Action Plan (Laurie, Eleanor, and Jackson)

Step One: Identify the Issue

The issue we would like to address is the general health circumstances of the South African population.  Many people in this region not only live in poverty but are also forced to deal with many forms of dire health issues.  They are considered dire, and many also incurable, due to the fact that the people of South Africa are impoverished, and do not have access to high-standard medical equipment or have learning facilities to provide education on preventable health circumstances.

South Africa’s health system contains a large public sector and a much smaller private sector. The public sector is under-resourced and over-used. The private sector caters to 18% of the population (the small portion high-income earners) and foreigners looking for surgical procedures for relatively affordable prices.

Unfortunately, as with many developing countries, getting money and health care to the places where it’s actually needed is the biggest challenge. That is why we have decided to give our money to “Project Hope” so that we know where it is going and that it will, indeed, get there.

Step Two: Evaluate the Issue

Background:  Health care in South Africa has been an issue for hundreds of years.  This is mostly because of the lack of education provided for the people of the country, which in turn is due to the poverty the country faces.   Also, due to the customs and cultural beliefs of the country, many children have diseases like AIDS inflicted upon them against their will. 

Needs:  As a resolution, better education must be provided to the people of the country, but to have this they need a source of finances.  This is what Project Hope tries to assist with.  If the citizens were to be provided with a better education, they would not only better understand human rights and how to lead a more succcessful life, they would also be provided with knowledge about things like preventable diseases and how to live with disabilities. 

Constraints:  The factors that are stopping this problem from being resolved include lack of funding, lack of support, racism, and a lack of desire to be helped.

Available Resources:  Available resources include advertisement, advocacy, benefits, awareness days, etc.

Resources Needed:  Resources needed include funding by donation for education, health care, and general financial aid.

Step Three: Develop a Mission Statement

“Recognizing that what Canadians see as a little bit of money, namely a dollar, can go much further in South Africa, (seven dollars), and doing a small, simple task, like selling popsicles, can raise enough money to be helpful. We are committed to doing a small part by selling popsicles to our peers.”

Step Four: Create Goals

1) Raise money to donate to Project Hope for the health care of those in Africa, in June.

2) Raise awareness about the issues that Africa is facing, among our peers, consistently.

3) Encourage our families to participate in fundraising for this cause to add to the money we have raised by June.

Step Five: Construct Action Steps

What? Consult Principal Find best price for product Advertise

By Whom? Laurie, Eleanor, Jackson Laurie Laurie, Eleanor, Jackson

Expected Outcome He will approve our project. We will have the product for a price that will supply us with the highest revenue possible. People will be aware of our goal and therefore will have their money ready to donate.

Step Seven: Execute Your Action Plan


Did you accomplish each goal?  If not, why not?

1. Yes we did accomplish each goal. We exceeded how much money we wanted to make.  We had 38 popsicles and hoped to sell them for a dollar each.  Altogether (with separate donations) we made around $95.  Each of our families were willing to make a donation, and our peers were glad to learn about how they were helping out.

Did your action steps lead you do actually accomplishing your goals?

             We believe so, to a certain extent, although it was a fairly simple plan so we didn't have that big of a challenge.

Did you have to make changes to your plans?  Why was this necessary?  What did you learn from this?

        No we did not.

Give yourself a letter grade for your over-all project.

we believe we were much more successful than expected, however, it was quite a simple plan for three people.  So, we believe that we should get a low A.

Catriona Johnson

When Asher's mom came to talk to our class about Asher, I felt very inspired.  I had never really considered the value of ability integration.  Of course, I had always known that it was important to not discriminate against those who are differently abled, but I hadn't considered the negative effects of segregation.  When I used to live in Regina, I had a friend who has a severely autistic sister, Lindsay.  Had she been forced to segregate with the special education classes at her highschool, she would not have made nearly as much progress to living a comfortable lifestyle as she has today.  Her parents involved her in programs where she could make friends with people of all levels of ability, and this provided her with a progression in comfortability in social situations.  Lindsay's parents also encouraged her to strive to take an interest in learning new things and to push herself to learn new operative skills and techniques.  Because of all of the encouragement she has had behind her, Lindsay is now going to SIAST (Regina's equivalent to Camosun), taking art classes, and is working towards living on her own.  Asher's mom had mentioned that she is very involved in the kinds of social programs that Lindsay went through, and a few of my peers and I have decided that we would find it very rewarding to volunteer with an organization that Ms. Johnson is associated with.

