Summer is often a time of reflection and relaxation. Many of us turn to books to aid us in our rest and allow our mind to wander to places we may never visit. Below we have compiled a list of books that touch on children and the challenges and triumphs they face as they grow. Many of these books deal with difficult themes and experiences but they also show how despite the challenges all of these children and some of those around them have a strong will to survive, thrive and make a difference.
A Bed of Red Flowers: In Search of My Afghanistan
By: Nelofer Pazira
As a young girl growing up in 1970s Afghanistan, Nelofer Pazira seems destined for a bright future. The daughter of liberal-minded professionals, she enjoys a safe, loving and privileged life. But Nelofer’s world is shattered when she is just five and her father is imprisoned for refusing to support the communist party. This episode plants a “seed of anger” in her, which is given plenty of opportunity to grow as the years unfold. This is a gripping, heart-rending story about a country caught in a struggle of the superpowers – and of the real people behind the politics. Universally acclaimed for its astute insights and extraordinary humanity, Pazira’s memoir won the Drainie-Taylor Biography Prize for 2005.
Secret Daughter
By: Shilpi Somaya Gowda
On the eve of the monsoons, in a remote Indian village, Kavita gives birth to Asha. But in a culture that favours sons, the only way for Kavita to save her newborn daughter's life is to give her away. It is a decision that will haunt her and her husband for the rest of their lives. Halfway around the globe, Somer, an American doctor, decides to adopt a child after making the wrenching discovery that she will never have one of her own. When she and her husband Krishnan see a photo of baby Asha from a Mumbai orphanage, they are overwhelmed with emotion for her. Interweaving the stories of Kavita, Somer, and Asha, Secret Daughter poignantly explores issues of culture and belonging.
A LONG WAY GONE: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier
By: Ishmael Beah
Beah, now twenty-six years old, tells a powerfully gripping story about how, at the age of twelve, he fled attacking rebels and wandered a land rendered unrecognizable by violence. By thirteen, he’d been picked up by the government army, and Beah, at heart a gentle boy, found that he was capable of truly terrible acts. At sixteen, he was removed from fighting by UNICEF, and through the help of the staff at his rehabilitation center, he learned how to forgive himself, to regain his humanity, and, finally, to heal. This is an extraordinary and mesmerizing account, told with real literary force and heartbreaking honesty.
Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books
By: Azar Nafisi
Every Thursday morning for two years in the Islamic Republic of Iran, Azar Nafisi, a bold and inspired teacher, secretly gathered seven of her most committed female students to read forbidden Western classics. Some came from conservative and religious families, others were progressive and secular; some had spent time in jail. They were shy and uncomfortable at first, unaccustomed to being asked to speak their minds, but soon they removed their veils and began to speak more freely–their stories intertwining with the novels they were reading by Jane Austen, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Henry James, and Vladimir Nabokov. As Islamic morality squads staged arbitrary raids in Tehran, as fundamentalists seized hold of the universities and a blind censor stifled artistic expression, the women in Nafisi’s living room spoke not only of the books they were reading but also about themselves, their dreams and disappointments.
Say You're One of Them
By: Uwem Akpan
In his first collection of stories, Say You're One of Them, Akpan brings to life the issues facing children in one of the most beleaguered places on earth, so that their voices will no longer go unheard. In five separate narratives, each told from the perspective of a child from a different African country, Say You're One of Them vividly portrays the horror and beauty to be found in both the history-altering events and the mundane details of everyday life. In these stories of family, friendship, betrayal and redemption, Akpan highlights the tenacity and perseverance of his young protagonists.
Island Beneath The Sea
By: Isabel Allende
Born a slave on the island of Saint-Domingue, Zarité -- known as Tété -- is the daughter of an African mother she never knew and one of the white sailors who brought her into bondage. Though her childhood is one of brutality and fear, Tété finds solace in the traditional rhythms of African drums and in voodoo that she discovers through her fellow slaves.
When twenty-year-old Toulouse Valmorain arrives on the island in 1770, its with powdered wigs in his baggage and dreams of financial success in his mind. But running his fathers plantation, Saint Lazare, is neither glamorous nor easy. It will be eight years before he brings home a bride -- but marriage, too, proves more difficult than he imagined. And Valmorain remains dependent on the services of his teenaged slave.
