“The eyes of the world are on Brazil” is an expression often used to represent the popularity of the country and its appearances in the media, for reasons such as the World Cup 2014 and the Olympic Games of 2016. The country’s image in regards to violence and poverty is still really strong, and the government is trying to prepare for these big upcoming events. Rio de Janeiro is the city where are lot of the events will take place, and what is often emphasized is the contrast between nature and the city. There is another contrast, the one between the upscale neighborhoods and the favelas, or slums of the city.

Because of the favelas’ factors, which involve a highly populated area with the poorest people of the city living on top of the Rio de Janeiro Mountains, for many years it has been the perfect place for drug dealers and criminals to hide themselves. The police has had a lot of trouble trying to get inside, and the government is trying to change this reality through “pacification” actions. Many favelas have already gone through this process and nowadays provide a safer life and better infrastructure. But this is not the case with the Maré Complex, formed by 16 slums and located between the main access routes to the city. More than 130,000 people live there. This makes up to 2.3% of the total population of Rio de Janeiro.

One big problem has to do with children and the youth of the community. They don’t see opportunities outside of the favela and crime is for them a chance to get some money or status inside the community. As the government still hasn’t brought the pacification process to the Maré Complex, one good initiative offering good possibilities for its inhabitants is created by non-governmental organizationsn such as CEASM (Centro de Estudos e Ações Solidárias da Maré, in english: Centre for Studies and Solidarity Actions of Maré). This NGO is focused on contributing to the value of the slums and poor communities as an expression of the plurality of the city, changing ideas and guiding public policy. Since 1998 the NGO offers support courses helping young people get into the public universities. Entrance is based on a highly competitive test that usually favors people who can afford a good basic education.

These days, CEASM offers 14 different projects involving education and cultural emphasis. The population faces low self esteem issues, and many people think that there is no way out of the violence. CEASM wants to change this.

It already offers a library, computer rooms, journalism rooms and classrooms. Everything was built with the support of donations and community help. CEASM has about 100 volunteers, both paid and unpaid. Lourenço Cezar da Silva (pictured above) is the oldest brother of five siblings, and was one of the first students who was able to get into one of the most competitive universities of Brazil: PUC-Rio (Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro).

The economic support is based on donations and funding, but in the past year help has been cut for different reasons. The NGO is facing many problems to keep offering a better chance to the community. The CEASM volunteers usually try to apply to get some help from the government but say that lately many has been direct to culture and not to education.. He started as a student of the support course for university applications and today is proud and eager to help others starting out like he did.

Of course, the eyes of the world cannot easily see everything that happens in the daily life of poor communities in the big city of Rio de Janeiro, but maybe looking inside it will make it possible to change from the outside, instead of trying to hide the problems. CEASM and the Maré Community Complex need help in order to change from inside; it needs eyes to look where it matters. The number of young people who cannot benefit from the services is increasing, and consequently, so is the number of them who engage in crime and violence.

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Last week’s decree made by Egypt’s president Mohamed Morsi brought Egyptians back to the streets. The decree, that has six articles, states that declarations, laws and decrees, made by Morsi during his presidency, cannot be appealed, suspended nor cancelled, until a constitution is drafted and the parliament elected. Neither can any judicial body annul them.

Following the announcement of the new decree the Egyptians have been extremely divided: People pro-Morsi agree that the decision he made was the only way to get rid of the remaining parts of the old Mubarak regime, while those against Morsi’s latest venture predicts another dictatorship, with the Muslim Brotherhood setting the agenda, if the new president gets away with implementing this new decree. Adding to this the constitution was put into vote Thursday, 29 November 2012 in spite of the fact that a significant number of non-Islamic representatives had left the constituent assembly after been called back to rethink their decision Wednesday evening, meaning that no Leftists, Liberals or Christians were left to vote.

Judging from what can be witnessed in Cairo these days – with a vast number of Egyptians occupying Tahrir Square, protesting against the current political actions by the president and the Muslim Brotherhood, who is seen as his close ally – a second revolution could be imminent. However, looking back at the economical situation of Egypt the last two years, following the 25 January revolution that had former president Hosni Mubarak step down, it is inevitable to ask: Can Egypt afford a second revolution?

It cannot be denied that Egypt’s economy has been struggling, especially since the revolution, which among other things has led to an IMF loan. According to the Egyptian newspaper, Al Ahram Online’s English version, the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) reports that the poverty rate is rising, thus has increased from 21.6 % in year 2008/2009 to 25.5 % in year 2010/2011: With 69% of the population in rural areas living under the poverty line, of which Assiut Governorate in Upper Egypt has the highest poverty rate nationwide. The difference in the amount of money, annually spend on expenses between the poorest part of the population and the richest, is 17.500 LE ($2864).

On an individual level the aftermath of the revolution has resulted in income lost, as one woman from the Shubra suburb in Cairo says in a research interview conducted in relation to my MA thesis: “In the beginning I was with the revolution [the 25 January revolution] and I was very happy because of it, but really, after some time my husband’s business was very bad, because he is related to tourism, so we sold everything; I sold my gold, we sold our car, the business, really, we faced big problems, so I hated it, really, in the end of it.”

And she is not alone. Several of the 45 people interviewed for the research express that they have been affected economically one way or the other as a consequence of the revolution.

Thus regardless of the sympathy one feel with the Egyptians right now camping in the sit-in at Tahrir square, keeping up their fight for democracy, it is hard not to sit back with the question: Can Egypt afford a second revolution? At the same time it must be remembered that during the January 25 revolution the demands were: ‘Bread, Freedom and Social Justice’, which nonetheless implies that the uprising witnessed was not just an opposition to the Mubarak regime, but a resistance towards the entire system applied by Mubarak and his regime. From such a perspective the current reaction is not surprising, since yet the people neither got their bread, freedom nor social Justice. On the other hand, the risk of another two years in transition, with sceptical tourists agencies, worried investors and migrating youth is unendurable and leaves Egypt’s future with very challenged future prospects.

