Day Forty!

Day Forty has arrived! My lent "project" has certainly led me down many different roads and caused me to look at issues right in my own corner of the world and places a world away.

By blogging about the various issues I had hoped to become more informed about the world around me. I think I've not only become more informed, but more aware. Each day as I was searching out blog inspirations, I noticed things I hadn't seen before. I became more aware of how I used my time. Writing a daily blog post was not as easy. The issues required more research and more pondering than I'd anticipated. And I began pondering not just the blog issues, but also my personal life.

Time. It's something we all make choices about. I am notoriously poor at judging how much time I need to complete a task. A 1/2 hour set aside in the afternoon (during my girls' "rest" time") turned into 1 hour and into another hour in the evening. I became much more aware of how I choose to use my time. Writing a shorter blog post was often a choice to spend more time with my girls or my husband.

Personal Fulfillment. We all want to do something that brings us satisfaction and hopefully helps others in the process. I found it very gratifying to be expanding my knowledge and having the added challenge of packaging that new found knowledge into a blog post. This realization had me reflecting on what I do day-to-day and how I feel about myself.

It's been a great journey- intellectually, emotionally, spiritually. Perhaps, exactly what one hopes to get out of a Lenten discipline. And now it's time to move onto Easter. (And not just the indulgence of chocolate eggs!) Easter embodies HOPE. Easter says to me that I am not alone, that there is grace for my failures and that new life, hope, is in the most difficult circumstances.

So will I be back for another 40 days next Lent? I can't say for sure. However, here's a re-cap of the previous 39 days. 39 days of people offering Hope!

Day 1: Tiny Bundles @ Surrey Food Bank

Day2: Oak Ave Clothes Closet

Day 3: Thrift Stores

Day 4: Poverty: 25 in 5, Make Poverty History

Day 5: Full Day Kindergarten

Day 6: Downtown Eastside: Union Gospel Mission, First United

Day 7: DTES: Community Voicemail

Day 8: DTES: Knitting Grannies

Day 9: DTES: Teen Volunteers

Day 10: Wealth Beyond a Bank Account

Day 11: DTES: Sisterwatch

Day 12: (aka Day 31 B) Surrey Homelessness & Housing Society

Day 13: Monarch Place Women's Shelter

Day 14: Dating Abuse

Day 15: Community Knitter's Circle

Day 16: Gov't Spending: WorldVision "Gift" Catalogue

Day 17: Sarah Maclachlan: World on Fire Video

Day 18: Homelessness: Woodwynn Farms

Day 19: Me to We

Day 20: International Aid: Poverty.com

Day 21: TOMS shoes

Day 22: 30 Hour Famine

Day 23: Commitment (Tortise & Hare)

Day 24: AIDS in Africa: Stephen Lewis Foundation

Day 25: AIDS in Africa: Sex Ed & Funding

Day 26: AIDS in Africa: Mama Orphan

Day 27: Africa: Education Aid

Day 28: Microfinance: Oikocredit

Day 29: "Third World" definition

Day 30: Oxfam Hunger Banquet

Day 31: Habitat for Humanity: ReStore

Day 32: Fair Trade: Ethical Consumerism

Day 33: Fair Trade: Ten Thousand Villages

Day 34: Fair Trade: Peppa Bunny

Day 35: Third World Eyeglass Society

Day 36: Doctors Without Borders (MSF)

Day 37: Social Media: Twestival

Day 38: Food Calculator: WeFeedBack

Day 39: Earth Day

Day Thirty-Nine: Happy Earth Day!

I spent a good part of today fighting my nemesis, the buttercup. I had no idea what a nuisance the buttercup was until I became a homeowner with a yard overrun by them. There is something very gratifying about weeding, but also very frustrating as those darn things keep coming back! We are trying to clear some space for a vegetable garden. The girls are excited about growing their own food. I'm just excited to clear out the weeds and hope that we might have some tasty homegrown treats spring up throughout the summer.

Are you one of the billion people worldwide celebrating Earth Day? http://earthday.ca/(Check out the great kids activities and teachers' page @ http://ecokids.ca/) I don't usually post about specifically environmental issues but today is a good exception. I believe that we are stewards of the earth- its animals, its plants, its resources and its people. Compassion for the earth leads to compassion for people, and vice versa. And out of compassion comes Hope!

So Happy Earth Day! Enjoy your earth, weeds and all!

Day Thirty-Eight:Chocolate Cake = Feeding Hungry Kids!

Chocolate cake, blueberries, soft-serve ice cream. Some of my favourite foods could help feed hungry children around the world. How you might ask? At http://www.WeFeedback.org/ the food calculator takes your favourite foods and their estimated cost and converts them the number of children that could be fed, then that amount of $ can be donated to help feed hungry children.

