Rodney Olsen recently returned from a Compassion International trip to the Dominican Republic, and has a post about breaking the cycle of poverty. Rodney’s group was supposed to go to Haiti, but food riots there forced them back to Miami, where they regrouped to head to the Dominican Republic.

This morning I read on BoingBoing that, according to this NY Times article, the poorest of the poor in Haiti can no longer afford basic food staples, and are staving off hunger pangs by eating a mixture of mud, sugar, and oil:

In Haiti, where three-quarters of the population earns less than $2 a day and one in five children is chronically malnourished, the one business booming amid all the gloom is the selling of patties made of mud, oil and sugar, typically consumed only by the most destitute.

“It’s salty and it has butter and you don’t know you’re eating dirt,” said Olwich Louis Jeune, 24, who has taken to eating them more often in recent months. “It makes your stomach quiet down.” link

Sponsor a child through Compassion (search for Haiti in the country field)

More information about people resorting to geophagy (eating dirt) in Haiti

How could we not be outraged by such affronts to human dignity? When do we stop for a minute in our comfortable lives and refuse to ignore such suffering any longer? The NY Times article points out that hungry people tend to overthrow their governments, and food riots are increasingly common in a world of rapidly rising food prices.

But riots by those affected by these crises will not solve them. Allow me to quote from a speech by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on the Vietnam War in 1967:

This call for a worldwide fellowship that lifts neighborly concern beyond one’s tribe, race, class, and nation is in reality a call for an all-embracing and unconditional love for all mankind. This oft misunderstood, this oft misinterpreted concept, so readily dismissed by the Nietzsches of the world as a weak and cowardly force, has now become an absolute necessity for the survival of man. When I speak of love I am not speaking of some sentimental and weak response. I’m not speaking of that force which is just emotional bosh. I am speaking of that force which all of the great religions have seen as the supreme unifying principle of life. Love is somehow the key that unlocks the door which leads to ultimate reality. This Hindu-Muslim-Christian-Jewish-Buddhist belief about ultimate reality is beautifully summed up in the first epistle of Saint John: “Let us love one another (Yes), for love is God. (Yes) And every one that loveth is born of God and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God, for God is love. . . . If we love one another, God dwelleth in us and his love is perfected in us.” Let us hope that this spirit will become the order of the day.
…
We are now faced with the fact, my friends, that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. In this unfolding conundrum of life and history, there is such a thing as being too late. Procrastination is still the thief of time. Life often leaves us standing bare, naked, and dejected with a lost opportunity. The tide in the affairs of men does not remain at flood-it ebbs. We may cry out desperately for time to pause in her passage, but time is adamant to every plea and rushes on. Over the bleached bones and jumbled residues of numerous civilizations are written the pathetic words, “Too late.” There is an invisible book of life that faithfully records our vigilance or our neglect. link (emphasis added)

Indeed. So here is my challenge to my readers and fellow bloggers: As of today, there are 67 Haitian children in need of sponsorship on Compassion’s website. I think we can get that number down to zero within a week. It’s $32 a month, which is less than we spent on food and coffee at Zoka last time we went. Go to the Compassion child search page, and select Haiti from the dropdown menu, then pick a child to sponsor.

Then, blog about this and ask people to help. Thanks.

Today we watched the short documentary film Invisible Children, which has an associated a nonprofit organization to help children in war-torn southern Uganda. These children are constantly at risk of being conscripted into militias, so they cannot sleep in their rural homes, and travel into cities each night to avoid abduction. Our friend Greg Kendall-Ball is going to Gulu, Uganda in January to shoot photos for Invisible Chilren, and is accepting donations to support his trip.

If you haven’t seen the film, you might not know that it was made by three American college students, who didn’t know what they were going to do when they arrived in Africa. Invisible Children happened, and now their organization provides education and mental health care to help re-integrate former child soldiers into society (and prevent further abductions).

After watching Invisible Children in church today, we discussed the film and what we can do. The film bothered me because it comes from a rather arrogant, youthful American perspective. The filmmakers went to Africa to “conquer” it and fix whatever problems they encountered. Can you get any more imperialistic?

