One Campaign Music Video

Use you VOICE to end poverty and live the Gospel out Loud.

Make Poverty History....

The ONE Campaign has asked the world to speak up and tell the world that poverty needs to end. Use your voice to speak up and tell the governments to put their money to good use. They are not asking for our money, but for our voice. Our voice has the power to change the world, so speak up now.

Here's two videos from the ONE Campaign:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=7MOU2ZzwPpU

http://youtube.com/watch?v=h5HNUk_yDQk

Live the Gospel Out Loud.

Peacemaking

Ten Practices of 'Just Peacemaking' by Glen Stassen

1. Support nonviolent direct action.
2. Take independent initiatives to reduce threat.
3. Use cooperative conflict resolution.
4. Acknowledge responsibility for conflict and injustice and seek repentance and forgiveness.
5. Advance democracy, human rights, and religious liberty.
6. Foster just and sustainable economic development
7. Work with emerging cooperative forces in the international system.
8. Strengthen the United Nations and international efforts for cooperation and human rights.
9. Reduce offensive weapons and weapons trade.
10. Encourage grassroots peacemaking groups and voluntary associations.

For more info on Peacemaking:
http://cartercenter.org/peace/index.html

Witness for Peace witnessforpeace.org

Nonviolent Peace Force www.nonviolentpeaceforce.org

Sex Trafficking

Victims of sex trafficking can be women or men, girls or boys, but the majority are women and girls. There are a number of common patterns for luring victims into situations of sex trafficking, including:
-A promise of a good job in another country

-A false marriage proposal turned into a bondage situation

-Being sold into the sex trade by parents, husbands, boyfriends

-Being kidnapped by traffickers

-Sex traffickers frequently subject their victims to debt-bondage, an illegal practice in which the traffickers tell their victims that they owe money (often relating to the victims’ living expenses and transport into the country) and that they must pledge their personal services to repay the debt.

-Sex traffickers use a variety of methods to “condition” their victims including starvation, confinement, beatings, physical abuse, rape, gang rape, threats of violence to the victims and the victims’ families, forced drug use and the threat of shaming their victims by revealing their activities to their family and their families’ friends.

-Victims face numerous health risks. Physical risks include drug and alcohol addiction; physical injuries (broken bones, concussions, burns, vaginal/anal tearings); traumatic brain injury (TBI) resulting in memory loss, dizziness, headaches, numbness; sexually transmitted diseases (e.g., HIV/AIDS, gonorrhea, syphilis, UTIs, pubic lice); sterility, miscarriages, menstrual problems; other diseases (e.g., TB, hepatitis, malaria, pneumonia); and forced or coerced abortions.
Psychological harms include mind/body separation/disassociated ego states, shame, grief, fear, distrust, hatred of men, self-hatred, suicide, and suicidal thoughts.

-Victims are at risk for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) – acute anxiety, depression, insomnia, physical hyper-alertness, self-loathing that is long-lasting and resistant to change (complex-PTSD).

-Victims may also suffer from traumatic bonding – a form of coercive control in which the perpetrator instills in the victim fear as well as gratitude for being allowed to live.

http://www.acf.hhs.gov/trafficking/about/fact_sex.html

Women's Commission www.womenscommission.org

Coalition Against Trafficking in Women www.catwinternational.org

Irresistible Revolution

Shane Claiborne, a founding member of the Simple Way in Philadelphia, is a prominent activist and speaker who writes about what it is like "living as an ordinary radical" in his book "The Irresistible Revolution." He believes in the message of the "gospel of abundance." He states in his book,

"So I would suggest we need a third way, neither the prosperity gospel nor the poverty gospel but the gospel of abundance rooted in a theology of enough."

The church as a whole does not need to commit to a gospel that only thrives on success or does not need to commit to a gospel that asks us to give everything away, but instead, a "theology of enough."

Something to think about....

Amnesty International

Amnesty International (AI) is a worldwide movement of people who campaign for internationally recognized human rights. AI’s vision is of a world in which every person enjoys all of the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights standards.



Its focus is to "undertake research and action focused on preventing and ending grave abuses of the rights to physical and mental integrity, freedom of conscience and expression, and freedom from discrimination, within the context of its work to promote all human rights."

Global Warming

An average car in the United States driven 10,000 miles in one year releases 5.5 tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

Global warming is a reality that "affects ours public health and national security. It’s an urgent matter of survival for everyone on the planet — the most urgent threat facing humanity today. It’s going to take action from you and all of us working together."

