Looking Up in Somalia (Post 12)

Main article: With Rainfall and Aid, the Number Facing Starvation in Somalia Drops by Half a Million

The famine in the Horn of Africa, especially in Somalia, has created more than just hunger.  Violence and conflict have also been running rampant.  Several aid workers have been kidnapped (article), close to 60 African Union peacekeepers were killed (article), troops were sent in from Kenya, Ethiopia, and other countries (article), and bomb threats have been made throughout the Horn of Africa (article).
What is necessary to ease the suffering of the people and to put an end to conflicts is rain and aid.  Rain is obviously not in the government's control (even if there were a stable government...).  However, accepting aid is in their control, yet the Shabab has been denying aid and have actually booted out many groups (mainly Western). 
Charities had to get creative.  In some instances, money was sent electronically by cellphone, and people in the areas could buy food from the local markets.  Western aid groups have also partnered with groups that are still allowed in, such as Turkish and Muslim groups. 
And now, the worst seems to be over.  Rain has fallen in several areas, replenishing pastures, and three regions in southern Somalia are no longer declared. "famine zones." Aid groups have helped getting food in the markets and getting the prices low. 
The way this famine has been addressed has been reprehensible.  Thousands of people needlessly died from hunger and malnutrition.  And now, conflicts between Somalia and Kenya are hampering aid relief in certain areas.  Watching from the sidelines during such a catastrophe is difficult, and I applaud the organizations who ingeniously got aid into Somalia.  The people should not have to suffer because of the Shabab.

Conflict Minerals in the DRC (post 11)

http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/09/14/vice.guide.to.congo/index.html?iref=allsearch

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a country of vast mineral resources, a large population, and an incredible network of rivers that could be used for transportation and power.  However, the DRC is one of the poorest countries of the world.  This status is a result of armed conflicts, corruption, a difficult departure from being under Belgium's rule, and also misguided intervention from the United States.
As the video states, the DRC supplies 80% of the world's coltan.  Coltan is a mineral that is used in many technologies we use: cellphones, laptops, cameras, and the like.  Other mineral also abound in the DRC and have become known as "conflict minerals" because  the scramble for these materials has create mass havoc in the country.  The living situations of most of the people are deplorable and yet their plight goes unnoticed.
In other classes and lectures I have attended, the topic of coltan in the DRC has come up.  One professor went as far to say that even though what is going on in the DRC is reprehensible, the United States needs to push forward or else China will take over the exploitation of coltan and other resources from the DRC.
The DRC is an overlooked example of what happens to the people of a country when the best interest of the people is not looked out for.  Even the United States ignored the needs of the Congolese and focused on the gain to be made from the resources.  The video touches for a moment on how devastating all the conflict is on the health of the people of the nation.
Change must be made.  The DRC needs a way to step up and take control over coltan and mineral distribution.  The country has the potential to be a world power and control the markets with the supplies that can be offered.  The technologies we all rely on today cannot function without what the DRC has to offer.  Resources need to be allocated to the well-being of the citizens.

Link Community Development (post 10)

On Wednesday, I attended a presentation given by Judd Holzman, who was giving an overview of the organization Link Community Development.  Link Community Development is a unique organization that focuses on long-term and sustainable change and growth in order to improve education in rural sub-Saharan Africa.  The organization works in Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, South Africa, and Uganda, but also has partner programs in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and the United States.  What makes Link so exceptional is their method.  Instead of just attacking the problems of education from either the treetops method or through grassroots, the organization finds a healthy balance of the two.  Link builds relationships in communities and administers school performance.  Then Link focuses on district capacity building and strives to have the districts themselves prosper and work on getting better school services.  Link also works with community and family members to get them invested in their own as well as their children’s education. Link also trains principles to have stronger leadership and developmental skills.

            What I found fascinating were some other projects that Link is now nurturing and trying to expand slowly.  In South Africa especially, HIV/AIDS education has been worked into planning and school curriculum.  A program designed to target orphans and vulnerable children had also been put into place.  Another recent project is called Solar Connect.  Because these schools are in rural areas, they lack access to power sources.  One solution is installing safe solar panels to produce energy for the schools and also provide the school with a netbook and Internet access so that the principal can effectively communicate with the district without having to travel, so that classes can have more resources, and so that the school can be a center for the towns and villages. 

            Link Community Development is an organization that is doing many good things for international education and health.  Such presentations give me hope that sustainable improvement is possible in education as well as health.  Link also highlights the fact that education and health go hand-in-hand with their stress on HIV/AIDS education.
More information can be found at: http://www.lcdinternational.org/