What can WE do?

This is a timely reminder for me that I should be remembering to click at www.thehungersite.com every day
Every click funds food for the hungry.

There are also buttons to click on to help in other areas too.

I also like to help where I can and often feel useless in the face of some disaster, or just generally. Looking forward to hearing others' suggestions.

Isn't that awful - I was waiting for someone else to say something first. I've been back to clicking at the Hunger Site and the others for a few months now, and I recently found another site - http://www.wearewhatwedo.org/ - and inevitably the title of this thread made me think of it. It's a whole bunch of 'little' things we can all do to make the world a nicer place to live in.

As a group I'm not so sure because we're spread out quite a bit. I think that part of what makes the current scary stuff so depressing compared to the misery of a world war is the way people respond to it. It takes something of the size of September 11th to make people pull together, to really understand we're supposed to be on the same side. I recently watched a period episode of Dr Who set during the present Queen's coronation and it ended with a massive street party which weren't uncommon then, and people seemed to be more supportive during those wars than they are now. Perhaps that's just rose-tinted specs... I do think that sense of community is often what's missing in making the world a better place. I don't know how to go about creating that in the 'real world', in my own neighbourhood, but I know how to appreciate the community we've built here and I know it makes every individual stronger to be a part of it.

Sorry, that drifted into my usual outloud musings, rather than really going anywhere. Don't have much to offer on what we can do as a group, oth than maybe try to take what we've learned from being part of this online community into the 'real world' with us and try to rebuild community links somehow.

Kerri.

I suppose it is best to be satisfied with the little things that we can do for now, as I realize that I have had friends whose families felt neglected due to their mothers taking on a very good or worth while cause, but forgetting why they chose to stay home. Of course, I still believe that it is important to do as much as we can in this world, but I've also been thinking that perhaps there is a season for everything, which means I should spend most of my time raising my children to be people who are conscious of their surroundings, about even with that should be giving my husband a lasting-loving relationship, and then do my duty for my world. Plus, I can't see any better way to make the world better than if all of us pass our knowledge and abilities on to our children. Then, once they are a bit more independent, we can be the example.

Sorry this is so long, but once I've been thinking I must complete my thought. Also, don't forget to click!!! http://www.thehungersite.com

Everything you buy at the store or eat or drink at restaurants has political consequences when you consider how far flung the food and goods trade network extends around the globe. For instance, foods grown in the tropics like coffee or chocolate are usually a product of a monoculture system that does not provide living wages for the workers at best and uses slave labor or child labor at worst, and compromises the enviroment, either by cutting down rainforests to make new crop fields or other environmental degredation. These kinds of conditions are phenomenally harsh to live under and are not sustainable either in terms of human costs, economic survival, or enviromental conservation.

What can you do? Buy "Fair Trade" food whereever possible. Fair Trade coffee, tea, cocoa, fresh fruit, rice and sugar are now sold here in the US and in Europe. Fair Trade means that farmers and workers, typically in third world countries, are paid a living wage for their work, that the goods were NOT harvested by child or slave labor, that the working conditions are safe, that they have the right to unionize, the UN charter of human rights is followed, and the fair price covers the complete "cost" of the product--not just the cost of production but includes helping the social development of the region and the protection and conservation of the environment.

It obviously costs more, but once I found out about the grinding misery and exploitation of the people producing these goods I really lost my taste for anything but Fair Trade when possible. If you can afford only ONE Fair Trade purchase a month, or only one product, like sugar, that's still helping.

What else can be done to alieviate the desperate conditions of the poorest of the poor? Micro loans. Microcredit.

"Anyone who scoffs at the value of 62 cents should talk to Muhammad Yunus. In 1976, the Bangladeshi economics professor tried an experiment. From his pocket, he lent the equivalent of $26 to a group of 42 workers. With that 62 cents per person, they bought the materials for a day's work weaving chairs or making pots. At the end of their first day as independent business owners, they sold their work and soon paid back loan.

Thus began the microcredit movement." --From the New York Times (archive, February 16, 1997)

Kiva has made it possible for $25 and a paypal account to be all you need to give someone in Bulgaria, Ecuador, Kenya, Uganda, or Cambodia the capital to start their own business and support themselves and their families for the rest of their lives. And it's not charity. It's a loan. They pay you back.

