Give Water to School Children

“Over half of all schools worldwide lack safe water and sanitation, jeopardizing the health and education of millions of schoolchildren. Most of the 115 million children currently out of school are girls. Many are denied their place in the classroom by lack of access to decent toilets at school, or the daily chore of walking miles to collect water.” - UNICEF, 2005

In the next week we will be finishing up with the Advent Conspiracy and sending our donations off to the Humble United Methodist School in Uganda.

We are collecting money to help to install a water system at Humble United Methodist School in Uganda. This school provides food, shelter, and education to about 250 children, most of whom are orphans due to the AIDS crisis or civil war. Currently the school lacks a system that provides a consistent supply of clean water for sanitation and cooking.

Did you know?

• More than 150 million school-age children are severely affected by waterborne parasites like roundworm, whipworm, and hookworm. These children commonly carry up to 1000 parasites at a time, causing anemia, stunted growth, and other debilitating conditions.
• Children who suffer from constant water-related illnesses carry the disadvantages into school. Poor health directly reduces cognitive potential and indirectly undermines schooling through absenteeism, attention deficits, and early drop-out.
• Nearly 90 percent of all diseases in the world are caused by unsafe drinking water, inadequate sanitation, and poor hygiene. Every year, there are 4 billion cases of diarrhea as a direct result of drinking contaminated water; this results in more than 2.2 million deaths each year—the equivalent of 20 jumbo jets crashing every day.

We can do a small part to help these kids get the safe, reliable water they need to stay healthy and get an education. To find out more visit Living Water International. Please give donations to Allen, Sara, or Erica by February 1st.

Election Guide

In a few short weeks the 2008 elections will be complete. This is an important time in our country, state, and city, when we make decisions about who will be our future leaders and how our state will be governed. I came across this Election Guide put together by the United Methodist Church. It clearly states the values that our denomination proclaims on everything from Energy to Social Security to Health Care. I found it informative to read through this as I consider how I will vote in the various elections and questions in the next few weeks. Take a look and see what you think.

Practical Ideas for Ordinary Radicals

I recently stumbled across a list of things we can do to address social justice issues every day. It reminded me of our random acts of kindness day we had recently. This list was created by the Simple Way community of faith, who focus their lives around loving all people, and living in solidarity with the poor. You can view the whole list and learn more about their community here. The website encourages people to "brew up some holy mischief." I like that idea.

• Go out to eat with someone who is homeless, or invite them to your home or cafeteria to eat with you.
• Learn to sew and begin making your own clothes.
• Write one CEO a month -- affirm or critique the ethics of their company (you may need to do a little research).
• Give your winter coat away to someone who is colder than you are.
• Write only paper letters for a month (go computer free)
• Try sitting in silence for 15 minutes a day.
• Kill your TV -- or go TV free for a year.
• Go down a line of parked cars and pay for the meters that are about to expire... Leave a little anonymous note of niceness.
• Write to one social justice organizer or leader each month, just to encourage them in their work.
• Experiment with a post-oil era by going fuel free for a week -- ride a bike everywhere, carpool, walk or hitchhike.
• Gut your TV and turn it into a pot for a plant.
• Try reading only female writers for a year (since many of our problems seem to be stemming from men).
• Go to a retirement home and ask to visit a few old folks who don't get any visitors.
• Buy only used (thrift) clothes for a year.
• Cover up all brand names, or at least the ones that do not reflect the upside down economics of God's Kingdom.

What do you think? Are there ideas here that you might be willing to try? Which ones seem more radical than others? What impact do you think it would have if we all tried a few of these?

World Fair Trade Day - May 10

World Fair Trade Day is May 10. Endorsed by the International Fair Trade Association, a global association consisting of over 300 fair trade organizations, World Fair Trade Day calls on all of us to participate by purchasing fair trade products and encouraging conventional companies to sell more fair trade goods.

We visited in England this year during their "Fair Trade Fortnight." We were struck by how many fairtrade products existed even in the mainstream retail market. The US is way behind on this one.

I just came across this challenge from the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR). They have a dream that during the next year--from this year's World Fair Trade Day until next year's day--we can make a difference in the market for Fair Trade Products which in turn makes a big difference for all people who produce products that we consume. See the 100-Ton Fair Trade Challenge. (there are other fair trade coffees besides Equal Exchange-including some of Coffee By Design coffees)

Here are some details and facts about what Fair Trade means for global relations and economic justice.

This is a significant way that we can impact the world--through the things we purchase.

Any ideas about how New Light might support Fair Trade?