Nat Yogachandra - www.hopeislife.org

Beggary - a huge business

2011-07-20T11:44:00.000-07:00

BEGGING must be discouraged

Do you know a beggar can earn up to 10 to 30 dollars per day in Thailand. Or sometimes even up to 60 dollars per day. Beggary is a multiple-million dollar industry in Asia. In Thailand alone, according to the Social and Human development Ministry, begging generates up to 20 million baht a month (US$600,000)

Begging ring in most countries in Asia are run by human trafficking gangs. They usually kidnap the victims and put to work on streets. A mother with a child can earn up to 120,000 baht (US$4,000) for an 18-month service, begging for the gangs on the street. In some areas, parents drop young boys and girls to beg at bus stops or public places to beg. Should the government take action against such parents who force their kids to beg? We want to make sure the kids stay in school.

In some parts of india, some are beggars for generation and continue their family tradition of begging. They prefer not to work and comfortable of begging and make good money. In most cases, begging is carried out and controlled by organized gangs. They are brought to a territory each morning in a truck and strategically placed in key locations, such as outside of malls, temples, over pass bridges. They are then picked up late evenings and taken to a place to spend the nights. Each beggar must give up the takings to the gang leaders. Beggars are paid a fee. Many of them also make money from begging than what they would if they worked in the farm or factory.

Traditionally, beggary has been accepted as a form of humility in most religions.

In Hindhu religion, the Sanyasis or the Sadhus who are detached from the worldly things used to beg for food. Begging for them was considered to be in search of salvation or spiritual liberation, called Moksha. Begging by Sadhus was considered to promote humility and gratitude by those giving money or food but also according to the Hindhu Faith, helped the Sanyasis attained the state of samadhi or the highest station in life.

Today, even in Buddhist Faith, monks live by begging for alms. Lord Buddha, instructed the monks to go outside of the temple in the mornings to beg for food. It is believed that lay people gain religious merits by giving food, medicine and money to the monks. One can see monks walking in the streets of Buddhist countries, such as Thailand, Cambodia and Laos begging for alms. Refusing them is considered bad omen.

In some countries, such as Japan and Saudi Arabia, begging is prohibited. In Saudi Arabia, the punishment is very harsh and the beggars are put in jail without bail.

The problem is that beggars are so used to begging and they become lazy and do not even try to find a job. Often they make good money. Children are often neglected on the street be the parents and they receive no proper education or welfare. Child Beggary must be stopped.

The Prophet-Founder of the Baha’i Religion, Baha’u’llah has discouraged begging. He said, "It is unlawful to beg, and it is forbidden to give to him who beggeth. All have been enjoined to earn a living, and as for those who are incapable of doing so, it is incumbent on the Deputies of God and on the wealthy to make adequate provision for them."

The local government and the community in each area should be responsible for taking care of its poor so that they do not have to beg. This may be in the form of charity to those who truly cannot work, but it is also commonly in the form of assistance in helping people find meaningful and sustaining work. The authorities must develop a plan to take the beggars on the street and help rehabilitate them in children’s home and old-age homes. They should be given vocational training of their choice, besides opportunities to earn their livelihood.

Well, in many cases the authorities arrest these beggars and send them home, but they are back on the streets- most of the time at different locations begging. From June 19-26, 2011, the local police arrested nearly 241 beggars from Cambodia on Bangkok streets. There were 92 men and 149 women, all deported back to Cambodia.

Equal Rights to Women - a long way to go

2011-07-15T08:08:00.000-07:00

Equal Rights to Women - a long way to go

I am shocked and disturbed. A UN report published last week says more than half of working women lack even basic legal protection on the job. It is sad to notice that even today, millions of women still have no access to justice. Women all over the world have come a long way but they still have a long way to go. Ms. Michelle Bachelet, executive director of U.N. Women, the first global agency for gender equality and women empowerment, said that even when the laws to provide equal justice exist, the implementation and enforcement of those laws can be poor, even in the most progressive countries. For example, in India and several countries in Asia, there are many progressive laws that protect women. However the implementation of these laws and the policies is in the hands of men.

In many countries around the world, women have been paid routinely less than men despite the minimum wage law or despite working in the exact same job. For example in Thailand, many social benefits provided by the government are made clear that only household heads need to apply. By the way household means men - and they a clearly spelled out in practice. When women apply for the benefits, they are made to go through huge amount of paperwork, and are often rejected.

In some Middle Eastern countries, women are still inadequately protected and do not enjoy the same status as men. Divorce laws and other opportunities in business still favors the men. Especially in Saudi Arabia, women still live in a terror-stricken system. With all the economic advancement and high-tech skyscrapers, Saudi Women are still not allowed to drive cars or not permitted to to ride with men in the elevators. Nor they are allowed to leave the country or walk on the streets without the permission of a male guardian.

But the Saudi King recently made one concession for women. Finally after many decades, he recently issued a decree limiting work in lingerie shops to Saudi women only. Saudi women have long complained they feel uncomfortable having to buy lingerie from men.

Speaking of violence against women, the UN report says that the rate at which rape and sexual violence cases are reported remains low across the world. In 57 countries, 1 in 10 women say they have been victims of sexual aggression, but only 11 percent of those women go to the police. Even in Europe, only 14 percent of reported rapes ended in a conviction. Laura Turquet, who wrote the report says that women are three times more likely to report a robbery than sexual assault.

The authorities are making it difficult for the victims to come forward and report any sexual violence against women. In Cambodia, for example, bringing a rape charge to the courts involve medical test that costs equivalent of two week’s wages.

Domestic violence against women is also one of the ugliest legacies of Asian history and is a growing concern to many Asian women leaders. The statistics on domestic violence is frightening. It crosses all boundaries of race, color and class. According to New Internationalist, it is the major cause of ill health for women between 16 and 44 in Europe – more common than cancer or traffic accidents. In the U.S, a woman is beaten every 18 minutes. In Peru, 70 percent of all crimes reported to the police involve women beaten by their husbands. In Russia, one woman in five is regularly beaten by her partner. In South Africa, which has the highest incidence of reported rape in any country, it is estimated that a woman is raped every 26 seconds and a child every 15 minutes. Rape in South Africa has reached epidemic proportions, with poor women in areas such as Soweto bearing the brunt of the violence.

Violence against motherhood is a continuing sign of gender inequality. Some women activists predict that this problem will escalate in the early part of this century as men lose their traditional role as heads of the family. The problem of domestic violence cuts across all cultures and nationalities in the world and there is no sign that it will come to an end in the near future. However, activist groups and non-governmental organizations believe that a key factor in changing society’s attitude will be to educate the new generation of leaders. Men in power - including all men - have an inescapable duty to promote the equality of women. They must work hard to create a better environment and a just society to make this happen. Scriptures of the Baha’i Faith emphatically state that women will be the greatest force in establishing universal peace and international arbitration.

The National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’i Faith of the United States in one of their statements said, “The elimination of discrimination against women is a spiritual and moral imperative that must ultimately reshape existing legal, economic, and social arrangements. Promoting the entry of greater numbers of women into positions of prominence and authority is a necessary, but not sufficient, step in creating a just social order. Without fundamental changes in the attitudes and values of individuals and in the underlying ethos of social institutions, full equality between women and men cannot be achieved. A community based on partnership, a community in which aggression and the use of force are supplanted by cooperation and consultation, requires the transformation of the human heart. The presumption of superiority by men thwarts the ambition of women and inhibits the creation of an environment in which equality may reign. The destructive effects of inequality prevent men from maturing and developing the qualities necessary to meet the challenges of the new millennium.”

A visit to the CDO orphanage in Siem Reap, Cambodia

2011-06-28T07:50:00.000-07:00

Konti (left) and Map are seen doing their daily tasks behind the only well available for the orphanage.

Meet the Children at the Children Development Organization

(CDO) in Siem Reap, Cambodia

The girl on left is Konti (age 6) and the boy is Map (age 7). Both are orphans and living at Children Development Organization’s orphanage (CDO) in Siem Reap. Konti’s parents gave her to one of their relatives and moved to Thailand either to beg or find jobs. Konti was brought to the CDO orphanage by a stranger. Map’s parents also left him at the orphanage and disappeared.

CDO is now taking care of 27 students between the ages of 4 and 15. (8 girls and 19 boys). In Cambodia, it’s estimated there are over 100,000 orphans or abandoned children. Some have parents but come from families that can’t provide enough food for their children or they suffer from physical abuse and neglect. Here at CDO, the children are trained to do chores around the orphanage. They take turn to do laundry, wash dishes, cook, dust and myriad of other tasks. Konti and Map’s turn to do the dishes when I visited them.

The children at the orphanage posed for a picture with me

CDO orphanage was started by Mr. Sakoeun, last year to help the orphaned children and to provide them with a safe environment and education. Most of the children in this orphanage come from a village called Leap Chas, about 40km from Siem Reap.

The village is a very poor area. clean water, food, adequate housing and clothing at times are very scarce. The lack of good roads and transport makes finding paid work difficult. In order to survive, the villagers go hunting in the forest and collect any edible plants, fruits and vegetables. However, most of the villagers suffer from malnutrition and disease.

Ms. Savorn Mom, who takes care of day to day affairs told me they need help. The rent of the orphanage is US$180 per month and the monthly budget for operating the center including meals, rent, education and other expenses come to around US$1,200 per month.

The biggest expense is the rice. The children consume 14 kg of rice each day (cost of 1 kg is around US$0.50cts). When the school starts in September, they need to buy uniforms (cost per uniform US$4.50) and each student has to pay for the teacher at the public school US$0.12 cts per month/per child.

Yes, they need help. If you would like to donate to CDO, please contact

www.hopeislife.org or www.cdochildren.org

Mr. Sakoeun, started the orphanage to provide a safe environment for the children

Ms. Savorn Mom, popularly called as Shrey Mom looks after the children at the orphanage

Front view of the orphanage

Some children at the orphanage

Sign at the entrance of the orphanage at 87 Watsvay Village, Sangkat Salakomroeuk, Siem Reap

PIG FARM - a sustainable project to help village school

2011-06-16T23:11:00.000-07:00

Sustaining Community Initiatives

A Pig Farm and Computer Center in a village school in Manipur, India

Last week (June 2011) we flew to Imphal, capital city of Manipur, India from Kolkata. Imphal is located in the extreme east of India, bordering Myanmar (Burma). It is a quiet, crowded but uneventful city. But, we had to register ourselves at the airport - all foreigners need to get special registration at the airport. There was a good reason for this. In October 2008, Imphal was struck by a large terror attack carried out by Manipuri insurgents fighting for to regain sovereignty from India. This city has a history of ethnic rivalries.

It is also the home of the Meitei tribe and is a largely Hindu region, but with a very specific culture of its own. The day we arrived, we took a two-hour drive in a small mini, non-AC, van to see Loktak lake, which is a tourist spot in Manipur area. It is 48Kms away from Imphal City and a two-hour drive. It rained all the way. Loktak lake is like a miniature sea. It is the largest fresh water lake in the North-East. From the Tourist bunglow, set atop Sendra island, visitors can get a birds eye-view of the unique Loktak Lake and the floating mass called "Phumdis.” All along our ride, we witness landscape of green-blue hills, lush fields and low clouds like as water-color painting.

I could feel why they call Manipur as a jeweled land. It is nestled deep within a lush green corner of North East India. It is indeed an Indian state of exquisite natural beauty and splendors. It is no wonder why the former Prime Minister of India, late Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru paid a fitting tribute by describing it as "Jewel of India".

The second day, we drove to Pangantabi village, in Thoubol district which is about 80 kms from Imphal city The population of Pangantabi village is approximately 6,000. Most of the villagers are farmers. Their family income depends on the annual harvest. Few of them run small business (shop, home industries e.g. handloom and hand crafts). Most women do craft work and men work in the farm. The farmers live on an average less than US$1 a day.

Our Foundation, Hope is Life Foundation (www.hopeislife.org) in collaboration with a locally registered SHIG Foundation is assisting in the welfare of several orphan children, many infected HIV.AIDS virus, to attend school at Borni School Manipur, India. The Foundation is working directly with the SHIGF trustees and the staff of Borni Memorial English School (BMES) to sponsor several orphans help them lead a healthy life and continue with their education. Children want to study but unable to do because of financial difficulties.

In addition to this, Borni School is suffering from lack of teachers and educational materials. As a result, children are beginning to drop out of school as early as grade two due mostly to the high cost of education, poverty and also many live in remote areas and they need to travel from their villages to schools.

Currently, there are about 140 children from ages 3 to 12 attending school at Borni. The school is unable to provide meals as there are no financial support from the government. Some bring food from home or eat before coming to school and others go hungry. For several children who have difficulties or orphans, the school plans to provide food on a daily basis but they do not have any financial support.

Program is about helping youth get started

in taking control of their own lives.

So, the purpose of our trip to this school was to meet with the villagers and the staff of the school to explore the ways to finance projects that can be sustained to help the school, empowering the local community. Pig-rearing industry was identified that has great potential to generate income for the school. Also, the need of an establishment of a computer center for the village teenagers who wants to go for higher studies, was identified.

Our Foundation’s basic philosophy is to identify projects to eradicate illiteracy that have to be sustainable with the human and financial resources available in the local community. Criteria for success are not only linked to trust-worthy individuals who manage the projects but also to the availability of expert know-how and the skills to look after the projects.

Crucial to the success of a pig farm is the ability for it to expand in the community and become a supportive business that the entire school and the parents can count on.

