Okay, I have officially moved my blog over to Wordpress. It is at www.takeactionforafrica.wordpress.com and some posts will be password protected.
So, it looks like I am collecting children's gummy vitamins, sterile gloves, craft projects... toy cars, ABC stuff..... and planning on purchasing clothes, shoes, bedding in Ethiopia!!
So this stunning photo was taken junior year turnabout. My date is standing behind me and I believe is a Ph. D and possibly an physicist or something else super brainy.. yes, I always found intelligence sexy-- just wish I was having better luck these days... a later post on Plenty of Fish-- guessing I will soon have some more dating stories to crack everyone up with.
Abebe with the first baby at Lola!
The outside of Lola House.
The gorgeous Lola guard dog!!!
CHARLIE AND HIS SILVER SPEEDSTER FROM THE LAND OF NOD
CHARLIE DESPERATELY TRYING TO GET AWAY!!
Hi,
Okay... so the thought is if I don't go down to southern Ethiopia/Awassa.. then where do I spend the rest of my time that I planned on being in Ethiopia(my flights are already booked)... I figure I have about 2 weeks or so open.
I've booked a safari in Tanzania for the end of my trip this summer-- I arrive in Tanzania August 4th and return home on August 12th. Now, I'm not saying I will have gorgeous photos like this, but these photos were taken in the same places I will be on safari-- so maybe I could get lucky?? Amazing, eh?
I spent yesterday(Friday) with my friend from high school, Lynn and her girls. It was unbelievably warm-- sleeveless dress warm. We walked up to the Starbucks, got lattes and headed to the park. This is Dana, Lynn's youngest. I was practicing with my new camera. I ended up purchasing a Nikon D5000 and I love it!! Her big sister was not particularly happy with us as she blamed us for getting a skinned knee on the way home from Sbucks. I love being able to spend the day outside!! Lynn made us all lunch and then I went to deliver Juliet and Charlie's Easter basket. Didn't take pictures, but it was a chicken themed basket this year.
Sr. Donna and the children at Heartland- in the southern region of Sidama, near Awassa made these rosaries. They are beaded and have Ethiopian silver crosses. Sr. Donna is requesting a $20 donation for each rosary. I will happily drop them off or mail them to you if you live outside Chicago. The money will go to help children like the ones at the start of this post. I will get to meet them this June!!!
Today is International Women’s Day, and in fact the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day. It’s a date that is much better known abroad but is beginning to get more traction in the U.S. as well.
So what interventions get the most bang for the buck in raising the status of women around the world? What is most helpful in overcoming injustices such as human trafficking and acid attacks? I’d welcome your ideas below, but let me toss out a few of my suggestions for most effective interventions:
First, I think girls’ education may be the single most cost-effective kind of aid work. It’s cheap, it opens minds, it gives girls new career opportunities and ways to generate cash, it leads them to have fewer children and invest more in those children, and it tends to bring women from the shadows into the formal economy and society. It’s not a panacea, of course. Lebanon and Sri Lanka were leaders in girls’ education, and both ended up torn apart by conflict. In India, the state of Kerala has done a fine job in girls’ education, but its state economy is still a mess and dependent on remittances. But overall, educating girls probably has a greater transformative effect on a country than anything else one can do.
Second, I’d argue for deworming and micronutrients. These may not sound like they’re “women’s issues,” but in a sense they are. For example, iodine deficiency particularly affects female fetuses, for reasons that we don’t fully understand. Insufficient iodine in the first trimester of pregnancy costs that child 10 to 15 I.Q. points for the rest of his or her life, and yet iodized salt programs that prevent the problem cost less than 5 cents per person reached. There are still tens of millions of girls out there with cognitive deficits because so much salt in poor countries is still not iodized. Likewise, women and girls disproportionately suffer from anemia, partly because of menstruation. In the United States, if a woman showed up at an E.R. with a hemoglobin level of, say, 9, she might get an immediate blood transfusion, and lower levels are rarely seen. In contrast, hemoglobin levels of 5 and 6 are routinely seen among women in poor countries – just unheard of in the United States. Deworming would help them, because worms cause anemia, and costs only about 50 cents per person and lasts a year (deworming is backed by groups like Deworm the World). So would iron supplements, which likewise are very cheap and can be given in particular to high school girls and to women expecting to become pregnant. Family planning likewise falls in this category: an intervention that is relatively cheap, pays for itself, and is vastly underfunded.
Third, we need more support for women starting businesses. These can be microsavings and microlending programs, or training in entrepreneurship. BRAC and Grameen have done great work in this area, as has Injaz in the Middle East. Such programs lead women to bring in incomes, and that gives them more weight in the home and society. Moreover, they tend to invest the income in their children, so there’s a broader effect in fighting poverty.
Lots of aid groups implement these kinds of approaches, including the big ones like CARE, Save the Children, Mercy Corps, and so on. So do small ones; Camfed, for example, is focused on girls’ education in Africa. I’d welcome your thoughts below both on what interventions are most cost-effective, and on the organizations you recommend to others. So many Americans are looking for good aid groups to support, and here’s your chance to recommend some to other readers.
And the winner is.....
Waiting to hear who won the wine raffle....
The raffle prizes were these huge bottles of Ravenswood Zinfindal, donated by my friend Brian and Southern Wine and Spirits.
The auction table.... scarves, bags, puzzles, necklaces, coffees, prints etc.
Shandell and Wendy watching my movie of Ethiopia.. which considering I had one day to complete it due to technical difficulties, turned out pretty good.
Enjoying some wine and catching up.. thanks for taking pictures Pat.
Picking a winner!!!
Book marks made from Banana Art.
A hand embroidered ball.
Necklaces and change purse made from a milk package.
Puzzles from the Misrach Center
Necklaces from Misrach Center
A scarf from the Women's Former Fuelwood Carrier's Project
A bag crafted by ALERT- Leprosy Hospital