WeFeedback is a social media app launched by the World Food Program (a branch of the United Nations). The money raised goes to WFP school meal programs.

You favourite foods, helping to fight hunger and bring hope to the hungry!

Day Thirty-Seven: The Social Good!

Can you remember life before Social Media? Have you caught yourself thinking about your "status update" or next "tweet" throughout the day? Social Media has had its share of negative labels and press; cyber bullying, gossip factory, timewaster. It's about time that social media had some spin doctoring and let people know the good it can do.


Twestival (or "twitter festival") was spearheaded by Amanda Rose in 2008, when a group of friends in London decided to gather a bunch of their Twitter PR friends together, put on an event and give 100% of the proceeds to charity. www.twestival.com In 2009, it expanded globally and the rest is history! The idea is to TWEET the word through twitter, MEET at the event, then GIVE to the chosen cause.

This year's Twestival focus was local charities and was held on March 24th. Keep your radar tuned for details about Twestival 2012!

Catching Up!

I'm behind once again! Life just seems to have kept going and I'm running after it, feeling a little like I've missed the bus!

DAY THIRTY-FIVE: EYEGLASSES

For those of us who are also known as "four eyes" we probably have some. Those outdated eyeglasses, tucked away in a drawer somewhere. Maybe we had a bit of an eyeglass makeover, maybe our prescription changed, or if we're lucky, we just don't need them anymore (laser surgery?) It seems wasteful just to throw them out, so what can we do? Send them to the Third World Eye Care Society http://www.twecs.ca/ This organization will take your eyeglasses to developing countries where an eye care professional, who is volunteering their time, will perform an eye exam at a mobile clinic and distribute the necessary glasses. Imagine what an impact improved sight can bring! So dig around in your drawers and take those unused glasses to your optometrist's office and let them

DAY THIRTY SIX: Doctor, Doctor!

The post above got me thinking about professionals that volunteer their time and services abroad. I've always heard about Doctors Without Borders and wondered what they do. They are known worldwide by their French name, Medicins Sans Frontieres (MSF). Since 1971, these volunteer medical personnel (not just doctors but nurses, surgeons, etc.) are often called upon by the UN to respond to emergency medical situations in "areas of need". They focus on the immediate needs- vaccinations, administering primary healthcare (prescriptions, diagnosis), providing food for malnutrition, mental health care, establishing a supply of necessary medical supplies and drugs. They also help train medical personnel in the country, set-up sanitation facilities, provide special care for mothers-to-be and children, rebuilding medical clinics and hospitals. http://www.msf.ca/ MSF was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1999 for their great humanitarian work.

There is a movie based on the stories of MSF doctors in Liberia and Congo. This documentary points out the less-glamorous moments and heartbreaking decisions that make up the day-to-day life of the doctors in the war-zones. The movie actually gets some playtime in Vancouver at the Vancity Theatre (1181 Seymour). Living in Emergency: Stories of Doctors Without Borders www.imbd.com/title/tt1294182/

Another 3 in 1! Fair Trading

So here I am once again on my day of "rest" updating my blog. When starting this blog I really anticipated that I would just write a little introduction to the topic and include a link & "bippity boppity boo" instant blog gratification! A checkmark in the to-do column and everything's good. I underestimated the complexity of the issues I've looked into (I suppose if the issues were simple someone would have come up with a solution) and the time it takes to sort it all through in my head and then package the info neatly into a blog post. I appreciate the feedback from you readers. It's encouraging to know that as I've explored a variety of issues I've hopefully offered hope and inspiration to others, or at least another moment of procrastination as you surf through facebook.

DAY THIRTY TWO: ETHICAL CONSUMERISM
Fairtrade, Green, Recycled, Upcycled, Shade-Grown, Organic, Grain-fed, 100 Mile Diet, Dolphin Safe, Oceanwise, Hybrid, Carbon Neutral... the list goes on. There are a mind boggling number of terms out there when it comes to being an "ethical consumer". As a result of crossing paths with so many websites regarding poverty I've become more aware of how I spend my money and how those decisions can affect others.

What is Fairtrade? The fairtrade movement actually started in the 1940's and 1950's with a Mennonite group importing handicrafts from Puerto Rico. This group later became Ten Thousand Villages. In the 1950's Oxfam began selling handicrafts from Chinese refugees which inspired shops such as Worldshop in Europe to open. It was in the 1960's that the movement really gained momentum and expanded to items such as; tea and coffee, cocoa, sugar and nuts. The idea was to expand these items to the mainstream while cutting out the middleman so that the producers kept a larger portion of the profit.

