"Rampant poverty, which has festered for far too long, is linked to social unrest and threats to peace and security. On this International Day, let us make an investment in our common future by helping to lift people out of poverty so that they, in turn, can help to transform our world."
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
Message for the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty
"Of the 925 million people suffering from chronic hunger, 98 percent live in the developing world. Unlike famines that receive emergency-aid, chronic hunger is a silent, invisible, day-after-day condition."
17 October has been International Day for the Eradication of Poverty since 1993, initiated by the United Nations.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the first ever International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, to give it its full, official name.
The 2012 commemoration will focus on the theme "Ending the Violence of Extreme Poverty: Promoting Empowerment and Building Peace".
"Too many people live in fear of losing their jobs and not being able to feed their families"
Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations Secretary-General
"Of the 925 million people suffering from chronic hunger, 98 percent live in the developing world. Unlike famines that receive emergency-aid, chronic hunger is a silent, invisible, day-after-day condition."
On this day, the Intergroup Extreme Poverty and Human Rights, Fourth World Committee, organise an event in the European Parliament in Brussels.
"When you get up in the morning and don’t know where to go, with nothing to feed your children, that is violence. When you have to fight others to defend the little you own, that is violence.”
A mother from Haiti
Unfortunally, this is no longer a mother's voice of an underdeveloped country. We know that poverty and hunger are disseminated too in developed countries. I wrote about it on my post Child Poverty in Develped Countries.
"Extreme poverty destroys the lives and spirit of people; it kills more children, young persons, and adults than any war. Every day, people living in extreme poverty are challenged and threatened by lack of food, shelter and access to essential services. They endure hazardous working conditions and live in precarious, degraded, and insecure living environments."
Austerity measures widen gap between rich and poor. That is a fact. Every day, in our city we cross homeless people, we know someone that lost his or her job, even the home family.
"As debates rage on
austerity measures and social spending cuts, a new report reveals the extent of
child poverty and child deprivation in the world’s advanced
economies.
Some 13 million children in
the European Union (plus Norway and Iceland) lack basic items necessary for
their development.
Meanwhile, 30 million
children - across 35 countries with developed economies - live in
poverty."
UNICEF (Brussels, 29 May
2012)
And chidren across the United Sates, or Canada, and other developed countries on the world.
Credits : James Foley, cartoonist
Education:
Introducing these facts into our curriculum:
- 925 million people do not have enough to eat — more than the populations of USA, Canada and the European Union combined.
- 98% of the world's undernourished people live in developing countries.
- Two-thirds of the world's hungry live in just 7 countries: Bangladesh, China, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia and Pakistan.
This time I would share with you the heartbreaking video 60 Minutes on CBS News - Scott Pelley reports from Florida, where school buses now stop at motels for children who've lost their homes (2011).
I have not the courage to introduce it on this post because there are too many kids involved. But you can watch it here
I have not the courage to introduce it on this post because there are too many kids involved. But you can watch it here
How can we build a just and peaceful society to the "hard time generation"?
For some children, socializing and learning are being cruelly complicated by homelessness. And we have this reality in our classroom among some our students!
Today I have no pedagogical ideas. I only want to share with you all these humanitarian messages:
Child Poverty at a Time of Crisis (UNICEF)
Pupils speak out about UK child poverty
Hard Times Generation: homeless kids (Florida children - USA).
Child Poverty at a Time of Crisis (UNICEF)
Pupils speak out about UK child poverty
Hard Times Generation: homeless kids (Florida children - USA).
Only by listening to children living in extreme poverty, can we learn from their courage, experience and knowledge on how to achieve a peaceful world for all.
Ultimately, the social transformation that is needed to achieve a peaceful society can only be achieved through the active contribution of everyone, regardless of where we live, or our social and cultural background.
The 2012 Commemoration of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty (IDEP) is focused on the theme "Ending the violence of Extreme Poverty: Promoting empowerment and building peace".
It is my hope that this theme will launch a continuing dialogue among people everywhere about this issue.
G-Souto
17.10.2012
copyright © 2012G-Souto'sBlog,
gsouto-digitalteacher.blogspot.com
The Hard Time Generation: Children's rights by G-Souto is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
References:
Credits: Scott Pelley | 60 Minutes CBS News
United Nations Radio
http://www.unmultimedia.org/radio/english/2011/10/austerity-measures-widen-gap-between-rich-and-poor/
http://www.unmultimedia.org/radio/english/2011/10/austerity-measures-widen-gap-between-rich-and-poor/
No comments:
Post a Comment