Afghanistan

Afghanistan

          Hello, this is IGL and this post is about Afghanistan. Afghanistan is a country in the region of Central Asia. Afghanistan is known primarily because of the ruthless Taliban. After the Taliban faded and was forgotten in most of the country, poverty followed. The country’s Islamic faith holds them true to themselves, but all the hard work was wiped away after the war with the United States.

          The Taliban was an organization of strict rulers and leaders, and followers grew among the nation. The Taliban was harsh, and many were killed. Females were not aloud to attend schools, and are brutally treated as mere servants to cook, clean, and raise children. After the 9/11 accident, a war occurred between USA and Afghanistan. When the Taliban retreated, people rejoiced. But today, members of the Taliban still live in the nation. After the war, buildings were gone and streets were ruined. Children have to go to work instead of going to school to get an education. 42% of the population lives in severe poverty. 90% of women are illiterate, and 63% of men are illiterate. In 2012, Afghanistan’s GDP per capita was $1000. That means, the average amount of money people who work in the country earn $1000 in one year in total. That’s not a lot.

          Poverty is most common in the rural areas. Prices of food have increased when families could barely afford anything. After the war, pollution and destruction is everywhere. Most battles took place in the rural. 45% of the Kuchi nomads and rural people are living in critical poverty. Famers, herders, and landless citizens are the poorest, and widows must take care of their children without a husband. The Kuchi people are historically nomadic and depend on livestock to survive. 15% of these people must settle because of loss of migrational routes or livestock. The Kuchi citizens are also neglected by the government.

          Afghanistan’s children have harsh treatment, especially children under the age of five who are vulnerable. Their families can’t pay for school so they must work to earn some money for their families. Half of Afghanistan’s population of children is living with chronic malnutrition. Children in the refugees do not have the right resources to stay healthy, and some rural children must live on the rural land alone with their widowed mother. Many are illiterate, and when they become sick, their families don’t have enough money to get a doctor.

          Help the Afghan Children is a foundation founded by Suraya Sadeed. Help the Afghan Children supplies children with the right sources. It also helps them get a good education by building schools around the country. They send learning programs to the children, and have established schools in Kabul and Laghman Province. HTAC gives programs for computers, environment, literacy, and cultural exchanges. They also give peace and landmine education, as well as teacher training. Their literacy program, the Read Afghanistan Literacy Program, teaches children to read story books in bilingual languages, and educating them how to write. HTAC also gives humanitarian supplies, such as clothes, blankets, medicine, shoes, food, and heating to help them live.

          There are many ways for you to help. You could:

1. Start a petition.
2. Spread the word
3. Adopt a child from Afghanistan
4. Donate or volunteer at HTAC (http://www.helptheafghanchildren.org/)

Help Afghanistan!

Idea+Gift=Love IGL

Help the Republic of Congo!

Help the Republic of Congo!

          Hello, this is IGL and this post is about the Republic of Congo. The Republic of Congo is the country next to the Democratic Republic of Congo. Republic of Congo is a bit wealthier than the Democratic, but it is still a poor country.
          The population is about four million people. But unfortunately, because of AIDS, the lifespan has decreased, birth mortality increased, and the death rate is taking over.

          The GDP per capita, or money made for each person, is about $4,700. That may seem a lot, but that’s how much they make every year. It doesn’t’ really supply much.

          About 1.514 million people are victims of forced labor. That is about ¼ of the population. It is also a destination for child slaves for forced labor, human trafficking, and sexual trafficking.

          There are many ways to help. There ways to help that you can do. You can:

1. Spread the word
2. Donate to that country
3. Start a petition
4. Adopt a child

These ways can help the Republic of Congo in so much difference!

-Idea+Gift=Love IGL

Help the Farm Animals!

Help the Farm Animals!

          Hello, this is IGL and this topic is about helping farm animals. Farm animals are crammed into small cages barely their size and undernourished. We’re not saying you have to become a vegetarian. But animals are being mistreated in many farms. That’s how the swine flu happened. Pigs were stuffed in many cages then one pig passed it on to another pig then it spread to humans.

          Farmers also overfeed the chickens. Have you ever seen the movie Chicken Run? That’s exactly what most farmers do. They fatten the chickens up and then sell them away. Sometimes they are so fat they can’t walk anymore. And farmers also ship away sick chickens to be in food everywhere. We’re not saying that meat is disgustingly inedible, but think about the types of food you eat. Usually the fancy restaurants are too fancy to buy fat, disgusting, sick farm animals, but the your-order-would-be-ready-in-a-minute types of restaurants could be buying unhealthy farm animals.

          Also, human eating farms wastes grain, fuel, and water. The animal manure also pollutes the water, soil, and the earth. People living near these farms are also affected.

          There are many easy ways to defeat this horrible agriculture. You could:

1. Put Meatless Monday on your weekly basis
2. spread the word
3. convince farmers to care for animals better
4. Donate to charities that help these farm animals

So, in order to help the planet, people, and animals, help the farm animals!

-Idea+Gift=Love IGL

Syrian Civil War

Syrian Civil War

          Hello, this is IGL and this topic is the Syrian Civil War, or the Syrian Uprising. The Syrian Uprising has been going on since 2011. It is the war between the rebels of the Ba’ath party and the people who stay loyal to it.

          Many people have fled the country. Some stayed, but live in devastation. Many people die from bombings and riots. Nearly 70,000 people were killed in the war.

          The children of Syria have been through so much through the civil war. There family and friends were killed. A girl, Turkieh, says that her mother was shot and killed when she came back from the market. A boy states that many friends that he used to play with our now dead and missing body parts.

          Save the Children has built refugees in Syria for children. Sadly, they are running out of food, water, clothing, blankets, and medicine. These children deserve this.

          Even though this war is one of the most sad and devastating, you could help too. You could:

1. Donate supplies to refugees in Syria
2. Spread the word. You could write letters to the newspaper or post reports to the library.

Even though there are usually more options, either one of these are very helpful for Syria. Help Syria!

-Idea+Gift=Love IGL

Stop Poverty in India!

Stop Poverty in India!

          Hello, this is IGL. Our new topic is to stop poverty in India. Here’s a mini story to it.

          Once upon a time, one of our members, Sanjana, went to her home country India. She went to the slums of India to see the people. Sadly, children and people were all suffering. They lived in small shacks tidied together. She saw a girl and a baby drinking yellow and contaminated water out of a pipe. She also saw a boy working at the motel her age not going to school and getting the education he needed. The water system was dirty and had trash in it.

          The children beg for food and work nonstop. But you could give them some hope and happiness.

          You could help these poor people and give them some hope by:

1. You could donate some money
2. You could adopt and Indian orphan
3. Or you could go to India physically and help them with their labor!

Stop poverty in India!

-Idea+Gift=Love