Our plan is to make this pig farm into a major full community development program where the parents and the village community can help them with things like bring left over food to feed the pig or farmers. Not only is there great potential for bringing the community together but this whole community model of engagement will increase the chance of this pig farm continuing to grow. (investment multiplies by seven to eight times within a year)

The villagers, staff and teachers of the school greeted me, my wife Debbie and my daughter Natascha with open arms and gave us a true Manipuiri welcome. The students put a great show with lively martial art dances and the graceful classical Manipuri dance for us.

To stay in school is expensive for these children. They are required to buy school uniforms, school shoes and text books which most parents are unable to afford. Hope is Life Foundation is helping the school now.

For community care and support program in Pangantabi village, BMES is the only school working on this initiative for the children in this community.

Students lined up along the school entrance to welcome us.

Natascha and Debbie Yogachandra are seen with the Principal and Founder of the school Mrs. Bilashini

Welcome Manipuri dances for the visitors

Villagers greeting Natascha

Natascha and Debbie with a few students who performed dances

Natascha and Debbie Yogachandra, wearing Manipuri dresses are seen with Mr. Joseph Nshimbani, a volunteer, Director and teacher at the school and the Principal Mrs. Bilashini

Natascha Yogachandra is seen with a few characters in the Pig Farm

Mr. Joseph is showing the new venue for the pig farm

Some of the students of the school watching the welcoming performances with us

Current building of the school. A structure of 6 class rooms - walls are made of bamboo and mud

Curent class room for the kindergarten students

Natascha is seen with some of the teenage girls from the village

Debbie and me with a few parents

This is the mini van we drove around in Imphal

All along our ride, we witness landscape of green-blue hills, lush fields and low clouds

like as water-color painting.

Loktak lake, which is a tourist spot in Manipur area

The land donated to build a new building for the school

Eradicating Poverty

2011-03-25T21:12:00.000-07:00

Eradicating Poverty: Moving Forward As One

We all know that all around the world rich are getting richer. Nearly thirty years ago, the richest 1 percent of Americans got 9 percent of total national income in the United States, By 2007, they had 23 percent. In 2009, new census data show, the rich-poor income gap was the widest on record. (David R. Francis - Christian Science Monitor).

According to Timothy Noah of Slate, the United States now has a more unequal distribution of wealth than some of the third world countries like, Nicaragua, Venezua and Guyana. Timothey writes, “All my life I've heard Latin America described as a failed society (or collection of failed societies) because of its grotesque maldistribution of wealth. Peasants in rags beg for food outside the high walls of opulent villas, and so on. But according to the Central Intelligence Agency income distribution in the United States is more unequal than in Guyana, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, and roughly on par with Uruguay, Argentina, and Ecuador. Income inequality is actually declining in Latin America even as it continues to increase in the United States. Economically speaking, the richest nation on earth is starting to resemble a banana republic. The main difference is that the United States is big enough to maintain geographic distance between the villa-dweller and the beggar.”

Elimination of extreme wealth and poverty is one of the teachings of Baha'u'llah, the Founder-Prophet of the Baha'i Faith, that is very near to the hearts of Baha'is. I have known many Baha'is who have become deeply involved and committed to many grass roots Social and Economic Development projects with the aim of improving the conditions of mankind.

Published on Bahai Faith | Baha'i Faith (http://www.bahai.us)

Eradicating Poverty: Moving Forward As One:

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in the United States, roughly 13 to 17% of Americans (approximately 35.9 million adults and 12.9 million children) are living below the federal poverty line at any given point in time, and roughly 40% fall below the poverty line at some point within a 10-year time span. To bring attention to this national crisis, the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) has designated January as “Poverty in America Awareness Month.”

To observe this month, the Baha’i International Community has published a statement titled Eradicating Poverty: Moving Forward As One, which calls for a coherent, principle-based approach to the eradication of global poverty. Here are a few excerpts from the statement:

To read the entire statement, please visit the website for the Baha’i International Community’s United Nations Office. Excerpts from Eradicating Poverty: Moving Forward As One

The Baha’i International Community’s Statement on Poverty

February 14, 2008

“The mechanisms of poverty eradication have long been defined in primarily material terms. Indeed, the central pillar of the international community’s poverty alleviation efforts has been the transfer of financial resources…Tragically, the aid, far from ushering in greater self-sufficiency, has often had a detrimental effect on recipient communities: increased dependency on foreign assistance, subservience to externally dictated priorities, misappropriation of funds and decreased pressure for governance reform.”

“…poverty can be described as the absence of those ethical, social and material resources needed to develop the moral, intellectual and social capacities of individuals, communities and institutions. …the goal at hand is not only to remove the ills of poverty but to engage the masses of humanity in the construction of a just

global order.”

“Individuals and institutions must work in tandem to take up this task. [The individual] must be helped to reclaim his dignity and sense of self-worth, must be encouraged to gain confidence to improve his condition and strive to realize his potential. Beyond the achievement of personal well-being, he must be nurtured to become a source of social good—of peace, happiness and advantage to those around him. [The institutions] at every level of society, must serve as channels through which the talents and energies of individuals can be harnessed in service to humanity.”

“It is in this context that the Bahá'í International Community would like to offer two principles as guides for efforts in the realm of poverty eradication: justice and unity…Justice provides the means capable of harnessing human potential to eradicate poverty from our midst, through the implementation of laws, the adjustment of economic systems, the redistribution of wealth and opportunity, and unfailing adherence to the highest ethical standards in private and public life. Unity asserts that progress is systemic and relational, that a concern for the integrity of the family unit and the local, national, and global community must guide poverty alleviation efforts.”

Governance

“Effective leaders must not only exercise an impeccable ethic but also work to strengthen the character of the nation’s economic, social, legal and educational institutions, to improve the regulatory framework, and to manage scarce resources effectively.”

Justice and human rights

“Human rights, as endorsed by most governments of the world, must now enter into the community and legal culture and be systematically incorporated into domestic legislation. They must be translated into all languages and made accessible through media and educational institutions.”

Individual responsibility

“A large share of the responsibility for poverty eradication rests with the individuals themselves. While poverty is the product of numerous factors: historic, economic, political and environmental, there is also a cultural dimension, which manifests itself in individual values and attitudes.”

Gender

“… women’s agency in the arenas of law, politics, science, commerce and religion, to name a few, is still grossly deficient. In areas where women have gained access to education, employment, and ownership opportunities, dramatic effects have been observed at many levels…Yet, the gradual transformation of attitudes has required much more than legal measures, it has required a fundamental change of belief about roles of men and women and courage to challenge traditional gender norms.”

Economic activity

“Today, much of economic activity and its institutional context is at odds with environmental sustainability, the advancement of women, the well-being of the family, the engagement of young people, the availability of employment, and the expansion of knowledge…The economic theories of impersonal markets, promoting selfcentered actions of individuals, have not helped humanity escape the extremes of poverty on the one hand and over-consumption on the other. New economic theories for our time must be animated by a motive beyond just profit.”

Extremes of wealth

“In an interconnected world, where the wealth of many of the world’s richest individuals exceeds the Gross Domestic Product of entire nations, extreme poverty and extreme wealth exist side by side. While much of the focus of remedial efforts is directed towards the poorest, it is the concentration of wealth in the hands of the few that is in urgent need of attention.”

Sustainable development

“On an institutional level, a global entity with a strong scientific advisory capacity is needed to streamline reporting and decision-making processes, including the voices of non-state actors. It must coherently link environmental issues to social and economic priorities, for none of these can advance in isolation. At the educational level, curricula must seek to develop a sense of responsibility towards the natural environment as well as foster a spirit of inquiry and innovation so that the diversity of human experience can be brought to bear on the challenge of creating an environmentally sustainable development pathway.”

Agriculture

“…poverty is often concentrated in rural areas. Damage to natural resources, poor information and infrastructure often result in food insecurity, premature deaths and mass migration to urban areas in search of a better life. The farmer must be accorded his or her rightful place in the processes of development and civilization building: as the villages are reconstructed, the cities will follow.”

Employment

“Whether tilling the soil or selling goods, one’s work should not be reduced to a means for acquiring more goods or as an expendable cost of production. One’s work is the means of developing one’s craft, of refining one’s character, and contributing to the welfare and progress of society. Indeed, the fight against underemployment must begin with the dignity and value of all human labor, even if it is humble, insecure, unprofitable or unremunerated.”

Knowledge

“…the long-term goal…[is] namely to create a society in which the production, diffusion and application of knowledge infuses all facets of human activity. This requires interventions at all levels including child-rearing practices that foster questioning; equal educational opportunities for boys and girls; development of independent media sources; translation of texts from other cultures and the promotion of innovation and scientific research. In order to be free to innovate, to devise solutions to complex problems, the human mind must be free to know.”

Religion

“To encompass the spiritual dimension and its expression in the religions of the world is not to return to superstition or fanaticism or to denounce rational inquiry in any way. Rather, it is to build into poverty alleviation efforts, in an integrated manner, recognition of all the dimensions of human experience and an understanding of how poverty manifests in the material and spiritual dimensions of human life.”

The unity of humankind foreseen by Bahá'u'lláh is unity based on justice. One of the most striking examples of injustice in the world today is the grave imbalance in economic and material conditions. A relatively small percentage of humankind has immense wealth, while the majority of the world's population lives in dire poverty and misery. This imbalance exists both within nations and between nations. Moreover, the gap that separates rich and poor continues to widen, which indicates that existing economic systems are incapable of restoring a just balance.

Rich and powerful in most countries around the world are more greedy than the rest of us and they tend to get their own way most of the time. While rich is getting richer over the years, the number of very poor countries has doubled in the last 30 to 40 years, while the number of people living in extreme poverty has also grown two-fold, according to a UN think-tank, UNCTAD. The number of individuals living in extreme poverty increased by three million per year during the boom years of 2002 and 2007, reaching 421 million people in 2007, as reported by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)

How about in the United States? The percentage of Americans struggling below the poverty line in 2009 was the highest it has been in 15 years, according a recent report from the Census Bureau. A staggering 43.6 million Americans, more than 14 percent of the population, were poor in 2009, according to the latest figures released recently. This means nearly 4 millions more Americans drowned in poverty in 2009. This is the third year the number has risen. For the nation’s most vulnerable - children - the poverty rate has reached 20.7 percent, according to a data released in 2009. And more than half of the 15.4 million poor children live with single mothers. The U.S. Institute for Children, Poverty and Homelessness reports that nationwide, 1.35 million children are homeless. Most of them are black or Latino.

Stark are the contrasts between the consumption of luxuries and the cost of provision of basic needs: basic education for all would cost $10 billion; yet $82 billion is spent annually on cigarettes in the United States alone. The eradication of world hunger would cost $30 billion; water and sanitation - $10 billion. By comparison, the world’s military budget rose to $1.55 trillion in 2008.

A satisfactory solution to the world's present economic crisis lies in a profound change of heart and mind which only religion can produce. From the Bahá'í perspective, the prevailing materialistic assumptions about economic development reflect a profound error of conception about human nature itself. `Abdu'l-Bahá wrote that "The fundamentals of the whole economic condition are divine in nature and are associated with the world of the heart and spirit. The disease which afflicts the body politic is lack of love and absence of altruism.”

This picture becomes more complicated when we introduce the problem of equity. The growth process has been accompanied by an increasing division of wealth and poverty due to a host of historical factors such as the technological, educational and military dominance of some countries, and inequities in the system of international trade. Apart from the moral unacceptability of a situation in which the top 20% of the world's population is 150 times richer than the bottom 20% (according to United Nations research), extremes of wealth also increase environmental degradation. At the poverty end of the scale, countries are forced to exploit their natural resources to pay national debt interest, and landless people cut down forests to grow basic food crops. Population growth is highest among the poorest. At the richer end, over-consumption of energy and material goods is directly causing global warming, pollution, etc. As Bahá'u'lláh, the Founder of the Bahá'í Faith, warned over 100 years ago:

In short, the Bahá'í teachings envision that economic justice and prosperity will come about only when the essential connection between the spiritual and practical aspects of life is recognized.

Undeniably, poverty is sustained by an interaction of social and material factors. This interaction determines the societal benefits of material resources, whether the resources are concentrated in the hands of a few or are equitably distributed, whether they are beneficial or harmful to the society at large. Today, much of economic activity and its institutional context is at odds with environmental sustainability, the advancement of women, the well-being of the family, the engagement of young people, the availability of employment, and the expansion of knowledge. For example, military expenditures exceeding $1 trillion and global trade in illicit drugs in excess of $300 billion far exceeds the estimated costs of meeting the United Nations’ global development goals in areas of education, health, sustainability, and women’s empowerment. The economic theories of impersonal markets, promoting self-centered actions of individuals, have not helped humanity escape the extremes of poverty on the one hand and over-consumption on the other. New economic theories for our time must be animated by a motive beyond just profit. They must be rooted in the very human and relational dimension of all economic activity, which binds us as families, as communities and as citizens of one world.They must be animated by a spirit of innovation rather than blind imitation, ennoblement rather than exploitation, and the full and confident participation of women.

For example, the poorest 40 percent of the world’s population accounts for 5 percent of global income while the richest 20 percent accounts for 3/4 of world income. According to UNICEF, 24,000 children die each day due to poverty. Among the 2.2 Billion children worldwide an estimated 1 Billion live in poverty. There is currently 121 Million children with no access to education worldwide; and for the 1.9 Billion children from the developing world there are 640 Million without adequate shelter, 400 Million with no access to safe water, 270 Million without health care, and 121 Million children worldwide with no access to education.