That got me thinking about actual imperialism and colonialism, which are now considered bad and wrong. Are things really any better now, though? I’m not suggesting that we go back to colonialism, but that we really look at why some things are worse now than they were under colonialism. The quality of governance comes to mind.

Again, though, it is not our job to solve another continent’s problems. We can help, but African leadership will be the ultimate source of solution to Africa’s problems. Oprah’s leadership school for girls comes to mind as a way to make a difference while encouraging local leadership.

Another question involves the proliferation of nonprofit organizations. Is it really necessary for every American who visits Africa to come home and start their own nonprofit? Doesn’t this just introduce more administrative overhead, wasting money that could be funneled into existing organizations that already have their overhead covered?

I checked and Invisible Children’s overhead is 14.6%, compared to 13.5% for World Vision. Compassion International’s is higher, at 16.2%. So, while it’s a bit silly to duplicate administrative functions for each organization, at least IC is keeping their expenses at a reasonable level (which is why, for example, Greg is raising his own support).

On the other hand, the proliferation of charities does give people a more personal connection to the work being done in other countries. For example, it’s much easier for people in Searcy to feel a part of the mission of the Kibo Group than the work of WorldVision, simply because the Kibo Group is based in Searcy (my college town).

The main problem in all of this is hubris. I too am inspired by the ambitions of the One Campaign and other groups to end extreme poverty in our generation. But it’s imperialism all over again to think that we can simply march in and fix the world’s problems.

David closed our gathering today with a prayer, in which he asked that we not be paralyzed by the complexity and difficulty of these problems. Indeed. Thoughts?

The Habeas Corpus Restoration Act of 2007, introduced by Senators Spector (R-PA) and Leahy (D-VT), looks like a really important piece of legislation that may go up for a vote by this Thursday.

S. 185 (now renamed S. Amdt. 2022 as an amendment to the Department of Defense authorizations bill) is short and sweet:

RESTORATION OF HABEAS CORPUS FOR THOSE DETAINED BY THE UNITED STATES.

(a) In General.–Section 2241 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by striking subsection (e).
(b) Title 10.–Section 950j of title 10, United States Code, is amended by striking subsection (b) and inserting the following:

“(b) Limited Review of Military Commission Procedures and Actions.–Except as otherwise provided in this chapter or in section 2241 of title 28 or any other habeas corpus provision, and notwithstanding any other provision of law, no court, justice, or judge shall have jurisdiction to hear or consider any claim or cause of action whatsoever, including any action pending on or filed after the date of the enactment of the Military Commissions Act of 2006, relating to the prosecution, trial, or judgment of a military commission under this chapter, including challenges to the lawfulness of procedures of military commissions under this chapter.”.

(c) Effective Date and Applicability.–The amendments made by this section shall–

(1) take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act; and
(2) apply to any case that is pending on or after the date of enactment of this Act.

The good part is section (a): “(a) In General.–Section 2241 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by striking subsection (e)“. Subsection (e) is a lovely bit to get rid of:

“No court, justice, or judge shall have jurisdiction to hear or consider an application for a writ of habeas corpus filed by or on behalf of an alien detained by the United States who has been determined by the United States to have been properly detained as an enemy combatant or is awaiting such determination.”
-from the Military Commissions Act

Here is the list of the cosponsors:
•Joe Biden (D-DE)
•Jeff Bingaman (D-NM)
•Barbara Boxer (D-CA)
•Sherrod Brown (D-OH)
•Robert Byrd (D-WV)
•Maria Cantwell (D-WA)
•Ben Cardin (D-MD)
•Thomas Carper (D-DE)
•Hillary Clinton (D-NY)
•Chris Dodd (D-CT)
•Dick Durbin (D-IL)
•Russ Feingold (D-WI)
•Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)
•Tom Harkin (D-IA)
•Ted Kennedy (D-MA)
•John Kerry (D-MA)
•Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)
•Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ)
•Patrick Leahy (D-VT)
•Carl Levin (D-MI)
•Claire McCaskill (D-MO)
•Robert Menendez (D-NJ)
•Bill Nelson (D-FL)
•Barack Obama (D-IL)
•Jay Rockefeller (D-WV)
•Ken Salazar (D-CO)
•Bernie Sanders (I-VT)
•Debbie Stabenow (D-MI)
•Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)

If your Senator’s name is missing from the list, such as our very own Patty Murray, why not give them a call and ask them to co-sponsor it? I just got off the phone with a staffer at Senator Murray’s office, had a very nice little chat, and he said he’d pass on my request to the Senator. This could be important, even if they are already planning (as is Senator Murray, I was told) to vote for the Act.

