already had a lot of woundedso they could not operate on me.We stayed at the hospital until midnight,and then they told us to leave for our own safety,in order not to be targeted. So we went to another hospitalwhere they put me on a drip until the morning.They gave me first aid treatment but I needed surgery. I stayed like that for twenty-five daysbefore my leg was operated on.I finally went to hospitalfor the operation twenty-five days later.I went home the day after the operation,knowing I would need a second operation toremove the external fixator and to insert a plate.After two months,I wanted to go back to the hospitalbut the situation was too tense.Nobody could go to hospital,the situation was getting worse and worse.They started to take patients from the hospitals.People gave me moneyso I could have the operation in a private clinic.Then I went to a doctor; the bones were healing but I was suffering from nerve damage.This kind of treatment is not available in Syria.I stayed like that for eight months.Relatives living abroadtold me about the MSF project in Jordan.They told me to get in touchto see if MSF could treat me."
Testimonies from injured people and doctors from across Syria were collected by Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) staff between January 30 and February 6, 2012. MSF is not authorized to operate inside Syria at present and thus is unable to fully verify the information collected here. However, given the recurring nature, consistency, and severity of the acts described in these testimonies, MSF has decided to make them public. For security reasons, names and locations have been withheld. Read more - http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/press/release.cfm?id=5755&cat=press-...
Syria: Medicine as a Weapon of Persecution, Testimony No. 2
"I was injured November 31stduring an attack by the Syrian security forces.There were a lot of them,they had surrounded the town.There were tanks firing.I was there as a cameraman,I was filming for Al Jazeeraand other free channels.It was a horiffic attack.There was a man who was wanted by security.They stormed his housethere was gunfire, broken windows,the house was totally devastated inside.In the end they asked his father where he was.I was filming all this from the house next door.there was gunfire, broken windows,the house was totally devastated inside.In the end they asked his father where he was.I was filming all this from the house next door.I moved and the snipers saw me.They tried to shoot me in the head.I got shot several times in my hand,with explosive bullets.It destroyed three fingersand a quarter of my hand.I was lucky because I went into a housewhere a woman was giving birth.They hid me in the same room as the woman.The security forces were after me,they came into the house.Everyone in the house started shouting,and the women cried out,'What are you doing here?There's a woman giving birth!' It saved my life.The security forces left,but the doctors couldn't do much for me.I was bleeding heavily.They tried to use bandages to stop the bleeding.The pain was so bad I wished I was dead.I call on all those who care about human rightsto ensure we receive at least local anaesthesia,to avoid the pain I endured.In Syria, you cannot go to hospital.If you go, they either amputate a limbor take you to prison, even if you're wounded.I've been detained twice.I saw people in prison with rotting wounds.Even then,they don't take you to hospital.I had people die next to me, and saw othersurinate blood because of internal bleeding.And no medical organisations like MSFare allowed to enter the prisons.The field hospitals change place every day.Several times they have come to take awayor burn all the medical materials and supplies.There are no ambulances, they have allbeen targeted. They shoot at the passengers.And the doctors who are brave enoughto take action are arrested, or their wives are rapedin order to prevent them from working, or they place them under house arrest."