Meanwhile, the total wealth of the top 8.3 Million people around the world is globally rising dramatically, effectively giving them control of nearly a quarter of the world’s financial assets. In other words, in 2004 about 0.13 percent of the world’s population controlled 25 percent of the world’s wealth. If we consider the global spending priorities of 1998, the trends were already extremely alarming.

Gilbert Mercier of NEWS JUNKIE POST, writes: In 1998, $8 Billion were spent to buy cosmetic products in the United States, $11 Billion to buy ice cream in Europe, $12 Billion to buy perfumes in Europe and the United States, $17 Billion for pet foods in Europe and the US combined, $ 50 Billion to buy cigarettes in Europe, $105 Billion to buy alcoholic drinks in Europe, $400 Billion to buy narcotic drugs worldwide, and $780 Billion were spent in military expenditure globally. In comparison, according to Anup Shah from Global issues.org the cost to achieve universal access to basic social services in all developing countries would be as followed: $ 6 Billion to provide basic education for all, $ 9 Billion to bring everyone water and sanitation, $ 12 Billion to provide reproductive health care for all women, and $13 Billion for basic health care and nutrition.

Our current form of globalization has not leveled the social playing field whatsoever, but has instead increased the unsustainable gap between the rich and the poor. According to the new economic data for March, American consumers are spending again, they are back in the shopping malls and buying durable goods, which could indicate that the worse of the recession is over. While this is good for Wall Street, which has regained all of its losses from the crash of 2008, it is not necessary good news for our society as a whole. The global financial collapse was a unique opportunity in America and elsewhere to adjust our mode of economic development and make it more sustainable. Unfortunately, because of a general lack of political vision and will from our governments, the process of re-thinking capitalism to finally address the issues of poverty and social justice in the context of globalization never really took place.

Art Curiculum Training for Haiti Children

2010-12-16T08:21:00.000-08:00

Art Curiculum Training for Haiti Children. (November 13-20, 2010)

I recently attended an Art Curriculum workshop for the teachers in Haiti which was developed and conducted by Ms. Judy Rector and sponsored by Mona Foundation and Hope is Life Foundation. Ms. Judy is a retired teacher from Washington, USA.

To rebuild and create a vibrant community where children can enjoy academic and moral education, where the community can enjoy material and spiritual prosperity, it is important that the local community be empowered to participate and sustain the development process. This was exactly what happened during this training program.

Whether to start a socioeconomic development project or to start a community school, Hope is Life Foundation’s goal is for the local community be endowed with an understanding of concepts, learning the skills, and acquiring the knowledge of the project. The entire staff of Anis Zunuzi School in Port Au Prince, Haiti attended this art curriculum workshop. This pilot program was developed at the request of the Administrative Committee of the school, who recognized the need for visual arts program.

The goal is to develop a Visual Arts Program with the hope of providing Haitian children and the community a spiritual and safe environment to emotionally grow. This program can provide teachers insight, understanding, and skills to provide engaging and effective art and arts integrated lessons across all areas of curriculum. Expressing themselves through art can allow students another avenue to share their ideas and feelings.

The first step was the introduction of “The Private Eye,” an integrated science/art/writing exploratory program. Let me tell a bit about the Prive Eye project. I was really amazed how this project captured the attention of the participating teachers. It is a hands-on learning process that rivets the eye and rockets the mind. With everyday objects, The Private Eye’s easy questioning strategy, and an almost magical magnification tool, a jeweler’s loupe - and every one’s attention was on their work and the teacher.

The Private Eye Project was one of the most enjoyable and exciting I have ever witnessed. The Private Eye got all the Haitian teachers wonder and think like a scientist, to problem solve like a scientist. The idea of using the Private Eye Project for this training program was excellent as this would also give the students the best tools for success. It fits directly into the personal mission of encouraging nature time for children and it creates an environmental sensitivity, especially in a country like Haiti. Ms. Judy incorporated the Private Eye Project to the program to demonstrate integration of curricular subjects. The project includes student jeweler’s loupes (small magnifying glasses), lanyards, a guide book and “The World in a Box,” which has sample items to explore like a seahorse, an urchin, insects, a butterfly, etc. From exploration, the teachers were guided to writing about what they saw and experienced, and then to drawing and painting enlarged versions of the items as well.

After the “Private Eye” experiences, Ms. Judy introduced the pilot visual arts program. The basics of teaching art and an introduction to the K-3 curriculum were then presented to all of the teachers. This was to insure understanding of what was being introduced at the primary level and what would be coming to the upper grades should the primary teachers approve the program.

The scope and sequence of lessons then proceed to ‘Art Tells a Story’, ‘Art Around the World’, ‘An Artist’s Vision’, ‘Perspective in Art’, and ‘Haitian Art’ by grade level. Basic art elements were introduced such as color, line, texture, shape, form and balance and reviewed at each level with more complex activities. Ms. Judy used Haitian artists as examples wherever possible to emphasize their rich artistic heritage. Teachers each created art tools and samples to help them teach in their own classes.

I want to thank Private Eye Project for their support. Ms. Judy did a great job. This is what Ms.Judy had to say, “ We had great experiences in Haiti, sharing a new way to look at the world. All of the teachers and students we shared with at the Anis Zunuzi School in Lilavois, Haiti, had never used a magnifying glass of any kind before. They found working with a tool that enlarged things fascinating! One little boy came into the room as I was setting up for a teacher's training. I gave him a loupe and showed him how to focus on his hand. He jumped back and shook his hand and said, "GWO!" which in Creole means "BIG"! Then he wanted to see other things close up.”

"Regard man as a mine rich in gems of inestimable value. Education can, alone, cause it to reveal its treasures, and enable mankind to benefit therefrom."- Baha’i Faith

Haiti - Today Slideshow: Nat’s trip from Bangkok, Thailand to 2 cities Haiti (near Port-au-Prince, Haiti) and was created by TripAdvisor. See another Haiti slideshow. Create your own stunning slideshow with our free photo slideshow maker.

NINE STEPS TO AVOID A PUBLIC RELATIONS DISASTER IN YOUR COMPANY

2010-09-16T21:43:00.000-07:00

NINE STEPS TO AVOID A PUBLIC RELATIONS DISASTER IN YOUR COMPANY

(As appeared in The Nation newspaper in Bangkok, Thailand)
Do you all recollect the news of Tylenol brand in 1982? One of the major worldwide consumer products companies, Johnson & Johnson, was confronted with a crisis when seven people died after taking Extra-Strength Tylenol capsule laced with cyanide. It was a huge public relations (PR) nightmare for Johnson & Johnson.

However, by creating a quick public relations disaster program and fully cooperating with the media that created the public awareness and interest, Johnson and Johnson was able to recover quickly and painlessly from this crisis. Tylenol acted promptly and pulled its product off the shelves without being forced to do so by the public. The company PR department communicated openly and often with the public, and with the help of the legal authorities, initiated an investigation. Tylenol was found innocent at the conclusion of the investigation. The public liked their sincerity and Tylenol had a favorable brand image with the public because they pulled their product when they discovered the problem. They apologized to the public and today the brand is doing well, the company responded quickly and effectively, and most people today forgot all about the mishap.

In this present day and age, bad news travels fast. The internet and text messages have changed the way we spread the news. Negative publicity can spread nationwide or worldwide instantly. Even when the news is not true, repairing the damages takes time and a well orchestrated plan needs to be implemented as early as possible.

Your brand image is very important. Millions of baht of marketing investment and many years of dedicated effort are put forth in building customer loyalty and brand awareness. Therefore, when a disaster happens to your brand and a negative story breaks and become public, you must be prepared to act quickly and decisively.

Even public and private schools in Thailand or elsewhere are not immune from such disasters and often deal with crisis on a daily basis. Whether it is a staff related issue, a strike by teachers, a natural disaster or a simple outbreak of an influenza virus, schools can be adversely affected. Schools are often in the center of a community and closely watched by the parents, so they can easily and quickly become the center of media attention. The Head of the School or the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company must respond to the crisis in a manner that demonstrates leadership and maintains confidence by the public at large.

Remember Murphy’s Law - in a corporation or institution, anything can go wrong. Crisis or bad news is part of the cost of doing business. However, don’t get in the insular mode and say, “everything is fine here; the bad news will quietly disappear.” If you ignore complaints or worst, try to bury them, it often makes the situation worse than it needs to be.

Here are nine steps that I recommend we do to avoid PR disasters:

Step ONE: Once a crisis occurs, the first thing to do is to accept it. Do not deny the bad news. Be honest about it. Discuss it right away with your heads of business units, administrators and employees. The longer you wait to act, the longer the bad news is in the minds of the people and in the media, and the worse it’s doing for the reputation of the company.

Step TWO: Take a risk audit and determine the cause of it. Evaluate where your company might be vulnerable. Inform all parties concerned, such as the Board, Administrators, head of Business units and supervisors etc.

Step THREE: Form a task force with a team of managers including marketing and PR manager to head the team. In some cases, in small companies or even in schools, Manager of the company or the Head of the School can lead the team as he or she is authorized to make snap decisions.

Step FOUR: Clearly outline responsibilities to each department on what they supposed to do to solve the crisis. Clear line of authority in dealing internally and externally make things easier to deal with a crisis.

Step FIVE: Develop a plan of action. Present the facts and clearly state your plan for correcting the disaster. It is important to take responsibility of your action.

Remember the recent story of former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer. He was seeing a call girl for years and spent over US$80,000, much of it tax payers’ money. When the news broke out, Spitzer responded immediately and announced his resignation within days. He admitted his mistakes immediately and moved on to repair his relationship with his family. The damage had been done, his career had ended but he maintained some aspect of respect from the public by his actions.

Step SIX: Prepare a Question-and-Answer statement immediately, reviewed and approved by all parties concerned, to answer any inquiries from the press or the public. What to communicate and by whom needs to be clearly explained to all the staff. Distribute widely internally, so that every key staff member is speaking the same language.

Step SEVEN: Work with legal authorities when recalling a product; or listen to the Union or disgruntled employees. Be upfront in providing the actual truth to the public and offer your sincere apologies. You may think that by saying sorry would increase the risk of litigation. The answer is no. There are many ways to offer apology without jeopardizing your legal stand.

Step EIGHT: If the Teachers’ Union does go on strike or a crisis does develop in a company, do not just send out a letter from the CEO to all the employees or issue a press statement. Put a face to it. The CEO or the high ranking officials of an institution must come out to convey empathy. The CEO is the authority and the employees would like to hear personally from him. He needs to show that the company can handle the situation and assure them that he is on top of the matter with everyone’s best interest at heart.

Step NINE: Maintain constant communications with the public. This is very important. By maintaining a regular two-way communication channel, institutions can listen and learn about what’s happening in the marketplace and gather public opinion.

Remember, the face of a PR crisis is changing rapidly. With new media such as Face book, My Space and Skype, news of a disaster can travel extremely fast. But don’t forget, companies do not have to depend on traditional media to handle the crisis. They can talk to customers and schools can talk to parents using a number of different media such as internet video, websites, pod casts, Face book, and more. The quicker you can manage the disaster, the better.

(Nat Yogachandra is a retired Management executive of Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, New York. He is currently a marketing consultant, living in Bangkok. He is also the chairman of a non profit organization called Hope is Life Foundation)

STOP TRAFFICKING OF GIRLS AND CHILDREN

2010-08-03T21:27:00.000-07:00

Child sex crimes are on the rise in the United States and across the globe and I am pleased know that finally the US federal officials are doing something about it. On Monday, August 2, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, said he would rollout a national strategy to combat the exploitation of children over the Internet, in homes and on the streets. This new strategy will take steps to end child prostitution, child sex tourism, child pornography and more.

The US government is also taking necessary steps to stop trafficking and has encouraged countries across the globe to do so. A few months ago, the US has put allies Thailand and Singapore as well as Vietnam on a human trafficking watch list accusing them failing to prevent women from being forced into prostitution, according to the US State Department’s 2010 annual report.

Across the globe there are over 2.5 million girls and children are trafficked each year for the purpose of prostituton. About 1.2 million children every year are trafficked, with over 1 million of those being led directly into prostitution. These children are usually smuggled under false pretences and find themselves trapped in a life of fear, violence and sexual servitude. In the United States, according to the U.S.Justice Department, about 300,000 to 400,000 kids are trafficked or traded over internet each year.

It is huge business - third largest - next to arms and drugs sales. As US secretary of States, Hillary Clinton recently said, “all of us have a responsibility to bring this practice to an end.”

Hope is Life Foundation is supporting an effort by an Australian TV production crew to produce a documentary entitled “Corridors of Children” that explores the issue of children all across Southeast Asia, who are trapped and exploited in the lucrative, yet highly dangerous, sex trade industry. We have met several girls and young boys from Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam wh were victims of sexual exploitation.

My youngest daughter, Natascha who is actively involved in creating awareness of this misery is seen talking to a trafficked victim from Cambodia

Natascha is seen with Somaly Mam, who is the founder of AFESIP in Cambodia and has established several centers for trafficked victims in Cambodia and a few other countries in Asia

Due to extreme poverty and poor law practices, traffickers continue to prey on innocent children. This documentary will explore the issue of child trafficking for sexual exploitation across Southeast Asia, and what role foreign governments play in preventing/prosecuting child sex tourists.

In addition to this, during the coming months, we will continue to give talks in the States and in Asia on sex trafficking in Asia and other parts of the world to create awarness of this misery. The documentary will be aired in Australia, Thailand and in the States.

