As many of you are aware, I want to apply for the Peace Corps when I get out of college; Peace Corps, and well Fulbright, but Peace Corps is where I'd really like to go. I was talking with a good friend a couple weeks ago and she was talking to me about a program called Master's International where I can attend school for a year, do my two years in the Peace Corps, and end up with a master's on the other side, plus in many cases the school gets paid for! I'm really excited about the opportunity and hope that it works out...I mean in the grand scheme of life two years isn't that far away right?
School has long since been over, but Africa hasn't left my mind, not that it ever does. However, during the month of May I was ill for a good portion of the days. Over the years, my health has given me quite a bit of trouble, this year being minute to most. The climate in Austin seems to be easy on my allergies for the most part and I've only been sick a couple times this year. Studying abroad and doing the Peace Corps and such will require my health to be in mint condition, starting like now...so any prayer you can spare would be great. :) However, I know that if this is the place God wants me, my health will be no challenge at all for the man upstairs.
This past summer World Cup Soccer was played in Africa. When this happened Shakira made a video promoting World Cup and the African culture.
Waka Waka, Shakira's video, promotes the issue of racism and sexism. The video addresses these issues through representation of the African culture and representation of women. Video's like Shakira's that are broadcast on mainstream media promote issues of social justice and reach society in their "comfort zone".
Of course Shakira's video was made to promote the World Cup; however, the video does much more for the world than just promoting a soccer competition, or at least I think so.
In the class that inspired this blog I am now working on giving a presentation about.....Africa. The presentation is a basic overview of my blog project and what issue of social justice that I have been promoting. I hope that when I finish the presentation that I can figure out how to upload it...we will see. When recollecting all of my thoughts and ideas that revolve around this movement I only find myself more passionate to help these women. I am a hands-on person so as gratifying as writing this blog to promote the issue is, I cannot wait to be out in the field dependent on God sending me there of course.
What is violence and how do we stop it? This post will take an unusual emotional stray from the factual posting I have previously done, simply because my heart is so captivated to facilitate in this movement. I find that love is the first and foremost prominent answer to this question. I find that there are many things that I struggle with but loving people is rarely one of them. I love to love, it is what I wake up excited about every morning and what I dream about every night. My aspirations are to love the women of Africa, an area where much of the love that has been needed for years is absent. I hope that in exchange for love others themselves will love and the movement will expand ultimately replacing the violent world in which the people of Africa live. World peace is often something defined as the common foresight of society but not everyone is accustomed to peace, many even still are not accustomed to love. However, love is one of those things that you can just feel and know that it is ever present.
I implore you as an individual to learn what your love language is and express it. Love without holding back and let the passion in your heart burst forth to the expanse of humanity. Before this gets too mushy I'll leave you with the song of the day and bid you adieu.
My aspiration when starting this blog was to promote the social justice issue of violence. If you yourself have been touched by the movement and would like to contribute to the movement there are ways to do so. I realize not everyone is willing to climb stairs like the man in the video below. However, here are a couple of links if you would like to aid with donation, time, ect.
To live each day in fear knowing that you are the only protection you have for yourself is the life of most African girls. I can only imagine living day-to-day fearing this:
"Socio-economic structures in the war-ravaged region have collapsed. Women and girls who cultivate the fields, make charcoal in the forest or trade goods in the market so as to earn a livelihood for themselves and their families are easy prey.4 Out of the chaos of conflict, a particularly inhumane public health problem has emerged: gynaecologic fistula and traumatic genital injury from especially brutal sexual violence."
This man has taken matters into his own hands raising awareness and money for the fistula foundation. I love the creativity that he is using to facilitate the movement!
Good day friends,
I have fixed some kinks throughout the blog and hope that it is working more efficiently now. Please note that if there is something you would like know more about let me know! I have set the blog up so that anyone can comment on the posts. I would love to know your thoughts, ideas, and opinions on the issue.
I often find myself observing my surroundings here in Austin at St. Edward's just marveling at the beauty that surrounds me. Classes are of course difficult but it is rare than I am not inspired in one way or another to meet my goals here at the university. As I have previously mentioned my inspiration to work to support the women of Africa, specifically in the process of fistula repair stems from the work of Dr. Catherine Hamlin . Here is more on the episode of Oprah that she appeared on: Inside the Fistula Hospital.
"Child rape violates human rights and causes immediate and long-term health problems for the child. In the 1998 South Africa Demographic and Health Survey, we assessed frequency of rape in a nationally representative study of 11735 women aged 15-49 years. 153 (1.6%, 95% CI 1.2-1.9%) of these women had been raped (forced or persuaded to have sex against their will) before the age of 15 years. Our results show that younger women were significantly more likely to report rape than older women (p<0.0001). The largest group of perpetrators (33%) were school teachers. Our findings suggest that child rape is becoming more common, and lend support to qualitative research of sexual harassment of female students in schools in Africa."
"Sexual violence against women in war and its aftermath can have almost inestimable short and long-term negative health consequences. As a result of the systematic and exceptionally violent gang rape of thousands of Congolese women and girls, doctors in the DRC are now classifying vaginal destruction as a crime of combat. Many of the victims suffer from traumatic fistula -- tissue tears in the vagina, bladder and rectum."
If you would like to see the fistula repaired here is a link, it is graphic.
If you are reading this you probably follow my other blogs or are a member of my Social Justice class. This blog, like the other two has a specific purpose; however, I feel like this blog may be the one I am most passionate about. For my honors class, Issues of Social Justice, we have recently began a research paper assignment. Our professor also proposed the notion of using an event to make our paper not just research but a movement in and of itself. I asked if I could start a blog to promote an issue and was given the go ahead, thus the creation of this blog.
As many of you may know I dream of Africa and most of the time only Africa.
I have known for quite sometime that Africa is where I have wanted to go; however, I have never known what I want to go for. I know I want to change the world but in what way?
Over spring break I began re-watching Oprah's 20th Anniversary DVD collection and found a clip that spoke to my heart with piercing volume (this is not the exact clip, if I am able to find it I will post it later; this is the same doctor who spoke on the show):
My aspirations for this blog are to inform my readers on the struggles that the young women of Africa face, what is being done to facilitate these issues, and most importantly what each of you can do for the women.
I do not know what the frequency of posting will be for this blog; because I am writing for a class I expect that I will post more often than I do the other two blogs. However, just for the record, the song of the day will appear on this blog in accordance with the focus of the day's post like any of my other blogs.
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