Homelessness

Homelessness

1.      What issue does Dave discover?

He discovers homelessness and how it can be hard to break out of it.

2.      How do people become homeless?

·         Mental Illness: Suffer from depression, schizophrenia, bipolar etc causing them to be unable to keep a job down or pay for their medication so they are cast out onto the streets.

·         Domestic Violence: May cause women to flee from their homes in  a rush without money or any items.

·         Lost their jobs: Many middle class people lose their jobs  (the recession), lose their homes and so become homeless.

·         Addictions: Many have drug and alcohol problems and become homeless because they have spent all their money on these items.

·         Gambling: They spend all their money

3.      What are their lives like?

·         They are ‘rough sleepers’ meaning they have no beds

·         They may be hopeless, trapped and desperate.

·         Can experience violence (if they steal a sleeping spot) and sometimes rape (women).

·         Many have no place to sleep and can have alcohol or substance abuse and so are not offered beds by organisations.

·         Some will ride trains so that they have somewhere to sleep

·         A lot of homeless people smoke to quench hunger.

4.      Who is helping these people?

·         Salvation army

·         Mission Beat

·         St Vincent De Paul’s

5.      How does Dave’s experience ‘shed light’ or raise awareness to the issue?

Dave raises awareness and educates people on how the homeless live and what they experience. He shows the real back story of why poverty occurs and what it actually is. He provides insightful comments and makes people really feel sympathy for the plight of homeless people.

Refugees

Refugee Activity

Australia’s Refugee Dilemma!

A refugee is: Someone who is outside their country of residence and are unable or unwilling to return to that country due to a well founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion.

Please complete the following activity on your blogiste

Imagine if....

The following is an example of an imaginary scenario that can be used to encourage students to think about what it means to be a refugee.

Imagine that your mother or father arrives home from work one day and tells you that the police are about to arrive to arrest the whole family, because of your family’s religious beliefs.  You are told to pack a small backpack and be ready in 2 minutes. A family friend drives you overland to Darwin where you climb aboard a yacht. Your parents hand over thousands of dollars in cash. Six weeks later the yacht leaves you on a Japanese beach.  Police arrive and take you to a detention centre which is prison and home to refugees like yourself from various parts of the world, all speaking different languages. Only a few other people speak English.  The guards, canteen staff, doctor etc. all speak Japanese.  Your parents tell you that they are applying for refugee status in Japan, which means you will be allowed to live in the country, go to school there and eventually get a job. 

1.      What would you pack in your backpack?

First-aid kit, my teddy bear, photos and clothes.

2.      What would you miss most if you had to leave your home, your school, Australia?

My friends and the way of life.

3.      What would be some of the problems of living in a detention centre in a foreign country?

You probably wouldn’t speak the language and the culture would be very different.

4.      What would be the biggest challenges for you if you and your family were accepted as refugees?

Learning a new language, trying to make friends while knowing you may not be able to stay.

5.      Why is this ‘imagine’ story a very unlikely one?

It is very unlikely as Australia is a democratic and free country in which people are not usually persecuted for their religious views.

 
 

Nobel Peace Prize

The Founder of the Prizes

• In the 1890’s, Swedish, Alfred Nobel donated his large fortune to the Nobel Prizes.

He dedicated the award to “the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses.

An example:

The United Nations and its Secretary-General Kofi Annan were chosen “for their work for a better organised and more peaceful world.”

 

The First Peace Prize

Henry Dunant, founder of the Red Cross, shared the first Nobel Peace Prize in 1901 with Frederic Passy, a leading international pacifist of the time

In addition to humanitarian efforts and peace movements, the Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded for work in a wide range of fields including advocacy of human rights, mediation of international conflicts, and arms control.

Number of Prizes

The Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to 120 Laureates-97 times to individuals and 23 times to organizations.

 

The Gender Allocation

Of the 97 individuals awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, 12 are women.

Organisations can win the Award!

Two examples of this are the Red Cross and Amnesty International.

Some References

For more information about the Nobel Peace Prize and its awardees go to:

http://nobelprize.org/

8 Millennium Development Goals

8 Millennium Development Goals

1)      When were they formed?

They were formed in the year 2000 in September at the United Nations Headquarters.

2)      Why were they formed?

They were formed in order to secure basic human rights for every person in the world, to promote a better way of living and so that everyone has the opportunity to benefit from the global economy. In time it hopes to prevent the poverty cycle, save millions of lives and build a better world for everyone to live in.

3)      List the 8 Millenium Development Goals and one target.

Goal: End poverty and hunger

Target: To halve the number of people whose income is less than $1 a day between 1990 and 2015.

Goal: Achieve universal primary education.

Target: Ensure that by 2015, children everywhere, male or female will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling.

Goal: Promote gender equality and empower women.

Target: To eradicate gender inequality in primary and secondary schooling by 2015.

Goal: Reduce child mortality

Target:  To reduce by two thirds, the child mortality rate between 1990 and 2015.

Goal: Improve maternal health.

Target: To decrease by three-quarters, the maternal mortality percentage between 1990 and 2015.

Goal: Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other diseases.