Spanning four decades, Island Beneath the Sea is the moving story of the intertwined lives of Tété and Valmorain, and of one woman’s determination to find love amid loss, to offer humanity though her own has been battered, and to forge her own identity in the cruellest of circumstances.
Keeper'n Me
Richard Wagamese
When Garnet Raven was three years old, he was taken from his home on an Ojibway Indian reserve and placed in a series of foster homes. Having reached his mid-teens, he escapes at the first available opportunity, only to find himself cast adrift on the streets of the big city.
Having skirted the urban underbelly once too often by age 20, he finds himself thrown in jail. While there, he gets a surprise letter from his long-forgotten native family.
The sudden communication from his past spurs him to return to the reserve following his release from jail. Deciding to stay awhile, his life is changed completely as he comes to discover his sense of place, and of self. While on the reserve, Garnet is initiated into the ways of the Ojibway -- both ancient and modern -- by Keeper, a friend of his grandfather, and last fount of history about his people's ways.
By turns funny, poignant and mystical, Keeper'n Me reflects a positive view of Native life and philosophy -- as well as casting fresh light on the redemptive power of one's community and traditions.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Monday, July 19, 2010
Canadian G8 Summit and Child and Maternal Health - So what??
Muskoka Initiative is a step in the right direction but the actions by governments need to go further. You can help to ensure that the child and maternal health issue outcomes of the G8 Summit are expanded on by taking this action.
What Happened?
During the last weekend in June, world economic leaders gathered in Muskoka and Toronto for the G8/G20 meetings to address some of the world’s problems including child and maternal health. World Vision teams took part by publicizing our messages and raising awareness about the need for action on child and maternal health issues.
G8 Summit Child and Maternal Health Outcomes
G8 governments along with other global leaders and foundations came together at the Summit to commit $5 billion over five years to the Muskoka Initiative – an initiative aimed at stopping preventable child and maternal deaths. The Canadian government showed significant leadership by pledging $1.1 billion of new money to this initiative. While the Canadian contribution was commendable, commitments made by other governments were disappointing.
WV Canada CEO, Dave Toycen commented on the initiative and said, “We applaud Canadian Prime Minister Harper for his strong leadership in putting the world’s children and mothers on the G8 agenda and offering new money. But overall, the Muskoka Initiative looks more like a small down payment than an adequate investment, and won’t reach as far as it must to stop needless early deaths.”
Sue Mbaya, WV's Advocacy Director in Africa, said: "Millions more children in countries with the highest child mortality rates in Africa are still waiting for international leadership to address their rights and needs."
On a positive note, the G8 agreed to launch an accountability initiative which will ensure that the group reports on their actions each year. The World Vision team was pleased to note that health and food security will be the subject of the first accountability reports next year.
Another positive outcome could be found in the G20 communique, which announced the creation of a G20 Working Group on Development. This Working Group will guide the future deliberations of the G20, particularly in the lead up to the next G20 meeting to be held in Seoul, Korea in November.
World Vision’s Involvement at the G8 Summit:
In addition to analyzing the policy announcements at the G8, World Vision teams were deeply engaged in Summit-related actions. Employing the message of “pregnant with promises,” both World Vision International and Canadian teams worked together to issue press releases, provide media interviews and populate social media venues with insights and commentary on the potential impact of decisions made at the G8 meetings on women and children around the world.
Playing on the “pregnant with promises” theme, a massive banner was erected along highway 400 en route to the G8 Summit that said,” Hey G8 leaders, 8.8 million children are dying to know – will you keep your child health promises?” At the same time, World Vision staff, volunteers and local artists gathered in Toronto and Huntsville to make a creative statement expressing our expectation of G8 leaders to deliver on their promises. At a busy downtown Toronto corner, larger than life stilt-dancing “pregnant” leaders were examined usi
ng a “promises ultrasound machine” that showed the many promises made to by the G8 to assist the world’s women and children.
We also had a presence in Muskoka where the G8 meeting was taking place. Local volunteers and stilt-dancers acted out the process of the wheeling and dealing that takes place between leaders and their Ministers of Finance as they decide how much money they will allocate to various initiatives including child and maternal health.
