3 posts tagged “world vision”

This article is about a travelling program developed to talk about the importance of voting to Mauritanians, to decrease the number of spoiled votes, and encourage Mauritanians to learn about the platforms of their candidates. It is from World Vision Canada's Child View, The Magazine for Child Sponsors, Fall 2007, pages 13-15:

 

A VOTE FOR HOPE

A travelling road show traverses the Sahara in the Mauritania to make everyone's vote count

By Karen Homer

Khadijetou Mint Zeine arrives at the polling station at 7 a.m. to beat the scorching 45-degree heat in Nouakchott, the desert capital of Mauritania. She is among several hundred people crowded into a walled schoolyard patiently waiting to cast their ballots at makeshift voting booths set up inside.

Like many of the people at the polling station, Khadijetou, 20, has never voted. But this illiterate young woman is anxious to make her mark in the country's first-ever free and open elections.

Despite her electoral inexperience, Khadijetou knows just what to expect when she finally enters the polling station. Behind a curtain tacked to the school's crumbling concrete wall, she stamps the box beside the photo of her candidate from among 19 choices. She slips her paper into the ballot box -- a giant, sandproof plastic container. Finally, she dips her finger into a bottle of indelible ink and marks her voter card.

"I made my vote count," says Khadijetou, proudly pointing her purple-stained index finger skyward. "I'm happy I learned about how to vote from the Caravane de l'Espoir, or I might have stayed home today.

A few weeks before the election was held in the West African country this past March, Khadijetou and some friends joined 5,000 youth gathered eagerly in a local soccer field on a Saturday night to see the "theatre on wheels" that everyone has been talking about. They had come to see World Vision's Caravane de l'Espoir (Caravan of Hope) -- a 12-tonne truck with a flip-down side panel that converts the vehicle into a mobile stage. The Caravan's team of young actors and musicians used skits, songs and film to inform Mauritanians about the nation's electoral process.

When Commission Electorale Nationale Independante (CENI), Mauritania's elections commission, was charged with the daunting task of preparing Mauritanians to vote for the first time, it turned first to the Caravan team. For years the troupe has been raising awareness about HIV and AIDS through evenings of entertainment attracting thousands. CENI was confident the troupe could repeat the success of their HIV and AIDS tour by creating a completely new show that would bring home the message that everyone's vote counts.

Mauritania, a country of three million, presented some challenges. Many of the rural people had never even heard of democracy or what it means to vote. Since winning independence from France in 1960, all presidents in this former colony had come to power solely through military coups. With 48 per cent of Mauritanian adults unable to read or write, how would they learn to properly mark a ballot?

An analysis of the municipal elections held in 2006 revealed that many people had blindly voted along ethnic or religious lines without being aware of the issues. More resources would have to be directed into enhancing voter education if the national elections were to be truly fair and open.

CENI gave the World Vision Caravan team a three-point mandate for the election tour: reduce the incidence of spoiled ballots from 18 per cent to four per cent; inform Mauritanians about the importance of voting; and encourage them to learn about the candidates' platforms.

In January, the 27-member Caravan rolled out across the Sahara. Most of the audience heard the public dialogue about democracy for the first time. "They weren't sure how to respond," says Jon Shadid, a former World Vision employee who envisioned and designed the Caravan. "In Mauritania, as in many cultures, individualism is not valued. We talked about making your own decision about how to vote, and we openly told people not to sell their votes."

Selling one's vote to a candidate is tempting in a country where most people earn less than a dollar a day and parents routinely put their children to bed hungry, explains Shadid.

The Caravan team collaborated with other education groups working with CENI. Together they covered 80 villages and the capital, perofrming more than 200 shows. After a gruelling six-week tour covering 31,000 kilometres, the team trucked back to Nouakchott to await election day on March 11.

The result: more than 70 per cent of the electorate participated in the first round, and women and youth were well represented.Spoiled ballots were reduced to less than four per cent -- the acid test for the Caravan team. Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi, 68, a minister under the former autocratic president, won the presidential race with 52.8 per cent of the vote.

