The Loud Cry:


Despite the romantic images that can be seen in the land, such as the sand dunes that seem to extend forever, mythical cities, camel trains and elephants, the Life expectancy of one who dwells in Niger is 46 years. Oh, what a sad story. Niger, with 12.5 million people is ranked as the poorest Country of the world. The words "drought" and "food crisis" are now common place. The farmers sit on the sand in sheer remorse while the locusts freely ravish all the works of their hard toiling. They can only cry out because they cannot do anything about it. They are the world's poorest Nation today.

The dust-laden wind of the Harmattan blows from the Sahara desert into Freetown, Sierra Leone. Yes, other Countries have the Harmattan, but here the Harmattan cuts into the skins of the 5 million people living in poverty, out of the Nation's 6 million. Oh, what a number! They call Sierra Leone the "Lion Mountain," but a Lion with all it's pride would never even climb such a mountain. Ravished by the impact of their long civil war which started in 1991, the people of Sierra Leone were compelled to sell blood diamonds in exchange for brutal weapons. Little did they know that come 1999 they would have a death toll of 50,000 and an estimate of 2.5 million displaced people. We call them BLOOD DIAMONDS, but they have lost more than blood. They have lost their people and pride, and now they swim in the luxury of poverty. Where is the Lion mountain?

Burkina Faso surely must have treasured its main agricultural production, cotton. The men must have taken pride in their work. They must have sat down in groups as the sun went down, laughing and talking about the success of the land. But no more. This is a Country that will not move forward unless it has debt relief. Over the years, the Country has built up a great external debt burden. Now, they need to pay it back and the innocent ones are suffering the consequences. The children who were not yet born, but now exist...born into an indescribable state of abject poverty. A 58% poverty index! To add to this, between 1994 and 1998 there was a severe drought. As if that was not enough, there was a devaluation of the CFA franc, leading to a much lower purchasing power for the already poor people. The children of Burkina Faso are still crying out...

Those are just the three poorest Countries in the world. On the top ten list we still have Chad, Guinea-Bissau, Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Burundi, and Mozambique.

Last year, I and my other half decided to sponsor a child, a very young Indian girl...and that's what we've done so far. Just saying this to encourage you that any little thing you can do is still good. I am not in the greatest financial state to really help right now. But I know I can ask God for these Nations (Psalm 2:8). I know I can make a war cry. I know I can cry out. I know I can shout out so loud until change begins to take place. And it has already started. The question is not whether it will end, but whether you will be part of the relief. Today, I choose to cry out against poverty. In addition to that, for you my readers, if you have the means, there are many ways to help the poverty situations of the world. You can do any of these 10 things:

1) Start a Kiva Lending team, and lend to entrepreneurs in these Countries: Here
2) Donate to the Global Fund to fight against Aids, Tuberculosis, and Malaria: Here
3) Donate 5 cents to the global fund for every comment on your facebook wall (I'm doing this one) OR donate your blog or website’s October 15th earnings to a poverty-fighting charity.
4) Shop to fight against poverty (sounds cool, right?): Here
5) Buy a Poverty Button or T-shirt: Here OR Here
6) Visit Skelliewag and comment on the Poverty Post. For every visit 5 cents will be donated to kiva.org: Here
7) Do your own post on poverty or tell the great story of someone who overcame poverty and how they did it.
8) Sell unneeded items on eBay or Craigslist and donate the proceeds to battle poverty
9) Organize a "Stand Up Against Poverty Event" with friends: Here
10) What can one person do? Find out: Here

Someone Like me and you:
Muhammad Yunus, managing director of Grameen Bank in Bangladesh and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 is credited with inventing the practice of microcredit lending more than thirty years ago. Grameen’s strategy is to offer miniscule loans to very poor people on terms suitable to them, and teaching them a few sound financial principles, giving them the means to generate income and work their way out of poverty. Source: Marelisa



23 comments:

Remi, United Kingdom said...

Firrrrrrrrrrrrst....I rock...
I shall be back.. says the reminator... ! lol.. Hope you're good girl..

bumight said...

I did the sponsoring a child thing for like 2 years or so.
I learnt that for each dollar u send, only a couple of cents reaches the child.
I've decided to do the sponsoring thing through Pastor Adeboye's organization (i've forgotten the name)

Chukbyke.Okey,C. said...

Noble initiatives.
Don't be discouraged, there are many sincere agencies that assist people who would want to do the distance adoption.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for this beautifully written entry and the info info and links within. I'm going to look through and see if there is a meaningful way that I can contribute to fight poverty.

Jennifer A. said...

@ Bumight...I wish many of those agencies were without corruption...but then again, it's the corrupt world we live in. Crazy! I think anyone sponsoring a child should make sure they have done all their research first...

@ Chukbyke...they may not be that many, but they do exist.