Target: To stop the spread of HIV/AIDS and begin to reverse it by 2015.

Goal: Ensure environmental sustainability

Target: To integrate the principles of sustainable development in every nation and to reverse the loss of environmental resources.

Goal: Develop a global partnership for development

Target: To find a way to deal with the debt of developing countries and to advance an open, non-discriminatory trading and financial system.

United Nations

The UN:

- Helps global issues

- Was formed after the 2^nd World War (1948) by countries who won

- Got together to stop World War ever happening again.

“Declaration of Human Rights”

30 Human Rights that protect the dignity of humans

Article 1: All human beings should be given basic rights, and all humans are of equal value. We should treat each other with kindness.

Article 2: Everyone, regardless of gender, race, culture or religion is entitled to human rights and discrimination is not to be made on the position or condition of a person’s origin country.

Article 7: In cases before the law, all humans are equal and entitled to equal protection. All humans are also entitled to defence against infringement of this article.

Article 11: All humans, under the court of law, are innocent until proven guilty, and provided with adequate defence and a fair outcome of punishment if proven guilty.

Article 15: Everyone has the right to identify and classify themselves with a nationality and shall be allowed to change their nationality.

Article 16: Men and women of the legal age, without discrimination, entered to with full consent of both parties have the right to marry and start a family with protection from the state.

Article 20: People have the right to belong to associations and groups, and shall not be forcibly compelled or made to join one.

Article 23: Everyone has the right to apply for their chosen job and to participate in the workforce, receiving equal pay, to join trade unions and the right to receive support.

Article 25: Everyone should receive the basic needs of sufficient shelter, food, clothing, medical care and social services e.g. disability, pregnancy etc

The Power of One

The Power of One is a movie set in South Africa during the 1930's and 40's. The film is based on the book by Bryce Courtenay and follows the life of a then young boy PK. It follows the life of PK as he experiences and veiws the racism and violence towards black africans. He experiences discrimination at boarding school as he is the only english boy amongst afrikaners (speaking south african but of European descent) led by the oldest boy. PK experiences the loss and deaths of many of his loved ones  throughtout the movie which lead to discovery of who he really is and what he wants to be. As a young boy he also learns the art of boxing which gives him courage, the abilty to defend himself and to stand up for what he believes is right. As PK grows older he comes to realise what he believes in which is the racism directed at the black africans and that he wants to change the veiws of everyone else to realise that they the balck africans are not bad and deserve a chance. As he works to change these veiws he falls in love and becomes a symbol of hope and a leader to those who most need him.
     

Human Rights

Human Rights

•  Necessity that all people should have access to e.g. food, water shelter, fair pay

What are Human Rights?

Human rights are the rights and freedoms that we all have.

·         Some human rights are based on our physical needs.

The right to life. To food. To shelter.

·         Other human rights protect us.

The right to be free from torture, cruel treatment and abuse.

·         Human rights are also there to ensure we develop to our fullest potential.

The right to education. To work. To participate in your community.

Everybody has human rights. It doesn’t matter who you are, where you come from, what language you speak or what religion you belong to. You have a duty to respect the rights of others, just as they have a duty to respect yours. Nobody can take your rights away.

Why do Human Rights Matter to Me?

Human rights matter to us all.

In the UK:

·         One child in three is poor

·         One child in four is phyisically abused

·         One child in seven does not have a proper home

It is vital that all young people know their rights!

Where do rights come from?

Human rights are based on the values of:

·         Dignity- Self respect

·         Justice- Fairness/legal system

·         Respect- for others

·         Equality- equal treatment

Human rights were officially recognised as values by the world when the United Nations was set up.

What is the United Nations?

·         The United Nations (UN) is an international organisation that was established in 1945, the year the Second World War ended.

·         Its founders hoped it would be able to prevent catastrophes like the Holocaust from happening in the future.

·         So promoting human rights become an aim of the UN, along with maintaining international peace and reducing poverty.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is the most famous human rights agreement in the world. It contains 30 human rights. 

Who wrote the UDHR?

The people who wrote the UDHR came from: Australia, Chile, China, France, Lebanon, the former Soviet Union, the UK and the US.

 

Village Space Presentation- Climate Change

Issues Explored

-         Suicide in rural Australia

-         North Arctic

-         Bangladesh

-         Kirabati

-         Cap and Trade

-         Scotland and Brazil

-         Climate Change Science

Suicide in Rural Australia

1.     What was the issue about?

The suicide of people in rural areas of Australia

1.     What is causing the issue?

There are several factors: drought and other natural disasters which in turn affects a farm’s ability to produce crops which may lead to heavy debt from loans and a lack of income and as a result, suicide. Another factor is that it is difficult to receive mental help. A lack of reprieve from work as the farm is their job and they live there. There is also the masculine image of a stereotypical farmer which discourages them to seek help.

2.     Who is affected

Mainly farmers living in rural areas who are in financial and economic strife.

3.     What can be done?

·         Improvements in the accessibility of mental help and support

·         Greater attention to research on the issue

·         Teach and promote signs of distress and despair so that the problem can be addressed.

·         Technological support