Archive for the 'Causes' Category

Nov 22 2009

The Best Way to Taliban-Proof Afghanistan. Stay Involved

Published by jnarvey under Afghanistan, Canada, Causes, Taliban, human rights

Canada-Afghanistan Solidarity Committee co-founder and professional human rights advocate Lauryn Oates issues a call to action for the international mission in Afghanistan: stay involved and help provide education to the new generation — and by the way, make sure the security is there so that the fanatics don’t wreck the these efforts in the meantime:

I think it’s imperative that an international security force remain on the ground in Afghanistan for at least a decade to come, and that should include representation from Canada. This is part of the solution in that it will provide much needed breathing space to build the foundations of a long-term solution: the establishment of effective, quality education, health care, good governance, legal reform, poverty alleviation, and space for the growth of civil society. But the Canadian government, and other donor governments who want to see a stable, peaceful Afghanistan must begin to explicitly make the link between long-term security and quality education; and they must be in it for the long haul.

Education is the most important place donor governments can put their money. But it will take years, if not decades, of commitment and there must be clear measures of accountability for results. It’s not enough that schools are open and pupils – girls and boys – are in their seats. More must be done, and soon. By investing in a quality education system in Afghanistan, Canada will help prevent future wars; and by maintaining a military presence on the ground now and beyond 2011, they can help stop this one.

This of course is in stark contrast to the strategy that appears to be favored by Afghan parliamentarian Malalai Joya, the darling of the largely leftist “troops-out-now” movement. Joya has still failed to explain how an international pullout followed by a civil war and eventual Taliban victory would be good for Afghan women.

Indeed, it is clear that all Afghan women with access to email list-servers and other means of communication are virtually unanimous in their opposition to Joya’s treacherous demagoguery. That’s because they know what a Taliban victory means in Afghanistan.

Malalai Joya, how will this help Afghan women?

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Sep 09 2009

This Can’t Be Rite, I mean Right

Published by jnarvey under Canada, Causes, Literacy

Almost half of adult Canadians illiterate.

If true, this is an under-reported crisis that not too many people knew about. Everybody goes to school. So why is it that so many Canadians can’t read well enough to get a job or fill out an insurance application?

I don’t get it. Someone, please explain this one to me.

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Sep 06 2009

Three Cups of Tea and a Challenge for You

Published by jnarvey under Afghanistan, Books, Causes, Current Events, Three Cups of Tea

You can help out with a worthy cause that has a chance to effect real change in a part of the world in desperate need of peace, education and a better life. Please read this note from my good friends, Cissy Pau and Andreas Hesse (Clear HR Consulting):

Andreas and I have recently finished reading Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Support Peace, One School at a Time.

For those of you who haven’t read it, Three Cups of Tea is the autobiography of Greg Mortensen, a remarkable man who has dedicated his life to promoting education, especially for girls, in the remote regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Since 1993, he, along with the organization he co-founded, the Central Asia Institute, have established over 90 schools in the rural and often volatile regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan, which provide for (or have provided) education to over 34,000 students, including 24,000 girls, where little or no educational opportunities existed.

The philosophy of focusing on girls is “Educate a boy and you educate an individual. Educate a girl and you educate a community.” Several global studies have shown that sending girls to school significantly decreases infant and maternal mortality rates, helps stabilize population growth, and improves the quality of health and life for everyone in the community. And, educated mothers are less likely to condone their son’s joining terrorist groups.

Building schools and providing an education in an unstable part of the world has a direct impact on safety and security around the world.

More information on Three Cups of Tea, Greg Mortensen and the Central Asia Institute can
be found at http://www.threecupsoftea.com/ and https://www.ikat.org/.

The Goal
Our goal for this challenge is to increase awareness for this cause, and to encourage the donation of over $5,000 by Sunday.

Did you know how little it takes to make a difference? Consider this:

$20………One student’s school supplies for one year
$50………One treadle sewing machine and supplies
$100……..Maternal health care supplies for 1 year
$600 …….One teacher’s annual salary
$800……..One advanced student’s annual scholarship
$5,000…..Support for existing school for 1 year
$50,000…One school building and support for up to 5 years

Wouldn’t it be something if together we could raise enough to build and support a school?

How You Can Help
We’d like to rally all of you to make a contribution to this amazing cause. Some suggestions of things that you can do to help:

* Read the Three Cups of Tea book and pass it onto a friend to read. Or share it amongst the staff at your office.
Encourage a young person in your life to read Three Cups of Tea – Young Reader’s Edition or Listen to the Wind – the children’s book version
* Make Three Cups of Tea the selection at your next book club
* Donate copies of the book to your local library or school
* Recommend the book to a teacher or principal so that they can introduce it to their students
* Send a copy of the book to your MP and MLA with a note encouraging them to read the book and support local and global educational and literary initiatives
* Blog, Facebook, YouTube and/or Tweet about the book
* Forward this email to others who you think would be interested in this cause.
* Buy a copy of the book off this page (http://www.threecupsoftea.com/purchase-three-cups-of-tea/) and up to 7% will be donated to the Central Asia Institute
* Start a Pennies for Peace campaign at your office, church, or kid’s school (http://www.penniesforpeace.org/) A penny buys a pencil in Pakistan, several pennies buys paper and books. 100 pennies pays a teacher’s salary for a day.
* Donate to the Central Asia Institute – https://www.ikat.org/ (Note: This is a US charity – Canadians who donate may not get a tax deduction for the donation)
* And anything else you can think of!

Taking Action
We were truly inspired by the impact that Greg Mortensen has had on the world – we hope you can spend a few moments in the next few days supporting this cause, too. If this speaks to you, please send us an email by 9 pm on Sunday September 6 to let us know what you have done to help this cause.

I’m buying a copy of Three Cups of Tea to support the cause. I plan to read it and then donate a copy to my local library. What will you do?

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