"Finding Dawn" Response Questions

1. Systemic racism - how is the inherent racism in the justice system demonstrated in the story of Dawn Crey?
      In the case of Dawn Crey, inherent racism was shown through the fact that her case did not recieve the publicity, devotion or attention it deserved from the police or the public to locate her.

2. How did Dawn suffer from a loss of identity and how did this affect her?
        Dawn faced a loss of identity through the fact that she was forced into prostitution as a means of survival, and unfortunately, many women turn to selling their bodies for the same reason. The majority of people who are unable to relate to these women in their situation label this jobs as incredibly degrading and consider these women to be of not much self-worth, hence disregarding their identities.  As a result of this prejudice for Dawn, the significance of finding her was lost.


3. What made the missing women of the downtown eastside nameless and faceless?
        Unfortunately, these women lost their identities for the same reason Dawn did.  These women were people who held traits that many fortunate people in society would be considered lower class: they were poor, living on the streets, selling their bodies, aboriginal, most likely faced addiction problems, and many more unfortunate situations that should not be frowned upon or disregarded, but aided.


4. Can you see a difference how the women on the Highway of Tears and the women of the downtown eastside are viewed?  How was the response of the community different?  Why might that be? 
          I cannot see any significant differences between how the Highway of Tears and the women of the downtown eastside are viewed, beside the fact that the women from the down town eastside are most likely prostitutes who have had their life situation inflicted upon themselves, and the women on the Highway of Tears could quite possibly just need a ride.  The responses of the communities would be different because those women taken from the Highway of Tears are more likely to have family and friends who are adiment about finding them, where as the women of the downtown eastside have virtually no one, due to the fact that they are living on the streets or in poverty.


5. "Women's issues are men's issues too."  How is this statement demonstrated in this film?
           This statement is demonstrated through the film by the lost womens' brothers, husbands, friends, and other associated men who are concerned for their well being and whereabouts.  

Book Report: "A Thousand Splendid Suns"

Quotations From the Book

“Like a compass needle that points north, a man’s accusing finger always finds a woman.”  [pg. 7]

I found that this quote appropriately displays the views of Taliban men toward women.  This was an unnecessary reality that the female characters from the book had to face, and unfortunately many women in several different societies must succumb to this ideology.

"There is only one, only one skill a woman like you and me needs in life, and they don't teach it in school. Look at me... Only one skill, and it's this: tahamul. Endure." [pg. 17]

This excerpt was sort of jarring for me; the women living in Afghanistan at the time were forced to do just that: endure.  However, the fact that a mother would teacher her daughter to remain quiet and not defend herself, to me, is appalling.  My mother has always taught me to defend and respect myself, and stand up for my individual freedom, because of this I am left upset by the fact that many girls and women are not taught such things.

"Mariam lay on the couch, hands tucked between her knees, watched the whirlpool of snow twisting and spinning outside the window. She remembered Nana saying once that each snowflake was a sigh heaved by an aggrieved woman somewhere in the world. That all the sighs drifted up the sky, gathered into clouds, then broke into tiny pieces that fell silently on the people below. As a reminder of how people like us suffer, she'd said. How quietly we endure all that falls upon us." [pg. 30]

This is another quote that focuses on the amount of women all over the world who are forced to endure whatever harm comes their way.  Not only in Afghanistan, but in every country, and every neighbourhood.  This is an on going issue in the world that has been around for centuries and is one that is often times 'swept under the rug.'  To me, this issue should not be over looked at all, and I would certainly like to see and take part in educating societies on women's rights.

"One could not count the moons that shimmer on her roofs, or the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls." [pg. 172]

This is quoted in the book from a poem written in the seventeenth century, written about Kabul.  First, I thought it contained beautiful imagery.  I thought it was an odd way to describe the character's home in Afghanistan, as it was filled with devastation.

"A society has no chance of success if its women are uneducated..." [pg. 103]

I found an effective amount of truth to this quote.  Not only does a society have no chance of success if its women are uneducated, but if all of its people are uneducated.  This is proven in countries all over the world that have faced various wars and genocides.  I find the fact that the Taliban believe that women should be uneducated to be ridiculously close-minded, and a little bit naive.  Such prejudices often lead to downfall.

"Of all the hardships a person had to face, none was more punishing than the simple act of waiting." [pg. 113]

In a general sense, this quote would probably be relatable to anyone.  Out of context, it applies to a little girl waiting for the arrival of her father.  However, I feel as though this line provided foreshadowing for the rest of the book; many abused women have experienced the anxiety of having to wait and anticipate not only when their abuse will stop, but when they will next have to face a horrible experience.

