WOW! After reading this article I just didn't know exactly what to think! A thirteen year old girl is now pregnant because her teacher had sex with her. This man is in his forties messing around with the kids in his class. Now you can't tell me their is nothing wrong with that picture. It's sad when the person this thirteen year old girl looks up to has sex with her and tells her mother that he wants to marry her. This is just wrong in so many ways.
According to media reports another teacher from western Kenya has been found to be HIV positive and has sexually abused five girls between the ages of seven and thirteen. What I don't get is why don't people try to put an end to this? I know in the U.S. if anything like this was going on the teacher would lose their job and it would be hard for them to find a new one that's for sure. It makes you wonder how safe your children are while they are in school, especially those parents in Kenya. Of the 12,660 girls who have been sexually abused by their teachers, only 633 teachers have been charged with offenses. Recent studies have shown that over 90% of sexual abuse cases have never reached the Teacher's Service Commission who are responsible for the code of conducts for teachers. Many of the sexual abuse trials are hard to prove in girls that are in younger ages, unless they are pregnant. Reason being why many cases of sexual abuse amongst teachers and students is hardly ever turned in is because of good grades. These children who don't do so well in school go to the teacher and the teacher says, "Well if you have sex with me I'll give you that passing grade." This is just downright sick! Students and teachers both know better than that, but still do it anyway. It's so sad to hear about, and those teachers who do go through with it should be terminated!
As you can see, this is a sad sad subject, and I wish it was easy to fix, but it's not...
Thursday, July 21, 2011
African Drought
Lately in the news we have been hearing a lot about the droughts in African and how it is causing many to flee their homes in search for new land that has food and water. This is so sad, because the weather is blazing hot and having to walk long distances in the heat just to find food to eat and water to drink to keep hydrated, I just can't imagine. This drought is causing multiple families to break-up and leading to drastic consequences between family and friends. These families are walking non-stop for up to seventeen days with nothing to drink. According to the article the two rainy seasons that are suppose to happen, one in the fall and one in the spring have not happened yet this year, which is causing this huge drought to occur. Not only is it affecting the people in Africa, but also the animals and cattle. Since they are unable to drink and become nourished as well they will eventually die, leaving the African people with hardly nothing to eat once again.
For as bad as these conditions are for these families, they continue to go on with struggle. Every now and then a family member will become ill, but it's not too seriously ill to where they won't make it. Usually when one becomes ill it's the early sign of malaria, according to researchers. This causes fear for later down the road instances when one becomes ill. Since they are not too ill the first time they will become ill again and it will be worse and only continue to get that way until they either pass away or just can't take it anymore. It's amazing all of the things they go through every single day just to get by. They goes days on end with little to no food at all. They will kill a goat in hopes to sell it for money to give them food for that later night, but those aren't always the cases. With little water it's hard to keep the goats alive as well. Over time they being to become sicker and weaker. Since the animals are sick no one wants to buy them, which leaves the family with little income. With many of these families moving all over the place in search for food and water it leads to competition for the little food and water that already doesn't exist. These people are becoming malnourished and need help fast!
As you can see, these people living in Africa around Kenya, Somalia, and Ethiopia need aid fast! They are losing income, the families are becoming separated, and these people are become very fatigued and sick. With little food and water things are scarce leading to competition among tribes which is giving more causalities than ever expected. It's so sad to hear about this and it makes you want to get up and do something about it.
For as bad as these conditions are for these families, they continue to go on with struggle. Every now and then a family member will become ill, but it's not too seriously ill to where they won't make it. Usually when one becomes ill it's the early sign of malaria, according to researchers. This causes fear for later down the road instances when one becomes ill. Since they are not too ill the first time they will become ill again and it will be worse and only continue to get that way until they either pass away or just can't take it anymore. It's amazing all of the things they go through every single day just to get by. They goes days on end with little to no food at all. They will kill a goat in hopes to sell it for money to give them food for that later night, but those aren't always the cases. With little water it's hard to keep the goats alive as well. Over time they being to become sicker and weaker. Since the animals are sick no one wants to buy them, which leaves the family with little income. With many of these families moving all over the place in search for food and water it leads to competition for the little food and water that already doesn't exist. These people are becoming malnourished and need help fast!