A boy trafficked victim

A teenage girl - trafficked victim

Visit to Haiti - six months after Earth Quake

2010-07-30T14:19:00.000-07:00

HOPE FOR HAITI

Visiting Haiti and meeting people was a heartfelt experience for me. I travelled to Haiti with my wife Debbie and our youngest daughter Natascha who is 17. From Thailand, we went to Miami, FL and then flew to Port-au-Prince and spent more than a week in Haiti.

Our trip was very successful and the sun was shining all week except a few heavy rains in the evenings. Children played on the street. Mothers washed clothes and took bath in open-air tubs along the roads. Tents and tarps put up by foreign donors are seen everywhere, along roadsides and empty lots. Haitians have set up small businesses along the narrow streets selling food, bananas, shoes, charcoal and necessities.

On the day of our arrival, we were very fortunate to meet with the members of the National Spiritual Assembly the Bahai’s of Haiti including the secretary Mr. Glenn. They provided us with their guidance and prayers. We spent several days visiting schools including Anisi Zunini school and talking to children and teachers. At the school, Natascha visited nearly ten classrooms giving talks, comforting and inspiring them. She was also interviewed by a local radio station, accompanied by one of the NSA members, Linda, who is also the director of CAFT, an NGO registered in Haiti.

We also had a special meeting with the Administrative Committee of the Anisi Zunini school and discussed their future plans. Currently the classes are held outside the building under trees and sheds.

We met several NGOs including Architecture for Humanity and government officials. We toured one of the largest tent camps where nearly 20,000 people are temporarily housed in tents and more then 40,000 squatters waiting their turn. When the rains come, the ground turns to mud and life is miserable for them. The head of the camp is Richard Poole and run by the American Refugees Committee (ARC).

Exactly six months after the earthquake hit Haiti, the capital city, Port-au-Prince, is still in disarray. Getting from one point to another takes a good part of your day - many of the roads looked like they have been bombed. There is concrete rubble and broken down vehicles stripped of their tires dotted along the roads. We were told that only 4 percent of the rubble has been removed so far, which we could believe as we saw only a few people removing it by hand.

The people of Haiti are friendly and incredibly resourceful. They are aware that the attention of the world is on Haiti like it has never been. During our meeting with the Deputy Director of the Ministry of Education, Mr. J.M. Cesar, he was genuinely touched by the presence of so many foreigners and NGOs and with our visit. We talked to him and his junior officials about our mission.

Nearly 45 percent of the population are children and are the most disoriented and vulnerable of the survivors of the earthquake. Many tens of thousands have lost their parents and their homes. Ninety percent of the schools in Port-au-Prince are damaged or destroyed. Reconstruction has not begun yet. All classes are conducted outside the damaged buildings under temporary shelters or trees.

During our trip, we explored several possibilities for helping the children of Haiti. Our mission was to assist in their education. We looked into several options to rebuild educational institutions with the guidance of the Baha’i community. We had meetings with school authorities and non-governmental agencies to build a structure to support education for children. We have identified a few options including repairing a school, providing it with a teacher training center and support in their development of a visual arts curriculum for the school.

During the next few months, we will continue to work with our friends in Haiti to finalize our construction plans. A need has been identified to start a teacher training institute as we feel that the training of teachers in effective moral education in addition to academic excellence is critical in the transformation of society and the success of the community.

As they move from relief aid stage to long-term reconstruction, the government, in partnership with foreign governments and NGOs, are making plans to rebuild the city. This will take years. Foreign governments have pledged nearly 11.4 billion dollars, but the people have not seen the money yet - at least we did not see any progress in cleaning up the city or visible signs of reconstruction.

We hope that all parties concerned will work hard to develop some sound economic policies that address extreme poverty and deep-rooted disparities of wealth, making sure every child receives an education, and to treat everyone as members of one family.

Violation of Human Rights in Iran

2010-02-17T04:20:00.000-08:00

I along with my friends around the world are greatly concerned about the fate of the members of the Baha’i community in Iran, especially the seven Baha’i leaders who were imprisoned in 2008 and are currently threatened with execution. These are innocent and just good people. Baha’i marriages are not recognized and they are deprived of the right to attend Iranian universities.

The Iranian government is well aware that it is a fundamental principle of the Baha'i Faith that it’s followers strictly refrain from involvement in any partisan political activity, whether local, national, or international. They know very well that Baha’is are loyal to the elected governments and do not campaign for any political parties. Therefore, the arrest of ten Baha'is in early January, a full week after the Ashura demonstrations, and the claims that Baha'is were behind the recent anti-government turmoil have come as a complete surprise to the Baha'i community around the world.

We are shocked. Many governments and millions of people throughout the world too. At a recent meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council, held in Geneva, many countries from around the world have voiced strong concern over Iran's deteriorating human rights record. This session was mainly focused on Iran’s human rights record.

It feels good to know that people do care for each other and governments around the world are concerned over the way the Iranian government treats it’s religious minorities.

Here is what Diane Ala’i, the representative of the Baha’i International Community to the United Nations in Geneva said, “The good news is that governments and organizations are rallying to defend innocent Iranians, who have over the last year seen their human rights so gravely violated. But the bad news is that Iran continues to ignore such appeals."

The following text is from Bahai World News: dated Feb 16, 2010.

“Muhammad Javad Larijani, secretary general of the Islamic Republic of Iran's High Council for Human Rights, told the session that there is religious freedom in Iran and that no Baha'i is persecuted for his beliefs. If any Baha'is are imprisoned, he said, it is because of "illegal activities" as a cult.

"Put bluntly, Iran once again completely discredited itself before the eyes of the international community," said Ms. Ala'i, noting that last week Iran arrested at least 14 more Baha'is.

Among those arrested, she said, was Niki Khanjani, the son of one of the seven Baha'i leaders who are currently on trial on false charges.

"As the Nobel laureate Mrs. Shirin Ebadi has recently stated in an open letter to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Iran is now trying to increase pressure on prisoners by taking their relatives hostage," said Ms. Ala'i. "Jamaloddin Khanjani is 76. He has been incarcerated for almost two years – and then they arrested his granddaughter at the beginning of January and now, his son."

"These are the desperate acts of a regime that is frantically lashing out to blame others for its troubles and to suppress any viewpoint that is different from its own ideology," she said.

The majority of countries who spoke out against Iran focused on the violence following last June's presidential election and also on the situation of the country's religious minorities.

Brazil called for Iran to extend rights to all religious groups in the country, saying Baha'is should enjoy the same rights as everyone. Mexico said all minorities – particularly the Baha'i community – must be able to practice their religion.

"Romania and Slovenia devoted almost the entire allotment of their time to discussing the increasing repression of Iran's Baha'i community," reported Ms. Ala'i.

Human rights groups, in documents filed with the Council, made similar points.

"The government systematically denies rights associated with freedom of religion to members of the Baha'i faith, Iran's largest non-Muslim religious minority. In most cases, including the persecution of the Baha'i community, the government uses 'security' as a pretext for detaining individuals and denying them basic due process rights," said a statement from Human Rights Watch.

All governments and fair-minded people throughout the world must join in unity to raise their voice to protest against the blatant violations of human rights in Iran.

Hope for Haiti - a campaign

2010-02-17T03:20:00.000-08:00

HOPE FOR HAITI

Natascha Yogachandra (age 16) a senior, doing her IB diploma at Ruamrudee International school has initiated a campaign called Hope for Haiti. She is making plans to visit Haiti in April. She is going there with her parents to restore hope for the children of Haiti; to help repair/rebuild schools and provide educational

materials.

She is traveling there after the initial phase in which major international relief agencies provide the basic needs, such as food, medicine and shelter. Her goal is to raise US $50,000 and personally visit Haiti to help the victims, especially the children. Ruamrudee International school and few other schools in Bangkok are and a few schools in her home town Fairport, New York are now raising fund for her campaign. She will use her family savings for travel expenses, which means that 100% of donations will be used for the relief efforts. She has also created a Facebook group, Hope for Haiti, and now nearly 4,500 have joined the group! Up-to-date information is available on her Facebook page as our website: www.hopeislife.org.

materials.

Haiti's devastation is all too familiar to her. Immediately after the tsunami in 2004, she raised more than US $20,000 and personally went to the southern part of India and Sri Lanka with her parents to provide relief for the tsunami victims. She was 11 at the time and spent a month comforting and supporting children and established an ongoing project of rebuilding day care centers. She is absolutely saddened by what's happening in Haiti, and feel, once again, compelled to help.

She is involved in several community services project at Ruarmrudee School. She is also serving as Honorary Chairperson of Hope is Life Foundation, currently involved in several humanitarian projects in several parts of Asia. Her Foundation focuses on providing educational support to the children living in poverty around the world. Over the past 4 years she and her family have lived in India and now Thailand to continue our efforts to eradicate illiteracy, one child at a time, by building and repairing schools, sponsoring children and opening libraries. Her work has spread to Vietnam, Cambodia, Kenya, Malawi, and even our hometown of Rochester, New York. Please visit www.hopeislife.org for more information.

Visit to Safe Haven orphanage in Mae Sot, Thailand

2009-12-31T12:05:00.000-08:00

January 1, 2010:

During the Christmas 2009 break, Debbie and I visited an orphanage along the Thai-Burmese border in the northern part of Thailand. Our Foundation has recently built water towers to collect and store water for the children throughout the year for this orphanage. Our trip to this area was to visit several orphans who are currently sponsored by the Foundation. These children are from Karen tribes who are refugees from Burma.

It all began about 15 years ago, when Mrs. Tasanee Keereepraneed received a frantic message from a local villager in Tha Song Yang, which is about 3 hours north of Mae Sot province on the Thai-Burmese border, that a little girl had lost her mother during birth. In Karen culture this is interpreted as a bad omen, and the child is often killed. Having lost her own father at a young age and her children also having lost their father when Tasanee’s husband was murdered, Tasanee decided that she, if anyone should be the person responsible for caring for the orphaned children of The Karen. Tasanee now has 48 children to care for in the Tha Song Yang facility and several children go to school in Mae Sot for education beyond grade 10.

The orphanage, consisting of several huts is located next to the Moei River, and is surrounded by jungle and beautiful limestone mountains. Before the water tower was built, water was carried from the stream daily to provide for the needs. The children now have access to safe drinking water as well as for all their other necessary requirements all year around.

During this trip we also met two Karen children, who are orphans and recently brought to the orphanage. 14-year-old Corde and her brother 8-year-old Nataphong. Both witnessed their mother being beaten to death by their step father in a village near the border. They are mentally disturbed. Our Foundation has agreed to look after their welfare and education.

There are many refugee camps along the Thai-Burmese border. It is sad the Karen tribes had to flee from their land in Burma. Every dry season bring fresh offensives by the Burmese regime and new waves of refugees fled to Thailand. Today there are more than 140,000 refugees housed in nine camps along the border. Majority of the refugees are from Karen tribes, but also including some minority tribes, such as Mon, Karenni and Shan. These people have fled the fighting and abuses by the military in their homeland.

Debbie is holding an orphan child who joined the orphanage a month ago.

Khun Tasanee (left) is also seen with an orphan

Nataphong and Corde (extreme left) are seen with Tasanee and Debbie

Tasanee is seen with the children before they leave for school

Our "hotel room" at the orphanage where we stayed

Huts where children live

Debbie is seen with one of the orphans

Climate Change - a shared responsibility

2009-12-31T10:47:00.000-08:00

Climate Change - a shared responsibility

Climate change is unequivocal and is identified as the most seious threat facing humanity today, including developing and developed countries. If there is one issue that strikes at the heart of the entire humanity, it is the climate variability.

According to scientists, a rise of at least two metres in the world’s sea levels is now almost unstoppable. Remember Maldive islands.... Since 80% of its 1,200 islands are no more than 1m above sea level, within 100 years the Maldives could become uninhabitable. The entire populations of nearly 360,000 need to be evacuated and relocated.

The impact of climate change on human and natural systems poses a severe challenge to reducing poverty and spreading of diseases. This is evident now from looking at recent images in newspapers worldwide - heavy flood in Manila and choking of Sydney by dust storm, and observation of increases in global average air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow and ice, and rising global average sea level.

But, can the global leaders, with their entrenched patterns of conflict, self-interest, quarrels between rich and poor nations and short-sighted behavior of political leaders, commit to possible cooperation for a long-range planning on a global scale?

I doubt. The global nature of the climate changes calls for leaders to examine the underlying interdependence and onenss of humanity. More than 150 years ago, Bahá’u’lláh, the Founder of the Baha’i Faith warned that humanity would face an increasing number of severe and unprecedented calamities until it recognized and fully embraced its underlying unity. The threat posed by global warming offers yet another opportunity to discover within ourselves the fundamental reality upon which the peace, security and well being of the entire planet depend.

Bahá’í writings state, “implies an organic change in the structure of present-day society, a change such as the world has not yet experienced.” And at the heart of this change stands Bahá’u’lláh’s imperative: “Let your vision be world-embracing, rather than confined to your own self.” And this unity cannot be created without justice among developing and developed nations.

Finally, as the UN Cimate Chief Yvo de Boer said, the Time is not just pressing. It has almost run out,” and the current global leaders are accountable for this act.

Tsunami 2004

Hmong Tribes in Thailand

2009-12-30T23:45:00.000-08:00

December 31, 2009.

Last week, Debbie and I visited a few members of the ethnic Hmong tribes living in the Chiengmai area in the Northern part of Thailand. In fact, this week, the government of Thailand repatriated thousands of ethnic Hmong living in a camp in since 2004.

More than 4,000 ethnic Hmong from Laos have been living in Ban Huay Nam Khao in Petchabun’s province since late 2004. They were seeking asylum in Thailand saying they risked persecution by the Lao regime for fighting alongside US forces in the Vietnam war during the 1960s and 1970s.