Once we learned that not all promises would be honoured by the G8 leaders, we voiced our concerns again downtown Toronto by demonstrating that our leaders, with the exception of Stephen Harper, were still pregnant and had unfortunately not delivered on their promises.
People Power
The inroads we have made in the area of global child and maternal health can be attributed in part to the outpouring of support and actions taken by regular citizens who contributed to getting the issues of child and maternal health on the G8 agenda, and who pressed the government of Canada to make a substantial financial commitment to the initiative. The World Vision Five for5 campaign is demonstrative of what can be accomplished when a critical mass of concerned people take action for something they believe in.
Moving Forward
The G8 Summit may be over, but World Vision’s advocacy work continues. We will now be working hard to ensure that G8 leaders are held accountable for the commitments they made during the summit, and we will continue to advocate for child health at the Millennium Development Goals summit in September, and the G20 meeting in South Korea this November. You can be part of this effort by taking this action.
What Happened?
During the last weekend in June, world economic leaders gathered in Muskoka and Toronto for the G8/G20 meetings to address some of the world’s problems including child and maternal health. World Vision teams took part by publicizing our messages and raising awareness about the need for action on child and maternal health issues.
G8 Summit Child and Maternal Health Outcomes
G8 governments along with other global leaders and foundations came together at the Summit to commit $5 billion over five years to the Muskoka Initiative – an initiative aimed at stopping preventable child and maternal deaths. The Canadian government showed significant leadership by pledging $1.1 billion of new money to this initiative. While the Canadian contribution was commendable, commitments made by other governments were disappointing.
WV Canada CEO, Dave Toycen commented on the initiative and said, “We applaud Canadian Prime Minister Harper for his strong leadership in putting the world’s children and mothers on the G8 agenda and offering new money. But overall, the Muskoka Initiative looks more like a small down payment than an adequate investment, and won’t reach as far as it must to stop needless early deaths.”
Sue Mbaya, WV's Advocacy Director in Africa, said: "Millions more children in countries with the highest child mortality rates in Africa are still waiting for international leadership to address their rights and needs."
On a positive note, the G8 agreed to launch an accountability initiative which will ensure that the group reports on their actions each year. The World Vision team was pleased to note that health and food security will be the subject of the first accountability reports next year.
Another positive outcome could be found in the G20 communique, which announced the creation of a G20 Working Group on Development. This Working Group will guide the future deliberations of the G20, particularly in the lead up to the next G20 meeting to be held in Seoul, Korea in November.
World Vision’s Involvement at the G8 Summit:
In addition to analyzing the policy announcements at the G8, World Vision teams were deeply engaged in Summit-related actions. Employing the message of “pregnant with promises,” both World Vision International and Canadian teams worked together to issue press releases, provide media interviews and populate social media venues with insights and commentary on the potential impact of decisions made at the G8 meetings on women and children around the world.
Playing on the “pregnant with promises” theme, a massive banner was erected along highway 400 en route to the G8 Summit that said,” Hey G8 leaders, 8.8 million children are dying to know – will you keep your child health promises?” At the same time, World Vision staff, volunteers and local artists gathered in Toronto and Huntsville to make a creative statement expressing our expectation of G8 leaders to deliver on their promises. At a busy downtown Toronto corner, larger than life stilt-dancing “pregnant” leaders were examined usi
ng a “promises ultrasound machine” that showed the many promises made to by the G8 to assist the world’s women and children.We also had a presence in Muskoka where the G8 meeting was taking place. Local volunteers and stilt-dancers acted out the process of the wheeling and dealing that takes place between leaders and their Ministers of Finance as they decide how much money they will allocate to various initiatives including child and maternal health.
Once we learned that not all promises would be honoured by the G8 leaders, we voiced our concerns again downtown Toronto by demonstrating that our leaders, with the exception of Stephen Harper, were still pregnant and had unfortunately not delivered on their promises.
People Power
The inroads we have made in the area of global child and maternal health can be attributed in part to the outpouring of support and actions taken by regular citizens who contributed to getting the issues of child and maternal health on the G8 agenda, and who pressed the government of Canada to make a substantial financial commitment to the initiative. The World Vision Five for5 campaign is demonstrative of what can be accomplished when a critical mass of concerned people take action for something they believe in.
