Critical Thinking: Charity Relief Project

Here in the United States, the majority of us complain about having to work too hard - often, for the sake of buying things that we don't even really need. The truth of the matter is, there is a high standard of living in the United States. Yes, poverty has not been completely eradicated in this country; there are still many homeless people in the streets, and our economy has suffered a downward spiral in recent years - but it is safe to say, that we still lead a fairly spoiled lifestyle. If we don't own car, we have cheap public transportation at our disposal; we have welfare in this country; we have safehouses for people who suffer abuse; etc. Most of us can't even begin to fathom what true poverty really is.

"Generations have been working jobs they hate, just so they can buy things they don't really need."
- Fight Club, Chuck Palahnuik

During this season of giving and good cheer, let's do our part to make a positive difference in this world.

However, our charity strives to accomplish even more than helping those in poverty. As will be discussed in the last part of this report, we also aim to help women who have had to suffer greatly for simply being women. Most women in the United States have never had to live with such an intense fear of harassment, murder, rape, genital mutilation, etc., as women in Iraq have. In addition to helping fight poverty and famine, let's also do our part to defend dignity and equal human rights.

We can help these people.

The following are excerpt of articles taken from the three countries that we are primarily focusing our charities on: Cambodia, Africa and Iraq.

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CAMBODIA:

Time magazine made this statement that sums up the plight of thousands of Cambodians, who are dying daily: "Battered by war, famine and disease, the refugees' faces reflected the plight of a country that has become the Auschwitz of Asia."

In February 2001, Asian Rights Human News reported that "For as little as .40, poor mothers and fathers are known to have sold babies to "procurers" from orphanages. In this Third World nation where most cannot afford two meals a day, a few orphanages cater to Westerners willing to pay thousands of dollars in adoption fees."

Heang Ny, a 24-year-old mother in Cambodia, was begging outside a Buddhist temple when a woman approached and persuaded the young widow to sell her 6-month-old son, Pich Thea. "I didn't have any money, I couldn't produce milk, and my baby was getting skinny," she said. "When I heard these people would feed my son and give him a future, I wanted him to go stay with them."

According to S.C.A.O. [Save the Children in Asia Organization], more than one-third of the entire population is under fifteen years of age. The children of Cambodia follow an uprooted, war-torn, disoriented and lost generation still heavily marked by HIV, tuberculosis, child labor, child trafficking and child abuse.

Imagine this is you.

Imagine this is your child.

Poverty and starvation is NO life for a child.

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AFRICA:

According to the United Nations:

• A child dies every three seconds from AIDS and extreme poverty, often before their fifth birthday.
  
• More than 90 percent are suffering long-term malnourishment and micro-nutrient deficiency.
  
• About 120,000 African children are participating in armed conflicts. Some are as young as 7 years old.
  
• Only 57% of African children are enrolled in primary education, and one in three of those does not complete school.

One poor African has been quoted as saying:

“I know poverty, because poverty was there before I was born, and it has become a part of life like the blood through my veins. Poverty is not going empty for a single day and getting something to eat the next day. Poverty is going empty with no hope for the future. Poverty is getting nobody to feel your pain, and poverty is when your dreams go in vain, because nobody is there to help you. Poverty is watching your mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters die in pain and in sorrow just because they couldn't get something to eat. Poverty is hearing your grandmothers and grandfathers cry out to death to come take them because they are tired of this world. Poverty is watching your own children and grandchildren die in your arms but there is nothing you can do. Poverty is watching your children and grandchildren share tears in their deepest sleep. Poverty is suffering from HIV/AIDS and dying a shameful death, but nobody seems to care. Poverty is when you hide your face and wish nobody could see you, just because you feel less than a human being. Poverty is when you dream of bread and fish you never see in the day light. Poverty is when people accuse you and prosecute you for no fault of yours - but who is there to say something for you? Poverty is when the hopes of your fathers and grandfathers just vanish within a blink of an eye. I know poverty, and I know poverty just like I know my father's name. Poverty never sleeps. Poverty works all day and night. Poverty never takes a holiday."

According to Cozay Group, an equal human rights organization, "a child dies every three seconds in Africa. More than 30000 children will die today from poverty. HIV/AIDS and malaria kill every second in sub-Saharan Africa."

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IRAQ:

A human rights organization called openDemocracy reported the following on July 17, 2005:

Violent oppression of women is spreading across Iraq, a weapon of mass mental and physical destruction. And yet there is silence from world leaders, religious leaders, politicians and the media. Insurgents and religious extremists use rape, acid and assassination to force Iraqi women to wear the veil – the symbol of submission, first signal of further repression to come. Many Iraqi women have never worn the scarf. Now, dead bodies of girls and women are found in rivers and on waste ground with a veil tied around the head, as a message.

As well as unveiled women, key targets are those who wear make-up, who are well educated and in the professions, and who work with organizations connected with the coalition forces.

It is clear what the Islamic fundamentalist men want for women. Using the will of Allah as cover, they pursue women’s conformity to almost any interpretation of the Qu’ran. They demand women’s submission to any male authority. Women are to lead lives without voices, as the social, political and economic inferiors of men, even of 12-year-old boys.

The challenge for men and women committed to democracy and human rights is to trigger a campaign of commitment from the world on the scale of “Make Poverty History”, to make murder and violence against women in Iraq (and the world) history, and to punish the perpetrators. To quote the suffragette slogan: Iraqi women need deeds not words. And they need them now.

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HOW WE CAN HELP:

We will be hosting a charity event accepting donations. This is our chance for us to help out these people who are suffering. A little help is better than no help.

The event will be held at The Cambodian Christian Church on Temple and PCH. We are setting up tables that accept different items, and all of these items will be collected and shipped to the three different locations: Cambodia, Africa and Iraq. Each item donated will be distributed equally.

The charity organizations that we will be donating these items too are the following:

• The People Improvement Organization (PIO) was established in 2002 by Mrs. Phymean Noun and was officially registered at the Ministry of the Interior the same year. PIO is a non political, non religious, non government organization. They provide education, vocational training and support to the poorest communities in Cambodia, with a focus on girls, orphans and street children. Many of these families are living with HIV/AIDs or other serious health issues and are the very poorest communities in Cambodia.
• The Ball For All Organization will be where balls are donated for impoverished schoolchildren in Africa.
• Women For Women supports women in war-torn regions with financial and emotional aid, job-skills training, rights education and small business assistance so they can rebuild their lives.
  

The exact date, time and location for this event are as follows:

• Date: Sunday, December 19th, 2010, 12pm – 4pm
• Location: Cambodian Christian Church
• Accepted Items: Pillows, blankets, baby clothes, baby shoes, kids clothes, kids shoes, women's clothes, men's clothes, canned food, eggs, balls for playing sports, and money.
• Marketing: We will market this event through Facebook, fliers and word of mouth.
• Misc: We will also have this day video recorded and photographed for our records.

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REFERENCES:

• Decard, Chris. February 12, 2002. "Cambodia: Starving Cambodians Sell Babies". Asia Human Rights News. Retrieved from: http://www.ahrchk.net/news/mainfile.php/ahrnews_200102/420/
• [Everything quoted for Africa came directly from the home page for the Cozay group; I was unable to find the date and exact author of the quoted words, but they were retrieved from here: http://cozay.com/]
• Abdela, Lesley. July 17, 2005. "Iraq's War On Women". openDemocracy. Retrieved from: http://www.opendemocracy.net/conflict-iraqconflict/women_2681.jsp