If you think that charities are not affected by the economic crisis these days then guess again. Remember, donations and contributions to which most charitable institutions rely on heavily come from the pockets of people who can spare and afford to support them. No thanks to inflation, even these people today are hit by hard times of high prices, cutting down on expenses and of course charitable contributions.
Charities are totally helpless in this aspect. Donating to charity is not a demandable thing. They are done out of voluntary will and for the people who used to do this, how can they if they themselves cannot survive the growing problems of daily needs? In short, inflation goes way beyond the financially able, they hamper them and makes them stay away from expenses or donations that many would see as a big lift towards aiding agencies put up for a cause.
At this rate, we may even see more suffering for these charitable institutions. How can they maintain their charitable ways if they cannot sustain their territories due to the financial crisis? A scary thought indeed and if it does happen, it seems like more people are destined to suffer than to be aided. In the end, it is the people to be blamed as well considering that we all have our own faults in contributing towards world crisis today.
In a survey of eight local safety-net organizations, several said the need for financial and in-kind donations is becoming desperate. Without additional support, they say, severe cuts in services are inevitable and likely will begin in August.
Others – while dealing with a flat financial year, a spike in demand and rising costs – are holding their own. But they’re banking on a benevolent holiday season to keep up.
Source
Categories: Analysis, Charities, Events | Tags: Charities, crisis, economy, inflation
It has been over a month now and to this day, nothing striking has been reported on the MV Princess of the Stars tragedy that occurred in Romblon, Philippines. With thousands of lives that perished no thanks to Typhoon Franks, relatives had to console themselves with P200,000.00 in exchange for the lives of their loved ones that sank with this vessel.
The thing you have to hate about this is that the vessel, the MV Princess of the Stars is still out there overturned with bodies floating all over perhaps decaying by now. Apparently there are further issues to resolve such as the celebrated chemicals that were on board the ship that can lead to an outbreak of diseases and contamination if the rescuers are not careful.
Already affected are the fish and sea creatures that are being sold in the area as the increasing fear of contaminated fish or sea shell food is a possibility. With that in mind, one can just imagine the impact that this tragedy has given to the local folks of Romblon and how the livelihood of nearby towns are being affected as well.
Rather than focusing on how to resolve the issue, the people behind the vessel, Sulpicio Lines continues to face the raps being hurled their way. Political parties in the Philippines are having a heyday frying the vessel owners and while they are doing that, family members of the victims on board continue to wait.
Even worse, it is the rainy season. While the vessel has not been completely taken out, there are more storms headed the way of the Philippines. More delays are sure to ensue and perhaps make the situation grow worse.
Categories: Disaster Relief, Events, News | Tags: ferry, MV princess of the stars, philippines, romblon, sulpicio lines, tragedy
The Day is barely in and preparations have already begun in preparation for Earth Day 2008 when the world celebrates old Mother Earth as the promotion of environmental awareness expands into our lives. Similar to Earth Hour which happened a few months ago, the move is to promote an earth-friendly approach in all of us. The amount of damage we have done to this earth has amounted to so much damage that we have changed it, literally. The Earth Day Network is committed to enacting change which is to be done in order to halt further degradation of our planet which if not controlled, would end up in us in the losing end. TV networks have been showcasing the day for a week with most search engines doing the same. Earth Day is the time to think, talk and enact change in our daily lives where simple things can have bigger impacts. Lowering your carbon footprint is one way of helping the earth and many have taken up the call. In the US and other major Western nations, the switch to Biodiesel opposed to more traditional types of fuels is one of many alternative fuel technologies that have been in effect. True to this, in the far off land of Africa, one of the first commercial Biodiesel generation plants has been put up to cater to biodiesel needs that has been growing steadily. Alternative fuel cars for private and commercial use have also been growing in their numbers as more and more people shift towards the earth friendly approach to driving in their everyday forays into the urban concrete jungle.