The amount of carbon dioxide in the world's atmosphere has increased drastically in the past years and continues to be on the uprise. Because of this "warm blanket" that has been placed in the world's atmosphere, there have been many implications like environmental destruction, health risks, and catastrophic weather.

Stopglobalwarming.org

Earthjustice

When the governments don't do their job, Earthjustice steps in to make sure that the laws are obeyed and enforced. The Earthjustice group is comprised of lawyers and attornies that see it in the environments best interest that if the government does not take action than someone else needs to. Earthjustice is a non-profit public interest law firm "dedicated to protecting the magnificent places, natural resources, and wildlife of this earth and to defending the right of all people to a healthy environment. We bring about far-reaching change by enforcing and strengthening environmental laws on behalf of hundreds of organizations and communities."

earthjustice.org

Environment

"Man has been endowed with reason, with the power to create, so that he can add to what he's been given. But up to now he hasn't been a creator, only a destroyer. Forests keep disappearing, rivers dry up, wildlife's become extinct, the climate's ruined and the land grows poorer and uglier every day."
-Anton Chekhov

In the first chapter of Genesis, the Lord says, "Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over the creatures that move along the ground.'" (1:26 NIV).

International Justice Mission

Students who want to get involved in beating injustices in this world, seek out the International Justice Mission. This group is a professional group dedicated to "rescue victims of violence, sexual exploitation, slavery, and oppression." They have specifically laid out their vision in a four-fold purpose:

Four-Fold Purpose
Victim Relief - Relieve the victim of the abuse currently being committed.

Perpetrator Accountability - Bring accountability and just consequences under the law to the specific perpetrator(s) of abuse.

Structural Prevention - Prevent the abuse from being committed against others who are also at risk by strengthening community factors that are likely to deter potential oppressors, reduce the vulnerability of at-risk populations and empower local authorities to stop such abuses.

Victim Aftercare - Provide access to services to help victims transition to their new lives and to encourage long-term success.

The IJM project desires to include students into their vision because they believe in their effectiveness in combating injustice. There are different ways to be involved whether it be internships, donations, careers or just simply the prayer support that is needed.

imj.org

Invisible Children of Uganda

Children's Rights

Child are our future.

We, as followers of Christ, have the responsibility to care for His children. Though this may seem obvious and clear cut, there is still a lot of work that needs to be done.

One of the leading activists in children's rights is the organization UNICEF. The United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund have been at the forefront in advocating the rights of children. Their main focus is to overcome the poverty, violence, disease, and discrimination that children face daily. unicef.org

The Human Rights Watch is also active in fighting for this cause hrw.org/children

Three guys from California have a heart for getting rid of the children soldiers in Uganda. In order to learn more go here. invisiblechildren.com

World Vision also promotes the best interest of children worldwide.

"World Vision is a Christian relief and development organization dedicated to helping children and their communities worldwide reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty."

worldvision.org

Women's Rights

Many women around the world struggle to meet their daily needs. Whether they are physical, mental, emotional, educational, social, or political needs, women struggle to find their identity and place in society. Women are especially finding themselves underneath the poverty line in developing countries like Africa and Asia. As Marie Smith states in "The Revolution", "African women, more than men work as subsistence farmers, tiling dry and poor soil. Women are often denied access to training for better paying jobs. They are victims of gender-based violence and abuse. Basic resources for women, including nutrition, sanitation, and health care are woefully lacking." African women are not the only ones struggling for their rights- American women have faced conditions like this as well. For example, labor unions, property rights, voting rights, and they were limited certain education rights. This is a worldwide issue.

Organizations:

CARE is a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty. We place special focus on working alongside poor women because, equipped with the proper resources, women have the power to help whole families and entire communities escape poverty. Women are at the heart of CARE's community-based efforts to improve basic education, prevent the spread of HIV, increase access to clean water and sanitation, expand economic opportunity and protect natural resources. CARE also delivers emergency aid to survivors of war and natural disasters, and helps people rebuild their lives.

For more information go here: care.org

Interested in Sponsorship? "Women for Women" is an organziation that allows you to sponsor women in different countries for $27.00 per month. Women for Women works to support women in areas like business skills, financial support, emotional support and educational support.

womenforwomen.org

Hungry?

"Love and business and family and religion and art and patriotism are nothing but shadows of words when a man's starving."
- O. Henry

Rev. David Beckman states in "The Revolution",
"Simply suppling food seldom gets to the root of hunger. In the United States, food pantries provide urgently needed help....Empowering people- providing them with opportunities or helping them cultivate an awareness of what they can do to improve their lives- is one of the most important ways to beat hunger and poverty."