Call the US Capitol toll-free at 800.862.5530, or use the Senate’s directory (.pdf - the numbers all start with 202.22). The direct line to Senator Murray’s office is 202.224.2621.

(via via)

Via Amnesty USA:

Amnesty International USA is proud to announce its support of the Warner Bros film Blood Diamond, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Connelly and Djimon Hounsou. Set during the civil war in Sierra Leone in the 1990’s, the story addresses the issues of conflict diamonds and child soldiers.

Please show your support this opening weekend, December 6-8th, by going to see the movie. Take your friends and family with you, and help support our work on these critical human rights issues. Read more about the film and our work with the filmmakers »

You can also:

• Take action to stop blood diamonds
• Buy and wear the Blood Diamond bracelet
• Check out the buyer’s guide (PDF) before buying diamonds this holiday season
• Download our educational curriculum (PDF) that accompanies the movie
• Read our survey of diamond retailers, conducted by Amnesty members

Oddly enough, I first became aware of this issue through Kanye West’s song “Diamonds Are Forever.” While I was writing this post, Lesley told me the same thing I found on Wikipedia:

After making the song, West learned more about the plight of West African children who mine conflict diamonds and die in civil wars financed by diamonds and decided he would use the video to get this message across. He also recorded a remix of the song, featuring Jay-Z, where he talks about conflict diamonds. The remix was included on the album, whereas the original version was included as a bonus track.

The original version is predictably materialistic celebration of bling, but the remake adds a riskily prophetic denunciation of blood diamonds:

Good Morning, this ain’t Vietnam still
People lose hands, legs, arms for real
Little was known of Sierra Leone
And how it connect to the diamonds we own
When I speak of Diamonds in this song
I ain’t talkin bout the ones that be glown
I’m talkin bout Rocafella, my home, my chain
These ain’t conflict diamonds,is they Jacob? don’t lie to me mayne
See, a part of me sayin’ keep shinin’,
How? when I know of the blood diamonds
Though it’s thousands of miles away
Sierra Leone connect to what we go through today
Over here, its a drug trade, we die from drugs
Over there, they die from what we buy from drugs
The diamonds, the chains, the bracelets, the charmses
I thought my Jesus Piece was so harmless
’til I seen a picture of a shorty armless
And here’s the conflict
It’s in a black person’s soul to rock that gold
Spend ya whole life tryna get that ice
On a polo rugby it look so nice
How could somethin’ so wrong make me feel so right, right?
‘fore I beat myself up like Ike
You could still throw ya Rocafella diamond tonight, ’cause
Diamonds are forever forever forever

Blood Diamond opens today. Video with the director on YouTube

Mike Todd at Waving or Drowning suggests that, while Bono’s Product (RED) campaign is well-intentioned and will make a difference, it doesn’t necessarily draw on our best motivations.

Instead, it pragmatically (and ingeniously) gets rich Americans to help poor Africans by buying stuff we don’t need, with a very small proportion of the money going to actually help anyone:

We’ve been looking at the (RED) iPod specifically. When you spend $200 US on the iPod, Apple will contribute $10 to the Global Fund.
…
I don’t have a clue what the profit margins are like on the iPod, but $10 doesn’t strike me as a lot of money. Let’s be realistic. It’s not. Here’s the choice: You can lay out $200, get a new iPod, and contribute $10 to a good cause. Or, you can just contribute the $10.

So Mike and company have a crazy idea:

We believe we can get 1000 people to donate $10 each. We’d like $10 from everyone in the developed world, but we’ll settle for you, and everyone you know. And when we’re done, we’ll pass the money–all of it–along to the Stephen Lewis Foundation. link

Head on over and make a donation (or two). I’m glad this idea occur(red) to Mike :).

