As I sat down to write my sermons this New Year, I somehow found myself returning to the theme of “sustainability.” Click below for my remarks on Erev Rosh Hashanah:
Archive for the ‘International Aid’ Category
The Season of our Sustenance: A Sermon for Erev Rosh Hashanah
Posted in Environmentalism, Fair Trade, Global Activism, Green Buildings, HIV/AIDS, High Holidays, Hunger, International Aid, Judaism, Poverty, Religion, Sermons, Spirituality, Tzedakah on October 2, 2008 | No Comments »
JRC Says Farewell to Africa
Posted in Africa, Education, Fair Trade, International Aid, International Health, JRC Africa Trip 2008, Poverty, Religion, Rwanda, Uganda on July 24, 2008 | 1 Comment »
On our final day in Africa, we visited the Nankusi and Namanyonyi primary schools, both of which are supported by the Peace Kawomera’s fair trade social premiums. Both schools are engaged in building projects to create more classrooms and more essential educational resources. In each school we saw overcrowded classes (many cramming in over 100 [...]
Return to Nantandome
Posted in Africa, Global Activism, HIV/AIDS, International Aid, International Health, JRC Africa Trip 2008, Poverty, Uganda, Water, Women's Issues on July 17, 2008 | 1 Comment »
Today was another full day for our group. It was completely devoted to a visit to the Foundation for the Development of Needy Communities (FDNC) - an NGO that JRC visted three years ago during our first Africa delegation.
In April 2005 JRC was the first group hosted by FDNC, on a trip made in [...]
Sustainable Development from Rwanda to Uganda
Posted in Africa, Fair Trade, HIV/AIDS, International Aid, International Health, JRC Africa Trip 2008, Poverty, Rwanda, Uganda on July 16, 2008 | 1 Comment »
We’re in Uganda now, after one night in Kampala and a four hour plus bus ride to the town of Mbale. Before I report on Uganda, tho, I want to write about our final visit in Rwanda: a stop at the Millennium Village Project in Bugasera (which is in the same district as the Nyamata [...]
We Are Strong, We Are Healthy, We Are Fine…
Posted in Africa, Children's Rights, HIV/AIDS, Health Care, International Aid, International Health, JRC Africa Trip 2008, Rwanda, Uganda on July 14, 2008 | 1 Comment »
The highlight of our Sunday was a visit to the Islamic Center in Nyamyrambo, where we visited with the WE-ACTx children’s program. The young people from our group had already spent the morning with the WE-ACTx young people (above) while the adults went to visit with Mardge Cohen and several interns at their home in [...]
“Amahoro” Means Shalom
Posted in Africa, Children's Rights, HIV/AIDS, Health Care, Human Rights, Hunger, International Aid, International Health, JRC Africa Trip 2008, Poverty, Rwanda on July 13, 2008 | No Comments »
On Shabbat we began our day with a study and discussion of the Torah portion - the central themes of Parshat Pinchas (zealous violence and its complex aftermath) were uncannily appropriate to our experiences of the past few days.
The central experience of our Saturday was a visit to CHABHA (Children Affected By HIV/AIDS) - an [...]
Don’t Just Stand There
Posted in Current Events, Food, Global Activism, Hunger, International Aid on May 8, 2008 | 2 Comments »
If you are reading the news about recent global crises and you’re feeling overwhelmed and impotent, I’ve always found that actually doing something seems to help allay my feelings of helplessness.
To help aid victims of Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar, I’m encouraging donations through the International Development Enterprises. IDE Myanmar opened in 2004 and is one [...]
World Water Week
Posted in Food, Global Activism, International Aid, International Health, Poverty, Water on March 20, 2008 | No Comments »
Did you know that lack of clean and accessible drinking water is the second largest worldwide killer of children under five? Rather than take that in as yet one more depressing stastistic, there is something you can do. UNICEF’s Tap Project is an effort that celebrates the clean and accessible drinking water [...]
Wangari Maathai on the Kenyan Crisis
Posted in Africa, Current Events, Global Activism, International Aid on January 30, 2008 | 2 Comments »
If you are following the tragic and heartbreaking news from Kenya and are not sure of what to make of it all, I recommend this excellent article by one of my heroes, Kenyan environmental/political activist and Nobel Prize receipient Wangari Maathai. (at right)
I’m especially taken by her analysis of tribal loyalties (what she calls “micro-identities”) [...]
Feed the World, Improve Your Vocabulary
Posted in Food, Hunger, International Aid, Poverty on December 19, 2007 | 3 Comments »
Now this is interesting: a website called FreeRice.com hosts an online vocabulary game that actually feeds the hungry. Here’s how it works: you’re given a specific word and are asked to click on the multiple choice answer that best defines it. For each word you get right, they donate 20 grains of rice to the [...]
