Kevin lives in Kenya. He does not have HIV, but both his parents died of Aids. He is now left to care for his eight siblings. It was trivial for him but Kevin and his community never gave up, and today "they are leading the way toward a brighter future," (CRWRC). With the help of the Christain Reformed World Relief Committee Kevin was able to build a new house for his family. He donated the old house to the village. This house is now used as a school for orphans. With the help of CRWRC Kevin and many like him are learning to support themselves. This community never gave up and neither should the rest of the world.
Okay so I forgot to put my quote at the beginning of the paragraph and I can't delete it so I decided just to repost it.
"Just as despair can come to one another only from other human beings, hope, too, can be given to one only by other human beings." -Elie Wiesel Kevin lives in Kenya. He does not have HIV, but both his parents died of Aids. He is now left to care for his eight siblings. It was trivial for him but Kevin and his community never gave up, and today "they are leading the way toward a brighter future," (CRWRC). With the help of the Christain Reformed World Relief Committee Kevin was able to build a new house for his family. He donated the old house to the village. This house is now used as a school for orphans. With the help of CRWRC Kevin and many like him are learning to support themselves. This community never gave up and neither should the rest of the world.
Although such practices were against some cultural morals, children have been used as soldiers in countries for thousands of years in different forms. The use of children soldiers is not only used in Africa, but they are also used world wide throughout many continents. These children, who range in age from 7-18, are given AK-47s. Those who cannot carry the weapons because they are too small are used as scouts and spies. They are sent across borders to pick up information that their military personnel’s need.
"Those who invest in Africa should not think they are doing us a favor; they are here for what they get out of our cheap and abundant labor, and they should know that they are buttressing one of the most vicious systems.” -Bishop Desmond Tutu
Africa, is in shambles. With a crippling economy that gives a whole meaning to poverty, one of the oldest continents that was said to have brought the birth of man, is still one of the least developed countries in all of the modern world. With a four to ten ratio of people living in absolute poverty, studies have shown that Africa's poverty rate is increasing (Africa's). But how can this be so? It is well known that Africa holds some of the most valuable natural resources in all of the world, yet such a feat has not brought Africa to the developed power it strives to be. Because of violence and governmental greed, the nation of Africa has lost it's sense of development and its will to push forward
The medical crisis in Africa is just one of several conflicts that are currently going on. The HIV/AIDS epidemic currently taking place in Africa is the worst in the world to date. The epidemic has been evident to everyone, including the African government, but very little to be done to control this crisis. The African population has started drives that hope to educate civilians on sexually transmitted diseases (STD’s). The government has recently attempted to distribute resources to countries. Even though they have tried to help the resources have not been distributed evenly.” Countries that include over ninety percent of the cases of HIV only receive twelve percent of the resources (Nkoli).”
Maddie Windstein Medical crisis are a huge problem in Africa. If a person is not suffering with a disease them self, then they are dealing with family members or friends who are infected. HIV/Aids is one of the main diseases affecting people in Africa. Nearly one in five Africans are infected with the disease. People with HIV/Aids not only have to deal with the direct physical suffering, but also must overcome other obstacles related to the disease.
Distruction or the "cleansing" of a whole minority might seem unreal to many people, but it happened in Africa. In many cases, "Democratization in the face of a market-dominant monority has led to government-encouraged attempts to 'cleanse' the country of the monority altogether" (Chua 163). The cleansing effect of a monority is called genocide. Genocide took place in Africa between two minority groups in Rwanda. THe two minority groups were the Hutus and the Tutsi's.
The United Nations defines genocide as “the commission of acts with intent to destroy a national, ethnic, racial or religious group.” (Wiwa) The people of Africa have been suffering from this term "genocide" for many years now. Being different than mainstream society has a big affect, but minority groups are also affected by the resources that are produced in the area of land they live in. Having foreign oil companies drill in (specifically) Nigeria is causing major genocide.
"Be the change you wish to see in the world."-Gandhi. This quote can not be anymore true in the case of the war in Uganda. This war has been raging on for over twenty years and has shown little signs of slowing down. It is a tragic story anyway you want to look at it with bloodshed, starvation, families being ripped apart, children being forced to carry guns and fight, and of course diseases being spread ramped. This war is bigger than the country along. In recent times the war with children being abducted is moving to other parts of Africa including Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and also Central African Republic.
