Imagine the world without anger, without greed. We have the power, the tools, the skills and the resources right now to build a peaceful world, where people live in harmony with the Earth and each other. This blog explores ways we are doing just that, one post, one change, one day at a time. Join me. Tell your stories. Ask for help. Spread your ideas for making the vision real and, well, ordinary.

Monday, March 8, 2010

Taking action: It is in our power to end poverty

 
People all over the world today celebrated International Women's Day. In keeping with the spirit of the day, the Women ONE2ONE campaign has a good idea. They're looking for one million women to take action and stop poverty cold.

There are so many ways we can help, one woman, one small action.

One is to write a post like this one. Another: Watch this heartwarming video about a darling little girl, Jeneba, who is alive and getting healthier every day because of women just like us.



There are a hundred and sixty-eight doctors in this country ... and it's a country of six-plus million.
Connie Britton, speaking to interviewer
on the need for health care workers
in Children and Health in Sierra Leone

Or you can call your Congressional representatives today and ask them to support the president's International Affairs Budget request. In fact, I'm encouraging mine to strengthen the spending on global immunizations--a small increase for a huge impact in saving lives.

► 70% of the world’s poor are women

► 75% of the civilians killed in war are women and children.

Women for Women International

We matter, you and I. We can make a difference. On this, the ninety-ninth celebration of International Women's Day, a national holiday in fifteen countries, let us remember our strength. Let us reach a hand to one woman. Let us reach in friendship, in love, in an offer of peace, and, if she seeks our help, in support.

This is how we build Ordinary.

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We make peace in a million small ways every day.
All text and images, unless otherwise noted, copyright L. Kathryn Grace. All rights reserved.

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2 comments:

Wanda said...

Yes. Let's make this ordinary.

Hayden said...

I'm taking action with the idea "give a woman a meal, you feed her for a day. Teach her to plant a garden and you feed her for a lifetime."

Odd to have left the city and gone to rural countryside w/ this message. But. Shocking how uncommon it is, here, to simply plant a garden for the household. Folks are so used to thinking everything must be done in 100's of acres, that simply planting a few rows seems useless, seems like drudgery, seems just way too hard to do. I've heard the same thing over and over - "I don't want animals/garden because then I'll be tied down and will never be able to go away for a couple of days."

This year I'm working w/ my niece to begin teaching her to manage a household garden. She's eager to learn, and we're beginning to divide up the cropping.

I think to myself that we need a co-operative effort, helping each other. Perhaps also minimizing the challenge of subsistence gardens by making agreements: I'll grow the squash, you grow the melons. Just 3 or 4 people, making a few agreements like that and dividing the responsibilities, would make it easier and also more fun.

Budgets are so tight, everyone is worried, cutting back on eating out, extras - but no one I know is responding by planning to put in a garden, have a couple of chickens.

Hopefully by next fall I'll be bartering frozen chickens for venison and will have my winter garden producing. Only setting an example here will change things.

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