Moving Forward
The G8 Summit may be over, but World Vision’s advocacy work continues. We will now be working hard to ensure that G8 leaders are held accountable for the commitments they made during the summit, and we will continue to advocate for child health at the Millennium Development Goals summit in September, and the G20 meeting in South Korea this November. You can be part of this effort by taking this action.
Monday, June 28, 2010
G8 leaders taking baby steps in the right direction
The 2010 G8 Summit will be remembered, in part, for the launch of the Canadian government led Muskoka Initiative – a strong agenda for stopping preventable child and maternal deaths. Sadly, the 2010 G8 Summit may also be remembered for not providing this Initiative with enough financial resources and an agreement to act on this global problem quickly.
These eight powerful countries supported the need for strong action on child and maternal health but their support for the idea did not translate into strong financial commitments for the Muskoka Initiative. The Canadian government agreed to make a significant financial investment in child and maternal health by committing $1.1 billion dollars in new money (not moving money from one issue to another) to the Initiative. Other G8 government’s, agreed to providing some new financial support to the Initiative but not enough to make the difference that is so urgently needed in the lives of children and their mothers.
In total, 5 billion dollars over a five year period was committed to the Muskoka Initiative by G8 governments. As a point of reference for this commitment, here are some other significant financial commitments:
- the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has a budget of just under $20 billion. This Fund is for addressing the needs adults and children and it has been in existence since 2002;
- the cost of the G8 and G20 Summits for the Canadian government will be just over $1 billion.
In the meeting Communique – the Summit’s final report - all the G8 leaders promised to save 1.3 million children and recognized the importance of taking concrete and coordinated action to support child and maternal health. They also agreed to important steps to ensure that all G8 countries will be held accountable for not fulfilling the promises they have made at G8 Summits.
However, the reality is that 8.8 million children died last year mostly from preventable illnesses. Preventing the deaths of 1.3 million children will certainly contribute to decreasing the death rates of children under-five; unfortunately, it doesn’t meet the promise of reducing child deaths by 2/3rd – roughly 6 million - by 2015.
To reach this 2015 goal, the G8 governments will need to take their understanding of what can be done to stop preventable child and maternal deaths to other governments in forums such as the United Nations General Assembly in September 2010 and to the G20 Summit in South Korea in November 2010. At each of these meetings, governments can make concrete commitments to support the Muskoka Initiative. With this kind of increased support, decreasing the number of preventable child and maternal deaths by 2/3rd might be within reach in 2015.
These eight powerful countries supported the need for strong action on child and maternal health but their support for the idea did not translate into strong financial commitments for the Muskoka Initiative. The Canadian government agreed to make a significant financial investment in child and maternal health by committing $1.1 billion dollars in new money (not moving money from one issue to another) to the Initiative. Other G8 government’s, agreed to providing some new financial support to the Initiative but not enough to make the difference that is so urgently needed in the lives of children and their mothers.
In total, 5 billion dollars over a five year period was committed to the Muskoka Initiative by G8 governments. As a point of reference for this commitment, here are some other significant financial commitments:
- the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has a budget of just under $20 billion. This Fund is for addressing the needs adults and children and it has been in existence since 2002;
- the cost of the G8 and G20 Summits for the Canadian government will be just over $1 billion.
In the meeting Communique – the Summit’s final report - all the G8 leaders promised to save 1.3 million children and recognized the importance of taking concrete and coordinated action to support child and maternal health. They also agreed to important steps to ensure that all G8 countries will be held accountable for not fulfilling the promises they have made at G8 Summits.
However, the reality is that 8.8 million children died last year mostly from preventable illnesses. Preventing the deaths of 1.3 million children will certainly contribute to decreasing the death rates of children under-five; unfortunately, it doesn’t meet the promise of reducing child deaths by 2/3rd – roughly 6 million - by 2015.
