Showing posts with label Platform2. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Platform2. Show all posts
Monday, October 17, 2011
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Ghana farming - Kasapin July 2010.
As I write this I am sat in the middle of the African rainforest. The sound of tropical birds calling out to each other echoes in my ears. Insects project themselves, aware of their presence only by the abundance of noise they make, unthreatened.
I am sat on a tree that has fallen to the ground, sliced down by my host father's machete. Only three weeks ago I was in this same spot with Gifty, my host-sister, the only difference being I was sat under a tree and not perched on its side adjacent the ground.
Nana is clearing his land to farm some more plantain and cocoa trees, he tells me his father father gave him this land, "it is all mine, seven acres of it." I sit here in the Sub-Saharan desert in his seven acres, untouched by civilisation, unencountered.
The only thing these seven acres see are the people who love it for what it can provide, the weather and God.
God to which Nana just sat and prayed to before planting his first plantain sucker. I question these actions. Nana said, " I asked God to protect me, to protect my farm" Nana then broke off into traditional African song, hammering the ground.
A leather skinned old man walks by, with someone who I assume is his son. The mans skin looks like you could upholster a custom made chair with it. The leather man smiles and waves his machete as a sign of acceptance. A killer Ant passes by to my right, reminding me of an armoured soldier and the bites that the group received clearing the playground.
Nana calls to me, in broken English he tells me to pass him some plantain suckers. Some of them are rotten, or at least they smell that way. They are an alien finger reaching out through the ground and upwards, beyond, as if calling home.
I am told to go and rest, Nana and I laugh, we are reminded of an earlier conversation, how western life was too fast and that the important things like family and rest are left to pass by.
An oak coloured grasshopper makes an appearance, it doesn't move from my sight for over half an hour, sitting undisturbed; unless Nana makes a request about knowing the contents of my 'report', which he says is very nice.
Nana breaks from planting and asks me, "what are you going to do when you go back to England...teach, be a politician?"
I laugh and Nana joins in, we share yet another joke. I tell him that it is not very likely that I get into politics, I tell Nana that I don't like politicians, "they talk too much" he replies.
Several Ants pass and Nana chops down a rather stubborn tree, he has been doing so for the past ten minutes.
Crack! The crash of leaves and a dull thud, the tree has surrendered. The wind has changed and I can feel a chill in the air, rain is coming.
I am sat on a tree that has fallen to the ground, sliced down by my host father's machete. Only three weeks ago I was in this same spot with Gifty, my host-sister, the only difference being I was sat under a tree and not perched on its side adjacent the ground.
Nana is clearing his land to farm some more plantain and cocoa trees, he tells me his father father gave him this land, "it is all mine, seven acres of it." I sit here in the Sub-Saharan desert in his seven acres, untouched by civilisation, unencountered.
The only thing these seven acres see are the people who love it for what it can provide, the weather and God.
God to which Nana just sat and prayed to before planting his first plantain sucker. I question these actions. Nana said, " I asked God to protect me, to protect my farm" Nana then broke off into traditional African song, hammering the ground.
A leather skinned old man walks by, with someone who I assume is his son. The mans skin looks like you could upholster a custom made chair with it. The leather man smiles and waves his machete as a sign of acceptance. A killer Ant passes by to my right, reminding me of an armoured soldier and the bites that the group received clearing the playground.
Nana calls to me, in broken English he tells me to pass him some plantain suckers. Some of them are rotten, or at least they smell that way. They are an alien finger reaching out through the ground and upwards, beyond, as if calling home.
I am told to go and rest, Nana and I laugh, we are reminded of an earlier conversation, how western life was too fast and that the important things like family and rest are left to pass by.
An oak coloured grasshopper makes an appearance, it doesn't move from my sight for over half an hour, sitting undisturbed; unless Nana makes a request about knowing the contents of my 'report', which he says is very nice.
Nana breaks from planting and asks me, "what are you going to do when you go back to England...teach, be a politician?"
I laugh and Nana joins in, we share yet another joke. I tell him that it is not very likely that I get into politics, I tell Nana that I don't like politicians, "they talk too much" he replies.
Several Ants pass and Nana chops down a rather stubborn tree, he has been doing so for the past ten minutes.
Crack! The crash of leaves and a dull thud, the tree has surrendered. The wind has changed and I can feel a chill in the air, rain is coming.
Friday, October 22, 2010
Global Poverty Project: 1.4 Billion Reasons DVD Premiere
Global Poverty is something which needs to be eradicated in our life time; the Global Poverty Project is an organisation which is commited to spreading the word and acheiving this goal.
On Wednesday 20 October I attended the 1.4 Billion Reasons DVD premiere at Bloomsbury Thatre in London, where my winning photography entries for 'Women are the Solution not the Problem' were screened.
The UK premiere of 1.4 Billion Reasons was a highly successful event, Bloomsbury Theatre was buzzing with like minded people, including model Lily Cole. You could really sense the energy of change as the presentation got under way.
The DVD itself delves into the details of the Millenium Development Goals, which were recently reviewed last month at the UN Summit in New York. To focus on these goals highlights the importance and possibility of eradicating poverty, proving that unless we promote change then these global goals of humanity will seem out of reach for some time to come.
