Posts for 2009
Category: 2009
0 BBC Pause for Thought – One Day’s Wages
The third of this week’s pause for thought on BBC Radio 2 covers just how one day’s wages can be all it takes!
Transcript from today’s PfT (agreed with the producer):
Just one day’s wages can be all it takes!
We get up, we go to work, we go home, we crash out and we go to bed again. Somewhere in there we also eat! It’s a daily grind which tends to distract us from so much as we concentrate on getting by, particularly in these dark days of winter. Helping a neighbour de-ice their car’s windscreen can seem a big deal, let alone helping to tackle world issues such as poverty, violence and exploitation that too often face us in the news.
Think of it:
- 25,000 children under the age of 5 die each day due to poverty-related causes.
- Nearly 900 million people in the world do not have access to clean water.
- Nearly a billion people entered the 21st century unable to read a book or sign their names.
- Many in our world spend hours walking many, many miles a day – often barefoot – to collect water, food or to get to their nearest school.
I remember once meeting a Peace Corp volunteer in the United States who told me about her visit to a remote village in Kenya and how the people there looked at her shoes in wonder.
The scale of these and many more issues can simply seem insurmountable to us.
Yet charity, as they say, begins at home. Recently, I came across an international movement which encourages people to donate a day’s wage to help end global poverty. That’s about nought point four percent of an annual salary. It’s a simple idea. Yet it could make such a difference to the lives of so many in this world.
There’s a Sikh saying: “The earth is a garden, The Lord its gardener, Cherishing all, none neglected.”
So next time you’re in the car heading to or from work with the weight of the world on your shoulders, listening to the news on the radio and feeling powerless to help, why not set that single day’s pay aside? Strangely enough, it may be just the thing you need to lighten the load and give a fresh perspective on the daily grind.
My Original article is here:
Our daily grind tends to take us away from helping to free others. Freedom from poverty, slavery and exploitation tends to unfortunately drop in priority as we are so tied-up with surviving and investing in personal or associated family futures.
One of the wonders of humankind is the potential to be innovative. Recently, I came across One Day’s Wages. ODW is an international movement dedicated to ending extreme global poverty. The figures quoted on their website are shocking and staggering:
- 25,000 children under the age of 5 die each day due to poverty-related causes.
- Unsafe water and lack of basic sanitation cause 80% of all sickness and disease, and kill more people every year than all forms of violence, including war.
- Nearly 900 million people do not have access to clean water.
- Nearly a billion people entered the 21st century unable to read a book or sign their names.
These are all challenges for us. When we sleep at night we hope for a good nights rest. However, we forget about those that have to walk miles to go to school, many in bare feet. I remember meeting a Peace Corp volunteer in the US who hold me about her visit to a remote village in Kenya. She spoke about how people looked at her shoes in wonder.
ODW suggest that a one day salary contribution is equivalent to about 0.4% of your annual salary.
They are also setting-up partnerships with other organisations, for example: Not for Sale.
The latter focus on deploying innovative solutions to re-abolish slavery in their own backyards and across the globe.
The Interview with David Batstone of Not For Sale below is inspiring and exposes the evil of slavery that is happening in the 21st Century!!!?
It is great that people are now starting these organisations. A start to harmonisation and fairness in terms of the distribution of wealth, respect for human rights and stopping abuse of people.
Together we can overcome.
0 #Ludhiana deaths December 2009
On 5th December innocent people were killed in an attempt to stop blasphemy against Sikhs. Full details are available from:
http://manvirsingh.blogspot.com/2009/12/sikhs-attacked-in-ludhiana-panjab.html
What gets to me every time I hear the news of innocent deaths is how quickly conditions get out of control. Whether it is the risk of communal violence or agitation by political elements, there appears to be no proactive measures to prevent escalation. I am certainly not suggesting that there are societies or countries that are better than others but the sheer lack of respect for life is evident when you see the video below. People are been lashed at and herded. It is true that control tactics are prehistoric but is there no sense of foresight or understanding that clearly volatility can happen when extremist cults are allowed to exercise insults in the name of free-speech! Apparently, in this case the cult in question wanted to perform a parade, causing immediate offence.
Politicians need to wake up and understand that allowing a police force to shoot into a crowd is not the way to control a situation.
In the second video you see one police officer justifying free speech. However, free speech does not equal abuse and as I said before blasphemy!