To reach this 2015 goal, the G8 governments will need to take their understanding of what can be done to stop preventable child and maternal deaths to other governments in forums such as the United Nations General Assembly in September 2010 and to the G20 Summit in South Korea in November 2010. At each of these meetings, governments can make concrete commitments to support the Muskoka Initiative. With this kind of increased support, decreasing the number of preventable child and maternal deaths by 2/3rd might be within reach in 2015.
Friday, June 25, 2010
World Vision asks G8 leaders to deliver on their promises!
World Vision made their presence at the G8 Summit known to Torontonians and the world. We transformed the corner of King and Jarvis in downtown Toronto to stage creative visual display of larger than life ‘pregnant with promises’ G8 leaders roaming around on stilts. Each pregnant G8 leader was examined with an ultrasound machine and by a midwife using a South African vuvuzela horns to "check" on the state of their promises to children under-five around the world. The results of the test showed the promises they have made:
1) Increase global funding for health.
2) Make child and maternal health a global priority.
3) Ensure access to basic health care.
4) Strengthen health systems and increase work force.
5) Prevent child and maternal ill health – water, sanitation, education
6) Universal access to prevention, treatment and care and support for children impacted by HIV and AIDS.
7) Act to ensure food and nutrition security.
8) Implement mechanisms to monitor and evaluate progress.
Local World Vision activists walked around the leaders holding ghostly white strollers, cribs and toys to symbolize the 8.8 million children every year who die before their fifth birthday.
We were pleased to have a number of media outlets at the event taking video, photographs and interviewing World Vision spokespeople. Everyone involved really enjoyed the mini-play that we put on. Even police officers who stopped by to check on us said that they were pleased to see an event that was talking about such an important issue.
Here is a little video clip of what we did.
1) Increase global funding for health.
2) Make child and maternal health a global priority.
3) Ensure access to basic health care.
4) Strengthen health systems and increase work force.
5) Prevent child and maternal ill health – water, sanitation, education
6) Universal access to prevention, treatment and care and support for children impacted by HIV and AIDS.
7) Act to ensure food and nutrition security.
8) Implement mechanisms to monitor and evaluate progress.
Local World Vision activists walked around the leaders holding ghostly white strollers, cribs and toys to symbolize the 8.8 million children every year who die before their fifth birthday.
We were pleased to have a number of media outlets at the event taking video, photographs and interviewing World Vision spokespeople. Everyone involved really enjoyed the mini-play that we put on. Even police officers who stopped by to check on us said that they were pleased to see an event that was talking about such an important issue.
Here is a little video clip of what we did.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Be part of a key moment in changing the lives of children.
You can join the Five for 5 Facebook Fan page to stay on top of what governments, organizations and individuals are doing to make sure that children can live and thrive past their fifth birthday. World Vision Canada along with colleagues from across the world will be in Toronto and Muskoka to remind the governments that are part of the G8 Summit to:
- honour all previous commitments to improving child and maternal health;
- work together to create the beginnings of a global plan of action to improve child and maternal health;
- make new money available to support a basket of interventions, such as good nutrition, access to clean water and good sanitation and providing basic health services, that will save the lives of children under-five.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Are you At the Table?
Here is a chance for you to take your place At The Table along with 1000’s of Canadians. As the Five for 5 campaign has been working to ensure that the Canadian government shows leadership on child health at the June G8 Summit, other groups and coalitions have created campaigns on other issues of importance to Canadians. This week we are encouraging you take p
art in a huge Canadian effort to make sure issues of importance to people living in poverty are on the table in Huntsville at the Summit.
This innovative campaign was developed by a large coalition of Canadian development, environmental and social justice organizations including World Vision. While the G8 “table” is a small one, the people that are impacted by their decisions are numerous. At the Table is seeking to ensure that any decisions that the G8 Summit makes are on issues of great importance to the majority of the people in the world.
By visiting the "At the Table" website and adding your name to the online petition you can help press Stephen Harper and other G8 leaders to make decisions at the coming summit on issues affecting the lives of children and their families —poverty, climate change, and economic justice. The At the Table coalition wants G8 governments to make decisions that will help to create a world that is fair and sustainable for everyone, particularly the poor who suffer the most from inequality and injustice.