An organization called Action on Hunger "delivers programs inmore than forty countries, specializing in emergency situations of war, conflict, and natural disasters and longer-term assistance to people in distress"

HIV/AIDS

World Vision began a program for students at Christian colleges across the country so that they could ACT on the AIDS epidemic. Here's a video they put together.

HIV/AIDS

In 2006, according to the United Nations AIDS Epidemic Update, 39.5 million people are living with HIV currently. People who are newly infected by HIV is estimated to be around 4.3 million and the number of people who died of AIDS in 2006 is about 2.9 million.

These numbers are incomprehensible. I cannot even begin to imagine these numbers in my head.

Luckily, the world is responding.

Clothing for a Cause

Here's a group of people who believe in the "one truth" of Jesus Christ while at the same time are supporting organizations that promote justice and hope to stop poverty and inquality in this world. The people at OneTruth Clothing is in the business in order so that people "find truth and life and joy and fulfillment and love: in this world and the next"
See their products at onetruth.com

Surfing anyone? Californian guys started a surfing company with the name "Jedidiah" which means "rooted in love". On their website they not only have their clothing available to order but also organizations that they are active in. They have very unique and creative designs for their clothing, but more importantly, they are active in social justice. That's sweet.
See their products at jedidiahusa.com

Poverty

A quote from Saint Basil the Great,

"The bread which you do not use is the bread of the hungry. The garment hanging in your wardrobe is the garment of the one who is naked. The shoes that you do not wear are the shoes of the one who is barefoot. The money you keep locked away is the money of the poor. The acts of charity you do not perform are so much injustices you commit."

Water Decade

Clean water is unavailable to more than one billion people. This is simply the reality that most people live with on a day-to-day basis. In Africa alone, nearly 300 million people do not have access to clean and safe drinking water.

Dan Haseltine states in the book "The Revolution,"
"Even if our minds allow us to envision an African child digging a hole in the sand far enough to reach a pool of brown water, sticking his face down in it, in an act of survival, drinking, we struggle to move from the feelings of shock or compassion toward a movement of practical care and humble action. Water is just not something we worry about." (pg. 4)

The United Nations General Assembly announced that the years 2005 through 2015 is the International Decade for Action- Water for Life. This is a new campaign after the proclamation to provide cleaner water and sanitation projects fell into disrepair. The systems that were put into place were not used properly and became polluted with sewage.

The new initiative for 2005-2015 will focus on "water-related issues, at all levels and on the implementation of programmes and projects, and the furtherance of cooperation at all levels, in order to help to achieve the internationally agreed water-related goals." This declaration has goals to:
- Focus more on water-related issues at all levels and on the implementation of water-related programmes and projects
- Ensure the participation and involvement of women in water-related development efforts
- Deepen the cooperation at all levels

Priorities: scarcity, sanitation access, disaster prevention, pollution, trans-boundary water issues, water, sanitation and gender, capacity-building, financing, valuation, integrated water resources management, Africa as a region for priority action.

For more information visit:
World Water Council http://www.worldwatercouncil.org/index.php?id=708
International Water Decade: Water for Life
http://www.gdrc.org/uem/water/decade_05-15/index.html
United Nations General Assembly
http://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/45/a45r181.htm
Blood: Water Mission
http://www.bloodwatermission.com/index.php

Facts from ONE.org

AIDS AND EXTREME POVERTY: CRISIS AND OPPORTUNITY
The Emergency: AIDS and Extreme Poverty

More than 1 billion people around the world live on less than $1 a day.

A child dies every three seconds from AIDS and extreme poverty.

Africa has been hit harder by the HIV/AIDS virus than any other region of the world. Sub-Saharan Africa is home to over 70% of the total world HIV-positive population.

Over one billion people do not have access to clean water.

for more go to http://www.one.org/aids_poverty

Aware

Though I live in a community where I am not directly impacted or affected by global issues, I still would like to call myself a Christian. By simply stating this truth about me, I am also stating that I have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. After I put that into the mix, one might ask, "What does that mean?" I would respond that I make the attempt to love God and love others. Simple, huh? Loving God is one thing, but so is loving others. When I look at the world today, I can't help but see the "others." I am connected to the "others" through the relationship I have with Jesus Christ. I can say that I love them, but really what do words really mean?

There is a need to show and demonstrate this love through our actions in our world. The majority of "others" in this world do not live very similar to the way I do. There is a disparity in the amount of resources that are available to many people in the world. The treatment of others is also not where it should be.

This blog will be a place where I explore the wide range of world/global issues and their impact on our society. Many organizations have been put in place to help diminish these overwhelming problems and I want to make people aware of them.