There is one view that suggests that there is a conspiracy against the Sikhs. That there are extremist elements within other religions that are attempting to undermine the Sikhs in terms of their values, heritage, sacrifices, ethics, defending the defenceless and self-less service. If this is the case then Sikhs should not rise to the bait. Instead, they should ensure that the media exposes who the real agitators are. Let us see the evidence that is available on public channels. In an era where we can quickly record and submit video, images and text based content, Sikhs need to rally together to expose the real culprits, cults and mischievous elements.
Sikhs need to create media that exposes truth – For it is truth and the good who will win, not those who insult in the name of free speech and in shadow of hate.
2 Is Interfaith work relevant to today’s youth?
Good to hear that the World Parliament of Religions started back in 1893!
This year it comes to Melbourne, Australia.
I personally attended the Interfaith Week launch for England on 12th November, the Scottish one is run separately.
It was inspiring to see so many children or should I say ‘young people’ talking about the importance of working, learning and respecting each other. I’ve often said that coming together for a common cause can produce unity as a positive side-effect.
Ironically, on the same day as the launch, on route I took a short cut to the conference venue, the Queen Elizabeth II centre. I walked through the gardens of Westminster Abbey. A large part of the lawns were decked in crosses and poppy’s for those who had fallen in past and present wars. We only have to hope that the work being done between faiths can help build a foundation to a better world.
Recently, I appeared on Good Morning Sunday (22nd November 2009), a wonderful inspirational show hosted by Aled Jones at BBC Radio 2.
I was asked to deliver a moment of reflection. I choose to talk about whether children were inspired by Interfaith activities.
Could Interfaith work reveal another approach? Here is an audio excerpt from the show if you missed it.
In addition, an earlier version of the transcript for the reflection segment at the end:
My moment of reflection this week is about considering whether Interfaith work can bring about greater understanding, especially for today’s youth.
Earlier this year I was appointed as chair for the Interfaith Youth Trust. The Inter Faith Youth Trust was formerly known as the Alma Royalton-Kisch Trust and is the only UK charitable trust solely set-up to fund inter faith projects for young people. Every quarter the trustees from many different religions and also humanists sit down together to review applications from youth groups. Events range from interfaith football tournaments to concerts and gathering together to explore differences in cuisine.
Interestingly, last year the trust organised a meeting at the House of Lords with different faith organisations to explore what works well for the youth. One of the conclusions was that interfaith work should be driven by the youth with a guiding hand from an organisation.
One example that stood out was organised by an Interfaith group in Scotland with an emphasis on eco-awareness. Kids camped out and explored environmental issues from their religion’s perspective. On return from the camp they produced a leaflet that described and drew common threads between religions about respecting our world.
The result was that they actually learnt more about their own religion and facilitated greater mutual understanding and personal friendship.
0 Randomly selected by US Security T-Shirt
I love the T-Shirt available from http://www.rootsgear.com
OK, it is a bit sarcastic, but if any of the US TSA have a sense of humour then it will hopefully will not cause offence.
The range is wide and innovative.
They are now able to ship units all over the world!
0 Book Review – The Accidental Billionaires
What is it about entrepreneurs that interests many of us so much? Are we seeking the secret success formula?
Those with such dreams are probably interested because they believe in the Walt Disney’s Adage, ‘If you can dream it, you can do it’. Are we really in admiration of what can be instantly achieved.
This is a fictional adaptation of what might have happened when Facebook was first inspired, created and then exploded!
Ben Mezrich publication is drawn both from research and imagination.
If you read the associated inside notes, it is interesting that he DID NOT met or get a response from Mark Zuckerberg. The reader is therefore left wondering what was is actually fact, adlib or opinion from those that Ben interviewed/researched.
The review at Entertainment Weekly (ew.com) suggests that:
‘the book is a breezy blend of fact and fiction’.
What is dangerous, is the risk a movie being produced that is far from reality.
I’m half way through the book and although it is a quick read, I’m struggling with the concept of clubs, fraternities and in-crowds.
Am I too shocked about how business really works or should I take this book as motivation to strive forward in an honest and thankful manner.
The latter is what I was taught.
We can only hope that success was based on a sincere approach.
NB Facebook now has more than 300 million members around the world. The privately owned company has been valued as high as $15 billion!
