Lewis Talbert Austin, Tx Healing Humanity

By N. Holt

Society recognizes that one of the most appalling things that can happen to a little girl is rape and premature sexual activity, at least in western countries. But not so in some eastern countries where females are at the mercy of men.

A documentary on the ABC in Australia highlighted the work of an Australian doctor, Catherine Hamlin, in Ethiopia. In c1958 she and husband Reginald Hamlin responded to an ad for doctors willing to serve in Africa. Reg died 15 years ago and since then Catherine has continued the work they started together in Addis Ababa, the Capital.

They started a hospital to treat the thousands of young girls who, because of early pregnancies, suffer damage to their organs. The most prominent and worst of these is obstetric fistula. This is a hole in the birth canal linking to the bladder and/or rectum caused by prolonged and agonizing labor. Because of their immature age the pelvis is not large enough to allow the head of the fetus to pass through. Some girls have been in labor for days, one for 10 days.

Of course the babies are dead by this time and one account told of it being removed from the womb in pieces. These girls have to walk for days to the nearest hospital and the backward thinking that prevails throughout their communities allows them to suffer untreated and usually alone.

Most of the women in the articles had crosses tattooed on their bodies and one had them all over her face. But where is their welfare and care for these poor little girls if they are under some religious guidance. Many such girls are given away to potential husbands at the age of seven or eight and they become slaves to his family until old enough to bear children. This usually happens as soon as they hit puberty as they are constantly raped.

One girl told of the treatment she received at the hands of the in-laws. She was forced to carry huge loads in big ceramic jars for large distances. The result is her stunted growth and the awful pregnancy she endured. The doctor handling her case could not lift even an empty version of such a container.

After their birth ordeal, which may or may not result in a live birth, these girls may constantly leak urine or feces or both as chunks of the tissue separating the vagina from the bladder or rectum dies and falls away. The consequence is that they smell, are socially unacceptable, and are usually abandoned by husbands, families and friends.

Some women are so badly affected that they cannot be cured even with surgery and one teenager on the show had to use a plug after 3 operations failed. The bladder, in her case, was so badly damaged that only part of it was functional.

These women live for years in horrid conditions that most of us would not expect animals to endure. One woman told of sitting all night on pieces of wood because of the wet ground under her. Because of their abandonment and young age they could be housed in orphanages in any western country but here such facilities do not exist. They are at the mercy of the in-laws or the elements while fending for themselves. If they have a child it too may suffer from their isolation or be taken from the mother to be reared in the father’s house. So the reward for the pain and suffering is more pain and suffering..

This tragedy rarely gets aired but the work of the doctors has brought it to light, at least in Australia. Catherine is aging and may not continue for long but other doctors can take over if funds and the will is there. Surely in a world where sympathy exists for people in this situation someone hears about them who can do something. That is the purpose of this article. It is my desire to raise awareness to the plight and to hopefully bring funds and help to the hospital, the doctors and ultimately the country.

Some women travel hundreds of miles to the hospital and many don’t actually make it. With only 30 patients a week treated Dr Hamlin said that tens if not hundreds of thousands of such cases exist throughout the country, and this is only what’s come to light in Ethiopia.

If nothing is done to help the victims of such treatment then everyone who can help and does nothing is surely adding to their pain. These girls are denied education, contraceptives, and understanding while forced into marriages, enslaved and butchered. The facts are that there is little money to help these girls but people can get into Ethiopia and help if they desire. The late Australian Doctor, Fred Hollows, traveled there for years to perform eye surgery so that people suffering severe cataracts could see again. His work continues through his foundation. It is not too much to expect that another foundation could be formed to help these poor little girls.

Tags: Lewis Talbert

By Peter Casier

What is the plural of “crisis”?

It seems like 2008 is becoming the year of global crisis. First we were faced with the worldwide food crisis, swiftly followed by, what now seems to be, a collapse of major financial institutions.

But it might not stop here. As FAO, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, calculated the cost to deal with the current food crisis at US$30 billion per year, donors stepped up their financial support.

But that was before the current financial crisis. At this moment, the governments worldwide concentrate their financial resources in keeping their banks and financial institutions afloat:

* The Belgian, French and Luxembourg governments put in US$9 billion to keep Dexia afloat.
* Previously Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg put up US$16.1 billion to save the Fortis bank.
* Britain is working on a US$87.7 billion bank recapitalization concentrating on Barclays, HSBC and the Bank of Scotland.
* Spain announced a US$40.9 billion fund to buy up bank assets and maintain liquidity
* Sweden is given Iceland’s biggest bank, Kaupthing, an emergency loan worth up US$702 million) to help keep it afloat.
* Germany has thrown a US$50 billion lifeline to struggling lender Hypo Real Estate.
* Italy is about to set up a rescue fund close to US$30 billion for the banking industry.
* Canada gave a US$25 billion “backstop” for there banks.
* Russia pledged to boost liquidity by more than US$100bn, on top of a US$5.4 billion loan to Iceland
* And of course we all know about the $700 billion monster US bailout

Apart from the fact that economists doubt the effectiveness of bailouts, we might be facing the early beginning from a real 1930’s style recession. If the consumers’ confidence in the banks is not restored, governments can bailout all they want, up to the level where they bankrupt themselves. Like in Iceland, where the country declared anything short of a national bankruptcy…

Any money left for international aid?