You can also doing something a little more fun and creative with the special At the Table - Flat Leader petition. You can download, print and cut out the image of your Flat G8 Leader designed by award-winning Montreal artist Kate Puxley. Click here to see how you can take part in the Flat Leader photo petition.
art in a huge Canadian effort to make sure issues of importance to people living in poverty are on the table in Huntsville at the Summit.This innovative campaign was developed by a large coalition of Canadian development, environmental and social justice organizations including World Vision. While the G8 “table” is a small one, the people that are impacted by their decisions are numerous. At the Table is seeking to ensure that any decisions that the G8 Summit makes are on issues of great importance to the majority of the people in the world.
By visiting the "At the Table" website and adding your name to the online petition you can help press Stephen Harper and other G8 leaders to make decisions at the coming summit on issues affecting the lives of children and their families —poverty, climate change, and economic justice. The At the Table coalition wants G8 governments to make decisions that will help to create a world that is fair and sustainable for everyone, particularly the poor who suffer the most from inequality and injustice.
You can also doing something a little more fun and creative with the special At the Table - Flat Leader petition. You can download, print and cut out the image of your Flat G8 Leader designed by award-winning Montreal artist Kate Puxley. Click here to see how you can take part in the Flat Leader photo petition.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Your voice matters - be a messenger for children
Members of Parliament still need to hear that Canadians believe five years is NOT a child's lifetime.
Prime Minister Harper and his senior Ministers do support concrete action on child and maternal health at this year's G8 Summit in Muskoka. But we need to make sure that once the Summit is over and they return to Parliament Hill, that the Canadian government takes real action to stop the preventable deaths of 8.8 million children.
All Members of Parliament (MPs) must support decisions by the government of Canada to provide new funds for overseas development programs supporting child and maternal health and ensure that these programs both prevent and address the ill health that results in the deaths of 8.8 million children and 350,000 women.
The lives of millions of families can be changed by the decisions that the G8 leaders and our government take in the coming months. Be sure to let our government know that you are concerned about the lives of children living in poverty in developing countries and that you believe the Canadian goverment can save and improve children's lives.
All you have to do is click on the ACT tab at http://fivefor5.ca/ select the "Send a letter to your MP" button and follow the instructions. If you want to increase the likelihood that your MP will read your communication, write a person letter to your MP. You can find out who your MP is by visiting http://www.elections.ca/home.asp. Then you can use the points below to write your letter. Add a personal reflection on why this issue matters to you to help communicate your concern for children. For example, you may have been ill with a stomache bug and received basic medicine to heal the illness. In some countries, this basic medicine is not available for children and they may die a result.
Here are points for your letter:
Prime Minister Harper and his senior Ministers do support concrete action on child and maternal health at this year's G8 Summit in Muskoka. But we need to make sure that once the Summit is over and they return to Parliament Hill, that the Canadian government takes real action to stop the preventable deaths of 8.8 million children.
All Members of Parliament (MPs) must support decisions by the government of Canada to provide new funds for overseas development programs supporting child and maternal health and ensure that these programs both prevent and address the ill health that results in the deaths of 8.8 million children and 350,000 women.
The lives of millions of families can be changed by the decisions that the G8 leaders and our government take in the coming months. Be sure to let our government know that you are concerned about the lives of children living in poverty in developing countries and that you believe the Canadian goverment can save and improve children's lives.
All you have to do is click on the ACT tab at http://fivefor5.ca/ select the "Send a letter to your MP" button and follow the instructions. If you want to increase the likelihood that your MP will read your communication, write a person letter to your MP. You can find out who your MP is by visiting http://www.elections.ca/home.asp. Then you can use the points below to write your letter. Add a personal reflection on why this issue matters to you to help communicate your concern for children. For example, you may have been ill with a stomache bug and received basic medicine to heal the illness. In some countries, this basic medicine is not available for children and they may die a result.
Here are points for your letter:
- I am concerned about the 8.8 million children living in developing countries who die before reaching the age of five.
- most of these children die from causes that we would not allow Canadian children to die from - diarrhea, malnourishment, measles and pneumonia.
- I want you to support concrete action by the Canadian government to stop the preventable deaths of 8.8 million chidlren by dedicating new money to development programs that will prevent the most child and maternal deaths and do the most to improve their health.
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