Esther Lehmann, director of World Vision in Mauritania, is confident that this historic step towards democracy will eventually mean a better future for children in Mauritania. UNICEF reports that 16,000 children in this country die each year before their fifth birthday, mostly from preventable diseases linked to poverty.

Lehmann says children who have been marginalized by poverty and injustice in Mauritania will have more access to power and decision-making -- something their parents never had. "In a few years, today's children will not only have questions, they'll bring solutions to the poverty facing this country."

 

 

 

Since I belong to World Vision and the Make Poverty History campaign, I was sent information on the Stand Up and Speak Out Against Poverty events which took place worldwide.  The event was also a Guiness World Record attempt.  Here is the press release which was issued after the event took place:

 

18/10/07: 38.8 Million People break Guinness World Record for Stand Up Speak Out

New York 18/10/07: Over 38.8 million people, in 110 countries have broken the Guinness World Record – set last year at 23.5 million - for the largest number of people to “STAND UP AGAINST POVERTY” in 24 hours.

The “Stand Up and Speak Out” record attempt took place over 16th and 17th October and was jointly organised by the United Nations Millennium Campaign (UNMC) and the Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP) with a wide range of other partners. The challenge saw millions of people physically and intentionally standing up against poverty, inequality and in support of the Millennium Development Goals.  They spoke out to demand a more urgent political response to the growing crisis of global poverty.

United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, who led a stand up action at UN Headquarters in New York, said “Today tens of millions of people are making their voices heard by standing up and speaking out against poverty and for the Millennium Development Goals. They are sending messages that call on their leaders to keep their promises. They are calling for the actions of citizens to be matched by the actions of Governments, in developing and developed countries alike, to demonstrate the political will required to end the scourge of poverty once and for all."


For 24 hours from 9pm GMT on the 16th of October people around the world from all walks of life came together in their schools, streets, market places, in front of government buildings and local councils, in workplaces and houses of worship, at sports and cultural events and at public landmarks to demonstrate their frustration that we still live in a world where 50,000 people die daily from preventable causes. The mass mobilisation provided a platform for global civil society seeking more active involvement in the current aid architecture debate, debt cancellation processes, trade negotiations and public accountability monitoring. The largest numbers of people who took part in this mobilisation came from developing countries.

Kumi Naidoo, Chair of the Global Call to Action Against Poverty said: "The confirmation of the new  Guinness record coupled with the political dimension to this year’s action, tells us we are a growing movement of people holding our leaders to account for tackling global poverty and inequality.  The impressive efforts of our brothers and sisters in developing countries through new lobbying actions like delegations to politicians on this date, shows the poor are watching how resources are allocated and want to have a say how policies are made. It now falls on rich countries to fulfil their side of the bargain too.”

The UN Millennium Campaign’s Executive Coordinator Eveline Herfkens said:  “Together we have broken the incredible record for the largest number of people standing up to demand action on poverty. But the record we really want to break is the world’s record of breaking promises and ignoring the poor. We don’t want to record numbers of people dying of poverty every year.  This is the great issue of our times, let us become great by dealing with it decisively.” 
 
- Ends

     

Notes to Editors and Producers:

For photos visit: http://www.standagainstpoverty.org/press/photos

‘Stand Up’ regional overview of World record numbers


Africa: 7,473,057
Arab Region: 2,546,885
Asia: 27,612,061
Europe: 218,604
Latin America & Caribbean: 734,185
North America: 109,828
Oceania: 117,333


For further details and country breakdowns please visit www.standgagainstpoverty.org/press


Country Highlights

- In India all over the country people of all ages were standing up. In Madhya Pradesh, a state in central India, five million people participated. DAV Schools, the largest public school system of the country, reported 500,000 voices against poverty and at Kashmir University, 35,000 students stood up.  Also in Delhi, one of four Women's Tribunals on Poverty gathered 400 women from 20 states to debate how gender exclusion and discrimination impede development in poor countries.