The end balance? During the food crisis, donor countries already stepped up their extra-budgetary funds to come to the rescue of aid organisations “on the occasion of the food crisis”, but now are faced with the a massive cash drain bailing out their own financial institutions.

At the same time, poor countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America, which are already dealing with a surge in food and energy prices, are now finding it harder to sell goods abroad and encourage investment in their own economies.

The question now is: how much money will be left for international aid?

This week, amidst the financial turmoil, world leaders met to review the progress of the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). These are intended to reduce extreme global poverty and, improve health and education. It was stressed that development aid needed to increase by $18 billion each year towards fulfilling the goals. At the end of the event, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon announced that an additional US$16 billion had been pledged by governments to meet the targets of the MDGs. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown in his address to the UN, went on to say that the financial crisis should not be an excuse to cut aid.

The “Humanitarian Doomsday scenario” - the first signs

Many of us, in the aid organisations, are not that optimistic as UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon:

Journalist Andrew Stroehlein, the Director of Media and Information for the International Crisis Group, states it bluntly: “I might as well just pack up and go on holiday for a few months. With the global financial crisis continuing, no one wants to hear about violent conflict and mass atrocities around the world”.

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, just wrapped up its annual refugee conference and it is concerned its needs may not be met because of the global financial crisis.

“The financial turmoil rippling across the globe will set back efforts to fight climate change, drying up capital that could help poorer countries upgrade to clean energy technology”, said Yvo de Boer, the executive secretary of the U.N. climate secretariat, adding: “You can’t pick an empty pocket”.

Will the global financial crisis also cause a global humanitarian crisis? Time will tell, but it looks like it. As history showed, the poorest of the world always pick the shortest straw.

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By TL Woodruff
Posted by Lewis Talbert
Global issues like poverty are extremely complex. There is no simple, clear answer. I’ve rallied against American Politics, the Political system, the Financial Collapse of the Markets and a myriad of other things but sometimes there comes a time where we, the people, need to turn our attention away from our world and focus on THE World.

This day, TODAY, is one of those times. Let our voices unite and speak volumes about our world, our true world and her children. It is through raising our voices, united, that we will be heard and the world will be forced to listen.

A few facts and tidbits about 2008:

Poverty and Hunger run rampant in our world while we witnessed a monumental 1.8 TRILLION Dollar single day loss in the Stock market. Our government has bailed out the banking industry with $700 BILLION Tax Dollars and seeks more while the executives of AIG and their “top sellers” party on the posh. World governments now own portions of the banking industry, effectively Nationalizing the financial system, and taxpayers around the world have allowed their governments to use BILLIONS of dollars, Pounds, Euro’s and other currencies to fight a war in the Middle East.

My point? We still live in a world where almost half of her population, over three billion people, live on less than $2.50 a day and over 26,500 children die each day. Every day. Year round. The killers of our children, the children of our world, are poverty, hunger and easily preventable diseases and illnesses. What will you do today to help prevent this?

Mister, can you spare a dime? Don’t answer with the standard “you can’t fix the problem by throwing money at it…” okay, we know that it’s complex and the problems have very deep roots. But maybe that dime isn’t in hard currency, maybe it’s ten cents of your time. A moments worth of you talking to someone else about the problem. What if the whole world was talking about this at exactly the same time? Maybe your ten cents would be worth millions. Take a moment. Talk to someone. You were given a voice for a reason, use it.

Poverty Facts: These are not debate points, not opinions, FACTS. Plain, hard, cold and oh so real facts. When you read my opening and we look at all of the money that we’ve chased around in less than 2 months the FACT is that we are a wasteful money-centric global society that preys on those with less and forgets those who can not speak with the same volume and intensity that we can. We want our BMW’s, Mercedes and our 4,000+ square foot Homes. We want gratification and satisfaction now and we don’t care what it cost. We like to think that what we do does not impact anyone else. Continue with this approach to our world and we just might end up paying with more than our money.

26,500 children die each day at an astounding rate of one Child every three seconds, over 10 Million children die each year. One of those children could have been the scientist that cures cancer, saves a nation, makes the impossible possible. One of those children could have been a friend. Each of those children were fellow humans trying to inhabit the planet the we have been given stewardship over. Ask yourself: Am I a good steward for the children. Take a moment. Talk to someone. You were given a voice for a reason, use it. Statistics: At least 80% of humanity lives on less than $10 a day.

Worldwide. 2.2 million children die each year because they are not immunized while the United States spends 8 BILLION Dollars a year on Cosmetics, blush, lipstick, eyeliner, etc. every year. European countries and the United States combined spend 12 Billion Dollars a year on Perfumes. It would take 9 Billion to provide Water and Sanitation for ALL.

The list goes on. The world; US, Europe, Japan, and the rest spend enough on Perfume 4, Pet Food 4, Cigarettes 4, and Cosmetics 4 to provide Basic Education, Water and Sanitation and Basic health and nutrition to the WORLD and still have 3 BILLION left over. Speak up, speak out! Talk to someone. You have been given a voice for a reason, use it today.

