WBEZ | Global Activism

Global Activism: Pan African Rural Health and Social Services aids Africans in dire need

Thu, 02 May 2013 09:27:00 -0500

Pan African Rural Health and Social Services (PRHeSS) aids rural Africans in: maintaining clean drinking water; sanitary living conditions; poverty alleviation and opportunity through education. The group was founded by Chicago area physician Sam Kormoi and his wife, Mary. Dr. Kormoi pays close attention to his native Sierra Leone, a country devastated and traumatized by years of civil war. Dr. Kormoi, along with PRHeSS Board Director, Lesta Woods, will share stories about the people and communities they're helping to transform.

This Saturday May 4th, 2013, PRHeSS will sponsor a Walk-a-Thon of doctors and nurses for food, clothing, medical and school supplies for rural Africans.

Global Activism: La Isla Foundation and protestors under threat for exposing Chronic Kidney Disease in Nicaragua sugar cane workers

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 13:21:00 -0500

Jason Glaser runs La Isla Foundation, founded in 2008 by a Nicaraguan ex-sugarcane worker, an American documentary filmmaker, and a Nicaraguan legal investigator. The group addresses an epidemic of Chronic Kidney Disease of unknown etiology (CKDu) affecting agricultural communities across Central America, particularly in Western Nicaragua. This disease, first recorded about 30 years ago, has steadily increased in both prevalence and mortality rates.The epicenter of both the epidemic and sugar production is Chichigalpa, Nicaragua. There, sugarcane workers are dying at an alarming rate from CKDu. In the past decade, CKDu caused the deaths 75% of deaths of men aged 35-55 in Chichigalpa.

A new report documents the high occurrence of kidney disease among sugarcane workers. The report also concludes that inaction by both the Nicaraguan government and the largest cane company in Nicaragua set the stage for a peaceful protest turned riot.

The disease is characterized by a gradual decrease of kidney function, eventually resulting in renal failure. Due to limited medical and financial resources in Nicaragua, CKDu is a terminal illness. Death from chronic kidney failure is often slow and extremely painful. Impoverished families are left to pick up the pieces, often sending their young sons out into the sugar cane fields.

During the course of the Foundation's work, some Nicaraguan government officials and sugar cane industry supporters implied Glaser was a drug trafficker as well as a CIA operative. Also, La Isla Foundation has received numerous threats. Glaser says that while the treatment of the Foundation and its employees has been as he calls it, "reprehensible", members of the affected community have also been victims of severe reprisals.

On March 18, 2013, protestors and bystanders attempting to call attention to the epidemic, including children as young as 6 years old were trampled, beaten, and targeted for arrest. Ten sugar cane workers were fired for participating in academic research investigating the cause of the disease. Others have been fired for speaking to the media, or attempting to independently unionize, according to Glaser.

Update: The company rehired the 10 workers from the causality study. Glaser and others give credit to this story.

Glaser gives his account of a tragic example:

In February of this year I lost a friend, Lino Mayorga to complications with his CKDu treatment. His son, Jimmy, is already sick at 24, having worked the sugarcane fields like his father. Lino was a pillar of his community: the founder of his neighborhood, a little league coach, and a liaison between the community and the mayor’s office in Chichigalpa. I often wondered what he could have accomplished and given the world had he been born in a different time and place. Despite having given over thirty years of his life to the cane fields, working 8-12 hour days, seven days a week he died in absolute pain and poverty.

Lino had also been a Sandinista guerilla commando. As a young man, he risked his life fighting the brutality of the Somoza dictatorship so his country could chart a more equitable future. On the night he died, 34 years later, with the Sandinistas again in power, his long time partner, Maria, told me the following, “Somoza’s National Guard was horrific, they would pull our neighbors from their homes, beat them, shoot them like dogs in the street. We got smart though, we learned to hide and then we learned to fight back so we could have a better life. But this disease, this company (the Pellas Group), the inaction of our government, these things are all worse than the National Guard, worse than Somoza. If this company did not hold food stipends over our heads, did not hold these jobs that are killing us over our heads this entire city would stand up for itself. However, as it stands now, we are nothing but slaves.’ I was stunned by those words.

Global Activism: Tikondane helps communities in Zambia

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 09:19:00 -0500

Coming off a successful 2013 Global Activism Expo, we visit with one of this year’s attendees. Elke Kroeger-Radcliffe, founder and director of Tikondane, a “community uplift organization” based in Katete, Zambia, tells us about her latest projects and the people involved with her work.