As you can see, these people living in Africa around Kenya, Somalia, and Ethiopia need aid fast! They are losing income, the families are becoming separated, and these people are become very fatigued and sick. With little food and water things are scarce leading to competition among tribes which is giving more causalities than ever expected. It's so sad to hear about this and it makes you want to get up and do something about it.
Cell Phones Soar in Africa
Just recently in my online class, African Cultures, we discussed about how people in Africa have cell phones and how the number has just sky rocketed within' the last decade. Many of them go without electricity, but yet have a cell phone. It's so weird to me because I think I would want electricity over a cell phone, but some think different. According to Sharon LaFraniere people in Africa have made it the fastest growing cell phone market in the world. Almost everyone has one! Going from 7.5 million people to 76 million people having one, that's insane, it's quite a jump. People from South Africa talk about how it's a necessity now! They don't go anywhere without it, just like us Americans, it's constantly connected to our ears, never leaves. Studies have shown that now one in every eleven Africans has a cell phone, or is a mobile subscriber. They go crazy now, trying to find areas that contain cell phone coverage is sometimes hard, but many of them are willing to take the challenge whether it's stomping through swaps or climbing fifty foot trees, they do what needs to be done to find service.
It's really interesting how many of them use their cell phones, because it's not how us Americans in the U.S. use them. We use our cell phones everyday to just chit-chat with friends, text, and for business purposes. Those in Africa use them in some of the same ways, but they find ways to make money off of them as well. One man uses his as a public pay phone and charges people to use it. It's quite interesting, he is making money off of it and can probably afford to pay his cell phone bill from all of the people who use it. Others use it for business reasons like one lady does to sell fish. They even use them for emergancy reasons too. They can pick up the phone dial the emergency number and will be located to a local clinic within fifteen to twenty minutes. I just find it so interesting how many of them would rather have a cell phone over electricity!
As you can see, cell phones have boomed in all different areas all over the world. Phones we had six years ago are the "in" phones for them right now. Although they are slightly behind us in the technology world they are coming up in it and making a difference. They want to be more modernized with the rest of the world and continue to keep up with the surrounding countires and continents.
It's really interesting how many of them use their cell phones, because it's not how us Americans in the U.S. use them. We use our cell phones everyday to just chit-chat with friends, text, and for business purposes. Those in Africa use them in some of the same ways, but they find ways to make money off of them as well. One man uses his as a public pay phone and charges people to use it. It's quite interesting, he is making money off of it and can probably afford to pay his cell phone bill from all of the people who use it. Others use it for business reasons like one lady does to sell fish. They even use them for emergancy reasons too. They can pick up the phone dial the emergency number and will be located to a local clinic within fifteen to twenty minutes. I just find it so interesting how many of them would rather have a cell phone over electricity!
As you can see, cell phones have boomed in all different areas all over the world. Phones we had six years ago are the "in" phones for them right now. Although they are slightly behind us in the technology world they are coming up in it and making a difference. They want to be more modernized with the rest of the world and continue to keep up with the surrounding countires and continents.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
A Floating Clinic for Those in the Malawi Villages
It seems as if all we ever hear is how Africa is struggling when it comes to the health field. They don't have the money to put up these facilities to help take care of the people living in these areas. Well times have changed now and they are taking little steps to improving their healthcare systems. Instead of those who live hours away from a hospital or clinic, they are now just a couple of minutes away, especially for those who are living in the Malawi Villages these days.
Those who live in the lakeside village have traveled up to sixteen hours away just to get the needed help for either an emergency, or just being so sick. Now they don't have to worry about traveling that far, just a couple minutes away, and for some just out their back doors. These people would travel by canoes just to receive the needed care, and not all of the time were they able to make it whether it be because of rain, facing crocodiles, or their not being enough water in the lake to get them from one destination to the other. The Malawian people live in major poverty, and make less than a dollar a day. When many of them found out about the new clinic being built in their village they were all very happy because no longer will they have to travel those long distances and worry about how much things will cost and if they will even have enough for the procedure.
This ship is going to do many wonders for the Malawian people! It will provide them with the healthcare services they will need, and will also provide some of the people with many job opportunities as well! I think this is a wonderful idea and I would really like to travel to the Malawi Villages someday!