Africa, as a nation, is still recovering and battleing from years of genocide in many of its countries, the most memorable being Rwanda. What is genocide? The dictinary.com definition states it is the deliberate and systematic extermination of a national, racial, political, or cultural group. This is also often reffered to as ethnic cleansing. The words "never again" are currently used by the United Nations as a promise to never let genocide exist in the world. These words are supposed to make people feel safe and protected, but today they often fall short of doing so.
Africa as a whole has been plagued with conflict and civil war for many years. Many people wonder why Africa is more prone to have these problems than the rest of the world, but it almost always seems to come down to poor management of resources. “The big brute fact is that civil war is heavily concentrated in countries with low income, in economic decline, and dependent upon natural resources.” (Crimes of War).
In Africa many people suffer from various disease epidemics. The two main diseases found in Africa include HIV/AIDS (Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) and malaria. Three quarters of the population in Africa suffer from HIV/AIDS. People who disclose that they are HIV+ are shunned from their community. The children suffer most from these disease epidemics because they are left orphaned after their parents die.
Imagine a childhood being woken up to gunshots. Being forced to work all day with little to no pay and starving. Some are killed or left to die if not able to work.Others are forced to do the killing and become dependent on it. This is the everyday life of these children of Africa.
20 years ago, a woman by the name of Alice Lakwena claimed to have communicated with the Holy Spirit that which spoke to her and told her to overthrow the Ugandan Government (Uganda located in Africa). She gathered a group of rebels that would help her accomplish the task and set out for war. Eventually this group obtained the title "Lords Resistance army." Upon Her death, her cousin, Joseph Koney took over who claims that he is the messiah. The LRA commited numerous felonies and atriocities such as rape, murder of civilians, and the biggest issue, abduction of children and turning them into soldiers. These children range from the age of anywhere inbetween 7 and 18. They're taken form their families and brain washed, and beaten and trained for war agains the government. Due to the war and the LRA the current children residing in Uganda are running away from the LRA at night and hiding in fenced in areas, hospitals, and other centers to hide from the rebels in order to keep their lives, and families. These children have earned the title "Invisible Children".
Genocide in Darfur took place in sudan has claimmed over 400,000 lives, and caused 4.5 million refugees. It is an ongoing war against the government. The U.N. is trying, but still timid about helping the victims of Darfur. The Darfur campaign has took a sudden stop, and progress is slow.
15 comments:
Kevin lives in Kenya. He does not have HIV, but both his parents died of Aids. He is now left to care for his eight siblings. It was trivial for him but Kevin and his community never gave up, and today "they are leading the way toward a brighter future," (CRWRC). With the help of the Christain Reformed World Relief Committee Kevin was able to build a new house for his family. He donated the old house to the village. This house is now used as a school for orphans. With the help of CRWRC Kevin and many like him are learning to support themselves. This community never gave up and neither should the rest of the world.
Okay so I forgot to put my quote at the beginning of the paragraph and I can't delete it so I decided just to repost it.
"Just as despair can come to one another only from other human beings, hope, too, can be given to one only by other human beings." -Elie Wiesel
Kevin lives in Kenya. He does not have HIV, but both his parents died of Aids. He is now left to care for his eight siblings. It was trivial for him but Kevin and his community never gave up, and today "they are leading the way toward a brighter future," (CRWRC). With the help of the Christain Reformed World Relief Committee Kevin was able to build a new house for his family. He donated the old house to the village. This house is now used as a school for orphans. With the help of CRWRC Kevin and many like him are learning to support themselves. This community never gave up and neither should the rest of the world.
Emily Julian
Although such practices were against some cultural morals, children have been used as soldiers in countries for thousands of years in different forms. The use of children soldiers is not only used in Africa, but they are also used world wide throughout many continents. These children, who range in age from 7-18, are given AK-47s. Those who cannot carry the weapons because they are too small are used as scouts and spies. They are sent across borders to pick up information that their military personnel’s need.
Peter Frost
"Those who invest in Africa should not think they are doing us a favor; they are here for what they get out of our cheap and abundant labor, and they should know that they are buttressing one of the most vicious systems.”