"Miriam wished for so much in those final moments. Yet as she closed her eyes, it was not regret any longer but a sensation of abundant peace that washed over her. She thought of her entry into this world, the harami child of a lowly villager, an unintended thing, a pitiable, regrettable accident. A weed. And yet she was leaving the world as a woman who had loved and been loved back. She was leaving it as a friend, a companion, a guardian. A mother. A person of consequence at last. No. It was not so bad, Miriam thought, that she should die this way. Not so bad. This was a legitimate end to a life of illegitimate belongings."

This was a part of the book that really touched me.  One of the main characters, Miriam, had had such an incredibly horrible life and the fact that in the last moments of her life she was able to be optimistically retrospective of only the positive experiences she had faced throughout her life, although the majority of her experiences were full of abuse and terror.  As someone who accepted her ultimate fate in such a noble way for the safety of her new family, she deserved to experience whatever bliss possible in the last thoughts she had.

"Laila has moved on. Because in the end she knows that’s all she can do. That and hope." 

This quote would also apply to the abused woman.  Laila has accepted the horrid aspects of her life, realized that nothing would change unless she came to her own defense, and took action to save herself and those she cared about.  By killing Rasheed, she removed any possibility of danger that her family could be subject to, and in her and my eyes it was the right thing to do. Considering the customs and beliefs of the society and culture of Afghanistan at the time of the story, this man would have ultimately killed his family and those that Laila loves, whether it be through murder, driving them to suicide, or placing blame that would lead to death pursued by the government.  Laila and Miriam want their children to receive the opportunity to have a healthy future, and have as little negative affects from abuse as possible.  Considering that women were not respected (and still aren't, to a large degree) in Pakistan at the time they would have not been offered counseling or a way out, as they would in North America.

"That summer, Titanic fever gripped Kabul. People smuggled pirated copies of the film from Pakistan- sometimes in their underwear. After curfew, everyone locked their doors, turned out the lights, turned down the volume, and reaped tears for Jack and Rose and the passengers of the doomed ship. If there was electrical power, Mariam, Laila, and the children watched it too. A dozen times or more, they unearthed the TV from behind the tool-shed, late at night, with the lights out and quilts pinned over the windows.

At the Kabul River, vendors moved into the parched riverbed. Soon, from the river's sunbaked hollows, it was possible to buy Titanic carpets, and Titanic cloth, from bolts arranged in wheelbarrows. There was Titanic deodorant, Titanic toothpaste, Titanic perfume, Titanic pakora, even Titanic burqas. A particularly persistent beggar began calling himself 'Titanic Beggar.'

'Titanic City' was born.

It's the song, they said.

No, the sea. The luxury. The ship.

It's the sex, they whispered.

Leo, said Aziza sheepishly. It's all about Leo.

'Everybody wants Jack,' Laila said to Mariam.  'That's what it is. Everybody wants Jack to rescue them from disaster. But there is no Jack. Jack is not coming back. Jack is dead.'" [pg.270]

First, I felt that this part of the book was significant due to the fact that the people of this community are faced with such hardships, they search for whatever luxuries and satisfying distractions they can to take away from the discrepancies in their lives.  Titanic is a story that many people all over the world love to romanticize about, and if gives many people with less than desirable life situations hope for feeling that kind of compassion.  This is reflected when Laila says, "Everybody wants Jack... Everybody wants Jack to rescue them from disaster."  However, when she contradicts, "But there is no Jack.  Jack is not coming back.  Jack is dead." her perception of reality is displayed.  This shows that she has come to an acceptance of her fate and feels the inevitability of her abuse, leading her to the desire for change.

"Inside Laila too a battle was being waged: guilt on one side, partnered with shame, and, on the other, the conviction that what she and Tariq had done was not sinful; that it had been natural, good, beautiful, even inevitable, spurred by the knowledge that they might never see each other again."  

 This was a quote from earlier on in the book when Laila loses her virginity to her childhood love (and later on husband), Tariq.  I thought that this quote showed glimpses of the aspects that Afghanistan's youth need to grasp, in order to not be subject to such harsh societal conditions.  Her opinion on having sex with him though they were young and not married was a personal opinion, one that the women of Afghanistan should be free to express, as they generally are in North America.


Relevance of the Title


In the beginning of the book, Laila's Babi recites a poem to her written about Kabul: "One could not count the moons that shimmer on her roofs. Or the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls."  One would consider this description of Afghanistan to be a juxtaposition since its society is/was facing such despair, however, later on in the book one would realize that in Laila's reminiscence there were a few parts of her life that reflect the imagery of the poem; Miriam. Many residents of Kabul would be able to look past the tortured exterior and see that it remains a place to find love, support and happy aspects of life, just as Laila was able to discover in Miriam; for many, this would be considered a consolation or solace amongst the devastation life may impose. 