Those who live in the lakeside village have traveled up to sixteen hours away just to get the needed help for either an emergency, or just being so sick. Now they don't have to worry about traveling that far, just a couple minutes away, and for some just out their back doors. These people would travel by canoes just to receive the needed care, and not all of the time were they able to make it whether it be because of rain, facing crocodiles, or their not being enough water in the lake to get them from one destination to the other. The Malawian people live in major poverty, and make less than a dollar a day. When many of them found out about the new clinic being built in their village they were all very happy because no longer will they have to travel those long distances and worry about how much things will cost and if they will even have enough for the procedure.
This ship is going to do many wonders for the Malawian people! It will provide them with the healthcare services they will need, and will also provide some of the people with many job opportunities as well! I think this is a wonderful idea and I would really like to travel to the Malawi Villages someday!
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Tanzania: An Early Pregnancy, Bane to Education
Once I found this site I couldn't believe how incredible it was. I have recently just finished a class called Environmental Science, and in this class we discussed about how in Africa many of the girls have started taking contraceptives so they don't become pregnant becuase they don't have the money, food, or shelter to raise a child in. Their living conditions are very poor, and the rate for malaria is very high. Reading through this site they discuss how many of the young women who are obtaining contractptives don't realize that it does not prevent against HIV/AIDS. In this article the writer discusses the various studies that have been done and how having a child in awful iving conditions really affects the child, but not only the child, it also affects the mother.
Researchers have shown in various studies that teenage women that have given birth to children at young ages are more likely to commit suicide over a teenager that has not given birth or ever been pregnant. It's so sad to hear things like this and to even read about them. In Africa women who have been abused or surrounded by drugs are more likely to become pregnant in their teenage years, and are at a higher risk of treating their child how they were treated. The low poverty level and with the fact of teens/kids dropping out of school at younger ages are all factors that lead to the idea of teens becoming pregnant. This is heavily occurring in Tanzania, Africa, and becoming a major concern for those government officials.
In order for these teens to go to school they have to rent a house basically, far away from where their family lives because there are no schools located around or near the family house. Since their is no adult supervision around these teens, they go crazy when out on their own, and just don't really care about anything. This is why pregnancy levels are sky rocketing in places like Tanzania. This is why various ages of teens are finding local health clinics to provide them with the information and the contrnaceptives that their families are unable to provide. Overall, it's a process and I don' like to hear about things like this because it makes me want to go over their an educate these kids more, just so they have a general idea of what in the world is really going on!
Researchers have shown in various studies that teenage women that have given birth to children at young ages are more likely to commit suicide over a teenager that has not given birth or ever been pregnant. It's so sad to hear things like this and to even read about them. In Africa women who have been abused or surrounded by drugs are more likely to become pregnant in their teenage years, and are at a higher risk of treating their child how they were treated. The low poverty level and with the fact of teens/kids dropping out of school at younger ages are all factors that lead to the idea of teens becoming pregnant. This is heavily occurring in Tanzania, Africa, and becoming a major concern for those government officials.
In order for these teens to go to school they have to rent a house basically, far away from where their family lives because there are no schools located around or near the family house. Since their is no adult supervision around these teens, they go crazy when out on their own, and just don't really care about anything. This is why pregnancy levels are sky rocketing in places like Tanzania. This is why various ages of teens are finding local health clinics to provide them with the information and the contrnaceptives that their families are unable to provide. Overall, it's a process and I don' like to hear about things like this because it makes me want to go over their an educate these kids more, just so they have a general idea of what in the world is really going on!
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Michelle Obama Meets With Nelson Mandela in South Africa
One topic that has been hitting the news hard recently was about Michelle Obama visiting Nelson Mandela in South Africa. Her two daughters were along with her for the week long trip to South Africa. They to were invited to Mandela's house to visit and chit-chat with Mandela himself and his wife. This site was very interesting to me because it talked a lot about Mandela's accomploishments and everything he had to do to get to be President and to where he was today. Mandela went into detail about how he spent twenty-seven years in prison because of his movement aganist apartheid. Reading further down in the story the journalist Mackenzie C. Babb talked to a presidental adviser, Ben Rhodes, he talks about how certain areas in Africa have prospered and became more democratic because women are taking over them and running those areas.