-Bishop Desmond Tutu
Africa, is in shambles. With a crippling economy that gives a whole meaning to poverty, one of the oldest continents that was said to have brought the birth of man, is still one of the least developed countries in all of the modern world. With a four to ten ratio of people living in absolute poverty, studies have shown that Africa's poverty rate is increasing (Africa's). But how can this be so? It is well known that Africa holds some of the most valuable natural resources in all of the world, yet such a feat has not brought Africa to the developed power it strives to be. Because of violence and governmental greed, the nation of Africa has lost it's sense of development and its will to push forward
Khalil Hamed
The medical crisis in Africa is just one of several conflicts that are currently going on. The HIV/AIDS epidemic currently taking place in Africa is the worst in the world to date. The epidemic has been evident to everyone, including the African government, but very little to be done to control this crisis. The African population has started drives that hope to educate civilians on sexually transmitted diseases (STD’s). The government has recently attempted to distribute resources to countries. Even though they have tried to help the resources have not been distributed evenly.” Countries that include over ninety percent of the cases of HIV only receive twelve percent of the resources (Nkoli).”
Maddie Windstein
Medical crisis are a huge problem in Africa. If a person is not suffering with a disease them self, then they are dealing with family members or friends who are infected. HIV/Aids is one of the main diseases affecting people in Africa. Nearly one in five Africans are infected with the disease. People with HIV/Aids not only have to deal with the direct physical suffering, but also must overcome other obstacles related to the disease.
Distruction or the "cleansing" of a whole minority might seem unreal to many people, but it happened in Africa. In many cases, "Democratization in the face of a market-dominant monority has led to government-encouraged attempts to 'cleanse' the country of the monority altogether" (Chua 163). The cleansing effect of a monority is called genocide. Genocide took place in Africa between two minority groups in Rwanda. THe two minority groups were the Hutus and the Tutsi's.
The United
Nations defines genocide as “the
commission of acts with intent to destroy a
national, ethnic, racial or religious group.” (Wiwa) The people of Africa have been suffering from this term "genocide" for many years now. Being different than mainstream society has a big affect, but minority groups are also affected by the resources that are produced in the area of land they live in. Having foreign oil companies drill in (specifically) Nigeria is causing major genocide.
"Be the change you wish to see in the world."-Gandhi. This quote can not be anymore true in the case of the war in Uganda. This war has been raging on for over twenty years and has shown little signs of slowing down. It is a tragic story anyway you want to look at it with bloodshed, starvation, families being ripped apart, children being forced to carry guns and fight, and of course diseases being spread ramped. This war is bigger than the country along. In recent times the war with children being abducted is moving to other parts of Africa including Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and also Central African Republic.
Africa, as a nation, is still recovering and battleing from years of genocide in many of its countries, the most memorable being Rwanda. What is genocide? The dictinary.com definition states it is the deliberate and systematic extermination of a national, racial, political, or cultural group. This is also often reffered to as ethnic cleansing. The words "never again" are currently used by the United Nations as a promise to never let genocide exist in the world. These words are supposed to make people feel safe and protected, but today they often fall short of doing so.
Africa as a whole has been plagued with conflict and civil war for many years. Many people wonder why Africa is more prone to have these problems than the rest of the world, but it almost always seems to come down to poor management of resources. “The big brute fact is that civil war is heavily concentrated in countries with low income, in economic decline, and dependent upon natural resources.” (Crimes of War).
In Africa many people suffer from various disease epidemics. The two main diseases found in Africa include HIV/AIDS (Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) and malaria. Three quarters of the population in Africa suffer from HIV/AIDS. People who disclose that they are HIV+ are shunned from their community. The children suffer most from these disease epidemics because they are left orphaned after their parents die.
Imagine a childhood being woken up to gunshots. Being forced to work all day with little to no pay and starving. Some are killed or left to die if not able to work.Others are forced to do the killing and become dependent on it. This is the everyday life of these children of Africa.
20 years ago, a woman by the name of Alice Lakwena claimed to have communicated with the Holy Spirit that which spoke to her and told her to overthrow the Ugandan Government (Uganda located in Africa). She gathered a group of rebels that would help her accomplish the task and set out for war. Eventually this group obtained the title "Lords Resistance army." Upon Her death, her cousin, Joseph Koney took over who claims that he is the messiah. The LRA commited numerous felonies and atriocities such as rape, murder of civilians, and the biggest issue, abduction of children and turning them into soldiers. These children range from the age of anywhere inbetween 7 and 18. They're taken form their families and brain washed, and beaten and trained for war agains the government. Due to the war and the LRA the current children residing in Uganda are running away from the LRA at night and hiding in fenced in areas, hospitals, and other centers to hide from the rebels in order to keep their lives, and families. These children have earned the title "Invisible Children".
Genocide in Darfur took place in sudan has claimmed over 400,000 lives, and caused 4.5 million refugees. It is an ongoing war against the government. The U.N. is trying, but still timid about helping the victims of Darfur. The Darfur campaign has took a sudden stop, and progress is slow.
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