Not sure why YouTube stopped sending digests on Jubilee Project. Be The Change is a timely reminder. And an important one too considering how much focus one puts on a single thing when there are many more things that matter.
So yeah, Be The Change. If I could just italiciZe the word "the".
You have to pay RM 750 prior to handing in 10 copies of your thesis. Pay up!
Well, I’ve summarized the contents of the letter I received from the varsity's Institute of Postgraduate Studies today. They weren’t that blunt but still, they’re asking me for money.
Anyway, it did occur to me where and how I’m going to come up with that amount without clearing out my savings. I guess it’s one of those times when one’s faith is being tested.
Did I mention I landed myself a job? I haven’t replied to the email yet but before you think it’s some four figure salary kind of job, it’s just a part time job. What I have to do is write articles and for an article of about 500 words, I get paid RM 5. That's about a cent per word. So, RM 745 left to go if, and when, I finished my first article.
Hmm... Do I sound distressed? Honestly, I’m fine here. And it’s Friday. Time sure flies when you’ve made an appointment with the dentist. Speaking of the dentist, I was told I might have to pay a small amount [in the range of 0 – 50]. Let’s see how it went.
That’s just a fraction of what people pay in private hospitals. I think private dental clinics charge that much too. Last I heard, it costs four hundred ringgit per tooth to four grand if one chooses to stay for a few days. Ah, fortunate people.
I know the reactions of some people when they hear the word “government” or “public”. But I’ve had some pleasant experience in the past so yeah; I’ll put my money there. That is if I have to pay at all. Alright, enough of dentists and hospitals for now. This is what I watched before I typed this. So, click and watch it. Its 10 cents per view for the kids in Kenya.
A boom from afar heralds a new year In a peaceful place, an explosion causes no fear Yet faraway someone looks up with a tear Hoping the next boom doesn't come near
Lest we forget the New Year is another number For some, the continuity of yet another sneer and jeer Whilst we indulge in a glass of beer amidst all the cheer Know that some cling desperately, to life so dear
Ne'er forget that in some other places People look for signs; for friendly faces Therefore, make attempts this year To be sensitive; into the other world we peer.
“When the world is collectively at risk, defense becomes a shared responsibility of all nations.”
-Dr. Margaret Chan, Director General, World Health Organization; World Health Day 2007
The 2007 October issue of Emerging Infectious Disease by the CDC along with more than 200 other science journals, dedicated that issue to the theme Global Poverty and Human Development. In one perspective, the morbidity of an infectious disease is linked to homelessness (in developed countries) as well as in urban slums (developing countries).
That's one way of seeing the manifestation of poverty besides chronic hunger, severe malnutrition, and unsanitary living conditions without access to safe and potable water. Poverty isn't just he lack of money and the way it's measured is a subject of much debate. Good governance should be in the forefront if measures are to be taken to counter poverty in a particular country. Besides boosting investors' confidence, fair policy together with its effective implementation, and good management of natural resources (revenues); a good governance also means a clean governance. In Malaysia, a position of 43 according to Transparency International (2007) isn't something to be proud of. Not that it'll increase the numbers below the poverty line but then it'll mean that measures to fight corruption will be hampered and result to nothing. Nada. Nought.
Next comes the sensible approach to solving a problem. Take the increasing fuel price and the increasing scarcity of petroleum for instance, designating a huge area of land for oil palm plantations to be used as feedstocks for biodiesel production would on one hand reduce dependency on petroleum but it does no good to the price of food for consumers. Instead of using a food crop, the fund should go into the exploration of inedible feedstocks (lately Jatropha curcas) and cheap ones (sugar canes in Brazil).
Then we hear of calls to raise the minimum wage. Whilst that may seem to benefit a certain group of low-income earners, it puts pressure on all other wage rates of other skills. In the supply and demand world, skills which are rare or difficult to master have a higher value as do high-risk professions. Bear in mind that as wages rise, the costs of food and service produced would inevitably be borne by consumers. The solution lie, not in charity, but empowerment of the poor by education, vocational training, multiple-skill acquisition as well as ending discrimination; the latter being important in creating gender equality and recognizing the potential of women.
On a personal note, as one in the field of Science, I believe Science could do more to help the needy. Funding should come because of the benefits of a research and not due to the prospect of holding a patent and earning big bucks. Sad but it has become a reality. Vaccines and hardy seed of a particular crop is of no use to the people in the third world if they can't afford these technologies. Ponder on the words of Jonas Salk who developed the first vaccine against polio, when asked who holds the patent to the antipolio vaccine:
"Humankind. Could you patent the sun?"
Poverty could be seen from one aspect as a money problem but it is also a people problem. The former could be solved by a stroke of the pen by a particular government but that would also mean the devaluation of the currency, hence inflation; whilst the latter has got to do with human nature: selfish and covetous. It's high time we stop taking things - basic, everyday things - for granted and start putting the phrase "start them young" into action to avoid a generation having nothing but apathy.
Has fighting poverty become a shared responsibility yet?