Testimonies from injured people and doctors from across Syria were collected by Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) staff between January 30 and February 6, 2012. MSF is not authorized to operate inside Syria at present and thus is unable to fully verify the information collected here. However, given the recurring nature, consistency, and severity of the acts described in these testimonies, MSF has decided to make them public. For security reasons, names and locations have been withheld
Syria: Medicine as a Weapon of Persecution, Testimony No. 3
Syria: Medicine as a Weapon of Persecution, Testimony No. 3
TRANSCRIPT:"We were a group of men from the same neighborhood who went on a demonstration.At first we were asking for administrative reforms,but with the rise of violence,we began demandingthe end of the regime and for our freedom.We were used to being fired at.But the night I was injured,we were not expectingthe Syrian army and security forces to ambush the demonstrators.They launched the attack at midnight.We didn't have time to hide or run away.Two of us were injured and three were killed.One of them was a father.I was shot in my left thigh.My bone was completely shattered.I fainted while I was being carried away.I lost a lot of blood.We fled from house to house until we arrived at my home, the safest place.My injury was getting worsebut all I could think about was staying alive.We tried to find someonewho could treat us until 4 a.m.The other man's injuries were worse than mine,he had been shot in the hand and in his bottom.Unfortunately all the doctors had been arrested for treating injured patientsand they had been forced to sign a documentsaying they would only treat certain cases,the ones the government would allow.So injured people had to wait forauthorization before receiving treatment.They could die a thousand timeswaiting for this authorization.And we hadn't even managed to find a nurse.Eventually we found oneand he took care of me despite the danger.I am so grateful to him.After he treated me,I was carried to another house.So I was treated by a nurseand with very basic medical supplies.He just had needles and thread,scissors and a small box.I begged for anesthesiabut it simply wasn't possible.So I was treated by a nurseand with very basic medical supplies.He just had needles and thread,scissors and a small kit.I begged for anesthesiabut it simply wasn't possible.When he put his fingers in my thigh to extract the bullet,he hit the bone and I cried out in pain.I wanted to be anesthetized but it wasn't possible,so I had to endure the pain."
Testimonies from injured people and doctors from across Syria were collected by Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) staff between January 30 and February 6, 2012. MSF is not authorized to operate inside Syria at present and thus is unable to fully verify the information collected here. However, given the recurring nature, consistency, and severity of the acts described in these testimonies, MSF has decided to make them public. For security reasons, names and locations have been withheld. Read more - http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/press/release.cfm?id=5755&cat=press-...
Syria: Medicine as a Weapon of Persecution, Doctor Testimony
TRANSCRIPT:"I'm a Syrian doctor. I was treating the wounded in Syria. At first, when the demonstrations started, we sent the injured to public hospitals. But then we were told that injured demonstrators were being tortured or left untreated. Many were even killed. Doctors are working in difficult security conditions and in tough medical conditions, too. Makeshift hospitals tend to be one or two rooms somewhere near a demonstration area. In addition to that, there's all the security pressure and difficulty in reaching certain areas. Doctors who treat the wounded are also being harassed by security forces. Security is what worries doctors most. It's difficult. The risk of being arrested is big. But despite that risk, many doctors are putting their lives in danger in order to fulfill their medical oath. It is difficult to find sterilized medical materials. Due to our limited means and the numbers of wounded, we have to resort to rudimentary medical practices. We are forced to use medical materials and perform medical acts that are far from the safe surgical procedures we would usually carry out. Activists and protestors don't really have any medical resources. They don't have ambulances, for example. The injured are transported by their friends and fellow protesters. When we receive serious casualties, a patient who needs to be hospitalized, we have two options: Either we let him die, or we send him to hospital not knowing what will become of him. Many hospitals are encircled and placed under tight control when security forces are informed that a casualty is due to arrive from a demonstration area."
Testimonies from injured people and doctors from across Syria were collected by Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) staff between January 30 and February 6, 2012. MSF is not authorized to operate inside Syria at present and thus is unable to fully verify the information collected here. However, given the recurring nature, consistency, and severity of the acts described in these testimonies, MSF has decided to make them public. For security reasons, names and locations have been withheld. Read more - http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/press/release.cfm?id=5755&cat=press-...
At Any Price? Event at Boston Public Library, Part 1
At Any Price?Boston Public LibraryFebruary 1, 2012
At Any Price? Event at Boston Public Library, Part 2
At Any Price? Event At The Public Library Of Boston-Part 2
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
MSF At Any Price -Part 1
Watch "At Any Price? Event at Boston Public Library, Part 1" on YouTube
Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.4
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
At Any Price? MSF Webcast: Negotiating Access to Crisis Zones
Humanitarian negotiations are life-and-death issues for people in need, but they also raise troubling political and ethical dilemmas for the organizations that are engaged in them. In the book Humanitarian Negotiations Revealed: The MSF Experience, published by Columbia University Press, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) takes a critical look at how its teams have negotiated to gain access to people in urgent need of lifesaving medical assistance in the 40 years since MSF was founded, including recent case studies from Somalia, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar.On January 31, 2012, MSF hosted a live online discussion of these issues featuring several experienced MSF aid workers, who shared their first-hand experiences from past assignments. They described the often complicated process of negotiating with governments, armed groups, public health officials, international actors, community leaders, and local officials; as well as the struggle to define what compromises are acceptable in order to run programs in crisis zones.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières
Negotiations Revealed
Humanitarian negotiations are life-and-death issues for people in need, but they also raise troubling political and ethical dilemmas for the organizations that are engaged in them. In the book Humanitarian Negotiations Revealed: The MSF Experience, published by Columbia University Press, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) takes a critical look at how its teams have negotiated to gain access to people in urgent need of lifesaving medical assistance in the 40 years since MSF was founded, including recent case studies from Somalia, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar.