The DVD focused on Ghana, West Africa, as a shining example of democracy and the development of fair trade rules in cocoa farming. Links to Cadbury's and the work they are doing with Ghanian farmers were discussed in the presentation and the DVD. The examples and developments discussed for the Gold Coast country are something that I can relate to, having returned from volunteering in Ghana with Platform2 for 3 months back in August.
The night was a huge success, with several open question and answer opportunities throughout the presentation, which really made the audience engage with the issues highlighted in the DVD.
Related post: Women and the Solution not the Problem
Find out more about The Global Poverty Project
Global Poverty Project: Join in on Facebook
On Wednesday 20 October I attended the 1.4 Billion Reasons DVD premiere at Bloomsbury Thatre in London, where my winning photography entries for 'Women are the Solution not the Problem' were screened.
The UK premiere of 1.4 Billion Reasons was a highly successful event, Bloomsbury Theatre was buzzing with like minded people, including model Lily Cole. You could really sense the energy of change as the presentation got under way.
The DVD itself delves into the details of the Millenium Development Goals, which were recently reviewed last month at the UN Summit in New York. To focus on these goals highlights the importance and possibility of eradicating poverty, proving that unless we promote change then these global goals of humanity will seem out of reach for some time to come.
The DVD focused on Ghana, West Africa, as a shining example of democracy and the development of fair trade rules in cocoa farming. Links to Cadbury's and the work they are doing with Ghanian farmers were discussed in the presentation and the DVD. The examples and developments discussed for the Gold Coast country are something that I can relate to, having returned from volunteering in Ghana with Platform2 for 3 months back in August.
The night was a huge success, with several open question and answer opportunities throughout the presentation, which really made the audience engage with the issues highlighted in the DVD.
Related post: Women and the Solution not the Problem
Find out more about The Global Poverty Project
Global Poverty Project: Join in on Facebook
Friday, August 20, 2010
Eradicating Malaria
Friday 20 August 2010, World Mosquito Day, a day to reflect on the cause of malaria across the World. According to Malaria No More UK, 250 Million people are infected with malaria World Wide each year. In Africa a child dies every 45 seconds as a result of malaria.
On August 20 1897, Ronald Ross, a British Doctor discovered that the Malaria parasite is spread by the bite of a female Mosquito. Today is that day, we need to welcome this opportunity to focus on saving lives of those that are most at threat from malaria.
As a global community we need to come together, to help safe lives and improve conditions for children and communities within developing countries, particularly those in Sub-Saharan Africa. According to The Department for International Develoment (DFID) nearly a million people died of malaria in 2006, the latest statistics indicate that a child in Africa dies every 45 seconds.
As part of acheiving theMillenium Development Goals (MDGs), the distribution of insecticide treated nets is vital in tackling and eradicating malaria in Africa. Nets supplied by Malaria No More UK to communities in West Africa cost just £5.00 each to buy and deliver to those most vunerable. Recently over 1 Million Mosquito nets were delivered to Northern parts of Ghana by Malaria No More UK. According to The World Health Organisation's Malaria Report for 2009 there were an estimated 3.2 million cases of Malaria in 2008 and only 40 per cent of the population were delivered insecticide treated nets.
Malaria No More UK in Ghana from Malaria No More UK
Whilst volunteering with Platform2 in the Brong Ahafo region of Ghana, West Africa, I contracted malaria and witnessed first hand the affects of this preventable disease. Many children suffer from this disease at a young and vunerable age, causing their education to suffer. Children in the small village of Kasapin, Brong Ahafo, around 2 hours from the border of Cote de Voire, are among those most vunerable to contracting malaria.
As part of the MDGs The United Nations have a target of getting every child under a mosquito protecting bed net by the end of this year, 2010. After speaking with the local community about this goal, the reaction of a local Elder drew my attention to the real challenge of eradicating this disease. "No health people, government, no they have not come. They do not drive through, I have no information on malaria, no net," exclaims Nana Apphiagyei of Kasapin village.
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Georgina, 3 and a half years, suffering from Malaria
The local Clinic's Out Patient Department (OPD) was over run with patients, most suffering with Malaria symptoms, with a long wait for treatment ahead of them. My host sister Georgina was one example of the affects of malaria which was close to home. She was ill for weeks missing out on her education for over a month, this example is echoed by millions of children across Africa; children under five account for 90 per cent of deaths from malaria in Africa.
We need to get behind the Millenium Development Goals and act for ourselves. We as a global society can prevent and eradicate this disease for good, even by raising awareness through Facebook and Twitter. Hope is on the horizon with the distribution of nets in Mozambique, DFID state that progress is already being seen, with 37 per cent of households having at least one bed net and coloured mosquito nets being seen waving in the winds of street corners and market days.
With a online networked community we can tackle malaria.
Join in
Follow Ray Chambers as Special Envoy for Malaria on Twitter
Follow Malaria No More UK on Twitter
UN Millenium Development Goals on Facebook
Read More
World Malaria Report 2009
Millenium Development Goals Report 2010
Read more on World Mosquito Day: Marlaria No More UK website
National Geographic article on World Mosquito Day
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