I just watched Olbermann's Clinton interview, and it got me thinking...and

[rhymeinreason]

First, I thought about the piece In listened to today on NPR. It was about a young American woman who won an essay competition and got to go to Africa with a New York Times journalist and the things she saw there. The piece started off with the story of a dead woman - dead because when it came time to give birth, there was no medical care in her villlage, there were no roads to get her to a hospital in time, then there were no antibiotics and no blood available for transfusion, and finally there was no doctor who cared enough to stay after his shift to save her.

Here's the link to the audio of that story:
http://www.theworld.org/?q=taxonomy_by_date/1
Scroll down to "journalism update"

And I remembered, in the final "West Wing" episodes, C.J. is offered a position at a foundation, and she says her first priority would be to build roads to bring the vaccines and the relief supplies that the donors want to send.


Then, I started thinking about Wangari Maathai - I believe she is working with Bill Clinton on his Global Initiative fund. For those of you who don't recognize the name, she won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004. She started encouraging women to plant trees to replace those that were cut down for firewood.

Aside:

I have never been to Africa, and I won't claim to know much about how people live there. However, I do know that many stories I have heard about the violence committed on women in Darfur begin: "When the women went out of the refugee camps to collect firewood..." This leads me to believe that the women need the firewood, so that they can prepare the food, so that they and the people they care about can eat, and continue to live.

If someone wants to correct me on my assumptions, please do. I know that Africa is a large continent, and that women in different spots have different needs, differnet roles and that they face different problems. much as we women do in North America. I really would welcome any information on Africa, and women in Africa.

OK, back to Wangari Maathai. I have seen several interview she has given and I am amazed at the way she turned the simple effort of keeping the cooking pots burning into a voice for sustainability and equality

I looked for links for you guys, here's the best one I've found:
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/03/08/1444212&mode=thread&tid=25

I'll try and tie all this together. I wish I had the means to endow eight schools in Kenya, but I don't. I hope my contributions to Doctors without Borders will save some lives. I'm pretty sure my Christmas donation to the local food bank will help feed people. I still believe my little check to UNICEF will help some children somewhere who need help.

I'm getting old - who still gives to UNICEF? Because I'm old(er than most of you), I've seen a few things. I've seen a small gift when it was most needed make an enormous difference -excuse me if I don't want to tell you the story. I've also heard about how a "make work" Government program change people's lives. That story I will tell-my family's from the Carolina mountains and I've heard my (dear deceased) aunts and older cousins say "Oh, the TVA, after that you could read and study after sunset." Not to mention my daddy, who completed high school (while he was working) thanks to FDR.

I think Bill Clinton is trying to give some hope. And, although some of you on DU may not want to hear it, Laura Bush may be out there giving hope too. The merry-go-round water pumps she advocated have worked:

http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/rough/2005/10/south_africa_th.html

This November, I hope we elect a government that shows care and concern for the world we live in, rather than one who seeks to press down, subdue and dominate any part of the world we do no take the trouble to understand. I hope for a government who is willing to do the big things and the small things both globally and locally that will make a difference in people's lives. I have, however, decided no matter what the election outcome, to go plant nine tree seedlings and thank Wangari Maathai for showing me the way .

End of rant.

jls

[nini]

1. It is nice to see someone doing good things for a change

So sad that it's not the a common thing :-(

[rumpel]

2. Thank you - this is what this era should be

all else is clinging to ways that have never worked and never will

achieve equality and justice for all - which ultimately brings peace

recommended

[oasis]

3. Let America again be known as a force for good in the world.(eom)

[Straight Shooter]

4. That was not a rant.

That was a song from the heart.

:thumbsup:

[badgerpup]

5. Thank you...

...for reminding me that I can do little things, and they WILL eventually make a difference. :hug:


:yourock:

[Laurab]

6. K & R

That was a breath of fresh air.

Welcome to DU!:hi:

[Maraya1969]

7. I think your post was lovely and encouraging. And welcome to DU

:hi:

I don't know whether I have just noticed it more but it seems as if this country is becoming very generous and helpful.
Jon BonJovi was on Oprah this week and he and his band built 49 houses so far to Katrina evacuees. And he is just one of a string of celebrities that seem to be going out of there way to help lately.