Planned demonstrations among liberals and leftists will Saturday take place in Tahrir, which was initially intended opposed by president Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood and their supporters with a million-man counterdemonstration, however Thursday night it has been announced that the Muslim Brotherhood and their allies will move their demonstration to a different location to “protect Egypt’s national interests against division and conflict”.

The Egyptians are anticipated to return to the streets in big numbers the coming days, continuing their battle for bread, freedom and social justice, hopefully it will not end with a second revolution.

Image Courtesy : James A Dawson / Shutterstock.com

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Illinois, U.S.A. — A new report from the Center for Immigration Studies provides a detailed picture of immigrants (legal and illegal) in the United States and in Illinois.  The statistics reveal Illinois’ immigrant population as being significantly poorer and less-educated than the state’s native-born population. Using the latest Census Bureau data from 2010 and 2011, the study shows a high rate of poverty with over one-third of immigrant headed households using at least one major welfare program.

The report is online at http://cis.org/2012-profile-of-americas-foreign-born-population.

• Illinois’ Immigrants:

Illinois’ immigrant population (legal and illegal) grew 15 percent (231,000) from 2000 to 2010.  Nationally the immigrant population grew percent over the same period. Immigrants (legal and illegal) accounted for 14 percent of the state residents in 2010 and 16 percent of workers in the states. Of Illinois immigrants and their U.S.-born children (under 18), 22 percent live in poverty compared to 12 percent of natives and their children.

Immigrants and their U.S.-born child (under 18) account for 18 percent of the state’s overall population and 28 percent of all persons in poverty in the state. Of Illinois immigrants and their U.S.-born children (under 18), 27 percent lack health insurance, compared to 12 percent of natives and their children (under 18).  Immigrants and their children account for 32 percent of the state’s uninsured.

Of households headed by immigrants in Illinois, 36 percent used at least one major welfare program, primarily food assistance and Medicaid, compared to 22 percent of native-headed households.

Illinois immigrants’ home ownership rate tends to be relatively high (61 percent) compared to immigrants in other states. The rate for natives in the state is 69 percent. The lower socio-economic status of Illinois’ immigrants is not because most are recent arrivals. Their average length of residence in the United States is 19 years.

One of the primary reasons immigrants in the state tend to be poor and access welfare programs at high rates is a large share arrive in the U.S. as adult with relatively low levels of education.

Of adult immigrants (25 to 65) in the state 24 percent have not completed high school, compared to 6 percent of natives. However, the share of immigrants in the state that have a bachelor’s degree (31 percent) is much closer to the 36 percent for natives.

In 2010, 23 percent of public school students in Illinois were from immigrant households.  Overall, one in four public students in the state speaks a language other than English at home.

• Illegal Immigrants in Illinois:

Our best estimate is that 31 percent of Illinois immigrants are in the country illegally. Illegal immigrants and their U.S.-born children (under 18) account for 6 percent of the state’s overall population, 13 percent those in poverty, 16 percent of the uninsured and 9 percent of the school age population.

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Washington, U.S.A. — A new report from the Center for Immigration Studies provides a detailed picture of immigrants (legal and illegal) in the United States and in Nevada. Using the Census Bureau data from 2010 and 2011, the study reveals Nevada’s immigrant population as one of the fastest growing of the top immigrant receiving states.

The report is online at http://cis.org/2012-profile-of-americas-foreign-born-population.

• Nevada Immigrants:

Nevada’s immigrant population (legal and illegal) grew 61 percent (192,000) from 2000 to 2010. Nationally the immigrant population grew 28 percent over the same period. Immigrants accounted for 19 percent of Nevada residents in 2010, the fifth largest share in the country. Immigrants are 23 percent of workers in the state.

Of Nevada immigrants and their U.S.-born children (under 18), 20 percent live in poverty compared to 13 percent of natives and their children. Immigrants and their U.S.-born children (under 18) account for 25 percent of the state’s overall population and 34 percent of all persons in poverty.

Of Nevada immigrants and their U.S.-born children (under 18), 31 percent lack health insurance, compared to 18 percent of natives and their children (under 18).  Immigrants and their children account for 37 percent of those without insurance in the state.

Nevada immigrants’ home ownership rate of 53 percent is similar to the 58 percent for natives. Of households headed by immigrants in Nevada, 25 percent used at least one major welfare program, primarily food assistance and Medicaid, compared to 18 percent of native-headed households.

The lower socio-economic status of Nevada’s immigrants relative to natives is not because most are recent arrivals. Their average length of residence in the United States is 20 years. One of the primary reasons immigrants in the state tend to be poor than natives is a large share arrive in the U.S. as adults with relatively low levels of education.

Of adult immigrants (25 to 65) in the state 30 percent have not completed high school, compared to 7 percent of natives. The share of immigrants in the state with at least a bachelor’s degree (21 percent) is lower than the 27 percent of natives.

In 2010, more than one third of public school students in Nevada were from immigrant households. Overall, 34 percent of public school students in the state speak a language other than English at home.

• Illegal Immigrants in Nevada:

Our best estimate is that slightly less than half of Nevada immigrants are in the country illegally. Illegal immigrants and their U.S.-born children (under 18) account for 12 percent of the state’s overall population, 20 percent those in poverty, 24 percent of the uninsured and 22 percent of the school age population.

Image Courtesy of   spirit of america / Shutterstock.com

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Washington, U.S.A. — A new report from the Center for Immigration Studies provides a detailed picture of immigrants (legal and illegal) in the United States and in Florida. Florida has the fourth largest immigrant population in the country. Using the latest Census Bureau data from 2010 and 2011, the study shows Florida’s immigrants tend to be poorer than the state’s native-born.

The report is online at http://cis.org/2012-profile-of-americas-foreign-born-population.

• Florida’s Immigrants:

Florida’s immigrant population (legal and illegal) grew 37 percent (1 million) from 2000 to 2010. Nationally the immigrant population grew 28 percent over the same period.