Some of them have claimed to be close associates of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) who supported in fighting the communists before the fall of Vientiane, Laos in 1975. They say they are fleeing suppression back home.

But, the Laos and the Thai government are not buying the story. As far as the Thais are concerned, the Hmong are normal economic migrants and should be sent home. So, the Thai government went ahead with the forced deportation, despite opposition from the United States, the United Nations and the human rights groups.

In the meantime, Laos has told the international community that they need not fear for thousands of Hmongs repatriated from Thailand.

Originally the Hmong people lived in great numbers in the icy regions of Tibet & Mongolia. To avoid the cold weather, they migrated south via China into Vietnam, Laos and Thailand.

The Hmongs are fiercely independent people, good traders and survivors. They are known for their intricate embroidery work, they wear heavily embroidered, tightly pleated skirts. The women wear skirts having length in the level of their knees. The men dress in baggy black trousers with flashes of embroidery on the cuffs. They mostly wear the silverware as decoration.

Debbie is pictured with Ms. Fun, a 20-year old married Hmong. Fun has one baby, aged 2

A Hmong woman using her cell phone

A portrait of Ms. Fun

A typical house of Hmong tribes

Getting to the heart and soul of Thanksgiving

2009-11-24T18:59:00.000-08:00

This morning I sent a few Thanksgiving greetings to our friends back home in the States. After sending them, I came across an e-mail from Margaret Tash from Irondequoit, New York which I am going to share with you all.

To me this reflects the true meaning of Thanksgiving. But, we also know that the marketers all over the United States use this occasion to increase their sales. This is the time when families and friends gather and say Thank You for their love and friendship.. But,we must take sometime to reflect on the spiritual significance of thanksgiving with the following words of Abdu’l-Baha, son of Baha’u’llah, Founder of the Baha'i Faith.

Abdu'l-Baha shared these thoughts when he visited the United States in 1912:

“Thankfulness is of various kinds. There is a verbal thanksgiving which is confined to a mere utterance of gratitude. This is of no importance because perchance the tongue may give thanks while the heart is unaware of it.

Many who offer thanks to God are of this type, their spirits and hearts unconscious of thanksgiving. This is mere usage, just as when we meet, receive a gift and say thank you, speaking the words without significance. One may say thank you a thousand times while the heart remains thankless, ungrateful.

Therefore, mere verbal thanksgiving is without effect. But real thankfulness is a cordial giving of thanks from the heart. When man in response to the favors of God manifests susceptibilities of conscience, the heart is happy, the spirit is exhilarated. These spiritual susceptibilities are ideal thanksgiving.

There is a cordial thanksgiving, too, which expresses itself in the deeds and actions of man when his heart is filled with gratitude. For example, God has conferred upon man the gift of guidance, and in thankfulness for this great gift certain deeds must emanate from him.

To express his gratitude for the favors of God man must show forth praiseworthy actions. In response to these bestowals he must render good deeds, be self-sacrificing, loving the servants of God, forfeiting even life for them, showing kindness to all the creatures.

He must be severed from the world, attracted to the Kingdom of Abha, the face radiant, the tongue eloquent, the ear attentive, striving day and night to attain the good pleasure of God. Whatsoever he wishes to do must be in harmony with the good pleasure of God. He must observe and see what is the will of God and act accordingly. There can be no doubt that such commendable deeds are thankfulness for the favors of God.

Consider how grateful anyone becomes when healed from sickness, when treated kindly by another or when a service is rendered by another, even though it may be of the least consequence. If we forget such favors, it is an evidence of ingratitude. Then it will be said a loving-kindness has been done, but we are thankless, not appreciating this love and favor.

Physically and spiritually we are submerged in the sea of God's favor. He has provided our foods, drink and other requirements; His favors encompass us from all directions. The sustenances provided for man are blessings. Sight, hearing and all his faculties are wonderful gifts. These blessings are innumerable; no matter how many are mentioned, they are still endless.

Spiritual blessings are likewise endless -- spirit, consciousness, thought, memory, perception, ideation and other endowments. By these He has guided us, and we enter His Kingdom. He has opened the doors of all good before our faces. He has vouchsafed eternal glory. He has summoned us to the Kingdom of heaven. He has enriched us by the bestowals of God. Every day he has proclaimed new glad tidings. Every hour fresh bounties descend.

Consider how all the people are asleep, and ye are awake. They are dead, and ye are alive through the breaths of the Holy Spirit. They are blind while ye are endowed with perceptive sight. They are deprived of the love of God, but in your hearts it exists and is glowing. Consider these bestowals and favors.

Therefore, in thanksgiving for them ye must act in accordance with the teachings of Baha’u’llah. Ye must read the Tablets -- the Hidden Words, Ishraqat, Glad Tidings -- all the holy utterances, and act according to them. This is real thanksgiving, to live in accord with these utterances. This is true thankfulness and the divine bestowal. This is thanksgiving and glorification of God.”

--Excerpt from a talk given by Abdu'l-Baha in 1912
Promulgation of Universal Peace, pg. 236-237

Undocumented Children of the World

2009-08-11T23:07:00.000-07:00

Conference on undocumented children

a Bahá'í point of view

Recently I attended an Inter-Faith conference and panel discussion on undocumented children organized by Assumption University’s John Paul II Center for Catholic Social Thought at the University’s JOHN XXIII Conference Center, Suvarnabhumi campus in Bangkok, Thailand.

This was organized in collaboration with the Pontifical Council on Justice and Peace, Vatican and Rev. Bro. Dr. Amnuay, Director of John Paul II Center, invited members of Catholic, Jain, Islam, Judaism and Bahá'í Faith to represent and discuss what the relious writings say on undocument children. I enjoyed the presentations given by representatives all all Faith. My dear friend, Mr. Jayabalan presented a paper on Bahá'í Faith.

First of all I applaud the efforts of Rev. Br. Dr. Amnuay’s efforts and the leadership of Rev. Bro. Dr. Bancha, President of Assumption University in organizing the forum for various religions to unite and discuss the problem of undocumented children, a subject which is dear to our heart, a topic which is one of humanities, on-going shame - a crime against inncocent undocumented children.

Bahá’u’lláh, the prophet Founder of the Bahá'í Faith, says that religion must be conducive to love and unity. If it proves to be the source of hatred and enmity, its absence is preferable; for the will and law of God is love, and love is the bond between human hearts. Religion is the light of the world. If it is made the cause of darkness through human misunderstanding and ignorance, it would be better to do without it.

The sufferings of undocumented children are of great concern to all of us. They are denied the basic rights.

According to UNICEF:

More than 10 million children die each year although most of those deaths could be prevented;

100 million children are still out of school, 60 per cent of them girls;

150 million children suffer from malnutrition; and HIV/AIDS is spreading at an alarming speed.

An undocumented children in southern part of India

Article 244 of the Compendium states: “The rights of children must be legally protected within juridical systems.” And in Article 245 we read: “The situation of a vast number of the world’s children is far from being satisfactory, due to the lack of favorable conditions for their integral development despite the existence of a specific international juridical instrument for protecting their rights, an instrument that is binding on practically all members of the international community.”

A child begging on the streets of Bangladesh

So how shall humanity get away with this crime? How can we allow this festering crime to continue? Crime against undocumented children is one of the humanity's greatest shames.

But, there are many others: our treatment of the aged from whose loins each and every one of us came into this world - our treatment of the poor and women - our prejudice of color, religion, race and flag

Street children in garbage dump in Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Not only there are millions of undocumented children all over the world, but children are forced to become child soldiers, laborers an in many cases trafficked across international borders to force into sex trade. They face all forms of abuse, neglect, exploitation and violence.

To protect these children, we have to change. Our society has to change. An organic change in the structure of present-day society needs to take place, a change such as the world has not yet experienced.

This will require profound changes at the level of the individual, the community, and the nations of the world. Baha’u’llah, the prophet Founder of the Bahá'í Faith, about more than century and a half ago, said, to make this change. “Let your vision be world-embracing, rather than confined to your own self.”

Just to give you a brief background of the Bahá'í Faith, throughout history, God has revealed Himself to humanity through a series of divine Messengers, whose teachings guide and educate us and provide the basis for the advancement of human society.

These Messengers have included Abraham, Krishna, Zoroaster, Moses, Buddha, Jesus, and Muhammad. Their religions come from the same Source and are in essence successive chapters of one religion from God.

Each prophet acknowledged the ones before and foretold of another to follow.They all subscribed to the great truth of Progressive religion. There is in fact only one religion and all the prophets have stage after stage revealed successive chapters of it.

Bahá’u’lláh, the latest of these Messengers, brought new spiritual and social teachings for our time. His essential message is of unity. He taught the oneness of God, the oneness of the human family, and the oneness of religion.

Bahá'u'lláh said, “The earth is but one country and mankind its citizens,” and that, as foretold in all the sacred scriptures of the past, now is the time for humanity to live in unity.

The Oneness of Humanity

The Oneness of Religion

The Equality of Women and Men

Elimination of Prejudice

Elimination of Extremes of Wealth and Poverty

The Independent Investigation of Truth

Universal Education

The Harmony of Science and Religion

A World Commonwealth of Nations

A Universal Auxiliary Language

Bahá’u’lláh warned that humanity would face an increasing number of severe and unprecedented calamities until it recognized and fully embraced its underlying unity.

Shrine of the Bab, Haifa, Israel

Let’s think about this for a moment...we can send man to the moon, split the atom, conquer the space, find cure to incurable disesases, but we cannot unite the hearts of human beings. We cannot find an organic force that can unite a jew with a Plaestinian, a Muslim with a Hindhu or a with a Christian with a Jew.

Today, more than six million Bahá'í s who come from nearly every nation, ethnic group, culture, profession, and social or economic background are working hard to find a unifying vision to build a world fit for children.

Baha’i writings stress the importance of the welfare and education of children including the poor and undocumented.

As part of the Bahá'í Socio Economic Development, there are thousands of children classes are conducted for poor, needy, undocumented and migrant children to provide them education.

Referring children, Baha’u’llah said, “There are many things which will, if neglected, be wasted, and come to nothing. How often in this world do we see a child who has lost his parents and who, unless attention is devoted to his education and training, can produce no fruit. And better off dead than alive is he who produceth no fruit.”

From their earliest moments, Bahá'í writings, make it cear, that we have a sared duty to love them, protect them, and train them so that they may grow and develop and become “stars of the heaven of understanding,” “lions roarings in the forests of knowledge and wisdom,” “whales swimming in the oceans of life.”

All these are like ulcers breaking open the skin of the human body. But as we know ulcers are themselves only symptoms of the diseased blood and the disease of the blood is caused by the sickness of the hearts. The heart of humanity is sick.

How and who can find the cure. We know that the cure is not with any politician or clergy, since political in-fighting and religious wars are the bone of our times. This is the time for all of us to think, believe and practice that the earth is but one country and mankind its citizens,

Each prophets of the past religions, during His time for his region and people successfully cleansed the hearts and united them to establish mighty cultures and civilizations.

There is no finality to knowledge or religion. If one is interested in discovering the key to human unity in our time then one would do well to investigate the claim of Baha'u’llah the Prophet founder of the Bahá'í Faith, which within a hundred and fifty years of its inception 1863 has already became the second most wide-spread religion of our planet and cultures across racial, religious, or color barriers, demonstrate a cross section of the human race truly united in conscience and purpose.

Hence the problem of undocumented children from the perspective of Bahá'í Faith, shameful as it is, will not be solved in isolation but as an integral part of restoring the whole human condition to its rightful place as a family

Finally, I would like to end my brief summary with a beautiful prayer for the children from the Bahá'í Faith,

“God! Educate these children. These children are the plants of Thine orchard, the flowers of Thy meadow, the roses of Thy garden. Let Thy rain fall upon them; let the Sun of Reality shine upon them with Thy love. Let Thy breeze refresh them in order that they may be trained, grow and develop, and appear in the utmost beauty. Thou art the Giver. Thou art the Compassionate.”

Climate Change Report - need everyone's atention

2009-08-08T00:07:00.000-07:00

Climate change is already reponsible for 300,000 deaths a year

Let your vision be world-embracing, rather than confined to your own self

Cyclone - South Asia - (courtesy: International Herald Tribune)

It is a very disturbing report. I think we all should take this “warning” very seriously. According to the Guardian Weekly, a think tank headed by former Secretary General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, climate change is already reponsible for 300,000 deaths a year and is affecting 300m people. This first comprehensive study of the human impact of global warming from the Global Humanitarian Forum projects that projects that increasingly severe heatwaves, floods, storms amd forest fires will be responsible for as many as 500,000 deaths a year by 2030, making it the greatest humanitarian challenge the world faces.

Economic losses due to climate change today amount to more than $125bn a year. The report further says that civil unrest may also increase because of weather-related events. Four billion people are vulnerable now and 500m are now at extreme risk. Weather-related disasters ... bring hunger, disease, poverty and lost livelihoods. They pose a threat to social and political stability".

If emissions are not brought under control, within 25 years, the report states:

• 310m more people will suffer adverse health consequences related to temperature increases

• 20m more people will fall into poverty

• 75m extra people will be displaced by climate change.

Hundreds of millions of people are expected to become water stressed by climate change by the 2030.

Tsunami - 2004 - Eastern Province, Sri Lanka (Pix by: Nat Yogachandra)

The study says it is impossible to be certain who will be displaced by 2030, but that tens of millions of people "will be driven from their homelands by weather disasters or gradual environmental degradation. The problem is most severe in Africa, Bangladesh, Egypt, coastal zones and forest areas."