Global Activism: Bright Hope International gives aid and comfort to the extreme poor

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 07:05:00 -0500

Join Worldview on Saturday, 4/6/13 for WBEZ's 6th Annual Global Activism Expo, hosted by the UIC Social Justice Initiative.

Bright Hope International helps faith communities provide aid and assistance to the extreme poor in some of the world’s most devastated countries. The group aligns many of its programs with the UN Millennium Development Goals. Some of Bright Hope's primary goals are in: extreme poverty and hunger eradication; universal primary education; combating infectious disease and promoting environmental sustainability - all this with a focus on gender equality, reducing child mortality and improving maternal health. Bright Hope recently started a program to rescue girls from the sex trade in northern India.

We’ll talk with Bright Hope's CEO and president, C.H. Dyer about the group's work. Dyer has encountered a number of memorable people in his travels:

Justine Nkandu is a single mother of six from the rural area of Samfya, Zambia. She is thriving after being given the opportunity of a microloan through Bright Hope in 2009. From three years on the program, Justine increased production of beans by 300%. Last year, she harvested 84 gallons of peanuts and used the profits from her farming business to build a house and iron sheets for her roof. “My vision is to save money for my children’s education before they reach high school, and to maintain food security for my family,” she said.

Justine now feels that she has made enough capital to stand on her own and has requested that the leadership from her church allow her to step aside from the microloan program so that others may benefit. “My family no longer worries about where our next meal will come from. We are not poor anymore. Now we can bless others. I thank the Lord for giving me knowledge and wisdom to make me reach this far in sustaining my livelihood and my family,” she said. Justine is expecting to double her harvest of peanuts, cassava, and maize this year.

Global Activsm: 'Sustainable Sharing with Guatemala' partners with locals to build communities

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 11:28:00 -0500

Longtime Global Activist, Julie Siegel, has a new NGO called Sustainable Sharing with Guatemala (SSG). Fresh off a trip to Guatemala, she'll tell us about how factors like climate change and the mining industry have impacted sustainability, biodiversity and people's way of life.

You can see Julie and hear more about the work of (SSG) at the 2013 Global Activism Expo on Saturday April 6th at the UIC Forum.

Julie has seen positive change since her last visit to Guatemala. More in her blog:

“I have been visiting the AFOPADI (Asociación de formación para el desarrollo integral) projects in the region of Huehuetenango, Guatemala for nearly a decade. Initially, I went as a donor, then as a project director for Earthways and now additionally, I make annual site-visits as President of the non-profit I formed two years ago, Sustainable Sharing with Guatemala (SSG). With the perspective I am now developing, I can start to see why AFOPADI is such an exceptional NGO. I imagine that most NGOs face similar challenges in the problems confronting life at the extreme edges of poverty, Climate Change, war, politics and religion. Guatemala is no different; I have been visiting since the 1980s when I worked in the US with Guatemalan refugees during the war. With the opportunity to have seen countless NGOs, I can now see that AFOPADI is one of those few groups that not only has a sustainable footprint, but evidences change. Real change is beginning to show itself in a host of ways that come from AFOPADI's local base and leadership with the Indigenous Mayan Mam communities in the Cuchumantanes mountains of Guatemala. One exciting change I saw this trip was that in the village closest to the regional town, AFOPADI no longer gives scholarships to support attending high school. There is no longer a need since the parents in that community have, over nearly 20 years, come to internalize the fact that education is important and will now prioritize and sacrifice to send their kids (including girls!) to high school. Not only has AFOPADI listened to the communities they serve, but as well, projects have been in constant adaption to the realities on-the-ground. AFOPADI was founded by three Guatemalan brothers of part-indigenous origin. While having received more formal education than most Guatemalans, being local, these brothers better understand the infrastructure and methods that work in a developing country. Working with a cultural understanding enables AFOPADI to have successes both external and most importantly: internal. For internalized change is the key to our sustainable future.”

Global Activism: LIFT-USA making a difference for families in India

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 07:52:00 -0500

Reese Mugerditchian heard Father Jamels James on Global Activism, in 2010, talk about his group, Leading India's Future Today (LIFT). The NGO provides education and leadership training for children from various religious and social castes. It changed her life. Since then, Reese has been to India several times to work for LIFT. Mugerditchian and Dan Quinn, director of Operations for LIFT USA, are back from recent India trips.

You can see Reese and hear more about the work of LIFT and LIFT-USA at the 2013 Global Activism Expo on Saturday April 6th at the UIC Forum.