Immigrants accounted for 19 percent of Florida residents in 2010, the fourth largest share in the country. Immigrants are 22 percent of workers in the state.

Of Florida immigrants and their U.S.-born children (under 18), 21 percent live in poverty compared to 14 percent of natives and their children. Immigrants and their U.S.-born children (under 18) account for 23 percent of the state’s overall population and 31 percent of all persons in poverty.

Of households headed by immigrants in Florida, 31 percent used at least one major welfare program, primarily food assistance and Medicaid, compared to 20 percent of native-headed households.

Of Florida immigrants and their U.S.-born children (under 18), 34 percent lack health insurance, compared to 18 percent of natives and their children (under 18). Immigrants and their children account for 36 percent of those without insurance in the state. Florida immigrants’ home ownership rate is 61 percent, compared to 70 percent for natives.

The lower socio-economic status of Florida’s immigrants is not because most are recent arrivals. Their average length of residence in the United States is 20 years.

One of the primary reasons immigrants in the state tend to be poorer than natives is a large share arrive in the U.S. as adults with relatively low levels of education.

Of adult immigrants (25 to 65) in the state 16 percent have not completed high school, compared to 7 percent of natives. However, the share of immigrants in the state with at least a bachelor’s degree (30 percent) is similar to that of natives — 32 percent.

In 2010, more than one in four public school students in Florida were from immigrant households. Overall, 29 percent of public school students in the state speak a language other than English at home.

• Illegal Immigrants in Florida:

Our best estimate is that slightly more than one-sixth of Florida immigrants are in the country illegally. Illegal immigrants and their U.S.-born children (under 18) account for 4 percent of the state’s overall population, 9 percent those in poverty, 11 percent of the uninsured and 8 percent of the school age population.

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Washington, U.S.A. — A new report from the Center for Immigration Studies provides a detailed picture of immigrants (legal and illegal) in the United States and in Washington State. Washington has the nation’s 10th largest immigrant population. Using the latest Census Bureau data from 2010 and 2011, the study reveals that the state’s immigrants are significantly poorer and less-educated than the native-born population.

“There is considerable concern in this country about issues like poverty and the large uninsured population.  But what has generally not been acknowledged is the impact of immigration on these problems,” notes Steven Camarota, the Center’s Director of Research. “Absent a change in policy, 11 to 15 million new immigrants are likely to settle in this country in the next decade and may further exacerbate present problems.”

The report is online at http://cis.org/2012-profile-of-americas-foreign-born-population.

• Washington’s Immigrants:

Washington’s immigrant population (legal and illegal) grew 44 percent (272,000) from 2000 to 2010. Nationally the immigrant population grew 28 percent over the same period.

Immigrants (legal and illegal) accounted for 13 percent of the state residents in 2010 and 17 percent of workers in the states.

Of Washington immigrants and their U.S.-born children (under 18), 20 percent live in poverty compared to 10 percent of natives and their children.

Immigrants and their U.S.-born children (under 18) account for 18 percent of the state’s overall population and 30 percent of all persons in poverty.

Of Washington immigrants and their U.S.-born children (under 18), 22 percent lack health insurance, compared to 12 percent of natives and their children (under 18).  Immigrants and their children account for 29 percent of the state’s uninsured.

Of households headed by immigrants in Washington, 40 percent used at least one major welfare program, primarily food assistance and Medicaid, compared to 21 percent of native-headed households. Although they tend to be significantly poorer than natives, homeownership is relatively high among Washington’s immigrants (55 percent), compared to 65 percent for natives. The lower socio-economic status of Washington’s immigrants is not because most are recent arrivals. Their average length of residence in the United States is 18 years.

One of the primary reasons immigrants in the state tend to be poor and access welfare programs at high rates is a large share arrive in the U.S. as adults with relatively low levels of education.

Of adult immigrants (25 to 65) in the state 22 percent have not completed high school, compared to 4 percent of natives. However, the share of immigrants in the state that have a bachelor’s degree matches that of natives —34 percent.

In 2010, 23 percent of public school students in Washington were from immigrant households. Overall, 23 percent of public students in the state speak a language other than English at home.

• Illegal Immigrants in Washington:

Our best estimate is that 40 percent of Washington immigrants are in the country illegally. Illegal immigrants and their U.S.-born children (under 18) account for 7 percent of the state’s overall population, 12 percent those in poverty, 18 percent of the uninsured and 9 percent of the school age population, 5 to 17 years of age.

• National Figures:

The number of immigrants (legal & illegal) in the country hit a new record of 40 million in 2010, a 28 percent increase over the total in 2000. Immigrants (legal and illegal) account for 16 percent of all workers in the country.

In 2010, 23 percent of immigrants and their U.S.-born children (under 18) lived in poverty, compared to 13.5 percent of natives and their children. Immigrants and their children accounted for one-fourth of all persons in poverty in the United States.

Immigrants make significant progress the longer they live in the country. However, even immigrants who have lived in the United States for 20 years have not come close to closing the gap with natives.

The poverty rate of adult immigrants who have lived in the United States for 20 years is 50 percent higher than that of adult natives. The share of households headed by an immigrant who has lived in the United States for 20 years using one or more welfare programs is nearly twice that of native-headed households.

The share of households headed by an immigrant who has lived in the United States for 20 years that are owner occupied is 22 percent lower than that of native households.

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Washington, U.S.A. — A new report from the Center for Immigration Studies provides a detailed picture of immigrants (legal and illegal) in the United States and in Georgia.  Of the top immigrant receiving states, Georgia’ immigrant population is one of the fastest growing in the country. Using the latest Census Bureau data from 2010 and 2011, the study reveals a high rate of poverty with a corresponding high use of welfare.

The report is online at http://cis.org/2012-profile-of-americas-foreign-born-population.

• Georgia’s Immigrants:

Georgia’s immigrant population (legal and illegal) grew 63 percent from 2000 to 2010. Nationally the immigrant population grew 28 percent over the same period.