Via Signposts

The One Campaign, National Geographic, and Matt Damon are promoting a feat that has never before been attempted:

Right now, an international team of three men - Charlie Engle (USA), Ray Zahab (Canada), and Kevin Lin (Taiwan) - are undertaking a quest that no human being has ever fulfilled:

They are running across the Sahara Desert - 50 miles a day for 90 days. link

To put it on other terms, they are running:

• Across 4,000 miles of desert
• Across an entire contintent, at its widest point
• Through 9 ecosystems
• Through 3 countries
• 2 marathons a day, for 90 days

The magnitude of this undertaking is staggering, and so is the problem for which it’s raising money and awareness. That problem is the lack of access to clean water faced by so many people in Africa.

A major component of Running the Sahara is H2O Africa , its Clean Water initiative. H2O Africa will create widespread public awareness of the water crisis in Africa and gather support for clean water programs in critical areas. Clean water lies at the crux of many challenges facing African people – from health, to education, to human rights.

H2OAfrica has a mission to support sustainable and integrated water programs. Sustainable, in that projects are accompanied by training and maintenance to create a program that will live for the long run. Integrated, in that activity will complement other programs in the region, such as education and infrastructure development.

One sample project would be a water purification system at a school which has the benefit not only of providing clean water for the children but also to encourage parents to bring their kids to school.

Oversight of H2O Africa programs and initiatives will be through partnerships with major non-government organizations as well as progress-based grant agreements.

I’m amazed at the response the One Campaign has been able to attract so far. How else could I get Matt Damon to email me every week and make me feel special? Bono, George Clooney, and others are also raising awareness for One.

This was the first time I’d actually taken a minute to read about what the One Campaign does. They don’t accept donations - instead, they say “We want your voice” (and not in the Little Mermaid sense, either). They’re trying to get people to encourage the US government to dedicate 1% of the national budget to fighting extreme global poverty and AIDS. This would be about $25 million a year, and would help provide:

• Clean water for 900 million (!) people
• K-5 education for every child on earth
• Preventative measures that would save 10 million children from becoming AIDS orphans

Not bad. If our generation can actually end extreme, widespread poverty on planet Earth, I think we’ll have something to be proud of.

Kiva, the nonprofit that lets you loan money to needy entrepreneurs in the developing world, has deployed new social networking features:

• Lender profile pages - here’s mine
• Lender listings on borrower pages (example) - this lets you see who is sponsoring a specific business. If the lender hasn’t filled out a profile, only their location is shown
• Journal recommendations - Digg-like voting buttons to promote noteworthy updates from borrowers, which are uploaded by the local lending organization

This may seem like a limited set of social networking features compared to MySpace and the like, but when you consider that the purpose of Kiva is not to add people to your friends list but to change lives, I think it’s great. You can read more about Kiva, or take a look at the businesses currently in need of funding.

Anderson Cooper 360 has a special on now about human rights crises in Africa.

Did you know that over four million people have died in the Congo in the last eight years as a result of war and the fallout from war?

They had a short segment on the rape crisis - tens of thousands of women are being raped by men in uniform, who act with total impunity. It gets worse, but I will spare you the details. Imagine the worst thing you can imagine, and you’ll probably think of the same acts that 360 reported.

This is a paraphrase of a conversation between Cooper and Jeff Koinange, a CNN Africa correspondent. The segment was made all the more poignant by the satellite delay and the background noise where Koinange was reporting from.

Cooper: So what is being done about the rape crisis in the Congo?

Koinange: [...crickets...crickets...] Well, not very much…

Cooper: Is there any sign that it will end?

Koinange: [...crickets...crickets...] No, not really…

The crickets said more than either of the CNN correspondents.

What ticks me off is that Amnesty International has a huge audience in the developed world, to which it sends “Action Alerts” every week. Yet I have never heard of this crisis in the Congo, which has killed more people that all the terrorist attacks in the history of the world, plus the Iraq war, plus Afghanistan. Yet it’s in Africa, so we never hear about it.

Amnesty’s action alerts don’t talk about massive human rights crises that require high-level intervention. They tell me about shady prisoners who are slated to be executed for crimes that they probably committed. If you don’t like the death penalty, fine. Campaign to have it ended. But is the life of one criminal worth so much more than the thousand Congolese people who die every day?

Pray for the Congo.