As per Guardian Weekly, the study compares for the first time the number of people affected by climate change in rich and poor countries. Nearly 98% of the people seriously affected, 99% of all deaths from weather-related disasters and 90% of the total economic losses are now borne by developing countries. The populations most at risk it says, are in sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, south Asia and the small island states of the Pacific.

Nobel peace prizewinner Wangari Maathai, said: "Climate change is life or death. It is the new global battlefield. It is being presented as if it is the problem of the developed world. But it's the developed world that has precipitated global warming."

This poses a serious question among business and political leaders. Are we ready to work together to find solutions to dav the planet. “Can humanity, with its entrenched patterns of conflict, self-interest, and short-sighted behavior, commit itself to enlightened cooperation and long-range planning on a global scale?”

In an article entitled Perspective: Climate change and the oneness of humanity, appeared in One Country, newsletter, the teachings of Baha’i Faith offers a ray of hope. Here is an extract from One Country newsletter.

"More than a century ago, Bahá’u’lláh explained that humanity is moving inexorably into an age when its underlying oneness and the need for unity and collaboration in virtually all spheres of endeavor will eventually be universally recognized — and that from that recognition the long promised age of peace and security for all humanity will ultimately be realized.

For Bahá’ís, then, the growing scientific consensus on climate change and its wider public discussion offer an urgent reason for humanity to examine its underlying interdependence and oneness, which is the fundamental reality of the human condition today. The challenge of global warming, moreover, highlights the degree to which humanity must swiftly move towards unity of action at the global level if it is to thrive and, perhaps, even survive.

In previous statements, the Bahá’í International Community has identified a number of key principles needed to create sustainable development on a global scale. These principles include a mandate for justice above all else, a commitment to world citizenship, and an understanding of the interconnectedness of all things. Principles such as the equality of women and men, an emphasis on moral education, and the creation of a new system of global governance have also been held up as prerequisites to the creation of “an ever-advancing civilization,” as Bahá’u’lláh phrased it.

Within the context of sustainable development, what makes climate change especially intractable is the way in which its many inputs are so small, and so deeply interwoven into the fabric of modern life, and yet are set against an overall long time frame in which changes, whether positive or negative, will take decades to show results.

Flood Victims - Brazil (courtesy: New York Times)

Today, with few exceptions, every time someone somewhere turns on a light, rides in a motor vehicle, purchases an industrial artifact, or heats his or her home, more carbon dioxide is produced, and, according to the current understanding, the potential for global warming goes up by a tiny increment.

he accumulation of these tiny inputs of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has taken on the characteristics of a long but slowly accelerating freight train: the momentum has been building for a long time and it will now take considerable time and effort to slow it down.
The imperative for action, then, extends from the highest political levels — at which broad policies can be implemented to stem warming — to the choices that each person around the world makes every day at home or in work.

It is in this regard that religion and religious belief offer a critically important venue for reflection, transformation, and action. For, as has increasingly been recognized by activists in the approach to other environmental problems, there is perhaps no more powerful impetus for social change at the grass roots than religion.

As the most recent of the independent world religions, the Bahá’í Faith offers principles and ideas that appeal to the contemporary mind and establish a framework for fruitful action.

As noted, foremost among these principles is the oneness of humanity, which, the Bahá’í writings state, “implies an organic change in the structure of present-day society, a change such as the world has not yet experienced.” And at the heart of this change stands Bahá’u’lláh’s imperative: “Let your vision be world-embracing, rather than confined to your own self.”

The Bahá’í writings also tell us that such unity cannot be created without justice. “There is no force on earth that can equal in its conquering power the force of justice and wisdom,” wrote Bahá’u’lláh. “The purpose of justice is the appearance of unity among men.”

Both principles, unity and justice, are essential if international negotiations over things like carbon limits, emissions trading, the sharing of alternative technologies, and the elimination of poverty (which has a very real effect on greenhouse gas production, as when the poor are impelled to burn down forests to create farmland) are to succeed.

Once such principles are firmly adopted at the highest levels, it will be easier to motivate ordinary citizens at the lowest levels — who in many places are already at the forefront of action — to make whatever further changes that may be required in their own lives to ameliorate global warming.

Another key principle of the Bahá’í writings that can broadly illuminate new directions in addressing climate change is the understanding that science and spirituality are not antagonistic but, in fact, are complementary in their descriptions of reality.

Too often, of course, advancing technology has been the cause of unintended pollution or social harm. “If carried to excess, civilization will prove as prolific a source of evil as it had been of goodness when kept within the restraints of moderation,” warned Bahá’u’lláh. On the other hand, traditional religion has too often delayed or hindered the adoption of new ideas and technologies that could be of benefit.

Tsunami 2004 - Eastern Province, Sri Lanka (pix by: Nat Yogachandra)

Bahá’ís believe that once a human-oriented basis for scientific endeavor has been established, built first and foremost upon the principles of unity and justice, the possibilities for fruitful scientific endeavor are limitless. In the case of climate change, Bahá’ís have no that doubt that science, animated by such values, could lead to the creation and adoption of such technologies and alternative economic structures that will permit a high and sustained level of global prosperity in which everyone can lead materially and spiritually satisfying lives.

Bahá’u’lláh warned that humanity would face an increasing number of severe and unprecedented calamities until it recognized and fully embraced its underlying unity. The threat posed by global warming offers yet another opportunity to discover within ourselves the fundamental reality upon which the peace, security and well being of the entire planet depend.

Cyclone - Bangladesh (courtesy; International Herald Tribune)

“Bahá’u’lláh warned that humanity would face an increasing number of severe and unprecedented calamities until it recognized and fully embraced its underlying unity. The threat posed by global warming offers yet another opportunity to discover within ourselves the fundamental reality upon which the peace, security and well being of the entire planet depend.”

A Violently Shaken World

2009-07-31T01:32:00.000-07:00

Recently, I came across an interesting blog (www.elikamahony.com/blog) of Ms. Elika Mahony.

I am taking the liberty of sharing a post entitled, “A violently Shaken World.”

“Our world has been violently shaken in the last couple of weeks. Thousands have suffered and countless lives have been lost in China and in Myanmar. So many are suffering and many others are looking for explanations and trying to make sense of these catastrophes.

From the wise counsels of Abdu’l-Baha I have gleaned the following:

In times of tragedy we are reminded that we are one human family, all with the same needs and all suffering from the same pain. We also see how tragedy brings out the most noble side of humanity: strangers and friends alike arise to offer help, to contribute money and material goods, and to pray for their fellow human beings who are grieving and who are suffering.

Providing hurricane lamps to the fishermen families in the Eastern part of Sri Lanka immediately after the tsunami in 2005 by the Hope is Life Foundation

While we try to do our best to assist in whatever ways we can, ‘Abdu’l-Baha also reminds that we must remember that this physical existence is just the beginning of our eternal journey towards God. Those who have died are not gone, they have simply gone on ahead of us to the spiritual realms. It is as if God has taken a potted plant out of its small pot and replanted it in a vast garden where it can grow much better. Physical death is not the end but it’s the beginning of their growth in the spiritual life, as our souls are immortal.

Physical disasters also remind us that this mortal life is inherently unstable and unpredictable. It reminds us that what is important is the development of our souls because that’s what is everlasting. Everything else is temporary. We realize that we must seize every opportunity to show love, to be of service, and to help others. If we do this, then every moment we’re alive has true meaning. When we leave this world, all that we take with us are what we have made of our souls and our good deeds. And as a society, if we don’t learn from these disasters and make safety more important than profit, then that in itself is a tragedy.”

Providing educational materials to village children in India

The foremost among the principles of the Baha’i Faith is the oneness of humanity. And the Baha’i writings state, “implies an organic change in the structure of present-day society, a change such as the world has not yet experienced.” And at the heart of this change stands Baha’u’llah’s imperative: Let your vision be world-embracing, rather than confined to your own self.”

The Baha’i writings also tell us that such unity cannot be created without justice. “There is no force on earth that can equal in its conquering power the force of justice and wisdom,” wrote Baha’u’llah. “The purpose of justice is the appearance of unity among men.”

Both principles, unity and justice, are essential if international negotiations over things like elimination of poverty or disaster relief operations.

A New Learning Center is now opened in Battambang, Cambodia

2009-02-23T19:06:00.000-08:00

A new Learning Center is now opened in Cambodia

I have a great news to share with my friends. Very recently, my family visited a small village in Battambang province in Cambodia where my daughter Natascha officially opened a Learning Center built by the Hope is Life Foundation. We were so glad to see more than 100 children in the village who will now have access to some form of education. The villagers, the Chief District Officer, Head of the District Education Department, the Head of Village Council village children and many of our friends attended the opening ceremony. It was a proud moment to all of us. The school is now officially opened.

Village children waiting for the guests arrival

Visitors and children posed for group picture during the opening ceremony

After enduring nearly three decades of brutal warfare and the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime, Cambodia still remains one of the poorest countries in the world. During Khmer Rouge’s rule, it was estimated nearly two million Cambodians died of starvation, torture or execution. Two million Cambodians represented approximately 30% of the Cambodian population during that time.

Today, of Cambodia’s estimated 14 million people, nearly 42% live on less than 50 U.S. cents a day. Another 30% of the population is only earning marginally more than that. Infant, child, and maternal mortality rates are among the highest in Asia. Low spending on education perpetuates poverty, as children of poor families are forced to drop out of school – making it harder for them to access opportunities as adults. Those who cannot afford the educational fees, such as the 10,000 to 20,000 children living on the streets of Phnom Penh, do not go to school.

Although the Kingdom of Cambodia is rich in natural resources, decades of war and internal conflict have left it one of the world’s poorest countries. The legacy of strife includes social and economic scars. Many millions of land mines were sowed throughout the countryside, where millions of them still lie, hidden and unexploded.

As you all recall, in a fanatical attempt to create a pure peasant society, the Khmer Rouge turned their country into a giant labor camp, evacuating cities, banning commerce and religion, and trying to exterminate the country's educated class. From 1975 to 1979 at least 1.7 million people were executed or died of overwork, starvation, torture or untreated disease.

Responding to the devastation of Cambodia after years of war, Cambodian Organization for Research and Development (CORDE) has been working in Cambodia for many years with the mission to facilitate the transformation of communities through the education of individuals. It has been a challenge to bring poor Cambodians back from such a tragic upheaval of their nation and the complete disintegration of the family as an institution where love and trust died under brutal oppression, and a whole generation grew up with no understanding of what it means to have a loving family.

According to CORDE, the only way is social transformation through education - to rebuild the foundation of families and community relations on which a nation can be built. And the only way to build up education in the country is to help people learn to do it and sustain it themselves.

The Education Officer and the Village Chief thanked Hope is Life Foundation for giving an opportunity for the village children to attend school and receive basic education.

The new Learning Center was built by the Hope is Life Foundation in collaboration with with Cambodian Organization for Research and Development (CORDE).

More than 100 children in this village will be attending classes at this center. These Centers invite children and youth to deepen their literacy ability and increase their power to express themselves.

The new learning center is now opened

Classes for children and junior youths will be conducted daily in the new learning center. The land was donated by a farmer from the same village.

Regional Bahai Conference - Battambang -Cambodia

2009-02-22T18:53:00.000-08:00

Regional Bahai Conference in Battambang, Cambodia

I was delighted and happy to spend a few days in Battambang recently with my wife Debbie. I attended a Baha’i Regional Conference, where some 2,100 members of the Baha’i Religion from Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam gathered in this Cambodia's second-largest city for a historic conference that had citizens of all four nations sitting side by side to discuss service activities in their communities. It was very spiritual.

An Official Representative of the Government of Cambodia is seen delivering the opening remarks

I was also amazed by the efficiency of the Cambodian friends, especially the the youths to organize such a large gathering in Cambodia.

This gathering was one of a series of 41 Baha'i conferences being held in major cities around the world. The events began on 1 November in Lusaka, Zambia, and will conclude on 1 March in Kiev, Ukraine.

Some 75,000 people have participated to date in the conferences (as of Feb 23) which began on 1 November and will conclude on 1 March, 2009 - last of the series of 41, which will be in Kiev, Ukraine.

Youths from Vietnam is seen performing a traditional Vietnamese dance for the participants

In Battambang, a representative of the provincial government, Aem Thoeurn, addressed the conference and emphasized the diverse nature of the gathering.

Nearly 2,100 Baha'is from Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam participated in the Conference

"The unity of religion and the harmony of its followers is essential for peace," he said. "Your gathering here is proof that this is possible." He expressed the wish that "each one of us will bring this (spirit) back to our own people."

As in many of the cities hosting the conferences, Baha'i organizers in Battambang were challenged to find a venue large enough for all participants. The Battambang city hall fit the bill, with 1,500 people filling the main auditorium and others watching proceedings by video link from tents set up outdoors.

All the conferences are being held at the call of the Universal House of Justice, the head of the Baha'i Faith. The purpose is to celebrate achievements in community-building and make plans for future work. This includes devotional gatherings; children's classes; and programs for the moral education of young people.

The Bahá'í Faith is the youngest of the world's independent religions. Its founder, Bahá'u'lláh (1817-1892), is regarded by Bahá'ís as the most recent in the line of Messengers of God that stretches back beyond recorded time and that includes Abraham, Moses, Buddha, Krishna, Zoroaster, Christ and Muhammad.

The central theme of Bahá'u'lláh's message is that humanity is one single race and that the day has come for its unification in one global society. God, Bahá'u'lláh said, has set in motion historical forces that are breaking down traditional barriers of race, class, creed, and nation and that will, in time, give birth to a universal civilization. The principal challenge facing the peoples of the earth is to accept the fact of their oneness and to assist the processes of unification.