Immigrants account for 10 percent of Georgia residents in 2010, the highest level ever recorded by the Census Bureau for the state. Immigrants are 13 percent of workers in the state. Of Georgia immigrants and their U.S.-born children (under 18), 25 percent live in poverty compared to 18 percent of natives and their children.

Of Georgia immigrants and their U.S.-born children (under 18), 37 percent lack health insurance, compared to 18 percent of natives and their children (under 18).  Immigrants and their children account for 22 percent of those without insurance in the state.

Georgia immigrants’ home ownership is 56 percent, compared to 67 percent for natives.

Of households headed by immigrants in Georgia, 30 percent used at least one major welfare program, primarily food assistance and Medicaid, compared to 24 percent of native-headed households. One of the primary reasons a larger share of immigrants than natives in the state are poor is a large share arrive in the U.S. as adults with relatively low levels of education.

Of adult immigrants (25 to 65) in the state 26 percent have not completed high school, compared to 8 percent of natives.

However, the share of immigrants in the state with at least a bachelor’s degree (30 percent) is similar to the 33 percent for natives.

In 2010, 17 percent of students in Georgia public schools were from immigrant households. Overall, one in seven public school students in the state speaks a language other than English at home.

• Illegal Immigrants in Georgia:

Our best estimate is that more than half of the immigrants in Georgia are in the country illegally. Illegal immigrants and their U.S.-born children (under 18) account for seven percent of the state’s overall population, 12 percent of those in poverty, 16 percent of the uninsured and 8 percent of the school age population, 5 to 17.

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Washington, U.S.A. — A new report from the Center for Immigration Studies provides a detailed picture of immigrants (legal and illegal) in the United States and in Texas. Using the latest Census Bureau data from 2010 and 2011, the study reveals Texas’ immigrant population as one of the largest, fastest growing and poorest of the top immigrant receiving states.

The report is online at http://cis.org/2012-profile-of-americas-foreign-born-population.

• Texas Immigrants:

Texas’s immigrant population (legal and illegal) grew 43 percent from 2000 to 2010. Nationally the immigrant population grew 28 percent over the same period.

The immigrant population in the state stood at 4.1 million, up 1.5 million in the last decade. Immigrants account for one out of six Texas residents in 2010, the highest level ever recorded by the Census Bureau. Immigrants account for 20 percent of workers in the state.

Of Texas immigrants and their U.S.-born children (under 18), 28 percent live in poverty compared to 15 percent of natives and their children. Immigrants and their U.S.-born children (under 18) account for 23 percent of the state’s overall population and 36 percent of all persons in poverty.

Of Texas immigrants and their U.S.-born children (under 18) 41 percent lack health insurance, compared to 21 percent of natives and their children. Immigrants and their children account for 37 percent of those without insurance in the state.

While a large share of Texas immigrants have low incomes, their rate of home ownership (58 percent) tends to be relatively high both compared to natives (65 percent) and relative to immigrants in other states.

Of households headed by immigrants in Texas, 45 percent used at least one major welfare program, primarily food assistance and Medicaid, compared to 24 percent of native-headed households.

The lower socio-economic status of Texas’ immigrants is not because most are recent arrivals. Their average length of residence in the United States is 18 years.

One of the primary reasons so many immigrants in Texas are poor, lack health insurance and access the welfare system is a large share arrive in the U.S. as adults with relatively low levels of education.

Of the top immigrant receiving states, Texas immigrants are among the least educated— 46 percent of adult immigrants in the state have not completed high school, compared to 10 percent of natives.

The share of immigrants (25 to 65) in the state that have a bachelor’s degree is 21 percent compared to 30 percent of natives. In 2010, 31 percent of students in Texas public school were from immigrant households.  Overall 37 percent of public school students speak a language other than English at home.

• Illegal Immigrants in Texas:

Our best estimate is that slightly less than half of the immigrants in Texas are in the country illegally. They comprised one in ten workers in the state. Illegal immigrants and their U.S.-born children (under 18) account for ten percent of the state’s overall population and one-fifth of those in poverty, one-fourth of the uninsured and one seventh of the school age population, 5 to 17.

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Washington, U.S.A. — A new report from the Center for Immigration Studies provides a detailed picture of immigrants (legal and illegal) in the United States and in New Jersey. Using the latest Census Bureau data from 2010 and 2011, the study reveals that New Jersey’s immigrants tend to be more prosperous and better-educated than the population in other top immigrant receiving states. However, they lag behind natives in the state in most measures of economic well-being. As a result they comprise a very large share of the state’s poor and uninsured.

The report is online at http://cis.org/2012-profile-of-americas-foreign-born-population.

• New Jersey’s Immigrants:

New Jersey’s immigrant population (legal and illegal) grew 25 percent (368,000) from 2000 to 2010. Nationally the immigrant population grew 28 percent over the same period. Immigrants accounted for 21 percent of New Jersey residents in 2010, the third highest of any state. Immigrants are 28 percent of workers in the state.

Of New Jersey immigrants and their U.S.-born children (under 18), 13 percent live in poverty compared to 9 percent of natives and their children. Immigrants and their U.S.-born children (under 18) account for 28 percent of the state’s overall population and 37 percent of all persons in poverty.

Of New Jersey immigrants and their U.S.-born children (under 18), 29 percent lack health insurance, compared to 11 percent of natives and their children (under 18). Immigrants and their children account for 51 percent of those without insurance in the state.

New Jersey immigrants’ home ownership rate is 54 percent, compared to 70 percent for natives.

Of households headed by immigrants in New Jersey, 26 percent used at least one major welfare program, primarily food assistance and Medicaid, compared to 17 percent of native-headed households. The lower socio-economic status of New Jersey’s immigrants is not because most are recent arrivals. Their average length of residence in the United States is 19 years.

One of the primary reasons so many immigrants in the state are poor and access the welfare system is a large share arrive in the U.S. as adults with relatively low levels of education.

Of adult immigrants (25 to 65) in the state 19 percent have not completed high school, compared to 4 percent of natives. The share of immigrants in the state with at least a bachelor’s degree is 34 percent compared to 41 percent for natives.

