IB Community Theme: Sharing our humanity

I agree, Ben.

However, the whole "don't waste your food, Ethiopians are starving!" is just no ON! It isnt my fault I live in a lucky country, and have food. So don't pull the guilt trip on meeee.

But I think people should stop saying 'aaah someone else will get it', because they wont. It would be really nice if everyone was doing something. However, with 90% of odnations being sucked up in interest, what is there to do other than to just grin and bear it? Or else give up your cash, and hope that at least some of it will get to where it belongs.

thats so true! So many people cover their eyes and say they are not to blame, but as you said, havent we all contributed somewhat to poverty?

We can all do something if we ALL open our eyes to poverty and dont try and ignore it, it is not going to go away unless we do something...

i dont think we do enough fund raising, and i dont believe there are enough organisations prepared to take material donations such as bowls, etc to the poor in other countries.

however, as for our own country, whats stopping us taking a couple old blankets into Hyde Park and giving them to the homeless?

its always easier to take aid to your own country, so why arent there aid embassies in other countries? imagine if we set up an embassy in india that only dealt with receiving monetary donations from Australians and then purchasing goods to disperse to the poor!

what a team effort! (Y)

An individual can't do too much to stop it. I'm just one person, what do you expect me to do?

 I don't have the money, the power, the resources or the time to change the world, so I won't. But I'm not trying to say that I don't want to. I can't do a lot to stop a kid in Ethiopia or wherever from feeling hungry, my donations (however meagre they might be) have a small chance of getting through to someone who needs it without anything subtracted from it. This is one of the reasons why  don't donate often.

 You want to know why these people aren't getting fed? Because they don't have an economy. I can't build an economy for them as an individual, but with other people we might have a chance.

So why not start something???????

Elsewhere on this site there are a few suggestions of things we can do as indiivduals to respond to global poverty.

http://communitytheme.ibo.org/what-can-we-do-about-poverty

Boyd Roberts

for the community theme team 

So far, you have talked about small donations etc, and how they are are heabily reduced as the money travels accross the world.

Iwens talked about who he isn't much help,one person, no power.

Though this frams of mind is shunned upon,it is the in human nature to procrastinate. So dont shun the thought of making the government organise it. Humans wont spontaneously and suddenly begin working together and sending small donations as a nation to the country. It DOESNT HAPPEN.

Also, I dont support helping the homeless of australia.

They should get of their ass (or drugs or alchohol) and get a job.

You may think im harsh, you may think i dunno what im talking about.

A person I know ran away, and everyone she met, though many were intelligent, they had no motivation, and so were broke. There are SO MANY opportunities in Australia to get back on your feet. TRY THE DOL!!!

And what is with fundraising. Spend an entire day getting donations, get maybe 1500 dollars, spend half on food,half on transport, they get to the poverty people, it feeds 700 people for a day. Meanwhile 20000 died. THIS GOT YOU NOWHERE!!!! HOW DID THIS HELP? IT WILL NOT STOP POVERTY, THE NEXT DAY THEY WILL BE HUNGRY. You wasted both the day and the money you earned from fundraising.

In short. Long term aid, and organisation is the most important factors needed.

Hayden.

So I guess in order to reduce poverty, the country itself has to have an economy that will grow and develop. because if we ask goverments to help the countries in poverty, they won't see any benefit in helping them because what they donate to help would mean they have to reduce something, e.g. building new schools, to be able to send food, water, etc. to those countries. therefore i think countries in poverty should be looked on by its advantages. e.g. resources that they have and its potential. therefore some businesses might consider to invest and therefore, slowly building the country's economy.

I agree with you melvinng.

But one of the things dragging down the third world countries' economies are the aid debts,  in which first world coutries offered them aid, but put a price on it. The countries accepted it, even though they knew they could not afford it, and now aid's effect has diminshed, though the debts continue to put their countries in the red.

 You could say that the countries were foolish for accepting something the couldn't afford, but in my opinion it is the countries which took advantage of the poverty stricken countries' situation for their own gain (greed).

Hayden 

Hmmm I think I posted something on the wrong forum. I should have posted it here. Excuse my copy and paste but I think it applies here:

Hello all. This is for those of you who are done figuring out whether or not you should help fight poverty and are actually going to do something.

It's very simple. You don't need to go to some impoverished country mlau, because although it's powerful to see first hand you should be able to have some kind of motivation without actually having to hold a baby with kwashiorkor in your arms. I've lived in Africa (Zambia, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Uganda) half my life and you'd be surprised at the amount of expats who are living in the capital cities completely unaffected by what's going on a couple miles away. For those of us that did care, we were sent off to fundraise, help with construction work or do Habitat for Humanity. All of those things were fun but not necessarily helpful to the communities because most places have labor available.

Better for you to go somewhere like www.msf.org and select your country's office and register as a volunteer. If you register, it doesn't mean that they're going to send you off to Africa it usually means that they'll send you stuff to do to spread awareness or they'll ask you to come into the office to do paperwork, computer programming, etc. Whatever your skills are, they'll make use of them. Artists can design posters etc. etc.

This may seem like a trivial  way to help but if you consider that almost 50% of all NGOs and charities use the money they get from donations for administrative fees - your work means more money goes to people that actually need it.

If you're a little more dedicated and are in a position where you can donate as little as 20 pounds annually to sponsor an orphan then go to www.soschildren.org and register as a sponsor. This is especially rewarding because you can send letters back and forth and receive photos and school reports from the child that you are supporting with education and food aid.