Controversial Issues




       There are several controversial issues that this book discusses.  Some of these issues include: the infliction of basic female and human rights, domestic and sexual abuse, sex before marriage, freedom to choose one's spouse and/or direction in life, and the general, biased laws that the Taliban inflicted upon the people under their leadership.
       In the beginning of the book, the issue of forced marriage is more prominently discussed.  When Miriam, the first main character introduced, is married to her father's much older friend Rasheed, I felt an instant discomfort for her, as she was unable to protest and have a choice in to whom she was married.  Along with this came her rape.  At the time, and to a degree to this day,  the women in Afghanistan (and many other middle-eastern countries) were taught that correct behavior for a respectable woman was to serve their husband and obey every one of their desires, meaning that when the husband wanted sex, he got it, regardless of whether or not it was forced or consensual.  To read of a barely teenage, defenseless girl being forced into sexual abuse by a 40 year old man, to me was shocking.  The ignorance many men in power display toward the rights of women and people who they consider to be beneath them just shows how selfish and uneducated many people are in this world.
       Laila experiences the possibilities of defiance when she has loses her virginity to Tariq when she is not married to him.  This act was controversial because, as in many communities, sex before marriage is frowned upon in Afghanistan.  If anyone had discovered that this had happened, or that Laila's first child was in fact Tariq's, not Rasheed's, she would have faced dire consequences.
       As in real life, the wives in the book were subject to domestic abuse.  In fact, all forms of abuse discussed in this book are the forced practices of the Taliban, and men are not encouraged to consider otherwise.  This in itself is probably the most controversial aspect of the book.

Indigenous Peoples Venn Diagram

After having studied different origins of indigenous people and the racist persecution they had to face, I was left completely appalled. The Canadian and Australian Aboriginal people, the Ainu and the people of the Gururumba tribe all have faced the common hardships due to the majority of society's views on conformity.  The Canadian and Australian Aboriginal people were forced into displacement, violence, racism, and many other inflictions upon their human rights.  The Ainu people faced similar, unacceptable treatment.  Although the Gururumba tribe did not have to face violence, they did have to fight for their freedom against conventionality when they were approached by several trade industries; ultimately, the clans became scarce as their land was taken over by large industries and their agricultural routines were jeopardized.  I seriously hope that one day people will be educated and selfless enough to prevent this from happening to whatever areas of the world in which indigenous people live and have not been corrupted.

Voting

When Edith Loring-Kuhanga came to speak with our class, not only was I impressed with the NDP's platform (and surprisingly found that I agreed with basically everything she said), but I was impressed with the participation and involvment of our class.  I really do not know that much about each political party's platform, and having the polititions coming to our class to answer questions will most definitely help me to figure out which party I support.  I am really proud of our class for being so concerned, and I think that Edith was fairly surprised at the fact that teenagers were so interested in politics.  Hopefully, she will spread the word, and polititians will no longer consider teens an lost cause to target their ideas toward.  Personally, I am quite interested in politics and I look forward to learning more about what our society has to offer.

Is Ageism Affecting Businesses?

Recently, I have notice that an issue I have been facing more often than I would like to is ageism.  My mother (a former high school teacher), frequently vocalizes her opinion on the treatment of teenagers, and she asked me to try an experiment: to go into a jewelry store in the mall with her and note the attention we receive from the store clerk, and later on go in by myself and observe if the clerk's attitude toward me as a customer had changed.  As we predicted, it had.  When I went in with my mom, the clerk was very polite, asked to help us, and when we said no thank you, she left us alone.  However, when I went in by myself, I was not asked if I needed assistance, and instead was hovered over for my entire walk through the store.  Firstly, it was a jewelry store - everything was in locked cases, so how could I steal anything?  Secondly, I found the lack of trust and service to be somewhat appalling - how do they know I don't have enough money to buy anything?  This could have happened due to coincidence, but an unfortunate truth is that a lot of store managers train their employees to be cautious of teenagers, as they are "most likely" to shop lift.  I know that after my experience at that store I am reluctant to return, and I wonder if this is the case for many other teens?  I also wonder: if it is the case, and many others feel the way I do, and will stop shopping at the stores in question, how will this affect their business? I work for Safeway, and they instruct us to watch out for shop lifters of all ages; I am thankful that I am not employed by a company who exercises such biased opinions.