In 2010, 30 percent of students in New Jersey public schools were from immigrant households. Overall, 29 percent of public school students in the state speak a language other than English at home.

• Illegal Immigrants in New Jersey:

Our best estimate is that about one-fifth of New Jersey’s immigrants are in the country illegally. Illegal immigrants and their U.S.-born children (under 18) account for 6 percent of the state’s overall population, 14 percent those in poverty, 21 percent of the uninsured and 9 percent of the school age population, ages 5 to 17.

Image Courtesy of  Ryan Rodrick Beiler / Shutterstock.com

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Toronto, Canada- On Monday, June 18th, the Children’s Aid Foundation hosted the 12th Annual Women’s Golf Classic at the prestigious Angus Glen Golf Club in Markham, Ontario.  Funds raised at this popular boutique event benefit the Children’s Aid Foundation and help offer hope and opportunity to thousands of Canadian children and youth who are at risk of poverty, abuse or neglect. This year’s event raised over $215,000, bringing the total since the inception of the event to over $2.7 million.

Presented by Rogers Communications, the Women’s Golf Classic brings together many of Canada’s most prominent women executives and entrepreneurs to network, entertain clients and socialize with colleagues while enjoying a day of luxury on the links, including a golf clinic by Canadian golf legend, Sandra Post.

“The Children’s Aid Foundation plays a leading role in bridging the gap between what government provides and what vulnerable children and youth need to heal from their turbulent past and grow into healthy adults,” said Len Gamache, President of the Children’s Aid Foundation. “The stellar record of fundraising success enjoyed by our Women’s Golf Classic is a testament to the commitment of our participants and the generosity of our sponsors.”

“As proud presenting sponsor for the ninth year running, Rogers is honoured to support the mandate of the Children’s Aid Foundation,” said Shannon Valliant, Vice-President, Financial Operations, Rogers Media Inc. “On behalf of the entire Rogers organization, we are delighted at the great success of this year’s Women’s Golf Classic and look forward to many more years in partnership with the Children’s Aid Foundation.”

One in every 25 children in Canada are at risk and need our help. Many suffer in poverty, while others have been victims of abuse and neglect. A staggering 76,000 of them live in foster homes or a residential facility. The mission of the Children’s Aid Foundation is to fund programs that give them skills and hope for a promising future.

Image Courtesy of  Mai Techaphan / Shutterstock.com

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Four schools in Auckland and Christchurch, New Zealand, will be the lucky recipients of weekly fresh fruit thanks to a local initiative.

All Good Bananas is a New Zealand-based Fairtrade importer of bananas, which in March set up a donation section on their Facebook page, encouraging their customers to pledge bunches of bananas.

“Children going hungry is not just a developing world problem,” says All Good Director Simon Coley, “Thousands of Kiwi kids go to school without having had a proper breakfast.”

With this in mind, All Good teamed up with New Zealand-based charity KidsCan Trust, which specifically targets children in low socioeconomic areas, providing food, clothing and shoes to children whose families cannot afford it.

As a part of the food donations KidsCan will now be able to provide 25,000 bananas to Kia Aroha College and St Joseph’s School in Auckland, and North New Brighton and New Brighton Catholic schools in Christchurch- enough for the entire year.

Many children in low socioeconomic areas come to school without breakfast, which affects their learning and concentration for the entire day, which can impact on their ability to access further education.

Many schools, including North New Brighton School, have taken the initiative with the help of KidsCan to set up ‘breakfast clubs’ which provide students with a substantial breakfast to give them a nutritious start to the day.

North New Brighton School Principal Brian Walkinshaw is very appreciative and says students will be too.

“The bananas are a perfect addition, great energy food and a good nourishing snack, packed full of carbohydrates. The fact that they’re Fairtrade adds that double feel good factor.”

KidsCan is always looking for donations, but not only in funds. Currently, KidsCan is appealing to New Zealand knitters so that they can give children beanies to keep their heads warm during the winter.

In 2011 KidsCan gave away 8500 beanies, and in 2012 hopes to reach 10,000 to distribute around the 218 schools in the program.

Beanie donations finish around the end of June, but don’t worry if knitting isn’t really your forte, there are plenty of ways you can help children in poverty in New Zealand.

Go to the KidsCan website www.kidscan.org.nz for some fundraising ideas. They have details of nationwide initiatives, as well as examples of fundraising that schools and businesses have done.

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Poverty is one of the world’s biggest unsolved issues. Even though the United States is the wealthiest country in the world, it’s  masses still live in poverty every single day. According to the non-profit organization ‘Bread for the World,’ “more than one in five children live in households that struggle to put food on the table, and most Americans (51.4 percent) will live in poverty at some point before age 65.” Of that percentage, a huge chunk comes from broken homes, including single and teenage mothers. This chunk is being blamed for the poor social mobility in the U.S.

According to a survey in the book “From Parents to Children,” written by a group of scholars, “children born into poor homes in America — where single-parent and teen-parent homes are more common (than in other parts of the world)– tended to remain poor throughout their life, while Australian and Canadian children born into similar families were more successful in advancing themselves.”

One of the scholars who wrote the book, Ottawa University’s Miles Corak, a poverty and education expert, said, “the tie between the educational attainment of children and the educational attainment of their parents is much tighter in the UK and U.S. than not just Australia and Canada, but also the vast majority of comparable rich countries.”

Children in the United States that are born into poverty are considered less developed than children entering elementary school in Australia and Canada. By the time these children enter high school, the gap of development continues to widen. Additionally, according to NewsCore, students born into poverty are much less likely to further their education after high school than impoverished students in other industrialized nations.

In hopes of improving the lives of those born into poverty in the United States, there are several things that the public can do to contribute to the lives of those that are most affected. Educational Charity Sutton Trust, which works to address such inequalities, said, “if we can understand the reasons for the much higher levels of social mobility in nations such as Canada and Australia … then the hope is that we can develop policies that will improve the life prospects.”