You can help by contacting UNICEF, the International Red Cross Red Crescent, Your local Red Cross Chapter, OXFAM and other global organizations dedicated to eliminating poverty and providing basic human needs to the worlds populations. Play Robin Hood - donate, let your voice be heard.

TL Woodruff

Sources:

UNICEF - 2000 - 2006 mortality count of 60 Million Children World wide. The term “Children” in the study is defined as age from “Infant to Five years of Life”

For the 95% on $10 a day, see Martin Ravallion, Shaohua Chen and Prem Sangraula, Dollar a day revisited, World Bank, May 2008.

Tags: Lewis M Talbert, Lewis Talbert, Lewis Talbert Austin Texas

By Kathleen Couch

Are you spoiled? I like to think that I’m not, but in reality I am. Have you ever heard yourself spouting that your house wasn’t big enough, you want new carpet, you need a new car, and you don’t have enough money? Some of these things have been classified by our American lifestyle as a need instead of just something desired. That’s spoiled. For most of us the basic needs of shelter, clothing, food, and clean water, has expanded to the best and biggest house, designer clothing, gourmet food, and the best brand name bottled water.

In contrast, the Honduran people have struggles to just have the basic needs. They have to be concerned whether their little shack of a home will withstand the next tropical storm, or flash flood. Sanitation isn’t always easy when your floor is dirt. The color or designer of clothing are given no thought. What to have for dinner is a basic need question, rather than “I don’t know what I feel like eating.” Which bottled water to choose isn’t a question. Any clean water is a luxury.

A mission team of ordinary people are going to San Pedro Sula, Honduras,on July 11 - 18, 2009. This group is made up of people of all ages from Kennesaw First Baptist Church, in Kennesaw, Georgia. Why do they want to go? It is the desire to help people. It is the desire to give to the Honduran people the extra help they need to just have a comfortable, healthy life. It is the desire to show them and teach them of God’s love. A general list of things the group will be doing, follows:

* Working with local feeding centers
* Ministering in daycare centers
* Working with our partnering church, Jerusalem Baptist
* Crusades in local schools and at the new church site
* Construction project with Jerusalem Baptist and their daughter church (possible)
* VBS at day care centers and churches (possible)

Will this mission experience be entirely a one way sharing? Absolutely not! We will have some very important life lessons to learn. The Honduran people are known for their happy, friendly disposition. Is this because they have so much? No. They have so little in material blessings. Yet many have discovered the real source of peace and satisfaction in life. They have discovered Jesus Christ.

You may not be able to go to Honduras on a mission trip, but you can support the mission team, and help the Honduran people. In this time of a tough economy, you may be thinking you don’t have any extra to give. We have set up a web site in support of this mission project to explain more about the needs of the Honduran people, and the needs of the mission team to be able to make this trip a reality. Through this site you will be able to do your Christmas shopping, not paying any more than the retailer normally charges, but have a percentage given back to the group for the Honduras mission project. Using the information below, click through to “My Heart For Honduras.”

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By Pasi Kaarakainen

There are several services on the internet which offer pay per click advertising. Google AdWords is the most popular pay per click advertising campaign in the world today. This makes sense because Google is the most popular search engine in the world today as well.

Google AdWords is a great way to promote your home internet business. However, there are good and bad things about Google AdWords. Let’s take a look at some pros and cons about marketing your internet business using Google AdWords.

First, here are the most important pros of using Google AdWords to benefit your internet marketing business.

1. One of the best things about setting up a Google AdWords campaign is how quickly you can begin getting traffic from it. Once you have everything in place, you literally can be on page 1 of the most popular search engine in the world in 15 minutes or less.

2. The traffic that comes from AdWords campaign is targeted toward specific keyword phrases that you are bidding on. This helps make your internet marketing campaign more cost effective because people are searching for words that relate to the products you sell.

3. You can set an ad budget to make sure your advertising costs do not grow more than you can afford. There is a great deal of control over your internet business costs. You can define a maximum daily budget and specific amounts you are willing to pay per click. AdWords system will never exceed the amount you have set up.

Now let’s talk about a couple of the negatives of Google AdWords campaign.

1. One thing that is not often talked about is many campaigns are never profitable. The people doing them do not properly understand how to set up a marketing campaign and end up spending more money than they are able to recoup in sales and profits.

Starting to advertise your internet marketing business with Google AdWords requires a lot of training. You need to be determined and patient to test and learn how to get the best results with your campaign.

2. When people use Google as a search engine they do not always look across the top or down the right-hand side of the page where the paid ads are. They go to the ads in the middle which are known as organic searches. For this reason you often miss some of the best traffic for your targeted phrases. However, if people do not click your link, it does not pay anything for you. So, you do not loose anything.

There is much more that goes into setting up the Google AdWords campaign. Be cautious when starting to promote your home internet business using AdWords. It will be important that you understand what you are doing before you start spending your hard earned money on it.

Tags: Lewis M Talbert, Lewis Talbert