On January 31, 2012, MSF hosted a live online discussion of these issues featuring several experienced MSF aid workers, who shared their first-hand experiences from past assignments. They described the often complicated process of negotiating with governments, armed groups, public health officials, international actors, community leaders, and local officials; as well as the struggle to define what compromises are acceptable in order to run programs in crisis zones.
http://youtu.be/gcs32BwwL7A
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Humanitarian Negotiations
15 December 2011 HUMANITARIAN NEGOTIATIONS REVEALED: THE MSF EXPERIENCE Magone, Claire; Neuman, Michael; Weissman, Fabrice From international NGOs to UN agencies, from donors to observers of humanitarianism, opinion is unanimous: in a context of the alleged ‘clash of civilisations', our ‘humanitarian space' is shrinking. Put another way, the freedom of action and of speech of humanitarians is being eroded due to the radicalisation of conflicts and the reaffirmation of state sovereignty over aid actors and policies...
Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.4
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Thursday, January 19, 2012
MSF closes its largest medical centres"
19 Jan 2012
MSF closes its largest medical centres in Mogadishu after killings,Other projects in Somalia continue, but MSF medical assistance in Somali capital reduced by half.
19 January 2012 – Following the tragic killings of our colleagues Philippe Havet and Dr Karel Keiluhu in Mogadishu, Somalia, on 29 December 2011, the medical humanitarian organisation Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) sees itself forced to end all activities in the Hodan district of the capital, including the closure of two separate 120-bed medical facilities for the treatment of malnutrition, measles and cholera.
The closure of activities in this district halves the assistance MSF is providing in Mogadishu. For now, MSF projects will continue to provide medical care in the other districts of the capital, as well as in 10 locations in the rest of Somalia.
However, the continuation of MSF work to assist Somalis in need of medical care is dependent upon the respect for personnel, patients and medical facilities. Where these conditions prevail, MSF remains committed to continue its activities in Somalia.
“It is hard to close health services in a location where the presence of our medical teams is genuinely lifesaving everyday,” states Christopher Stokes, MSF general director, “but the brutal assassination of our colleagues in Hodan makes it impossible for us to continue working in this district of Mogadishu.”
In Hodan, MSF has been assisting 200,000 Somalis who have fled to the capital in recent months. Since August 2011, treatment has been provided to 11,787 malnourished children, 1,232 patients have been treated for acute watery diarrhea and 861 patients have been treated for measles. MSF teams have also vaccinated 67,228 children against measles.
MSF strongly reiterates its call to all parties, the leadership and the people of Somalia to facilitate the safe release of Montserrat Serra and Blanca Thiebaut, MSF aid workers who were abducted in Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya on 13 October 2011 while carrying out emergency assistance for the Somali population.
MSF has been working in Somalia continuously since 1991 and currently operates 13 projects in the country, including medical activities related to the ongoing emergency, vaccination campaigns, as well as nutritional interventions. MSF also assists Somali refugees in camps in Dadaab, Kenya, and Dolo Ado, Ethiopia.
"The only question is that we ask ourselves everyday, is when is this suffering going to end"?
-Tammy M Kessner
MSF closes its largest medical centres in Mogadishu after killings,Other projects in Somalia continue, but MSF medical assistance in Somali capital reduced by half.
19 January 2012 – Following the tragic killings of our colleagues Philippe Havet and Dr Karel Keiluhu in Mogadishu, Somalia, on 29 December 2011, the medical humanitarian organisation Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) sees itself forced to end all activities in the Hodan district of the capital, including the closure of two separate 120-bed medical facilities for the treatment of malnutrition, measles and cholera.