@ GNG...I'm excited that you're planning on looking at the links to see how you can fight poverty. Hope others do the same...*hugs*

It's interesting to know that poverty is on a global level, yet we can each play a key role even by doing something such as buying a BUTTON for $5.00.

? said...

Dear Jaycee,
with regards to this very post, I think globalization has played an important catalytic and this makes me doubt whether the force that moves nations lies not in their leaders but in the people themselves! Also, thanks for stopping by and with regard to my post I was merely starting from the bible where the phrase used is "welding us together". I dont think there is any difference between that and what we have today, where each country is interconnected with another. Another way to look at it is perhaps to check out the film babel.
Until we blog again...

Jennifer A. said...

@ Red eyes...hmmm...interesting...thanks...

olusimeon said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
olusimeon said...

thanks 4 d great suggestions on how we can help...peace..

Remi, United Kingdom said...

I'm in... I sponsor a child at the moment and it's a joy to get progress on how she's doing. She writes me letters and sends drawings. The little amount I send (which can't even buy grocies here in London), sends this beautiful child to school and helps her family too.. Yes a litte we do, goes a long way...

Thanks for this post.. I'm soooo in :-)))))
Much love

Vera Ezimora said...

Life expectancy of 46??? My goodness!!! So much I take for granted. That's horrible.

Kafo said...

@ remi you are not serious oooo you were first and then you disappeared for 3 hours i am whoseying at you

@ Jaycee: thank you for this and for bringing my attention to the Blog Action Day

Lady A said...

You have been tagged with the "I LOVE YOUR BLOG AWARD." Cheers!!

aloted said...

keep up the good work...God bless!

I have an organisation I am involved with..soon i shall be seeking blogville's assistance sef!!

wow..didnt know u were married?? i guess your blog isnt that personal enuff for me to know..which isnt a bad thing...considering the purpose of ur blog OR maybe u have mentioned it before and i became a reader of ur blog afterwards..

oh well what does it matter! Now i know:)

seye said...

Your blog is synonymous to the word -> Inspiration!

Eyin'ju Oluwa said...

Thanks for the links, i'll definitely go through them all very soon. Ive also heard about freerice.com, and you get to learn english along the way. Poverty is not Gods plan for us.

I finally remembered to ask my mom about the ankara and she said, Balogun market has them, Oshodi market also has, but i think its on the rougher side. If you're buying in bulk, the first option starts at $1300, if it's not worn on a daily basis, it shouldn't fade, and it doesnt run(like run colors) she said its good for the purpose. The second option is the Ghanian type, those start at $1800 bulk price and they are more durable. Most people dont wear ankara all the time, so i think the first option should be fine. So, when you start pricing, dont let them tell you its more than $1300, aim for less.

Happy planning, where's your wedding website??:D

Rita said...

God bless you for the great things you've been doing in people's lives...and for the suggestions you've made available to us to help others.

Thanks.

Chris Ogunlowo said...

You're truly touching lives.

You're a big inspiration.

All the best.

Jennifer A. said...

@ Simeone...u're welcome.

@ Remi...aww, she writes u letters and draws u pictures!!! The drawing of pictures part is so cute! Well done...your contributions will not go without a blessing. I will keep saying

@ Vera...yes o, life expectancy is 46yrs. I was shocked when I saw that too. I guess we take some things for granted.

@ Kafo...I'm glad that one of my favorite bloggers participated. Have a blessed day girlie...

@ Lady A...thank you soooooo much! I'm excited to be a part of those listed...

Jennifer A. said...

@ Aloted...I'm not yet married (giggles), but in August I went a little personal and shared my engagement story (got engaged in July)...but u were preggies and prob did not see it...lol. Baby was prob kicking and all...*wink*

@ Seye...thank God for the opportunity to inspire...:) How r u now?

@ Omosewa...I feel like hugging u to tell u how much I appreciate the price listings...so that when the shopping time comes I'll know exactly how to price o...wedding webbie is not up yet...he he *wink*

@ Rita...Amen, and I pray the same for you as well...for every encouragement and lesson you've posted on your blogs!

@ Aloofar...thanks...:)

aloted said...

ah ah ah..silly me..i remember now o..can u imagine...lol...forgive this forgetful mind!

shu..when did i become pregnant o...no be me o...at least not yet...lol...

finally i can hear ur playlist...ope o..i guess I am restricted in the office

Jennifer A. said...

Lolll, oh wow...see me dashing u pregzz...I think it was someone whose blog name starts with 'A' as well...it's not coming to me right now...he he...

Yankeenaijababe said...

You read my mind girl, I was going to blog on a similar topic concerning this issue. You need to check out the latest edition of Essense magazine 2008. They talked about girls in Niger republic that were married at 12/9 to old men. This young girls are suffering with fistula. Some girl had her vagina and kidney torn. ...the thought of this is just sad.

I guess the saying goes to say, great minds think alike.

I am so freaking broke now but definately would sponsor a child after graduation or something. Africa needs us.