Inevitably, labeling of FT products became an issue. In 2002 an International Fairtrade label was established by the Fairtrade Labelling Organization (FLO), the blue and green one, with Canada and the US adopting another (the black and white one). In order for products to qualify as Fairtrade they need to meet the following standards:
- grown and harvested under international fairtrade standards which monitor the social and environmental factors
- have the supply chain monitored for social conditions (no children, a healthy and safe working environment) and sustainable environmental practices

These measures hope to ensure that a fair price is paid to the producer, that their product and production is sustainable and that some money is shared with the wider community for projects such as; medical clinics, sanitation improvement and schools.

Fairtrade is not without its critics. Some critics worry that current market values are not reflected in the actual prices of FT produce, due to crop production taking 3-4 years (or more) to yield results. They also worry that FT economic practices don't create an authentic market that takes into account the role of competition or the realities of the rural economic system, where a majority of the products come from. These oversights create a market failure and weaken the ability of the FT system to fight poverty. Others suggest that the FT label is really just a marketing ploy to get consumers to buy the products and prop up the economy of the local producers. Despite the critics, the Worldbank conducted a study of FT in 2006 and concluded that the FT system is effective.

So what's a consumer to do? Before you throw your hands in the air and run out to the nearest Walmart, take a deep breath. Just by raising your awareness of where your goods are produced and further considering the culture and living conditions of the producers you are using your consumer dollars wisely. Those in the Fairtrade loop encourage consumers to not only consider Fairtrade but the concept of Trade Justice. Trade Justice seeks to create an equal partnership between producers, importers, shops, the labeling organizations, and consumers. One way to get involved in Trade Justice is to participate in World Fair Trade Day on May 14th. Check out this link for more information: www.wftday.org It won't cost you anything but will increase your awareness, and that is at the heart of becoming an ethical consumer.

DAY THIRTY THREE: Shopping in "The Village"
Ten Thousand Villages has been a leader in bringing fair trade goods to the consumers (aka the developed countries). The website not only provides unique and interesting products but also has some more information about fair trade. www.tenthousandvillages.ca Click the "fairtrade" section on the top toolbar of the page and find out about the World Fairtrade Organization (WFTO) principles of fairtrade, as well as "10 Reasons to Support Fairtrade" and personal stories.
(I will also add that when shopping for gifts it's a great idea to think of not only the artisans located around the world but also those located in your own community. So the next time you are in your own "village" boutique ask for items made by local artisans.)

DAY THIRTY FOUR: Oh Baby, Baby!
Speaking of gifts, I came across a great baby gift awhile ago. On the day my first niece was born I was so excited and wanted to buy a gift right away. I was in North Vancouver and found a baby boutique on Lonsdale (wish I could remember which one!). In the store I found the Peppa Bunny Doll. The saleswomen extolled the virtues of the doll, especially the little knots that act as the doll's limbs and a soft teether. This really appealed to me since my six month old daughter was chewing on anything that came near her mouth at the time. She also told me that the doll is stuffed with sheep's wool which absorbs Mom or Dad's scent. It is also created using Fairtrade practices. www.babysbestdesigns.com/peppa_bonding.php Peppa Bunny has become a hit with my niece. She loves her pink bunny so much my sister-in-law found a "Pseudo-Peppa" as a back-up!

Day Twelve... aka Day Thirty-One B!

So I'm a little short on time today. Canucks game. Meeting, etc. Anyways, I was looking through my posting list and noticed that I actually missed Day Twelve. Skipped right from eleven to thirteen. So today is kind of a bonus post, "Thirty One B" (although it sounds a little like a bra size).

I was doing some research for a grant writing group for our church building project and came across the Surrey Homelessness and Housing Society. http://www.surreyhomelessnessandhousing.org/

They are strategically targeting projects that address the needs of the homeless or those at risk of becoming homeless. Being a suburban area with it's share of urban issues Surrey is on the right track to direct significant funds towards safe and affordable housing for its residents!

Day Thirty One: Spring Clean Up!

It's Spring Clean-Up week in Delta. I have a love-hate relationship with clean-up week. I admit that I drive around with one eye looking out for a sidewalk deal, but I'm also amazed by all the junk that ends up curbside. And I mean junk.

There are lots of broken plastic items and electronics (I saw the garbage guys trying to fit an old school 50" TV into their truck). When looking at the heaps of junk, it is a good reminder to me to consider the quality of items that I purchase so they don't end up, broken, on the curb in a couple of years. Spilling on the sidewalks, there are many items that shouldn't be out on the curb- mattresses, building materials, electronics. It makes going for a walk with my little sidewalk scroungers very slow, as they need to stop at every little pile to inspect the "goods".