‘Bread for the World’ outlines several solutions to end poverty and to change the current statistics of poverty in America. Better jobs with higher wages need to be created for adults to support their families, and work support programs need to expand for families to have access to affordable health care and child care.

Strengthening tax credits, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit, which help working families, and child nutrition programs—school lunches and breakfasts, summer feeding programs, and the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program—are critical to ending childhood hunger. When children receive the nutrition they need, they are more likely to move out of poverty as adults.

Image Courtesy of  Gerry Boughan / Shutterstock.com

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New York, U.S.A. –  The World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) handed nearly 110,000 signatures on its global petition to improve the treatment of farm animals, to the Executive Coordinators of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), Ms. Elizabeth Thompson and Mr. Brice Lalonde. The petition represents the significant and growing worldwide support for Pawprint – WSPA’s campaign to put farm animal welfare on the agenda at Rio+20 in June.

Every day, billions of animals suffer on industrial farms. Pigs, chickens and cows are unable to move freely, breathe fresh air or even feel the sunlight. Not only is this one of the worst animal abuses in the world, it also has negative effects on the environment, poverty and human health. Through Pawprint, people from every corner of the globe have asked world leaders to include animal welfare as part of the discussions at Rio+20.

“We are thrilled that tens of thousands of people around the world have acknowledged that the well-being of animals is crucial to the future of people and our planet,” said Luis Carlos Sarmiento, Country Director of WSPA-South America. “Now, more than ever, it is evident that better animal welfare belongs on the conference agenda.”

“It is very encouraging to see such vast support for implementation of comprehensive humane and sustainable agriculture practices,” said Mr. Lalonde. “Food Security and Sustainable Agriculture is one of the priority areas that will be addressed at Rio+20.”

In the lead up to the conference in June, WSPA has sponsored high-level expert meetings, and developed several credible reports and farm-based case studies – all of which showcase that humane farming is a viable, environmentally-friendly alternative to intensive industrial production methods. WSPA’s goal is to lobby five recommendations to the UN, national government delegates and the agricultural industry:

• Develop policies for sustainable food supplies
• Manage the unsustainable demand for farm animal products
• Support research and development of humane and sustainable agriculture
• Phase out subsidies and investments in unsustainable, inhumane systems
• Recognizes the importance of farm animal welfare to poverty alleviation and sustainable livelihoods

In addition to helping the animals themselves, humane and sustainable treatment of farm animals has been shown to provide a series of health, safety and environmental benefits:

• Meat from grass-fed cattle can contain as little as half the fat of that reared in intensive, grain-fed farming
• Cage-free poultry farms in the UK were found to be significantly less likely to harbour bacteria that can cause deadly food poisoning
• Grass-fed beef production can use just half the fossil fuel energy of intensive industrial farming

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National children’s charity, School-Home Support UK (SHS), revealed that of the 13,000 children they support each year, most of them on Free School Meals (FSM), nearly half don’t feel safe at home. SHS identifies and supports children who have trouble being in school and being ready to learn.

SHS’s annual survey revealed that, in the preceding twelve months, their school-based professionals dealt mainly with children in homes where financial problems or poverty, the threat of homelessness, poor housing conditions, domestic violence, family breakdown or bereavement and mental health issues were prevalent.

SHS Chief Executive, Jan Tallis, commented “Children worry greatly about home and this can mean that they find it difficult to fully engage with their education. Nearly one million kids truant on a regular basis but many are afraid to leave home for school in case something awful happens or because their basic support needs – such as clean clothes or breakfast – are not being met. When we do get them into school they often exhibit poor concentration and disruptive behaviour.

This affects their ability to learn, affects peer learning in the classroom and creates a route to poor attainment and success later in life. With the highest ever recorded number of young people not in education, employment or training (NEET) this is clearly a very big issue.”

Tallis says they expect to see an increase in these figures over the next twelve months as economic hardship escalates, impacting on other issues such as mental and domestic wellbeing. SHS creates early interventions to tackle these problems in the personal and home lives of children so they can improve attendance and behaviour at school.

“Our main aim is to ensure all children stay in school and do well so they can achieve their dreams and enjoy good lives. A recent survey among disadvantaged children revealed many don’t think they will go to university, have a good job or earn good money. This is tragic,” says Tallis.

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To celebrate National Marriage Week (Feb. 7-14), Family Research Council’s Marriage and Religion Research Institute has released a new paper entitled 162 Reasons to Marry. This important new study demonstrates that marriage is beneficial across a wide range of personal outcomes, including family, religion, education, finances, crime and health.

162 Reasons to Marry shows that married persons:

• enjoy stronger relationships with their children;
• worship more regularly;
• participate more actively in their children’s education;
• work more productively;
• enjoy greater financial stability;
• have better mental and physical health; and
• are less likely to commit crime or abuse or to be victims of domestic violence.

Furthermore, those raised in intact married families are more likely to practice sexual chastity, to worship more regularly, to expect and attain more educationally, and to exhibit better physical and mental health. They are also less likely to experience poverty as children or to experience or commit violence.

Dr. Patrick Fagan , Director of the Marriage and Religion Research Institute, writes:

“Marriage is the foundational relationship for all of society, and therefore we can be sure that there are many more than the 162 reasons for marriage enumerated here. All other relationships in society stem from the father-mother relationship, and these other relationships thrive most if that father-mother relationship is simultaneously a close and a closed husband-wife relationship.”

Fagan says the outcomes evaluated (family, religion, education, marketplace and government) represent all five of the major institutions, or tasks, of society.

Fagan said:

“The family is one of the five major institutions of society. Within a family built on a good marriage, the child gradually learns to value and perform the five fundamental tasks of every competent adult and of every functional society – raising a family, practicing religion, receiving an education, working in the marketplace and participating in government.

Children raised in strong families are mentored in all these areas, often unconsciously, and gradually they learn to act similarly. That is how we grow a great society.  There is no short cut on this one.”