Much has been gained by the raising of awareness but the areas which would have the most impact are also the hardest to reach, the parts of the earth where environmental awareness takes second seat to existence. Much of the world which belongs to the under developed world are the ones who have heavy reliance on earth-impacting technology, technology that came from the developed world and have been making money on. Developed countries can afford to tax their people for using plastic bags but in other countries that would be like telling people to bring home their grocery in their clothes. That is why much has to be done to get these people on the same level as those who live in developed countries so they can focus more on protecting the earth rather than using it for their short-term needs – existence.
Categories: Activities, Campaigns, Environmental, Events, Organizations, Programs, Websites, Wildlife | Tags: earth Day 2008, Environmental Awareness
The move started out as a local civic move in Sydney, Australia, to raise awareness about global warming and climate change by enjoining people to turn off the lights to their homes for a full hour. The program was started by the WWF in Australia as a move to bring the attention of the world to one of the greatest polluters in the world over, coal fired power generators. The move is expected to lessen the demand for power which comes from these dirty powerhouses that if accumulated, would amount to a sizeable amount of lost revenue from these power generation firms.
This year, the event went global and people, businesses, civic groups and governments observed a full hour of darkness which is spreading like wildfire lowering the demand on a global scale. The pollution these coal-fired electricity plants produce is one of the greatest sources of greenhouse gasses that have already caused the formation of a hole on the earth’s ozone layer. The ozone layer is responsible for the screening out of the more harmful UV-C rays which is known to be the most damaging form of UV. The hole allows the harmful radiation to get through thus making the earth warm up to the point that the ice caps on the poles are melting which can lead to rising seas.
Glaciers and mountains that used to be covered with snow are now bare rock void of their white crowns. If current trends continue, the seas will rise and most of the ice in the poles would melt. If that happens, low lying areas like Manhattan and LA can become submerged disrupting life as we know it. Scientific research also indicates that this cycle of warming may give rise to a new ice-age which would devastate many countries who’s citizens are not adapted to deal with such climate changes. Do your part, support the Earth Hour movement and send a statement that you care for mother earth, even for an hour this March 29th, 2008 at 8:00pm. Reduce your carbon footprint for a better earth and tomorrow.
Categories: Activities, Campaigns, Environmental, Events, Organizations, Programs | Tags: Global Movement, WWF Earth Hour
Nothing makes society put aside its differences than cases of missing and exploited children. Children are some of the most abused and misunderstood in most developing countries that they suffer more than we know. They are exploited as child labor, child warriors, prostitutes or simply victims of bad economic planning that allots enough resources for their future and development. The Lost Childrens Network, is a group of several non-profit charities who focus on the problem and try to alleviate some of the indignities children suffer all over the globe.
Recent statistics have shown that the use of children as child soldiers (mainly in Africa where the number of misguided children has grown to such extent that they are viewed as a resource for war) with their views of society and culture tainted with hatred, lust for power and the satisfaction of doing a good job for their war lords. These children, products of the Aids epidemic have little or no parenting supervision having fallen to conflict themselves as either victims or participants in the never-ending ethnic-cleansing that is currently sweeping the nation.
The group aims to inform people all over the world about the plight of these lost and misguided children in hopes of making the future brighter for them. They are also engaged in the search for kidnapped or literally lost children who have disappeared from their residences or while on tour abroad. These cases have increased in these past few years due to the more relaxed approach people have with regards to the time they append with their families, taking their children with them in hopes of regaining the lost time they spend at work with the time they spend on vacation. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, there is an estimated 15,000 soldiers that fall under the age of 18 with some as young as eight according to the BBC. In conjunction with the many charities and non-profit groups who aim to alleviate the suffering of children they are changing lives even if does not encompass the globe. Let us all help in their drive to help children wherever they may be on this earth for a brighter future which they can call theirs.
Categories: Analysis, Campaigns, Charities, Children, Events, News, Teens | Tags: charitable-organizations, child-crimes, Child-Exploitation, Child-Pornography