One of the purposes of the Bahá'í Faith is to help make this possible. A worldwide community of some five million Bahá'ís, representative of most of the nations, races and cultures on earth, is working to give Bahá'u'lláh's teachings practical effect. Their experience will be a source of encouragement to all who share their vision of humanity as one global family and the earth as one homeland.

To learn more about the Bahá'í Faith, please visit www.bahai.org

2008-09-21T00:22:00.001-07:00

Unity of all Religions

Why are we fighting among each other in the name of religion?. The purpose of religion is to unite mankind and establish peace and unity among people of the world. But it is very unfortunate to see people are divide and fight against each other in the name of religion. Just recently, in India, it was Hindhu against Christians in the Orissa state, and Hindhus against Muslims in Kashmir.

Just a few weeks ago, at least 16 people, mostly Christians were murdered, several churches destroyed and nearly 10,000 Christians became homeless in the State of Orissa, India because of religious war between Hindhus and Christians.

According to International Herald Tribune, the missionaries built schools and hospitals, and their work persuaded many Adivasis and ethnic Panas, who belong to a Hindu lower caste, to convert to Christianity. The region turned into a hotbed of communal strife after hardline Hindu groups, who accuse Christian missionaries of converting people under duress or through inducements, arrived half a century ago to counter an expansionist evangelist drive.

There have been so many religious wars during the past several decades and have slowed down the progress of humanity. The wars have disunited people, destroyed communities and brought miseries to millions of people.

Baha'i Gardens in Haifa, Israel

Terraces - Baha'i Garden, Haifa, Israel

In a statement address to the peoples of the world, entitled, The Promise of World Peace, the Supreme Body of the Baha'i Faith, the Universal House of Justice in Haifa, Israel noted," Religious strife, throughout history, has been the cause of innumerable wars and conflicts, a major blight to progress, and is increasingly abhorrent to the people of all faiths and no faith. Followers of all religions must be willing to face the basic questions which this strife raises, and to arrive at clear answers. How are the differences between them to be resolved, both in theory and in practice? The challenge facing the religious leaders of mankind is to contemplate, with hearts filled with the spirit of compassion and a desire for truth, the plight of humanity, and to ask themselves whether they cannot, in humility before their Almighty Creator, submerge their theological differences in a great spirit of mutual forbearance that will enable them to work together for the advancement of human understanding and peace."

Probing deeper into the unity of religions, according to the writings of the Baha'i Faith, "The principle of the unity of religion means that all of the great religious Founders--the Manifestations--have come from God, and that all of the religious systems established by Them are part of a single divine plan directed by God.

In reality, there is only one religion, the religion of God. This one religion is continually evolving, and each particular religious system represents a stage in the evolution of the whole. The Bahá'í Faith represents the current stage in the evolution of religion. To emphasize the idea that all of the teachings and actions of the Manifestation are directed by God and do not originate from natural, human sources, Bahá'u'lláh, the Founder-Prophet of the Baha’i Faith, used the term "revelation" to describe the phenomenon that occurs each time a Manifestation appears. In particular, the writings of the Manifestation represent the infallible Word of God. Because these writings remain long after the earthly life of the Manifestation is finished, they constitute an especially important part of the phenomenon of revelation. So much is this so, that the term "revelation" is sometimes used in a restricted sense to refer to the writings and words of the Manifestation.

Making a Better Presentation

2008-08-24T19:52:00.000-07:00

Recently a friend of mine from Rochester, New York had asked me for some tips on making presentations to Asian audience, as he was planning a trip to a few countries in Asia. I thought of sharing them with my blog viewers

(excerpts from The Return of the Dragon, by Nat Yogachandra)

Making a Better Presentation

Making an excellent first impression in Asia is crucial. So if one is going to deliver a presentation to a group i any Asian country, one has to invest more time an effort in preparing the delivery. Remember that presentations in Asia are somewhat formal affair. Your appearance, your outfit, and manner should convey this.

As a general rule, any presentation to an Asian audience should be more formal, orderly and restrained than at home. “We may take pride in appearances of spontaneity and thinking on our feet. We like to sound naturally articulate, not rehearsed. For special effect we mark up our flip charts and transparencies, often with dramatic flair. Many foreign audiences from Germany to Japan feel very uncomfortable with this type of presentations. They may feel slighted when they see that the speaker has not made the effort beforehand to rehearse and to complete the visuals aids in their language, of course. Prior presentation and formality are a matter of respect, the more the better,” writes Lennie Coperland and Lewi Griggs in their book Going International.

As a first step, it is highly recommended that you send your presentation materials in advance so that your local office can read them in advance and, if necessary translate them. Try to use short, declarative sentences when writing. Avoid jargon, difficult words and idioms. And, if you are planning to write letters to go along with you presentation to anyone whose first language is not your own, try and follow some basics discipline such as:

Be simple and concise - keep it to the point

Use short simple words and direct sentences. Avoid uncommon verb forms

Be positive and courteous

Try to phrase negative words (NO) in a positive way

Be polite

Be formal. Never presume to use your associate’s first name. You need to remain formal until your partner indicates you may do otherwise. Being formal also implies being more courteous.

Here are some guidelines to help you become more effective in your presentations to an Asian audience:

Plan your presentation: Think through the actions and reactions you want from the group and prepare for all outcomes.

Research your audience and their culture: This is crucial. Find out about the business practices of the people before you visit a country. How would they react to some of your presentation techniques?. Will they like it if you bad-mouth the competition?. Will they like humor in your presentation ?. In some cultures, especially in Korea, saying something bad about the competition is not usually welcomed.

Keep it Simple: Language is always a major barrier. Use short sentences. Do not use American slang or figures of speech that are difficult to translate and impossible to look up in a reference book. Americans in general should be careful not to use sports analogies as not all American sports are popular in Asian countries. As a rule, use simple words for the audience to understand and try to avoid the cobwebs of presentation. Stay away from American jokes. They won’t be understood in Asia. Do not talk fast and /or loudly.

Brief your interpreter well in advance: You must make sure that your interpreter is well briefed and understands your requirements well before your presentation. when your foreign host provides an interpreter, make sure you explain the gist of the agenda and what you will be presenting. If you are in a technical field, give the interpreter a list of words in advance and a chance to get to know and prepare the translations. Once you find out who will be your interpreter, it is always recommended that you give him or her copy of your presentation in advance. During long sessions it may be a good idea to have more than one interpreters. Pause after each sentence or a two and allow the translator to translate it. Try to communicate only one concept at a time.

When speaking through an interpreter, always look at the person to whom you are talking and not the interpreter (even though it may be more comfortable looking at a listener who understands your language).

Think visually: Be as visual as you can be. Try to use chart an graphics more than you normally might. Effective visuals reinforce your primary message and will be easier to understand for the audience whose native tongue is not English. Make sure you keep the visuals very simple to reinforce the main points. keep the materials simple and clean.

Making eye contact: The speaker should not just look at the translator when speaking. Instead, your gaze should sweep the room in an unhurried and carefully paced manner. You should frequently stop to make eye contact with the head of the team. This will create the impression that you are paying attention to the audience and especially respect the leader. However, looking straight in the eye is disrespectful in most Asian countries. In some culture, it is proper to cast your eyes down or away from someone considered your senior. For example, in Japan, a person who looks straight in the eye of a subordinate is felt to be judgmental and demanding, while someone who looks his or her boss in the eye is assumed to be discourteous and hostile. But, in Western culture, if you don’t make a good eye contact with the person you are speaking to, he or she may begin to feel uneasy and think that there is breakdown in communication.

Do not rush to fill silence: Silence during a meeting or presentation conveys meaning. If a culture is known for its verbosity and has a penchant for explaining everything in words, silence can mean a complete breakdown in communication. If a culture dislikes over-talkativeness, silence can be highly valued as a sign of modesty. Depending on the culture, silence can indicate that they understood you and reached a conclusion or complete disagreement. Silence can appear to be non-active an can be construed to carry no special meaning.

Most of the time, your audience will be quiet and ill observe long periods of silence. Do not rush to fill silences. You must talk and wait patiently. You must give your foreign counterparts more time to talk. When your Asian colleague seems to be struggling with how to communicate a message, be patient and be careful not to put word into his mouth. To many Asians, silence is a form of speech.

Be Prepared: If you are giving a presentation in Japan or Korea, nothing makes a worse impression on the Japanese than the appearance of being ill-prepared. This may also be applicable to most other Asian countries.

Prepare to take several copies of handouts of your presentation materials.

Have someone in your group introduce you to the group. This adds to your credibility.

During your introduction, tell them that you will offer handouts after the presentation. This will help the designated secretary on the Japanese team relax and not waste time taking notes.

Distribute handouts translated into local language of all the technical materials, and product specifications.

Try to maintain a low key demeanor. Try not to be overly loud.

Keep your humor - jokes - to a minimum

Good Luck

(Photo courtesy: www.inmagine.com)

TAKE A FRESH LOOK AT THE GLOBAL FOOD CRISIS;

2008-08-21T21:29:00.000-07:00

PLEASE - TAKE A FRESH LOOK AT THE GLOBAL FOOD CRISIS

Pope Benedict XVI recently said that hunger and malnutrition had no place in the modern world. Hunger and malnutrition are unacceptable in a world where the levels of production, resources and knowledge are enough to bring an end to these types of dilemmas and their consequences.

A cooked food vendor along the streets of Bangkok, Thailand

To mark the 2008 World Food Day, the Director General of Food and Agricultural Agency (FAO) Jacques Diouf said, “Our planet produces enough food to adequately feed its entire population.” Yet, nearly 854 million women, men and children will go to sleep on an empty stomach. Mr. Diouf, further said, “The right to food calls for a shift in paradigm from charity to rights. Ensuring that every human being has an adequate and stable supply of food is more than a moral imperative - it is the realization of a basic human right.

Skyrocketing food prices in many parts the world is causing major problems and undermining gains made in the reduction of global poverty. During my recent trips to many Asian countries, people have complained about the increase in cost to feed their families. I have listened to taxi drivers who complained about making less money nowadays and finding it difficult to bring food home.

Selling Bread on the streets of Phnom Penh, Cambodia

The inflation in food price has caused riots and tensions in many Asian, African and Middle East countries. According to the World Bank President Robert Zoellick, “ Food prices have been driven higher, in part, by drought in Australia and in central Europe, and more demand for food in wealthy Asia. From 2005 through 2007, world wheat prices rose 70%, corn gained 80%, and dairy prices nearly doubled, up 90%.” Mr. Zoellick has said two billion people across the world are struggling with high food prices, and 100 million extra people in poor countries may be pushed into poverty by the crisis.

Valerie Gee, in her article entitled, “The New Hunger,” appeared in the issue No 55 of Asia Geographic writes, “ In Asia, inflated food prices have led to scenes of social unrest, most notably in Bangladesh, Indonesia and the Philippines. The sharp rise in prices have hit the poor hardest because food represents a much higher proportion of their expenditure than that of richer populations - a good 60 to 80 percent, compared to the 10 to 20 percent in industrialized countries.” According to the World Food Programme (WFP), a UN agency, believes that 100 million people who were not facing urgent hunger six months ago are now in peril.

Even in the United States, the richest nation on earth, demand at food banks is up nearly 20 percent over last year. US food prices are expected to rise up by five percent this year. Next year, nearly 28 million American - that is one in ten Americans - are expected to use food stamps and that will cost the tax payers $39 billion.

The time has come for the world leaders to take a fresh look at the problems we have today. A new look at the problems the world is facing, involving consultations with experts from a wide spectrum of economic sectors, devoid of any personal and national interests and finally involving the people directly affected in the decisions must take place immediately. The solution calls for a combined effort that involve the application of spiritual, moral and practical approaches.

More than a century ago, Baha’u’llah, the Founder Prophet of the Baha’i Faith explained that recognition of the fundamental spiritual principle of our age, the oneness of humanity, must be at the heart of a new civilization. The foremost among the principles of the Bahai teachings is the oneness of humanity, which, the Baha’i writings state, “implies an organic change in the structure of present-day society, a change such as the world had not yet experienced.” And at the heart of this change stands Baha’u’llah’s imperative: “Let your vision be world-embracing, rather than confined to your own self.”

In a concept paper entitled, “ Valuing Spirituality in Development,” written by the Baha’i International Community for the World Faiths and Development Dialogue, London in 1998, stated “that the economics of food production and distribution will have to be reoriented and the critical role of the farmer in food and economic security properly valued.”

Raw papaya salad (SomTum) is very popular among people from North-East of Thailand

The paper further states, “Issues of food, nutrition, health and shelter are central to the challenge of providing an adequate standard of living for all members of the human family. The issues cannot, however, be tackled solely as technical or economic problems. Eliminating hunger and malnutrition, establishing food security, providing adequate shelter and achieving health for all will require a shift in values, a commitment to equity, and a corresponding reorientation of policies, goals and programs.”

Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Baha’i Faith in addressing the basic needs in food and shelter, said,” In such a world society...(t)he economic resources of the world will be organized, it sources of raw materials will be tapped and fully utilized, its markets will be coordinated and developed, and the distribution of its products will be equitably regulated... The enormous energy dissipated and wasted on war, whether economic or political, will be consecrated to such ends as will extend the range of human inventions and technical development, to the increase of the productivity of mankind, to the extermination of disease, to the extension of scientific research, to the raising of the standard of physical health, to the sharpening and refinement of the human brain, to the exploitation of the unused and unsuspected resources of the planet, to the prolongation of human life and to the furtherance of any other agency that can stimulate the intellectual, the moral and spiritual life of the entire human race.”