Reading the testamonials about how these tiny loans "teach a man to fish" as the proverb says, you realize this is making a difference, a very very big difference.

And by all means, teaching your children by your example the values of tolerance, acceptance, and compassion for all people is another powerful way to help make the world a better place.

There's a great website for parents called Character Education that has a list of web resources for parents with ideas for teaching character development, citizenship, cooperation, courage, honesty, patience, etc. A good place to go when you start to run out of ideas or need some encouragement.

It's understandable that you'd not want to take on a worthy cause if it would mean neglecting your family's needs. But there are some worthwhile causes the whole family can participate in together. Habitat For Humanity will team up with churches and with community youth groups so entire families can work together to end "poverty housing". They even have a Vacation Bible School curriculum called "Under Construction" where children learn what HFH is and help out.

There are also resources like Another Path's webpage about Service Projects for Kids. They are a resource for homeschooling deaf or hard of hearing children, but the Service information applies to all.

If you take a deep breath, step back, and look for creative solutions you can dive in and find several somethings to do, alone or with your whole family, that will alieviate suffering and lift up your fellow brothers and sisters.

And kudos to you Jilsyt for asking the question.

Anhata
www.familynaturally.com
Your Family's General Store, Naturally

If you tend to buy through the internet, there is a website called Novica in partnership with National Geographic that provides artisans all over the world with the opportunity to sell their work on the Novica website. All the middlemen are removed so the artists and artisans make more money and you pay less. This is an extension of the fair trade economics practice, to my mind.

A few years ago I bought a pair of earrings from one of their artists for a friend's birthday. The artist was a woman in Thailand who's business employed fifteen members of her family and her community. The purchase price of the earrings went straight to her company, the shipping costs went to Novica who handles all of that, and it was shipped directly to my friend. Takes 2 to 3 weeks for delivery as it's overseas shipping, but if you plan ahead, it's worth it.

Just another idea along the fair economics practices that improves life across the globe.

Anhata
www.familynaturally.com
Your Family's General Store, Naturally

Buy local as much as possible. Buy bulk/unpackaged/minimally packaged. Better still: Grow/make your own! The more responsible we are for our individual needs, the better off we all are.

Oh, and give Heifer Project items as gifts!

Lynn Siprelle, Editor

Thanks!!
Many of those websites that Anhata mentioned, I'd never heard of, but had a great time looking over. And just a thought to add to those who feel they can't possibly afford to buy local (sometimes it's higher since we have few locals that sell, so they are in high demand), I found that when I cut the junk food and bought more local produce, our lives (and health) improved, and our budget actually was a little better off!! I found that the junk stuff was a real drain on the budget, mainly because it takes so much more to fill us up. (Example; when I buy and grind local wheat to make pancakes, it takes 2 pancakes a person to fill us to popping...it took 6 pancake mix pancakes the other day for the same effect. Jam made with local berries (or home grown) has more nutritional content that the maple syrup we would buy (since we'd buy fake cuz we're cheap), and adds fiber which also fills us. Just a note.

I somehow... when I should have been working! started looking at sites on recycling. Now I have a new folder for bookmarks of this kind, taking the title of this thread, and I have filled it with the sites I've just found and all the sites listed on here. Having them all in one place where I can see them, nearest my most frequent bookmarks, will definitely help me to remember to look at them regularly and try to do more I think.

I've also copied down a few of the recycling sites for my kids' teachers, since they had activities and tips for schools, as well as educational materials in return for certain recycling goals. I know my son's year group have recently implemented separate boxes for recycling paper - not sure if that's across the school or not yet. I also found a link for making homemade paper which the school might find an interesting activity to add to any topic on recycling.

these are the sites I just found that seem interesting:

www.recyclezone.org
www.recyclenow.com
www2.btcv.org.uk
and for all you Walmart haters this one may make you seethe, since our Asda is owned by your Walmart:
www.asdacares.gpalm.co.uk

I really have to do some work now!

Kerri.