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Of all the families who seek temporary shelter in New York City, 40 percent have had at least one prior shelter stay. To reduce recidivism and improve outcomes for homeless parents and children in New York City and throughout the country, the independent nonprofit research organization Institute for Children, Poverty, and Homelessness released a draft of ‘A New Path: An Immediate Plan to Reduce Family Homelessness’ during ICPH’s conference Beyond Housing: A National Conversation on Child Poverty and Homelessness.

Read the draft report here.

The plan proposes using the family shelter as a tool for parents with limited education and work experience, as well as for victims of domestic violence, those with mental health and substance abuse issues, and a history in the child welfare system.

While many families are forced to go to shelters because of the lack of affordable housing in the United States, ‘A New Path’ argues that approximately 15 percent of families living in shelters are further held back by lack of education, work experience, and family support.

For this subpopulation, ‘A New Path’ argues that shelter stays should be extended to 12-18 months and used as an opportunity for parents to immerse themselves in an on-site learning, career-building, and healthy environment. Although some residents will have a longer initial shelter stay, this will lead to less recidivism.

“New York City has long led the way in confronting the challenge of homeless families and should serve as a model for reducing recidivism,” said ICPH President and CEO Ralph da Costa Nunez. “This is not a 10-year plan, but an immediate action that can serve as a guide to cities, suburbs, and rural communities throughout the country.”

These shelters—designated in the plan as ‘Tier III’— should offer on-site employment opportunities for shelter residents starting at minimum wage; job search, readiness, and retention training; and GED classes.

Other advancements ‘A New Path’ recommends:

• Some ‘Tier III’ shelters should be designated ‘Safety First’ residences and serve domestic violence victims. In 2010, there was only bed space for 70 percent of families deemed eligible for DV Shelters. These shelters would offer the same safety and support as those at DV shelters.
• ‘Child Wellness Residences’ would provide on-site assistance to families with active child welfare cases and those receiving voluntary preventive services. On average, 670 active child welfare cases and 1,300 closed cases were identified each month among homeless families in New York City in 2010.
• ‘Health and Recovery Residences’ would provide targeted services to those with mental health and substance abuse concerns.

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On Martin Luther King Day, Catholic Charities USA and Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington honored Martin Luther King, Jr. by presenting awards to contemporary heroes working to keep his dream alive.  This award recognizes them for their commitment to reducing poverty. Hundreds of people attended the third annual “Keep the Dream Alive” Mass & Awards ceremony, which took place at St. Aloysius Catholic Church in Washington, D.C.

Rev. Larry Snyder, President of CCUSA, said, “I can think of no better way to commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy than by honoring individuals who keep his dream alive through their advocacy and service to the poor.”

CCUSA presented “Keep the Dream Alive” awards to USDA Under Secretary, Kevin Concannon, Former D.C. Mayor, Anthony Williams, and former CCUSA Board Member, Janet Pape, for their advocacy and poverty reduction work. The Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington’s “Faith Does Justice” Award was presented to local television anchor Andrea Roane.

“While Dr. King’s inspiring life, built on the strength of his convictions and his sense of justice, made a tremendous difference to our nation, we know there is still much work to do,” said Msgr. John Enzler, President and CEO of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington. “However, as we remember Dr. King, there’s no better moment to look around and celebrate those among us who are carrying on his work in so many different ways today.”

Following the event, more than 50 individuals volunteered with women who reside at the Harriet Tubman Women’s Emergency Shelter in southeast D.C.  Volunteers worked one-on-one with women on an art project designed to allow clients to express their dreams and what Dr. King means to them.

For additional information about today’s event, including pictures and information on the awardees, please visit www.catholiccharitiesusa.org.

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Nearly one in four American children attend rural schools and enrollment is growing at a faster rate in rural school districts than in all other places combined, according to ‘Why Rural Matters 2011-12’, a biennial report by the Rural School and Community Trust.   In addition, rural schools show increasing rates of poverty, diversity, and students with special needs.

These widespread trends are most evident in the South, Southwest, and parts of Appalachia. ”As the evidence mounts that rural education is becoming a bigger and even more complex part of our national educational landscape, it is becoming impossible to ignore in the quest to improve achievement and narrow achievement gaps between advantaged and disadvantaged groups.

The day of closing our eyes and hoping rural education will just go away are ending,” said Jerry Johnson, a co-author of ‘Why Rural Matters 2011-12’. More than 9.6 million students are enrolled in rural school districts in the United States, which is over 20 percent of all public school students in the United States.

An additional 1.8 million students are enrolled in rural schools in districts not classified as rural by the federal government.  Together, these 11.4 million students who attend rural schools comprise more than 23 percent of all public school students, according to the Rural School and Community Trust, a respected national nonprofit organization.

Of those students attending schools in a rural district, two in five live in poverty, a rate that has increased by nearly a third in nine years.  One student in four in rural areas is a child of color, and one in eight has changed residence in the past 12 months.

Between the 1999-2000 and 2008-2009 school years, rural districts’ enrollment increased by well over 1.7 million students, showing a growth rate of more than 22 percent.  In comparison, non-rural enrollment increased by only 673,000, or by a 1.7 percent increase, for the same time period.  As a result, the rural districts’ share of national public school enrollment increased from 17.4 percent to 20 percent over the decade, according to federal data in the report.

These enrollment gains were particularly strong in the most rural states in the South and Southwest.  Ten states are among the top 13 in both the number and the percentage of rural enrollment growth — Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas.

The top five states with rural enrollment increases — Texas, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Arizona — had a total gain of over 1.1 million, more than half the gain for all states that gained rural enrollment.

“Rural minority students are concentrated in certain states, and that concentration is increasing,” said Jerry Johnson. Over 69 percent of all rural minority students now attend school in states where they represent more than one third of the rural student enrollment.  That is up from 58 percent as reported in ‘Why Rural Matters 2009’.