The part I love about Clean Up week is the element of recycling. Still-good items can find a new home, instead of ending up in the landfill or cluttering up a basement or garage. It's been suggested that communities schedule Curbside Recycling Days more frequently. These days would allow folks to put out still use able furniture, appliances, building materials etc. (although owners would be responsible for hauling them back again). What an easy way to recycle household goods!

With so many people doing renovations there is a lot more waste being produced. The ugly vanity, the hideous light fixture are all deemed trash able. But wait a minute, one person's trash is another's treasure (as seen by the pick-ups loaded to the brim cruising the streets during Clean-Up week). Many of these items can be re-purposed through Habitat For Humanity's ReStore. www.habitat.ca We've used the ReStore for many of our projects around the cabin with great results.

Habitat for Humanity's mission, since 1976, has been to provide safe and affordable housing while partnering with people and businesses in the community. They've been in Canada since 1985 and completed 1,800 homes. Worldwide they've built over 400,000 homes for more than 2 million people! Keep up the great work, habitat! And keep your eyes open for that curbside treasure, or just vist the ReStore!

Day Thirty: Looking at the World with New Eyes & an Empty Stomach!

There are some experiences in life that make us look at the world in a different way. Often these moments come to us spontaneously and unplanned. Perhaps in the form of a chance meeting with a stranger, an image in a photograph or movie, the haunting words of a story or song. Other times it is an intentional experience; a mission trip, helping out at a soup kitchen, an inspiring sermon. No matter how we experience these moments it opens our eyes wider to the world and we are able to "see" things we haven't seen before and to act with compassion.

A "Hunger Banquet" is one of those intentional moments that have moved me. I haven't actually participated in a formal Oxfam Hunger Banquet. Oxfam.ca or actfast.oxfamamerica.org. The Hunger Banquet is set up to reflect in inequities of the world. Nearly 1 billion people go hungry even though there is enough food produced world-wide to feed everyone. At the Hunger Banquet the guests are randomly divided into three groups: a high income group (15%) who eat a delicious and nutritious meal, a middle income group (25%) who eat a simple meal of beans, rice and water, and a low income group (60%) who wait in line for a meager bit of rice and water. An MC then leads the group in some discussion about what life is like for each of the groups and a group discussion follows allowing guests to reflect on their experience.

I've experienced my own version of a hunger banquet. I've staged a similar experience for my students and VBS groups. As the kids enter the space I divide them into three groups- one sits on nice comfortable chairs, one on benches, and another on the floor, many "No fairs" are voiced. I proceed to tell the groups about the approximate world income groups that they represent and areas in the world that might fit into those groups. Then I take various topics: food, water, medical care, transportation, education and give the kids pictures or symbols that reflect the realities for the various groups. For example: For food and water, I give each child in the first group a box of cereal, a juice box and some plastic fruit & veggies, I give the kids in the second group one box of cereal and a jug of water with a few cups, and in the third group I give them some leftover crackers and a bottle of dirty water. I then explain a little bit about the quality of nutrition and how many meals each group would get each day and how they might find their water. For education, I give out notebooks, a textbook and pencils to each child in the first group, a pencil to each child in the second group, and the kids in the third group get a few pencils to share. I then give out pretend money- $1000 to each kid in the first group, $10 to each person in the second group, and loonies to a only couple of the kids in the third group to represent future earning potential.

At the end of the "banquet" the kids in the first group have so many things that their laps are overflowing and many of their items are sitting on the floor around them. Each time I do this activity it is a visual reminder to me of just how much I have. Too much. A reminder of the inequity that exists in the world. Each time, I have a renewed sense of gratitude and eyes that are open a little wider looking for ways to share the bounty of my banquet.

Day Twenty-Nine: "Third World" politically incorrect?

Have you ever wondered where the term, "third-world" came from? Lately, I've noticed that I haven't heard "third-world" being used as often as it used to be. I began to wonder if I've missed some semantic shift and was stuck being politically-incorrect. So I turned to my friend, Wikipedia to find some answers. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_World

I was surprised to learn that the term originated in the 1950's during the Cold War and referred to the countries that were not aligned with the capitalists countries (first world) nor the communist countries (second world). These countries were often former colonial states and had underdeveloped social, economic and political systems. The French demographer, Alfred Sauvy, who coined the term had said, "...the Third World is nothing, and wants to be something."

In recent years the term has been questioned. I would suggest that "third world" has a negative association with it. It seems to put struggling countries into a lesser category and dooms them to always be disadvantaged. The term "developing countries" is perhaps more accurate. It portrays a more positive outlook. And a positive outlook inspires hope!