Maybe having a bastard in the White House is having an opposite and positive effect on the people of this country. I know I feel more of a responsibility to help others now because our government is just not there. Our government can't even send soldiers to a war with proper amour to protect themselves. And Pakistani refugees sent $10,000 to help the people of Katrina because our government was so incompetent and did not help.

[rhymeinreason]

8. Thank you all, I didn't expect to find my post recommended

I've been around for a while, but I don't post much unless I have something to say.

I just wanted to say that sometimes you are given the big stage (like Bill Clinton) and sometimes you are given the small stage ( I personally paused outside my 18 year old cousin's kid new car in 2004 and said "Well, if you want to show me the car and you think George Bush is an ass, don't you think you should register to vote?" And he said, "Well. I will." And I said, "Good, I have the form right here!" )

Sometimes, you push; sometimes you protest,; sometimes you work within the system and your name is Clinton and you get a lot of people trying to bring you down and then you have a good idea and get a big old check from Richard Branson. And sometimes, you plant a tree (or nine).

jls

[druidity33]

9. Maathai is a beacon...

She absolutely deserved the Prize. From what i understand the tree planting is important, but it's the ownership and management of the groves by the women that has given her journey permanence. Also, microcredit lending and community group structures (sorely needed in the US) enabled the movement to cross borders, languages and very different cultural situations.

Taking action, no matter how small is always better than just hoping for some outcome.

:) peace unto your day.

[elehhhhna]

10. Here is a meaningful way to gove--with an menu of options & price ranges:

Gift Catalog
Choose a meaningful gift to give a loved one and help children and families around the world receive training and animal gifts that help them become self-reliant.

Click any of our gift animals and find out how your gift will provide families with resources they need.


You can donate a basket of chickens all the way up to a water buffalo..

http://www.heifer.org/site/c.edJRKQNiFiG/b.204586/k.9430/Gift_Catalog.htm?msource=kw102&gclid=CPW4stDjw4cCFQ13UAod2CKPJg

[Berry Cool]

11. Microfinance is an incredible thing, and it doesn't take much money.

You can give, say, $100, and that $100 can be lent to a woman whose husband has abandoned her and her children, so that she can open a fruit stand and sell fresh fruit. By selling fruit, she can become self-sufficient and take care of her children. And she will pay back that loan, too. She may do it only a few dollars at a time, over many months, but eventually, she will pay back that loan. So then that $100 can be taken and given again to someone else who needs money to start a business. And so it goes on and on and on...

That's how much even a relatively tiny amount of money can do. Because the beauty of it is, some of these people don't need very much money, by our standards, to change their entire lives. And when they are lent enough to make them into people who can earn their own living, it's then possible for them to pay that money back and keep it circulating and helping others.

[sandnsea]

12. Bush water pumps

"Four years later, when his father was president, Jeb visited Nigeria as chief salesman and partner of Bush-El, a firm marketing water pumps to the notoriously corrupt African dictatorship. The water-pump sale went through, conveniently financed by a $74.3 million loan from the U.S. government." http://dir.salon.com/story/opinion/feature/2003/08/21/conason_four/index.html

I don't know Laura Bush's motivations, just adding info.

[Felinity]

13. Okay, I'll say it, I'm on a snarky roll today

First of all, NOT being involved in a project this size would be an embarrassment to the B* admin--too mammoth to ignore, and too politically diverse to be excused from doing something.

And secondly, there's all that CASH involved. The smell of all that money, just waiting for someone to steal it, is irresistible to the neocons. So they send not-really-hated-too-much-yet Laura to front for them, feigning concern for the underprivileged and offering some token assistance (I'll bet the cash commitment isn't equal to 1% of what the neocons have raised in political contributions, put in the pockets of our privatized military corporations, and stolen from the massive amount of undocumented suitcases full of cash sent to Iraq).

Is there that much difference between "evil" and "married to evil"? And how much did it cost the Neocons to keep Laura on the payroll after hubby's roll in the brush with Condi? I'm guessing beaucoup de CASH and a key to the White House pharmacy; not to mention the opportunity to speak at the Clinton gig as a way of distancing her reputation from the liars, thieves, sadists, and murderers back at the palace.

I warned you--snarky enough?