The report uses 25 statistical indicators grouped into five “gauges” to take the measure of rural education in each of the 50 states.  The five gauges are then combined to produce a “rural education priority” gauge.  The higher the ranking, the more important and challenging rural education is in a state’s overall education system and the more urgent it is for policy makers to pay attention to it.

The 13 highest priority states are all in the South, Southwest, and Appalachia, except Alaska, and all, but three, of the 12 next highest priority states are adjacent to them with the exception of Idaho, North Dakota, and South Dakota.

The report notes that rural education ranks high in importance in many Northern states, including Iowa, Maine, Montana, North Dakota, and Vermont.  However, these states tend to rank low on other measures such as student poverty, diversity, or poor student performance and low graduation rates.

“These states symbolize rural education to many people. They are the basis for a myth that all of rural America is uncomplicated, stable, and reasonably well-off. That myth is part of what keeps rural education on the margins of the national debate about education policy,” said Marty Strange, the policy director for the Rural School and Community Trust and co-author of the report.

“But these classic Yankee and Prairie-Plains states are simply an important part of a much more varied, complex, and challenging rural America that education policy makers must better understand,” said Strange. The report found that states most responsive to rural schools have above average fiscal capacity.

For example, the report points out that of the 13 states with the lowest expenditures for rural teachers, all but Nebraska and South Dakota are below the national average in state fiscal capacity.  On the other hand, states with the highest rural teacher salaries are primarily in the Northeast, the West, and the Mid-Atlantic. All these states are above the national average in state fiscal capacity per capital.

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The latest numbers emerged from the federal government. Although the recession technically ended, someone should tell the rest of America. According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s annual Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage report for 2010, poverty increased to 15.1 percent in 2010.

A total of 46.2 million people are in poverty, the highest number since the government started tracking poverty in the 1950s. “Income down, poverty up, health insurance coverage down or flat,” said Ron Haskins, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, in a statement.

“The news on economic well-being in the U.S. is not good. Worse, children’s poverty increased for the fourth year in a row and at 22 percent is the highest since 1993. Child poverty has been higher than the 2010 level in only three years since the mid-1960s.” Poverty is defined by family size and income.

The federal government considers a family of four with annual earnings of less than $22,314 to be poor. In 2010, 9.2 million families lived in poverty, up from 8.8 million in 2009. Poverty increased among every racial and ethnic group except Asian Americans.  The share of white Americans living in poverty grew to 13 percent, up from 12.3 percent in 2009.

African Americans and Latinos saw similar increases in poverty and remained significantly more likely to be poor than whites. In 2010, black poverty climbed to 27.4 percent from 25.8 percent in 2009, and Latino poverty reached 26.6 percent, up from 25.3 percent in 2009.

The uninsured continues to rise as well. The share of Americans covered by private health insurance continued its decade-long fall. Nearly 50 million Americans lacked health insurance in 2010, an increase of 900,000 from the previous year. The number of Americans who participate in a government health insurance program, however, continued its four-year climb.

Alice O’Connor, a historian at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and author of “Poverty Knowledge: Social Science, Social Policy and the Poor in Twentieth Century U.S. History,” said explanations for rising poverty often focus on the work ethic and personal choices of the poor.

But since the Great Recession, she said, a growing number of Americans have come to understand that the availability of living-wage jobs plays a large role in determining a family’s economic state. Despite that recognition, O’Connor said many still fail to understand the role social policies — such as those that make collective bargaining difficult or tax income from work and investments differently — contribute to increased poverty.

She noted that public health insurance programs for poor children and adults and cash welfare assistance, among other social safety net measures, have seen significant cuts in many cash-strapped states. And many workers — particularly men — are effectively earning less than they did three decades ago, while also lacking access to health insurance and other benefits. ”

What we are looking at today is really the result of decades of eroded protections for workers and just a declining number of good jobs,” said O’Connor.

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The growing number of hungry Americans that depend on the food stamp program may be fixing the economy. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, the number of Americans requesting food stamps rose to an all-time high of 45.8 million people.

The government’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), more commonly known as food stamps, provides benefits to low-income individuals and families each month. Recipients can use these funds, like one would a debit card, at stores that accept SNAP benefits.

In order to qualify for the program, an individual’s income can’t exceed $1,174 a month or $14,088 a year. CNNMoney reported the average food stamp benefit was $133.80 per person and $283.65 per household in May 2011.

National Public Radio reported that the need for food stamps is likely to continue to rise. Even though the economy has been improving since 2009, it’s been such slow growth that it can’t absorb the nearly 14 million who are unemployed. Currently the highest need for food stamps are in the states of California, Texas and New York.

While the food stamp program is a vital service to many Americans, it comes at a steep price – it cost taxpayers $68 billion last year.

Many economists say the program is worth the money because it helps stimulate the economy. Harvard economist Martin Feldstein, head of the National Bureau of Economic Research, said the “fastest way to infuse money into the economy is through expanding the ‘food-stamp’ program.”

A recent study by the N.C. Budget and Tax Center estimated that $1.6 billion in food assistance distributed to residents in North Carolina, resulted in $2.8 billion in economic activity. “When a person spends food assistance money at a local grocery store, that is a sale the store may not have had otherwise,” said John Quinterno, research associate at the center. “Then, that money gets turned over several times, generating economic activity.”

President Obama’s Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, referred to the food stamp program as a “stimulus” itself. The Agriculture Department estimates every dollar in food stamps expands the economy by $1.84.

“If people are able to buy a little more in the grocery store, someone has to stock it, package it, shelve it, process it, ship it,” Vilsack said. “All of those are jobs. It’s the most direct stimulus you can get in the economy during these tough times.”

Still, there are other opinions on the best way to improve the poor U.S. economy. Jay Carney, White House Press Secretary, disagreed with Vilsack’s support of the food stamp program. Carney said unemployment checks are the most effective tactic. “There are few other ways that can directly put money into the economy than applying unemployment insurance,” said Carney.

There is still debate over whether the food stamp program truly helps the economy. There is no debate, however, on the fact that people are seeking out the service in record numbers.

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