This site really draws in the readers attention because it's current. We are constantly wondering what our First Lady of the U.S. is doing. Seeing this makes you want to read about it to find out more on what she is up to right now. The first half of the article discusses Mandela's journey and all the criticism he had to go through to get Africa the abolished system of racial seperation. From this article I also learned that Mandela was the First Black President for his country from 1994-1999. He has gone through some really tough times, rough times, and even hard times, but he stood his ground and got exactly what he wanted to accomploish done.
Another thing that caught my attention from this article is how Michelle Obama is trying to make a difference in other countries. She gave a speech at a Young African Leaders Forum trying to encourage those women to get out their and make a difference. They can do just as much as the men in their country, if not more. By doing this the First Lady is fulfilling her husbands goal of advancing the democracy over in Africa. She is taking on many tasks while gone, but she sticks to her schedule and does what she thinks is right and needs to be done.
This site really draws in the readers attention because it's current. We are constantly wondering what our First Lady of the U.S. is doing. Seeing this makes you want to read about it to find out more on what she is up to right now. The first half of the article discusses Mandela's journey and all the criticism he had to go through to get Africa the abolished system of racial seperation. From this article I also learned that Mandela was the First Black President for his country from 1994-1999. He has gone through some really tough times, rough times, and even hard times, but he stood his ground and got exactly what he wanted to accomploish done.
Another thing that caught my attention from this article is how Michelle Obama is trying to make a difference in other countries. She gave a speech at a Young African Leaders Forum trying to encourage those women to get out their and make a difference. They can do just as much as the men in their country, if not more. By doing this the First Lady is fulfilling her husbands goal of advancing the democracy over in Africa. She is taking on many tasks while gone, but she sticks to her schedule and does what she thinks is right and needs to be done.
Swaziland asks South Africa for Money
After reading this article from BBC News my head was spinning. Swaziland is Africa's poorest country, but yet when they turn and ask the surround countries around them for money they are denied. Why? I don't understand why and how these governments don't want to work with eachother to help the country as a whole. They say it's because Swaziland is ran by a monarch, and their undemocratic. I realize it may make them think twice about helping, but why can't they lend them something to get them out from this big hole of poverty that they dug themselves deep into? Due to this financial crisis that Swaziland is facing, politicians of this country have seen a ten percent cut decrease from their salaries. This obviously will make many of the people from this country mad and upset, which could and may even lead to wars between the countries for not helping one another out.
One thing I found kind of funny about this article was the idea that King Mswati, the leader of Swaziland, was told to cut back on some of his expenses due to the financial crisis. I laughed when I read that part because it makes me think that he is using what should be money used for the country to satisfy him and he isn't putting any of it towards helping his country out. Another thing I read that I found intersting/funny/weird was that King Mswati has thirteen wives. So obvioulsy the money that should be used for the govenment and country to help aid them is going towards the king, all of his wives, and I'm sure the children he has with these wives as well. Not only did those few facts fascinate me but also the fact that Swaziland is the third largest sugar producer in the world. You would think since they are way up their in producing sugar the country wouldn't be hurting that much, but I guess the government doesn't know how to spend money and manage it. If I was a citizen of that country I would try to get King Mswati out of their and find someone to replace him before we get in a bigger hole than what we already are.
As you can see, this article was just a weird one because one I don't understand why the other countries in Africa won't help Swaziland out and two you would think that some type of initative would be taken to better aid the country from going downhill.
One thing I found kind of funny about this article was the idea that King Mswati, the leader of Swaziland, was told to cut back on some of his expenses due to the financial crisis. I laughed when I read that part because it makes me think that he is using what should be money used for the country to satisfy him and he isn't putting any of it towards helping his country out. Another thing I read that I found intersting/funny/weird was that King Mswati has thirteen wives. So obvioulsy the money that should be used for the govenment and country to help aid them is going towards the king, all of his wives, and I'm sure the children he has with these wives as well. Not only did those few facts fascinate me but also the fact that Swaziland is the third largest sugar producer in the world. You would think since they are way up their in producing sugar the country wouldn't be hurting that much, but I guess the government doesn't know how to spend money and manage it. If I was a citizen of that country I would try to get King Mswati out of their and find someone to replace him before we get in a bigger hole than what we already are.
As you can see, this article was just a weird one because one I don't understand why the other countries in Africa won't help Swaziland out and two you would think that some type of initative would be taken to better aid the country from going downhill.
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