Fix This, Please

This child is only 16 months old, and weighs half of what she should be.

Malnutrition is not unknown in Mali - in the past decade, the country has faced three droughts which all led to major food shortages - this year the country has struggled to cope with a prolonged drought and food crisis that is affecting large areas of the Sahel region of West Africa. The crisis has been made worse by a spreading internal conflict.

Islamist militant groups with ties to Al Qaeda control about two-thirds of Mali after hijacking a secular rebellion by Turaeg nomads in the north at the start of this year and seizing more territory in the wake of a March 22 military coup, which toppled the president based in Bamako.

More than 320,000 Malians have fled the north in search of food or safety, 200,000 of them seeking sanctuary in neighboring Niger, Burkina Faso and Mauritania. The remaining 120,000 are internally displaced.

This boy is suffering from acute malnutrition, something that is very common here in Mali.

Despite the vast need, international aid efforts in Mali have been hampered by political chaos and uncertainty, and in the conflict-ridden north, by Islamic extremists who have prevented outsiders from operating in the region. However, IRC staff members who are natives of the north have managed to deliver vital aid to displaced people.

These intrepid aid workers are distributing water purification kits and conducting hygiene promotion campaigns. Still, many people continue to lack clean water, putting them at high risk of cholera.

The Malian people expressed sadness and disbelief over the severity and rapidity of the humanitarian crisis in a country long viewed as stable.

 

This is actually a fairly common thing that happens here. Not with the same terroist group each time, but the act of taking over ones land and food, and ruining their lives.

http://eatocracy.cnn.com/2012/10/16/world-food-day-mali/?hpt=wo_mid

Make it Safe!

Violence keeps girls out of school. Globally, nearly half of all sexual assaults are committed against girls who are 15 and younger. Fear of this type of violence restricts where girls are allowed to go and when they are allowed to be out of the home. Often, parents do not send their daughters to school for this reason.
Violence in the home can also hold girls captive and out of school. For instance, nearly half the girls in developing countries are married during their teenage years, with many before age 15. They may experience profound violence at the hands of their often much older husbands.

But sadly, school does not equal safety. Even girls who are able to go to school still face violence -- in the classroom, of all places. A girl may walk up to five kilometers between home and school in the company of friends or an older brother to avoid the inevitable harassment by groups of men or boys she passes, only to receive more harassment from a teacher once she finally reaches school.

 In schools around the world, teachers pressure girls for sex in exchange for grades. In Zambia, for example, more than 2,000 cases of teacher rapes were reported in 2010 alone. Of these cases, only 240 teachers were convicted. While these numbers may be shocking, Zambia is not the only country with this problem. Schools should be a safe haven for girls, but instead, they are too often a place of fear and danger.

 However, despite the violence that can happen in schools, going to school tends to increase girls' safety outside school. A recent study in Swaziland found that the risk of childhood sexual violence was greatest among those who were not attending school, suggesting that greater educational opportunities decrease vulnerability to violence. Girls in school have an opportunity to escape early marriage and early motherhood, and to gain skills that give them enhanced economic and social opportunities.

 As part of the global community, we can all do our part to help girls by making school safe and making sure they can get to school.

 The benefits of education for girls are undeniable. But until we can ensure that schools are places of learning, rather than places of danger, girls will be held back. When girls are educated—and safe—they, along with our entire societies, will flourish.

This is always going to be a problem around the world. We can’t save everyone, but we will still try. It is such a shame that people have to do these things just to make themselves happy. The world is full of greedy, disgusting people who need to see the big picture.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/11/opinion/buffett-girls-safety/index.html?iref=allsearch