The closure of activities in this district halves the assistance MSF is providing in Mogadishu. For now, MSF projects will continue to provide medical care in the other districts of the capital, as well as in 10 locations in the rest of Somalia.
However, the continuation of MSF work to assist Somalis in need of medical care is dependent upon the respect for personnel, patients and medical facilities. Where these conditions prevail, MSF remains committed to continue its activities in Somalia.
“It is hard to close health services in a location where the presence of our medical teams is genuinely lifesaving everyday,” states Christopher Stokes, MSF general director, “but the brutal assassination of our colleagues in Hodan makes it impossible for us to continue working in this district of Mogadishu.”
In Hodan, MSF has been assisting 200,000 Somalis who have fled to the capital in recent months. Since August 2011, treatment has been provided to 11,787 malnourished children, 1,232 patients have been treated for acute watery diarrhea and 861 patients have been treated for measles. MSF teams have also vaccinated 67,228 children against measles.
MSF strongly reiterates its call to all parties, the leadership and the people of Somalia to facilitate the safe release of Montserrat Serra and Blanca Thiebaut, MSF aid workers who were abducted in Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya on 13 October 2011 while carrying out emergency assistance for the Somali population.
MSF has been working in Somalia continuously since 1991 and currently operates 13 projects in the country, including medical activities related to the ongoing emergency, vaccination campaigns, as well as nutritional interventions. MSF also assists Somali refugees in camps in Dadaab, Kenya, and Dolo Ado, Ethiopia.
"The only question is that we ask ourselves everyday, is when is this suffering going to end"?
-Tammy M Kessner
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
(MSF) is providing humanitarian aid to Haitian asylum seekers in Tabatinga
This small room, part of a 12-room compound, is home to five Haitian asylum seekers who are not allowed to work or leave Tabatinga.
Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is providing humanitarian aid to Haitian asylum seekers in Tabatinga, a town in the state of Amazonas, Brazil. MSF teams have been monitoring the situation of Haitians in this small town, located at the border between Brazil, Colombia, and Peru, since November. In December, MSF started distributing more than 1,300 personal hygiene kits and other relief items.
The Haitian asylum seekers first began arriving in Tabatinga in March 2010, escaping a country devastated by a massive earthquake. More than 1,200 Haitians are currently staying in the town, two-thirds of whom say they were directly affected by the earthquake and came to Brazil in hopes of helping other family members who stayed in Haiti.
“Before the earthquake, the situation was already difficult in Haiti. Now, there is nothing left, there are no opportunities. But having to wait in Tabatinga is even worse,” says 32-year-old Olga, from the small room she shares with four other Haitians.
While they wait for an interview with the Federal Police in Manaus, the Haitians are not allowed to work or to leave Tabatinga. Many are living in extremely poor conditions, after spending all their savings on the journey to Brazil.
“I visited a house where 40 people are sharing one latrine. In another residence, there are a lot of tiny rooms, without proper light or ventilation, where up to five people have to sleep. It is really hard to maintain minimal hygiene in conditions like this,” says Renata de Oliveira Silva, MSF’s project coordinator in Tabatinga. “Our biggest concern is that these living conditions are having serious effects on the physical and mental health of these people, such as stomach infections or psychological disorders.”
Without any assistance from government authorities, the Haitian asylum seekers are reliant on the goodwill of local people and the help offered by a few civil society organizations.
“The federal government needs to take responsibility for providing aid to these people, who are not allowed to work while they have to wait in Tabatinga,” said Tyler Fainstat, executive director of MSF Brazil. “Also, local and state authorities should proactively help to find a solution to the situation of Haitians in Tabatinga.”
After the plight of the asylum seekers was raised at the national level, the Brazilian Justice Ministry announced that some 4,000 Haitians who had arrived in the country since the devastating quake would be granted residence and work visas. This includes 1,600 migrants that had already been authorized to stay and some 2,000 more that are in the country illegally.
MSF launched the largest emergency aid operation in its history in the aftermath of the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti, in which it attended more than 358,000 patients, carried out about 16,000 surgeries and assisted the birth of 15,000 babies. In the 12 months after cholera broke out in Haiti in October 2010, MSF treated more than 160,000 cholera patients, or 35 percent of the total cholera cases reported in the country.
