Kaizenlog

Happy Tuesday! Here’s a quick summary of the featured activity across Change.org this week:

1. Featured News: Myanmar Desperate for Aid After Cyclone Kills Tens of Thousands and Leaves Millions Homeless
   A cyclone hit Myanmar - also known as Burma - on Saturday and has killed more than 20,000 people in the deadliest natural disaster the country has faced in recorded history. International aid agencies began distributing food in Myanmar’s commercial capital today but there is uncertainty whether the assistance will reach people stranded in the remoter reaches of the country. A growing list of countries have pledged aid and assistance but there appeared to be disagreement as to how to handle Myanmar’s authoritarian government, which is suspicious of international interference. “If it were a different situation we would be mobilizing some helicopters now,” said Tony Banbury, the regional director of the United Nations World Food Program. “We recognize that the government may not want international helicopters flying in their country for better or worse.”
2. Featured Action: Urge Congress to Support the Global Poverty Act!
   The major environmental challenges facing the world today - climate change, resource depletion, and pandemic diseases - are tightly interrelated with economic development and poverty. The poorest 5 percent of the global population depend on natural resources for 50 percent of their income, and development projects that exacerbate environmental problems undercut the prospects for long-term growth. In recognition of the inextricable links between poverty and the environment, Senators Chuck Hagel, Barack Obama, and Maria Cantwell recently introduced the Global Poverty Act, which would require the Administration to develop and implement a comprehensive strategy to vastly reduce global poverty while incorporating environmental sustainability to allow for long-term growth. Support their efforts by asking your senators to support the Global Povery Act today.
3. Featured Nonprofit: Women for Women International
   Women for Women International provides women survivors of war, civil strife and other conflicts with the tools and resources to move from crisis and poverty to stability and self-sufficiency, thereby promoting viable civil societies. Women for Women International uses a multi-phased program to achieve the change it seeks: first, a woman is matched with a sponsor, who provides monthly financial support as well as emotional support through the exchange of letters. Second, women enroll in rights awareness and leadership classes while also receiving vocational training in traditional and non-traditional skills. Third, women receive income-generation support through mechanisms such as microcredit loans or assistance in facilitating a group venture to help guide each woman to self-sufficiency.
4. Featured Changemaker: Alex Steed
   Our Changemaker of the Week is Alex Steed, a freelance journalist and activist based in New York City and Portland, Maine. He currently serves as executive editor of MakeSomethingHappen.net, where he writes about online organizing and the power of collective action. Since his teens, Alex has used writing to explore global social change movements and youth engagement. He has founded or directed youth media projects including Blunt Youth Radio, Just Naive Enough, Angioplasty Media, and Hip-Hop Without Borders. This summer he will be documenting his father’s life and developing a creative writing program for rural youth.
5. Featured Change: End Sex Trafficking
   Sexual slavery is one of the most widespread man-made scourges of our time. Nearly a million women and children are trafficked across borders every year for the sex industry, about 50 percent of whom are minors. And the United States is hardly exempt. Thousands of these women slave away in brothels in the very cities we call home, sometimes in the neighborhoods in which we live. Organizations that monitor trafficking, raise awareness, and fight for better policies and stronger enforcement need our help, and political leaders need to know that we are paying attention. Support the movement to end sex trafficking by joining this community on Change.org today.

Have a great week!

- The Change.org Team

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