Reese said the Expo had a profound effect on her:

"In 2011 while driving to an appointment I listened to an interview Jerome McDonnell had with Fr. Jamels James. I've always had a passion for the children of India and dreamed of getting involved with an organization there. Something in that interview spoke to me. Luckily the [Global Activism] Expo was coming up and LIFT was planning on being there. After the Expo I attended a LIFT meeting. Fr Jamels asked me what had motivated me to come to the meeting, I told him I wanted to volunteer in India. And just like that he extended the invitation for me to visit LIFT. I'm not sure what I expected from my trip, I knew I wanted to volunteer, lend a helping hand - find a way to contribute in a meaningful way. I found so much more. The students of LIFT are amazing young adults. They are fiercely dedicated and joyful even though their lives have given them every opportunity to give up. These children are talented leaders and are making such a wonderful impact on their community. I really believe that they will be part of a great social change in India. I cannot tell you how grateful I am for worldview and WBEZ. Your program is doorway to the world for all of us dreaming to get out there and make a difference. I have since been to LIFT 4 times. Each visit allows me to connect with more of the children, learn their inspiring stories, and encourage them to continue their hard work."

Here's a video of two LIFT students talking about the program.

Global Activism: Chicago doctor performs free gynaecology surgeries across the globe

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 10:35:00 -0500

For our Global Activism segment, Chicagoan Dr. Nicole Williams has traveled to many countries including the Dominican Republic and Cambodia, doing necessary gyne surgeries (prolapse of uterus, family planning) for patients who otherwise can't afford them. She’ll tell us about the work she’s done with Medical Ministry International, a faith-based organization which does surgical, medical, dental, and eye care across the globe.

Learn more about Nicole Williams' work at the 2013 Global Activism Expo (April 6)!

Dr. Williams wrote about her stint in Cambodia, October 2012:

It is hot. Not the hot that we endure during any particular Chicago summer, but an unrelenting heat that sears your very soul. The people are beautiful, short, and proud. After you get used to the heat, you almost miss it when you reach the operating room — one of the few places cooler than 88 degrees.

We arrived to our hospital to find the clinic packed with eager waiting patients, most with x-rays, ultrasounds and bloodwork in hand. We rolled up our sleeves and called the first patient — a 58 year old whose uterus had fallen low 10 years ago. She could not sit, so she stood. We examined, omitting most of the small talk (how's that new addition to our house?) we usually do. She was told to be NPO (no food or water after midnight) and to come back the next day. We saw eight women that day. Some we scheduled, others, we told to come back.

We then moved to check out the O.R., which we found in pretty good shape, only needing a good scrub down and supplies. We only had one working overhead light, so we wore headlamps like miners. The surgeries moved like clockwork —they walk in, our translator again explains as they take their place on the table, and they are put to sleep. We work, fixing problems that you never see in the United States. The next day, they are up and walking, families staying overnight under mosquito nets with them, feeding them, caring for them. The local nurses only come if you pay them.

We made rounds on our patient. She closed her legs and crossed them for the first time in 10 years, her obstruction to such activity now vanquished. She thanked us, smiled, and left on the back of a scooter with two other family members, riding sidesaddle.

It's About HOPE: Global Activism Expo

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 09:52:00 -0600

As the planet gets smaller - at least in terms of the non-stop flow of information about the seven billion or so inhabitants - our anxiety grows. As the world feels smaller, so do we. It is more difficult to see how individual contributions help those in need. It feels like the work of one person simply cannot make a substantive difference

It's easy to become disheartened. It's easy to focus on something else.

And then there is Jerome McDonnell and Worldview.

The Worldview team has been featuring ordinary people who refuse to be stymied and have stepped up in small but significant ways to help those who need it. The Global Activism Series is not about atrocity; it is about HOPE.

On April 6th, WBEZ, Vocalo, the UIC Social Justice Initiative and the Illinois Humanities Council are excited to showcase these ordinary people doing extraordinary things at the Sixth Annual Global Activism Expo.

This year, we expand things to give you more to do, more to see, more to learn including:

The University of Illinois Chicago Social Justice Initiative and The Public Square will host a series of lectures and panel discussions exploring issues of Restorative Justice featuring noted activists from around the world.

· The Vocalo Music Stage outdoors on the plaza will feature an array of local artists and bands with an international influence

· Working Bikes will bring an array of demonstration bikes (power a phonograph or your cell phone) as well as mini bikes for us to ride inside

· CircEsteem will entertain kids and adults, encouraging participants to learn juggling, balance feathers and have fun

· Peace On Earth Film Festival will show select titles from their 2013 festival and invite the audience to discuss and reflect on these short films

Thousands of people come every year to meet and learn about these amazing people; my mother (from Kansas) came two years ago and was so motivated that she now devotes much of her time working with her local Food Bank and has become an activist within the tiny confines of a 800 person town in the middle of the country. If you are in need of a shot of inspiration that you can make a difference, you simply can't afford to miss it this year.