MSF- Support Our Work
MSF
Support Our Work
What Your Support Provides
Private donations enable us to deliver independent emergency assistance to people in nearly 80 countries.
But what specifically does my support provide?
The answers may be surprising; even a small contribution allows Doctors Without Borders aid workers to save lives around the world!
http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/donate/what.cfm
Support Our Work
What Your Support Provides
Private donations enable us to deliver independent emergency assistance to people in nearly 80 countries.
But what specifically does my support provide?
The answers may be surprising; even a small contribution allows Doctors Without Borders aid workers to save lives around the world!
http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/donate/what.cfm
Press Release-Calls For Release Of Abducted Colleagues in Somalia
Press Release
MSF Condemns Attacks On Aid Workers And Calls For Release Of Abducted Colleagues in Somalia
Humanitarian Work in Somalia Threatened
January 7, 2012 – One week ago, a gunman killed Phillipe Havet and Andrias Karel Keiluhuo, two Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) aid workers, while they were implementing emergency assistance projects in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu. Three months ago, MSF staff members Montserrat Serra and Blanca Thiebaut were abducted in the Dadaab refugee camp in northern Kenya while providing emergency assistance for the Somali population there.
These attacks on aid workers must be condemned in the strongest terms, MSF said today. They jeopardize life-saving medical projects that are already far from adequate in addressing the vast medical needs of the Somali population.
MSF is confronting the difficult dilemma of working in a context like Somalia, where the needs are not only extremely great, but the risks are exceptionally high for the safety and security of all staff. As we consider this dilemma, MSF is requesting that all people—especially the authorities in control of areas in Somalia where our kidnapped colleagues are being detained—do everything possible to facilitate the safe release of Blanca and Montserrat.
MSF has been working in Somalia continuously since 1991, assisting Somalis in need on all sides of ongoing conflict. Over the last six months, MSF has treated 225,000 patients in Somalia, vaccinated 110,000 children and cared for 30,000 malnourished children in 14 projects. Additionally, MSF provides assistance to Somali refugees in nine projects in Kenya and Ethiopia, where finding the balance between the massive medical needs of the population and the risks that MSF teams are forced to endure is increasingly challenging. The net result is that the Somali population—extremely vulnerable after 20 years of civil war, international interventions, and institutional collapse—receives less assistance than it needs.
“To effectively continue our medical humanitarian work for populations affected by violence in Somalia, MSF needs all parties to the conflict, the leadership as well as the people of Somalia, to support us in this work and help ensure the safety and security of humanitarian workers,” said Dr.Unni Karunakara, international president of MSF. “For our colleagues Philippe and Kace, this failed tragically. For Blanca and Mone, the leadership and people of Somalia have the responsibility to facilitate the safe and prompt resolution of their abduction.
http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org
4282 water projects
4282 water projects, serving 2,060,000 people as of 8.15.2011
charity: water funds a range of water technologies. These solutions include hand-dug wells, drilled wells, rehabilitations, spring protections, rainwater catchments and BioSand filters. In 2011, we expanded our work to Bolivia and Guatemala.
charity: water funds a range of water technologies. These solutions include hand-dug wells, drilled wells, rehabilitations, spring protections, rainwater catchments and BioSand filters. In 2011, we expanded our work to Bolivia and Guatemala.
40 billion hours -Charity Water
women and children.
In Africa alone, people spend 40 billion hours every year just walking for water. Women and children usually bear the burden of water collection, walking miles to the nearest source, which is unprotected and likely to make them sick.
Time spent walking and resulting diseases keep them from school, work and taking care of their families.
Along their long walk, they're subjected to a greater risk of harassment and sexual assault. Hauling cans of water for long distances takes a toll on the spine and many women experience back pain early in life.
With safe water nearby, women are free to pursue new opportunities and improve their families’ lives. Kids can earn their education and build the future of their communities.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Congo: The Malnutrition That Shouldn't Be
http://www.starvedforattention.org
In a somber, yet bold, reportage, photographer Franco Pagetti reveals the daily struggle to survive in North Kivus forbidding bush and teeming, fetid displaced persons camps, where food is scarce and the people are on edge, ready to run at a moments notice.
Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and VII Photo present Starved for Attention, a multimedia campaign to uncover the hidden crisis of childhood malnutrition. Watch 7 of the 195 million stories of malnutrition from prolific and award-winning photojournalists.
Sign the "Starved for Attention" online petition and be part of the campaign to rewrite the story of malnutrition and demand that the 195 million malnourished children get the attention they need and deserve to escape the deadly cycle of malnutrition.
TAKE ACTION NOW: http://www.starvedforattention.org
MSF Physician Darin Portnoy Answers Questions for Reddit.com
Dr. Darin Portnoy is the former President of the board of MSF USA. He is now on our board of advisors and goes frequently to the field with MSF. He has worked for MSF in: Uzbekistan, El Salvador, Georgia, South Sudan, Liberia, Nigeria, Darfur and most recently in Bahrain. He works as a physician in New York's Bronx.
In this video, Darin answers ten questions posted to AMA itby Reddit's r-atheism community about MSF.
Thank You For Your Support In 2011!
Thank you for helping Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) deliver lifesaving medical care in more than 60 countries in 2011.
South Sudan: 20,000 refugees from the north
The violence in Sudan has forced 20,000 refugees to leave Blue Nile State. They have taken refuge in the village of Doro. The sudden influx of over 20,000 people in Doro caused a medical emergency but also led to problems of hygiene and access to water.
Médecins Sans Frontières decided to intervene at the end of November to install latrines and pumps and to treat cases of diarrhoea, malaria, and respiratory infections. Sudanese refugee Lemon Musa: "Our journey from Sali was really difficult. We were very tired from carrying things on our head and our children on our backs. In October it rained on us while we were walking."
The presence of these refugees also brings its own security issues. Tension is mounting with the locals from Doro who now find themselves struggling to have access to water. Inter-communal violence in Jonglei State has forced thousands of families to flee. Médecins Sans Frontières evacuated the area temporarily after two of its facilities were ransacked. The team returned at the beginning of January. Many people still hiding in the bush have absolutely no access to healthcare.
Médecins Sans Frontières decided to intervene at the end of November to install latrines and pumps and to treat cases of diarrhoea, malaria, and respiratory infections. Sudanese refugee Lemon Musa: "Our journey from Sali was really difficult. We were very tired from carrying things on our head and our children on our backs. In October it rained on us while we were walking."
The presence of these refugees also brings its own security issues. Tension is mounting with the locals from Doro who now find themselves struggling to have access to water. Inter-communal violence in Jonglei State has forced thousands of families to flee. Médecins Sans Frontières evacuated the area temporarily after two of its facilities were ransacked. The team returned at the beginning of January. Many people still hiding in the bush have absolutely no access to healthcare.
Haiti: Two years after the earthquake
Tents and makeshift shelters are still part of the landscape in and around Port-au-Prince. Two years after the earthquake, 500,000 people are still living in extremely precarious conditions.
The Médecins Sans Frontières team in Tabarre is in the middle of construction work and will soon see the opening of a new 120-bed hospital. But access to healthcare is still sorely lacking. Already too scarce before the earthquake, facilities are still too distant or too costly for the people living in the slums.
But the population's health and hygiene are still immense. The cholera epidemic that started at the end of October 2010 continues to reap its toll. Patient (in Creole): "When I arrived, they put me on a drip. I couldn't stand up, I couldn't speak. The pain tore me apart. I can talk now and I'm getting my strength back. I feel like new."
During the epidemic, Médecins Sans Frontières treated one third of cholera patients in the country. Its teams continue to treat new cases and to monitor the evolution of the disease in order to be ready in the event of a new peak of cases. In the area affected by the earthquake, the organisation is running four hospitals specialised in emergency surgery.
The Médecins Sans Frontières team in Tabarre is in the middle of construction work and will soon see the opening of a new 120-bed hospital. But access to healthcare is still sorely lacking. Already too scarce before the earthquake, facilities are still too distant or too costly for the people living in the slums.