Hi!

 This is in response to Hayden's comment where he disputes the worth of short term fundraising and considers it a waste of time.

I strongly disagree.

 It IS true that a large amount of funds raised is lost to various forms of interest due to country debt and things such as transportation costs. It is also true that we as individuals can only have a tiny impact on poverty and solving issues such as famine or disease in poverty stricken places. However, to assume that what we do, as less politically powered individuals, has no worthwhile impact suggests that until the problem is solved, we shouldn't do anything at all.  If 700 people get even just one meal from one small day of fundraising isn't that worth something? Those people who got that food are hardly going to agree with you when you say that giving 700 impoverished a meal that might increase their chances of surviving is a waste of time and money.  To feel that what we do is a waste is to view life of the present day and moment as valueless.  Yes, the problem will have to be permanently solved through politically formed resolutions but the magnitude of this problem can be shrunk even if just a little by each individuals efforts and the relief this effort brings in culmination.

My mind is void of human emotion:)

Not fully, but im not the most compassionate person. This can be shown in my post in WAR WAR WAR. I care about the environment, but not about the effects on people. Why? Because I look at things from afar. (See evironment as innocent while humans destroy the land) I study sciences, which needs to be unbiased by emotion. Hence, I am used to not bringing emotion into judgments as I have seen it clouds the judgement. What you think is RIGHT may not be benefitial in the long term.

 Lets zoom right out. You say that feeding 700 people a day is worth it.

10,000 people died today. 1,000 people were saved through anti poverty fundraising. You say the people who were fed would say they think its worth it. WHO THE HELL WOULDN'T. technically their being totally selfish, though no blame falls on them. It is human instinct to be self centered when your life depends upon it.

However, by 1000 people taking the money raised, it will NOT help those who are born later that decade in any way.

YOU SAY THAT SHORT TERM HELP IS EFFECTIVE. I SAY NOT.

You cant bring emotions into something this big, because there is no right answer. You must choose the lesser of two evils, (or the better of two goods, as we talk of aid). Although, deciding which is better is based on the source of facts and the immediate compassion you have for the people.

You can meet the people out in the country starving, and feel so sorry for them, and that ANYTHING should be done to help. But this is biased feelings.

Those who are saved by short term will be in vain; it will NOT help, it is inefficient use of money!

Infrastructure is required. Get the people farms. Stop prolonging their population inbalance. Fix up their government corruptions. End the debts imposed on them by 1st world countries.

What is better?

a) spending $1000 on food for short term. save 1500 people short term?

b) spending $1000 on building a farm and allowing the people to independantly run off it. Saving 0 people short term, 4000+ people long term?

Shouldn't TOK have taught you not to make decisions or assumtions with only one scope on your perception?

Then again, my scope is an emotionless perception.

I hope I wasnt offensive.

Rebut how you will.

 Thank you

Hayden.

On word

Resoucre Based Economey  

Watch Zeitgist Adendum

THIS IS THE GOAL OF PROJECT VENUS  

"The Means is the End":

"We intend to restore the fundamental necessities and environmental awareness of the species through the advocation of the most current understandings of who and what we truly are, coupled with how science, nature and technology (rather than religion, politics and money) hold the keys to our personal growth, not only as individual human beings, but as a civilization, both structurally and spiritually. The central insights of this awareness is the recognition of the Emergent and Symbiotic elements of natural law and how aligning with these understandings as the bedrock of our personal and social institutions, life on earth can and will flourish into a system which will continuously grow in a positive way, where negative social consequences, such as social stratification, war, biases, elitism and criminal activity will be constantly reduced and, idealistically, eventually become nonexistent within the spectrum of human behavior itself".

and PLEASE look at ths

http://www.thevenusproject.com/

-In heaven all the intresting people are missing-

I strongly feel that  "Global poverty" is due to unequal distribution of wealth and people around the world. If the landlords distribute their lands to the poor and needy by providing fincancial assistant to grow crops with the help of modern technologies we can eradicate poverty from the globe. Why do we need bountries between countries? Let us break the boundries and stop illeagal activities. Let the people rule the world!  Not the politicians. Let us feel the world is ours....(it is possible if we are the citizen of our mother earth! not just I am an Asian, African, American or an European) 

Let us teach the human how to love others as they do it for their own kith and kin.  People talk but caste, creed gender equality etc.  If we think we are all human, there won't be any poverty in this world. Most of the Asian countries has the caste system and it will not go out of their mind/system until they die. It is available in western countries also. Let us abolish the caste system and distribute the land to everyone equally.

Let us go to the under developed places and teach them how to live a peaceful life. If the world stop spending for the military..... just imagine.....how much money could be utilized for the development? When there is no bountries, why we need military?  Things will be distributed everywhere equally.  Then there wont be any terrorist activities or smuggling. Let us accept all religions and respect their rites. 

Why the difference of values in currencies?  Let us use the same currency throughout the world so that Unity in Integrity will flourish. It is possible.... but with a lot of combined and dedicated effort of millions of professionals and common man from different nations.

Imagine there is no bountries.....! and no passports required to travel around the world.....!  

There comes the universal brotherhood and motherhood etc.. Then there is no question of poverty or unemployment in this Globe.

This could be possible only if our IB students take charge of the world in future!