- In Bangladesh just under 850,000 people stood up with the main event held at Dhaka City office and led by the Mayor followed by a high profile concert. People called for cancellation of debt servicing to eradicate poverty and at the end 1000 candles were lit to express solidarity with the GCAP movement.

- In South Africa, children in Pretoria stood up and the residents of the Big Brother Africa House joined the call lighting a bonfire against poverty which burned for the 24 hour period (see www.mnetafrica.com/bigbrother/videogallery.asp).   In Malawi children were asked to bring a blade of grass to a local football match, the sum of which was their total of 15,584 participants.
 
- In Bangladesh just under 850,000 people stood up with the main event held at Dhaka City office and led by the Mayor followed by a high profile concert. People called for cancellation of debt servicing to eradicate poverty and at the end 1000 candles were lit to express solidarity with the GCAP movement.

- In South Africa, children in Pretoria stood up and the residents of the Big Brother Africa House joined the call lighting a bonfire against poverty which burned for the 24 hour period (see www.mnetafrica.com/bigbrother/videogallery.asp).   In Malawi children were asked to bring a blade of grass to a local football match, the sum of which was their total of 15,584 participants.
 
- In the Philippines, a massive 7+million people were mobilised at events involving faith groups and at the Anti Poverty fair. Campaigners called on the Arroyo government to change their position regarding the worsening condition of millions of Filipinos trapped in poverty.

- Pakistani campaigners mobilised over 3.5 million including thousands who helped unfurl a 10km–long banner, In Bahawalpur carrying one million written messages.  Pakistan was one of 25 countries across the world using giant banners to form a white band, the symbol of the global anti-poverty movement.

- Palestinian children throughout the Occupied West Bank and Gaza spoke out saying no to poverty.  The activities organized jointly with the Palestinian Ministry of Education took place for the first time in public and private schools, as well as UNWRA schools.

- In Ramallah, a choir from the University performed a new musical work “The Poverty Requiem” as one of a global chain of 20 performances that took place on every continent. A high school choir also performed the piece at the UN Headquarters in New York.

- In Egypt, Cairo the “Sailing the Nile” initiative saw over a million participants. 

- Civil Society delegations to government were organised in an unprecedented coordinated global lobby against poverty.  Somalia was one of 35 countries where civil society representatives organised a group to present demands for pro-poor policy change directly to their politicians.

- In The Hague, the national anti poverty campaign displayed 200 uniquely created life-size ‘Avatars’ whilst in London the UN Deputy Secretary General stood up with key women leaders in front of city hall.

- In Rwanda, youth groups organized a Stand Up soccer tournament with 20 primary schools and in Bangladesh 10,000 young people blocked a busy crossroads with a human chain.

- Faith leaders Stand Up and Speak Out – At papal mass at the Vatican Pope Benedict XVI sent a message of support urging increased efforts to eliminate poverty. Indian spiritual leader his holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar mobilized 30,000 people at his ashram in Bangalore and millions more across the globe to raise their voices through the Art of Living Foundation. Micah Challenge, the global Christian campaign took part and In the US, Canada and Europe Episcopal and Lutheran churches made the MDGs their top social justice priority by appointing an MDG-focused organizer in every diocese.

Visit www.standagainstpoverty.org for full list of events from around the world

 
For more information contact:

Ciara O’Sullivan, Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP) Media Coordinator, ciara_os@hotmail.com Tel: +34 679 594 809 GCAP www.whiteband.org
 
Anand Kantaria, Global Media Coordinator, United Nations Millennium Campaign
Anand.kantaria@undp.org Tel: +44 7908 230 165
www.endpoverty2015.org

 
Notes to Editors:

  
The Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP) is a civil society alliance of social movements, International NGOs, trade unions, community groups, women’s organizations, faith and youth groups, local associations and campaigners working together across more than 100 national coalitions/platforms. GCAP is calling for action from the world’s leaders to meet their promises to end poverty and inequality. In particular, GCAP demands solutions that address the issues of; public accountability, just governance and the fulfilment of human rights; trade justice; more and better aid; debt cancellation and gender equality and women’s rights.                                                                                                                                  

The UN Millennium Campaign was established by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan in 2002. The Campaign supports citizens’ efforts to hold their governments to account for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.  The Millennium Development Goals, formally adopted by 189 countries in the year 2000 are a set of eight specific goals which commit rich and poor countries to work together to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, ensure all boys and girls complete primary school, promote gender equality, improve the health of mothers and children, reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS, protect the environment, and create a global partnership for development by ensuring rich countries give more and better aid, debt relief and trade opportunities to poorer countries.

 

I have two teenaged boys, aged 13 and 16.  I also sponsor four boys through World Vision.  They are ages 9, 10, 11, 12 and they live in Armenia. 

It hasn't yet been a year yet, and I am surprised how close I feel to the boys because of our letters back and forth.  My donations on their behalf, go to alleviating the poverty of their families and their communities. In fact, since the boys have grandparents or siblings living with them, my sponsorship of the four boys, helps 25 people directly.

My sister has been sponsoring a child through World Vision for years.  I'm not sure why it took me so long.  I makes me incredibly happy to have the opportunity to make the lives of the boys better in any way, through better health care, food, clean water, fixing up or providing supplies to schools, sustainable opportunities for the families to make a living. I think it is the best thing I have ever done, and what the boys have given to me is so much more than what I can provide for them.

Because of my sponsorship of the boys, I receive a magazine called Child View.  The Fall 2007 issue of the magazine contains an editorial from Dave Toycen, President of World Vision about the eight Millennium Development Goals set up in 2000 to cut global poverty in half by 2015. One of the goals concerns reducing the mortality rate of children under five.  Here is his "From the President" editorial:

 

MILLIONS OF YOUNG LIVES IN JEOPARDY

Imagine the panic and shock in Canada and around the world if the entire population of Nunavut was wiped out in one day. Or the horror if every Canadian under the age of 25 died in a single year.

This may seem like a farfetched, doomsday scenario, but a crisis just as horrifying takes place every day and every year.

Daily, more than 28,000 children under five die of hunger and preventable causes. That's one child every three seconds, and more than 10 million every year.

In my 30 years with World Vision, I have sat and listened to grief-stricken parents, prayed with bereaved families and shet tears with them over the loss of these wonderful children -- bright and loving little ones, full of promise and fun and created in God's own image.

In 2000, when global leaders crafted the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) -- eight goals designed to cut global poverty in half by 2015 -- I cheered loudly when I read the fourth goal: to reduce by two-thirds the mortality rate of children under five.

This past summer, we passed the halfway point to the year 2015 when the goals are supposed to be met. And I'm deeply concerned that this goal -- the one at the heart of World Vision's passion and care for children -- is the goal most seriously off track. Although the child mortality rate is decreasing, the world just isn't making progress quickly enough to meet the target. Eighty million children have died since the MDG campaign was launched, and millions more are still at risk.

Poverty is at the root of the problem. In the least developed countries, one child out of every six dies before his or her fifth birthday. In wealthy countries, the number is one out of every 167. The situation is particularly bad in sub-Saharan Africa where HIV and AIDS has devastated entire communities, and where health care is so inadequate that many children simply do not get immunized against fatal childhood diseases.

World Vision has stepped up in response. While the health and well-being of children has always been our top priority, we recently developed a new program, Survive 5, which targets the five main causes of death in children under five: malnutrition, malaria, vaccine-preventable diseases, pneumonia and diarrhea. The program is already under way in several countries in Africa and Asia, with generous support from the Canadian government, individual donors and even businesses.

I'm determined that World Vision will do all it can to help get this goal back on track -- and give millions of children a healthy start so they can survive past the age of five.

Dave Toycen,

President