But the population's health and hygiene are still immense. The cholera epidemic that started at the end of October 2010 continues to reap its toll. Patient (in Creole): "When I arrived, they put me on a drip. I couldn't stand up, I couldn't speak. The pain tore me apart. I can talk now and I'm getting my strength back. I feel like new."
During the epidemic, Médecins Sans Frontières treated one third of cholera patients in the country. Its teams continue to treat new cases and to monitor the evolution of the disease in order to be ready in the event of a new peak of cases. In the area affected by the earthquake, the organisation is running four hospitals specialised in emergency surgery.
Somalia: An attack on Médecins Sans Frontières
Widespread violence throughout the country is posing a threat to humanitarian action. The population is in desperate need of assistance Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia. At the end of December, two members of Médecins Sans Frontières, Philippe and Andrias (who everybody called Kace), were killed in one of Mogadishu's hospitals.
Dadaab, Somali refugee camps in the north of Kenya. Two female Médecins Sans Frontières staff members were kidnapped here. Blanca and Montserrat went missing three months ago. In the face of these two acts of aggression against its staff, Médecins Sans Frontières finds itself in a dilemma: how to assure the security of its teams in Somalia where emergency medical relief helps to save tens of thousands of lives?
Médecins Sans Frontières has asked the Somali authorities and the people controlling the areas where Blanca and Monsterrat are being held to do their utmost to facilitate their release and to guarantee the security of humanitarian aid workers so that the population can continue to receive the care it so desperately needs.
Democratic Republic of Congo: Treating children
Médecins Sans Frontières has been working in Rutshuru Hospital for seven years. The paediatric unit has seen a three-fold increase in admissions since last November. Children who come to Rutshuru Hospital usually have malaria. Very weak, they need to be treated quickly. The malaria season began in September but, since November, the doctors have observed an exceptionally high number of cases. The paediatric unit is working flat out and that children are often several to a bed.
Appolinaire Mbavu, paediatric doctor, Médecins Sans Frontières (in French): "Most of the children treated here have malaria. As they have low hemoglobin levels, 2 or 4 grams, they need a blood transfusion."
Malnutrition is the second most common illness here. Children often live far from the hospital and delay coming for treatment. To limit this delay, Médecins Sans Frontières supports four healthcare centres in the outlying districts like this one in Ntamugenga.
Village workers improve malaria care
Village workers improve malaria care
Moissala, in the south of Chad, on the border with Central African Republic. From June to November, the number of cases of malaria increased five-fold. To diagnose and treat malaria cases as swiftly as possible, access to treatment needs to move beyond the hospital and into the villages. For those who live too far from a healthcare centre, the first contact will be the malaria village worker. Minh-Ly Pham, Médecins Sans Frontières Head of Mission (in French): "The malaria village workers are chosen by the community and then trained by Médecins Sans Frontières to screen patients for malaria, to give the first dose of treatment and to assess the severity of each case." Any complicated cases are referred to the health centres and children who are very weak are transferred by motorbike to Moïsassala Hospital. This programme, now in its second year, has led to a reduction in cases of severe malaria. 33,000 children in all have received treatment. The team however wants to go further and is planning to introduce preventive treatment for children under 5 and for pregnant women during the malaria season next year.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Tammy's "Peace Journey"
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Friday, January 13, 2012
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
In cooperation with World Vision, SoZo is making clean drinking water possible for people who live in places where it's not otherwise available. For these people, water-borne illnesses are simply a fact of life. Five million people die every year of a water-related illness. One child under 14 dies every 15 seconds. SoZo H2O is on a mission to provide children in the highest-need areas around the world with access to safe, clean drinking water. One solution is a drinking straw with a triple filtration system that will filter drinking water for one child for a year. The SoZo Straw filters pollutants that cause typhoid, cholera, dysentery, and other life-threatening diseases. Our goal is to distribute a million of them in the next five years.
http://www.GrabTheBerry.com
Peace Love Globally: Playing For Changehttp://www.youtube.com/peacelov...
Peace Love Globally: Playing For Change
http://www.youtube.com/peacelov...: Playing For Change http://www.youtube.com/peaceloveglobally
http://www.youtube.com/peacelov...: Playing For Change http://www.youtube.com/peaceloveglobally
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)