The well-being of mankind, it’s peace and security, are unattainable unless and until its unity is firmly established.” - Baha’u’llah, Prophet Founder of the Baha’i Faith

VIETNAMESE CHILDREN CONFRONTING HIV/AIDS

2008-08-20T19:21:00.000-07:00

VIETNAMESE CHILDREN CONFRONTING HIV/AIDS

On a narrow busy lane in District 3 of Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam is a three-story apartment building. For an outsider, it looks like a typical shop/house building, but inside this simple but neat building, we met more than 40 children, aged four months to 15 years - most of them orphans living under the loving care of a few volunteers and Father John Phuong Dinh Toai. They all have been neglected by society and by their own families and they all have one thing in common -- they are all infected with HIV/AIDS. Few mothers, also infected with this deadly virus and abandoned by their husbands, live here as well and help take care of the children.

Natascha Yogachandra, honorary chairperson of Hope is Life Foundation is seen playing with some of the children at the orphanage.

My wife, Debbie, and our daughters, Megan and Natascha, were very fortunate to meet these children and Father Toai during our recent trip to Vietnam (late July 2008) and our Foundation (Hope is Life Foundation) has been very much involved with the orphanage.

Last year, 2.7 million people were newly infected with HIV, and 2 million died from AIDS. Today, according to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, 33 million people live with HIV worldwide. I was very glad to learn that at the recent 17th International AIDS Conference in Mexico City , the theme was a new focus on children. As reported in the New York Times, a report released at the Conference by the Joint Learning Initiative on Children and HIV/AIDS urged governments and donors to develop new approaches to alleviate the plight of children in areas hard hit by the epidemic.

There were concerns expressed by the participants that although governments and donors provide large sums of money for HIV treatment worldwide, too little of that money reach children. Very little efforts have been made to provide psychological, nutritional and other support for these children. These children have been ignored by their own families and discriminated by their friends in the school and shunned by their neighbors.

Dr. Jim Yong Kim of Harvard University , according to the New York Times, said that about 6 to 10 percent of children needing therapy were receiving it, compared with 30 percent of adults. What is really shocking is that according to a United Nations report, nearly 1.5 million children had died of AIDS in the past five years and 15 million children had lost one or both parents to AIDS. An estimated 2 million children under the age of 15 are living with HIV.

I am a strong believer in giving any form of support or financial aid directly to the victims and their families. For the past few years, we have made direct contact with the families or children under the care of Hope is Life Foundation.

I do not believe in overhead costs. Dr. Linda Richter, a psychologist in South Africa said that in the developing world, much of the money for children in AIDS programs went to consultants and overhead costs. “It would be more effective, and more efficient, to give money directly to families and communities. Poor people have shown that they make good decisions about getting food and other provisions. In some cases, mothers are unable to take their children for medical care because of financial barriers including being able to pay the bus fare to treatment centers.”

During the past few months, my family and I have been involved in creating awareness of human trafficking and the HIV/AIDS epidemic among children. For many young girls in Asia and Africa , poverty exposes them to sexual exploitation at a very young age. We met one young girl from Vietnam who was duped into attending a party by a friend across the border into Cambodia and then dumped in a coffee shop/brothel house. There, against her will, she worked as a sex worker throughout her adolescence years, serving men of all ages, often without the use of condoms.

It is very common to see stigma attached to the person infected as well as the entire family. People in general have a belief that they might easily contract the disease if they have any contacts with either the HIV patient or their family.

Encouraging the governments and organizations to break the silence and to combat the stigma attached to HIV/AIDS, a United Nations report added, "Fear of discrimination may prevent people from seeking treatment for AIDS or from acknowledging their HIV status publicly. People with, or suspected of having, HIV may be turned away from health care services, denied housing and employment, shunned by their friends and colleagues, turned down for insurance coverage or refused entry into foreign countries. In some cases, they may be evicted from home by their families, divorced by their spouses, and suffer physical violence or even murder. The stigma attached to HIV/AIDS may extend into the next generation, placing an emotional burden on children who may also be trying to cope with the death of their parents from AIDS.”

Well, I have decided to continue to work with Father Toai on behalf of Hope is Life Foundation to provide emotional and material support for the children who are suffering from this deadly virus. Here are some of the children we are closely working with. I have changed the names to protect the character identities.

Ben has two sisters. Only Ben is infected with HIV. His mother left the two girls with Ben at the orphanage and disappeared. Upon learning that his wife and child have HIV, Ben’s dad kicked them all out of the house. These children have been living at the center since 2007.

About two years ago in 2006, the local hospital sent Vaan to the center and said she would die in two weeks time. She is infected with HIV, but doing fine. Vaan is now three years old.

Veem is four months old. The youngest in the center. Her mother died of AIDS and the father disappeared. This is very common at the center.

Bean, at the age of eight months, was abandoned by her mother on the streets. Someone took her home and found that she was infected with HIV/AIDS and left her on the streets again - abandoned for the second time. She was rescued and brought to the orphanage. She is now 20 months old.

I have taken several photographs of the children at the orphanage, but decided not to publish in this blog.

The elimination of discrimination against women is a spiritual and moral imperative

2008-07-08T19:40:00.000-07:00

A Thai woman vendor on the streets of Bangkok

According to the latest summary of a survey conducted by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime among 189 countries worldwide, Thailand was among dozens of nations highlighted for a high number of rape cases. This is very disturbing news to the country. In the past, numerous Thai scholars and women's organizations have identified violence against women as a severe problem in this country. Also in the past many reports from the United Nations Development Program informed unequivocally that there has been growing concern about the problem of violence against women including physical, sexual, and mental abuse by their husbands in Thailand.

Domestic violence is a significant social problem in Thailand and in Asia in general. In particular, a great deal of attention has been paid to the high rates of physical abuse which men perpetrate against their female partners and the causes of such violence.

Women may have become the heads of government in many countries in Asia -- India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan. This does not mean that every woman has won her rights. In spite of all the progress that women have made in most of Asia and the Middle East, they still lag behind their sisters in other parts of the world in terms of equality between the sexes.

Many Thai male political leaders have in the past have become advocate of many women’s rights laws but their efforts slowed down because of prejudices of dominant male political leaders who are in power or just lack of understanding of women’s rights.

It is mentioned in the writings of the Baha’i Faith, that the world of humanity is possessed of two wings: the male and the female. So long as these two wings are not equivalent in strength, the bird will not fly. When the two wings become equivalent in strength, enjoying the same privileges the flight of man will be exceedingly lofty and extraordinary. The elimination of discrimination against women is a spiritual and moral imperative that must ultimately reshape existing legal, economic, and social arrangements. We need to change the attitudes of male towards female. Without fundamental changes in the attitudes and values of male in power, especially male policy-makers, and in the underlying ethos of social institutions, full equality between women and men cannot be achieved.

I strongly believe in educating girls is more important than educating boys. The first teachers of children are mothers, and we need to educate them first. If they are educated, they should be able to stand up for their rights and build self-esteem. Currently, most women, once their rights are violated and abused at home, often do not report the crime. Because of the terrible shame and embarrassment associated with such violence, inflicted by their husbands or boy friends, they tend to turn inward, blaming themselves and their karma rather than the men who inflict this violence upon them.

The leaders in Thai business, society and politics, especially the men in power have an inescapable duty to promote the equality of women. They must work hard to create a better environment and a just society to make this happen.

I am proposing a six-point plan to all Thai men, especially parents, business and political leaders to promote non-violent aggression against my female sisters in this country and all over Asia.

Point: 1: Remove all obstacles that prevent girls from going to and staying in school. If parents have limited resources to send their children to schools, send the girls first. People with money try and sponsor girl’s education in neighboring towns.

Point: 2: Principals and head masters of school voluntarily incorporate efforts to change attitudes on gender, show respect to women and discuss equality of men and women in classroom settings. This should begin in primary schools and extend to media, civil society, government officials and the social partners.

Point 3: At every level of the society, at every stages of government, programs must be in place by men of influence to educate men and boys about the importance of gender equity and shared responsibility.

Point 4: At home, parents must teach their sons to treat girls with respect and dignity. This made it easy when the father respect the mother at home and include her in consultations and decision making process.

Point 5: Male youths must initiate campaigns to approach government and private institutions to promote gender equality and create awareness of women rights at work. Such campaigns must be nationally recognized and evaluated.

Point 6: Ban all the books/comics with abusing images. Any Thais cannot help noticing comic books found in book stores or waiting rooms, across the country. They are full of abusing images. Cartoons of husbands beating wives or wives beating husbands are very common. They are indeed read mostly by children. More parents must rise above united to ban such books and bring dignity and respect to mothers and sisters.

No nation can develop half of it is free and half chained. Therefore, a balanced strategy to bring both halves of the society into benefiting the basic human rights of women is a must.

A Violently Shaken World

2008-06-01T00:51:00.000-07:00

Recently, I came across an interesting blog (www.elikamahony.com/blog) of Ms. Elika Mahony. I am taking the liberty of sharing a post entitled, “A violently Shaken World.”

From the wise counsels of Abdu’l-Baha I have gleaned the following:

Both principles, unity and justice, are essential if international negotiations over things like elimination of poverty or disaster relief operations.

Pray for the Burmese Children

2008-05-28T12:13:00.000-07:00

(pictures: International Herald Tribune, The New York Times)

According to a recently published UN report, children in Myanmar may have to attend classes in relief camps and tents because 85 percent of school buildings were destroyed or severely damaged in the country's cyclone-ravaged region.

The new school term starts around June 1 and UNICEF says there is no time to rebuild the estimated 2,700 severely damaged primary schools used by 350,000 students or to replace the unknown numbers of teachers killed or missing following Cyclone Nargis, which left more than 66,000 people dead or missing.

Children are the major victims of this terrible disaster. Burmese children have been through a terrible tragedy and trauma. According to the regional head of Save the Children, more than 30,000 children in the delta area are at extreme risk of chronic malnutrition, disease and abuse. Thousands of malnourished children in the delta area now risk death if they do not get food in the next two weeks.

Children also face the risk of sexual abuse and being kidnapped and forced to work as laborers or prostitutes, particularly children separated from their parents. UNICEF estimates, in delta area, there are more than 2,000 children separated from their families.

Burmese charities supported by Christian Aid have already discovered children and the elderly dying in villages in the Irrawaddy delta that have received no aid, or help to provide clean water, 15 days into the tragedy.

A Christian Aid worker in Rangoon said that the Burmese authorities are allowing a local partner organization to distribute water and water purification tablets.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/05/27/africa/28myanmar.php

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/28/world/asia/28delta.html

Burmese villagers had little, and lost it all
International Herald Tribune International Herald Tribune
Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Sitting dejectedly in a hut surrounded by the debris and stench that are the aftermath of the powerful cyclone that struck here three weeks ago, Then Khin, 70, reflected on the grim task of rebuilding what is left of her family and their home.

Since Cyclone Nargis devastated the area May 3, this isolated village in the Irrawaddy Delta has been all but ignored. As of this past weekend, it had yet to be reached by international relief workers.

Then Khin lost 15 family members when Nargis swept through. For those in the family who survived, life is a litany of woes and the recovery has only just begun. (read more)

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/05/26/asia/delta.php

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/search/page.news.php?clid=4&id=30073410

More than a Million People became Homeless.

2008-05-10T06:19:00.000-07:00

With up to 1.5 million people in Burma left homeless by the Cyclone Nargis, the people are now believed to be facing the threat of starvation and disease. Rotting bodies of people and animals are piled up in many places across southern Irrawady delta.

The official government death toll from the cyclone is 22,997, but the top American diplomat in Myanmar, Shari Villarosa, said Wednesday that the toll could rise to 100,000 if aid did not reach survivors soon. A military official in the town of Labutta estimated 80,000 dead there alone, Agence France-Presse reported.

According to The New York Times, there are thousands of aid workers inside Myanmar already. Save the Children has a staff of 500 there and has been able to provide 63,000 families with plastic sheeting, food, water purification tablets and other supplies. CARE has a staff of 500, Doctors Without Borders has staff members there, and the United Nations has 1,500 people in Myanmar.

But the scale of the disaster dwarfs these measures, aid experts say. Without a huge influx of supplies and transportation in the area, where many villages were accessible only by boat or helicopter to begin with, the workers can offer only limited help, aid officials said.

Many people in the worst-hit areas have not had any food or safe drinking water or medical treatment since the cyclone hit, said the spokesman for the United Nations’ World Food Program, Paul Risley. The storm has mixed drinking water and sewage, posing a severe risk of diarrheal diseases, and flooding has left vast pools of standing water where mosquitoes can breed and spread malaria and dengue fever.

We met several Burmese friends who are from a village called Daidanaw, when they were in Bangkok a few days ago. Nearly 99 percent of houses in Daidanaw are destroyed and the local cemetery is severely damaged - the gate and the prayer building are destroyed, but the graves are in tact.

In Daidanaw, personal belongings and domestic animals are all destroyed as well. All paddy fields are destroyed so are the rice storages for the households.
As you are aware, immediately after the tsunami 2004, we went and spent a month helping the victims in south India and Sri Lanka and comforted them. Now our Foundation (Hope is Life Foundation) is working hard to help Burmese people.

We will be going to Burma soon as soon as we finalize travel plans, especially visa and raise enough funds to help rebuild their lives. We will keep you posted.

Please visit our website for making donations: www.hopeislife.org

(Photo courtesy: The New York Times)