Off-Air Events: 6th Annual Global Activism Expo

Saturday, April 6, 2013 @ 12:00pm – 6:00pm

UIC Forum, 725 W. Roosevelt Road

RSVP here and get a special gift when you check-in at the Expo!

Global Activism: Kulsoom Foundation to build a girls school in Pakistan in honor of the late Sonia Shah

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 12:54:00 -0600

Winnetka resident, Sonia Shah, was an enterprising and multilingual young person who traveled and studied around the world. Sonia started the Kulsoom Foundation to build a school for girls in Pakistan.

But Sonia died in an auto accident in 2012 before the school was completed. Sonia was only 18. Her mother, For Global Activism, Iram Shah, and Sherezaad Anwar, Sonia's classmate and friend, tell Worldview about their mission to continue Sonia's work.

In 2011, Sonia was the youngest intern at Capital Hill and in 2012, she was one of the youngest intern at Obama campaign headquarters. In his condolence letter, President Obama says ‘although Sonia was one of the youngest interns at the campaign headquarters, she was one of the most determined’

Mrs. Shah shared more about her daughter:

The most admirable traits of Sonia were her love of humanity, her desire to make a positive contribution without any need for applause or recognition. It was this desire that she expressed in her college essay: ‘I love history because it's the best story I've ever been told. It is surprising, fascinating, and sometimes fantastical, yet its truth gives it a power no fairy tale or novel could ever have. I used to be content to learn about the past, but now I want to take action, to become a part of the story that so enthralls me. I'm happiest when learning about the world around me, but now I desperately want to be able to use what I learn, to make an impact on the world I work so hard to understand. A life spent in passive observation, would be unsatisfying. My heroes have always been brilliant, flawed people who have acted, who have changed our history and made our world. Now I want to try to join, instead of only watching them. I want to serve and help others while I am pursuing my passions and interests. I want to leave this world knowing that I have changed it in some quantifiable, positive way, no matter how minuscule. I want to make history, instead of just witnessing it.’

Sonia's family and friends continue her legacy to build the school she started in Pakistan. 'Rahmania for Sonia' is an event on Feb. 23rd at 6:00 p.m. at Meadows Club, 2950 W. Golf Road in Rolling Meadows. This event will celebrate Sonis'a life and achievements while enjoying A.R. Rahman's music with choreographed dances from Dhrishti Arts dhrishtiarts.com and a dinner. For more info, contact Iram Shah at 312-479-2458 or iramshah12@yahoo.co.uk

Global Activism: Sharing meals and cultures, too

Thu, 07 Feb 2013 12:27:00 -0600

Chicagoan Jason Savsani believes that sharing a home cooked meal with someone is one of the most intimate things you can do. For Global Activism, Jason will tell us how eating and sharing tales from their respective homelands inspired him to create “Meal Sharing,” to help people eat healthier, waste less and break down cultural barriers.

For Jason, a magical night in Cambodia inspired the idea:

"What solidified the idea to create Meal Sharing was while I was traveling in Siem Reap, Cambodia. I had the unique opportunity to be hosted by a Cambodian family for a meal in their home. It was such a magical experience to be in their home...The best part of the evening was when the host busted out his Casio keyboard and played some classical Cambodian songs.

Another important component to Meal Sharing is our drive to bring awareness to the current food situation. Growing up in an Indian home, I was always eating wholesome home-cooked Indian meals. There was always a disjunct between home cooking and food in restaurants/fast food. Home-Cooked was always healthier and a more meaningful experience. In my adulthood, I came to a sad juncture where I was constantly eating out and becoming increasingly unhealthy. My excuse was “I am too busy to cook”, like a fair amount of people around the world. This logic only led me down an unhealthy path and perpetuated mindless eating. Since Meal Sharing, I have cooked more at home, eaten out a lot less, and meet many wonderful people around the world.

Meal Sharing's goal in the next few years is to have more hosts around the world then the top 3 major fast food restaurants locations. That would really say something if we succeed. That the world stood up and said, "I would rather trust my neighbor for food, then a major food corporation". With enough people Meal Sharing, we will have people eating healthier, wasting less, all while breaking down cultural barriers."