What's your favorite charity?

Stockholm is a city I have always wanted to get lost in. Now I have my chance. I am participating in the Stockholm marathon in May. And, you know me, if I am going to sacrifice my body to the Greek and Nordic gods, I want to raise awareness of issues around poverty and raise funds—that is, get you (and all your friends, co-workers, family) to give money to a worthy organization addressing the root causes of poverty in a positive way.

The horrendous tragedy this last weekend in Nepal will guide my funding efforts. Our thoughts and prayers are with friends and family as they struggle to survive and work to see that others live. I will be supporting Heart to Heart International and Charity: Water. 

Youth Find Solutions to Global Poverty

A recent blog from Devex communications associate Elisabeth d'Auchamp shares a great idea being implemented by the European Commission:

“International development may not be the first thing on the mind of a 13-year-old. Talk of frameworks, donor priorities, annual reports and endless acronyms will, in most cases, be less attention-grabbing than, well, everything else in the life of a teenager.

But while the future of the globe might currently be handled by adults, youth has an equal if not a bigger stake in creating a sustainable world.

As such, aid groups are now ramping up efforts to engage young people in global development. Among them: the European Commission.

“How would you fight poverty?” the commission is asking young people in a video contest recently launched on Facebook. The competition is open to everyone aged 13-24 regardless of nationality, and the only condition is to create a video of no more than 120 seconds which answers the question, and upload it on YouTube by Nov. 1.

For the winners, the prize involves having their solution to global poverty presented to thought leaders and decision makers in Europe. They will be flown to Brussels to attend the 2013 European Development Days in November, where their short videos will be screened.

So what do you want changed to create a poverty-free world? Take out your smartphone, digital camera, tablet or any other video-taking device, and have your say — or invite a teenager or twenty-something near you to do so. Join Young Voices Against Poverty.”

Hunger matters 2

A typical school breakfast in one of the places I travel. 

Norman Borlaug, AKA 'Father of the Green Revolution'. Here is a quotation from Borlaug:

"The Green Revolution has won a temporary success in man's war against hunger and deprivation; it has given man a breathing space. If fully implemented, the revolution can provide sufficient food for sustenance during the next three decades. But the frightening power of human reproduction must also be curbed; otherwise the success of the green revolution will be ephemeral only." source:http://www.moreorless.au.com/heroes/borlaug.html

"The world's food production has peaked in some of the very regions where food is needed the most. For example, in South Asia, approximately half of the land has been degraded such that it no longer has the capacity for food production. In China there has been a 27% irreversible loss of land for agriculture, and it continues to lose arable land at the rate of 2,500 square kilometers per year. In Madagascar, at least 30% of the land previously regarded as arable is irreversibly barren. " source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malthusian_catastrophe

"Water deficits, which are already spurring heavy grain imports in numerous smaller countries, may soon do the same in larger countries, such as China or India. The water tables are falling in scores of countries (including Northern China, the US, and India) due to widespread overpumping using powerful diesel and electric pumps... Approximately 40% of the world's agricultural land is seriously degraded. In Africa, if current trends of soil degradation continue, the continent might be able to feed just 25% of its population by 2025..." source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_security

"Exponentially rising populations, global warming, water shortages, and growing costs of fossil fuels including petroleum-based fertilizers will lead to a global food crisis in the near future." source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peak_food